James Robert McCrimmon, usually simply called Jamie, is a fictional character played by

Frazer Hines Frazer Simpson Frederick Hines (born 22 September 1944) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and appeared in ''A King in New York'' (1957) with Charlie Chaplin. He later played Jamie McCrimmon in ''Doctor Who'', appearing i ...

in the long-running British

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 ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. A piper of the

Clan MacLeod Clan MacLeod ( ; ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan associated with the Isle of Skye. There are two main branches of the clan: the MacLeods of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Harris and Dunvegan, known in Gaelic as ' ("seed of Tormod") an ...

who lived in 18th-century Scotland, he was a companion of the

Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. Out of his 1 ...

and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1969. The spelling of his surname varies from one script to another; it is alternately rendered as Macrimmon and McCrimmond. Jamie appeared in 20 stories (112 episodes).

Character history

The son of Donald McCrimmon — a piper, like his father and his father's father — James Robert McCrimmon first appears in '' The Highlanders'', encountering

the Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

, Ben and Polly in the aftermath of the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

in 1746. At the end of the story, Polly suggests that the Doctor take Jamie along with them. Jamie continues to travel with the Doctor even after Ben and Polly leave the

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

at the end of ''

The Faceless Ones ''The Faceless Ones'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, mostly missing eighth serial of the Doctor Who (season 4), fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts fro ...

''. He appears in all but the first

serial, ''

The Power of the Daleks ''The Power of the Daleks'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, completely missing third serial of the Doctor Who (season 4), fourth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly part ...

'', and in more episodes than any other companion, although Tegan Jovanka served with the Doctor for the longest continuous period in terms of years on the series. Jamie shares a lively, bantering relationship with the Doctor and, during his time in the TARDIS, sees the arrival and departure of first Victoria Waterfield and finally Zoe Heriot. Jamie, being a product of his time, is always solicitous and gentlemanly towards his female companions. While not having the background to always understand the situations his adventures with the Doctor take him into, Jamie is quick enough to translate high technology and concepts into equivalents he can comprehend and deal with. His relationship with the Doctor is not always smooth, and in '' The Evil of the Daleks'' he comes close to leaving the Doctor, whom he feels has been manipulating him and Victoria to discover the human factor for the Daleks, without considering the consequences. His

battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religio ...

', in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

, translates to "The Boar's Rock". It is similar to ', the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

of the

MacLaren Maclaren is a manufacturer of baby buggies, strollers and carriers based in England. Product range Strollers based around Owen Maclaren's original design are sold in over 50 countries under the Maclaren brand. These include the Maclaren Volo, ...

Clan of Scotland. Also during Jamie's time with the doctor, he gives him the iconic name John Smith ('' The Wheel in Space''). Together with the Doctor, Jamie encounters Cybermen,

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

s, the

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...

in the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

, the Ice Warriors, and various other dangers. Jamie is particularly fond and protective of Victoria, due in part to her being an elegant Victorian lady. For example, in '' The Ice Warriors'', Jamie's first priority is to rescue Victoria despite being injured to the point where he can't walk. Jamie is heartbroken when Victoria decides to stay with the Harris family at the end of ''

Fury from the Deep ''Fury from the Deep'' is the Doctor Who missing episodes, completely missing sixth serial of the Doctor Who (season 5), fifth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 1 ...

'', to the point of even being briefly angry with the Doctor for allowing her to leave ('' The Wheel in Space''). Jamie initially finds Zoe's more modern attitudes and bossy nature irritating, but eventually adopts the same protective attitude disguised by the same bantering he engages in with the Doctor. Oftentimes, Jamie's simple common sense beats Zoe's strict logic, such as in '' The Dominators'' where Jamie realises that the erupting volcano is going to threaten the TARDIS, while the Doctor and Zoe are still congratulating themselves on defeating their enemies. During filming of '' The Mind Robber'', Frazer Hines contracted

chickenpox Chickenpox, also known as varicella ( ), is a highly contagious disease caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), a member of the herpesvirus family. The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which ...

and was replaced for part of the serial by Hamish Wilson. This was written in as part of the story when Jamie is turned into a cardboard cut-out and has his face removed by the Master of the Land of Fiction. The Doctor's first attempt to reconstruct his face is unsuccessful. Eventually, Jamie's real face is restored when Hines recovered. Jamie's interdimensionary travels come to an end on the battlefields of ''

The War Games ''The War Games'' is the seventh and final serial of the sixth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. In the serial, an unnamed alien r ...

