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The Doctor has lived many lives - many more than you might've realised.
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00:00Between 1963 and 2024, there have been 14 actors to play the 15 main incarnations of the Doctor.
00:08In that time, there's also been timeless children, fugitives, warriors, dreamlords,
00:12valiards and curators. In other words, there are an insane amount of Doctors and so much history
00:18to explore, whether you're new to the show or just want a refresh. I'm Ellie for Who Culture
00:23and this is every version of the Doctor explained. The First Doctor, First Appearance 1963
00:30The First Doctor was an enigmatic and short-tempered figure who took some time to warm up to his fellow
00:36travellers. He and his granddaughter Susan had left their unnamed at the time home planet for an
00:41undisclosed reason and ended up in London 1963. The First Doctor was sometimes stern, but mostly
00:47had an impish sense of mischief that was teased out by his human companions. The positive influence
00:53of Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright helped mould him into the hero that audiences recognise today.
00:59Key moments in his life include the first encounters with the Daleks and the Toymaker and saving the
01:04entire galaxy from the Dalek Time Destructor. Eventually, the First Doctor's body gave in to
01:09old age after a gruelling encounter with the Cybermen and he regenerated inside the TARDIS.
01:15The Second Doctor, First Appearance 1966
01:19The Second Doctor was even more impish than his predecessor, but he also had a dark and
01:24manipulative side. This is the Doctor who experimented on his companion Jamie McCrimmon
01:30in an admittedly well-intentional attempt to defeat the Daleks once and for all. Not only did
01:35Patrick Troughton face the Daleks many times, but also the Cybermen, more so than any of his
01:40successors in fact, clocking up four stories across his three years in the role. Other notable highlights
01:45of the Second Doctor era are the introduction of the Ice Warriors and the first encounter with the
01:50Time Lords, the latter of which changed Doctor Who lore forever. It was the Time Lords who punished
01:55the Second Doctor for his frequent space-time meddling by forcibly regenerating him and stranding him on
02:01Earth.
02:02The Third Doctor, First Appearance 1970
02:05The Doctor was exiled to Earth for much of his third incarnation and became much more of an
02:11action hero than the two Doctors before him. He was employed by the United Nations Intelligence
02:16Task Force as a scientific advisor, although he often clashed with his boss, the stern yet
02:21respectable Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. The Doctor and the Brigadier would become best of
02:26friends and remained loyal to each other until the Brig's death in 2011. The same is true of Sarah
02:32Jane Smith, who first met the Doctor in his third incarnation and would become the most beloved
02:36companion in the history of the show. One of the Doctor's other best friends slash enemies,
02:41the Master, was also introduced during the Third Doctor era. The dynamic between John Pertwee's
02:47Doctor and Roger Delgado's Master has rarely been equaled in future incarnations. The Third Doctor's
02:53life came to an end when he exposed himself to fatal levels of radiation to destroy an enormous
02:58spider known as the Great One. He regenerated on the floor of Unit Headquarters as the Brigadier and
03:04Sarah Jane looked on. The Fourth Doctor – First Appearance 1974
03:09After his regeneration, the Fourth Doctor set off in the TARDIS to explore all of time and space once
03:15more. A bohemian wanderer, the Fourth Doctor never stayed in one place for too long, despite having
03:20more seasons under his scarf than any other Doctor. He had a wittiness and a wildness about him not seen
03:26in previous Doctors, traits that have remained, even slightly, in every subsequent incarnation.
03:31Highlights of the Fourth Doctor's time in the TARDIS include his ascension to the position of Lord
03:36President of Gallifrey – he didn't last long – some proper fleshing out of Gallifrey and the Time
03:41Lords, and inadvertently burning the real Mona Lisa. After many years of adventuring, the Fourth
03:46Doctor regenerated after falling from the Pharos radio telescope, thanks to the machinations of the
03:52Master. As he died, he merged with a mysterious manifestation of himself known as the Watcher, a creature about
03:58which we still know very little, creating his next incarnation.
