Top TV Characters: The Doctor

THE MARTYR 

The Doctor (Doctor Who) played by various [currently Matt Smith]

“There's something you'd better understand about me ‘cause it's important, and one day your life may depend on it: I am definitely a mad man with a box!”

The thing that I’m most attracted to with The Doctor is his psychology. The Doctor travels around time and space, helping to save and shape civilisations. Whilst on one hand he sees greatness in what he does, you are constantly reminded of the fact that the death and destruction he is constantly exposed to, and sometimes is even the cause of, plagues him.

His quirky nature, fast speech and almost ADD-like hyperactivity are all traits that fans find endearing about The Doctor, no matter who is playing him. But it is the darkness that spills out from underneath the façade that really intrigues me. Every so often we see moments where even we are unsure of how the Doctor will act. Case in point, when the Doctor (here played by David Tennant) witnesses the death of his daughter (who he has denied connection to beforehand), he suddenly erupts. The character, who is so opposed to violence, picks up a gun and points it and the audience are left wondering whether he will kill. Despite the character being around since the 1960’s, we are never completely sure of who he is.

Another trait of the Doctor is his almost self-inflicted loneliness. He travels around time and space with human companions who ultimately leave him and yet, rather than not deal with the constant loss, he picks himself up, gains another companion and begins a whole new cycle. In a character that is so very alien, there is something so human about the way in which he handles his relationships. He would rather suffer than never know love.

The scene which I feel really shows us the true Doctor, both his dark emotional side, and his repression is one of the final scenes of the rebooted second series where The Doctor and Rose Tyler stand on Bad Wolf Bay and say goodbye. It’s not often we see the two sides of the Doctor both on the surface, but when the rare moment do occur, the audience is treated to something really magic.