History WMG / DoctorWhoWholeSeries

** A minor amendment to the above -- he never mentioned it because he ''assumed'' the Doctor knew. In the New Series, it's possible to read the Master's obsession with the Doctor based on his apparent belief that the Doctor hears the drums as well (since they're both equal-but-opposite NotSoDifferent renegade Time Lords), but the Doctor clearly has no idea what the Master's talking about until he does a brief psychic link with the Master in "The End of Time" and freaks out about hearing the drums.

** If it was ''that'' bad, he'd be on a CrazyAwesome, near-psychotic sugar high every time he ate a [[TrademarkFavoriteFood bana]]- ...You know what? This could be right.

From "The Doctor's Wife" we know that she's not just sentient, but able to think almost at a human level(though has major TimeDissonance). Despite being the Doctor's effective wife, she has no problem with women flirting with the Doctor and the fact that the Doctor is "married" to (and [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar probably shagged]]) River Song. Either she's fine with the Doctor being polygamist, or [[RuleOfFunny better yet]] she has a fetish for it. She finds the sexual tension between the Doctor and his companions a turn-on, especially the idea of a [[TimeyWimeyBall confusing as Time War]] [[OneTrueThreesome threeway.]] Of course, since the TARDIS is an implied EldritchAbomination who's less physically compatible to the Doctor than I am to the internet ([[HotSkittyOnWailordAction though the idea of Doctor on TARDIS is so funny I'd go through a thousand Rule 34s to see it]]), it can't really express her desires normally, so she decided to just be a voyeur. I say this not just because of RuleOfFunny, but [[RuleOfSexy Rule of SWEET JELLY BABIES]] [[PerverseSexualLust I WISH I WAS HER!]]

* StarfishAlien is child's play. Time Lords are [[EldritchAbomination cosmic horrors.]]

[[WMG: MacGyver was a companion of the Doctor]]

It explains his TechnicalPacifist GadgeteerGenius ChronicHeroSyndrome nature. He learned it all from his mentor, the same way Sarah Jane, Captain Jack, etc did.

** Actually, one of the books implies that Churchill inspired it.

Self-explanatory, really. This is why the Master never showed signs of the drums back in the Classic series (out-universe, it's because Creator/RusselTDavies wants). Before becoming the villain we know and love, the drums would have been subtle. During the last of his original regenerations, they shifted into high gear. To the Master's mind, they sounded something like "You will rule all" or "Master of All." So the Master planned to do that. The first time he came back to life via GrandTheftMe, the drums became louder. This caused the Master [[CardCarryingVillain to become more open about it.]] The sheer LargeHam and camp nature of the TV Movie Master is the result of yet another resurrection. When the Time Lords resurrected the Master, this caused the drums to become full-circle. Alternatively, the drums have been getting louder and more noticable as his personal timestream nears "The End of Time", where he finally snaps enough for it to be used by the Time Lords.

* This might explain why the Master looked like a zombie after Roger Delgado. He already expended the 12 normal regenerations, and [[BodyHorror his Pratt/Beavers incarnation]] is what a Time Lord might degenerate into if they try to regenerate a 13th time without a new cycle being added. Time Lords technically can regenerate more than 12 times, [[Disney/{{Aladdin}} but it's not a pretty picture]], considered a FateWorseThanDeath, and only someone like [[ImmortalsFearDeath the Master]] would do something so desperate.

In the episode [[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVDemonsAndAngels]][[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aeaac7s1dhienmzwwhuqqhb8y0jxlneb6exirkudxms.jpg the TARDIS can be seen]] just before the red dwarf explodes. What makes this teory possible is that after the red dwarf explodes, the ship and its crew reaper as two ships, one good and the other bad. The theory states that just after the red dwarf exploded, the TARDIS landed there and the explosion destroyed it and the doctor but created two versions of the tardis and the doctor. One good,the regular doctor and one bad,The Valeyard.

