13's is one of my favourites cos it isn't entirely symmetrical, making it more abstract, and even slightly uncanny. Really nice effect.

The episode "Before the Flood" with Capaldi's Doctor talking to the camera in the cold open about the Bootstrap Paradox, when they add electric guitars to the theme. When that episode came out I was hoping that would be the permanent theme for the rest of Capaldi's run. Auditorily, that is my absolute favorite. Visually, I love the 11th Doctor's. The way the lightning hits the Tardis and sends it flying off puts a smile on my face every time.

I personally love Tennants last intro. It’s not necessary that I’m the biggest fan of David Tennant, but just the electric guitar, the violins, the orchestral arrangements, the clearer, more crisp title. Also, I love how fast the Tardis goes in this one, actually makes you feel like you’re going somewhere.

I actually quite like the middle 8 being in the opening

Pat Troughton just has a great face in general.

I disagree with the notion that the "heroic" segment of the theme should be left for the closing credits, I always thought it set the tone of the show perfectly before the episode began. In fact, I remember missing it when it was taken out of the 11th Doctor's theme, and I rejoiced when it was put back in a few themes later.

I feel the more heroic bit of the theme fits the Eighth Doctor's style.

Sorry, but the Tardis in the 7th Doctor titles did look cool at the time. Also, the 8th Doctor theme opening like that......awesome!

In terms of audio, I like Jodie’s but it’s too short so I’ll say the RTD era one! In terms of visuals, Jodie’s.

For once, I don’t agree. The 7th Doctor intro is brilliant for it’s time. For me it’s a top 10 intro :) Otherwise, I share your opinion!

the early themes with the electronic visuals are so cool! apparently those were done by pointing a camera down its own monitor creating visual feedback is very interesting!

But over all, I just loved all the "New Era" openings with the TARDIS bouncing and smashing and careening through the time vortex, especially as TPTB added the lightning and fire and so forth, and the excitement and danger and mystery rising and rising and rising. And the introduction of the credits as well, with the spinning, etc. I grew to like and appreciate Capaldi's "inner workings of clocks." VERY original--and inspired by a fan's beautiful video, I believe. As for the original... Absolutely gorgeous, especially considering the era in which it was done. Great, great job, COG!!!!

Funny story about the face thing. I was gonna watch Day Of The Doctor with my dad's VR headset so I could watch it in 3D. My dad was setting things up while I was in the main menu for the DVD and I wasn't expecting the First Doctor's face to fly at me and I nearly fell off my chair

Jeez, give the Seventh Doctor titles a break. It was the first time CGI was used for anything like that, and considering the BBC budget at the time, that's saying something. A testament to the show's continued desire to innovate even as it slowly died. Judging it by today's standards is futile, context is everything!

My favourite is Pertwee's first one. But I'm not bitter that you put it towards the bottom. Not bitter at all.

Fun fact; the original theme was made _without_ electronic instruments!

They actually did paint McCoy silver, so well noticed XD

how to get drunk in a very short time? take a shot every time you hear weird...

I'm so glad Jodie's opening made the top 2 because it's honestly so good - it has some links back to original dr who openings but looks so cool. I feel like some people dismiss it cuz Jodie hasn't really warmed up yet but i would honestly rewatch any episode for that opening!

the 7th dotor titles were the first ever one (in the uk at least) to be made from cgi.

In the 11th doctors opening, they constantly change the font they use. Please say someone has noticed this because some of the fonts are actually awful.

i love how passionate you are about all of these!! I LOVEEEE the thirteenth doctor's theme - it's soooo good and vibey

I love how you edited this one. I liked that you cut it down at the start Watching the intros whole every time would've been a bit tedious. Also, when you talked about an element of it you showed it nicely.

How dare you. Sylvester McCoy's wink is wonderful!

17:14 Am I missing something?

