this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2023
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Doctor Who

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I started watching Dr who when the reboot was 3 seasons in, I think David Tennant was the greatest doctor. A few years later I finally got wife to give it a shot as I started a fresh rewatch in preparation for Matt Smith's second season, she was ok with Eccelston and Tennant but Matt Smith is far and away her favorite doctor. Does this pattern hold true for any other Dr fans?

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[–] jenings 16 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Excelston was my first but I feel like the show really hit its stride with Smith and Tenant and theyre sort fo tied for my favorites

[–] Hogger86 3 points 2 years ago

Was going to say the same. I don't think eccelstone counts to the rule

[–] lemick24 10 points 2 years ago

Eccleston is when I started watching, but Tennant is absolutely my favourite with Smith as a second place.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago

Started in 2005 with the reboot, and while I love Eccleston in the role my top 3 would be: Capaldi, McCoy, Smith, in that order.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I started with Eccelston and would say Tennant is my favorite, but Smith follows very closely.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I have a weird problem. I start out not liking the new Doctor, but by the time they switch, they have become my favorite. Every time.

I absolutely hated Capaldi at first, but after the infinite loop prison episode, I couldn't imagine any other person ever being the doctor again.

Now I feel the same way about Jodie. She was such a fun Doctor that I'm actually sad to see Tennent back.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Heaven sent is truly one of the best episodes of the series. I was entertained, shocked, amused and sad.

Capaldi is my doctor. Started the series with Eccelston. Love them all, though.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

"Came the long way around" is something I've adopted saying because of just how powerful it was when he said it. No one else in my family understands it of course, but it left a lasting impression on me.

[–] Myriadblue 7 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Started watching before Tom Baker's Dr. Who, but it only clicked when he became the doctor for me.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Tom Baker. Then Peter Davison (Tristan!) celery on the lapel and all. Then Eccleson. Then Capaldi.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Me too - Jon Pertwee was my first (older siblings) but Tom Baker was the one when I reached the right age I think

[–] TheSpermWhale 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I think this applies to a lot of people, but I don't like to pick a favourite, especially after listening to Big Finish stuff, coz each Doctor has their own quirks and whenever I try and settle on a choice, I get conflicted. If you forced me to pick thought I would say 4

[–] Donjuanme 4 points 2 years ago

I would never force anyone to pick! But we all have a preference, and sometimes that preference changes, just like Doctor.

[–] Mulkor 5 points 2 years ago

Nope, started with Eccleston and my favorite is Tennant with Smith a close second.

[–] yukichigai 5 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm ancient and started watching during the gap between the end of McCoy/Classic Who and the beginning of Eccleston/NuWho. I wound up watching a completely random selection of the 4th through 7th Doctors because that was what got played on PBS (KQED and KTEH ftw). The 4th Doctor was definitely my favorite and still is, simply because he really feels alien moreso than any of the other Doctors, to me anyway. Not that I don't greatly appreciate the others - especially Matt Smith, who's the most "fun" of all the Doctors IMO - but when I think The Doctor I still think of Tom Baker.

Also the 3rd Doctor was surprisingly badass and I think is my #3 favorite, surprisingly.

[–] JewellieEchidna 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

if you’re ancient i must be even ancienter. tom baker is my doctor, and i was highly traumatised at least 3 times i can clearly remember, in order from least to worst:

  • the white maggots maggoting out of the mineshaft

  • that shithead adric locking romana out of the tardis when the giant spiders were closing in outside

  • when the doctor dropped off sarah jane & just after the fucker dematerialised, she realised she had no idea where (or when) he’d left her. IT WAS LIKE THREE DECADES before we found out she was ok. awful.

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[–] seiryth 5 points 2 years ago

Nope, started with eccelston and my fav ended up being Capaldi.

[–] GratefullyGodless 5 points 2 years ago (5 children)

The first Doctor I saw was Pertwee, but Tennant is my favorite. Being a life-long fan, he brought such enthusiasm to the part, and was just completely amazing. I'm hopeful that Gatwa is going to wind up a favorite too, as RTD knows how to pick a great Doctor.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Eccelston was my first doctor, watched through the first season with Smith. Then I started from the beginning. Working through Davison now. So far, my favorite doctor is Pertwee, I just love how tough situations are solved with martial arts and my God, his wardrobe!

