| 1 | [[center:[[WMG:''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Characters/DoctorWho characters index]]\ |
| 2 | [-'''Incarnations of [[Characters/DoctorWhoDoctors the Doctor]]'''\ |
| 3 | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFirstDoctor 1]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSecondDoctor 2]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor 3]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor 4]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor 5]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor 6]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSeventhDoctor 7]] | '''8''' | [[Characters/DoctorWhoWarDoctor War]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoNinthDoctor 9]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor 10]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoEleventhDoctor 11]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTwelfthDoctor 12]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor 13]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourteenthandfifteenthDoctors 14 & 15]]\ |
| 4 | '''[[Characters/DoctorWhoTheTARDIS The TARDIS]]'''\ |
| 5 | '''[[Characters/DoctorWhoCompanionsAndSupportingCast Companions and Supporting Cast]]'''\ |
| 6 | [[Characters/DoctorWhoClassicSeriesCompanions Classic Series Companions]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoK9 K9]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoRomana Romana]]) | [[Characters/DoctorWhoRevivalSeriesCompanions Revival Series Companions]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoRoseTyler Rose Tyler]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoJackHarkness Captain Jack Harkness]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoThePonds The Ponds]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoRiverSong River Song]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoClaraOswald Clara Oswald]]) | [[Characters/DoctorWhoOtherSupportingCast Other Supporting Cast]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoThePaternosterGang The Paternoster Gang]]) | [[Characters/DoctorWhoUNITStaff UNIT Staff]]\ |
| 7 | '''[[Characters/DoctorWhoVillains Villains]]'''\ |
| 8 | [[Characters/DoctorWhoImmortalsAndEldritchAbominations Immortals and Eldritch Abominations]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters The Master]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoJohnSimmsMaster John Simm's Master]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoMissy Missy]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverseMasters Expanded Universe Masters]])\ |
| 9 | '''[[Characters/DoctorWhoAliensAndMonsters Aliens and Monsters]]'''\ |
| 10 | [[Characters/DoctorWhoDaleks Daleks]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoDavros Davros]]) | [[Characters/DoctorWhoCybermen Cybermen]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoRobots Robots]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTheSilence The Silence]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSilurians Silurians]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSontarans Sontarans]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTimeLords Time Lords]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoWeepingAngels Weeping Angels]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSlitheen Slitheen]]-]]]]] |
| 11 | |
| 12 | ->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie "Who am I? Who am I? WHO!! AM!!]]'' '''''[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie IIIII?!?!"]]''''' |
| 13 | ---- |
| 14 | !Eighth Doctor |
| 15 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eighth_1.jpg]] |
| 16 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there."'']] |
| 17 | |
| 18 | ->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie Doctor Who: The Movie]]" (1996) |
| 19 | ->'''Regeneration story:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor The Night of the Doctor]]" (2013) |
| 20 | |
| 21 | ->'''Played by:''' Creator/PaulMcGann (1996, 2013, 2022) |
| 22 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Angus Villiers-Stuart (2020) |
| 23 | |
| 24 | ->''"The universe hangs by such a delicate thread of coincidences -- it's useless to meddle with it unless, like me, you're a Time Lord."'' |
| 25 | |
| 26 | 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 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 what little was seen 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. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | 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.[[note]]But don't you forget RuleNumberOne: [[UnreliableExpositor the Doctor lies]].[[/note]] 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}}). |
| 29 | |
| 30 | He got fleshed out considerably in the ExpandedUniverse media, including the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' novels, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comics and the ''Creator/BigFinish'' audio series, and continues to be, before finally coming BackForTheDead in the TV series for [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor a prelude to]] [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor 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. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | In contrast to the somewhat clownish, yet manipulative and secretive [[Characters/DoctorWhoSeventhDoctor Seventh Doctor]], Eight was defined by his kind, optimistic and classy personality, and he took on many companions. Unfortunately, he was subjected to some of the meanest and nastiest circumstances, constantly captured and tortured, witness to many senseless deaths, and saddled with amnesia so many times that it is a wonder he didn't go insane. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | 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 - a former companion whom neither the Doctor nor she remembered another due to reality being overwritten - 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]]. |
| 35 | ---- |
| 36 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 37 | |
| 38 | [[folder:TV Movie Tropes]] |
| 39 | [[quoteright:756:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_6915.jpeg]] |
| 40 | [[caption-width-right:756:]] |
| 41 | !!Tropes associated with the TV movie |
| 42 | * NinetiesHair: Had curly curtain hair in the movie, which got straightened by The Night of the Doctor. |
| 43 | * AllLovingHero: Full of spirit and the joy of life, he showcased, on multiple occasions, his love for humanity, especially admiring how they "always [saw] patterns in things that [weren't] there". |
| 44 | * 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. |
| 45 | * AttentionDeficitOohShiny: In reaction to scheming Seven, Eight can't stay on one task or thought for more than two seconds. Everything carries the same weight. This became his principal trait in the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' novels... to the point where, [[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor dying and with four minutes left to live]], he proclaims that he might get bored without books, TV, or knitting on hand. |
| 46 | * AwesomeAnachronisticApparel: After walking around with a white sheet following his regeneration, he stole a Wild Bill Hickok costume from Ted's locker at Walker General Hospital. Though he discarded the cap and gunbelt, he kept the sacramento green velvet frock coat, white dress shirt with a high collar, loden green high-waist trousers, floppy battleship grey cravat with a bronze pin, and double breasted waistcoat of silver paisley-brocade with 10 gold buttons and a golden fob watch. |
| 47 | * BadassLongcoat: Has a beautiful green one during the MadeForTVMovie. |
| 48 | * BigDamnKiss: The first Doctor ''ever'' to be properly romantic with his companions. His kiss with Grace in the movie was as much a surprise for the audience as it was for her. |
| 49 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: He's a bit loopy even by Doctor standards thanks to regeneration trauma exacerbated by anesthesia, though it doesn't stop him getting the job done. |
| 50 | * ClassyCravat: A grey one that came with his Victorian ensemble. |
| 51 | * ClockKing: Perhaps in an attempt to ease Americans into the setting, this Doctor has a collection of clocks inside his TARDIS. On a deeper level, Eight exhibits an ability to sense the fate of people and see into their timestreams. Another suggestion of this occurs when he handles the Wild Bill Hickok costume he adopts as his outfit; he seems to pick up a psychic impression from the period clothing. |
| 52 | * ContrastingReplacementCharacter: His upbeat and forgiving attitude contrasted Seven's deviously clever tendencies. |
| 53 | * TheDandy: With his Victorian ensemble he gives Three a run for his money as the best dressed Doctor. |
| 54 | * DistressedDude: Courtesy of the Master, who's trying to steal the rest of his regenerations. |
| 55 | * DitzyGenius: Possibly the ditziest Doctor of them all, at least at first, due to regeneration-induced amnesia. |
| 56 | * DullSurprise: One of the notorious aspects of the movie. Paul [=McGann=] couldn't move his forehead too much without the seam of the wig showing, which is part of the reason why he hated it so much. |
| 57 | * FiveFingerDiscount: In his single TV adventure, the Eighth Doctor demonstrated a talent for pickpocketing people while directly speaking with them. He uses this talent to steal an ID card and a gun... which he uses to [[ItMakesSenseInContext hold himself hostage]]. |
| 58 | * 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]]. |
| 59 | * IconicItem: His fob watch and Edwardian dress. Also, his shoes, which fit [[EstablishingCharacterMoment perfectly]]. |
| 60 | * InnocentBlueEyes: Zigzagged along with IcyBlueEyes. They're used in alternating ways to highlight both the lighter romantic sides of his personality as well as the more understated darker ones. The former is prominently on display in the movie promo-pictures, while the latter has come to the forefront in the ''Dark Eyes'' and "The Night of the Doctor" promo-pictures. |
| 61 | * InnocentFanserviceGuy: Gets a few shirtless scenes right off the bat, while still very confused and amnesiac. |
| 62 | * JuliusBeethovenDaVinci: The Master bluffs Chang Lee that the Doctor was Genghis Khan in a past regeneration. |
| 63 | * {{Keet}}: ''Extremely''. |
| 64 | * KirkSummation: "You want dominion over the living, but all you do is kill!" |
| 65 | * LargeHam: With big arm gestures. |
| 66 | * LimitedWardrobe: Cream trousers, black boots, green velvet frock coat, silk cravat and double-breasted waistcoat. This was based on a stylized "Wild Bill Hickok" fancy dress costume he stole (though it doesn't seem to much resemble any genuine outfit worn by Wild Bill Hickok). |
| 67 | * ManChild: Easily the most boyish, carefree and bouncy Doctor when he's not in trouble. |
| 68 | * MessyHair: He has messy, curly hair too, but longer and looser than the Fourth Doctor's. Both are the resident [[CloudCuckooLander loopy romantics]] of the Doctors |
