I can't wait to meet the 12th Doctor

I love Doctor Who, as you may have noticed from my other posts. I love each actor that comes to the role and most of the stories that happen in the show. There is plenty to love. Companions and monsters and all the rest. One thing that I find difficult to accept is that there are people that hold on to their Doctor. How many people can't get over David Tennant? I'm a huge fan of Tom Baker, he was and is my favorite of the bunch, and maybe it's not a fair comparison, but I've gotten over Tom leaving and lots of other Doctors coming into the mix.

There are plenty of people who are upset about Matt Smith Making a choice to leave the show, but for me, I'm just excited to see who the next Doctor will be. I've loved what has happened with everyone since the show came back, and I think it's just going to keep getting better even though I'm not excited with everything that Moffatt does with the story lines.

I have a theory about the Doctor though, and I'll share it with you:

The first three Doctors were

1. a GRUMPY old man
2. a daring ADVENTURER
3. a careless (and crafty) CLOWN

Ever since then, all of the Doctors are a combination of those 3 characteristics. What some proof?

1. Four-is mostly a clown, but also an adventurer
2. Five-a grumpy clown
3. Six-Lots of grumpy and an adventurer
4. Seven-Grumpy clown

You get the idea. So, the current Doctor is A clown that loves adventures as opposed to Tennant who was just plain grumpy in my opinion.

So what who will this new Doctor be? What will his defining characteristics be? I for one, can't wait to find out.

So you want to start watching the 6th Doctor?

The Twin Dilemma is the first full story line with Colin Baker as the Doctor. We get to see him in the regeneration scene, but this is where we get our first opportunity to see that there's something not quite right with our favorite character. Sure the Doctor is usually disoriented and confused right after a regeneration. He has to figure out who he is not, but this is different. He doesn't just seem confused, he seems rather rude. This is when you discover the show was trying to go in a different direction.

Colin Baker's Doctor was supposed to be a darker character. He was going to provide a different perspective on the life that the Doctor has chosen. The Doctor has to make lots of hard choices and sometimes he's had to pay a price. (See Earthshock) Unfortunately, some idiot at the BBC made a decision that never happened before and hasn't happened since, Colin Baker was not allowed to have any input into his costume. He wanted a black suit, or something similar to what Eccleston wore as the ninth Doctor, instead he was put in an outfit that even a clown would think twice about.


The Two Doctors is a very unique story in the history of Doctor Who. There were certainly 'reunion' episodes in the past, but this is the first time we see just one Doctor meeting himself. They have always been all the Doctors. This is actually the episode that started the discussion about the Second Doctor after his trial. There's a camp of fans that think that after his trial the Second Doctor worked as a special agent for the Time Lords. Either way, this is a very good combination of Doctors. You also get to see Jamie McCrimmon again.

This is a bit confusing because there's a space station and a Sontaran, and the Second Doctor being turned into a strange omnivorous alien that just loves to cook up anything. It's still a very fun episode.


The Trial of a Time Lord is another unique time in the history of Doctor Who but this time it isn't a good thing. The BBC was thinking about ending the show and they were going to put the show on hiatus after this season. So the writers threw out all of the stuff they'd been working on and put together a story idea to try to keep the show from being taken off the air. This is where the Trial of a Time Lord comes from.

The concept is effective and a great change from what you would expect. These days, a show like this would be the chance for an extensive flash-back episode. Instead, the production staff decides to make the trial be about stories the audience hasn't seen. We also get to meet a character that most long-time fans hope has disappeared from the Doctor Who universe. The Valeyard is the prosecutor and it turns out that he is actually the Doctor's 12th and final regeneration. He also happens to be evil and trying to steal the earlier parts of the Doctor's life. In the end, the Doctor wins in the court and with the BBC. Colin Baker, however, didn't make out so well. He was fired from the role, but that didn't stop the BBC from asking him to come back for the regeneration scene. (He declined and this led to the most ridiculous regeneration with possibly the one from the Doctor Who movie with the Eighth Doctor.

So you want to start watching the Fifth Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Castrovalva is obviously the best place to start watching the Fifth Doctor, it's where he got his start. Well actually, he technically made his first appearance in Logopolis, but I won't count that. All he really got there was a fade in shot of him dressed up in Tom Baker's get up and them him sitting up. Not really much to go on.

Just like most post regeneration episodes, the Doctor is very confused and disoriented. He doesn't know who he is yet, or what he even looks like. There is also some difficulty surrounding his regeneration because it isn't going completely smoothly. Throw the Master into the mix and things are going to get really complicated.

