My theory about Doctor Who’s personality cycle

Warning: Serious geekdom ahead!

FINALLY, I got all caught up with the last season of Doctor Who!  I have to say, the stories are keeping me even despite the way that Matt Smith inexplicably grates on my very last nerve.

Wait… why would he grate on my nerves?  What is it about this guy that I just don’t like?  It’s not an attractiveness issue because, while he’s not “my type”, he’s also not ugly, and that’s never really bothered me with actors anyway.  It’s the story they tell with their interpretation of the character that’s important to me.  I also suspected it might have been just because he’s not David Tennant or Tom Baker, but I don’t have a problem with Patrick Troughton or Christopher Eccleston.

And then it struck me.  Matt Smith is such a frikkin’ Gemini.

I don’t get on with Geminis hardly ever.  Their ping-ping-ping demeanor, their on-again-off-again temperament, their very self-centric perspectives, their exhausting bursts of energy, that wait-til-the-last-minute routine… it makes me bloody crazy.

Wait just another minute… I’ve observed before that part of what I appreciate about the entire Doctor Who series is that each of the Doctors represent different types of personalities.  My original theory had been that they were each exploring a dominant personality type – arrogant or inquisitive or fretting or romantic.  As I contemplated Matt Smith’s Gemini-ness, I started to suspect that there was a larger pattern.

That’s when I started realizing the very real possibility that maybe – just maybe – some strange force of writer-magic was fashioning the Doctors according to the western Zodiac signs.  So, purely for SCIENCE, I tested my theory by trying a sampling of the Doctor’s adventures through his various incarnations, and this is what I discovered:

At least for the ones I managed to find and watch (which wasn’t as much as I’d hoped since I’m limited to what’s available on Netflix at the moment), I might very well be on to something.  If we go in order, it makes almost too much sense:

The Doctors according to Zodiacal cycles:

1. William Hartnell – Leo.

2. Patrick Troughton – Virgo.

3. Jon Pertwee – Libra.

4. Tom Baker – Scorpio.

5. Peter Davison – Sagittarius.

6. Colin Baker – Capricorn.

7. Sylvester McCoy – Aquarius.

8. Paul McGann – Pisces.

9. Christopher Eccleson – Aries.

10. David Tennant – Taurus.

11. Matt Smith – Gemini.

12. ??? – Cancer.

Now, my research is still mostly preliminary since I still have to get my hands on the majority of the Doctors’ adventures (3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th still not found and/or viewed), but the initial findings are promising.

Think of William Hartnell and that crazy mane of hair, that arrogant, sometimes brutish attitude.  No one can tell him anything!  Ah, but he’s still a genius, still clever beyond reason, and certainly leonine in many, many ways.  Total Leo.  And how about Patrick Troughton’s fretting Virgo manner?  His frustration at things not going the way they’re supposed to (mainly when people do the opposite of what he’s told them) is palpable, but he goes along and cleans up the mess anyway, usually finding some kind of insanely amazing treasure along the way.  Tom Baker is a complete Scorpio in the best sense of the word – intense and curious and crazy-passionate when faced with amazing mysteries.  Sylvester McCoy’s question-mark vest and umbrella are the epitome of the Aquarius inquisitiveness.  Christopher Eccleston is a very typical Aries, David Tennant is the best kind of Taurus that ever lived, and… well, you know how I feel about Matt Smith.

So, periodically over the next several days and/or weeks (depending on what kind of time I can carve out of my schedule), I’ll post much longer and in-depth discussions on how each of the Doctors may just be the “new Zodiac”.

Which would be awesome, because that makes me a Tom Baker, and I totally want to justify making that scarf.

Footnote: According to this, David Tennant hates astrology, which is a very ironic and sometimes Taurean thing to say.