The Doctor Division

Guest contributor Alex Green looks at fan preferences for a certain Doctor over another.

I am blessed to know a number of other Whovians who are as passionate about the show as I am myself. For a while, there was not anyone. I would take my Who marathons alone and discuss all the theories by myself but as fun as that was, it’s nice to share your passion with. One problem I have come across when speaking to some fans though is the division over Doctors. I am all for having your own Doctor, personally mine is the Eleventh, but that does not mean I do not like any of the rest.

There were, and still are, a great many people who ‘skipped nine’ to jump straight to David Tennant, and as much as our lovely Tenth Doctor is charming and quirky, those fans missed an incredible Doctor in the form of Christopher Eccleston. Another good example is the divide between the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. David Tennant reached almost Tom Baker-esque levels of popularity (and rightly so) and this caused a lot of fans upset when he did leave and was replaced by an even younger, even more madcap and more hair on his head Doctor. I know a number of people who simply stopped watching because their reason was ‘he’s not David Tennant’.

In this article, I hope to show that although it is good to have a favourite Doctor, it is even better to embrace all Doctors as after all, they are the same man and hero we all love.

The case for a favourite Doctor

If someone had to ask me who MY Doctor is, I would almost certainly say the Eleventh. He was not my first Doctor (Nine), but there was something about Matt Smith’s incarnation that resonated with me and stuck with me whenever I watched his episodes. I am also a huge fan of the Tenth, Fifth and Second Doctors but Eleven would always come out on top.

There are qualities I like in every Doctor and it is important that each Doctor does have a slightly twisted personality from the rest. I always liked the idea of the Eleventh Doctor looking so young but being so and feeling so old. Well done to Matt Smith for portraying this so brilliantly. His episodes also moved on from the more earth bound Tenth Doctor stories, which were great, but it was good to see another direction, which is a key reason for the show’s longevity. Amy and Rory were also a huge part of my love for the Eleventh Doctor, the chemistry between the three of them being excellent. The stories were well written, funny, and emotional and fitted to this Doctor perfectly.

However, the reason I love Doctor Who so much is the vast variation on which it is built. On the occasion I perhaps did not fancy an Eleventh Doctor episode, I could happily switch to Nine, Ten or Twelve. This leads me nicely into the next point on the Doctor as one man.

One Doctor

All Thirteen Doctors (okay, fourteen if you want to count the meta-crisis one) have become so well known because of their own attributes, whether that be a catchphrase, (‘Geronimo’ anyone?), an item of clothing, Four’s scarf, Five’s cricket attire and Nine’s leather jacket to name some, or in their overall personality. We have had happy, cheery Doctors, concerned and deep Doctors and some right in the middle. Based on these attributes, it is easy enough to pick a favourite.

Like I mentioned earlier, I am always inclined to the Eleventh Doctor for his geeky, smiley but sometimes dark ways. But let’s focus on the attributes all the Doctors share: Loyalty, bravery, a good heart(s), extremely good stamina, humour and being a complete boffin are the ones that stand out to me.

Ultimately the Doctor for me, regardless of who is playing him or what Doctor it is, is the man that will help you and fix your problems, just because that’s the man he is. I like a good argument on which Doctor is the best but at the end of the day, the Doctor is the same man, the hero who arrives when there’s trouble and leaves when it’s gone. That is the simplest explanation of the show but it is also the reason it is in its 52nd year of production. It is the most basic concept for a show but it has given us the most spectacular hero we all love.