History Characters / DoctorWhoEighthDoctor

* DyingAlone: The Eighth Doctor dies in a broken heap alone and pained on the floor of the TARDIS, unable to even move. Coming full circle with his beginning.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: Eight becomes resolved to use the Moment, and does so calmly, even knowing it will kill him as well. Though he ends up being able to regenerate.

* BittersweetEnding: In Doctor Who and the Time War upon the death of a mysterious woman with him, the Eighth Doctor [[BreakTheCutie gives into his despair at last]] and activates the Moment, [[KillEmAll destroying the Time Lords and Daleks alike]]. Ending the Time War before he collapses into the TARDIS, broken and slowly dying on the floor, knowing he is time locked and unable to regenerate. However it is revealed that thanks to a kiss from the woman, he finds in sacrificing herself she has passed him the Restoration, breaking him free from the fixed point in time and now able to regenerate into the Ninth Doctor, and [[MyGreatestSecondChance go on to redeem himself for what he has done]].

* TheSlowPath: From the end of ''Ancestor Cell'' (dated to the late 1880s) to the events of ''Escape Velocity'' (February 2001), the Doctor is stuck on Earth with no memory of his past and nothing but the TARDIS (drained of all power and needing a century to ‘reboot’), his clothes, and a note instructing him to meet his companion Fitz in St Louis on February 8 2001; he never visibly ages during that time, but notes later on that after spending a century stuck on one planet he now gets impatient waiting for an egg to boil, and expresses enthusiasm for the chance to meet interesting aliens after a century of only humans for company.

* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Which he never quite gets over for the rest of his novel adventures (although [[spoiler:it is later suggested that he actually erased his memory on purpose to create storage space in his psyche, and the series ends with the implication that he will regain his old memories eventually]]).

* WalkingTheEarth: The Doctor basically does this from ''The Ancestor Cell'' to ''Escape Velocity''; having lost his memory and with the TARDIS reduced to a small box, he spends the entire twentieth century wandering Earth until his ship repairs itself (the novels set during this time take place in Britain, but the Doctor's dialogue suggests that he travelled to other parts of the world).

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]], [[ThePollyanna optimistic]] [[TheCasanova romantic]], [[BreakTheCutie slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a [[{{Hunk}} rugged]] WarriorPoet from [[TraumaCongaLine loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]], optimistic romantic, [[BreakTheCutie slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a [[{{Hunk}} rugged]] WarriorPoet from [[TraumaCongaLine loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

He got fleshed out considerably in the ExpandedUniverse media, including the ''[[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures Eighth Doctor Adventures]]'' novels, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comics and the ''Creator/BigFinish'' audio series, and continues to be, before finally coming BackForTheDead in the TV series for a prelude to the 50th anniversary special. Despite his scant two appearances on screen, he has one of the, if not the biggest resume of stories out of all the Doctors, when books, comics and audio adventures are factored in.

* BigDamnHeroes: The TARDIS swoops in [[ItCanThink unpiloted]] [[JustForPun just in time]] to catch and save the Eighth Doctor as he falls helplessly off his platform and to his death, after using the Moment to end the Time War.

* DivergentCharacterEvolution: From himself! When McGann resumed the role in 2001, his interpretation of the character and his creative input on the show's direction meant that the Doctor went from the passionately earnest version of the novels built on the TV film, to a more ironic and deadpan version. His very earliest adventures with Charley could conceivably be the same man (and indeed featured many of the same writers). The Eighth Doctor by ''Night of the Doctor'' is ''very'' different.

He got fleshed out considerably in the ExpandedUniverse media, including the ''[[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures Eighth Doctor Adventures]]'' novels, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comics and the ''Creator/BigFinish'' audio series, and continues to be, before finally coming BackForTheDead in the TV series for a prelude to the 50th anniversary special.

* RefusalOfTheCall: In "The Night of the Doctor", we learn the Eighth Doctor steadfastly refused to take any part in the Time War, even after it started to rip the universe apart. It is only [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive his own death and forced resurrection by the Sisterhood of the Flame]] which causes him to break this rule and regenerate into [[TheDreaded the War Doctor]].

