New story confirms The Fugitive Doctor as the first recognisable incarnation of the Time Lord/Lady

It looks like Chris Chibnall’s legacy will live on in Doctor Who’s history and future, moving forward.

Not too long ago, after an abysmal three years on the sci-fi series, Chibnall said he doubted any of what he established on the series would stick (here) and now it seems that one of his biggest, most controversial changes will stick after all.

When Doctor Who began in November 1963 we were introduced to William Hartnell’s Doctor, who ever since has been held as the first incarnation of the Time Lord, the one who left the academy on Gallifrey and stole his own TARDIS and went out into time and space to have adventures for us all to enjoy.

Indeed, even in 2013, during the Eleventh Doctor’s [Matt Smith] run we even saw his companion Clara, the impossible girl, fall into the Doctor’s past and actually witness the theft of the TARDIS, helping the First Doctor choose which one to take:

Sure, there was a few contradictions in the show’s history, such as The Brain of Morbius which showed previous incarnations of the Doctor, however fans have pretty much disregarded this as proper canon.

The is, until Chibnall came along.

During his Timeless Child storyline, Chibnall introduced the idea that The Doctor has had many, many more incarnations that the Time Lord is unaware of and that they are, in fact, the first Time Lord, having been found under mysterious circumstances with their true origin still a mystery.

One of the previous Doctors, one we actually met a few times during Chibnall’s run, was known as The Fugitive Doctor and was played by actress Jo Martin, who, most fans agree, was pretty solid in the role, even if her story was… controversial.

With Russell T Davies returning to Doctor Who many fans hoped that the Fugitive Doctor story would be revisited and revised, perhaps making it fit in with the accepted lore or writing it out altogether but now it seems that this isn’t going to happen.

Titan Comics’ Doctor Who series will be exploring the Doctor’s origins in Doctor Who: Origins, a new book written by Jody Houser which is the story of the Fugitive Doctor and how her Doctor has lived for a billion years and, despite what was previously thought, has no limit to her regenerations and may indeed be immortal. It will likely explore the idea set up in the show, that the Timeless Child was the one whose genetics led to the creation of the Time Lords and their ability to regenerate.

Indeed, the story was set up by this year’s Free Comic Book Day release, left, which showed the Doctor’s first visit to earth, why it’s important to her, why she’s on the run and why the TARDIS becomes a Police Call Box… for the first time.

It’ll be interesting to see how Origins is accepted by the fans, and if Davies and co will acknowledge the Doctor’s new origins at any point… but, with a series as long-lived and fluid as Doctor Who, it’s not unexpected that change and inconsistency might appear along the line… it’s just really how much sense they make and if the fans can accept them – that may still remain to be seen here.