Fifth Doctor

The Fifth Doctor is the name given to the fifth incarnation of The Doctor. He was portrayed by actor Peter Davison.

Overview
After the famous and popular Fourth Doctor (as played by Tom Baker), the decision was taken for the next Doctor to be played by an actor who was already firmly established in the British public's mind. Peter Davison was chosen, 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.

The Fifth Doctor's era was notable for a "back to basics" attitude, in which humour (and, to an extent, horror) was kept to a minimum, but more scientific accuracy was encouraged by the producer, John Nathan-Turner. It was also notable for the reintroduction of many of the Time Lord's enemies; such as the Cybermen, Omega (a founding-father of Gallifrey), the Black and White Guardians, the Sea Devils, and the Silurians.

Biography
The Fourth Doctor's regeneration into the Fifth (DW: Logopolis) was a problematic one, and nearly failed. Mentally, he alternated between assuming the personalities of his previous selves and reverting into states of fear and vagueness. He recovered in the TARDIS' Zero Room and after Nyssa and Tegan piloted the TARDIS to Castrovalva, where he could recover, he found himself captured by the Portreeve's men.

Amnesiac, confused and vague, he regained his memory and sense of purpose and ended up once more winning against the Master. (DW: Castrovalva). Tegan demanded that he return her to 1981 Earth, without success (DW: Four to Doomsday, The Visitation). Along the way, Nyssa collapsed (DW: Four to Doomsday) and spent the next few days recovering, the Mara possessed Tegan (DW: Kinda) and they took time out to attend George Cranleigh's ball, where danger lurked once more (DW: Black Orchid).

On 26th century Earth he discovered a plan by Cybermen to use a space freighter as a giant bomb. The freighter shifted through time to the distant past, killing the dinosaurs and Earth's history proceeded as normal. However, Adric, still on the freighter, died. (DW: Earthshock).

When the Doctor met a new companion, an alien boy stranded on Earth by the name of Vislor Turlough, he did not know that Turlough had been commissioned by the Black Guardian to kill him. Soon after, Nyssa left to help cure Lazar's Disease on the space station Terminus. After meeting the entities known as Eternals racing in yacht-like spacecraft for the prize of Enlightenment, Turlough broke free from the Black Guardian's influence, and continued to travel with the Doctor and Tegan. The Doctor met three of his previous incarnations when they were summoned to the Death Zone on Gallifrey by President Borusa, who was attempting to gain Rassilon's secret of immortality.

After further adventures in which the Doctor re-encountered old foes including the Silurians and the Sea Devils both Tegan and Turlough left the TARDIS. Tegan would find the death and violence they encountered on their travels too much to bear (DW: Resurrection of the Daleks), and Turlough returned to his home planet of Trion.

Ultimately, the Fifth Doctor and his last companion Peri Brown were exposed to toxic levels of the drug spectrox on Androzani Minor. With only one dose of the antidote available, he sacrificed his own existence to save Peri, regenerating into the Sixth Doctor.

Personality
The Fifth Doctor was probably the most human and vulnerable of all the Doctors, less pretentious and selfish, often reacting to situations rather than initiating them and openly expressing his hopes and fears to his companions. His young appearance was reflected in the youthfulness of his companions as well, whom he treated more like parts of a team than their usual subordinate role under previous incarnations. The death of Adric affected him and the rest of his companions deeply.

Despite his youthful body, he was one of the least physical Doctors, preferring to use communication and diplomacy to solve a problem. In contrast to some of his more aggressive predecessors, he preferred to gain people's trust by honestly proving himself instead of using his vast experience as an excuse to take charge. Indeed, he often willingly participated in situations under the leadership of someone else who had the strong command presence that he lacked. In an occasional reminder of his actual age, the Fifth Doctor would sport a pair of glasses when examining something.

At the same time, this humanity made him prone to panic under pressure and occasionally indecisive. He was unable to execute Davros in cold blood in Resurrection of the Daleks, and reluctantly killed Kamelion at the end of Planet of Fire only at the android's request.

Of all the Doctors, the Fifth was the one who showed the greatest abhorrence for violence and needless bloodshed as well as the pain and suffering of others. Despite this, violence and bloodshed continued to dog his footsteps, as in the massacre at the end of Warriors of the Deep and the exceptionally high body count of Resurrection of the Daleks which led to Tegan's departure. At the end of that story, the Fifth Doctor acknowledged that he perhaps had to mend his ways

It was perhaps a combination of realising that his lifestyle begat violence and the weighing of Adric's death on his mind that led him ultimately to sacrifice his own existence to save Peri. It is telling that the Fifth Doctor's last word before his regeneration into his sixth incarnation was "Adric."

Key Life Events

 * The Doctor regenerates. (DW: Logopolis)
 * The death of Adric. (DW: Earthshock)
 * Reunion with the Brigadier. (DW: Mawdryn Undead).
 * The Doctor once more meets the White Guardian and Black Guardians. (DW: Enlightenment)
 * The Doctor re-unites with his grand-daughter, Sarah Jane Smith, the Brigadier, meets his past selves and fights old enemies. (DW: The Five Doctors).
 * The dying Doctor manages to save Peri and regenerates. (DW: The Caves of Androzani)