Doctor Who: How Long Should Each Doctor's Era Have Lasted For?

Hi everyone. Here's a video discussing whether I think each Doctor's era on TV should've been longer or shorter. Thanks to ‪@leebiggs14‬ for the idea. :)
Channel Intro by ItsMeGPZ.
Kofi link: ko-fi.com/type40productions

[@Maeve_Rose]

Troughton was the one who coined the idea that the Doctor should stay for 3 seasons and then leave. and yet this man is the Tennant of the classic era, showing up for every single special he could.

[@funbricks1]

In my opinion: Hartnell - 5 full seasons like Bill wanted (1963-1968) Troughton - Can't bear to see him leave so (1966-1987). Pertwee - I don't really like Pertwee and I feel like his era is fine. (1970-1974) Tom Baker - He had enough time. I think it would have been good at Season 17 IF Romana left too. (1974-1979/80) Davison - He needed way more time. Maybe Trial is his last season. (1981-1986) Colin Baker - If his tenure would be "very long" I can't see it being any shorter than Tom's, so maybe he regenerates in Dimensions in Time if the show wasn't cancelled. (1984-1993) McCoy - Another Dimensions in Time exit (if the show wasn't cancelled) (1987-1993) McGann - If his 1996 miniseries kicks off, he should be the Doctor for about three years. That seems right for Paul. (1996-1999). Eccleston - The entire RTD era! Sad for Eccleston, but awesome for 9! (2005-2010) Tennant - He should have left earlier but we can't change that so we'll keep it the same. 2009 series. (2005-2010) Smith - Maybe one more season with Clara. No split seasons either. 2010-5, 2011-6, 2012-7, 2013-8, 2014-9. (2010-2014) Capaldi - If Moffat still quits in 2017 I can't reasonably see him with another season, but what if Season 10 is 2016 and Season 11 is 2017? So normal but with another season. (2014-2017) Whitaker - Maybe she still has a season in 2019? (2017-2022) Tennant2 - No

[@ClockMaster-mq2hm]

I suppose you mean "Sad for *Tennant* " And also, I would have actually included a few more gap years - comparable to the actual 16-year-Wilderness, but much more intentional and more often - one year between one Doctor's last episode and the next doctor's first episode, not more. In the sense of: less pressure, more time to prepare and so on.

[@chickenphat730]

Okay, so if we put that all into one timeline (not including troughton because I’m assuming that was a joke 😂), it would be: Hartnell: 1963-1968 Troughton: 1968-1971 Pertwee: 1971-1975 T. Baker: 1975-1980 Davison: 1980-1985 C. Baker: 1985-1994 McCoy: 1994-2000 McGann: 2000-2003 Eccleston: 2003-2008 Tennant: 2008-2013 Smith: 2013-2017 Capaldi: 2017-2020 Whittaker: 2020-2025 Tennant2: 2025-2026 Gatwa: 2026-TBD So yeah, I don’t agree with all of this personally, but I felt like your comment would be interesting to see all together like this, so

[@alexthemtaandr211weatherfa2]

Hartnell 63-66 in three seasons, throghton 67-70-three seasons, Pertwee 71-75 in four seasons, Tom Baker 76-81 in five seasons instead of six, division 82-86 in four seasons, Colin Baker 86-91 in four seasons and the keff theme would begin use in the first season, Sylvester mcoy 91-95 in four seasons with the distant j theme, Paul McGann 95-99 in four short seasons with the john Debney theme, John Hurt 2000-4 in three short seasons including a four parts 40th anniversary and the theme composer is unknown and the new years special would debut and regeneration into nine Xmas special would debut in 2003.

[@swiftbird4846]

A really excellent analysis. The beauty of Doctor Who is that we can always have more episodes with each of the Doctors, at least in one form or another.

[@conoradams1276]

I was watching a documentary the weekend and Frazer Hines was talking about why he left the show as well as Patrick. Frazer said that his agent constantly wanted him to leave TV and do films instead and Patrick’s lady at the time constantly wanted him leave Doctor Who because it was too childish and she wanted him to do something more serious. Frazer concluded that if it wasn’t for his agent and Patrick’s lady constantly nagging them, the show would’ve been a lot different, we wouldn’t have had Jon Pertwee and maybe not even Tom Baker

[@BillWhovian]

Yes that's true. But the biography of Troughton that I mentioned gives the full story behind that. Patrick Troughton had gotten increasingly frustrated with the direction the show was going in during Season 6. He felt like the show was relying too much on already existing monsters, rather than new ideas. He would often discuss this with his wife, hence why she told him to leave it. He was also getting incredibly worn out from the awful schedule the show had back then. Since the biography was written by his son Michael, I believe it's pretty accurate to what actually happened. But what Frazer says probably has a lot of truth to it too. Even after he'd been unhappy with his final year, Patrick Troughton still considered his time on the show as the best part of his career. Which probably explains why he returned to it so much. :)

[@frankrappa4765]

3 series/seasons per Doctor seems to be the norm now.