Castrovalva is a bit confusing because the writers are going in a direction that is new for the series and is mostly forgotten afterwards, but this is a great place to start in with Peter Davison.


Earthshock is one of the most momentous stories in Doctor Who history. For the most part it is just your typical Cyberman story, but there's more to it than that. Well, let me step back for a moment on this. At the end of Tom Baker's time as the Doctor, he had 3 Companions Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan, way too many for the show to work smoothly. The BBC decided that it was probably time for a change and decided to get rid of one of the companions.

That's not all there is to it either. This isn't one of those happy endings. No, this is the kind of moment that makes the end of "The Doctor Dances" make more sense. In this case, the companion isn't left behind, doesn't choose to go, instead this person makes a heroic decision to drive a space ship into a meteorite to save the Earth and his or her friends. I won't say more about it because I don't want to give away the ending, but this episode is big not just for the era, but for the show as a whole.


Black Orchid is one of the most bizarre adventures of the Davison era. It has a costume party with dancing, lots of confusion and the Doctor taking a break from saving the world to play a game of Cricket. That's right, the Doctor stopped in the middle of a world-ending threat to pitch the ball and take a swing. This is different from the Matt Smith story where the Doctor is trying to look normal and plays some football. This is a case of mistaken identity with a character who can't say no to a bit of cricket. His costume is even like a cricket uniform. It's a fun little romp and well worth checking out.

That's all for now. More to come soon with suggestions for the other Baker to play the Doctor.

So you want to start watching the Fourth Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Tom Baker thanks you for wanting to see his Doctor in action.

So you want start watching Doctor Who adventures featuring the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker? You are making a very good choice. You probably already know that Tom is my personal favorite Doctor. You have a lot of work to see all of his episodes. He was the Doctor for seven years.Why not try out a few of the more interesting stories? After all, some of the stories are better than others. (Remember that during the old series, they didn't have the budget or effects that are available today.) I could go on talking about how great Tom Baker is for a long time, but let's get on to the recommendations instead.


What better place to begin than at the very beginning. In "The Robot," we get our first real glimpse of Tom Baker as the Doctor. The Doctor is lying on the floor in his laboratory at UNIT headquarters and hasn't recovered from his regeneration.

The Doctor seems very odd after his regeneration, but it turns out that this is who he is now. There are several great parts to this story. First, you get the Doctor's first words, " " You also get the fashion show where the Doctor figures out what he's going to wear. You also get a scene straight out of the Power Rangers when the robot of the title grows from around 7 feet to building-crushing height.

If you're watching the new series, you've already met his companion, Sarah Jane Smith, and you'll love getting to know her during her younger adventures.




"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is a very strange story. The Doctor is dressed up like Sherlock Holmes and his companion is a futuristic cave woman. Yeah, Leela is from a future human planet that has regressed to barbarism after a space ship crash lands on a planet. Leela is like an Eliza Doolittle character- she has great potential and the Doctor is trying to help her reach it. 


In this story, the Doctor has brought Leela to Earth's past to help her understand who her ancestors were. The plot revolves around a disappearing woman, Chinese tongs, an Oriental stage magician, and a killer ventriloquist's dummy. Oh and did I mention giant-killer sewer rats?






Lalla Ward is the second actress to play the Time Lord Romana (actually Romanadvoratrelundar, but who wants to say that more than once?) The character of Romana is great in either incarnation because she is a Time Lord, and in some ways is smarter than the Doctor. The first Romana is forced on the Doctor during the Key of Time stories, but she decides to stay with the Doctor after that adventure is over.

This is often considered one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time. The Doctor and Romana take a well deserved vacation in Paris and soon discover involving six original copies of the Mona Lisas. There's lots of adventure in this story and the Doctor makes a trip back in time to have a chat with Leonardo Da Vinci.



Of course there are plenty of stories featuring Tom Baker (42 stories with 172 episodes) so once you check these stories out, you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy this incarnation of the Doctor. Let me know if you have any feedback or thoughts on these episodes below.

What's happening with MTV's "Skins" experiment?

When I heard that American television was going to produce an American version of the popular BBC show "Skins," I had fairly low expectations. I was never interested in the British version. It's just not the kind of show that I'm interested in. I've had my teen drama, and I'm not interested in reliving those days.  Even so, I knew enough about the show from the advertisements to know what to expect. I love British television, and American television has a long history of "borrowing" ideas from across the pond. "Life on Mars," Who's Line?," and "All in the Family" are just a few examples of shows that started overseas. Some of the ideas do very well and others just flop. I think part of it comes down to familiarity. I would hate to see an American version of "Doctor Who", and I think this is part of the problem we are seeing with "Skins."

