Let's embark on a time journey that will take us back through all 11 of Doctor Who's incarnation. To do so we're gonna need to reach out for the TARDIS - Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Story has it that tardis was the result of BBC budget issues. Unable to afford to build a spaceship to our beloved Doctor, the producers used an old police box, which were common in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Buckle up, here we go!
William Hartnell is the first Doctor, the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was proudly playing this role from 1963 to 1966, and he even reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973. The first episode was named The Unearthly Child.
This first outing of the Doctor Who set foot for in 1963 to our TV screens and it truly shows the roots of the iconic series Doctor Who will become.
The First Doctor grew progressively weaker while battling the Cybermen during the events of The Tenth Planet and eventually collapsed, seemingly from old age. His body renewed itself and transformed into the Second Doctor. Initially, the relationship between the Second Doctor and his predecessor was unclear. In his first story, the Second Doctor referred to his predecessor in the third person as if he were a completely different person. His companions Ben and Polly are at first unsure how to treat him and it is only when a Dalek recognises him that they accept that he's the Doctor.
The Third Doctor was a suave, dapper, technologically-oriented, and authoritative man of action, who not only practised Venusian Aikido (or Karate), but enjoyed working on gadgets and riding all manner of vehicles, such as the Whomobile and his pride and joy, the canary-yellow vintage roadster nicknamed "Bessie," a construct which featured such modifications as a remote control, dramatically increased speed capabilities and even inertial dampeners.
The Fourth Doctor was portrayed by Tom Baker from the 1974 to 1981, and remains the longest-lived incarnation of the Doctor in the show's on-screen history, counting both the classic and modern series.
After Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, and the BBC had announced that he was leaving the role, the show's producers decided that the next Doctor was to be played by someone who presented something of a physical contrast to Baker and by an actor who was already firmly established in the British public's mind. Peter Davison was chosen due to his critically acclaimed role as Tristan Farnon in the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small which had Doctor Who producer John Nathan-Turner as line producer.
The Fifth Doctor's era was notable for a "back to basics" attitude, in which "silly" humour (and, to an extent, horror) was kept to a minimum, and more scientific accuracy was encouraged by the producer, John Nathan-Turner. It was, at times, a darker and grittier series, in part for seeing the death of one of his companions, Adric. It was also notable for the reintroduction of many of the Time Lord's enemies, such as the Master, Cybermen, Omega (a founding-father of Gallifrey), the Black and White Guardians, and the Silurians.
Although his televisual time on the series was comparatively brief (1984-1986) and turbulent, Baker has continued as the Sixth Doctor in Big Finish's range of original Doctor Who audio adventures. The Sixth Doctor was an unpredictable and somewhat petulant egoist, whose garish, multicolored attire reflected his volatile personality. He was both portentous and eloquent, even for the Doctor - of whom he saw himself as the finest incarnation yet – and his unpredictability was made even wilder by his mood swings, manic behavior, bombastic outbursts and glib, unflappable wit. His personality also displayed occasionally fatalistic overtones.
The seventh incarnation of Doctor Who was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy from 1987 to 1989, and made appearance again in 1996 movie before the character was replaced by the Eighth Doctor. In his first series, the Seventh Doctor started out as a comical character, mixing his metaphors ("Time and tide melt the snowman," for example), playing the spoons, and making pratfalls, but later started to develop a darker nature and raised the profound question of who the Doctor actually is. The Seventh Doctor era is noted for the cancellation of Doctor Who after 26 years. It is also noted for the Virgin New Adventures, a range of original novels published from 1992 to 1997, taking the series beyond the television serials.
The Eighth Doctor made his first television appearance in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, who travels in time in his TARDIS, frequently with companions. When the Doctor is critically injured, he can regenerate his body but in doing so gains a new physical appearance and with it, a distinct new personality. McGann portrays the eighth such incarnation, a passionate, enthusiastic and eccentric character.
The appearance of the Ninth Doctor marked the regular return of the character to television screens after nearly sixteen years (in 2005), and as a result for many young fans and new viewers he was the first Doctor they had ever seen. He was introduced without any information on his recent past; though it is implied in "Rose" that he may have recently regenerated - the Doctor looking in a mirror and commenting on his ears as though he hadn't seen them before - the exact circumstances of that change are unclear.
Tennant has expressed enthusiasm about fulfilling his childhood dream. He remarked to an interviewer for GWR FM, "Who wouldn't want to be the Doctor? The Tenth Doctor generally displays a light-hearted, talkative, easy-going, witty and cheeky manner, but repeatedly demonstrates a vengeful and unforgiving streak as well. He has a tendency to babble, mixing apparent nonsense with vital information, sometimes acting erratically to put his enemies off-guard. He is prone to making comments that to outsiders seem obtuse or rude, sometimes to his own embarrassment.
The Eleventh Doctor first appears in the final minutes of The End of Time (2010) when his previous incarnation regenerates. Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor has met with positive critical reception. Martin Anderson of Shadowlocked claimed Matt Smith to be the best Doctor since "Tom Baker practically redefined the character in the 1970s"
So, who do you think is the best Who? Which one is your favorite incarnation of Doctor Who? Who played him best? My absolute favorite is David Tennant, probably because of his enthusiasm for the part or his numerous catchphrases. Feel free to speak up.
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