Sketch of The Eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith

“The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and…bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant.” -The Doctor (‘Vincent and the Doctor’)

I am man enough to admit that I honestly cried at the last moments of The Tenth Doctor. In the two-part send-off The End of Time, the Tenth incarnation confronts the Ood about their original prophecy and is led to present-day Earth where, in the second part, the newly-resurrected Master (played by John Simm) restores Gallifrey and the Time Lords to existence, although he redeems himself by assisting The Doctor to defeat Time Lord President Rassilon (played by Timothy Dalton) before disappearing alongside the other Time Lords. The Doctor sacrifices his life to save Wilfred Mott, exposing himself to 500,000 rads of deadly radiation and thus triggering his regeneration.

He holds it back and is shown visiting several of the companions we came to know during his run on Doctor Who.^[a] He gives Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate) a winning lottery ticket on her wedding day, buying it with money he borrowed from her late father in the past, saves Martha Jones and Mickey Smith (played by both Freema Agyeman and Noel Clarke) from a Sontaran sniper, saves Sarah Jane’s son Luke (played by Tommy Knight) from a car, introduces Captain Jack Harkness (played by John Barrowman) to a potential romantic interest (played by Russell Tovey), and finally, just before regenerating into The Eleventh Doctor (played by Matt Smith), he informs Rose in 2005 that she is about to have a “great year”. As he begins regenerating, his last words are “I don’t want to go”.

It’s here that I began sobbing like a baby, and most Whovian fans would agree, one tends to grow attached to a particular Doctor they have connected with, and The Tenth was truly my Doctor. Besides brilliant storylines courtesy from the amazing Doctor Who writers and production team, the actors themselves with their flawless acting give you no choice but to believe in their performance and thus you click with them on an emotional level as you would with someone like a best friend or loved one. It was sad to see The Tenth Doctor go and it was an amazing ride. To David Tennant, thank you for giving us a memorable and definitely unforgettable Doctor.

But like always, Doctor Who is about looking forward and pressing on. Thanks to new show runner Steven Moffat and the rest of the Doctor Who production team, the future of the series continues to flourish with the wise casting of Matt Smith as The Eleventh incarnation of The Doctor. At first, I was a little taken back by this new Doctor, and funny enough, I found myself withhold from opening myself completely to a person I apparently didn’t know anymore. But that didn’t last long as The Eleventh Doctor ultimately wins you over with his newly reconfigured energetic and eccentric personality, while at the same time doing and saying things that will remind you that he in fact is The Doctor… But just a little different in the noggin.

The Eleventh Doctor is portrayed as a brash and lively man who is rather arrogant and vain but has a great deal of affection for his loved ones. He’s at times arguably downright childish, which allows him to connect very well with children. However, there are also times when he acts his age, such as when he retires in Victorian London after the loss of Amy Pond and Rory Williams (two companions that the newly regenerated Doctor befriended earlier on in his new life, and are played by both Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) and becomes a grumpy and solitary man who refuses to interact with others until he is charmed by Clara Oswald (played by Jenna-Louise Coleman).

Unlike his two most recent incarnations, this Doctor seems oblivious to details about human mainstream pop culture, besides a few references to classic literature, and is often seen embarrassing his companions with his attempts to be cool (including enthusiastic dancing). He even seems unfamiliar with certain adult activities such as sharing a bed, providing bunk beds in the TARDIS for the married Ponds, and drinking wine, spitting it back into the glass after trying it. He is also helpless at responding to romantic advances, acting awkwardly when River Song (played by Alex Kingston), Amy, and Clara try to seduce him; however, there are times when he behaves more maturely in romantic situations, frequently flirting with River and eventually marrying her, despite his usual discomfort with romance.

The Eleventh Doctor takes us through several adventures that introduce us to both new villainous alien life-forms as well as marking the return of some old ones, New friendships are made while old ones come to an end, and among anything else, he takes us through several new story arcs that not only reinvents the manner clever time-traveling plot devices are used, but how we see The Doctor himself. This becomes even more apparent when we finally discover the very secret The Doctor has been hiding this whole time; In “The Name of the Doctor“, the Doctor falls victim to a plot devised by the Great Intelligence, who holds the Doctor’s friends captive on the planet Trenzalore, where the Doctor will one day die and be buried.

