Just following on from a discussion in another thread, I thought it would be quite interesting to for people to say what they perceive about Doctors they've never seen or maybe from small snippets or clips they may have watched. Or what was your initial thoughts about a Previous Doctor before you watched them?

I'm not going to jump on any misconceptions that people may have, it's all about what you think.

For me, there were technically three Doctors I hadn't seen when I first started watching the show. I'm sure like many others I didn't for a while know there were other Doctors before Tom Baker and I'd seen enough of the Fourth Doctor to gather he was a quite funny Doctor with a very long scarf. I couldn't have any perceptions because he was The Doctor when I started watching the show on and off in the late 70's.

I was quite shocked when I learnt the First Doctor was quite a grumpy fellow who didn't wear a long scarf. I think I may have seen clips and I initially didn't really like him that much. For me, being used to Tom Baker, it seemed strange learning The Doctor had once been this irascible old fella. Like most people still do, I just thought that was all there was to him, but it took a long while to suss out he had a lighter side.

The Second Doctor I knew was quite likeable and I remember getting to know this Doctor more through the Novels than anything else but don't remember any perceptions of him before I started watching him regularly on video except that he was a complete contrast to the First.

The Third Doctor, I only knew one thing. He was played by the same guy who had played Worzel Gummidge and very vaguely recall that I thought the Third Doctor would be perhaps be more comedic because of the way he played that role. How wrong I was on that!

So there you go, that's how I perceived the three Doctors I hadn't seen. So what did you think? Did they differ from your expectations or were they exactly as you thought?

New Series Viewers, do you have any awareness of the Classic Doctors and how do you think of them? Perhaps you've only just started watching the show and you haven't seen some of the early Series. Did you have any initial thoughts on the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors?

Remember, this is not about what you thought when a Doctor was cast, just on previous Doctors you may not have seen so much of.

Jon Pertwee was my first Doctor and I remember loving him. I cried when Tom Baker took over, didn't like his face suddenly appearing instead of Jon's on the opening credits.

I very quickly grew to love Tom, and he became MY Doctor. Was disappointed and upset when he left but I really liked the look of Peter Davison.

Peter had a good look and fresh boyish charm and a great voice, he should have done another series. He had some great stories and could do vulnerable and emotional very very well as well as authoritative and genius.

I hated Colin Baker initially but by the end of Attack of the Cybermen, he had grown on me. Was sad he didn't come back after Trial. Hated the costume though, it was just rubbish.

Hated McCoy, terrible miscast Imo, didn't look or sound like the Doctor for me. Too many question marks and not enough gravitas. Stopped watching.

Sylvester was a bit of a shock.

well I started under McCoy, but thanks to Sunday mornings of watching UKTV Gold (or whatever the channel was called at the time!!) I used to watch the full marathon broadcasts they did every Sunday - each week was a different story, and all of the episodes broadcast back to back so you got the full story each week

loved it, McCoy was my first, but when I saw the likes of Pertwee/Baker/Davison and Baker as well, I managed to love the character as a whole, with each of their little intricacies

I wasn't a fan of Troughton, sorry folks, just wasn't a fan of his! neither did I see much of the Hartnell episodes, if I didn't like the actor playing the Doctor, I used to turn it off!

now if I had to rate them in order of favourites, I'd probably have to put Matt Smith up there very highly because he did a great job as an excitable child, in this new world where everything was an intriguing mystery to behold - until it tried to kill him, and he became the embodiment of protection for his companions

I put Tennant and Capaldi on the same level, both are really good at what they do, but for me personally, I like Matt's portrayal just that little bit more

forgot to add..... when I was a kid, I used to fancy Sophie Aldred too! so I think that may be why I still look fondly on the McCoy era

Remember The Ninth Doctor thought I wouldn't care less but there was more to his leather jacket than met the eye :0

I wasn't a big fan of McCoy - i remembered him as one of the 'O' men and I didn't think the casting was right. To be fair I think he did an OK job but I'm in no hurry to rewatch his episodes! Have watched all the Doctor's - Tom Baker was the first one I watched and for me he was the best, but watched the first three on repeats and loved them alk for diff reasons. I agree with DarthGore - Matt Smith was superb and he is just after Tom Baker on my list of favourites! I was very sceptical about him taking over from David tennant and I was almost expecting not to like him but he smashed it in his very first episode.

Grew up with Tom and so he was just always sort of 'there' as a kid. I didn't have anything to compare him with, so just thought 'that's what the Doctor is like', I suppose. Peter Davison took over when I was 12, and I just really liked and cared for him from the off. He seemed so fallible despite his heroism, and found this mixture very appealing. Still do.

Hartnell I saw in the 5 faces repeats and he seemed very stern in the first story and The 3 Doctors, so when I started to get bootleg stuff (shhhhh) in the 80's, I didn't really seek out his era for a while. When I did watch a few stories I started to warm to him more. Tried a few DVD's and then a few more, and basically came to love the era. After the first season in particular, he could be such a silly, giggly, fun loving old begger. So from initial impressions to how I think of him now (top 5 Doctor) that's been the biggest turnaround.