| 69 | * MrFanservice: Eight has a habit of losing his shirt with some frequency in any medium he appears in, and spends his first few minutes in the movie dressed in just a sheet. |
| 70 | * NiceGuy: Eight is the sweetest Doctor there's ever been. |
| 71 | * NoIndoorVoice: When excited or upset, he tends to go wild with the volume. |
| 72 | -->'''Eighth Doctor:''' The Master wants to take all my remaining lives... SO THAT HE WILL LIVE AND I WILL ''DIE!'' |
| 73 | * NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Something he shares with a few other Doctors. While his TraumaInducedAmnesia eventually gets better, his sense of personal space definitely does not. |
| 74 | * OutOfFocus: For a while; he came about in a movie after the series' cancellation to try and encourage a revival, but lack of interest from American audiences left the series on the shelf until 2005. He would get more attention in expanded media, and his short time as the hero would lend the writers some leeway with him, to the point of introducing a [[Characters/DoctorWhoWarDoctor forgotten regeneration following him and preceding Nine]]. |
| 75 | * PrettyBoy: Bordering on foxy, even. |
| 76 | * PunctuatedForEmphasis: After seeing his reflection for the first time after regeneration, whilst wandering about the hospital: "WHO! AM! I?!" |
| 77 | * RetroactivePrecognition: An ability no other Doctor has ever shown again. Fan explanations vary from "it's a regeneration trauma thing" to "maybe Eight is special" to "he's close to a temporal rift created by the malfunctioning TARDIS" to "Rule One: The Doctor Lies". |
| 78 | * SharpDressedMan: In gorgeous Victorian clothes. |
| 79 | * StopOrIShootMyself: The gun that Eight pulls on himself was actually the ''policeman's''. He's great at [[KleptomaniacHero sleight of hand]]. |
| 80 | * SuperStrength: Was able to punch his way out of the storage locker his body was kept in though this is sometimes shown as a temporary side effect of regenerating. |
| 81 | * TakeMyHand: To the Master, who refused and let himself be dragged into the Eye of Harmony. |
| 82 | * TraumaInducedAmnesia: Regenerating several hours after his death and under the influence of surgical-grade anesthetics apparently constitutes less-than-ideal circumstances. |
| 83 | * VerbalTic: He liked monosyllables. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" "No, no, no, no, no..." "Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace!" Like that. Generally when he was excited, really thinking, or, as one character in the ExpandedUniverse observes, when he was distressed. |
| 84 | * WaistcoatOfStyle: Came with the outfit. |
| 85 | * WakingUpAtTheMorgue: Literally, in the middle of amnesia-inducing regeneration trauma. Finds a few feet of camera probe coming out of his chest. His first day was a bit scary. |
| 86 | * WeHardlyKnewYe: This only applies to his televised appearances, a whopping ''two'' over the course of '''''17''''' years, followed by a cameo almost 9 years later. It is worth noting that Big Finish took the wheel and patched up the vast in-between space. The Eighth Doctor has been somewhat of a phantom in the TV series, but far from it in audio format. Ironically, and fittingly, Paul [=McGann=] was once quoted as not owning a TV in his household to watch the post-movie ''Doctor Who'', making the actor just as distanced from the new developments as his Doctor. |
| 87 | [[/folder]] |
| 88 | |
| 89 | [[folder:Comic Tropes]] |
| 90 | !! Tropes associated with the Radio Times comics |
| 91 | * RoguesGallery: Cybermen, Ice Warriors, & shape shifters. |
| 92 | |
| 93 | !!Tropes associated with ''Doctor Who Magazine'' |
| 94 | Five months after the telemovie aired in America, ''Doctor Who Magazine'' made the Eighth Doctor the star of their comic strips, where he faced significant character development. |
| 95 | |
| 96 | * AbortedArc: The writers were offered the chance to end his story by regenerating into the Ninth Doctor, but they and Creator/RussellTDavies agreed that they couldn't find a way to make it work. |
| 97 | ** 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 retconned by Moffat's War Doctor. |
| 98 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: The Horde's kidnapping of Izzy-in-Destrii's body ''seriously'' ticks him off -- which is likely not helped by having just seen the HeroicSacrifice of [[spoiler:the Human Daleks]] -- and he's much more abrupt and short-tempered until he manages to find her again. |
| 99 | * BigDamnKiss: Gets another very big damn one with Grace, leading Izzy to assume that he and Grace are boyfriend and girlfriend. (He never bothers to correct her.) Also gets snogged by Destrii a few times over, though against his will. |
| 100 | * BrokenPedestal: Basically does this to the human-factor Daleks he created in "The Evil of the Daleks" when he meets them in "Children of the Revolution" as he is forced to break his word to them to try and save their human prisoners, but muses that it was inevitable he would let down their high expectations of him when they put him in such an impossible position. |
| 101 | * CastFullOfGay: The Eighth Doctor travels with lesbian companion Izzy; queer, very androgynous companion Fey; and Destrii, who seems to go for anyone. |
| 102 | * ChangedMyJumper: Halfway through his adventures, the Eighth Doctor wears a long, dark blue coat rather than the dark green one he wears in the TV movie. Author Scott Gray felt that the green coat didn't work well once the comic started being published in colour. For a winter adventure in the wild west, he adds some warmer clothes and a hat he got from Creator/MarkTwain; for a Victorian story, he wears his usual gear and a nice top hat. (In ancient Egypt, he just [[MrFanservice strips down to nothing but a pair of shorts]] for the entire story.) |
| 103 | * CharacterCatchphrase: "Blazes". Often said when shocked, surprised and downright annoyed. |
| 104 | * TheChessmaster: Showcased in his Threshold arc; realising that [[spoiler:the Threshold are using Fey to spy on him]], he gets Shayde to pretend to be a regenerated Doctor so the Threshold will assume he's vulnerable and let their guard down, while going undercover to investigate what the Threshold are up to. |
| 105 | * 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. |
| 106 | ** In "The Glorious Dead", he thinks he and the Master are fighting for this, but eventually realises they're a sideshow. |
| 107 | * HeroicSuicide: He offers to let the Cybermen kill him, so they can copy his regenerative pattern and hopefully leave the humans of Earth alone as a result. They (of course) betray him and he (naturally) had already escaped by that time. |
| 108 | * HotBloodedSideburns: Starts off with a nice pair. Izzy later happily mocks him for it when they look back on their past selves. |
| 109 | * MrFanservice: Gets the occasional ShirtlessScene. |
| 110 | * {{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 [[spoiler:(albeit aided by the manipulation of the Master]]. |
| 111 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: His graphic, horrifying genocide of an entire [[spoiler: fleet of Cybermen]], delivered with all the passion and rage of an angry God. (Which he is, pretty much, at the time.) |
| 112 | * RoguesGallery: The Celestial Toymaker, Marquez, Daleks, the Cucurbite, the Elysians, the Pariah, Donald Stark, Sato Katsura, Beep the Meep, the Master, the Gorolith, Susini of the Wasting Wall, Kata-Phobus, Jodafra, Morjanus, the Windigo, and Cybermen. |
| 113 | * TorturePorn: It's the Eighth Doctor. Of ''course'' there's TorturePorn. His final adventure sees him badly beaten up by the Cyber-Controller. |
| 114 | |
| 115 | %%!! Tropes associated with IDW Publishing |
| 116 | |
| 117 | !! Tropes associated with Titan Comics |
| 118 | * RoguesGallery: Living paintings, the Mirror Silversmith, the Nixi King, Lady Josephine, & Cybermen. |
| 119 | |
| 120 | %%!! Tropes associated with other comics |
| 121 | [[/folder]] |
| 122 | |
| 123 | [[folder:Book Tropes]] |
| 124 | !!Tropes associated with the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures |
| 125 | [[quoteright:326:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/406199537a5e9c8a36f98a97719411ff.jpg]] |
| 126 | ->The Doctor didn't even slow down. One part of his brain started madly calculating velocities and trajectories. Another part started advising him strongly against this course of action. Another part was sticking its arms out and making aeroplane noises.\ |
| 127 | The Doctor leapt from the pier. There was a moment, almost a silent moment, when he was sailing free through the air, unconnected to anything.\ |
| 128 | Then he was vaulting easily over the railing of the ship, landing smoothly on his toes on the other side. The tourists on board the boat burst into a round of applause. The Doctor broke into a smile, and gave a little bow, letting them take photos. |
| 129 | --> -- ''Unnatural History'' |
| 130 | |
| 131 | The one, [[TheNthDoctor the not-]][[Characters/BigFinishDoctorWho so-only]]. The Doctor received a lot of CharacterDevelopment throughout the [=EDAs=] novels, making him a much more complicated person than he was in the [=TVM=]. |
| 132 | |
| 133 | * AbsentMindedProfessor: Even more than usual for the Doctor. |
| 134 | * 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 5'9'', and is in fact one of the shortest Doctors. He's even our page quote for ScullyBox![[/note]], thinner and prettier than [=McGann=]. |
| 135 | * 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 [[spoiler:for over three years]], it absolutely destroys him. |
| 136 | * AmbiguousGender: The Doctor (and other characters) occasionally bring up the fact that human gender categories just don't apply to Time Lords. He doesn't consider himself a man, but doesn't offer up any alternatives. |
| 137 | * AmbiguouslyGay: In normal canon, he's pretty much overtly bisexual and occasionally effeminate. In the [[AlternateRealityEpisode Obverse]] segments of ''The Blue Angel'', he likes cooking and old movie soundtracks and his AmbiguouslyJewish [[JewishMother Mother]] seems to take a particular interest in his love life. |
| 138 | * AwesomeAnachronisticApparel: Those who meet him for the first time often think he's going to a wedding or a fancy-dress party. When he's actually in the 19th Century, it's commented on that ''for once'' he actually fits in. And apparently his outfit came back into fashion in TheEighties. |
| 139 | * BeautyIsNeverTarnished: He loses half a tooth early on in the series, and a later book mentions that it ''just grew back''. He does badly break most of his fingers early on and is left with a few of them permanently crooked. |
| 140 | * BigDamnKiss: Has the occasional snog with his companions -- with two versions of Sam, and with Fitz. |
| 141 | * BizarreHumanBiology: ''The Blue Angel'' features an AlternateRealityEpisode in which the Doctor's [[AmbiguouslyHuman theoretically human]]. He has two hearts, no navel, and an unusual aversion to the cold. It's probably related to the fact that [[HalfHumanHybrid his mother's a]] [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent mermaid]]. |
