You shouldn’t let me see all those buttons - Tenth Doctor’s button analysis
Title:You shouldn’t let me see all those buttons - Tenth Doctor’s button analysis
Author:alumfelga
Summary: This is an analysis of the Tenth Doctor's buttons.
Words: About 2500. But there are pictures.
Notes: Spoilers for Tenth Doctor's era, obviously.
Have fun. I did ;)
You shouldn’t let me see all those buttons - Tenth Doctor’s button analysis
It all started with an acticle about men’s fashion rules. There was a rule about wearing both a belt and suspenders (strictly forbidden) and another one about buttoning a jacket in a suit (if it has three or four buttons, you should leave the last one unbuttoned). I wanted to share the link to the article in a certain facebook group, with photos of captain Jack Harkness and the Tenth Doctor as characters that can break those rules and still be awesome. And… I couldn’t find a picture of the Doctor with all his buttons… well, buttoned. I didn’t even know if I should keep looking, if such a picture even existed. That’s when I realised that despite constantly rewatching the episodes and staring at the photos of my favourite Doctor I don’t really have such basic information as in what way he buttons his jackets. I had to change it. And then I remembered David Tennant saying on some commentary that he would change the combination of buttons he fastened between the episodes and that drove people from continuity mad because they had to keep track of it. Considering that he was very conscientious about the Doctor’s glasses I wondered if there was something to be discovered in the button case... I decided to do some research. Here are my results.
Count the buttons. Count the buttons now.
What have I doneI got data about 56 Doctor’s outfits in series 2, 3 and 4, series 4 specials, “Day of the Doctor” and “The Sarah Jane Adventures” episode “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith”. I was only interested in his suits - the brown one and the blue one. If the Doctor wore an outfit, then changed into something else (like a spacesuit) and then changed back, I counted such outfit twice even if he buttoned it exactly the same way he did previously (but I’ve done some calculations when I counted such outfit once to see if it makes any difference. I’ll mention it later). If he didn’t change clothes but rearrange the buttons, I counted the outfit twice. I obviously didn’t count the outfit twice if it reappeared in a flashback scene. I’ve also got three cases when despite a hard work I’m not 100% sure which buttons are buttoned, mostly because of a very short shot. I believe the guesses are strong, though, so I include them in my calculations.
Disclaimer: I’m sure it’s obvious (if not, try to say aloud what is the topic of my analysis) but don’t mistake it for science. It’s some observations, some basic calculations and my thoughts about their possible meaning. I am not drawing any strong conclusions here and I do it for fun.
The first part is data analysis (meaning there’s a lot of numbers) and in the second one I talk about some individual cases. There will be pictures. As always, click the picture to see the original size. I got all screencaps from http://www.quiteunlikely.net/.
Part One: numbers
I observed and noted eight combinations: “1”, “2”, “3”, “12”, “23”, “13”, “123” and “1234”.
It turns out there actually was an episode when the Doctor had his jacket properly buttoned up - two episodes, to be more precise, it was a two-parter - but it was only one time. Now you know. If google had showed me the photo, this post wouldn’t exist.
The most popular is “123”:
Here's a classic “23” and one of my favourite ties:
Not my favourite episode but a very good shot; an example of “12”:
An example of “13” with a part of a giant wasp:
“1”. Can you guess the episode?
“2”. Four things and a lizard:
“3” or How many shirts is he wearing?:
The only “1234” case:
Such diversity can be easily explained. A suit with a shirt and a tie is a grown-up, formal, authoritative outfit and the Doctor’s ways to break that impression are trainers (not proper shoes for the suit), the way he wears his ties (they are slightly too loose and he often doesn’t button the top button of his shirts - but it’s an issue for another research) and, naturally, the way he buttons the jackets, like he doesn’t want or doesn’t have time to button them properly.
He often has the top button of the shirt unfastened:
Where was I...? Right, analysis. Numbers.
What are the most popular combinations? It turns out the most common one is “123” (17 outfits, 30%), the second one is „12” (15 outfits, nearly 27%) and the third place goes to „23” with 13 outfits and, oddly enough, 23%. See the first and second column in the table below.