Or rather, the translation circuit trying to work around limitations in the ''English language''. Every time the Doctor gives an explanation that doesn't make sense, or misuses a term, he's ''actually'' giving a very detailed and logical explanation of the phenomenon, he's just using terms that exist in Gallifreyan but not English. The TARDIS does it's best to translate that into the words that do exist in English, but none of them quite fit (at least within the time-constraints of the conversation) so the explanation the companions (and audience) hear sounds like gibberish. - Imagine trying to translate a complex explanation using modern physics terminology into ancient Sumerian, you'll give it your best but they still aren't going to ''really'' understand, they lack the proper context and vocabulary needed to do so.

* [[Characters/InspectorSpacetime But that was Leslie French]].

Consider all the facts we know about how and why the Doctor left Gallifrey://
1) He didn't just leave, he ''fled'', while being actively pursued by the Chancellery Guard. ("The Beginning", "Time of the Doctor")//
2) He took his granddaughter and an ancient Gallifreyan superweapon with him. ("Unearthly Child", "Remembrance...")//
3) His older brother Braxiatel was the Lord Burner (personal assassin) of Time Lord President Pandad VII. When ordered to Burn "and old man and his granddaughter", he tipped them off, they fled, then Pandad died in a "totally unrelated" accident. (And Brax should know, he headed up the inquiry...) ("Gallifrey: Disassembled")//
4) The Doctor later claimed he didn't kidnap the President's wife, but his ''daughter''. (Hell Bent, Brief History of the Time Lords)//
'''Logical conclusion?''' For some mysterious reason the Doctor's own son tried to have him killed. Brax killed his own nephew instead, then the Doctor fled with his son's daughter, who is also, obviously, his granddaughter. (Despite guesses that she isn't his granddaughter, there's not one shred of evidence that their relationship is anything other than what they say it is, the potential existence of "the Other" notwithstanding.) Presumably, whatever Pandad's motive was, it wasn't safe for the Doctor and Susan to remain on Gallifrey after he died. And given that the Doctor took an ancient stellar manipulator with him, it was probably something bigger than a family spat.

Consider all the facts we know about how and why the Doctor left Gallifrey:
1) He didn't just leave, he ''fled'', while being actively pursued by the Chancellery Guard. ("The Beginning", "Time of the Doctor")
2) He took his granddaughter and an ancient Gallifreyan superweapon with him. ("Unearthly Child", "Remembrance...")
3) His older brother Braxiatel was the Lord Burner (personal assassin) of Time Lord President Pandad VII. When ordered to Burn "and old man and his granddaughter", he tipped them off, they fled, then Pandad died in a "totally unrelated" accident. (And Brax should know, he headed up the inquiry...) ("Gallifrey: Disassembled")
4) The Doctor later claimed he didn't kidnap the President's wife, but his ''daughter''. (Hell Bent, Brief History of the Time Lords)

** Saxon-Missy: When we last see Saxon, he has been outwitted and stabbed by Missy herself. While he is clearly upset at her desire to help The Doctor, he does express genuine admiration at her ruthlessness otherwise. After being misogynistic in at least his previous two incarnations, based on his treatment of Chantho as Yana and Lucy Saxon as Harold Saxon, he most likely finally gained a true admiration for the strength of woman here. So he followed that admiration through his regeneration into the extremely feminine Missy.

** Missy-O: Assuming Missy died the way that we saw, at the hands of her Saxon incarnation, she most likely spent her dying moments regretting the vulnerability she had developed over time. Due to The Master always valuing strength and power at her/his core, she felt that allowing The Doctor to influence her was what made her weak enough to fall to her own past self. So when she became O, he embraced several of the Saxon mannerisms she had abandoned, hence his similar behavior to that incarnation in particular, and his return to being The Doctor’s enemy completely.

** Crispy-Tremas: By the time The Master found a new body, he really missed his days as 13. The friendly rivalry he has with the Third Doctor, the charm and the good looks. So he made Tremas’s form into someone very similar. Still, his time spent as an incarnation living in total desperation scarred him a bit, making him more insane and more like a cartoony villain than he was as 13. And a bit less fond of The Doctor himself as well.

