The selection of the new Doctor has gotten me a little interested. How would you compare the various Doctors in terms of personality, style and appeal? Which is your favorite and why? What stands out for you about each of them (going back to 1963, if you’ve seen 'em all)?
#1 William Hartnell: I’ve only seen a couple episodes. He’s cranky, contrary and full of mischief.
#2 Patrick Troughton: I’ve only seen one episode, plus the meet-ups with several doctors. He plays it close-to-the-vest and only seems to be harmless.
#3 John Pertwee: I’ve seen quite a few. He takes charge, is charismatic, brash, the first doctor to take center screen.
#4 TOM BAKER: In a sense, to me he’s the only Doctor. He’s the first one I watched, and his offbeat, roundabout manner set quite a high standard for all the others. He can be serious, silly, petulant, philosophical, and all in the span of a handful of seconds. Care for a jelly baby?
#5 Peter Davison: I’ve seen all of his. He’s dull. I liked Tegan, but this is one dull doctor.
#6 Colin Baker: I’ve seen about half. He’s not dull. He’s a “devolution” and it shows; he was off-putting from the start, and I stopped watching the show because I just didn’t care for his egocentric, arrogant, pretentious manner. Peri was hot, though.
#7 Sylvester McCoy: Never saw. I’ve got the latest BBC episode recorded to watch, though.
#8 Paul McGann: I saw the movie. I enjoyed the movie, except for the bit about the Doctor having a human mother. I’m pretty sure they aren’t treating that as canon. He was okay, but not interesting enough to restart the series.
I’ve seen all of the new series, so:
#9 Christopher Eccleston: Did you know he’s from the north? I was happy for the series to come back, but he was somewhat brilliant. When I go back and watch them over, I find I like Billie Piper’s Rose better than Eccleston’s doctor. But at the time he was fine: like Tom Baker his emotions could change in a heartbeat. And the scripts and production were SO MUCH BETTER.
#10 David Tennant: My favorite of the new doctors so far, and my second fave after Tom Baker. His cosmopolitan style (molto bene) and wide range of emotions (if not facial expressions) were charming.
#11 Matt Smith: I have never warmed up to him. He does physical comedy well, but the serious bits not so much. It may be the scripts, which have veered into the FanFic category, IMHO. (Though that started with Tennant.)
#12 Peter Capaldi: Wait and see. I like Clara.
I’ve only seen the NuHu. My quick summary of them is as follows:
Eccleston: manic-depressive bruiser.
Tennant: rock star/warrior prince/egomaniac.
Smith: young man trapped in an old man’s body trapped in a young man’s body; also a bit of a jerk.
My summary, after seeing at least some episodes of each (all Classic Who eps seen after I saw all of the NuWho series):
- William Hartnell: Cranky old man. Can be charming. His episodes (at least the ones I’ve seen) are stupefyingly slow and dull. I don’t mind the character but I have a hard time watching his episodes.
- Patrick Troughton: I have a hard time getting past the “Moe” haircut, but he’s got a good sense of humor and does a good job of hiding a very good mind under the actions of a buffoon. His episodes were kind of dull too, though, sadly.
- John Pertwee: Action-hero/James Bond Doctor. Very stylish (anybody who can pull off ruffly shirts and opera capes has to be). The first Doctor (chronologically) that I really liked.
- Tom Baker: The only Doctor I really knew anything about before I became a fan. Daffy but cold, very alien. I like him a lot. He was the first one who did a really good job balancing nuttiness against cold intellect.
- Peter Davison: Bland. Too much of a “buddy” to his companions. I couldn’t stand Adric–in fact, I didn’t really like any of this era’s companions.
- Colin Baker: I actually quite liked him, and because he was arrogant and kind of unpleasant. He had his flashes of kindness, too. His companion annoyed me–she did a lousy American accent. I hated his costume, but somehow he made it work. I have a lot of respect for anybody who can make that costume work.
- Sylvester McCoy: My least favorite of all the Doctors. He reminded me of Columbo, and I didn’t like Ace. I also didn’t like his costume: too many question marks, which just seemed silly to me.
8: Paul McGann: Liked the character, hated the movie. Very attractive. The first of the “romantic” Doctors (I don’t count Peter Davison). Loved his costume. Wish we could have seen more of him. - Christopher Eccleston: He took some getting used to. I didn’t really like the “soccer hooligan” Doctor at first, but he grew on me. He brought a seriousness and anger to the role that we hadn’t seen before, and that was a good thing IMO.
- David Tennant: My favorite Doctor by far. The Oncoming Storm. I love the way he can switch between manic silliness and ice-cold seriousness in the blink of an eye. Covered a deep sadness with a funny mask. Gorgeous, love the costume, love pretty much everything about him.
- Matt Smith: I had to try a bit to warm to him because I wasn’t ready to let Tennant go, but I eventually did. Loved the “old man in a young man’s body” thing, and he did that very well. He was the most alien Doctor since Four. He too did the “shift from silly to serious” thing well, and sometimes seemed even more dangerous than Ten.
No doubt this will be an unpopular opinion, but my personal favorite Doctor is Sylvester McCoy, if only because I adore his close yet oddly sinister relationship with his companion Ace. Sometimes he’d treat her like he was an indulgent uncle, only to turn around and throw her into a terrifying, traumatic situation for no reason but to see how she’d react. I found that duality to be rather interesting. Too bad the writing only worked about half the time.
New who? Well, Tennant’s my first doctor, and he had the stronger writing, but I think Smith’s the better actor.
Almost total agreement.
I diverge from you:
#1 - I really like watching what I can find of him. Like ST:TOS, this set the whole thing up.
#2 - Saw quite a bit of him long after via VHS, Betamax, and DVDs. He was “fussy,” a bit contrarian. I like him
#3 - My first. Didn’t know it was a series when I first saw it. 1973? I by chance happened to see him again right before regeneration. I was fascinated by the concept. He really took charge with UNIT, didn’t he?
#4 - My Fave of All Time & Space. He really defines the Doctor for my generation (imho, ymmv). Odd, funny, kind, dangerous, dismissive, loyal, genius, lucky, and Oh So ALIEN! There is a reason so many of us early Whovians fixate on him. If I had only one Doctor to watch ever, knowing all the others, I choose Tom Baker.
#5 - My, he WAS boring! I like his way of dealing with outrageous situations, tho. You think he doesn’t know anything at all, but then he reveals the answer (42!) and you see how he acted toward that reveal. Peri is a goddess in looks. Her fake accent was off putting, but she could rock a halter top and shorts! See The Two Doctors for her best ep (with 6). He played a meaty role in HHGTtG
#6 - Unlike so many Whovians, I loved this one. He’s #3 on my all time list. His issue was that he played the Doctor as tho he didn’t like or remember his other selves. This really worked for me, others hate his style. YMMV. He has a unique way of speaking which also may be what many others don’t like about him.
#7 - My least fave. Poor writing was his main problem, to. Would like to see his Doc in some good plots. Was Ace one of his? I liked Ace.
#8 - Perfect actor for the character at the time, just a very poor choice of making a TV movie. In audio dramas, he comes off very likeable.
#9 - Yeay! Reboot! I like him. He had a desperate sadness buried deep, and every so often, that came to the surface.
#10 - Best of the New Who so far. My personal #2 of all. See all the things I wrote about #4 and apply it to him in a suit and tennis shoes. Funny thing is, his best ep is one he was barely in. Blink and you miss him.
#11 - Fun, but also annoying. I like his exuberance and his brooding. Bowties ARE cool. And he rode a DINOSAUR! On a SPACE SHIP!
#12 - I’m about to crap my pants, I’m so eager to see his Doctor.
My Favorite and the One Doctor against which all others are measured: Tom Baker.
For all the reasons mentioned and all the reasons every future poster (excepting perhaps a few 'Doper contrarians) will mention.
I never saw much of the previous 3 Doctors, but I like a lot of what I’ve seen of the first - his Doctor is certainly worthy of kicking off such a time-spanning franchise.
Every Doctor since Baker never got a fair shake from me, and some didn’t deserve it anyway. I should give Colin another chance.
Nu Who, I was older, and more forgiving, and willing to have an open, observant mind. Eccelston did the Doctor so well that most of you missed that he is the best Doctor - so good that he makes Baker’s doctor even better in retrospect and thus Baker’s Doctor edges forth and becomes the best Doctor again. Early Nu Who scripts helped tremendously, but only Eccelston out of all the Doctors could have breathed the right life into them. “Everybody lives!” And the entire franchise, past and future, is better for Eccelston having been the Doctor, even for those who hated him.
Tennant did a great job, despite not really being right for the Doctor. He came so close, so consistently, that he manages to be my third favorite Doctor by a much smaller margin than I’m willing to admit.
Smith, I like better than most, for perhaps a silly reason - he totally nails being an old man in a young man’s body. Catch his hands, and you’ll see he’s shaking his cane at children on his lawn; catch his eyes, and you’ll see he’s telling a joke that only grandpas can get away with telling. Other than that (which is no small treat), he’s a bit less serviceable than Tennant - acceptable, but not stellar. The writing here also let him down: “I’m the Doctor…” - Dude, who are you trying to convince?
Capaldi: Write the fucking brilliant scripts he fucking deserves, or fuck the fuck off. Capaldi will never be Baker, nor quite Eccelston, but he has the potential - the chops, the timing, the gravitas and the flair - to be one of the top three Doctors in lists for generations to come. But, unless they bring in some fucking brilliant new blood writers, potential is all it will be, and he’ll land somewhere near where Smith and Tennant have (which ain’t bad, but still…).
- Harnell was certainly cranky (The UK adjective is “tetchy”) and sometimes a real prick, but he could be kindly, especially once he got to know you. Like all Doctors, he had a strong sense of right and wrong.
- Troughton – “Clown” is the usual adjective, but I don’t see it. What marked him as different from all others is that when faced with danger, he would show he was afraid (though it wouldn’t stop him from tackling it).
- Pertwee was elegant and soft spoken, except when riled up. He treated his companions with real fondness (non-sexual).
- Tom Baker was the funny man. He was like a little boy enjoying adventures and would use his wit and ability at fast talk to get on top of the situation. The best indication of his character was the ad lib “I don’t have a job. I’m just having fun.” This made him watchable even when the script was mediocre.
- Peter Davison was a change – earnest and serious; the cricket outfit was telling – he was like a jock in a 1930s period drama.
- Colin Baker – he was supposed to be egotistical, which was why so many hated them (the fact that he had bad scripts was a bigger factor). He softened as time went by, but still had a bite to him.
- Sylvester McCoy – His Doctor was a mystery as it was continually hinted that there were depths to him that we didn’t know. Lighter in tone than the previous two, but not a funny guy.
- McGann – Hard to get an impression from one show.
- Eccleston – More manic than anyone since Baker, though not a humorous character. Shown to be driven by the loss of Gallifrey, which also added a melancholy air.
- Tennant – Had stronger emotional ties to his companions than anyone else. It’s hard to generalize or pick out a defining characteristic otherwise, but the combination worked perfectly.
- Smith – The most manic of all. Constantly talking rapidly and pretending to be less emotional than Tennant, but he did had strong ties.
- Capaldi – great lyricist
As an adjunct:
1a. Peter Cushing. Standard stuff.
1b. Richard Hurndale. An adequate stand-in for Hartnell.
Just to explain for non-Whovians, Cushing played the Doctor in several mediocre films that most people don’t consider canon. Hurndale played the 1st Doctor in the arc “The Five Doctors”, because Hartnell had passed away by that point.
I can only rank the Doctors I’ve actually watched, which aren’t many. That being said, here’s my 2 cents:
Hartnell: I tried to watch some of him, and he seemed decent. But his episodes were so slowly plotted, and the women were often portrayed in a very sexist way, and put down in a sexist way. A relic of its time, I can’t fully appreciate him.
Baker: I’m slowly working my way through all the Baker episodes. Some of them are really fantastic. He is an amazing doctor, with some amazing companions. I love him a lot. 2nd to Tennant, better in some ways.
Eccleston: I like him. He’s a jerk who wants to pretend like he never had anything to do with Doctor Who, but he was wonderful, sad, manic, happy, optimistic, angry and so many other things. Chemistry with Rose was amazing. His goodbye and transformation into Tennant was sad. Still, not a fan of his post-Who attitude. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Tennant: My favorite of the doctors, but mostly because the writing was just so damn good. He was a fantastic actor, his facial expressions are unforgettable. But he just had the best companions, the best storylines, the best individual episodes. Love him, and was very sad to see him go.
Smith: I instantly liked Smith, and I feel he is by far the most capable actor to play the roll. He doesn’t do serious quiet as well as Tennant, but other than that, he was unbeatable. Unfortunately for Smith, I really hated the writing for most of his story arcs and episodes. I have yet to even watch the Clara episodes. I didn’t care much for Amy or Rory at all as companions, not really sure why. That’s not so much Smith’s fault but the companions are hard to separate from the Doctor.
Capaldi: Not sure I even want to keep watching the show. But from what I have seen of him, I think this was an excellent choice. I might tune in to see what he’s like, especially if people comment that the writing for the show gets better.
Everyone is pretty much nailing it. Professor - you got my reaction to #4 perfectly. RealityChuck used the word earnest in describing #5. He is also just very quietly good. I don’t think he’s dull. He’s emotionally balanced and more humble than the Doctor usually is.
I find it endearing that #5 is David Tennant’s favorite doctor. If you haven’t seen that clip on YouTube, you need to look it up.
Thanks, everyone, for weighing in.
I consider “Time Crash” to be one of the best episodes of Doctor Who–I don’t care if it’s only 7 minutes long. They pack a lot of awesome into that seven minutes.
Incidentally, Tennant is married to Davison’s daughter, who played his (Tennant’s) cloned “daughter” in one episode.
“No beard…well, a wife.”
My version is 8 minutes!
“Don’t worry. I’ll be very humane.”
I think a difference between Eccleston and the other NuWho doctors is that he didn’t grow up wanting to be the Doctor. The others got into acting because they wanted to be the Doctor, and Capaldi is the most annoying fanboy of them all. For Eccleston it was a job, for the others it was a vocation.
Yes! Thank you.
For his ability to switch quickly between brilliant, manic and threatening all in wonderfully over the top fashion I’d say Matt Smith, in more ways than one, took the character of the Doctor to 11.