Table 1
When I was collecting data (what is a very serious way to say I was watching Doctor Who with a piece of paper and a pen), I wondered if colour of the suit had any significance in this matter. As you can see in the previous table, there is a difference between the brown suit and the blue one. While for the blue suit “123” remains the most popular combination (6 of 13 blue outfits in total what makes impressive 46%), “12” and “23” share the second place (3 of 13, 23% each). The most common combination for the brown suit is “12” (slightly less than 28%), then goes “123” (nearly 26%) and “23” (23%).
Even more changes when we analyse less popular choices. The only time the Doctor has all his buttons fastened he wears the blue suit. Also, when he has only one button fastened it’s never the blue suit. Look at the Table 2. Data show that on average, he fastens more buttons in the blue suit than in the brown one: 2.6 buttons per outfit for blue one, 2.1 buttons per outfit for the brown one. Counting only 100% sure cases or only different outfits doesn’t change that tendency.
Table 2
I’d say there’s probably a difference in the way the suits fit David Tennant. I think I heard somewhere that even apart from the colour, they weren’t identical. The blue one probably looked better with more buttons fastened.
Table 3
But we have already established that the blue suit means more buttons and there was no blue suit in series 2. We should do the calculations for the brown suit only and for the blue suit only. Look at Table 4.
Table 4
The results for the blue suit confirm an upward trend: from 2.17 in series 3 to 3 in series 4 and also 3 in series 4’s specials. For the brown suit, on the other hand, we get: 1.89 for series 2, then the ratio rises to 2.36 in series 3, in series 4 decreases to 2 and rises again in the specials to 2.17. So, you know, mixed feelings. However, when we analyse the combinations, it turns out that when the Doctor wears the suit with only one button fastened, in 5 cases of 7 (71%) it’s series 2. It happens only once in series 3 and once in series 4. It doesn’t happen in series 4’s specials.
However, less buttons don’t exactly mean: no tie. Out of 7 cases when the Doctor has only one button buttoned, he doesn’t wear a tie only twice.
But the combination “23” means no tie in 5 cases out of 13 (34%) and, considering the fact that no-tie outfits are only 18% of all of them, it’s significant.
Click here for Part two! There will be more pictures!
Author:alumfelga
Summary: This is an analysis of the Tenth Doctor's buttons.
Words: About 2500. But there are pictures.
Notes: Spoilers for Tenth Doctor's era, obviously.
Have fun. I did ;)
You shouldn’t let me see all those buttons - Tenth Doctor’s button analysis
It all started with an acticle about men’s fashion rules. There was a rule about wearing both a belt and suspenders (strictly forbidden) and another one about buttoning a jacket in a suit (if it has three or four buttons, you should leave the last one unbuttoned). I wanted to share the link to the article in a certain facebook group, with photos of captain Jack Harkness and the Tenth Doctor as characters that can break those rules and still be awesome. And… I couldn’t find a picture of the Doctor with all his buttons… well, buttoned. I didn’t even know if I should keep looking, if such a picture even existed. That’s when I realised that despite constantly rewatching the episodes and staring at the photos of my favourite Doctor I don’t really have such basic information as in what way he buttons his jackets. I had to change it. And then I remembered David Tennant saying on some commentary that he would change the combination of buttons he fastened between the episodes and that drove people from continuity mad because they had to keep track of it. Considering that he was very conscientious about the Doctor’s glasses I wondered if there was something to be discovered in the button case... I decided to do some research. Here are my results.
Count the buttons. Count the buttons now.
What have I doneI got data about 56 Doctor’s outfits in series 2, 3 and 4, series 4 specials, “Day of the Doctor” and “The Sarah Jane Adventures” episode “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith”. I was only interested in his suits - the brown one and the blue one. If the Doctor wore an outfit, then changed into something else (like a spacesuit) and then changed back, I counted such outfit twice even if he buttoned it exactly the same way he did previously (but I’ve done some calculations when I counted such outfit once to see if it makes any difference. I’ll mention it later). If he didn’t change clothes but rearrange the buttons, I counted the outfit twice. I obviously didn’t count the outfit twice if it reappeared in a flashback scene. I’ve also got three cases when despite a hard work I’m not 100% sure which buttons are buttoned, mostly because of a very short shot. I believe the guesses are strong, though, so I include them in my calculations.
