Every Doctor Who fan has their own favorite version of the Doctor, with most of these being the ones who had the longest tenures. As such, a criminally underrated version has to be the Ninth Doctor, who usually acts as the starting point for new viewers.
Due to his short stay, this Doctor tends to get overlooked but this isn’t fair to the character as he was seen with some truly fantastic moments. We believe every Doctor should be celebrated for what they brought to the table, and in tribute to the Ninth Doctor here are 10 of his best times.
His Very First Scene
The Ninth Doctor ensured that viewers would get a fast-paced introduction to Doctor Who the moment we first saw him, as he avoided making an elaborate entrance in favor of surprising Rose and the audience. In this scene, Rose was about to be jumped by Autons, which was when the camera cut around and we saw the Ninth Doctor arrive.
Taking Rose’s hand in his, he said a curt warning in “Run!” and galloped away with her to safety. He then quickly introduced himself as the Doctor before reminding Rose that she was supposed to be running for her life, all the while having that adventurous spirit of his.
Telling Off The Gas Mask Monsters
Some of the scariest ever monsters on the show have been the ones that were infected by the Empty Child, a ghost looking for his mother. These people developed gas masks on their faces and a single touch from them meant the other person would become a similar monster.
When surrounded by these beings, the Ninth Doctor did some serious quick thinking by ordering all of them to “go to your room.” He figured that they would share the child’s thinking, which he was right about as the monsters promptly left. The funny thing is how the Doctor was mainly relieved because otherwise, those would’ve been terrible last words.
His Awesome Dancing
People associate the Tenth Doctor with being Rose Tyler’s love interest but he was actually as the Ninth Doctor when they both first fell in love. One of their best moments was when the Doctor was asked if he “dances,” to which he responded by showing his skills.
At the end of the episode, once they had saved Captain Jack’s life, the Doctor skipped along in his version of dancing. It was goofy for sure, but you can’t say it wasn’t entertaining. He then took Rose along and the two engaged in a lighthearted moment of dancing celebration along with Jack. You can find more fun times such as this in the comics and we loved the link.
Roasting Jackie Tyler With One Word
Being a tall handsome man, the Ninth Doctor tended to attract attention from the ladies. While he did indulge in harmless flirting on occasion, the Doctor had no mood to do so with Jackie Tyler. Rose’s mother, who was single, took her chance at making a move at the Doctor when she met him.
Putting on a seductive tone and similar mannerisms, she implied that anything could happen between herself and the Doctor. To this, he had an extremely brief response, as he shook his head and said “no” before leaving Jackie feeling silly.
His Fury At Meeting A Dalek
After losing so much in the Time War, the Ninth Doctor was prone to explosive bouts of rage whenever he had a reminder of the war. So, when he saw that a Dalek still survived, the Doctor’s fury knew no bounds. After watching him be his joking self for a while, it was great to see that the Doctor had layers to his personality.
Adopting a highly hostile tone, the Doctor unleashed his hatred on the Dalek. It was a superb scene that communicated to the first-time viewer of the danger that Daleks posed, with it also being the first time that a Doctor had shown the right kind of aggression against a Dalek.
Getting Offended When Someone "Farted" During His Speech
A freaky looking race of aliens called the Slitheen came to Earth with the intention to invade it. They would kill humans and wear their skins to pose as them and blend in. However, adjusting themselves in these "meat suits" expelled a sound similar to flatulence.
Unaware of this, the Doctor was in the middle of coming with a plan to defeat the Slitheen when one of their infiltrators made the same sound. Looking extremely offended, the Doctor turned around and asked the man if he would mind not farting when he was saving the world. It was a hilarious display of dry humor, one that we don’t see these days on the show.
Wishing Rose A Good Life
He may have had only a solitary series to his name, but it was definitely one of the most spectacular ones in Doctor Who history. This would be because of moments such as this where the Ninth Doctor showed how much heart he had. In order to save Rose’s life, he had her sealed in the TARDIS on a one-way trip, with his hologram appearing to give her instructions.
However, it was implied that the hologram might have been sentient as the Doctor then turned his head to look straight at Rose. Wishing her a good life, the Doctor selflessly looked to sacrifice himself and wanted only for Rose to live her days as the fantastic person he knew she was.
His Silent Sadness At Losing His Family
We’ve covered the bits where the Ninth Doctor was funny and angry, and here’s one where he showed his profound sadness at Gallifrey’s destruction in the Time War. During the conflict with the Empty Child, the Doctor came across a man who told him he’d lost his family.
When the man claimed he’d once been a father and a grandfather but was neither anymore, the Doctor solemnly told him he knew the feeling. With just one look at his eyes, the audience could see the Doctor feeling tortured with the memories of his children. At that moment, he well and truly looked his true age.
Dinner With Margaret
Doctor Who turned into a total comedy during the dinner scene with the Slitheen Margaret and the Ninth Doctor. Here, Margaret made several attempts to kill him, only to be hilariously thwarted each time.
These involved Margaret poisoning his drink, which he then switched with hers; she then tried to throw a poison dart at him, that he picked out from midair like a joke. Finally, Margaret tried to expel a poisonous gas from her mouth, and all it took was the Doctor to spray mouth freshener at her to win once again. And he did all this while being the most chill person in the room.
The Moment He Finally Accepted He Was Fantastic
Throughout his tenure, the Ninth Doctor openly admitted how much he hated himself. Believing he killed people in the Time War, the Doctor would hardly look at his own reflection due to this reason. Through his travels with Rose, though, he began appreciating the good he was doing.
By the time his regeneration arrived, the Doctor had accepted this incarnation for the hero he was and, in his final moments, he not only called Rose out to be fantastic, but acknowledged that he too was just as fantastic. As we all know, truer words might never have been spoken.