A Look Back at Classic Who: The Seventh Doctor's Era · 3:49am Oct 7th, 2013
Let's continue this look back at "Classic Who" with the era of the Seventh Doctor!
The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy)
The Seventh Doctor made his debut following an abrupt and unexpected regeneration. In many ways, the Seventh Doctor was different from his predecessor. He was lighthearted, acted clownish, and didn't have as much of an ego as he had had as the Sixth Doctor. However, much like his predecessors, he had a dark side. The Seventh Doctor was one of the, if not the, most manipulative of the Doctor's incarnations. He used his lighthearted attitude and clownish, clumsy traits to trick his enemies into falling into a sense of false safety while he secretly worked out a plan to defeat them. He also proved to be very manipulative of his own companions, such as when he quite brutally forced his companion Ace to lose all faith in him in order to weaken Fenric's power in The Curse of Fenric. But, despite his dark side, the Doctor still tended to keep closer to his lighthearted nature. He was close to his companions and acted not only as a friend to them but also as a fatherly figure. He tended to think more of the "big picture" rather than the world before him but he was never really emotionless during this state of mind. He faced many villains such as series regulars the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Master, and the Rani as well as a few new villains like Fenric, a powerful being nearly as old as the universe itself. As time went on, the Seventh Doctor's darker side tended to reveal itself more and more. He eventually met his end in 1999 San Francisco when he was shot by a gang member and a later operation to "fix" his abnormal heartbeat led to him meeting his end on the operating table. Several hours later, in the hospital morgue, the dead body of the Seventh Doctor finally regenerated into a different and very confused man.
Melanie "Mel" Bush (Bonnie Langford)
Due to not witnessing the Doctor's regeneration, Mel didn't believe the Seventh Doctor was the same being as the Doctor she had traveled with upon first meeting him. She quickly came to accept that the Seventh Doctor was the Doctor and became as close to him as she had been to his previous incarnation. She continued her healthy habits and warm, cheery behavior during her travels with the Seventh Doctor. She and the Seventh Doctor had several adventures together which involved the Rani, a 22nd century high rise apartment infested with gangs, and various other strange occurrences. She eventually parted ways with the Doctor to have a few adventures with galactic confidence trickster Sabalom Gltiz before returning home.
Dorothy Gale "Ace" McShane (Sophie Aldred)
Ace was a teenage girl with a troubled life and a love for explosives. While experimenting in her bedroom, she was swept up by a time storm and taken to Iceworld in the far future. She got a job as a waitress and soon crossed paths with the Seventh Doctor and Mel. With Mel's departure, the Doctor offered Ace a spot in the TARDIS and she happily accepted. Ace had many worries and troubles but kept them hidden underneath a tough, streetwise exterior. She became incredibly close to the Doctor and developed a strong faith in him. The Doctor took on a fatherly role for her and became close to her, although he was also particularly manipulative of her. Ace and the Doctor had many adventures together from facing the Daleks in 1963 to defeating Fenric. While Ace's parting with the Doctor was never shown on-screen, it was depicted in novels and audio stories. According to these, Ace fell in love with a time traveler named Jan Rydd. After a series of unfortunate events, the Doctor inadvertently caused Jan's death through his manipulative plans to stop the threat on Heaven, a planet located on the edge of human space in the 26th century, and an angered Ace parted ways with him. She would run across the Doctor a few more times but would eventually settle down on Earth and found a successful charity known as A Charitable Earth.
Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)
The Brig was temporarily brought back to work for UNIT when he reunited with the Doctor. He, the Doctor, and Ace stopped an invasion from an alternate universe led by a sorceress known as Morgaine. Afterwards, the Brig and the Doctor parted ways once again.
And those were the major players in the Seventh Doctor's era! Next, I'll finish my look back at "Classic Who" with the era of the Eighth Doctor!
A fatherly Doctor. May that's the angle Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor will take with Clara. That'd be cool to see. Maybe Ace should show up on the show again so we can officially find out how her parting with the Doctor went down.
You know Sylvester McCoy is going to be in an upcoming movie called The Christmas Candle.
I'm one of the few Who fans who likes the first season of McCoy and LOATHES all the rest of it. I am SO glad that the "Cartmel Master Plan" never made it to the screen.
The whole "lonely god" aspect of the Doctor got its start with McCoy's doctor, beginning with Remembrance of the Daleks and Silver Nemesis. That was an aspect best left undiscovered, and the overplay of it is one of the many things I hate about Steven Moffatt's time running the new show.
Didnt the Eleventh doctor do the exact same thing to Amy in "The God Complex"?
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While I love Steven Moffat(except for the fact that he's a troll), I agree with you. From the novels I read and the recaps I read, I don't like this Doctor at all. The first season seemed intresting, but the next? Only good part was Ace.
Really excited to see The Eight Doctor recap! Will you be featuring his Expanded Universe companions?