is a ''. He is played by veteran actor
Joel Grey . Doc, while appearing at first glance to be an eccentric old man, is actually a demon with vast knowledge of the dark arts.
When
Dawn was looking for a way to bring
Her Mother back to life,
Spike takes her to Doc, who has a reputation of knowing about dark magic. While disturbed by Doc's demeanor, and the fact that she manages to get a glimpse of his short tail, she follows his advice.
Later Spike brings
Xander to Doc for more information, this time about Glory. Doc changes his demeanor and reveals he's a worshipper of the Beast, aka
Glorificus . Xander impales him with a sword in order to obtain a box with information on Glory, which Doc was trying to destroy. Doc recovers quickly, however; he reappears on the day of Glory's ritual. He easily beats Spike and begins Dawn's blood-letting.
Buffy pushes him off the tower, but the ritual is already underway.
- The common claim is that Doc died when Buffy threw him from the tower. His body, however, should lie about twenty feet from Buffy's, given the staging. It is nowhere to be seen, leading some to speculate that he recovered from the fall as easily as he recovered from the stab wound. Later in the series Spike is found to be in possession of some demon eggs he claims he was holding for a friend. The name of the eggs' seller was "The Doctor." However, considering how strained their relationship was (Doc pushing Spike off the tower and all), it seems unlikely that Doc was behind the egg operation, and more likely that Spike was "The Doctor."
Doc appears as a supporting character in the following season 5 episodes:
