The Doctor, the Dandy, the Clown

"So you're my replacements — a dandy and a clown!" - the (First) Doctor.

This is an observation made by the First Doctor of the two subsequent regenerations in The Three Doctors special. The two characters fit the description perfectly. Just yesterday, I ran across an interesting poster that mapped the progression of Doctors as an alternation of "[Judging] Doctor - Dandy - Clown." Here is a link to the poster:

http://cheezburger.com/7698628352

Already in the comments, people are discussing the ordering and labeling of the various doctors. So let's go throught it, shall we?

1st Set: First, Second, Third
---- No problems here, it's the set that originated the line.

2nd Set: Fourth (Doctor), Fifth (Dandy), Sixth (Clown)
---- Almost everybody here is mislabeled. The statement is delivered in an almost condescending manner, albeit with the knowledge that he's talking about future aspects of himself. Too grumpy, by far, for the friendly Fourth Doctor. However, Six might just say that himself. On the topic of Five as Dandy: it too is a misfit. From what I've seen in documentaries and read elsewhere, Five's costume was intended to counter the overly-dressed nature of Four (scarf, jacket, ascot, hat, etc...) and possibly of Three. If one ignores the garish nature of Six's costume, he might well pass as the Dandy.

So, a better organization might be: Fifth (Doctor), Sixth (Garish Dandy), Fourth (Clown)

3rd Set: Seventh (Doctor), Eighth (Dandy), Ninth (Clown)
---- This comparison is not as off as the previous one. Without a doubt, Eight is a well-dressed Doctor. However, from his run on the show, Seven comes out as more of a clown, definitely, than Nine. Yes, Nine gets better during his series, thanks to Rose: nevertheless, he never becomes a "clown." like Two or Four.

Restructuring as follows: Ninth (Doctor), Eighth (Dandy), Seventh (Clown)

4th, Final, Set: Tenth (Doctor), Eleventh (Dandy), Twelfth??? (Clown???)
---- This set is the most difficult to judge, at this point. First, neither Ten or Eleven could immediately be described as a Dandy, strictly speaking. Ten dresses well, but wears sneakers with the suit, something Three would have never done. Eleven has a nice wardrobe, particularly the wedding outfit. However, both he and Ten have just as much cause to be called Clowns. Bringing in the mysterious Hurt Doctor would only confuse matters by forcing an either/or choice between Ten and Eleven for Clown and Dandy, and leave for Twelve out of a set.

Better organization: Tenth (Doctor), Twelfth (Dandy???), Eleventh (Clown)

So, the poster is accurate one one regard: there are a number of Dandies and Clowns in the Doctor's life. However, they are not all schematized in the same order. Later Doctors qualify for both Dandy and Clown, and the judging Doctor is not always grouchy like the First.

Simply put, the Doctor grew out of the simple Doctor-Dandy-Clown schema: his characters cannot be simply described as "Dandy" or "Clown" anymore.