NO.
Companion: "Doctor, the universe is about to end in 3.5 seconds, do something!"
Doctor (rolls her eyes and drawls in a bored tone): "Golleh."
If I were writing the series finale for Downton Abbey, it would end with Edith getting her happy-ever-after with the husband of her choice. And then the final scene would be Violet and Isabel walking together outside on the lawn, they hear an odd noise, the TARDIS materializes, and the Doctor marches up to Isabel and says, "Okay, holiday's over, time to get back to work."
Violet stares at them. "I'm not sure I understand."
Isabel turns to her and extends her hand: "Harriet Jones, Prime Minister. I've been on an unexpectedly extended holiday for the past 40 years." She glares at the Doctor, clearly conveying to him that he's not been at all punctual in picking her up.
When Violet realizes that her best friend intends to leave forever, she's clearly disappointed and trying very hard to maintain her aristocratic stoicism. But the Doctor, seeing the obvious friendship between the two women, invites Violet to accompany them ("Just a short trip, and back in plenty of time for afternoon tea").
And off they go, on lots of adventures. The End.
BTW, if the actress who plays Violet were 20-30 years younger, she'd have made a great female Doctor.
Most of them did a 3-year run. But Pertwee did 5 years, and Tom Baker did 7 years. Colin Baker didn't leave of his own choice. We'll never know how long McGann would have lasted in a series, but he would have been great.
The Doctor has to have some personality trait that's off-kilter from normal human social standards, to convey to the audience that he may look human, but really isn't.I don't really watch Downton, though I have seen the odd episode. Obviously its again down to the character but I just want to punch Mary and hug Edith so if they were going with anyone from Downton it'd have to be Carmichael. She just seems quirkier, and whilst I'm not saying the Doctor has to be kooky, there has to be a certain something off kilter in the look and/or performance. Very few of the male Doctors have been your traditional handsome leading man types (really I think the only ones that come close are Davison, McGann and maybe Tennant) One of my fears of a female Doctor is that they cast a complete babe rather than a character actress (which doesn’t mean she can’t be attractive, just not traditionally attractive, in the way Matt etc. are)
I do wonder though, in an alternate universe where there never was a River Song, would there be another name on our list right now?
As for your list, you forgot the most important name: Tom Baker. Davison was cute, and while I watched him on All Creatures Great and Small, I can't forget that the first TV show I ever saw him in was in the 1970s SF series The Tomorrow People. He played an alien named Elmer.
I did find Paul McGann attractive, and Tennant's natural voice is one I could listen to all day. He's not in the category of "I'd listen to him read the phone book" but still... That would get me to completely stop watching. Period. I never want to see her on Doctor Who again, and won't be watching her on anything else.Jenna Coleman.
Lalla Ward was never shy about offering her opinions about her costumes. There were times when what she ended up wearing was quite different from what the costumer originally proposed.
I don't know if Mary Tamm had any input into her costumes. The most practical one she had was in The Power of Kroll, which is the worst story of her season.
Felicity Kendall... I've seen her in Good Neighbors and as Viola in Twelfth Night. What else has she done?
As for Nicola Bryant, no. Just. No. She has a squeaky voice and her accent kept slipping, not only from line to line, but in the middle of her lines.
I've been binge-watching Reign, and if Megan Follows were British instead of Canadian, she could pull it off. This is the first time I've seen her in anything but Matt & Jenny (when she was a child) and Anne of Green Gables. I'm impressed, and never thought that of all the characters in a historical drama about Mary Stuart, I'd be rooting for Catherine d'Medici.
William Hartnell was already creaking when he played the First Doctor...
