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Youthful in appearance, the Fifth Doctor was a put-upon adventurer who tried to follow the principles of fair play in a universe that bedevilled him with great tragedy and violent endings, leading the Doctor to better appreciate the "small, beautiful events" in life. While he held a keen interest in science and exploration, his greatest love was cricket.

Being highly eager to see new discoveries, he was prone to being easily distracted and getting caught up in his own thoughts, sometimes to the point where he got himself and others into trouble simply by not paying enough attention, and would find misunderstandings with local authorities landing him imprisoned due to his preference to being honest and reserved instead of making himself an imposition. Indeed, the Doctor struggled to take actions he deemed immoral, and became highly conflicted about the choices he could make in a crisis, with his hesitancies making him seemingly more fallible than his other incarnations, though he remained one of the most overtly fearless incarnations, frequently finding himself right in the thick of battle.

Biography[]

Main article: Fifth Doctor/Biography

Starting his life by defeating his archenemy, the Tremas Master, at Castrovalva, the Fifth Doctor inherited a team of companions from his fourth incarnation; Adric, Nyssa and Tegan Jovanka. (TV: Castrovalva [+]Christopher H. Bidmead, Doctor Who season 19 (BBC1, 1982).) In his early travels, the Doctor often found himself stuck between Tegan's pessimism and Adric's arrogance, with Nyssa helping him stand as a voice of reason as they attempt to return Tegan to Heathrow Airport, though instead found the TARDIS landing at places such as Monarch's ship (TV: Four to Doomsday [+]Terence Dudley, Doctor Who season 19 (BBC1, 1982).) and the planet Deva Loka, where the Doctor did battle with the Mara for the first time. (TV: Kinda [+]Christopher Bailey, Doctor Who season 19 (BBC1, 1982).) However, after an adventure in 1666 London, which saw the Doctor's sonic screwdriver destroyed by a Terileptil, (TV: The Visitation [+]Eric Saward, Doctor Who season 19 (BBC1, 1982).) Tegan decided to forgo returning to her old life and instead enjoy her travels with the TARDIS crew, such as a party at 1925 Cranleigh Hall. (TV: Black Orchid [+]Terence Dudley, Doctor Who season 19 (BBC1, 1982).) However, the disadvantages of having three traveling companions showed themselves when Adric began to feel unappreciated when compared to Nyssa and Tegan, and his need to prove himself led to him pointlessly sacrificing his life during a battle with the CyberNeomorphs when he attempted to prevent a space-freighter from crashing into prehistoric Earth, not knowing it was the fixed point in time that lead to the extinction of the dinosaurs. (TV: Earthshock [+]Eric Saward, Doctor Who season 19 (BBC1, 1982).) As the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan tried to process Adric's sudden death, the TARDIS ironically landed at Heathrow Airport, where, after a battle with the Master, the Doctor and Nyssa left Tegan behind. (TV: Time-Flight [+]Peter Grimwade, Doctor Who season 19 (BBC1, 1982).)

The Doctor and Nyssa's jaunts through time and space saw them bear witness to the creation of the Cybermen on Mondas, (AUDIO: Spare Parts [+]Marc Platt, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2002).) become stranded in 1867 London after Thomas Brewster stole the TARDIS, (AUDIO: The Haunting of Thomas Brewster [+]Jonathan Morris, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2008).) and enjoying brief travels with Brewster (AUDIO: The Boy That Time Forgot [+]Paul Magrs, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2008).) and Hannah Bartholemew. (AUDIO: Moonflesh [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) A brief break from Nyssa (AUDIO: Renaissance of the Daleks [+]Christopher H. Bidmead, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2007).) saw the Doctor team up with Shayde and Justin of Wells to fight Melanicus in Stockbridge, (COMIC: The Tides of Time [+]Steve Parkhouse, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics, 1982).) and meet Maxwell Edison, (COMIC: Stars Fell on Stockbridge [+]Steve Parkhouse, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics, 1982).) as well as briefly travel with Gus Goodman (COMIC: 4-Dimensional Vistas [+]Steve Parkhouse, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics, 1983).) until he was killed by the Moderator. (COMIC: The Moderator [+]Steve Parkhouse, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics, 1983-1984).)

A chance reunion with Tegan in Amsterdam coincided with the Doctor seeing his old foes return again, such as Omega (TV: Arc of Infinity [+]Johnny Byrne, Doctor Who season 20 (BBC1, 1983).) and the Mara, (TV: Snakedance [+]Christopher Bailey, Doctor Who season 20 (BBC1, 1983).) and bumping into his tenth incarnation, (TV: Time Crash [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who Children in Need Special 2007 (BBC One, 2007).) while his own inability to mourn Adric eventually caused the Doctor to take some time apart from his companions (AUDIO: Conversion [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) when Marcipor, a Greek slave who had joined the TARDIS crew after being freed, (AUDIO: Tartarus [+]David Llewellyn, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2019).) was partially cyber-converted. (AUDIO: Conversion [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) Marc later left to stay on XB93. (AUDIO: Nightmare of the Daleks [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)

