Newbies Guide to Doctor Who

Doctor:

The Tenth The tenth Doctor wears a brown pinstripe suit with trainers. He is much more jovial and good-humoured than his ninth incarnation, appearing to have largely recovered from the mental scars of the Time War. He does, however, have a hard edge to his personality, being the sort of man who doesn't give second chances.

Companions:

Rose Tyler Rose Tyler is a 19-year old girl from London 2005. Before meeting the Doctor, Rose lived with her mother, Jackie Tyler, on a council estate and had a boyfriend called Mickey Smith. Her father, Pete Tyler, died when she was a baby. In Rose (New Series Series 1), she worked in Henrik's department store when the ninth Doctor was investigating Auton activity in the store, and she saw him blow it up. Rose then helped the Doctor defeat the Nestene Consciousness's attempt to take over the world, and he offered her a chance to travel in the TARDIS. In The End of the World (New Series Series 1), the Doctor took her to the far future to see the day the Earth is destroyed. During this trip, he upgraded her mobile phone, tying it into the TARDIS, so that she can call home no matter where or when she is. Rose took some time to get over the Doctor's regeneration from his ninth to his tenth incarnation in The Parting of the Ways (New Series Series 1), the 2005 Children in Need Special, and The Christmas Invasion.

Recurring Characters:

Mickey Smith Mickey is Rose Tyler's boyfriend. In Rose (New Series Series 1), he was captured by the Nestene, and witnessed the Doctor and Rose defeating the Nestene, saw the inside of the TARDIS, and was there when Rose departed with the Doctor. Because he had trouble adapting to what had happened, the Doctor took a dislike to him. During the year since Rose went missing, Mickey did a lot of research into the Doctor and his impact on human history. He met the Doctor and Rose again in Aliens of London/World War Three (New Series Series 1). In that story, he helped the Doctor and Rose defeat some aliens called the Slitheen. He gained the Doctor's respect and was willing to wait for Rose's return. In Boom Town (New Series Series 1), he and Rose effectively split up. Although Mickey was still hopelessly in love with Rose, he knew that the Doctor would always come first for her. Unfortunately for him, Rose didn't really take in what he was saying about how he wanted her to come back for him.

Sarah Jane Smith Sarah was a journalist who met the third Doctor whilst investigating unusual events in The Time Warrior (Classic Series Season 11). She accompanied him on his trips in the TARDIS and helped him and UNIT defeat several earth-bound invasions until he regenerated into the fourth Doctor in Planet of the Spiders (Classic Series Season 11) and Robot (Classic Series Season 12). She continued travelling with the fourth Doctor until he was recalled to Gallifrey in The Hand of Fear (Classic Series Season 14). The Doctor left her on Earth, somewhere that wasn't her home of Croydon. A few years later, in K9 and Company (1981 pilot episode), Sarah discovered that the Doctor had left her a present - a robotic dog called K9.

K9 Mark III The original K9 was a robotic dog owned by Professor Marius in the year 5000 in The Invisible Enemy (Classic Series Season 15). When the original K9 left the Doctor, he built a replacement - K9 Mark II, with enhanced capabilities. At some point after that, the Doctor built K9 Mark III and left him on Earth as a present for Sarah. Sarah discovered this gift in K9 and Company (1981 pilot episode). In Decalog 3: Moving On (Virgin short story), Sarah was briefly possessed by an alien intelligence which tried to use K9 to send a message to the Doctor. These events led to K9 coming close to being non-functional.

Recommended Viewing:

You'll probably understand Sarah's relationship with the Doctor better by watching her final story The Hand of Fear (Classic Series Season 14), and you might also want to see her discovery of K9 in K9 and Company (1981 pilot episode).

Recommended Reading:

None.

Recommended Listening:

None.