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185-521: The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor , the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doctor, the character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs . Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from

370-586: A scientist or an engineer . However, he does occasionally show medical knowledge and has stated on separate occasions that he studied under Joseph Lister and Joseph Bell . In The Moonbase (1967), the Second Doctor mentions that he studied for a medical degree in Glasgow during the 19th century. The Fourth Doctor was awarded an honorary degree from St. Cedd's College, Cambridge, in 1960. He has been mocked by his fellow Time Lords for adhering to such

555-890: A tea cosy on his head in cold weather in the North Sea. After demobilisation, Troughton returned to the theatre. He worked with the Amersham Repertory Company, the Bristol Old Vic Company and the Pilgrim Players at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate . He made his television debut in 1947. In 1948, Troughton made his cinema debut with small roles in Olivier's Hamlet , the Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed Escape (one of

740-608: A "doctor of time travel". The revived programme establishes that Time Lords invent their own names. In " The Sound of Drums " (2007), the Tenth Doctor remarks to the Master that they both chose their names, with the Master calling him sanctimonious for identifying himself as "the man who makes people better". The Eleventh Doctor , in " The Name of the Doctor ", elaborates that the name is a promise to be: "Never cruel or cowardly. Never giving up and never giving in." This statement

925-631: A "lowly" title as "Doctor", although in The Armageddon Factor (1979), Drax congratulates him on achieving his doctorate, indicating it was at least a somewhat respectable title. In " The Girl in the Fireplace " (2006), he draws an analogy between the title and Madame de Pompadour 's. In The Mutants (1972), an official asks the Third Doctor if he is, in fact, a doctor, to which the Doctor replies "I am, yes"; when asked what he

1110-463: A "perigosto stick" belonging to his teacher, Borusa. Feeling that too much of the Doctor's backstory had been revealed by the Seventh Doctor 's era, writers Andrew Cartmel , Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt developed a new direction for the series. Cartmel wished to restore the character's "awe, mystery and strength" and make him "once again more than a mere chump of a Time Lord" – an idea

1295-682: A "time splinter" of future companion Clara Oswald using the name Oswin wipes all knowledge of the Doctor from the Daleks' collective memory. This knowledge is regained when the Daleks conquer the Church of the Silence in " The Time of the Doctor " (2013). The Doctor is not present on Solomon's database in " Dinosaurs on a Spaceship " and holds a conversation about his newfound anonymity in " The Angels Take Manhattan " with River Song. In " Nightmare in Silver ",

1480-516: A 1950s white dress suit. During season six and seven, he alternates the tweed jacket with the green moleskin overcoat. The tweed jacket makes a final appearance in " The Angels Take Manhattan ". After appearing in Victorian period clothing throughout " The Snowmen ", the Doctor's costume changes to generally more somber colors beginning in " The Bells of Saint John " where he exchanges the monk's robes for an eggplant purple cashmere frock coat and

1665-430: A 26-year-old could not play the Doctor adequately; BBC Wales Head of Drama Piers Wenger shared the sentiment, but noted that Smith was capable enough to play the role. Smith's casting in the role was revealed during an episode of Doctor Who ' s companion show Doctor Who Confidential , during which he described the role as "a wonderful privilege and challenge that I hope I will thrive on". Prior to auditioning for

1850-463: A March 1984 episode entitled "Windows", Season 4 Episode 9). He also portrayed Cole Hawlings in a BBC Television dramatisation of the John Masefield children's book The Box of Delights (1984). In the same year he also appeared in a Two Ronnies Christmas Special playing a judge. Troughton's health was never completely robust due to heavy drinking and smoking (he had quit smoking in

2035-471: A PhD in cheesemaking (" The God Complex "). In the first episode, the Doctor's granddaughter Susan goes by the surname "Foreman", and the junkyard in which Barbara and Ian find him bears the sign "I.M. Foreman". When addressed by Ian with this name, the Doctor responds, "Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?" Ian realises that "Foreman" is not the Doctor's name, when Barbara addresses the Doctor as "Doctor Foreman"; Ian asks Barbara, "That's not his name. Who

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2220-541: A Time Lord lady named Patience who was the widow of Omega , one of the founding-fathers of Gallifreyan society who fell into an anti-matter universe. Patience later met and married the Doctor and together they had thirteen children. Once their first-born son announced the arrival of a baby, the family was targeted by the Lord President, as the child was to be conceived naturally and only the Loom-born could inherit

2405-431: A child while investigating a mysterious crack in her wall. Many years later, Amy joins the Doctor as his travelling companion on the eve of her marriage to Rory Williams ( Arthur Darvill ). In " Victory of the Daleks ", he is tricked into spawning a new generation of Daleks . In the two-part story " The Time of Angels " and " Flesh and Stone ", he re-encounters future companion River Song ( Alex Kingston ) and his enemies

2590-600: A clandestine Time Lord organisation known as the Division. After an unknown amount of regenerations, Tecteun's child began calling themself "Doctor". The Fugitive Doctor , true to her title, was on the run from the Division in a TARDIS disguised as a police box. The details of their life were also redacted from the Matrix – only snippets remaining, masked as the story of the Irish Garda Brendan. The true origins of

2775-460: A curse renders Gallifrey sterile, the Other devises biotechnological looms to "weave" new Time Lords; his granddaughter Susan is Gallifrey's last natural child. To escape a civil war with Rassilon, the Other throws himself into the loom system, where he is disintegrated and later woven into the Doctor. The Timeless Child reveal partly took inspiration from this. The Doctor's adoptive mother Tecteun

2960-431: A demon in the 13th century, the residents of a convent called the Doctor the "sainted physician". This was proposed by Moffat on Usenet 16 years before "A Good Man Goes to War": Here's a particularly stupid theory. If we take "The Doctor" to be the Doctor's name — even if it is in the form of a title no doubt meaning something deep and Gallifreyan — perhaps our earthly use of the word "doctor" meaning healer or wise man

3145-510: A few months) to live with girlfriend Ethel Margaret "Bunny" Nuens, with whom he also went on to have three children. Troughton maintained a deception of having stayed with his original family that was so successful that his own mother died unaware of the separation in 1979, 24 years after Troughton had left Dunlop. Because of the disastrous drama Troughton caused during his divorce from Dunlop, his first daughter, Joanna, vowed never to speak to her father again. Their differences remained unresolved at

3330-528: A fixed number of twelve regenerations, meaning that every Time Lord had a total of thirteen incarnations including the original. The plot of " The Time of the Doctor " involves the Doctor receiving a new cycle of regenerations from the Time Lords before his expected demise, triggering the regeneration into the Twelfth Doctor , played by Peter Capaldi . The origins of the programme were explored in

3515-546: A format change for its third volume - Geronimo! - launching a twelve-part story across four volumes, set between the events of The Snowmen and The Bells of Saint John . Dudman returned as the Doctor and Safiyya Ingar was cast as the Doctor's new companion, Valarie Lockwood. The conclusion of this series in February 2024 also marked Dudman's retirement from the role of the Eleventh Doctor. The Eleventh Doctor

3700-579: A former classmate of his named Drax. Drax calls the Doctor "Theta Sigma", or "Thete" for short, an alias which is clarified as being the Doctor's nickname at the Prydon Academy on Gallifrey in The Happiness Patrol and is mentioned again in the 2010 episode " The Pandorica Opens ". In the 2015 episode " The Zygon Inversion ", The Doctor tells Osgood that his first name is "Basil". Doctor Who spin-off media have suggested that

3885-406: A glance into the eyes to put the subject under a trance. The Doctor can read an entire book cover to cover in a second by thumb-flipping the pages before his eyes ( City of Death , " Rose ", " The Time of Angels "). Though medical skills he shows early in the programme are rudimentary, by Remembrance of the Daleks he can perform sophisticated medical diagnoses merely by touching someone's ear. He

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4070-606: A heavy TV and film schedule. He featured in the 1974 11-part radio adaptation of Evelyn Waugh 's Sword of Honour . In 1986, he was a regular in the first series of the LWT sitcom The Two of Us , and guested in an episode of Super Gran in May 1987, which was the last role he filmed. His final television appearance was in the autumn of the same year in Knights of God , which had been filmed two years earlier. Troughton also appeared in

4255-403: A joke. Due to the retroactive creation of a numberless War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor's aborted regeneration in " The Stolen Earth "/" Journey's End ", the Eleventh Doctor was the final incarnation in his natural cycle. The Time Lords used a crack in the universe to give him a new cycle consisting of an unknown number of regenerations in " The Time of the Doctor ", triggering the regeneration into

4440-522: A last resort. According to the alien villain Chedaki in the episode The Android Invasion , "his entire history is one of opposition to conquest". As a time traveller, the Doctor has been present at, or directly involved in, countless major historical events on the planet Earth and elsewhere – sometimes more than once. In the 2005 series premiere, " Rose ", it is revealed that the Ninth Doctor

