Post by Deleted on Nov 6, 2023 19:11:46 GMT
We did this for the NuWho ones so let's get this out of the way...
1. Jon Pertwee - THE Doctor, forever and always. No one does it better. The era itself is somewhat middling, especially towards the end where you can sense the show just wants to move on, but Pertwee himself is the most dynamic and authoritative Doctor to watch onscreen. A lot of it is dated now, but this era essentially set the course for all of Who afterwards.
2. Sylvester McCoy - a cosy little bookend to a vast British TV legacy, this era is really special in many ways. Season 24 will always mar the beginning of his era, no matter how much I happen to enjoy it, but the final two seasons are genuinely breathtaking. You can sense the show is on its last legs, but unlike before when it was desperately scrabbling to remain relevant, the writers are under no illusion as to what they're working with. Almost every script is self-aware and manages to comment concisely, and melancholically, on the state of the show. Yeah, it's cheap as chips, it's basically a man with a carpet on his head, but the sheer mood these two seasons manage to convey is almost miraculous; there's always this sinister pit in my stomach whenever I watch a season 25/26 serial.
3. Patrick Troughton - I love late 60s stuff in general; it retains the legitimacy and seriousness of the Hartnell era while managing to get more playful and experimental. The Verne archetype is shed once and for all and the show really kicks into gear. I also love 60s Cybermen and they are abundant in this era; I don't regard Cybermen to have come after this to be truly legitimate. Troughton himself is such a breath of fresh air, even when you've seen him a million times, and essentially acts as the blueprint for the 4th, 7th, 10th and 11th incarnations.
4. Tom Baker - the show at its indubitable peak, what else can be said? This is the one I anticipate I'll get the most flack for, and while I still regard it as the zenith of the show, at least socioculturally, I don't find myself coming back to it nearly as often as some others. I don't find it nearly as intriguing as the 2nd Doctor's era, or as exciting as the 3rd's, for example. Baker himself, however, is a true tour de force, at least in his early seasons. Season 18 Tom is, like someone else commented (sorry for not remembering who), despondent that the world doesn't fit him anymore, an aspect which affects every Doctor's last season, though it is most prominent here.
5. William Hartnell - I just want to say that these first five Doctors are very closely tied, and that there is a wide margin between spots 5 and 6. Yes, he's the original, but in a very proto-stage. I am always wistful at seeing this last gasp of a long-gone time, a Britain reminiscing about the days of the Empire. That's what's so compelling about these eras; it really is like a time machine in that respect, and it sometimes pains me to realise that it's gone and not coming back. Hartnell is always so lovely to watch as well, even if he flubs his lines lol. I put on a 1st Doctor story whenever I need my heart warmed thinking about this kind old man who was beloved by millions of children. He will ALWAYS be the first, no matter what any BBC pen-pusher wants to say.
6. Paul McGann - just not seen enough of him to accurately judge. The TV movie is pretty shit, and I don't have time to listen to audio dramas. He was pretty good in Night of the Doctor I suppose.
7. Peter Davison - he seems a bit out of his depth at the beginning, but he soon settles in. I don't have any real qualms with the 5th Doctor, it's just not an incarnation I ever really cared for. His era is lacklustre and possibly the show's second most embarrassing, he isn't particularly interesting to watch, and the whole thing just feels a bit tired and played-out, a problem that wouldn't be remedied until Sylvester McCoy's second season 6 years later.
8. Colin Baker - I'm sorry, but who else could it have been? This era was just a disaster, in every way. You can feel JNT's spite oozing from the screen, the show is at its least impressive, the plots are, well, shit, and the Doctor is borderline psychotic.
N/A: Peter Cushing - I haven't watched these movies since I was a small child, which in itself is telling, but he's less a part of continuity than John Hurt or even Jo Martin. Ergo, I see no point in ranking him here.
N/A: Richard Hurndall - again, there's just no point ranking this one.
1. Jon Pertwee - THE Doctor, forever and always. No one does it better. The era itself is somewhat middling, especially towards the end where you can sense the show just wants to move on, but Pertwee himself is the most dynamic and authoritative Doctor to watch onscreen. A lot of it is dated now, but this era essentially set the course for all of Who afterwards.
2. Sylvester McCoy - a cosy little bookend to a vast British TV legacy, this era is really special in many ways. Season 24 will always mar the beginning of his era, no matter how much I happen to enjoy it, but the final two seasons are genuinely breathtaking. You can sense the show is on its last legs, but unlike before when it was desperately scrabbling to remain relevant, the writers are under no illusion as to what they're working with. Almost every script is self-aware and manages to comment concisely, and melancholically, on the state of the show. Yeah, it's cheap as chips, it's basically a man with a carpet on his head, but the sheer mood these two seasons manage to convey is almost miraculous; there's always this sinister pit in my stomach whenever I watch a season 25/26 serial.
3. Patrick Troughton - I love late 60s stuff in general; it retains the legitimacy and seriousness of the Hartnell era while managing to get more playful and experimental. The Verne archetype is shed once and for all and the show really kicks into gear. I also love 60s Cybermen and they are abundant in this era; I don't regard Cybermen to have come after this to be truly legitimate. Troughton himself is such a breath of fresh air, even when you've seen him a million times, and essentially acts as the blueprint for the 4th, 7th, 10th and 11th incarnations.
4. Tom Baker - the show at its indubitable peak, what else can be said? This is the one I anticipate I'll get the most flack for, and while I still regard it as the zenith of the show, at least socioculturally, I don't find myself coming back to it nearly as often as some others. I don't find it nearly as intriguing as the 2nd Doctor's era, or as exciting as the 3rd's, for example. Baker himself, however, is a true tour de force, at least in his early seasons. Season 18 Tom is, like someone else commented (sorry for not remembering who), despondent that the world doesn't fit him anymore, an aspect which affects every Doctor's last season, though it is most prominent here.
5. William Hartnell - I just want to say that these first five Doctors are very closely tied, and that there is a wide margin between spots 5 and 6. Yes, he's the original, but in a very proto-stage. I am always wistful at seeing this last gasp of a long-gone time, a Britain reminiscing about the days of the Empire. That's what's so compelling about these eras; it really is like a time machine in that respect, and it sometimes pains me to realise that it's gone and not coming back. Hartnell is always so lovely to watch as well, even if he flubs his lines lol. I put on a 1st Doctor story whenever I need my heart warmed thinking about this kind old man who was beloved by millions of children. He will ALWAYS be the first, no matter what any BBC pen-pusher wants to say.
6. Paul McGann - just not seen enough of him to accurately judge. The TV movie is pretty shit, and I don't have time to listen to audio dramas. He was pretty good in Night of the Doctor I suppose.
7. Peter Davison - he seems a bit out of his depth at the beginning, but he soon settles in. I don't have any real qualms with the 5th Doctor, it's just not an incarnation I ever really cared for. His era is lacklustre and possibly the show's second most embarrassing, he isn't particularly interesting to watch, and the whole thing just feels a bit tired and played-out, a problem that wouldn't be remedied until Sylvester McCoy's second season 6 years later.
8. Colin Baker - I'm sorry, but who else could it have been? This era was just a disaster, in every way. You can feel JNT's spite oozing from the screen, the show is at its least impressive, the plots are, well, shit, and the Doctor is borderline psychotic.
N/A: Peter Cushing - I haven't watched these movies since I was a small child, which in itself is telling, but he's less a part of continuity than John Hurt or even Jo Martin. Ergo, I see no point in ranking him here.
N/A: Richard Hurndall - again, there's just no point ranking this one.
