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Unpopular Opinions on Doctor Who

freddieaxlfreddieaxl Posts: 1,183
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A lot of polls say that David Tennant and Tom Baker are the best Doctors and Rose, Sarah Jane and Donna are best companions and Caves of Androzani and Blink are some of the best episodes, but do you agree? What are your unpopular opinions?

Mine -

I didn't really like Matt Smith as the Doctor. He was a good actor, but it wasn't the kind of style I like for a Doctor. And I didn't like Rory or Amy either, they just felt really weak to me. Again, good actors, but not my cup of tea.

Sylvester McCoy is one of my favourite Doctors, and The Happiness Patrol is one of my favourite ever Doctor Who stories. I think it's brilliant. My four favourite Doctors are Tom Baker, David Tennant, Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy. I also love Time Flight and Four to Doomsday, which aren't that popular, and I think Fear Her and The Idiot's Lantern are great.

I thought Martha was one of the best companions ever, she was great, which is sort of unpopular to some. Tegan, Ace, Romana II, Martha, Rose and Donna are my favourites which isn't really unpopular, but I think Martha is way underrated.

So what are yours?

My Doctor Rankings

1. David Tennant
2. Peter Davison
3. Tom Baker
4. Sylvester McCoy
5. Patrick Troughton
6. Jon Pertwee
7. Christopher Eccleston
8. Matt Smith
9. Colin Baker
10. William Hartnell
11. Paul McGann (never seen the TV Movie)

Top 5 Companions

1. Donna
2. Ace
3. Martha
4. Tegan
5. Romana II
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    Fairyprincess0Fairyprincess0 Posts: 30,152
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    What's wrong with the doctor being half-human?....
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    lady_xanaxlady_xanax Posts: 5,662
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    Oh Martha was dreadful! She was basically like Grace in the TVM, wasn't she, making gooey eyes at the Doctor ALL THE TIME.
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    saladfingers81saladfingers81 Posts: 11,301
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    SJS is one of the worst companions the show ever had. Bland, boring, woodenly acted and totally undeserving of the legendary status that gets bestowed upon her. Combination of luck, being in the right era and the hazy glow of misguided nostalgia. (Great in School Reunion though!)

    The SJA was a very poor show that not once excelled beyond its CBBC status. The BBC has produced through the decades some truly classic children's dramas that will endure. SJA isn't one of them. Terrible acting. Cheap. File next to that Wizards and Aliens thing.

    The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is a great story. But not even remotely scary.

    John Simm is by far the best Master. An actor with skill and range and heart as opposed to the previous incumbents who belonged in a Punch and Judy Show.

    Love and Monsters is one of the best episodes of all time.

    Kandyman is scarier than the Daleks.

    The alleged 'comedy' bits between Donna and the Doctor were woeful and seemed forced. Donna as a character always did better with the more serious and dramatic moments which were far greater than all the 'Watch it spaceman' cockney nonsense.

    Turn Left is not a terrible episode as such but it is one of the most overrated in the shows history and is RTD showing his worst excesses as opposed to the strengths of Midnight. A fairly tiresome retread of the 'What if?' scenario which is well played out in sci-fi it features a terrible and distracting performance from Piper, an annoyingly melodramatic turn from Tate and some of the worst supporting performances the show has ever had. Witness the token superstitious peasant maid of indistinct ethnic origin who crosses herself, makes crazy eyes and would seem insultingly out of place in a Roger Corman 70s B-movie. Not to mention the feeble attempt to give this clear filler story some gravitas by throwing in the ludicrous and almost offensive notion that within a few short months Britain will have descended so far into the abyss that we begin on a route to becoming another Nazi Germany. Utter Tosh. Yes the scene with Wilf and the salute is nicely acted and poignant...until you engage your brain. How this episode makes it into the top 150 let alone top 20 is baffling. And I didn't even mention the beetle backpack once! Says it all.

    River Song and the Doctor are not really married.

    'Spoilers' is a really annoying catchphrase.
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    KezMKezM Posts: 1,397
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    I loved the unrequited love story between Martha and the Doctor. I think it was completely understandable that Martha fell for the Doctor and I didn't think it overshadowed the character or the plots at all.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 231
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    Yay!!!!!!!!!!! A negative thread!! I love these...........
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    QuantumLeapQuantumLeap Posts: 706
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    Yay!!!!!!!!!!! A negative thread!! I love these...........

    Merry Christmas and God Bless us everyone ;)
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    freddieaxlfreddieaxl Posts: 1,183
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    Yay!!!!!!!!!!! A negative thread!! I love these...........