** Mels-River Song: Infatuated with The Doctor, and empowered by her increased respect from those around her as Mels compared to Melody, she chose to become much older to surpass him in physical age, and just a little bigger (hence her comment during regeneration on choosing a dress size) to account for this wish. In other words, she wanted to become someone who would look more mature and inspire more respect from those around her.

- Return to the Gallifreyans in the desert shacks from which you came, but all they will see is a person who walks around claiming to be their loved one, yet looks nothing like them, and acts differently as well, albeit just enough like them to be insulting and disturbing. Enjoy it while it lasts though, because you’ll outlive them all, anyway

[[WMG: Going off of two theories above about the Doctor’s new bodies being adaptations to his previous form’s faults, and are influenced by his needs at the time of the regeneration, ALL Time Lords account for these things during their regenerations.]]

** 2-3: Angry about his forced regeneration and now feeling that his goofier personality became a fault, he returned to being a little older and more prickly. He still wanted to keep himself physically able to run around, hence his expertise in martial arts action-hero like antics, but otherwise he wanted to go back on what he has made himself as 2. Which also explains his hostility to 2 in particular whenever they met up during anniversary specials.

** 4-5: Now having three companions traveling with him again, after spending most of his life with just one at a time, he felt he needed to become more accessible for their sake going forward. He needed to become more of a family-man, more human in personality, to be there for all of them. So he became the even younger 5, who was more like an older brother to his companions rather than a father or grandfather.

** 5-6: As a result of so much going wrong during this incarnation, Adric’s death, most companions leaving him on very poor terms, Peri almost dying immediately after meeting him, the Fifth Doctor felt that he had become far too soft and vulnerable to be any real help to his companions anymore. He resented his personality choice, just as 3 resented 2’s, and became a far more abrasive, aggressive incarnation as 6 to regain what he felt was his lost ability to be a competent leader to his companions.

** 7-8: 7 lived a long life, visibly aging by the time of the Doctor Who movie. He had time to mellow out and forgive himself for his failings as 5. So when he regenerated into 8, he gave another go at being younger and more open and human in personality. Part of him had begun to miss those days.

** 8-War: He became exactly what he needed to be for the Time War after the Sisterhood of Karn convinced him. Still, he held on to his kindly personality deep down, as seen by the extreme hesitance of the War Doctor to use The Moment. He never wanted to lose that despite his need to become a gritty warrior.

** 9-10: Heavily influenced by Rose’s innocence, he desired a return to that innocence himself. So he made his next incarnation younger and more romantic again, like he was as 8. In other words, he wanted to become good boyfriend material for Rose. Still, the trauma of the Time War carried on his memories and left some major lingering darkness in his personality too.

[[WMG: Going off of two theories above about the Doctor’s new bodies being adaptations to his previous form’s faults, and are influenced by his needs at the time of the regeneration, ALL Time Lords account for these things during their regenerations.

The Doctor:

1-2: The First Doctor, influenced by the younger and hipper companions around him, felt that he needed to be more welcoming to those who traveled with him in the future. So he became younger and hipper himself. Goofier (but still using that goofiness with competence) and more physically able to run around and exert himself, he changed to be what he felt his companions needed.

2-3: Angry about his forced regeneration and now feeling that his goofier personality became a fault, he returned to being a little older and more prickly. He still wanted to keep himself physically able to run around, hence his expertise in martial arts action-hero like antics, but otherwise he wanted to go back on what he has made himself as 2. Which also explains his hostility to 2 in particular whenever they met up during anniversary specials.

3-4: The Third Doctor eventually softened up after getting his TARDIS working again and growing such strong bonds with Jo, the Brigadier, UNIT, even The Master to an extent, and Sarah Jane (Liz Shaw isn’t counted because she wasn’t around long enough to get him out of his prickly phase.) He was finally willing to give a younger and goofier personality a go again. However, Jo leaving him clearly hurt him quite a lot. Influencing him to become more aloof and distant as 4, despite otherwise becoming more laid-back.

4-5: Now having three companions traveling with him again, after spending most of his life with just one at a time, he felt he needed to become more accessible for their sake going forward. He needed to become more of a family-man, more human in personality, to be there for all of them. So he became the even younger 5, who was more like an older brother to his companions rather than a father or grandfather.

