A look at the dozen incarnations of the Doctor:
1
WILLIAM HARTNELL 1963-66
The first Doctor was a crotchety old man who kidnapped two schoolteachers and a girl who claimed to be his granddaughter. The contempt he seemed to have for humans softened over the years, however.
2
PATRICK TROUGHTON 1966-69
The second actor to play the role gave the Doctor a strong comedic side but also was quick to leap to the aid of others. He developed a strong lack of respect for authority — which played well with late 1960s TV audiences.
3
JON PERTWEE 1970-74
The third Doctor — who fancied ruffled shirts and capes — took a cue from James Bond movies, using technological gimmicks to protect Earth from alien invasions. The BBC began broadcasting the show in color.
4
TOM BAKER 1974-81
The show reached new heights of popularity with Baker’s quirky, rapid-fire way of speaking and alien sense of humor. “What’s the point of being grown-up if you can’t be childish sometimes?” this Doctor asked.
5
PETER DAVISON 1982-84
From one extreme to the other: The youngest actor at the time to play the Doctor was constantly a victim, often being captured and rescued. Where Doctor 4 was otherworldly, this Doctor wore a very British cricket outfit.
6
COLIN BAKER 1985-86
The sixth Doctor was played very much as a brash know-it-all. His companions found him abrasive. So did many viewers — the show’s ratings dropped dangerously low during a seasonlong courtroomdrama arc.
7
SYLVESTER McCOY 1986-89
The seventh actor to play the role gave the Doctor a complex, layered personality: A buffoon but also a schemer, skilled at playing his enemies against each other. Nevertheless, the BBC canceled the show after 26 years.
8
PAUL McGANN 1996
The BBC sold rights to the show to Fox, which made a TV movie in 1996. The new doctor was charming, romantic and heroic – but not quite enough to earn another TV series. The Doctor wouldn’t return for another nine years.
9
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON
2005 The BBC’s revival of the show focused on action and heroics. The ninth Doctor played the role only one year, but his dynamic acting and the muchimproved production values insured a second life for the franchise.
Where you’ve seen him:
Eccleston was the blue-painted bad guy Malekith in “Thor: The Dark World.” Currently, he stars as a dodgy clergyman in the HBO series “The Leftovers.”
10
DAVID TENNANT
2005-10 The 10th actor to play the part gave the Doctor a cheeky, playful personality, but one that insisted on facing down evil. His description of time as “a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timeywimey stuff” sums up this Doctor well.
Where you’ve seen him:
Tennant’s been on a roll since leaving the TARDIS behind. He starred as Alec Hardy in the U.S. version of “Broadchurch” and as Kilgrave in “Jessica Jones.” He even voices the Fugitoid in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”
11
MATT SMITH
2010-13 The 11th Doctor combined the dark side of the seventh Doctor, the quirkiness of the third and the manic energy of the 10th. This Doctor flirted with the human incarnation of his TARDIS and, yes, married companion River Song.
Where you’ve seen him:
Smith played a minor role in “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” Before his turn as the Doctor, he starred in “Womb.” JOHN HURT
2013 A special 50th anniversary episode that aired in 2013 featured an incarnation of the Doctor that fell between his 9th and 10th selves.
Where you’ve seen him:
Hurt is a master actor who’s been around since the early 1960s. You might best know him as the first victim of the alien in “Alien.” He’s also been in “Hellboy,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “V for Vendetta” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
12
PETER CAPALDI
2014-Present Capaldi started his tenure as a stern, no-nonsense Doctor but quickly developed into an incarnation with a wicked sense of humor. Media reports out of the U.K. suggest next season may be his last on the show.
Where you’ve seen him:
Before he was the Doctor, Capaldi was a doctor in “World War Z” and Cardinal Richelieu in the TV series “The Musketeers.” He won awards for his acting in British comedies “The Thick of It” and “In the Loop.”