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]], optimistic romantic, [[TraumaCongaLine slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a [[{{Hunk}} rugged]] WarriorPoet from [[BreakTheCutie loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]], optimistic romantic, [[TraumaCongaLine slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a [[{{Hunk}} rugged]] WarriorPoet by [[BreakTheCutie loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

[[caption-width-right:350:''"I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there."'']]

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]] optimistic romantic, [[TraumaCongaLine slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a [[{{Hunk}} rugged]] WarriorPoet by [[BreakTheCutie loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]] romantic, [[TraumaCongaLine slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a [[{{Hunk}} rugged]] WarriorPoet by [[BreakTheCutie loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]] romantic, [[TraumaCongaLine slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a WarriorPoet by [[BreakTheCutie loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]] romantic, slowly [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] into a WarriorPoet by [[BreakTheCutie loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]] romantic, slowly darkened into a WarriorPoet by loss and sorrow. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who reveled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

He got fleshed out considerably in the ExpandedUniverse media, including the ''[[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures Eighth Doctor Adventures]]'' novels, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comics and the ''Creator/BigFinish'' audio series, before finally coming BackForTheDead in the TV series for a prelude to the 50th anniversary special.

!!Tropes associated with Doctor Who and the Time War and other prose stories

* BigDamnHeroes: The TARDIS swoops in unpiloted to save the Eighth Doctor as he falls helplessly off his platform and to his death after using the Moment to end the Time War.
* BittersweetEnding: In Doctor Who and the Time War upon the death of a mysterious woman with him, the Eighth Doctor [[BreakTheCutie gives into his despair at last]] and activates the Moment, [[KillEmAll destroying the Time Lords and Daleks alike]]. Ending the Time War before he collapses into the TARDIS, broken and slowly dying on the floor, knowing he is time locked and unable to regenerate. However it is revealed that thanks to a kiss from the woman, he finds in sacrificing herself she has passed him the Restoration, breaking him free from the fixed point in time and now able to regenerate into the Ninth Doctor.
* DespairEventHorizon: Shortly before the InMediasRes beginning of ''and the Time War'', an unidentified woman only called "She" saved his life by passing all of her remaining regeneration energy to him through a kiss, killing her. Watching her skeleton crumble before him appears to send him over the edge, convincing him to use the Moment and [[GodzillaThreshold end the Last Great Time War once and for all]].

* VillainousBreakdown: [[OmnicidalManiac Daleks and Time Lords]] [[NotSoDifferent alike]] are screaming helplessly in the distance at Eight to stop and not use the Moment against them. He looks at the gnarled landscape of the world he is on, devastated by the Time War, looks to the skeleton of the mysterious woman turning to dust, and coldly ignores them.

** In the notes at the back of "The Cruel Sea" the writers add that this was probably a good thing as it would have been de-canonized by the War Doctor.

* VillanousBreakdown: [[OmnicidalManiac Daleks and Time Lords]] [[NotSoDifferent alike]] are screaming helplessly in the distance at Eight to stop and not use the Moment against them. He looks at the gnarled landscape of the world he is on, devastated by the Time War, looks to the skeleton of the mysterious woman turning to dust, and coldly ignores them.

* BittersweetEnding: In Doctor Who and the Time War upon the death of a mysterious woman with him, the Eighth Doctor gives into his despair at last and activates the Moment, destroying the Time Lords and Daleks alike. Ending the Time War before he collapses into the TARDIS, broken and slowly dying on the floor, knowing he is time locked and unable to regenerate. However it is revealed that thanks to a kiss from the woman, he finds in sacrificing herself she has passed him the Restoration, breaking him free from the time lock and now able to regenerate into the Ninth Doctor.
* DespairEventHorizon: Shortly before the InMediasRes beginning of ''and the Time War'', an unidentified woman only called "She" saved his life by passing all of her remaining regeneration energy to him through a kiss, killing her. When he finds out he vows to pass the gift forward to someone in the future [[CallForward (reflecting the Ninth Doctor's sacrifice for Rose)]]. Watching her skeleton crumble before him appears to send him over the edge, convincing him to use the Moment and end the Last Great Time War once and for all.
* TheLostLenore: His relationship to the mysterious woman (very likely a Time Lady) who died saving him in ''and the Time War'' is left completely ambiguous, but her sacrifice seems to weigh heavily on him. Romana is among the likeliest of possibilities.