So let's talk a minute about why it's an issue for "Skins" to be a really popular television show already. Ever since BBC America has hit the air, American audiences have massive exposure to at least the BBC variety of shows so they already know what to expect. Take a truly American example like the SciFi (it was SciFi at the time) reboot of Battlestar Galactica. The writers for the show made a choice to reimagine Starbuck. They chose to take the male character originally played by Dirk Benedict and make the character a female played by Katee Sackhoff. This was a choice that they made that I think worked out well. It provided a new dynamic to the show that let it explore a variety of issues that a male Starbuck wouldn't have been able to address. "Skins" has a similar issue.

First let's consider how Battlestar Galactica avoided problems with the gender change. Rather than ignore it, they actually advertised the change. I remember an add where both Starbucks are playing cards and Benedict makes a comment about how in his day Starbuck was a guy. They didn't try to pull the wool over the eyes of the audience, even though the original show had been off the air for decades. "Skins" on the other hand changed the gender of one of the major characters to avoid complaints. From what I've heard from friends of mine who were huge fans of the British version, the character that was changed was a lesbian. I think the producers didn't want to deal with the questions that might come up from the character so they simply changed her into a guy so it wouldn't be a problem, but there's the problem. People loved the original character and aren't happy with the change.

There are tons of other problems with this show being brought to American television that I won't get into now since I don't follow either show, but I think I've made my point. The American version of "Skins" will probably be off the air in a few weeks and this won't even be an issue anymore.

Take my opinion for what it's worth. Feel free to comment below if you have something you want to add to the discussion.

So you want to start watching the Third Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

So you've decided to check out the third Doctor, have you? That is an excellent choice. Jon Pertwee is great in the role of the Doctor and his portrayal is very unique from the other actors. This Doctor does not run away as is the typical first move of the modern Doctors. (and I don't disapprove of the running) Instead this Doctor will either try to talk his way out of a situation or else grapple with his enemies hand-to-hand. He uses Venusian Kung Fu and drives a roadster that is souped up with Time Lord technology.  Here's some great places to start if you want to experience this Doctor.

The Spearhead from Space

As they sing in "The Sound of Music," let's start at the very beginning. The Spearhead from Space is the first time we see Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. He has just landed on Earth with his new face that has been forced on him by the Time Lords and he's a little confused about everything. (This is the first time that a new Doctor experiences difficulty after a regeneration.)

While the Doctor is incapacitated, UNIT is investigating a strange group of meteorites that have landed on the same point. We meet Liz, the new companion who happens to be an expert on such matter. This is not only the first episode with Jon Pertwee, it is also the first appearance of the Autons. Who are the Autons? Well, think back to the shop dummies in the first episode of the new series that come alive and kill people. Those are the Autons that are brought to life by the Nestene Consciousness.


The Time Warrior
If you've watched the new series, then you already know Sarah Jane Smith. This is her first episode on the show. You get to see Pertwee's Doctor show off his playful side as the two meet. You may not remember Tennant's Doctor going by the name John Smith, but it is a common occurrence for the Doctor. He is using the name John Smith and Sarah Jane is pretending to be her aunt, who is a scientist, so she can get the scoop on UNIT. The two end up traveling to the past to stop a Sontaran from interfering with the Medieval society of England's history.







The Time Monster
Since you can't see the first appearance of the Master at this time, your second-best option is to see this great story with him in it. The Master has cannibalized his own TARDIS to create the TOMTIT device under the guise of a government scientist. His goal is to use the device to go back in time and gain control of a crystal that will let him control a creature that exists in the realm between times and spaces.
*note* The Master first appears during the time of the third Doctor and is one of the main protagonists during Pertwee's time as the Doctor. In fact, the main reason that Pertwee left the show was the death of Roger DelGado. (the original actor to play the Master.)

So you want to start watching the Second Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Now we turn our attention to the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. What shows will give you the best idea of his time as the Doctor? Well, unfortunately much of his work was lost, but there are still some really great options to get to know this Doctor better.

  The Lost in Time collection presents the remnants of the many lost episodes of the first and second Doctors. Where possible the available video is used, in other cases the surviving audio along with still images from the production. Unfortunately you won't be able to see everything of all the episodes, but you will appreciate what was done in the productions.










It's a pretty typical storyline in science fiction these days. What would happen if you found yourself in a word where fiction became reality, where the stories are all real? That's what happens in this story, but at the time it came out, it was a unique idea. The Doctor and company land in a strange land and meet Gulliver, Rapunzel, and even a fictitious version of William Shakespeare. This world is run by a man known as the Master (who is not to be confused with the Time Lord of the same name.)








