Adric is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...

played by

Matthew Waterhouse Matthew Waterhouse (born 19 December 1961) is an English actor and writer. From 1980 to 1982 he played the role of Adric in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Early life Waterhouse was born in Hertford, but brought up ...

in the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

''. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A companion of the Fourth and

Fifth Doctor The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...

s, he was a regular in the programme from 1980 to 1982 and appeared in 11 stories (40 episodes). The name Adric is an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

derived from

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

-winning physicist

Paul Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the Univer ...

Character history

Adric first appears in the Fourth Doctor serial '' Full Circle''. Attempting to escape from the mistfall threatening his community, he stumbles across and finds refuge in the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...

, which has been drawn into E-Space via a

wormhole A wormhole ( Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate ...

-like phenomenon known as a Charged Vacuum Emboitment. He stows away when the Doctor, Romana and K-9 Mark II leave Alzarius and becomes a companion in the following serial, ''

State of Decay ''State of Decay'' is a series of third-person survival horror video games. The series was created by Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. To date, there are two installments in the franchise, and an upcoming third game. Common game ...

'', accompanying them on the rest of their adventures in E-Space. He remains with the Doctor when Romana and K-9 leave and the TARDIS finds its way back into its own universe. With a brilliant mathematical mind and wearing a star-shaped badge for mathematical excellence, Adric is well aware of his own intelligence. This, coupled with his relative immaturity, leads to a personality that is abrasive and occasionally crosses over into arrogance. As a result, Adric is one of the least popular, or even "most hated", of the Doctor's companions among fans of the programme. However, Adric also seeks validation from the Doctor and those around him, and is often hurt and resentful if he feels he is being sidelined or unable to contribute. As an Alzarian, Adric is a member of a highly adaptable species, theoretically capable of genetically evolving to suit any environment, although it is unknown whether his particular substrain is capable of this. It is known that he possesses an inhumanly rapid rate of healing, though not to the extent he can regenerate amputated body parts. Adric is present when, during the events of '' Logopolis'', the Fourth Doctor falls from the Pharos Project

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...

and regenerates into his fifth incarnation. He continues to travel in the TARDIS along with new companions Nyssa and

Tegan Tegan is a given name of Welsh origin. It is a diminutive of the Welsh word ''teg'' ('fair') and means 'darling', 'loved one', or 'favourite', and is the normal Welsh word for 'toy'. People with the name Notable people with the first name Tegan ...

, but his travels come to an end in ''

Earthshock ''Earthshock'' is the sixth serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1982. This serial marks the final regular appe ...

'' when he tries to stop a

Cyberman The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...

-controlled freighter from crashing into Earth. The navigational controls are locked by logic codes, and Adric is entering the solution to the last code when the computer is destroyed by a dying Cyberman. He dies in the crash, while his crewmates watch in horror on the TARDIS viewscreen. His last words before the explosion kills him are "Now I'll never know if I was right." Adric dies not knowing that the freighter he was trying to stop would become the "meteor" that would wipe out the dinosaurs and lead to the rise of mammals and eventually humans (see

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event (also known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction) was a sudden mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth, approximately 66 million years ago. With the ...

and

Alvarez hypothesis The Alvarez hypothesis posits that the Extinction event, mass extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and many other living things during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event was caused by the Impact event, impact of a large asteroid on the ...

). Adric's death affects his companions deeply. In ''

Time-Flight ''Time-Flight'' is the seventh and final serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 22 to 30 March 1982. The serial is set at the ...

'', Tegan tries to persuade the Doctor to go back in time and save him, but the Doctor refuses to break the Laws of Time, even though it obviously pains him. In an effort to stop Nyssa and Tegan from travelling further, the Xeraphin try to use an illusion of Adric, pleading that if they travelled further they would kill him. They see through the deception when they realise Adric is still wearing his badge (which the Doctor had destroyed in order to kill the Cyber Leader) and travel forth, giving Adric another illusory death scene. Adric also appears as a hallucination at the end of ''

The Caves of Androzani ''The Caves of Androzani'' is the sixth serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 to 16 March 1984. In the serial, the Doctor ...

'', and his name is the last word that the Fifth Doctor says before regenerating into the

Sixth Doctor The Sixth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Colin Baker. Although his televisual time on the series was comparatively brief and turbulent, Ba ...

. Decades later, in ''

The Power of the Doctor "The Power of the Doctor" is the third and final of the 2022 specials of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', and was broadcast on BBC One on 23 October 2022. The episode was ordered for the occasion of the 100th anni ...

'', Tegan works to help UNIT fight back an invasion of Cybermen. An artificial intelligence projection of the

Thirteenth Doctor The Thirteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the fictional protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme, ''Doctor Who''. She is portrayed by English actress Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character, sta ...

appears before assuming the form of the Fifth Doctor. The two reconcile, with the Doctor assuring Tegan he has not forgotten about any of his companions. Tegan asks what the Doctor thinks is on her mind when surrounded by Cybermen. "Adric," the Doctor responds.