'', when the

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Time Lords are so named for their command of time travel technology and their Nonli ...

s place the Doctor on trial for interfering with the universe. For his offences, the Doctor is forced to regenerate and exiled to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. Jamie and Zoe are returned to their own times, their memories of the Doctor wiped, save for their first encounters. When last seen, Jamie is fighting an English redcoat back on the fields of Scotland. Hines returned as an illusory image of Jamie in the 20th anniversary special " The Five Doctors". He also reprised the role in the 1985 serial ''

The Two Doctors ''The Two Doctors'' is the fourth serial of the Doctor Who (season 22), 22nd season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in three weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 16 February to 2 March 198 ...

'' alongside Troughton and Colin Baker as the Second and Sixth Doctors, respectively. An older Jamie, still portrayed by Hines, returns in the 60th anniversary spin-off Tales of the TARDIS alongside Wendy Padbury as Zoe. Summoned into a Memory Tardis from their respective timelines Jamie and Zoe realise their memories of the Doctor have been restored. Jamie describes his life after returning to 18th century Scotland; he has five daughters and nineteen grandchildren.

Other mentions

He is mentioned by the Fifth Doctor in '' Castrovalva'' when he calls Adric ''Jamie'', by the Sixth Doctor in ''

'' and '' Attack of the Cybermen'', and by the Seventh Doctor in '' The Curse of Fenric''. A vision of Jamie is seen along with every other companion aside from Leela (who was omitted by mistake in post-production) on the scanner screen in ''

Resurrection of the Daleks ''Resurrection of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial w ...

''. In '' Tooth and Claw'', the Tenth Doctor uses the alias Doctor James McCrimmon together with a Scottish accent (in reality

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

's own). Throughout Doctor Who, The Doctor repeatedly uses the alias John Smith, originally given to him by Jamie McCrimmon.

Other appearances

Jamie's ultimate fate remains unclear within the generally accepted canonicity of the various ''Doctor Who'' spin-off media. In the comic strip story "The World Shapers" with the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual t ...

, published in ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...

'' #127–#129, an elderly Jamie remembers his time with the Doctor, explaining that the Doctor had taught him tricks to ensure the Time Lords would not really wipe his memories. In this story, written by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

, Jamie sacrifices himself to stop the titular world shaper machine which was evolving aliens into Cybermen. Jamie's death outside the television series was controversial due to his status as a prominent companion, and the fact that story offers an origin story for the cybermen than contradicts almost everything else about them to have been produced. In the

Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British Science fiction on television, science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from th ...

novel '' Timewyrm: Revelation'', writer

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer. He has worked in television drama and ''Doctor Who'' fiction, being the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. Other British television dramas f ...

omitted Jamie from the group of deceased companions encountered by the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-o ...

. In "Planet of the Dead" (''DWM'' #141-#142), a race of

shapeshifter In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...

s known as the Ganzalum impersonate the Doctor's dead companions, including Jamie.

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

have reunited Jamie with the Sixth Doctor in a series of audio plays starting with '' City of Spires'', where he appears to have become a rebel leader known as 'the Black Donald'. However, in the final story, '' Legend of the Cybermen'', it is revealed that this Jamie is simply a fictional construct within the realm seen in ''The Mind Robber'', created by an older Zoe, based on her memories of the real Jamie, to protect the Doctor until he could come to her aid, making him older and creating his 'Black Donald' identity to give him a heroic backstory in the Doctor's absence. Jamie and Zoe also meet the Sixth Doctor in the later audio ''Last of the Cybermen'', when an unknown enemy causes the Sixth Doctor to swap places with the Second just after the Second Doctor discovered a Cybermen base and a plan to change the history of the Cyber-Wars to avert their final defeat, the Sixth Doctor and Jamie attempting to change history so that Jamie and Zoe can escape the Time Lords and retain their memories before the Sixth Doctor returns to his time and his companions lose all memory of these events. The ''Companion Chronicles'' audio "''The Glorious Revolution''" sees a Time Lord agent briefly restore the memory of an older Jamie to help resolve an incident where he nearly changed history while travelling with the Doctor, the Time Lord sending energy to Jamie's past self to keep him stabilized until the Doctor can avert the consequences of Jamie's actions, but in the end Jamie chooses to have his memory of the Doctor erased once again, reasoning that it would just make him sad to remember what he had with the Doctor despite his good life now. The '' Doctor Who Adventures'' comic strip gives the Tenth Doctor a companion from 21st century Scotland named Heather McCrimmon, who is a descendant of Jamie.

