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The War Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the

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science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

programme '' Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by the English actor

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

. Although he precedes Christopher Eccleston's

Ninth Doctor The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. Within the seri ...

in the show's fictional chronology, his first onscreen appearance came eight years after Eccleston's; the War Doctor was retroactively created by showrunner

Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...

for productions celebrating the show's 50th anniversary. Within the programme's narrative, the Doctor is an alien Time Lord from the planet

Gallifrey Gallifrey () is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, the Doctor belongs. It is located in ...

, who is hundreds if not thousands of years old and travels in time and space in his

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...

, frequently with companions. When the Doctor is critically injured, he can regenerate his body, but in doing so, gains a new physical appearance and with it, a distinct new personality. This

plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelie ...

has allowed a number of actors to portray different incarnations of the Doctor over the show's long run. The War Doctor, not so named within the episodes in which he appears, is introduced as the incarnation of the Doctor who fought in the Time War of the show's modern-day

backstory A backstory, background story, back-story, or background is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot. It is a literary device of a narrative history all chronologically earlier than the narrative o ...

. He was created as a result of a conscious decision of the Eighth Doctor, played by

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial '' The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which wa ...

, to take up arms and become a warrior; in accepting this duty, the War Doctor disowned the title of "Doctor", and after the war's end is viewed with disdain by his subsequent incarnations, who reclaim the title that the character is known by. In the 50th anniversary special " The Day of the Doctor", however, the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doct ...

played by

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...

revises his opinion of this incarnation after revisiting the final moments of the war. In his original conception of the show's anniversary special, Moffat had written the Ninth Doctor as having ended the Time War. However, he was "pretty certain" that Christopher Eccleston would decline to return to the role, which he did. As he also had reservations about making Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor the incarnation who had ended the war, he created a never-before-seen past incarnation of the Doctor, which allowed him "a freer hand" in writing the story, acknowledging that the success of doing this would be predicated on being able to cast an actor with a significant enough profile.

Costume

John Hurt at the London premiere of Tinker Tailor Soldier Sp

In " The Name of the Doctor", Hurt wore a burgundy and

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

scarf A scarf, plural ''scarves'', is a piece of fabric worn around the neck or head for warmth, sun protection, cleanliness, fashion, religious reasons, or used to show the support for a sports club or team. They can be made in a variety of differ ...

in a herringbone style. He also wore a dark

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

trenchcoat, similar to the

's black leather peacoat as well as a green brown moleskin

waistcoat A waistcoat ( UK and Commonwealth, or ; colloquially called a weskit), or vest ( US and Canada), is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. ...

with a

fob watch A pocket watch (or pocketwatch) is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatc ...

, dark

tan Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

trousers, and charcoal leather

gaiters Gaiters are garments worn over the shoe and bottom of the pant or trouser leg, and used primarily as personal protective equipment; similar garments used primarily for display are spats. Originally, gaiters were made of leather or canvas. ...

similar to ones worn by the Eighth Doctor. Costume designer Howard Burden said that Hurt's character was a "dark Doctor" existing between the Doctor's eighth and ninth incarnations. He was also seen to use a new

sonic screwdriver The sonic screwdriver is a fictional multifunctional tool in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, used by the Doctor. Like the TARDIS, it has become one of the icons of the programme, and spin-o ...

with a scarlet light, closely matching the prop used by the Third and Fourth Doctors. He kept it in a

bandolier A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding either individual bullets, or belts of ammunition. It is usually slung sash-style over the shoulder and chest, with the ammunition pockets across the midriff and chest. Though functiona ...

originally worn by Cass, played by Emma Campbell-Jones, a young pilot who dies after refusing the Doctor's help due to him being a Time Lord.

Appearances

The War Doctor first appears at the conclusion of the series seven finale " The Name of the Doctor" when the

(

) and companion Clara Oswald ( Jenna-Louise Coleman) are trapped in the Doctor's timeline. Clara believes she has seen all the Doctor's faces, but does not recognise one figure. The Doctor (Smith) tells her that he is yet another version of himself, albeit one who has lost the right to the name of the Doctor; when the figure declares that he did what he did "without choice ..in the name of peace and sanity", the Doctor, before he and Clara return to the universe, states that the figure did not make his choice in the name of the Doctor. The War Doctor's origins are given in the mini-episode " The Night of the Doctor", set during the Time War referred to in the series. After the Eighth Doctor (

) is killed in a spaceship crash while trying to save an innocent woman, who rejected his efforts because she regards the Time Lords and the Daleks as equally monstrous for the collateral damage inflicted in the war, he is temporarily resurrected by the Sisterhood of Karn (last seen in ''

The Brain of Morbius ''The Brain of Morbius'' is the fifth serial of the 13th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1976. The screenwriter credit is given ...

'') and urged to take a stand and join the war. He is offered an elixir designed to trigger a life-saving regeneration into a form of his choice. Feeling the universe has no more need for a doctor, he requests to become a warrior. After regenerating into the War Doctor, he disowns the name of the Doctor, with his new incarnation's first words being "Doctor no more". In the 50th anniversary special " The Day of the Doctor", having fought in the Time War for many years, the greatly aged War Doctor steals the superweapon known as "the Moment" with the intent of wiping out all combatants in the war along with his home world of

. However, the Moment is sentient, possessing a conscience that requires the user to morally justify his use of it, and interacts with him in the shape of his future companion

Rose Tyler Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of ''Doctor Who'' in 2005, Rose was introd ...

(

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...

