Colin Baker was a gifted and energetic actor, (similar to Tom Baker I think), who, from everything I've heard, had wanted to play the Doctor for many years, and, once he got there, thoroughly enjoyed the part and gave it everything he had. He was let down by some terribly written stories and a BBC that wanted any excuse to cancel the show. It's amazing to me that, in spite how he was treated, he still loves the show and the fans as much as he does.
Yes I think he told the radio Times in 1984 that he would like to play doctor who for as long as tom Baker had done. A shame of course it was not to be as we know as by 1987 he was not on it alas.
@@johneeeemarry34 It's so ridiculously weird that you brought up the 13th Doctor for no reason... I'm not even a fan of her, but she is living in your head rent free.
I honestly think he gets better with age. I still think he was better than Jodi and McCoy. I think he needed an extra companion. The two doctors worked with perry and Jamie.
I heard there was going to be a story of where they where going to do a blackpool story where they bump into the toymaker again with the original actor but that got turned down by the BBC I dont think the BBC can handle a show like Doctor who. I think they never liked it and underfunded the show and look at it now they use it for a political statement
For my money, early Sylvester McCoy wasn't that hot, either, and it wasn't until we got Ace and the Cartmel Masterplan that things got better. This is from a guy who absolutely loved Colin Baker's Doctor, in spite of the outfit, and he was an absolute trooper when the higher-ups didn't want him.
Another impressive analysis and review of a turbulent era in DW history. One good thing to come out of troubled times is the background stories and shenanigans make for a fascinating insight into the Television industry at the time, particularly the BBC. In applying considered thought to the impacts JNT brought to the show I have come to a conclusion. He definitely shook things up beginning with season 18 and then again with the Twin Dilemma disaster. He brought creative and positive changes to the show and equally as many very poor decisions and flops. Therefore I feel the issue with JNT is not so much about the decisions he made. It was his stubbornness to ever accept criticism and alternative ideas and approaches from others. In a later interview, he did start to take some responsibility but it was given in a tone of self-pity. For instance take the infamous costume of the sixth Doctor. Colin Baker hated it, Saward hated it, the writers hated it and it soon became apparent that the viewers did too. So why didn't JNT change this outfit for season 23. Even the blue outer coat seen in Revelation of the Daleks gave Colin a more rounded tone. It might seem simplistic to say viewers would switch off over a costume, but the nature of humans to act based on visuals is profound. When those visuals clash with the environment, lessen the visual impact of scenes and so on then you have one mighty big problem on your hands. Another example is that till his dying day JNT still argued that The Twin Dilemma wasn't that bad a story. So he was completely stubborn or had no capacity to even judge what made for good and bad television. The fact that not only did Colin Baker and Nicolai Bryant stand by JNT but even considered him to be like part of a happy family, showed just how decent the main actors of the show were. So that is my answer. JNT is primarily to blame. His failures were not due to decisions made but because there was obviously no proper decision making process in place. It was JNT's way and everyone had to go along with him on the ride. He acted as a one man band. If he had of had let others have their say, especially the actors, a lot of what lead to the demise of the show may never have happened. Then again I could be wrong.
The problem with Colin Baker's Doctor is that it was decided to make him initially gruff and dislikable so that they could soften him eventually. With an unlikable Doctor, fans simply stopped watching. Ironically this was the same disastrous decision that was made with Peter Capaldi's Doctor - initially chaffing and unlikable to be softened, and the fans had a similar response in that they stopped watching.
It might NOT be that COLIN BAKER is the beginning of the end, but that all the judgements that JNT made - for better or worse- began to catch up with the show, as it HAD deviated more in the last four years than it had in the previous 17- but to be fair- he was inheriting a show that had started to lose it's identity after it had its teeth forcibly pulled after Mary Whitehouse FINALLY won her campaign against the show after season 14 (becoming more comical)., AND since the "sea change in the perception of what constituted Science Fiction after Star Wars. It DID become more BRUTAL & UNPLEASANT- but not SCARY? (Robocop/Terminator verses Hammer Horror) Colin Baker was a challenging and courageous choice- and it's so sad that the SHOW just didnt know what it was anymore. IF Colin Bakers stories had been Tom Baker stories - would they seem as bad? And if COLIN BAKER had had say, a "BRAIN OF MORBIUS", or a "DEADLY ASSASSIN"- wouldn't he have shone?
