THE FIRST DOCTOR (WILLIAM HARTNELL): 1963 - 1966
An exile from his homeworld, wandering space and time in his trusty TARDIS with granddaughter Susan, the First Doctor appears to be a frail old man. But don't be fooled. With a chuckle and a twinkle in his eye, he has an unquenchable thirst to explore, and a knack of getting himself into trouble doing it. Sometimes doting, sometimes difficult, the First Doctor was both a loving father-figure and a fierce opponent. He plays deadly games with the Celestial Toymaker, he fools Roman emperors, Mongol warlords and French revolutionaries, and he foils each and every machination of the evil Daleks. After preventing the Cybermen from absorbing the Earth's energy and with his body “wearing a bit thin”, the First Doctor collapses to the TARDIS floor and begins to change…
"One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."
An exile from his homeworld, wandering space and time in his trusty TARDIS with granddaughter Susan, the First Doctor appears to be a frail old man. But don't be fooled. With a chuckle and a twinkle in his eye, he has an unquenchable thirst to explore, and a knack of getting himself into trouble doing it. Sometimes doting, sometimes difficult, the First Doctor was both a loving father-figure and a fierce opponent. He plays deadly games with the Celestial Toymaker, he fools Roman emperors, Mongol warlords and French revolutionaries, and he foils each and every machination of the evil Daleks. After preventing the Cybermen from absorbing the Earth's energy and with his body “wearing a bit thin”, the First Doctor collapses to the TARDIS floor and begins to change…
"One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine."
THE SECOND DOCTOR (PATRICK TROUGHTON): 1966 - 1969
The Second Doctor was very different to his predecessor. A more playful, whimsical air disguised dark undercurrents and a sharp mind. And as the Doctor changed, so did the adventures. Trips into earth's history gave way to besieged Moonbases, Martian Ice Warriors and Space Pirates. Not to mention the heyday of the emotionless Cybermen, whom the Doctor froze into their ancient tombs once more. It wasn't until he was put on trial by his own people - The Time Lords - for interference, that the Second Doctor was forced to regenerate.
"The Time Lords are an immensely civilised race. We can control our own environment - we can live forever, barring accidents, and we have the secret of space/time travel."
The Second Doctor was very different to his predecessor. A more playful, whimsical air disguised dark undercurrents and a sharp mind. And as the Doctor changed, so did the adventures. Trips into earth's history gave way to besieged Moonbases, Martian Ice Warriors and Space Pirates. Not to mention the heyday of the emotionless Cybermen, whom the Doctor froze into their ancient tombs once more. It wasn't until he was put on trial by his own people - The Time Lords - for interference, that the Second Doctor was forced to regenerate.
"The Time Lords are an immensely civilised race. We can control our own environment - we can live forever, barring accidents, and we have the secret of space/time travel."
THE THIRD DOCTOR (JON PERTWEE): 1970 - 1974
As part of his sentence from the Time Lords, the Doctor was forced to begin his exile on earth with a new face. The Third Doctor was confident, bold and brash, but with a soft paternal side, reserved for those he cared about. While exiled he became allied to the extra-terrestrial taskforce UNIT and helped them combat living plastic Autons, Sea Devils and polluted giant green maggots, as well as fellow renegade Time Lord, The Master. Eventually he was allowed to travel again, and on one such trip received a fatal dose of radiation, prompting him to regenerate...
"Courage isn’t a matter of not being frightened; it’s being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway."
As part of his sentence from the Time Lords, the Doctor was forced to begin his exile on earth with a new face. The Third Doctor was confident, bold and brash, but with a soft paternal side, reserved for those he cared about. While exiled he became allied to the extra-terrestrial taskforce UNIT and helped them combat living plastic Autons, Sea Devils and polluted giant green maggots, as well as fellow renegade Time Lord, The Master. Eventually he was allowed to travel again, and on one such trip received a fatal dose of radiation, prompting him to regenerate...
"Courage isn’t a matter of not being frightened; it’s being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway."
THE FOURTH DOCTOR (TOM BAKER): 1974 - 1981
From witnessing the genesis of the Daleks to preventing the death of the universe at Logopolis, the Fourth Doctor was an adventurer on an epic scale. Armed with a gleeful smile, swashbuckling charm and righteous morality, he defeated Sontarans, ancient vampires and the Black Guardian. It was this incarnation of the Doctor that found and reassembled the Key to Time, that tried to reason with Davros at the birth of the Daleks, and was invested as Lord President of the High Council of Time Lords. Always selfless, his fourth body died saving the universe from the Master. But that moment had been prepared for...
"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
From witnessing the genesis of the Daleks to preventing the death of the universe at Logopolis, the Fourth Doctor was an adventurer on an epic scale. Armed with a gleeful smile, swashbuckling charm and righteous morality, he defeated Sontarans, ancient vampires and the Black Guardian. It was this incarnation of the Doctor that found and reassembled the Key to Time, that tried to reason with Davros at the birth of the Daleks, and was invested as Lord President of the High Council of Time Lords. Always selfless, his fourth body died saving the universe from the Master. But that moment had been prepared for...
"The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter the facts to fit their views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that needs altering."
THE FIFTH DOCTOR (PETER DAVISON): 1981 - 1984
Clever, considered and kind, the Fifth Doctor's world was one of fascination and science. He relished the recursion of Castrovalva, solved the mystery under the sinking sands of Frontios, and came face to face with the Silurians and Sea Devils once more. He twice faced the snake-like Mara, infesting the mind of his companion Tegan. And it was in this fifth body that he was reunited with his past selves to fight in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. Infected with a deadly virus and with only enough antidote to save one, the Fifth Doctor sacrificed his life to save his friend Peri.
