Hey there! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
I recently resumed watching Classic Who after a long time, and just yesterday, I finished after over 10 months the Fifth Doctor era and honestly…It was kind of a mixed bag.
Sure, it had its serials that were absolute bangers (like the last three), but…Seriously, there has been a large decline in writing quality, especially in Season 19. And as for the Fifth Doctor himself…I didn’t like him much, he felt so…Bland, compared to the previous others. I didn’t get the feeling that “Yeah, that’s the Doctor” until well into his tenure, something that with previous Doctors happened immediately.
So, yes, I can say that the Fifth Doctor (in terms of stories) is at the moment my least favourite one of Classic Who. Although I have the bad, bad feeling the next one might take his spot…
I had the same feeling when I watched him. It was such a disappointment. I thought that he would be my favourite after what was said in the Children in Need minisode with Tennant.
Is that so? I await your verdict.
The next 2!
Post must be at least as long as the next 2 doctors.
Welcome back!
And I kind of agree with you on Five. I’ve never been a big fan. “Bland” is a good way to describe him. I’m willing to give him another chance when I rewatch the Fifth Doctor era at some point.
I rate the Fifth Doctor pretty low in the overall rankings as well, but much like Sixth, the TV stories don’t really do justice to what makes his particular Doctor stand out from the others.
Yeah, there’s the cricket thing, him serving as the older uncle for whatever collection of companions he has with him (who almost always outshine him in terms of personality, which isn’t great), and as highlighted in Androzani, he fits as the most selfless Doctor; the one who prefers to let others take the spotlight, while he works behind the scenes to save the day.
But personally, even though the phrase is more closely associated with Third, I think Fifth is the one whose tagline should be “I cross the void beyond the mind.” Castrovalva, Kinda, Arc Of Infinity, Snakedance, Androzani; a lot of his TV stories centre on exploring mindscapes and the murky psychology of characters, either because they’ve been interfered with by outside forces or just by their own design. The audios did a lot to flesh that out, like Psychodrome from the Fifth Doctor Box Set, as well as The Axis Of Insanity, Omega, Winter from Circular Time, 1001 Nights, The Memory Bank, and so on. It even mingles with his love for sports to become a habit of playing mind games (like in The Game).
Basically, he’s the Psychodrama Doctor. He may be my least favourite classic Doctor (and second least overall next to Tenth), but personally, that’s not from lack of trying. His TV era is just as cursed by bad or just weird decisions as Sixth and early Seventh, because the '80s were a bleak time for the show, but by that same token, this is the era that gave us Androzani and the two Mara stories. For all its faults, some of the entire show’s best material rests here.
Five is a strange one for me - he’s one of my top five favourite Doctors, but I agree that his TV showing is largely just okay, with a small number of classics (Earthshock, The Five Doctors and The Caves of Androzani) sprinkled in. For me, it’s mostly down to his Big Finish run - Davison is such a brilliant audio performer (to be honest, I think some of his Big Finish performances are better than anything onscreen), and the best stories of his on audio really utilise him, his Doctor and his companions far better than his onscreen adventures. If you’re interested in trying some of his Big Finish stuff, I would recommend Spare Parts (available on most streaming services), Circular Time, Psychodrome, The Marc arc (starts with Tartarus), or any of Tim Foley’s stories (Pursuit of the Nightjar, The Merfolk Murders and Hooklight).
I’m also reposting some stuff I said in another thread about Five a few weeks ago, because I think it touches on this topic a bit:
“Davison almost reminds me of Jon Pertwee in a way, as I think he is an actor who is naturally quite comedic (see his performance as Tristan in All Creatures Great and Small if you don’t know what I mean) who is to some extent forced to play the Doctor more seriously due to his predecessor. When he does let out his more comedic side, I think he really shines - there is a lovely exchange in Thin Time about the concept of phishing, and Davison delivers his lines in a way that really brought a smile to my face. Similarly, when he is given the opportunity to take a more active role in a story, he also delivers a great performance (the famous part three cliffhanger in The Caves of Androzani being the obvious example)”
Basically, don’t write Five off because of his TV run - I get it, but I think Big Finish has done more for him than any Doctor except Six and Eight!
I completely agree. I found Five so tiring to watch, and only really felt that he became the Doctor in his last three stories. There are a few good stories or interesting concepts in his era, but overall it’s my least favourite. I will say that Six, while suffering some of the same issues, is a lot more fun just by sheer force of personality that Five lacks.
5 is a strong contender for my favourite Doctor Who, and I consider the season 19 TARDIS team to be the best dynamic the show’s ever had. I think he has brilliant stories across all three of his seasons, with The Caves of Androzani having possibly the best “Doctor moment” (The Part three cliffhanger), and also being a highpoint for all of televised Doctor Who. I can understand why some people might not gel with the less commanding Doctor archetype, but 5’s patient, quietly calculating approach makes him one of my favourites easily.
Besides that, it’s fun to see Doctor Who forced into a single dad role to three kids who spend most of their time bickering.
Agree wth all you said.
Five is lower in my rankings purely because he’s one of the Doctors I’ve seen the least of (a little under half of his era it looks like, though several of those I also just don’t remember well at all). However where other people find him bland or boring, the word I’ve always found best for him is “diplomatic” and that’s a side that I do really enjoy. Listening to all his audios with Peri has also made me like him a lot more and I’m really excited to get back to his era and see all of it.
(Also even if he’s lower in my rankings I feel a huge bias towards him for being one of the Doctors with my favorite character)
Question for the @moderators (and anyone else): because this has kind of moved out of talking about just the TV stories, should it be merged into the already existing The Fifth Doctor Era?