In 2020, Doctor Who’s history dramatically changed with “The Timeless Children” episode of season 12, and the controversial storyline means the Doctor’s name no longer matters. Written by then-showrunner Chris Chibnall, the episode sees the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) discover that she is not actually from the Time Lord’s home planet of Gallifrey and is instead part of an unknown species in a different universe. This reveal also included discovering an unknown number of previous regenerations that have been wiped from her memory by the mysterious organization known as the Division. Before this revelation, the Doctor was thought to be limited to 13 regenerations, beginning with William Hartnell as the original incarnation.
The Timeless Children has proved to be a controversial episode because of this surprising addition to the Whoniverse status quo. However, there’s an under-discussed consequence of the episode that actually benefits the future of Doctor Who. Before then, the name of the Doctor was thought to be the most mysterious aspect of the Time Lord’s past. In the 1979 serial The Armageddon Factor, the 4th Doctor runs into a former classmate who calls him Theta Sigma. For a while, this was assumed to be the Doctor’s name until the 1988 serial The Happiness Patrol clarified that this was a nickname during the Doctor’s time at the Prydon Academy on Gallifrey.
The Timeless Child Made The Doctor’s “Real Name” Mystery Pointless
Nothing About The Doctor’s Gallifreyan Past Matters
Since then, the Doctor has remained elusive about his real name, something that has only put pressure on any future reveal. Former showrunner Steven Moffat used the name as a powerful tool in both the Doctor’s relationships and in series arcs. When the 10th Doctor first meets his future wife River Song, it is only learning that she knows his ‘real name’ that causes him to trust her. During the events of the Time of the Doctor, the Time Lords use the name as a password to enter the universe, causing a nine-hundred-year war on the planet Trenzalore over the 11th Doctor’s refusal to say it aloud.
That’s a lot of pressure to put on the mystery, with some, including 12th Doctor actor Peter Capaldi, believing that humans would be unable to pronounce the name. But thanks to The Timeless Children, the question of the Doctor’s real name has been rendered unimportant. As the Doctor is not actually from Gallifrey, whatever name they have is just another given title. The Doctor’s real name is lost in another universe, as well as the truth of their species and home planet. The only individuals who know their real name are now much further beyond the Doctor’s reach than Gallifrey.
The Doctor Does Have A Real Name – But Not The One The Show Teased
The Doctor Chose Not To Know The Truth Of Her Past
The Doctor’s real name is a secret that they do not know the answer to themselves. The truth of the Timeless Children is revealed to the Doctor by the Master, later finding her lost memories preserved in a fob watch. The 13th Doctor also meets Tectuen, the Gallifreyan scientist who extracted the power of regeneration from them. However, neither of these know the Doctor’s name. While her experiences with the Fugitive Doctor provide her with some information about her past lives, the Doctor ultimately chooses to drop the watch into the heart of the TARDIS, deciding that she is better off without knowing the truth of her past.
This means that anytime in the show’s history when the Doctor has told someone their real name, they have been mistaken. The Doctor could never have told River Song their name as they did not know it themself. In “Journey to the Center of the TARDIS,” Clara discovers a book detailing the history of the Time War, including what is thought to be the Doctor’s name. However, as the Time Lords do not know the truthful name, the discovery is retroactively irrelevant. In Matt Smith’s era, the Order of the Silence dedicate themselves to stopping the Doctor from answering the question “Doctor Who?” Since The Timeless Children, that story arc is somewhat undermined by the fact neither they nor the Doctor actually know the answer.
Scrapping The Doctor’s “Real Name” Mystery Is One Benefit Of The Timeless Child
The Mystery Never Would Have Had A Satisfying Answer
Without “The Timeless Children,” the question of the Doctor’s name would have gone on indefinitely. It was a mystery that could never have a satisfying answer. The 12th Doctor jokes that his real name is Basil, but any reveal would have the same impact. “The Doctor” would suddenly be nothing more than a nickname, meaning that 60 years’ worth of past stories would be hampered by that knowledge. Instead of retroactively spoiling this mystery, “The Timeless Children” adds a fresher, deeper element to the Doctor’s past, as now they do not have the answer to these mysteries. It makes the title of Doctor Who not just a question that the audience has, but one the Doctor is also now asking.