The fact that humans are pretty much entirely identical in appearance to Time Lords seems worth noting here – but AFAIK that’s never really been addressed either.
In “The Beast Below” he tells Amy that she looks like a Time Lord, but they came first. It’s suggested that he, as the last of the TL, kind of misses them, so hangs out with humans partially because the shape is right.
Doesnt the Doctor (at least the modern one, I don’t recall the details of the old one well) often go on and on about how great humans are? How curious/brave/crazy/principled/clever/smart/willing to fight to the end or fight against all odds we all are? Of course, he also often thinks we come up short, but he seems to love our character and our potential.
I get the impression that he loves humans because we are most like him in spirit, not that we happen to look like him physically.
In the recent series both humans/human society and the Doctor often show IMO a range and depth of character. Most other species seem to be rather one noteish by comparision. YTMMV.
Yeah, but he also calls us apes and such. He’s not all that impressed.
Only when he gets *really *angry at us. Rose changing history and creating a dangerous paradox, that did it. Usually he wouldn’t.
Nah, what about when he found out they’d shanghaied a space whale and then repeatedly chose to forget about it. That pissed him orf.
And in the first serial of the original Doctor, it was cavemen.
Maybe it’s because humans bare an uncanny resemblance to Time Lords. The Doctor keeps coming back to earth because we’re not so repulsively ugly in his eyes (although we are rather backwards, compared to a lot of other aliens). It’s kind of like the way we’re fascinated with monkeys, and not so much weevils.
The aliens might also be interested in the earth for the same reason. Hey, these humans look kind of like time lords, in the same way the original Daleks looked like time lords (before Davros started his genetic experiments). So maybe there’s something about looking this way that bares keeping an eye on. That’s certainly born out when you consider the galactic empire that was the focus of the early Tom Baker era (starting with The Arc In Space).
I have nothing to back this up though, so I’ll stop before I venture too far into the realm of fandom wank.
Other species that bear a near-identical (superficial) resemblance to Gallifreyans and humans… (An only partial list combining my own memory and looking through the species list at the Doctor Who wiki for ones who look human.)
Kaleds (pre-Daleks)
Thals (enemy of the Kaleds, also native to Skaro)
Mondasians (pre-Cybermen)
Trakenites
Alzarians
Anethans
Atrions
Skonnans
Didonians
Drahvins
Dulcians
Gaztaks
Gonds
Karfelons
Kinda
Leviathans
Logopolitans
Manusans
Marinusians
Minyans (Who are biologically more like Gallifreyans than we are.)
Morestrans
Moroks
Xerons
Peladonians
Ribosians
Tigellians
Trions
Vardans
So, our physical resemblance to Gallifreyans is…not a major factor.
I have toyed with the notion that it goes beyond that, and that even aliens who aren’t actually looking for The Doctor are drawn there by his presence…or more precisely, by the TARDIS. It’s a freakishly powerful device that travels through space and time by means known only to the Time Lords, and it’s been malfunctioning (or mishandled) to one extent or another for centuries, at least. Who knows what kind of traces it leaves for curious (or acquisitive) aliens to follow? For that matter, it might distort history simply by its passage through the vortex.
There’s a rift in time and space in Cardiff, so that would attract aliens to the UK mainland. It’s also a handy Tardis recharger.
Indeed. This was confirmed last week when the doctor gets a chance to converse with the Tardis’ consciousness:
The Doctor: You didn’t always take me where I wanted to go.
Idris: No, but I always took you where you needed to go.
–The Doctor’s Wife (Season 6, Episode 4)
Fantastic episode BTW and written by Neil Gaiman.
I thought this was for much the same reason that whenever (say) Jessica Fletcher goes somewhere, there is bound to be murder there.
Well, to be clear, there were not always murders when Jessica visited someplace. Sometimes, nobody died at all.
Earth is the only planet with gravel quarries.