Eccleston was a bit rubbish

[Deleted]

Regardless of how you feel about Tennant, he at least had some sort of charisma and seemed to enjoy actually being there. Eccleston never radiated that same kind of energy nor did he look or sound like the Doctor at any point. I find it strange how Colin is the "unlikeable" Doctor because Eccleston's version is probably the most abrasive out of the bunch. The only time he seemed to give a good performance was during his final episode, but then I'd act my heart out too if I knew I was on the verge of leaving a show I obviously didn't care for. I don't believe NuWho would have been as successful in the 00s if Eccleston had stayed on for the rest of the RTD era. The 9th Doctor seemed to just be some sort of revised version of the character, using the Time War as an excuse as to why this Doctor lacked the eccentricity and zany charm that the character had in the past. 

[burrunjor]

Completely true. The only reason that Colin is more unpopular is because he was the Doctor when it got canned, Eccelston was there when it got brought back so he was a lot of people's first Doctor, and the show had a lot of support and mainstream attention in Eccelston's time. It really is as simple as that for me at least.

How else do we explain farting monsters, Anne Droids, etc being hailed as the show returning to form, whilst Attack of the Cybermen, Revelation of the Daleks, and Vengeance on Varos are proclaimed as an era that killed the show?

Timelash is utter shit I'll give you that, but overall Colin's first season is clearly better than Eccelston's having better hits and Timelash aside, not anywhere near as terrible lows.

I will say though that the choking bit is probably worse than any individual moment with Eccelston. It's just one scene but it's so bad, that it's not hard to see why for more casual fans that might overshadow the rest and feed into the reputation for Colin's being the worst.

Also I know you'll kill me Maxil, but Peri is worse a companion than Rose. For the record I LOVE Nicola Bryant too. She is such a wonderful person and a great actress when given the material. Peri however suffers from JNT's desire to piss off the feminists. After they called the show sexist, JNT decided to wind them up by making the companions girly and wimpy. It was a stupid idea, as it gave them what they wanted in terms of having more ammunition against the show. Peri and Mel were both portrayed that way, with Ace thankfully being a subversion as JNT seemed to get over his hatred of feminists by that point (hence why she is the best.)

To me though the overall stories in Colin's time are much better, and Colin strangling aside is much better as the Doctor overall. Eccelston is just a pound shop Angel and Xena. He is an immortal who has done horrible things until he meets a little blonde teenager, who brings out his good side and stops him going nuts again, whilst he saves her from a life mediocrity. (Really in terms of its plot that's more Xena and Gabrielle, as to be fair Buffy unintentionally did make Angel go crazy LOL. Aesthetically however with his big black coat, mopey persona and Rose being a down to earth, supposedly relatable girlfriend. He is definitely Angel too.)

Obviously I like Angel and Xena, hell I like them far more than New Who at its best. Still DW is totally different and I would want to see DW when watching DW LOL. That said I wouldn't have minded if they'd used some things from those shows, like how Pertwee used some things from Bond, but just not to the extent that it doesn't feel like the Doctor anymore. IE Pertwee might have fancy clothes, cool gadgets and go on spy, espionage thrillers like Bond, but the comparisons aren't so great he does things like shag young women and slap them on the arse like Bond. IE he is still the professorial, eccentric alien like the Doctor.

Similarly if RTD had wanted it to be like Buffy and Xena, by maybe giving it a more supernatural bent like the McCoy era had or drawing from old myths like Xena did and yes maybe had the Doctor tortured by something bad he had done, that would be fine. Going to the point however where he now has a 19 year old girlfriend like Xena and Buffy? That's too far and inappropriate for the character. (To be fair looking back on it, Angels own romance was utterly inappropriate too. More so in some respects, but at least they were new characters. I suppose Xena and Gabrielle's is the only one of the three that isn't creepy, which is ironic as at the time it was the only one the stupid moral censors objected too. Still at times Xena seemed abusive to Gabrielle like the infamous Gab drag LOL.)

I actually do like Eccelston as an actor. You should check him out in Brian Pern, one of the greatest and most underrated comedies of the past 10 years. He was excellent in that. Still he just didn't fit the Doctor, although to be fair to him. Maybe he would, as he did rewatch the old stories before being cast, and admittedly despised the material he was given and the way he had to play hence why he f*cked off.