04:02The Morbius Doctor's First Appearance 1976
04:06Doctor Who appeared to reveal eight previously unseen incarnations of the Doctor in a notorious
04:12moment from the 1976 serial The Brain of Morbius. Battling the renegade Time Lord Morbius, the Fourth
04:18Doctor flashed back through his previous lives, and then began cycling through faces the audience had never
04:23seen before. Each Morbius Doctor was played by a member of the Doctor Who production team, from
04:28producer Philip Hinchcliffe to former floor manager and future director Graham Harper. The intent was to
04:34imply that these Doctors came before the First Doctor, though this wouldn't be truly acknowledged on
04:38screen until the 2020 episode The Timeless Children.
04:42The Fifth Doctor – First Appearance 1981
04:46The Fifth Doctor was the most youthful incarnation in the classic Doctor Who era. But rather than write this
04:52Doctor as a young adventurer with a zest for life, the Fifth Doctor was often written as an insecure
04:57and indecisive character. This often meant that his stories ended with catastrophic amounts of
05:02bloodshed due to the Doctor's inability to find another way. He was one of the only Doctors to have
05:07a companion die on his watch, with boy genius Adric meeting his maker in the story Earthshock. He did,
05:13however, put his youthful frame to good use and even took time out of adventuring to enjoy a spot of
05:18cricket. The Fifth Doctor finally got his act together in the caves of Andrazani when he risked
05:23everything to save new companion Perry from a deadly sickness. Having secured enough of the
05:29cure to save only his companion and not himself, he bravely gave his life for her and began the
05:34process of regenerating, which perhaps due to the poison's effects felt a lot different than normal.
05:40The Sixth Doctor – First Appearance 1984
05:43The Sixth Doctor was far more confident and bombastic than his predecessor. He had a strong
05:49moral code and wasn't afraid to speak truth to power. Though this caused some to view him as
05:54pompous and unpleasant, the Sixth Doctor was also very progressive. During his era, he spoke out
05:59against the dehumanising effects of reality television in Vengeance on Varos, advocated for
06:05a plant-based diet in Revelation of the Daleks, and exposed corruption at the heart of Gallifreyan
06:10society in The Trial of a Time Lord. Sixth's tenure also saw the introduction of Melanie Bush,
06:15who is currently battling evil once again alongside the Fifteenth Doctor. This noble incarnation of the
06:21Doctor had an underwhelming exit when he appeared to regenerate after falling off his exercise bike
06:26during an attack on the TARDIS. This rushed ending was due to Colin Baker's untimely firing and
06:32subsequent refusal to return for anything less than a full season. Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy
06:37donned a wig in his place. The Valiard, First Appearance 1986
06:42The Trial of a Time Lord revealed another mysterious incarnation of the Doctor, the Valiard. The exact
06:49nature of how the Valiard came to be was never fully explained in the show, perhaps due to how
06:54tumultuous the making of this season was. Going by what's said on screen, the Valiard is a distillation
06:59of the Doctor's darkest urges that originates somewhere between their twelfth and final incarnation.
07:05The Master is the one who revealed this information, and they're far from being a reliable source,
07:10however. The Valiard did confirm this to the Sixth Doctor, though, and warned him that he was
07:14inevitable. Huh, anyone else just think of Thanos? I am inevitable. Anyway, it remains to be seen
07:20whether or not we'll see the Valiard again in one form or another. He could feasibly appear any time
07:25before the end of the Doctor's life, so who knows when he might pop up again.
07:29The Seventh Doctor, First Appearance 1987
07:33Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor started out as a clownish character with a darker edge,
07:39not unlike Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor. However, he soon hardened into the most manipulative
07:44and direct of the Doctor's incarnations. This was a Doctor who was sick of seeing evil win,
07:49and resolved to do something about it. One of the most notable moments in the Seventh Doctor's life
07:54was when he destroyed Scarrow, the home planet of the Daleks. Given that the Fourth Doctor had
07:59previously refused to destroy the Daleks at the point of their creation, this demonstrates how
08:03tortured an incarnation Seven truly was. In the end, what toppled this almighty Doctor was a lack
08:08of gun control, and America's healthcare system. He was shot down in an alley and died on the
08:13operating table, forcing him to regenerate into his eighth face. The Eighth Doctor, First Appearance 1996
08:21The Eighth Doctor was a breath of fresh air, handsome, romantic, and possessing a zest for
08:26life and thirst for adventure. Paul McGann's incarnation would have revitalized the character
08:31on TV, had the powers that be decided to continue with him. While The Eighth Doctor's TV adventures
08:36never went further than the 1996 TV movie, he's had parallel lives in books, comic strips,
08:42and audio dramas, and that's where he truly found his audience. Eventually, in 2013, it was revealed
08:48that the Eighth Doctor regenerated at the height of the Time War, after his attempts to save a
08:53crashing freighter went horribly wrong. Deciding that the universe was no longer in need of a
08:57Doctor, he regenerated into a warrior. Doctor Who initially skipped over Eighth's regeneration,
09:03however, kicking off the 2005 revival with the Ninth Doctor fully formed.