The return of the Black Guardian saw Vislor Turlough, a Trion exiled to Brendon Public School, join the TARDIS crew on the Guardian's orders, so that he may assassinate the Doctor, (TV: Mawdryn Undead [+]Peter Grimwade, Doctor Who season 20 (BBC1, 1983).) and then saw Nyssa depart to help treat the victims of Lazar's disease on the Terminus space station. (TV: Terminus [+]Steve Gallagher, Doctor Who season 20 (BBC1, 1983).) In the battle for Turlough's allegiance, the Doctor was able to convince him to defy the Black Guardian with Enlightenment. (TV: Enlightenment [+]Barbara Clegg, Doctor Who season 20 (BBC1, 1983).) While attempting to return Turlough to his home planet, the TARDIS crew found themselves re-joined by an older Nyssa, (AUDIO: Cobwebs [+]Jonathan Morris, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2010).) until she elected to remain in E-Space. (AUDIO: The Entropy Plague [+]Jonathan Morris, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2015).) The Doctor then found himself picking up a new companion in Kamelion, a shape-changing android he liberated from the Master at 1215 Fitzwilliam Castle. (TV: The King's Demons [+]Terence Dudley, Doctor Who season 20 (BBC1, 1983).) However, Kamelion's inability to ward off the influence of strong minds lead him to decide to remain within the TARDIS indefinitely, (AUDIO: The Kamelion Empire [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) just as the Doctor brought the TARDIS to the Eye of Orion for a holiday that left him and his previous incarnations forced to partake in the Game of Rassilon by Borusa, who sough the immortality promised by Rassilon, but Borusa was instead imprisoned in stone, with the High Council offering the Doctor to succeed him in the Presidency, an offer he declined. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special (Public Broadcasting Service, 1983).)

As his travels continued, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough found themselves embroiled in more grisly escapades, such as a complete massacre on Sea Base 4, (TV: Warriors of the Deep [+]Johnny Byrne, Doctor Who season 21 (BBC1, 1984).) though a holiday in 1984 Little Hodcombe offered a short reprieve from the bleakness, (TV: The Awakening [+]Eric Pringle, Doctor Who season 21 (BBC1, 1984).) until they saw first-hand the despair of human survivors on Frontios in the far future. (TV: Frontios [+]Christopher H. Bidmead, Doctor Who season 21 (BBC1, 1984).) Tegan opted to leave the TARDIS when witnessing the casualties of the Daleks extraction of Davros to cure the Movellan virus proved too much for her. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks [+]Eric Saward, Doctor Who season 21 (BBC1, 1984).) Turlough himself would leave after he found that his exile on Trion had ended during a holiday at 1984 Lanzarote, which also saw Kamelion killed when he could no longer fight off the Master's control of him and the Doctor was joined by Peri Brown, an American student Turlough had saved from drowning. (TV: Planet of Fire [+]Peter Grimwade, Doctor Who season 21 (BBC1, 1984).)

In their adventures together, the Doctor and Peri were joined by Erimem, an uncrowned Pharaoh from ancient Egypt, (AUDIO: The Eye of the Scorpion [+]Iain McLaughlin, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2001).) until she decided to settle down with King Pelleas on Peladon. (AUDIO: The Bride of Peladon [+]Barnaby Edwards, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2008).) During a side adventure without Peri, the Doctor was forced to reassemble the Key to Time with the humanoid tracer Abby, (AUDIO: The Judgement of Isskar [+]Simon Guerrier, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2009).) and then became embroiled in the exploits of her and her "twin sister", Zara. (AUDIO: The Garden of Storms [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)

During his final adventure, the Doctor accidentally exposed himself and Peri to unrefined spectrox, contracting fatal spectrox toxaemia. Though he acquired an antidote, the Doctor was only able to save enough for one person in his last trek to the TARDIS, and gave it all to Peri, gambling on a regeneration saving his life. (TV: The Caves of Androzani [+]Robert Holmes, Doctor Who season 21 (BBC1, 1984).) Despite the Master trying to mentally interfere with the process, the Doctor successfully managed to regenerate into a new body with the aid of Nyssa and Kamelion. (AUDIO: Winter [+]Paul Cornell, Circular Time (Main Range, Big Finish Productions, 2007).)

Other realities[]

Alternate timelines[]

In one timeline, the Doctor was able to save Adric. In another alternative timeline, the Doctor had his brain fried by the computer while substituting for a dead synch-op on Sea Base 4 in 2084. (PROSE: So Vile a Sin)

In one timeline, the Doctor permanently died on Androzani Minor due to the Great Intelligence's interference. (TV: The Name of the Doctor) In a different alternative timeline, the Doctor never went to Androzani Minor. (PROSE: So Vile a Sin)

In a timeline visited by Same and Different, the Doctor perished trying to stop the Cybermen in Agrippina Primus. (PROSE: The Paradox Moon)

Averted timelines[]

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Info from That Time I Nearly Destroyed the World Whilst Looking for a Dress needs to be added

Fifth Doctor and Peri Run from Cyberman Supremacy of the Cybermen

The Doctor and Peri run from a timeline-enforced Cyberman. (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen)

When the Cybermen allied with Rassilon to take over history, (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen) the TARDIS was caught in a time corridor that led the Doctor and Peri to Skaro, which was occupied by the Cybermen, who began to attack, (COMIC: Prologue: the Fifth Doctor) forcing the Doctor and Peri to flee. This timeline was eventually unwritten by Rassilon and the Twelfth Doctor. (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen)

In an alternate timeline created by the influence of the Valeyard using the Dark Matrix, the Fifth Doctor was able to resist the Valeyard's influence for most of his life, but he eventually succumbed at what would have been his regeneration, taking the bat's milk antidote to the Spectrox toxaemia and letting Peri die in his place. This timeline was eventually undone by the Seventh Doctor. (PROSE: Matrix)

Undone events[]

