A Basis For Comparison
Well, as most of you know there have been ten different television-based incarnations of The Doctor. The original show ran from 1963-1989 (7 Doctors during that time), then there was an American-made film for television (loved the Doctor, thought that the film itself was not of the best quality…), and then the new series that began in 2005. Now, I’m sure that you all know that the current series is designed rather like most American television shows, in that they are about an hour in length (when you include advertisements). The Classic series wasn’t like that. One story could last up to twelve episodes (in the case of The Dalek Masterplan), with a cliff-hanger generally at the end of each one. Now, granted that the current series does include some two-parters, but it’s still not quite the same thing. So, I offer you a basis for comparison. (Yes, that would be another one of my lists, then. Oh, and for the record, I am not including multi-doctor episodes in the tally of any other than the reigning Doctor at the time.)
1. William Hartnell - 1963-1966
29 Stories/134 Episodes (25 minutes each)
2. Patrick Troughton - 1966-1969
21 Stories/119 Episodes (25 minutes each)
3. Jon Pertwee - 1970-1974
24 Stories/128 Episodes (now in color)
4. Tom Baker - 1974-1981
42 Stories/178 Episodes (if you include Shada)
5. Peter Davison - 1982-1984
20 Stories/69 Episodes
6. Colin Baker - 1984-1986
11 Stories/31 Episodes (45 minutes each after The Twin Dilemma, then back to 25 minutes each during Trial of a Time Lord)
7. Sylvester McCoy - 1987-1989 (and 1996 film)
12 Stories/42 Episodes (and the film)
8. Paul McGann - 1996 film
The American Film (and many audio adventures)
9. Christopher Eccleston - 2005
13 Episodes
10. David Tennant - 2006-?
13 Episodes, 2 Christmas Specials…
The Doctor, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Doctor Who
February 15th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
In some cases I feel the new series is set up so that every season is one big 13 part story. So far each season has had a over arcing storyline.
In this way it is more like the classic series.
In fact, the 7th Doctor’s last season was very similar to the new show in that it too had an overall story arc. At least for Ace.
I really wish someday they could have a 7th meets 10th story. a 7th meets 9th would be fun as well but those two incarnations are very similar. Their darkness could feed off each other
February 15th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
You have a point there, The Vig. But, by that logic, Babylon 5 was one five year long story.
Hmmm…The 7th and the 9th would be a bit of a Dark Fest…