The character of Doctor is always shrouded in mystery. Early in the series, just knew he was a traveler and eccentric alien, with a great knowledge about the most varied materials, which fought the injustices found to explore the universe in his spaceship, the TARDIS. TARDIS is an acronym for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space (Time and Relative Dimensions In Space). The TARDIS is bigger inside than out, and, due to a permanent fault in the chameleon circuit, its outward appearance resembles that of a London police booth 60s.
Eventually discovers that the sinister and mysterious figure of the Doctor is a kind of renegade of their own species, the Time Lords (Lords of Time), coming from the planet Gallifrey, the Kasterborous constellation.
Being a Time Lord, the Doctor has the ability to regenerate your body as a way to avoid death. This concept was introduced in 1966, when the writers were faced with the departure of lead actor William Hartnel as a way to extend the series. Since then it has been a defining feature of the series and is used whenever it is necessary to replace the lead actor. However, it was established in an episode that a Time Lord can only regenerate 12 times, a total of 13 incarnations (although you can get around this). To date, the doctor went through this process eleven times, with each of its incarnations your style and quirks but sharing the memories, experience and their sense of morality:
Other actors also played the Doctor in other stories, such as Rowan Atkinson, however these are not considered canonical by both the fans as the BBC itself.
Throughout the history of the series several revelations, some controversial, were held about the Doctor. For example, the First Doctor may not be the first incarnation of the Doctor; that Doctor is more than just a Time Lord, being half-human from the mother (although this is to be highly contested). In the first episode of the series it is revealed that the Doctor has a granddaughter, Susan Foreman, and, in the 2006 season, is the Doctor himself who claims he was already father. In 2005 it is revealed that the Ninth Doctor is the last survivor of his race, and that their planet was destroyed in an event known as the Last Great Time War, whose tragic end had direct participation of the doctor, but it turns out the other Mr. survivor time, the Master. To prevent the Time Lords to cause the destruction of the universe and time itself (making them creatures of pure consciousness and without physical body, just to escape the war), the Doctor created a temporal block around the war and caused the destruction of Gallifrey, making it impossible for someone back in time to prevent this outcome. After the war, Dr. believed to have died out not only the race, but also the Daleks, which he considers "the most evil kind of all creation." However, discovered in 2005 that some Daleks, including Dalek-Emperor, survived the war.
Doctor
|
Played by
|
Duration
|
First Doctor
|
William
Hartnell
|
1963–1966
|
Second Doctor
|
Patrick
Troughton
|
1966–1969
|
Third Doctor
|
Jon
Pertwee
|
1970–1974
|
Fourth Doctor
|
Tom
Baker
|
1974–1981
|
Fifth Doctor
|
Peter
Davison
|
1981–1984
|
Sixth Doctor
|
Colin
Baker
|
1984–1986
|
Seventh Doctor
|
Sylvester
McCoy
|
1987-1989 and 1996
|
Eighth Doctor
|
Paul
McGann
|
1996,
2013
|
Ninth Doctor
|
Christopher
Eccleston
|
2005
|
Tenth Doctor
|
David
Tennant
|
2005-2010
|
Eleventh Doctor
|
Matt
Smith
|
2010–2014
|
Twelfth Doctor
|
Peter
Capaldi
|
2014–
|
In addition to these actors who have played the series, other versions have portrayed the Doctor as guests. Notably, in 2013, John Hurt starred as an incarnation previously unknown doctor known as "The War Doctor" in the special 50 Years "The Day of The Doctor" (2013) and the mini episode "The Night of the Doctor" that shows the regeneration of the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann, despite its introduction, the writing mode was taken not to disturb the numerical nomenclature established by Drs. Another actor to play the Doctor was Michael Jayston in 1986 as Valeyard, a fusion of the darkest sides of the nature of the Doctor, which appeared between his twelfth and final incarnation.
On rare occasions, other actors were replacing the main actor. Special in 20 years, "The Five Doctors" (1983), Richard Hurndall played the First Doctor, William Hartnell replacing, who died in 1975. In "Time and the Rani" (1987), Sylvester McCoy briefly played the Sixth Doctor during regeneration sequence, continuing the story as the Seventh Doctor.
Actor
|
Media
|
Title
|
Date
|
Comments
|
Adrian
Gibbs
|
TV
|
Logopolis
|
February 28 - March 21, 1981
|
The Watcher (Nyssa says, "He was the doctor all the time")
|
Richard
Hurndall
|
TV
|
The
Five Doctors
|
November 23, 1983
|
Hurndall played the First Doctor in the special 20 years in 1983
|
Michael
Jayston
|
TV
|
The Trial of a Time Lord
|
September 6 - December 6, 1986
|
The Valeyard (evil version of the Doctor, which appeared between his twelfth and final incarnation.)
|
John
Hurt
|
TV
|
The Day of The Doctor
|
November 23, 2013
|
The War Doctor (Doctor fought in Time of War that appears in the special 50 years.)
|
John
Guilor
|
TV
|
The Day of The Doctor
|
November 23, 2013
|
First Doctor (voice of the first Doctor, used in recons to DVD in 2012)
|
Meeting between Different Incarnations
There have been cases of players returning at later dates to reprise the role of your doctor. In 1972, William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton returned alongside Jon Pertwee for the Special 10 Years, "The Trhee Doctors" .In 1983 Troughton and Pertwee returned in "The Five Doctors", Tom Baker appeared in unpublished images of incomplete episode "Shada ". For this episode, Richard Hurndall replaced William Hartnell. Patrick Troughton returned again in 1985 in the special "The Two Doctors" alongside Colin Baker. In 2007, Peter Davison appeared in the mini episode "Time Crash" alongside David Tennant, and more recently, in 2013, the special 50th anniversary, "The Day of The Doctor", David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, appeared to side of the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, Tom Baker appearances as a future version of the Doctor, Peter Capaldi in her first scene as the Twelfth Doctor and a brief appearance from all previous actors.
See also:
Doctor Who
Doctor Who - What is
Doctor Who - The Story
Doctor Who - Episodes
Doctor Who - How does Sonic Screwdriver
Doctor Who – The Master
Doctor Who - The Companions of Doctor
Doctor Who - The Opponents
Doctor Who - The Seasons
Doctor Who - The Cast of 2005-2014
Doctor Who - Its Production