[Deleted]

May 19, 2023 14:15:59 GMT burrunjor said:

Also I know you'll kill me Maxil, but Peri is worse a companion than Rose. For the record I LOVE Nicola Bryant too. She is such a wonderful person and a great actress when given the material. Peri however suffers from JNT's desire to piss off the feminists. After they called the show sexist, JNT decided to wind them up by making the companions girly and wimpy. It was a stupid idea, as it gave them what they wanted in terms of having more ammunition against the show. Peri and Mel were both portrayed that way, with Ace thankfully being a subversion as JNT seemed to get over his hatred of feminists by that point (hence why she is the best.)

Rose is a better written character than Peri is. However, Rose is an inherently unlikeable person while Peri isn't. Can you imagine a guy fainting and the Sixth Doctor saying, "he's your boyfriend" and her replying, "not anymore"? At least Peri was kind hearted and enthusiastic about her personal intrests (she had a very keen interest in botany). 

[Monster X]

A bit rubbish? To say a bit is to understate just how rubbish he was.

[rushy]

You've all gone stark raving mad, he was easily the best New Who Doctor. I wouldn't be a fan if it wasn't for his performance. The man oozed authority and charisma. 

[Monster X]

May 19, 2023 15:52:40 GMT rushy said:

You've all gone stark raving mad, he was easily the best New Who Doctor. I wouldn't be a fan if it wasn't for his performance. The man oozed authority and charisma. 

"The man oozed authority and charisma".

When? And in which episodes?  I must have missed those.

Eccers played the Anti-Doctor - a gurning, galumphing binman, hired by a showrunner who was clearly embarrassed by the show's past. Who watches Eccleston and thinks: "Yeah, he's really Doctor-ish, a natural eccentric who was surely born to play the role."? I honestly can't decide who was the least suited to the role - Eccelston or Whittaker.

Personally, I've nothing against CE and he was wise to leave when he did.

[rushy]

From the first episode, I was magnetised to his commanding presence and how he was able to go from flippant to extremely cold on a dime. When we got to "Dalek", I knew I was in for something truly special, and that feeling carried over right to the end of his era.

And I know Eccleston himself criticised the way he played the comedy scenes, but I don't care, it worked for me. Loved his sarcasm and occasional gurning. He was like a grittier working class Pertwee.

I've always been drawn towards the more stentorian, stern Doctors. Hartnell and Eccleston are gold standards for me of what a Doctor should be. 

[Deleted]

Series 1 is best seen as a preambular experiment to NuWho. It was an interesting route to take the character, but in execution it just didn't work and it was (rightly) toned down in many ways. Even "Rose" is such a baffling, bizarre piece of television; it feels almost like an unaired pilot. The "man in the street" idea was taken way too far, to the point where he seemed almost a caricature. I wonder if Eccleston was already planned not to last or whether he was originally going to stay on for several series; either way, I think it worked out better for the show that he was canned after just one.

[rushy]

I find it interesting how different my opinion is from the general take here!

I'd go so far as to call series 1 part of Classic Who. Eccleston's the last Doctor with that authoritarian edge that disappeared with the boyfriend Doctors (although I love Tennant and Smith too).

[iank]

I liked him at the time, but his stuff hasn't aged well and with the benefit of hindsight he's not remotely like the Doctor, which when followed by Tennant's equally unrecognisable version makes it clear how much RTD fails to get the character (or feels compelled to bastardise him to make him appeal to the plebs).

[Spark Doll King]

I think he has his moments, when the story calls for a man scared by war or to be righteously angery he works. Sadly much of the rest of the time I just can't see the classic character in him.

[henshin]

Eccleston was brilliant, I loved his Doctor.

It took a while to adapt to it but, around episodes like "Dalek" and "Father's Day", his take on the character resonated with me.

That's why "The Parting Of The Ways" still hits so hard.

[RobFilth]

Eccleston is a great actor but rubbish Doctor.

Sorry Eccles fans, his thicko northern binman just didn't do it for me.