This was one of those rare times when I really had no idea how you'd rank any of the titles. Okay, I figured that some would be lower or higher but I had no idea what position they'd get. You also bring up some good points that I hadn't considered, especially about the face zooming into camera.

You missed the attack eyebrows in 12’s opening

Something to mention about Capaldi's intro-the time spiral has got Gallifreyan on it. Its very subtle but it is there.

It's funny that your number 1 is the experimental trial version of the time tunnel that got ultimately rationalised for the 4th Doctor's titles. They took out the bits you like, such as the Doctor's full body shot and zooming away from the camera because they thought those things didn't really work.

Personally, I love the 7th Doctor's intro, mostly for nostalgia. When I was a kid, I loved the episode Paradise Towers, but at the time couldn't afford to buy it. But every few months, my dad would go to the library and bring back the DVD for it. I must've watched it like 30 times, so I am attached to that intro

I do like Pertwee's second opening, but I was never able to really take the full body shot very seriously. It always looked silly to me personally lol

What happened to 13s intro? It didn’t come up in the preview :/

The thing I hate about Capaldi's intro is that the white rings appearing around the Tardis at 7:33 don't fade or zoom out naturally, they just suddenly vanish like somebody cut them. You can't unsee it once it's been seen.

The Series 11 intro is truly the perfect successor to the original from 1963. Personally wish Nu-Who would've kept the face from Smith/Capaldi era introsw as I enjoy the corny use of the face in the intros of 1966-89, but that may just be me. I do understand why they don't have it though since the BBC has regulated the length of intros, meaning they have to shorter than the one Dr Who has used since the 60s (I really feel that this is one of those things that Dr Who should be grandfathered into as its a staple of television).

7’s intro is actually one of my favourites. I love it.

I'd rank McCoy's sequence a little bit higher, but otherwise I pretty much agree with the ranking.... especially your choice for number 1.

You forgot the 2nd version of the 11th doctor's title sequence in series 7 part 1. Where would you fit them in in this ranking?

That 3rd dt one should be number one, sooooo good

The heroic opening theme of the 8th movie was used as an announcement that the Doctor was at last returning to us. That's why they used it.

In the 80s Doctor Who had a such hard time. No wonder why the series got put on hiatus until 2005.

Honestly shocked by the number one pick, but all the power to you! Tennant’s intro is probably my favorite, but Whittaker’s is really good as well.

Always felt that Early Tennant hit harder, especially the composition as the time vortex transitions from blue to red. Love Smiths composition but not the visualisation of the time vortex. Absolutely adore the mechanical theme for capaldi, but i Loathe the squealling when it goes all-clock. Jury is still out on Whittakers theme. Not sure how i feel there Can tcomment on classic themes. Edit - Still love the music on Series 4. Just missing that punch with the colour change

Ps My Favourite Opening Titles isnt on here (possibly because it was only in one episode) which is Capaldi's theme with the Guitar (starting with Bethoven's 5th straight into the Theme)

David Tennant's 2nd title seq has so much hype with the guitars and violins

Was anybody else nervous for a while that he'd forgotten the third Doctor's second intro? I didn't think it'd actually take the top spot as good as it is. The weird thing about that intro that I didn't think looked right was it was the only intro to use the Doctor's full body in the picture.

I like the titles in Pertwees last season but I wouldn't rank them at the top. I think the Tom Baker intro improves on them in every way. I think the best are the first intro from 1963, the original Tom Baker intro, Eccelstons intro and Jodies intro but I don't know what I like best

I was NOT expecting you to put my favorite one at the top of your list, but there it is! I think that the image they chose of Pertwee is just so perfect, and the fact that it’s a full-body image rather than just his face makes him feel more imposing, which fits so well with his character.

Call me an old fogey... Because entering middle age does make me one... But inject me with ALL of the pre 2005 Doctor Who openings. Even the McCoy one gives me all the fuzzies! I appreciate the post 2005 series stuff, but the openings strike me as too "busy".

