On November 22, 1963, America was reeling from the assassination of President Kennedy. The very next day, on November 23, 1963, a quirky little television show by the name of Doctor Who made its inauspicious premiere. It’s safe to say that, at least in the case of the average American, it was difficult to care about a grumpy old man, his granddaughter, and their magic blue police box the day after the president’s life was taken in cold blood, but, still, the show aired. It received a favorable response, so the Doctor was then to become a mainstay of British pop-culture and a fixture on American PBS channels for the next few decades.
Fifty years since its debut, Doctor Who has become one of the most successful British exports ever, winning millions of hardcore fans all over the globe and inspiring cosplay enthusiasts everywhere to sport bow-ties because, as our beloved 11th Doctor would say, “Bow-ties are cool.”
There have been 11 men who’ve played the Doctor since the show’s debut, and in anticipation of the 50th-anniversary this November, we’ll be taking a look at each incarnation of the Doctor in action-figure form, beginning with the 11th Doctor, played by the wonderful Matt Smith. And for all the Doctors, we’ll be sticking to the five-inch scale Character Options/Underground Toys figures. There have been other companies that have released Doctor Who figures, like Dapol and Big Chief, just to name a couple, but none have touched the five-inch line in terms of quality and comprehensiveness.
Matt Smith’s Doctor is no stranger to the action-figure format, having received several different versions based on either full seasons or on specific episodes, or even specific scenes in specific episodes. Basically, there are a bunch of Matt Smith figures; however, not all of them are worth seeking out unless you’re a die-hard completist, so what we have here are just a few of the more worthwhile ones.
This is the 11th Doctor from the 11-Doctor box set and is Smith’s most iconic look as the Doctor. The likeness is pretty good, and they even went the extra mile to add an additional piece of hair that hangs down toward his face, mimicking Smith’s bangs on the show.
What’s interesting is throughout the ’80s we saw Doctors whose outfits were absolute explosions of color, but here, with Matt Smith, it’s darker earth tones that make up his most recognizable look. Everything is rather drab, which is in stark contrast to his exuberant personality. It’s spot-on accurate, but nothing about it suggests or reflects his fun demeanor. His placid facial expression doesn’t help either.
The detail work is great and helps establish a realism that the figure benefits from. His jacket is even textured to resemble a tweed jacket, and there’s a wash that brings out the details in his jacket that really ups the display value of this figure. The head-sculpt is very well done and is a dead-ringer for Smith during his earlier seasons. That’s the thing with Character Options — their sculpts are often great, but then they stumble in the articulation department. What articulation he has is limited, but that’s the case with all Character Options figures, not just this Doctor.
Ball shoulders and an ab-crunch are the key pieces of articulation he’s missing. If he had those, then he’d be pretty much on par with a standard DC Universe figure. He’s also missing ankle articulation, which isn’t a deal breaker, but that then means he has less articulation than the Man of Steel Movie Masters figures, figures DC fans are losing their collective minds over since their articulation feels like a step back.
Here, however, it’s not so bad. None of the characters are particularly athletic, so it’s not difficult to get them into poses that are true to the characters on the show. As long as he can raise his Sonic Screwdriver and get into a ready-for-action pose, then I’m OK with what articulation he’s got.
Matt Smith adopted the bow-tie look before bow-ties became a hipster thing (I think Smith is actually responsible for that happening), but the other quirky costume piece that they tried to push briefly (thankfully) was the fez. “I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool,” he said just before Amy and River took it away from him. Still, the fez fit with his “I have no idea what I’m doing” approach to human fashion, and it’s still remembered as one of his defining accessories. He also comes with the mop he wielded along with his fez in “The Big Bang.” He can’t hold it very well, but he’s got it.
The figure does a decent job of capturing the “fez” look, although the head-sculpt is a bit on the soft side. His jacket is a lighter brown, almost mustard, color that looks a little better, I think, than the drab greenish-brown of the box-set figure. Everything else is basically the same. This is a fun variant to have, but if only one 11th Doctor were to be added to the collection, I wouldn’t recommend this one. It loses points due to the soft sculpt.
Next up is perhaps the last 11th Doctor we’ll see in the five-inch scale. This one reflects his look in the later seasons; he now has a light-blue shirt and a matching blue tie, as well as a more stylish haircut that adds a certain amount of maturity to his character.
The jacket doesn’t benefit from the paint-wash the previous versions received, but it still looks OK even if it’s just plain brown plastic. His shirt is also less detailed since it’s just a plain, light blue with no pin-striping or much detail work at all. Despite fewer paint apps, what makes this Doctor worth picking up — aside from the excellent head-sculpt — is the added articulation in his shoulders. He can now raise his arms outward away from his body like most other action figures on the market today. It’s a very welcome touch and something I wish every Character Options figure came equipped with.
I go back and forth as to which version of Smith’s Doctor I prefer — this one or the one from the box set. Both are excellent representations of their respective versions of the Doctor, and both look equally good in a Doctor Who display. But, in the end, I do think I prefer the color palette of this version more. The blue/brown combo does it for me. (But I do miss the paint wash.)
All three versions featured here are rather hard to come by now, so if you’re on the market for one, eBay will probably be the way to go, but you could still try your luck on Amazon. And since they’re generally import figures, you’re more than likely going to have to pay to have them shipped from the UK if you’re buying from eBay, which can sometimes be costly.
Doctor Who rose to new heights of popularity during Smith’s tenure, so it’s going to be a sad day when he finally bids farewell to the show later this year. If you’re a fan of the show and a fan of the toy line, then it goes without saying you need an 11th Doctor on your shelves if you haven’t already got one.