In a negated timeline, the Doctor and Nyssa followed mysterious coordinates to 23 November 1963, but the Doctor landed the TARDIS earlier than the coordinates indicated to avoid a trap. Investigating their surroundings, the Doctor and Nyssa were approached by Bob Dovie, who mistook them for the police officers he had contacted about his missing family, and discovered that Dovie's wife and children had been murdered by the Decayed Master. As they made their way back to the TARDIS, Dovie followed them, and his refusal to believe in the TARDIS set off the conceptual bomb the Master had planted on him, causing the TARDIS to explode, but the Doctor was saved by his sixth incarnation. Joining with his other selves to formulate a plan to stop the Master, the Fifth Doctor realised the solution was to visit Dovie a year earlier and introduce him to the TARDIS, so that he would find it more believable when he had the conceptual bomb and it would not go off. Once his plan succeeded, the Fifth Doctor joined his other seven incarnations in preparing to time ram the Master's TARDIS. However, rather than kill the Master, the First Doctor instead turned off the automatic distress actions, which had brought all of the Doctors to the pocket dimension and triggered the TARDIS' destruction, making it so none of that had happened. (AUDIO: The Light at the End)

Splintered into his future[]

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In a splintered timeline, (AUDIO: The Auton Infinity) after departing from the Urbankan spaceship, the Doctor passed out almost immediately after Nyssa collapsed, and found himself pulled along his own timeline. He first ended up in the body of his future self, at a point where Adric had "left" the TARDIS and Tegan had recently resumed her travels with him and Nyssa. The Doctor soon discovered the TARDIS had jumped back along her temporal vector, looking for a stable time track, and he believed he has done the same thing. (AUDIO: Secrets of Telos)

Next, he found himself in the body of his "near-future" self, with the TARDIS having just arrived in 9th century Iceland. He is relieved to see Adric again and, during an encounter with Ice Warriors, confides in him about his recent "time shifting" as he had done so with the future Nyssa and Tegan. After defeating the Ice Warriors, the Doctor felt himself be pulled along his timeline once again (AUDIO: God of War) and woke up in a cell next to the Brigadier, who recognised his current incarnation. He then reunited with Tegan, explaining how he had time shifted again, which becomes clear when he fails to recognise Turlough.

The Doctor is soon briefed on the Autons and the Master's scheme and, during an encounter with a Nestene, discovered that he is not in the body of his future self, but rather an Auton duplicate. He is later confronted by the Master, who initially believed him to merely be a convincing double, but soon realised he can use the "Auton Doctor" as a replacement "keystone" for piloting the Vortex Driller after the "future Doctor" escapes. Due to the Doctor being in an Auton body, the process did not work correctly and caused the "Auton Doctor" to be displaced once again, only this time he ended up as a psychic projection within his TARDIS next to another future companion called Kamelion.

After making contact with his future self, the Doctor helped formulate a plan to stop the Nestene Consciousness taking control of the Driller. After successfully defeating the Consciousness, it is revealed that the displaced Doctor was actually a disintegrating splinter and could no longer return to his intial point of origin. The splinter was allowed to make one last trip into the future, where he met Peri and positively reflected on his future before fading away. (AUDIO: The Auton Infinity)

Psychological profile[]

Personality[]

Anticipate

The Doctor reassures his friends on their predicament. (TV: Four to Doomsday)

Practicing good manners in the hopes that people would give him "the benefit of the doubt" he was non-hostile and share their resources, (TV: Kinda, Snakedance) the Fifth Doctor saw "small beautiful events" as being "what life [was] all about", (TV: Earthshock) with an "ordinary life" being a "precious jewel" that was "one of the mosty shining things of all", (TV: Earthshock) and would go against the rules to offer a helping hand wherever he found someone in need, (TV: Earthshock, Terminus, Frontios) being willing to make enormous personal sacrifices simply to keep his friends safe and liberate others from suffering, (TV: Mawdryn Undead, The Caves of Androzani) and would try to stop and help others with their mundane troubles while in the middle of dealing with greater threats. (TV: Arc of Infinity)

He could see the qualities in others and sought to bring out their potential. (TV: Castrovalva) He was even willing to take chances with companions like Vislor Turlough and Kamelion, who were originally threats, (TV: Mawdryn Undead, The King's Demons) even as he pretended to be unaware of it in order to grant Turlough the opportunity to do the right thing. (TV: Enlightenment) However, he tried to avoid confrontation with his companions when they were upset with him, opting to ignore them until they had calmed down. (TV: The Visitation, Earthshock) According to Tegan Jovanka, he would often "take everything in [his] stride", (TV: The King's Demons) and downplayed how events went when explaining them to people. (TV: The Visitation)

However, the Doctor's boyish appearance, nervous energy, and charm all hid the fact that he was a Time Lord of great power and knowledge. (TV: Snakedance, Mawdryn Undead, Enlightenment) He was not without an ego, happily saying when he was good at a subject after someone admitted they were not, (TV: Four to Doomsday) and being overly confident when he knew how good he was at something. (TV: The Visitation) He would put on a false smile to lure his opponents into underestimating him until he could think his way out of a situation, (TV: Four to Doomsday) and was not afraid to antagonise his enemies as an act of defiance, (TV: Earthshock, The Caves of Androzani) and declare his intent to interfere in their plans. (TV: Arc of Infinity)

