History Characters / DoctorWhoEighthDoctor

* 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 atop an eyrie and to his death, after using the Moment to end the Time War.

* AmnesiacHero: A combination of regeneration trauma and the aftereffects of anesthesia mixing in with it, he can't remember who he is for much of the first half of the movie.

* PlayfulHacker: Particularly in ''Seeing I''. Apparently he's even better with computers than you might expect, and uses his skills to distract a MegaCorp while he uses its information to search for Sam. Aside from making it appear that employees are being laid off at an astonishing rate, he also assigns one of the executives to read one of his friend [[Characters/DoctorWho Benny's]] books, and orders a bunch of sandwiches for a non-existent seminar. One of the employees suggests it might be a "weird prank", and another says, "It’s like a huge kid has broken into [=IXNet=]."

** After the TV movie, he's an enthusiastic science-adventurer. By ''Dark Eyes'', he's a bitter man looking desperately for hope. By ''The Night of the Doctor'', he's completely broken, trying to do everything he can to hold himself together as the man he used to be.

* DespairEventHorizon: Crosses it in "To The Death", which leads into "Dark Eyes". [[spoiler:Which ultimately leads to him being DrivenToSuicide]] in "The Night of the Doctor".

* CastFullOfGay: The Eighth Doctor travels with lesbian companion Izzy; queer, very androgynous companion Fey; and Destrii, who seems to go for AnythingThatMoves.

In the later years of his life, he had turned colder and angrier and less willing to take on companions because it was becoming clear that something terrible in the universe had been brewing. Finally, the Daleks and Time Lords were locked into a terrible and enormous war, which the Doctor tried to avoid like the plague. However, he was often forced into involvement, but tried to keep his distance from the centre of the battle. When he offered safety to a gunship crewmember in an act of goodwill and got rebuked, Eight went down with the ship and awoke to the unavoidable truth that he ''must'' enter the Time War or the universe would soon be gone. Caving to despair and rage, he allowed himself to become [[Characters/DoctorWhoWarDoctor a warrior and gave up on being the Doctor]].

* {{Geek}}: While on Earth, the Doctor became a fan of ''{{Transformers}}''. No, really.

* CatchPhrase: "Blazes". Often said when shocked, surprised and downright annoyed.

-->'''Shaughnessy :''' I assume it was suicide, Doctor?\\

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 [[WeHardlyKnewYe scant three 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.

Notably, he was the Doctor who shattered the NoHuggingNoKissing policy forever, happily snogging his companions just because he wanted to. He also claimed to be half-human, which was either ignored or denied by fans and in later stories. Alas, TV audiences only knew him for a single night, owing to neither BBC nor Fox being interested in turning the TV movie into a full revival of the series despite it doing quite well in the franchise's native UK (Fox lost interest because the film flopped in America -- for whom it was directed -- though for whatever reason its British success didn't faze Creator/{{the BBC}}).

Notably, he was the Doctor who shattered the NoHuggingNoKissing policy forever, happily snogging his companions just because he wanted to. He also claimed to be half-human, which was either ignored or denied by fans and in later stories. Alas, TV audiences only knew him for a single night, owing to neither BBC nor Fox being interested in turning the TV movie into a full revival of the series despite it doing quite well in the franchise's native UK (Fox lost interest because the film flopped in America -- for whom it was directed -- though for whatever reason its British success didn't faze the BBC).

* HellBentForLeather: After he gets ''thoroughly'' broken in "To The Death", and after already spending close to a millennium in his eighth body, he finally drops the Victorian ensemble and starts wearing a WWI navy-style leather peacoat halfway through "Dark Eyes". Paul [=McGann=] helped design the outfit and showed off the new look a few times in the years leading up to the outfit change... even before Creator/BigFinish was sure whether or not the BBC would approve of the new CD covers. This costume later degenerates to a messy fusion of both it and his old clothes. It happens after he's had to deal with the eruption of the Time War, growing very weary, battered, until he can't even find time to keep his attire tidy, and his appearance goes to seed and shambles.

