History Characters / DoctorWhoSeventhDoctor

[[Characters/DoctorWhoFirstDoctor 1]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSecondDoctor 2]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor 3]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor 4]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor 5]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor 6]] | '''7''' | [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor 8]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoWarDoctor War]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoNinthDoctor 9]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor 10]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoEleventhDoctor 11]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTwelfthDoctor 12]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor 13]]\\

While still continuing his long-lasting fight against evil, sometimes Seven would cross the line between noble and coldhearted, since [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor his predecessor]]'s dying act was to let go of his moral scruples for the greater good. Unfortunately, he hurt some of his closest friends by toying with their minds as part of his schemes. Though he always offered an apology, he would not always receive forgivenes.

As Seven grew older, he became weary of the mental toll that manipulating others caused, and the misdeeds he had done. He retired from plotting, started travelling alone, and turned the TARDIS into an elegant study. Then one day, he was tasked with bringing [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters the Master]]'s remains post-execution on Skaro to Gallifrey, but his nemesis broke free and escaped. Unfortunately, Seven had a lapse in judgement by not checking the TARDIS scanner before exiting it and walked out into the fray of a gang war in San Francisco. At a local hospital, surgeons removed the bullets but screwed up with the Time Lord's unique biology, inadvertently killing him, and nearly for good. However, after several hours he would regenerate in the morgue, becoming a [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor less manipulative and more idealistic, romantic man]].

->'''Played by:''' Creator/SylvesterMcCoy (1987–89, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2021, 2022)

* {{Catchphrase}}: He's the Doctor, and this is his friend Ace.
* CelibateHero: NoHuggingNoKissing was generally in place for the classic Doctors, but Seven displayed celibacy to the point that in a few ExpandedUniverse stories, his companions know he's NotHimself just from the fact alone that he suddenly fancies someone. Characters/BerniceSummerfield summarises that she's "never known the Doctor to have any concern for the trouser department."

* CatchPhrase: "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is my friend [companion's name]", to the point that later novels started lampshading and playing with it.

* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: The 7th doctor was prone to doing this immediately following his regeneration, although it was dropped after a couple of stories. His first episode alone gave us:

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In his first season, he was as a somewhat clownish and [[TheDitz ditzy]] {{Malaproper}} who was conceived deliberately as an antidote to the controversially abrasive and personally violent Sixth Doctor. During the hiatus between seasons 24 and 25, both the writers and [=McCoy=] decided that this portrayal was too lightweight and limited, and the very first story of the next season introduced the characterisation for which Seven is best-remembered, as a world-weary, calculating, and [[ManipulativeBastard ruthlessly manipulative]] [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] who only occasionally reverted to his original characterisation as obvious ObfuscatingStupidity.

* BoomerangBigot: The only thing he dislikes more than sick wards is doctors. They think they know everything.

Because Sylvester [=McCoy=] is a darling of a man, his Doctor has a tendency for showing up in unlicensed productions, such as Rob Shearman's BBV audioplay ''Punchline'' or the fan-made ''WebVideo/DoctorWhoTheMovie''.

As Seven grew older, he became weary of the mental toll that manipulating others caused, and the misdeeds he had done. He retired from plotting, started travelling alone, and turned the TARDIS into an elegant study. Until one day, he was tasked with bringing [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters the Master]]'s remains post-execution on Skaro to Gallifrey, but his nemesis broke free and escaped. Unfortunately, Seven had a lapse in judgement by not checking the TARDIS scanner before exiting it and walked out into the fray of a gang war in San Francisco. At a local hospital, surgeons removed the bullets but screwed up with the Time Lord's unique biology, inadvertently killing him, and nearly for good. However, after several hours he would regenerate in the morgue, becoming a [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor less manipulative and more romantic man]].

As Seven grew older, he became weary of the mental toll that manipulating others caused, and the misdeeds he had done. He retired from plotting, started travelling alone, and turned the TARDIS into an elegant study. One day, he was tasked with bringing [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters the Master]]'s remains post-execution on Skaro to Gallifrey, but his nemesis broke free and escaped. Unfortunately, Seven had a lapse in judgement by not checking the TARDIS scanner before exiting it and walked out into the fray of a gang war in San Francisco. At a local hospital, surgeons removed the bullets but screwed up with the Time Lord's unique biology, inadvertently killing him, and nearly for good. However, after several hours he would regenerate in the morgue, becoming a [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor less manipulative and more romantic man]].

