The Eighth Doctor (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
whatifigetbored) wrote2014-01-03 03:15 pm
whatifigetbored) wrote2014-01-03 03:15 pm
Entry tags:
Abilities
Despite looking very much like one, the Doctor isn't human - he's a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means that he has a few differences in terms of physiology from humans.
The most dramatic trait of the Time Lords is their ability to regenerate. When a Time Lord dies, they don't stay dead - instead, they regenerate into an entirely new body, often changing personality as well (although core traits will remain the same). Some Time Lords can control what form their new body takes, however, this isn't something the Doctor can do, leaving his regenerations entirely up to chance. Usually, a Time Lord is limited to regenerating twelve times, although more regenerations can be granted by the High Council of the Time Lords. The Doctor himself has regenerated seven times, making this his eighth incarnation. But even without regenerating, Time Lords are extraordinary long lived - exactly how long a Time Lord can live in the one regeneration isn't clear, but they can live for centuries without regenerating, at least.
Time Lords also posses some psychic ability, including the ability to communicate telepathically with other Time Lords, and the ability to mentally-manipulate others through touch. Some examples of mentally manipulation seen include hypnosis, mind-reading, memory erasure, and sharing thoughts or transferring knowledge. However, the Doctor very rarely uses any of his psychic abilities. He likely doesn't have the same skill as other Time Lords, since he pretty much never practices it. What the Doctor does get plenty of use out of, though, is the Time Lord's resistance, if not immunity, to many forms of mind control. He can still be vulnerable to more powerful forms, but anything that can be more easily broken will have little effect on the Doctor.
He has all of the same senses as a human, but as a Time Lord they are generally superior (although not superhumanly so). But Time Lords also have additional time senses, which allow them to notice distortions and jumps in time, and to be able to identify which points in history are "fixed" (and thus cannot be altered, under any circumstances), and which are more malleable. Essentially, he's able to tell when history cannot be changed without damaging the web of time itself. Additionally, Time Lords are able to sense the presence of other Time Lords - and identify individual Time Lords (which comes in handy for a race where people are known to drastically change their appearance).
In terms of anatomy, one significant difference is that Time Lords have two hearts. They're able to survive on one if need be, although they'd be much weaker. Their blood is also different to humans, being darker and with a slight orange tint to it. This isn't noticeable to the naked eye, but it is readily apparent under a microscope. Anaesthetics don't work very well on Time Lords, and they need much higher levels to have the same effect, while aspirin is toxic to them, to the point where they can be killed by a single dose. But Time Lords are also able to have conscious control over their own biological systems. They can choose to speed up, slow down, or even stop their hearts, or consciously alter how ingested substances are processed. This even extends to Time Lords being able to put themselves into a healing come when severely injured, allowing all of their energies to be devoted to healing (and therefore allowing them to recover better than a human would).
They are also highly tough and resilient, and capable of surviving greater extremes in cold and heat. They are much less affected by radiations, and they can survive shocks that would be fatal to humans. And lastly, Time Lords need much less sleep than humans, and can get by on even just one hour a day.
Time Lord abilities aside, the Doctor is incredibly intelligent, with a ridiculous number of skills and abilities (being around for as so many centuries will give you plenty of time to practice, after all). In fact, it is his intelligence, more than anything else, which is the Doctor's greatest weapon. He's able to strategise complex plans on the fly, as well as quickly analyse evidence and come to scarily accurate conclusions. The Doctor is intelligent not just in terms of knowledge and learning, but in a real, practical sense.
He has an extremely extensive knowledge of the universe's history, as well as knowledge of most sciences. In fact, vary rare is the science the Doctor doesn't at least have some working knowledge of. He's also a brilliant engineer, able to construct temporary equipment on the fly using what would, to anyone else, looks to be a bunch of scraps. Given more time and better resources, he can build even more advanced devices like the sonic screwdriver.
He claims to be able to speak five billion languages, although the accuracy of this is difficult to judge as the TARDIS automatically translates for him anyway. But he can read and write in Old High Gallifreyan, which is unusual even among Time Lords.
And while the Doctor does have plenty of distake for physical combat, this doesn't mean he's incapable - he's able in forms of combat such as sword-fighting and Venusian Akido, and while he hates guns he's still capable in using them.