4625-505: A new body. It is stated in The Deadly Assassin that Time Lords can only regenerate a total of twelve times, giving a theoretical final total of thirteen incarnations. However, The Doctor has a natural ability to regenerate an infinite number of times. It is possible to exceed this limit: in "The Five Doctors" the Time Lords offer the Master, who is inhabiting a Trakenite body after exhausting his original twelve regenerations,

4810-537: A new regeneration cycle as a reward for his help and cooperation, and at some point, during the Time War they resurrected him, with his new body having at least one regeneration of its own. Regeneration is apparently optional, as in " Last of the Time Lords " the Master refuses to regenerate despite the Tenth Doctor's pleading. In addition, there are ways of killing a Time Lord that do not permit regeneration; for example, more than once it has been implied that stopping both

4995-613: A present-day version of Clara Oswald from agents of the Great Intelligence . He takes her as his companion and attempts to solve the mystery of "the Impossible Girl". The Doctor eventually gets his answer in " The Name of the Doctor " when he is forced by the Great Intelligence to go to Trenzalore, revealed to be the planet on which the Doctor will die. Within the Doctor's tomb, the Great Intelligence uses

5180-498: A reputation on set as a practical joker. Many of the early episodes in which Troughton appeared were among those discarded by the BBC . Troughton found Doctor Who' s schedule (at the time, 40 to 44 episodes per year) gruelling, and decided to leave the series in 1969, after three years in the role. This decision was also motivated in part by fear of being typecast . Troughton returned to Doctor Who three times after formally leaving

5365-616: A secluded lifestyle in Victorian London, until the 2012 Christmas special " The Snowmen ," when he is inspired to save the world by a barmaid/governess called Clara (Coleman) who he considers an ideal companion. Mid-adventure, Clara dies, and when the Doctor sees her tombstone, reading "Clara Oswin Oswald", he realizes that Oswin and Clara are the same woman in different moments of time. He resolves to find her again in another era. The Doctor succeeds in " The Bells of Saint John ", saving

5550-598: A strange old man and hear Susan's voice coming from inside what appears to be a police box. Pushing their way inside, the two find that the exterior is camouflage for the dimensionally transcendental interior of the TARDIS . The old man, whom Susan calls "Grandfather", kidnaps Barbara and Ian to prevent them from telling anyone about the existence of the TARDIS, taking them on an adventure in time and space. The first Doctor, says cultural scholar John Paul Green, "explicitly positioned

5735-490: A super-human level of stamina and the ability to absorb, withstand and expel large amounts of certain types of radiation (the Tenth Doctor stated they used to play with Röntgen bricks in the nursery, after absorbing the radiation from an x-ray of significantly magnified power). This ability would seem to have limitations which have yet to be fully explained, as the Doctor is harmed by radiation in The Daleks , Planet of

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5920-529: A supernatural physiology – one not belonging to any other life form or species – and an immense intelligence. She adopted the child and studied her, successfully grafting her regeneration capacity (and possibly other traits) into her own species, the Shobogans, and herself. This species, who would eventually become the Time Lords, was restricted to a limit of twelve regenerations by a later incarnation of Tecteun. Tecteun and their child were eventually inducted into

6105-567: A third and final heart attack at 7:25 am on 28 March, just after ordering breakfast from the hotel. According to the paramedics who attended the scene, he died instantly. Troughton was certified dead at the Medical Center (now Piedmont Columbus Regional) in Columbus, Georgia . After a local cremation, his ashes were flown back to England. During the passage to England, the ashes were mislaid temporarily. This delayed his funeral by

6290-474: A time-travelling shape-shifting robot ship called the Teselecta. In " The God Complex ", the Doctor leaves Amy and Rory on Earth when he realises Amy's apotheosis of him endangers their lives. Some time passes before the Doctor is ready to confront his death. In " The Wedding of River Song ", he devises an escape by concealing himself within the Teselecta, which is disguised to look like him, to make it seem he

6475-412: A variety of waistcoats , and bow tie. Amy Pond's reading glasses, which were left behind with the Doctor after Amy and Rory's departure in the episode " The Angels Take Manhattan ", are also occasionally worn. In " The Big Bang ", the Doctor briefly dons a fez , stating, "I wear a fez now, fezzes are cool." This began a running gag with "cool" headgear, including a beige Stetson , a black top hat , and

6660-636: A younger sister, Mary Edith (1923–2005). Troughton attended Mill Hill School and continued to live in Mill Hill for most of his life. While at Mill Hill School, he acted in a production of J. B. Priestley 's Bees on the Boat Deck in March 1937. Troughton studied at the Embassy School of Acting at Swiss Cottage , being tutored by Eileen Thorndike. He was later awarded an acting scholarship at

6845-451: Is The Runaway Train by Oli Smith. To tie into the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who in 2013, Big Finish and AudioGO produced The Time Machine , an audiobook story starring the Eleventh Doctor and narrated by Jenna Coleman . The Eleventh Doctor made his next audio appearance in 2016 for The Churchill Years - starring Ian McNeice narrating in-character as Winston Churchill - and its second series in 2018. He also appeared alongside

7030-557: Is 'a major facet' of the success of the current series." In his review of "The Big Bang", Fuller once again praised Smith's acting. "Matt Smith was superb in his scenes where the Doctor sacrifices himself in the Pandorica to rescue the multiverse". Kyle Anderson of Nerdist wrote "I don't know about you all, but the Eleventh Doctor was MY Doctor." Dan Martin of The Guardian also claimed Smith as "my ultimate Doctor." The Doctor (Doctor Who) A number of other actors have played

7215-408: Is a self-selected alias. In episodes specifically under showrunner Steven Moffat , the story arcs surrounding events in the Doctor's future implied serious consequences in the event of the Doctor's true name being spoken, with the nature of these finally revealed in " The Time of the Doctor ". Spin-off media offer the explanation that the Doctor's true name is unpronounceable by humans. In " The Name of

7400-410: Is an excellent cricket player ( Black Orchid ) and in " The Lodger " he proves to be a prodigiously talented footballer despite unfamiliarity with some of the game's basic rules. Though reluctant to engage in combat against living opponents, this is not for lack of skill; the Doctor is conversant with both real and fictitious styles of unarmed combat (most obviously the "Venusian Aikido" practised by

7585-404: Is direct result of the Doctor's multiple interventions in our history as a healer and wise man. In other words, we got it from him. This is a very silly idea and I'm consequently rather proud of it. The anonymity of the Doctor is the theme of series 7 of the revived programme. After faking his death, the Doctor erases himself from the various databases of the universe. In " Asylum of the Daleks ",

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7770-444: Is he? Doctor who?" In an ultimately unused idea from documents written at the programme's inception, Barbara and Ian would have subsequently referred to the Doctor as "Doctor Who", given their not knowing his name. Throughout both the classic and revived programme, a running joke is that when the Doctor is introduced as just the Doctor, characters reply "Doctor who?" Another variation is "Doctor what?" The story arc running throughout

7955-510: Is known of the Doctor: not even his name, the actual form of which remains a mystery. In the first serial, An Unearthly Child , two teachers from Coal Hill School in London, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton , become intrigued by one of their pupils, Susan Foreman , who exhibits high intelligence and unusually advanced knowledge. Trailing her to a junkyard at 76 Totter's Lane, they encounter

8140-576: Is later revealed to be a dissident Time Lady, who opposed the Time Lord High Council's plan to escape the Time War. When she reveals her face to the Doctor, his reaction indicates that he recognises her. Julie Gardner, in the episode's commentary, states that while some have speculated that the Time Lady is the Doctor's mother, neither she nor Russell T. Davies is willing to comment on her identity. When later asked by Wilfred who she was,

8325-521: Is no longer [the Virgin Queen]...". The joke continues in " The Beast Below ", featuring future British monarch Queen Elizabeth X or Liz Ten, and the marriage is finally shown in "The Day of the Doctor" during an adventure with Zygons . In the 2010 Christmas special, " A Christmas Carol ", the Eleventh Doctor accidentally marries Marilyn Monroe but later questions the authenticity of the chapel in which they were married. Steven Moffat did not consider

8510-435: Is only honorary; the Tenth Doctor, however, considers the name to be his legitimate academic rank in " The Waters of Mars " (2009), describing his "name, rank and intention" as "The Doctor; doctor; fun." In an interview with The Age in 2003, Tom Baker mentioned that the Doctor is called so because he is "a doctor of time and relative dimension in space". Apart from being called a doctor of the TARDIS, he has been described as