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[–] BlitzFitz 4 points 2 years ago

I was introduced to Doctor Who by my brother with the Clara Intro Snowman episode. I was thoroughly confused and didn't like it. Tried getting back into it a year or so later, starting from Eccleston, and still didn't like it. Once i got to Tennant, i was hooked though.

I normally like Tennant and Smith the best, so I don't fit this pattern.

[–] regeya 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

When I was a kid, my introduction was Tom Baker. For whatever reason Doctor Who scared me. As an adult I've tried watching Tom Baker Doctor Who and while I think he's hilarious and Douglas Adams' writing is also hilarious, it's not my favorite. I'm not sure why David Tennant is so loved but I'm in that camp, yes.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Doesn't apply to me. Pretty sure Tom Baker was my first Doctor (via PBS reruns). Of the pre-2005 series Jon Pertwee was my favorite.

When nuWho started I was there from the start with Eccleston, but Tennant is my favorite.

[–] MythicalDraught 4 points 2 years ago

No. Started watching during Eccleston's run and Tennant is my favourite. Eccleston is my second favourite, though. Shame he only got the one season.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

Started with eccleston, but tennent is by far my favorite. It’s a matter of writing also though ~because when they brought eccleston back for that special he seemed to do much better than during his season. ~

Edit: totally hallucinated eccleston returning in a special. He specifically did not

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Same. Honestly it's not even really close for me either. It's Tennant by a mile. I think a lot of it has to do with writing, but also i just had a really hard time taking Smith seriously.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

Mine is Sylvester McCoy, and he wasn't the first Doctor I saw, but he was the Doctor when the show sort of 'clicked' for me and I got properly into it if that makes sense.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 years ago

I started out with Eccleston, but have a bit of a soft spot for Capaldi.

On the other hand, I've actually sought out other things that David Tennant has been in to watch, and I've not done that for Capaldi...

[–] Ataraxia 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Nope. While I'm OK with excelston I prefer tenant, Capaldi, Smith, jodi over him. And really my first doctor was from the movie and well that was a bad introduction to dr.who... they all needed getting used to though as they all looked kinda goofy lol.

[–] Vinny_b 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I started with C. Eccleston and honestly he's definitely up there even if I'm more into PCaps and C. Baker lately

[–] ZcaT 3 points 2 years ago

Nope, Smith is my favorite and I started with Tennant (although Tennant is still very much my second favorite)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Started watching the year when Tennant was doc. But I went in starting at the beginning with literally no knowledge of what dr who was. Watched all the way through Peter Capaldi and solidly thought, "Eccleston is the best doc, but I like Capaldi the most". Then, rewatched it with my current partner, who very much liked and still likes Tennant the best, and I literally cannot decide. I now have an entirely new appreciation for Smith, and I think he did an EXCELLENT job.

They're all insanely appropriate for their state of character development of the doctor in phases of personal growth and grieving, including Whittaker.

Tl;dr: No. I think it depends on where you are in your life and if it resonates with how the doctor is, not who's playing the doctor.

[–] Herbil 3 points 2 years ago

Capaldi was my first and favourite doctor for a while, but recently it has been a tie between him and Eccleston. I love Colin Baker's performance too, but I haven't managed to watch all his episodes.

[–] Dracona 3 points 2 years ago

A lot do love their first Doctor. I'm old school and started watching as a tiny kid and it was Jon Pertwee. I love Tom Baker but Peter Davison became Doctor right when my teen hormones hit so he's my favourite Classic Doctor! Peter Capaldi is my favourite Nu Who Doctor.

[–] rob_t_firefly 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

The pattern does not hold for me.

When I started watching it was on PBS in the United States in the 1980s, and they showed the Doctors in mixed-up order. The Doctor who first caught my eye was Tom Baker, the most popular by far among US viewers and also the one most likely to turn up in the reruns simply because they were rebroadcasting (mostly) stuff from the color era; I loved the grinning madman with jellybabies and scarf with the blasts of Douglas Adams humor. However, when I grew to have a truly favorite Doctor I realized I was a Colin Baker fan and still am.

[–] relevant_ace 3 points 2 years ago

Started with Nine but his one season felt like an intro to Doctor Who. Ten became way too over the top and exhausting for me. Eleven came in and immediately I knew, this was My Doctor. He was fun, zany and had that thrill of adventure and optimism. But also could be terrifying, quiet and sadly understanding of reality.