[@supersecret4390]

I really wish it was 4

[@BillWhovian]

@frankrappa4765 That’s true. But do you think that always works for every Doctor? Or do you think some of them should've done more? 🤔

[@BaronMartin]

If would love it to be a bit more experimental. Like, I would really like some famous actor to play the Doctor for like 1 or 2 episodes only. The element of regeneration would be a far more surprising then.

[@thekandyman.]

I wouldn't change most of them. The ones I would change are: Tom baker leaves either in the invasion of time or the Armageddon factor 1974-78/9 Colin baker doesn't leave and does the next few years 1984-89 (assuming it's still cancelled in 1989) Christopher eccleston doesn't leave and leaves in the end of time 2005-10 Also, capaldi is my faviroute doctor and I wish we had more than me so 2013-18 and moffat stays until capaldi leaves

[@instinctart2548]

I would have loved more tennant, but his time was well rounded, so i fear everything more would have hurt it. But matt smith got too little time for sure.

[@vinniequick]

I'ma do 2 versions of this (Long Read and many gaps sorry if you don't like a long read don't mind me) 1 How long Each Doctor possibly could of gone William Hartnell 1963-1968 5 Seasons as the 1st Doctor Patrick Troughton 1966-1970 4 Full Seasons (William doesn't get 2 Season 4 episodes) as the 2nd Doctor and 1984-1989 5 Seasons as the 6th Doctor (If they had asked Sydney what to do earlier) Jon Pertwee 1970-1975 6 Seasons as the 3rd Doctor Tom Baker 1974-1984 10 Seasons as the 4th Doctor then a Film and single Series as the 8th Doctor in 1996/2005 Peter Davison 1981-1987 5 Seasons+a Regeneration Scene as the 5th Doctor Colin Baker 1984-2010 5 Seasons (1984-1989) a Film (1996) 5 Series (4 a gap and then a 5th)all as the 6th Doctor and RTD Specials (2009-2010 In between the Series 4-5 Gap) and then 5 60th Specials as 14/X Doctor (2022-2023) Sylvester Mcoy 1987-2005 3 Seasons (1987-1989) a Film (1996) and a single Series (2005) as the 7th Doctor Paul Mcgann 1996-2010 a Film (1996) 4 maybe 5 Series (2005-2008/2010) and the RTD Specials (2009-2010 to either end off his run or be a gap for Steven) all as the 8th Doctor and then 5 60th Specials as 14/X Doctor (2022-2023) Richard E Grant 2003-2010 the Scream of the Shalka Animation (2003) then 4 Series (2005-2008) and either the RTD Specials or that+Steven Moffat's Start as Series 5 (2009-2010) as the 9th Doctor then 5 60th Specials as 14/X Doctor (2022-2023) Christopher Eccleston 2005-2007 3 Series as the 9th Doctor I think If he had tried to deal with it just a bit longer just so he felt like he'd made his mark before leaving this could of worked David Tennant 2005-2010 4 Series (3 being 2005-2008 then a 4th in 2010) and the 2009 RTD Specials as the 10th Doctor then 2022-2026 with another 5 Specials for the 60th and 3 Seasons (filmed in 2023/2024/maybe 2025) all as the 14th Doctor (Side note the reason he stops at 2026 is so he can film Good Omens Season 3) Matt Smith 2008-2014 an Episode (2008) the RTD Specials (2008/9-2010) and 4 Series (2010-2014) as the 11th Doctor then from 2022-2028 5 60th Specials and 5 Seasons with RTD topping his original 4 as the 14th Doctor Peter Capaldi 2013/2014-2018 doing 4 Series (his OG 3 minus a new ending 2 and Bill/Nardole/Missy stay on+a Chibnall 4th but the end story still being a slightly altered World Enough in Time/Doctor Falls as the 12th Doctor then 5 60th Specials and a single Series as a whole new personality 14th Doctor from 2022-2024 Jodie Whittiker 2017/18-2026 3 Series (Her 3 with Chibnall) 5 60th Specials and 3 Seasons (with Russel but still sticking to the rule of 3) all as the 13th Doctor Now if you've made it this far this is how'd I'd handle the Doctor's run's/castings yes we miss a few fan favs but I do this is just how I'd do it also in this world Doctor Who never gets taken off air/needed a film/reboot hope you enjoy William Hartnell 1963-1966 3 Seasons as the First Doctor Patrick Troughton 1966-1969 3 Seasons as the Second Doctor Jon Pertwee 1970-1974 5 Seasons as the Third Doctor Tom Baker 1974-1981 7 Seasons as the Fourth Doctor Peter Davison 1981-1985 4 Seasons as the Fifth Doctor Colin Baker 1985-1990 5 Seasons as the 6th Doctor Richard E Grant 1990-1996 6 Seasons+the Intro to a Film with Ageing up Make Up as the 7th Doctor Paul Mcgann 1996-2002 a Film, 5 Seasons and 1 Series as the 8th Doctor David Tennant 2002-2010 7 Series and the RTD Specials as the 9th Doctor Matt Smith 2010-2016 6 Series as the 10th Doctor Peter Capaldi 2016-2020 3 Series as the 11th Doctor Daniel Radcliffe (Disney Money plus being temporary to bring back viewers) 1 Series and 3 Specials+Centenary Special 2020-2022 as the 12th Doctor David Tennant 2022-2024 doing the 3 60th Specials we got minus the Bigeneration and 1 Season ending with a Regeneration becoming a Bigeneration which while not caused by him is explained as the Toy Maker's doing giving this David the same happy ending as the original now only as 13 instead 14 Ncuti Gatwa plays 14 from 2024-Onwards also yes either David's single Season or one of the Specials now also explains why he has a new Regeneration Cycle and can become 14/Ncuti Gatwa, said reason being the Toy Maker also being why he Bigenenerates, this also means for that Season we think is this the Doctor's last life and we see David play a Doctor who could die at any minute with no re try's this time until said last episode hope you enjoyed the read

