The Doctors and Their Finest Performances (Part 2)
Guest contributor Jack Bowden concludes the list.
In celebration of an event which exists nowhere but in my own mind (in other words, because I felt like it) this is a list of my thirteen favourite performances, on TV or audio, by any actor to play the Doctor. I have not stuck to a one-entry-per-Doctor rule, which unfortunately means some of the fine actors to have played our favourite character have been omitted where other actors have given more than one exceptional performance. The list is ranked from 13th best to best of the best. Geronimo!
Note: for those not familiar with Big Finish audio productions this list will contain spoilers!
6. Christopher Eccleston, ‘Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways’
Finales seem to be reliable sources for Doctors at their best; first Series 5 and now Series 1. Of all the brilliant things about Eccleston’s last bow (sniff), perhaps my favourite is how effortlessly it changes tone from a cheeky satire to a gritty base-under-siege and never feels incongruous. Eccleson masterfully changes his tone with it, handling the comedy – “You have GOT to be kidding” – and the dark – “I’ve got five billion languages and you haven’t got one way of stopping me, so if anybody’s gonna shut up, IT’S YOU” – and the emotional – “ …if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That’s all. One thing. Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.” – with equal finesse. And all of that without mentioning the immortal speech at the cliffhanger of Bad Wolf – yeah, you get the idea.
5. Paul McGann, ‘Lucie Miller/To the Death'(Audio)
Truth be told, I feel somewhat guilty about including an entry for McGann which doesn’t show the happy-go-lucky Eighth Doctor. McGann is so superb at playing the breathless adventurer that he deserves plaudits for that in itself, but it is perhaps because of this that he stands out so when playing a Doctor devastated. The saddest thing is not only the death of his three companions (including his great-grandson), it is that two die for no reason at all. In a culture wherein is it expected that main characters of TV shows have grand, well-foreshadowed exits (think Donna and Rose), hearing Alex and Tasmin shot down casually as just two more victims in an endless war is perhaps the most upsetting event in Doctor Who history. And then there’s Lucie Miller. Lucie bleedin’ Miller. Both Smith and McGann give their absolute all to the most devastating finale in Doctor Who history, and if you can make it out this story feeling totally drained you’ve got off lightly.
Standout quote: “When you can’t threaten us with death you have no power over us at all.”
4. Sylvester McCoy, ‘Master’ (Audio)
Beginning with Project: Lazarus and continuing with Master, the third in a trilogy of enemy-centred stories which celebrated the 40th anniversary of Who, we are introduced to a lonely, companionless Seventh Doctor who is miles away from the inconsistent character we had been shown in Big Finish thus far. McCoy is absolutely brilliant in his story, the culmination of the persona which had been building over his final two seasons on TV. The idea of the Master being given ten years of life free from himself is fascinating, and Beevers is mesmerising as Dr. John Smith, good guy extraordinaire. The first episode of this story is magnificently creepy, as promises of slit throats and missing kitchen knives seem to echo at every turn, while the last two become increasingly blood-soaked with the appearance of Death herself and the revelation that (spoiler!) the Doctor made the Master evil in the first place by selling his childhood friend out to Death rather than himself (!!!).
Fascinating as these revelations are, it is the second episode which truly grips as it is composed entirely of a lengthy conversation between John Smith and the Doc about the concept of evil and nature vs. nurture. We hear what could have been if the Master hadn’t turned evil and remained the Doctor’s friend as the two brilliant minds spark off each other, and Seven is well aware of this. He spends the entire two hours in a deep-seated melancholy caused by his knowledge that he is responsible for creating the Master, and refuses to kill John Smith and fulfil his contract to Death. She even teases him about not playing with his spoons anymore! McCoy is relentlessly brilliant as this moody Doctor and he plays off Geoffrey Beevers with skill.
3. Colin Baker, ‘Doctor Who and the Pirates’ (Audio)
Just looking at the title of this release, it’s clear that it’s basically a whole load of sword-fighting, ridiculous pirate phrasings and other rubbish. It’s also quite possibly the most fun episode in the history of the show. This is how comedy Who should be done – no reservations, no subtlety at all, just launching into it with reckless abandon. Baker proves himself worthy of his drastically increased Big Finish reputation a hundred, a million times over in this story. I won’t spoil the fun for those of you unitiated to the audios, but suffice it to say that the cliffhanger leading into episode three is possibly the greatest thing you will ever hear. Not to mention how episode three and four will leave you in absolute tears, but in entirely different ways. Don’t skip this one.
2. Matt Smith, ‘The Rings of Akhaten’
Criticisms of Rings being lazily written, contradictory and boring are understandable and not without merit, but in its examination of an entirely alien culture and in its portrayal of the Eleventh Doctor it is a story without equal. Say what you want, but the not one but two incredible speeches in this story are enough to warrant its place on this list. In fact, I’m just going to leave them right here and say no more about it.
Standout quote: “Hey. Do you mind if I tell you a story? One you might not have heard. All the elements in your body were forged many many millions of years ago in the heart of a faraway star that exploded and died. That explosion scattered those elements across the desolations of deep space. After so, so many millions of years, these elements came together to form new stars and new planets. And on and on it went. The elements came together and burst apart, forming shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings. Until, eventually, they came together to make you. You are unique in the universe. There is only one Merry Galel. And there will never be another. Getting rid of that existence isn’t a sacrifice, it’s a waste!”
“Oh you like to think you’re a god? But you’re not a god. You’re just a parasite. Eaten out with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of others. You feed on them. On the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow, so… so come on, then. Take mine. Take my memories. But I hope you’ve got a big a big appetite. Because I’ve lived a long life, and I’ve seen a few things. I walked away from the last great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords. I saw the birth of the universe and watched as time ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time, no space. Just me! I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a madman! I watched universes freeze and creation burn! I have seen things you wouldn’t believe! I have lost things you will never understand! And I know things, secrets that must never be told, knowledge that must never be spoken! Knowledge that will make parasite gods blaze! So come on then! Take it! Take it all, baby! Have it! You have it all!”
1. Christopher Eccleston, Dalek
For the sake of brevity I will refrain from soliloquising here about how incredible Robert Shearman’s scripts are instead launch into how incredible Eccleson is instead! On a purely technical level, he is arguably the most talented actor ever to have portrayed our favourite Time Lord, with the bubbly humour and quips concealing a deeply scarred and troubled man who smiles only when he knows Rose is watching. While his best character moment comes in the form of the previously mentioned Bad Wolf cliffhanger, it’s not an exaggeration to say that one of the best (and most utterly terrifying) moments in all of Doctor Who comes in the first encounter between Nine and the captive Dalek – “I know what should happen. I know what you deserve… Exterminate.” Eccleston is equally adept in showing his compassion for the Dalek at the episode’s conclusion – a pivotal moment in Nine’s character arc – but in his righteous fury and vitriol that we see Nine at his absolute peak.
Standout quote: “Why don’t you finish the job, and make the Daleks extinct? Why don’t you just DIE?!”
But also:“You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground, beneath tonnes of sand and dirt and label them! You’re about as far from the stars as you can get!”