    I didn't mean this as a negative thread, I meant it to be what you like that other people don't. Like I said, I love Time Flight and Four to Doomsday but other people dont. Unpopular positive opinions too
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    saladfingers81saladfingers81 Posts: 11,301
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    Indeed. Mine were mostly negative as I have a rotten cold and am grumpy. But its up to the poster!
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    Sufyaan_KaziSufyaan_Kazi Posts: 3,862
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    freddieaxl wrote: »
    A lot of polls say that David Tennant and Tom Baker are the best Doctors and Rose, Sarah Jane and Donna are best companions and Caves of Androzani and Blink are some of the best episodes, but do you agree? What are your unpopular opinions?

    Mine -

    I didn't really like Matt Smith as the Doctor. He was a good actor, but it wasn't the kind of style I like for a Doctor. And I didn't like Rory or Amy either, they just felt really weak to me. Again, good actors, but not my cup of tea.

    Sylvester McCoy is one of my favourite Doctors, and The Happiness Patrol is one of my favourite ever Doctor Who stories. I think it's brilliant. My four favourite Doctors are Tom Baker, David Tennant, Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy. I also love Time Flight and Four to Doomsday, which aren't that popular, and I think Fear Her and The Idiot's Lantern are great.

    I thought Martha was one of the best companions ever, she was great, which is sort of unpopular to some. Tegan, Ace, Romana II, Martha, Rose and Donna are my favourites which isn't really unpopular, but I think Martha is way underrated.

    So what are yours?

    My Doctor Rankings

    1. David Tennant
    2. Peter Davison
    3. Tom Baker
    4. Sylvester McCoy
    5. Patrick Troughton
    6. Jon Pertwee
    7. Christopher Eccleston
    8. Matt Smith
    9. Colin Baker
    10. William Hartnell
    11. Paul McGann (never seen the TV Movie)

    Top 5 Companions

    1. Donna
    2. Ace
    3. Martha
    4. Tegan
    5. Romana II


    Firstly i must say I'm really disappointed that saladfingers is keeping his opinions so close to his chest :D

    Martha - she was sooooooooooooo boring. Wake me up please. Her only good episode was when the doc was human, man I'm terrible at episode names, family of blood?

    I love evil characters, i like the spice early Colin Baker bright to the role.

    I do like Donna, there were bad parts to her role, but she was way more convincing at showing depth of character "being around you I don't know what's right or wrong", I like the way she wasn't a timid spineless "yes" character, if the doctor did something wrong she told him so quite clearly. Her cockney character was funny at times, "you want to mate with me?", "no I just want a mate".

    But picking the best doctor or best companion, eh, it's just not that simple. I love Led Zep, Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath. I also love Gary Numan and early non-pop Human League. I also love Duran Duran and UB40 and Nick Drake. They're all different but not better than each other. It's a mood thing, and I think the Doctors are like that.

    The only absolutes are that certain characters are loathsome. I hated the guy who appeared for two episodes (Rose picked up after Dalek). Donna' s mom irritated me as did the slitheen. Captain Jack irritates me (but redeemed himself temporarily) in the Bad Wolf episode when he actually died, and I think the Face of Boe was great. Sil irritated me.

    Ok rant over.
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    Michael_EveMichael_Eve Posts: 14,471
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    These days with the interweb I see so much divergence of opinion, it's tricky to know what is particularly 'unpopular' really. With the OP re: McCoy and 'The Happiness Patrol'; definitely not so re: Matt Smith and 'Time-Fight'! (love the Davison era, mind, and think 'Four To Doomsday' is underrated)

    Saladfingers...you diss *anything* about Donna, we're going to have to take things outside. >:( ;-)

    As regards this forum, the only thing that springs to mind is...I quite like 'The Doctor, the Widow and The Wardrobe'. :o
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    TheSilentFezTheSilentFez Posts: 11,104
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    I agree with the OP with regards to Sylvester McCoy. I really liked his portrayal of the Doctor from season 25 onwards (the less said about season 24, the better though) and season 26 is one of my all-time favourite seasons. I definitely do not think Doctor Who died "in squalor and misery" back in 1989.

    I think Warriors of the Deep is a good episode as well as The Power of Kroll, and Timelash is so bad it's actually quite enjoyable.
    I also found Vengeance on Varos, which is often hailed as one of Colin Baker's best stories, incredibly dull.
    The SJA was a very poor show that not once excelled beyond its CBBC status. The BBC has produced through the decades some truly classic children's dramas that will endure. SJA isn't one of them. Terrible acting. Cheap. File next to that Wizards and Aliens thing.

    I agree with this. Apart from the very odd exception, I couldn't watch the Sarah-Jane Adventures without cringing at the poor acting and childishness of it all. It was like watching Tracy Beaker most of the time.

    Another think I can never do is rank all the Doctors in order of my favourite. There are some Doctors I like more than other, but I don't think I could ever rank them all in a list.
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    Shawn_LunnShawn_Lunn Posts: 9,353
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    - Both Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat have done more good for the show than harm. Neither is perfect but both have been good for the show overall.