8695-469: Is put through trials by a manifestation of his self-loathing, the Dream Lord ( Toby Jones ). In the final episodes " The Pandorica Opens " and " The Big Bang ", an unknown force makes the TARDIS explode, causing the universe to collapse in on itself. Though he closes the cracks —reversing their effects and preventing the explosion— the Doctor himself is erased from history. River assists Amy in remembering

8880-545: Is qualified in, the Doctor replies, "Practically everything." The Fourth Doctor states that his companion, Harry Sullivan , is a doctor of medicine, while he is "a doctor of many things" ( Revenge of the Cybermen , 1975). The Fifth Doctor claims to be a doctor "of everything" in Four to Doomsday (1982), and a message to the same effect is related from the Tenth Doctor in " Utopia " (2007). In " The Tsuranga Conundrum " (2018),

9065-625: Is repeated in the next episode, " The Day of the Doctor ", by the War Doctor , the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor collectively. By contrast, the Eleventh Doctor had earlier spoke of the War Doctor as being the man who broke that promise, being the one to fight in the Time War before learning the actual fate of the Time Lords. Since contradicted by the television series, the 2003 Telos novella Frayed by Tara Samms , set prior to

9250-582: Is said that the Doctor was fifty years before the Meddling Monk . In Time and the Rani , the Doctor claims to have attended university alongside the Rani , specialising in thermodynamics. At the academy, he met his childhood friend the Master and the pair grew up together. In " The End of Time ", the Master recollects their childhood together where they would run all day across his father's field, described as 'pastures of red grass stretching far across

9435-408: Is shot and burned as history records. In a doomed alternate reality caused by River's reluctance to shoot the Doctor, the two become married; during the ceremony, she is let in on the Doctor's original plan and helps fake and corroborate his death. The Doctor is then warned by his old friend Dorium Maldovar ( Simon Fisher-Becker ) that more prophecies still concern him. The Doctor learns he will be asked

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9620-591: Is the first of the Doctors to appear in full-on action adventure games. Doctor Who: The Adventure Games is composed of four stories ("episodes"), produced alongside the 2010 series. Smith and Gillan lent their voices and likenesses. The first, City of the Daleks , carries on from the TV episode "Victory of the Daleks" and is a stealth and puzzle game set in 1960s Earth and the Dalek planet of Skaro . The second, Blood of

9805-504: Is used in the title of the serial Doctor Who and the Silurians , but this was a captioning error rather than an in-story mention. The only other time this occurs is in the title of episode five of The Chase , which is titled "The Death of Doctor Who". In " World Enough and Time " (2017), the Doctor's old friend and archenemy the Master (as Missy ) insists that the Doctor's real name is in fact Doctor Who and that he chose it himself;

9990-620: The Eighth Doctor Adventures novel The Adventuress of Henrietta Street , the Doctor's second heart was surgically removed, resulting in the loss of his abilities to metabolise drugs and go without air; these are restored when he begins to grow a new heart after his old one 'dies' ( Camera Obscura ). In his final serial , the Second Doctor states that Time Lords can live forever, "barring accidents". When "accidents" do occur, Time Lords can usually regenerate into

10175-692: The North Sea and English Channel . During his service with the MGBs, he was on one occasion involved in an action against Kriegsmarine E-boats which resulted in one of the enemy craft being destroyed by ramming, whilst Troughton's boat and another destroyed two more with their gunfire. His decorations included the 1939–45 Star , the Atlantic Star , and he was mentioned in dispatches "for outstanding courage, leadership and skill in many daring attacks on enemy shipping in hostile waters". He used to wear

10360-420: The Tenth Doctor ( David Tennant ), he is followed by the Twelfth Doctor ( Peter Capaldi ). This incarnation's main companions included Amy Pond ( Karen Gillan ), her husband Rory Williams ( Arthur Darvill ) and the mysterious Clara Oswald ( Jenna-Louise Coleman ). He also frequently appeared alongside River Song ( Alex Kingston ), a fellow time traveller with whom he shared a romantic storyline, and he

10545-539: The Tenth Doctor in The Jago and Litefoot Revival in 2017, narrated by Trevor Baxter and Christopher Benjamin . In the absence of Matt Smith , voice actor and impressionist Jacob Dudman has voiced the Eleventh Doctor in multiple Big Finish productions, including the ongoing range The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles , which debuted in August 2018. In the first volume, Dudman voices the Doctor and serves as narrator;

10730-629: The Thirteenth Doctor states that she is a doctor of "medicine, science, engineering, candyfloss, Lego, philosophy, music, problems, people, hope. Mostly hope." While talking with Harry in Robot (1974–1975), the Doctor says, "You may be a doctor, but I'm the Doctor. The definite article, you might say." In The Ark in Space (1975), aired later that year, the Doctor mentions that his doctorate

10915-828: The Twelfth Doctor to the outlaw. After Troughton left Doctor Who in 1969, he appeared in various films and television roles. Film roles included Clove in Scars of Dracula (1970), a bodysnatcher in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973), Father Brennan in The Omen (1976) and Melanthius in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). Television roles included the recurring role of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk in five of

11100-520: The Weeping Angels and learns that cracks like the one in Amy's wall are erasing individuals entirely from time and space. After Amy attempts to seduce the Doctor, the Doctor recruits Rory as a second companion from " The Vampires of Venice " up until " Cold Blood ", where he is killed protecting the Doctor and is erased from history. The Doctor also confronts his dark side in " Amy's Choice ", where he

11285-495: The Zygons ". Throughout the revival, the Doctor routinely attempts to change the topic when questioned about being a parent or his family life, as in " Fear Her ", " The Beast Below " and " A Good Man Goes to War ". In " The Empty Child ", a hospital doctor named Dr. Constantine says to him, "Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I'm neither. But I'm still a doctor." The Ninth Doctor 's reply is, "Yeah. I know

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11470-601: The collective consciousness of the Cybermen informs the Doctor that he could be reconstructed from the "hole" — the missing records — that he has left behind, a mistake which the Doctor intends to rectify. Few individuals are said to know the Doctor's true name. River Song whispered something to the Tenth Doctor to make him trust her during " Silence in the Library "/" Forest of the Dead ", confirmed to have been his name towards

11655-441: The 1960s, but the damage had already been done). Later in his life he refused to accept his doctor's advice after he had developed a serious heart condition through overwork and stress. He suffered two major heart attacks, one in 1979 and the other in 1984, both of which prevented him from working for several months afterwards. Following each of these attacks, his doctor's warnings were again ignored, as Troughton committed himself to

11840-411: The 2007 Christmas special, " Voyage of the Damned "; and James McAvoy . Although Steven Moffat anticipated choosing a middle-aged actor for the new Doctor, Smith was aged 26 when cast, making him the youngest actor to portray the Doctor, three years younger than Peter Davison was at the time he began his role as the Fifth Doctor . Show producers were cautious about casting Smith because they felt that

12025-418: The 50th anniversary special " The Day of the Doctor ". The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors explained that Hurt's regeneration was not the Doctor because his actions during the Time War were a betrayal of the promise that name symbolized. "The Day of the Doctor" revisited the last day of the Time War after "The End of Time" and revealed that the interference of the future Doctors and future companion Clara Oswald caused

12210-402: The Armed Forces, he briefly worked with the Tonbridge Repertory Company. In 1940, Troughton enlisted with the Royal Navy , receiving a commission with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in November 1941. He was deployed on East Coast Convoy duty from February to August 1941, and then with Coastal Forces ' Motor Gun Boats based at Great Yarmouth from November 1942 to 1945, operating in

12395-404: The BBC commissioned a docudrama about the early days of Doctor Who , as part of the programme's fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Troughton appears as a character in the production, called An Adventure in Space and Time , portrayed by actor Reece Shearsmith . In 2014's " Robot of Sherwood ", a still image of Troughton from 1953 appears among the future depictions of Robin Hood displayed by

12580-496: The Big Finish spin-off audio series Gallifrey and Bernice Summerfield . In the novel Father Time , the Eighth Doctor, during his hundred-year exile on Earth, found an orphaned Time Lord girl named Miranda whom he adopted and raised until she was 16. In the novel Sometime Never... , she returned to the Doctor with her daughter Zezanne. She was also the central character in a three-issue comic book series published by Comeuppance Comics in 2003. Author Lance Parkin, who devised

12765-469: The Caribbean movies". However, Matt Smith was unhappy with the costume as he felt it reflected how someone else would dress the Doctor, rather than how the Doctor would dress himself. Smith also mentioned in a 2012 interview that his Doctor was going to have a "very long black leather jacket, but it was too Matrix -style". The eventual costume, in particular the bow-tie, was influenced by Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor , after Matt Smith fell in love with

12950-403: The Cybermen . The Doctor's standing in Time Lord society has waxed and waned over the years, from being a hunted man who was eventually punished with a forced regeneration and an exile sentence on Earth, to being appointed Lord President of the High Council. He does not assume the office for very long, fleeing Gallifrey after his appointment rather than accepting the limitations on his freedom that