From his opening line he played it arrogantly and unhinged ... THEN he put on... THE COAT.... He continued to act like a 'stage actor' and was never natural or relaxed in the part... Then there was the scripts. Disjointed and hard to follow, he was written to betray Peri and took on Mel as his companion. Her CONSTANT 'fingernails on a blackboard' scream was enough to drive people away.. It was a disaster for those of us who (in the U.S.) were first introduced to Pertwee, Baker (MY Doctor) or Davidson...
It was that first couple of minutes - where he bullied and attacked Peri that was the lasting memory. The costume was also horrendous - he was also characterised as being arrogant and sarcastic. I feel Colin shares some of the blame - having had a career of playing te villain up to that point. The scripts were not great, but had they been given to another actor would have gone another way. For instance if Sylvester had been given these scripts he would have added much needed humor, and zaniness, even the clown like costume would have suited Sylvester better and he could have carried it off. Colin played it too dark without any of the needed humor, empathy and humanity the part needed. This was not completely Colin's fault - but the fault of the directors of the show, who should have given him better advise of how to play the part and not characterise him as a villain from the onset and allow such a clownish costume. The Trial of the time lord was a confusing mess and Colin came off as an annoying idiot during the trial scenes and the bad valleyard jokes. I am a huge fan - and have watched all of his content - listened to all of his audio plays and even listened to all the novelizations of the books - some of which I made myself. Colin has completely acquitted himself in his Big Finish releases and is one of the best classic doctors there.
I remembered Baker in a previous episode of Doctor Who, it was a good performance, so I also had high hopes for Baker. I guess not even a good actor could get over poor scrips and dreadful costume choices
I agree trial was a bit of a mess but I still love it and it wasn’t a bad idea having it as a continuous serial through the whole season and had some great concept’s and episodes.
Colin Baker's Doctor comes across as smug, conceited and arrogant, but that was due to how the writers wrote the part. Personally, I like all the various portrayals of the Doctor with the exception of Jodi Whitaker's version.
Underrated 100% Just watching season 22 on blu ray and it's not only better than I remember at the time but certainly better then modern Dr Who which frankly is trash.
Colin was great and treated horribly being fired over the phone. This man deserved much more and was a great Doctor. He didn't write the stories and theres only so much one can do to overcome those limits. However as a character, he did nail the Doctor. If you want to point a finger at who would be to blame here it would very obviously be the producer JNT. The more I learn, the more I believe JNT was being pushed out. Instead of taking the axe himself I believe JNT instead canned poor Colin.
After Season 23's "The Trial of a Time Lord" came and went, bosses like BBC1 Controller Michael Grade and head of serials Jonathon Powell still were not happy with the results and let producer John Nathan-Turner know they would renew the show for another season but felt it was time to recast the Doctor role with another actor. Nathan-Turner let them know that Colin Baker had not even fulfilled his 4 years contract especially the enforced 18 month hiatus between Seasons 22 and 23, but the bosses told him they counted the 18 months gap as part of the duration (cast and crew were paid to do nothing in the gap). Nathan-Turner also let them know that he too wanted to leave the show, and they granted him his request if he would do the terrible news to Colin Baker. Nathan-Turner informed Baker by phone, but Baker wanted to meet with Jonathon Powell and had a meeting with him and counter offered to give him the entirety of the next season and then he'll leave at the end while Powell only offered Baker what the BBC wanted, just to appear in the opening serial of the next season at 4 episodes. Powell said he would think about it but it was sad, as Baker never heard from Powell again regarding his counter offer. Some of this information was in the Trials and Tribulations documentary that was among the bonus features in the Trial of a Time Lord DVD set, and among various factual reference books on the show's production history. Nathan-Turner was screwed over by his BBC bosses as he was informed after a few months had passed, that they wanted him to continue on as producer on Doctor Who, which JNT was upset about as he wanted to move on to do other things but his job was on the line as they told him if he wanted to remain employed at the BBC he must stay on as producer. The BBC was also unable to find anyone else to take over as producer of the show as there was just so much disdain for Doctor Who within the BBC that nobody else wanted to touch it at all. Sadly JNT himself never got produce other TV shows of any sort after Doctor Who ended in 1989 and holds the record for longest serving producer on the show's history.
