First Doctor

"Always search for truth. My truth is in the stars"

- The Doctor

Introduction
When teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright meet the grandfather of student Susan Foreman, they see him as a crotchety old man with secrets to hide. While they gradually learn more about The Doctor, neither he nor Susan tells them the truth of their origins, and on occasion, The Doctor actually misleads them into believing that he's human (The Keys of Marinus, The Sensorites). At this stage The Doctor seems concerned with getting home (primarily for Susan's sake, since he rarely mentions this desire after her departure). The Doctor never completely loses the arrogance that he initially displays to his new companions, but as their adventures continue, his attitude gradually mellows as he learns what Susan already knows, that even ordinary humans have admirable qualities. He learns to respect and admire both teachers, and they come to consider him a friend. Many of their early adventures are the result of The Doctor's desire for knowledge, and it's only later, as he is influenced by his human companions, that he begins to act for more compassionate reasons. After Susan leaves, he welcomes new companion Vicki warmly, and treats her as a surrogate granddaughter. When Barbara and Ian finally find a way home he's reluctant to let them leave, and attempts to hide his feelings, but although he realizes that he'll miss them, he's happy that they return safely. More companions join and leave The Doctor through the rest of this incarnation, and he treats them all with this same mixture of bluster and compassion. Two companions die during an attempted Dalek conquest, and for a time he seems reluctant to interfere further in the course of history, but events convince him that he cannot stand by when there is evil to be defeated. After this his resolve seems to firm again, even when the actions he takes against the Cybermen exhaust him, and force him to regenerate for the first time. The First Doctor has long white hair, and a somewhat severe face. He dresses in the style of a Victorian or Edwardian gentleman, often wears a fur hat and a cape or cloak, and frequently carries a walking stick. The fact that he uses this cane as a weapon more than once suggests that it is a prop in both senses of the word. While he's capable of physical combat (The Chase, The Romans, and others), there's no denying that this form has its limits. He tires easily, has trouble breathing at high altitudes, and suffers backaches (Marco Polo). Like his later selves, this Doctor is a collector. The console room of his Tardis is filled with antique furnishings and alien art, and he keeps specimens of creatures he's encountered (The Web Planet). He picks up a variety of souvenirs on his journeys, including Saladin's dagger and the time-space visualizer which alerts him to a Dalek threat. His most prized possession is a ring with a large blue stone, a ring with amazing powers (The Web Planet, The Daleks' Master Plan). He smokes a pipe, but soon gives up the habit (100,000 BC). He keeps a journal which includes maps of places he's visited, and the operating codes of various Tardis machinery. He's unfamiliar with this Tardis, and is surprised to learn that it has some degree of telepathic or empathic powers, a feature that's never seen in later models (Inside the Spaceship). While The Doctor's own telepathic powers have weakened with age (The Sensorites), he does possess a limited ability to sense danger, which manifests itself as a prickling sensation (The War Machines). The Doctor carries an odd assortment of items which include matches, binocular spectacles, a magnifying glass, and a penlight, but like most of his later incarnations, he rarely has money in his pockets. For all his eccentricities, and his occasional sour attitude, The First Doctor usually lives up to the claim he makes (The Daleks' Master Plan), that he's "a citizen of the universe, and a gentleman to boot".

