With the departure of Jodie Whitaker's Doctor in October comes a big change for Doctor Who. Not only will she be replaced by Ncuti Gatwa, the first Black actor to take on the show's lead role, but it will also see the return of acclaimed writer and showrunner Russell T. Davies.
Though nothing is yet known about how Gatwa will portray the Fourteenth Doctor, a great way of understanding what he might bring to the table can be found in each actor's previous performances. Some played the part with a huge dose of relatability and humanity while others brought a heaping load of bizarre, alien energy to the role. No matter what each Doctor was like, they all had some level of eccentricity present in their personality.
The War Doctor
Played by the legendary John Hurt, the War Doctor was born a warrior, his attributes chosen by the dying Eighth Doctor so that he could fight in the Time War.
Because of his involvement in the Time War, the War Doctor was a deadly serious individual and didn't have time for the frivolities of life that so many of his other incarnations embraced. In keeping with the idea that he was the incarnation that didn't live up to the name of the Doctor, he was the most serious of the bunch, someone who didn't have room for fun.
The Third Doctor
Beyond some playful comments he made during his post-regeneration period and his love of frilly shirts, the Third Doctor was one of the more grounded incarnations of the Doctor. He was cold, calculating, and rather cynical due to being stuck on Earth.
Despite the bitter attitude he took on as a result of his imprisonment, the Third Doctor still showed a penchant for fun, having mastered the martial art of Venusion Akido and taking delight in acquiring all kinds of Earth vehicles. It might not have screamed alien, but they were definite signs that Pertwee's Doctor still retained some of the kooky energy of his predecessors.
The Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is tough to evaluate. At his happiest, he could be just as weird and offbeat as the Fourth Doctor, yet more often than not, he had to contend with the guilt of the Time War and the disappointment that surrounded him.
Perhaps the greatest tell of this Doctor's personality can be found in his outfit. It's a very basic and ordinary look that sums up the no-frills approach to his adventures through space and time as he looked to heal from his losses.
The First Doctor
Being the progenitor of the show's main role, William Hartnell's incarnation of the Doctor set the stage for how the character would act. He started as a cantankerous misanthrope who showed disregard for his original companions before gradually warming up as a person.
While the First Doctor largely acted like a Victorian gentleman (minus the outdated social views), he could still be a very playful individual. He deliberately refused to get Ian's last name right, would always refer to his companions as "young lady" and "young man" (despite some of them being full-grown adults), and took pleasure in belittling Nero and other tyrants.
The Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor's personality can be summed up in his clothing. It's easily the most boring Doctor Who outfit thanks to the beige color and lack of variation, yet it featured small, peculiar details such as the question mark collar and the stick of celery in his lapel.
Like his costume, the Fifth Doctor was a very sensible and plain person, never quite indulging in the eccentricities of his immediate predecessor due to his insecurities. Despite his relatively adjusted personality, the Fifth Doctor still showed signs of his alien heritage by making odd remarks about his childhood and bringing a sarcastic edge to his confrontations with enemies such as the Cybermen and Omega.
The Second Doctor
Played by the brilliant Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor was the first true incarnation of the character to bring out the more oddball qualities of the Doctor. He deliberately wore loose-fitting clothing that made him look silly, was prone to playing the recorder when trying to think, and loved to explore despite the dangers which came with it.
While the Second Doctor still largely felt like an eccentric human rather than an outright alien, his peculiarities still made him an off-kilter presence. He very rarely took anything seriously and was tough to read in tense situations, qualities which have become vital in understanding future incarnations of the character.
The Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is one of the most misunderstood incarnations of everyone's favorite Time Lord. He might wear a ghastly Technicolor dream coat and comes across as pompous, but deep down, he was a rather vulnerable individual.
On television, the Sixth Doctor committed some of the most outlandish acts in classic Doctor Who such as strangling his companion and making off-color quips as people around him die, but in the audio dramas, he was shown to empathize with Mary Queen of England and console his companion Evelyn after she had witnessed a boy's death. The bizarre behavioral whiplash ultimately works to make the Sixth Doctor feel more alien than he presents himself to be.