| 142 | * BornLucky: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] at [[TheQuietOne surprisingly-great length]] by Sabbath in ''Camera Obscura''. The Doctor apparently doesn't like to talk about it, apparently because, for one thing, Sabbath can come up with more examples than he should know and the Doctor [[LaserGuidedAmnesia remembers]], and it also reminds him of the fact that [[WalkingDisasterArea when things]] [[DoomMagnet go wrong]] [[CartwrightCurse for him]], [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed they tend to go disastrously wrong]]. |
| 143 | --> "[[BigDamnHeroes Rescuers turn up.]] [[ShurFineGuns Weapons jam.]] Your companions, who, [[GentlemanSnarker if you will forgive me, don't strike me as more than usually competent]], save the day. [[DelayedExplosion Buildings explode immediately after you find the way out.]] [[WalkingDisasterArea Cities fall]] just as the TARDIS dematerialises''[...]'' Electrical currents short-circuit. [[EvilGenius Evil masterminds]] [[IdiotBall make foolish errors.]] [[note]]Since Sabbath's quite adept at catching the IdiotBall despite his supposedly impressive intellect and is usually the Doctor's enemy, this is either SelfDeprecation or a surprising lack of self-awareness.[[/note]] If you fall out of a window, [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou there’s something to catch you]]. If you’re drowning, a spar floats by. [[OutOfTheInferno You find your way unsinged out of burning houses]]''[...]'' In short, in your presence, the odds collapse." |
| 144 | * BroughtDownToNormal: When his second heart is surgically removed, the Doctor finds himself more prone to fatigue than usual, and is no longer able to metabolise foreign drugs or use his respiratory bypass system; he regains these abilities when his original second heart is allowed to 'die' and he can grow a new one. |
| 145 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: This is the Doctor we're talking about. He's a bit crazy, but he gets the job done. |
| 146 | * CastFromLifespan: The Creator/RussellTDavies short story, ''Doctor Who and the Time War'' says time was weaponized during the Time War''. Meaning The Doctor was aged a million years then back into a baby. It was also used to handwave The Doctor's inconsistent age. |
| 147 | * ChasteHero: Not absolutely, but he often seems rather oblivious, ''The Blue Angel'' talks about him being "a virgin" in a sort of general metaphorical and literal sense, and in ''Interference'' this is his response to being asked whether having two hearts means he "can be in love with two women ''[...]'' at once": |
| 148 | -->‘Good grief. Do you know, that had never struck me before? I’ve never even thought about being in love with one woman, let alone two. Well, not much.’ |
| 149 | ** ''Interference'' writer Lawrence Miles later said in a DWM interview that the Eighth Doctor's virgin status (in every sense of the word) was very interestingly at odds with his romantic nature; ''Interference'' includes a conversation about it between the Doctor and I.M. Foreman, in which it's also very heavily implied that they had sex in between Book One and Book Two. |
| 150 | * {{Claustrophobia}}: He develops severe, PTSD-level claustrophobia in ''Seeing I''. |
| 151 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: ''"So that's what he keeps us around for, [Sam] thought, blowing out a long cloud of smoke. He can't think in a straight line without us."'' |
| 152 | * CombatPragmatist: He once stuck his fingers up an opponent's nose. |
| 153 | * CreepyGood: Sometimes. Anji occasionally has a bad reaction to him, particularly in ''Camera Obscura'' when he faints and she notices that his "muscular-skeletal frame" is unnaturally flexible. Also, his emotional responses are often a little bit off -- he's sometimes not upset by things that upset everybody else, and even when he is upset he tends not to show it. And there's the StealthHiBye thing he often does, and he didn't have a shadow for a while... he even kept a couple of pet bats in the TARDIS at the beginning of the series, one of which almost scares the crap out of someone in ''Vampire Science''. |
| 154 | * CuddleBug: He's so affectionate that he tends to kiss people on the lips with apparently platonic intent. |
| 155 | * TheDandy: Subverted: he dresses like Oscar Wilde on his way to a wedding and is often actually described as dandyish, but seems not to actually take much of an interest in his physical appearance: his [[MessyHair hair is usually wild and messy]], he doesn't give a damn for [[ClothingDamage the effects going through hell and high water would have]] on [[ImpracticallyFancyOutfit all that fancy velvet and silk he wears]], and he has to take others' word for it that he's good-looking, because he doesn't personally notice or care [[note]]Compare "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath You're a very beautiful woman...probably.]]"[[/note]] apart from having a vague sense that maybe he should be able to [[DistractedByTheSexy charm people into doing things for him]]. |
| 156 | * DarkerAndEdgier |
| 157 | * DeadpanSnarker: Every now and then. |
| 158 | * DisabilityImmunity: A minor example; in the novel ''To the Slaughter'', the Doctor states that he was immune to the insanity-inducing Halcytone paint because he cannot see the colour violet, which was apparently taken from him in ''Unnatural History'' (although he could simply have been being facetious). |
| 159 | * DitzyGenius: He understands time travel just fine, but time ''zones'' are beyond him. He commits major displays of absentmindedness on what must be an almost daily basis. [[UnpleasableFanbase Some fans]] have referred to him as "the congenital idiot", or "[[DumbIsGood the congenial idiot]]". He gives the impression of having less ObfuscatingStupidity and more genuine, guileless foolishness than most Doctors, but he is regularly shown to actually have brains he just doesn't always use. |
| 160 | * ElegantClassicalMusician: He's apparently particularly good-looking when he plays the violin. |
| 161 | -->The Doctor was standing with his eyes closed, absolutely absorbed in his playing. He looked every inch the devil's fiddler, thought Karl [[note]]with whom the Doctor ends up having a heavily-implied romantic relationship[[/note]] — his slender body carelessly slouching, long fingers flashing, aristocratic face taut with concentration, long copper-gold hair flying. His audience's appreciation was more than musical. |
| 162 | * EternalLove: Has a variation of the trope with I.M. Foreman, one of the very few people he becomes intimate with on a more than superficial level. Exactly how that intimacy plays out is left up to the readers' imagination, but considering the amount of giggling I.M. Foreman does after she wakes up next to him and their conversations afterwards, it's not hard to guess. |
| 163 | * EyeScream: At one point, he's forced to operate on his own eye while in the middle of severe emotional trauma to remove an implant that was helping the prison he was trapped in predict his actions and prevent his escape. The TARDIS is able to help him a little, but it's not pleasant for anyone involved. |
| 164 | * ForgetsToEat: In ''Camera Obscura'', Anji has to remind him: |
| 165 | -->"Do you want some food? You haven’t eaten in days."\ |
| 166 | "That's right," he said wonderingly, as if she'd made a point that hadn't occurred to him. "You know, I bet that's one reason I feel so bad." |
| 167 | * {{Geek}}: While on Earth, the Doctor became a fan of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''. No, really. |
| 168 | -->"Someone," Compassion said, "has been watching too much Saturday-morning TV."\ |
| 169 | "There was a time when it always seemed to be Saturday when I was on Earth, and the children's programmes were excellent, if my memory doesn't cheat." He made folding motions with his hand and muttered something that sounded to Fitz like "robots in disguise". The Doctor grinned, disarmingly. |
| 170 | ** As well as comic books: |
| 171 | --->The Doctor had sat on the high-backed chair [[LeaningOnTheFurniture with his feet on the console]], idly flipping through Creator/MarvelComics. It turned out he was a big ''ComicBook/XMen'' fan. |
| 172 | ** And, of all things, model trains: |
| 173 | --->(''Anji has just found a box of model train things'') Though she had hurriedly, if somewhat guiltily, hidden this even further back in the cupboard, she suspected it was only a matter of time until the morning arrived when she couldn't cross the console room without having to step over miniature tracks and leap tiny buildings. |
| 174 | * FutureMeScaresMe: In ''The Ancestor Cell'', [[spoiler:the Doctor is horrified to witness Grandfather Paradox, the version of himself that will result from his infection with the Paradox biodata virus]]. |
| 175 | * GentlemanAndAScholar: He has [[NoSocialSkills certain gaps]] in his understanding of human social skills, but he manages to be very polite despite stumbling on a few of the finer points. If he [[BewareTheNiceOnes drops the politeness]], it's generally well-deserved, whether because someone's genuinely malevolent or just an [[{{Jerkass}} asshole]]. (And he's sometimes rude to Fitz, but it's in more of a fraternal way than a mean-spirited way.) And, of course, his [[AwesomeAnachronisticApparel appearance]] and [[TheSmartGuy intellect]] also match the trope to a tee. |
| 176 | * GoodThingYouCanHeal: He gets injured in almost every single book, usually multiple times. He's been shot, stabbed, squished flat, beaten almost to a bloody pulp, etc., and unless he's been BroughtDownToNormal [[HealingFactor it rarely takes more than a couple days for him to heal]]. [[{{Determinator}} Perhaps unsurprisingly]], he tends to take advantage of this fact by treating his own body as a [[StoneWall meat shield]], [[ICanStillFight doing irresponsible and foolhardy things while bleeding all over the place]], and just outright acting like a [[MachoMasochism masochist]]. |
| 177 | -->He placed his foot on the Doctor's injured [[note]]broken and, considering the fact he's not up and walking on it, probably quite badly so[[/note]] leg. The Doctor gasped. "How long until this heals? A few days? A few hours? Twenty minutes?''[...]''"\ |
| 178 | "Well, you're right of course," said the Doctor tightly. "And since it heals so quickly, why not do this?" Teeth clenched, he began to wrench his leg free. [[{{Gorn}} There was a nasty, tearing, butcher's-shop sound.]] |
| 179 | * GorgeousPeriodDress: More attached to his Bill Hickock clothes than in the comics and audios; he even dons an equivalent when totally amnesic and waking up wearing Fitz's old coat. |
