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Ranking Doctor Who Doctors

The Doctor in Doctor Who is naturally the most essential figure on the show and thus those Doctors who are better usually had better episodes as well as is evidenced by my ranking where my favorite Doctors also correspond to my favorite seasons of the show. My personal list is very much different from both populist and critical opinion so here we go.

12. Sylvester McCoy

Sylvester McCoy is a good actor and he eventually got better and better in the role, but unfortunately he had a very hard time starting in the role and he got particularly weak episodes which is a shame, but that’s why he ends up last on my list.

11. Colin Baker

Colin Baker got probably even weaker seasons than the aforementioned Doctor and thus he did not leave a proper impression on me. His style is overly contemporary for the 80s and he just never seemed like a proper Doctor in my opinion.

10. Paul McGann

Paul McGann just got one movie released in 1996 and thus he did not have nearly enough time to establish himself as all the others did, but still he is an improvement upon the two previously placed Doctors as he is well cast for the role and overall pretty solid.

9. Peter Davison

Most definitely Peter Davison was a pretty good Doctor and he fitted the role quite well while also being a somewhat different incarnation of it. He was mostly quite serviceable, but again (see the pattern here) he was let down by mostly mediocre and forgettable seasons.

8. Patrick Troughton

And here we come to the first major upset, but I have to be honest and say that to me Patrick Troughton was never likable in this role. Yes, he delivered a terrific performance undoubtedly and he got excellent dialogue, but he was too harsh and brutish for this role which is why I never bought him personally.

7. Tom Baker

Tom Baker is better because he was actually quite suited for the row and, as some would say, even became the Doctor himself. In both looks and personality, he fitted the role very well, but he was too impulsive at times and he did overcome his welcome having held the role for seven seasons.

6. Christopher Eccleston

Christopher Eccleston unfortunately just got one sole season and that truly is a shame because his Doctor I really liked and found to be very underrated. He was energetic, memorably darker and just fun in his interactions with his excellent companion. He deserved more seasons for sure.

5. Matt Smith

This is the one Doctor who disappointed me the most. Matt Smith started off so strong and he could have been my number one Doctor as he was very endearing, incredibly likable and charming in the role. However, after that first great season, the subsequent two were too sappy and a major step back for both the character and the overall show.

4. David Tennant

Just as Tom Baker and Patrick Troughton are overrated critically speaking, David Tennant is overrated in terms of audience opinion. He definitely started off stupendously and I really liked his bravado attitude, a modern approach to portraying the Doctor and infectious energy, but just like Matt Smith, his impact later on was blunted as the seasons progressively weakened.

3. William Hartnell

This one is by far the most underrated Doctor of them all. Yes, the First Doctor came from a different, more stagey and old-fashioned era and did not set the precedent for others as he was very much different from the usual character formula. But I loved that as his Doctor was intriguing and memorably darker at first while consistently been funny and amusing. He truly was an excellent First Doctor, very underappreciated and I wish more actors were like him.

2. Jon Pertwee

Yes, I do prefer my Doctors older as evidenced by my first three picks. The Third Doctor was the very best one until recently and he remains by far the best of the classic era. He was wonderful with his companions, memorable in action and when fighting the iconic villains and he was just always very charming, energetic and even funny, not to mention sweet and human. He’s definitely one of the first to spring to my mind when I think of Doctor Who.

1. Peter Capaldi

And the number one goes to Peter Capaldi. He is recent and new, but undoubtedly amazing in the role and I do think that both audiences and critics misjudge him ridiculously as he is never near the top of the list, let alone number one. He embodies the role perfectly while also making it his own as he is different from all the rest and thus all the better. Great in interactions with either villains or his companions, this Doctor is fun, funny, likable and smart while also being very sentimental and human which was a great choice. He easily got the best episodes of the entire show and the most emotional moments as well. The Twelfth Doctor will surely be very hard to beat.