Okay. First off, I'm not afraid to admit it: Sylvester McCoy is my favorite Doctor. That's one of the many, many things I love about Doctor Who: there's something for everybody. Don't like Tom Baker? Try David Tennant's portrayal! Didn't care for "Paradise Towers"? There's always "The Aztecs," or "Inferno," or... It's a show that can do anything, go anywhere, and it's not even constrained by having a set style or genre beyond the fuzzy label of sci-fi it gets slapped with because it happens to involve space-time travel.
The historicals are the most blatant examples of genre-bending, where the most alien thing in the story is the Doctor himself, and the most advanced technology is the TARDIS; but it's evident elsewhere, too. "The Horror of Fang Rock" is a play on the Agatha Christie-type murder mystery. "The Green Death," besides the emotionality added by the departure of a companion, also offers up political and environmental commentary. And lighter fare such as "Delta and the Bannermen" will satisfy those looking mainly for funny bits. (Admittedly, you have to be looking for humor though, or it'll just seem stupid, even farcical.)
If you can look beyond the wobbly sets and occasional overacting of the classic series, you'll be greatly rewarded with the collective genius of 40 years' worth of the clever people who worked on the show. I'm especially fond of how limited budgets and hardships led to some of the best ingenuity— need a cheap prop? How about a police box? It's science fiction, we can make it a dimensionally transcendental time machine! Oh noes, our lead actor is getting too old and frail... wait, he's an alien, he can renew himself! (Which eventually became regeneration, one of the most brilliant notions from a production standpoint ever.)
And not to be superficial, but you've got to admit the costumes are fun. With the Doctor pegged as alien, the designers had free license, and in later years, under John-Nathan Turner's influence, they really went nuts with it. Does make you wonder if he ever does his laundry, but oh well. It can go on the pile of mysteries about the (now) last Time Lord along with the Cartmel Masterplan and the revival it seems to have had with Steven Moffat. Now I don't love everything the Moff has done so far, but I do appreciate him bringing back the alien-ness and... well, the question marks, if you will allow me the small pun.
Which brings us, in a roundabout way, to the main reason for the post— my latest pet project, knitting a seventh Doctor question mark vest. I'm having to make up the pattern (oh, the joy) with all the attendant worries about sizing and such. That said, it is coming along nicely, and I'm very pleased with my colors (the yarn is Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift, lovely stuff and great choice for colorwork). This is the second project I've designed myself, and the other was only a hat. I could do without such tzuris, of course, but then I wouldn't end up with a gorgeous [beauty is in the eye of the beholder] sweater to wear my -ahem- preference on my sleeve.
Not that very many will pick up on it here— Tom Baker with his Scarf is the most recognizable Doctor in the US, thanks apparently to PBS. I know there are other young'uns out there with an affinity for the classic Who, though, because I got several sightings on my campus of a season 18 scarf, a fifth Doctor coat (!) and a question-mark brolly (!!!). Same person, I think, but still. Gives me hope for the generation yet.