Biography
The anonymous time traveller we know as The Doctor was born on the planet Gallifrey (The Time Warrior) in the constellation of Kasterborous (The Brain of Morbius), to a Gallifreyan father and a human mother (Doctor Who). Physically he is much like other Gallifreyans, with two hearts which pump blood that is recognizably not human (Spearhead from Space, Doctor Who), and a respiratory bypass system which enables him to recycle oxygen for a limited period (Pyramids of Mars, The Two Doctors, and others). The only apparent characteristic which he inherited from his mother is his eyes. Although their colour may change when he regenerates, they retain a human retinal pattern (Doctor Who). This probably explains his occasional need for spectacles or magnifying glasses (The Sensorites, Castrovalva, and others). The planet Gallifrey is much like Earth, but some of the trees have silver leaves, and its night sky is a burnt orange colour (The Sensorites). The Doctor has memories of lying on a hillside with his father while watching a meteor shower in this night sky (Doctor Who). Aside from his granddaughter, Susan, and an uncle he once mentions (Time and the Rani), we hear of no other members of his family. When speaking to his companion Victoria Waterfield about her father's death, he says that his family sleeps in his mind, and that it takes an effort for him to remember them (The Tomb of the Cybermen). He tells Kathleen Dudman, the future grandmother of his companion Ace, that he is not sure if his family is alive (The Curse of Fenric). He's been only slightly more forthcoming about his childhood.

Early Life
We know that he lived in a house in the mountains of South Gallifrey, near a hermit (The Time Monster, Planet of the Spiders) who told him ghost stories, including those of the Fendahl and the Great Vampires (Image of the Fendahl, State of Decay). Omega (The Three Doctors, Arc of Infinity) and the renegade Time Lord Salyavin (Shada) were among his early heroes. He had a boyhood dream of driving a steam engine (Black Orchid). At least some of his childhood games were similar to those played on Earth. He played conkers (The Highlanders), trains (The Evil of the Daleks), hopscotch (The Invasion of Time, Remembrance of the Daleks), and his abilities with a yo-yo (The Ark in Space, The Brain of Morbius, and others) suggest lots of practice. At some time in his childhood, he was accepted at the Prydonian Academy, and began the studies which would make him a Time Lord. Though we know quite a bit about The Doctor's education, we have no indication of his age when his schooling began, or how he came to be accepted at The Academy. His teachers included Borusa, who taught mathematics, telepathy, training in emotional detachment, and other subjects (The Deadly Assassin, The Invasion of Time), and Azmael, whom he considered his best teacher (The Twin Dilemma). One of his teachers, whose identity is unknown, was the only person with a complete understanding of artron energy, a form of mental power which is also an important part of operating a Tardis (The Deadly Assassin, Four to Doomsday). His classmates included the man we know only as The Master, who earned a higher degree in Cosmic Science (The Sea Devils), Runcible, who later became a broadcaster for the Public Register (The Deadly Assassin), Drax (The Armageddon Factor), and the woman we know as The Rani (The Mark of The Rani), a brilliant biochemist whose age is the same as The Doctor's (Time and The Rani). The Doctor belonged to the Prydonian chapter, whose members are said to be known for their deviousness (The Deadly Assassin), and his school nickname was Theta Sigma (The Armageddon Factor, The Happiness Patrol). He and The Master enjoyed building "time flow analogues" to disrupt each other's time experiments (The Time Monster). The Doctor's leisure activities included backgammon (Marco Polo) and chess (Silver Nemesis, The Curse of Fenric), particularly 3-dimensional chess (The Mind of Evil). The Academy taught a wide range of courses, and The Doctor seems to have taken most of them. He has a broad knowledge of law (The Highlanders, The Stones of Blood), particularly Gallifreyan law (The Deadly Assassin, The Trial of a Time Lord). He studied art (City of