Tenth Doctor
| The Tenth Doctor | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who character | |
| File:Tennantdoc.jpg | |
| First regular appearance | The Parting of the Ways |
| Last regular appearance | Ongoing |
| Portrayed by | David Tennant |
| Preceded by | Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) |
| Succeeded by | Unknown |
| Information | |
| Tenure | 2005 – ? |
| No of series | At least 2 |
| Appearances | Unknown number of stories (At least 28 episodes) |
| Companions | Rose, Mickey |
| Chronology | Series 2 (2006), 3 (2007) |
The Tenth Doctor is the name given to the tenth incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant.
Overview
After the successful premiere of Rose and the announcement of a second series being commissioned by the BBC, the story broke that Christopher Eccleston, who played the Ninth Doctor, would not be returning for the second series. On 16 April 2005, the BBC announced that David Tennant had been selected for the role of the Tenth Doctor.
The Tenth Doctor's first appearance in the series was for 20 seconds after the Ninth Doctor's regeneration at the end of The Parting of the Ways. His first full episode as the Doctor, barring an appearance in a "mini-episode" during the 2005 show of Children in Need, was the 2005 Christmas Special, The Christmas Invasion. He is currently appearing in the 2006 series. It has also been confirmed that he will play the Doctor in a further seasonal episode and series.
Biography
Template:Spoiler The Ninth Doctor regenerated into the Tenth due to cellular damage caused by absorbing the energies of the time vortex at the climax of The Parting of the Ways. In the Children in Need mini-episode, the Doctor acted erratically and said that his regeneration had "gone wrong". He remained in a delirious and semi-conscious state through most of the events of The Christmas Invasion until his regeneration was settled through absorbing the free radicals and tannin from some hot tea. He then saved the Earth from invasion by defeating the leader of the alien Sycorax using a satsuma.
The Doctor seemed disappointed that his tenth incarnation was not ginger (although in some of the tie-in fiction, a future incarnation is depicted as having red hair). Instead of the Ninth Doctor's leather jacket, the Tenth chose an outfit consisting of a dark brown pinstripe suit, shirt and tie, a light brown overcoat and a pair of track shoes from the TARDIS wardrobe, a costume which Tennant described as "geek chic" [1]. He also sometimes wears spectacles — his use of them in Tooth and Claw suggests they are reading glasses.
In Tooth and Claw, the Doctor and Rose were knighted by Queen Victoria as a reward for saving her from a werewolf. Afterwards, she banished the Doctor from the British Empire.
Companions
The Tenth Doctor begins with Rose Tyler as his companion. Previous companion "Captain" Jack Harkness was originally to have rejoined them in the 2006 season. However, John Barrowman was unavailable to return in the role, likely because of obligations created by the new Doctor Who spinoff series Torchwood, and the announcement that at least initially there would be no crossovers between the two series. Although Barrowman has stated that he would return to the series in 2007, this has not been officially confirmed.
Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke), a recurring character from the previous season, joined the TARDIS crew as a regular companion in the third episode, School Reunion. A former companion, Sarah Jane Smith, appeared in that episode, but is not thought to be returning in the 2006 season.
Personality
So far, the Tenth Doctor has displayed a light-hearted, easy-going and somewhat cheeky personality, yet with a strong personal sense of justice that makes him quick to anger when he feels it is violated, as in New Earth when he learned of the plague farm run by the Sisters of Plenitude. In The Christmas Invasion he showed a grimmer side when he sent the Sycorax leader (who was attacking him from behind) tumbling to his death, using said satsuma while commenting that, with him, there were "no second chances." He was equally unforgiving of Prime Minister Harriet Jones; when Jones gave the order to destroy the retreating Sycorax ship, the Doctor warned her that he could destroy her career with six words ("Don't you think she looks tired?", whispered to Jones' aide).
The Tenth Doctor has a tendency to babble, mixing apparent nonsense with vital information. He can also be rude on occasion, and is not always aware of it. In School Reunion, he acknowledges that he is less merciful than he used to be.
Where the Ninth Doctor tended to be somewhat standoffish around most humans, the Tenth is more extroverted and gregarious, quickly establishing a firmer rapport with Rose Tyler's friends and family than his predecessor ever managed. He was also seen to put on a pair of spectacles, which may imply a degree of longsightedness, like the Fifth Doctor, with whom he shares his youthful appearance.
The Tenth Doctor speaks with an Estuary English accent, rather than the Northern inflection that the Ninth Doctor used, the Received Pronunciation of most earlier Doctors or Tennant's natural Scottish brogue. In a December 23 interview on BBC Radio 1, Tennant explained that a line had been scripted for the Christmas special explaining that the newly regenerated Doctor had imprinted on Rose Tyler's accent, "like a chick hatching from an egg," but the line was cut from the final programme. (Had the line been kept, it might have caused a continuity issue, since the first voice the Sixth Doctor heard was that of his American companion — yet he kept his English accent; this was also the case with the Eighth Doctor, who regenerated in a San Francisco hospital). The Tenth Doctor also briefly affected a generic American Appalachian accent in the Children in Need special and The Christmas Invasion, and a Scottish accent in Tooth and Claw.
Like the previous Doctor, it appears the Tenth Doctor is well-versed in human popular culture (which cannot be said of all earlier incarnations), to the point where he finds himself unconsciously quoting The Lion King during a confrontation with the Sycorax leader. He also referred to his pyjamas and dressing gown as being "very Arthur Dent", although it is unclear if he actually met the character or simply making a Hitchhiker's reference. He also appears to be a fan of punk rock, and makes a reference to Balamory in Tooth and Claw.
His references are not all restricted to modern pop-culture. In Tooth and Claw, his description of Rose as a "tim'rous beastie" is an allusion to the poem To a Mouse by Robert Burns, an 18th century Scottish poet.
Other appearances
Three full-length novels have been announced featuring the Tenth Doctor. They were published by BBC Books in April 2006.
- The Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards
- The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner
- Feast of the Drowned by Stephen Cole
Another, shorter book has been announced as part of the Quick Reads Initiative, and will be published 11 May 2006:
- I am a Dalek by Gareth Roberts
Three more full-length novels are tentatively set for September 2006:
- The Nightmare of Black Island by Mike Tucker
- The Art of Destruction by Stephen Cole
- The Last Museum by Jacqueline Rayner