Top Ten Ninth Doctor Moments

            Every actor to hold the TARDIS keys has been wonderful; you just don’t get chosen for the part unless you are. But each person to lend their face to The Doctor also has a unique take on the personality and mannerisms of the Time Lord. Today I’m going to look at Christopher Eccleston and the Ninth Doctor. Christopher was wonderfully consistent in the way he played the character and I am continually amazed whenever I look back on his one series run. 

10: Checking Gwyneth’s Pulse – The Unquiet Dead

              Nine was an interesting Doctor. He was the Doctor born out of the Time War, when the wounds were still very raw and the grief very near. Christopher did a beautiful job of portraying all of that anger and sadness while still giving us the quirky alien that we were all looking for. He made the grins and the goofiness a façade that The Doctor hid behind because he just couldn’t face what was behind him. And yet he wasn’t all fire and ice and rage concealed beneath a hollow smile. Sometimes the best moments of a character are not the heroics they perform or the epic speeches they bellow out. No, often the moments where they truly shine are in the little things that are easily missed if you blink at the wrong moment. Take the moment where The Doctor realizes that the Gelth have betrayed them and must be stopped at all costs, for instance. He sends the rest of his companions out of the house then steps up to Gwyneth who is still controlling the Rift and takes her pulse. Even though she was the one to squelch their misgivings and open the Rift, this Doctor still cares about her and is not willing to end the problem by making her a casualty. Even after everything he’s been through (and Nine was easily one of the least sympathetic and soft Doctors) he still is taking time to check on Gwyneth and make sure she’s okay. But of course she isn’t. The Doctor realizes that she’s been technically dead ever since she stepped under the archway and only kept ‘alive’ by the energy of the Gelth. This moment is powerful, even though there isn’t any dialogue. As he touches her, Gwyneth looks into The Doctor’s eyes and pulls a pack of matches out of her apron pocket – clearly communicating to him what she’s about to do. Does he run right away? No! He gives her a sad smile and kisses her on the forehead before thanking her and then leaving so she can complete her task. Not only is this gesture extremely sweet and fatherly, but it also is the most affection we’ve seen this Doctor offer anyone aside from his TARDIS. It’s just a great little moment and I think is a defining one for Eccleston’s character.

9: The Doctor’s Speech – Rose
“Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving? It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go… That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler. Go home.”  Wow. Do I even have to say anything about that speech? Well I may not have to, but I have one thing I would like to say. This is the speech that re-established The Doctor as an alien for me. Just the way Christopher Eccleston delivered the lines combined with his facial expression and over all performance cemented the idea that his character wasn’t human in my mind. I never for a single instance forgot that Eccleston’s Doctor was a war survivor from another planet. This speech gave a beautiful look into the way The Doctor sees the world and is definitely one of my favorite Series 1 moments.

8: Emergency Program 1 – The Parting of the Ways 

          I just love the relationship that Nine has with Rose. Remember the episode Father’s Day? Remember how Rose’s dad is dead? Whenever I watch the run of the Ninth Doctor, I always sort of see him in a fill-in paternal role for Rose. Everything about the chemistry these two share just feels like he’s a grandfather, father, uncle, and protective big brother all rolled into one leather-jacketed package. One of the best parts of the Series 1 finale is the scene where The Doctor tricks Rose into going home. He and Jack are facing almost certain death at the…er…plungers of the Daleks and so he fulfills his promise to Jackie and sends Rose home. Once she’s alone in the TARDIS, this message comes up: "This is Emergency Programme One. Rose, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing. We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I'm dead or about to die any second with no chance of escape. And that's okay. Hope it's a good death. But I promised to look after you, and that's what I'm doing. The TARDIS is taking you home. And I bet you're fussing and moaning now - typical. But hold on and just listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Programme One means I'm facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So this is what you should do: let the TARDIS die. Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it; no one will even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world will move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That's all. One thing. Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life.” 

It’s not a particularly elaborate speech, nor is it extremely sentimental. For most of it the delivery sounds just like an over-the-phone prompt message as it clinically gives out information about his impending death. But as he gets to the last three sentences, the hologram turns and looks at Rose with such a warm, friendly smile that it is almost like The Doctor is there in person as he gives her his last wish – the desire for her to live her life to the fullest. The sentiment is simple and not at all over-blown or soppy and that makes it all the more powerful.

7: Meeting Lynda/Big Brother – Bad Wolf

            Bad Wolf is an extremely interesting episode for a number of reasons. Not only is it the first part of the Series 1 finale, but it also includes the oddest mash up of reality television. While these aspects sadly do date the episode quite a bit, they are still quite a bit of fun to watch the character’s reactions to the different shows. The Doctor’s reaction to being trapped in the Big Brother house is particularly funny, especially from the often-brooding Nine. While the other housemates are huddling together on a couch or gossiping about stir-fry, he’s sprawled out on the couch sulking and rolling his eyes. Despite the terrified expressions on the faces of his fellow housemates as they await eviction, he is so caught up in his ‘oh brother’ mood that for once he completely disregards it. Not only is this quite odd and actually funny, but it makes his snap-to-attention move mere moments later all the more effective because as soon as he sees the evicted housemate be disintegrated he immediately goes into what I like to call ‘case mode’ where he’s like a bloodhound on the scent. This scene is also notable because it is where he meets Lynda-with-a-Y, the girl that he will form a sweet connection with over the next two episodes before she gives her life for him.

