Home : Archive : TSV 21-30 : TSV 25 : Feature

Who is the Doctor?

By Matthew Eglinton

I will be the first to admit that this theory is rather outrageous. It involved a bit of research, and other theories as to who the Doctor is have been considered. The end result is pure speculation.

Who is the Doctor? Is he a Time Lord? The easy answer to that is yes, twenty-eight years of the Doctor have revealed that his origin is a planet far from Earth called Gallifrey. His race is known only as the Time Lords, a race far beyond human comprehension. A race that continues to evolve? The original ending of Survival is more or less common knowledge. The Doctor and the Master have a final showdown resulting in the Master questioning the Doctor's very origin. The Doctor admits that strictly speaking he is not really a Time Lord, not just a Time Lord, but something that either evolves or becomes extinct.

'What are you?' demands the Master.
The Doctor grins, 'Shall we just say I'm multi-talented?'

This ending was changed by JNT because Survival could well be the last Doctor Who story ever broadcast.

Now this is where my theory comes into place. Now I'll jump to The Curse of Fenric, quoting from page 150:

He looked at Ace.
'And that's Fenric?' she asked.
'No, that's just Millington's name for it.' His voice was calm. 'The evil itself has no name.'

Fenric being the name for evil, could Doctor be the name for good? ( In doing this I disregard the epilogue of The Curse of Fenric, Dawn.) Using the word Doctor in the widest possible sense it can be taken to mean maker of good (healer). Perhaps the biggest power in the universe is the Doctor's master? Could the Doctor be the servant of an immortal ruler? Is he simply disguised as a Time Lord? Could the Doctor himself be immortal? Who knows?

This item appeared in TSV 25 (October 1991).

Index nodes: The Curse of Fenric, Survival