13135-512: The Cybermen , is the Eleventh Doctor and Amy's first Cyberman story. The third episode is the video game TARDIS , and the fourth is The Shadows of the Vashta Nerada , featuring the titular enemy return in an underwater setting. The fifth Adventure Game The Gunpowder Plot was released on 31 October 2011, again featuring Matt Smith's voice. In May 2012, The Eternity Clock was released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and PC, starring Matt Smith and Alex Kingston . Matt Smith's portrayal of

13320-425: The Daleks , Susan and her husband David adopt three children whom they name David Campbell Jr, Ian and Barbara; named after David himself, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright , respectively. Irving Braxiatel , a character first introduced in the novel Theatre of War , was initially hinted at, and later confirmed to be, the Doctor's biological older brother. He has since become a recurring character, especially within

13505-629: The Doctor ", released as a prelude to the 50th anniversary special, featured Paul McGann reprising his role as the Eighth Doctor and was set during the Last Great Time War, albeit much earlier than during "The End of Time". The mini-episode presented him as a conscientious objector to the war who regenerated under controlled circumstances into the War Doctor ( John Hurt ), a previously unseen incarnation created retroactively by Steven Moffat , Davies' successor as head writer, for

13690-405: The Doctor ", the Eleventh Doctor tells companion Clara Oswald that the name "Doctor" is essentially a promise he made. The promise itself is revealed in " The Day of the Doctor ": "Never cruel nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in." The episode " The Timeless Children " revised the Doctor's origins, revealing a scientist and space explorer named Tecteun who found a lone, mysterious child with

13875-469: The Doctor ," the Doctor is lured to what he learns is the planet Trenzalore to decode what he discovers is a message from the displaced Time Lords through the last remaining crack in the universe: the oldest question in the universe, "Doctor who?". Learning that the verification of his identity would allow the Time Lords to return, the Doctor finds out that the signal caught the attention of an assortment of his enemies, who wish to prevent Gallifrey's return, and

14060-410: The Doctor as grandfather to his companion Susan". He wore long white hair and Edwardian costume, reflecting, Green says, a "definite sense of Englishness". When Hartnell left the programme after three years due to ill health, the role was handed over to character actor Patrick Troughton . As of 25 December 2018 , official television productions have depicted fourteen distinct incarnations of

14245-514: The Doctor as one of 45 cousins grown from his house's genetic loom as an adult. By contrast, the TV programme has shown Time Lords as children and stated that Time Lords can have sexual relationships. The Doctor is assumed to be or to have been married to Susan's grandmother, including by head writer Steven Moffat . In " Blink ", the Doctor mentioned that he was rubbish at his own wedding. In The Virgin New Adventures novel Cold Fusion ,

14430-488: The Doctor back into existence; he returns at her wedding to Rory, and the couple rejoin him as his companions. He next appears later in Death of the Doctor , a two-part story of spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures , alongside former companions Sarah Jane Smith ( Elisabeth Sladen ) and Jo Grant ( Katy Manning ), while Amy and Rory are on honeymoon. Series 6 in 2011 continues to examine mysteries left unexplained at

14615-547: The Doctor describes an academy initiation where, at the age of eight, Gallifreyan children were taken from their families and made to look into the Untempered Schism, a gap in the fabric of reality, to view the Time Vortex. According to the Doctor, when regarding the effects of the initiation on participants: "Some would be inspired, some would run away and some would go mad (as he suggests happened to his nemesis,

14800-400: The Doctor evades answering the question, making their connection unclear. In Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale – The Final Chapter , Russell T Davies states that the character was conceived as the Doctor's mother, but her identity was left ambiguous to allow viewers to make up their own minds. In spin-off media, several individuals related to the Doctor have made appearances, and do not appear in

14985-487: The Doctor had been travelling with her for 700 years, which indicates that he would have been 200 years old when he first borrowed her. In " Twice Upon a Time ", it is revealed that the Doctor also left to investigate the mystery of why good prevails in a universe where evil would seem to have so many advantages. It would be after his encounter with the Twelfth Doctor that the First Doctor realised that his actions made

15170-433: The Doctor in the seventh series, particularly in " The Angels Take Manhattan ", confirmed that they were married; in "The Name of the Doctor", the Doctor refers to her as his "wife" after seeing a grave stone with her name on it, after initially answering "yes" when Clara asks if she was an "ex". In " The End of Time ", the Tenth Doctor mentions marrying Queen Elizabeth I and implies that they had sex, stating: "her nickname

15355-482: The Doctor included a "tough sea captain", and a piratical figure in blackface and turban. Doctor Who creator Sydney Newman suggested that the Doctor could be a "cosmic hobo" in the mould of Charlie Chaplin , and this was the interpretation eventually chosen. Troughton was the first Doctor to have his face appear in the opening titles of the show. In one serial, The Enemy of the World , Troughton played two parts: as

15540-436: The Doctor is erased from the Daleks' memory banks due to the actions of Oswin Oswald ( Jenna Coleman ), a young woman turned Dalek who had retained her human mind; she subsequently dies. The Doctor then takes Amy and Rory on several adventures, eventually taking them back on as full-time companions in " The Power of Three " before losing them during the events of " The Angels Take Manhattan ". The Doctor subsequently "retires" to

15725-472: The Doctor recurring nightmares, which the confession dial in " Heaven Sent " would later visualise to torment him. In " Listen ", it is ambiguously revealed the Doctor as a child often slept alone in a barn in the Drylands (a desert region outside the city capital), was withdrawn from other children, and was cared for by guardian figures who privately doubted the child's ability as an eventual Time Lord. Through

15910-482: The Doctor reveals that he is able to perceive the fabric of time, discerning "fixed points" and "points in flux" – moments when history must remain as it was originally versus moments when he can change or influence the original course of events, as well as all past, present and possible future events. However, in " Kill the Moon ", the Twelfth Doctor claims that there are "grey areas", points in time for which he cannot see

16095-417: The Doctor tries to reassure his companion that Missy is joking, although later in the episode he self-identifies by that name. In " Twice Upon a Time ", before regeneration the Twelfth Doctor states that no one would ever understand his name except for children, saying: "If their hearts are in the right place and the stars are too, children can hear your name." Peter Capaldi offered his own theory regarding

16280-568: The Doctor was enough. At the time, BBC News published that Paterson Joseph , who appeared in the Doctor Who episodes " Bad Wolf " and " The Parting of the Ways ", was the bookmakers ' favourite to succeed Tennant, followed by David Morrissey , who would be appearing in the 2008 Christmas special, " The Next Doctor ". Other candidates included Sean Pertwee , son of Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee ; Russell Tovey , who portrayed Alonso Frame in

16465-447: The Doctor was met with critical acclaim. Following the broadcast of " The Eleventh Hour ", The Daily Telegraph reviewer Benji Wilson opined that "the Doctor is meant to be a mad alien, and Smith looks like one before he even opens his mouth", stating "it was ridiculous but it felt right: mad, alien, brand new but very old. A+ to the casting director. A+ to Smith". In The Guardian , Daniel Martin concurred, stating that "Smith inhabits

16650-524: The Doctor when he was depressed. He is later reunited with this former mentor, now on Earth posing as the abbot K'anpo Rimpoche, in Planet of the Spiders . In " The Girl in the Fireplace ", according to Madame de Pompadour who psychically linked with the Doctor's memories, the Doctor experienced a very lonely childhood. An elderly woman on Gallifrey died and was shrouded in veils and surrounded by flies, giving

16835-578: The Doctor's expulsion from the academy, condemned to five hundred years in Records and Traffic Control. In The Quantum Archangel , it is revealed the Doctor studied cosmic science alongside the Master, taught by Cardinal Sendok. In the Virgin Missing Adventures novel Goth Opera , it is said the Doctor was a frequent prankster while at the academy, introducing cats into Gallifrey's ecosystem with his friend Ruath and electrifying

17020-498: The Doctor's hearts simultaneously would accomplish this (as demonstrated in the Eleventh Doctor story " The Impossible Astronaut "). The Chancellery Guard (Gallifrey's equivalent of a police force) are armed with stasers, weapons capable of suppressing regeneration. In Death of the Doctor , a serial from spin-off programme The Sarah Jane Adventures , the Eleventh Doctor flippantly responds to Clyde Langer that he can regenerate "507" times; writer Russell T. Davies intended this line as

17205-461: The Doctor's real name, commenting: "I don't think human beings could even really say his name. But I think we might be able to hear it, at a certain frequency. If the stars are in the right place, and your heart's in the right place, you'll hear it." On occasion, the Doctor uses other aliases, such as "John Smith". In the Fourth Doctor serial The Armageddon Factor , the Doctor runs into

