The Cosmic Hobo

Patrick Troughton (1966-1969)

"I am not a student of human nature. I am a professor of a far wider academy of which human nature is merely a part."
-The Second Doctor, The Evil of the Daleks

In 1966 the producers of Doctor Who went on a search for the perfect replacement for William Hartnell and found it in one of the best character actors at the time, Patrick Troughton. The actor was much younger than Hartnell and brought other novelties to the character of Doctor, such as different clothing, humor and he desposed of the First Doctors tetchyness and echanged it for quirkier antics. Besides his bagy clownish-like pants and 'Beatles' hairdo, Troughton's Second Doctor is also remembered for his recorder—which the actor confirmed was his own—and would be seen playing it in the times of stress.

The Second Doctor era is also considered as the golden age for the monster fans because other than his usual clashes with the Daleks and Cybermen, he also encountered the Yeti (robotic creatures controled by an alien entity), The Ice Warriors (the creatures from Mars that prefered colder climates) and other new monsters and aliens. It was during this time that he first met Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, a military man who would later become the leader of the British contingent of UNIT (United Nation’s Task Force), a military organisation tasked to investigate and defend the world from extraterrestrial threats.


Having had enough with the three seasons, Troughton departed the series in the most epic episode yet, The War Games, which consisted of ten parts and ended with the Second Doctor's regeneration and exile from Gallifrey. His era is also memorable because for the first time the Doctor is revealed to be a Time Lord, which was a race of powerful beings who found the means to control the time and would observe the Universe but never interfiered in its matters.

The Doctor didn't follow the rules and often 'meddled' in the matters of other worlds and that was the reason why he was exiled on Earth by the other conservative Time Lords. He regenereated and was left stranded on his 'favorite' planet without the parts necesary for the TARDIS to materialise.

Most of the episodes from this era sufferered the same unfortunate fate as the Hartnell ones and there are missing parts or even whole stories which were disposed of or lost by the BBC archives. Though thanks to the fan effort, the audio form was gathered and reconstructed episodes were made available to the public.

Episode titles featuring the Second Doctor are as follows:


Season Four (1966-1967)

-The Power of the Daleks
-The Highlanders
-The Underwter Menace
The Moonbase
-The Macra Terror
-The Faceless Ones
-The Evil of the Daleks


Season Five (1967-1968)

-The Tomb of the Cybermen
-The Abominable Snowmen
-The Ice Warriors
-The Enemy of the World
-The Web of Fear
-Fury From the Deep
-The Wheel in Space


Season Six (1968-1969)

-The Dominators
-The Mind Robber
-The Invasion
-The Krotons
-The Seeds of Death
-The Space Pirates
-The War Games

“Jamie, Jamie hold on!”

-The Second Doctor’s final words before regeneration, the War Games.