[@BillWhovian]

Don't worry about the longer comment and gaps. I don't mind that. Interesting ideas 🤔🙂

[@vinniequick]

@@BillWhovian thank you

[@vinniequick]

I thought I should do a shortest run possible version too cause i was rewatching and thought of it Btw most of the seasons/series in all 3 list have Christmas specials unless specifically mentioned or obviously not 1st William Hartnell 3 Seasons 1963-1966 (in this world he never got the extra 2 episodes) 2nd Patrick Troughton 2 Seasons 1966-1968 (this time he got tired from the schedule quicker) 3rd Jon Pertwee 1 Season 1970-1971 (in this world Robert Delgado’a death happened a lot sooner and after planning all the stories they could do it put him off) 4th Tom Baker 3 Seasons 1974-1977 (he just chose to leave way earlier) 5th Peter Davison 2 Seasons 1981-1983 (this time Patrick leaves at 2 not 3 so the advice he gives is shorter) 6th Colin Baker 1 Season 1984-1985 (this time the 1985 Hiatus actually shut the show down temporarily in 1985 not 1986) 7th Sylvester Mcoy 1 Season 1987-1987 (this time they were trying everything so they recast Colin, saw the views weren’t doing well, recast him with Patrick Troughton as the new 8th Doctor, he died after the first episode aired which was all they could film due to it being late in the year so then they brought in Rowen Atkinson as the 9th Doctor for the rest of 1988 explaining it in episode 2 of that Season as a temporary illusion,then the show gets shut down due to how shit it’s doing leading to the 10th Doctor Paul McGann in 1996 and 11th Doctor Christopher Eccleston in 2005 before the 12th/13th Doctor David Tennant from 2005-2010 where since the Doctor only has 13 incarnations the BBC would permanently shut down the show) In other words for the Patrick part they had enough time to film 1 and air one episode but to earlier to film anything else hence the 9th Doctor doing 1 Season Anyway now the 8th Doctor Paul McGann 15 minutes (this time he’s an off screen adventures Doctor that we see at the end of his run at the start of the film) 9th Christopher Eccleston 1 Episode 2005-2005 (the BBC became petty after he leaves) 10th David Tennant 1 Series and 12 episodes 2006-2008 (Christopher does 2 Seasons instead of 1 and the Dalek shot actually kills off Tennant) 11th Matt Smith 2 Series 2011-2013 (David does Series 5 and Steven Moffat had a set plan for 11) 12th Peter Capaldi 2 Series 2014-2016 (Moffat decides to cap ad Series 9 not 10 so Peter follows him feeling drained) 13th Jodie Whittaker 2 Series 2018-2019 (after 2 Series+the hate she decides not to do the Specials/Series 13) 14th David Tennant 2022-2023 1 45 minute 60TH Episode (Russel only needed him for one episode using Matt and Jodie for the next)