Death), architecture (The Invasion of Time), toxicology and pharmacology (The Two Doctors, The Deadly Assassin, and others), and history (Marco Polo, The Aztecs, and many others). He is an expert on power sources (Meglos), and his special subject was thermodynamics (Time and The Rani). He's a scientist and engineer (The Aztecs, The Mind of Evil, and others) who has described himself as being qualified in "practically everything" (The Mutants), although he admits that he knows very little about quasitronics (The Invasion of Time). There are numerous indications that he did not really apply himself at school, such as Borusa telling him that he'd "never amount to anything in the galaxy" with his "propensity for vulgar facetiousness" (The Deadly Assassin), and his companion, Romana, stating that he'd "scraped through with 51%" on his second attempt at passing his finals (The Ribos Operation). Nevertheless, he graduated from The Academy in the class of '92 (The Armageddon Factor). Since, as far as we know, the lower classes of Gallifrey cannot regenerate their bodies and do not possess the "Time Lord gift" which allows one to understand alien languages (The Masque of Mandragora), it seems likely that The Doctor underwent the processes which enable both of these as part of his graduation ceremonies. Judging from references made by The Doctor and other Time Lords, it seems that courses at The Academy included field trips in time and space. One of Gallifrey's Castellans seems quite familiar with the various styles of architecture which The Doctor mentions (The Invasion of Time), and Romana and The Doctor once discuss some of the best museums in the universe (City of Death). These are some of the places and events The Doctor has mentioned which he visited on these field trips. During this period, of course, The Doctor merely witnessed these events, rather than actively participating in them (which would certainly have been forbidden). The Doctor has studied the architecture of low-gravity planets (The Krotons); he saw Peruvian cities constructed by the Exxilons, as well as other examples of the 700 Wonders of the Universe (Death to the Daleks); he has visited the Pharos Lighthouse (Horror of Fang Rock, Logopolis); he's seen the architecture of Quasar Five, Riga, and the Sinian Empire (The Invasion of Time); he visited Heathrow Airport during the rebuilding of Terminal 3 (Four to Doomsday); he also studied the works of Kroagnon, the so-called "Great Architect", including Golden Dream Park, the Bridge of Perpetual Motion, and Miracle City (Paradise Towers). The Doctor has seen several types of refinery technology (Fury from the Deep, Terror of the Zygons, The Power of Kroll); he is quite familiar with mining technology (The Monster of Peladon, The Pirate Planet, and others); he has seen hydrogen plants "built along typical Scott-Bailey principles" (The Brain of Morbius); he saw moving mines similar to sand miners on the planet Korlonos Beta (The Robots of Death); he has "empirical knowledge" in the engineering of planetary relocation (The Twin Dilemma); Fine Arts Museums which The Doctor visited during his Academy studies include the Academius Stolaris on Sirius 5, the Solarium Panatica on Stricium, and the Braxiatel Collection (City of Death); he is familiar enough with several major works of art from Earth that he constructed holographic duplicates of them to disguise an ancillary power station in the Tardis (The Invasion of Time). He has also witnessed the Big Bang (Destiny of the Daleks, Terminus, The Curse of Fenric); he was present at the battle of Agincourt (The Masque of Mandragora, The Talons of Weng-Chiang); in the 21st century The Doctor saw entire planetary populations destroyed by the drug Vraxoin (Nightmare of Eden); he visited the 28th century, and learned of the INEER space organization (The Sensorites); he has been to the 30th century, knows of the pollution of Earth (The Mutants), and recognizes technology from this era (The Ark in Space). The Doctor is a Time Lord, once of some importance on Gallifrey, who grew disillusioned with the Time Lord lifestyle. He thought the Time Lords were wrong to do nothing but observe, rather that defend the weaker races against oppression. So he stole a TARDIS and fled Gallifrey.