This is the penultimate story of the second Doctor. It is his final story. In it, we learn lots of interesting new details about the Doctor's people, and how they operate.

The Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe arrive in the middle of a WWI battlefield. They manage to get to safety only to get accused of spying and desertion. They manage to escape and suddenly find themselves on a different battlefield being attacked by Roman soldiers, when they run from there they suddenly end up in the Civil War. Confused yet?

It turns out there is an alien race plotting to use humans to conquer the human race. They have the help of the War Chief, another Time Lord. At the end, the Doctor is put on trial by his own people. (This is the first time that the Time Lords are named and seen.)

These discs are all worth checking out as a way of getting to know the second Doctor. Be on the lookout for suggestions for the third Doctor.

My plan for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary (please share this if you think it's a good idea)

Since 1963 these eleven men have played the Doctor. What will BBC do for the 50th anniversary in 2013?

If you follow my blog at all, you already know that I'm a big fan of this Science Fiction classic. I've been following the adventures of the Doctor and his companions for a long time, and I have plenty of opinions about the series. Today, I want to share an idea I have for the Doctor to celebrate his 50th anniversary.

In the past, major anniversaries of the show were a chance to bring the actors who played the Doctor together in a common adventure. For the 10th anniversary, "The Three Doctors" brought together the original three actors to face the Time Lord Omega in a black hole. (This was the last performance by William Hartnell who passed away a few years after the show aired.) For the 20th anniversary, "The Five Doctors" brought the first five Doctors together. (William Hartnell was replaced by Richard Hurdnell, and Tom Baker participated through clips of an unaired story named "Shada.") In this story, the Doctors (as well as some past companions) faced off against Rassilon and the "Death Zone" on Gallifrey. The show was having issues or off the air for the other major anniversaries.

So what about the 50th anniversary? There's no chance of getting all eleven (or possibly twelve depending on what Matt Smith decides to do in the future) Doctors together since Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee have all passed away. I also don't like the idea of trying to find replacements for all of those Doctors. What about a different approach?

The new series has worked hard to have individual stories with a storyline that ties the whole season together. So what if the writers of Doctor Who take a page from the past to help them out. In 1978-1979, the fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker) went on a quest with his new companion Romana to find the Key of Time. This story took over the entire season over 6 story arcs. What if the Doctor has to go on a quest that requires him to reconnect with previous companions? Let's consider some story ideas.

In 1964, the first Doctor left his granddaughter, Susan, behind  in 22nd century London after the events in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth." The Doctor promised to check up on her some day. That still hasn't happened. Why not fix that problem?


Whatever happened to Scottish Highlander Jamie McCrimmon? The Time Lords returned him to 1746 after sentencing the second Doctor for interfering with the universe, but what happened after that?

The list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Not only would this make for an interesting storyline, but it would also be great for the BBC. They have been working hard to promote DVD sales of the older shows, and what better way to do that than to make a real connection with modern viewers and the older characters?

That's my idea. If you liked it, share it around. I'm hoping someone at BBC that is involved with Doctor Who sees it and at least considers the possibility. It's my opinion, feel free to comment below, and to check out more of my opinions on this site.

So you want to start watching the First Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

As part of an ongoing attempt to get more people checking out Doctor Who, and to answer a question asked on one of my previous posts (a five-part series ranking the top 12 actors to play the Doctor) I will be doing a series of posts with suggestions on stories to check out for each of the Doctors. This will be geared towards starting with the particular Doctor rather than a listing of best episodes. We will start this process with the first Doctor, William Hartnell.  I will also include links to DVDs you can buy on Amazon.

This one is a bit of a cheat. The DVD is a set that includes several stories. The set is called Doctor Who: The Beginning. It has "The Unearthly Child" which is the original episode of Doctor Who. You get to meet the Doctor, his granddaughter Susan, and her teachers, Ian and Barbara. The teachers start snooping around to find out about this strange new student, Susan, and end up getting kidnapped by her grandfather. The quartet meet cavemen in this story. Next up is "The Daleks." This is the second story, and the first to feature the Daleks. Also you can watch "The Edge of Destruction" where the TARDIS has stalled someplace between time and space. This is a great episode to understand the interactions between the four main characters.


The DVD also has a recreation of "Marco Polo" that includes audio clips and still images from the production. (This story was lost in the BBC video purge.)


There are plenty of other episodes to check out, but this is just an introduction to the first Doctor. Later, I'll be doing lists on best episodes, but that is for another time.

Best episodes to get started with Doctor Who.

