The Lore of Doctor Who (featuring Exclusive Doctor Who Previews)
Howdy follks! It's Joe Dyer again here with another Lore article! It's been a while since I did one of these and this one is incredibly off-kilter since we are tackling the wonderful world of Doctor Who in preparation for the release of the Universes Beyond: Doctor Who Commander decks that are coming out soon!
This is nowhere meant to be an extensive lore dump, and we're going to keep things at a fairly high level here, as Doctor Who lore can be incredibly deep and at some points rather confusing. I'm also going to try to not be as spoiler-y as possible. River Song would approve. If there is something you think I missed in this, let me know!
In addition to the lore, we've also got a bunch of cool new exclusive preview cards! Thanks so much to Wizards of the Coast for providing these to us!
Without further ado.... allons-y!
The Origins of Doctor Who
Doctor Who originally started airing in November of 1963 (at around 17:16:20 GMT, a time that is interesting to note because it was actually eighty seconds later than its scheduled time due to announcements concerning the assassination of John F. Kennedy) on the BBC Television Service.
Intended to be a regular weekly programme, it was originally going to be more of an educational effort utilizing time travel as a way to showcase scientific ideas and famous moments in history. However, due to some scripts that weren't yet ready one of the initial serials that was available would introduce the most popular antagonists of Doctor Who known as the Daleks. This alone forever changed the landscape of the show.
The show revolved around the Doctor, an alien who portrayed great intelligence, exploring the cosmos in his time machine. However, William Hartnell, who portrayed the First Doctor, had some ailing health issues which prompted the showrunners to come up with the concept of "regeneration", a notion that the Doctor could regenerate their body upon a mortal injury or illness. This gave the showrunners a way to replace Hartnell who could not continue playing the role due to his health.
Doctor Who ran originally for 26 seasons from November of 1963 to December of 1989 with a total of Eight Doctors. The series was revived in 2005, starting with the Ninth Doctor and has continued to run to this day with many major accomplishments and awards.
The Doctor
The Doctor is an alien known as a Time Lord from the planet of Gallifrey. They are a traveler through time and space who utilizes a stolen time machine known as a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space). The TARDIS is a fairly unique time machine, able to customize its appearance on the outside and the inside. Its exterior form for the series has become truly iconic, as it takes the form of a 1963 police telephone call box. We'll talk about this later, so let's keep talking about the Doctor!
The Doctor's status as a Time Lord means that their physiology is quite different than humans, but they resemble a human in all exterior facets. The Doctor has two hearts that allows the Doctor to utilize regeneration upon a fatal injury or illness, regrowing their body into a new appearance. The Doctor also has exhibited several inherent abilities to absorb large amounts of certain kinds of radiation, the ability to withstand underwater without air, and is also resistant to extreme temperatures.
The Doctor also exhibits extreme intelligence and telepathic abilities, able to often sense things that normal humans cannot.
The Doctor's true name is a bit of an unknown quantity throughout the series, as "The Doctor" is not the Time Lord's real name. This plot thread has been used in the series in numerous ways, from the use of the name as a password to the Doctor's grave on the planet of Trenzalore to the answer to the question posed by the other Time Lords trapped outside of time. The name of "The Doctor" has been expressed to not be a title or a profession of the Time Lord. In The Name of the Doctor, the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) advised his Companion Clara Oswald the "The Doctor" was a promise he had made. This promise is later revealed to be "Never cruel nor cowardly. Never give up. Never give in" in the episode The Day of the Doctor.
To date there are technically 15 official Doctors that are "Numbered", meaning they are referred to colloquially by names such as the Fourth Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor, and soforth. In addition to those officially named and numbered Doctors there have been a few other incarnations of the character from John Hurt's "War Doctor" to Jo Martin's "Fugitive Doctor" as well as "The Valeyard" (a possible future incarnation of the character where they turned evil).
