Sylvester McCoy had the dubious position of playing The Doctor when the show got shitcanned back in 1988. While his early stories were pretty rough, he really shined in the role and ultimately made it his own. The 7th Doctor went from being a comedic bumbler to one of the craftiest and darkest of all The Doctors. His episodes spanned everything from sharp political commentary to sinister stories that pointed to The Doctor having a dark and mysterious past. Episodes like “The Curse of Fenric,” “Silver Nemesis,” “Ghost Light,” and yes, even “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy” rank among my favorites. Of course, he also had some real stinkers like “Delta and the Bannermen,” which to this day I still find completely unwatchable. But nobody’s perfect… not even Time Lords.

Just like the first three Doctors, the 7th Doctor comes in a two figure blisterpack, bundled with one of his foes: In this case it is a white and gold Imperial Dalek from the episode “Remembrance of the Daleks.” The packaging is identical to the first three Doctors with a personalized insert in the bubble and blurbs about the 7th Doctor and the episode on the back. If I were a MOC collector, I would have much rather the classic Doctors all be carded alone, but considering I ripped this baby open the second I got it, it really doesn’t matter to me.

Before getting on to all the good stuff, let me start out with what I consider to be this figure’s biggest stumbling block… the goofy smile. The head sculpt is actually a very good likeness, but when CO released the 4th Doctor, they gave him two interchangeable heads. One had him grinning his big toothy (and batshit insane) grin while wearing his fedora, the other was a hatless and more serious look. I really, really wish CO had gone the same route with the 7th Doctor. I don’t mind the hat, since he wore it enough, but there really should have been an alternate head if they were going to have him smiling like that. Yeah, I know that during the opening credits, he winks and grins, but the truth is that the 7th Doctor spent most of his time scowling at enemies and administering stern lectures to his companion Ace. I just don’t think the smile fits all that well.

Ok, so that having been said, the rest of the figure is fantastic. CO really nailed his outfit perfectly. He’s got his cream colored jacket and matching hat. The paint apps on his plaid slacks, question mark sweater, pocket hanky and paisley scarf are all excellent. A big part of each Doctor has always been their iconic choice of outfits and the 7th Doctor’s outfit is reproduced here meticulously. His height is also perfect. Sylvester McCoy is a pretty short guy and this figure reflects that pretty well.

The articulation is exactly what we’ve been getting on the previous classic Doctors. He’s got a swivel neck, rotating shoulders, swivel cuts in the biceps, hinged elbows and hinged wrists. His legs have universal joints in the hips, swivel cuts in the thighs and hinged knees. Not bad.

The Doctor comes with one accessory, and this time its actually not a Sonic Screwdriver. No, the 7th Doctor comes with his trusty question-mark handled umbrella, which he not only used to keep the rain off of him, but to zip line down cables, snatch weapons out of enemy hands and all sorts of other clever improvisations. Its molded in soft plastic and fits nicely in his hand.

The Dalek is a repaint and slight remold of the classic Dalek sculpt that CO has been turning out for a while now, but that’s not to say it isn’t a welcome addition. The color scheme here has always been one of my favorites and not only matches the pattern used in “Remembrance of the Daleks” but can also double for the Imperial Daleks seen in the 6th Doctor episode, “Revelation of the Daleks.” Either way I’m always happy to add another variant Dalek to my army. The main difference in the sculpt is in the “ear” lights which are new sculpts for this design. The Dalek has ball jointed blaster and suction arm, a swivel head, and the eye stalk can move up and down.

As with the first three Doctors, this two pack retails for $39.99. Sure, $20 a figure is pretty steep, but if I can pay that much for Matty’s Masters of the Universe Classics, I’ll certainly pay it for figures based on my favorite TV show of all time. Another version of the 7th Doctor, in brown coat and hopefully sans smile, will be released in a few months and bundled with a classic version of the Flight Control TARDIS. I’ve already got mine on pre-order!

Oh yeah, and its just about another week and a half until Series 5 starts. And man, I can’t wait!