Doctor Who: Darkness and light – The two sides of the First Doctor
By James Aggas
The Doctor has had clear light and dark sides throughout all of their incarnations. Today, we look at the First Doctor, and how significantly he changed across his era in Doctor Who.
Last week, we looked at how the Doctor is always more interesting when there’s a balance between light and darkness with the character. Where there is more than one side to them, and how they can be sweet or hilarious one moment, before becoming cold or full or rage the next.
We also mentioned that these two clear sides can manifest in different ways with different incarnations. So we thought it was worth looking at each incarnation one by one. Starting with the First Doctor.
Now, the problem with examining the light and dark sides of this particular Doctor is that they both change over time. Arguably, the First Doctor goes through more character development than most Doctors.
The dark
Let’s look at how he is at the start. When we first meet the Doctor, he’s a selfish and stubborn old man. He’s someone who’s always working to his own agenda, and he sees things in a very black and white view. (No pun intended.) Specifically, that view is, “Only my granddaughter matters, no one else!”
Which, thinking about it, isn’t the worst of reasons for why he behaves the way he does. He’s definitely extremely protective of his granddaughter. But it leads him to making actions that many later Doctors wouldn’t do: kidnapping two innocent schoolteachers; lying to his companions and putting them in danger just to satisfy his own curiosity; threatening to throw his human companions off the ship. (More than once, actually.)
Potentially, the worst moment is in his first serial, An Unearthly Child. When a caveman the Doctor and his companions were escaping from is badly injured, they all try to help. All except the Doctor. Not only does he completely object to helping the caveman at all. But, when he thinks no one is watching, he picks up a rock, one that looks like it could do some damage, and…
Well, we don’t find out, as Ian stops him. It’s a clear moment that suggests that, at this point, the Doctor is someone who believes the ends justifies the means. Until Ian stops him.
Over time, the First Doctor grew from a selfish old man to the hero we recognize, thanks to his companions Ian and Barbara.
(Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Getty Images)
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The light
This is the key thing with the First Doctor’s development: the influence of both Ian and Barbara. Each of them have an effect on him. All the companions have a clear effect on the Doctor, (well, maybe not Adam,) but Ian and Barbara perhaps had the most significant.
While they didn’t exactly have the easiest travelling relationship, the Doctor grew to be very fond of Ian and Barbara, and they grew fond of him, as well. Especially after Susan left and they had to look after him.
While the Doctor missed Susan, he was happy to meet someone else to look after – Vicki, an orphan the TARDIS team met on the planet Dido. The Doctor treated Vicki better overall than he did Susan, and we saw much more of his lighter, more comedic side. (The Romans definitely has some of the best examples of this.)
We still some of his more alien side, from time to time. For example, in The Massacre, his view on the horrific tragedy of the story was too cold and distant for his companion Steven‘s taste. But that was more a major disagreement over each other’s views than a selfish action.
Across the time that we knew him, the First Doctor had his light and dark sides. But across his era, there was a natural shift from a heavy focus on one, to a heavier focus on the other. He started as someone who was selfish, over-protective and pragmatic. By the end, he was heroic and was willing to fight injustice where he found it. By the end, the First Doctor was a far better man than he was at the start.
Next. Ten reasons why the Third Doctor’s era was so special. dark
What do you think? Do you think the First Doctor lost most of his darker side by the end? Do you think he had much darkness in him to begin with? How much of an impact did Ian and Barbara have on him? Let us know in the comments below.