17390-431: The Doctor's surname as she believed was the intent of the dialogue. The 2011 mid-series finale " A Good Man Goes to War ", also written by Moffat, suggested through the character of River Song that the Doctor's travels had influenced the etymology of the word "doctor", perverting its meaning on some worlds from "wise man" or "healer" to "great warrior". In " The End of Time " (2009–2010) it is mentioned that after he smote

17575-485: The Doctor. The longest-lasting on-screen incarnation is the Fourth Doctor , played by Tom Baker for seven years. Within the narrative, these changes were explained as regeneration , a biological process which heals a Time Lord when their incarnation is about to die. Consequently, the Time Lord is given a wholly new body. In The Deadly Assassin , the concept of a regeneration limit is introduced, giving Time Lords

17760-567: The Harris jacket. On other occasions he does not wear a coat and wears a bow-tie and dress shirt. The original tweed jacket is lost in the episode " Flesh and Stone " but replaced in " The Vampires of Venice ", then becomes a plot point for the story arc for the season. In the Christmas special " A Christmas Carol ", which aired the Christmas after the Eleventh Doctor's first series, he wears his most famous " Prince of Wales check " tweed jacket and

17945-509: The Homeworld/Gallifrey abandon their names to symbolise how they are leaving their culture. Similarly, the novel Lungbarrow reveals that the Doctor's name has been struck from the records of his family and therefore cannot be spoken. Quite apart from his name, why the Doctor uses the title "The Doctor" has never been fully explained on screen. The Doctor, at first, said that he was not a physician , often describing himself as

18130-569: The Legacy of Rassilon; as a result, the Doctor's children were systemically culled. The Doctor managed to help Patience escape through the use of the Machine, a prototype TARDIS, after assuring that her daughter-in-law had given birth to a girl named Susan and promised that he would keep the child safely away from Gallifrey. In " The Wedding of River Song ", the Doctor marries recurring companion and love interest River Song . Comments by both River and

18315-881: The Leighton Rallius Studios at the John Drew Memorial Theatre on Long Island , New York , in the United States. When the Second World War broke out, he abandoned his studies in the U.S. and returned to Great Britain to enlist. During the passage across the North Atlantic Ocean , the ship carrying him struck a sea mine off the coast of Britain, from which he escaped in a lifeboat as the vessel foundered. On arrival back in England, whilst waiting to join

18500-487: The Master )." When asked to which group he belonged, he replied, "Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped!" The Doctor was taught by future Lord President Borusa and Azmael , where he met Drax , with whom he attended a Tech course as part of the class of '92. In the Armageddon Factor , it is revealed that the Doctor scraped through the academy with 51% on his second attempt. In The Time Meddler , it

18685-486: The Seventh Doctor replies that he does not know. In the 1996 television movie , the Eighth Doctor remarks that he is half-human on his mother's side, and recalls watching a meteor storm with his father on Gallifrey. The revived series never addresses a human mother again and at times even contradicted this remark: The half-human clone of the Tenth Doctor is initially disgusted to be half-human ("Journey's End") and

18870-516: The Spiders and " The End of Time ". The Doctor has withstood, with minimal damage, exposure to electricity deadly enough to kill a human ( Terror of the Zygons , Genesis of the Daleks , " Aliens of London ", " The Christmas Invasion ", " The Idiot's Lantern ", " Evolution of the Daleks " and spin-off audio Spare Parts ). Certain stories imply that the Time Lord is resistant to cold temperatures (" 42 "). To counter extreme trauma, such as exposure to

19055-468: The TARDIS to complete the process. He hallucinates a final farewell to Amy Pond and delivers a eulogy to his present incarnation, before abruptly completing his transition into the Twelfth Doctor ( Peter Capaldi ). He made a reappearance in " Deep Breath " (2014). While adjusting to the new Doctor, Clara receives a phone call from the Eleventh Doctor made moments prior to their final meeting. He asks her to help his new self and not to be afraid of him. Like

19240-424: The TARDIS, and she will grow up to become River Song. In " Let's Kill Hitler ", the Doctor encounters a younger iteration of River and learns she has been conditioned by the Silence, explained to be a religious order, to assassinate him. She nearly succeeds using a kiss of poisoned lipstick before Amy convinces her to save his life instead. The Doctor also learns the circumstances of his death from historical records on

19425-834: The Tenth Doctor, the Eleventh and Amy (and later Rory) appear in New Series Adventures novels in 2010. The first of these is Apollo 23 by Justin Richards , as well as the Decide Your Destiny series of interactive novels. The character also appears in comic books published in Doctor Who Magazine , Doctor Who Adventures , and he took over from the Tenth Doctor in IDW Publishing 's Doctor Who series before BBC Worldwide awarded

19610-526: The Third, Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctors), has won several sword fights against skilled opponents, and is able to make extremely difficult shots with firearms and, in The Face of Evil , with a crossbow. Thanks to exposure to many of history's greatest experts, including those from the future, the Doctor is a talented boxer, musician, organist, scientist and singer (able to shatter windows with his voice), and has

19795-499: The Thirteenth Doctor is questioned how she copes with the loss of her family, she states that she carries the memories of them with her and thus makes them a part of who she is, saying "even though they're gone from the world ... they're never gone from me." In " The End of Time ", a mysterious individual, referred to in the episode credits as "The Woman", appears unexpectedly to Wilfred Mott throughout both episodes. She

19980-399: The Time Lords remained hidden from themselves and from the Doctor. The First Doctor's subsequent childhood on Gallifrey has been little described in the series. In " Hell Bent " the Doctor recalled his origins as a high-born Gallifreyan. In The Time Monster , the Doctor says he grew up in a house on a mountainside and talks about a hermit who lived under a tree behind the house and inspired

20165-454: The Time War (John Hurt) as well as his immediate previous incarnation ( David Tennant ). Though the older Doctors berate the 'War Doctor' for his killing both Time Lords and Daleks with a sentient weapon known as the Moment, they ultimately choose to support his decision and forgive themselves for this past atrocity. Led by the Moment into the midst of the Time War, the Doctors realize they have

20350-740: The Troughton story The Tomb of the Cybermen . Steven Moffat describes the Eleventh Doctor as an "old man trapped in a young man's body" and Matt Smith characterizes him as someone with "a lot of blood on his hands" who copes via constant travelling and thrill-seeking. The depictions of the personalities of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors shared certain similarities e.g. both being youthful, energetic, friendly, childlike, "good boyfriend Doctors", as Steven Moffat described them and, according to Mark Gatiss "very human Doctors" when compared to other incarnations. Like his predecessor, when he first regenerates in

20535-490: The Twelfth Doctor ( Peter Capaldi ). The Twelfth Doctor later claims to be uncertain he "won't keep regenerating forever" ("Kill the Moon"), and even Rassilon, the president of the Time Lords, expresses uncertainty about how many regenerations the Doctor has available to him. Other skills include his mental communication with other Time Lords, in some cases over a galaxy's distance. His skill with hypnosis requires only

20720-454: The Twelfth Doctor rejects that he could be a hybrid of human and Time Lord ("Hell Bent"). The Doctor mentions having had a brother in " Smith and Jones ", and sisters in " Arachnids in the UK ". In " It Takes You Away ", the Thirteenth Doctor claims that she had seven grandmothers. Later in the same scene, she mentions that her favourite grandmother, Granny 5, alleged Granny 2 was "a secret agent for

20905-485: The United Kingdom not to exert himself because of his heart condition, he appeared to be in good spirits and participated vigorously in the day's panels, and was looking forward to a belated birthday celebration which was planned for that evening, as well as screenings of all of his surviving complete Doctor Who stories, including The Dominators , which he was particularly eager to see again. Troughton suffered

21090-425: The War Doctor to change his plan at the last moment. Ultimately, Gallifrey was hidden in a parallel dimension and the Daleks destroyed themselves in the ensuing crossfire; to all observers, it appeared as though the two races had been annihilated together. The unsynchronized timestreams caused the War Doctor to forget the specifics of his actions at this time. The Doctor remembered committing the apparent genocide during

21275-500: The Wasp " (2008) he was able to sense the changes in his body's enzymes (i.e. cyanide poisoning) and expel the cyanide from his body by ingesting a concoction of ginger beer , protein foods and salts. The Doctor has shown a resistance to temporal effects and has demonstrated telepathic ability, both the ability to mentally connect to other incarnations of themselves they have encountered (" The Five Doctors "), and an ability to enter into

21460-421: The alias "Dr. Bowman" in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie . Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton ( / ˈ t r aʊ t ən / ; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor best known for his roles in television and film. He played the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who from 1966 to 1969; he reprised

