Doctor Who 1995 Survey Results

This has been the first ever comprehensive survey of TSV readers' likes and dislikes concerning Doctor Who. Publications such as Doctor Who Magazine and Data Extract (the newsletter of the Australian Doctor Who Fan Club) conduct regular surveys of this nature, but never before has TSV surveyed its readers across all eras of Doctor Who. The results are calculated from a total of 66 returns.

FAVOURITE DOCTOR

1	Tom Baker	278 points
2	Peter Davison	248
3	Jon Pertwee	237
4	Sylvester McCoy	233
5	Patrick Troughton	211
6	William Hartnell	158
7	Colin Baker	148

Tom Baker seems to define the role of the Doctor for many fans and casual viewers alike, so it comes as no surprise to find that his Doctor is the clear favourite of TSV readers. The Seventh Doctor Era Survey held in 1990-91 (see TSV 23) also polled TSV readers on their favourite Doctors, and the order remains largely unchanged except that McCoy was voted second favourite but has now slipped back to fourth place. Although British fandom has recently reappraised Colin Baker's Doctor, in NZ at least he remains the least popular. Eleven readers voted in the 'Love them all' category.

FAVOURITE COMPANION

1	Ace	66
2	Sarah	46
3	Jamie	28
4=	Tegan / Bernice	24
6=	K9 / Romana II	21
8	Zoe	19
9	Leela	18
10	Liz Shaw	16
11	Harry	12
12	Barbara	10
13=	Ian / Brigadier	9
15	Peri	8
16	Romana I	7
17=	Turlough / Jo Grant	6
19	Nyssa	4
20=	Saucer / Frobisher	3

No great surprises here. Ace is far and away the most popular companion with Sarah Jane also scoring highly. Bernice Summerfield, a character who has only ever appeared in the New Adventures and DWM comic strips, clearly has a strong following judging by the fourth equal placing with Tegan.

FAVOURITE MONSTER / VILLAIN

1	Cybermen	96
2	Daleks	78
3	The Master	67
4	Ice Warriors	16
5	Yeti	11
6	Sontarans	9
7	Autons	6
9=	Tharils / Silurians / Davros / Cheetah People / Kandyman / Fenric / Sutekh	4
16=	Rani / Monk / Zygons / Kane / Josiah Smith / Axons / Krynoids / Omega / Mel	3

FAVOURITE STORIES

1	The Curse of Fenric	73
2	Remembrance of the Daleks	72
3	Pyramids of Mars	55
4=	Earthshock / Inferno	52
6	The Talons of Weng-Chiang	46
7	Genesis of the Daleks	41
8	The Tomb of the Cybermen	40
9	The Caves of Androzani	37
10	Logopolis	36
11	Ghost Light	33
12	The Daemons	31
13=	The Five Doctors / Survival	28
15=	Warriors’ Gate / The Invasion	24
17	Battlefield	23
18	The Ark in Space	21
19=	Silver Nemesis / City of Death	19
21=	100,000 BC / The Web of Fear	18
23	The Two Doctors	16
24=	The Green Death / Black Orchid	14
26	Carnival of Monsters	13
27=	Castrovalva / The Seeds of Doom / Horror of Fang Rock / The Daleks	12
31=	The Dalek Invasion of Earth / The Three Doctors / The Deadly Assassin	11
34=	The Mind Robber / State of Decay	10
36=	The Seeds of Death / Spearhead from Space	9
38=	The Tenth Planet / The Wheel in Space / The Ribos Operation / Full Circle / The Keeper of Traken	8
43=	The Evil of the Daleks / The Claws of Axos / The Leisure Hive / The Happiness Patrol	7

It is a little surprising in light of Sylvester McCoy's low placing in the favourite Doctor category that two of his stories are ranked first and second by a large margin.

LEAST-LIKED STORIES

1	Paradise Towers	24
2	Timelash	17
3	Time and the Rani	15
4	Silver Nemesis	11
5=	Delta and the Bannermen / The Twin Dilemma	10
7	The Happiness Patrol	9
8	The Trial of a Time Lord	8
9=	The Gunfighters / Four to Doomsday / The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	7
12=	The Web Planet / Vengeance on Varos / Battlefield / Survival	6
16=	The Dalek Invasion of Earth / The Caves of Androzani	5
18=	The Green Death / Death to the Daleks / The Brain of Morbius / The Visitation / The Mark of the Rani / The Mysterious Planet / Dragonfire	4

Note that every story in the top eight comes from the Sylvester McCoy and Colin Baker eras. It is perhaps indicative of just how variable the McCoy era is that stories made just a year or two apart and starring the same Doctor can top the favourite and least liked story charts.

FAVOURITE NEW OR MISSING ADVENTURES NOVEL

1	Timewyrm: Exodus	37
2	Blood Heat	23
3	Love and War	21
4	The Highest Science	20
5	The Left-Handed Hummingbird	14
6=	All-Consuming Fire / Goth Opera / Legacy / Nightshade / Timewyrm: Revelation	12
11=	Cat’s Cradle: Time’s Crucible / Tragedy Day	11
13	Conundrum	9
14	No Future	8
15	Blood Harvest	7
16=	Lucifer Rising / The Romance of Crime	6
18=	Falls the Shadow / Iceberg / Transit	5
21=	Venusian Lullaby / Witch Mark	4

Given that it was the first ever New Adventures novel released in NZ it is perhaps unsurprising that Timewyrm: Exodus tops the chart.

LEAST-LIKED NEW OR MISSING ADVENTURES NOVEL

1	The Pit	36
2	Cat’s Cradle: Time’s Crucible	24
3	Transit	23
4	Timewyrm: Genesys	17
5	Cat’s Cradle: Warhead	16
6=	Falls the Shadow / Timewyrm: Apocalypse	11
8=	Deceit / Evolution	9
10	Theatre of War	6
11=	First Frontier / Blood Harvest	5
13=	Blood Heat / Strange England / All-Consuming Fire / The Left-Handed Hummingbird / Iceberg	4

Time's Crucible is clearly a controversial New Adventure judging by its high placing on both charts.

WILL THE SHOW EVER RETURN TO PRODUCTION?

Yes	35 (53%)
No	23 (35%)
Don’t Know	8 (12%)

A slight majority are convinced that Doctor Who will return to production. Daniel Spragg does not think it will return but says 'we can always hope.'

Liz Comery is among those who are undecided: 'I hope so if the programme's history isn't ignored'; and Kristin Zindel feels 'there are too many conflicting reports and indecisions.'

David Ronayne says yes, but adds that when it does it will be 'not as a series and probably not made by the BBC.' Edwin Patterson feels 'very confident' that the show will return and Gary Gillatt says: 'No doubt.'