Ten fo Ten Poll- A Celebration of The Tenth Doctor words by @Dr_Who_Con_Fans and pictures by @Cheezypeas

"no second chances I'm that sort of man"

On Saturday we will be watching the winner of The Ten for Ten- Tennant Poll. So lets take a little trip back to the end of Eccleston's tenure as The Doctor and the announcement that David Tennant was to take over.

On the 31st March 2005 Christopher  Eccleston announced that he was to leave after only one series as The Doctor. Thinking back at this now this was really unusual, as previously actors portraying The Doctor had undertaken at least 3 series or years (The Troughton 3 Year Rule is widely adopted as a sensible one) To have the title character being replaced so early on and especially after the show had only just come back after its 16 year hiatus (broken briefly by the one off tv movie) must have been worrying for the producers. So regeneration is on the cards again and who should they get to replace the outgoing Eccleston?

David Tennant had started to make a name for himself with audiences both of the stage and television. Young and enthusiastic he seemed an ideal choice to replace Eccleston. The BBC announced that Tennant was to take over the role of The Doctor on the 16th April 2005. Who fans undertook their normal activity of waiting and seeing how this new man would portray their beloved Doctor.

The answer was of course very very well. 

The first story of any newly regenerated Doctor is always difficult, both for the audience who are still adjusting to the loss of the previous actor and also for the new actor himself. How to play The Doctor, drawing on all previous regenerations but at the same time adding something new?

The writing by Russell T Davis on  The Christmas Invasion is, in my view, one of the best first Doctor stories ever written. The Doctor is recovering from his regeneration in bed and is not really on screen at all for the first part of the story. We are able to identify with the angst and confusion Rose feels as this mysterious man lies unconscious in bed. 

When Tennant finally bursts,literally, out of The  Tardis on the Sycorax ship we are ready to see what sort of a man he will be.


As it turns out one of "no second chances" and this is the beauty of The Tenth Doctor. He is capable of immense emotion ("My Sarah Jane" and crying with Wilf in "The End of Time") but also really dark almost sinister moments. His Doctor is one who is fiercely loyal to his companions but at the same time still showing the pain he feels for the loss of the Timelords. The moment when The Master dies in his arms is a heart breaking moment and Tennant portrays this, dare I say it, masterfully.

This is a Doctor that can be manic, hyper and just plain mad but also dangerous and totally in control. His final story at the beginning of 2010 made me cry as for once The Doctor did not want to regenerate. 

It is impossible to discuss Tennant without mentioning the fan girls (mostly) I know a certain Whovian who was completely put off The Tenth Doctor because of the reaction he produced from certain quarters. My view is simple on this. Everyone has a favourite Doctor, for any number of reasons and also favourite stories. The problem with some fans is they totally focus on Tennant as if he was the only Doctor. They also can sometimes show scant interest in who proceeded or follo Tennant's. All I say is that to be a Who fan you love the program and the show is  bigger than one person. It has to be!

So join us on Saturday for a Tennant evening. He truly was a fantastic and amazing Doctor and I loved almost every story he took part in. But, as the Brigadier said, "splendid fellows.... all of them"