Ok, weird question, cuz I've been trawling through your archive and being a game collector I notice stuff like this: does that SNES in your background actually get used? Like, do you actually play it? Cuz for a while you had Earthworm Jim in the console and then I noticed you swapped it for Mega Man X, and now you got....I wanna say Turtles in Time? Hard to tell, the background's too blurry now lol. So does it actually get played or do you just swap out the game every now and then for a change of scenery?

I think you might have missed out the Series 7 Pt 1 titles? From Asylum of the Daleks to The Angels Take Manhattan. A short run, I know but the titles were different to what came before and after. I like how the logo had something to do with each episode

The Fourth Doctor's first opening, but I feel his era was the best, so I'm biased.

I'm a simple man, my favourite opening is without a doubt the 12th doctor's special opening in Before The Flood. I personally like the clock motif of the 12th doctor's opening, but when that's combined with a rock version of the opening theme? Love it.

11's first Vortex is a bit unimaginative for me too, yeah. Great music tho. And the peachy orange is lovely.

I was thinking didn't matt Smith have a different one every episode at one point and realised it would be so pointless to rank all of them separately. The rock intro for 12 was great

please rank all the costumes. that would a really interesting video

To 'slightly' defend the 1980's titles, the face coming forward in the opening credits is probably because of the closing credits, which start with the face pulling away. And, for the 2nd iteration of the 6th Doctor's titles, I seem to recall hearing that JNT made the decision last minute that the theme was to change. And the composer had something like three weeks to compose a new tune with barely any budget and no change in the titles. It's a miracle he got anywhere close to decent.

There're a couple numbering hiccups, (12 and 6, interestingly enough) but no harm, no foul. Also, that post-credit still was a nice surprise, even if it wasn't meant to be there. I never really sat down and ranked them myself, so I'm not sure how much commonality we'd have, but I do have a few thoughts. I don't have the same problem with the face you do, probably because I grew up with it. I know Seven's would definitely be higher on my list - that's the one I hear most often when the Classic theme cues up on my internal soundtrack. I'd probably place Twelve's a little higher as well, since I like the design and theme, both the regular and rock versions. I agree syncing the credits to the music in Ten's was nice. I always did like that touch. I'm glad Thirteen's placed high - it has a pleasantly otherworldly feel that reminds me of One and Two. I'm not sure whether Two or Three would come out on top for me, as they're both brilliant in their own way.

3rd Doctor #2 (the one that has the score that sounds like a banjo) 6th Doctor #2 11th Doctor #1, (this is also counting those filtered ones for s7 pt1) 4th Doctor #2, 11th Doctor #2 3rd Doctor 1st / 2nd Doctor 2nd Doctor #2 13th Doctor 3rd Doctor #3 4th Doctor #1 8th Doctor 12th Doctor 7th Doctor 10th / 9th Doctor 10th Doctor orchestral

Sylv is my Doctor, and I didn't really have a problem with it at the time, but you may be right about his credits.

One curiosity about the Pertwee era theme music is that, in some stories, there's an extra "shudder" at the start. For most of the stories, the music starts with the standard trio of Four Knocks (3 X "duh-duh-duh-duh"), but on others we get Six Knocks to begin with, followed by the usual pair of Four Knocks (" *buh-duh* -duh-duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh-duh"). I once thought it might be a timing thing, i.e. getting the visuals to synch with the music, but I don't think that's what's going on, so it might just be a fluke. For reference, the "Shuddering Theme" appears in the following stories: Spearhead from Space The Silurians The Ambassadors of Death The standard "3 X Four Knocks" returns in _Inferno,_ but the Shuddering Theme eventually re-surfaces in… Colony in Space The Dæmons Day of the Daleks Curse of Peladon The Sea Devils The Mutants The Time Monster We're back to normal with _The Three Doctors,_ and the Shuddering Theme is never heard from again.