I keep thinking that there isn't a worst Doctor as much as there is a least satisfying Doctor, with a great majority of the actors who played this character being very talented in their own right. I'd honestly rather see more of a blunt critique of the writing staffs responsible for the unsatisfactory stories and arcs. I'm very confused why it's easy to put the actors down for doing their job and not the writers who haven't taken their job seriously enough.
Don't feel so bad for him. Colin Baker is a jerk in real life. Met him in the elevator at the 2013 TARDIS con in Chicago and he came across as obnoxiously rude. Sort of like his sixth Doctor persona.
One big issue with Colin Baker's Doctor is that he did have his moments, but whenever he was allowed to "settle in" as the sixth Doctor, the writers would resort to making the Doctor go insane. The first couple of episodes, CB's insanity can be chalked up to regeneration sickness, and as severe as it is, it kind of adds depth to Peter Davidson's sacrifice IMO. Then, after CB recovers, he's put in a mind control device by Sil and turned evil, in one of the Trial of a Time Lord stories, he appears to sabotage emergency communications (false evidence), and in the Two Doctors, he becomes more primal as a result of Patrick Troughton being spliced with an Androgum. At least five storylines depicts him as acting out of his mind (which is an issue when you don't have much opportunity to define what his normal state of mind should be).
@@TheManInBlueFlames Oddly enough, no. CB's Doctor was insane as part of the regeneration sickness for two storylines IIRC, but his personality started to stabilise after that, and you see signs of CB starting to grow into the character (when he's allowed to). The other instances of insanity were all externally imposed (Sil's brainwashing, genetic splicing, evidence tampering). Beyond making fun of Peri's Americanisms and being occasionally overdramatic, he was probably less "mad" than Tom Baker or Patrick Troughton.
No way, Colin Baker was great and took the best approach to a show whose budget was getting smaller - he played it big and had fun with the stories and the Doctor role (but has provided a strong degree of gravitas in the Big Finish audio adventures).
In 2001, I found out I was going to be a father. And it was a boy! So I went through every Doctor actor's name with my wife. She liked Colin. My son is now almost 21. Now he wonders why I named him after the "worst" 😷 Doctor. I told him, Colin Baker had a very small chance to succeed. He was set up to fail, he was a great actor and could've really grown into the role. My son Colin, is doing fine BTW. Mainly because there's no Mel.
A young lad worked for me, he had a daughter and they called her Tegan. I said "oh you're a doctor who fan", completely blank look and I had to explain. But also had a similar thing happen when a customer said her brother was called Ethan, said is your dad a John Wayne fan? Had to explain the he played Ethan Edwards in The Searchers, I think his best role and one of the top 5 movies in the Western genre
Colin’s Dalek story is absolutely up there with the best stories and is my favourite of his adventures (oh and Peri shone too, having a proper adventure and not just being about her outfits) He had some duds but it wasn’t his fault.
Agreed. I have been rewatching and there are some duds like "the mark of the Rani" where the episode turns into a "last of the summer wine" episode. The doctor is tied down on a stretcher and escapes down a hill. The master is a bit of a pantomime villain almost sneaking around on tip toe. I have the dalek episode to come.
@@johnhoran9840 Mine too - mainly for the great social commentary on the gladiatorial nature of certain types of TV programs - it was very well done. I do like Revelation of the Daleks as well - and that would be a close second for me, for Colin's stories.
Colin was and is a brilliant Doctor. There were some bad scripts during his era, but a few really good ones in there too. In any event, Colin proved his amazing talent in the Big Finish Doctor Who audios.
A few years ago me and some friends decided to watch all of old Doctor Who in chronological order. I enjoyed all the old Doctors but I actually think Colin Baker may be my favorite, but the fact that he's such a nice person may have had something to do with that.
Colin Baker was always my favourite Classic Who Doctor. Sure, the costume was terrible, but I liked several of his stories, such as Two Doctors, Vengeance on Varos, Revelation of the Daleks, and Mark of the Rani. I even (ahem) like Twin Dilemma, to be honest. I'm glad he got to show off what we should've gotten at Big Finish.
