I'm so sorry, I hadn't poked my head into this section recently! Eight is actually a rather nice Doctor to play, and he'll be a very different Doctor to play depending on just how much before the Divergent arc you take him from. If you take him from, say, the end of Zagreus/beginning of Scherzo, you'll have a lot angrier Eight on your hands than before that, when he's still mostly the happy puppy.
He's really great to play because you can get a huuuge amount of depth out of him, without having to worry about being quite so hyperactive as, say, Ten or Eleven. They're both great Doctors, but they can wear one out after playing them for a while. Eight is a bit more shy than that. Not completely bashful, but soft-spoken, not quite as interested in getting in everyone's grill like Ten and Eleven are. He's also quite a bit more aware than those two about what's rude and what isn't. He may forget now and then, but it's just a general rule of thumb that Eight has a lot more decorum and won't be grabbing things to put in his mouth, for example. He's a gentleman, after all. And yet...he still has that wonder about him. (At least up until the Daleks pretty much ruin his life in the most horrible way, and then he becomes a man with less wonder and more a desperate need to find hope...but you don't have to worry about that, if you stick to the canon points you're thinking of. That comes much later.)
I can't quite give you any advice based on my RP, because I play him really far into his life, after "To the Death". He's a lot more broken than he is earlier in his life. A lot.
If there's anything from what I said you want to ask about, go for it! :) I can babble on about Eight for ages.
As for serials to watch from 1-7, these would be my suggestions:
1 - An Unearthly Child (or at least, just the first episode, as the rest of the serial is kind of dull), The Aztecs, The Romans, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Time Meddler (which is kind of essential if you want more info on the story arc in Series 4 of the later Eight audios)
2 - Tomb of the Cybermen, The Ice Warriors, The Enemy of the World, The War Games
3 - Spearhead from Space, The Daemons, The Green Death, The Time Warrior, Planet of the Spiders
4 - The Ark in Space, Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, The Brain of Morbius (definitely essential since Morbius comes back as a baddie in Eight's time...and you'll get to learn about the Sisterhood of Karn), City of Death, Logopolis
5 - Kinda, Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment, The Five Doctors, Planet of Fire, Caves of Androzani
6 - Attack of the Cybermen, Mark of the Rani, and then just get all of Trial of a Time Lord series. (Let's just say Colin Baker got screwed royally. You might be better off just listening to his audios.)
7 - Paradise Towers (well, I like it, damn it!), Remembrance of the Daleks, Battlefield, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric
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He's really great to play because you can get a huuuge amount of depth out of him, without having to worry about being quite so hyperactive as, say, Ten or Eleven. They're both great Doctors, but they can wear one out after playing them for a while. Eight is a bit more shy than that. Not completely bashful, but soft-spoken, not quite as interested in getting in everyone's grill like Ten and Eleven are. He's also quite a bit more aware than those two about what's rude and what isn't. He may forget now and then, but it's just a general rule of thumb that Eight has a lot more decorum and won't be grabbing things to put in his mouth, for example. He's a gentleman, after all. And yet...he still has that wonder about him. (At least up until the Daleks pretty much ruin his life in the most horrible way, and then he becomes a man with less wonder and more a desperate need to find hope...but you don't have to worry about that, if you stick to the canon points you're thinking of. That comes much later.)
I can't quite give you any advice based on my RP, because I play him really far into his life, after "To the Death". He's a lot more broken than he is earlier in his life. A lot.
If there's anything from what I said you want to ask about, go for it! :) I can babble on about Eight for ages.
As for serials to watch from 1-7, these would be my suggestions:
1 - An Unearthly Child (or at least, just the first episode, as the rest of the serial is kind of dull), The Aztecs, The Romans, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Time Meddler (which is kind of essential if you want more info on the story arc in Series 4 of the later Eight audios)
2 - Tomb of the Cybermen, The Ice Warriors, The Enemy of the World, The War Games
3 - Spearhead from Space, The Daemons, The Green Death, The Time Warrior, Planet of the Spiders
4 - The Ark in Space, Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, The Brain of Morbius (definitely essential since Morbius comes back as a baddie in Eight's time...and you'll get to learn about the Sisterhood of Karn), City of Death, Logopolis
5 - Kinda, Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment, The Five Doctors, Planet of Fire, Caves of Androzani
6 - Attack of the Cybermen, Mark of the Rani, and then just get all of Trial of a Time Lord series. (Let's just say Colin Baker got screwed royally. You might be better off just listening to his audios.)
7 - Paradise Towers (well, I like it, damn it!), Remembrance of the Daleks, Battlefield, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric
Hopefully this is in some way helpful.