21645-500: The character in stage and audio plays, as well as in various film and television productions. The Doctor has also been featured in films and a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips. Ncuti Gatwa has portrayed the Fifteenth Doctor since " The Giggle " (2023). Within the fictional narrative, the Doctor is a Time Lord who travels through time and space in a dimensionally transcendental – "bigger on

21830-429: The character of Dr Who first begins appearing in existing documentation from May of that year. It is possible that series co-creator Donald Wilson may have named the character; in a 1971 interview Wilson claimed to have come up with the series' title, and when this claim was put to Newman he did not dispute it. The character was first portrayed by William Hartnell in 1963. At the programme's beginning, nothing at all

22015-412: The character of Miranda, has hinted that her real father is a future incarnation of the Doctor which, if so, would make Zezanne the Doctor's biological granddaughter as well. The Virgin New Adventures novel Lungbarrow presents an alternative take on the Doctor's origins, suggesting that Time Lords are "loomed" in large batches of "cousins" and not produced via sexual reproduction. Lungbarrow portrays

22200-480: The character uses "the Doctor" because his actual name is impossible for humans to pronounce. For instance, the novel Vanderdeken's Children relates that the Doctor has already told Sam his real name, which is entirely alien and virtually unpronounceable. This is repeated by companion Peri Brown in the radio serial Slipback . The Faction Paradox encyclopaedia The Book of the War states that all renegades from

22385-492: The character's name, most frequently in the spin-off material of the 1960s and 1970s, but occasionally also in the TV series itself. For example, in The Gunfighters the Doctor assumes the name of Doctor Caligari and subsequently responds to the question "Doctor who?" with "yes, quite right." In the serial The War Machines , the computer WOTAN commands that "Doctor Who is required", and his human agents also use

22570-404: The choice, saying, "There's only one man in England who can take over, and that's Patrick Troughton". Lloyd chose Troughton because of his extensive and versatile experience as a character actor . After he was cast, Troughton considered various ways to approach the role, to differentiate his portrayal from Hartnell's amiable-yet-tetchy patriarch . Troughton's early thoughts about how he might play

22755-424: The dead Doctor's remnants—his disembodied "timestream"—to spread himself across the Doctor's history, turning his victories into defeats. Clara pursues him and is scattered throughout the Doctor's timeline creating Oswin Oswald and Clara Oswin Oswald among numerous other incarnations who undo the Great Intelligence's work. The Doctor has a mournful conversation with River's apparition, giving her closure before entering

22940-473: The dialogue, it is suggested that several Gallifreyan children were pressured into joining the army, a path which did not sit right with the Doctor's pacifist beliefs, and as a result he wished to enroll into the Time Lord Academy instead. The classic series refers to his time at the academy and his affiliation with the notoriously devious Prydonian chapter of Time Lords. In " The Sound of Drums ",

23125-543: The difference in the balance between good and evil, with the Twelfth Doctor stating "The universe generally fails to be a fairy tale, but that's where we come in." In other media, more has been revealed of the Doctor's early life. In the Past Doctor Adventures novel Divided Loyalties , the Doctor recalls his Academy years in a dream induced by the Celestial Toymaker. According to this, he

23310-491: The docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time as part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of Doctor Who , which starred David Bradley as William Hartnell . Although Time Lords resemble humans, their physiology differs in key respects. Like other members of their race, the Doctor has two hearts (binary vascular system), a "respiratory bypass system" that allows the Doctor to go without air, an internal body temperature of 15–16 °C (60 °F) and occasionally exhibits

23495-421: The end of Series 5 . In " The Impossible Astronaut " and " Day of the Moon ", Amy, Rory and River witness a future version of the Doctor murdered, which they vow to keep a secret from the present-day Doctor as they encounter hypnotic aliens called " the Silence ". Eventually, Amy unknowingly lets slip that the Doctor dies in " The Almost People ", when it also turns out that she is pregnant and has been kidnapped by

23680-416: The end of "Forest of the Dead". The events of " The Time of the Doctor " make it clear that his people, the Time Lords, know his true name, despite calling him by his chosen alias as "the Doctor" even in formal settings such as court. Despite the common belief amongst some areas of the fanbase that the Doctor should never be referred to by the name of the series, "Doctor Who" is actually fairly often used as

23865-431: The events of past serials such as Genesis of the Daleks have been retroactively attributed to the Time War. It was never shown on-screen until " The End of Time ", which was both Davies' last story as head writer and producer and David Tennant 's last regular story as the Tenth Doctor. This episode featured brief views of Gallifrey and the Time Lords on the last day of the Time War. The 2013 mini-episode " The Night of

24050-459: The feeling." In " The Doctor's Daughter ", when discussing the topic of parenthood, the Tenth Doctor confirms that he had at one point been a father and that he lost his children "a long time ago", saying "When they died that part of me died with them"; the nature of their deaths, however, has never been explained, as it is suggested that whatever happened to his family is very painful for the Doctor to talk about. In " The Woman Who Fell to Earth " when

24235-443: The final scene of " The End of Time " (2010), the Eleventh Doctor mistakes himself as a " ginger ". He also seems surprised at his longer hair, at first mistaking his new body as female, stating, "Hair...I'm a girl!" The Eleventh Doctor first appears in the final scene of " The End of Time " (2010) when his previous incarnation regenerates. Smith debuts fully in " The Eleventh Hour ", where he first meets Amy Pond ( Karen Gillan ) as

24420-512: The first episode of Central Independent Television 's Inspector Morse , entitled "The Dead of Jericho", which was originally transmitted on ITV on 6 January 1987. Troughton married his first wife, Margaret Dunlop, at the Union Church at Mill Hill on 3 September 1943. Troughton started living a double life when, just after the birth of his third child in 1955, he chose to leave Dunlop and their three children (then aged eight, five, and

24605-442: The inside" – time machine : the TARDIS . This time machine, whose name is an acronym for Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space , takes the exterior form of a 1963 police telephone call box and retains the appearance throughout the programme. Human companions accompany the Doctor through their adventures and serve as audience surrogate characters to ask questions which allow the Doctor to provide relevant exposition. "Doctor"

24790-470: The license to Titan Magazines . He'll continue to appear in these, as will the Tenth and Twelfth Doctors in their own stories. He appeared in the crossover series Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 , where he was working with the crew of the Enterprise -D to defeat a Borg /Cybermen alliance. The Eleventh Doctor also appears in a series of audiobooks . The first release of these

24975-417: The lives of his ninth, tenth and eleventh incarnations up until the time of the Eleventh Doctor's present. The character of the Doctor was created by BBC Head of Drama, Sydney Newman . The first format document for the programme that was to become Doctor Who – then provisionally titled The Troubleshooters – was written in March 1963 by C. E. Webber , a staff writer who had been brought in to help develop

25160-415: The marriages to Elizabeth I and Marilyn Monroe to count when questioned on how many wives the Doctor had had, remarking that he was married to Susan's grandmother and River Song. An adventurous scientist, the Doctor usually solves problems with his wits rather than with force. With the exception of his sonic screwdriver (which cannot kill, wound or maim), the Doctor detests weapons and uses violence only as

25345-517: The media dubbed the " Cartmel Masterplan ". Under Cartmel, the show foreshadowed this concept; however, its 1989 cancellation meant that it was never realised onscreen. The proposed backstory was fully explored in Platt's 1997 novel Lungbarrow , where the Doctor is revealed as " the Other ", a mysterious figure in Gallifreyan lore who co-founded Time Lord society with Rassilon and Omega . After

25530-471: The memories of other individuals (" The Girl in the Fireplace "). The Doctor can apparently reverse this process, sharing their memory with another, as shown in " The Lodger ". Some humans can enter the Doctor's memories after the Doctor enters theirs, as demonstrated by Madame de Pompadour (much to the Doctor's surprise) in "The Girl in the Fireplace", when she explains, "A door, once opened, may be stepped through in either direction." In " The Fires of Pompeii ",

25715-604: The moon and the President's wife; however, this was revealed to have been a lie spread about by the Shobogans when in reality it was the President's daughter and he lost the moon. This event had a massive impact on the Doctor, who theorized that he himself was possibly the Hybrid. This is one reason the Doctor has stated as to why he decided to leave Gallifrey – out of fear. He has given convoluted and contradictory reasons as to why he left, for many reasons such as because his life path

25900-588: The murderer Tyrrell in Olivier's film of Richard III (1955). He was also Olivier's understudy on the film and appears in many long shots as Richard. Troughton's other notable film and television roles included Kettle in Chance of a Lifetime (1950), Sir Andrew Ffoulkes in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1955), Vickers in the episode entitled "Strange Partners" in The Invisible Man (1958,

