So Doctor Who... One of the longest running shows in the world and the longest running Sci-Fi legacy. Why is this? Because of a very clever idea; Regeneration.
When William Heartnell was left the part of Doctor Who was still at the first height of it's popularity. The BBC didn't want to lose the show and neither did the writers. They needed a way to keep going, but without the Doctor what were they going to do?
They had already established he was not human but a strange alien with hidden depths. They found the answer there with one word. Regeneration. Instead of writing a new character to fly the TARDIS they recreated the Doctor.
It was a fantastic idea and it lead to the most commonly asked question in Science Fiction.
No not who shot first han or Greedo. We all know Han shot first, the bounty hunter didn't even get a shot of. Question answered
It is of course a question that can't be answered so easily; Who is the best Doctor? Everyone has an opinion and they can differ wildly. But here's mine, the top ten at lest.
- Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton)
- Tenth Doctor (David Tennent)
- Fourth (Tom Baker)
- Eighth (Paul McGann)
- Third (Jon Pertwee)
- First (William Heartnell)
- Seventh (Sylvester McCoy)
- Fifth (Peter Davison)
- Nine (Christopher Eccleston)
- Six (Colin Baker)
Sorry to say that Matt Smith hasn't made it. This isn't a case of "He's not Tennent" it so much more simple. We've seen him act now sure but we have no idea what he brings to the character. So until we do I can't say where he belongs in the list.
And that is an important point. This isn't the actors I'm judging, it's the character portrayal. Colin Baker is a fantastic actor and a great person. The writers just decided to go the wrong way with the Doctor in the Dark Days of John Nathan Turner (more on that in a future post). Turning the Doctor into a violent git and then giving Colin Baker some of the worst scripts ever written put him right at the bottom of the pack. It was a no win situation and Colin Baker gets it in the neck.
The Eighth Doctor I love with a passion. His portrayal in the big finish audio plays are brilliant, even if the TV Movie was a complete flop.
It's the Second that gets over looked most often and is my out and out favourite almost because of it. He would be calm and collected when faced with an army of Cybermen and then panic spectacularly when he couldn't find his recorder. Unlike any of the others who you could predict the Second would pull a trick out of his sleeve or take a sudden turn from bumbling fool to ruthless champion.
I could try and explain more but it would just take far too long. Leave a comment if you want to argue any points I'll try to defend them.
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