Originally, the Fifth Doctor acted like a child excited to see new discoveries and foreign places. (TV: Four to Doomsday, Kinda) However, after the death of Adric, (TV: Earthshock) he acted more openly stressed out and passive to harsh developments. (TV: Arc of Infinity, Snakedance, Terminus) As he was more exposed to the growing violence he encountered in his travels, the Doctor became more malaise to the carnage he saw throughout the universe, (TV: Warriors of the Deep, Frontios, Resurrection of the Daleks, The Caves of Androzani) to the point that he alienated Tegan from the TARDIS. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks) The sudden betrayals he also endured (TV: Arc of Infinity, The Five Doctors) caused the Doctor to develop trust issues, to the point that he threatened to cut ties with Turlough if he dared to deceive him. (TV: Planet of Fire)

No longer trying to be "old and grumpy and important" like his previous incarnations, (TV: Time Crash) though worried his youthful body would not be taken seriously, (AUDIO: Smoke and Mirrors) the Fifth Doctor was very open and vulnerable in his naivety, trying to focus on seeing the friendlier side of the universe by giving aliens the benefit of the doubt towards their intentions, opting to "look on the bright side" when things looked grim. (TV: Four to Doomsday, The Visitation, Warriors of the Deep) He gained trust by proving himself with his honesty instead of using his vast experience as an excuse to take charge. (TV: Black Orchid, Snakedance, The King's Demons, Warriors of the Deep) Indeed, he could easily fall into the thrall of those who had the strong command presence that he lacked. (TV: Earthshock, The Five Doctors, The Caves of Androzani) However, he would take charge in moments of intensity, (TV: Kinda, Frontios, Resurrection of the Daleks) and, while he needed a piece of the Great Crystal to face down the Mara, (TV: Snakedance) the Doctor could still call upon great willpower when the need arose. (TV: The King's Demons, Planet of Fire, Dimensions in Time)

Unlike his other incarnations, he would seek out the highest authority when he landed so as to make his case for cooperation, (TV: Warriors of the Deep) though his trouble with being assertive would often lead to him running afoul with local authorities and being arrested or imprisoned. (TV: Kinda, Black Orchid, Snakedance, The Caves of Androzani) He would particularly earn the ire of authoritative figures when his actions were mistaken for tomfoolery or treachery. (TV: Earthshock, The King's Demons)

His young appearance was reflected in the youthfulness of his companions, whom he treated akin to how a teacher would treat their schoolchildren, to the point of patronising them, (TV: Four to Doomsday, Snakedance, The Caves of Androzani) and would scold them severely when their failure to heed his instructions resulted in him being put at a disadvantage. (TV: Enlightenment)

He could also lose his temper when around someone who annoyed him, (TV: Time Crash) and was known to get impatient when pressed for time. (TV: Castrovalva, The Visitation, Arc of Infinity, Frontios) He was unafraid to point out how others were complicating matters with their pride (TV: Black Orchid, Earthshock) or apparent idiocy, (TV: Four to Doomsday, Mawdryn Undead, Time Crash) and would become particularly irked when he was being put to death as a scapegoat for others to avoid dealing with their problems when there were alternative solutions. (TV: Arc of Infinity, Frontios, The Caves of Androzani)

He was notably for his use of sarcasm, especially when simultaneously dealing with Tegan and Adric, (TV: The Visitation) and was proficient with puns. (TV: Four to Doomsday, Enlightenment, The Caves of Androzani) He also felt suited for settling down and starting a family. (AUDIO: Loups-Garoux, No Place Like Home, Winter)

Being highly curious and eager to learn and explore, the Fifth Doctor would often let his curiosity dictate his decision making, leaving him to being easily distracted and getting caught up in his own thoughts and musings, to the point where he got himself and others into trouble simply by not paying enough attention to his surroundings, even when he knew that such a mind-set was one of his flaws. (TV: Black Orchid, The Caves of Androzani)

A hit for six

The Doctor plays cricket. (COMIC: Time & Time Again)

After finding a cricket bat and discovering a room in his TARDIS dedicated to the sport shortly after his regeneration, the Fifth Doctor became a vivid fan of cricket, (TV: Castrovalva) often spending long periods of time playing the game, (TV: Black Orchid; PROSE: Happy Endings, Goth Opera; AUDIO: Autumn) attending several famous matches, (AUDIO: The Roof of the World, Nekromanteia, The Emerald Tiger; PROSE: Graham Dilley Saves the World) and teaching his companions the rules of the game. (AUDIO: Phantasmagoria)

He also liked "long walks", (TV: The Visitation) and having live audience participation in large shows. (AUDIO: Nekromanteia) He felt a genuine sense of awe while in Cairo, (PROSE: Never Seen Cairo) and though of Vortis as somewhere he could relax. (AUDIO: Return to the Web Planet)

He did not like earrings, (TV: Four to Doomsday) disliked being referred to as "sweet", (AUDIO: The Entropy Composition) had a disdain for cats, (AUDIO: No Place Like Home) felt uncomfortable around spiders, (PROSE: Light at the End of the Tunnel) and, with the exception of Susan, rarely thought about his family. (AUDIO: No Place Like Home) He also disliked slavery. (PROSE: Tip of the Tongue)

While he didn't "[feel] at home" on Gallifrey, (AUDIO: No Place Like Home) he did consider returning to his home planet as a retirement plan. (COMIC: The Tides of Time)

His drink of choice was lemonade with ice, (TV: Black Orchid) and he also liked tea, (TV: The Awakening) believing it to be one of the things about the universe he loved. (AUDIO: Omega) He took his tea with either two sugars (AUDIO: The Eternal Summer) or with milk and no sugar. (AUDIO: The Elite) He considered fresh chilled orange juice to be "one of the finest things about Earth". (PROSE: Fascination)