). Although acknowledging that she can do what the Doctor asks of her, she then sends the War Doctor into his future to meet the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors (

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show ''Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

and

respectively) to understand the sadness and regret they endured while continuing the good he failed to accomplish. Having witnessed his future selves prevent a

Zygon The Zygons are an extraterrestrial race in the long-running British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Zygons have shape-shifting abilities, allowing them to replicate the appearance of another being. Limited by the sma ...

conquest of Earth and the destruction of London, the War Doctor concludes that he must destroy Gallifrey, reflecting that he is lighting the fire so that better Doctors can be forged, only for the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors to travel back to activate the Moment with him, the later Doctors declaring that they now recognise the War Doctor as having been "the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right". However, aided by the Moment's interface which shows them a vision of the horror and destruction wrought in the Fall of Arcadia, the last battle in which the War Doctor fought, and Clara's plea to remember the vow they made in taking their name, the Doctors ultimately conclude that the loss of life that would be caused by using the Moment is something they cannot accept. They instead pool their resources, and with the help of the Doctor's various incarnations, attempt to save Gallifrey by freezing it in a moment in time, creating the illusion of the planet's own destruction. The

Daleks The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Wh ...

are effectively tricked into firing on each other, annihilating themselves. The War Doctor accepts that upon returning to his own timeframe, he will forget his own heroic actions and must live with the false belief that he killed his own people. Before leaving, he takes a moment to thank his future selves for helping him "become the Doctor" again. Once inside his

, he begins to regenerate, realising that his body is "wearing a bit thin", echoing the First Doctor's utterances in ''

The Tenth Planet ''The Tenth Planet'' is the partly missing second serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell ...

''. The War Doctor appears in archive footage in the 2014 episode "

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a TCP connection state on the server side indi ...

". The episode reveals that the barn to which the War Doctor travelled, in order to activate the Moment, was part of the Doctor's childhood home. Through similar footage he also appeared in "

The Zygon Invasion "The Zygon Invasion" is the seventh episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 31 October 2015, and written by Peter Harness and directed by Daniel Nettheim. T ...

", during which it is learned that the peace talks orchestrated by himself and his future incarnations resulted in 20 million Zygons taking up residence on Earth disguised as humans as part of an uneasy truce. His likeness is seen in " Twice Upon a Time" when Testimony show the First Doctor the man he will become. Testimony uses the title "Doctor of War" as one of the names he will be known by. Later, after the

Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incar ...

saves two soldiers on the battlefield, the First Doctor remarks "that's what it means to be a Doctor of War." The War Doctor appeared in a sequence along with all the other incarnations of the Doctor, when the Thirteenth Doctor broke out of the Matrix in “

The Timeless Children "The Timeless Children" is the tenth and final episode of the twelfth series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast on BBC One on 1 March 2020. It was written by Chris Chibnall, and directed by Jamie ...

”.

In other media

The War Doctor appears in the BBC Books novel '' Engines of War'' by George Mann. The novel details the events leading to the Doctor's decision to detonate the Moment, as seen in "The Day of the Doctor", including his decision to act against the resurrected

Rassilon Rassilon is a fictional character in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. In the backstory of the programme, he was the founder of Time Lord society on the planet Gallifrey and its first lea ...

and the death of a temporary companion as he acts to stop a Dalek plot to develop a weapon that could erase Gallifrey from history. The War Doctor appears alongside the other incarnations of the Doctor in the 2014 collection ''The Shakespeare Notebooks''. The War Doctor's segment is titled "A Prologue", and purports to be a fictionalised account of the Time War written by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. A further prose story titled "The Stranger" was released in 2015 as part of the ''Heroes and Monsters Collection'', while another George Mann story, "Decoy", appears in the 2019 collection ''Doctor Who The Target Storybook'', in which the War Doctor stands up to

to save General Artarix and a Time Lord fleet from a suicide mission. In May 2015, it was announced by

Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and c ...

that the War Doctor would be the fourth incarnation joining the Tenth, Eleventh and

s in their ''Four Doctors'' crossover mini-series. This is the War Doctor's second appearance in comics, the incarnation having previously featured in a non-speaking cameo in IDW's ''Dead Man's Hand''. The War Doctor appears in the first issue, in a flashback. The War Doctor - along with his companion, the Squire - also appears in a number of flashbacks in the second year of Titan's Eleventh Doctor comic series, which involves the Doctor being put on trial for a crime he is believed to have committed in his earlier incarnation. The War Doctor essentially takes over as the lead incarnation in the stories ''The Organ Grinder'' and ''Kill God'', with the Eleventh Doctor being largely absent from both stories, while his current companion Alice travels back to the Time War to help set up the events that the Eleventh Doctor is experiencing in the 'present', the crisis ending with Alice returning to her era and the War Doctor's memory of his time with her scrambled to preserve history. The War Doctor, along with the other twelve incarnations, appears in the 2015 video game '' Lego Dimensions'', voiced using clips of John Hurt's dialogue from his episodes. The War Doctor also appears as a playable character in the mobile game '' Doctor Who Legacy''. A younger War Doctor appears in a flashback sequence in a Twelfth Doctor storyline, which sees the Twelfth Doctor reflect on the events that led to the apparent death of his old acquaintance

Fey Truscott-Sade Fey Truscott-Sade, also known as Fey or Feyde, is a fictional character who appeared in the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' comic strip based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She was a companion of the Eighth ...

and his own darker view on the Time War.

Audio dramas

It was announced in October 2015 that John Hurt would reprise his role as the War Doctor for a series of audio plays by Big Finish Productions starting in December of that year. '' The War Doctor'' ran for twelve episodes over four box sets. The range concluded with ''Casualties of War'' in February 2017, a month after Hurt's death, and saw the Doctor reunite with Leela (

Louise Jameson Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a wide variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The Omega Factor'' (1979), ...

). In 2020, Big Finish announced a prequel series - '' The War Doctor Begins'' - with actor and impressionist Jonathon Carley taking over the title role. The first volume was released in June 2021.

Notes

References

External links

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