So I thought I was going to take a break from Doctor Who for a little while after my Top Twelve Doctors list, but I received a request for some suggestions on where to get started with the show for newbies. I think that I will put together a listing of episodes for each Doctor (except the eighth, who only has one story to watch.)  What I want to do first, though, is to give you some general episodes that will give you the best perspective on the franchise as a while. So without more ado, here are a few suggestions of Doctor Who stories.

 Actually, I do want to mention  one more thing before I start. You will not be able to watch every episode of Doctor Who in order. You won't even be able to watch every episode. Back in the 1960's someone at BCC decided to free up tape and erased a large chunk of the work done by the first and second Doctor. I wish that wasn't the case, but it is. Some of the DVDs you can buy will have audio portions of the episodes with still pics from the production, but even that won't give you everything.

Where should you start? If you haven't seen anything to do with Doctor Who, I recommend starting at the beginning of the new run. Christopher Eccleston does a great job of helping new viewers figure out who the Doctor is and the kind of characters and enemies he encounters on a regular basis. The writers do a great job of giving the Doctor dialogue to explain the Doctor. Here's a quote to give you and example of who Eccleston's Doctor was:

"Do you know like we were sayin'? About the Earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid. The first time they tell you that the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it 'cause everything looks like it's standin' still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinnin' at 1,000 miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're fallin' through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go... That's who I am.
 So you want to learn about the other Doctors, but you really don't have the time to watch every episode you can get your hands on? Maybe you want to narrow down your choices before you begin. I have the perfect solution for you. Watch an anniversary special. During the original run of Doctor Who, it was tradition to have a special episode for anniversaries. There are two really great options. On one hand, you can watch the Three Doctors which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the show and bring the first three actors together in one adventure. Your other option is the Five Doctors which brings together Doctors 1-5.
Both of these are great stories and do a great job of getting you a feel for the different actors. You also get to meet some of the companions from the different eras. Hartnell, the original Doctor has a limited role in the Three Doctors due to failing health, and he is unable to appear in the Five Doctors having passed away shortly after the Three Doctors. Richard Hurdnell does a decent job as a replacement for Hartnell.

Those are some basic suggestions. I'll have more specific episodes for each Doctor down the road.

Top Twelve Doctors in Doctor Who (Part V)

Here we are at the end of the list, just three more Doctors to go so there's no mystery about who they will be, but there is the question of which Doctor will get the top spot. Let's review numbers 4-12 before we begin. (You can also check out the full posts with these links: http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-i.html, http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-ii.html, http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-iii.html, http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-iv.html)

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 (Doctor #9)

Number 5-Jon Pertwee (Doctor #3)

Number 4-Patrick Troughton (Doctor #2)

Number 3

William Hartnell is the original Doctor kicking off the series in 1963 with a serial called "The Unearthly Child."

It's time to present the man that started it all, William Hartnell. In the 1960's, Doctor Who actually started as a show geared toward children. The idea was that the T.A.R.D.I.S. could travel to important historical events and discuss scientific concepts. BBC thought the show would last a few years at the most so they chose an older actor for the part and gave him a granddaughter to give the young audience a connection. No one expected what would happen next.

In the second story of this new show, the Doctor and company arrive on the strange planet Skaro. "What is so important about Skaro?" you ask. Skaro just happens to be the home planet of the Daleks. With the introduction of the Daleks, Doctor Who became a television phenomenon, but you don't care about the Doctor Who history lesson. You want to know about the original Doctor and what puts him within the top three Doctors.

While Hartnell is the oldest actor to play the Doctor, his portrayal is very much like that of a small child who is too smart for his own good. Part of this portrayal was because Hartnell was getting older and was having trouble with the lines so one of the directors suggested that the Doctor use it as a part of his character. Early on he kidnaps two teachers that barge into the T.A.R.D.I.S. and he also does some very devious things to get his way, but as time passes, he 'matures' and learns how to work with others.

Important events that occur during this Doctor's tenure include the first episode with both the Daleks and Cybermen. There is also an episode featuring the Meddling Monk who is one of the Doctor's people. (The term Time Lord doesn't get used until the end of the second Doctor's time.) There is also an important character called the Celestial Toymaker. As part of the educational approach to the show we get to see the Doctor interacting with cavemen, Marco Polo, Aztecs, and ancient Romans. (You even get to see Nero set Rome on fire.)

As I mentioned previously, Hartnell left as the Doctor because of his failing health and was replaced in the middle of "The Tenth Planet" by Patrick Troughton. He did make a last appearance as the Doctor in the 10th anniversary episode "The Three Doctors." Unfortunately, many of the episodes featuring Hartnell and Troughton were lost due to bad decision making by the BBC, but the adventures that are available are definitely worth checking out.