He also enjoyed jam, (AUDIO: Plague of the Daleks) kippers, and porridge. (PROSE: Empire of Death)

The Doctor thought that it was best to "learn by [his] mistakes", (TV: The Awakening) and looked for "possibilities" that he "[could] never imagine", as he wanted to know how they worked and help them to work better. (AUDIO: Loups-Garoux) While he preferred to take risks alone, he conceded that "a risk shared [was] a risk doubled". (TV: Frontios)

Watching Masters burn

The Doctor watches the Master burn. (TV: Planet of Fire)

Unwilling to accept that violence was "a universal way of life", (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks) the Fifth Doctor was disdainful towards needless deaths, (COMIC: In Their Nature) and tried his best to avoid using violence when "there [could] [be] another way", (TV: Warriors of the Deep, The Awakening) not even tolerating violence when it was being used to rescue him. (TV: Arc of Infinity) He was particularly furious when Peter Sandoz shot Miss Tremayne when she was threatening him with a knife, believing he could have talked her down. (AUDIO: Winter for the Adept) When he resorted to dubious actions, the Doctor had to reassure himself that his actions were done without choice, believing he could convince himself with enough repetition. (COMIC: Lunar Lagoon)

However, he did possess a dark side, gunning down foes when he deemed it necessary, (TV: Earthshock, Arc of Infinity, Warriors of the Deep, Resurrection of the Daleks) and not moving to save the Master from a fiery death, though was deeply upset by his part in it. (TV: Planet of Fire) He was also willing to physically slap someone to calm them down, (COMIC: Stars Fell on Stockbridge) and accepted a pistol from King Louis, but only so he would not contradict the king. (AUDIO: The Church and the Crown)

While he failed to execute Davros in cold blood, (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks) he did destroy Kamelion at the android's request. (TV: Planet of Fire) He also once shot the Master non-fatally in the chest to subdue him. (PROSE: A Town Called Eternity)

While his feelings were hurt when Adric called him "decidedly immature" when in comparison to his fourth incarnation, (TV: Earthshock) the Fifth Doctor showed off an immature and childish side when he went to great lengths to avoid doing something he personally did not want to do, coming up with every excuse he could to prevent himself from being forced into action. (TV: Earthshock, The Five Doctors) When Tegan voiced her unease with traveling with Kamelion, the Doctor pranked her by pretending to take her reluctance as a sign she didn't want to travel with him anymore, and even acted like he was going to return her home when he had instead set course for the Eye of Orion, just to tease her, (TV: The King's Demons) and later playfully poked fun at her older appearence when they reunited in the remembered TARDIS. (TV: Earthshock)

The Doctor could fail to notice when his companions did not want to follow his instructions, (TV: Four to Doomsday) when they were trying to show off a new outfit to him, (TV: Snakedance, Enlightenment) or were not enjoying themselves in their adventures as much as he was, (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks) and he could be dismisses of people when his mind was focused elsewhere. (COMIC: Stars Fell on Stockbridge)

He also tried to find a positive approach to life, even if it was a delusional one, (AUDIO: Iterations of I) such as fixating on the idea that Mondas was 1950s Trafalgar Square, wilfully ignoring the mine carts and giant underground cavern overhead. (AUDIO: Spare Parts) When he and Nyssa were arrested for using future currency during the Jacobin era, the Doctor tried to console Nyssa by pointing out that they still used Earth-based coins. (AUDIO: Summer)

The Fifth Doctor identified himself as being open-minded, likening himself to Alice as he "[tried] to believe three impossible things before breakfast". As such, he was willing to give his enemies the benefit of the doubt, such as when he met the Master in the Death Zone on Gallifrey, and was willing to hear him out when the Master said he had come to aid the Doctor. When the High Council confirmed the Master's story, the Doctor admitted that he had done the Master an injustice by doubting him. (TV: The Five Doctors)

The Fifth Doctor though his third incarnation was the "dandiest dandelion", while the Third Doctor criticised his fifth incarnation for "wearing [a] salad". (WC: Doctors Assemble!)

Immediately after his regeneration, the Sixth Doctor told Peri Brown that his predecessor had "a sort of feckless charm [that] simply wasn't [him]", (TV: The Twin Dilemma) but later admitted to Evelyn Smythe that "being him was like a holiday", adding that it was "a very wonderful holiday". (AUDIO: The 100 Days of the Doctor)

The Seventh Doctor described the Fifth Doctor as "bland" and "not even one of the good ones", while the Fifth Doctor was repulsed by his seventh incarnation's manipulative nature. (PROSE: Cold Fusion) However, despite the animosity between the two, in the Seventh Doctor's subconscious, the Fifth Doctor personified his conscience due to his strong sense of compassion. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation) The Eighth Doctor was fonder of his fifth incarnation than his two immediate predecessors, describing him as "terribly polite." (AUDIO: The Four Doctors)

FifthTenthDoctorTC1

The Doctor and his tenth incarnation. (TV: Time Crash)

The Tenth Doctor expressed a fondness for his fifth incarnation, seeing him as a turning point and stating that it was after his fourth regeneration when he began to enjoy his time in younger bodies. He also confessed that certain aspects of his wardrobe and personality were influenced by the Fifth Doctor. (TV: Time Crash)

When the Eleventh Doctor contacted the Fifth Doctor through an Ovid sphere in England in the 1920s, he commented that his fifth incarnation was "grumpy" and "frowny" in part because he worried about being taken seriously due to his youthful appearance. (AUDIO: Smoke and Mirrors)

