Who had the better era: Davison or McCoy?

[Deleted]

I think McCoy edges it for me just because Remembrance, Greatest Show, Fenric and indeed Survival are all so strong. Plus he had less stories and probably had the same number of great stories as Davison did. As for Davison himself, he had some wonderful stuff like Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, Enlightenment and Resurrection as well as fun romps like The Five Doctors but his bad stuff is worse than what McCoy was given.  I'm very fond of the Davison era even though I think there were more average stories than there were classics, but you could say the exact same for Pertwee's era or even Tom's tenure. The good stuff is without a doubt some of the best who ever made, but McCoy's top three at least IS the best who ever made. Davison's time is probably my second favourite era of the show after McCoy.

[zarius]

I think Davison's run was very good overall, most of the stories were high in concept and didn't always 'talk down', Peter's Doctor was himself was a charming character constantly put through trials by fire due to Saward's more cutthroat sensibilities, which to me increased the stakes of the programme.

Sylvester is my Doctor, and I believe it's very much the culmination of the themes and circumstances that began in the Davison era, where Davison was often in over his head, and paid a price. An incarnation or so later of reacting badly to that, Sylvester takes charge of his TARDIS and steers it towards his ideal end goals, leading to over three series where he settled all his affairs and paved the way clear to explore the universe with his prodigy peacefully. It's an era that tied up every loose end of the programme, and we were all having splendid fun with it right up until the end.

[Brian MK.II]

McCoy. From S25-6. Feels like the first time Who got it's arse back into gear since 1985 with rich concepts, best companion since Romana and an interesting enough modern feel without feeling dated ala NuWho. I could criticize the at times cheap production values enhanced by filming on solely VideoTape but they don't detract from the cracking stories.

Davison's era's good and boasts many classics (Earthshock, Snakedance, Enlightenment, Five Doctors, Awakening) but at the same time feels the most generic era of the classic series as I feel it doesn't bring an certain new tone or twist to it and is a mixture of the previous eras. And the worst episodes (Four To Doomsday, Terminus and Kings Demons) are out and out insomnia cures and less so bad it's enjoyable.
Plus Tegan can fokk off

[iank]

Sylv.

[burrunjor]

You know it's actually hard to say.

On the one hand s24 is the worst season of classic who. (Sorry Maxil.)

Nothing in Davison's time is as shit as that, barring the odd story. However Brian is right that it is a bit more generic. All other eras have a certain style. Pertwee has the spy espionage and invasion earth style, Hartnell has the historicals and wide range of alien planets, Troughton base under siege, Tom, gothic horror and even the lighter touch of Williams.

Davison however they never really found a direction. With McCoy they did however. The supernatural edge which was one of my favourite styles actually. (TBH I think that was a lot more creative a style than the Pertwee era. It had more scope and was a lot more creative.)

Added to that Ace is better than any Davison era companion.

Overall I'd say that Davison never hit the highs of McCoy's last two seasons, but never hit the lows of his first season (barring the odd dud like Warriors.)

Both have their fair share of absolute classics though, from Earthshock, to Resurrection to Caves, to Fenrice to Remembrance to Survival, and neither have anything as shit as Death in Heaven.

[Monster X]

"It had a sort of feckless charm, which simply wasn't me".

Peter Davison is a very fine actor, but is probably my least favourite of the Classic Doctors - he was too young, a bit too ordinary and bland and unfortunately saddled with far too many companions, most of who were either unlikeable or just plain boring. Poor Davison had to follow 7 years of Tom Baker's incredible reign and the silly cricket outfit didn't help. During PD's era, the show sometimes resembled a polite, middle-class soap opera but there are quite a few 5th Doctor stories that I absolutely adore - Earthshock, Kinda, Mawdryn Undead and the mighty Caves of Androzani, etc.

McCoy was a better fit - completely bonkers, understands the role more and apart from the questionable question-mark tank top, looked better too. I didn't mind Mel, but Ace was so much better - a genuinely appealing and interesting companion for a change.
I enjoy most stories of the 7th Doctor era - Delta And The Bannermen is my go-to adventure when I'm on the booze.

[Deleted]

I've not see a lot of Davison's era at the moment, and it's been a long time since I watched any of his era at all, so my opinion may be incorrect here.

Both era's started off on rocky ground. Davison had to fill the sun sized shoes tom left behind, while McCoy came in when the BBC was coming for the show with daggers unsheathed.

Davison is a good actor and his Doctor dose have his qualities, the problem seems to be that none was quite shore what to do once Tom had gone. JNT had the right idea, to try and bring out a different character in this incarnation, but as Davison would himself admit he never truly understood the character until the Caves of Androzani. The show during his time reflected this uncertainty and seems to be one of the most inconsistent era's of Doctor Who, as it never seems to hit it's "stride" like every other era. Even Colin had something like this during his first season. This is a real shame as I have recently come to think of the Fifth Doctor in a much better light then I did befor. In many ways he's McCoy's polar oppasite, each being the Doctor at the most extremes of his Compassion and Pragmatism. Also no Doctor except Hartnell loses and feels as broken as Davison's dose at times.

