# Why didn't any of you bastards tell me how wonderful DOCTOR WHO is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178 "2011-07-15T21:24:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/81 "2011-07-20T13:49:15Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > **Skald the Rhymer** --you _really_ need to get the DVDs of the Tom Baker years. > > Lousy FX, totally nerd candy. I just bought _The Pyramids Of Mars_, that’s the one that got me hooked many years ago, i am so looking foreward to watching it again. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/82 "2011-07-20T14:08:19Z")
Netflix has a bunch of the older Who serials available on streaming. In case anyone wants to give them a shot that way. I have only seen a couple (both Tom Baker), but if people have recommendations for other I would love to hear them. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/83 "2011-07-20T15:06:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Not Radcliffe - Rupert Grint. After all, he wanted to be ginger. Ha. I was just watching Radcliffe on the Daily Show and was struck by how very much like Tennant (and I think Smith, but haven’t seen him in action yet) he is. If the show’s producers want to keep the general look and presence those two have, it’s totally Radcliffe. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/84 "2011-07-20T18:30:18Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > aside from Tom Baker, who was an outlier at ~10 years. Actually, Tom Baker was the 4th Doctor from 1974 - 1981. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/85 "2011-07-20T19:07:25Z")
Maybe I shouldn’t have rounded, but Tom Baker _is_ the top-of-the-list outlier at 8 years. (Most numbers will be a bit higher than my earlier count, as I didn’t include the first years for the original series actors in my count before.) 1963-1966 4 years for Hartnell 1966-1969 4 years for Troughton 1970-1974 4 years for Pertwee **1974-1981 8 years for T Baker** 1981-1984 4 years for Davison 1984-1986 3 years for C Baker 1987-1989 3 years for McCoy **1996 1 year for McGann** (In fact, just one story, the movie.) **2005 1 year for Eccleston** 2006-2009 4 years for Tennant (I was sure there was a hiatus in there, but I misremembered…think I remembered the fact that the specials are considered a break in the regular series as a break coming before them. Silly error, that.) 2010-? 2+ years for Smith Outliers marked in bold. Smith can’t be counted, yet, as his run’s not…er…run its course, yet. He’s, arguably, an outlier, if he ends with this one, however. Baker’s run was twice as long as the next highest 5 (all 4 years)…if you were to chart this, it’d be a mostly straight line with a noticeable dip at Eight and Nine, and a massive spike at Four. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/86 "2011-07-20T19:44:02Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > This thread is as good as any, so I just want to make a prediction while it’s fresh in my head: > > Daniel Radcliffe will be the Twelfth Doctor. > [@Alessan](#): > > Not Radcliffe - Rupert Grint. After all, he wanted to be ginger. My money’s on Matthew Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/87 "2011-07-20T20:10:17Z")
Honestly, Rose annoys the shiite out of me… too damned pouty and I can’t stand the love-affair aspect of her relationship with the Doctor. Martha was pretty and a nice character, but I honestly can’t remember a thing about her personality… the most non-descript companion in nu-who. Donna was all sorts of awesome - goofy, fun, sarcastic, and there was no chance at romance. Then they had to bring Rose back and fucked up Donna’s character arc merely so the Rose fans could have their happy ending. Better they had gone to a massage parlor with a picture of Billie Piper. Amy was great in the first season (her wedding speech is one of the shows Crowning Moments of Awesome), rather bland in the second… but that may be because the way the story has been playing out… we’ll see. Amy is also one of the hottest lasses I’ve ever seen, which helps. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/88 "2011-07-20T20:19:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Honestly, Rose annoys the shiite out of me… too damned pouty and I can’t stand the love-affair aspect of her relationship with the Doctor. > > Martha was pretty and a nice character, but I honestly can’t remember a thing about her personality… the most non-descript companion in nu-who. See and I thought Martha was nothing but a whiny mope who spent all her time pissed that the Doctor wasn’t in love with her like she was with him. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/89 "2011-07-20T21:02:53Z")
See, I thought Martha was the most competant and professional of all the Companions, refusing to hog the spotlight and never acting like she was smarter than the Doctor. Rose was his soulmate, Donna was his best frined, but Martha was his assistant and protege. I don’t know what the hell Amy is. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/90 "2011-07-20T21:18:03Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Rose was his soulmate, Donna was his best frined, but Martha was his assistant and protege. I don’t know what the hell Amy is. There was a graphic that went around a while back, I wish I could find it online now, that had images of the most recent companions with the following captions: (Spoilers for season 6) [Rose] He was the love of my life. [Martha] He was my love, my friend. [Donna] He was my bestest friend. [Amy] He was my raggedy doctor. [Rory] He cock-blocked me and shagged my daughter. