Well,
that comes up on almost every ESW podcast, but in this case it was
more of a listing type of deal. We didn’t get too deep into it –
it was more of a passing comment. But right at that moment it got me
to thinking about how I would rank the eleven Doctors we have seen so
far. Not necessarily a fun task, but something that gives me a post.
So
the fact that Colin Baker has been such a wonderful ambassador for
Doctor Who over the years gains him favor. The fact that Christopher
Eccleston has (until recently, anyway) not been so positive about his
time as the Doctor kind of drops him down a bit, but the fact that
the success of the franchise was squarely on his shoulders in 2005
and he pulled it off wins him points. As stupid as this is going to
sound, the fact that Hartnell and Troughton were all black and white
hurt them a bit, even though “Tomb of the Cybermen” is one of my
favorite stories.
Also
affecting my ratings is just how much of each Doctor I’ve seen. I
have seen all of Pertwee, McGann, Eccleston, Tennant, and Smith’s
stories. I’ve seen tons
of Tom Baker, lots of Colin, a few Davisons, and a few more McCoys. I
want to see more Troughton, and to be honest I’ve seen as much
Hartnell as I care to for now (I know – go ahead and say nasty
things about me in the comments you Doctor One fans). I like
Hartnell’s Doctor, but the stories I’ve seen thus far are not
exciting.
Then
there are all of the audio productions, none of which I’ve heard.
I’m talking here about the Big Finish original stories, not the
audio releases of televised stories. I’d love to get into those at
some point, but it’s a daunting task. There are an amazing amount
to choose from and I just don’t know where to start. I think
whenever I do I’ll start with McGann just because I’d really like
to experience more of his Doctor.
Apparently
McGann is quite beloved for his performances on the audio dramas. I
totally get this because I thoroughly enjoyed him just in the FOX TV
movie and it was pretty awful. Like Sylvester McCoy before him, he
rose above his material.
So
now it’s time to piss everybody off. Nobody is going to agree with
my list and that’s okay because it’s my list. Trust me – this
thing was tough. I had to finish once I started, but it turned into
something I kind of didn’t want to do. I have always know who my
favorite three or four Doctors were, but they kind of moved around
and I never thought too much beyond that. But now I have. I was
definitely a little dismayed at my treatment of some of the Doctors,
but what are you gonna do?
11
– William Hartnell
I
know. I’m a terrible person and probably a lousy Doctor Who fan.
But If a deity showed up and told me I had to pick one Doctor whose
adventures I could never again experience it would be Hartnell. This
is not an indictment on the man or his performance as everybody’s
favorite Time Lord. But somebody had to be #11 and Hartnell does the
least to hold my interest out of all of them. I think it’s more the
production of his stories and not particularly caring for his
companions than it is anything about Hartnell.
10
– Colin Baker
As
much as I like Colin Baker as a force for Doctor Who, his Doctor is
still mostly awful. He’s off-putting, he had bad companions, and I
don’t care how you look at it his costume was a nightmare. Throw in
an awful lot of bad stories on top of that and it lands Mr. Baker in
the #10 spot. But I do still thoroughly enjoy “Trial of A Time
Lord”. Sorry – I just do.
9
– Paul McGann
McGann
is another victim of circumstance. I just haven’t been exposed to
anything other than the TV movie. But I liked him an awful lot in
that brief performance I would like to see (or hear) more.
8
– Peter Davison
This
is where things really started to get tough. I was a little surprised
at where Mr. Davison ended up. But as I catch up on his stories, I
realize I saw a lot of them when I was a kid and just don’t
remember them very well. Or Davison’s performance. There was also
the deadly grudge I held against Davison for replacing My Doctor. I
didn’t hate the guy, but I certainly wasn’t overjoyed to see him
every Saturday night. Don’t get me wrong – I am enjoying the
stories now and it’s starting to seem like Doctor Five is Lil’
Troublemaker’s favorite, but #8 is just where he ended up.
7
– Patrick Troughton
I
have only recently been exposed to any of Doctor Two’s stories, but
I love the guy. If I do this list again two years from now he might
be higher up. Each new Doctor has saved the show in his own way, but
if Patrick Troughton hadn’t been the charismatic dynamo he was
things would have turned out very differently. “Tomb of the
Cybermen” is one of my favorite Doctor
Who
stories. Partially because the Cybermen are scary as heck, but also
because it was the first Troughton story I saw and he dazzled me. I
have a stupid resistance to most black and white stuff. Now, I prefer
the B&W version of The
Mist,
Creature
From the Black Lagoon
is one of my favorite movies ever, and I really dig (Jim Jarmusch
movie). But more often than not if I see something is black and white
I am less interested in it. I essentially watched “Tomb of the
Cybermen” the first time only because we had watched all of the
other Doctor
Who
Netflix’s streaming service had to offer. And I absolutely loved
it. Troughton sold me.
6
– Christopher Eccleston
Russell
T. Davies may be the man that resurrected Doctor
Who
after a nine-year coma, but Christopher Eccleston is the man who did
all the rehab and kept it healthy and running. If people had not
connected with the man playing the new Doctor back in 2005, I
wouldn’t be writing this list today. Well, I probably would, but it
might be two entries shorter. And Eccleston doesn’t just get credit
for reviving the franchise; he was also a fascinating Doctor. Every
classic fan who tuned in was just waiting for any inconsistency with
what they knew or flaw in performance to call this new Who a fraud.
But Eccleston was wonderful right up through the end. Capable of
McCoy’s intensity and Troughton’s humor, Eccleston had the range
to pull off a universe-weary traveler who had just barely crawled out
of Hell. It’s a shame he only lasted one season, because I think he
had it in him to be one of the very best.
5
– David Tennant
Let’s
just be crass for a minute and admit that if William Hartnell,
Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison (especially
him), Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy all had a big orgy that
somehow produced a Time Lord baby it would undoubtedly be David
Tennant. In a way that was entirely original and not at all derisive,
Tennant’s Doctor was a mesmerizing mishmash of all of the classic
Doctors. Where Christopher Eccleston played a very different Doctor
than we had ever seen before, Tennant paid tribute to all
of the Doctors we had seen in a way that made his run on the show
seem like an old friend to fans and was just a fun ride for newbies.
Tennant is easily the most user-friendly Doctor out of them all. If
it weren’t for the fact that I have seen his run more than any
other Doctor and am suffering from a bit of Tennant fatigue – the
specials are great but, man are they downers – I would have had a
tougher time placing Doctor Ten in my top five.
4
– Sylvester McCoy
Out
of the Classic Doctors, McCoy is my second favorite. Which means that
for years he was
my second favorite. Up until about two years ago, as a matter of
fact. But we’ll get to that. For now I’ll just say that Sylvester
McCoy is a dazzling and mesmerizing actor that made some truly awful
stories not only watchable but engrossing. I still love where the
producers seemed to be heading with Doctor Seven and Ace. It’s a
shame we probably won’t ever find out.
3
– Jon Pertwee
Kismet!
Doctor Three is #3 on my list – through no planning on my part, I
promise you. Seeing Pertwee’s entire run as the Doctor a couple of
years ago is the first thing that bumped McCoy down a notch – at
the time to this spot. Pertwee is the James Bond of Doctors –
stylish, smooth, and about as arrogant a fella as you could meet.
Many of Pertwee’s stories went on for longer than was necessary,
but his performance was always top-notch. It took me exactly three
stories to decide that Pertwee was my second favorite Doctor.
2
– Matt Smith
And
then Matt Smith really got me. I liked him just fine when he started.
I had a bit of Tennant fatigue and was ready for a new face. There
was none of that grudge-holding that I had with Peter Davison. Doctor
Eleven won me over from the start as a worthy Doctor, but he started
to become a favorite around “The Time of Angels” and “Flesh and
Stone”. That two-parter is where I feel like Smith really stepped
into the role and started to forge his doctor. It could be said that
from the moment he confronted the Atraxi at the
end of “The Eleventh Hour” was that point, but I didn’t fully
appreciate his take until those later episodes. Everything after
those just made me like him more. While David Tennant successfully
combined basically every previous Doctor into one character, Matt
Smith has extrapolated that into a character who is aware
of those previous incarnations but not beholden to them. He is very
much his own Doctor.
1
– Tom Baker
Doctors
will come and go, but I think no matter who we see or how many
regenerations happen Tom Baker will always be my favorite. And
regardless of favoritism he will always be My Doctor because he’s
the one that hooked me. It’s funny, because as I’ve mentioned
before “The Five Doctors” was the first story I ever saw. Which
means that I saw Davison and the first three Doctors (excepting
Hartnell, but I didn’t know that at the time – I was seven) in
action before I got a significant look at Baker. He was stuck in a
time bubble the whole time.
Btu
when I found Doctor
Who
again on the local PBS station it was all teeth and curls. I’ve
written about my Saturday nights with the Doctor before, but Tom
Baker accompanied me through years of my childhood. Baker just has
this quality that is eminently watchable. I think it’s because when
you are watching Doctor Four, you’re really watching Tom Baker. And
Tom Baker is
the Doctor.
So
there you go. Say whatever you want in the comments. Give me your
list, tell me mine’s dumb; whatever. All I really wanted to do here
was have a good think about the Doctors and hopefully prompt some of
you to do the same.
Oh,
and speaking of various Doctors, be sure and come out to Titan Games
& Comics in Duluth, GA tomorrow to see The Forgotten Doctor
and the Earth Station Who Crew live and in person. The TARDIS will be
materializing at 11 AM sharp, so stop by and have your picture taken
with it and the Doctor (for a small donation to their fan project).
We’ll
be recording a live episode of Earth Station Who and looking for fans
to talk to, so come on out and say, “Howdy”.
-Phantom
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