This Week’s Poll: Your Favourite Doctor

On Saturday Doctor Who will return to BBC One with a brand new look as new showrunner Steven Moffat makes his presence felt. The Eleventh Hour will mark the full debut of Matt Smith as the 11^th Doctor and will mark the first appearance of Karen Gillan as new companion Amy Pond. So this week we are asking you to vote for your favourite Doctor; was it original William Hartnell you preferred or flamboyant Jon Pertwee or more recently David Tennant? Voting couldn’t be simpler; just select your choice under the navigational bar and hit vote but as ever we’re got a little feature to accompany the poll.

William Hartnell played the first Doctor and was an actor more known for playing the tough Sergeant Major type of character in films than playing an intelligent scientist. However, Hartnell was an instant success in the role and it was his portrayal of the Doctor which was one of the keys to the shows success in its early years; the grandfather type figure who was curious, intelligent and bound to get into trouble – and sometimes got a little cross. William Hartnell played the role for three years between 1963 and 1966; reluctantly deciding to quit the role, due to illness. Despite moving on from the role the actor was reportedly very happy with the producers choice of successor; Patrick Troughton.

In 1966 Patrick Troughton took over the role of the Doctor in the first ever regeneration of the character, it was certainly a bold and risky move by the series but it paid off. Troughton was already a familiar face to audiences thanks to his film and television work; his portrayal of the Doctor was completely different to that of Hartnell’s. Whereas Hartnell’s character was sometimes rude, cross and grump the Troughton version was softer, nice and friendlier and played more of a fatherly figure to his companions rather than Hartnell’s “grandfatherly” approach to the role. Troughton’s on-screen friendship with Frazer Hines, who played Jamie, was one of the highlights of his time with the programme and the two became a “double-act”. However, the heavy workload of the programme, over 40 episodes were filmed a year, led to Patrick Troughton deciding to leave the series and his co-stars Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury decided to leave at the same time prompting a massive shake-up in the format of Doctor Who.

Jon Pertwee took over the role as the format of the show went under a radical revamp. The series moved into colour and in order to keep costs down the show was now firmly rooted on Earth – with the Doctor exiled to the planet by the Time Lords. Jon Pertwee’s Doctor was another version of the character; the dashing hero and very suave and camp, reflective of the James Bond series at the time. The Pertwee years have a very “family” feel to them because of the cast surrounding the actor, the UNIT Family, with Roger Delgado hired to play The Master – a new arch enemy for the Doctor to battle with. Caroline John, Katy Manning and Lis Sladen played very different companions to the Doctor but all had one thing in common – women’s lib! In 1974 with the format of the show once again undergoing change with Barry Letts and Terrence Dicks leaving the series, Roger Delgado having died in a car-crash and Katy Manning also having departed Jon Pertwee felt the time was right for him to move on too.

 In 1974 Tom Baker became the Doctor and his portrayal of the Doctor lasted an incredible seven years; slightly eccentric, crazy, full of energy and a very loud voice; the fourth Doctor for many became the for them. The early years of Tom Bakers tenure, with Elisabeth Sladen and later Louise Jameson, were to produce some of the sci fi’s most memorable and well regarded stories as Phillip Hinchcliffe and Bob Holmes adapted popular stories giving them a Who spin, this era has now been dubbed the “gothic” era of Doctor Who. However, changing tastes in the public acceptance of violence and horror lead to a shift towards more comical stories in Bakers later years with a variable range of quality episodes. Douglas Adams became a script writer on the show for a while and Baker married actress Lalla Ward who played his companion; Romana. However, as Doctor Who entered the 1980s changed were afoot with new producer John Nathan-Turner determined to make his mark; Tom Baker decided to leave.

Peter Davison, known for his role in All Creatures Great and Small, was hired to replace Tom Baker in a move that surprised some. The fifth Doctor was a more venerable version than his previous incarnations, dubbed the “wet vet” by some, he also appeared to be the youngest yet. Davison had no trouble running around chasing after monsters and The Master but slowly more emotion crept into the series as the character of Adric [Matthew Waterhouse] was killed off and Tegan [Janet Fielding] was given a tearjecker goodbye scene. Peter Davison’s era marked the programmes entry into the 1980s but also its last stable period before the decline came and the eventual axe. The actor decided to leave the series in 1984 from fears of being typed cast.

Colin Baker was hired as the 6^th Doctor, no auditioned required. But Baker joined the series as it was going to go through its most difficult period in its history and many would blame Baker for that. However, the behind the scenes problems were not Baker’s fault and were, instead, higher up than even John Nathan-Turner. Baker’s time with the series came under criticism fire for being too violent and no longer being suitable for children. The show had undergone the same problems during Tom Bakers tenure and that resulted in a shift too more light-hearted stories but this time the solution was more radical – the axe. After Baker’s first full season was broadcast Michael Grade, controller of BBC One, decided to cancel the series. Pre-production was already well underway for the new series with stories commissioned, scripts written and schedules drawn up – all of this had to be scrapped. A high-profile campaign resulted in the BBC reversing its decision but the damage had been done. Baker returned to film another season but the cost of its renewal after that was Baker’s exit from the programme.

To replace Colin Baker the producer, John Nathan Turner, hired Sylvester McCoy but the series was now in its dying days. It no longer enjoyed a Saturday evening slot and was instead shown against ITV soaps Coronation Street and Crossroads on weekday evenings. The McCoy Doctor harked back to the shows early days with a mysterious character acting for reasons not known, hinting at things but never revealing the full truth and always more aware of what’s going on than he’s letting on. The programme enjoyed a mini revival in terms of producing good episodes but the ratings were too low and in 1989 the plug was pulled.

In 1996 Sylvester McCoy reprised his role for a Television Movie co-produced by the BBC and Fox to relaunch Doctor Who for a modern audience. The actor returned to hand over to new Doctor, Paul McGann. However, it was to be McGann’s only outing as the 8^th Doctor on-screen although he has continued to play the role in audio plays. When the BBC revived Doctor Who for a second time, in 2005, Christopher Eccleston was in the role as the 10^th Doctor but after one season he handed over to David Tennant.