Favourite Dr Who.

[WizarDru]

Favorite Doctor? Tough call, that. Each had his appeals.

My 'desert island doctor' is Tom Baker. Some of the greatest episodes ever were Tom Baker episodes. I mean "Ark in Space", "Pyramids of Mars", "Talons of Weng-Chiang", "The Mask of Mandrogra" and the list goes on and on. Sure, there were some real duds along the 8 years of T.B.'s run...but there were some fantastic works, too. He was my first doctor, and still probably favorite.

Poorly served doctors: Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. Colin Baker's doctor was served with some of the worst scripts in the series, short of poor Slyvester McCoy, who get the best budget but often worst scripts of the show's run. McCoy's doctor started out comical, like Patrick Troughton's character, but soon turned darker. My favorite moments are the Brigadier holding a gun to Mordred's head in "Battlefield", and the introduction of the Special Weapons Dalek. They don't make up for episodes like "Ghost Light" or "Delta and the Bannermen" or "The Happiness Patrol", though. If anything actually could.

Troughton and Pertwee were two of the most fun Doctors. Troughton's episodes often bordered on the outright ridiculous, but his charisma carried them through. Like Hartnell, his show was often very consciously a 'kids show'. Pertwee introduced color into the mix, and much bigger production values. The introduction of UNIT and the Brigadier took Doctor Who to a whole new playing field, and Pertwee, in many ways, formulated what the doctor would be from then on. He was a younger, more physical doctor, willing to go head-on into danger if need be (and let's not forget his formidable 'venusian judo', was it?).

Peter Davison had some interesting episodes, sometimes good, and sometimes really jumbled. The youngest doctor, or at leas the youngest looking, he brought a different quality to the doctor...and also is the only doctor to have a story that, if you discount the Tardis, had absolutely no SF or fantasy elements in it. He also had one of the best departures of any doctor in the "Caves of Androzanni" (sp?).

Hartnell has never been one I've been thrilled with, because that was a different show for a different time. That was back when it was a kid's history show, primarily, with a few SF elements. Paul McGann had potential, but has little more claim to the legacy than Lee does, IMHO.

I have seen neither Lee nor Ecclestone, yet...but I have hopes for Ecclestone's performance and the new series. We'll see.

 

[Krieg]

I thought that was part of the character. Tom Bakers Doctor was reemphasizing the 'Alieness' of the Doctor (just as Pertwee had emphasized his humanity).

That was the impression I always got as well, one of the reasons I really liked his portrayal was that he always came across as being "different". There was always something about him that just wasn't quite right...and to me that was part of his brilliance.

 

[Ferret]

I can't put names on them, I just remember a voice. And I think the current assistant was polly, although I can't be sure. And I think (not sure also) there was a scarf....

 

[Odysseus]

Doctor Who

Hartnell. My parents tell me i was clued to the TV, so it must of been pretty good.
Troughton. The cyber-man on black&white TV, we're really scary. As I remember I liked the program but not the doctor so much.
Pertwee. Some very good episodes, especially with the master.
Tom Baker. My favourite doctor. It takes a good actor to threaten some one with a jelly baby, and make it sound real
Davidson. My least favourite doctor. Very lightweigh and unimposing. There we're some good episodes. But from the end of the baker era onwards the scripts and the effects budget we're struggling.
Colin Baker. He did ok, in difficult circumstances.
McCoy. Had crappy scripts, and effect, like davidson, McCoy was a little lightweight. Had the best assistant Ace. Anybody that beat the crap out of a dalek with a baseball bat is cool.
McGann. Like McCoy and Davidson, I think hes a little lightweight and unimposing for the role.
Eccleson. Good so far. He's more imposing , which I like. Shame he's only doing one season.

Who would you like to take over in the next season?

 

[jester47]

It is interesting that the thing that determines my favorite doctor is not the actor but rather the stories. Davison is my favorite because the stories typically were very mysterious, and sort of surreal. And he had the celery. I really liked Mardwyn Undead as an episode (especially with the Brigadeer) and the whole struggle Turlogh had with the Black Gaurdian. That was the episode that got me hooked. Stones of Blood is a good one too. I liked early Pertwee more than I liked late Pertwee, mainly because the master stories were really good. McCoy was interesting. I liked how it seemed all fun and games then it got really dark. But Baker holds the cake as Dr. Who character wise. Also Davison was the era where the effects started to look better. At least the costumes looked better. I liked the Earthshock style cybermen the best.