09:08The Ninth Doctor, First Appearance 2005
09:11The Ninth Doctor was a bruised and battered veteran of the Time War. Unable to see another path,
09:17it was the Doctor who ended the war by annihilating both the Time Lords and the Daleks in one fell
09:22swoop. This made him the last of his kind. Not unlike the First Doctor, the Ninth incarnation
09:27was standoffish and had little time for humans. The positive influence of Rose Tyler brought him
09:32out of his shell, however, and helped him learn how to be the Doctor again. By the end of his life,
09:37the previously lonely Ninth Doctor had a proper gang of companions, including Rose, Mickey,
09:42Captain Jack Harkness, and the tragic Linda with a Y. After Rose absorbed the heart of the TARDIS to
09:48save the Doctor and Jack from the Daleks, the Ninth Doctor took the powers of the Vortex from
09:52her to save her life. Overwhelmed by the energy coursing through his body, he regenerated once
09:58again. The Tenth Doctor, First Appearance 2005
10:02The Tenth Doctor was far breezier than his predecessor, but only because he'd found a way
10:07to repress his Time War trauma. This version of the Doctor is the most overt ladies' man,
10:12copping off with companions, Australian pop stars, and Zygons left, right, and centre.
10:17The Tenth Doctor also introduced the idea that the last of the Time Lords can be a bit of a dick
10:21without a companion. From drowning all the little Ragnos babies to trying to defy the laws of time
10:26themselves, the Tenth Doctor had a real dark streak when left to his own devices. This Doctor's
10:31era saw the introduction of Donna Noble, as well as the grand return of the Time Lords,
10:35who temporarily found a way to escape the destruction of the Time War. After sending
10:39them and their leader, Rassilon, back into hell, Ten regenerated after absorbing fatal amounts of
10:45radiation that would otherwise have killed Wilfred Mott, Donna's grandfather.
10:49Doctor Moon, First Appearance 2008
10:52You didn't expect that one, did you?
10:54Now, it's never been confirmed in the episodes themselves, but Colin Salmon's Doctor Moon from
10:59Silence in the Library slash Forest of the Dead is actually a future incarnation of the Doctor.
11:04A Doctor Who magazine feature called Showrunner Showdown revealed that Stephen Moffat, who created
11:09Doctor Moon, emailed Russell T. Davis in 2008 to explain that, in his head, Doctor Moon was a
11:15representation of a future Doctor who had died in River Song's arms.
11:19Aww.
11:20According to Moffat, when River dies in Forest of the Dead and lives on in the library's computer as a
11:25data ghost, she learns that that dying Doctor has popped his mind inside a moon to watch over her,
11:30worrying she'll get lonely.
11:31Oh my god, I can't handle it, it's so cute.
11:34Now, will we ever see Doctor Moon ever again?
11:35Well, possibly not.
11:36But even if we don't, it does certainly change your perception of his character, doesn't it?
11:41The Metacrisis Doctor, First Appearance 2008
11:45The Metacrisis Doctor was a genetic hybrid built from the combined DNA of Donna Noble and
11:51the Tenth Doctor's severed pickled hand, which he had lost in a sword fight in the 2005 Christmas
11:56special.
11:56This half-human, half-Timelord clone of the Tenth Doctor eventually triggered a catastrophic
12:01explosion that practically destroyed the New Dalek Empire.
12:04The Tenth Doctor was furious with his counterpart, which was a bit rich considering the whole
12:09Ragnos drowning incident, and he exiled the Metacrisis Doctor to live in a parallel Earth
12:14with Rose Tyler, believing that she could make him a better man.
12:18The Eleventh Doctor, First Appearance 2010
12:21The Eleventh Doctor started out as a shy, nerdy kid with the memories and experiences
12:27of a man who was centuries old.
12:29This changed through time as his relationship with River Song, the best character, made him
12:33much more confident and dangerously close to being described as laddish.
