Who pros Phillip Culley and @willbrooks1989 were pondering old classic Who scripts which alternate between identifying the speaker as “DOCTOR” or “DOCTOR WHO.” During the discussion, Phillip asked an intriguing question:
Thinking about it, when does he first call himself The Doctor, rather than a companion introducing him as such?
Tracking down references is my version of solving crossword puzzles, but this was a toughie. Summary of results:
At first he only identifies himself as a scientist, evading specifics. Either companions introduce him, or others see them calling him “Doctor” and follow suit. (It originated with Ian, using “Doctor” in desperation because he didn’t believe “Foreman” was his real name.)
Eventually— and the first time he does so is to Cameca in The Aztecs— he’ll come out and say “They call me the Doctor.” But he still doesn’t do it very often, and only in response to queries.
Just as rarely, he’ll refer to himself jokingly in third person “your old friend the Doctor” or something of that sort to Barbara (Reign of Terror) or Victoria (Enemy of the World). He’s quoting their nickname for him when reminding them of their friendship.
Starting with The Dalek Invasion of Earth, the First Doctor begins correcting strangers if they call him Doc, Mister, Professor, or anything else. He tells them “I prefer Doctor” or simply cuts them off with “Doctor.”
Starting with The Celestial Toymaker, he’ll say “This is the Doctor” under very specific circumstances: when he’s using a long-distance communication device to identify himself to someone who knows him. He’s letting them know this is the person you call the Doctor when they can’t see him.
Starting with The Gunfighters, he’ll occasionally invent an alias (”Doctor Caligari, Doctor Wer, Doctor John Smith” on the spur of the moment when a stranger demands a name.
Right after regenerating, the Second Doctor forgets he is the Doctor and refers to the Doctor as if he’s somebody else, the first instance of post-regeneration amnesia (it wears off quickly).
In The Seeds of Doom and Enemy of the World, he says he’s the Doctor (or tells Victoria “you wouldn’t hit your old friend the Doctor, would you?” in order to correct someone’s misidentification of him (see #4).
From Season 9 onwards (The Mutants, Carnival of Monsters, Invasion of the Dinosaurs) he FINALLY starts introducing himself to random strangers routinely as “I’m the Doctor.” Whereas before it was only under rare circumstances, in response to specific prompts or necessity, and usually only to people who already knew him.
Leading to the newly-regenerated Fourth Doctor telling Harry, “You may be a doctor, but I am the Doctor. The definite article, you might say.” It’s no longer simply a label, alias or handle, but an expression of his core identity. It’s become how he thinks of himself as a person: THE DOCTOR.
He owes Chatterton a great deal of thanks for coming up with the nickname. ;)
Okay. Under the cut are relevant excerpts tracing the gradual evolution from “What’s that boy Chesterfield calling me?” to “Helllo, I’m the Doctor!”
She reminds him of every good day he’s ever had. Every summer spent in fields of grass. Every sunrise. Every sunset. She tastes like dew and smells like light. And when she speaks, it’s like someone slowly plucking the strings of a guitar, a sadly beautiful song starting to play, all his own. And he loves her. He loves her like he can never grab enough of her between his fingers. And no matter how close he gets, even when they make love, it never feels close enough, like her flesh and her bones keep something sacred in them, hidden from him.
— Paragraph from Chapter 3 of Intentional Dissonance, the future novel from the writer of I Wrote This For You. This is gonna be the most beautiful novel, I can’t wait to read it. (via theglasschild)
Clara Oswald sending a Time Lord, thousands of years old, The Oncoming Storm, out for coffee. And he goes.
Clara
Oswald learning to ride a motorbike because riding on the back of
Eleven’s was fun, but she could do it so much better on her own.
Clara Oswald gaining access to the Black Archives because her world-saving antics are as renowned as *his*.
Clara
Oswald grading papers on the TARDIS while casually putting out the
diplomatic fires the Doctor starts on multiple worlds.
Clara Oswald seducing Jane Austen and influencing the character development of Liz Bennett. (Guess who influenced Darcy’s.)
Clara
Oswald riding into this world on a leaf and soaring off of it in a
TARDIS she shares with yet another woman who was supposed to die
thousands of years ago, but who the universe wasn’t ready to live
without.
Despite the fact that the Doctor forgot Clara, he still remembers her words spoken to him in childhood.
Be kind. Always be kind to everyone. I think that’s something that I find really powerful about the Doctor and all of his companions and everyone that they meet. I think that’s the underlying truth about it. Be kind to people. Doesn’t matter what walk of life anyone’s from. Doesn’t matter what they look like, what team they support, what colour they are, what sexuality. I think that’s one of the things that’s great about Doctor Who that it’s all for people with liberty. And that’s how I like to live my life as well.
— Pearl Mackie when a fan at Newcastle Film and Comic con when asked if there was a message that people should take into their daily lives. Hearing her say this at the convention was absolutely lovely as she meant it so sincerely and I 100% agree with everything she said. (via songofgallifrey)