Number 2

David Tennant was the tenth actor to play the Doctor. He is the most recognizable Doctor from the new series.

Taking over the role of the Doctor is not an easy task. First you have to convince the viewing audience that you are capable of taking the reins from the previous actor without making your Doctor too much like the other Doctor. Next you have to figure out who your particular Doctor is. (Jon Pertwee often said that he learned more about who he was in the 3 years he was the Doctor than in the rest of his life.) Finally when you have all of that figured out, you have to deal with the scripts and stories and the grueling production schedule.

David Tennant took on the challenge and excelled. His approach to the Doctor took a very different direction from Eccleston's dark and brooding Doctor. Tennant's Doctor enjoyed his adventures, especially while Rose was still his companion, to the point where he was even named as an enemy of England by Queen Victoria. He also got so wrapped up in the adventure that he often missed the interpersonal complications such as Martha's interest in him.

This Doctor sees the return of the Cybermen (much improved) as well as the Sontarans and the introduction of the Weeping Angels. More significant for fans of the original series is the return of the Master and through him a short-lived return of the Time Lords. The #2 Doctor also faced off against the devil. There's more to tell, but I still need to talk about the top Doctor, so I'll leave it at that for now. If you haven't seen David Tennant as the Doctor, we can't talk again until you do.

Number 1

Tom Baker was the fourth Doctor and the actor who filled the role for the longest time.

I've got a theory about Doctor Who. I think that it's like the James Bond movies. Think about how many actors have played Bond. It's just like the Doctor without an explanation about the differences. There's one other connection. My theory is that your first Doctor/Bond is likely to be your favorite. That doesn't mean that I don't have plenty of reasons to love Tom Baker as the Doctor. Let me share some of them with you.

Here are some elements that are a unique part of Tom Baker's Doctor: a 20 foot scarf, a robot dog (K-9), an entire season in an alternate reality, and traveling with another Time Lord. Baker's Doctor spent quite a bit of time interacting with the Time Lords even being sent on missions from time to time. He was the second Doctor to be put on trial by his people, and puts himself on the ballot for the Presidency of Gallifrey to put an end to the trial. (The fifth Doctor actually becomes President and runs away from the job.)

Tom Baker looks a little like Harpo Marks (at least in my opinion) and he has a similar approach in his Doctor. He works primarily with distraction either his own or to those he encounters. One of his tricks is to offer an unfriendly person a jelly baby from a bag extracted from his pocket. (Jelly babies are a candy developed after WWI, originally called Peace Babies, that are shaped like babies and similar to gummy bears.) He also has a tendency to get distracted during non-emergencies. On one occasion he spends the first episode trying to go fishing.

Baker also played the Doctor for longer than any other actor for seven years from 1974-1981. (I watched him on PBS late at night many years after the original showed on BBC. It was on just before Monty Python's Flying Circus.) This is another reason to put him on the top of the list. In polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine, he has only lost the "Best Doctor" category three times, once to Sylvester McCoy and twice to David Tennant.

I've talked about this and all the Doctors long enough for the month of December. Go check out all of the Doctors. There's just under 50 years of catching up to do. (50th anniversary is in 2013.) For Tom Baker check out "The City of Death." It has the Doctor and fellow Time Lord Romana sharing an adventure in Paris. 

That's my opinion on the Doctors of Doctor Who. In future posts, I'll be returning to Doctor Who, but for now it's time for a break. Feel free to leave a comment, or make a suggestion for other opinions below.

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.

The Top 12 Doctors in Doctor Who (Part III)

Before we get through Doctors rated 9, 8, and 7, let's have a quick review of 10-12.

Number 12-Paul McGann (Doctor #8)

Number 11-Rowan Atkinson (Charity Special)

Number 10-Colin Baker (Doctor # 7)

Before I start with the new list, let me say again that I love all of the Doctors. It took a lot of effort to figure out which Doctor got which place. Also, this is my opinion. I suggest you check out all of the Doctors and make up your own mind.

Number 9

Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor and the last of the original run of the series.

Sylvester McCoy's tenure was well known for two reasons. His was the era of excessive question  marks and he was the last actor to play the Doctor. Fortunately one of those distinctions no longer exists since the Doctor has returned. McCoy was a great Doctor, but the threat of cancellation was always hanging over his head. There was also some confusion about who the Doctor really was. In the first season, he was sort of clownish, playing the fool while saving the world, but as time progressed, he became a darker, manipulative character. He was still saving the world, but sometimes the viewer had to wonder what was going on in his mind.

Number 8

Peter Davison is the fifth Doctor.

