Description
“I’ve come to help. I’m the Doctor.”
—Ninth Doctor, from “Dalek” (2005)
Even if you’re new to Doctor Who, you likely know that the titular character isn’t just recast from time to time but changes within the story itself through a process called regeneration. This transformation alters the brain cells to some degree, giving each version of the Doctor his own traits, mannerisms, and preferences. Many people (including some characters within the show) refer to the different incarnations as “First Doctor,” “Second Doctor,” and so on. All of the Doctors are actually the same person, thanks to the hero’s memory remaining (mostly) intact despite the outward changes. The Nurture part of the equation remains constant, while Nature shifts.
Unlike other franchises that recast the hero, characters in the story realize a change has happened. The Doctor sometimes jokes about being a “different man” in his past, but refers to the memories and actions of previous incarnations as his own, saying at times that what really changes is not who he is but his point of view. For instance, the Tenth Doctor said he fought in the Last Great Time War rather than saying “another version of me fought in the war.”
Throughout this book, we will be referring to the various Doctors and the actors who’ve played the role. To make things easy, here’s a quick rundown of the people who’ve played the part officially. We’ll discuss unofficial Doctors portrayed by Peter Cushing, Richard E. Grant, and others later. Feel free to check back as you read through; no one has to know.
Classic Doctor Who (1963–1989)
William Hartnell, First Doctor
b. January 8, 1908, d. April 23, 1975
first appearance: November 23, 1963, age fifty-five
final regular episode: October 29, 1966, age fifty-eight
Patrick Troughton, Second Doctor
b. March 25, 1920, d. March 28, 1987
first appearance: October 29, 1966, age forty-six
final regular episode: June 21, 1969, age forty-nine
Jon Pertwee, Third Doctor
b. July 7, 1919, d. May 20, 1996
first appearance: January 3, 1970, age fifty
final regular episode: June 8, 1974, age fifty-five
Tom Baker, Fourth Doctor
b. January 20, 1934
first appearance: June 8, 1974, age forty
final regular episode: March 21, 1981, age forty-seven
Peter Davison, Fifth Doctor
b. April 13, 1951
first appearance: March 21, 1981, age twenty-nine
final regular episode: March 16, 1984, age thirty-two
Colin Baker, Sixth Doctor
b. June 8, 1943
first appearance: March 16, 1984, age forty
final regular episode: December 6, 1986, age forty-three
Sylvester McCoy, Seventh Doctor
b. August 20, 1943
first appearance: September 7, 1987, age forty-four
final regular episode: December 6, 1989, age forty-six
Paul McGann, Eighth Doctor
b. November 14, 1959
on-screen appearance as the Doctor: May 14, 1996, age thirty-six
Modern Doctor Who (2005–present)
Christopher Eccleston, Ninth Doctor
b. February 16, 1964
first appearance: March 26, 2005, age forty-one
final regular episode: June 18, 2005, age forty-one
David Tennant, Tenth Doctor
b. April 18, 1971
first appearance: June 18, 2005, age thirty-four
final regular episode: January 1, 2010, age thirty-eight
Matt Smith, Eleventh Doctor
b. October 28, 1982
first appearance: January 1, 2010, age twenty-seven
final regular episode: December 25, 2013, age thirty-one
Peter Capaldi, Twelfth Doctor
b. April 14, 1958
first appearance: December 25, 2013, age fifty-five
Peter Capaldi, Twelfth Doctor
b. April 14, 1958
first appearance: December 25, 2013, age fifty-five
Some fans have wondered if there might be other incarnations not seen on screen. Was there a Doctor before William Hartnell? The transformations from Second to Third and from Eighth to Ninth weren’t shown, so might there have been extra incarnations in between? The program itself has dismissed these ideas. In the TV story “The Three Doctors” in 1973, the Time Lords refer to Hartnell’s incarnation as the original. In the TV special “The Five Doctors” in 1983, the Fifth Doctor says he’s regenerated four times. David Tennant’s adventures “Human Nature” and “The Next Doctor” have him look over images of only nine previous incarnations. And in Matt Smith’s episodes “The Lodger” and “The Name of the Doctor,” he is called the Eleventh Doctor.
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
The Doctors
Introduction
1 Building the Show
Sidebar: The Music of Who
2 Who Is the Doctor
Sidebar: The Hero with No Name
3 Rise of the Monsters
4 An Educational Crew
Sidebar: The Comic Doctor
5 The TARDIS and Time Travel
6 Violence and Endings
Sidebar: The Cybermen
7 Life Is Renewal
8 Time-Locked!
9 The First Master
10 Doctor Meets Doctor
Sidebar: Season 6B
11 “I Walk in Eternity”
12 The Journalist, the Warrior, the Lady of Time
Sidebar: The Time Lords
13 A New Style
14 The New Beginning
15 A Volcanic Experience
16 High Camp and Time’s Champion
Sidebar: Benny and Canon
17 The Wilderness Years
18 The Many Lives of the Eighth Doctor
Sidebar: Half Human?
19 The Last of the Time Lords
Sidebar: New TARDIS, New Screwdriver
20 The Renaissance
Sidebar: The New Age of Spin-offs
Sidebar: The Woman Doctor
21 Something Borrowed, Something New
Acknowledgments
Index