The Seventh Doctor
Initially established as a bumbling, Chaplin-esque fool, the Seventh Doctor was a comedic presence whose alienness was evident from the start. He proudly wore a question mark jumper, took pleasure in rolling his R's when speaking with everyone around him, and took joy in playing the spoons.
As he grew older, the Seventh Doctor still maintained his alien presence, but it became more subdued as he began to manipulate those around him. This is most evident when he confronted a soldier in "The Happiness Patrol" and intimidated him into putting his gun down, despite the Doctor's prompting the man to shoot him.
The Thirteenth Doctor
The Thirteenth Doctor is a curious incarnation of the character given that she is the most insecure about her abilities of the Doctor, yet also commits the weirdest acts without any sense of shame. No one goes back from eating dirt, even if it's done to determine one's location in time and space.
Perhaps the biggest tell of Thirteen's alien nature is her social awkwardness. While such an attribute is very human and relatable, Whitaker's incarnation of the Doctor takes it to a whole other level due to how consistently out of place she is, no matter the location.
The Tenth Doctor
While many have likened the Tenth Doctor as the most relatable and likable version of the Doctor, one look at the Time Lord's arc shows how far removed from humanity he is. He might be able to pass as a human and have a great adoration for all of Earth's history and culture, but the Tenth Doctor is also very colorful.
Though the Tenth Doctor starts as a charmer who can ingratiate himself in almost any environment, his hang-ups with the Time War quickly reveal he has an ego that needs to be kept in check. It gets to a point where he chooses to bend the laws of time in "The Waters of Mars," showing just how far removed he is from humanity.
The Eighth Doctor
Based solely on his television appearances, the Eighth Doctor is easily among the most bizarre incarnations of the Doctor due to his scatterbrained nature. He took excitement in the most trivial of things like how well his shoes fit in the TV movie and scoffed at death by complaining about how to pass a few minutes.
Despite the eccentricities the Eighth Doctor carried with him at birth and death, he spent much of his run sporting a more serious disposition. He wasn't as an outright alien in his encounters with everyone he met on his travels, but Eight's penchant for talking to himself and his ethereal fascination with humanity made it clear to dedicated fans that this was still an unearthly presence.
The Eleventh Doctor
Perhaps the most socially awkward version of the Doctor, this was the first incarnation that truly didn't know how to blend in with human society. Earth culture seemed to move too slowly for him, and he was always jumping from one idea to the next to keep himself entertained.
While his manic energy and scatterbrained approach to life meant Eleven would always stick out in a crowd, it was his darker moments that showed just how alien he was. Despite putting on a friendly exterior, the Eleventh Doctor was not afraid to manipulate his friends or keep secrets to advance his goals, a fact which makes the Eleventh Doctor far scarier than many of his enemies.
The Twelfth Doctor
The Twelfth Doctor, without question, started as one of the coldest incarnations of the character. He described Clara as his carer (the person who cares so he doesn't have to), was willing to let one person die to get others out of a Dalek, and was willing to let Clara take on his job despite how irresponsible such a decision was.
Even as Capaldi's version of the Doctor mellowed out and became friendlier, he still never quite fit in with human society given that he needed cards to properly react to people's loss and described how he wanted to kiss a monster to death upon discovering it. It sometimes made his Doctor difficult to watch, but Capaldi never faltered with the material.
The Fourth Doctor
From the grin to the erratic, childlike behavior to the boundless joy he brought to every situation, there's a reason Tom Baker is so many people's favorite incarnation of the Doctor. His intense and eccentric style of acting was unlike anything the show had seen, and it allowed the actor to create a character that audiences genuinely believed to be alien.
What makes the Fourth Doctor so otherworldly can only be summed up by watching his episodes. He was a character who, even at his most serious and desperate, still had a twinkle in his eyes. Perhaps the most telling aspect of the Fourth Doctor's alienness is the fact that he refused to settle down as a character. He only got zanier as time wore on.