[Character Study] The Doctor
One
Somehow, One must have always had a sort of wisdom. Well, sort of. I can't really say that kidnapping Barbara and Ian was really any sorts of wise. He kind of panicked, didn't he? They found him in his little police box so he decides to take them with him? Well, in the end it worked out for the best. I do believe that Ian and Barbara completely changed the rest of the Doctor's life.
I wonder what he had anticipated after leaving Gallifrey. He claims later (Two) that he left because he was utterly bored with Time Lord society. I'm imagining something like Kingdom Hearts with Sora wanting to explore far off worlds. He finds an abandoned TARDIS and, first opportunity he could get, leaves Gallifrey with his stolen TARDIS. Susan, I suppose, adored her grandfather so much she just wanted to come along with him.
A note on Susan: we have absolutely no idea what happened to her, and I really wish the Doctor would go and check up on her. I mean, why doesn't he? I suppose he's scared of facing up to Susan and/or the woman she's become. Now more than ever.
One, I think, was someone who was ultimately more defined by his companions than as a person who defined his companions. He received their need to help people, their wonder of the universe and earth's history, and a sudden realization that he can't travel the universe alone. When Barbara and Ian left, I think he felt loneliness for the very first time- something that would plague him for the rest of his life to the point that he actively seeks out companions.
The most notable change, I believe, is One's moral compass. He starts out different from the Time Lords only in that he's more willing to head into the fray. Whereas Time Lords examined from afar, One had a liking for a more personal method. Later, however, he seemed to use his encounters to attempt to better those people he met.
Two
Let me just say I love the beginning of Two's regeneration. He refers to himself in third person, as if feeling a certain distance between himself and One. This is rectified later, of course, mainly through his companions again.
He's much less pretentious. In fact, I'd say that Two is probably the least pretentious Doctor. (One comes very close.) He's more focused on having all sorts of fun while getting shit done. He prefers pissing people off to establishing how awesome is (although it's established anyway by the end of the story).
Very similar to Eleven in that his main relationship with his companions is that of a mentor and guardian. He allows his companions to adventure on their own while still making sure everyone is safe and sound. The only time I believe he was genuinely distressed was in The War Machines when he started to feel extremely in over his head.
Three
Watch: The Time Monster, Inferno
Four
Watch: The Brain of Morbius, The Creature From The Pit, The Ribos Operation
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Listen: Scherzo
Nine
"born from war," and thus practically manic-depressive. Mostly, he seemed tired. Even when he was angry, or 'happy,' he was tired. At times, it seemed that he was subconsciously suicidal, not really caring if he lived or died. In fact, it seemed, at times, that he didn't want to die because he was determined to see Rose Tyler safe and sound.
Heavily influenced by Rose. This is, undoubtedly, a key point. Even then, however, oftentimes his humor seemed forced; every action was tinged with regret, longing, and determination.
Ten
My favorite, thus far.
Regeneration seems to be influenced by Nine's healing soul; series two was almost bland in comparison to later series, and I blame Rose's steadying influence. He was happier because of Rose (genuinely happy! and I note this because it seems that later and later on, his humor seemed almost forced as well), and they went about, saving the universe cheerfully.
Then, Rose was forced to leave. This seemed to reveal a darker aspect of the Doctor, shown in The Runaway Bride. Without Rose, it was as if he had been knocked, just a bit, off orbit. Luckily, even after Donna said no the first time, the Doctor found Martha.
Martha was good for the Doctor because she trusted him completely, and he could rely on her since she was actually clever. Perhaps she wasn't as 'remarkable' compared to Rose Tyler or Donna Noble (according to some fans), but the Doctor certainly relied on her to do things which must have been very difficult, such as protecting him while he was human and spreading the word of his name around in the Year that Never Was.
Ultimately, Martha left the Doctor because she realized that there were people who needed her more than the Doctor needed her. At this point, the Doctor had recovered more from losing Rose Tyler (as Donna points out later on), not to mention the Doctor absolutely did not requite Martha's crush. "This is me, getting out," she claims.
Donna became the Doctor's best friend. This is the best position to take, I think, and I'm really glad that there weren't really any romantic attachments, despite their obviously deep relationship. The Doctor obviously admired her force of personality and she eventually became something of an anchor for the Doctor's morals.
The loss of Donna probably hurt the Doctor nearly as much as losing Rose did, especially since she deserved so, so much better. Also, while Martha was trusted and relied on, Donna became that person that the Doctor emotionally looked to. Donna was a naturally 'fun' person, and the Doctor, in the aftermath of so much angst, gravitated towards her like a moth to a flame.
Something I think that the adventure in Journey's End underlines is that, although it's been mentioned before that the Doctor leaves his companions behind, people don't really take notice of the fact that his companions are also leaving him. The last few minutes really break your heart, since, although it's true that as Sarah Jane Smith says "You've got the largest family here on Earth," each of them have their own lives to get on with.
For a while, the Doctor travels alone, still haunted by the specters of his past companions. This is most noticeable when he turns down Lady Christina de Souza's offer to travel with him since presumably, in a different situation, he probably would have accepted.
Eleven
Reminds me of Two, but much more wretched.
The eleventh doctor is less attached to his companions, so far.
There is a deep, repressed self-loathing that is probably carried over from his past two incarnations.
