RTD’s Doctor Who Has Fixed 1 Thing The Modern Show Always Got Wrong About The First Doctor

RTD’s newest term as Doctor Who showrunner has already fixed one thing that the modern show has always got wrong about the First Doctor. Doctor Who has been on the air for over 60 years, going through 18 versions of the Doctor in Doctor Who – 15 of whom are official, numbered regenerations. The original show ran from November 1965 to December 1989. In 2015, showrunner and head writer Russell T. Davies, better known as RTD, revived the show on the BBC.

Since then, Doctor Who has passed on to other showrunners, with each expanding the lore and introducing new storylines. Because the show has stretched on for so long, there are many things Doctor Who fans can never agree on. This includes the rules of regeneration and the Doctor’s age. However, since Russell T. Davies has taken back over as showrunner, many elements of Doctor Who have already been clarified and fixed. One such element involves the show’s portrayal of the First Doctor.

How Doctor Who Gets The First Doctor Wrong

The First Doctor Isn’t The Oldest Doctor

Within the Doctor Who Universe, William Hartnell’s First Doctor has always been treated like a wise and experienced Time Lord who is the ideal version of the Doctor. This is especially prevalent in the modern era, called New Who. However, in reality, they are the youngest version of The Doctor shown onscreen, besides the Fugitive Doctor and the Timeless Child iterations. Since the memories of these previous Doctors were removed, though, the First Doctor is essentially the youngest available memory for the Time Lord. This makes them the least experienced and most jejune generation.

This mistake makes sense from a logical perspective. In a normal timeline, a character introduced in 1963 – the First Doctor – would be older than a character introduced in 2023 – the Fifteenth Doctor. However, this doesn’t apply to the Doctor if each regeneration is a continuation of the last. In this case, the oldest version of the Doctor would always be the newest one. Additionally, society conflates age with wisdom. William Hartnell is the oldest actor to play the Doctor, starting the role at 55 years of age. As such, it’s easy for that societal bias to seep into Doctor Who.

“The Giggle” Finally Understood The First Doctor

Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary Special Clarifies The First Doctor’s Hubris

While New Who has treated the First Doctor like a sage for quite some time, the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, “The Giggle,” finally understands the character. During a conversation about the first adventure with the Toymaker, the Fourteenth Doctor says, “When I was young, I was so sure of myself.” This statement acknowledges that the First Doctor acted like they were extremely wise and intelligent; however, it also points out that the belief is misguided. Instead, the youthful hubris makes the First Doctor more like a reckless teenager who believes they’re untouchable.

This sentiment is further solidified by the ending of Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary special. After the bigeneration, the Fourteenth Doctor and the Fifteenth Doctor are discussing Fourteen leaving the TARDIS. Fifteen says, “Off you pop, Old Man,” causing Fourteen to respond with, “You’re the old man. You’re older than me.” This promotes the idea that the Fifteenth Doctor is older than the Fourteenth Doctor, even though they’re newer. If Fifteen is an old man, the First Doctor would be the equivalent of a teen in comparison to the current iteration, despite the younger Doctor’s body being physically older.

The First Doctor Highlights An Ambiguity Doctor Who Has Never Solved

The Doctor’s Maturation Is Ambiguous In Doctor Who

The characterization of the First Doctor brings up a dubious issue that Doctor Who has never clarified – how maturation works for The Doctor. The most logical answer would be that a younger-bodied regenerated Doctor is only younger in body but more experienced in mind than the previous regeneration. This is what the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special implies. Alternatively, each Doctor could go through their own mental development from the time of regeneration. In this circumstance, the most experienced Doctor would be the one who lasted the longest before regenerating.

There are two versions of the Doctor that could take this title. The first possibility would be the Eleventh Doctor, who lived 300 years between their first appearance and the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, “Day of the Doctor.” Adding in the 900 years on Trenzalore, The Eleventh Doctor’s total lived years would be around 1200 years.

Alternatively, if all the copies of the Twelfth Doctor from Doctor Who season 9, episode 12, “Hell Bent” count, this regeneration would be the longest-lasting Doctor by a landslide. In this single episode, The Twelfth Doctor and their copies spent 4.5 billion years trapped inside the confession dial. That number also doesn’t count the rest of their lifespan within Doctor Who. In either case, William Hartnell’s First Doctor wouldn’t take the title of the most experienced Doctor.