5-6: As a result of so much going wrong during this incarnation, Adric’s death, most companions leaving him on very poor terms, Peri almost dying immediately after meeting him, the Fifth Doctor felt that he had become far too soft and vulnerable to be any real help to his companions anymore. He resented his personality choice, just as 3 resented 2’s, and became a far more abrasive, aggressive incarnation as 6 to regain what he felt was his lost ability to be a competent leader to his companions.

6-7: While not fully over his mistakes as 5 yet, 6 did soften up a bit by the time of his regeneration. So he wanted to reach a middle-ground between his last two forms. His body became slightly older again, but he made his personality less abrasive and more (competently) goofy like 2 and 4. He still wanted a personality that would keep him in control of situations, but he felt he didn’t have to be so aggressive anymore. So he chose to become more tactical instead. TheChessMaster.

7-8: 7 lived a long life, visibly aging by the time of the Doctor Who movie. He had time to mellow out and forgive himself for his failings as 5. So when he regenerated into 8, he gave another go at being younger and more open and human in personality. Part of him had begun to miss those days.

8-War: He became exactly what he needed to be for the Time War after the Sisterhood of Karn convinced him. Still, he held on to his kindly personality deep down, as seen by the extreme hesitance of the War Doctor to use The Moment. He never wanted to lose that despite his need to become a gritty warrior.

War-9: The War Doctor knew that, based on what his future incarnations told him, he would be misremembering events and believe that he had caused a double-genocide as his next incarnation. So he made himself into someone tough and very guarded, both in personality and appearance, to be able to handle the brunt of it.

9-10: Heavily influenced by Rose’s innocence, he desired a return to that innocence himself. So he made his next incarnation younger and more romantic again, like he was as 8. In other words, he wanted to become good boyfriend material for Rose. Still, the trauma of the Time War carried on his memories and left some major lingering darkness in his personality too.

10-11: Seeing how his vulnerability in this form led to several traumas similar to what he faced as 5, he saw the need to become more alien in personality and guarded again as 11. However, he still appreciated his youthful appearance, leading 11 to return to the kind of youthful competent goofiness 2 and 4 had, rather than the more vulnerable youthfulness 5 and 10 did. In other words, he wanted to keep his youth but not his vulnerability.

11-12: Gradually aging into a grandfatherly figure again during “The Time of the Doctor”, he had come to realize he really missed those days as incarnations 1 and 3 and probably 7 later on, and wanted to start as someone older than he had last time. At the same time, he saw the need to remain active and fit, due to the action and chaos chasing him into his final days. So he went with an appearance and personality similar to 3, as he felt it best suited his needs.

12-13: He became so fed up with everything toward the end of this life that he didn’t even want to regenerate at all for a while. When he finally decided to, he knew he would need to soften up again to be able to accept that and regain his appreciation for life. Enter the much younger and goofier, more playful, and even for the first time, feminine 13.

The Master:

13-Crispy: Delgado’s Master clearly went through some kind of horrible accident and was out of regenerations. He needed ThePowerOfHate to stay alive at all, and so that’s what he did. Leading to a far more ruthless, more desperate, and much less friendly incarnation.

Crispy-Tremas: By the time The Master found a new body, he really missed his days as 13. The friendly rivalry he has with the Third Doctor, the charm and the good looks. So he made Tremas’s form into someone very similar. Still, his time spent as an incarnation living in total desperation scarred him a bit, making him more insane and more like a cartoony villain than he was as 13. And a bit less fond of The Doctor himself as well.

Tremas-Bruce: The Master knew he was in danger for his life again, like he was as Crispy. So, while he still had a more human appearance, he went back to the more no-nonsense “do whatever it takes to survive” mentality he had previously been able to relax on as Tremas. In other words, he abandoned the “suave gentleman” look he had as 13 and Tremas in favor of someone who looked tougher and could look more genuinely menacing to increase his likelihood of survival.

