The Christopher Eccleston Era - Final Thoughts

Harry -
He burned brightly, but not for very long.


Sarah -
I try not to imagine what could have been.


Harry -
Christopher Eccleston was an inspired choice to resurrect Doctor Who. He was a known name and bona fide star right out of JNT's "bums in seats" strategy. But more than that, Eccleston delivered a combination of darkness and ferocity that was perfect for a Doctor who had just survived the last great Time War.


Sarah -
He was unlike any Doctor we had seen before, but he was undoubtedly the Doctor. In his leather jacket and black trousers, the Ninth Doctor was stripped down and ready for the 21st Century.


Harry -
A no-nonsense selection from the TARDIS wardrobe. This was very appreciated. 

RTD opened the door to a generation of new viewers by going back to the original recipe as you might call it, cloaking this character in mystery before the eyes of a very human character, Rose Tyler.


Sarah -
As we've discussed before, the stakes were high. I'll always remember the anxiety I felt when I heard Doctor Who was coming back. The trauma of "The TV Movie" was still very fresh in my memory and I wasn't ready for another disappointing version of Doctor Who. I sat down to watch "Rose" feeling unsure about what I was about to watch, and almost immediately realized my fears were unfounded. 

I will have many critiques in the coming seasons, but I will always love and adore Russell T. Davies for bringing our favorite show back after 16 long and painful years. He navigated so many potential land mines this first series and almost always got it right.


Harry -
He also brought something new to the Doctor, as in things that would be new to longtime fans as well. The Time War was just as much a mystery to us as to everyone else. It's a great chunk of the Doctor's history that we continue to learn about.

In terms of new monsters, this was a bit of a let down. The Gelth, the Slitheen, the Jagrafess, the Time Reapers... none of them really spectacular. What was spectacular was seeing classic monsters updated with contemporary production values. Restarting the show with Autons was brilliant. The Daleks were the star villains of this season and they never looked or sounded better.


Sarah -
After the Wilderness Years, Doctor Who was finally in the hands of people who loved it and wanted it to succeed. I wonder if RTD could have ever imagined how huge Doctor Who would become. Sometimes, I'm still caught off guard by its popularity.


Harry -
Not a day goes by here in Toronto without me seeing something Doctor Who-related (an item of clothing, a toy, a mini-Doctor figurine -- and that's not just around my household!). The ratings may have dipped in the past season, which had a segment of fandom freaking out, but I'm not worried. The show is a staple of SF and pop culture and will go on forever. Yes, forever!


Sarah -
So say we all!


Harry -
Speaking of going on, that was something that Christopher Eccleston would not do. 

Maybe the biggest shocker of new series one was that this fantastic new Doctor would only be around for one season. I can't remember when we found this out, but it was well before The Parting of the Ways hit the airwaves. What happened? What went wrong? Was Eccleston always meant to be a popular draw for a single season? Why did he abruptly leave? The rumours flew fast and furious, but the consensus arrived at was that Eccleston had a falling out with the showrunners and decided to walk. We still await his juicy tell-all memoir. As the years have passed, everyone's sentiments seem to have softened. In a recent interview, Eccleston regretted that he didn't continue despite the difficulties behind the scenes of series one. 


Sarah -
We can only hope that the recent rapprochement will lead to his eventual return to the fold. 

Harry -
I see that Big Finish have given it a go, rolling out a series of Ninth Doctor stories, but with neither Eccleston nor Billie Piper.  

Looks like we are still some ways off before he'll be back.


Sarah -
Until then, we have thirteen excellent episodes to enjoy. 

You know what? He really was fantastic.


Harry -
So was series one!  While RTD deserves massive amounts of plaudits for reviving the world's greatest television programme, it was Christopher Eccleston who was the first "face" of the new franchise and I'm glad it was him.