Theories for In-Universe Change

[Kibbin]

Wasn't there a scene with that, with Tom Baker and Romana possibly. He says some age and she corrects him by adding a few years onto it. That's why I've never been bothered about the doctor apparantly hitting 900 twice. The doctor cuts his hair short, wears a leather jacket, meets a pretty blonde girl and lies about his age...
http://comics.shipsinker.com/2007/03/16/doctor-who-comic-the-10-doctors-page-6/

 

[Cutter John]

Maybe at the time he was just a normal Gallifreyan who aged normally. He didn't become proper time lord with all their special 'powers' until after he'd regenerated once.

I've been convinced for a long time that The Doctor lies about his age.

He pretty much has to be. Seeing as how he's 953 all the way back in 'Time and the Rani'.
My pet theory is that its a Gallifreyan social stigma thing. When a Timelord hits a thousand he should have outgrown any interest in wandering the galaxy and having adventures and should have settled down into a life of quiet contemplation by now.

So basically the Doctor is a 40 year old sci-fi geek.

 

[The]

I figured that the reason the TARDIS was so damaged in the End of Time, was that when the Doctor Regenerated all the Radiation from the Vocci Booth came out. He'd absorbed it remember... and then out it came, destroying the Console Room in the Process. He was fine after this of course, apart from the usual Re-gen trauma. Meanwhile the TARDIS regenerated as well.

That's a perfectly valid point. And very much works within the confines of the show. Add the fact he held it off, and BOOM!

Very nice. Clear as air to me now. I can't believe I overlooked the obvious...

After they are unable to get home,

I had forgotten about this point. That's pretty much up to The Doctor having to figure out the broken Type-40 on the fly after he stole it. Thinking about it, that's the ONLY scene I would ever want to see on screen. The moment he steals his TARDIS. I totally envision the TARDIS being the "runt" of the litter they grew for the Type-40 class. Naturally, they are drawn together, as if fate demanded they need each other. The one, single, only constant in The Doctor's life. His TARDIS. The moment he makes it his own would be an epic moment to behold.

And then laughter would ensue as he tried to get it to go where he wants...

they land on Skaro. In retrospect you have to ask whether he really had no knowledge of the Daleks,

I have assumed that this was retroactively changed by either Genesis of the Daleks or The Great and Final Time War. OR...he was simply lying to his companions. I don't know. I guess I'd have to take The Time War, and let Genesis simply be the opening volley of said war.

but regardless it serves to help turn him into the crime-fighting adventurer we all come to know. Maybe it reawakens the rebellious spirit, and he remembers the reason he fled Gallifrey in the first place.

See, I always assumed it was his direct exposure to humans. The Doctor, as he was originally, was the epitome of a Time Lord as we have come to know them: brash, stubborn, selfish, paranoid, xenophobic, and arrogant. He viewed most all races as inferior. That is, until he was forced to spend time with Ian and Barbara. Remember, they were the ones always teaching him humility and humanity. As for the moral compass he possesses, I believe that is the special trait that naturally separated him from his own kind.

It always makes me think of a quote that Colin Baker said in an interview once, concerning The Doctor's morality: (para.) "The Doctor doesn't fight for good. He fights against evil. There's a difference. Things in the universe, to The Doctor, are broken. And he's the man to fix them. It may not be pretty, or perfect, or safe. But, from his point of view, it has to be right."

 

[Cutter John]

After they are unable to get home, they land on Skaro. In retrospect you have to ask whether he really had no knowledge of the Daleks, but regardless it serves to help turn him into the crime-fighting adventurer we all come to know. Maybe it reawakens the rebellious spirit, and he remembers the reason he fled Gallifrey in the first place.

I've watched that first Dalek episode a few times, and the Doctor never actually says he'd never heard of them before. Of course all he probably knew of them at that point was what he'd seen in the Timelord archives. Plus at the time he wasn't exactly fond of Ian and Barbera. They were lucky if he'd give them the time of day, much less a history of the Dalek empire.

 

[The]

^Fair point, as well...

 

[Tomalak]

He doesn't appear to recognise them though. It's quite possible that his chance landing on Skaro changes the course of Dalek history, and they decide they must try and leave their bunker.

Let's not forget that Davros decided there was no life anywhere else in the universe. The Daleks were probably assuming this was the case, until four aliens show up...

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

It's also possible that the Doctor fell asleep during Genocidal Aliens class.

I think you could probably squeeze in a few more years for each Doctor (allowing more more adventures with unseen companions, etc), but that still doesn't explain why they all died looking so much younger than Hartnell's Doctor.

Even allowing for a slower aging process, that first Doc clearly lived a LOT longer than all the rest. And I'm just wondering why.