The Doctor was highly protective of his TARDIS, becoming particularly irritated when he thought Nyssa had been tampering with it, (TV: Time-Flight) and frustrated when he thought the Tenth Doctor had changed his console control room design. (TV: Time Crash)

Although they often argued with each other, the Doctor told Lady Adela Forster that Tegan Jovanka was "very dear" to him, (AUDIO: The Emerald Tiger) and also told Tegan that he "[couldn't] bear the thought of not having [her] around", (PROSE: Qualia) though he would often hide from her in the TARDIS' Cloister Room. (AUDIO: No Place Like Home) Tegan claimed that the Doctor often gave her "half pained [and] half patronising" looks. (AUDIO: Aquitaine)

The Doctor thought that Adric was "daft, and silly, and sulky", but also knew he was "just a kid". (TV: Earthshock)

The Fifth Doctor somewhat looked down on humanity for being "parochial", and "fly[ing] off the handle" when they did not get their wishes, (TV: The Visitation) and could become patronising when trying to correct someone who refused to listen to him. (TV: Snakedance) While he "always had a soft spot for Earth", (COMIC: 4-Dimensional Vistas) he openly questioned his fondness for the "pathetic humans" of the "miserable planet" Earth when they elected to kill "noble races" in the name of retribution, (TV: Warriors of the Deep) though conceded that England was "one of the last few civilised places left in the galaxy". (COMIC: The Stockbridge Horror)

The Fifth Doctor believed the Master to be "the most evil force in the universe". (TV: Castrovalva)

He viewed his fourth incarnation's hesitation at averting the creation of the Daleks to have been "a mistake". However, while he did not hesitate to destroy Daleks, he was unable to bring himself to kill Davros with a gun to his face, ultimately giving Davros time to escape. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks)

Two days after he recovered from his post-regeneration trauma, Tegan described the Fifth Doctor as "an incompetent lunatic who talks gibberish", and Adric saw him as a "feckless, frivolous dilettante" who was an inferior replacement to the Fourth Doctor. (AUDIO: Psychodrome) At a later date, Tegan described him as "the most annoying man that [she had] ever met". (AUDIO: Aquitaine) On one occasion, she derisively referred to the Doctor as a "posho". (AUDIO: The Peterloo Massacre)

Roz Forrester did not trust the Fifth Doctor, as she believed the fact that he seemed so trustworthy was suspicious. (PROSE: Cold Fusion) River Song noted the Fifth Doctor's "sweet, but strangely short-tempered," personality, as well as his obsession with the Eye of Orion. (GAME: The Eternity Clock) When the Eighth Doctor had a tarot card reading, the Fifth Doctor was identified as "the Star". (PROSE: The City of the Dead)

The Tremas Master believed that the Fifth Doctor was "the nice one [with] such charm, innocence, [and] naiveté", (GAME: Destiny of the Doctors) while the Reborn Master described him as "the drippy blonde one" who "wander[ed] around like nobody's ever played cricket ever". (AUDIO: The Two Masters) Helen referred to him as "the compassionate". (AUDIO: The Sirens of Time)

After he and Peri became infected with spectrox toxaemia, the Doctor became determined to save Peri from dying of the poison, (TV: The Caves of Androzani) even holding back his impending regeneration. (AUDIO: Winter) After he accidentally dropped half of the bat's milk remedy, the Doctor selflessly gave Peri all that remained of the antidote, saving her life at the cost of his own. (TV: The Caves of Androzani) Reaching out for aid in gathering his strength, (AUDIO: Winter) the Doctor felt comforted as he saw visuals of his past companions appearing before him. Though he was content to die, when he saw the face of the Master taunting him, the Doctor choose to survive with a regeneration so as to not let the Master have "the last laugh". (PROSE: The Caves of Androzani)

Habits and quirks[]

DavisonWIthGlasses

The Doctor wearing his "brainy specs". (TV: Frontios)

When needing to examine something, the Fifth Doctor would sometimes sport a pair of glasses. (TV: Castrovalva, Kinda, Frontios, Planet of Fire, Time Crash) While he claimed to need them due to a weakness in his right eye, (TV: Four to Doomsday) the Tenth Doctor confessed that these "brainy specs" only served to make his fifth incarnation look "a bit clever". (TV: Time Crash)

When not instructing people to follow him with an utterance of "come on", (TV: Four to Doomsday, The King's Demons, The Five Doctors, Resurrection of the Daleks, Earthshock) the Fifth Doctor would instead instruct someone to follow his lead by saying, "this way". (TV: Arc of Infinity, Snakedance, Terminus, Warriors of the Deep, Dimensions in Time)

To encourage others, the Doctor would tell them to have a "brave heart", especially with Tegan. (TV: Earthshock, Enlightenment, Warriors of the Deep, The Awakening, Earthshock) He was also known to say, "Sorry, must dash", especially when leaving in a hurry. (TV: Castrovalva, The Five Doctors)

He typically introduced himself with the greeting, "How do you do?". (TV: Earthshock, Terminus, Enlightenment, Frontios) When met with disappointment or adversity, he would utter a defeated, "oh, no". (TV: The Visitation, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Planet of Fire, Time Crash)

During his early days, the Fifth Doctor's voice was prone to becoming high pitched in moments of intensity, (TV: Castrovalva, Four to Doomsday, The Visitation, Earthshock) something that the Tenth Doctor found comradery in. (TV: Time Crash)

