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9 Reasons We’ll Miss David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor


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?As of this past Saturday, David Tennant has lost his accreditation. No longer will fans of the reborn British sci-fi series Doctor Who be able to refer to him as The Doctor — the actor has stepped down as the tenth incarnation of the beloved Time Lord in the two-part “The End of Time” special after spending more than four years in the TARDIS. A recent polling done in Doctor Who magazine placed him as the favorite
actor to ever play the time-traveling Doctor — no small feat since Doctor Who‘s been airing off and on since 1963, as well as starring Tom Baker whose Fourth Doctor defined the role for seven years. But who cares about the opinion of all those devoted British Doctor Who fans
when you can have the opinion of one American nerd writing on a primarily American internet
website? Here now is that one nerd, telling you nine reasons why we’ll all miss David Tennant as The Doctor.


9) The Shoes

He wore lo-top Converse shoes. This may not sound like a big deal, but not only were they hip, they were practical. after all, the Doctor does a lot of running, whether it’s into danger or away from Daleks. In fact, in one episode, he runs the Olympic Torch into the stadium for the 2012 Olympics. That’s a lot of running. Compare this, to say, Tom Baker’s costume as the Doctor, with its giant buccaneer boots and ridiculously long scarf. While the scarf is iconic, Baker’s get-up is only practical for tripping, which you can see Tom Baker do often.

8) He Was Pop Culture Aware

The 10th Doctor was always throwing out references to the pop culture of
our present era — he named everything from Ghostbusters, Arthur Dent,
Disney’s The Lion King, and, in one mind-blowing scene, Back to the Future. This is strange for someone who is
thousands of years old and can travel anywhere in time and space. It’s sort of like I spent all my time referencing everything that happened on
August 21st, 2004, in Tucson, Arizona (note: not a lot). Sure it’s a bit strange, but that’s just one of the many things we loved about the Doctor — and it gives him a deeper connection to the average nerd watching at
home. Tennant’s Doctor was effectively a pop culture-quoting nerd too.
 
7) Not Bald Like Destro

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?David Tennant is not bald. The same cannot be said of Chris Eccleston, who played the ninth incarnation of the Doctor. In fact, that’s all
I can remember of the ninth Doctor it that he was, in fact, bald… oh, and that he was Destro from the
G.I. Joe Terrible Movie. If you really look at it this way, it’s not
like the Ninth Doctor regenerated into the Tenth, it’s more like like a
crazed global weapons dealer died and turned into a big-haired fun guy.

6) Made Horn-Rimmed Glasses Sexy

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?It’s good that Tennant’s Doctor sports the horn-rimmed glasses, because it gives an example of someone who you can point to that isn’t John Hodgman, Woody Allen, David Cross, or a whole bunch of other short, odd-looking fellows. Sure these people are funny, but despite what the polls in women’s magazine say, funny by no means equals sexy. funny is sexy” isn’t universal. With David Tennant sporting geek glasses, you can finally say to your mother “Look, I wear horn-rims because it’s sexy like David Tennant.” Then your Mom will say “Oh, that is sexy,” because both of you live in Great Britian. If you live in the United States, this won’t work so well, as you will have to explain who David Tennant is to your mother.

5) Enhanced the Standing of British People in General

Americans, in general, like the Brits. They’ve given us Monty Python, tea, The Prisoner,
Simon Pegg, and this is despite America being founded on
the principal that the British were dicks. So, it’s always good to have
some one like David Tennant playing a very fine version of the Doctor
to help keep the good perception of the British going with America.
After all, a few missteps here and there and before you know it, the
British could be the next French. No offense to the Francophones out
there, but you gotta come up with more stuff than cr?pes and Le
Fabuleux Destin d’Am?lie Poulain
. Oh, and helping the United States win
its revolution against the British. Get with it, French!


4) He Had Less Retarded Stories

A far too significant portion of the Ninth Doctor’s stories were about farting aliens.
One of the episodes that wasn’t about farting aliens was about a Weakest Link robot. That sucked. Oh, the Ninth doctor mucked about with some Daleks, but the Tenth
Doctor had Daleks as well, and they were generally scarier and besides, he has Cybermen as well. Sure, Tennant had to deal with a few stupid stories, but overall he had a nice mix of stories
not unlike Frosted Mini-Wheats — the stories had not only the frosted
crazy alien side for the children, but the healthy wheat side with
depth that the adults found good for them.

3) His Doctor Was Crazy as Hell

It’s always interesting to watch someone who is right on the verge of losing their marbles. The Tenth Doctor generally seemed to be a person who was on the manic side of a Manic/Depressive episode; he was always full of crazy energy, like he really needed a Xanax, then would do something that might require something stronger, like a Haloperidol, or a hit to the head. For example, in (spoiler alert) the episode “The Family of Blood,” he traps the namesake alien family of the title in eternal prisons, such as frozen time as a scarecrow, watching over England forever, or held in place in some dungeon by unbreakable chains made from a neutron star. This was punishment for being ruthless murderers in a pursuit for immortality. That’s really messed up poetic justice from the Tenth Doctor.

2) His Doctor Stuck Around

One of the greatest reason we’ll miss David Tennant is that he was the first Doctor to stay in the role long enough that he will also be The Doctor for a whole new generation of people. Obviously, a large part of that is how wonderful he was in the role, but Tennant truly made Who his own in his four-year stint. To be identified as the definition of an iconic science fiction character in a good way is next to nerd godliness. To be defined as the opposite (for instance, the pre-Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker played by a whiny child and a 9-year old who can’t act) is like peeing on Jesus.

1) The 11th Doctor Looks Weird

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?Tennant’s successor, Matt Smith, may turn out to be a great pick to be
The Doctor, but he looks weird. He sort of looks like Peter Boyle and Young Frankenstein’s Monster and Morrisey had a child. He’s got a
faraway “about to kill myself” look with a huge forehead and sunken
eyes. It’s the kind of look that you don’t really want to see staring
back at you at night if you’re walking alone and happen to be female.
On the other hand, David Tennant is approachable and friendly looking. David Tennant could easily murder a woman in a dark alley, because she’d never be expecting it.

Okay, the metaphor got weird, but you see what we mean. Thanks for the memories, David. Please don’t kill any women in dark alleys.