I'm not really good with analyzing actors and the characters they portray, but maybe that's why I don't like his doctor. Because the goofy side is just a charade (or the way I see it - the goofy side seems fake and forced). I see no conflict between his goofy side and his dark, tormented side. It's just all torment and stuff with a thin film of goofy shell.

Whereas the two other doctors are loveable because they seem so sincere when goofing off, making the dark aspects seem more jarring by comparison. When Smith does the "Nobody Human Says Anything to Me Today!" bit I felt like it's still real to me, damnit. Eccleston's angry schtick when Rose saved Pete is annoying and then forgettable.

I'm not agreeing with Nowhereman that Eccleston is a shit actor (maybe it's just that his heart's not into playing the doctor, I dunno), it's just that his doctor seems forced to me (I mean, compared to his predecessors and what little I've seen of Baker).