The Thirteenth Doctor's run of the series introduced a somewhat controversial notion of the Doctor being known as the "Timeless Child", revising the Doctor's origins as a child discovered by a Gallifreyan scientist who incorporated the child's ability to regenerate into their own race, forming the Time Lords. The Doctor themselves has limitless regenerations, which is a marked change from the original concept of only having twelve regenerations maximum. Other Time Lords however do only have a maximum of twelve regenerations, as that was forcibly limited by Time Lord society. This change is certainly exceptionally controlversial amongst Doctor Who fans.
The future of the series past this is a very interesting time. We will have the 60th Anniversary specials coming soon, bringing back David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor as well as companion Donna Noble, and then the Fifteenth Doctor who is being portrayed by Rwandan-Scottish Ncuti Gatwa (who will be the first black actor to portray the role as well as the fourth Scottish actor to take the role).
Much of this article is as much a love letter to my own favorite Doctors as well, so let's dive into some specific Doctors and their impact. If your Doctor isn't listed here, don't worry! There's plenty of things out there on everyone's favorite Doctor, these are just some of my favorites. I'm also including a few relevant episodes for each Doctor that give a good idea of what each of these Doctors is about.
The First Doctor - William Hartnell
When it comes to the Doctor, you can't really ever go wrong with the original. William Hartnell's Doctor was a true wizard, a very stern and paternal character. Hartnell defined the character as a quirky old man who took his Companions on fantastical journeys. The First Doctor would go on to regenerate into the Second Doctor in the serial The Tenth Planet which is the first story to ever feature the Cybermen, one of the now classic enemies of the Doctor in the current age.
Unfortunately William Hartnell would later pass away in 1975, but this would not be the last time we would see the First Doctor. Actor David Bradley would not only play William Hartnell himself in the documentary An Adventure in Space and Time but would go on to reprise Hartnell's version of the First Doctor in the two-part episodes The Doctor Falls and Twice Upon a Time alongside Peter Capadli's Twelth Doctor, and in the Thirteenth Doctor's final episode The Power of the Doctor.
Relevant Episodes
- The Daleks (Serial #2 consisting of 7 episodes)
- The Tenth Planet (Serial #29 consisting of 4 episodes - Note that Episode 4 is missing due to BBC's policy of wiping archived programmes at this time, there is a version with an animated reconstruction of the final episode which includes the Doctor's regeneration into the Second Doctor)
- The Doctor Falls / Twice Upon a Time (The Twelth Doctor era)
The Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker
Of all the Doctors on this list, Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor is my all-time favorite. Tom Baker's version of the character is one of the most recognizable of most Doctors, with his iconic multicolor scarf and fond preference for jelly babies (a jelly sweet from Lancashire, England) in addition to his tenure of seven seasons on the show. The Fourth Doctor is whimsical sort, but occasionally is quite brooding.
During Baker's tenure, the character would come into contact with many of Doctor Who's classic enemies such as the Daleks and the Master. One of Baker's best serials from this era was City of Death, which was co-written by Douglas Adams (of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame). This serial involved the Doctor being caught up in an alien plot to steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and even included a cameo by Monty Python actor John Cleese. It's a real treat of a serial and a great window into what makes Tom Baker's Doctor so interesting and fun.
Baker's Doctor would regenerate during the final episode of the serial Logopolis, but Baker himself would actually return to the series in the 50th Anniversary special The Day of the Doctor as a mysterious museum curator who alludes to Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor that he might be a future incarnation of the Doctor himself revisiting old favorites.
Relevant Episodes
- Genesis of the Daleks (Serial #4 consisting of six episodes)
- City of Death (Serial #105 consisting of four episodes)
- Logopolis (Serial #115 consisting of four episodes)
- The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary special)
The Ninth Doctor - Christopher Eccleston
Doctor Who as a show was officially revived by BBC for 2005, moving into the more Modern era of the show. This change not only introduced a more Modern Doctor, but also changed its format from the serial format that had been iconic to the original series into more a standard television series run with more self-contained episodes. With this change we received the first of the Modern era Doctors with Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor.