Troughton I really liked from the off (The Krotons repeat). I didn't initially warm to Pertwee's Doctor or era, but I do enjoy it a lot more than I used to. Thought he was a bit too arrogant and worldly (obviously the Earth setting in a lot of stories led to that) but have warmed to him and his era in recent years.

Colin was quite a shock after 'my' Doctor, but certainly found him interesting from the off, and by his second year was fond of the Sixth Doctor. Sylvester, after a ropey first story, I accepted quite quickly and by 'Delta...' found his Doctor quirky and enjoyable, and really started to hit is stride in his second year. And I thought that at the time, so deny any claims of revisionism from me.

Briefly (please, you cry!) ; Eccleston: Interesting take on the Doctor, had no problem with him and thought he improved as the series progressed. Tennant: Enjoyed him from the off, and thought he (again, there's a theme here!) hit his stride in his second series. Smith: Pretty much adoration at first sight. Capaldi: Work in progress, but find his Doctor fascinating and am intrigued by the coming episodes.

ETA Sorry, Mr McGann! Liked him as The Doctor. Best thing about the 'TV Movie'. Which sounds a bit damning with faint praise, but don't mean it like that!

Tom Baker was already the Doctor when I first watched the show so he just was the Doctor for me.

I remember being very excited about Peter Davison, but not just him. He brought a load of new characters/companions and energy along with him. It felt like a regeneration for the show too.

Personally I loved Colin Baker. His first story is bad, but he isn't. His post regeneration madness was compelling (I thought) and his early stories felt very unnerving, but in a good way.

Sylvester McCoy couldn't act. Simple as that. That was my first impression when he awoke in the Rani's lab and it stayed with me throughout his run.

Paul McGann. Cor! That is all.

Christopher Eccleston seemed a bit distant at first, but he very quickly warmed up.

David Tennant owned the role the moment he appeared and said "Hello. Hmm. New teeth." Loved him from that point onwards. Warm, funny, human. Great hair.

I liked Matt Smith in his very first scene. He seemed funny and likeable. But it wore off very quickly in The 11th Hour when he began to feel a little distant and I never warmed to him after that. Apart from in The Lodger when I realised what a great comedy actor he was. I wish he had been allowed to do a lot more of that.

I didn't like Capaldi's very first scene. He seemed like a confused old man. I began to like him and then not like him and then like him again during his early episodes. I still very much flush hot and cold with him.

I won't ever seen new who so can only base opinions on the Doctors we've had since then.

Christopher - I wasn't sure what Doctor Who was and who The Doctor should be but he was warm and immediately intriguing. He made me want to know who the Doctor was. And he's why I carried on watching.

David - Loved him. Instantly. From the second he screamed 'I DONT KNOW!!' At the sycorax in his jammies and house coat I just loved him. He will always be my doctor.

Matt - Hated him. Because he wasn't David Tennant. I thought he was a hyperactive twit. But once I got over myself I really warmed to him and loved his craziness. And his hyper doctor.

Peter - Still not sure. Sometimes I love him sometimes I think he was an awful choice.

I'm just going to do NuWho.

Eccelston - didn't like him at first, found him quite flat however he really grew into the role and I liked him alot by the end of the series.

Tennant - Owned the role from the get go,. my favourite Doctor from NuWho. Loved his relationships with Rose, Donna, Wilf, and Jack. Tennant was a perfect casting for the Doctor. He was just, fabulous.

Smith - 50/50 on Smith. I liked him but I felt he became a bit too childish sometimes which was slightly irritating. However he was a decent Doctor most of the time when they wrote him well. Very different from the others. Loved his relationship with River. The show through that era did feel like the 'Amy Pond' show FT the Doctor though.

Capaldi - Took a few episodes to warm to Capaldi but I really enjoy him in the role now, if they would only drop the 'Doctor Disco' crap. I like his acerbic wit and sarcasm. One of my favourite lines was about Clara being his carer, so he didn't have too. And now that Clara has finally gone, I hope they cast a better companion for Capaldi.

My situation was that I was always aware of the previous Doctors from when I first watched the show. I'm unsure what the first episode I watched live was other than it was 80s Doctor Who. The first episodes I can remember watching and really understanding were Sylvester McCoy (I was born in 1981). But I have memories of the earlier Doctors, including the regeneration from Davison to Baker, which really frightened me. That's because my dad was a Doctor Who fan and he always watched it so I grew up with it in the background I suppose, even before I watched it. And that background included books and comics and videos, all featuring older Doctors. So by the time I was a consistent viewer myself (a fan, I guess) I knew all 7 (as it was then) Doctors to a greater or lesser extent. As such it's hard for me to remember any initital impressions I had, but I can tell you the vague impressions I had from the limited episodes I had seen:

Hartnell: dark, tonally and literally (with the black and white). It seemed like something from ancient history and thus was utterly compelling and fascinating. The Doctor was a little frightening (actually this was a general thing for me: I found ALL of the Doctors slightly frightening. I miss that in the more recent Doctors). The stories seemed unpredictable and random. It could be totally different from one serial to the next.