You also forgot the Valyard as an incarnation of the Doctor!

Aaron.

 

[jester47]

I just did some counting. Pertwee and Tom Baker aside, the other doctors have on average 13 episodes. Colin Baker has the least, while I think McCoy had 15. So Eccelston is running with the rest of the pack on an episode count basis.

Aaron.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I'll mention the reason why I placed Tom Baker so low in my personal list.

I grew to really dislike the way that he was scripted increasingly as a lucky buffoon. It seemed that the robot dog (K-9 - where is the rolleyes when I really need them?) or the timelord companion Romana were providing all the clever solutions to the problems and Baker was just 'there' in a dramatic reversal of the Dr Who / assistant role.

Whatever his other failings, Peter Davidson brought back a competency to the Doctor which I felt had become very lacking in the later Tom Baker shows.

n.b. best assistant (from a teenagers point of view) had to be Tom Bakers Leela. Yow.

Best exit of assistant was Adric... I found the end of that episode very moving, especially since they ran the end credits without music. I'd like to see that story again but can't remember what it was called.

Cheers

 

[John Cooper]

"Earthshock" is the episode you're looking for, Plane Sailing.

 

[evildmguy]

I have been involved with this question through the years so often but it is still fun to answer!

I have no favorite. They were all good and sometimes bad, in their own way. And I liked them all.

What I have liked is the trend for Dr. Who to finally catch up to the times. Not in F/X, but in the implementation of the stories. Until Colin Baker, there was always a dumbing down aspect to it because it was considered a kid's show. I like where the McCoy, McGann and Eccleston stories were/are headed, which is more cerebral and treating the audience, even kids, as if they are more mature. That's just me, though.

(Yes, not all of them, such as the Candyman, etc. But the overall trend is there, imo.)

Good topic!

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

 

[Rackhir]

Tom Baker was the first Doctor I saw and probably always will be my favorite since he's the one I "imprinted" on. His charisma was amazing and he simply has that certain something which enables an actor or person to take something from the stupid to the fascinating. It's sort of like with Kirk. For all the Shatner gets beat up for overacting, Kirk wouldn't be Kirk and wouldn't be the character we all know and love without that. It just fits, it just works for that character.

Leela of course my favorite companion as well, but mainly because she was the most independent and capable of his companions. Unlike Romana or some of the others, she didn't try to eclipse the Doctor, because she handled the physical stuff, which was never the Doctor's forte. She spent more time saving the Doctor's ass than he spent saving her's. Sarah is the companion I despised the most. For a supposedly modern and "independent" woman, she spent most of her time wimpering, whining and waiting to be rescued.

"Leela you can't just go around killing people with Jenga thorns"
"Why not Doctor? He was going to kill you?"
"Hmmm. Good point."

Davidson (Peter) I would agree with whom ever said he seemed lightweight and unimposing. There was a certain blandness to his character and that he had some of the most annoying companions (I'm looking at you Teegan and what's his name working for the black guardian).

Colin Baker seemed to be obnoxious and irritating. Though I never saw a great deal of his episodes.

Sylvester McCoy seemed potentially intersting, but I just wasn't interested enough to make an effort to catch his episodes.

Pertwee I enjoyed the second most, but he had some of the most interesting villians and best companions. Jo Grant was my second most favorite companion. She had a lot of spunk and actually went and did effective things to help beat the villians on her own initiative. Not to mention that she spent very little time screaming for help and playing the helpless woman. I can't stand characters like that.

Troughton and Hartnell, I've never seen enough of to really have an opinion.

McGann, I didn't really care about. What really ruined the american Dr. Who for me was the abomination pretending to be The Master and what was done to him by the plot. I can't stand Eric Roberts to this day because of his, his,,, what he did to his character. It is one of the few things I really wish I could simply erase from my memories. I hate it that much. Not that the Master was my favorite villian, but he didn't deserve what was done to him.