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/91 "2011-07-20T21:56:04Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > My money’s on Matthew Lewis. Daughter: You know Longbottom from Harry Potter? Me: Yeah. Great name. Daughter: They had to ugly him up for recent movies. [He turned out rather well.](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2111094528/nm0507535) Me: Why yes, he did. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/92 "2011-07-20T22:05:21Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > [Rory] He cock-blocked me and shagged my daughter. LOL. Although… I don’t think the Doctor cock-blocked him. Seemed to go out of his way to avoid it, in fact, what with the going to fetch him as soon as Amy started showing signs of coming onto him. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/93 "2011-07-20T22:13:02Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > LOL. Although… I don’t think the Doctor cock-blocked him. Seemed to go out of his way to avoid it, in fact, what with the going to fetch him as soon as Amy started showing signs of coming onto him. Well, they’re all from the companion’s POV. I’m sure Rory felt a little impinged upon. If for no other reason than the 2,000 years of Amy-celibacy. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/94 "2011-07-20T22:17:35Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > (Spoilers for season 6) > … > > [Rory] He cock-blocked me and shagged my daughter. rofl. 😃 Yeah, I tend to agree with **Tengu.** Ahh… Rory moment of awesome: [spoiler]\*\*Rory \*\*[_to leaders of a Cybermen legion_]: I have a message and a question: a message from the Doctor and a question from me. Where is my wife? [_The Cybermen do not respond_] Oh, don’t give me those blank looks. The Twelfth Cyber Legion monitors this entire quadrant. You hear everything. So you tell me what I need to know, you tell me now, and I’ll be on my way. \*\*Cyber Leader: \*\*What is the Doctor’s message? [_A complex space base of Cybermen operations explodes in the window behind Rory_] **Rory** : Would you like me to repeat the question? [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/95 "2011-07-20T22:32:30Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Ahh… Rory moment of awesome: Yes, that’s an amazing scene. I love that if you look closely, in the background you can see a tiny Tardis whiz past just before _ka-boom_. Rory is the man. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/96 "2011-07-20T22:36:17Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Well, they’re all from the companion’s POV. I’m sure Rory felt a little impinged upon. If for no other reason than the 2,000 years of Amy-celibacy. Be fair… That was Rory’s choice. He could have gone with the Doctor to meet up with her after she got out. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/97 "2011-07-20T22:37:22Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > . . . **1996 1 year for McGann** (In fact, just one story, the movie.) > **2005**. . . He was never part of a TV series, but he held the franchise during its nine-year hiatus by being the voice of the Doctor in several radio series and at least one animated show, while the character of the 8th Doctor appeared in novels and comics. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/98 "2011-07-20T23:18:59Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > He was never part of a TV series, but he held the franchise during its nine-year hiatus by being the voice of the Doctor in several radio series and at least one animated show Be that as it may, he only appeared in one canon story, rather than licensed non-or-pseudo-canon\*. (And mentioning the character, rather than the actor doesn’t have much to do with anything - the First Doctor is still appearing in novels and comics - albeit not as often as the more recent ones, and sticking to the canon, the Sixth Doctor appeared in at least one episode where Colin Baker didn’t - McCoy wore a wig for his regeneration, since the BBC didn’t want to bring Baker back.) C Baker is actually an argument in himself - he’s continued appearing in audio plays, and even played the Doctor with the serial number filed off in a couple ‘you can license the monsters, but not the Doctor or his Companions’ movies by third party production companies (as has McCoy), and Six, like Eight, continues to appear in novels and comics (which are generally considered to have redeemed that iteration of the character), but nobody would argue that his run as Doctor wasn’t truncated by the BBC. - The audio plays are not created by the BBC (not that everything created by the BBC is canon - the pre-Eccleston Ninth Doctor cartoons, for instance), but Big Finish on license. And every living Doctor aside from Tom Baker has appeared in them - Pertwee managed a posthumous appearance in one, even! (presumably using dialogue cribbed from one of his episodes) - so McGann’s not particularly unique in that. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/99 "2011-07-20T23:28:07Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Daughter: You know Longbottom from Harry Potter? > > Me: Yeah. Great name. > > Daughter: They had to ugly him up for recent movies. [He turned out rather well.](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2111094528/nm0507535) > > Me: Why yes, he did. I’m sorry for the complete and utter hijack, but I followed your link and saw [this picture](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1945878272/nm0507535) of Mr. Lewis. Is it me, or does he have a sort of Clive Owen thing going on? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178/100 "2011-07-20T23:35:26Z")
Probably. Like Clive Owen in “Children of Men.” Asked daughter, “Next Doctor: Harry, Ron, or Longbottom?” “Longbottom.” “But the Doctor wants to be a ginger.” “But Rupert Grint can’t act.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-any-of-you-bastards-tell-me-how-wonderful-doctor-who-is/589178.md?page=6)