Doctor Who – The Top 5 Docs
When I was a kid, my mother didn’t see the point in having cable TV. This meant Saturday afternoons really sucked once Kung Fu Masterpiece Theater ended. Having never been a fan of Sesame Street or epic fundraisers, I tried to stay away from PBS – until the day I stumbled across my first Doctor Who episode.
I was about seven years old at the time, and the Doctor was Peter Davison.
Oooh, did I fall for him. I was thrilled to have found something worth watching, and quickly became obsessed with catching up on past episodes. I was enjoying the ride – until the day Peter Davison morphed into Colin Baker.
I was shocked, stunned, and generally annoyed!
What happened to the sexy, brainy guy who I’d been crushing on for the last couple of years? He’d been replaced by a badly dressed geek! It was then that I realized Doctor Who was much larger than the actors portraying him at any given time.
You see, it all started back in 1963 – in black and white! – and still continues to this day. There have been a total of 10 doctors so far, each of them quite different. The doctor’s assistants have also changed over the years – as has the TARDIS space ship thingie they fly around in.
(By the way – the TARDIS is not a telephone booth - it’s a police box.)
Right, let’s get to the top 5.
Peter Davison (1981-1984)
You knew he was going to be first, right? This doctor had the best Who outfit- orange and white pinstriped pants. He was a studly 29 when he took on the role, which probably accounted for my crush. The only thing that bothered me about him? He never seemed very interested in the chicks. Granted, my flirt-radar may have been a little underdeveloped at 8 years of age – and maybe if I saw some of those old episodes today, I’d think him a proper mackdaddy. Either way, he was hawt.
Tom Baker (1974-1981)
Ok – this is the Doc who usually wins the polls for best Doctor Who incarnation. I hate to break from this tradition, but I have to. Something about Tom Baker always freaked me out a bit. Nevertheless, this was one serious Doc. He did always seem a little nutty, but, hey, he always saved the day, so who cares?
Jon Pertwee (1970-1974)
A bit senior-citizenish, but still a little sexy, somehow. He always seemed so intent, so focused, so serious – and so intelligent. You could see it in his face, and I love that in a man. Certainly made it easy to forgive the clothes they dressed him in.
Patrick Troughton (1966-1969)
I actually discovered Troughton via The Omen. I had a little crush on his character and was surprised to discover the actor had also been the second incarnation of Doctor Who. I quite liked his rendition, though he did seem a bit cold at times. His portrayal is somehow more sane than most of the other Doctors – yet still captivating.
David Tennant (2005-present)
There was a goodly space of time between the “end” of the original series, and the rebirth of the present one. When I first saw the “new” Doctor Who, I was impressed with the effects. SciFi had come a long, long way. I was not, however, impressed with the new doc. He just didn’t seem quirky enough, somehow. Since that time, however, I’ve seen other episodes and have come to like him. Besides, he’s young and studly – and even seems to be hot for his assistant. What more could you ask for?
--
I have UK television, so I can see these shows almost any day. I’m not sure how often the play in the US these days, but if you have the chance to see it, do watch. It’s not quite as CGI as some programs, but this is the longest running SciFi series in the history of world television - it debuted 3 years before Star Trek, even!
Quite impressive!
xx Isabella