Youth
The Doctor was either born (possibly from a union between a Time Lord father and a Human mother) (DW: Doctor Who) or Loomed into the House of Lungbarrow, possibly as a genetic reincarnation of sorts of the Other, one of the ancient and powerful Gallifreyans who had, with Rassilon and Omega, founded the Time Lords. (NA: Lungbarrow).


 * The Other may have been Loomed previously, before the Doctor, and taken a bride known as Patience.

Though Time Lords of his era went through a Looming process, the Doctor claimed on a few occasions to have been born. Once, to Sarah Jane Smith, he said his birth had occurred near Karn, a planet which had a history intertwined with that of the Time Lords. (DW: The Brain of Morbius) On another occasion, he said he was born "at the sign of crossed computers" (source?)

One account shows that the Doctor grew in the House of Lungbarrow, along with Cousins, other Galifreyans also produced by Looms. (NA: Lungbarrow) Another account by the Doctor says that he knew and had a relationship with his father (DW: Doctor Who).

The Doctor was born and lived his early life on Gallifrey, home planet of the Time Lords. In his first eight years of his life he was friends with the Master, the seventh incarnation of the Doctor related a story which explained his origins, alongside the Master's. He said that both he and the Master had been mercilessly and viciously bullied as children. The youthful Doctor found himself forced to kill the bully in order to save his friend's life. He was later confronted by Death, who insisted he become her disciple. The Doctor refused and instead suggested Death make the Master her champion instead, to which she agreed. The Doctor said that, because of this, he always felt partly responsible for the carnage the Master would later cause. (BFA: Master)


 * In a later incarnation, the Doctor would take on the role of Time's Champion.

Another story told by the Doctor said that like the Master, and all times, he had stared into the Untempered Schism as part of a Time Lord initiation rite. While this had impressed upon the Doctor the importance of preserving all creation, this simply drove the Master quietly insane. (DW: The Sound of Drums)

Academic Career
At the Academy, the Doctor belonged to a clique of ten young Time Lords with the collective name of the Deca, a group which included Koschei (later the Master) and Ushas (later known as the Rani), among others (PDA: Divided Loyalties). When he was 90 he visited the Medusa Cascade. The Doctor described himself as 'just a kid' then. (DW: The Stolen Earth).

As his companion Romana would later note, he did not have an impressive career at school. (DW: The Ribos Operation)

Exile
For five months, Susan and the Doctor lived in 1963 London to enable Susan to complete her education and so that the Doctor could find some missing components for the TARDIS (DW: An Unearthly Child); as later revealed, he was also finding a hiding place for the Hand of Omega, although this fact was not obvious at the time (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks).

By this time, a Dalek had already discovered him. The Doctor's seventh incarnation also appeared in his past self's life on a mission from the White Guardian, to steal the TARDIS Instruction Manual. (DWM: Time & Time Again)

Two teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton from Coal Hill School, tracked Susan down to a junkyard in 76 Totter's Lane, where the Doctor and Susan had left the TARDIS. Afraid they would expose him, the Doctor kidnapped the teachers. The TARDIS dematerialised and landed in 100,000 BC. (DW: An Unearthly Child)

Other travels
The Doctor remained unable to effectively pilot the TARDIS. Subsequently, the Doctor, Susan, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright travelled throughout the Universe, trying to find a way back to 1963 Earth.

In London during the time of the 22nd century Dalek invasion, Susan met David Campbell, a young resistance fighter against the Daleks. Recognising that Susan had matured from girl to woman, the Doctor left her behind. (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

Subsequently, the Doctor helped people in need and fighting such alien enemies as the Daleks (again), Zarbi (DW: The Web Planet) and the Cybermen (DW: The Tenth Planet).



Regeneration
He apparently succumbed to old age after his first meeting with the Cybermen, stating that "this old body is wearing a bit thin." Fortunately, the Doctor was able to return to the TARDIS in time to begin the regeneration process for the first time, transforming him into a new, younger body. (DW: The Tenth Planet)

Appearance


In his later life, the Doctor had shoulder length, greyish-white hair. He had piercing brown eyes.

The Doctor affected a slightly eccentric Edwardian dress sense, wearing a frock coat and tartan trousers. Occasionally he wore an Astrakhan (DW: An Unearthly Child, The Tenth Planet) or a Panama hat (DW: The Chase, The Daleks' Master Plan). He also sometimes wore a cape (DW: Planet of Giants, The War Machines). He had reading glasses and used a walking stick which made an effective weapon. (DW: The Chase) The Doctor wore a blue signet ring which had special powers. (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan)

This version of the Doctor, in contrast with most that followed, tended to make at least subtle, but often gross, changes to his attire when in Earth's past. In almost every one of his historical stories, he made at least slight alterations to his "standard" wardrobe to make it easier to fit in with the local society, as when he wore a cowboy hat in nineteenth century Arizona. (DW: The Gunfighters)