Bruce-Yana: We know that the Time Lords gave him a new regeneration cycle, but it is unclear how many regenerations he really went through during the Time War. In any case, Yana says that he was found as a child with just a watch by the time of the revival series. If that was truly the case, then he chose the form of a child to appear more innocent in his attempt to escape the war, aging over time into his appearance when he encounters the Tenth Doctor. If that was not the case, then he still may have chosen a more kindly-looking appearance anyway to be more acceptable to a community he could hide in outside of the war.

Yana-Saxon: Yana outright says “if The Doctor can be young and strong, then so can I!” So he clearly chose the Saxon form to match the Tenth Doctor’s youth and energy.

Saxon-Missy: When we last see Saxon, he has been outwitted and stabbed by Missy herself. While he is clearly upset at her desire to help The Doctor, he does express genuine admiration at her ruthlessness otherwise. After being misogynistic in at least his previous two incarnations, based on his treatment of Chantho as Yana and Lucy Saxon as Harold Saxon, he most likely finally gained a true admiration for the strength of woman here. So he followed that admiration through his regeneration into Missy.

Missy-O: Assuming Missy died the way that we saw, at the hands of her Saxon incarnation, she most likely spent her dying moments regretting the vulnerability she had developed over time. Due to The Master always valuing strength and power at her/his core, she felt that allowing The Doctor to influence her was what made her weak enough to fall to her own past self. So when she became O, he embraced several of the Saxon mannerisms she had abandoned, hence his similar behavior to that incarnation in particular, and his return to being The Doctor’s enemy completely.

Romana I-Romana II: While Romana states that she deliberately chose the form of Princess Astra because she really liked her look, her personality also softened and she evolved into a DistaffCounterpart to the Fourth Doctor. This was most likely due to her feeling that being more stuck-up around him wasn’t helping, and she wanted to be more like him to work together more effectively. And similar to how 9 became 10 to suit Rose because he loved her, Romana may have actually done the same exact thing for The Doctor due to their implied romantic love for each other (even if Romana II made that love much more obvious than Romana I.)

Rassilon during the 5th Doctor’s time-Rassilon during the 10th Doctor’s time: He clearly went through several incarnations during this time period due to the Time War, meaning that this wasn’t a direct transition. But seeing how physically intimidating and ruthless 10th Doctor’s Rassilon is, he clearly chose to be that way to best suit himself for the needs of the Time War.

Rassilon during the 10th Doctor’s time-Rassilon during the 12th Doctor’s time: 12th Doctor’s Rassilon seems to have come directly from the Saxon Master killing him with lightning. The passage of time seems to account for his increased age, but his stubborn-old-man form was most likely chosen in the first place to regain respect from the other Time Lords after the “End of Time” debacle. In other words, he chose an appearance to inspire respect from his own people this time, rather than his previous regeneration’s choice to focus on looking tough and powerful to his enemies.

Melody Pond-Mels: From what little we see of Melody Pond’s original form, she seems to be struggling on the streets. So she chose Mels, someone just a little older, with a tougher personality and appearance, to account for this need to properly protect herself.

Mels-River Song: Infatuated with The Doctor, and empowered by her increased respect from those around her as Mels compared to Melody, she chose to become much older to surpass him in physical age, and just a little bigger (hence her comment during regeneration on choosing a dress size) to account for this wish. In other words, she wanted to become someone who would look more mature and inspire more respect from those around her.

But rather a becoming a Time Lord is a side effect of absorbing enough Time Energy and surviving. The Gallifreyans have mastered this process, and Time Lords are more like Jedi in the Film/{{Star Wars}} prequels. At a young age, a Gallifreyan child is taken by the Time Lords and taught the rules of time travel. When they are deemed ready, the are made to look into the Untempered Schism, and if they survive the exposure to the Time Energy they are given regenerative abilities. In theory, any species can become a Time Lord, hence River Song, who was conceived in the TARDIS and as a fetus absorbed enough energy to become a Time Lord, but not enough to transform Rory and Amy.

** Alternatively it's a true, pure, distilled and well - flavoured {{ElderitchAbomination}} summoned by the Daleks by genetically engineering a horrific monster and allowing the Nightmare Child to possess it.