The Eighth Doctor in particular also showed an aptitude for slight-of-hand and pickpocketing.
The most dramatic trait of the Time Lords is their ability to regenerate. When a Time Lord dies, they don't stay dead - instead, they regenerate into an entirely new body, often changing personality as well (although core traits will remain the same). Some Time Lords can control what form their new body takes, however, this isn't something the Doctor can do, leaving his regenerations entirely up to chance. Usually, a Time Lord is limited to regenerating twelve times, although more regenerations can be granted by the High Council of the Time Lords. The Doctor himself has regenerated seven times, making this his eighth incarnation. But even without regenerating, Time Lords are extraordinary long lived - exactly how long a Time Lord can live in the one regeneration isn't clear, but they can live for centuries without regenerating, at least.
Time Lords also posses some psychic ability, including the ability to communicate telepathically with other Time Lords, and the ability to mentally-manipulate others through touch. Some examples of mentally manipulation seen include hypnosis, mind-reading, memory erasure, and sharing thoughts or transferring knowledge. However, the Doctor very rarely uses any of his psychic abilities. He likely doesn't have the same skill as other Time Lords, since he pretty much never practices it. What the Doctor does get plenty of use out of, though, is the Time Lord's resistance, if not immunity, to many forms of mind control. He can still be vulnerable to more powerful forms, but anything that can be more easily broken will have little effect on the Doctor.
He has all of the same senses as a human, but as a Time Lord they are generally superior (although not superhumanly so). But Time Lords also have additional time senses, which allow them to notice distortions and jumps in time, and to be able to identify which points in history are "fixed" (and thus cannot be altered, under any circumstances), and which are more malleable. Essentially, he's able to tell when history cannot be changed without damaging the web of time itself. Additionally, Time Lords are able to sense the presence of other Time Lords - and identify individual Time Lords (which comes in handy for a race where people are known to drastically change their appearance).
In terms of anatomy, one significant difference is that Time Lords have two hearts. They're able to survive on one if need be, although they'd be much weaker. Their blood is also different to humans, being darker and with a slight orange tint to it. This isn't noticeable to the naked eye, but it is readily apparent under a microscope. Anaesthetics don't work very well on Time Lords, and they need much higher levels to have the same effect, while aspirin is toxic to them, to the point where they can be killed by a single dose. But Time Lords are also able to have conscious control over their own biological systems. They can choose to speed up, slow down, or even stop their hearts, or consciously alter how ingested substances are processed. This even extends to Time Lords being able to put themselves into a healing come when severely injured, allowing all of their energies to be devoted to healing (and therefore allowing them to recover better than a human would).
They are also highly tough and resilient, and capable of surviving greater extremes in cold and heat. They are much less affected by radiations, and they can survive shocks that would be fatal to humans. And lastly, Time Lords need much less sleep than humans, and can get by on even just one hour a day.
Time Lord abilities aside, the Doctor is incredibly intelligent, with a ridiculous number of skills and abilities (being around for as so many centuries will give you plenty of time to practice, after all). In fact, it is his intelligence, more than anything else, which is the Doctor's greatest weapon. He's able to strategise complex plans on the fly, as well as quickly analyse evidence and come to scarily accurate conclusions. The Doctor is intelligent not just in terms of knowledge and learning, but in a real, practical sense.
He has an extremely extensive knowledge of the universe's history, as well as knowledge of most sciences. In fact, vary rare is the science the Doctor doesn't at least have some working knowledge of. He's also a brilliant engineer, able to construct temporary equipment on the fly using what would, to anyone else, looks to be a bunch of scraps. Given more time and better resources, he can build even more advanced devices like the sonic screwdriver.
He claims to be able to speak five billion languages, although the accuracy of this is difficult to judge as the TARDIS automatically translates for him anyway. But he can read and write in Old High Gallifreyan, which is unusual even among Time Lords.
And while the Doctor does have plenty of distake for physical combat, this doesn't mean he's incapable - he's able in forms of combat such as sword-fighting and Venusian Akido, and while he hates guns he's still capable in using them.
The Eighth Doctor in particular also showed an aptitude for slight-of-hand and pickpocketing.