Dr. Theophilus Tanner, or "Doc" as he is known, is a fictional character from the book series Deathlands. He is rescued by Ryan Cawdor and his people from the ville of Mocsin, where he was being kept captive by Jordan Teague, the ville's baron.
Dr. Tanner speaks in a very strange, Victorian way. Physically, he is very tall and skinny. His face is deeply lined and framed by long gray hair. He has perfect teeth and speaks with a deep, rich voice which commands attention. He is a doctor of philosophy, as well as having studied ichthyology. Initially he carries a Civil-war era LeMat black powder pistol capable of firing nine .36 cap and ball rounds, with a second smooth-bore barrel which fires a single .63 shotgun shell; in Cold Asylum this is replaced with a 1987 replica of the gun, chambered for .44 Magnum rounds and 18 gauge shells, respectively. Tanner also carries a "Sword-Stick", a slender Rapier concealed as a walking stick which on more than one occasion has saved the Doctor and his friends' lives. For quite some time he also carried an unidentified Webley shotgun.
Theophilus Algernon Tanner was actually born on February 14, 1868 in South Strafford, Vermont. During a time traveling experiment by scientists, he was brought one hundred years into the future, to 1998. Since he proved to be a nuisance and kept trying to escape, the scientists pushed him a further one hundred years into the future, to the Deathlands. The time travel has put a strain on his body, and his memory has partly lapsed. His knowledge of pre-apocalypse redoubts (hidden government fortresses) proves invaluable to Ryan Cawdor and his team. He possesses knowledge of several other projects besides the one which "Time Trawled" him to the deathlands time period,notably TITAN, there is a past drug induced psychotic break whenever something brings that particular project to the forefront, and Doc fails to think clearly until the moment passes or he is distracted to another subject.
Dr. Tanner was left out of the 2003 film Deathlands: Homeward Bound. His absence might be due to him being viewed as a somewhat divisive character among fans, who tended to love him or hate him.