The Ninth Doctor is an interesting one, as he is a Doctor after the end of the Time War, a massive conflict between the Daleks and the Time Lords that resulted in the destruction of both races. The Doctor is a loner here, believing he is the last of the Time Lords. His personality is very dark, tempered by humor and a sheer determination to protect the innocent. Eccleston's run on the show is one of the shortest overall, only lasting for a single season. In all reality, I really enjoyed Eccleston's portrayal of the character. His episodes are quite iconic, featuring such powerful imagery as the "Bad Wolf" and the introduction of popular characters like Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness.
The Ninth Doctor's primary antagonists throughout the course of the season are the Daleks, one of Doctor Who's most terrifying and classic enemies. In the end, the Doctor regenerates into the Tenth Doctor during the episode The Parting of the Ways.
Relevant Episodes
- Rose (Episode 1)
- Dalek (Episode 6)
- The Parting of the Ways (Episode 13)
The Tenth Doctor - David Tennant
David Tennant took over the mantle of the Doctor in December of 2005 with the Christmas Special The Christmas Invasion after having regenerated from Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor. Tennant's incarnation of the Doctor is one of the more iconic incarnations, often highly ranked such alongside Tom Baker's The Fourth Doctor.
Tennant's portrayal of the character was highly charismatic and charming. He's a very likable Doctor overall, however his easygoing nature can easily turn to righteous fury. When this occurs, the Doctor is cold and dark. During this era, the Doctor still believes that he is the last of the Time Lords. Tennant is another one of my favorite Doctors. He is fun and interesting and has plenty of quotable episodes.
Tennant's run lasted for three seasons and introduced a number of interesting characters and storylines. Rose Tyler stayed on as a companion for another season, becoming quite close to Tennant's Doctor. She was replaced by companion Martha Jones, who was eventually also replaced by Donna Noble, and we also saw Captain Jack Harkness again. This series also saw Daleks, the Cybermen, and even Sontarans. It also saw new and incredible creatures such as the Weeping Angels, the Ood, and the Family of Blood.
This run of the series also saw the introduction of the character River Song, who would go on to become quite important to Matt Smith's run as the Eleventh Doctor. David Tennant's run as the character ended with the special The End of Time, a two-part special that saw the Doctor finally giving in to his regeneration with the iconic line "I don't want to go."
Relevant Episodes
- The Christmas Invasion (2005 Christmas Special)
- Blink (Series 3 Episode 10)
- Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead (Series 4 Episodes 8-9)
- The End of Time (2 Part Special)
- The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)
The Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith
Matt Smith's version of the Doctor is one that actually took a bit for me to warm up to, especially after the powerhouse that was David Tennant. However, I definitely recognize that Matt's tenure was very interesting and had a lot of really strong episodes in it. The Eleventh Doctor is the "Raggedy Doctor", a quick-tempered and compassionate character who is world-weary despite his young appearance. This incarnation of the Doctor faced down multitudes of enemies with a smile on his face and a fez on his head (fezzes are cool) in addition to his signature bow tie (bow ties are also cool).
Among Matt Smith's tenure was the fact that his supporting cast during the course of the seasons was some of the strongest supporting cast the show ever had. Companions such as Amy and Rory Pond, the understanding that River Song (the Doctor's wife) was the daughter of those two Melody Pond, and the Paternoster Gang (Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax) were simply amazing characters.
The Eleventh Doctor appeared alongside the Tenth Doctor in addition to the previously unknown incarnation known as The War Doctor (portrayed by John Hurt) in the 50th Anniversary special The Day of the Doctor. During this episode it's revealed that the Doctor is not the last of the Time Lords, as the Doctor's combined incarnations used their genius intellect to hide their home planet of Gallifrey in a pocket dimension which allowed the Daleks to destroy themselves. Renewed with this information, the Doctor seeks out Gallifrey once more by taking the "long way" towards home.
Eventually the Doctor lands on the planet Trenzalore, which is where he is fated to perish. It here that the Doctor learns that the cracks in the universe are the Time Lords attempting to burst through by asking the oldest question in the universe of "Doctor Who?" During the battles, his companion Clara Oswald convinces the Time Lords to grant the Doctor a new regeneration cycle and he regenerates into the Twelfth Doctor.
Relevant Episodes
- The Eleventh Hour (Series 5 Episode 1)
- A Good Man Goes to War (Series 6 Episode 7)
- The Wedding of River Song (Series 6 Episode 13)
- The Name of the Doctor (Series 7 Episode 13)
- The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)
- The Time of the Doctor (Regeneration Episode)
The Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi
Peter Capaldi's intense Twelfth Doctor was a real tonal shift from the previous Doctors so it's definitely worth mentioning here. His incarnation of the character is very brusque and spiky, but over time he becomes a kinder and more compassionate person. For me, Capaldi's initial content was not as good, but I definitely grew to appreciate him over time. Capaldi's acting style was quite solid though and lended itself well to the series.
The Twelfth Doctor was initially joined by previous companion Clara Oswald, who had a hard time reconciling the new Doctor's face and personality. She eventually left on her own adventures and was replaced by Bill Potts and Nardole as Companions.
Capaldi's tenure saw multiple interesting antagonists, from the Ice Warriors to the Cybermen. It also saw the return of the character of the Master, this time as a Time Lady known as Missy. His regeneration took place in the episode Twice Upon a Time where he would meet the First Doctor.
One of our first preview cards of the article is related directly to the Twelfth Doctor! This comes from the episode Mummy on the Orient Express and it's one of the new Plane cards from the set, based on the Dining Car from the episode's titular space-traveling Orient Express.
Relevant Episodes
- Listen (Series 8 Episode 4)
- Death in Heaven (Series 8 Episode 12)
- Heaven Sent / Hell Bent (Series 9 Episodes 11-12)
- Thin Ice (Series 10 Episode 3)
- Twice Upon a Time (Regeneration Special)
The Thirteenth Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
Jodie was the first ever woman to portray the Doctor, taking over in 2017 from Peter Capaldi by first appearing in the special Twice Upon a Time after Capaldi's regeneration. The first premiere would come in 2018 with The Woman Who Fell to Earth.
The Thirteenth Doctor is often portrayed as a compassionate and lighthearted adventure type, placing great value on her friendships. She has a passion for building things and seeks out nonviolent solutions wherever possible. Jodie's version of the character was smart, funny, inspiring, and witty to a tee. Many of her adversaries in this run were everyone from the Cybermen to the Division (a sect of the Time Lords). This run also saw a brief return of Captain Jack Harkness in a cameo role.
Thirteen's run is somewhat controversial to a number of Who fans. Primarily this is because while Jodie herself was fantastic, it often felt like she was forced to deal with poor storylines and writing on the end of Chris Chibnall, showrunner for the entirety of Jodie's run as the Doctor. For me, I really enjoyed Jodie's take on the character, as I felt she was fun and interesting and some of the stories were excellent (Demons of the Punjab simply being a stunning episode for sure) but the Timeless Child storyline was a bit much.
Jodie's stories often took her to some fantastical places. Our next preview card is from one of those places. It's a Plane card representing the Kerblam! Warehouse, a massive galaxy-wide shipping corporation that the Doctor and her companions infiltrate after receiving a plea for help in the packaging.
The big surprise of Jodie's run came at the end of her time, where she regenerated with a solid line ("Tag! You're it.") into a familiar body of the now known Fourteenth Doctor portrayed by David Tennant for the 60th Anniversary.
