Doctor Who asks and opinions

I'm sick as a dog and incapable of actual thought this morning so, instead, a Doctor Who prompt thing someone sent me, originally from the tumblr of one “dorotheemcshane”. Thirty-one questions and the length and breadth of the time and space to answer them with in as rapid fire and unedited as I can:

1: Top 3 Doctors?

Matt Smith; Colin Baker (mainly because audios); and, Sylvester McCoy.

2: Top 3 companions?

Leela; Rory Williams; Jo Grant.

3: Favourite quote?

Can't beat the Seventh Doctor's monologue/mission statement at the end of Survival: “There are worlds out there where the sky is burning; where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song; somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.” Always brings a tear to my eye.

4: Favourite Dalek story?

Remembrance.

5: If you could pick one companion to travel with any Doctor, who would it be?

Ace and Twelve.

6: How much EU have you seen?

I've been around a hell of a long time. I read bits and pieces of the New and Missing Adventures as a teenager, probably most of the EDAs and PDAs, been collecting Doctor Who Magazine (and reading the comic strip every issue) since mid-1997, and followed Big Finish pretty religiously since they started, as well as odds and ends from the naughty unlicensed side of the EU like the BBV audios and P.R.O.B.E. Videos.

7: Favourite companion/Doctor relationship?

Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe.

8: OTP?

Amy and Rory.

9: NOTP?

Seven and Ace, creepy af.

10: Any ships?

The obvious canon ones: Ian and Barbara, Ben and Polly, River and Doctor of your choice. Also a soft spot for Tegan/Nyssa and Liv/Helen fan fic.

11: First Doctor you saw?

Jon Pertwee in a repeat of Planet of the Daleks (I am not quite that old).

12: Favourite Doctor?

Wobbly final season aside, still Matt Smith.

13: First story you saw on TV?

Planet of the Daleks, see #11.

14: How long have you been a fan for?

Hard to say but I remember being really excited for the 1996 TV movie so at least since '96.

15: If you could travel with one Doctor, who would it be?

Three. Political debate and endless sandwiches? Sign me up.

16: Favourite TARDIS interior?

Matt Smith's first console room with the console made out of brick-a-brack.

17: How much classic Who have you seen?

Everything that still exists aside from the most recently recovered episode of The Underwater Menace. Don't know why, just keep forgetting to watch the DVD. Also, I've seen some form of reconstruction for all the missing episodes.

18: Favourite Cyberman story?

Don't care for them much, to be honest, so World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls.

19: Favourite one-off monster?

The Sycorax. Love me some technomage aliens.

20: Least favourite story?

Terminus, a swirling vortex of missed potential and boredom.

21: Did you cry whilst watching any stories?

A couple of moments get to me: the final speech in Survival, as I mentioned, the last few shots of The Green Death, and Bill's goodbye to the Doctor in The Doctor Falls.

22: Least favourite Doctor (why?)

On reflection, probably Tennant. I loved him at the time but in retrospect there's so much whining and brooding in his series that just isn't to my taste.

23: Least favourite companion (why?)

Dodo. I almost don't want to say that because there are issues with the fact the actress had such crippling stage fright but, ultimately, the fault is in the writing. She could work, she does work in The Gunfighters, but elsewhere she is at best without character and at worst a mean spirited judgement on “young people today” (“today” for 1966).

24: Any eras that you would like to know better?

Troughton, especially his first season. Between him being such a physical actor and TV direction starting to move being the “radio with pictures”/broadcast theatre model that I don't think there's much debate that we lost a lot more from his missing episodes than Hartnell's.

25: Favourite EU companion?

Izzy Sinclair from the Eighth Doctor DWM comic strip. Closeted gay nerd with deep seeded identity issues not all related to her sexuality? Even now that would be innovative but when she was appearing in 1996 to 2003 it was downright revelatory.

26: Favourite episode (or top 3 if that's too hard)?

The Ribos Operation: Robert Holmes at his finest; Tom Baker at his scene stealing best (for good or ill); Mary Tamm majestic at all times; and the best Holmes double act that doesn't come surrounded by appalling racism.

27: Weirdest piece of merchandise you own?

I regret to inform you that I have descended to the lowest level of fandom hell: I have stolen a .pdf copy of The Book of the War.

28: Anything you want to see in the next season?

Jodie Whittaker to have a female primary companion (don't care if there's a male secondary companion but I feel, at this stage, that the main companion should still be a woman).

29: Thoughts on the current Doctor?

Didn't enjoy Capaldi's first season much but since The Magician's Apprentice I've felt he had one of the stronger runs and stronger character arcs of the modern series.

30: In your opinion, will the Doctor ever be ginger?

Next one's a woman, all bets are off. Well, most bets. Gingers are about as white as it gets, so probably.

31: Thoughts on the sonic sunglasses?

Love them, perfectly in character for Capaldi and I love Moffat's logic for including them as a way for any kid to be able to cosplay the Doctor.