* VagueAge: In ''and the Time War'', centuries of [[TimeyWimeyBall trans-temporal warfare]] has messed with his ageing processes a great deal. After he puts an end to it all and begins to regenerate, he decides that [[MythologyGag 900 years old sounds like a good number.]]

* DespairEventHorizon: Shortly before the InMediasRes beginning of ''and the Time War'', an unidentified woman only called "She" saved his life by passing all of her remaining regeneration energy to him through a kiss. When he finds out he vows to pass the gift forward to someone in the future [[CallForward (reflecting the Ninth Doctor's sacrifice for Rose)]], killing her. Watching her skeleton crumble before him appears to send him over the edge, convincing him to use the Moment and end the Last Great Time War once and for all.

* SoleSurvivor: [[WordOfGod Russell T Davies]]' short story ''Doctor Who and the Time War'', published during the ''Lockdown!'' watchalong event but originally written before show's 50th anniversary and Steven Moffat's retconning introduction of the War Doctor, positions the Eighth Doctor as the one who ended the Last Great Time War and has him directly regenerate into Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor.

* BittersweetEnding: In Doctor Who and the Time War upon the death of a mysterious woman with him, the Eighth Doctor gives into his despair at last and activates the Moment, destroying the Time Lords and Daleks alike, ending the Time War before he collapses into the TARDIS, broken and slowly dying on the floor, time locked and unable to regenerate. However it is revealed that thanks to a kiss from the woman he finds in sacrificing herself she has passed him the Restoration, breaking him free from the time lock and now able to regenerate into the Ninth Doctor.
* DespairEventHorizon: Shortly before the InMediasRes beginning of ''and the Time War'', an unidentified woman only called "She" saved his life by passing all of her remaining regeneration energy to him through a kiss [[CallForward (reflecting the Ninth Doctor's sacrifice for Rose)]], killing her. Watching her skeleton crumble before him appears to send him over the edge, convincing him to use the Moment and end the War once and for all.
* TheLostLenore: His relationship to the mysterious woman (likely a Time Lady) who died saving him in ''and the Time War'' is left completely ambiguous, but her sacrifice seems to weigh heavily on him. Romana is among the many possibilities.
* SoleSurvivor: Russell T Davies' short story ''Doctor Who and the Time War'', published during the ''Lockdown!'' watchalong event but originally written before show's 50th anniversary and Steven Moffat's retconning introduction of the War Doctor, positions the Eighth Doctor as the one who ended the Last Great Time War and has him directly regenerate into Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor.

** "The Night of the Doctor" tapped the glass, showing [[spoiler: Eight stayed out of the conflict as long as he could]] while it was in full swing, and both "The Last Day" and "The Day of the Doctor" ''did'' give viewers a real on-screen view of the Time War... its most violent and final battle, to be exact.

!!Tropes associated with other prose stories
* DespairEventHorizon: Shortly before the InMediasRes beginning of ''and the Time War'', an unidentified woman only called "She" saved his life by passing all of her remaining regeneration energy to him through a kiss [[CallForward (reflecting the Ninth Doctor's sacrifice for Rose)]], killing her. Watching her skeleton crumble before him appears to send him over the edge, convincing him to end the War once and for all.
* TheLostLenore: His relationship to the woman who died saving him in ''and the Time War'' is left completely ambiguous, but her sacrifice seems to weigh heavily on him.
* SoleSurvivor: Russell T Davies' short story ''Doctor Who and the Time War'', published during the ''Lockdown!'' watchalong event but originally written before show's 50th anniversary and the introduction of the War Doctor, positions the Eighth Doctor as the one who ended the Last Great Time War and has him directly regenerate into Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor.
* VagueAge: In ''and the Time War'', centuries of [[TimeyWimeyBall trans-temporal warfare]] has messed with his ageing processes a great deal. After he puts and end to it all and begins to regenerate, he decides that [[MythologyGag 900 years old sounds like a good number.]]