That's assuming that the 1st Doctor wasn't already born looking like that. Perhaps, when Time Lords are born, they already just kinda look like what they're going to look like for the rest of their life until they regenerate. I mean, the only time I ever recall seeing a child Time Lord was with the flashbacks with the Master in "The Sound of Drums." And for all we know, the Master was simply a 400 year old perpetual child during his first incarnation.

I don't really think Time Lords age. To the extent that they ever have, it seems to only be a half-assed explanation for why actors like Patrick Troughton & Peter Davison look older when they return for multi-Doctor specials.

 

[Peter the Younger]

It's also possible that the Doctor fell asleep during Genocidal Aliens class.

I think you could probably squeeze in a few more years for each Doctor (allowing more more adventures with unseen companions, etc), but that still doesn't explain why they all died looking so much younger than Hartnell's Doctor.

Even allowing for a slower aging process, that first Doc clearly lived a LOT longer than all the rest. And I'm just wondering why.

That's assuming that the 1st Doctor wasn't already born looking like that. Perhaps, when Time Lords are born, they already just kinda look like what they're going to look like for the rest of their life until they regenerate. I mean, the only time I ever recall seeing a child Time Lord was with the flashbacks with the Master in "The Sound of Drums." And for all we know, the Master was simply a 400 year old perpetual child during his first incarnation.

I don't really think Time Lords age. To the extent that they ever have, it seems to only be a half-assed explanation for why actors like Patrick Troughton & Peter Davison look older when they return for multi-Doctor specials.

So, the 1st Doctor was a tiny little old man when he popped out? I think the giggle factor would be too much. In fact, I'm giggling just picturing it.

Having said that, I do think the explanation for the regenerations should take the age variances between the actors into account. Maybe the apparent age of the previous body, or the punishment it has been through at the point of death, affects how "young" you can go? not sure if that fits all the regens, though.

I often wondered if the regenerations were some sort of timelord science trick - bodies snatched out of the Infinite Temporal Flux from possible futures, DNA combinations pulled from Gallifreyans of the distant past and impregnated in the Loom by Rasilon... in other words, not a natural part of Gallifreyan biology.

 

[Awesome Possum]

It's also possible that the Doctor fell asleep during Genocidal Aliens class.

I believe it has been mentioned before that the Doctor was far from the top of his class. Also I assume that he missed the class on controlling Regenerations, given that the Master and Romana had far more control than he ever did.

I often wondered if the regenerations were some sort of timelord science trick - bodies snatched out of the Infinite Temporal Flux from possible futures, DNA combinations pulled from Gallifreyans of the distant past and impregnated in the Loom by Rasilon... in other words, not a natural part of Gallifreyan biology.

Based on some of the dialogue in The Doctor's Daughter, it doesn't seem to be a natural process. Also the Ninth Doctor describe it as a trick to cheat death. Plus the Timelords were going to give the Master another set of regenerations in the Five Doctors.

It is probably just some advanced technology they developed long ago.

 

[Starkers]

I've been convinced for a long time that The Doctor lies about his age.

Nah I just think he can't really remember, he is getting on a bit now

 

[David cgc]

It's also possible that the Doctor fell asleep during Genocidal Aliens class.

I believe it has been mentioned before that the Doctor was far from the top of his class. Also I assume that he missed the class on controlling Regenerations, given that the Master and Romana had far more control than he ever did.

I'm not sure about the Master. I mean, "younger and stronger" is probably a pretty sure thing when you're coming from an old man who likely subscribed to Edison's theory on exercise.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I've been convinced for a long time that The Doctor lies about his age.

Nah I just think he can't really remember, he is getting on a bit now

I can understand that. I have a hard time remembering my age and I'm only 27. The only way I can remember it is by doing the math in my head, since I know when I was born & I know what year it is now. But since the Doctor has a non-linear existence, he can't do that. And it's not like he's scratching off days on the TARDIS wall like some sort of prison inmate.

 

[Cyke101]

So basically the Doctor is a 40 year old sci-fi geek.

...who cosplays

 

[diankra]

I had forgotten about this point. That's pretty much up to The Doctor having to figure out the broken Type-40 on the fly after he stole it. Thinking about it, that's the ONLY scene I would ever want to see on screen. The moment he steals his TARDIS. I totally envision the TARDIS being the "runt" of the litter they grew for the Type-40 class. Naturally, they are drawn together, as if fate demanded they need each other. The one, single, only constant in The Doctor's life. His TARDIS. The moment he makes it his own would be an epic moment to behold.

I like the idea that it already was his TARDIS - in the sense of a company car. He'd used it for occasional trips away from Gallifrey on Time Lord business (as suggested by The Two Doctors), but it wasn't his to just walk off with, and on previous trips the TARDIS was pretty much working on auto-pilot.
There's a line somewhere in the memoes back in 1963 about how the Doctor's understanding of his ship is like the average driver's understanding of his car - great when working, lost when there's anything more than a basic problem.