26085-696: The name of "Doctor von Wer" (a German approximation of "Doctor Who"), and signs himself as "Dr. W" in The Underwater Menace . He similarly poses as "the Great Wizard Quiquaequod" in The Dæmons ( qui , quae and quod being, respectively, the masculine, feminine and neuter Latin translation of the nominative form of who ). The Master also utilised Latin translation in the same serial, posing as "Mr Magister". The Eighth Doctor 's companion Grace briefly refers to him by

26270-411: The name. The Third Doctor 's car, dubbed "Bessie", carried the plate WHO 1, the only ongoing reference to the "Doctor Who" enigma in the original programme. The Third Doctor later drove an outlandish vehicle called the "Whomobile" in publicity materials, but it is never referred to as such in the programme, being simply known as "the Doctor's car" (or "my car", as the Doctor puts it). The name "Doctor Who"

26455-413: The narrative of "The Eleventh Hour" from an array of clothes found in a hospital, is a brown tweed jacket with elbow patches, bow tie , braces , blue trousers and black, ankle-high boots. The details of the outfit vary, switching from a braces and bow tie combination in red to the same in blue. In later stories, a green moleskin overcoat makes its way into the Doctor's ensemble, occasionally replacing

26640-421: The nefarious Madame Kovarian ( Frances Barber ). In " A Good Man Goes to War ", the Doctor calls in old favours from across time and space to raise an army to rescue Amy from Demons Run , an asteroid in the 52nd century being used as a base by a religious order, but is unable to rescue her child, Melody Pond. The Doctor also learns that Melody—though Rory and Amy's child—is part Time Lord due to being conceived in

26825-561: The oldest question in the universe, "Doctor who?", on the battlefields of Trenzalore; the Silence had intended his death to prevent this. In the Christmas special " The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe " (2011), the Doctor has Christmas dinner with Amy and Rory, who had been informed by River of his survival. They unite again in the Series 7 premiere " Asylum of the Daleks " (2012), in which

27010-521: The outcome. Like many other alien species in the programme, the Doctor is able to sense when their own species is within proximity through an inherent telepathic connection. The Doctor exhibits some weaknesses uncommon to humans. For example, according to The Mind of Evil (1971), a tablet of aspirin could kill him. In " Cold Blood ", a process meant to decontaminate him of bacteria from the surface of Earth causes him intense pain, and he says it could have killed him if allowed to proceed to completion. In

27195-410: The planet Gallifrey who travels in time and space in the TARDIS , frequently with companions . At the end of life, the Doctor regenerates ; as a result, the physical appearance and personality of the Doctor changes. Smith's incarnation is a quick-tempered but compassionate character whose youthful appearance is at odds with his more discerning and world-weary temperament. Preceded in regeneration by

27380-521: The poisonous fungus in The Seeds of Death and after being shot in Spearhead from Space , the Doctor can go into a self-induced coma until they recover. The Doctor's hypersensitive body and senses enable them to detect anomalies humans cannot, such as identifying alien species, blood type or chemical composition by taste and determining location or time period by sniffing the air. In " The Unicorn and

27565-432: The potential to change its outcome and enlist the aid of their previous incarnations in an uncertain bid to save Gallifrey from destruction. They place the planet in stasis and transport it to a pocket universe , making it appear to be destroyed. As an effect of time travel, only the Eleventh Doctor will remember saving Gallifrey; he learns from a cryptic curator (played by Tom Baker ) that his plan worked. In " The Time of

27750-580: The powerful Church of the Papal Mainframe, who wish to destroy the planet and avoid the possibility of a new Time War. After attempting to send Clara back to her time, the Doctor spends centuries defending the planet from alien incursions. During this time, a faction of the Church led by the Silence breaks away and attempts to avert these events by destroying the Doctor earlier in his timeline, as seen in series 5 and 6. The Doctor also reveals to Clara he has no regenerations remaining and will likely die in

27935-400: The programme's first episode in 1963, presents the alternative explanation that the Doctor was given that name by medical staff on a foreign planet and liked it. To make up for his lack of a practical name, the Doctor often relies upon convenient pseudonyms. In The Gunfighters (1966), the First Doctor uses the alias Dr. Caligari . In The Highlanders (1966–67), the Second Doctor assumes

28120-540: The programme. The first of these occasions was in The Three Doctors , the 1972–73 serial opening the programme's 10th series. In 1983, Troughton overcame some reluctance to reprise his role and agreed to appear in the 20th anniversary special " The Five Doctors " at the request of series producer John Nathan-Turner . He also agreed to attend Doctor Who conventions , including the show's 20th anniversary celebrations at Longleat in 1983. He also appeared around

28305-542: The project. Webber's document contained a main character described as "The maturer man, 35–40, with some 'character twist'." Newman was not keen on this idea and – along with several other changes to Webber's initial format – created an alternative lead character named Dr Who, a crotchety older man piloting a stolen time machine, on the run from his own far-future world. No written record of Newman's conveyance of these ideas – believed to have taken place in April 1963 – exists, and

28490-420: The protagonist (The Doctor) and the antagonist (Salamander). During his time on the series, Troughton tended to shun publicity and rarely gave interviews. He told one interviewer, "I think acting is magic. If I tell you all about myself it will spoil it". Years later, he told another interviewer that his greatest concern was that too much publicity would limit his opportunities as a character actor after he left

28675-528: The recurring fez, most of which were destroyed by River Song. In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine , Steven Moffat revealed that the Eleventh Doctor had an entirely different costume until close to the start of filming. The original look had a swashbuckling feel which Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury described as "a little like something Captain Jack Sparrow wears in the Pirates of

28860-579: The role from 1972–1973, and in 1983 and 1985. His other work includes appearances in several fantasy, science fiction and horror productions including The Omen (1976) and The Box of Delights (1984). Troughton was born on 25 March 1920 in Mill Hill , Middlesex , England, to Alec George Troughton (1887–1953), a solicitor, and Dorothy Evelyn Offord (1886–1979), who married in 1914 in Edmonton . Patrick had an elder brother, Alec Robert (1915–1994), and

29045-544: The role from the moment he pops up...[he] carries off the youthful vigour of a new body and the ancient professorial wisdom with easy panache". Martin Anderson of Shadowlocked claimed him to be the best Doctor since "Tom Baker practically redefined the character in the 1970s". Smith's performance in " Flesh and Stone " was acclaimed by Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph , who noted that "Matt Smith's 'quick-paced delivery'

29230-487: The role would place on him (" The Five Doctors "), and is eventually deposed in absentia ( The Trial of a Time Lord ). By the time of his twelfth incarnation, he is regarded by many Gallifreyans as a war hero, "the man who won the Time War" (" Hell Bent "). In the first series of the 2005 revival, writer Russell T Davies introduced the concept of the Time War to streamline the Doctor's backstory for new viewers of

29415-521: The role, Smith had never seen Doctor Who . He prepared for the role by writing his own stories featuring the Doctor, and took special inspiration from Patrick Troughton 's portrayal of the Second Doctor . The Eleventh Doctor spends most of his first full episode, " The Eleventh Hour ", in the tattered remains of the Tenth Doctor's clothing, leading young Amelia Pond to nickname him "the Raggedy Doctor." The Doctor's initial outfit, chosen within

29600-468: The role. In a rare interview with Ernest Thompson from Radio Times Troughton revealed that he "always liked dressing up, and would have been happy as a school teacher as children keep one young". Troughton was popular with both the production team and his co-stars. Producer Lloyd credited Troughton with a "leading actor's temperament. He was a father figure to the whole company and hence could embrace it and sweep it along with him". Troughton also gained

29785-577: The second volume, released in September 2021, featured Dudman as the Doctor in full-cast dramas with no narrator. Dudman also voices the Eleventh Doctor for a cameo appearance opposite the Fifth Doctor in Thin Time and a pair of Short Trips in which the Doctor reunites with Jo Grant and meets his next incarnation , also voiced by Dudman. In 2022, The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles underwent

29970-957: The series also featured one of his future Doctor Who co-stars, Deborah Watling , as Sally), Phineus in Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Paul of Tarsus (BBC 1960, title role), Dr. Finlay's Casebook (BBC 1962, semi-regular), and Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop (1962–63). He voiced Winston Smith in a 1965 BBC Home Service radio adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four . Prior to Doctor Who he appeared in numerous TV shows, including The Count of Monte Cristo , Ivanhoe , Dial 999 , Danger Man , Maigret , Compact , The Third Man , Crane , Detective , Sherlock Holmes , No Hiding Place , The Saint , Armchair Theatre , The Wednesday Play , Z-Cars , Adam Adamant Lives! and Softly, Softly . Troughton

30155-488: The show. It was a war across all of time and space which ended when the Doctor presumably destroyed both the Time Lords and the Daleks . The Doctor's remorse for his actions in his Ninth , Tenth and Eleventh incarnations is a key part of his characterisation throughout the revival. The Time War happened between the 1996 television movie and 2005 opening episode " Rose " according to the show's internal chronology, although

