| I'd call you a genius, but I'm in the room.
The Doctor is a Time Lord, an extraterrestrial scientist from the planet Gallifrey, who wanders time and space in an internally vast time machine called the TARDIS — Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space - an acronym the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan, claims to have invented. Although the TARDIS once had the ability to disguise itself according to its environment, after landing in 1963 London its facade became stuck in the form of a British police box because of a malfunctioning chameleon circuit. It has remained in that shape ever since. Over the course of the series the Doctor occasionally attempts to fix the circuit, most notably in Logopolis and Attack of the Cybermen (in the latter turning the TARDIS exterior into a pipe organ, among other incongruous shapes), but eventually gives up the effort out of fondness for the police box shape. The discrepancy between the small exterior of the ship and its vast interior is explained by its dimensionally transcendental nature, whereby the ship's interior and exterior dimensions exist independently of each other.
Little is known about the Doctor's childhood. In "The Empty Child" the Doctor claimed he knows "what it is like to be the only child left out in the cold". Later, during "The Girl in the Fireplace", Madame de Pompadour "saw" memories of his childhood during a telepathic session between the two and commented that it was "so lonely". However, when asked if he has a brother in "Smith and Jones", the Doctor simply replied "not any more". In the same episode, he mentioned "playing with Röntgen blocks in the nursery." In The Time Monster, the Doctor says he grew up in a house on the side of a mountain, and talks about a hermit who lived under a tree behind the house and inspired the Doctor when he was depressed. In "The Sound of Drums" (2007), the Doctor describes a Time Lord Academy initiation ceremony where, at the age of eight, Time Lord children are made to look into the Untempered Schism, a gap in space and time where they could view the time vortex. Some are inspired, some go mad (as he suggests happened to his nemesis the Master), and some run away. When asked what he did, he replies, "Oh, one of the ones that ran away - I've never stopped!"
References to the Doctor's family are rare in the series. During the first two seasons he travelled with his granddaughter, Susan Foreman, and as noted above he apparently once had a brother. During his second incarnation when asked about his family, the Doctor says his memories of them are still alive (The Tomb of the Cybermen) but whether that means they are deceased is unknown. In The Curse of Fenric, when asked if he has any family, the Seventh Doctor replies that he doesn't know, indirectly hinting that an unspecified fate may have befallen them. In "Fear Her" the Tenth Doctor mentions to Rose that he was once a father, but then quickly changes the subject. He mentions his father in the 1996 Doctor Who telefilm, where he also indicates his mother was human.
The Doctor explores the universe at random, using his extensive knowledge of science, technology and history (from his perspective) to avert whatever crises he encounters. The imprecise nature of his travels is initially attributed to the age and unreliability of the TARDIS's navigation system. However, after his trial and restriction to late twentieth century Earth, he demonstrates the ability to reach a destination of his own choosing more often than not. The Doctor generally travels with one or more companions. Most of these make a conscious decision to travel with him, but others, especially early in the series, are accidental passengers.
Although Time Lords resemble humans, their physiology differs in some key respects. For example, like other members of his race, the Doctor has two hearts (binary vascular system), a "respiratory bypass system" that allows him to go without air for some while, an internal body temperature of 15–16 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) and he occasionally exhibits a super-human level of stamina. Additionally, he has shown a resistance to temporal effects and has demonstrated a telepathic ability, albeit to a limited degree. The Doctor also exhibits some weaknesses uncommon to humans. For example, in The Mind of Evil he claimed that a tablet of aspirin could kill him.
In his final serial, the Second Doctor states that Time Lords can live forever, "barring accidents." When "accidents" do occur, Time Lords can usually regenerate into new bodies, resulting in extremely long life-spans.
all graphics done by ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ihearthedrums. steal, and I will have you eaten by a weevil.
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