Doctor Who: 7 Reasons Why Peter Davison Was The Best Doctor

7. "I must speak to the people who invented it"

fuckyoucocksucker OK, I totally admit - this is probably not a moment that makes anyone's list but mine. But hear me out on this one. The story is The Visitation - The tale that gave the series Eric Saward (for good or ill, I come down on the side of good - mostly - but there's an argument to be made either way...) Arguably also the first actual story of the 5th Doctors era when you consider the production order, e.g. this was the first story after the Production crew and cast had all had a bit to settle down and figure out how they wanted things to pretty much run from them on. Unfortunately, one of the most influential factors in the production side of things was John Nathan Turner's deep and all consuming need to be make the show his and not Tom Baker's. There's probably an interesting psychological study to be had interpreting JNTs actions in light of needing to be more important in the eyes of the viewership than Tom. You're not going to get that here, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be fascinating. What IS important for the moment is that upon finally getting himself and the program rid of Tom Baker, John Nathan Turner's overriding instruction was that any and all elements of humor needed to be eliminated from the program so that it could be 'taken seriously'. What this meant in practice was that Peter Davison - who actually has a quite nice sense of comic timing - was absolutely forbidden from ever saying or doing anything funny. And so in the Visitation as scripted we find the following situation - The Doctor has found a hologram covering a secret door and found a way through it (Standard S.F. stuff). Richard Mace makes the standard primitive human comment that one could make a fortune in the theatre with such a trick. The Doctor, as scripted, states his intention to continue with their current task of finding the aliens responsible. How Pete Davison plays it however.... The Doctor has found a hologram covering a secret door and found a way through it. Richard Mace makes the comment that one could make a fortune in the theatre with such a trick. The Doctor quips that he'll be sure to mention that to the people that invented it. By sheer force of will alone Peter Davison found a way to get a freakin' joke in there, JNT be damned. I loved him for that.
Contributor
Contributor

Mikey is, in no particular order, a freelance writer, improvisational comedian, volunteer firefighter, playwright, Bon Vivant, and Jane Espenson enthusiast. Born in the small mining town of Eden Prairie, MN, he has some 40 years later successfully moved about 20 miles north of there to the City of Brooklyn Center, MN where he lives with an unreasonable number of dogs. If you'd like to hear him discuss something other than Doctor Who while pretending to be a dog, check out www.the42ndvizsla.blogspot.com or follow him on twitter at @the42ndVizlsa