12:38Eleven had one of the longest lives a Doctor has ever had.
12:41He learned the truth that River Song was the daughter of his companion, Amy Pond, visited
12:45his own tomb, and became so feared that his greatest foes assembled to seal him inside
12:51the Pandorica.
12:52Alongside two previous incarnations, he also ended the Time War by saving Gallifrey, freeing
12:57himself from the guilt of having initially destroyed it.
13:00Though this was the first Doctor to run out of lives, he was given an explosive new regeneration
13:05cycle by the Time Lords, allowing him to regenerate into his next incarnation.
13:09The Dream Lord, First Appearance 2010
13:13The Dream Lord was a manifestation of the Eleventh Doctor's darkest impulses and thoughts, who
13:19was brought to life by psychic pollen trapped inside the TARDIS time rotor.
13:23The Eleventh Doctor was able to defeat him by identifying which of the Dream Lord's realities
13:28were real and which were tricks.
13:30Played by Toby Jones, this darker version of the Doctor shared much in common with the
13:34Valiard, and they could potentially even be one and the same.
13:37The Valiard was supposed to come into being between the Doctor's twelfth and final incarnation.
13:41The War Doctor, plus the Tenth Doctor's extra regeneration in the Stolen Earth, meant that
13:46Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor was actually the Thirteenth Doctor.
13:49I mean, even if it was never the original intent, it's terrific headcanon.
13:54The War Doctor, First Appearance 2013
13:57The War Doctor was who the Eighth Doctor chose to regenerate into during the Time War.
14:02He committed many dark acts, including pressing the button that destroyed Gallifrey and the
14:06Daleks on the final day of the battle.
14:08In the day of the Doctor, his successors feared the War Doctor at first, but soon realised they
14:13actually had a lot in common, and that there was a soft centre beneath his grizzled, battered
14:17exterior.
14:18The rehabilitation of the War Doctor, and the three Doctors reconciling their dark past,
14:22is at the core of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special, and it's lent real emotional heft by
14:27the casting of the late John Hurt.
14:29After he saved Gallifrey with his past and future selves, the War Doctor's body couldn't take
14:34much more, and he regenerated into the Ninth Doctor.
14:38The Curator, First Appearance 2013
14:41First appearing in the closing moments of the Day of the Doctor, the Curator is a version
14:46of the Doctor from some point in the far future.
14:49Retired from adventuring, they settled on the face of the Fourth Doctor in order to revisit
14:53one of the quote, old favourites, and set about curating the secret undergallery, hidden beneath
14:58the National Gallery in London's Trafalgar Square.
15:01Knowing the Eleventh Doctor's future, the Curator provided him with some encouragements
15:05to seek out Gallifrey.
15:06This enigmatic and enchanting scene between Tom Baker and Matt Smith was one of the highlights
15:11of the 50th anniversary special.
15:13Memorably booming, that Gallifrey falls no more.
15:16Tom Baker's second incarnation as the Doctor set the show off on its next 50 years.
15:21The Twelfth Doctor, First Appearance 2013
15:25The Twelfth Doctor had a bit of an existential crisis post-regeneration, asking the question
15:30of whether or not he was a good man.
15:32This was likely due to being the first face of a new regeneration cycle, as well as the
15:37fact that Twelve was much older than the previous few Doctors.
15:40Ultimately, it didn't matter, because he proved time and time again that he was the
15:44same hero he always was.
15:46Peter Capaldi's Doctor started off gruffer and more aloof than his predecessors, but that
15:51just hid his softer side.
15:52He went to some very dark places, even turning against his own people in order to save Clara
15:57Oswald, demonstrating that this is a Doctor you do not want on your bad side.
16:02Twelve fell in a battle with the Cybermen on a Mondasian colony ship, but in an unprecedented
16:07move, he refused to regenerate.
16:09One last adventure with his first incarnation and his new friend Bill Potts convinced him
16:14that the universe still needed a Doctor.
16:16The Thirteenth Doctor
16:18First Appearance 2017
16:20The Thirteenth Doctor was an entirely clean break from the trauma of the Time War, and
16:25was arguably the most vibrant and full-of-life incarnation since the Eighth Doctor.
