Favorite Doctor from Doctor Who

horacethegrey · Sep 6, 2012

Thought it was high time to start new thread like this. Matt Smith has now had two seasons as the Doctor and his third season is now underway, so perhaps now's as good as time as any to see how he ranks among those who came before him.

Take note that this doesn't have to be about ranking the Doctors alone. You can also post your favorite stories from each and share your fave companions.

And now, my ranking of the Doctors 1-11:

1) Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) - Still the longest, still the best. I don't think any actor who takes on the role of the Doctor will ever escape the shadow of Tom Baker's scarfed bohemian.
2) Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) - The best of NuWho. Aside from being the youngest, Smith's take is probably the most eccentric, right up there with Tom Baker.
3) Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) - A delight. His impish and whimsical take on the character was a breath of fresh air in comparison to William Hartnell's grumpy old man.
4) Eighth Doctor (Paul Mcgann) - Criminally underrated. It's a shame he only got one go at it. But the audio dramas show what a great Doctor he could have been had he been given more airtime.
5) Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) - Like Mcgann, his brief time with the part was unfortunate. His intense performance really helped in bringing back the series, and I would have liked to have seen more of it.
6) Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) - The Time Lord James Bond. Pertwee was the first Doctor to become an action hero.
7) Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) - David Tennant is a very good actor, so it's a shame to see him play a part that got worse as time went on. I did like his Doctor initially, but by his run's end he had become an egotistical and self righteous prick. I was more than happy to see him go.
8) First Doctor (William Hartnell) - He gets props for being the first, but he's not as fun as his successors.
9) Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) - A little too silly and scheming for my taste.
10) Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) - A lot rate him highly. I don't see why though. He's too much of a pacifist and a wet blanket for me to take him seriously.
11) Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) - The less said, the better.

Cor Azer · Sep 6, 2012

I've not seen enough of older Dr Who to do a complete ranking, but of the most recent Doctors, the Tenth is my favorite, followed by the Eleventh, and then the Ninth.

Morrus · Sep 6, 2012

10, 4, 3, 11, 9, 5, 8, 2, 1, 7, 6

I think.

delericho · Sep 6, 2012

Thinking about it, I'm actually quite surprised by both my #1 and #2 picks. But I never saw the first three Doctors in action, and barely saw the end of Tom Baker's run. 'My' Doctor, therefore, was Peter Davison. That being the case:

1) Tennant. Yes, by the end it was past time for him to go, but to a large extent that was down to the writing.
2) Davison.
3) Ecclestone.

4) Smith. He was excellent in his first series, and he's had the best Christmas specials so far, but he's a little too manic for my taste. If you look at the first "Pond Life" webisode, you'll see exactly what I don't care for in his character. That said, that's mostly down to the writing.

6) Colin Baker. He was really hurt by bad writing, but "Revelation of the Daleks" is a great story.

5) McCoy. Another Doctor hampered by bad writing, and especially by the fact that the show was seriously failing by the time he took the reins. Indeed, I've only ever seen about half of his work, due to bad scheduling by the BBC. But I have no great interest in seeking out the rest... and probably wouldn't bother even if it was free.

7) Paul McGann. I haven't heard the audio dramas, so all I see is a good Doctor in a really bad TV special. I have little doubt he could have made the role his own, but as things stand even Colin Baker has more "good stuff".

Almost the only Tom Baker story I can recall is "Genesis of the Daleks", which is also probably the single best Doctor Who story I know. So I daresay he would be very high on the list if I had seen more of his work.

The only experience I have of the first Doctor is "Dalek Invasion of Earth" on DVD, which was interesting but which I probably came to a bit late - compared with some of the later stuff it's rather dated, and it also has to fight my memories of the Peter Cushing movies, which I enjoyed a great deal as a child.

The only experience I have of the 2nd and 3rd Doctor (and a stand-in 1st Doctor) is in "The Five Doctors", which I enjoyed, but can't really draw many conclusions from. (Although, now that I think about it, the 2nd Doctor also appeared alongside Colin Baker in the awful "The Two Doctors"...)

Asmo · Sep 6, 2012

Perhaps I´m alone, but I must admit that I´ve not seen any incarnation of Dr Who whatsoever.

Asmo

Morrus · Sep 6, 2012

Asmo said:
Perhaps I´m alone, but I must admit that I´ve not seen any incarnation of Dr Who whatsoever.

We demand the return of your Geek Card.

Cor Azer · Sep 6, 2012

Morrus said:
We demand the return of your Geek Card.

But if he flashes psychic paper, we may think his Geek Card still valid!

Umbran · Sep 6, 2012

Asmo said:
Perhaps I´m alone, but I must admit that I´ve not seen any incarnation of Dr Who whatsoever.

You aren't alone. My wife has seen precisely one episode. Moreover, she has no desire to see them, other than for cultural literacy, and to get the people who joke about taking her geek card to shut the hell up, because they get really annoying.

(Sorry, Morrus!)

ggroy · Sep 6, 2012

Morrus said:
We demand the return of your Geek Card.

I burned my "geek card" a long time ago.

The ashes are at the bottom of the ocean.

Remus Lupin · Sep 6, 2012

I can only speak to the Doctors that I've seen enough of to form an opinion. There are several doctors that I never saw anything of. That said:

1. David Tennant, leaving aside the specials at the end of his run, I think he's so far the best actor who has had many of the best stories.

2. Matt Smith, definitely encapsulates the "mad man in a blue box" ethos of the show quite well.

3. Tom Baker will always have a place in my heart as MY doctor from when I was young. That said, I find most of the stuff from that era unwatchable now.

4. Christopher Eccleston. Props for recreating the Doctor, and I enjoyed his run, though in retrospect he seems too haunted and not nearly as much fun as the others. He was a very dark doctor.

5. Peter Davidson. I only saw a little of his stuff, and frankly remember feeling betrayed by the switch in actors when it happened. I was young, and he seemed too different from Baker, but in retrospect a good Doctor.

6. John Pertwee. Truthfully I need to watch much more of his stuff. I've only seen "The Three Doctors," which doesn't give me much to go on, but I definitely enjoyed him in it, more than Doctors 1 and 2 in it.

I don't feel I have enough on the others, particularly after Davidson, to offer an opinion.