| 180 | * IHatePastMe: Basically defied. When suffering from amnesia, the Eighth Doctor condemned the First's ruthlessness and willingness to kill when he met his original incarnation in ''The Eight Doctors'', proclaiming that his morality was intact even if his memory was gone. That aside, his interaction with his other selves is generally positive; the Second, Third and Fifth were frustrated at his intrusion into their lives, but the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh were far more welcoming, and the Eighth concluded after his memories were restored that he had a lot to live up to when looking back on his other incarnations. |
| 181 | * InnerMonologueConversation: He occasionally replies to people's thoughts, but in ''The Book of the Still'' he more or less states he can just read expressions and body language, and while he could read minds if he wanted to, he just doesn't have time for it. |
| 182 | * InnocentFanserviceGuy: He seems to consider life clothing-optional, although recognizes that the preference is for clothing. Good thing he's [[MrFanservice attractive]]. |
| 183 | * InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: Long hair, fancy clothes, enjoys cooking and baking. In ''Timeless'', it gets him called a "poof".[[note]]He is also, on multiple other occasions, called a [[Film/WithnailAndI ponce.]][[/note]] He also has a lot of TeamMom moments; ''The Year of Intelligent Tigers'' notes his "almost maternal urge" to see to it that everyone around him is well-fed. In ''Father Time'', he shows a distinct tendency toward TenderTears whenever much of anything is going on with his adopted daughter Miranda. |
| 184 | * KaleidoscopeEyes: Usually blue, (sometimes described as IcyBlueEyes), but sometimes gray eyes or green. DependingOnTheWriter and his own mercurial personality, a lot of the associated characteristics of each eye colour apply. |
| 185 | * KissOfDeath: At one point, he kisses a Gallifreyan assassin to blow air into the man's lungs with such violence, it ''bursts his ear drums''. |
| 186 | * LaserGuidedAmnesia: Suggested that it might be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the fact that when he starts to get his memory back, he still finds it useful to pick and choose the things he lets people find out he remembers. |
| 187 | * LooseCanon: The ''first'' destruction of Gallifrey, in the [=EDAs=] that is, was the one the Eighth Doctor enacted to save Gallifrey from Faction Paradox (''The Ancestor Cell''). A previous book, ''Alien Bodies'', introduced the War storyline which would become central to the Revival Series: the loss of the Time Lords results in a universe where the laws of time are no longer being enforced ("The Book of the Still"). |
| 188 | * ManChild: When it matters, he can generally be counted on to act mature, but his mannerisms and interests are often childish. He likes picture and comic books, cartoons, model trains, tractors, ducks, and so on. Once in a while he'll casually sit curled in a ball like almost no middle-aged human man ever. Nonetheless, he doesn't really suffer any of the drawbacks, aside from usually being totally baffled by the topic of romance. And it's at least sometimes a [[GuileHero deliberately annoying and/or disarming act]]. |
| 189 | * MasterOfTheMixedMessage: With Sam and with Fitz. It's possible that he's deliberately trying not to encourage Sam's attraction to him, and he has the good grace to let her know how dangerous he is. Yet he has no problem with kissing either version of her, or ending up half-naked in bed with her and being her "back-rub slut". He also kisses Fitz without qualms, but avoids talking about all their UnresolvedSexualTension. |
| 190 | * TheMentallyDisturbed: His mental health is somewhat variable. He's usually sort of a high-functioning CloudCuckoolander, but he has moments of being certifiably insane. He has a full-on psychosis in ''Alien Bodies'', twice. ''The Slow Empire'' plays this for [[BlackComedy fairly dark humour]] and mentions that after developing TraumaInducedAmnesia, he occasionally couldn't distinguish between TV and reality, and so had attacks of being able to be DrivenToSuicide by the [[CrapsackWorld utter depressingness]] of ''Series/EastEnders'' [[note]]suggesting, incidentally, that the boredom of WalkingTheEarth alone turned him into a bit of a DayTimeDramaQueen[[/note]], and due to watching Franchise/{{Superman}} he got some odd ideas about [[ClarkKenting disguises]] and "the relative position of the trousers and [[UnderwearOfPower underpants]]". He also seems to think that someone who was having a nosebleed four days ago may still need a handkerchief. He even had what may have been a momentary AxeCrazy blackout in ''City of the Dead''. In ''The Blue Angel'' he has an alternate self who apparently suffers from schizophrenia; it's reasonably understated and not PlayedForLaughs at all. (Also, his POV in ''The Blue Angel'' is occasionally written in a subtly strange way — for example, he tends to bring something up which doesn't make a lot of sense without further explanation and then drift away from the topic, which resembles some [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_disorder symptoms of schizophrenia]].) |
| 191 | ** TheMadHatter: In ''Eater of Wasps'', Anji asks him rhetorically if he's insane. He replies that he "must be". And in ''The Slow Empire'', he and Fitz share a worried moment in which they realize he seems to be "unbalanced" to the point of schizophrenia (and one of the things that worries Fitz about the Doctor's breakdown ''du jour'' is that the Doctor is aware of it yet unconcerned by it). However, at other times he definitively states he's quite sane enough. |
| 192 | * MetaGuy: Rather prone to LeaningOnTheFourthWall without breaking it or seeming blatantly aware of it. It's not that he knows he's an ex-TV-character, but he manages to complain about it nonetheless. |
| 193 | * MultipleChoicePast: Actually a plot point -- there are so many conflicting versions of his past scattered throughout the universe, it eventually attracts a multidimensional ''biologist'' who sees him as a fascinating specimen. As well as, of course, Faction Paradox on multiple occasions. It's insinuated in ''Unnatural History'' that his supposed half-human heritage could simply be a retroactive alteration of his self caused by the traumatic regeneration into his Eighth body. |
| 194 | * MusclesAreMeaningless: Bony fingers, all the better to stab you with. He doesn't even blink at {{Bridal Carry}}ing grown men [[HoYay such as Fitz]]. |
| 195 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: He essentially provoked the Future War and nearly destroyed his own timeline after he accidentally makes contact with his third incarnation, alerting his past self to the existence of Faction Paradox long before he should have learnt about the Faction and starting a chain of events that cause the Third Doctor to regenerate ahead of schedule and become infected with the Paradox biodata virus. |
| 196 | * NightmareFuelStationAttendant: Often enough. In ''Timeless'', he's politely terrifying: |
| 197 | -->‘How do you do!’ The Doctor beamed. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you. You must be very important, very special indeed, for some as yet unknown force to have possessed the minds of those who know you and targeted you for death.’ |
| 198 | * NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Even worse than other Doctors. |
| 199 | * NoSocialSkills: He clearly ''has'' them; he's often very polite and charming, and often uses [[BavarianFireDrill social engineering]] to achieve his goals. It's just that there are certain gaps in his social skills and times when he just doesn't feel the need to use them. Almost every conversation he has has some element of weirdness in it, he's occasionally SarcasmBlind, and he sometimes hurts people's feelings by mistake or has inappropriate reactions to things that shock everyone else. Most people are shocked if they find a dead body, even if it's no one they know; he's just pleased to have a mystery to solve. |
| 200 | * ObfuscatingStupidity: Bordering on ObfuscatingInsanity, aside from the times when he actually is insane. |
| 201 | * ObliviouslyBeautiful: It eventually seems to dawn on him that humans consider him rather attractive, but he tends to think about it in rather skeptical terms. |
| 202 | * OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:Miranda, his adopted daughter who's implied to be his KidFromTheFuture, dies of RapidAging in ''Sometime Never''.]] |
| 203 | * ParentsAsPeople: To Miranda. He means well, [[DotingParent dotes on her]], and loves her with all his hearts, but he's still fairly clueless, [[spoiler:and ends up 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. |
| 204 | * 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 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=]." |
| 205 | * RailEnthusiast: He doesn't seem to be all that interested in actual trains, but he owns a model train set, and he's quite pleased to get the opportunity to drive a tractor and a double-decker bus. |
| 206 | %%* RealMenGetShot |
| 207 | * RealMenWearPink: It's hardly even a "real men" thing at times; Anji apparently thinks of him as effectively almost a girl. |
| 208 | * RoguesGallery: The Master, Ryoth, Vampires, Zygons, Tractites, Daleks, Davros, the Faction Paradox, Krotons, I, Wirrn, Ghosts, Gustav Zemler, the Face-Eater, Ed Hill, the Remote, Daedalus, the Fendahl, Time Lords, Parallel 59, President Romana of the Nine Gallifreys, Catherine Harries, Grandfather Paradox, the Dark Forces, the Players, Hitchemus Tigers, Sabbath Dei, Clock People, Maxwell Curtis, the Council of Eight, and Vore. |
| 209 | * SenseFreak: Eight's sensuality is very much present in the narrative, and he spends the majority of his time intimately hugging people, enjoying delicious food, petting kittens, or being Sam's "back-rub slut". He's almost always doing ''something'' to keep his senses occupied. Just for example -- serious peace negotiations with a vampire matriarch involve him getting a scalp massage. |
| 210 | * SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: No matter what horrifying crap the universe throws at him, he flat-out ''demands'' the universe be better. |
| 211 | -->''Injustice is the rule, but I want justice. Suffering is the rule, but I want to end it. Despair accords with reality, but I insist on hope. I don't accept it'' '''because it is unacceptable.''' ''I say'' '''no.''' |
| 212 | * 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 (changing the black leather coat he was originally wearing for something resembling his more traditional ensemble), 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. |
| 213 | * SuperStrength: A fairly low-key case. It's clear that he's stronger than he looks and can do things most humans can't, but just how strong is never really explored, and he very rarely uses it. |
