This year marks the 15-year anniversary of the modern relaunch of the long-running BBC sci-fi Doctor Who. After a prolonged hiatus, Russel T. Davies relaunched the series for a whole new audience. However, with its new Season 1, the series may have offered a new beginning, but it was still a continuation of everything that had come before. All previous eight Doctors and their respective stories were canon, as fans embarked on a new adventure through space and time with Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor.
Since then, there have been four other incarnations of the Doctor, who have all gone on to star in multiple seasons of the BBC series -- and that is without mentioning a few secret regenerations that changed and deepened the show’s mythology, such as the War Doctor and Jo Martin’s Other Doctor. Today, in celebration of this 15-year anniversary, let's take a look back at the last 12 seasons of Doctor Who, to rank the five modern Doctors.
THE NINTH DOCTOR
Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor was the first incarnation of the immortal Time Lord for an entirely new generation. He instantly showed that he was an adventure-seeker and knew how to have fun. But despite this, he also had stoic manners, and he hid a darker truth that he carried along with him. The Ninth Doctor was the first regeneration that was the last of its kind, seeing as how Gallifrey and the Time Lords were all wiped out in-between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors.
Eccleston’s Doctor was perhaps the most alien of the modern Doctors. He was distant and zany, but he was always at his most heroic self. The biggest downside of this Doctor is that fans only got to spend time with him for one season until he regenerated. Still, our time with this Doctor, however brief, was nothing short of “Fantastic!”
THE TWELFTH DOCTOR
Peter Capaldi began his tenure as the Twelfth Doctor in the closing moments of the Christmas special “The Time of the Doctor.” The actor had the unenviable task of following Matt Smith, an easy fan-favorite who helped the series reach new heights of popularity. And, perhaps because of this, the Twelfth Doctor was the complete opposite of what fans had originally expected. This older Doctor was much colder, and often angry. He was a throwback to William Hartnell’s First Doctor, which makes sense, considering Capaldi’s Doctor was the first of an entire new regeneration cycle.
Throughout his three-year tenure, Capaldi’s Doctor was eventually allowed to grow. Not only did he become more recognizable as the fun-loving Doctor fans are familiar with, but he also became a warmer character, especially through his time with companion Bill Potts. The Twelfth Doctor was the grumpy old professor, the angry magician. More than anything, though, he was an idiot with a box.
THE THIRTEENTH DOCTOR
Jodie Whittaker joined Doctor Who at the end of Peter Capaldi’s 2017 farewell Christmas special, “Twice Upon a Time.” Her debut was highly-anticipated, in no small part because she was the first female actor to play the Doctor in the BBC series’ 54-year history. Starting her official tenure in Season 11, Whittaker’s Doctor literally hit the ground running after she fell to Earth without a TARDIS or any sort of companion. She quickly showed that she wasn’t one to slow down for anything -- in fact, she’s always on the run, moving from one adventure to the next.
Throughout Season 11, Whittaker’s Doctor appeared as an eccentric thrill-seeker with a short attention span. But this was just part of her persona. In Season 12, her character was pushed to the limits, losing both her home planet (which had been restored a few years prior) and her very own history, which turned out to be nothing more than a lie concocted by the Time Lords. In the face of all of this, Whittaker’s Doctor gained some much-needed dimension that made her darker and more human. She was made a more fully-realized character, and this allowed her to show her greatest quality: resilience.
THE TENTH DOCTOR
David Tennant followed Christopher Eccleston to join the series as the Tenth Doctor in Season 2. And with the actor in the title role, the series soared like never before. Tennant’s iteration of the immortal Time Lord quickly became a fan-favorite thanks to his charm. He was brilliant, as all other Doctors were, but this was a man of action, a superhero with a flowing cape (actually a trench coat) who rushed headfirst into danger.
Tennant’s Doctor was also a romantic. His love for companion Rose Tyler helped define the early years of the series’ modern relaunch, and it would accompany him even when Rose would no longer be part of the show. But even when putting Rose out of the equation, the Tenth Doctor was what you would call a womanizer. All of these qualities helped make this version of the Doctor one plenty of fans didn’t want to say goodbye to.
THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR
Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor had massive shoes to fill. David Tennant left fans crying after his departure, and some were wary of welcoming a new face aboard the TARDIS. And yet, somehow, the Eleventh Doctor won over the hearts of viewers, and even managed to surpass his predecessor. Smith’s Eleventh Doctor carrier over the heroic nature of Tennant’s Doctor, but he was far less human. He was more of an alien with a child-like wonder and a ceaseless appetite for the amazing.
What’s more, while Smith’s Doctor was the series’ youngest Doctor, he managed to convince us he was the oldest. In fact, with the Eleventh Doctor, never did fans feel more like this was a character who had lived for thousands of years. Smith’s Doctor had a melancholy about him, conducted by all of his past lives. But this is what pushed him forward. No matter the situation, no matter the danger, this is the Doctor who leaped without looking.
Doctor Who stars Jodie Whittaker as the 13th iteration of the titular Time Lord. Whittaker is joined by co-stars Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill in a series spearheaded by showrunner Chris Chibnall. The next episode, "Revolution of the Daleks," will air this holiday season. The new season and all previous 11 seasons will stream on HBO Max later this year.