The Doctors and Their Finest Performances (Part 1)
Guest contributor Jack Bowden begins 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!
13. Jon Pertwee, ‘Planet of the Spiders’
I usually have no qualms about saying that the Third Doctor ranks towards the very bottom of my list of Doctors. It’s not because of any distaste for Pertwee himself – he was born to play this role – but for whatever reason I feel that Three, while bursting at the seams in sophistication and elegance, lacks a certain depth that the other Doctors have. Suffice to say, every time I watch Planet of the Spiders, I have to eat my words. Pertwee’s outing is nothing short of magnificent, easily encompassing all the required emotions, from trading quips with Sarah Jane when captured – “Something to sink their teeth into, eh?” – to his very real and horrific fear at being turned into a puppet by the Great One. But of course, Pertwee saves his absolute best for last, as his regeneration scene is what really pushes this into the realm of greatest Doctor performances. Even in death, Three is elegant and composed (compare it to Ten’s reaction in the End of Time!) and his final words, up there with Eleven’s beautiful monologue and “Physician, heal thyself”, are some of the greatest in Doctor Who history.
Standout quote: “A tear, Sarah Jane? No, don’t cry. While there’s life there’s…”
12. David Tennant, ‘The Waters of Mars’
If I have one reservation about Ten’s run, it’s that we never really saw consequences for his actions like we did with Eleven. Sure, both were arrogant and overbearing at times, but while Eleven’s arc is tangible and in a way self-fulfilling (his arrogance in bringing the Time Lords back in TDOTD leads directly to the Kovarian Chapter taking Amy and Melody in Series 6), Ten never really changed to become a better (or worse) man because of what he’d done. Of course, that all changed with that one final gunshot in the Waters of Mars. A terrific story in its own right, and still one of RTD’s finest achievements, Tennant deserves a spot here not only for the electrifying Time Lord Victorious but because of all that came before it. Ten’s breakdown is expertly written and performed – suggested, built up to, and given tangible consequences in Brooke’s suicide. In showing us every side of Ten, from his playfulness at the story’s beginning to his growing despair at the deaths around to him to his eventual breakdown and then ‘redemption’ – well, let’s just say this is a better tribute to Tennant’s time on the show than the End of Time could ever dream of being.
Standout quote: “The laws of time are mine – and they will obey me!”
11. Sylvester McCoy, ‘Red’ (Audio)
In which Sylv gets the opportunity to play the Doctor possessed by a force of pure violence and ups the creepy factor by about 110%. Imagine the famous scene from The Happiness Patrol – “You like guns, don’t you?” – and then isolate it from the fact that we know it’s the Doctor speaking and that he’s (probably) working for the greater good of everyone, and you’ve got an idea of the Red monster. McCoy really gets to prove here that despite his occasional dodgy moments, when he gets it right he has the capacity to be the most fascinating, terrifying and beguiling Doctor of all.
Standout quote: “Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeedddddddddddddddd”
10. John Hurt, ‘The Day of the Doctor’
For obvious reasons, it wasn’t hard to pick a best moment for John Hurt. Few actors can convey the gravitas and weight of years as convincingly as Hurt, and he is perfectly cast as the haunted War Doctor. In a way the heart of the anniversary special, Hurt convinces and even terrifies as 8.5 yet still manages to hold his own in the high-energy banter between Smith and Tennant (actors about half his age, for future reference). Moffat provides 8.5 with the bulk of the best dialogue, with epic lines such as “Great men are forged in fire; it is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame” to the simple but powerful: “I don’t know who you are. Either of you!”
9. Peter Davison, ‘Circular Time’ (Audio)
Never understood Five’s appeal? Think he’s a bit of a wet fish, or lazily written? Do yourself a favour and pick up Circular Time, in which Paul Cornell and Mike Maddox single-handedly show everyone else how it’s done with regards to the Fifth Doctor and his relationships (particularly Nyssa). Everything from his love for cricket to his relationship with every companion he had is put under the microscope, but Circular Time is never heavy-handed and is always presented with elegance and finesse. See the Autumn segment for proof of how DW can be absolutely gripping with no action or alien menace whatsoever, and Winter for a poetic epitaph to Davison’s tenure on the show and his most human and heartfelt of Doctors.
8. Matt Smith, ‘The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang’
I realise that’s kind of a cheat, including two episodes, but whatever. Matt Smith is my Doctor, and Series 5 was my series, and while Moffat can always deliver the goods I think nothing quite lived up to the reckless brilliance of this finale. From the absolutely brillaint “I. AM. TALKING!” speech to his horrified realisation that he is the monster the prison was for, Smith holds nothing back and reaches the apotheosis of his childish, ancient and totally bonkers Eleven. I could pick any moment from this finale and use it to show Smith at his best, but in the end there was only really one choice.
Standout quote: “We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? ‘Cause it was, you know. It was… the best. The daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away. Did I ever tell you that I stole it? Well… I borrowed it. I was always going to take it back. Oh, that box. Amy, you’ll dream about that box. It’ll never leave you. Big and little at the same time. Brand new and ancient and… the bluest blue ever. And the times we had, eh? Woulda had. Never… had. In your dreams they’ll still be there. The Doctor and Amy Pond. And the days that never came.”
7. Tom Baker, ‘Genesis of the Daleks’
I don’t quite see Genesis as the bona-fide classic it is held to be – personally I think it goes on way too long, plus there’s that dodgy business with the huge clam – but one aspect in which its influence is inarguable is its portrayal of the Fourth Doctor. We see him pushed to the limits like never before in the wasteland of Skaro, his eccentricity completely useless in the war-ravaged land, forced to reveal secrets of future Dalek defeats to Davros (who, if this wasn’t a Doctor-only list, could have easily made an appearance with Wisher’s superlative performance). But of course, there is one scene which rises above all others and will always be regarded as one of the very best in Doctor Who history.
Standout quote: “Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?… Do I have the right? Simply touch one wire against the other and that’s it. The Daleks cease to exist. Hundreds of millions of people, thousands of generations can live without fear, in peace, and never even know the word Dalek.”
To be continued…