Relevant Episodes
- The Woman Who Fell to Earth (Series 11 Episode 1)
- Demons of the Punjab (Series 11 Episode 6)
- Revolution of the Daleks (2021 Special)
- The Power of the Doctor (October 2022 Special)
The TARDIS
The Doctor's primary mode of travel through time and space is in the TARDIS (again Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space). The TARDIS always takes the form of a 1963 police telephone call box in the series. This is primarily due in part to a malfunctioning "chameleon circuit" in the Doctor's TARDIS. The "chameleon circuit" is supposed to change the exterior of the ship to allow it to blend into the environment it lands in, but the malfunction has led the Doctor's TARDIS to continue to remain in the form of the police call box. In the 2005 episode Boom Town, the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) has remarked that he stopped trying to repair the circuit due to the fact that he became fond of the TARDIS's appearance.
TARDISes appear small on the outside (especially the Doctor's TARDIS), but they are "bigger on the inside". Inside of the doors is a large control room with a console in the center from which the Doctor operates the TARDIS. This control room has changed just as much with each Doctor, suiting itself to each Doctor's preferences over time. Beyond this is an infinite number of rooms and corridors, all of which are capable of changing their appearance. Of note, there's been quite a bit shown of the TARDIS itself in the series, especially in more Modern era Doctor Who with the episode Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. The TARDIS has a fair amount of interesting technology besides its infinite space inside, including a "translation circuit" that allows inhabitants to understand languages other than their own. It can also produce an air bubble around it to allow occupants to survive in areas without oxygen as long as they are close to it.
The TARDIS is also incredibly massive in terms of raw weight, having shown to be an incredibly heavy ship despite its seemingly small size.
The TARDIS makes a very distinctive sound when traveling through time, a very wheezing groaning noise that was originally created by sound technician Brian Hiodgson recording the sound of his mother's house key scraping up and down the strings of an old piano. He then took that sound and re-recorded by changing the tape speed up and down and splicing the sounds together. The sound of the TARDIS has become just as iconic as its appearance in popular culture.
Companions
One of the other common tropes of Doctor Who is the presence of the Doctor's Companions. The Doctor's Companion or Companions act in the story as an audience surrogate for the story overall, providing the viewer a lens in which they can understand the events happening in the series. Often times, the Companion will ask questions for expository reasons (as a method of helping the audience understand what is going on). Companions also humanize the Doctor at times, providing a moral compass for the Doctor to center on.
Many of the Companions in the series have often challenged the Doctor and have proven to be strong characters in their own right.
Over time there have been many different makeups of Companions, from single Companions to an entire group of characters. Of these Companions there are a few notable exceptions. Of course, as with Doctors everyone has their favorites and the Doctor Who fandom often has a lot of friction regarding what constitutes a good Companion. These are some of my favorites in addition to the notable ones from each of my favorite Doctors.
Sarah Jane Smith
If there is ever a companion who was truly an amazing one, it was Sarah Jane Smith. Portrayed by Elisabeth Sladen (who sadly passed away in 2011 due to cancer), Sarah Jane was an investigative journalist who encounters the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and later becomes a stalwart companion of the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). Sarah Jane is one of Doctor Who's longest serving companions, having been with the Doctor for a little over four seasons and even having made a reappearance in the modern era of Doctor Who alongside the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant).
Sarah Jane also went on to star as the central character of her own series The Sarah Jane Adventures which focused on Sarah Jane's investigations into alien activity alongside her son Luke Smith and supercomputer Mr Smith. This series delved deeper into Sarah Jane's characterization as a whole, even going into her past as a young girl. This series also encountered the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) who was the final Doctor to ever appear in a series with Elisabeth Sladen before her untimely death in 2011.
Sladen's death ended the show in the middle of its fifth series, with its final broadcast coming in a montage showcasing Sarah Jane's journey throughout time. It ended with the final caption "And the story goes on... forever."
Seriously though, Sarah Jane is one of the best companions the show has ever had, and Elisabeth Sladen is definitely missed every day for her contributions to this show and more.