[@BillWhovian]

@@vinniequick Interesting ideas 🤔

[@modmaker7617]

Only Doctors everyone can agree needed more are 6th/Collin Baker, 8th/Paul McGann and 9th/Christopher Eccleston. Maybe 4th/Tom Baker needed less. 7 seasons is way too much

[@MrHighlifewest]

I swear your content uploads alongside what I'm thinking about. This is such a fascinating subject. I would go as follows. 1st doctor i would have done 4 full seasons, 2nd doctor 3 full seasons, 3rd doctor was perfect for me, 4 I would have trimmed down to 5 full seasons 5th doctor and 6th doctor I would have done 4 full seasons, 7th doctor I would have done 5 because there was so much intrigue lore wise with 7. The 8th doctor I would have done 4 or 5 seasons. 9th doctor I would have done 3 seasons, 10th doctor 4 or 5 seasons, 11th 12th and 13th I would have done 4 seasons. 14th doctor I would have done one season.

[@BillWhovian]

I promise you it's not intentional haha 😆 And nice suggestions! I wouldn't mind a timeline like that :)

[@alexthemtaandr211weatherfa2]

14 is tenant 3.0

[@friendlyotaku9525]

I really hope Ncuti Gatwa breaks the 3 series' trend, it's gotten a bit predictable now and I really want more especially with Ncuti having less episodes than his predecessors if he leaves after 3 series he'll have had less than 30 episodes in the role. So I've got my fingers crossed!

[@BillWhovian]

Yes even 4 seasons would make for a nice change! :)

[@BH-98]

I think most Doctors could’ve stayed longer or were on for the right amount of time. The exception for me is 4th Doctor, not because I dislike Tom Baker or feel 7 seasons is too long, but because he looks tired & out of place in season 18 & I feel Shada (2017) is the definitive finale to his era.

[@Urlocallordandsavior]

Matt Smith should've been given two or three more seasons.

[@kylerees3491]

I'd say 1 got about the right amount, 2 maybe 1 more season, 3 I think 5 seasons was perfect for him I agree with what you said about Liz maybe Liz and Jo could both be companions for seasons 8 then Liz leaves and it's just Jo for seasons 9 and 10, I agree 4 should have left early maybe 5 seasons like 3 had or maybe 6 seasons at a push, 5 definitely deserved another season, 6 I think should have had 1 or 2 more seasons I don't think any doctor should be in the role for 10 years, 7 maybe 1 more, 8 at least the standard 3, 9 I do think he should have gotten more but his story does work for just series 1, 10 is the right amount imo, 11 maybe 1 more, 12 I feel like it's the right amount, 13 deserved 1 more, 14 three episodes is fine, and 15 we'll see there have been rumours he's only doing 2 but we'll see

[@leebiggs14]

I have had a surprise today seeing this video because of my comments thank you. I still think William Hartnell could not have continued because of his ill health but i agree he could have done 2 more stories with Anneke wills and Michael craze I think Patrick troughton could have stayed another season and had a few more stories and still returned for the three doctors the five doctors and the two doctors I still think 5 seasons was a good run for Jon pertwee i have had a further thought lately i quite like your what if pertwee stayed for season 12 video and i now think he could have easily stayed for a sixth season I still think Tom Baker's 7 years was a good long run but if he was to leave sooner i would say at the end of season 17 I still think Peter davison could have stayed on at least one more season and had a few more stories I still think colin Baker could have stayed on a few more seasons i would say 3 more at least I still think Sylvester McCoy could have stayed on another 2 seasons And I still think Paul mcgann could have done a few seasons like 3 or 4 seasons after the tv movie As for the revived era doctors I still think Christopher eccleston could have stayed on 2 more series I still think David Tennant could have stayed on at least another series because he is my favourite either a full series instead of the specials in 2009 or still did the 2009 specials and stayed on for series 5 in 2010 I still think matt Smith could have done another series and done more stories with jenna Coleman I agree Peter capaldi could have done another series with pearl mackie and Matt Lucas we could have had 2 series with the 12th doctor Bill Potts and Nordole in 2016 and 2017 we only had a Christmas special for 2016 I think we could have had a full series with Jodie whittaker mandip gill and John bishop instead of the specials for 2022 we still could have had Eve of the Daleks and Legend of the sea devils included in that series and still ended with The power of the doctor as the centenary special And David Tennant could have done 2 or 3 more episodes for the 60th anniversary specials I hope ncuti gatwa stays on for more than 3 series and do 4 or 5 series.

