7 Reasons Doctor Who Fans Should Give Sylvester McCoy A Break

4. His Look Is Timeless

Prior to McCoy's debut the Doctor had worn six different yet distinctive outfits, all of which are inexorably linked to the actor that wore them. The costume that designer Ken Trew drew up for Sylvester McCoy incorporated classic fabrics, styles and motifs which have strong roots in British tailoring. Trew also managed to adopt and adapt the question mark design which had first been seen in the Tom Baker story 'The Leisure Hive'. By taking this design and giving it pride of place on the new Doctor's costume, Trew managed to breathe new life into a motif which had been used by the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Doctors. The clever incorporation of knitwear and tweed help to ground the Seventh Doctor in the world of classic British clothing, all of which were exaggerated and tweaked in order to accentuate the Doctor's other-worldliness. Without this timeless costume, Sylvester McCoy's performance may have been quintessentially different and, thus, the Seventh Doctor could've been an entirely different character. The clothes make the man and Ken Trew's design, along with Sylvester McCoy's energetic performance, certainly make this saying more than apt for the Seventh Doctor.