Always gonna be Paul McGann for me-- the whim of purchasing an audio drama back in 2001 is what turned me from someone who watched the show on TV sometimes into a full-blow fan! I find it hard to rank otherwise, but these days I'd place William Hartnell, Peter Davison, and Christopher Eccleston near the top.
I admit that Five's turn is OK, and he certainly did have his classics, like Earthshock and, of course, Caves of Androzani. But mostly, I thought his run was plagued with a general lack of characterization. In a lot of ways, Big Finish fleshed out the characters, especially Nyssa, whose survivor's guilt is most emphasized in them, in both big and small ways. BF just added moments of actual drama that you would expect nowadays from DW - namely, a confrontation between Turlough and Tegan after it was revealed that the former was working for the Black Guardian. Or Nyssa's outcry about Adric's death in Spare Parts, or the Fifth Doctor's adamant refusal to let himself be the prototype for the Cybermen.... great character moments like that are badly missing in the TV stories. Of course, that doesn't mean that his TV stories aren't as a whole better than Sixth/Seventh's runs, and it is. But its not as great as they could've been, partly because JNT was not concerned about characterization and more about getting high ratings.
Earthshock was definitely a classic. It really annoyed me that during the 50th anniversary marathon, the end credits for that one weren't silent as they were in the original broadcast. I guess I'll have to check out these audio adventures. I've never heard any of them.
David Tennant is my favourite "Doctor," but whichever one had this delicious piece of crumpet as his sidekick can't be all bad, either ... For if I were he, I, too, would have to whisk her away in the Tardis and have my Doctor Whovian way with her.
^^^That was Tegan Jovanka and she was introduced in Tom Baker's final story Logopolis, but she was mainly a fifth Doctor's companion.
As a viewer, I loved the character, because she was a nagging bitch often (Though she had a very loyal and smart/resourceful streak as well, which kept the Doctor from just wanting to drop her any old place). She was a rare passenger that happened upon traveling by mistake and for longer than Barbara and Ian, she bitched about wanting to get home, until she finally did get left, and she was sorry she got left. (And then she ended up right back on board at the end of the next Serial, LOL) There was more than once she tried 5's patience, and he had to count to 10 to gain his compusure (And 5 was overly agreeable, according to 6). So, if you're planning on keeping her for a tasty morsel, you might consider a good pair of ear plugs
"Tegan" ... what a charming name for so lovely a companion! Thank you for the synopsis on her, by the way. I, myself, do not enjoy getting nagged about anything. So this quality might take some getting used to. But if she's as loyal and good-hearted as seems to be the case, here, then ... it's worth it! She's played by Janet Fielding, of course, and I've looked her up, to see more photographs of this gorgeous lady. Unfortunately, many of them are artistic, in nature and "out of context," so they seem kind of daft, some of them. But I've seen some promo shots of her as Teagan, one against a wall, in a white dress with colourful patterns on it and she looks absolutely beautiful. Stunning, in fact.
At first, I thought you were just being sarcastic, so I almost didn't. But then I thought, "he would've just said "Google Teagan" and left out the Elightenment part. So ... I looked it up, as you suggested and read a rather extensive article about it on some site called The Doctor Who Guide, or whatever else along these lines. Wow ... I'm just reading the thing and I'm impressed. I'm definitely going to be checking this out, further. Thanks alot for the suggestion!
Oh Tegan Jovanka... How do I adore thee. Nyssa are you planning on visiting Oz? [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAc5ACtiwbU[/yt]
Actually the reason I said to Google that was to get the pic which AllStarEntprise posted of her in that dress, but it is a damn fine serial aside from that!
Jon Pertwee, obviously. There is no other. But for the little it's worth, he's followed by Troughton and Smith. Then Hartnell and Davison. Then...eh, really, except for Tennant who occupies the lowest circle of hell and is even more unwatchable than McCoy. To each their own, of course.
I say! I always did love BBC Costume Dramas. Poor Doctor Who: "Look up! Look up!!! Must ... maintain ... eye ... contact ..."
That "delicious piece of crumpet" would have kicked you "right in the middle of the Gentlemens' Department" (to mix Doctor Who and Are You Being Served?). Considering Tegan always wore high heels, I imagine that would be rather painful. Tegan also wasn't afraid to grab a gun and fight, as she did in Earthshock. I'd rather listen to Tegan than Mel... what a screecher. You need to consider Tegan's backstory, though. She and her aunt were on the way to Heathrow airport so Tegan could start her stewardess job, and the car got a flat tire. In the meantime, the TARDIS showed up and so did the Master, who killed Tegan's aunt. Tegan, meanwhile, went inside the TARDIS, thinking it was an ordinary phone booth, got lost, and accidentally stowed away. Nyssa had the most abominable taste in clothes. Her original Traken aristocrat's outfit wasn't practical for roaming around time and space, so she started trying out different outfits... and not one of them did her any favors. When she left, she was basically just in her underwear (with a flimsy slip over the bra and panties). Hopefully she found something to wear, on that broken-down ship that had an all-male crew... Enlightenment is one of the better Fifth Doctor stories, not only for The Dress, but also because it wraps up the Black Guardian storyline that began back in the Fourth Doctor era's Key to Time arc. That's from Enlightenment. It's not actually a historical; that's the clothing style chosen by the aliens called the Eternals.
Oh, absolutely Mel was rougher on the ears (She actually, is my least favorite of all the Companions, ever). Regarding Teagan's backstory, yea, that's kinda what I was getting at, that she had a real reason for being such a Shrew about wanting to get home to her job, and being unhappy about being stuck on The TARDIS. Other than Ian and Barbara, I think Teagan was the only other Companion who wasn't traveling with The Doctor voluntarily, hence my comment about her being rare in that aspect And yea, Nyssa, really could've benefitted from Teagan as her Fashion advisor, LOL
Jon Pertwee has been my fav since I started seeing his serials in the early '80s. Tennant has become a close second. Capaldi looks good so far, so we'll have to see. As far as the main point of this discussion, though, Tegan really looked adorable in her sky waitress outfit. IMHO