During Davison's tenure as the Doctor, the show made some significant changes. The tendency toward campy adventures and horror were replaced with a stronger scientific approach and a more serious Doctor. Another change was the Doctor's reliance on his companions. This Doctor was more like the leader of a team rather than an eccentric adventurer. This did lead to some troubles because this Doctor often seemed to have too many companions. If you think about the role of a companion, the character is really just a voice for the audience. "What are you doing?" is just the kind of question that the audience is asking. If you get too many companions there always seems to be someone standing around with nothing to do or say.

There are two major quirks that are associated with Davison's Doctor. First he was obsessed with Cricket. The second was he always had a piece of celery close at hand, usually pinned to his jacket. The celery was to warn him about the presence of a substance to which he had an allergy. If the celery changed colors it would indicate the substance. He would then eat it and it would help him recover.
How quirky was this cricket obsession? His outfit is based on a cricketer's uniform. The Doctor always carried a cricket ball in his jacket. This came in handy on more than one occasion. He even stopped in the middle of an emergency to join in a cricket game.

This Doctor also had the distinction of being the only Doctor to have a companion die during the action of a story. (You'll have to check out the shows to find out who it is for yourself.)

Davison would have ranked higher on the list, but some of the writing for his tenure are laughably horrible, and some of his companions are not all that likable. Davison is a great Doctor when everything comes together so check him out. (In a side note, Davison is also the father of Georgia Moffet. You may remember her as the Doctor's daughter during Tennant's time as the Doctor.)

Number 7



Matt Smith is the most recent Doctor and number eleven overall.

Many people were worried about Doctor Who when David Tennant announced that he had decided to leave the show. This is a typical response to a change of Doctor, especially when the actor has connected so well with the audience like Tennant had done. There were lots of theories about who the next Doctor would be. Several voices were calling for more diversity in the role. Perhaps the doctor could be black or a woman. Many people worried that Doctor Who would not be worth watching after the change.
Not to worry though, Matt Smith has done a smashing job of taking over as the Doctor. More importantly, Smith's Doctor has taken on a new Doctor that has his own way of doing things. This is important to do in this show. If you can't tell the difference between the Doctors there isn't much point in changing them at all.

Smith's Doctor is fun to watch. He seems like a teacher trying to help the people he encounters become better people. Smith still has a lot of growing to do, and I look forward to seeing what he will do with the role in the coming years. In case you're wondering, he's lower on the list because he's only been in the role for a year. I think he will work his way up as time passes.

(Fun Fact: Did you know that John Smith has been a name the Doctor has used when he needed to give a name? This started in the late sixties with Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor. Matt Smith is the first Doctor for whom the names match so closely.)

The Top 12 Doctors in Doctor Who (Part II)

Now it's time to start listing the real Doctors. There's a lot of ground to cover, so I think we'll break this into another four parts, three Doctors on each one. This listing may be confusing for some of you since the Doctor has been around for almost 50 years. I'll try to remember to include some pictures and links to help you out with the actors you may not know. Anyway, here are the bottom three Doctors on my list. Now before I begin, I'd like to make it known that while these guys are on the bottom of the list, that doesn't mean they aren't worth checking out. It's just that someone has to end up lower on the list.

Anyway, here we go with numbers 12-10 on the top twelve Doctors.

Number 12

Paul McGann played the Eighth Doctor in a special TV movie/secret pilot in an attempt to revive Doctor Who.

I first got acquainted with Doctor Who back in the days that the show was aired late on Friday nights on PBS along with Monty Python's Flying Circus. I didn't always understand what was going on. I certainly didn't realize that I was about seven years behind the original BBC viewers. The show was a lot of fun to watch even if I only got half an hour every weekend.

Eventually I learned that the show had been taken off the air. The US did not get to see the final adventures of Sylvester McCoy at that time, but let's just say that the ending wasn't a very great send off to the longest-running science fiction show in the history of television.

In 1996, I was excited because Fox had made arrangements to broadcast a made-for-TV movie of Doctor Who. I couldn't wait to see the Doctor again and share in his adventures.Unfortunately, someone at the BBC allowed a little too much freedom to the production team so you have the strangest regeneration sequence ever. You also get to watch as the violent shooting and death of the seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy.) There are lots of other issues with this movie that I won't get into since it will give away the ending if you decide to watch it.

McGann isn't to blame for this atrocity, and he's done a lot of work with Doctor Who audio dramas since his short tenure as the Doctor. Check it out just to see what's wrong with the movie, but keep your expectations low.

Number 11

Rowan Atkinson played the Doctor in a special spoof made to support the Red Nose Day  charity telethon.