| 214 | * TeamChef: Very much so. While Fitz is also said to be a competent cook, it seems the Doctor's an accomplished chef. In ''Camera Obscura'', he stress-bakes a Lady Baltimore cake, although he just worries more because of its "very complicated icing"; in ''The Year of Intelligent Tigers'', he makes a massive picnic for his friends and is said to hold several dinner parties in his flat; his AlternateUniverse counterpart in ''The Blue Angel'' also makes a large meal for his visitors and frets over ruining the potatoes. Mind you, this doesn't include small moments when he happens to just carry food with him (apples, bits of candy, etc.) to give his companions on a moment's notice. |
| 215 | ** ThroughHisStomach: That said, the Doctor only seems to cook for his TrueCompanions and people he cares about. In ''Timeless'', he makes Anji a very nice omelette but immediately after won't do the same for the current OneShotCharacter, claiming to be bored with cooking. |
| 216 | * {{Telepathy}}: He sometimes responds to things his companions are only thinking, or [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane seems to]]. It doesn't seem to have any more [[MisappliedPhlebotinum practical applications]] than making everyone a little unsettled. |
| 217 | * TraumaInducedAmnesia: Suffered in ''The Ancestor Cell'', which he never quite gets over for the rest of his novel adventures ([[spoiler:although 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]]). |
| 218 | * UnskilledButStrong: Actually, this is pretty much how he fights. Maybe because he [[TechnicalPacifist doesn't like to fight]], he doesn't even seem to really know how (apart from when he was operating on amnesia-induced instinct in ''The Eight Doctors''). However, he's really quite [[MusclesAreMeaningless disproportionately tough]]. In ''To the Slaughter'', he lifts a woman in an office chair over his head. In ''Frontier Worlds'', he kicks someone in the head and [[EpicFail stubs his toe quite badly]]. |
| 219 | * 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, and ''Endgame'' in particular shows him visiting Russia and America). |
| 220 | |
| 221 | !!Tropes associated with Doctor Who and the Time War |
| 222 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doctor_who_and_the_time_war.jpg]] |
| 223 | [[caption-width-right:350:]] |
| 224 | * BigDamnHeroes: The TARDIS swoops in [[ItCanThink unpiloted 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. |
| 225 | * BittersweetEnding: Emphasis on the bitter, but with just enough hope left to salvage it. Upon the death of a mysterious woman with him, the Eighth Doctor [[BreakTheCutie 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 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]]. |
| 226 | * ContinuitySnarl: Written before the Day Of The Doctor, it greatly contradicts Moffat's version of the Time War with Russell T. Davies version of how the Last Great Time War ended, along with Eight's GrandFinale and regeneration into Nine, sans a War Doctor incarnation. |
| 227 | * 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]]. |
| 228 | * DidntSeeThatComing: Eight accepts his looming death as it draws close, but is astonished when he realizes the gift the woman passed on to him, saving his life with her own. |
| 229 | * 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 alone in a morgue. |
| 230 | * FaceDeathWithDignity: Eight becomes resolved to use the Moment to save the universe, and does so calmly, even knowing it will kill and time lock him as well. Though he ends up being able to regenerate thanks to the woman's sacrifice. |
| 231 | * TheLostLenore: His relationship to the mysterious woman (very likely a Time Lady) who died [[HeroicSacrifice 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 many possibilities. Regardless, when he finds out what she did for him he vows to pass the gift forward to someone in the future [[CallForward (reflecting the Ninth Doctor's sacrifice for Rose)]]. |
| 232 | * 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 [[ContinuitySnarl 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. |
| 233 | * 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 'feels' a thousand years old but decides to rounds down, deciding [[MythologyGag 900 years old sounds like a better number.]] |
| 234 | * VillainousBreakdown: [[OmnicidalManiac Daleks and Time Lords]] 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 wasteland world he is on, devastated by the Time War, looks to the skeleton of the mysterious woman turning to dust, and coldly ignores them. |
| 235 | |
| 236 | !!Tropes associated with other prose stories |
| 237 | |
| 238 | |
| 239 | [[/folder]] |
| 240 | |
| 241 | [[folder:Audio Tropes]] |
| 242 | !!Tropes associated with Big Finish |
| 243 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/big_finish_8.jpg]] |
| 244 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"I may talk like a fool, but I always know what I'm talking like a fool about!"'']] |
| 245 | ->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/PaulMcGann (2001–present); India Fisher (2010) |
| 246 | |
| 247 | ->''"Sorry, I was soliloquising again. Filthy habit."'' |
| 248 | |
| 249 | Bouncy, chatty and very fond of humans, the Eighth Doctor was fleshed out considerably in Creator/BigFinish audio stories and quickly became the series' BreakoutCharacter. After the new TV series stated that the Doctor would end up committing double genocide in the Last Great Time War, Big Finish started slowly but steadily [[BreakTheCutie breaking him]]. Eventually he would stop being in the monthly audios, and he would get his own separate series - "The "New Eighth Doctor Adventures" which takes place at a later time in the same continuity and its sequel series ''Dark Eyes'', ''Doom Coalition'', and ''Ravenous'' sees him eventually outgrowing his Victorian look. In the waning days of his life, the Time War erupts, leading to ''The Time War'' stories. He begins looking dishevelled, mixed between both Victorian and battle-ready clothes. |
| 250 | ---- |
| 251 | * AccidentalProposal: His friendship with HistoricalDomainCharacter Edith Swan-Neck got just a little bit out of hand. |
| 252 | * AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Over and over and over and ''over''. Saving Charley Pollard, in his first episode, turned out to be a very bad idea -- her being alive starts to unravel the universe after a while. |
| 253 | * AmnesiacHero: In what borders on being a RunningGag, Eight finds new and exciting ways to contract amnesia and having to restore his memory every few stories. "Terror Firma", in particular, takes this trope and runs with it for massive horror and awesome. |
| 254 | * AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: A mutual one with Charley. They both mean ''very'' different things by it, and the Doctor is extremely uncomfortable with Charley's "yearning" for him. |
| 255 | * AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Has a ''seriously'' short attention span. |
| 256 | * BeardOfSorrow: Downplayed. Eight is mostly shown as clean-shaved like his TV Movie appearance, but all his adventures following the death of Lucie have him sporting PermaStubble. |
| 257 | * BecauseDestinySaysSo: In "Dark Eyes", Eight realises that he's at war with the Daleks, and in "Dark Eyes 2", he makes it quite clear that he does '''not''' want to get involved in any war between the Daleks and the Time Lords. Despite all his attempts to avoid it, he ''has'' to get involved in it, whether he likes it or not. "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor The Night of the Doctor]]" provides plenty of nice opportunities for DramaticIrony. |
| 258 | * BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:With Charley]]. Completely played for BodyHorror. |
| 259 | * BodyHorror: All the time. "Scherzo", "Something Inside", "Mary's Story"... |
| 260 | * BreakoutCharacter: For Big Finish. Mainly because the Eighth Doctor has almost no stories on TV, which means there is no rigid continuity to worry about addressing. This gives writers nearly unlimited creative freedom to define his character and stories however they want. |
| 261 | * BreakTheCutie: Gradually gets broken. Notable moments include "Neverland", "Zagreus", "Scherzo", "The Last", "Terror Firma", "Orbis" and "To The Death". "Dark Eyes" is essentially him dealing with everything he's dealt with. |
| 262 | ** DownerEnding: And just remember, "The Night of the Doctor" puts the cherry on top of the breaking sundae with the Doctor giving up. |
| 263 | * BroughtDownToNormal: During "Stranded", while the Doctor is still a Time Lord, he has no TARDIS, no sonic screwdriver, and no psychic paper, and is stuck living a regular life with frustratingly limited social skills now that he isn't dealing with the imminent alien threat. |
| 264 | * CharacterDevelopment: Starts out as a very DitzyGenius, and becomes more and more traumatised as the episodes progress. |
| 265 | ** Seven's manipulative tendencies left him lonely, tired and broken. Then he became Eight, who was possessed by the desire to live life to the fullest. He no longer plays the long game against his foes and uses his allies as pawns, being content to travel the universe for nothing but enjoyment, and at one point explcitly defines himself as not being that person anymore. |
| 266 | ** 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. He folds, but eventually rediscovers himself in the end. |
| 267 | * ChickMagnet: Companions, Queens, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s... |
| 268 | * ChronicHeroSyndrome: To Charley's constant frustration, he really wants to make a HeroicSacrifice to save her, time and time again. To the point where ''the TARDIS'' starts scolding him for it. |
| 269 | ** Combined with his {{Determinator}} status, this has led to ''very'' long stints of him trying to help people he has nothing to do with. Notably in "Orbis" and "Prisoner Of The Sun". |
| 270 | * CloudCuckooLander: Seriously. His mind's inner sanctuary is a croquet course and a water slide. |
| 271 | * CreepyMonotone: He usually jumps right into LargeHam when he's angry, and EvilIsHammy when he's NotHimself. In some rare cases, most notably in "The Natural History Of Fear", we get to hear Paul [=McGann=] do a Creepy Monotone -- and it's goddamn terrifying. In some ''very'' rare cases, Eight goes for this trope when he's both completely lucid and completely serious, as Davros found out... |
| 272 | -->'''Eighth Doctor:''' You tell me all this, and you expect me to help you.\ |
| 273 | '''Davros:''' Yes, Doctor.\ |
| 274 | '''Eighth Doctor:''' ...How? How can you expect...? ...Davros.\ |
| 275 | '''Davros:''' Yes, Doctor?\ |
| 276 | '''Eighth Doctor:''' [[spoiler: I'm going to kill you.]] |
| 277 | * CulturedBadass: Really loves poetry, occasionally straying into WarriorPoet. Gets forced to recite Poe's ''Literature/TheRaven'' by giant death robots in "Nevermore". He's friends with Wordsworth, and takes on Creator/MaryShelley as a companion at one point. |
| 278 | * DashedPlotline: He has a very long life, and spends long stretches of time without companions. Big Finish occasionally gives a glimpse into what his travels were like before his first episode, or in between story arcs. The best example is "Mary's Story", which shows him both long before "Storm Warning" and sometime after "Dark Eyes", in the middle of the Last Great Time War. |