Because JNT lost the plot and refused to collaborate with Baker who had a much more nuanced take on the character. The Big Finish audios took Baker onboard and completely rehabilitated the character, he regularly tops polls as fans favorite audio version. As for the original show it wasn't entirely terrible. It had some bright spots.
@@DoodleThis Yeah, Colin Baker was voted best audio Doctor by the listener's a few years back. He doesn't lose all the edge but it's sanded down a lot.
Your video is brilliant. A lot of wise, measured judgements and opinions. It's about time Colin Baker was let off the hook for the problems in his era. And you're quite right, what with the costume he was forced to wear, a lot of stories with awful scripting and dialogue, the nasty, background TV politics driven by a management who were actively working against the show, the guy didn't stand a chance. Thank God for the Big Finish comeback.
Having grown up with Dr Who from the late Troughton era onwards, Colin Baker did not go down well at the time, mainly because of the storylines, and the costume he was forced to wear. But he was soo underrated, and re watching his era now you can see just how brilliant he was, and still is. He also wanted to break Tom Bakers record which was admirable, all things considered. Some of his adventures were very good considering what he was up against, and how he was eventually treated. Colin Baker I salute you.....
Over the years, Colin’s Sixth Doctor has grown on fans, myself included, especially with how his character was finally allowed to evolve through Big Finish stories. One can’t deny that his era was Doctor Who at its lowest point, but I’d say it’s aged better, or at least in my experience it has. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ve come to find most of his episodes to be more enjoyable upon rewatching, and his outfit is a lot of fun to cosplay as at conventions
I grew up in this era (the 3rd and 4th Doctors were "mine") and it was devastating for us at the time to lose Tom Baker. Peter Davison was okay, but our interest was waning. Then Colin Baker came in with his ridiculous multi-colour outfit, plus trying to strangle Peri, and it was obvious the show had jumped the shark. It wasn't the Doctor we knew and loved anymore. Not just my opinion, but of a lot of fans at the time (as discusssed in conventions, etc). The "I am the Doctor, whether you like it or not!" speech was testament to how the fans felt, and it was a slap in our face from JNT, whom we all hated at the time. We didn't like it, and lots of us turned off the show for good - myself included.
I don't understand why BBC didn't just get rid of John Nathan Turner as Executive producer? He made all disasters decisions nearly killed the franchise.
I was always told Colin's Doctor was the beginning of the end and a horrible doctor. But after watching him myself and absorbing the stories I really enjoyed the darker tones, and the way his character was changing as time went on. I know trial of a timelord is a mess but I really liked the main story of the Valyard. I also love the audio dramas for Colin. The audios give us stories that show the doctor in a better like and the voice work is amazing. The same can be said for Paul McGann's 8th Doctor. Thank you for this video, it was well made and really shows what was going on behind the scenes.
After listening to a lot of big finish stories the 6th doctor has quickly become one of my favourites. Colin Bakers voice just comes across so well in the audio medium. And the stories they gave 6 are great. I just love the dynamic between 6 and evelyn, easily one of my favourite doctor and companion pairing. But big finish stories with him and Peri, Mel or frobisher are also great.
Some of Colin Baker's episodes are some of the best episodes from the classic era. Trial of a Time Lord, obviously. Vengeance on Varos. Revelation of the Daleks. What was wrong in the Baker era was the BBC, not Colin Baker, the SIxth Doctor, or Doctor Who.
@@thefonzkiss Trial was a great concept, let down by factors beyond their control. I'm guessing you didn't like it, and that's fine. Dr Who doesn't have one target demographic who has to love all episodes equally.
While not my favourite incarnation, I still like him. It doesn't mean I dislike him, from the clips I see from him, Colin Baker is underrated as the Sixth Doctor. I'm glad he got justice in Big Finish audio dramas.
Working with some of those TV scripts must have been like trying to do somersaults in a toilet cubicle. What more could he have done? It's like he wanted to play it 'tetchy', but the scripties wrote 'tw*t'. Big Finish Colin has been a joy.
@@richardgale4827 Mhm, probably the best to describe it, Colin Deserved better, and it didn't help that script editor at the time Eric Sayward (Correct my spelling if I got it wrong) disagreed with his casting.
People are too unfair to Colin Baker, he was a fabulous Doctor and he had to put up with a lot on set and off set.He will always be my favorite Classic Doctor.
