The Top 12 Doctors in Doctor Who (Part IV)

Before we get through Doctors rated 6, 5, and 4, let's have a quick review of 7-12.

Number 12-Paul McGann (Doctor #8)

Number 11-Rowan Atkinson (Charity Special)

Number 10-Colin Baker (Doctor #6)

Number 9-Sylvester McCoy (Doctor #7)

Number 8-Peter Davison (Doctor #5)

Number 7-Matt Smith (Doctor #11)

Number 6

Christopher Eccleston was the man to pick up the gauntlet and bring the Doctor back to television. He was the ninth person to fill the role.

This list just gets harder and harder because when I start writing about each Doctor I wonder why I didn't put that Doctor higher on the list. Christopher Eccleston has to be the hardest placement. I was excited about the possibilities when I heard that Doctor Who was coming back to television, but after the Doctor Who movie, (see #12) I was very worried about what was going to happen.

Fortunately the first episode put my fears to rest. Eccleston brought a passion to the Doctor that made me want to watch more. This Doctor was critical, angry, and filled with pain, but he is also compassionate, forgiving, and filled with wonder. He invites Rose to travel with him just like the BBC is trying to invite the viewers to enjoy the ride.

Things to look for with the ninth Doctor include recurring concern about the impact of his decisions, the word "fantastic," and long-winded names such as "Raxacoricofallapatorian" the home planet of the Slitheen and an enemy referred to as "The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe."

Unfortunately, Eccleston left after only one season, but his his time feels complete, and there was enough time to prepare so it doesn't seem forced. I think it's fair to say that Eccleston's Doctor was fantastic.  

Number 5

Jon Pertwee brought a sense of daring and action to the Doctor during his tenure that has not been matched. He was more likely to go on the offensive rather than the running that is a tactic used by other Doctors.

When Jon Pertwee took over as the third Doctor, there were many mysteries yet to be revealed. Time Lords had only just been named and revealed at the end of the previous series, regeneration was still an undefined excuse to change actors, and no one knew what to expect from this new Doctor. What they got was an action hero. This Doctor wore puffy shirts and capes. He drove a roadster that he tricked out with Time Lord technology. He is the only Doctor to literally fight his enemies, often with Venusian Kung-fu.

The Doctor was exiled by his people for the first part of Pertwee's tenure so there were lots of adventures involving UNIT, a group he had already worked with in his second incarnation, with the occasional special assignments from the Time Lords thrown in for variety. The Doctor did eventually get his exile lifted and got to show off his extraordinary skills as a diplomat as well.

Pertwee left Doctor Who when the primary production team was also leaving, but he continued to support the show until his death. This included participation in as many fan functions as he could manage.

Number 4

Patrick Troughton played the second Doctor. His Doctor established much of the Doctor's mythology.

There had to be a lot of confusion when Patrick Troughton took over the role of the Doctor. It's not like today where there was months of debate and wondering about who the new Doctor would be. At this time, it wasn't even a thought the audience would have considered. The Doctor was an old man then in the middle of an adventure he was injured and collapsed. The screen image of his face went completely white for a moment and when the image returned it was a different person. Not only did the Doctor look different, he was a completely different person.

Troughton's Doctor was often referred to as a clown. He played the fool to distract his enemies, but he always seemed to have a plan.  (There is one exception to this that I'll talk about shortly.) In stressful moments, he would often either take out his recorder and play it or desperately search for it. This Doctor was most likely to manipulate others to save the day.

When Troughton decided to leave the role of the Doctor, the production team decided to go all out for his finale. They put together the longest serial ever done for the show, a ten-part story that jumped all over time and introduced something that had never been addressed-the Time Lords. The Doctor and his companions land in the middle of a World War I battlefield. They get to safety only to face a kangaroo-court court marshal. While trying to escape, they suddenly find themselves under attack by Roman soldiers. Next they cross over into the American Civil War. It turns out that they are actually in the middle of an experiment run by an alien race. There's plenty more to tell, but let me just talk about the main details that emerge. The Doctor is a renegade Time Lord who has broken their rule of non-interference. The Time Lords have some pretty amazing powers including barricading a planet from the rest of reality, and forcing the Doctor to become another person.

Anyway, that's 6-4. Be on the look out for the top three Doctors coming soon. Leave a comment if you have some feedback on the list.