For the second part of this blog, we will discuss Doctors 8 to 12:
Read more about Doctors Who 1 to 6.
The 8th Doctor – Paul McGann
(1996 and briefly in 2013 with the 50th anniversary special short)
Characteristics: Charismatic, charming, Victorian, and he seemed excited by trivial things.
- Companions: Grace Holloway
- Favorite episodes: Paul McGann, although a wonderful actor, unfortunately only featured in the Doctor Who TV movie, with Eric Roberts as (a very charismatic) The Master. The TV movie was terrible with hints that the Doctor was half-human, but hey – the Doctor lies! He got another chance to show his worth in the 50th anniversary short, showing what happened to him before he regenerated.
A lot of fans asked the BCC to give Paul McGann another chance to show his worth with a spin-off series after his 2013 appearance. I think if there was an excellent writer behind him, he actually would have been a great Doctor Who.
“In the fight for survival, there are no rules.” 8th Doctor Who – Paul McGann
The 8½ Doctor (The War Doctor) – Sir John Hurt (2013)
- Characteristics: Determined, no-nonsense Doctor, hard, factual, soldier-orientated.
- Companions: The 10th and 11th Doctors!
- Favorite episodes: The 50th anniversary special
I would actually have loved to see a whole series with John Hurt. He was incredibly impressive as The War Doctor.
For casting the War Doctor, they were very smart in choosing Sir John Hurt to portray the Doctor – who had to do what needed doing. Surviving the time war and having to seal away Gallifrey into the time lock, his character had a ton of guilt and Sir John Hurt portrayed this flawlessly as the War Doctor. Haunted by the memories of the time war and that of the Dalek Empire attacking Gallifrey, he brought a lot of burden to his role. I would enjoy a series of the War Doctor, even if it’s just a small 2-part special, showing how he fought and what he went through.
“Gallifrey stands!” “No More” “Gallifrey falls” / “Gallifrey falls no more!” 8 1/2 th Doctor Who – John Hurt
he ninth Doctor – Christopher Eccleston (2005)
- Characteristics: Black leather jacket, cynic smile, and a Northern accent.
- Companions: Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness
- Favorite episodes: The Empty Child; The Doctor Dances; Bad Wolf
I really wish Christopher Eccleston would have done more than just one season of Doctor Who. His portrayal of The Doctor was, as he would have said, “Fantastic”. It would have been amazing to have him come back as the 9th Doctor in the 50th anniversary, making it a tale of 4 (or 5?) doctors. Alas, he had his reasons why he left and we can always hope that one day the wounds of Doctor Who heal and he comes back for a special.
“Everything has its time and everything dies” 9th Doctor Who – Christopher Eccleston
The tenth Doctor – David Tennant (Time: 2005 – 2010)
Characteristics: Charming, sexy, compassionate, very serious at times, dangerous, boyish charm
- Companions: Rose Tyler, Donna Noble, Martha Jones, Captain Jack Harkness
- Favorite episodes: The Girl in the Fireplace; Doomsday; The Runaway Bride; The Family of Blood; Utopia; The Sound of Drums; The Last of the Timelords; Silence in the library; The end of time.
Even though the 10th Doctor wasn’t my first doctor, he remains one of the most popular Doctors in the history of Doctor Who. There were many excellent episodes in his term, from such episodes such as Silence in the Library and Daleks in Manhattan. The 10th Doctor also had some of the most memorable companions from Rose, Martha and Donna. His legacy on Doctor who will always be remembered.
“I’m the Doctor. I’m a Time Lord. I’m from the planet Gallifrey in the Constellation of Kasterborous. I’m 903 years old, and I’m the man who’s gonna save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?” – 10th Doctor Who – David Tennant
The eleventh Doctor – Matt Smith (Time: 2010 – 2013)
- Characteristics: Extraordinary, absent minded, Whibley Whobley Timey Whimey, dangerous, calculated, compassionate, deep
- Companions: Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song, Clara Oswald
- Favorite episodes: The eleventh hour, The time of the angels; Vincent and the doctor; a Christmas carol – actually the entire series. There are one or two episodes that I didn’t love, but overall, this was a fantastic run with Matt Smith.
Ah mi amor, they say you never forget your first love and you never forget your first Doctor. Doctor Who Series 5 was the first series of Doctor Who I ever saw. To say that it confused me was an understatement! Eventually, with time and a lot of episodes, I caught up on Doctor Who with the history and the mythos of the series. Matt Smith brought his own energy and style to the Doctor, from Eccleston’s brooding Doctor to David Tennant’s The Coming Storm, to Matt with the Whibley Whobley Timey Whimey crazy Doctor. This was something not everyone enjoyed but something I loved and I thought fit the character very well.
So here’s to you Raggedy Man, Mad Man in a Box – with your Fish Fingers and Custard, you are missed and the 12th has some pretty big shoes to fill.
“The way i see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad thins. Hey, the good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don’t necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant.” – 11th Doctor Who – Matt Smith
The twelfth Doctor – Peter Capaldi (Time: 2014 – )
- Characteristics: Unsure of himself (Am I a good person?), a bit silly, lack of compassion, grumpy, slow at times. He also speaks through his nose.
- Companions: Clara Oswald
- Favorite episodes: Enter the Dalek, Mummy on the Orient Express, Dark Water, Time Heist, Flatline
I remember seeing this interview with Chris Hardwick of Nerdist where he said every time a regeneration comes; you look at the new doctor a lot more critically than you usually would. The new Doctor is someone new who just replaced a much-loved character you have grown to love. Eventually, you learn to like the new Doctor as well. I am personally a fan of Capaldi as the Doctor, but I think they have written some terrible episodes for him and they are still trying to find what works with him.
For me, the 12th Doctor works when he is being serious. In some episodes, especially the first episode, they tried doing too much Matt Smith wackiness, which doesn’t really work with Capaldi. The end of the first episode where he was confronting the half-faced man was where we could get a glimpse of the Doctor he could become. Another one is in the episode – Into the Dalek – where he gave the one soldier an energy cell to find where the bodies got disposed. Everyone was upset that he didn’t save him. He said that he was already dead and that he was saving the remaining members of the crew. Sometimes a little of wackiness does work for the 12th Doctor however the spoon sword fight felt odd and out of place in the Robots of Sherwood episode. I could see the 12th with a regular sword but not a spoon. The spoon felt too much 11th Doctorish. And so, in post-guilt of losing Gallifrey, hopefully, the 9th series will be better for the 12th Doctor and will show some episodes where he can shine and show the world what he is made of.
“I am not a good man! I’m not a bad man. I’m not a hero. I’m definitely not a President, and no, I’m not an officer. You know who I am? I AM… an idiot, with a box and a screwdriver, passing through, helping out, learning”. – 12th Doctor Who – Peter Capaldi
