David Tennant: Best Doctor? Does he deserve it?

[Logo Polish]

I have a sort of half-baked theory that whether you like a Doctor, or indeed any actor, may be partly down to whether you like the sound of their voice or not.

I think some people find Tennant a bit juvenile in style, as if geared at being mroe of a kids' or teenagers' hero. He's OK with me though.

[Pip Madeley]

I have a sort of half-baked theory that whether you like a Doctor, or indeed any actor, may be partly down to whether you like the sound of their voice or not.

I think there's some weight to that theory, you know. I mean, I love Tom Baker's Doctor and his voice is one of the best things about him. Meanwhile Peter Davison is my least favourite & his voice is a bit uninteresting for me.

[Ralph]

I think there's some weight to that theory, you know. I mean, I love Tom Baker's Doctor and his voice is one of the best things about him. Meanwhile Peter Davison is my least favourite & his voice is a bit uninteresting for me.

Yes I think Logo does indeed have a point The Doctor's I least like have the most irritating voices...David Tennant is at least my ninth favourite Doctor

[Dirk Gently]

There might be something to this theory, Wayne's least favourite Doctor's are Tennant & McCoy...both from north of the border. Hmmmmmm.

[Ralph]

There might be something to this theory, Wayne's least favourite Doctor's are Tennant & McCoy...both from north of the border. Hmmmmmm.

too right he is too! - it aint where you're from it's the way that you do it and thats what gets results...

[SiHart]

I like Tennant's voice, but then being down here I'm used to it I suppose.

Personally, I rather like his Doctor. As I've said before in mnay ways he reminds me of the Williams Era Tom and I think that's a good thing. He has the potential to be a big favourite, but he's not quite there yet. I think he was great in School Reunion, which I think is his best overall portrayal- the anger wasn't forced, the quiet moments were lovely and he played it al just right.

Of course, Tom is and probably will always be my favourite. Just because he's my hero and the Doctor I first saw. You always love your first!

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

I think Tennant could easily have been the king of all Doctor Who's, but the moments where he sails merrily over the top (I'm going to hug you! You Humans are Amaaayyyyyzing!) spoil it for me. And that's tone of voice as well, when I think about how Eccleston would have delivered the same lines, probably with a pinch of sarcasm, I think it would have been better.

But what Tennant does have is a really great outfit. And buckets of energy.

[Wayne]

There might be something to this theory, Wayne's least favourite Doctor's are Tennant & McCoy...both from north of the border. Hmmmmmm.

It's got nothing to do with it, in my case. My opinion is based partly on how i perceive their ability to ac, & partly because there are certain characteristics that i don't like so much; like earlier McCoy being too 'whimsical' (polite word) for my liking. That spills over into why i don't like Troughton as much as most people as well, & why i much prefer earlier Tom rather than say S17 Tom, as Ant mentioned earlier.
It's all matter of taste & individual perception, but not really about the 'voice' as such. As Mr Hart says, It's often your first that is the one you always love best, & that's certainly true of Pertwee's Doc in my case, but it's also because Jon mostly played it pretty straight, & as i pointed out earlier, I think Tennant is good when plays it more straight, like he (mostly) did in 'Rise of the Cybermen'.

[Logo Polish]

By "voice" I wasn't really thinking of accents as usch, more enunciation. Hence some find the strangulated kind of "AMMM-AAAZZZZING!" overstatement he occasionally goes in for unbearable. Some (not me) have compared it to Kenneth Williams in "Oh, MAT-ron!" mode.

[Wayne]

By "voice" I wasn't really thinking of accents as usch, more enunciation. Hence some find the strangulated kind of "AMMM-AAAZZZZING!" overstatement he occasionally goes in for unbearable. Some (not me) have compared it to Kenneth Williams in "Oh, MAT-ron!" mode.

I take your point, ie: It's not so much about his voice, but the way he uses it?
To me the example you've given is just an example of Tennant's overacting. It's not about his voice, which is perfectly fine when he's not overacting. But if you think of any classic overacting scene (Soldeed is perhaps the best example), A big part of 'overacting' entails going OTT with the voice, as well as facial expressions.

[Logo Polish]

What I think I'm groping toward is the possibility that overacting in some performers might be more palatable to some than others. So, for instance, I can't stand it when Colin Baker overplays it, whereas Graham Crowden or David Banks, for example, don't bother me nearly so much even when they're hamming it up for all their worth. Hence also the divide in opinions between Eccleston and Tennant - what's amusing and OK in one actor can come over as excruciating in another, according to taste. And if it sounds too forced to someone, then the fact of being able to detect the effort can be a major-off-putting factor. I was just thinking that the perceived attractiveness of the voice might be contributory to how one percieves the effort being put in. Similar thing with Williams-era Tom, and Sylvester McCoy, maybe.

I said it was half-baked though.

