Warning: Spoilers ahead forDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 8, “The Reality War.“The in-universe age ofDoctor Who’s main character has long been a topic of much debate, and Ncuti Gatwa’s era as the Fifteenth Doctor added even more to the confusion surrounding how long the Time Lord has been alive. As the first new Doctor introduced inDoctor Who’s Disney era,Gatwa led the show for two seasons and two Christmas specials. As it does forall actors who play the Doctor, the character’s age factored at least slightly into Gatwa’s time in the TARDIS, but was only ever indirectly addressed during his era.
Gatwa had some great moments as Fifteenand leaves behind a fascinating legacy as the only main actor not to faceDoctor Who’s three main villains: the Daleks, the Cybermen, orany version of the Master. A great deal of Gatwa’s era consisted of original content, although showrunner Russell T. Davies wasn’t afraid to bring back certain other bad guys fromDoctor Who’s classic era. Gatwa was also involved inDoctor Who’s first-ever bi-generation sequence, which made the task of working out the Doctor’s age even more difficult.
The Fifteenth Doctor Is Alone For An Unknown Length Of Time Between Ruby Sunday & Belinda Chandra
This is proven by the Doctor’s final scene in “Lucky Day”
On the surface,most of the Fifteenth Doctor’s time feels accounted for. His adventures with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) felt successive, although the surprise Shreek adventure fromDoctor Whoseason 15, episode 4, “Lucky Day,” suggests Fifteen and Ruby explored offscreen far more than it initially seems. Either way, it still seems like most of the Doctor’s time with Ruby is shown in season 14. Similarly, Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) and her adventures with Fifteen are incredibly rapid-fire. Ruby was fine seeing the universe, and it was still over quickly, whereas Belinda was in a rush to get home.
There is one scene during Gatwa’s era that makes the length of Fifteen’s life unclear, and it’s when he berates Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King) at the end of “Lucky Day.”
There is one scene during Gatwa’s era that makes the length of Fifteen’s life unclear, and it’s when he berates Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King) at the end of “Lucky Day.” The exchange takes place after Ruby has left the TARDIS, as confirmed by the Doctor stepping in to confront Conrad for betraying her. However, Conrad’s loaded question of whether Fifteen has met Belinda yet reveals that the Doctor has yet to encounter Sethu’s character. What’s left unanswered is just how long Fifteen has been on his own.
Other than knowing thatthe Doctor’s argument with Conrad takes place after Ruby but before Belinda, “Lucky Day” doesn’t clear up much else about Fifteen’s timeline. Specifically, it’s impossible to tell just how long he has been traveling without a companion. That said, he doesn’t quite seem himself during this scene. He seems colder, more cruel, and generally less like the levelheaded version of the Time Lord, who is often kept on the right path by the presence of a companion. So, it’s likely that Ruby’s departure isn’t all that recent.
The Fifteenth Doctor Probably Didn’t Spend Long On His Own
Gatwa’s adventures happen too quickly for there to be many unseen companionless stories
Other unaccounted-for periods of lone traveling include the gap between Fifteen’s introduction in “The Giggle” and the start of 2023’s “The Church on Ruby Road.” These two episodes feel consecutive for Gatwa’s Doctor, but that’s just me speculating. Similarly,it’s unclear how long Fifteen has spent alone by the beginning of 2024’s “Joy to the World.“Again, this seems very much like not much time has passed since Ruby’s exit at theend ofDoctor Whoseason 14, but it’s tricky to know for sure.
The “Lucky Day” scene is an outlier, and seeing him with Ruby again as they interact with the Shreek is little more than a plot device to orchestrate the coming together of her and Conrad.
In general,Doctor Whotends to follow Fifteen’s timeline linearly. The “Lucky Day” scene is an outlier, and seeing him with Ruby again as they interact with the Shreek is little more than a plot device to orchestrate the coming together of her and Conrad. So,I don’t think Fifteen’s periods of loneliness were ever damagingly long. The departure of Ruby was soothed by Fifteen’s accidental year spent on Earth with Anita Benn (Steph de Whalley), and “Lucky Day” probably wasn’t too long after that. Hearing Belinda’s name was then likely to kickstart Fifteen’s search for his next companion.
That said,I would’ve enjoyed seeing the Fifteenth Doctor travel on his own a little more. Davies did it very effectively withDavid Tennant’s Tenth Doctorduring the actor’s farewell specials, and it allowed for an interesting insight into that version of the Time Lord. Sadly, Disney’s deal with the BBC only covered a set number of episodes, so Davies probably thought it would be safer to generally stick to a more familiarDoctor Whoformat of pairing Fifteen with companions. Loneliness tends to change the Doctor, and Fifteen showed flashes of darkness I’d have enjoyed witnessing more.
Fifteen Is The Shortest-Lived Doctor Since Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth
Eccleston only starred in 13 episodes of Doctor Who
Debuting in late 2023 during “The Giggle,“Ncuti Gatwa then spent less than two years in the role of the Fifteenth Doctorbefore his regeneration sequence at theend ofDoctor Whoseason 15.Doctor Who’s modern era has often retained a lead actor for longer than that, and produced far more episodes with them as the Doctor. For example. Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor led his first episode in 2010 and passed the baton to Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth in 2013’s “The Time of the Doctor” after three seasons and a handful of specials.
David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor could also be included in this conversation, but it remains unclear how long he will remain part of the Whoniverse.
David Tennant and Peter Capaldi’s time asDoctor Who’s star had a similar framework to Smith’s, as did Jodie Whittaker’s. However, Eccleston is perhaps the biggest outlier. Eccleston only played the Ninth Doctor for one season, totaling 13 episodes. Despite Gatwa’s number of appearances looking far better than Eccleston’s at a glance,Gatwa only led five more episodes than Eccleston. This is all in spite of the fact that Gatwa led a full season more than Eccleston, as well as two specials. Gatwa’s seasons only having 8 episodes each is a major part of this statistical quirk.
While most of the other modern Doctors had lifespans that ranged from a few years to centuries long, Nine and Fifteen appear to both have been in existence for less than a year each.
So, while most of the other modern Doctors had lifespans that ranged from a few years to centuries long,Nine and Fifteen appear to both have been in existence for less than a year each, as Nine seems to debut immediately after the regeneration of John Hurt’s War Doctor in 2013’s “The Day of the Doctor,” stepping out of the TARDIS as a new man inDoctor Whoseason 1, episode 1, “Rose.”
