The Ninth Doctor

The Ninth Doctor had a lot of weight on his shoulders, both in-story and behind the scenes. As the first Doctor of the revived series in 2005, he had to be the Doctor for a new generation, not just more of the same (no offense, Paul McGann). Russell T Davies had to reintroduce all the Doctor Who concepts and make them seem fresh, which he achieved by mostly viewing them through Rose’s eyes, which put a lot of weight on Billie Piper as well. They all succeeded admirably, and yet, Eccleston only stayed for one series, as the result of unspecified bad blood between him and the BBC. It looked for a long time like he was going to be a recalcitrant former Doctor, much like Tom Baker had been for so long. But also like Tom Baker, Big Finish eventually found the right set of circumstances to lure him back. A lot of the stories in this era are “workarounds,” short trips, chronicles, and other things intended to include the Ninth Doctor without having Eccleston available, but now with one huge chunk of the real deal right in the middle.