Favorite revival era Doctor Who?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The second era of Doctor Who appears to be at an end, with the 2026 Christmas special cancelled and the BBC putting out the call for new production companies to pitch them on how they'd handle the Doctor. Even if BBC signed a new deal tomorrow, which they won't, it'll be years before we see a new Doctor again.

So, looking back, which Doctor from 2005 through 2025 was your favorite?

 

[dbolack]

I don't think I have a favorite, but I do have some preferences as to who I'd like to see do more work.

 

[Riley]

Favorite Doctor: Chris Eccleston.
Favorite Season: Matt Smith’s first season.

 

[overgeeked]

My answer is yes.

 

[VashVet]

Such a tough pick - today it’s Tennant. Tomorrow it might be Smith or Capaldi. Who knows? It’s kind of a nice problem to have so many great choices.

 

[aco175]

I started watching again with Tennant and liked the show. Smith had good plots and such but I found him a bet meh. I fell off after Capaldi. I felt the show was trying too hard and not hitting the mark.

 

[Tonguez]

Tennant, he's in my top 3 Doctors ever alongside Tom Baker and Patrick Troughton.

Capaldi and Eccleston come next tier down

 

[delericho]

I'm not sure that's an entirely fair question, because I don't think there's ever been a poor actor playing the Doctor, only actors given better or weaker material to work with. For that reason, my vote goes to Tennant's first outing, with Smith a close second.

(Whittaker was sadly let down by the material she was given, and Gatwa was absolutely brilliant right up until "Space Babies". Tennant's second outing starts with one of the worst episodes I've seen, followed by one that was actually very good, and finished with one that was a very mixed bag.)

 

[Morrus]

Capaldi. His first season was a grumpy misstep but then they rewrite his character for the next two and he was brilliant. Fast became my favourite Doctor.

 

[Vael]

I'm not sure that's an entirely fair question, because I don't think there's ever been a poor actor playing the Doctor, only actors given better or weaker material to work with. For that reason, my vote goes to Tennant's first outing, with Smith a close second.

(Whittaker was sadly let down by the material she was given, and Gatwa was absolutely brilliant right up until "Space Babies". Tennant's second outing starts with one of the worst episodes I've seen, followed by one that was actually very good, and finished with one that was a very mixed bag.)

This. Each Doctor was brilliant, but some were let down by just bad writing. Gatwa and Whittaker, in particular, deserved so much better.

I did say Smith, because I felt he was the best at taking some mediocre writing and making it shine.