[@BillWhovian]

That's okay. Thank YOU for the idea. And yes, I think your thoughts sound pretty good 🙂

[@williamcatala154]

Personally, I think that Tom Baker should've left after Series 15. His run feels way too long, and by the time that you finally get to his regeneration, you've been exhausted by the character.

[@BillWhovian]

That's fair enough :)

[@lennywilliams5709]

I know it's unlikely but can you please do What If The Seventh Doctor met the Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers?

[@BillWhovian]

With the greatest amount of respect, I can’t see why that would happen. I try to base my What Ifs mostly in some kind of plausibility. If Doctor Who is going to crossover with something, I don't get why it would be something like the Power Rangers or TMNT. Star Trek? Sure. Star Wars? Eh, maybe. Red Dwarf? Yes. Blake's 7? Yep! Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Absolutely! So no I won't be doing that sorry. :)

[@lennywilliams5709]

@@BillWhovian what's Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy?

[@BillWhovian]

@@lennywilliams5709 This: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy It was created by Douglas Adams, who also wrote for Doctor Who and even served as the script editor for one of Tom Baker's seasons. He even used some ideas that he'd wanted to use on Doctor Who for Hitchhiker's.

[@lennywilliams5709]

@@BillWhovian i've just thought of a joke they could they could if they did a Red Dwarf and Doctor Who crossover... They could do a joke where the Doctor meets Chryton and the Doctor thinks he's a Cyberman in disguise because if you remember in Army Of Ghosts the Cybermen had the ability to disguise themselves as ghosts 😂

[@lennywilliams5709]

@@BillWhovian quick question: if i wanted to cosplay as The Ninth Doctor what would i need? Because i have similar hair to him would i need to dye my hair black?

[@hifive789]

Hartnell - I'm really fine with his 3 seasons, but he should've stayed until the end of a season. So 4 seasons, 1963-1967. Troughton - Would've loved seeing him in color. I'd say a full 5 seasons would've been great. 1967-1972. Pertwee - I hate Pertwee as the Doctor. So optimally I'd say 0 seasons, but he had a few good stories, so I'd say 1 season. 1972-1973. T Baker - He was a decent Doctor, and his first three seasons were pretty decent (Haven't seen 15-17 and 18 was awful), so I'd say 3 seasons. 1973-1976. Davison - I think if he was written better, I would've loved seeing more of him. Sadly he wasn't. But 3 seasons would be fine with me. 1976-1979. C Baker - If he was written a little better, I would've loved seeing more. I think 3 seasons would give him a fair chance. 1979-1982. McCoy - He was a decent Doctor I guess, so I'd say 3 seasons is what he deserves at least. But longer seasons for sure. 1982-1985. McGann - I'd say a full 5 seasons is what he deserves. 1985-1991. Eccleston - The full RTD era for sure. But one season a year. 2005-2009. Tennant - I love him so 5 seasons for sure, but only if RTD stays, which I assume. 2010-2014. Smith - If he was written better, I could probably bear him for 3 seasons. 2015-2018. Capaldi - If he figured himself out earlier, I could probably bear him for 3 seasons. 2019-2021. Whitaker - She's decently written, but not much beyond that. 0 seasons but not because I'm sexist. It's because she really wasn't written well. Tennant - Would love to see him for a whole season or two until the 60th, so 2022-2023. Gatwa - If Chruch on Ruby Road was just a slip, I'd love him for 3-5 seasons. So either 2024-2026 or 2024-2028.

[@BillWhovian]

Wow okay those are certainly some... interesting takes. Poor old Jon Pertwee and Jodie Whittaker 😂

[@vinniequick]

I like you made one whole timeline but man, why you gotta Pertwee like that, also bear Capladi and Smith, yall are harsh dude

[@hifive789]

@@vinniequick I think it didn't come across as intended. I love both Smith and Capaldi, but I just felt like they were done bad in Series 6-8. Smith tried his best to combine his more humerous character from Series 5 with the more serious direction Moffat took his character in in Series 6-7. And Capaldi was just utterly unbearable and unlikable in Series 8. His character did a full 180 in Series 9 and 10, but the writing was still suboptimal in half of the stories.

[@vinniequick]

@@hifive789 fair enough

[@hifive789]

@@Robert10075 She did the best she could with the material she was given. I'm not opposed to a female doctor, but her writing was just so bland. It's the first modern Doctor where I have no idea what to think about her. That was almost always the case with Classic Doctors (4-7) but never with a modern one. Good acting, bland writing.