Ranking the eras

[iank]

1 Williams era
2 Troughton
3 McCoy
4 Pertwee
5 Hartnell
6 Hinchcliffe
6 Colin
7 Davison
8 Boring Bidmead

[billpatjontom]

Here goes...

1. Jon
2. Tom

^ Crème de la crème

3. Pat
4. Bill

^ Similarly excellent eras

5. Col
6. Syl
7. Pete

^ Variable but worthy

I consider the Jon and Tom eras to be the most essential and easily the most distinctive and similarly excellent in style. If Jon's era just nudges ahead for me, it's only because I find his era benefits from greater consistency. Similarly I've come to rank the Bill and Pat eras as comparably exceptional. Pat's era I'd probably rate just ahead by virtue of its preponderance of splendid monsters. While I prefer the 70s then the 60s eras to the 80s,  I do acknowledge there's usually at least some great stuff in every period of the classic series. I do value the 80s eras but don't find them as impressively substantial as those of the 60s and 70s. Arguably, Peter might be the first actor to have been miscast as the Doctor although he still made a commendably valiant effort in the role and indeed his era boasts some fine stories. I think both Colin and Sylvester seemed more suitably cast and each had some great stories too but their eras were prematurely curtailed. Seasons being restricted to only 14 episodes proved a real drawback imo so they never quite achieved their potential. That said, I'd still rank any and all of the classic Who eras light years ahead of any "New Who".

[rushy]

1. Hartnell era
2. McCoy era
3. Tom Baker (JNT) era
4. Troughton era
5. Pertwee era
6. Tom Baker (Hinchcliffe) era
7. Tom Baker (Williams) era
8. Colin Baker era
9. Davison era.

[Deleted]

MCcoy
2. Davison.
3. Troughton
4. T baker
5. Jon Pertwee
6. Hartnell
7. Colin

[Deleted]

1. The McCoy era
2. The Tom Baker era (all three eras together)
3. The Troughton era
4. The Davison era
5. The Hartnell era
6. The Pertwee era
7. The Colin Baker era

[burrunjor]

Tom era: Overall the strongest era, with the greatest variety of stories, not surprisingly since it spans three producers.
McCoy era: I love the supernatural theme and McCoy and Ace are one of the best combos.
Pertwee era: It's limited by the earth bound setting, but he is my fave Doctor and seasons 7 and 10 are two of the best they ever did.
Hartnell era: This is probably the most of its time era, but the creativity, and the variety of stories elevate it. I also like the first Doctors character arc the best of any Doctor.
Troughton era: Again the comic book formula is a bit limited, but at least they use it well, and Jamie is one of the best companions.
Davison era: The most vanilla era of the classic era. Not bad, but doesn't really have a distinctive style, and the stories are a bit average too.
Colin era: Sorry Colin, I like your first season, and if we had three years of that it would be above Davison, but Trial let's its average down.

[Brian MK.II]

1: Troughton
2: Hartnell
3: Tom (Hinchcliffe)
4: McCoy
5: Tom (Williams)
6: Pertwee
7: Tom (Bidmead)
8: Colin
9: Davison

(The last two alternate a fair bit. I'm putting Colin above on the basis that Season 22 alone is better than all three Davison seasons but Davison's era is arguably more consistent and less tonally and quality wise jarring, even if it does veer into generic territory.)

[Deleted]

Apr 10, 2023 12:55:18 GMT burrunjor said:

Tom era: Overall the strongest era, with the greatest variety of stories, not surprisingly since it spans three producers.
McCoy era: I love the supernatural theme and McCoy and Ace are one of the best combos.
Pertwee era: It's limited by the earth bound setting, but he is my fave Doctor and seasons 7 and 10 are two of the best they ever did.
Hartnell era: This is probably the most of its time era, but the creativity, and the variety of stories elevate it. I also like the first Doctors character arc the best of any Doctor.
Troughton era: Again the comic book formula is a bit limited, but at least they use it well, and Jamie is one of the best companions.
Davison era: The most vanilla era of the classic era. Not bad, but doesn't really have a distinctive style, and the stories are a bit average too.
Colin era: Sorry Colin, I like your first season, and if we had three years of that it would be above Davison, but Trial let's its average down.

Trial is a real creative low point for the classic series.  Nothing that Davison was in was ever as bad as "Mindwarp" 

[rushy]

but did Davison get a million 'yard' jokes?

[Deleted]

Not exactly up there with Douglas Adams, is it? "Let's have the Doctor call him the boatyard or graveyard instead of Valeyard! Oh, the audience will split their sides!"

[Deleted]

If Colin had done the original Season 23 instead of Trial and called it day after that then his era would probably have been well liked. Unfortunately his second season really buggers things up. Should have had him regenerate at the end of Time and the Rani so at least he would have finished with a proper 80s classic.


Oh wait, this isn't the unpopular opinions thread.