Relevant Episodes
- The Time Warrior (Serial 70 consisting of four episodes)
- Genesis of the Daleks (Serial 74 consisting of six episodes)
- School Reunion (Series 2 Episode 170)
- The Sarah Jane Adventures
Rose Tyler - The Bad Wolf
Rose Tyler is one of the shows more oddly contentious companions, due to the fact that she was utilized to some extent as a companion who falls in love with the Doctor, something that was fairly uncommon to the series as a whole. Billie Piper's portrayal of Rose however, was quite solid, and she initially appeared as a companion to Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor.
Rose is known as "The Bad Wolf", saving the Doctor from the Daleks on the space station Satellite 5 by tearing open the console of the TARDIS and exposing herself to the raw power of the time vortex. She defeats the Daleks and uses her powers to spread the phrase "Bad Wolf" across the entirety of space and time as a warning for the Doctor. After this, the Doctor regenerates into the Tenth Doctor.
Rose becomes quickly acclimated to the new Doctor, becoming one of his closest companions. She would later go on to become trapped in a parallel universe, but would return to assist the Doctor in a battle against Davros. She is returned to her universe at the end of all of this.
Relevant Episodes
- Rose (Series 1 Episode 1)
- Army of Ghosts / Doomsday (Series 2 Episodes 12-13)
- The Stolen Earth / Journey's End (Series 4 Episodes 12-13)
- The Day of the Doctor (50th Anniversary Special)
The Ponds
Amy Pond and Rory Williams are very interesting Companions mainly because they are a married couple journeying into the unknown alongside the Doctor. Amy is the first of the two to meet the Doctor, as a young girl after the Doctor crash landed in her front yard. After investigating a crack in Amelia Pond's wall, the Doctor leaves in the TARDIS claiming to be right back but is late to the mark by 12 years. During this time, Amelia grew up believing the Doctor to be real but being told he was just an imaginary friend.
After meeting the Doctor once more, she takes off an adventure on the night of her wedding to Rory to journey with the Doctor. The Doctor later brings Rory into the fold after finding this out.
Amy and Rory have one of the more complicated timelines of any companions in the series. From the fact that Rory spent 2,000 years as an Auton duplicate to the fact that the duo's daughter is the half-human, half-Time Lord Melody Pond (aka River Song), the two have a very interesting timeline. The two exit the series in the episode The Angels Take Manhattan, but Amy herself would later return during The Time of the Doctor to bid Matt Smith goodbye during his regeneration scene.
Relevant Episodes
- The Eleventh Hour (Series 5 Episode 1)
- Vincent and the Doctor (Series 5 Episode 10)
- Let's Kill Hitler (Series 6 Episode 8)
- The Angels Take Manhattan (Series 7 Episode 5)
Clara Oswald - The Impossible Girl
The "Impossible Girl" herself, Clara Oswald first appeared in the series under the alias Oswin Oswald, a trapped survivor of a starship who had been converted into a Dalek. Oswin herself dies in this episode, but later appears again in The Snowmen under the alias Clara Oswin Oswald, a Victorian nanny. This incarnation of Clara also perishes, leading the Eleventh Doctor on a journey to find her.
Eventually the Doctor finds her and the two journey together. At some point it's revealed that Clara truly is the Impossible Girl, sacrificing her very existence across time and space to assist the Doctor throughout the character's time stream, even showing herself to interact with the Doctor at very crucial moments in existence.
Clara is also instrumental in the episode The Day of the Doctor by convincing the War Doctor to change his own history to save Gallifrey instead of destroying it. She weathers the Doctor's regeneration cycle into the Twelfth Doctor and for a short time grapples with the idea of his changed face.
Clara's internal timestream is also very wild, as the character later dies in the storyline before coming back to life due to the Doctor's intervention. She leaves the Doctor with the character Ashildr, traveling in her own stolen TARDIS.
Relevant Episodes
- Asylum of the Daleks (Series 7 Episode 1)
- The Snowmen (2012 Christmas Special)
- The Name of the Doctor (Series 7 Episode 13)
- Face the Raven (Series 9 Episode 10)
River Song
I couldn't not mention River Song. This time travelling badass was originally introduced during the Tenth Doctor's era, where it's implied that she and the Doctor meet out of order in their timelines, actually meeting Tennant's version of the character right before her untimely death.
