This is a follow up to a
post I made here. I shall address the first topic raised there.
"Nymie
the Pooh's thoughts on Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor, and what
that means for the series vis-a-vis its return to the "cranky
old man" doctor of the 1960s versus the "pretty boy eye
candy" of recent years."
Like
many between the ages of [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] that grew up in
the United States, my first exposure to Doctor Who was on PBS. Doctor
Who was featured back to back with Red Dwarf on Saturday evenings. I
did not watch many episodes, but the those I did catch on my 13"
black and white screen made up some of the most entertaining
television of my childhood. Both shows were fun, goofy, rip-roaring
yarns and fit well together. Sometimes a different actor was called
Doctor, but even without an explanation at the tender age of
[REDACTED] it was still a fun story so I was not overly concerned
with why the Doctor changed or who was portraying him.
Fast
forward a century. Well, to a new century at least. There had been
times in my life leading up to this new series where I did not own a
television. The reasons varied from not having money at one point to
never thinking about it. I did not miss television once it was out of
my life for more than a couple of months. Television was replaced
with little available free time. I would listen to audio books and
talk radio when I could however as that was a form of entertainment I
could enjoy while up and about doing other things. I bought a new
television and a cable subscription in 2004. This was more for other
people in my life to keep them occupied so they would stay out of my
hair than for viewing myself while I took advantage of the amazing
internet speeds.
I
did not watch the new Doctor Who when the series relaunched. I
actually started listening to the Big Finish audio dramas before
watching the new series. The first time I saw Eccleston's Doctor was
as part of a marathon on the SciFi channel. I binge watched
Eccleston. I liked him, but a lot of that story line is a blur now. I
also turned to Netflix to consume older content while I continued to
listen to the Big Finish audio dramas. I watched everything Netflix
had available at the time. I did not view the movie with Paul McGann
until after I had already fallen in love with him in audio format.
Eccleston
was a good Doctor. He was presented in such a way to fit in with
other popular television of that time however. I feel Eccleston
himself was great, but some of the writing felt a bit like it was
conceived for a different audience than the program [REDACTED] year
old me used to watch. He did not start as the Doctor for me, but he
grew into the role as the writers let his character become the
Doctor.
Tennant
was a refreshing change. He was permitted to start as the Doctor.
Tennant did a wonderful job of combining various aspects of previous
Doctors while injecting a bit of himself into the role. I do not know
how much of this was the actor himself and how much to attribute to
the writers. That is because actor and writers meshed so seamlessly
together to form this Doctor.
I
like every Doctor to this point. When I am comparing Doctors it is
from the angle of different degrees of positivity where none of them
drop into the negative for me. I like Matt Smith's Doctor, but not to
the same level as the other post Time War Doctors. It's a bit
difficult for me to put my finger on exactly why. Maybe it is that he
lacked a bit of that same child like enthusiasm as the previous two
Doctors. It was still there, but not anywhere near the level of
Eccleston and Tennant. I like many of his mannerisms. He had good
body language for the role and the way he used his hands is something
worth highlighting. I think it might come down to writing. Most of my
personal complaints with the seasons he was featured include timing
and the pace of the story lines. I like the Matt Smith Doctor, but I
do not always care for the writing during his time.
Let's
go back and look at some of the Doctors from before the third War in
Heaven.
The
first Doctor was William Hartnell. I do not think I got to see any of
his footage when I was younger. My experience with him is catching
some of his episodes more recently in my life or through other actors
portraying the character in audio format. Hartnell's Doctor was a
charlatan. Human's were beneath him, but he both needed and liked
them. He did not consider Humans as lesser beings, but he did treat
them as such at times.
Troughton
was silly. He was a bit foppish and came across strongly as a
presenter of children's programing. [REDACTED] year old me thought he
was an idiot and I found it a little demeaning that any adult would
think a kid would want this over the other Doctor's. I have enjoyed
Troughton in a couple of other things. His depiction of the Doctor
was perfect for what he was hired to present. There were times the
idiot facade would slip away as the writing would permit. The script
was mostly new ways to have the Doctor be an idiot however. I tend to
think of this time as the Doctor's toddler phase.
Pertwee
was a Doctor unto himself. If there was ever a Doctor
to have an action figure made of him or her then it should be
Pertwee. His figure would come with Kung Fu grip action to boot. I
liked him when I was [REDACTED]. He was the James Bond of the Doctor
Who franchise. It was during Pertwee's time that we started to see
story development extend outside of a single arc.
Almost
everybody that currently watches the show has heard of Tom Baker,
Doctor #4, even if they have never seen any episode he was in. I
believe Tom Baker may have been in the most episodes of any of the
younger Doctors. He is also one of the few to have been on television
outside of the United Kingdom prior to the resurgence from the
relaunch of the series. A search on Netflix or other services for
previous Doctor Who content will produce mostly Tom Baker content. I
have not checked in a while, but Netflix used to have more Tom Baker
available than all of the younger Doctors combined. He is easily the
most accessible.
