10 Dark Doctor Who Facts That Are Never Spoken About
8. Why The Eighth Doctor Doesn't Wear Robes
One of the best parts of The Power of the Doctor was the lineup of familiar faces portraying the Guardians of the Edge.
Cue appearances from Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, David Bradley, and even Paul McGann.
McGann, who played the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 TV movie, makes his first appearance in a regular episode of Doctor Who here. But even then, there's something different about him, as he's the only one of these former Doctors not wearing traditional Gallifreyan robes.
The episode takes the time to point this out, as the Thirteenth Doctor questions Eight's unique wardrobe. It's an understated yet important detail, and that's because of the inferred reason why Eight differs from his fellow Doctors.
Eight was the Doctor who was present at the start of the Time War, the one who saw his people do terrible things. The one who watched many Gallifreyan citizens die. Chances are that the robes remind him of those days, which is why he doesn't want to wear them.
Interestingly, the episode's script even gave the Eighth Doctor his own body, while the other Doctors shared a body that was dressed in robes. Eight clearly wants to distance himself from the trauma of the Time War as much as possible, and it seems the original intent was to hammer home that burden even further.