As rather stagnant incarnation, the Fifth Doctor would usually alternate between having his hands crossed behind his back or in his trouser pockets while flicking the long tails on his coat back, with it being extremely rare for him to go an entire adventure without doing either. (TV: Terminus, Dimensions in Time, Earthshock) He was also known to occasionally place his hands in his coat pockets instead. (TV: Kinda, The Visitation, Earthshock, The Caves of Androzani)

In a deviation from his stagnant posture, the Doctor would wring his hands together in a fidgety manner. (TV: Earthshock, Time-Flight, Arc of Infinity, Snakedance, Enlightenment, The Five Doctors, Warriors of the Deep, The Awakening, Frontios, Resurrection of the Daleks, The Caves of Androzani) However, he would interlock his fingers when sitting or crouching down, (TV: Four to Doomsday, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, The Awakening, The Caves of Androzani) or when he was in thought. (TV: Arc of Infinity)

He crossed his arms when sulking (TV: Kinda, The Visitation, Earthshock ) or on the defensive, (TV: Terminus, The Awakening) and was prone to dramatic turns, which usually caused his hair to sway wildly. (TV: Castrovalva, Kinda, The Visitation, Time-Flight, Snakedance, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment, The Five Doctors, Warriors of the Deep, The Awakening, Frontios, Resurrection of the Daleks)

When in a stressful situation, he would scratch the back of his head as he worked on how to deal with the crisis, (TV: Arc of Infinity, Enlightenment, Warriors of the Deep) and would chew on the digits of his hand when thinking. (TV: Castrovalva, Four to Doomsday, Kinda, Mawdryn Undead, The Awakening)

When gobsmacked, he had a tendency to stare with a slack-jawed look on his face, (TV: Kinda, Earthshock, Snakedance, Enlightenment, Warriors of the Deep) and would spread out his arms and look upwards to emphasis a point. (TV: Castrovalva, Earthshock, Snakedance)

The Fifth Doctor often delegated some decisions to the simple chance of a coin flip. (TV: Kinda, Time-Flight, Enlightenment, The Awakening)

Skills[]

While he preferred to use trickery to solve a problem, (TV: Frontios) the Fifth Doctor was still very capable of defending himself unarmed when pushed to physical confrontations. (TV: Kinda, The Visitation, Terminus, Warriors of the Deep) He retained the swordsmanship acumen of his predecessors, being able to best the Tremas Master in a duel, (TV: The King's Demons) and was also highly skilled at the sport of cricket, (TV: Black Orchid) being a "strong right arm bowler ". (AUDIO: The Council of Nicaea)

He was a proficient shot with a gun, even stating that he "never miss[ed]" his targets, (TV: The Visitation, Terminus, Resurrection of the Daleks) and also had the accuracy to throw a chair to jam a door, (TV: Terminus) as well as being an expert marksman with a bow. (PROSE: The Immortals; AUDIO: Son of the Dragon)

After learning how to, (COMIC: 4-Dimensional Vistas) the Doctor was able to swim out of danger, even while dazed, and was capable of holding his breath for a long period of time. (TV: Warriors of the Deep)

The Doctor could perform hypnotism, (PROSE: Empire of Death) and was able to make limited telepathic contact with the Xaranti. (PROSE: Deep Blue) He claimed to have "superior psychic defences", (AUDIO: Rat Trap) and believed himself to be immune to hypnotism. (AUDIO: The Butcher of Brisbane)

He could perform basic surgery, even with limited equipment. (TV: Frontios)

The Doctor could determine the properties of something by taste alone, (TV: Castrovalva, The Visitation, Planet of Fire) and also possessed a heightened sense of smell, which he used to tell which time period he was in by smelling the air. (AUDIO: The Eye of the Scorpion)

He could play the harp. (TV: The Five Doctors)

The Doctor was capable of driving a chariot, (AUDIO: The Eye of the Scorpion) and could ride a horse. (AUDIO: The Church and the Crown)

The Doctor had a "gift for languages", (PROSE: Fear of the Dark) and could speak to a Croatian in his native language. (AUDIO: Autumn) He could also speak Greek. (AUDIO: Exotron)

The Doctor often showed keen observational and deductive skills, quickly solving the mystery of the murder of Sinead Iona Fleming on Fleming's Island fifty years after the crime, (AUDIO: Iterations of I) and managing to piece together the true nature of the Vrall from a few scattered clues relating to the anomalous behaviour of the translation circuit. (PROSE: Imperial Moon)

He learned how to perform coin magic from Adric, (TV: Kinda) could recall and quote from scripture, (AUDIO: The Council of Nicaea) and carried a Molenski Univarius that he claimed could fix anything. (AUDIO: The Axis of Insanity)

Appearance[]

FiveThick

The Doctor wearing his hat. (TV: Black Orchid)

The Fifth Doctor was a young man. (TV: Logopolis) Peri Brown described him as having "fair blonde hair, blue eyes, and a sweet smile". (AUDIO: Peri and the Piscon Paradox)

In an Multi-Doctor Event with the Tenth Doctor, the Fifth Doctor appeared noticeably older as a result of the time differential being shorted out, with the Tenth Doctor observing that his face was "saggier", his hair was "greyer", and suggesting that he had put on weight. The Tenth Doctor acknowledged that his fifth incarnation would return to normal once returned to his own time, quipping that he would be able to close his coat again. (TV: Time Crash) The Fifth Doctor also had an older appearance as one of the Guardians of the Edge, and when his image was adopted by the Holo-Doctor, which was remarked upon by Tegan Jovanka. (TV: The Power of the Doctor)

