Doctor Who: Ranking All 13 Doctors From Worst To Best

7. The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann)

Dr Who Paul Mcgann Mini Episode
BBC

Despite only having two onscreen appearances to his name (a TV movie and a short prequel to the 50th anniversary special) Paul McGann has managed to make a huge splash within the Doctor Who fanbase.

Yes, the TV movie isn't great, and the prequel is only seven minutes long, but he's fantastic in both, proving that you don't need years worth of high-quality stories to make your mark as the Doctor.

As well-spoken as Pertwee with some of that Tennant-esque charm and coolness, the Eighth Doctor of the prequel minisode was a badass action hero, attempting to conduct a high-stakes rescue aboard a crashing spaceship, never once looking flustered, troubled, or lacking control. McGann made it all look so effortless; he's certainly one of the best actors to have played the Doctor, and it's no surprise that he remains a fan-favourite to this day.

Again, the TV movie is quite weak, but it's worth watching for his performance alone, a sentiment that most Doctor Who fans will echo.

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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!