The Eras of Doctor Who

Cool. A nice breakdown of Doctor Who history. [Link]

Part and parcel of why fans find a change of Doctors exciting and/or terrifying, I think, is that it's usually more than a change of actors. It's a change of approach, and usually a change of producer and/or script editor causing the program to bend and shift according to the vision of all these new people. It's why you'll also find "favorites" discussions in Who fandom divided into "favorite Doctor" and "favorite era", the two questions not always yielding the same result (when asked I might be a Troughton or McCoy man, but still prefer the 4th Doctor's early years to the rest of the program, for example).

Each era has a unique feel that goes beyond its Doctor, but usually informs his performance (though I'm sure the reverse is also true), which builds on the previous era as to not alienate the viewership. And yet, they often do, before they charm your pants off all over again. Maybe looking at the past will allow us the look at the future more open-mindedly?