Personality
A mysterious character, the Doctor progressed from selfish anti-hero to a more noble figure, defending truth and the innocent. He was by turns casually disdainful yet formally gracious; easily exhausted while walking yet almost gleeful during a physical confrontation; seemingly wise yet prone to mistakes borne of arrogance and rash judgment. During this phase in his life, the Doctor was irascible, a brilliant but often short-tempered scientist. He refused to bend his knee to the Kublai Khan, giving rheumatic knees as the reason. (DW: Marco Polo). He would get particularly snappish with those who doubted the TARDIS could actually travel through space and time. He had no problem hitting a Viking when his own life was threatened. (DW: An Unearthly Child, DW: The Time Meddler)

At first he had a particularly selfish and duplicitous attitude. Having contempt for mere humans, he regarded them as primitives. He abducted Barbara and Ian against their will and set the TARDIS console to shock Ian into unconsciousness. Arguably, he even contemplated killing the mortally wounded Za so that he would not slow down the Doctor's party. (DW: An Unearthly Child) The Doctor also deliberately removed the TARDIS' fluid link so that he would have an excuse to explore the Dalek City on Skaro. (DW: The Daleks)



Especially as time went on, however, he displayed great wisdom and a kind heart. Perhaps due to his age, he seemed frailer than his later incarnations. He also appeared somewhat absent-minded, but this may have been exaggerated to make his enemies underestimate him. The Doctor would, when pressed, resort to fisticuffs with an effectiveness which belied his age. (DW: The Romans, DW: The Chase) He claimed that a professional wrestler, the Mountain Mauler of Montana had taught him some effective moves. (DW: The Romans)

Unlike his successors, he was often as reliant upon his companions as they were upon him -- many times it was Ian or Steven who saved the day. Nonetheless, the First Doctor possessed an aura of power and intelligence which was impossible to ignore.

He often returned to Earth at various times in its history, apparently motivated by historical curiosity rather than a desire to preserve it against alien invaders. On his voyages to other planets, he was again motivated as much by curiosity as by a desire to help them.

It is notable that all of his future incarnations have a noticeably profound respect for the First Doctor, so much so that they dare not question his judgment. In DW: The Three Doctors the Time Lords used this to their advantage when the Second and Third Doctor were found incapable of working together. Even the First Doctor's presence on the TARDIS' monitor gave off enough authoritative aura to convince the Second and Third Doctor to work in harmony.

In DW: The Five Doctors the original Doctor again shows his position of authority over his future selves by deducing the truth about Rassilon's gift of immortality before the others and taking action without their input or objections. These multiple Doctor stories also seem to hint that regeneration comes with the cost of gaps in memory and intelligence as the First Doctor is often shown to be wiser, more intelligent, and quick witted than his future incarnations.



Habits and Quirks
The First Doctor punctuated his speech with, "Hmmmm...?", exasperated sighs and snorts and the occasional mangled phrase or word. He would address young women as "child" and younger men as "my boy" or in Ian's case by his name. However, he found it difficult (or pretended to find it difficult) to remember Ian's last name. The TARDIS required expert piloting and guidance by the Doctor.

This would explain the difficulty the Doctor encountered in returning to 1963 London in order to return Ian and Barbara to their lives. The Doctor consulted a small handbook. The Doctor never even hinted at the nature of his own origins, other than to state that he and the Monk originated on the same world and to hint that Susan and himself were exiles from the same place and time. (DW: An Unearthly Child)

Family and relationship to Susan

 * In most accounts, Susan is unambiguously the Doctor's granddaughter. (DW: An Unearthly Child).
 * This notion would seem to carry through to the Tenth Doctor, who has alluded to this and other familial relationships.  He mentions being "a father once" to Rose Tyler. (DW: Fear Her).