Because Sylvester [=McCoy=] is a darling of a man, his Doctor has a tendency for showing up in unlicensed productions, such as Rob Shearman's BBV audioplay ''Punchline'' or ''WebVideo/DoctorWhoTheMovie''.

->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie "I've got to stop... him..."]]''

Seven was even more passionate about justice than his predecessors, fond of ThePlan and despatching his enemies through {{Batman Gambit}}s that tricked them into getting HoistByTheirOwnPetard, and a bit of a KnightTemplarParent to his companion Ace. He also proved to be one of the least scatter-brained incarnations of the Doctor, almost always having some sort of crucial insight into the situations he found himself in, although he was also good at not letting on how much he knew until he felt the time was right. These qualities came even more to the fore in the many, ''many'' ExpandedUniverse ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels he starred in. Hinted at numerous times to be much more than a "mere" Time Lord -- a StoryArc which [[CutShort didn't quite pan out as such]]. What little made it into the show, however, added a few clues regarding his escape from Gallifrey, which appears to have included nicking the Hand of Omega as he went. [[HeAlsoDid He also played the spoons]] as a musical instrument.

While still continuing his long-lasting fight against evil, sometimes Seven would cross the line between noble and coldhearted, since [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor his predecessor's]] dying act was to let go of his moral scruples for the greater good. Unfortunately, he hurt some of his closest friends by toying with their minds as part of his schemes. Though he always offered an apology, he would not always receive forgivenes.

As Seven grew older, he became weary of the mental toll that manipulating others caused, and the misdeeds he had done. He retired from plotting, started travelling alone, and turned the TARDIS into an elegant study. One day, he was tasked with bringing [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters the Master's]] remains post-execution on Skaro to Gallifrey, but his nemesis broke free and escaped. Unfortunately, Seven had a lapse in judgement by not checking the TARDIS scanner before exiting it and walked out into the fray of a gang war in San Francisco. At a local hospital, surgeons removed the bullets but screwed up with the Time Lord's unique biology, inadvertently killing him, and nearly for good. However, after several hours he would regenerate in the morgue, becoming a [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor less manipulative and more romantic man]].

The [[BewareTheSillyOnes killer comedian]], clad in [[Literature/TheGreatGatsby Jay Gatsby]] summer wear from [[TheRoaringTwenties the nineteen-twenties]]. This Doctor began as a sort of bumbling goof, but this wacky surface would increasingly be shown to be an ObfuscatingStupidity act, as he became a more manipulative and enigmatic figure, frequently proving himself to be quite TheChessmaster, when the show [[DarkerAndEdgier got a little darker]] in its final two seasons.

As Seven grew older, he became weary of the mental toll that manipulating others caused, and the misdeeds he had done. He retired from plotting and turned the TARDIS into an elegant study. One day, he was tasked with bringing [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters the Master's]] remains post-execution on Skaro to Gallifrey, but his nemesis broke free and escaped. Unfortunately, Seven had a lapse in judgement by not checking the TARDIS scanner before exiting it and walked out into the fray of a gang war in San Francisco. At a local hospital, surgeons removed the bullets but screwed up with the Time Lord's unique biology, inadvertently killing him, and nearly for good. However, after several hours he would regenerate in the morgue, becoming a [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor less manipulative and more romantic man]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A cunning, remorseless [[Main/{{Schemer}} schemer]], the Seventh Doctor is a Machiavellian mastermind who's more than willing to deceive those he's close to. However, he's also quite cordial, exuberant, approachable and quick-witted when not ruthlessly fighting the forces of evil.

* [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim Break Her Heart to Save Her]]: He puts Ace through this in "The Curse of Fenric." Pretending not to care about her tricks Fenric into defeat. He later apologised to Ace, who was personally hurt, and promised not to do this again.
* BreakThemByTalking: He's the first Doctor to [[get a Dalek to self-destruct by talking to it]].

