I started watching Dr who when the reboot was 3 seasons in, I think David Tennant was the greatest doctor. A few years later I finally got wife to give it a shot as I started a fresh rewatch in preparation for Matt Smith’s second season, she was ok with Eccelston and Tennant but Matt Smith is far and away her favorite doctor. Does this pattern hold true for any other Dr fans?
Tom Baker was my first and remains my favorite, so much so I actually cried when he appeared as the curator. For me it was a really emotional moment, stupid I know but it was like a direct road back to my childhood which for me , luckily was a largely happy time.
As a child that was the case for me, Tennant was what really captivated 12 year-old me back in the day. But now I have kinda gravitated toward a few.
2, 6 (in Big Finish), 7, 8 and 10 are my favourites out of all of them.
Nah, started with Eccleston, but Tennant is the best Doctor.
I have a weird problem. I start out not liking the new Doctor, but by the time they switch, they have become my favorite. Every time.
I absolutely hated Capaldi at first, but after the infinite loop prison episode, I couldn’t imagine any other person ever being the doctor again.
Now I feel the same way about Jodie. She was such a fun Doctor that I’m actually sad to see Tennent back.
Nope. 4 was my first, faves are 12, 2 & 5. Hubs first was 9, but 10 is his Doctor.
I started watching with 11, but my favourite is 12. 7 and 3 come closely behind. And Big Finish 6. You know what? I love nearly all of them with a few exceptions.
The pattern does not hold for me.
When I started watching it was on PBS in the United States in the 1980s, and they showed the Doctors in mixed-up order. The Doctor who first caught my eye was Tom Baker, the most popular by far among US viewers and also the one most likely to turn up in the reruns simply because they were rebroadcasting (mostly) stuff from the color era; I loved the grinning madman with jellybabies and scarf with the blasts of Douglas Adams humor. However, when I grew to have a truly favorite Doctor I realized I was a Colin Baker fan and still am.
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Definitely a Big Finish fan, at this point those audios are probably more “my” Doctor Who than the TV series (which I still love.)
The thing about the Sixth Doctor is there was originally a plan to flesh out and rehab him into his more likeable self in the TV series, but that was spoiled by executive meddling, production failures, and ultimately Colin’s dismissal. As I continued to follow spinoff media in the Wilderness Years, the novels began finally fleshing out and maturing his Doctor more, and ultimately when the audios started there was the freedom to finally give Colin the sort of material needed for him to really thrive in the role and make it his own.
The way this all worked out paralleled my own life: in the 1980s when I was watching him on TV I loved his stubbornness and his attitude; I was a kid who loved bright colors and dressing however I wanted despite what other people thought was “normal.” I enjoyed achieving good things, learning new things, and teaching new things. I strove (and often struggled) to do what was right, and often felt frustrated, not listened to, and sure that I could accomplish so many things if only everyone around me weren’t so ignorant or dismissive of me. I was immature and often just wanted to shout at people until they stopped being so obstructive. TV Six felt like who I’d be if I were the Doctor.
As I grew into young adulthood the novels were all the current Who to be had, and the additions to and maturing of Six’s character while not losing that edge mirrored who I was at that point in my life. I was growing up a little, and somehow so was my Doctor.
Then the audios came out and Colin Baker came back to the role with great triumph. His Doctor finally got the benefit of Colin’s performance, and the character growth continued. He was still my old Doctor with the crazy rainbow of clothes and brash attitude, but behind it all he was also the wise, compassionate, fun-loving and justice-seeking Doctor just as all the best Doctors have had as their undertone. And even now, as I’m settling into middle age in my own life, Colin’s Doctor is still achieving new and remarkable things with new wisdom and experience while still maintaining that spark and mischief that made him the best Doctor ever when I was little.
It’s remarkable. When you read, watch, or listen to new Doctor Who featuring the past Doctors, for the most part the character of the Doctor is cast in amber and never changes much; Four will always be grinning madly while traipsing about and offering people jellybabies, Two will always be running away from things and shouting “oh dear oh dear!” at it all, three will always be smug and dashing while messing about with cobbled gadgets and calling everyone “my dear fellow,” etc. The stories are still cool, fun, and enjoyable, but the character doesn’t really grow or change all that much beyond what they managed in their time on-screen. The Sixth Doctor, on the other hand, somehow managed to be the Doctor who grew up with me.
That was beautifully written; thank you for sharing your story.
Your theory kiiiiinda works for me. I started watching Classic Who, and the actor I started with is my favourite - Tom Baker.
I’ve been watching Nu Who from the beginning, and my favourite out of those actors is Peter Capaldi.