Here's a guy who shouldn't technically be on the list, but if you've ever seen "The Curse of the Fatal Death," you'll understand why Rowan Atkinson gets a place here. There's another reason that I include this story. Doctor Who has a long-standing tradition of helping charities. This was a four-part special created to benefit the Red Nose Day charity. The writing is brilliant and manages to find plenty of comedy in the concepts of time travel. In one scene, the Doctor and the Master talk about going back in time to convince an architect to put a trap door in the floor under the other person. It works out like that scene in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure when they agree that after they get done, they will go back in time to steal Ted's Dad's keys and leave them for themselves right then.

Rowan Atkinson certainly isn't an official Doctor, but this adventure is embraced by fans everywhere so it earns the Number Eleven spot on the list. (Follow this link to check out the entire adventure: http://www.veoh.com/collection/DrWhoComedy/watch/v606442CTZzRPHG)

Number 10

Colin Baker played the sixth Doctor in a very difficult time for the series.

It's not Colin Baker's fault. If he'd had his way, Colin Baker would have been the longest-running Doctor in the history of Doctor Who. He would have fought all the traditional foes and struggled against every evil the writers could have come up with. Unfortunately he was fighting an unbeatable foe, the BBC.

I remember hearing a rumor when I first encountered the sixth Doctor that the writers were planning to make him abrasive and unstable so they could bring in another Doctor to turn the show around. This wasn't the case, but the difference between the fifth and sixth Doctors is extreme and did cause a lot of commotion.

Baker only got two series before he was removed as the Doctor. This included an 18-month hiatus that nearly ended the show. The final Baker story was a 14-part story called "The Trial of a Time Lord." This also doubled as the trial for Colin Baker and Doctor Who as a whole.

Since his abrupt departure as the Doctor, Colin Baker has continued to be involved in audio dramas and animated productions. He can also be seen on the special features section of most of the DVDs BBC has released from his era.

That's it for now. Be on the look out for Part 3 featuring picks seven through nine.  Feel free to leave a comment below.

The Top 12 Doctors in Doctor Who (Part I)

Doctor Who was originally a children's show created for the BBC in 1963. The Doctor was a strange old man travelling in a Police Call Box that was bigger on the inside than the outside. He would travel in this T.A.R.D.I.S. (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) with his granddaughter, Susan, and her teachers who were just dragged along for the ride. I should also mention that the T.A.R.D.I.S is able to travel anywhere in time and space. Too bad the Doctor can't control where he's going.

When the original Doctor became unable to continue the role do to his age, someone came up with the brilliant idea to make it so the Doctor could just 'regenerate' into another person. The look, attitudes, and personality were all different, but he was still the Doctor. This allowed for Doctor Who to become the longest running science fiction show ever. Over almost 50 years, the Doctor has been portrayed by many men. I am going to list the Top Twelve of these actors. Why twelve? Because they all deserve recognition for what they did. (There are eleven official Doctors at this point as well as a few non cannon appearances but more about that later.)

Honorable Mentions

There are a few people who deserve a quick mention even though they may not be officially accepted actors playing the Doctor. Over the years, there have been many fans who have wanted to be a part of the action and put together some great work. Also, there's a Doctor who wasn't what he thought he was.

David Morrissey-In 2008, a special called "The Next Doctor" featured a man who may or may not be a regeneration of the Doctor. This character turns out to be a man who has had the Doctor's memories imprinted on his mind, but he does a great job of being a Time Lord with what he has available in Victorian England.

Tony Garner-In 1995, someone noticed that Tony Garner looked like a combination of the second and third Doctors and a group called Devious was formed to make a fan production featuring the Second-and-a-Halfth Doctor. The story takes place after the Time Lords force the second Doctor to regenerate. The premise is that the regeneration is incommplete, but that doesn't stop Garner's Doctor from facing off against the forces of evil. According to the website, the six-part production is near completion with special effects still in process. The trailer can be seen on the second disc of "The Wargames." It's worth checking out.  Hopefully it will be ready some day soon.

Dishonorable Mention

Peter Cushing-You can't blame Peter Cushing for signing on for a couple of movies. After all, a job is a job, right? I blame the writers for the fact that these movies have almost nothing to do with the TV show. It's like somebody watched a few episodes of Doctor Who with the volume off and made up the story based on the images. The character is called Doctor Who rather than the Doctor and he's a human who invented this time machine. That makes sense so far, right? I'm sure all the scientist in the 60's were zipping around in them.

Anyway, that's just the start for my list, but you'll have to wait for part II to find out about the actual actors that played the Doctor.  As always, feel free to leave a comment if you have one.