The Doctor (Doctor Who)
| The Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who character | |
  The Doctor as portrayed by the series leads in chronological order, left to right from top row.
|
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| First appearance | An Unearthly Child |
| Created by | Sydney Newman |
| Portrayed by |
Series leads:
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| Character biography | |
| Species | Time Lord |
| Home planet | Gallifrey |
| Incarnations | |
The Doctor is the title character and protagonist in the long-running BBC science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The character has also been featured in one made-for-television film, and a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips. In the programme, "the Doctor" is the alias assumed by a centuries-old alien—a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey—who travels through space and time in his TARDIS, frequently with companions.
Since the show's inception in 1963, the character has been portrayed by twelve lead actors. The transition to each succeeding actor is explained within the show's narrative through the plot device of "regeneration", a biological function of his race that allows their change of cellular structure and appearance with recovery following a potentially fatal injury. The incumbent Doctor is the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, who succeeded Matt Smith in the role in the 2013 Christmas special "The Time of the Doctor" after he was granted a new "cycle" of regenerations by the Time Lords. The War Doctor and an aborted regeneration are counted in his previous cycle of twelve regenerations. A number of other actors have played the character in stage and audio plays, as well as in various film and television productions. The character has been generally well received by the public, with his enduring popularity leading The Daily Telegraph to dub him "Britain's favourite alien". On 30 January 2017, Capaldi confirmed that the tenth series would be his last.
Within the fictional narrative, the Doctor is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels through time and space in his dimensionally transcendental – "bigger on the inside" – time machine: the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space) which took the exterior form of a 1963 police telephone call box, and retains the appearance throughout the programme. His kind have dedicated themselves to overseeing all of time and space without interference. The Doctor chose to leave his home by stealing an obsolete TARDIS model as revealed in the 1969 serial The War Games and depicted in the 2013 episode "The Name of the Doctor". With this vehicle, the Doctor explores the universe with usually human companions who serve as audience surrogate characters to ask questions which allow the Doctor to provide relevant exposition.
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