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The Doctor
First Doctor
The First Doctor
Portrayed by William Hartnell (1963–1966, 1972–1973)
Tenure 1963–1966
First appearance An Unearthly Child
Last appearance The Tenth Planet
Number of series 4
Appearances 29 stories (134 episodes)
Companions Susan Foreman
Barbara Wright
Ian Chesterton
Vicki
Steven Taylor
Katarina
Sara Kingdom
Dodo Chaplet
Polly
Ben Jackson
Chronology
Succeeded by Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton)
Series Seasons 1 to 4

The First Doctor was the first incarnation of the Time Lord who became known as the Doctor.

Pre Universal Experiment History[]

Beginning on Earth in 1963, his travels through time space were mostly random owing to faulty components in his TARDIS. (PROSE: Time and Relative) Initially, he travelled with his granddaughter Susan Foreman, but was forced to abruptly depart 1963 with Susan's teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, kidnapping them from their own time. After much travel with Ian and Barbara, he bade Susan farewell to allow her to live a happier life with a man with whom she had fallen in love.

Following Susan's departure, the Doctor travelled for a short time with Ian and Barbara, before happening upon the planet Dido, a planet he knew from previous journeys. Here, he invited a new travelling companion to join him, Vicki Pallister. She reminded him of Susan and the Doctor saw her as a surrogate to fill her spot in his travels with Ian and Barbara.

Later, during a confrontation with the Daleks, the Doctor used one of their time capsules to return Ian and Barbara to their proper time - something he had been unable to manage with his TARDIS. Vicki eventually left the Doctor's company as well, also after falling in love with a man she met on one of their travels.

Soon after the departure of Ian and Barbara, the Doctor and Vicki had gained a new companion in Steven Taylor, with whom the Doctor had a relatively uneasy relationship. Steven soon became bitter towards him, blaming him for the several deaths of their travelling companions; Katarina and Sara Kingdom, but eventually forgave him. Oliver Harper joined them on their travels but was killed shortly afterward on Grace Alone. They were then joined by Dodo Chaplet.

Ultimately, Dodo was injured in an adventure and decided to remain home in her own time, while Steven decided to stay to help a civilisation they had encountered.

Shortly before his battle with the Cybermen of Mondas in Antarctica in December 1986 the Doctor had gained two new companions in Ben Jackson and Polly Wright, to whom he was much more kind; he hoped to prevent them from leaving as Steven had.

Personality[]

This incarnation of the Doctor was a mysterious figure. He appeared to be a frail old man, despite the eventual revelation that he was actually the youngest of the Doctor's incarnations, and yet was possessed of unexpected reserves of strength and will. He obviously held tremendous knowledge of scientific matters, and yet was unable to pilot his TARDIS time ship reliably; his granddaughter Susan explained this by saying that her grandfather was "a bit forgetful." The Doctor shared a deep emotional bond with his granddaughter Susan, but was shown to be abrasive, patronising, and cantankerous towards his human travelling companions.

he was known to 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 surname. He later used Ian's surname - or a variant of it - frequently when addressing him.

He harboured a streak of ruthlessness, being willing to lie—and in one case attempt to kill—to achieve his goals. Initially, he distrusted his first two human companions, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who were forced on him. Over time, however, as they shared adventures together, he grew closer to them, and the TARDIS crew came to share almost a family bond.

Eventually, the Doctor began to enjoy his travels through time and space, taking people along for the ride and was always reluctant and sad to see them go, even when he knew it was for their own good. Eventually The Doctor's personality mellowed into a more grandfatherly Persona.


Appearance[]

The First Doctor has shoulder length, greyish-white hair and 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. He carried a wooden walking cane, with a twisted handle.

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