There
is a whole paragraph dedicated to me avoiding the discussion of Tom
Baker's place as Doctor Who. You're welcome.
Peter
David was the Doctor many consider to be the first serious Doctor. He
had fun, and other Doctors had serious moments. Up to this point
Pertwee was the most serious Doctor, but he was also an action hero
where the times of all the other Doctors focused more on comedy or
drama. Peter David's Doctor was a bit of a petulant teenager at
times. He was an adult, and wanted to be treated like an adult, but
treated everyone like kids even when he was acting like a kid.
Especially when he was acting like a child. He was quite moody. He
was also the first Doctor which had a companion die as a result of
his actions. Much of Peter David's TV time had an undercurrent that
involved growing up.
Peter
David and the following younger Doctors have all performed in a lot
of audio dramas for Big Finish. Tom Baker joined Big Finish a few
years ago, but it was after the others have been there for a number
of years. I mention this because Peter David's Doctor is an adult in
the audio dramas. Even when interacting with the same actors
performing the same roles he feels much older. A lot of this is the
writing. Peter David's Doctor was growing up before our eyes on
television. Now we get to experience him as an adult.
Most
of my time with the next three Doctors has been in audio format. I
believe all three might have more content produced in audio dramas
than what was made for television. Their television appearances are
also harder to acquire than the audio dramas or the television
episodes of other Doctors. My opinion is very much influenced by
this.
With
Colin Baker it feels like the producers and writers wanted to return
the show to the time of Tom Baker. Colin Baker himself has stated he
came into the role wanting to wear black and was hopeful to continue
taking the show to more serious places by following the path laid out
during Peter David's time. He was handed a technicolour dreamcoat and
asked to play the role of a clown instead. He had serious moments,
and the actor tried to apply some levity where he could. The story
around him was permitted to be serious, but the Doctor was not. He
was that bright happy spot in the middle of all the darkness. It was
not allowed to touch him. Colin Baker got to play a darker Doctor in
the audio dramas. He still has that brightness to him even in that
darkness while being allowed to play a Doctor that is just as
realistic as any other.
Sylvester
McCoy is a bit like Pertwee to me in that he stands alone as his own
Doctor. Yes, each Doctor has been their own individual, but McCoy was
one where you do not really see the influence of the previous or
later Doctors often. McCoy is the Batman of Doctors. He portrays
himself as a doddering fool when he thinks he can, but he always has
a plan. He normally has plans within plans so his plans can plan.
McCoy's Doctor has a very bad habit of not sharing those plans with
his companions. Sometimes this is intentional, and other times it is
not. It's almost like he can not resist making overly complicated
plans then not sharing them as it might spoil the surprise.
Paul
McGann is the eighth Doctor. He is also the oldest Doctor Big Finish
has access to. Most know McGann's Doctor from only two things. The
first was the movie that was made for television where he wore the
most terrible||| amazing wig ever. The other is much more recent, the
short Night of the Doctor made to preview the Day of the Doctor
special. Viewers got a taste of what those that consume the audio
dramas are accustomed to.
Paul
McGann's Doctor is the gloomy Doctor. He does not see the light at
the end of the tunnel. He really is ready to die, and reaches that
point before the second Time War actually begins in his timeline. He
had lost a few companions, been trapped in another dimension, had
companions attempt to assassinate him, been turned into an evil God
from Gallifreyan legend, was responsible for mass genocide, and continued to try to be a good man. McGann is the Doctor that can most
definitely do wrong with no chance to fix things, yet he keeps
trying. If you can not tell from all my gushing, Paul McGann is my
favourite Doctor. He's not necessarily my Doctor, but he is the one I
rate higher than the others.
There
is one Doctor that came neither before the last Great Time War, nor
after it ended, but was born as part of it. This of course is John
Hurt's Doctor, sometimes referred to as the War Doctor. This Doctor
has only appeared as part of the television series and some prose. I
have not read any novelization or comic with this character in them.
I like this Doctor. I like him a lot actually. I would love to get
more of him. I think John Hurt perfectly portrayed that aspect of the
Doctor. I do not know how I would care for him in different stories,
especially if he happened to find himself outside of the Time War,
but he was the right man for that role.
And
now we are at Peter Capaldi. As of this post he has appeared in one
episode while his eyebrows made a guest appearance in another
episode. I like Peter Capaldi in the role. I do not know yet what
direction the writers plan to take the Doctor in and that plays a lot
into how I feel about a Doctor. The way he talked to the dinosaur
brought Troughton and Tom Baker to mind. That moment where he left
Clara behind was slightly reminiscent of Hartnell and McCoy at first.
The fact it was part of a plan reminds me of McCoy over Hartnell who
might have been more interested in self-preservation than saving
Clara. None of the Doctors want to kill, but McCoy and McGann's
Doctors sometimes view it as a necessary evil.
Capaldi
is pulling a bit from everywhere while still working something new
into the recipe. I do not know what to expect yet. I can not wait to
see where the Doctor goes next nor how he gets there.
