Talk:First Doctor

Rassilon Era
'Rassilon Era' suggests the time on Gallifrey when Rassilon was alive - is this correct? The use of it here and on the other Doctor pages suggests that the Doctor came from a period when Rassilon was still alive. Do we know that for a fact? Or, does 'Rassilon Era' apply to all Gallifreyan time after Rassilon? What is the origin of this phrase in the TV story or in the books etc? --Mantrid 03:30, 14 Jul 2005 (UTC)

it comes from the TVM. as well as a date, it gave the era. since I do not have a DVD of the TVM, I consulted the episode guide on the BBC site, which mentioned the Rassilon Era as one of the eras. presumbably this means the Gallifreyan present or in the 2005 series the post-Gallifreyan present. --*Stardizzy* 04:13, 14 Jul 2005 (UTC)


 * This website says the Rassilon Era is pre-Doctor. http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/o/origindr.htm --MJP 15:34, 14 Jul 2005 (UTC)

to use an analogy, Christian Era (CE) does not mean the time during which Jesus walked the Earth. it means the era dated by Christians as beginning at the birth of Jesus and continuing to now, versus BCE, meaning Before Christian Era.

besides which, the International Hero site mentioned the Rassilon era, not the Rassilon Era, as we would, say, talk about the Thatcher era or the Clinton era. not a formal designation, as such. --*Stardizzy* 23:01, 14 Jul 2005 (UTC)


 * Actually CE stands for Common Era and BCE Before Common Era.--The Doctor 19:03, 15 Jul 2005 (UTC)

yes, it does mean Common Era. and I remember mentioning that in a comment in this very Wiki. [sighs]

since writing the above, I did find that, yes, it did get confirmed in both the TVM and the DWM comic "The Final Chapter" that Rassilon Era refers to the Gallifreyan present. even though the dating system itself itself seems pretty inscrutable. --*Stardizzy* 21:07, 15 Jul 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for the clairfication on this point. I think it's important that we ramain canoncial in the info boxes. So, the fact that 'Rassilon Era' is mentioned in the TVM is the curcial point here. Had it ONLY been mentioned in The Final Chapter I don't think that would have been enough reason to make use of it. --Mantrid 17:06, 16 Jul 2005 (UTC)

I agree. --*Stardizzy* 07:15, 17 Jul 2005 (UTC)

Split up some information?
Does the Doctor's pre-exile biography belong on a separate page? --***Stardizzy*** 01:02, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Medusa Cascade
The Tenth Doctor mentioned that he had visited the Medusa Cascade at the age of 90. Surely this falls within the Doctor's first incarnation? --User:Crainun 15:31, 30th July 2008
 * I personally think it would. however, the Doctor gives wildly inconsistent accounts of his age at various points in his life. --Stardizzy2 15:41, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * He may have also been taking about his overall age - remember he must have been born in a body so could have been over 100 before the first doctor was seen on screen. --LuisFernandoLopez 16:24, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Redirect problem
The Doctor and the Enterprise for some reason redirects to this page. Yet there is no "redirected" notice when this happens. What the smeg is going on? ZeldaTheSwordsman 03:32, 2 April 2009 (UTC)

His first body or first regeneration?
Ok, is this his first body ie the one he was born in, or is this after his first regeneration. If it is just his first body then it would mean we could have 13 Doctors and not only 12. Does anyone know if he had regenerated before this. --LuisFernandoLopez 16:21, 10 July 2009 (UTC)


 * He refers to himself as "the original" in T5D and there are a few other references, such as some quite explicit language in Mawdryn Undead, that back this up. Thus it is generally accepted that William Hartnell played the very first Doctor. On the other hand, The Brain of Morbius implies that there were not just one, but several previous Doctors. Most fans simply ignore this, though there are also various fan explanations for the discrepancy. 69.154.188.179 05:21, January 15, 2010 (UTC)


 * There are multiple references on-screen that this is his first, "original" body. Time Lords do have twelve regenerations, so yes that would mean they have thirteen bodies/incarnations. The other faces seen in the mind-bending sequence in "The Brain of Morbius" are most easily explained as having been previous incarnations of Morbius (the other Time Lord in the contest). Spreee 20:00, March 1, 2010 (UTC)Spreee

Built, Grown, Stolen
I'm not sure why this is so hard to reconcile. One could build a computer for a friend and then steal it from him. So too could the Doctor have built/grown the TARDIS for some other person/institution only to have wound up stealing it for his own use.(86.1.172.195 05:14, 29 July 2009 (UTC))

The singular heartbeat
In the episode "The Edge of Destruction", Ian claims that the Doctor's "heartbeat" is steady - this links in with the theory that Time Lords that have been born rather than Loomed have one heart until they regenerate. Doesn't this prove that the Doctor was born rather than Loomed? BlueBox 21:28, January 21, 2010 (UTC)


 * It doesn't necessarily mean anything, except that Ian didn't know to check for a second heartbeat. In later stories, there's indication that you only really hear the one heart which is on the side of the chest you're listening to. Ian, not being a doctor, may not have noticed any "echo" from a second heart, if there was one. The "Looming concept" of course has never been brought up or referenced anywhere in the TV series, and is arguably contradicted by a few references. Spreee 20:07, March 1, 2010 (UTC)Spreee
 * Problem with that theory is that The End of Time establishes that the heartbeat of a Time Lord is definitely four beats, rather than two beats with echoes. And The Christmas Invasion proves that a 19-year-old shopgirl can tell when a Time Lord's second heart isn't beating.  These two things taken together suggest that Ian wouldn't need to have a medical background to have noticed a non-human heartbeat.  Still, as to BlueBox's original point, looming is a concept that frankly has little traction outside Lungbarrow — a low-selling book that effectively ended a range of Doctor Who fiction.  And you've got the chicken side when the egg side is the one you want.  It's not that The Edge of Destruction proves something said in Lungbarrow, but rather that Lungbarrow gave an explanation for why the First Doctor appeared to have only one heart.   Czech Out   ☎ | ✍  02:04, March 2, 2010 (UTC)

Gap down the side
What's with the gap down the left side of this article? At a glance I can't see anything abnormal in the code. Tardis1963 04:39, April 4, 2010 (UTC)