 * Whatever their relation, the Doctor clearly treated her with greater affection than other companions. When it appears that he will be travelling alone now, he referred to her as "my little Susan" in a soliloquy in which he names all his previous companions (DW: The Massacre)


 * When she appeared lost in revolutionary France, the normally commanding incarnation is visibly shaken and must be calmed by Ian. Meanwhile, he offers Barbara  — who is in equal peril — a mumbled "be careful" while rushing off  to find Susan. (DW: The Reign of Terror)


 * The manner of her departure is equally unusual. She is to date the only companion to be physically locked out of the TARDIS, and the only companion whom the Doctor chose not to say goodbye to in person, when he had the ability to do so. (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth). Her departure moved him to a state of emotional discomfort. (DW: The Rescue)

The Daleks
The First Doctor seemed unfamiliar with the Daleks (DW: The Daleks), even though he had, we would learn later, hidden the Hand of Omega away on 1963 Earth, as part of an ongoing plan to defeat them. (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)

Other matters

 * This is the only incarnation ever known to smoke, specifically a pipe (DW: An Unearthly Child).


 * When the Doctor, Vicki, Barbara and Ian were being chased by the Daleks through time, he claimed to have built the TARDIS. (DW: The Chase) This statement stands in stark contrast with later incarnations and Time Lord authorities who claimed that the TARDIS was stolen (EDA: The Gallifrey Chronicles); it has also been suggested that the TARDIS was grown, rather than built (DW: Rise of the Cybermen, The Impossible Planet).  While the TARDIS could have been both grown and stolen, it is difficult to see how it could also have been built by the Doctor. ''Susan has made the claim that she coined the acronym TARDIS (DW: An Unearthly Child), leading to the possibility that the Doctor was somehow involved with the development of the TARDIS.


 * The computer WOTAN referred to the Doctor as "Doctor Who". Exactly why the computer would give the Doctor this name when he is never referred to as such is unknown. (DW: The War Machines)


 * See separate article.


 * The matter of this incarnation's age and how long this incarnation lived.


 * See The Doctor's age.

Key Life Events

 * Exiled (or escapes) from Gallifrey with his granddaughter, Susan, and a TARDIS. (DW: An Unearthly Child)
 * Arrives on Earth in 1963 and sets up a home in London, hiding the TARDIS in a scrapyard. (DW: An Unearthly Child) During this time, the Doctor hides the Hand of Omega (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)
 * Kidnaps Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright and takes them away from earth. (DW: An Unearthly Child)
 * Meets the Daleks for the first time (DW: The Daleks)
 * Begins to accept the idea of travelling with non-Gallifreyan companions. (DW: The Edge of Destruction, et al)
 * Leaves Susan to live out her life on Earth with David Campbell (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
 * Gains a new companion, Vicki (DW: The Rescue)
 * Returns Ian and Barbara to their homeworld and era, having long made peace with them for kidnapping them; immediately gains a new companion in Steven Taylor. (DW: The Chase)
 * Meets the Mechanoids and is taken prisoner by them but escapes.
 * Encounters The Meddling Monk, another Time Lord, for the first time. (DW: The Time Meddler)
 * Through Time Lord intervention, encounters his Second and Third incarnations. (DW: The Three Doctors)
 * Vicki leaves to make her place in human history; Katarina, believing the Doctor to be a god, joins him in his travels. (DW: The Myth Makers)
 * During a single tragic adventure, suffers the death of two companions, Katarina and Sara Kingdom. (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan) and the death of friend Bret Vyon
 * Relationship with Steven Taylor begins to break down, with Steven leaving the TARDIS in anger, only to soon return. Dodo Chaplet accidentially joins the TARDIS crew. (DW: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve)
 * Steven Taylor leaves the TARDIS, this time for good, in order to help rebuild a civilization. (DW: The Savages)
 * Dodo Chaplet is forced to stay on Earth due to injury; the Doctor gains two new companions, Polly and Ben Jackson (DW: The War Machines)
 * Meets the Cybermen for the first time, an encounter that physically drains the increasingly frail Doctor. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
 * Collapses in the TARDIS and regenerates for the first time. (DW: The Tenth Planet)