| 279 | * DeadpanSnarker: As a coping mechanism [[GallowsHumor when he's in extreme danger]]. His enemies note that "he uses it to suppress his fear". |
| 280 | * DespairEventHorizon: Crosses it in "To The Death", which leads into "Dark Eyes". [[spoiler:Which probably plays a part in him eventually becoming the War Doctor in "The Night of the Doctor". |
| 281 | * {{Determinator}}: |
| 282 | -->'''Eighth Doctor:''' Because I'm the Doctor, and whatever happens, whatever the odds, I never ever NEVER give up. Brace yourself, Charley! |
| 283 | ** That line has some painful DramaticIrony given the events of "The Night of the Doctor"... |
| 284 | * DitzyGenius: ''Very''. He's still incredibly smart. |
| 285 | * DivergentCharacterEvolution: From himself! When [=McGann=] resumed the role in 2001, the writing for his Doctor leaned heavily on the earnest, almost innocent character he was in the TV movie and Eighth Doctor novels. As [=McGann=] found his feet in the role again and started having creative input in the character's direction, he turned into a more deadpan, world-weary yet still fiercely compassionate figure. His very earliest adventures with Charley could conceivably be the same man as the novels (and indeed featured many of the same writers). The Eighth Doctor by ''Night of the Doctor'' is ''very'' different. |
| 286 | * EvilIsHammy: Whenever he is NotHimself. |
| 287 | * FlashSideways: In "Zagreus", he's briefly able to see all other versions of his Eighth self. The ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' series freaks him right the hell out. Since he's also completely losing his mind at the time, though, it's fair to assume he didn't remember it. |
| 288 | * 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 of the many 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. |
| 289 | * ForeverWar: Played with. In ''Dark Eyes 2'', the Master points out he's been at war with the Daleks ever since [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks he first landed on Skaro]]. The Doctor states he is not, and he has no choice but to stop the Daleks' atrocities. But the Master claims he can't help himself and that in doing so he's become a one man army, and this '''before''' he regenerates into the War Doctor. |
| 290 | * FutureMeScaresMe: In "Mary's Story", a very young Eighth Doctor (during his travels with Samson and Gemma, before he met Charley) meets an Eight from the middle of the Last Great Time War. Horrifyingly burned, hallucinating, and unable to regenerate. He gets better, of course, but neither is even remotely thrilled at meeting their other selves -- they agree that they just annoy each other. |
| 291 | * GallowsHumour: As a constant coping mechanism, which was eventually carried over to his final TV series appearance. [[LampshadeHanging Does a full]] [[ActuallyPrettyFunny stand up routine]] [[WeNeedADistraction as a distraction in]] "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoNEDAS2E1DeadLondon Dead London]]". |
| 292 | * GeniusSweetTooth: Gets very excited about cotton candy and chunky monkey ice cream. Drinks his tea with impossible amounts of sugar, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E2InvasionOfTheDinosaurs just like Three]]. |
| 293 | * GoingNative: On the titular planet of "Orbis", [[spoiler:where he ends up spending 600 ''years'']]. |
| 294 | * GothicHorror: His natural habitat. |
| 295 | * GreatDetective: Shoehorned into this role by a malevolent mansion in "The Chimes of Midnight." The Doctor frustrates the game at every turn: barging up the wrong staircases, attempting to exit or beam out (no dice), daring the staff to shoot him, and happily accepting [[TheButlerDidIt the butler's]] [[TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch bogus suggestions of suicide]]. |
| 296 | -->'''Shaughnessy:''' I assume it was suicide, Doctor?\ |
| 297 | '''The Doctor:''' ''(deadpan)'' Yes, I imagine so! It's quite clear that Frederick brought the car ''into'' the house, ran ''himself'' over with it, and put it ''back outside'' before he finally expired. |
| 298 | * 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, as well as having various stories from other ranges be set during the Time War. |
| 299 | ** "The Night of the Doctor" tapped the glass, [[spoiler:showing 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. |
| 300 | * HamToHamCombat: With Zagreus. |
| 301 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: Over the course of the "Dark Eyes" series, the Doctor has been growing steadily ready to do things his previous incarnations, or even himself, would have balked at doing. "Dark Eyes 3" in particular has him hit hard; after the ''genocide'' of an entire alien race by the Eminence, one that was merely collateral damage in the grand scheme of things, he takes a page from the CIA's books and attempts to go back in time [[spoiler:and [[RetGone remove the Eminence from existence]]]]. |
| 302 | * 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 Creator/{{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. |
| 303 | * HeroicSacrifice: Tries to make one every couple of episodes. |
| 304 | * HeroicSuicide: He properly commits suicide twice, both times to save reality. (He gets better, of course.) |
| 305 | ** [[spoiler:ForegoneConclusion: But the third time ''will'' do him in.]] |
| 306 | * HotSpringsEpisode: He stages one halfway through "Dark Eyes", when he's past the point of emotional collapse, gone right off the deep end, and just needs something, ''anything'' to feel better. |
| 307 | * [[spoiler:ILetGwenStacyDie]]: While the Doctor's lost companions before, [[spoiler:Lucie's]] death hits him especially hard, not least because he literally watches her death by HeroicSacrifice. As he puts it, "People die and the Doctor moves on, but not this time." (Creator/NicholasBriggs said they killed her so horribly precisely because they wanted to totally break him.) |
| 308 | * IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: Can't resist making a snide remark about Six's taste in clothes when they meet for the first time. |
| 309 | * IHatePastMe: |
| 310 | ** He does not approve of Seven's [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] and ColdEquation tendencies, 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. |
| 311 | ** Adverted with him and Four in "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialsTheLightAtTheEnd The Light at the End]]", as the two of them share quite a few personality traits and quirks, and so they get along rather swimmingly. Also subverted in the same story with him and Six. While he does find Six to be somewhat arrogant and obnoxious and [[IWasQuiteAFashionVictim his fashion sense to be embarassing]], he also has a great deal of respect for him, possibly even more than any of the other incarnations, and he most certainly prefers him to Seven. |
| 312 | ** After his travels with Lucie, a very bitter Eight encounters a ''much'' younger version of himself, who hadn't even met Charley yet. He tells his younger self to get out, and loathes the fact that they need to spend time together. (Eight also meets a younger self during his travels with Lucie, when the other is travelling with Charley and C'rizz, but they actually get along quite well and spend a nice evening playing poker. Just goes to show how deeply Lucie's absence ended up affecting him.) |
| 313 | * ImportantHaircut: [[http://bigfinish.com/releases/v/new-eighth-doctor-box-set-1-doctor-who---dark-eyes-792 Got one]] around the "Dark Eyes" story arc, which also allowed Paul [=McGann=] to do new promo pictures without having to wear the movie wig again. He keeps the shorter hair until the end of his life, though it regrows a bit messily from lack of grooming when he's run ragged by the Time War. |
| 314 | * {{Irony}}: Thanks to Big Finish, the Doctor with the shortest onscreen tenure ends up having one of the longest lives of all his incarnations, likely over 1000 years. |
| 315 | * {{Keet}}: {{Lampshaded}} in "Caerdroia", when his {{Keet}} side manifests itself as a separate person. (Charley nicknames it "Tigger".) |
| 316 | * {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDJAA8Jg0gs "There's a Man I Know"]]. A rock-based theme for a dashing, elegant, romantic hero. |
| 317 | * LimitedWardrobe: Starts out in cream trousers, black boots, green velvet frock coat, silk cravat and double-breasted waistcoat. This was based on a stylized "Wild Bill Hickok" fancy dress costume he stole (though it doesn't seem to much resemble any genuine outfit worn by Wild Bill Hickok). In ''Dark Eyes'', he introduced a new costume: a blue leather naval coat, jeans and a brown pouch bag. |
| 318 | * LooseCanon: The Series/BigFinish anniversary episode "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho050Zagreus Zagreus]]" cleared up the confusion over the canonicity of above-mentioned novels ''Alien Bodies'' and ''The Ancestor Cell'', by stating they're an alternate timeline possibility (and forcing Eight to watch that alternate self for a bit). Although Creator/BigFinish still tends to be, as Creator/NicholasBriggs likes to put it, "a bit naughty" in regards to canon, and has Eight referencing the novels ''and'' the comics a few times later on. |
| 319 | * LossOfIdentity: In "Zagreus". |
| 320 | * MasterOfTheMixedMessage: PlayedForDrama. Charley falls madly in love with him because he's such a charming CuddleBug, and he's unwilling to address the issue until it's much too late. |
| 321 | * MessianicArchetype: Most notably in "Neverland". |
| 322 | * MindRape: PlayedWith in "Caerdroia" and "Phobos". |
| 323 | * MyGreatestFailure: His failure to save [[spoiler: Tasmin, Lucie, and Alex]] from the Daleks. |
| 324 | ** The events of ''Genesis of the Daleks'' (more specifically the fact that his fourth incarnation ultimately decided not to kill the Daleks) get brought up alot in ''Dark Eyes" because [[spoiler: the Time Lords are actively trying to wipe the Daleks from existence again, only without getting the Doctor involved this time and using more dubious and extreme methods.]] |
| 325 | * MrFanservice: Loses his shirt with some frequency. Naturally smells like honey. |
| 326 | * NoSocialSkills: Reinforced in "Stranded", when the Doctor is stuck in London 2020 after the TARDIS suffers serious damage; his companions explicitly note that without an alien menace to stop, the Doctor comes across as antisocial and reclusive without any apparent interest in his neighbours. |
| 327 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: At the end of "To The Death", [[spoiler:he 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. |
| 328 | * ParentalSubstitute: [[spoiler:To Gemma and Samson]]. They call him "dad". |
| 329 | * PhraseCatcher: People [[Film/WithnailAndI calling him a "ponce"]] quickly became a running gag, both in and out of universe. |
| 330 | * PungeonMaster: Extremely fond of them, even musing at one point that he picked some horrible last words to go out on. [[spoiler:Which might explain why he was so deliberate about choosing his ''real'' last words.]] |
