WHAT: Stories like these bring joy to every fanboy's heart. The Doctor has met his previous incarnations, usually in times of great world-changing disasters, or occasionally whenever the Doctor feels like flouting the rules of time. Stories such as The Two, Three, Four, Five, and Eight Doctors, the audio drama The Light at the End, shorts such as Time Crash and TV movies such as The Day of the Doctor, allows the interactions of multiple facets of the same man, with hilarious and amazing results. So far, every Doctor has, in one form or another, been the leading man in a multi-Doctor adventure and multiple companions from different eras. All, that is, except the poor Ninth Doctor. He has appeared as supporting character in many adventures of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor, both in person, drawn from the TARDIS memory banks, or within the Doctor's mindscape, but he has never really been the one who takes centre stage in vanquishing the enemy with the Doctors at his side. HOW: The 50th anniversary comic, Prisoners of Time, is probably the closest one might get to the Ninth Doctor's multi-Doctor adventure. To summarise, an unknown cloaked figure had been kidnapping all the Doctor's past companions and removing them from the time stream. The finally meets him in his Ninth incarnation - he is Adam (remember the guy with the hole in his head when fingers are snapped?) and taking his revenge on the Doctor for leaving him behind without a second chance. He grew old, afraid of people finding his 'disability', and turned his intelligence, technology and resources to uncovering Henry van Statten's vault, capturing a Time Agent and using his vortex manipulator to do all this, with the help of the Master and an army of Autons. The Doctor gathers all his other incarnations and try to stop them, while the Master double-crosses Adam and announces his intention to destroy all the Doctors and time itself. Adam, finally realising how far he went, surrendered to the Doctors, and with words from the Ninth Doctor ("You said I misjudged you. Prove me wrong."), he sacrificed his life to save them all. The story ends with all the Doctors and companions standing over Adam's grave, with the knowledge that his selfless act saved the universe and that in the end, he really was a companion true. SO: By far a thrilling and tremendous story, Prisoners of Time explores a theme common to the latter seasons of NuWho - what consequences do the Doctor's actions have upon the people around him? Does he save people from harm or does he bring the evil with him and the hounds of hell on his heels? The Ninth Doctor's act of abandoning Adam led to all these events occurring but as Rose said, "He lets us make a difference". And that was the Ninth Doctor, ultimately. Troubled, violent and often suffering from PTSD, still warlike and blunt in his nature - but still, at his heart, a good man, who is willing to protect those he cares about, no matter what the cost. A man who battles against evil and yet refuses to become part of that evil himself. With him and his companions by his side, he was, in the end, fantastic. What did you think of this list? Are there any other little known adventures that the Ninth Doctor embarked on? Join the conversation in the comments section below.