The [[{{Keet}} bouncy]], [[PrettyBoy charming]], [[ThePollyanna optimistic]] [[TheCharmer romantic]], [[BreakTheCutie slowly]] [[DarkerAndEdgier darkened]] by the [[HopelessWar Last Great]] [[WarIsHell Time War]] into a [[{{Hunk}} rugged]] WarriorPoet from [[TraumaCongaLine loss]] and [[HurtingHero sorrow]]. A man who wanted the universe to be peaceful and beautiful, only to be met with disaster and doom that ruined his expectations. From the little we saw of him, the Eighth Doctor was a chatty, passionate figure who revelled in life and living and -- uniquely among the Doctors -- seemed to enjoy giving people hints about their futures.

->''[[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "Physician, heal thyself."]]''

** He does not approve of Seven's [[TheChessmaster Chessaster]] and ColdEquation tendecies, noting how they ultimately lead him to alienate all his friends and end his days as a lonely and weary old man. He defines himself as in particular being everything Seven was not.

** He does not approve of Seven's chess master tendecies, noting how they ultimately lead him to alienate all his friends and end his days as a lonely and weary old man. He defines himself as in particular being everything Seven was not.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Paul [=McGann=]'s certainly very attractive to begin with, but EDA writers often described the Doctor as younger, taller[[note]]The book Doctor often seems positively lanky and is described as taller than most of his companions, but Paul [=McGann=] is only 5'8'', and is in fact one of the shortest Doctors.[[/note]], thinner and prettier than [=McGann=].

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Paul [=McGann=]'s certainly very attractive to begin with, but EDA writers often described the Doctor as younger, taller[[note]]The book Doctor often seems positively lanky and taller than most of his companions, but Paul [=McGann=] is only 5'8''![[/note]], thinner and prettier than [=McGann=].

* GallowsHumour: As a constant coping mechanism, which was eventually carried over to his final TV series appearance.

* RealMenGetShot

* 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, the Restoration, 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]].

* AGodAmI: Merging with part of the space/time vortex itself. He's very moved by the experience and ready to say goodbye to physical life forever, but seeing that Destrii needs him snaps him out of it again.
** In "The Glorious Dead", he thinks he and the Master are fighting for this, but eventually realises they're a sideshow.

* HalfHumanhybrid: The Doctor infamously declares himself to be half human on his mother's side. The Master confirms he's half human by checking his [=DNA=]. Fans generally prefer to ignore this and the franchise [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent rarely]] mentioned it again[[note]]Although, there are [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd theories…]] [[/note]].

* TheFogOfAges: The Eighth Doctor has a ''very'' long life, even discounting his six centuries on Orbis and, as a result, his memory starts to get a bit fuzzy as he comes closer to the Time War. In "Lies in Ruins", he introduces himself to Bernice Summerfield, having apparently forgotten who she is and all the adventures they had together. At the end of that story, River Song doesn't even bother erasing his memory as she normally would, with no adverse affect on the timelines.

* SignificantWardrobeShift: [[spoiler:After Lucie's death utterly breaks him,]] a more cynical and somber Eight ditches his Victorian outfit and replaces it with a more practical WWI era leather peacoat in "Dark Eyes". By the time of ''Night of the Doctor'' he'll trade that in for a dishevelled Regency era ensemble when he's desperate to be the man ''he was'' but can't be anymore. ''Echos of Extinction'' implies that the Eighth Doctor had the Regency outfit change shortly before the Time War. [[spoiler:He kept this look as a vestige of the Doctor's past lives, claiming he doesn't do robes (the actor loved this costume most of all).]]

* LoveYouAndEverybody: His definition of "love" is a bit muddy, as is his tendency to make out with people for no reason. Everyone calls him out on it.
--> He lunged forward, making to kiss [Charley] full on the lips, but she dodged him at the last moment. She knew he meant nothing by it... which was what bothered her, rather.