    - There is no Classic Series and New Who. There is only Doctor Who. It's certain fans who seem to be creating a divide amongst the show, not the show itself.

    - Donna is a brilliant companion but a bit overrrated in parts. I still think she was exactly what the Tenth Doctor needed though in a friend.

    - Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy's eras are nowhere near as bad as some people make out and McGann's movie is better than a lot of stories.

    - Ian Levine is the worst ambassador for this show and considering how little he is of actual influence, it says a lot. The hero worshipping he gets from some fans because he saved a few episodes is utterly mind boggling.

    - The 50th anniversary was in no way or shape ruined at all. It was a massive success, just only the serious Moffat haters who refuse to accept that.

    - I do think at some point, the revived series probably should kill off at least one companion - preferably by the Master, just to remind viewers that he actually is dangerous at times.

    - The 45 minute episode/occassional two parter/hour long special is a better format than the one from the Classic Series. Sorry, but it is.

    - The Sarah Jane Adventures was a better spin-off than Torchwood and I did mostly like both of them.

    - The companion should always have a prominent role and not just be there for exposition sake.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 611
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    I really liked Seven's first season with Mel. "Delta and the Bannermen" was great. I really liked the 50's feel it hand, and it seemed like a story really fitted Mel. Also begins to show Seven's darker side.

    I also really enjoyed "Love and Monsters". Though, I do admit I have never seen a story go downhill as fast as that once the monster was revealed. Still, second best in a series that was went from awful to bland.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,753
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    I liked Martha, and in fact that series made me 'go off' Rose because Rose became the 'annoying ex' who's ghost was still haunting the doctor and made it seem he wad carrying around a lot of baggage. I guess this is why some people didn't take to Martha as well, because they too were still carrying the torch for Rose as a character, and didn't like Seeing Martha 'pushing in'? If anything I think that shows how well acted Martha was, as no doubt that is what RTD wanted to come across (doc trying to cope with his 'lost love', Martha trying to get close but not able to).

    Like a previous poster said I don't really like turn left that much. Just an average episode if you ask me. Maybe even under par actually. Also didn't quite fancy midnight as much as the hype it gets. It's a decent episode, yeah, but I wouldn't put it 'up there'.

    I also absolutely love the wedding of river song, and lots of people seen to hate that.

    I thought the gangers/rebel flesh episodes were also excellent, and lots of people hate too (I find that one strange because, to me, that is total classic who at it's best in its style).

    Also totally hated the power of three. Started off really good, but the last third just went so down hill, it came out the other side of the planet. Seems to get a bit of praise that one. I think if the last third was'accidentally' wiped from my brain I would have lived it. Insert instead, a scene where they go down the pub because the cubes just disappeared and they couldn't explain it. And then they go odd in the Tardis just like in the last minute. THEN, add that animated thingy that was Brian meeting Rory and Amy's adopted son, but for real. Now that could well have been a 10/10 episode. Instead it was about 2/10
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 903
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    -Martha is my favorite companion. Followed by Clara, Rory and Craig.
    -Jack is my least favorite companion and I think he ruined every episode he appeared in. I also don't like Amy.
    -Rings of Akhaten, Planet of the Dead and Shakespeare Code are fantastic episodes IMO. I also liked Smith and Jones, 42, Gridlock, Beast Below, The Course of the Black Spot, Partners in Crime and Lodger.
    -Fear Her, The Doctor, The Window and the Wardrobe and Long Game are average episodes IMO.
    -I liked all episodes in 7B (except Cold War).
    -I think all RTD finals are terrible and I also don't like The Girl Who Waited and Christmas Carol.
    -I think Doctor Who isn't bizarre/fairytalish/weird enough. I'd like to see some Alice-style episode.
    -Neil Cross is my favorite writer (along with Steven Moffat).
    -I don't want a new companion for season 8, Clara is great and enough.
    -Daleks are overused but sonic screwdriver isn't.
    -Donna is good, but overrated companion.
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    freddieaxlfreddieaxl Posts: 1,183
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    Some of my other opinions

    - I ranked him 9th, but I still think Colin Baker is underrated. I think all the Doctors are top-tier and that's just the order that I like them in.

    - I LOVED Kinda from the Davison era.

    - I prefer episodes either standalone or two-parter with no huge story arc to climactic story-arc series finales. I'd rather see Gridlock than The Pandorica Opens. But I did love Turn Left, pretty much every second of it. One of my favourites.

    - I wish Weeping Angels only appeared in Blink. I thought they were amazing and scary there, and sort of wish they'd left it because it's a perfect ep imo.