Colin didn't deserve to be fired. I met him at a convention in the 90s and he seemed a nice guy. I came dressed as a Cyberman and he let me have a picture with him strangling him. The face he made while my mum took the picture was hilarious 😂
Vengeance on Varos is a great DW story, equal to set with any other great story. Well written, well performed and well tempered with serious and comic moments, along with the kind of commentary on contemporaneous society the best of sci-fi gives you. Revelation of the Daleks was quite good, and The Two Doctors pure fun and joy, just to see Troughton's second doctor one last time!
The Five Doctors is actually the five-ish Doctors. The Three Doctors is two Doctors and a half where the Two Doctors is actually two Doctors and Patrick Troughton refuse to dye his hair
I enjoyed the Sixth Doctors era it had some great stories Vengeance On Varos,Attack Of The Cybermen Revelation of the Daleks to name a few.He's arguably the best Big Finish Doctor as well.
Formally worst Doctor, Jodi took the Crown. Colin really just had a terrible first story... Bad script, bad costume, bad design & direction + TWO "Adrics"
It will take a hell of a bad doctor to take the crown from Jodi I'm afraid. I just close my eyes and hope the last three seasons didn't happen, that Capaldi's doctor will wake up in the shower and realise he hasn't regenerated yet and it was all just an awful dream. No timeless child (why couldn't they have made the timeless child Susan? That would have been very interesting) no Yaz and those Godawful other companions. I thought companions didn't get any worse than the screeching Bonnie Langford, but I was wrong. The only good things to come from the last seasons were the brief return of Ace and Tegan and the new Master who is pretty decent and I'll be interested in finding out where he fits in the order of regenerations. Oh, and seeing Ian and Jo and the other companions (even you Mel.)
I think Colin Baker was very enthusiastic for the role and was all in. I think it was a combination of many things. He should have been given a proper chance.
Colin Baker’s take on the Doctor was fine IMO. I like exploring different personality quirks with the Doctor. It was the brightness of it for me. Even in the 80’s the show had just taken on too much of a look of the times. I enjoyed the older looks or production of the 60’s and 70’s to what they put out in the late 80’s. Not bc I was old I was born in 75. I just didn’t like the “feel” of the late 80’s Doctor.
He never had a chance. I remember first seeing him and thinking they tried to bring a Tom Baker clone back. I was never a fan of Peter and I thought it was a step backward.
Watching this as a kid in the '80s, I really really liked how dark and extreme season 22 was. In retrospect I can see that something was going a little bit wrong with the writing at times, but I always wanted doctor who to push harder, be edgar, more extreme, whatever, when I was younger. Now I can appreciate why it's not for everybody. But I think season 23 is where stuff really really started to go wrong, it started to feel like you could sense the fighting going on behind the scenes, and people didn't really know what they were doing. Like mind warp, only writer Philip Martin really understood what was going on with the script. Nobody thought to ask him about it or anything. Just ridiculous. Also, those guys at the BBC needed to have more confidence in what they were doing. Comparing doctor who to movies like Star wars is ridiculous. Trust your audience, we know the difference. We're not here to be wowed by George Lucas style special effects.
The WORST Doctor by far is Jodie Whittaker! I was really looking forward to seeing how she'd do and she failed spectacularly. IDK why everyone hates 6 so much. I liked him when I was a kid and I like him when I re-watched it decades later... Or maybe it was Peri.... LOL!! But seriously, in all fairness EVERY actor that plays the Doctor can't be a bang on 10!! But, lets all pray that it never dips as low as 13 ever again!! I've been a Doctor Who fan since the early 1970s. My 1st Doctor was Jon Pertwee!
Colin Baker was camp and cranky and actually not that bad a Doctor. The writing often let him down, and the costume was awful. But I actually liked him more than Peter Davison. My vote for "worst Doctor" would go to Sylvester McCoy. Somehow made it through his first four or five episodes before I turned away from the series altogether until the 2005 reboot.
Peri was an absolute bunny. Only when she was not on-screen, would your eye roam about the cheesy cardboard sets and cybermen wearing cricket gloves. Top 5: Peri, Rose, Leela, Amy and Sara Jane.
