The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in time and space in the TARDIS, frequently with companions. At the end of life, the Doctor regenerates; as a result, the physical appearance and personality of the Doctor changes. McCoy portrays the Seventh Doctor as a whimsical, thoughtful character who quickly becomes more layered, secretive, and manipulative. His first companion was Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), a computer programmer who travelled with his previous incarnation, and who is soon succeeded by troubled teenager and explosives expert Ace (Sophie Aldred), who becomes his protégée. The Seventh Doctor first appeared on TV in 1987. After the programme was cancelled at the end of 1989, the Seventh Doctor's adventures continued in novels until the late 1990s. The Seventh Doctor made an appearance at the start of the 1996 movie before the character was replaced by the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann). Overview In his first season, the Seventh Doctor started out as a comical character, engaging in dundrearyisms ("Time and tide melt the snowman," or when partner Mel is kidnapped, "A bird in the hand keeps the Doctor away"), playing the spoons, and making pratfalls, but later started to develop a darker nature. The Seventh Doctor era is noted for the cancellation of Doctor Who after 26 years. It is also noted for the Virgin New Adventures, a range of original novels published from 1992 to 1997, taking the series beyond the television serials. The Seventh Doctor's final appearance on television was in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie, where he regenerated into the Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann. A sketch of him is later seen in John Smith's A Journal of Impossible Things in the new series 2007 episode "Human Nature". Brief archive clips of the Seventh Doctor appeared as holographic representations in "The Next Doctor" (2008), "The Eleventh Hour" (2010), the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) and "Twice Upon a Time" (2017), and as flashbacks in "The Name of the Doctor" (2013). The aged Seventh Doctor also appeared in two forms in "The Power of the Doctor" (2022). Biography When the