10. The 6th Doctor Colin Baker. I understand what the producers were trying to do with the 6th Doctor (the whole crazed insanity thing) but it just didn't work out. When your run is known more for the skin tight outfits of your companion than for any of the episodes or the scripts, that's a bad sign.
9. The 3rd Doctor Jon Pertwee. I know many fans who think of him as one of the best, but he never really clicked with me. The banishment to Earth and the episodes I have scene just don't have the substance of the rest of the Doctors. I also get the impression they were trying to get a Tom Jones version of William Hartnell's 1st Doctor.
8. The 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy. Frankly, I think there was so much damage done to the continuity of the show during the 6th Doctor, you'd have needed a real top notch actor to save the series. Sylvester McCoy, was not that actor. He was good, and definitely had his moments, but he was not enough to carry the show further.
7. The 1st Doctor William Hartnell. To be honest, I have only seen four of his episodes. This might be a case of he was before my time, but if you were to go back in time, he was the perfect fit. Every episode I've seen of his he was a cranky old man who was obsessed with the preservation of time. I think the 1st Doctor should have been like that, much like a 16 year old on his first job, but today, after all of the other great Doctors and episodes, he does come off as abrasive.
6. The 8th Doctor Paul McGann. I liked the Movie, and between it and the radio shows he did, the series stayed around until the reboot, but this is a case of not enough material to be able to move him higher. He did serve as the template for the next three Doctors (skinny, stylish and more attractive to female companions than the previous incarnations), but I would have loved to see him in one year of a series. The fact they have eluded to his role in the Time War, something I pray they attempt to go back and show, still leave his chapter somewhat unwritten.
5. The 2nd Doctor Patrick Thoughton. Of the first three crankball Doctors, he was the best (in my opinion) because he was so different than the other two. His stories were better handled than the first Doctor and if you are having to play against really bad visual effects that are supposed to be aliens, you need a good actor (aka The Twilight Zone). Thoughton was a great actor, one of the few to put a memorable role outside of The Doctor into his resume (The Omen). Season 5 is one of the strongest, but he still was part of the over seriousness that ruled the first series for the first decade plus.
4. The 5th Doctor Peter Davison. There is an old saying in radio: "you don't want to replace the living legend, you want to replace the guy who replaced the living legend." Davison had to have been intimidated by taking over for the 4th Doctor, but he used it as an opportunity to create a far different persona than his lead ins. The oddness of the celery and passing up the sonic screwdriver were just minor parts of his reworking of the character. Sometimes it didn't work, but he had some great episodes. He was the first buddy Doctor. By finding his own path, he ended up being a able follow up and became as iconic as any of the Doctor's personalities. Matt Smith should have Davison on speed dial.
3. The 9th Doctor Christopher Eccleston. The 9th had something no other Doctor outside of the 1st had; a bit of a mysterious background. The relaunch brought a great concept, a mentally wounded Doctor coming off a trauma never before seen in the series, the death of Gallifrey, the Daleks and the Time Lords in a successful attempt to save the universe, and the culprit who pulled the trigger is the Doctor. The sadness he inherited played out like a 12 step program. Classic episodes and possibly the best acting in the series made for gripping drama. The 12th step comes with the realization that his companions ultimate sacrifice was too much of a cost to pay. I only wish he would have stuck around for another season.
And that leaves two remaining Doctors -
The 4th Doctor Tom Baker
The 10th Doctor David Tennant
The 4th Doctor changed everything. Before him it was a college professor scolding his students. With him it was a quirky friend who keep wanting to keep you in on the joke. He didn't seem to take himself too seriously and it worked. It was a little clunky in the first year, but they did have back to back to back enemies of the Sontarans, the Daleks, and the Cybermen. They were very ambitious. Seasons 13, 14, and 15 didn't have a dud and about the only criticism you can lay upon him is that he stayed a year and a half too long, but that was the BBC terrified of change.
The 10th Doctor also understood the need to change the character to something new while staying the same. He was the James Bond Doctor, with something Bond never had, real emotions. His sadness over losing companions finally took its toll with the loss of Donna, and he spent the "specials" season by himself. The 2nd series season 2 with Rose was great, but then was succeeded by 2nd seasons season 4 with Donna, which overall could be the best season ever. When he finally regenerated, and made the statement "I don't want to go" we couldn't help but believe it. We didn't want to see him leave either.
This is a close race so to decide it, let's look at their individual weakness. The 4th's aforementioned staying too long is his worst discretion, but even during his long stay, there were still good episodes. The 10th had two problems, one was the first half of the Martha season, series 2, season 3. The majority of that season was really weak, even having a forgettable Dalek two-parter in New York City. It wasn't until the 8th episode two-parter, Human Nature/The Family of Blood that they finally clicked. The rest of that season was magnificent, but not enough to offset the miss-fires of the beginning. The second was the way they hurt the fans by having the whole "specials" season, making the viewers wait months and months between episodes. It will be nice to get back into a regular pattern with Matt Smith.
Taking their indiscretions into account,
2. The 10th Doctor David Tennant
1. The 4th Doctor Tom Baker.
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