16:30This didn't last for long, however, as the Master revealed the Doctor's hidden past,
16:34that she was actually a member of a mysterious unknown species found at the edge of the universe
16:39by explorer Tectayune, who took her in and raised her on Gallifrey.
16:43So determined was the Thirteenth Doctor to learn more about her history that Tectayune,
16:47who wished to keep certain knowledge a secret, unleashed the powerful flux to try and stop
16:51her, which nearly destroyed the entire universe.
16:54The Thirteenth Doctor had one last battle with the Master, during which she was forcibly
16:58regenerated into her arch-enemy's body.
17:01After refusing the process, Thirteen was shot by the Master, and regenerated into a very familiar
17:06face indeed.
17:08The Fugitive Doctor
17:09First Appearance 2020
17:11Joe Martin's Fugitive Doctor was discovered hiding in modern-day Gloucester by the Thirteenth
17:16Doctor and the FAM. This incarnation of the Doctor had worked for the shadowy Time Lord
17:21organisation Division, which operated outside established Time Lord code. However, the Fugitive
17:27Doctor had grown weary of the immoral work she was asked to do. Turning her back on Division,
17:32she used a chameleon arch to change her biology and hide out on Earth as Ruth, a charming tour
17:38guide. Ruth lived in Gloucester for an undisclosed amount of time with the Fugitive Doctor's companion
17:43Lee, until the Jadoon, plus a Gallifreyan operative known as Gat, arrived to bring her in. The Thirteenth
17:49Doctor refused to believe that Ruth was an incarnation from before the First Doctor, but she soon
17:54learned that this was the truth.
17:55The Timeless Children
17:57First Appearance 2020
17:59It's arguable that all seven Timeless Children don't count as versions of the Doctor, as they hadn't yet assumed
18:06the title. However, they do represent the Doctor as a child. The Timeless Child was how the Doctor was
18:12originally known when she was discovered by Tectayun. A being of unknown origin, the Timeless Child had the
18:17ability to regenerate infinitely and was experimented upon by Tectayun, who ultimately unlocked the
18:23secret of regeneration and spliced that DNA into certain Gallifreyans, who renamed themselves Time
18:29Lords. Tectayun's experiments resulted in at least seven separate incarnations of the Doctor. It's
18:35unclear how long each of these children lasted, but what is clear is that Tectayun isn't winning any
18:40Mother of the Year prizes anytime soon.
18:42The Fourteenth Doctor
18:44First Appearance 2022
18:46The Fourteenth Doctor had the face of his tenth incarnation, but this wasn't another Metacrisis
18:51situation. Fourteen was reunited with Donna Noble, who still had repressed Time Lord energy within her
18:57after absorbing part of the Metacrisis. However, Donna was able to pass on some of this burden to
19:02her daughter, Rose, which prevented her from burning up. With Donna safe and sound, her and Fourteen
19:08travelled together for a brief time. They arrived at the edge of creation, where the Doctor invoked
19:12superstition, an action that allowed myth and fantasy to flood the Doctor Who universe. Ultimately, the Doctor
19:18was shot dead by the Toymaker. But rather than regenerating, the Fourteenth Doctor bi-generated,
19:23a myth that was made possible thanks to his earlier actions. Bi-generation resulted in both the Fourteenth
19:29and Fifteenth Doctors existing simultaneously. Fifteen jetted off to see the universe, while Fourteen,
19:34weary from centuries of battle, retired with Donna and her family. This was why the Tenth Doctor's face
19:40returned. It was a reminder that he needed to stop. The Fifteenth Doctor, First Appearance 2023.
19:48The Fifteenth Doctor barely had time to catch his breath before jumping in to help his previous
19:53incarnation defeat the Toymaker in a game of catch. Once the Toymaker was defeated, Fifteen encouraged his
19:59past self to take some time off and process centuries of grief and trauma. And then he flew off in his TARDIS
20:04for brand new adventures. Only one of the Fifteenth Doctor's adventures has aired so far. He faced the
20:10Goblin King, met new companion Ruby Sunday, and feels like a reinvigorated version of the character.
20:16Still unmistakably the Doctor, but with a renewed vigour and lust for life, which promises to make
20:22his era incredibly exciting. Well, that concludes this list, but if you want some more Doctor information,
20:29why not check out how every Doctor Who got cast? In the meantime, I've been Ellie for Who Culture,
20:34and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
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