    - I've never really found 'The Master' that interesting, but I love "The End of Time"
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    bp2bp2 Posts: 1,117
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    I think Army of Ghosts/Doomsday, Journey's End/ The Stolen Earth (though I enjoyed the scenes with Davros a lot), Last of the Timelords and The End of Time are the worst doctor who tv episodes ever in my opinion.
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    marsch_labbmarsch_labb Posts: 687
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    Best companions: SJS, Leela and, even if he was an actual companion for only 2 episodes, Rory's father
    Rose: good actress, stupid character; she was always putting her personal needs ahead of the universe, like in 'Father's day'
    Amy: good character, bad actress
    Most boring episode of all time: Love and monsters
    Best new aliens of the modern era: Judoons and the Oods
    Best doctors: Tom Baker and Matt Smith. David Tennant as a lot of sympathy because the fans know he's a genuine fan from childhood and he got the bests stories, but his acting was irregular. One minute he plays the Doctor as an alien (like Matt Smith), the next like a very intelligent human being. A very intelligent human is not a Timelord.
    Best special guests: only the voices and small parts but, Mitchell and Webb in 'Dinosaurs on a spaceship'
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    James FrederickJames Frederick Posts: 53,184
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    Amy is the worse companion ever even worse than Adric and Mel
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,229
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    My secret opinion is that I really don't give a stuff about Romana, the Rani, the Valeyard, or the Watcher.

    But now it's not secret :o
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,229
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    SJS is one of the worst companions the show ever had. Bland, boring, woodenly acted and totally undeserving of the legendary status that gets bestowed upon her. Combination of luck, being in the right era and the hazy glow of misguided nostalgia. (Great in School Reunion though!)

    The SJA was a very poor show that not once excelled beyond its CBBC status. The BBC has produced through the decades some truly classic children's dramas that will endure. SJA isn't one of them. Terrible acting. Cheap. File next to that Wizards and Aliens thing.

    The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is a great story. But not even remotely scary.

    John Simm is by far the best Master. An actor with skill and range and heart as opposed to the previous incumbents who belonged in a Punch and Judy Show.

    Love and Monsters is one of the best episodes of all time.

    Kandyman is scarier than the Daleks.

    The alleged 'comedy' bits between Donna and the Doctor were woeful and seemed forced. Donna as a character always did better with the more serious and dramatic moments which were far greater than all the 'Watch it spaceman' cockney nonsense.

    Turn Left is not a terrible episode as such but it is one of the most overrated in the shows history and is RTD showing his worst excesses as opposed to the strengths of Midnight. A fairly tiresome retread of the 'What if?' scenario which is well played out in sci-fi it features a terrible and distracting performance from Piper, an annoyingly melodramatic turn from Tate and some of the worst supporting performances the show has ever had. Witness the token superstitious peasant maid of indistinct ethnic origin who crosses herself, makes crazy eyes and would seem insultingly out of place in a Roger Corman 70s B-movie. Not to mention the feeble attempt to give this clear filler story some gravitas by throwing in the ludicrous and almost offensive notion that within a few short months Britain will have descended so far into the abyss that we begin on a route to becoming another Nazi Germany. Utter Tosh. Yes the scene with Wilf and the salute is nicely acted and poignant...until you engage your brain. How this episode makes it into the top 150 let alone top 20 is baffling. And I didn't even mention the beetle backpack once! Says it all.

    River Song and the Doctor are not really married.

    'Spoilers' is a really annoying catchphrase.

    Yeah, but how do you really feel? :D
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    HelboreHelbore Posts: 16,069
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    Torchwood: Miracle Day isn't that bad and certainly not worse than most of season 1 and 2. It only gets a bad rap because its not as good as Children of Earth and the inexplicable USA-hatred.

    Ianto Jones wasn't that great a character.

    Partners in Crime is a dreadful episode and the "comedy" between the Doctor and Donna is horribly forced and unfunny.

    Christopher Eccelston doesn't deserve to be skinned alive by the fans.

    "A Christmas Carol," is the best Who xmas special by a country mile.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
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    The War Doctor should never have existed; it should've been the Eighth Doctor.

    The Ninth Doctor ahould've been alongside the Tenth and Eleventh in The Day of the Doctor.

    Series 6 and 7 should not have been split in half.

    Ben Daniels should've been cast instead of Peter Capaldi.
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    TEDRTEDR Posts: 3,413
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    Keeping! It! Positive!

    Eccleston was brilliant as the Doctor and has subsequently conducted himself professionally and with good judgment.

    McCoy's first year has several magical moments if you look closely.

    Rose was the best of Tennant's companions.

    The sets, lighting and effects make Kinda an even better story by creating a slightly nauseating claustrophobia.
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    HelboreHelbore Posts: 16,069
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    Series 6 and 7 should not have been split in half.

    I don't think that's an unpopular opinion! ;-)
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