Influence

The character of Jamie McCrimmon inspired author Diana Gabaldon to set her ''Outlander'' series in Jacobite Scotland, and to name its protagonist " Jamie". The story Gabaldon was watching was ''

''. (Gabaldon's character's surname is "Fraser"; however, Gabaldon has stated that she did not derive this name from Frazer Hines, since the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

station on which she viewed ''Doctor Who'' habitually cut off the credits, and so she did not learn Frazer Hines's name until some years later.)

List of appearances

Television

;Season 4 *'' The Highlanders'' *'' The Underwater Menace'' *'' The Moonbase'' *'' The Macra Terror'' *''

'' *'' The Evil of the Daleks'' ;Season 5 *'' The Tomb of the Cybermen'' *''

The Abominable Snowmen ''The Abominable Snowmen'' is the mostly missing second serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 30 September to 4 November 1967. In this se ...

'' *'' The Ice Warriors'' *''

The Enemy of the World ''The Enemy of the World'' is the fourth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in six weekly parts from 23 December 1967 to 27 January 1968. The serial is set in Aust ...

'' (episodes 1-3, 5 and 6) *'' The Web of Fear'' *''

'' *'' The Wheel in Space'' ;Season 6 *'' The Dominators'' *'' The Mind Robber'' *'' The Invasion'' *'' The Krotons'' *'' The Seeds of Death'' *'' The Space Pirates'' *''

'' ;20th anniversary special *" The Five Doctors" (cameo) ;Season 22 *''

Audio drama

*'' Fear of the Daleks'' (adventure related by Zoe) *''Helicon Prime'' *''The Great Space Elevator'' (adventure related by Victoria) *'' Resistance'' (adventure related by

Polly Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Pauline ...

) *''The Three Companions'' (adventure related by Polly) *'' The Glorious Revolution'' *'' The Emperor of Eternity'' *'' Echoes of Grey'' (adventure related by Zoe) *'' Prison in Space'' *'' The Forbidden Time'' *'' Tales from the Vault'' (short adventure related by Zoe) *'' The Memory Cheats'' (adventure related by Zoe) *'' The Selachian Gambit'' *'' The Jigsaw War'' *'' The Uncertainty Principle'' (adventure related by Zoe) *'' The Rosemariners'' *'' The Queen of Time'' *''Lords of the Red Planet'' *''The House of Cards'' *''The Mouthless Dead'' *''The Story of Extinction'' *''The Integral'' *''The Edge''

Sixth Doctor audio dramas

*'' City of Spires'' *'' Night's Black Agents'' *'' Wreck of the Titan'' *'' Legend of the Cybermen''

Short Trips audios

*''Seven to One'' *''The Five Dimensional Man'' *''Penny Wise, Pound Foolish'' *'' Deleted Scenes'' *'' The Last Day at Work''

Novels

; Virgin Missing Adventures *'' The Menagerie'' by Martin Day *'' Twilight of the Gods'' by Christopher Bulis *'' The Dark Path'' by David A. McIntee ; Past Doctor Adventures *'' The Roundheads'' by

Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received ...

*'' Dreams of Empire'' by Justin Richards *'' The Final Sanction'' by Steve Lyons *''Heart of TARDIS'' by Dave Stone *''

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

by Peter Darvill-Evans (brief appearance only) *''

Combat Rock ''Combat Rock'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Clash, released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in the U ...

'' by Mick Lewis *'' The Colony of Lies'' by Colin Brake *'' The Indestructible Man'' by Simon Messingham ; Telos Doctor Who novellas *'' Foreign Devils'' by

Andrew Cartmel Andrew J. Cartmel (born 6 April 1958) is a British script editor, author and journalist. He was the script editor of ''Doctor Who'' during the Sylvester McCoy era of the show between 1987 and 1989. He has also worked as a script editor on other t ...

;

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Consumer Publishing and BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidia ...

*'' The Wheel of Ice'' by Stephen Baxter

Short stories

*"Fallen Angel" by

Andy Lane Andrew Lane (born 17 April 1963), as Andy Lane, is a British author and journalist best known for the Young Sherlock Holmes series of Young Adult novels. He has written novels in the Virgin New Adventures range and audio dramas for Big Fin ...

