As popular as Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor may be, David Tennant’s 10th Doctor is the one who many regard as the quintessential modern Doctor, and this reputation is entirely justified. Tennant’s impact on the series cannot be understated, and though Matt Smith has done an admirable job of doing what many thought was impossible — filling Tennant’s shoes — the 10th Doctor is still very much missed. The revival got off to an auspicious start with Christopher Eccleston in the titular role, but when Tennant took over the role, he seemed to coalesce everything that made the show appealing in the first place, and, as a result, he absolutely galvanized the fanbase and introduced Doctor Who to audiences beyond the show’s traditional sci-fi aficionados.
And it would seem the entirety of Tumblr would like to date him.
Seriously, can you blame them?
In addition to being showered with affection and attention from the world of the Internet, Tennant’s Doctor was also lavished with a great deal of attention in Character Options’ 5-inch Doctor Who line. There were many different versions released over the years, and it’s a safe assumption that not even Matt Smith or Tom Baker received the same degree of attention in the line. While there are quite a few different versions to be had, there are a few that serve to represent the character better than most.
The Doctor in his standard blue suit and red Chuck Taylors is, perhaps, the definitive version of the character rendered in plastic. The head sculpt is faithful to Mr. Tennant, although a smiling variant would have been nice since every version features him with this sort of neutral, almost placid, facial expression. The suit’s pinstripes look as though they were painstakingly painted in order to be as faithful as possible to Ten’s iconic suit. It’s a very sharp-looking figure.
The figure is nicely done, and does a good job of capturing Tennant at his most serious, but where all Tennant’s figures fall short is in conveying just how much fun his Doctor was, and it was his energy and charm that made his Doctor so endearing, so it’s a shame he has to look serious all the time in the display because Tennant has such an infectious smile. The figure, at least some version, should capture that. I really feel like Character Options missed an opportunity here.
There is a variant of the standard suited Doctor with 3D glasses that does a bit in capturing Ten’s goofy charm, but as cool as they are, they’re not really enough. Plus, he didn’t wear the glasses just to be “goofy,” they actually served a purpose on the show. But they do succeed in adding a bit of light-hearted fun to the figure.
The two standard suited bodies featured here are basically inverted designs; one is a blue suit with brown pinstripes, while the other is a brown suit with blue pinstripes. I think the brown suit is the better of the two because the colors are more vibrant and it looks better from a distance. The blue pinstripes are obscured too easily, but both are really sharp.
The Doctor in the overcoat and glasses comes from the Ten-Doctor box set (although he was recently reissued in a Dalek 2-pack), and this is another excellent version of the 10th Doctor. In fact, many fans feel that this is the definitive 10th Doctor figure since the coat and glasses are defining accessories in their own right. The coat’s sculpt is realistic and convincing, but it does limit his ability to be posed. But, like all the figures in this line, what matters most is the sculpt and paint, not the articulation because… the articulation is kinda lacking.
What you see in the above pic is pretty much the most athletic, action-packed pose he can be put in. He is woefully under-articulated (there aren’t even bicep swivels or any sort of ankle articulation), but since the Doctor has never been about athletic action poses, the figures really do work best in basic vanilla poses. Having been conditioned by collecting highly articulated action figures, this line sometimes makes me feel like I’m collecting statues or chess pieces, but at least they can achieve poses true to their respective characters on the show.
Tennant’s signature red Chucks are present and accounted for, and while the sculpt of his shoes may be a bit on the soft side, it is cool just to see them. These sneakers really were one of his defining traits in terms of his look and costume, so it’s great to see them represented so faithfully. There is no mistaking them for anything but Chuck Taylors. And different versions of the Doctor come in different color Chucks — some red, some white.
His sonic screwdriver is an impressive accessory due to its super-small size. I mean, it is itty bitty, but it’s still a good sculpt that’s faithful to the tool he carried with him on the show. My greatest fear when it comes to these figures is losing the sonic screwdrivers, so I’ve been fastening them to the Doctors’ hands with a bit of museum putty. It’s not a necessity, really, because I’ve yet to find a figure that can’t hold one well, but it’s worth it to me just for the peace of mind it delivers.
What I love most about the 3D glasses, and his standard glasses for that matter, is the translucent lenses. His eyes can be seen reasonably well through the lenses, and this is an extra step they didn’t have to take, especially given the glasses’ diminutive size, but it’s attention to detail like this that makes this line such a joy to collect.
Seeing Tennant’s Doctor with all his companions and adversaries on my shelf always feels like a nice tribute to one of the best eras Doctor Who has ever seen. For a great many people, Tennant was their first Doctor and they’re going to carry a great amount of affection for him, and each successive Doctor will no doubt be compared to Tennant. That’s probably not fair, but heck — I still do it in a way myself. Tom Baker was my first Doctor and he will forever be my measuring stick for all Doctors to live up to. Fortunately, David Tennant’s Doctor more than measured up.
All the variations of Character Options’ 10th Doctor can be found fairly easily on the secondary market, although some can be on the pricey side. The good news is a few versions of him are in the process of being reissued for fans who missed them the first time around. They can be preordered at all the usual spots. And it goes without saying that if you’re a Doctor Who fan, some variation of the 10th Doctor is an absolute necessity for the collection.