The Ginger Doctor

I've been bitching about 'gingerism' for the last couple of days - so how about an example of the complete reverse? Over on the forum Whitechapel, talented artists have been coming up with what they think the thirteenth (and final) incarnation of Doctor Who will look like -and most of them have one thing in common: Ginger hair.

In response to the Doctor's disappointment that he wasn't ginger-haired after his last two reincarnations, many of the artists have decided to correct the oversight - and the results are truly spectacular.

David Carr, from Art Monkey World created this version - who looks a little like a redhead Martin Freeman to me.

He writes: "The Doctor is at his best when he is understated and blending in. I see his 13th incarnation as being the best bits of all his previous incarnations, a sort of who's who of Who. I picture him being some what disheveled, but not in an extreme way, just a little sloppy. Unshaven, un-tucked, and finally ginger."

Todd from Drawing Bored created a great Doctor; the sweater kind of reminding me of Sylvester McCoy's tenure at the helm of the TARDIS. He writes that he was going for something '70s-esque' and his color version is, of course, ginger-haired.


Hugely talented cartoonist Ben Dale channels the Doctor's past in his version of the thirteenth incarnation - and result looks like a slimmer, trimmer Colin Baker. He writes: "I like that the Doctor's clothes are often mixed and matched from different eras - but I was still trying to keep it stylish."

"I wanted to bring back the curly hair because quite a few of the other Doctors have that - and a nod to the scarf. Finally he's a ginger too!"

Self-confessed Doctor Who Freak created this, with bona-fide ginger Paul Bettany serving as inspiration for his incarnation of Doctor Who.


"Paul Bettany's brilliant at playing crazy geniuses. And all the incarnations like to look dapper, so I figured a waistcoat would be right." Here's a reference for those who aren't familiar with what Bettany looks like:


Venardhi (sorry, no link to his work) came up with an older, wiser Doctor - and the build, wrinkles and facial structure definitely hark back to one of my favorite Docs, the inimitable John Pertwee. Like Pertwee, this incarnation is notably older than those than came immediately beforehand.

Venhardhi writes: "He retains the twinkle in the eye, and the all-too-clever smirk on his just-so-weathered face, but with a maturity that makes him handsome without being too young or pretty. And of course, he finally gets to be ginger, though with a touch of gray."

"His cane isn't quite necessary, but stylish and gentlemanly and contains his most recent incarnation of his handy sonic screwdriver, which can be easily called upon when needed. (as well as a few other tricks hidden in the harmless looking stick)."

Next, Adam Law (sorry, no links to his work) took the Doctor's reverse-aging to a logical conclusion, writing: "He started out looking way OLD, he might end looking way YOUNG."

I like the Union Jack coffee mug - and, of course, the ginger hair.

JR Hoekstra combined aspects of Christopher Eccleston's Doctor with David Tennant's incarnation to produce his ginger Doctor.

He writes: "The shamrock glows red in the presence of Daleks and sings the Gallifreyan National Anthem when detecting Timelord tech. The TARDIS tattoo is in fact a remote control device for the TARDIS."

I LOVE Aimee Major's take on the redheaded Time Lord, complete with pea coat and Tom Baker-era scarf. He looks like a serious badass.

Brandon Werner from Guns 'n Robots took a more literal approach, remembering Matt Smith's first words when he reincarnated: "Not a girl! And still not ginger!"

As a result, the Doctor's final incarnation is both. Given that I am a huge fan of sexy ginger girls in glasses, I am very much behind this concept! My vote to play her would be Buffy's Felicia Day.


Brandon writes: "In the design of the Doctors, it's important that they look English and like someone that spends their whole life traveling; jackets, comfortable shoes. The Doctors always have a call-back to previous ones - scarf (4th), glasses (10th), question mark (5th), and watch (11th) plus a modern/retro flair, so I went with a trendy 60's-style trench."

And last, but most definitely not least, is artist Zach Reddy's vision of the final Doctor.

In a nod to the fact that this is his final incarnation, the Doctor seems to be prolonging his life through the use of cybernetic grafts, which Zach describes as "Cyberman/TARDIS tech grafts." Similarly, a 'protector' K-9 promises to keep Daleks, Cybermen and even adventurous postmen at bay.

The only question is: If this Doctor is so concerned with protecting his 13th and final incarnation from harm, why the hell is he smoking? Whatever the reason - it's a great design.

In fact, they're all great designs - and all ten of these Doctors are proudly, undeniably, gloriously ginger. For once, the bias is clearly in the favor of redheads and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanks, to all ten of you talented artists, for giving redheads a little love in the best way imaginable. Maybe Steven Moffat will pay attention and when Matt Smith's replacement eventually arrives (although that's hopefully many years in the future) he'll be redheaded too!