* {{Pride}}: Always part of the Doctor's personality, but Eight's second story arc (collected in "The Glorious Dead" graphic novel) explores this as a character flaw (albeit aided by [[spoiler:the manipulation of the Master]].
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: His graphic, horrifying genocide of an entire fleet of [[spoiler: Cybermen]], delivered with all the passion and rage of an angry God. (Which he is, pretty much, at the time.)

* AllergicToRoutine: He survives torture, starvation, horror and broken limbs and usually bounces right back, but imprisonment -- just plain imprisonment with ''nothing'' to do -- is what does him in. When he gets locked up for [[spoiler:over three years]], it absolutely destroys him.

* ParentsAsPeople: To Miranda. He means well, [[DotingParent dotes on her]], and loves her with all his hearts, but he's still fairly clueless, and ends up [[spoiler:being part of the reason she runs away from home when she's sixteen, because he never explained to her she's an alien like him]]. She turns out all right, though.

* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Suffered in ''The Ancestor Cell'', which he never quite gets over for the rest of his novel adventures (although [[spoiler:it is revealed in ''The Gallifrey Chronicles'' 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]]).

* BigDamnKiss: With [[spoiler: Charley]]. Completely played for BodyHorror.

* DespairEventHorizon: Crosses it in "To The Death", which leads into "Dark Eyes". Which ultimately leads to him being [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide]] in "The Night of the Doctor".

* GoingNative: On the titular planet of "Orbis", where he ends up spending [[spoiler:600 ''years'']].

* TheGreatOffscreenWar: WordOfGod has it that the Last Great Time War will stay off-screen forever. Due to a case of TrollingCreator, "Dark Eyes" still came ''this'' close to diving into it. Quickly subverted when Big Finish finally got the right to the new series, and commissioned four boxsets about Eight's time during the war as a prequel to their War Doctor range.
** "The Night of the Doctor" tapped the glass, showing [[spoiler: Eight tried to stay out of the conflict as much as he could but intervened when he had to]] 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.

** ForegoneConclusion: But the [[spoiler:third time ''will'' do him in.]]

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: At the end of "To The Death", he [[spoiler: promises the Daleks he'll kill ''all of them'' if given the chance, he can't forgive a fellow Time Lord (the Monk) anymore, and he's absolutely roaring with anger and grief]]. The first steps towards the Last Great Time War.
* ParentalSubstitute: To [[spoiler: Gemma and Samson]]. They call him "dad".

* PungeonMaster: Extremely fond of them, even musing at one point that he picked some horrible last words to go out on. Which might explain why he was so deliberate about choosing [[spoiler: his ''real'' last words.]]

* SenseLossSadness: During the eight episodes of the Divergent Universe arc, he's forced to live in a world without time. He compares the feeling to losing a body part. When he gets back to the normal universe, regaining his senses makes him so bouncy and happy that it even freaks out ''[[spoiler:Davros]]''.

* SharingABody: With [[spoiler: Zagreus]] in "Zagreus", and with [[spoiler: Charley]] in "Scherzo".

* SignificantWardrobeShift: After [[spoiler: Lucie's death]] utterly breaks him, a more cynical and somber Eight ditches his Victorian outfit and replaces it with a more practical WWI era leather peacoat in "Dark Eyes". By the time of ''Night of the Doctor'' he'll trade that in for a dishevelled Regency era ensemble when he's desperate to be the man ''he was'' but can't be anymore. ''Echos of Extinction'' implies that the Eighth Doctor had the Regency outfit change shortly before the Time War. [[spoiler:He kept this look as a vestige of the Doctor's past lives, claiming he doesn't do robes (the actor loved this costume most of all).]]

->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie "Who am I? Who am I? Who! Am!]]'' '''''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie "I?!"]]'''''

->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie "Who am I? Who am I? Who! Am!]]'' '''''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie "Who am I? I?!"]]'''''

->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie "Who am I? Who am I? Who! Am! '''''I'''''?!"]]''