Within the Doctor’s tomb, the Great Intelligence uses the Doctor’s remnants—his disembodied “timestream”—to spread himself across the Doctor’s history, turning his many victories into defeats. Despite objections from River Song, who at this point in her timeline is dead and is guiding Clara from beyond the grave, Clara goes after the Great Intelligence and is scattered throughout the Doctor’s timeline, where she undoes all of the Great Intelligence’s work, becoming Oswin Oswald and Clara Oswin Oswald, among others in the process. The Doctor has a sorrowful conversation with River’s phantom, and with a kiss gives his dead wife some closure. The Doctor enters his timeline to retrieve the original Clara; while rescuing her, she discovers a previously unknown incarnation (played by John Hurt) that he says broke the promise he made by taking “the Doctor” as his name, even though it was for the sake of peace and sanity.^[34]

This is where we are left off in the whole history of Doctor Who, and will find out more when The Eleventh Doctor comes back during the Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary Special episode, which also includes the return of The Tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant) and his companion Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper). Finally, we will learn of The Doctor’s ultimate destiny during the Christmas Special and beyond.

In closing, sketching these eleven Doctor Who portraits were a blast to do, and it will definitely not be the last time I do something like it again. I have some really cool ideas for future Doctor Who inspired pieces. But till then I’m going to be focusing on further improving my illustration skills, exploring new subject matter, and aiming to perhaps changing or modifying my rendering style. Till then, folks! Thanks for watching!

Sketch of The Eighth Doctor played by Paul McGann

“Who am I?” – The Doctor (‘Doctor Who: The Movie’)

The Eighth Doctor is the first Doctor to appear only once in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie, after the original series has been off the air since back in 1989. Funny enough, this movie was also meant to serve as a backdoor pilot for a possibly new series to be picked up by the Fox Network. The Doctor was THIS CLOSE to being produced by an American network, perhaps in an alternate reality, it already has!

Anyways, despite this incarnation of the Doctor showing up only once on the small screen, the many exploits of the Eighth Doctor continued on in a plethora of licensed spin-off media, notably BBC Books‘ Eighth Doctor Adventures novels, audio plays from Big Finish Productions, and the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip. These tales spanned the nine years between 1996 and the debut of the new television series in 2005.

As far as how The Eighth Doctor comes to be, he regenerates into his new body after being caught in the crossfire of a gang shoot-out in 1999 San Francisco’s Chinatown, USA. Still in his Seventh incarnation and barely holding on, he is taken to a hospital where surgeons, confused by his double heartbeat, attempt to correct a non-existent fibrillation. Ironically, their efforts instead end up “killing” The Doctor and soon after, he is taken to a morgue where after several hours (due to the anaesthetic almost destroying the regenerative process), he finally regenerates into his Eighth incarnation.

The Eight Doctor, much like his Fifth and Eleventh incarnations, exhibited a debonair and youthful personality, which along with a wide-eyed enthusiasm, also seemed to conceal a very old soul with perhaps a darker side. The Eighth Doctor also attracted controversy from fans who were divided by the fact of him breaking the long-standing taboo against romantic involvement with his companions by kissing Grace Holloway. On the other hand, in the spin-off media that followed, the Eighth Doctor has often been the object of romantic interest, but has shown little to no romantic inclinations of his own.

I’m at a lost for words for when it came to Paul McGann at playing this version of The Doctor, but the simplest manner which I can describe it is that he was just brilliantly awesome. I really liked his Doctor alot, especially when it came to his Doctor’s way of dressing (I do like his new look as well) and the interior of what seemed to be a Steampunk inspired TARDIS. For this reason and many others, it’s just sad to see that he hasn’t been invited back to make a guest appearance in the current Doctor Who series as of yet. Also, seeing as to how the 50th Anniversary is coming up (which already includes guest appearances from past characters like The Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant, and his companion Rose Tyler, played by Billie Piper). I would greatly enjoy to see The Eight Doctor at least once more grace the screen. It would definitely be the perfect opportunity to show how he came to become The Ninth Doctor without necessarily showing Christopher Eccleston, since he has confirmed that a return to the show would not be a possible one. Mr. Moffat, if you come across this, please consider the possibility. It’s not too late!

Stay tune for, Sketch of The Ninth Doctor played by Christopher Eccleston!