Great video! Very comprehensive. My thoughts: 1. I read somewhere that Tom Baker was not in good health towards the end of his tenure, which is why his face in 1980 may not have looked the best. 2. Aw, how can you not love the crazy psychedelic opening titles of Pertwee's first few seasons?! 3. The bridge should never, ever, be used to open the Doctor Who theme. 4. No problems with the gears/clock images of Capaldi's titles, but was never sold on the music - sounded too "bell-like". 5. Yep, I loved Tennant's third titles (Season 4). The main beat is slightly different if you listen carefully, which elevates it above the others. 6. My jury is out on Whittaker's titles. I'm not a huge fan of the odd "fade-out" of the main beat approximately six seconds in.

There is an editing mistake around 17:20 fyi :P

I love the Mcgann intro. The tardis looks heavy. Modern Who tends to make the tardis look like it's on elastic.

I know this is literally my 3rd comment but apparently I have strong feelings on this, 12's intro is actually my favorite, it did have to grow on me, but it's just the right amount of cheesy, stylish, impressive (CGI-wise), and charismatic to always make me smile. Also I absolutely love the Christmas version and the electric guitar intro

That's a surprise. I'd put the Eccleston Tennant intro at the bottom.

The first three doctor's visual; (prior to the Pertwee slitscan) were all done using simple video feedback (and an occasional mirror) there was no effects involved, save for some fades. .

I don't agree with a lot of your ranking, but that points you made about each intro I agree with. Also, the first 4th Doctor intro ends with the silver tunnel, it doesn't start with it.

Cannot disagree more about the McCoy theme, but in context, the first time I saw it I felt like I had been picked up for a weekend with a kindly uncle after spending weeks getting beaten by an angry stepfather. I like Colin more now, for the record, but that wink Sylv gave, that was just for me. Most of these other picks I’m down with.

I really enjoyed the 2nd version of the 11th Doctor's credits and think it's rather underrated. My favorite part of it is when the TARDIS spins toward the screen at the end and the doors open to show the story. I LOVED that.

THE FIRST IS THE BEST! They've never topped it!

My favourite opening is 11th Doctor's first opening. Second is 12th Doctor's Then 10th Doctor's 3rd version Mainly for the music alone.

I love the composition in the 11th doctors first opening best and series eleven has some of the best visuals. I do love the older ones though

Have to say I LOVE it when they include the middle 8. I thought TV movie starting with it worked really well too.

I really like the Capaldi sequence. I love the way the gears and clock faces transition. It's probably my favorite. I don't really like how high pitched the theme is though.

Totally agree... I love the bridge section of the theme, but you're right, particularly with the movie. It was like being given icing without the cake. I really liked the synth arrangement for 4, was so very much the era. I did like the kind of "negative sound" retraction at the start of S11. It's a neat effect.

At best, their intros are cinematic and bold and fun, and at worst, they're like a cross between an AMV and a Movie Maker-edited tribute

ABSOLUTELY agree with 10's 3rd opening credits! Although I quite frankly never realized, he even had 3. I always thought it was just 2!

Nothing beats the first and second doctors openings for me.

Oh, 13th Doctor's by far. I'm surprised with it's ranking, but I'm satisfied enough. Good list.

The 10th Doctor's second opening definitely planted the seed for the love of symphonic metal I've picked up recently

The first few seconds of the 2018 theme (starting at 17:16) is just a blank screen. Just thought I'd let you know.

Must admit, the closer to the top 5 it got and I realised you hadn't said the 2nd Pertwee opening I almost thought I'd zoned out and missed it. Was pleasantly surprised it got the #1 spot. I mean, opinions differ and idk if I'd have put it that high in my own list, but it is nice to see Pertwee's 2nd opening get some love.

I forgot how much I liked the 13th doctor series opening, I love the purple. But I also do enjoy the matt smith cloud swirl :p I like the tardis playing with the lightning. Tennant's era in general uses a very orchestra-heavy sound and I am! So! Here! For it!!!!!