Appearances in other media

Adric's sole appearance in the

Virgin Missing Adventures The ''Virgin Missing Adventures'' were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which had been cancelled in 1989, featuring stories set between televised episodes of the pro ...

range was in the

Lance Parkin Lance Parkin is a British author. He is best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular '' Doctor Who'' (and spin-offs including the Virgin New Adventures and Faction Paradox) and as a storyliner on ''Emmerd ...

novel ''

Cold Fusion Cold fusion is a hypothesized type of nuclear reaction that would occur at, or near, room temperature. It would contrast starkly with the "hot" fusion that is known to take place naturally within stars and artificially in hydrogen bombs and p ...

'', during which he meets the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...

, who treats Adric warmly despite the future Doctor's distaste for his past self, with the Seventh's companion Roz comparing the Doctor's interaction with Adric to a grandfather complimenting a grandson. Adric also appears in the

Past Doctor Adventures The ''Past Doctor Adventures'' (sometimes known by the abbreviation ''PDA'' or ''PDAs'') were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and published under the BBC Books imprin ...

novel ''

Divided Loyalties Divided Loyalties may refer to: * ''Divided Loyalties'' (film), a 1990 Canadian television film *" Divided Loyalties", a 1995 episode of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' * ''Divided Loyalties'' (novel), a 1999 novel in the Do ...

'', which pits the Doctor against his old foe the

Celestial Toymaker The Celestial Toymaker is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series, '' Doctor Who''. He was played by Michael Gough, and featured in the 1966 story ''The Celestial Toymaker'' by Brian Hayles. Characte ...

. Adric's image also appears as a manifestation of the Doctor's guilt in the

Virgin New Adventures The ''Virgin New Adventures'' (NA series, or NAs) are a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. They continued the story of the Doctor from the point at which the televisio ...

novel '' Timewyrm: Revelation'' by

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. As well as ''Docto ...

, and a ghost of Adric features in the novel '' Empire of Death'' by David Bishop. Adric appears in the

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

audio drama '' The Boy That Time Forgot'', portrayed by

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor and writer. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Sp ...

. In the story, he is unintentionally saved by Block Transfer Computations subconsciously sent to him by the Doctor during a 'seance'; this caused him to be sent into a

pocket dimension A pocket universe or bubble universe, also colloquially called pocket dimension is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. Description It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inf ...

, based on an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

jungle and populated primarily by giant scorpions and insects. Kept alive for centuries by the computations, Adric is eventually reunited with the Doctor and Nyssa when they seek the TARDIS after its theft by Thomas Brewster ("''

The Haunting of Thomas Brewster ''The Haunting of Thomas Brewster'' is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Plot In Victorian London, Thomas Brewster is haunted by his dead mother, as well as ...

''"). Driven insane by centuries of isolation and bitterness, Adric refuses to accept the Doctor's opinion that he is now essentially just an elderly teenager having tantrums when he doesn't get his way, and attempts to force Nyssa to become his bride. The Doctor admits that he permitted Adric to die, only for Adric to forgive him and use the last of his strength to send his friends home and recover the TARDIS, before dying himself. In the

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

comic '' Doctor Who: The Forgotten'' by

Tony Lee Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

, a manifestation of Adric appears in the TARDIS Matrix, saving the Tenth Doctor's life and, in the process, dying a second time. This time, however, Adric is aware of his sacrifice, stating that "it's not a pointless death".

Other mentions

A vision of Adric is seen, along with every other companion aside from Leela, on the scanner screen in ''

Resurrection of the Daleks ''Resurrection of the Daleks'' is the fourth serial of the 21st season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 between 8 February and 15 February 1984. The serial ...

''. Adric's death is discussed between an older Tegan and a hologram projection of the Fifth Doctor in "

" after the former is reunited with the Cybermen.

Concept and creation

Unimpressed by Waterhouse's acting ability, Tom Baker suggested that, "Because of his amazing appearance, Matthew should have played Adric like Sabu – a little wild boy who couldn't speak. I would talk to him rather like

Basil Fawlty Basil Fawlty is the main character of the 1970s British sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'', played by John Cleese. The proprietor of the hotel Fawlty Towers, he is a cynical and misanthropic snob, desperate to belong to a higher social class. His attempts ...

talks to Manuel, and he'd just nod or shake his head. But John athan-Turnerdidn't like that idea."

, who played Manuel, would later portray Adric in a single story for Big Finish Productions.

List of appearances

Television

;Season 18 *'' Full Circle'' *''

'' *''

Warriors' Gate ''Warriors' Gate'' is the fifth serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was written by Stephen Gallagher and was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 3 to 24 January 1981. The ...