Sketch of The Fifth Doctor played by Peter Davison

“Dreams are important…never underestimate them.” – The Doctor (‘Snakedance’)

After being the only longest running Doctor ever on Doctor Who, spanning as long as seven consecutive seasons from December 28, 1974 (Part One of Robot) to March 21, 1981 (Part 4 of Logopolis), the Era of Tom Baker‘s Fourth Doctor sadly comes to an end as he attempts to stop The Master‘s double crossing act of taking control of the Pharos Project radio telescope, which was initially adapted by both him and The Doctor onto the Earth in an attempt to reopen the CVEs and stop the Entropy energy that was released by The Master’s stasis feild that was being generated at the time he took control over the planet of Logopolis, and having it erode all of matter throughout the universe- threatening to destroy the entire universe!

As The Master connects himself to the radio dish cable and thus linking himself to the CVEs, The Doctor leaps to sever the cable, but not before The Master begins to make the dish rotate and leaving the Doctor to eventually fall to his doom. In a heart wrenching moment, as The Doctor held on nothing but the cable, he manages to tear it out. With his companions helplessly watching as he now clings to the swinging cable, The Doctor sees visions of all the foes he’s faced over the years… And then falls.

The Doctor’s three current companions; Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan gather around his mortally wounded body and call out his name. The Time Lord begins seeing more visions of all his companions and even the Brigadier calling his name. He then looks up at the three of them and utters his last words: “It’s the end– but the moment has been prepared for…” He then points to a white-clad figure they have encountered before called, “The Watcher,” who begins approaching the Doctor. The Watcher, who turns out to be a manifestation of the Doctor’s future incarnation, merges with the Doctor and triggers his regeneration. “So he was the Doctor all the time?” remarks Nyssa, as the three watch him transform into the Fifth Doctor.

In the Era of Peter Davison‘s Doctor, it was a “back to the basics” return, to where the show aimed to keep “silly” humour (and, to an extent, horror) to a minimum. Also, producer John Nathan-Turner encouraged that the show went for more scientific accuracy, and at moments, Doctor Who would resemble a more darker and grittier series, which also came with the death of The Doctor’s companions, Adric.

The Doctor himself also went through a complete change; becoming more vulnerable, sensitive, and reserved than his previous incarnations. Often, This new Doctor reacted to situations rather than initiating them, as well as, make decisions at the flip of a coin. Unlike his more authoritative predecessors, he treated his young companions as parts of a team, and often willingly participated in situations under the leadership of someone else who had the strong command presence that he apparently lacked.

But despite his soft appearance, The Fifth Doctor still embodied the essence of a Time Lord of great age and wisdom. Being one of the most courageous of all his incarnations, this Doctor took chances at partnerships with individuals that once posed a threat to him. Finally, This Doctor was even willing to sacrifice his own life to save the last of his companions. A true selfless hero to the bitter end was The Fifth Doctor, and that quality continues to live on.

Stay tune for, Sketch of The Sixth Doctor played by Colin Baker!

Sketch of The First Doctor played by William Hartnell

“We are not of this race. We are not of this earth. Susan and I are wanderers in the fourth dimension of time and space.” – The Doctor (‘An Unearthly Child’)

So if you have read my previous blog entry, Sketch of The 4th Doctor: In The Works! You most likely were expecting to see a completed sketch of The Fourth Doctor in this entry. Well upon finishing the illustration of Tom Baker‘s Doctor, I got inspired to actually take two weeks to sketch out all the Doctors that have graced us with their awe inspiring adventures thus far!

With that said, I give you The First Doctor that started it all! As portrayed by the great William Hartnell in the first series of the show, The Doctor was not always the dashing and charming two hearted alien we know and love today. At first, he began as a grumpy and strict old man with a sharp tongue whose first travels through Time and Space was along side that of his apparent granddaughter named, Susan Foreman. 

Of course, it wasn’t long until The Doctor shortly after took on… Or more like kidnapped two more unsuspecting companions, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, after they both discovered Susan entering a mysterious blue Police Telephone Box which much to their amazement was revealed to be a time machine that Susan simply named, “The TARDIS.”

These two human companions over time taught The Doctor a great deal of Humanity and during all of their shared adventures, The Doctor grew closer to them, and the whole crew came to almost share a family bond. From that day forward, The Doctor was set on the path to become the protector of the Earth and it’s inhabitants, but also through the compassion his human companions taught him, he also learned to protect others from danger, no matter from what planet or dimensional plane they come from.

Stay tune for, Sketch of The Second Doctor played by Patrick Troughton!