| 331 | * RoguesGallery: Autons, Caleera, the Celestial Toymaker, the Clocksmith, Cybermen, Daleks, Dalek Time Controller, Davros, Eight Legs, the Eleven, the Eminence, the Fendahl, the Headhunter, Ice Warriors, Kotris, the Kandyman, the Krampus, the Kro'ka, Krynoids, the Master, Morbius, the Monk, Nimon, Ollistra, Padrac, Peter Rathbone, Ravenous, Rassilon, Sandminer robots, Sebastian Grayle, Vashta Nerada, Viyrans, Voord, Weeping Angels, Wirrn, Zagreus, and Zygons. |
| 332 | * 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 [[spoiler:that it even freaks out ''Davros]]''. |
| 333 | * ScrewYourself: There's an ''interesting'' Christmas poem in one of the Big Finish "Short Trips" books, in which Eight merrily tries to kiss all his former selves with the help of some mistletoe. And he succeeds with a few of them. |
| 334 | * SelfServingMemory: In "Stranded - UNIT Dating", when circumstances see Eight interacting with the Brigadier of the [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor Third Doctor]]'s era and the Brigadier quickly grasps the Doctor's explanation that he's currently in a time loop, the Doctor notes that the Brigadier is quicker to grasp the complexities of the situation than he recalls, and concedes that his past self let his own bitterness over his exile affect how he [[SurroundedByIdiots saw]] his colleagues in UNIT on some occasions. |
| 335 | * SharingABody: [[spoiler:With Zagreus]] in "Zagreus", and [[spoiler:with Charley]] in "Scherzo". |
| 336 | * ShellShockedVeteran: After "To The Death". And the war is only just beginning. |
| 337 | * ShirtlessScene: Gets the occasional one. |
| 338 | * 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:A subconscious manifestation of him during the Thirteenth Doctor's era kept this a version of this look as a vestige of their past lives, claiming he doesn't do robes (the actor loved this costume most of all).]] |
| 339 | * SoBeautifulItsACurse: This particularly becomes a plot point in "The Next Life". |
| 340 | * SteamPunk: Gives his sonic screwdriver [[http://i.imgur.com/ADTjLhI.jpg a SteamPunk makeover]] after a while. |
| 341 | * SurvivorGuilt: Again, and again, and again -- most prominently after "Orbis" and after "To The Death". And he hasn't even gotten to the Last Great Time War yet... |
| 342 | * [[spoiler: TakingYouWithMe]]: With Morbius. |
| 343 | * TemptingFate: In ''Dark Eyes 2'', he flat out states that he "will not be part of an insane war across the time lines." And this is ''before'' the Last Great Time War actually starts. |
| 344 | ** This becomes rather darker come "Dark Eyes 4", [[spoiler:where the Master and the Dalek Time Controller attempt to make a corrupted timeline into the proper, stable timeline]]. |
| 345 | * ThinkingOutLoud: Eight often suddenly notices he's soliloquising, and considers it a bad habit. He even does it at times when Charley is standing right next to him, thanks to his ''rampant'' AttentionDeficitOohShiny. |
| 346 | * TimeSkip: With great frequency -- Eight only having two TV adventures (the last of which was his regeneration) gives the writers unlimited freedom in this regard. He notably spends [[spoiler: 600 years]] on Orbis, completely GoingNative. |
| 347 | * TooKinkyToTorture: Eight likes to pretend that he's this, whenever he's being tortured, as a coping mechanism. He keeps it up for quite a while in "Something Inside", until he can't cope any longer and breaks down screaming and whimpering. In "Memory Lane", he's getting better at it, and bitterly asks his torturers for some more pain (rather than give in). |
| 348 | ** One notable instance had him starting to ramble about ''Radio/JustAMinute'' to his captor, of all things. |
| 349 | * TookALevelInCynicism: After [[spoiler: Lucie's death]], although his friendship with Molly helps him through it, he never becomes the same man he was before. |
| 350 | * TorturePorn: "Zagreus", which has him coping with extreme LossOfIdentity and has Charley [[spoiler: running him through with a sword]], and its direct sequel "Scherzo", which jumps straight into BodyHorror {{Gorn}} and has Charley [[spoiler: slitting his throat]]. "Something Inside" is pretty much "TorturePorn: The Episode". |
| 351 | * TragicBromance: With Lucie. [[spoiler: Her death severely traumatises him, and leads to him adopting a less classic and more pragmatic look]]. |
| 352 | * VerbalTic: Starting sentences with "You know...", repeating words or people's names very quickly when he wants to convey something important. |
| 353 | * VitriolicBestBuds: With Lucie. |
| 354 | * WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: "The Resurrection Of Mars" is all about this trope. |
| 355 | * WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: He's rather disheartened that his great grandson Alex lacks the Time Lord traits of telepathy and regeneration. |
| 356 | * YouCantGoHomeAgain: After "Orbis". |
| 357 | [[/folder]] |
| 358 | |
| 359 | [[folder:"The Night of the Doctor" Tropes]] |
| 360 | !!Tropes associated with "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor The Night of the Doctor]]" |
| 361 | |
| 362 | ->''"Four minutes?! That's ages! What if I get bored, need some books, a television? Anyone for chess? Bring me knitting!"'' |
| 363 | |
| 364 | Along the way to his return to the show, [[BreakTheCutie Eight really went through the wringer]]. The happy, cheerful days he had enjoyed were a distant memory, as he was subjected to an unfairly tortured existence as the violence and loss across the universe rapidly grew until it kindled into the Last Great Time War. We are presented with a hurting poet who is about one step away from total collapse as he finds himself powerless to do anything to the effect of being the Doctor, and then it gets thrown in his face so hard that the Doctor feels like his existence has become futile and lets go of his identity in a final moment of pure misery. |
| 365 | ---- |
| 366 | * AllForNothing: Driving himself to death -- and coming back to life knowing the person he tried to rescue essentially chose suicide over being scooped up by him -- made Eight ''snap.'' |
| 367 | * AlwaysSaveTheGirl: He ends up dying what would have been a permanent death had it not been for the Sisterhood of Karn after staying with Cass on her crashing ship even after she refused his help. |
| 368 | * AsTheGoodBookSays: Eight quotes ''[[Literature/TheFourGospels Luke 4:23]]'' before downing a potion which changes him into the War Doctor. |
| 369 | * BackForTheDead: He reappears solely to regenerate into the War Doctor. |
| 370 | * BadassLongcoat: His coat has become longer, greener, and much more badass. |
| 371 | * BatmanGrabsAGun: As a symbolic shedding of his peacemaker persona, Eight gets tooled up in "The Night of the Doctor". |
| 372 | * BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor |
| 373 | --> ''Make me a warrior now.'' |
| 374 | * BookEnds: |
| 375 | ** Begins his existence as a man fighting to reclaim his identity as the Doctor and ends it as a man who renounces his identity as the Doctor in order ''to'' fight. |
| 376 | ** In the TV movie, the Doctor steals his Wild Bill Hickok costume, but specifically does not take the gunbelt. Here, before regenerating, he picks up the BadassBandolier his next incarnation wears. |
| 377 | ** He regenerated from the Seventh Doctor several hours after his previous incarnation's "death". He regenerates into the War Doctor after dying permanently in a spaceship crash and being [[DeadManWalking briefly resurrected]] by the Sisterhood of Karn in order to regenerate. |
| 378 | ** At the beginning of Eight's life, after Eight tells Grace that he is a Time Lord, she runs from him, locks the doors to her home, and declares him a madman. At the end of Eight's life, after Eight tells Cass that he is a Time Lord, she backs away from him, deadlocks the door to her ship, and declares him as despicable as a Dalek. While the former ends up regaining trust in him, the latter takes her fears to the grave, reflecting the darker atmosphere that the Eighth Doctor lived through amidst the death and destruction of the Time War. |
| 379 | ** In ''[[Recap/EighthDoctorAdventuresTheEightDoctors The Eight Doctors]]'', which takes place moments after the TV movie, the Eighth Doctor says: "Let's just say that I'm ''a'' Doctor. There's more than one, you know. Clearly, I'm not the one you were expecting." The lines are repeated almost word-for-word by this Doctor in his final appearance. |
| 380 | ** In a meta example, Eight's life began with Creator/SylvesterMcCoy coming BackForTheDead after a six-and-a-half year hiatus to pass the torch to Creator/PaulMcGann. It ended with [=McGann=] coming BackForTheDead after a 17 year hiatus to retroactively pass the torch to Creator/JohnHurt. |
| 381 | * BreakTheCutie: "The Night of the Doctor", leading to his DespairEventHorizon and regeneration into the War Doctor. This comes after more than a decade of Break the Cutie adventures in Big Finish. By "The Night of the Doctor" he seems to be barely holding on after all he's been through. |
| 382 | * ChangedMyJumper: For "The Night of the Doctor" Paul [=McGann=] got his wish and has a BadassLongcoat, similar in style to the Tenth Doctor's but in a dark green, along with a well worn and broken-in revision of his TV movie outfit that's much less stylized than his original costume. It's a mix of his classic TV movie costume and his updated Dark Eyes look from ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho''. |
| 383 | * CharacterDevelopment: His long arcs with his Creator/BigFinish companions lead him to adopt a much more solemn outlook on life -- and he ends up world-weary and alone in the very end. It doesn't help that almost all the friends he mentions in "The Night of the Doctor" are dead -- in fact, only Charley is still alive, but he thinks she's dead too. |
| 384 | * ChronicHeroSyndrome: During the Time War, he actually tried to save [[MadScientist Davros]] from the Nightmare Child. |
| 385 | ** Even more heroic when AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho is in continuity, considering [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho072TerrorFirma what Davros did to Eight in those stories]]. |
| 386 | * ContinuityCavalcade: "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho016StormWarning Charley]]. [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho053TheCreedOfTheKromon C'rizz]], [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoNEDAS1E1BloodOfTheDaleksPartOne Lucie]], [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoNEDAS4E2SituationVacant Tamsin]], [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoNEDASDarkEyesE1TheGreatWar Molly]]..." |
| 387 | * TheDandy: Even when his clothes become ragged by the Time War they still have a rugged charm to them. |
| 388 | * DeadManWalking: He did actually die in the spaceship crash that also claimed Cass' life, but is temporarily brought back to life for around 4 minutes by the Sisterhood of Karn, so he could choose his next regeneration. |
