Like most folks my age, my first Doctor was good old Tom Baker, during the years when John Nathan-Turner was busy trying to turn the show into Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. I got used to the silliness and only absorbed the real unearthly earnestness of it all much later with Peter Davison et al, plus all the earlier Doctors as PBS randomly aired ‘em—of the older Doctors I most liked Jon Pertwee (probably better-known now as Sean “Boromir” Pertwee’s dad), who brought some high seriousness to it all.
So I was delighted at the thought of Eccleston as the ninth Doctor, and he did not disappoint. He kept Baker’s grinning madness and still brought a good deal of gravity to the role; when he blurts out his joy that “everyone lives!” in “The Doctor Dances” you feel it all with him, all his 900+ years of conflict and wonder and pain and his steely determination to keep his humor.
Billie Piper makes a good 21st century sidekick for him, neither a prodigy of learning nor a damsel in distress nor a fighting man—rather a reasonable blend of them all. I do wish she did a little less tongue-poking in lieu of acting, but I’m sure that’s some kind of Britpopstar trademark for her and can’t be helped.
Also refreshing is the way the writers have worked this side-kick’s actual life and story into the arc of the series; we not only meet her mother and erstwhile boyfriend but continue to meet them on a series of visits. Mom doesn’t like the Doctor for taking her baby away and lets him know it; boyfriend Mickey is nicely torn between missing her and wanting to join her and fear of the unknown. It’s a good grounding for all the wild stories that a time-travel series veers off into.
All in all, pretty satisfying. I’m just sad we only had the ninth Doctor for one season!