Troughton: similar to Hartnell but the Doctor seemed softer. He was generally confused or counfounded. But he still had a sinister edge. I had very strong memories of 'The Mind Robber' (I don't know where I first saw it. Perhaps some years later on UK Gold, or possibly my dad had it on VHS?) and it was just baffling and insane and I loved it. For a long time that was the story I associated with the 2nd Doctor.

Pertwee: very serious and 'grown-up', which was very alluring for me. Lots of soldiers fighting, action, stories I didn't really understand with dour men talking in control rooms or labs or government offices: adult things from the adult world, rather than the wild fantasy I associated with the black and white Doctors.

Baker: a wild and crazy man with Sci-Fi hair. Epic and odyssey like, the kind of fantasy I was at home with from comics. This was actually the era I was least fascinated with, probably because of that familiarity. It seemed closer to my level of understanding and I've always been interested in the things I have to reach to understand. I still am. The 4th Doctor is now one of my favourite eras, because I have the capacity to appreciate the skill and work that went into the serials and the brilliance of Bob Holmes scripts and the performance of Tom Baker.

Davison: I pretty much knew him only as the blond haired man who became Colin Baker in that scene I mentioned above that seemed to stay in my memory. I'd seen very little of him I think compared to the other Doctors.

Baker: Stern would probably sum up my impressions.

McCoy: I loved him. He was the Doctor I really recall watching 'live'. He was an odd little man who nonetheless gave the impression of tremendous power. How is that not a wonderful interpretation of the Doctor Who character? He was mysterious, he had a companion who spoke in a contemporary way (at least, it seemed like it to me at that age :P). It was a strange pairing but it worked. And of course, the stories were very high-tech and modern (!!!) compared to the older ones. I never felt like the show was in decline or anything like that. But then I had no pretension at that age and just took all of the episodes for what they were.

McGann: I actually watched it in a caravan on holiday when it was broadcast. I specifically remember it but under the circumstances (lots of people moving about getting ready to go out, tiny little TV etc) I didn't really take much of it in. It didn't seem very good and I (and my dad) were already somewhat militant against it as not being done true to the tradition of Doctor Who.

So that was my earliest impressions of the classic era as best as I can recall from when I was young, before I became comprehensively knowledgable about it, which didn't happen until my adult years.

I'll talk about my first impressions of the more recent Doctors in a separate post so as not to make it too long.

Very interesting topic Davey.

Following o from my post above:

Ecclestone: although Doctor who was well off my radar and not one of my interests at the time the show relaunched nostalgia and cultural imperative compelled me to check it out. I was happy enough with what they did, but it didn't really impress itself on me. Ecclestone seemed good, if not really Doctorish in the way I remembered (most notably the faintly creepy, sinister edge that I perceived was not there). The tone seemed good: modern but in the spirit of the old series. I approved but I think I stopped making the effort to watch about 4 or 5 episodes in. It was a good TV show but good TV shows don't hold my attention for long, as I'm generally more interested in other art forms.

Tennant: occasionally I would catch an episode and it would generally be decent. Watching Gridlock when I was stuck babysitting with nothing to do but watch TV stands out in my memory and I liked what they were doing. It reminded me of the Doctor Who comics I read when I was young. I would also see bits and pieces of it when I was home as my dad watched it. I didn't see enough to follow the storylines but they seemed pretty epic and dramatic. I saw the Rose departure in Season 2. Not my thing (:P) but I could appreciate what a big moment it was. On the other hand I saw the Master (John Simm version) and thought 'wtf'? Again, it didn't draw me in as a regular viewer though.

Smith: This is when I became a regular viewer again. I caught part 1 of of the Weeping Angels two-parter totally randomly and was blown away by it. Matt Smith, in some undefinable way I can't explain, seemed like more of a continuation of the classic Doctors than Ecclestone and (especially) Tennant had done. And the writing was of a standard I didn't expect to see in a mainstream TV show. I immediately went to iplayer and caught up on the season and I was hooked. That led me back through the relaunched series to date (beginning with the acclaimed Moffat episodes naturally) and then back to the classic series. I even dipped into a little Big Finish. So this Doctor was a catalyst for me becoming re-engaged with the show, totally unexpectedly, possibly to an extent I wasn't even connected to it when I was young.

Capaldi: my attitude was pretty much: bring it on. As I explained initially, the concept of 'my Doctor' or 'my era' isn't something I really have. I cannot remember a time when I wasn't aware of the many Doctors. He is a multi-headed conglomerate being to me. So as much as I liked Matt Smith and his era I wasn't sentimentally attached to it and I looked forward to the new Doctor with no amount of diminished regard for the 11th. I don't have to 'get used' to a new Doctor.

From Capaldi's first scene in 'Deep Breath' I thought he was fantastic. He definitely feels most like a classic Doctor to me, with added fluffiness and cuddles courtesy of modern times. He does still feel as if he is evolving a little, which is fine. But 'Deep Breath' could not have been a stronger introduction as far as I'm concerned. I expected to come online and see it being heralded as a classic and Capaldi as a conquering success... I still can't quite understand why I didn't see that. Pre-judgement is a disease fandom acquires I think (I don't claim to be immune: see my comments about the McGann movie above).