Eighth Doctor - Personality

Personality

The Eighth Doctor encouraged those around him to seize life instead of withdrawing from it. He also seemed to enjoy giving people hints of their own futures, probably to prod them into making the right decisions. It is unclear if the eighth Doctor's knowledge of people's futures comes from historical expertise, psychic power or precognitive ability.

As with the Fifth and Eleventh Doctors, the debonair Eighth Doctor's youthful, wide-eyed enthusiasm actually hid a very old soul with perhaps a darker side. In fact, whereas the Eighth Doctor of the audio plays (voiced by McGann) and the comic strip hew closely to the television movie Doctor, the Eighth Doctor of the novels exhibited what was, at times, a much darker personality, perhaps due to the rather traumatic adventures that he underwent (Which included being trapped in an inescapable prison for three years, the apparent destruction of his TARDIS, the discovery of a Future War that would all-but-dehumanise his people, and the temporary loss of his second heart).

The Eighth Doctor also attracted controversy in the television movie, breaking the long-standing taboo against romantic involvement with his companions by kissing Grace Holloway. Fans were extremely divided on this. In the spin-off media that followed, the Eighth Doctor has often been the object of romantic interest, but has shown little to no romantic inclinations of his own.

In all his iterations, the Eighth Doctor has proven extremely prone to bouts of amnesia, a tendency apparently inspired by the plot of his sole television appearance. He also demonstrates, in his first and only televised appearance, a penchant for sleight of hand. He manages to "lift" or pickpocket various items from certain people he meets during his first adventure.