Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 14

Geek Syndicate
thing else, the show now had an official go-to person whose job was to advise on matters of continuity. It is perhaps because of this that many of Davison’s stories become mired in the past and much time is spent spouting exposition about previous encounters with, say, Omega or the Earth Reptiles.

6. The Eighth Doctor – Paul McGann (1996)
Paul McGann … it’s a shame we only got to see him in one misjudged television movie as I believe he would truly have shone in the role. While the actor was not a huge fan of the wig himself, I quite liked the look of his Doctor in the movie. On top of that, I thought he worked well with the material available. The stand out scene for me is the “new shoes” moment while taking a walk with Grace, remembering Gallifrey and his youth … then having a massive, childlike footwear based digression. Where Doctor Eight truly shines is in the Big Finish audios. As with the Sixth (see later), Big Finish have an unlimited way that they can go with adventures for this barely seen Time Lord and could literally develop him as they went. Paul McGann has a softness to his Doctor for the The Doctor shows Grace and Chang Lee his home (Doctor Who) most part, but there is also a hardness you would not want to cross. Also – don’t get him angry. You won’t like that.
Image © BBC

It’s genuinely difficult to pick a few adventures to catch, simply because so many of this range are excellent. The list below is a sample, but please check out all four of the Lucie Miller series of adventures which (especially the fourth) are superb.

5. The Tenth Doctor – David Tennant (2005-2010)
I genuinely thought Ten (as people insist on referring to him) would

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Matt Smith, Mad Man With a Box

Many call this Doctor the “human Doctor” as he, like the later tenth Doctor have been the closest to ourselves. For me this is a detriment as the Doctor is not Human – he’s alien and should have alien values. His view of the big picture should often disturb us while we know in our hearts he’s right. Of course – our human Doctor regenerates because he’s so human. He can’t bear to sacrifice his new companion and so dies himself. If you watch only one story of Classic Who – watch The Caves of Androzani.