His companions do not help though, there I do agree. Again we have another hold over form Tom's era which none seems to know what to do with. The Tardis had not been this crowded for may years and it's clear that the show just wasn't equipped for it. The Hartnell era pulled it off because while he was the star, Hartnell's age ment that we both someone to be the teams muscle and someone younger and quicker of mind. After his time the Doctor grew more self sufficient during his next three incarnation and from Pertwee on it was impossible to justify a 4 person tardis team.

The McCoy era is the complete oppasite. IT's first season and especially Time and the Rani, really are struggling to find it's footing, but then lets not forget that the BBC had royally f*cked the production over, giving them half the development time they should have had, less money and no leading man. The fact that season 24 is as good as it is. is nothing short of a miracle. Season 25 & 26 by contrast are some of the best of Doctor Who with some amazing stories one after the other. 

While I do like the Davison era, from memory and reflection, the McCoy era wins out as it was able to find it's direction and give us two amazing seasons.

[RobFilth]

Davison for me.

Sure, he had a lot of boring stories and they perhaps weren't as experimental as the McCoy era, but he could act more convincingly and carry the stories better which is always a major plus point.

The continuity was far better and less jarring in the Davison era also.

[mott1]

God, this was a tough one.

Yet despite growing up with the imaginative stories of the McCoy Doctor I think New Who has made me appreciate the darker Davison era more. Saward sounds a difficult man but he injected a grown up feel back into the show, albeit more cynical than the early Jon or Tom eras, and this approach went into not just the likes of Earthshock and Caves but the Colin years' finer moments too such as Revelation.

McCoy's era, after a truly awful 1st season (sorry Maxil) really grew into its own though, and McCoy pulled off the Merlin thing well even if he had more limitations as an actor than Pete. Greatest Show, Remembrance and Fenric are not only great Who but stand apart from previous styles of the show. So whilst I voted for Davo it was very close...

[Bernard Marx]

This is a difficult choice. Instinctively, I used to place McCoy higher than Davison by default, having always appreciated his final two seasons massively and typically finding Davison's era and Doctor noticeably placid and mildly dull, despite some definitive highlights.

However, my position is now a lot more nuanced. Similar to Mott1, my appreciation for the Davison era has increased readily over time, even if my original criticisms are largely the same. Despite the narrative that the era lacked any definitive direction, Davison's Doctor undergoes a fascinating transformation rarely remarked upon by traditional commentators. In his first season, he's a buoyantly youthful yet relaxed figure with an aura of optimism about him (as exhibited in the final line of Castrovalva, "It's absolutely splendid!"), whilst also maintaining a placidity and passivity that contrasts starkly with his bombastic, larger than life predecessor. Yet this aura crumbles amidst his realisation that his relaxed nature leads to the deaths of those closer to him, as exemplified by Adric's death and the general maudlin nature to season 20.

Although it's not considered a favourite (it's inconsistent as far as I'm concerned), most of the stories (Arc, Mawdryn, Terminus, Enlightenment, Five Doctors) explore to varying degrees notions of mortality, and the inevitability of death even amidst trying to transcend it (as with Borusa and Mawdryn). This inevitability comes full circle in season 21, with almost every story featuring a towering body count, often shadowed by Davison's placidity and indecisiveness, only shedding his skin by his final story and becoming an active and assertive figure. He does this specifically amidst coming to the realisation, within a depraved setting populated by violent malcontents, that the universe is no place for a nice guy, which in turn comes to characterise and define the Sixth Doctor's more assertive and brutal character.

The character arc I've just outlined predates any NuWho arc, and accomplishes it in a far more nuanced and understated way, which heightens my appreciation of the era all the more. Having said that, it remains characterised by an era that I rarely revisit given the inconsistent stories themselves. Its low points are agonisingly boring or just plain sloppy, yet the standout stories are absolutely outstanding.

The McCoy era is more streamlined in terms of tone, as well as being very different from the Davison era, adopting a mix of urban fantasy and science fiction to great effect, and I have a strong affection for his final two seasons as they accomplish this balance most effectively. Despite this, the Davison era probably has higher highs, and season 24 is a definitive low point (Sorry, Maxil!). However, stories like Remembrance and Fenric display a newfound creativity and imagination that highlighted a reinvigorated programme underestimated and neglected by a corporate broadcasting outlet too preoccupied with trivial interests (and dictated by staunch Thatcherite conservatives like Grade and Powell, who obviously cared not one iota for the series).

Both eras have their highs and lows, and I prefer other eras to them from the classic series broadly speaking, yet both of them are fascinating examples of the series delving into new territory. It's difficult to choose between the two. McCoy edges it in terms of tone, direction and intent, but the Davison era probably has the greater highs as well as benefiting from having a completed arc. This is bloody tough...

[Deleted]

I think my life would be vastly inferior without them both. I'm not sure how I sold my Who stuff initially. I wouldn't do it again.