While he initially thought his new face represented "the trouble with [the unpredictability of] regeneration", the Fifth Doctor soon thought himself to be "absolutely splendid". (TV: Castrovalva)

Rose Tyler considered the Fifth Doctor to be a "rather hot blond man" when Clive Finch showed her his picture. (PROSE: Rose)

The Second Doctor playfully called his fifth incarnation "a youngster". (COMIC: Endgame)

When Affinity took on the Fifth Doctor's appearance to approach the Twelfth Doctor, he noted that the fifth incarnation was a "young fair-haired man in a pale coat and light striped trousers." (PROSE: Silhouette)

Hair and grooming[]

As a side-effect of his regeneration, the Fifth Doctor's hair regularly changed length and colour. (PROSE: Cold Fusion) It was brown shortly after his regeneration, (TV: Logopolis) then quickly became platinum blonde. (TV: Castrovalva) On occasion, his hair had brown highlights (TV: Four to Doomsday)

His hair typically reached to the back of his neck. (TV: Castrovalva) While it was originally poofy with a long fringe, (TV: Logopolis) it quickly changed into a wavier style, (TV: Castrovalva) though his fringe was later shown as shorter and his hairstyle kept straight. (TV: Four to Doomsday)

Once, to make himself appear older, the Doctor grew a beard while he was stranded in 1867 London that helped him fit in with the scientific community. (AUDIO: The Haunting of Thomas Brewster) He grew a beard again when he was forced to escape a prison through a time field that caused him to age a relative year while spending only a few minutes in it from an outside perspective. (AUDIO: Doing Time)

Clothing[]

Main attires[]

Cricket middle and leg

The Doctor plays cricket. (COMIC: The Tides of Time)

The Fifth Doctor's first outfit featured a beige frock coat with scarlet piping along the collar, lapels, sleeves, pockets and tails. Underneath his coat, the Doctor wore a cream cricket jumper with a crimson and black V-Neck pattern, and a white dress shirt with a red interior and embroidered cherry question marks on the collars. His trousers were a unique pattern of brown and beige stripes. He also wore white plimsolls and an ivory Panama hat that had a scarlet band with a black and white pattern. (TV: Castrovalva)

After his clothes were ruined by a Xaranti, (PROSE: Deep Blue) the Doctor changed to a French grey coat with a longer collar, a dress shirt with a green interior, trousers with thick orange lines, and a jumper with a pattern of thick red and black lines on the bottom, the V-Neck and sleeves. (TV: The Awakening) He sometimes wore suspenders adorned with question marks and, on one occasion, replaced his jumper with a beige coloured waistcoat that had a gold, white and red flora & fauna pattern. (TV: Planet of Fire)

He wore a stick of artificial celery on his left lapel (TV: Castrovalva, Enlightenment) to alert him to his allergy to gases in the praxis range of the spectrum, as the celery would turn purple in their presence. (TV: The Caves of Androzani) Ironically, the Doctor himself hated celery. (AUDIO: The Gathering)

Other costumes[]

Five Peri Nyssa DiT

The Doctor hides in Albert Square with Nyssa and Peri. (TV: Dimensions in Time)

The Fifth Doctor slept in white pyjamas, with tiny question mark motifs sewn on to them. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties)

While combating the Rani's menagerie in Albert Square, the Doctor wore a cream cricket jumper with a triple V-Neck pattern consisting of a black on the top and bottom and a thick crimson line between two black lines in the middle. (TV: Dimensions in Time)

When his first incarnation was placed on trial in 1963 London as a result of killing a werewolf with a silver bullet, the Fifth Doctor dressed in an ill-fitting grey suit. (PROSE: The Juror's Story)

While in Cairo, the Doctor wore khaki trousers and an off-white shirt. (PROSE: Never Seen Cairo)

Whilst on Karn with Peri, the Doctor donned a fur coat and boots, and also wore a black dress suit. As "the Supremo", he wore a black military uniform. (PROSE: Warmonger)

Whilst on the Crystal Bucephalus, he wore a puffy shirt and a blue cloak. (PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus)

Behind the scenes[]

Casting[]

  • After the popularity of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, it was decided that the fifth incarnation would be played by an actor who was already firmly established in the British public's mind.
  • Richard Griffiths was considered for the role, as was Iain Cuthbertson.[1]
  • Peter Davison was eventually chosen to be the Fifth Doctor, due in no small part to his popular and critically acclaimed role as Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small, a BBC series based on the books of James Herriot.

Peter Davison's age[]

Costume details[]

  • Davison agreed to wear a stick of celery on his lapel on the understanding that John Nathan-Turner would eventually have a writer explain the bizarre fashion statement. Though Davison thought the explanation would come earlier, the mystery was at last revealed in his final story. (DCOM: The Caves of Androzani) Ironically, Davison hated celery, finding it deeply unpleasant when he was required to eat it during the recording of Castrovalva. (DCOM: Castrovalva)
  • Because no make-up artist seemed to particularly care about the length of Davison's hair throughout season 19, the Fifth Doctor's hair length varied between stories, as Davison had his hair cut short at the beginning of each season to accommodate other projects like All Creatures Great and Small that required his hair to be short, and the production team allowed him to grow it throughout each of his production blocks, despite the fact his serials were being recorded out of broadcast order. Davison would joke on DVD commentaries that "real fans" can tell the production order of episodes by the length of his hair.

Other matters[]

  • In several DVD commentaries, Peter Davison claims he abandoned his half-moon glasses because Janet Fielding teased him when he used them. Fielding seemed to agree with this assessment on the commentary for Earthshock.

External links[]

Footnotes[]

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