Somehow, One must have always had a sort of wisdom. Well, sort of. I can't really say that kidnapping Barbara and Ian was really any sorts of wise. He kind of panicked, didn't he? They found him in his little police box so he decides to take them with him? Well, in the end it worked out for the best. I do believe that Ian and Barbara completely changed the rest of the Doctor's life.
I wonder what he had anticipated after leaving Gallifrey. He claims later (Two) that he left because he was utterly bored with Time Lord society. I'm imagining something like Kingdom Hearts with Sora wanting to explore far off worlds. He finds an abandoned TARDIS and, first opportunity he could get, leaves Gallifrey with his stolen TARDIS. Susan, I suppose, adored her grandfather so much she just wanted to come along with him.
A note on Susan: we have absolutely no idea what happened to her, and I really wish the Doctor would go and check up on her. I mean, why doesn't he? I suppose he's scared of facing up to Susan and/or the woman she's become. Now more than ever.
One, I think, was someone who was ultimately more defined by his companions than as a person who defined his companions. He received their need to help people, their wonder of the universe and earth's history, and a sudden realization that he can't travel the universe alone. When Barbara and Ian left, I think he felt loneliness for the very first time- something that would plague him for the rest of his life to the point that he actively seeks out companions.
The most notable change, I believe, is One's moral compass. He starts out different from the Time Lords only in that he's more willing to head into the fray. Whereas Time Lords examined from afar, One had a liking for a more personal method. Later, however, he seemed to use his encounters to attempt to better those people he met.
Two
Let me just say I love the beginning of Two's regeneration. He refers to himself in third person, as if feeling a certain distance between himself and One. This is rectified later, of course, mainly through his companions again.
He's much less pretentious. In fact, I'd say that Two is probably the least pretentious Doctor. (One comes very close.) He's more focused on having all sorts of fun while getting shit done. He prefers pissing people off to establishing how awesome is (although it's established anyway by the end of the story).
Very similar to Eleven in that his main relationship with his companions is that of a mentor and guardian. He allows his companions to adventure on their own while still making sure everyone is safe and sound. The only time I believe he was genuinely distressed was in The War Machines when he started to feel extremely in over his head.
Three
Watch: The Time Monster, Inferno
Four
Watch: The Brain of Morbius, The Creature From The Pit, The Ribos Operation
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Listen: Scherzo
Nine
"born from war," and thus practically manic-depressive. Mostly, he seemed tired. Even when he was angry, or 'happy,' he was tired. At times, it seemed that he was subconsciously suicidal, not really caring if he lived or died. In fact, it seemed, at times, that he didn't want to die because he was determined to see Rose Tyler safe and sound.
Heavily influenced by Rose. This is, undoubtedly, a key point. Even then, however, oftentimes his humor seemed forced; every action was tinged with regret, longing, and determination.
Ten
My favorite, thus far.
Regeneration seems to be influenced by Nine's healing soul; series two was almost bland in comparison to later series, and I blame Rose's steadying influence. He was happier because of Rose (genuinely happy! and I note this because it seems that later and later on, his humor seemed almost forced as well), and they went about, saving the universe cheerfully.
Then, Rose was forced to leave. This seemed to reveal a darker aspect of the Doctor, shown in The Runaway Bride. Without Rose, it was as if he had been knocked, just a bit, off orbit. Luckily, even after Donna said no the first time, the Doctor found Martha.
Martha was good for the Doctor because she trusted him completely, and he could rely on her since she was actually clever. Perhaps she wasn't as 'remarkable' compared to Rose Tyler or Donna Noble (according to some fans), but the Doctor certainly relied on her to do things which must have been very difficult, such as protecting him while he was human and spreading the word of his name around in the Year that Never Was.
Ultimately, Martha left the Doctor because she realized that there were people who needed her more than the Doctor needed her. At this point, the Doctor had recovered more from losing Rose Tyler (as Donna points out later on), not to mention the Doctor absolutely did not requite Martha's crush. "This is me, getting out," she claims.
Donna became the Doctor's best friend. This is the best position to take, I think, and I'm really glad that there weren't really any romantic attachments, despite their obviously deep relationship. The Doctor obviously admired her force of personality and she eventually became something of an anchor for the Doctor's morals.
The loss of Donna probably hurt the Doctor nearly as much as losing Rose did, especially since she deserved so, so much better. Also, while Martha was trusted and relied on, Donna became that person that the Doctor emotionally looked to. Donna was a naturally 'fun' person, and the Doctor, in the aftermath of so much angst, gravitated towards her like a moth to a flame.
Something I think that the adventure in Journey's End underlines is that, although it's been mentioned before that the Doctor leaves his companions behind, people don't really take notice of the fact that his companions are also leaving him. The last few minutes really break your heart, since, although it's true that as Sarah Jane Smith says "You've got the largest family here on Earth," each of them have their own lives to get on with.
For a while, the Doctor travels alone, still haunted by the specters of his past companions. This is most noticeable when he turns down Lady Christina de Souza's offer to travel with him since presumably, in a different situation, he probably would have accepted.
Eleven
Reminds me of Two, but much more wretched.
The eleventh doctor is less attached to his companions, so far.
There is a deep, repressed self-loathing that is probably carried over from his past two incarnations.