"Well, there's a probability of anything. Statistically speaking, if you gave typewriters to a treeful of monkeys, they'd eventually produce the works of William Shakespeare."
Clever, considered and kind, the Fifth Doctor's world was one of fascination and science. He relished the recursion of Castrovalva, solved the mystery under the sinking sands of Frontios, and came face to face with the Silurians and Sea Devils once more. He twice faced the snake-like Mara, infesting the mind of his companion Tegan. And it was in this fifth body that he was reunited with his past selves to fight in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. Infected with a deadly virus and with only enough antidote to save one, the Fifth Doctor sacrificed his life to save his friend Peri.
"Well, there's a probability of anything. Statistically speaking, if you gave typewriters to a treeful of monkeys, they'd eventually produce the works of William Shakespeare."
THE SIXTH DOCTOR (COLIN BAKER): 1984 - 1986
Never understated, the Sixth Doctor was an explosion of colours, words and emotions. Passionate, sometimes quick to anger, this was a Doctor you did not want to make enemies with. He tangled with the corporate greed of the slimy Sil, took H.G. Wells on a trip to a strange world of Morlox and time machines, and defeated the amoral Gallifreyan scientist known only as the Rani. Once again,
the Doctor’s interference in the affairs of other worlds resulted in a trial by his own people, and his own darker side, “The Valeyard” – who stood to gain all his remaining incarnations. After uncovering the Valeyard’s schemes, all charges were dropped, and the Doctor and Mel headed off in the TARDIS.
"Small though it is, the human brain can be quite effective when working at full efficiency, not unlike myself!"
Never understated, the Sixth Doctor was an explosion of colours, words and emotions. Passionate, sometimes quick to anger, this was a Doctor you did not want to make enemies with. He tangled with the corporate greed of the slimy Sil, took H.G. Wells on a trip to a strange world of Morlox and time machines, and defeated the amoral Gallifreyan scientist known only as the Rani. Once again,
the Doctor’s interference in the affairs of other worlds resulted in a trial by his own people, and his own darker side, “The Valeyard” – who stood to gain all his remaining incarnations. After uncovering the Valeyard’s schemes, all charges were dropped, and the Doctor and Mel headed off in the TARDIS.
"Small though it is, the human brain can be quite effective when working at full efficiency, not unlike myself!"
THE SEVENTH DOCTOR (SYLVESTER MCCOY): 1987 - 1989; 1996
The TARDIS is attacked by villainous Time Lady the Rani, triggering the Doctor’s next regeneration. His Seventh body was both a spoon-playing clown and a master of deep dark secrets. He toppled empires in a single night, entertained in the circus of the Gods of Ragnarok and played chess with the ancient and evil Fenric. Despite telling Ace that they still had “work to do” as they strode away from her home town of Perivale, it was in this incarnation that the television series was rested. The Seventh Doctor went on to have many adventures in books, comic strips and on audio. He returned on the eve of the millennium to transport the remains of the Master back to Gallifrey. Emerging from the TARDIS, he was shot by a street gang and died on the operating table.
"The dawn of time, the beginning of all beginnings. Two forces, only good and evil. Then chaos. Time is born, matter, space. The universe cries out like a newborn. The forces shatter as the universe explodes outwards. Only echoes remain, yet somehow, somehow the evil force survives... an intelligence of pure
evil."
The TARDIS is attacked by villainous Time Lady the Rani, triggering the Doctor’s next regeneration. His Seventh body was both a spoon-playing clown and a master of deep dark secrets. He toppled empires in a single night, entertained in the circus of the Gods of Ragnarok and played chess with the ancient and evil Fenric. Despite telling Ace that they still had “work to do” as they strode away from her home town of Perivale, it was in this incarnation that the television series was rested. The Seventh Doctor went on to have many adventures in books, comic strips and on audio. He returned on the eve of the millennium to transport the remains of the Master back to Gallifrey. Emerging from the TARDIS, he was shot by a street gang and died on the operating table.
"The dawn of time, the beginning of all beginnings. Two forces, only good and evil. Then chaos. Time is born, matter, space. The universe cries out like a newborn. The forces shatter as the universe explodes outwards. Only echoes remain, yet somehow, somehow the evil force survives... an intelligence of pure
evil."
THE EIGHTH DOCTOR (PAUL MCGANN): 1996
After dying on the operating table, the Doctor regenerated into his Eighth form in a hospital morgue, on December 31, 1999. Mercurial, frenzied and prone to bouts of amnesia, the Eighth Doctor teamed up with Grace Holloway to save the world from being pulled inside-out by the Master’s hijacking of the TARDIS. With only one TV outing, the Doctor’s adventures once again continued in books, audio adventures and comic strips. It remains unknown whether it was involvement in the Last Great Time War or some other terrible fate that prompted his eventual regeneration into the Ninth Doctor.
“I’ve seen entire species destroyed, civilizations left in ruins. I’ve witnessed solar systems vanish in the twinkling of an eye. I’ve seen things that would freeze your blood.”
After dying on the operating table, the Doctor regenerated into his Eighth form in a hospital morgue, on December 31, 1999. Mercurial, frenzied and prone to bouts of amnesia, the Eighth Doctor teamed up with Grace Holloway to save the world from being pulled inside-out by the Master’s hijacking of the TARDIS. With only one TV outing, the Doctor’s adventures once again continued in books, audio adventures and comic strips. It remains unknown whether it was involvement in the Last Great Time War or some other terrible fate that prompted his eventual regeneration into the Ninth Doctor.
“I’ve seen entire species destroyed, civilizations left in ruins. I’ve witnessed solar systems vanish in the twinkling of an eye. I’ve seen things that would freeze your blood.”