Spotlight on Dr Who (9 of 10)

BY Gareth

In keeping with the Timelord spirit I'm going to shine my spotlight on each of the Doctors in turn... starting with the most recent and travelling back in time to the programmes grandfather: William Hartnell, the First Doctor.

So without further ado, here is the spotlight on the 9th Doctor who was played by Christopher Ecclestone.

We were introduced to the 9th Doctor when he saved London from the third Auton invasion. This Doctor was an energetic, slightly manic Northerner ("Every planet has a North" he remarks when Rose comments on his accent). He is also the last of the Timelords, following the great Time War. Being the last of his kind he still travels the universe but with a heaviness that often exhibits itself through an agitated energy -by way of a coping mechanism. He meets Rose (Billie Piper) during the Auton invasion and sees in her a spark that his life had been missing and invites her to join him in his travels. She wholeheartedly agrees and becomes his travelling companion.

Through Rose the Doctor re-discovered his sense of fun and adventure, being able to see the universe through her eyes, and had a sense of purpose. He actively sought participation in universal events, and became the Doctor of old. (it's hinted that he'd travelled without any real sense of direction after the Time War, disgusted with what he'd been a party to.) With Rose he was able to take her to the farthest reaches of the universe as well as Earths past and future.

In Victorian Britain the TARDIS crew visited Cardiff where a Rift in space-time has been created. With help the rift is closed, but still remains dormant and a potential source of energy that the Dr can use to refuel the TARDIS. (It also becomes the base later for TORCHWOOD)

Through Rose the Doctor also starts to regain his "humanity" after spending so much time alone. In the episode Fathers Day Rose persuades the Timelord to take her back to the day her father died, where she purposely changes the course of history and saves his life. When the Doctor finds out about this he sacrifices his life so the Earth can be saved. It's only through the selfless act of Pete Tyler (Rose's father) that the timelines are restored and The Doctor is brought back to life. This episode deepens the relationship between the Doctor and Rose and allows Rose a sense of closure that her life hadn't had before.

In another episode The Doctor is brought face to face with his greatest enemies, and the adversary of the Timewar - the Daleks, or at first, just one. In 2012 a lone Dalek is discovered in the collection of a Utah millionaire and the Doctor is confronted with his greatest fear, that his sacrifice during the Timewar was in vain -for where there is one Dalek there must surely be more. It's here that we see that the Timelord is not all fun and whimsy; here he bares his pain in the form of righteous anger and scorn. The Dalek is eventually defeated, but not before the Doctor realises that there are parts of his life he can never reconcile.

In the year 200,000 the TARDIS lands on Satellite 5 where the Timelord learns that the human race has been held back from developing because of The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe who is controlling the Earth for its own ends by using television signals to condition the captive viewers and stop them from advancing into the universe. The Doctor manages to stop this from happening and shuts down Satellite 5.

We also meet Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), who is a con-man and adventurer from the 51st Century. His time with the Dr builds his character and he becomes a willing companion and actively turns from a con man to a hero, willing to sacrifice himself for Earth and his friends.

After an undescribed adventure, the TARDIS crew are matter-transported and beamed into warped versions of television game shows, such as Big Brother and The Weakest Link. After narrowly surviving the ordeal, the Doctor is faced with the realisation that they are actually on board Satellite 5 again, and that the human race's progress has been impeded even more and the population is actually being thinned out by the murderous games - all as a result of the Doctors previous involvement. This is further compounded when the true architects of Satellite 5 make themselves known - The Daleks. A whole race of Daleks which have used the DNA of human beings to start again and this is all as a direct result of the Dr's earlier intervention. The Doctor is left with the catch-22 where he either allows the Daleks to invade Earth and enslave the human race or detonate a delta wave which would destroy all the Daleks, and the Earth as well.