Television - Doctor Who – The Eighth Doctor and his companion
Television - Doctor Who – The Eighth Doctor and his companions
Over the years Doctor Who has become one of the most successful British Television shows in history. Due to the show ongoing for over fifty years many actors have portrayed the Doctor and in this article I am going to explore the character of the Eighth doctor.
Paul McGann was the eighth actor to portray the doctor and did so in the 1996 Doctor Who feature film.
Paul McGann was born in 1959 and is still a big Doctor Who fan today. He is known for acting in several other television shows including Collision (2009) and Luther (2010 - 2011).
The Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor was only seen on screen for one feature length movie and therefore does not show as much character development as other doctors. This doctor was a romantic at heart and showed a sensitive side that has not been showed before. The Eighth doctor had a very different moral compass to the previous doctors and suffered from severe amnesia at times; especially after his regeneration and after the first destruction of Gallifrey. This Doctor is noticeably different from his previous regenerations as he preferred to travel between Universes instead of within them. He would often just through Universes and through time paradoxes, which make his personal story harder to piece together. It is unknown how this doctor ‘dies’ prior to his next regeneration.
Companions
The eighth doctor was seen to travel along side only one companion on screen.
Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) – 1 Appearance
Grace Holloway initially met the doctor in his previous form, and inadvertently kills him. When she attempts to medically help him he regenerates and Grace is intrigued. Grace does not travel on with the doctor after their one adventure together but learns a lot from their short time together. She is “tired of life but afraid of dying” according to the Doctor. She is compassionate and warm yet very insecure in her own self. Through her time with the doctor she feels hope again and she also becomes attracted to the doctor. She is the first companion that the doctor ever kisses, which totally changes the direction of the show. She was the woman who changed the doctor’s mind on personal relationships and she had the doctor a more compassionate and caring man.