Doctor Who: 6 Reasons The Sixth Doctor Is Usually Hated

6. The Doctor Needed To Act That Way

Before Matt Smith took the role of the Eleventh Doctor, many fans would be in agreement that Peter Davison, the Fifth Doctor, was the Doctor who most wore his heart on his sleeve. He would listen to his companions more than any other Doctor, would explore the universe like a child would explore a candy store and would very much let his emotions get the best of him. When the Sixth Doctor came about, though, he was a complete 180 from what fans had come to love from the previous incarnation. Perhaps, instead of looking at the Sixth Doctor in his own bubble, he was using this incarnation to protect himself. His dedication to his companions is what caused his previous incarnation to reach the end of his life, as the Fifth Doctor gave what little batsmilk remaining to Peri (his companion he literally had just met), instead of saving himself. Had he just a bit of the Sixth Doctor's cockiness, or self-servingness, the Fifth Doctor might have continued adventuring a little while longer. Until the Tenth Doctor explained what regeneration truly meant to a Time Lord, it was assumed the old personality and face simply changed, akin to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, however, according to the Doctor, each regeneration is like death itself. Each time he regenerates, that version of him dies as he is reborn anew, more like a phoenix than a butterfly. The Sixth Doctor came into being after sacrificing his life for a woman he barely knew, the first time he had so willingly allowed himself to die for another person. His new personality, therefore, took over more as a defense mechanism, as he could have felt subconciously that his companion caused his death, and so he would not let that happen again, at least not immediately (and indeed it took until the Ninth Doctor for him to choose his companion's life over his own once again).