('' Decalog'') *"Vortex of Fear" by Gareth Roberts ('' Decalog 2: Lost Property'') *"Aliens and Predators" by Colin Brake ('' Decalog 3: Consequences'') *"War Crimes" by

Simon Bucher-Jones Simon Bucher-Jones (born Simon Jones, 6 September 1964) is an author, poet, and amateur actor. He is best known for his Doctor Who novels for Virgin Books, Virgin and BBC Books, BBC and as a contributor to the Faction Paradox spin-off series. Betw ...

('' Short Trips'') *"uPVC" by Paul Farnsworth ('' More Short Trips'') *"Please Shut the Gate" by Stephen Lock ('' Short Trips and Sidesteps'') *"Twin Piques" by Tony Keetch ('' Short Trips: Zodiac'') *"Constant Companion" by Simon A. Forward ('' Short Trips: Zodiac'') *"Face-Painter" by Tara Samms ('' Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors'') *"The Astronomer's Apprentice" by Simon A. Forward ('' Short Trips: The Muses'') *"One Small Step" by

Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Da ...

('' Short Trips: Past Tense'') *"That Time I Nearly Destroyed The World Whilst Looking For a Dress" by Joseph Lidster ('' Short Trips: Past Tense'') *"The Age of Ambition" by Andrew Campbell ('' Short Trips: Life Science'') *"The Farmer's Story" by Todd Green ('' Short Trips: Repercussions'') *"Screamager" by Jacqueline Rayner ('' Short Trips: Monsters'') *"The Last Emperor" by Jacqueline Rayner ('' Short Trips: 2040'') *"Goodwill Towards Men" by J. Shaun Lyon ('' Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury'') *"That Which Went Away" by Mark Wright ('' Short Trips: Seven Deadly Sins'') *"Undercurrents" by Gary Merchant ('' Short Trips: A Day in the Life'') *"Visiting Hours" by Eddie Robson (''Short Trips: A Day in the Life'') *"Mercury" by Eddie Robson ('' Short Trips: The Solar System'') *"All of Beyond" by Helen Raynor ('' Short Trips: Snapshots'') *"The Cutty Wren" by Ann Kelly ('' Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas'') *"The Christmas Presence" by Simon Barnard & Paul Morris (''Short Trips: The Ghosts of Christmas'') *"Lepidoptery for Beginners" by John Dorney ('' Short Trips: Defining Patterns'') *"One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" by Chris Thomas (''Short Trips: Defining Patterns'') *"Homework" by Michael Coen (''Short Trips: Defining Patterns'') *"The Slave War" by Una McCormack ('' Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership'') *"On a Pedestal" by Kathleen O. David (''Short Trips: The Quality of Leadership'') *"The Monster Factory" by Alec Daniels (''Shelf Life'') *"Relative Dimensions" by Andrew Cheverton (''Shelf Life'') *"The Nameless City" by Michael Scott

Comics

*"Invasion of the Quarks" by John Canning ('' TV Comic'' 872–876) *"The Killer Wasps" by John Canning (''TV Comic'' 877–880) *"Ice Cap Terror" by John Canning (''TV Comic'' 881–884) *"Jungle of Doom!" by John Canning (''TV Comic'' 885–889) *"Father Time" by John Canning (''TV Comic'' 890–893) *"Martha the Mechanical Housemaid" by John Canning (''TV Comic'' 894–898) *"Freedom by Fire" by David Brian (''Doctor Who Annual 1969'') *"Atoms Infinite" by David Brian (''Doctor Who Annual 1969'') *"The Vampire Plants" by David Brian (''Doctor Who Annual 1970'') *"The Robot King" by David Brian (''Doctor Who Annual 1970'') *"The World Shapers" by

, John Ridgway and Tim Perkins (''

'' 127–129) *"Planet of the Dead" by Lee Sullivan and John Freeman (''Doctor Who Magazine'' 141–142), although technically that isn't Jamie, but someone pretending to be him. *"Bringer of Darkness" by Warwick Gray and Martin Geraghty (''Doctor Who Magazine'' Summer Special 1993) *"Land of the Blind" by W. Scott Gray and Lee Sullivan (''Doctor Who Magazine'' 224–226)

References

External links

Jamie McCrimmon on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCrimmon, Jamie Doctor Who companions Fictional musicians Scottish male characters in television Television characters introduced in 1966 Clan Macleod Fictional characters from the 18th century