'' *''

The Keeper of Traken ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' *'' Logopolis'' ;Season 19 *'' Castrovalva'' *''

Four to Doomsday ''Four to Doomsday'' is the second serial of the 19th season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 18 to 26 January 1982. The serial is set almost enti ...

'' *''

Kinda Kinda or Kindah may refer to: Politics and society *Kinda (tribe), an ancient and medieval Arab tribe *Kingdom of Kinda, a tribal kingdom in north and central Arabia in – Places * Kinda, Idlib, Syria * Kinda Hundred, a hundred in Sweden * Kinda ...

'' *'' The Visitation'' *'' Black Orchid'' *''

'' *''

'' (illusion in episode 2) ;Season 21 *''

'' (illusion in episode 4)

Audio dramas

; Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures *'' The Boy That Time Forgot'' (played by Andrew Sachs) *''The Star Men'' *''The Contingency Club'' *''Zaltys'' *''Kingdom of Lies'' *''Ghost Walk'' *''Serpent in the Silver Mask'' ; Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures *''Purgatory 12'' *''Chase the Night'' *''The Planet of Witches'' *''The Quest of the Engineer'' ; Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures *''The Fifth Doctor Box Set'' **''

Psychodrome ''The Fifth Doctor Adventures'' is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the television series '' Doctor Who''. It sees the return of Peter Davison reprising his role as the Fifth Doctor. History In 1999, beginning with the stor ...

'' **''

Iterations of I ''The Fifth Doctor Adventures'' is a Big Finish Productions audio play series based on the television series ''Doctor Who''. It sees the return of Peter Davison reprising his role as the Fifth Doctor. History In 1999, beginning with the story " ...

'' *''The Lost Resort and Other Stories'' **''The Lost Resort'' *''Forty: Volume One'' **''Secrets of Telos'' **''God of War'' ; Doctor Who: Novel Adaptations *''

'' ; Doctor Who: Special Releases * ''

Destiny of the Doctor ''Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctor'' is a series of audiobooks produced by Big Finish Productions for AudioGo. They were released monthly through the first eleven months of 2013 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of United Kingdom, British te ...

: Smoke and Mirrors'' ; Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles * ''

The Darkening Eye ''The Companion Chronicles'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish, detailing adventures usually featuring the Doctor, as told by various former companions of his, with only one further voice actor taking part in the narration. It b ...

'' (narrated by Nyssa) * ''

The Invasion of E-Space ''The Companion Chronicles'' is a sci-fi audio series produced by Big Finish, detailing adventures usually featuring the Doctor, as told by various former companions of his, with only one further voice actor taking part in the narration. It b ...

'' (narrated by Romana II) ; Doctor Who: Short Trips *''The Toy'' *''A Full Life'' *''The Ingenious Adric of Alzarius'' *''Erasure'' *''Messages from the Dead'' ; Doctor Who: The Audio Novels *''Watchers''

Novels

;

*''

'' by

;

*''

'' by

Gary Russell Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs in other media. As an a ...

Short stories

*" A Boy's Tale" by Gary Russell ('' Short Trips: Companions'') *"Hearts of Stone" by Steve Lyons (''Short Trips: Companions'') *" Ballon Debate" by Simon A Forward (''Short Trips: Companions'') *"The Immortals" by

Simon Guerrier Simon Guerrier (born June 1976) is a British science fiction author and dramatist, closely associated with the fictional universe of ''Doctor Who'' and its spinoffs. Although he has written three ''Doctor Who'' novels, for the BBC Books range, ...

('' Short Trips: Past Tense'') *"Mauritz" by Jonathan Morris ('' Short Trips: A Universe of Terrors'') *" O, Darkness" by John Binns ('' Short Trips: Steel Skies'') *" In the TARDIS: Christmas Day" by Val Douglas ('' Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury'') *"First Born" by

Lizzie Hopley Elizabeth Hopley is a British actress and writer. She has appeared in several audio plays based on the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Her first appearance was as the Eighth Doctor’s companion Gemma Griffin in ''Terror F ...

('' Short Trips: The Centenarian'') *" Planet of the Elves" by John Binns ('' Short Trips: Christmas Around the World'') *"

Indigenous Species In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

" by

Steve Hatcher The ''AVN'' (''Adult Video News'') Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995.Plague World" by Mel Powell (''Doctor Who Annual 1982'') *" On The Planet Isopterus" by Glenn Rix (''Doctor Who Annual 1983'') *"

Planet of the Dead A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...

" by Lee Sullivan and John Freeman (''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

141-142'') - although technically that is not Adric, but someone pretending to be him.

References

External links

Adric on the BBC's ''Doctor Who'' website
{{Doctor Who companions, 4, 5 Doctor Who aliens Doctor Who companions Fictional characters from parallel universes Male characters in television Television characters introduced in 1980 Fictional mathematicians Fictional characters with accelerated healing simple:Doctor Who companions#Adric