AntcuFaalb said:

Warbler said:

The Doctor is the hero of the series, he is supposed to be likeable.

This gets to the root of my question: Why?

I don't think "that's the way it always has been" is a good excuse to not change things when the time comes to make a decision.

The Doctor is supposed to be a dynamic character, no? Maybe this unlikable Doctor will learn something in the course of doing unlikable un-Doctor-y things and his next regeneration will pop out someone much more down-to-Earth.

But meanwhile we are stuck with a doctor that is "doing unlikeable un-Doctor-y things", and you don't see a problem. Actually, "that's the way it always has been" is a good reason not to change things. When he is a certain way for over 30 years, in multiple regenerations, its kinda difficult to explain the change now.

As for your "Why?",

1. normally the good guys are likeable. Its kinda difficult for a good guy not to be likeable. Its normally considered good to be likeable.

2. This Doctor isn't a "cool" not likeable. He's not a guy that "you love to hate". He is really unlikeable as in "I hate watching hime, I get no enjoyment out of watching" kind of unlikeable.

3. Its kinda difficult to make an enjoyable show when the main character is unlikeable. Yeah, you can make him evil or unlikeable to the rest of the characters in the show. But unlikeable to the audience? That just doesn't work.