30340-401: The siege. The siege escalates into all-out war and after centuries pass, only the Daleks remain. Though the heavily aged Doctor anticipates his predestined death on the battlefields of Trenzalore, Clara convinces the Time Lords to give the Doctor a new regeneration cycle as he uses a fiery blast of regenerative energy to destroy the Dalek mothership. The Doctor regains his youth before retiring to

30525-467: The significance of the Doctor's name in his episodes since 2006's " The Girl in the Fireplace ", in which historical figure Madame de Pompadour reads the Doctor's mind and remarks, "Doctor who? It's more than just a secret, isn't it?" According to the in-vision commentary on the DVD release, David Tennant had to inform actress Sophia Myles (who played Madame de Pompadour) that she was not, in fact, revealing

30710-513: The sinking when tracking an alien entity in the novel The Left-Handed Hummingbird . The Doctor has also encountered many of Earth's historical figures. It is his tendency for becoming "involved" with the universe – in direct violation of official Time Lord policy – that has caused the Doctor to be labelled a renegade by the Time Lords as stated in The War Games . However, the Doctor's actions are largely tolerated as he saved Gallifrey and

30895-1004: The six episodes of The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970) (for which he commenced rehearsals just one week after completing his final studio recording on Doctor Who ), the villainous Nasca in Thames Television 's Aztec-themed drama The Feathered Serpent (1976–78), a guest starring spot in the comedy series The Goodies in the episode " The Baddies ", as well as episodes of Paul Temple , Dr. Finlay's Casebook , Doomwatch , The Persuaders! , A Family at War , Coronation Street , Softly, Softly: Task Force , Colditz , Play for Today , Z-Cars , Special Branch , Sutherland's Law , The Sweeney , Jason King , Survivors , Crown Court , Angels , Warship , Van der Valk , Space: 1999 , The Onedin Line , All Creatures Great and Small , Only When I Laugh (Series 2 Episode #9), Nanny and Minder (in

31080-485: The slopes of Mount Perdition' and the boys would call up at the sky. In " World Enough and Time ", the Doctor claims that they both made a special pact where together they would visit every star in the universe; however, the Master was 'too busy burning them'. In " Hell Bent ", one day at the academy, the Doctor found himself lost inside the Cloisters (an area located deep beneath the citadel) and spent four days inside. He

31265-757: The stars of which was William Hartnell ), and a minor role as a pirate in Disney's Treasure Island (1950), appearing only during the attack on the heroes' hut. Television, though, was his favourite medium. In 1953, he became the first actor to play the folk hero Robin Hood on television, starring in six half-hour episodes broadcast from 17 March to 21 April on the BBC , and titled simply Robin Hood . Troughton would also make several appearances in The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene . He appeared as

31450-469: The television series, such as his grandchildren John and Gillian , who appeared alongside the First and Second Doctors in comics and annuals. Two different, conflicting accounts exist on the descendants of Susan after leaving the Doctor. In the audio play " An Earthly Child ", it is revealed that Susan has had a half-human child, Alex Campbell, the Doctor's great-grandson. Alternatively, in the novel Legacy of

31635-485: The tenure of the Eleventh Doctor involved the oldest question in the universe, revealed in " The Wedding of River Song " to be "Doctor who?", giving the phrase in-universe significance. In " The Name of the Doctor ", the Doctor's real name was revealed to be the password used to enter the Doctor's tomb following his death on the planet Trenzalore. The story arc was resolved in " The Time of the Doctor ", wherein it

31820-436: The time of his death in 1987. While Troughton never married Nuens, in 1976 he did marry Shelagh Holdup and acquired two stepchildren. Troughton's six children are: Troughton's grandchildren include: On 27 March 1987, two days after his 67th birthday, Troughton was a guest at the Magnum Opus Con II science fiction convention in Columbus, Georgia , United States. Although he had been warned by his doctors before leaving

32005-516: The timeless child. Other than Tecteun and Susan Foreman , his granddaughter with whom he travelled during the first two seasons and who has been mentioned occasionally since, references to the Doctor's other families (adopted or not) are rare in the programme. In The Tomb of the Cybermen , when asked about his family, the Second Doctor says his memories of them are alive when he wants them to be; otherwise they sleep in his mind and he forgets. In The Curse of Fenric , when asked if he has family,

32190-416: The timeline to retrieve Clara. However, once he saves her, the Doctor is forced to reveal the existence of a previous incarnation ( John Hurt ) who broke the promise represented by the name "Doctor" during the Time War of his past. In the show's 50th anniversary special , while investigating a strange occurrence beneath London's National Gallery , the Doctor encounters his past incarnation who fought in

32375-442: The universe several times. The Time Lords are partial to sending him on missions when deniability or expendability is needed, implied to have begun after his capture during The War Games and witnessed further in later stories, the Time Lords directing the Doctor and/or the TARDIS to specific locations in Colony in Space , The Curse of Peladon , The Mutants , Genesis of the Daleks , The Brain of Morbius and Attack of

32560-423: The wise old man of the universe. As soon as Matt walked through the door, and blew us away with a bold and brand new take on the Time Lord, we knew we had our man. Executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat on Smith's casting. David Tennant announced at the National Television Awards on 29 October 2008 that he would be quitting the show, in 2010, because he felt that the four years he spent portraying

32745-411: The world with Nathan-Turner. Troughton enjoyed the return to the programme so much that he readily agreed to appear one more time as the Second Doctor , with Colin Baker 's Sixth Doctor in The Two Doctors (1985). Reportedly, he also advised Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison to limit his time in the role to three series to avoid typecasting and the younger actor followed this advice. In 2013,

32930-471: Was a member of an organisation called the Deca, ten brilliant Academy students campaigning for increased Time Lord intervention, alongside Mortimus (the Meddling Monk) , Ushas (the Rani) , Koschei (the Master) , Magnus (the War Chief) , Drax , a spy named Vansell, Millennia, Rallon and Jelpax. With this group, he learns about the Celestial Toymaker and travels to his realm in a type 18 TARDIS with Deca members Rallon and Millennia, who are killed. This leads to

33115-524: Was a native to Gallifrey and an explorer of the Shobogans. She adopted the Doctor when she was the timeless child. She led the Division after the destruction of Gallifrey by the Spy Master. She was involved in the creation of the Flux and was the one to release Swarm from imprisonment as part of the Division's plan to destroy the universe. She was disintegrated by Swarm shortly after briefly confronting the Thirteenth Doctor after she found out her true origins as

33300-421: Was contacted by a Wraith who told him about the prophecy of a legendary creature known as 'the Hybrid', prophesied to have been crossbred from two warrior races that would stand in the ruins of Gallifrey, unravel the Web of Time and burn a billion hearts to heal its own. The Wraiths then revealed to him the secret passage leading to another side of the city. The last anyone heard from him was that he apparently stole

33485-422: Was instrumental in preventing a family from boarding the Titanic prior to her fateful voyage. In " The End of the World ", the Doctor recalls having been on board and surviving the Titanic's sinking to find himself "clinging to an iceberg". The Fourth Doctor mentioned this event in Robot and The Invasion of Time , where he insists that the sinking was not his fault; the Seventh Doctor became involved in

33670-465: Was offered the part of Johnny Ringo in the Doctor Who story The Gunfighters but turned it down. In 1966, Doctor Who producer Innes Lloyd looked for a replacement for William Hartnell in the series' lead role. The continued survival of the show depended on audiences accepting another actor in the role, despite the bold decision that the replacement would not be a Hartnell lookalike or soundalike. Lloyd later stated that Hartnell had approved of

33855-418: Was pre-determined from his hidden previous life. The Doctor stole a TARDIS with his granddaughter Susan from a repair shop on Gallifrey. In later episodes, the Doctor mentions that he once took a driving test to pilot a TARDIS and failed, and that he threw the instruction manual in a supernova because he disagreed with it. In " The Doctor's Wife ", Idris (the TARDIS's living soul in a human body) mentions that

34040-404: Was revealed that the question had been projected by the Time Lords across all of time and space through a "crack in the skin of the universe" as a means of contacting the Doctor and seeing whether it was safe to leave the parallel universe in which their planet, Gallifrey , had been left following the events of " The Day of the Doctor ". This arc was penned by Steven Moffat , who has been exploring

34225-401: Was the last Doctor to appear alongside the long-serving companion Sarah Jane Smith ( Elisabeth Sladen ) prior to the actress' death, featuring in two episodes of the spin-off programme The Sarah Jane Adventures . The Doctor is a very special part, and it takes a very special actor to play him. You need to be old and young at the same time, a boffin and an action hero, a cheeky schoolboy and

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