The others after that just never clicked in the same way for me. For me, the sense of fun and wonder was what drew me to Doctor Who.

[–] Eldritch 3 points 2 years ago

The doctor when I started watching was Peter Davidson. Who was fine. But for myself I enjoyed Tom Baker and a lot of the stories he was in most. New Who Tennant, Smith, and Capaldi were all up there. Each really bringing something to the series and having a number of good arcs.

[–] phil299 3 points 1 year ago

Tom Baker was my first and remains my favorite, so much so I actually cried when he appeared as the curator. For me it was a really emotional moment, stupid I know but it was like a direct road back to my childhood which for me , luckily was a largely happy time.

[–] Thadrax 3 points 2 years ago

I've only watched a few seasons starting with Smith and yeah, he is definitely who the doctor is in my mind.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Neither me nor my son. I started with the reboot and didn't like the first doctor, and loved matt Smith. My son adores Christopher and got into it the same order.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

I started with Eccelston and Matt Smith is my favorite, but I do think Tennant had better stories for the most part. But Tennant is definitely my least favorite of the ones I've seen (up through most of Capaldi's run). He's just too human and whiney, especially later in his run.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This wouldn't apply at all, sorry.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's hard to pick a favorite. Technically the first Doctor I watched was Eccelston, but I don't really count him as first since I was catching bits and pieces of an episode while sick with the flu or something. Tennant was my first, proper introduction to Doctor Who and I worked back from there. I still enjoy Tennant's Doctor a lot, but I wouldn't necessarily say he's my favorite. If I had to pick one I'd have to go with Capaldi. Maybe I just liked the novelty of an "older" Doctor after Tennant and Smith, but he did have some great moments during his run.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

No, but I'm in a somewhat unusual situation. I'm an American fan who was introduced to the show right at the tail end of the classic era. I'd seen one or two serials that my aunt had taped off of our local PBS affiliate (IIRC, The Five Doctors and Revelation of the Daleks were among them), but the first serial I saw as someone with an active interest in the show was the regional premiere of Battlefield, followed that same night by the premiere of Ghost Light (the PBS station in question showed omnibus movie format versions and had doubled up the season 26 stories to get through them in two weeks). So, by that metric, my "first" Doctor was Seven.

But it's not that simple, because I was technically within broadcast range of two PBS stations, one that aired the show late night on Saturdays, and the other that aired them late night on Sundays. And the very next day after seeing that Seven double feature, the other station was airing a One story, and jumped around semi-randomly after that. And, after the first station got through season 26 in those two weeks, they cycled back around and started showing the extant complete One stories, starting with An Unearthly Child. So I have a fair bit of association with the first Doctor, as well.

Initially, I guess I was a fan of both One and Seven, and they were at least near the top of my list. But being a fan in the wilderness years wasn't really as straightforward as all that. The closest I had to a "current" Doctor was Seven, especially since I avidly followed the New Adventures novels when they started releasing a year or two after that, but there was never a time when I wasn't also flitting around and watching other Doctors as they aired on PBS, or as the VHS releases came out, or (eventually) as the Missing/Past Doctor Adventures novels were published. If pushed, I might have named either One or Seven as my favorite, but I might have also named Five or Six, and I never considered them my firsts.

In any case, that was a long time ago, and even if I had felt that way at the time the revived show has given me additional options, and I'm pretty confident in saying that Twelve is my favorite nowadays, with Eleven ranking pretty highly (on par with One, Five, Six, and Seven, at least) as well. 🤷

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

I mean, I love Tom Baker, but Sylvester McCoy will always have a very soft spot in my heart, as he was my first.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

doesn't apply for me! I started watching with the 9th and my favourite is the 11th

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Started with Tennant, love Tennant.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Oooh that's a tough one. I just never got into the original Doctor Who series, but happened to catch the new run while I was laid up. Tennant's episodes were playing at the time, and it got me completely hooked. I ended up going back and working through all the new episodes and by the time I finished that, Smith was just wrapping up. But Capaldi... damn I loved his acting, he was just so dramatic and I was really sad to see him leave the show. For me it would be a tough choice to select between Tennant and Capaldi.

[–] random72guy 2 points 2 years ago

My first was technically Tenant, the Pompei episode. Just felt weird to me. Didn't try the show again until Moffat & Smith's Eleventh Hour, and fell in love instantly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Yes... and no. We started with 9 and while 9 is my favorite, my wife totally adores 10

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