* NiceGuy: When not ruthlessly fighting the forces of evil, he's one of the more mellow and approachable Doctors, and his relationships with his companions are significantly less temperamental than his predecessors. It's a DownplayedTrope, since most of his screen time ''is'' spent fighting evildoers, and he is firmly CreepyGood [[GoodIsNotSoft Is Not Soft]].

* NonPOVProtagonist: The writers' guidelines included an explicit rule forbidding writers to show what was going on inside the Doctor's head, to keep an element of mystery about him; his actions were always to be seen through the eyes of his companion or another character. ''Conundrum'' lampshades this, as what starts out as OmniscientThirdPersonNarration is actually the Master of the Land of Fiction, and the fact his omniscience stops at the Doctor's mind (and only the Doctor's) frustrates him.

->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani "Oh no, Mel... That was a nice nap! Now, down to business! I'm a bit worried about temporal flicker in sector 13. There's a bi-centennial refig of the Tardis to book in... I must just pop over to Centari-7, and then perhaps a quick holiday. Right, that all seems quite clear. Just three small points: Where am I, who am I... and who are you?!"]]''

->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani “Oh no, Mel... That was a nice nap! Now, down to business! I'm a bit worried about temporal flicker in sector 13. There's a bi-centennial refig of the Tardis to book in... I must just pop over to Centari-7, and then perhaps a quick holiday. Right, that all seems quite clear. Just three small points: Where am I, who am I... and who are you?!”]]''

Sometimes, Seven would cross the line between noble and coldhearted, since his predecessor's dying act was to let go of his moral scruples. Unfortunately, he hurt some of his closest friends by toying with their minds as part of his schemes. Though he always offered an apology, he would not always receive forgivenes.

As Seven grew older, he became weary of the mental toll that manipulating others caused, and the misdeeds he had created. He retired from plotting and turned the TARDIS into an elegant study. One day, he was tasked with bringing the Master's remains post-execution on Skaro to Gallifrey, but his nemesis broke free and escaped. Unfortunately, Seven had a lapse in judgement by not checking the TARDIS scanner before exiting it and walked out into the fray of a gang war in San Francisco. At a local hospital, surgeons removed the bullets but screwed up with the Time Lord's unique biology, inadvertently killing him, and nearly for good.

* WeaponOfChoice: His ''brain'' (and, technically, ''words''). This is the first Doctor to [[BreakThemByTalking get a Dalek to self-destruct by talking to it]].

* RetiredBadass: The post-companions portrayal of Seven who we saw in the TV Movie. He's quite contemplative by then, ditched the goofy question-mark jumper for sophisticated clothes, and his CharacterDevelopment arc has been completed. He is a melancholy man who is growing old and tired, so he decides that his days of scheming and manipulation are over. He knows regeneration is approaching, and he wants to burn all his bridges beforehand. He doesn't want his next incarnation to be burdened with his complex machinations because he fears they might not be able to handle them due to the changes in personality, or will refuse to carry them on. He would be proven right- the Eighth Doctor displays a dislike for his past self's chessmaster tendencies.

* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: The 7th doctor was prone to doing this immediately following his regeneration, although it was dropped after a couple of stories. His first episdoe alone gave us:
-->"You don't understand regeneration, Mel. It's a lottery, and I've drawn the short plank."
-->"Fit as a trombone.'
-->"Absence makes the nose grow longer."

-->'''The Doctor:''' Fine words butter no parsnips.\\

** By the end of his life, he's gotten to using his companions' mistrust in him as yet 'another'' way to manipulate them - whether he sees this as a necessary evil or not is in the air.

* CelibateHero: Keeping in line with the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels, Seven is entirely celibate in every way. This becomes a huge plot point in [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho039BangBangABoom "Bang-Bang-A-Boom!"]], with plenty of lampshading. In one of the ''Dairy of River Song'' episodes, when River Song attempts to kiss him (though with a ulterior motive; she is trying to slip him a memory altering drug to prevent him from remember their meeting so the timeline can stay intact), Seven quickly rebuffs her: