Q1. Huh? What is this? A list of people who have never been in my kitchen?
A. This probably isn’t the poll for you.
Q2. Why is there no “other,” “none of the above,” or “I don’t give a crap”?
A. The purpose of this is to determine the favorite among Dopers who are familiar with the series. Those responses would not help.
Q3. Why isn’t my favorite listed?
A. Peter Cushing played a substantially different character than the others (a human inventor, as opposed to an extraterrestrial renegade). Richard Hurndall was hired to impersonate William Hartnell, not to create his own performance. Parodies, stage plays, Web casts, and audio adventures have different requirements and expectations and cannot be directly compared with regular televised adventures. Don’t talk to me about the Valeyard.
Q4. All the evidence isn’t in yet.
A. True, David Tennant has a couple more hours to go and some serious emoting is to be expected, but we’ve already seen four seasons and change from him, compared to only one telefilm from Paul McGann, so I don’t think it’s unfair.
Q5. What’s the purpose of this, really?
A. I’m a fanboy and I’m bored and I’m putting off dealing with a bunch of unpleasant stuff, OK? Now stop asking questions and answer the bloody survey.
I hate to put new Who and old Who head to head… if it would have been separate i likely would have voted Tennant and Davison, but in a head to head I stuck with Davison.
So you decide to poll about who people’s favourite Doctors are? Must be REAL unpleasant if that seems preferable.
Seven’s my man, with Ten coming in just a bit behind.
Four, I find tiresome.
One, I’ve only seen the first…I’m not sure. Dozen serials, maybe? Enjoyable, on the whole, but not a fair comparison to once the series really got on its feet.
Nine, Eight, and Three are quite good.
Two, I’ve never seen. Five and Six I have, but not really enough to form an opinion.
I’ll go with #4. WTH, he was my “first” (ahem). #7 & #10 are my runner ups. My least favorite has to be #6 (but more to do with executive behind-the-scenes decisions rather than his performance.)
Leela was my favorite companion. Closely seconded by Romana II. I also had a soft spot for Tegan, even though I know a lot of people thought she was grating. Harry Sullivan takes the prize for being the most useless third-wheel.
Curiously, but I looked online at “Genesis of the Daleks” the other day, and was struck by how one-dimensional Sarah-Jane seems in hindsight. I think the new series-es (Nu Who and her own show) have developed so many new facets to the character that the original portrayal seems flat to me. I’d like to see the new series tackle some more old companions and see what they’re up to.
I put Tennant. Yeah, maybe I’m just a dumb 'Merican and I liked the old series but the new ones grab me in a way the older ones didn’t. Better pacing, dialog, effects, etc. etc.
Yes, I know they were made differently.
Eccelston was great, but after the series it almost felt like he was placeholding for the next one to don the coat and sneakers. Tennant really made it his own and was able to do a number of things with the character taking him through comedy, tragedy, making him human, making him a fallable god, and everything else he’s done.
Tom Baker, Pertwee, Davison, and the others had their moments and I appreaciate that, but Tennant is the best imo.
Baker was the Doctor when I first saw the show, but I never really developed much interest in it until Tennant, who conveys that perfect match of eternal weariness and excited curiosity that I think is integral to the Doctor. So I picked 10.
My first as well - funnily enough, the first episode I ever saw was his first. It was broadcast on PBS and I just kind of stumbled upon it, though we did watch a lot of PBS shows anyway. I was hooked.
Back in the day, I knit two full-length scarves out of Red Heart Super Saver Yarn (aka 100% acrylic and extra-rough on the fingers); you know I’m a devoted fan!
Another Tom voter here, although I do enjoy Patrick Troughton’s stories with Zoe and Jamie. My husband especially enjoys the one where Zoe ends up clinging to the console and the camera lovingly pans around her rather luscious bottom…
I second that, altho’ Jon Pertwee is on the edge of my consciousness and I *know *I enjoyed Peter Davidson, I always think of Tom Baker as “my doctor”. That said, I voted for Tennant … with adult eyes I’ve really appreciated the, the depth I guess of his portrayal and some of the storylines he’s had have been top-notch drama.
Whilst I haven’t watched any of his episodes face half hidden behind a handy cushion if not actually behind the sofa as in the old days, I have cried, more than once.
Tom Baker is “my” Doctor (his series were running on our local PBS station when I was a kid in the 70s/early 80s), but I really think Tennant is the best. Baker comes in a close second, if only for nostalgia reasons.
Another vote for Tom Baker here, he was the first Doctor I remember, of the NuWho actors, I liked the rage of Nine, but Ten eventually won me over (after I got past his overuse of the “I’m Brilliant!!!” meme)
I’m very fond of Patrick Troughton’s Doctor, though I haven’t seen very many of his episodes. I always pick him when I’m asked for my favorite Doctor - if I were being honest, I’d have to put at least Tennant and T. Baker ahead of him, but everyone seems to pick one of those two, so.
My first Doctor was the third, Jon Pertwee. But he’s not my favourite, he’s an irritating busybody. I like the fifth, Peter Davison, because he was earnest and accessible. And I like the tenth, David Tennant, because he’s the current, and has made an indelible mark that’s hard to separate from my image of what Doctor Who has become.
But my favourite always comes back to the seventh, Sylvester McCoy. I like the idea of the middle-regeneration having a unique role amongst the incarnations, and he also had a sense of the absurd that tickled me. Plus, Ace was cool.