[jtown0620]

UKTV had a poll to decide who is the greatest Doctor here is the results:

1st Place - David Tennant - 8866 votes
2nd Place - Tom Baker - 2891 votes
3rd Place - Christopher Eccleston - 2694 votes
4th Place - Jon Pertwee - 1527 votes
5th Place - Patrick Troughton - 513 votes
6th Place - Peter Davison - 392 votes
7th Place - William Hartnell - 373 votes
8th Place - Colin Baker - 331 votes
9th Place - Sylvester McCoy - 314 votes
10th Place - Paul McGann - 140 votes

I agree with David but I would have to pick Eccleston at #2. I thought Series 1 was awesome though Tom Baker is an icon.

 

[betts4]

I think it's a matter of age. I mean age of the Fans that is. Tom Baker was THE Doctor and would have been number 1 if the poll was run in the 70's-80's. Tennent and Eccleston are fresh new faces that are remembered. They do have great personalities, but you can't forget the classics. It is sort of like saying who is better Kirk or Picard.

 

[dcheesi]

Personally I still prefer Eccleston over Tennant. I've warmed to Tennant since he started (hated him initially), but Eccleston still has a certain 'gravitas' that Tennant IMHO lacks.

 

[pkscout]

Here's how I would have done the top few:

1st Place - Tom Baker
2nd Place - David Tennant
3rd Place - Peter Davison
4th Place - Christopher Eccleston

I'm surprised anybody even voted for Sylvester McCoy. His was my least favorite by far.

I think Tennant and Eccleston had a "deeper" character to portray, as the Doctor has a darker side that was never much of an option for the other actors. I'd discuss more but I don't feel like spoiler tagging the whole thing.

 

[Honora]

I think it's a matter of age. I mean age of the Fans that is. Tom Baker was THE Doctor and would have been number 1 if the poll was run in the 70's-80's. Tennent and Eccleston are fresh new faces that are remembered. They do have great personalities, but you can't forget the classics. It is sort of like saying who is better Kirk or Picard.

I remember reading an article years ago that said that your first Doctor was usually your favorite.

 

[scottykempf]

I remember reading an article years ago that said that your first Doctor was usually your favorite.

You always remember your first. LOL

 

[busyba]

I'd be interested to know what percentage of the respondents had enough familiarity with enough different Doctors to make an informed decision.

 

[timr_42]

Tom Baker is the Doctor!

 

[stubbsz]

I remember reading an article years ago that said that your first Doctor was usually your favorite.

Probably true in most cases although I don't think many votes would come in for McCoy whenever he had played the doc.

I started watching during the Pertwee era but I'd rank him no higher than Tom Baker... although I was distraught when Baker replaced Pertwee.
-Adrian

 

[cheesesteak]

1) Tom Baker
2) Christopher Eccleston
3) Jon Pertwee
4) David Tennant

Eccelston and Tennant are the beneficiaries of a more three dimensional, emotional character. Tennant seems too much like a 98 lb weakling. As was mentioned earlier, he just doesn't have the gravitas that Eccleston had.

Patrick Troughton reminds me of Moe from the Three Stooges.

I never, ever liked Peter Davidson. He was a human sleeping pill.

I assume Doctor Who was broadcast live in the Hartnell days. When I see episodes from back then, it seems like he forgot a lot of his lines.

 

[scottykempf]

I assume Doctor Who was broadcast live in the Hartnell days. When I see episodes from back then, it seems like he forgot a lot of his lines.

No it wasnt. He was getting on in age and he would forget or flub lines often.

 

[doom1701]

All of the pre-Eccleson doctors, quite honestly, suffered from slow, campy writing. I can definately see why people like the Tom Baker Doctor so much--but I have yet to see an episode that didn't just drag compared to television today. Maybe we've just been MTV'ed to death, or maybe TV has gotten better.

That's why, if I had to vote, Eccleston and Tennant (not sure which order, but probably Tennant on top) would be at the top of my list. Other Doctors did a great job with the character, but the implementation is just painful for me to watch.

 

[windracer]

Did they do a poll for favorite companion?

 

[cheesesteak]

Did they do a poll for favorite companion?

Mary Jane Smith will always be my one true love.

 

[Church AV Guy]

Ah, HEM, I assume you man your one true love is SARAH Jane Smith? Won't she be hurt.

I was in love with Romana II, as was Tom.

 

[dirtypacman]

1st Place - Tom Baker
2nd Place - David Tennant
3rd Place - Peter Davison
4th Place - Christopher Eccleston

+1 Tom Baker was the best imo.

 

[busyba]

Ah, HEM, I assume you man your one true love is SARAH Jane Smith? Won't she be hurt.

I think he was conflating Doctor Who with Spider Man.

Sarah Jane is the girl you marry. Leela is the girl you cheat on Sarah Jane with.

 

[edc]

No it wasnt (broadcast live). He was getting on in age and he would forget or flub lines often.

While it is true Hartnell was in his twilight years, particularly at the end of his run as the Doctor, the series was more or less live-to-tape at that time. It was very much a "the show must go on" production, with time for reshoots only if there was no other way to patch the episode together (e.g.: a complete alien costume malfunction).

 

[TAsunder]

Why shouldn't how the doctor was written be a factor in deciding who was the best doctor? I find it hard to distinguish between the actor and the writers in this case, and eccleston would thus be my favorite by quite a hefty margin. I really disliked most of the doctors prior to the new doctor who series.

 

[styre]

Here is my list, but my favorites tend to change depending on which doctor I have watched most recently.

1)Peter Davison
2)Tom Baker
3)Patrick Troughton
4)William Hartnell
5)David Tennant
6)Christopher Eccleston
7)Colin Baker
8)Jon Pertwee
9)Sylvester McCoy
10)Paul McGann

Also news on a Doctor who Special. These have not been very good in the past, but still interesting to see old characters return.

Doctor Who legend Peter Davison is to step back into the Tardis – and come face to face with the current Doctor.

Peter, 56, who played the Timelord in the 1980s, will pull on his famous trenchcoat once again for a Children In Need special.

Bosses are tight-lipped about the storyline, written by Who scribe Stephen Moffat.

But an insider revealed: “The Doctor is forever travelling though time so there’s no reason why he couldn't catch up with a former incarnation.

“Peter was top of the writer’s list to make a comeback."

This year’s Children In Need charity telethon takes place on BBC1 on Friday, November 16.