LogFAQs > #970827924

Definitely Peter Capaldi.

He captured aspects of both the classic Doctors and nuwho Doctors perfectly. His seasons dropped the ball in the writing department at times, but he himself was almost always on-point. I can see how people who aren't familiar with the classic series wouldn't like him as much, though, since he's very different from the previous nuwho Doctors.

David Tennant's Doctor was, idk, way too larger-than-life and romantic to embody the "core" of the Doctor, who's mainly just supposed to be a clever aromantic weirdo with a strong moral compass who loves to explore. Tennant's Doctor lived in a soap opera. Even though I loved his seasons and can't wait for his return, I can see why fans of the classic series didn't like parts of that era. Tennant's scripts were just damn good television, regardless of whether he was "like the Doctor" or not. That's why he's the most popular nuwho Doctor and dragged in such a high audience of people who probably wouldn't like the non-Tennant seasons.

In comparison, Matt Smith's Doctor felt more like a standard Doctor than Tennant's, even if Moffat loved to do that thing where he basically made the Doctor a superhero who gave grand speeches and saved the universe (something the 1st Doctor calls him out on in Capaldi's last episode).

Eccleston I feel would've been great if he had stayed for more seasons. I mean, he already was great, but more screentime would've helped more people see how great of a Doctor he really was (even if he also did fall into the romance trap of the RTD era).