Ninth Doctor - Analysis and Reception

Analysis and Reception

James Delingpole of The Spectator noted that subsequent to Fourth Doctor Tom Baker's departure and prior to Eccleston actors who portrayed the Doctor had a tendency to play the role "too camp, knowing, lovable or twee". He felt that the "brusque, sarky and virile" Ninth Doctor "transports us back to the golden era of Jon Pertwee when the series still had that edge of darkness." Marena Manzoufas, head of ABC programming, commented after picking up the series that Eccleston "has brought a new dynamic energy to the role" and the show would appeal to both long time viewers and new fans. She cited the high viewing figures of Eccleston's debut episode—over 10 million—as proof that audiences were ready to welcome in a new era of the show. Looking back on David Tennant's era and forward to Matt Smith, The Herald's Edd McCracken comments that casting Tennant had been a risk after "the show's reputation and ratings" had been "restored under Eccleston". However he notes that due to the brevity of the Ninth Doctor's era Tennant subsequently had time to make his character more established. Richard Henley Davis of The Economic Voice also notes that Tennant "had big boots to fill after Christopher Eccleston's Doctor Who, which many believe to be the greatest incarnation of the lunatic time lord." In a 2005 interview Tennant himself stated "there's an awful lot to live up to" after taking on the role from Eccleston, having admired his performances as a viewer.

Like Delingpole, Andrew Blair found similarities between the Ninth Doctor era and the Third Doctor era, summarising Eccleston's single series as "a modern day season seven". In his retrospective of the character, he states that Eccleston's casting proved that the revival of the show "was not a light entertainment concern". He comments that in online fandom there was a sense "of a ship being steered in a different direction" and praises the plot device of the Time War as allowing the character to become mysterious again by providing him a "blank slate". He compares the Ninth Doctor to the First Doctor (William Hartnell) in that both characters are "an unknown who remains aggressively weird until his new-found human friends soften him up". Blair also felt that the Ninth Doctor's relationship with the Doctor's arch enemies the Daleks was more successful than in other incarnations giving particular praise to Eccleston's "spittle-enhanced and terrifyingly furious reaction" to the monsters in "Dalek". Blair ends his retrospective by noting that without the foundations laid by Eccleston the show "wouldn't have been able to move onwards towards the even more popular David Tennant era". Steven Moffat, who wrote "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" for Eccleston's Doctor and would become Doctor Who executive producer in 2010, observed that in 2005 there was a distinct lack of science fiction and fantasy drama in the UK. He felt that the first series had to establish itself as "a bit Hollyoaks" and "a bit tough detective" in order to prove itself as a "proper, sensible drama series". Moffat notes that the 2005 series "changed the landscape into which it once tried to fit" and that now Doctor Who "has to be the most fantastical of the fantasy shows."

Ahead of the series premiere on Australian Network ABC the Sydney Morning Herald's Robin Oliver predicted that older viewers "will find Eccleston easily the best time lord since Tom Baker." However Harry Venning of The Stage, whilst enthusiastic about the revival of the show, labelled Eccleston as the "show's biggest disappointment" following the premiere episode, stating he looked uncomfortable in a fantasy role. The Guardian's Stephen Kelly felt that Eccleston's Ninth Doctor had many faults, two of which he felt to be "looking like an EastEnders extra and bellowing "fantastic" at every opportunity". However, he felt that he "brought warmth, wit and promise" and a "formidable presence". Kelly believed that Eccleston was believable as a man who had destroyed two civilizations and was dealing with the repercussions and could have brought more to the show had Eccleston stayed for a second series. Seventh Doctor actor Sylvester McCoy praised Eccleston as being "quite alien" as the Doctor and that "we were not sure if he was on the edge of insanity or not, which was rather good." Peter Davison, who played the Fifth Doctor, criticized Eccleston's decision to quit after a single series stating "I don't think you can engage with the new Doctor in the way you should be able to."

In 2005 Christopher Eccleston won "Most Popular Actor" at the National Television Awards and the TV Quick and TV Choice award for Best Actor. He was also voted Best Actor by readers of SFX magazine. Eccleston was named Best Actor with 59.42% of the vote in BBC.co.uk's online "Best of Drama" poll in 2005. In a Doctor Who Magazine poll in 2006 Eccleston was voted the third greatest Doctor behind those portrayed by Tom Baker and David Tennant. In April 2011 IGN also listed Eccleston's Doctor as the third best Doctor, opining that he "gave us a tough-as-nails Doctor damaged by war and guilt, but still possessing the same spark of fun and adventure as his previous selves." The entertainment website stated that in introducing a new generation to the show he "became an icon for a new millennium." Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph named him the ninth best Doctor, noting that Eccleston was "a serious actor" and "his attempts at a lighter style could seem a tad forced", though this was "offset by his showdowns against the Daleks". Fuller also was disappointed that his "time was over all too swiftly". A 2012 poll conducted by the United States media news magazine Entertainment Weekly resulted in Eccleston being voted the fourth most popular Doctor, behind David Tennant, Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor) and Tom Baker.