The Doctor

Way back in March of 2011 I was bored with what was on TV and my local Blockbuster had closed so renting movies was difficult. I started checking DVDs out from the library, but that was slow and not everything I wanted was available when I wanted it. I had decided I had wanted to watch a TV series I’d never seen before from start to finish and for reasons I can’t remember now, I settled on Doctor Who. Sadly, the library didn’t have anything but Doctor Who books so I checked Netflix and found the show there. I joined and started watching from the beginning. Not the beginning of the re-launched series in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston, but the very first season back in 1963 with the incomparable William Hartnell, and now here I am, seventeen months and 784 episodes* later, and I’m proud to say that last night I finished the series and am all caught up on Doctor Who.

Having said that, maybe “proud” isn’t the right word to talk about something that doesn’t amount to much more than having spent hundreds of hours on the couch watching TV, but it’s still a cool accomplishment.

And I finished not a moment too soon since the new season starts tonight.

And now the inevitable lists.

Favorite Doctors
William Hartnell was the first and will always be the best. After him:
David Tennant
Peter Davison
Colin Baker

Favorite Companions
Male:
Ian Chesterton
Jamie McCrimmon
Jack Harkness

Female:
Donna Noble – she was the ultimate companion!
Leela
Ace

Non-human:
K-9

Least Favorite Doctors
Christopher Eccleston
Jon Pertwee
Tom Baker (the second half of his tenure)

(Dis?)Honorable Mention: Matt Smith
Maybe it’s not fair to list Matt Smith as a least favorite doctor yet because he has the disadvantage of following David Tenant, but I can’t seem to warm to him. I think he might be the best actual actor to play the role, and while he has an ‘old’ face that adds a lot of character to his portrayal, he’s too young for me. He’s also a little too comical and the funny doctors (Patrick Troughton, the second half Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy) have never been my favorites.

Least Favorite Companions
The second Romana
Peri Brown
Dodo Chaplet

Favorite Aliens
Weeping Angels
The Ood
The Daleks

Least Favorite Aliens
Sorry, I’m listed out and I can’t really remember any aliens/monsters/villains I didn’t like anyway. Some were more improbable than others, but they were all enjoyable. Especially the early ones when there was no CGI and you could see it was actors/extras walking around in costome. Like the Zarbi and the Menoptera. I guess I never cared for the Ice Warriors and The Master got a little boring from time to time.

Are you a Doctor Who fan?

* Not quite 784 episodes since some of the early episodes aren’t available on DVD.