6: Charles Dickens Fanboy – The Unquiet Dead

            This was the moment when I officially identified with and connected to the Ninth Doctor and I also think that this was the moment when Christopher Eccleston officially found who his Doctor was. Every actor who plays the Time Lord has one particular episode or scene where it seems like everything just clicks and, for Eccleston, I think that the coach ride with Charles Dickens was the moment. Oh he was wonderful in the role before and hit everything spot-on, but it seems like this was the moment where he became The Doctor. It is just so wonderful to see the joy on The Doctor’s face and to be reminded that, yes he is alien and yes he did fight in a war – but he does still find time in his life to be a fan of someone famous. He is just so happy to be meeting a fellow genius who he admires and it is a wonderful, important character moment for the Ninth Doctor. Besides, it is just great fun to see The Doctor completely lose focus on his mystery as he drops into full, unashamed fanboy mode for a moment. It's about as close to cute as Doctor Nine ever got and you really don't want to miss it!

5: The Regeneration – The Parting of the Ways

             The Ninth Doctor is incredible for so many reasons (survived the Time War, survived Rose Tyler, limited use of the sonic, actually acted like a doctor at times, etc.) but by far one of the best examples of why I love him so much is that he goes to his death with dignity. Now as of writing this we’ve only had two (full) regenerations in NuWho so I can’t speak for how Matt Smith will go out, but I was definitely less than impressed with Tennant’s whole “I don’t want to go” spiel which dominated so much of his last few episodes. In direct contrast with that fact, Eccleston’s Doctor faced his death with dignity. Mere moments before he completed a delta wave that, should he activate it, would wipe out every living thing nearby including his enemies – leaving him to regenerate into a safe environment. But he chose to be a ‘coward’ rather than a killer and didn’t activate the wave that would kill all of the life forms, human and Dalek alike. Rose shows up, having absorbed the heart of the TARDIS and become the Bad Wolf in order to save her Doctor by melting all of the Daleks. The vortex is burning her so The Doctor, having just seconds before escaped death by extermination, gives his own life for hers by absorbing all of the energy that threatens to kill her. 

 This is the fulfillment of the Ninth Doctor’s character arc and it is impressive just how much he managed to grow and change within this one series. When we first meet him, Nine is a grumpy, brooding alien that seems to live only for the next adrenaline rush and caustic remark. He doesn’t really care about people, though he does work to save them. He is prickly and standoffish and is still recovering from the trauma of having to commit mass genocide. Over the course of the series, through his relationship with Rose, Jackie, Pete, and Jack, that hard outer shell starts to soften and the good side of The Doctor comes to the forefront. He went from an angry survivor to a heroic friend. And he embraced his regeneration with a smile, not bitter about losing yet another life and not screaming at the world. He went out softly and happily in one of my favorite regeneration scenes of all time.

4: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

         Yes, these two episodes in their entirety deserve an entry of their own. This entire two-parter, along with being a remarkable story, is just one big long excellent character-builder for The Doctor. We not only get references to his granddaughter, Susan, and very personal hints about all that he has lost in the Time War (somehow making it all the more real when you realize he probably ended up killing his own children and family) but there are hints about The Doctor’s own childhood as well – hints that will be followed up on in the Series 2 episode The Girl in the Fireplace. I love that The Doctor gets a chance to finally, y’know, be a doctor. The scene where he diagnoses all of the gas mask patients is as creepy as the later scene where he cures all of them is heart-warming. The manner in which he pleads with the universe and whatever gods exist within the Whoniverse toties in with the whole Time War back story and it is so wonderful to see just how purely happy The Doctor is to finally have a day when nobody dies. 

  

3: Dinner with the Slitheen – Boom Town

            Only the Ninth Doctor could defeat an enemy, come back several months later and recapture the last survivor, and then take her out on a dinner date before escorting her to her execution. While at this dinner he also dodges poisoned wine, utilizes the Matrix to catch a deadly dart, and defeats vaporized venom with a free sample of breath freshener. The Ninth Doctor is officially what we would call a badass!

2: Losing Rose – Bad Wolf

            This is a very interesting scene for The Doctor as he apparently loses his companion, Rose, to the Anne Droid. I don’t know if this was in the script or if Eccleston made this choice, but it is extremely effective. Instead of screaming in pain or breaking down into tears and crying out ‘NOOOO!’, The Doctor just shuts down. He literally just goes completely silent and still, not even indulging in a single tear. He doesn’t fight the men who come to pull him away, he doesn’t shout out threats and denials, and he doesn’t even move a facial muscle. This stillness is so extremely powerful and really works to sell The Doctor’s heartbreak at losing yet another person. 

1: “You would make a good Dalek.” – Dalek

            I absolutely loved this episode! It was a perfect re-introduction to the Daleks and chock-full of character moments for The Doctor. While his first and last meetings with the creature are excellent, I find that the scene where he confronts the Dalek over the intercom to be the most powerful. That is where The Doctor, nearly incoherent with rage and hate (fueled by the Time War and by the Dalek forcing him to watch its killing spree) screams out that he wants the Dalek to kill itself. “Why don’t you just DIE?” There is a brief pause before his opponent quietly observes that “You. Would. Make. A Good. Da–lek.” The Doctor stops short at that, absolutely shocked and exhausted – all of the fight draining away from him with that one condemning statement. That was the darkest that we ever saw Nine get Although there were hints of it with his simmering rage from time to time, this is the only instance where his façade drops entirely and he just gives vent to his feelings. This is the moment when we see the real Doctor – the Doctor who has been hurt so many times and has so much pain and hatred bottled up inside that sometimes he just can’t keep on going without some sort of catharsis. It is effective because it doesn’t need a big long speech talking about how dark he is becoming; that one line and Eccleston’s reaction to it speak louder than any grandiose dialogue ever could. It is amazing how he can paint a picture of The Doctor’s thoughts just using his body language and facial expressions. This scene shows everything that makes Christopher Eccleston such a good Doctor: a bit of humor at the beginning, tons of darkness and little angst, and a huge dose of wonderful, believable, subtle acting that never gets old no matter how many times you watch him.