It is later revealed that River was born as Melody Pond, daughter of both Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Due to the fact that she was conceived on board of the TARDIS while it travelled through the time vortex, Melody was born with many similar genetic traits as a Time Lord. Her name switch to River Song came from a translation of her original name via the language of the Gamma Forests. That language has no ponds, only rivers, so the name River Song was coined.
River was originally kidnapped by the religious following the Silence to kill the Doctor, but eventually River cares about the Doctor very closely and the two characters become husband and wife. The last Doctor to meet River was the Twelfth Doctor, who spends 24 years with him on the planet Darillium (where the nights last that long) in order to have a happy life spent with him before venturing on to meet the Tenth Doctor for the very first time before her death. In fact, we have another preview card in a new Plane representing the Singing Towers of Darillium.
Relevant Episodes
- Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead (Series 4 Episodes 8-9)
- Let's Kill Hitler (Series 6 Episode 8)
- The Wedding of River Song (Series 6 Episode 13)
- The Husbands of River Song (2015 Christmas Special)
Enemies of the Doctor
Like any protagonist, the Doctor has had numerous villains throughout the years of the show. Many have come and stayed, some are the monster of the week, but they're all generally interesting. Here's some of the more notable ones.
The Daleks
The Daleks are one of the most iconic antagonists of the entire Doctor Who series, their roots in the show's very beginning. Appearing in the second serial The Daleks, the Dalek species was genetically modified by an insane scientist named Davros on the planet Skaro, created out of an existing species called the Kaleds. Davros purged what he felt was weaknesses in his people, creating a species devoid of empathy and mercy, but full of hatred and a belief in genetic purity.
The Daleks have been a part of nearly every Doctor's tenure within the series. Their iconic visual appearance of a robot with an eye stalk and a plunger for an arm makes them seem fairly goofy, but they are among the show's most terrifying and dangerous antagonists. Inside their shell, the Daleks appear as a squid-like mutant creature with one or two eyes. Daleks can't speak except through their shells, and their voices are a very heavy electronic tone, and their blasters are highly dangerous, able to disintegrate living beings in one hit. Daleks are quite famous for one of the most iconic of lines "EXTERMINATE!"
The Daleks have been such a huge part of the series, that they were the ancient enemy of the Time Lords, having been the other half of the Time War that resulted in the destruction of both races.
Relevant Episodes
- The Daleks (Serial #2 consisting of 7 episodes)
- Genesis of the Daleks (Serial #78 consisting of 6 episodes)
- Dalek (Series 1 Episode 6)
- Into the Dalek (Series 8 Episode 2)
The Cybermen
The Cybermen are another highly iconic race of antagonists in Doctor Who, first appearing in the last serial of the First Doctor called The Tenth Planet. This explains the origins of the Cybermen as a race of Mondasians (a twin planet to Earth knocked out of orbit) who had advanced themselves to the point where they existed in cybernetic bodies. Through this process they also removed all emotion from their brains, becoming a race of soulless killing machines.
The Cybermen have been all over the series and have become nearly as iconic as the Daleks. They are dangerous and powerful enemies, forcibly taking humans and converting them into Cybermen to further their cause of conquering the known universe. They've also had numerous origins of different groups of Cybermen, from the original Mondasian Cybermen to different Cybermen forming across time and space. They are famous for the utilization of the phrase "Delete". In fact, Delete is another one of our preview cards!
This card reminds me a lot of cards like Whipflare and I suspect it will be a good scalable card for artifact creature-centric strategies, especially in formats like Commander. The flavor here is spot on to the concept of the Cybermen, as they abhor creatures of flesh and constantly seek to "delete" them from existence.