I never even realised that the tenth doctor's theme changed multiple times lol

I was quite pleased to see we have the same least favorite one. The 7th Doctor theme's graphics look a bit off, even back in the 80s when it looked more impressive than it does now. I didn't mind the star field Tom Baker theme, but it's nowhere near as good as the main 4th Doctor theme. I like the faces in the theme, but as I started watching in the 70s when it was brought over here via PBS, it's normal for me. For the 12th Doctor's theme, I LOVE the gears and clocks, but the theme tune is almost whiny with the higher pitch that grates a bit. I'm biased to say the 4th Doctor's main theme I love the most. The time tunnel is great and I love the diamond logo above all the others. I love the 13th Doctor's theme, the arrangement is great and the effects are good. I do like Pertwee's 2nd theme a lot. His first theme was iffy as you say, but his final season was a precursor to the majority of Tom's so I love them just a little less.

Great list!!! I would put the second doc at number 1 and bump the rest back a spot. I do remember watching the the seventh doctor for the first time in 1987 or 88 and it blew me away at the time.....

Easily the most enjoyable and fun ranking you've done in a while. I laughed so hard during the snark you were throwing at the cringy openings. And the 3rd iteration of the 10th Doctor's opening is my favorite because the string arrangement is fierce. Also, worst opening is the retooled version of the 11th Doctors opening with Karen Gillan narrating the intro.

I very much disagree with your ranking of most of the 80s openings being so low (especially McCoy being last), but I completely agree with 4 of your top 5 - especially your top 3. I was delighted to see the monochrome era's openings ranked so highly, as well as seeing Pertwee's 2nd at the top. That is one that has stuck with me since I saw Invasion of the Dinosaurs in high school. I get the impression the 80s aren't really your era of Doctor Who, and that's cool (6th and 7th Doctors are very much my thing, but I love all of it), so I'm not surprised at the lower rankings, but it does make my heart a little sad to see McCoy at the bottom of the list. Now, the important question - K9 & Company's opening. What are your thoughts, and if you had to slot it into your list somewhere, where would it go?

13s was good, but without an intro to go before it, I just feel no hype when it comes on.

In my opinion, I think that CGI looks pretty decent 1980s British TV.

Entertaining video as always! I've always loved the third version of Tenth's theme the best, I like the hard hitting, more orchestral vibe. I appreciate Eleventh's first version because the intro is unique, and also the way the Tardis is flying wildly through the time vortex, as if telling us the Doctor can't pilot worth a damn! Visually I like Thirteenth's theme but the music is odd to me. And the very first one? Amazing what they created on a shoestring budget, it conveyed everything the show was about in a few seconds. And we're still talking about it almost 6 decades later. Awesome.

The 3th's opening theme reminds me of the "wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey" quote.

Interesting to see your opinion on these! My favourite opening theme is the sixth doctors theme! Love the music in that theme.

I love how for 11s first the DW starts spinning and turning into the tardis

I would have to put the “Stolen Earth”/"Journey’s End” opening credits specifically at the top. Seeing the names of all of 10’s companions fly past gave me goose bumps.

You have two number sixes! What did I miss?

regarding the star field ones, I actually like the 6th Doctor iteration the best, just because that added bit of colour fits him as a character more.

fifth doctor's opening titles is my favorite

Actually the opening visuals are not important to me. I would rank them by composition only... 1. Doctor Who Movie by far...The heroic part (full ochestra) when the logo kicks in. wow just wow 2. Tom Bakers second Theme, it felt different and the synthetic sound, it fits the 80s 3. McCoys ....the darker, mysterious sound, perfect for a darker Doctor. The heroic part is one of the best in the series 4. Jodies Theme... the dark hammering at the beginning wow, the whole way its aranged feels very nostalgic. 5. The War-Doctors Theme well the rest is okay....but thats my Top 5.

11th doctors theme should be higher up but can't argue other than that