| 389 | * DealWithTheDevil: His decision to accept the Sisterhood of Karn's offer to pick his next incarnation definitely has this vibe. |
| 390 | * DeathSeeker: Claims he won't leave Cass to die while she refuses to leave with a Time Lord. This means he stays on a spaceship as it crashes, killing him (for good). He appears to be broken enough from the Time War to accept this, or perhaps he feels culpability for the atrocities of his people. |
| 391 | ** He certainly wasn't happy about being revived, at least; referring to the Sisters of Karn's elixir, he calls them the "keepers of the flame of [[WhoWantsToLiveForever utter boredom]]" and, when glaring at the goblet he's to drink, Eight angrily [[GetOut screams at them to leave]]. |
| 392 | * DefiantToTheEnd: A running gag in the Big Finish audios. When Eight's in danger of dying, he gets snarky. There's a nod to it in "The Resurrection of Mars" ("he uses it to suppress his fear"), and of course it recurs in his second -- and terminal -- live-action appearance: When informed he has 4 minutes to live, the Doctor brashly lists off a half dozen hobbies he could indulge in that time. "[[RealMenWearPink Bring me knitting!]]" |
| 393 | * DespairEventHorizon: Having endured, and run from, the still waging Time War, his failure to save the pilot Cass, and the accompanying realization of the reputation his people have brought upon themselves, as well as the fact that being resurrected gave him the hindsight to realize that trying to stick to his principles to the end ultimately killed him, appears to serve as the final straw on his state of mind. With some coaxing from the Sisters of Karn, he resignedly embraces his regeneration into the War Doctor. This comes after being thoroughly broken by his adventures in ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho''. |
| 394 | -->'''Doctor''': I don't suppose there's any need for a Doctor anymore. |
| 395 | * DownerEnding: Started out as the sunniest Doctor yet, with an unadulterated glee about the prospect of living and making new friends that would not be seen again until his Tenth or even Eleventh iteration. By the time he got to Karn, however, he is a broken and emotionally haggard man who believes he deserves to have his life ended in agony. He even renounces his very identity as the Doctor to become someone who can fight the war. This is the only time the Doctor ever regenerates [[TearJerker genuinely believing that all hope is lost]]. |
| 396 | * DullSurprise: Subverted in the minisode; he's not dealing with a cheap wig anymore and has the freedom to be quite expressive, though most of his facial reactions show either fear, sadness, shock, or most of all, vein-pulsing explosive anger. |
| 397 | * DyingAlone: The Seventh Doctor eventually alienated all his friends and ended up sad and alone. The Eighth Doctor tried to change all that, and was warm, positive and kindhearted to his friends... and he still ends up dying sad, bitter and completely alone. [[CrapsackWorld The universe just won't let him be happy]]. |
| 398 | * FaceDeathWithDignity: Eight regenerates on his own terms by demanding solitude and eulogizes his lost companions, and his own identity as the Doctor. He then drinks Ohila's elixir and has a painful regeneration, feeling like he deserves to suffer because he's betraying all his promises that he uses to continually motivate his role as protector of space and time. |
| 399 | * FakeShemp: Paul [=McGann=] served as a body double for a young John Hurt with the War Doctor's voice dubbed in, since the actor was in his seventies and the editors blended a promotional photograph from the movie ''Crime and Punishment'' as him looking at his new and young face post-regeneration. |
| 400 | * FinalSpeech: Gets a brief final monologue before his regeneration. |
| 401 | -->"Charley. C'rizz, Lucie, Tamsin, Molly... friends, companions I've known, I salute you. And Cass... I apologize. Physician, heal thyself..." |
| 402 | * GetOut: Shoos out the Sisterhood of Karn to leave before he regenerates. |
| 403 | * GotVolunteered: Since the alternative was being KilledOffForReal with the universe still in peril. |
| 404 | -->'''Doctor:''' I would rather die.\ |
| 405 | '''Sister:''' You're dead already. How many more would you let join you? |
| 406 | * HeroicBystander: He refused to fight in the Time War until he had no choice. |
| 407 | --> '''Eighth Doctor:''' It is not my war. I will have no part of it. |
| 408 | * HeroicSuicide: Enforced by the Sisters Of The Flame. The Doctor chooses to sacrifice the noble traits of his current self and become a ruthless warrior. |
| 409 | * HonorBeforeReason: Twice, the Eighth Doctor refuses to give up or give in because he believes he has the moral high ground. Unfortunately, the universe is in so horrible a state that morality doesn't matter anymore because it fails to save lives, and almost leaves him dead for good- twice. Thus, the Doctor surrenders his core principles to become a combatant in the Time War. |
| 410 | * ILetGwenStacyDie: He was ''this'' close to rescuing Cass and packing off to a brand new adventure... until she saw his TARDIS, whereupon she recoiled as if in the presence of, well, a Dalek. |
| 411 | * ImportantHaircut: Eight's "Night" attire looks like it's seen a few wars already, and his hairstyle follows suit. |
| 412 | * ItHasBeenAnHonor: Before consuming the Sisterhood's regeneration elixir, he raises a toast to each of his Big Finish companions. Though he has since acquired several more companions that were not mentioned here, it's easy to interpret this toast as being for the companions he believes are dead. |
| 413 | * TheLastStraw: Cass deciding to go to her death and Eight holding out until both of them are slain, only for him to be brought back temporarily, is the final insult. The Doctor barrels over the cliff of despair and becomes a nameless man who will war with the universe for ages and never let up or show even a shred of apprehension because he can't afford to anymore: fate has spoken, and the Doctor is ''done''. Now the universe will know the wrath of the Warrior. |
| 414 | * LongBusTrip: ''Seventeen years'', in fact. |
| 415 | * LongHairedPrettyBoy: Started off as this, squeaky-clean shaven and bright and cutesy. Then the breaking starts and he migrates directly toward {{Hunk}}, now sporting PermaStubble, an ExpositoryHairStyleChange, and a much grittier outlook on life. But somehow, the pretty boy and hunk qualities merge at the end of his life to create pure badass. |
| 416 | * MessianicArchetype: The only hope to stop the Time War from tearing the universe apart? Drinking from a goblet? [[RuleOfSymbolism Quoting the Bible?]] |
| 417 | * MortonsFork: The circumstances of his death, the Time War, and the intervention of the Sisterhood of Karn hand him one of these. Either die for real, and condemn the universe to a horrific end at the hands of the Time Lords, the Daleks, and all the other too-horrible-to-think-of things that spawned from their battle, or cast aside everything he's sworn to be and join the fight in order to end it. He chooses the latter option, and apparently has regretted it ever since, despite it actually having ''worked''. |
| 418 | * MotivationalLie: According to the novelization of "Day of the Doctor" (which includes "Night of the Doctor" as its first chapter), what Ohila gave the Doctor was basically the equivalent of lemonade with dry ice in it. The Doctor needed an excuse to let himself become a warrior, so Ohila let him blame the potion. |
| 419 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: As Cass points out to him, he and the Time Lords as a whole have committed so many atrocities during the Time War that there really is little difference between them and the Daleks. |
| 420 | * OlderThanTheyLook: Obviously, being the Doctor, but this incarnation in particular. If Big Finish is counted, this version lasted roughly ''1000 years''; the longest living Doctor until the Eleventh. Ironic, considering he is the Doctor with the shortest onscreen life of them all. |
| 421 | * OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: |
| 422 | ** As seen in "The Name of the Doctor", he had a mostly off-screen adventure with the Second Doctor. |
| 423 | ** His (audio drama) Big Finish adventures are given a shout-out in "The Night of the Doctor". |
| 424 | * PacifismBackfire: His refusal to participate in the Time War only prolonged it. The Sisterhood of Karn calls him out on this, leading to his regeneration into the War Doctor. |
| 425 | * RefusalOfTheCall: In "The Night of the Doctor", we learn the Eighth Doctor tried and failed not to take any part in the Time War as 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 give up and regenerate into [[TheDreaded the War Doctor]]. |
| 426 | * SenselessSacrifice: Played with. Eight stubbornly refused to leave Cass despite her telling him, quite clearly, to shove off. He's at the emotional crux of being broken and won't have any more of it. So he decides that if she's going to die, it would be worse if he went on living, dooming Cass to the fate of her own choosing, and having additional blood on his hands after losing multiple companions and loved ones. This time, he'll gladly allow himself to bite the big one. However, the crashed ship lands on Karn, causing a sequence of events that transform him into the War Doctor. |
| 427 | * TakeMyHand: To Cass, who refuses and elects to die instead of being saved by a ''Time Lord'', seeing it as the better alternative. |
| 428 | * TakeUpMySword: When considering his options for his next life, the Doctor pointedly claims Cass' [[BadassBandolier bandolier]] off her corpse. |
| 429 | * ThenLetMeBeEvil: His choice to become the War Doctor is a downplayed version. Realizing that he has effectively already died, meaning that he did actually attempt to uphold his principles and stay out of the Time War to the very end and failed, he chooses to cast aside being a good man, being the Doctor. By drinking the chalice of the Warrior, the Doctor accepts that with the war threatening to destroy all of existence, the universe is ultimately more in need of someone who is willing to make hard and pragmatic choices for TheNeedsOfTheMany, which is someone the eternally optimistic and idealistic Eight, who promised that he would never again sacrifice a single life for some abstract idea of "the greater good", simply cannot be. |
| 430 | * TookALevelInBadass: A fatal example. At the end of his life, he chose his next regeneration to be a 'warrior' so he could fight in the Time War. The Doctor regenerates almost immediately afterward. |
| 431 | * WakingUpAtTheMorgue: Wakes up again with Cass' body lying on a bier next to him. Told he has only a few minutes to live. [[BookEnds His last day was pretty bad.]] |
| 432 | [[/folder]] |
| 433 | |
| 434 | ---- |
| 435 | ->''[[Recap/DoctorWho50thPrequelTheNightOfTheDoctor "Physician, heal thyself."]]'' |
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