Dave's Fifth Doctor Page

Played by PETER DAVISON 1980-1983, reprised 1993, 1997 (C.D.R.O.M.).
Fifth Doctor

Peter Davison brought a fresh approach to the part of the Doctor. Whilst many criticised his youth, no-one seems to have a bad word to say about his acting abilities. It has been said that Davison lacks the characterful faces of his predecessors, principally because of his youth. This is a little harsh. Beneath those boyish good looks lie hooded eyes and crooked teeth, and it would be a pleasant change for an artist to play with those a little, the longish hair and crooked nose, in order to show the real Davison the character actor rather than the handsome leading man with which we are familiar.

Despite his youth, Davison was well aware of the character's supposed age, and in the early part of his tenure tried to emphasise this (particularly in scripts by Christopher H. Bidmead, when he is often to be found wearing his half-moon reading spectacles. In Davison's words he used to 'start off polite and get gradually less so' as situations became more tense. The tetchiness he affected was a direct homage to Hartnell's portrayal, and after a while an imaginative viewer might find himself thinking that the young Davison could easily become Hartnell in forty years' time. The irony in all this (especially with the First Doctor addressing the Fifth as 'young man' on their meeting in The Five Doctors was that the Fifth Doctor was older and considerably more experienced than the First!

The Fifth Doctor was my favourite because he brought the character real vulnerability. Whilst previous incarnations had exhibited deviousness, vanity, or greed, Davison just didn't seem capable of these things. He did however seem capable of misjudging his companions and situations, and didn't always win in the end. Even if he did win he wondered whether there 'could have been another way'.

There is a dearth of biographical material about Peter Davison, but once again, the team of Howe Stammers & Walker have written an excellent guide to his era called DOCTOR WHO: THE HANDBOOK: THE FIFTH DOCTOR, which gives a step-by-step guide to the making of a typical Davison story, and a short biography of the man himself.

You could also look at: Information about Peter Davison's life and career

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Mail me: dfarmbrough@cix.co.uk
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