Disclaimer: I’m sure it’s obvious (if not, try to say aloud what is the topic of my analysis) but don’t mistake it for science. It’s some observations, some basic calculations and my thoughts about their possible meaning. I am not drawing any strong conclusions here and I do it for fun.
The first part is data analysis (meaning there’s a lot of numbers) and in the second one I talk about some individual cases. There will be pictures. As always, click the picture to see the original size. I got all screencaps from http://www.quiteunlikely.net/.
Part One: numbers
- How exactly does the Doctor buttons his jacket
I observed and noted eight combinations: “1”, “2”, “3”, “12”, “23”, “13”, “123” and “1234”.
It turns out there actually was an episode when the Doctor had his jacket properly buttoned up - two episodes, to be more precise, it was a two-parter - but it was only one time. Now you know. If google had showed me the photo, this post wouldn’t exist.
The most popular is “123”:
Here's a classic “23” and one of my favourite ties:
Not my favourite episode but a very good shot; an example of “12”:
An example of “13” with a part of a giant wasp:
“1”. Can you guess the episode?
“2”. Four things and a lizard:
“3” or How many shirts is he wearing?:
The only “1234” case:
Such diversity can be easily explained. A suit with a shirt and a tie is a grown-up, formal, authoritative outfit and the Doctor’s ways to break that impression are trainers (not proper shoes for the suit), the way he wears his ties (they are slightly too loose and he often doesn’t button the top button of his shirts - but it’s an issue for another research) and, naturally, the way he buttons the jackets, like he doesn’t want or doesn’t have time to button them properly.
He often has the top button of the shirt unfastened:
Where was I...? Right, analysis. Numbers.
What are the most popular combinations? It turns out the most common one is “123” (17 outfits, 30%), the second one is „12” (15 outfits, nearly 27%) and the third place goes to „23” with 13 outfits and, oddly enough, 23%. See the first and second column in the table below.
Table 1
- Combinations and number of buttons vs colour of the suit
When I was collecting data (what is a very serious way to say I was watching Doctor Who with a piece of paper and a pen), I wondered if colour of the suit had any significance in this matter. As you can see in the previous table, there is a difference between the brown suit and the blue one. While for the blue suit “123” remains the most popular combination (6 of 13 blue outfits in total what makes impressive 46%), “12” and “23” share the second place (3 of 13, 23% each). The most common combination for the brown suit is “12” (slightly less than 28%), then goes “123” (nearly 26%) and “23” (23%).
Even more changes when we analyse less popular choices. The only time the Doctor has all his buttons fastened he wears the blue suit. Also, when he has only one button fastened it’s never the blue suit. Look at the Table 2. Data show that on average, he fastens more buttons in the blue suit than in the brown one: 2.6 buttons per outfit for blue one, 2.1 buttons per outfit for the brown one. Counting only 100% sure cases or only different outfits doesn’t change that tendency.
Table 2
I’d say there’s probably a difference in the way the suits fit David Tennant. I think I heard somewhere that even apart from the colour, they weren’t identical. The blue one probably looked better with more buttons fastened.
- Number of buttons vs seasons
Table 3
But we have already established that the blue suit means more buttons and there was no blue suit in series 2. We should do the calculations for the brown suit only and for the blue suit only. Look at Table 4.
Table 4
The results for the blue suit confirm an upward trend: from 2.17 in series 3 to 3 in series 4 and also 3 in series 4’s specials. For the brown suit, on the other hand, we get: 1.89 for series 2, then the ratio rises to 2.36 in series 3, in series 4 decreases to 2 and rises again in the specials to 2.17. So, you know, mixed feelings. However, when we analyse the combinations, it turns out that when the Doctor wears the suit with only one button fastened, in 5 cases of 7 (71%) it’s series 2. It happens only once in series 3 and once in series 4. It doesn’t happen in series 4’s specials.
- Combinations and seasons
- Do ties have something to do with it?
However, less buttons don’t exactly mean: no tie. Out of 7 cases when the Doctor has only one button buttoned, he doesn’t wear a tie only twice.
But the combination “23” means no tie in 5 cases out of 13 (34%) and, considering the fact that no-tie outfits are only 18% of all of them, it’s significant.
Click here for Part two! There will be more pictures!