Relevant Episodes
- The Tenth Planet (Serial #29 consisting of 4 episodes)
- Revenge of the Cybermen (Serial #79 consisting of 4 episodes)
- Nightmare in Silver (Series 7 Episode 12)
- Dark Water / Death in Heaven (Series 8 Episodes 11-12)
The Great Intelligence
The Great Intelligence is a really interesting villain because it's a character that has no actual physical body. It is capable of communicating telepathically however primarily through posession. It originally appeared in the Second Doctor's era as an adversary trying to form a physical body for itself. It's origins were explored in the episode The Snowmen showing that it was a snow-like crystalline organism that responds to the thoughts of others. It was influenced by the thoughts of a young Walter Simeon.
The machinations of the Great Intelligence are grand in nature, such as intending to scatter itself across all of the Doctor's timelines in the Series 7 finale The Name of the Doctor. The Great Intelligence's schemes are many, and are represented in another of our preview cards.
This card presents a really powerful villainous choice, forcing the opponent into a position where they must get rid of cards or allow the caster to cast a spell for free. This is very good on flavor as many of the Great Intelligence's schemes involve manipulating others into getting what it wants. Really cool flavor here for sure.
Relevant Episodes
- The Snowmen (2012 Special)
- The Bells of Saint John (Series 7 Episode 6)
- The Name of the Doctor (Series 7 Episode 13)
Rogue Time Lords - The Master and the Rani
The Doctor isn't the only Time Lord present in Doctor Who. We have seen the entirety of the Gallifreyan Council on the show, but the most common interactions with other Time Lords come in the form of other renegade Time Lords.
The first of these is the Master, known as a renegade who was a childhood friend to the Doctor and eventually his archnemesis. The Master is often depicted as a recurring villain, a would-be universal conqueror. Because of this, the Master's form often changes through the process of regeneration. In fact, the Master changed to the infamous Michelle Gomez's "Missy" (short for "Mistress") during the Twelfth Doctor's era. The Master's schemes are very long-standing and devious.
The other renegade Time Lord shown in the series is the Rani. The Rani is a ruthless, amoral scientific mind who often experiments and was banished from Gallifrey for those experiments. She is greatly familiar with the Doctor and the Master, having attended the Time Lord Academy with both in their youth. The Rani first appeared during the Sixth Doctor's era in the serial The Mark of the Rani. She's more evil and cunning than the Master is, spending more time looking at the very nature of things than wishing to outright conquer the universe.
The Rani is one of our other preview cards for this set!
The flavor for this card is definitely on the mark, representing the Rani's experimentation on creatures to serve her purposes. Investigating makes a lot of sense here from a flavor standpoint as her experiments gather her data to continue experimenting. Very cool card indeed!
Relevant Episodes
- Last of the Time Lords (Series 3 Episode 13)
- The Mark of the Rani (Serial 139 consisting of two episodes)
The Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels are a race of predatory creatures who feast on temporal energy. Angels typically resemble human-sized stone statues when they are being viewed. A Weeping Angel is a quantum-locked being, meaning they can only move when they are not being looked at. As they close in on their victims they become horrifyingly bestial with vampiric teeth and claws.
Weeping Angels are strange in that they kill their prey in the kindest fashion possible however. They send their prey back in time, creating temporal potential energy that the Angel feeds upon. Essentially, Angels feed on the "what could have been" of a person. Angels can also imprint themselves into a person's mind through their eyes which can in turn create a new Weeping Angel to manifest in taking over the person's body.
The Weeping Angels were originally introduced in the Tenth Doctor episode Blink and have quickly become one of the more popular antagonists of the entire series. They're creepy and wonderfully interesting creatures.
Relevant Episodes
- Blink (Series 3 Episode 10)
- The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone (Series 5 Episodes 5-6)
- The Angels Take Manhattan (Series 7 Episode 5)
- Village of the Angels (Series 13 Episode 4)
Wrapping Up
Thanks for joining me for this wide and wacky ride into the world of Doctor Who! I'm really looking forward to the release of these Commander decks. They all seem very exciting for sure.
Until next time that we do this with a different IP (after all... Fallout is coming)....
ALLONS-Y!
