Doctor Whohas been through several iterations of the titular Time Lord since it began in 1963, but while most audiences would understandably considerWilliam Hartnell’s original version to be the “First Doctor,”this technically isn’t true. Throughout the show’s extensive history, there have been plenty of different writers and showrunners in charge of the project, and each one has made dramatic changes to the canon that make it somewhat difficult to understand exactly whereevery single version of the Doctorsits on a timeline.
Thankfully,Doctor Whois a show with an immense fanbase and a very active community that helps answer all of these questions. However, there aresome questions in the show that even the most vocal audiences don’t know the answer to- the Doctor’s true name, for one. And theconfusing history of regeneration inDoctor Whohas raised several questions, but the most fascinating one is regarding the Doctor’s incarnations before the narrative of the show begins. Where audiences had previously been trapped by the question, it seems to have beenanswered in an oldDoctor Whomagazine.
“The Brain Of Morbius” Confirms There Were Doctors Before Hartnell
There Were Actually Several Doctors Before Him
“The Brain of Morbius” is frequently cited among thebest classic episodes ofDoctor Who, but the serial includes one fascinating detail that’s long left audiences confused.During one psychedelic moment, the show includesmultiple unknown faces that are implied to be previous versions of the Doctor.
One excerpt from an oldDoctor Whomagazine confirms that, at least originally, these faces were intended to be previous faces of the Doctor.
This has been a speculative point within theDoctor Whofan base for a long time, with most agreeing thatthese versions couldn’t existbecause Time Lords are only given 12 regenerations (ignoring “The Time of the Doctor”). However, one excerpt from an oldDoctor Whomagazine confirms that, at least originally, these faces were intended to be previous faces of the Doctor.
8 Times Doctor Who Hid Sutekh’s Return In Plain Sight
Doctor Who season Sutekh clues aren’t obvious, but when combined, it becomes unclear why the villain’s comeback wasn’t more widely predicted.
The pictures belonged to other members of theDoctor Whoproduction team, who volunteered their faces to represent previous versions of the show’s protagonist. (Source:X) Although the debate surrounding this issue has settled sinceChibnall officially wrote pre-Hartnell Doctors into the showwith “The Timeless Child,”this essentially confirms that it was always the show’s intention to introduce some previous incarnations.
Will The Morbius Doctors Ever Appear Again?
Anything Is Possible In Doctor Who
Since these versions of the Doctor were played by the show’s production team in the 1970s,they almost certainly won’t appear in the show any time soon.However, that doesn’t mean thatDoctor Whowon’t at least mention them, or provide audiences with some more pre-Hartnell Doctors. It’s something that Chris Chibnall clearly wanted to include, with his Fugitive Doctor and The Division subplot, but it wasn’t something that Russell T. Davies has ever shown any interest in.
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Doctor Who: Doctor Who is a British sci-fi television series debuting in 1963, following The Doctor, a time-traveling alien Time Lord. The Doctor explores the universe in the TARDIS, accompanied by companions, confronting various adversaries and striving to save civilizations while addressing injustices.