[Wayne]

As you say, it's according to taste.
eg; When i'm watching Colin Baker, i'm only mildly aware that he might be overplaying it sometimes, but apart from one or two of his very early stories, it never really bothers me to the point of finding it distracting.
Whereas with the likes of Tennant i find it so obvious that it detracts from the overall pleasure of watching to the point where it can take me out of the story. Something which doesn't happen often when i'm engrossed in watching Jon, early/mid Tom, or Eccleston.

[Paul Clement]

I can see where this is coming from in regards to Tennant. It's not just the innunciation of his words in which he overplays things though. His facial characteristics when he does it are just as bad if not worse. They do detract from his performance, at least they do for me.

[Wayne]

I can see where this is coming from in regards to Tennant. It's not just the innunciation of his words in which he overplays things though. His facial characteristics when he does it are just as bad if not worse. They do detract from his performance, at least they do for me.

Agreed. It's both. It's all part & parcel of his overacting, IMO.

[Larry]

Tennant is good but he's not the best - for me that honour will all ways go to Tom Baker, he was The Doctor during what was the golden era of the old series during seasons 12/ 13 & 14. Baker also had the best run of near perfect consseccutive stories that no other actor including Eccelstone and Tennent have even come near to matching.

[Antony Cox]

I'm really not a fan of Tennant, and I don't think he deserves the title of Best Doctor, but then one of the great things about fandom is that there's such avried views out there which gives everyone a chance and makes things more interesting.

As I've siad before, Tennat seems to be an actor straining to make his mark as The Doctor and be successful, whereas for me Ecclestone was The Doctor from the word go, and I still lament his passing.

[Rob McCow]

Ah - I have completely the opposite opinion! Eccleston didn't really have the part nailed down until Dalek, whereas David Tennant was THE Doctor from the word 'Barcelona!'

[Larry]

I think there's some weight to that theory, you know. I mean, I love Tom Baker's Doctor and his voice is one of the best things about him. Meanwhile Peter Davison is my least favourite & his voice is a bit uninteresting for me.

Tom has got a wonderful very distinctive voice, but I always felt it was his smile that was his best quality.

[Pip Madeley]

Infectious!

[Larry]

Ah - I have completely the opposite opinion! Eccleston didn't really have the part nailed down until Dalek, whereas David Tennant was THE Doctor from the word 'Barcelona!'

But in fairness to Eccleston, he was reviving a programm that apart from a one off tv movie had not been seen for 16 years so it was all ways going to take time to nail the part. But what he did do in my opinion was lay the ground work and probably make it easier for Tennent to make the transition so smoothly. I will agree that Tennent pretty much nailed the part right from Christmas Invasion and is very much your traditional Doctor but I'm not so sure he could of done it if he had been chosen first instead of Eccleston.

[Rob McCow]

I'm not so sure. I think Eccleston was uncomfortable and trying too hard to show that he could do comedy early on. It's about having the 'alien' quality I think and behaving slightly distantly. When he was calm and focussed, Eccleston was far more captivating. If Tennant gets the opportunity to be a bit more morose from time to time I think I'd enjoy his performance a lot more.

[Andrew Curnow]

I agree with Larry, certainly in that I don't think Tennant would have been a good choice for the brand-new 2005 series. Personally I think it needed somebody who wasn't precious about what 'the Doctor' should be like - and frankly, there aren't many actors who would have done what Eccleston did, which is basically just play the part as written, without any concession to the long-haired, frock-coated, well-spoken, 'eccentric' stereotype.

I have warmed to Tennant A LOT since watching the episodes in repeat, etc, but I can still see both sides of the 'love him or hate him' divide.

[Lord President]

Ah - I have completely the opposite opinion! Eccleston didn't really have the part nailed down until Dalek, whereas David Tennant was THE Doctor from the word 'Barcelona!'

It was 'New Teeth!' that hooked me.

DT has the potential to be a truly great Doctor, up there with the great Tom Baker, but he needs a couple of seasons to prove himself. Eccleston was excellent but wasn't there long enough to be completely memorable.

The real provong ground will be whether his relationship with Martha works or not. I think Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy suffered with a dodgy relationship with that Bush woman, and Davison's rapport with Adric was much edgier than Tom Baker's. Companions matter!

[Larry]

It was 'New Teeth!' that hooked me.

The real provong ground will be whether his relationship with Martha works or not. !

of course this could be a bigger test for the new series then it was when Eccleston left and Tennent took over but I think early reports to seem to indicate that Tennent and Agyeman do get on well. Personaly I don't think there is any thing to worry about I have complete faith in RTD to get these things right.

[The Secretive Bus]

At the beginning of series 2 I was happily saying how Tennant was one of the best Doctors ever (I was convinced I'd love him from his scene in Parting of the Ways) and how he was close to becoming my absolute favourite. I got caught up in the hype, really, and with retrospect I can see many of his faults. He's still pretty good but he's got a way to go to beat Hartnell, Tom, Eccles and Troughton.