Doctor Who: Ranking All 13 Doctors From Worst To Best

2. The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker)

Tom Baker Fourth Doctor Leaning
BBC

It's no surprise that the longest-serving Doctor in the show's history is also one of its most beloved, because Tom Baker had seven years and seven series to leave his stamp. He played the character for a long time, and as such, the Fourth Doctor might be the most iconic of them all, as evidenced by Steven Moffat's decision to bring Baker back for a small cameo in The Day Of The Doctor.

With his frizzy hair, wide eyes and famous multi-coloured scarf, Baker's Doctor had an odd look that was complemented by the effervescence the actor brought to the role. He felt very otherworldly, but Baker's deep, powerful voice and assured line delivery prevented his eccentricity from turning him into a flat-out goofball; the Fourth Doctor really did have it all.

It's just a shame he was given such an underwhelming sendoff, with the Doctor being forced to regenerate after... falling off a large telescope. No epic final stand, no profound speech - just poor climbing skills. Baker deserved so much better than this, and it does put a bit of a damper on his era to know that he goes out in such a frustratingly simple manner.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!