Doctor Who: Ranking All 13 Doctors From Worst To Best

by Danny Meegan

1. The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith)

Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith Doctor Who Series 5
BBC Studios

After the immense popularity of the Tennant era, there was an enormous amount of pressure on young Matt Smith's shoulders. It would have been so easy to buckle under the weight of high audience expectations, but he rose to the occasion, with then-new showrunner Steven Moffat's clever, witty writing and Smith's oddball allure resulting in a grand fairytale adventure that spanned three years and countless amazing episodes.

One of the most fascinating things about the Eleventh Doctor was the way that he made everyone around him feel special. While this could potentially be a dangerous effect, causing people to want to impress him by tackling alien threats head-on (as pointed out by Rory in The Vampires Of Venice), Eleven made his companions, friends and acquaintances feel excited about adventure, discovery, and life in general.

With his quirky costume, colourful TARDIS and cheeky grin, he emanated warmth and joy, proving an effortless watch even when the storylines themselves weren't all that engaging. Even when things got dark, Eleven remained as optimistic as he could, whether he was facing the end of the universe, his impending death, or an army of villains on Trenzalore.

It's unfortunate that Smith's final season was his weakest, but he still went out with a bang thanks to The Day Of The Doctor, and a show-stopping regeneration sequence. A sense of hope and wonder permeated Eleven's years, and Smith's Doctor was a perfect mixture of weird alien, likeable friend and furious Time Lord, and it's this that makes him such a fondly remembered iteration. Geronimo indeed.

-

Do you agree with our rankings? Let us know, and share your own list in the comments down below!

20 TV Shows That Failed To Stick The Landing

TrekCulture

10 Times Streaming Era Star Trek Went Apocalyptic

TrekCulture

10 Reasons To Greenlight Star Trek: Janeway NOW

In this post: 
Doctor Who
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

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!