That abomination #13 Jodie Whitakker is now officially the worst Doctor and should be retconned. Colin was a good Doctor but a victim of terrible writing.
He wasnt bad, he was brilliant ! He played the part as the BBC wanted to play the part. Sadly it was many fans that didnt like the brashness of this new Doctor ! I would say that our currant Dr, is far worse than Colin....He's totally dreadful !
I have not seen the run of the 6th Doctor yet but I have heard that he has the reputation of being the worst. Personally, I don't see how he could be worse than any of the Chibnal era Doctors, but I will reserve judgement until I can see his contribution for myself.
It was bad, but it's been slightly improved thanks to Chibnall's run with Whitaker. Colin Baker himself was good, his stories and companions just sucked major balls.
The 6th doctor was the worst until the Whitaker Era took over as the worst doctor ever. So Colin should be happy now, he no longer at the bottom of the list.
This video is very informative and very well done. Your dialogue is very to-the-point and it’s quite interesting to hear. I do think there is a lot of microphone noise coming from breath hitting the mic’s surface, and it’s unfortunately a bit distracting. It would probably be good to either place the microphone further from you or use an iPhone microphone with a good recording app instead to achieve better results. Video was good, but I think that could be a positive change.
NOOOO....He wasn't the worst by a long shot. He looked bad compared to Tom Baker. That's it. In spite of a decline in writing and production quality most of this era was still more enjoyable to watch than most of what came after.
JNT should have left after The Twin Dilemma. His skills as producer were in promotion, but he was not a writer's producer. If he'd left following Davison's departure, a new team could have come in with fresh ideas and a new direction (just as he had in Season 18) and a new course could have refreshed the program significantly.
Colin Baker nailed the character of the Doctor from the word go. But sadly became a victim of the prejudiced view of Michael Grade who detested the entire series and thereby set out to destroy it.
You're only as good as the material you're working with. Fortunately Colin's gotten much better material with Big Finish. Maybe in the future Big Finish can rehabilitate Jodie Whittaker as well.
Sylvester McCoy was the Doctor that turned me off Dr Who, I got through a few episodes then stopped watching, the series was cancelled in NZ during that period. The reboot was great :-D
I used to be in the hate camp, but personally, these days I love Colin. I think the main reason he gets so much flack is because of his shared surname with the fourth Doctor. With a surname like Baker, Colin had HUGE shoesteps to fill. Personally, I prefer him far more than Sylvester McCoy's doctor. Only thing I liked about McCoy's run was Ace. Yeah, Colin did have some rather mediocre storylines, but so did Capaldi, as well as Matt Smith in his final series, but IMHO he damn sure made up with it for this Big Finish stories. Yes, Colin did come off as a big more arrogant and a slightly "darker" version of The Doctor, but so did Tennant in some of the stuff he did cough Waters of Mars cough.
Was it that bad? I thought people believed McCoy's tenure to be worse. I liked Colin and Nicola. Great chemistry. The Two Doctors was pretty good, and Revelation of the Dialects. Maybe the memory of The Twin Dilemma overwhelms the rest of Colin's era. Bit unfair.
I lived through that era and have seen every original series episode, I will tell you why Colin Baker failed. The dialog between Colin Baker and Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown was like watching a couple on the verge of divorce. They were always bickering and arguing and it was hard to watch. This is why Colin Baker failed.
I think the show had been going wrong ever since Tom left, with the production team failing to have a clue about the show or the lead character and mostly just covering it with fan-bait. Colin's era was especially troubled because it started so horribly on The Twin Dilemma, giving us the worst impression possible of the new guy. Colin could've been a great Doctor. Sometimes his better stories demonstrate such (Revelation of the Daleks, Terror of the Vervoids). His worst, however leave us finding him detestable, obnoxious and not rooting for him to survive. Trial of a Time Lord is where the problems become really apparent. Where it's clear the makers never actually had a clue how to deal with the can of worms of moral ambiguity they're determinedly going for. The result is an era easy to dismiss as a write-off, not worth caring about. And Colin really deserved better than that.
Colin wasn't really given a fair shake, IMO, and did the best he possibly could with what he was given to work with. I think it's sad that some people, including BBC upper management in the 80s, unfairly blamed him for what was clearly the result of John Nathan-Turner's mismanagement. The substandard writing, ridiculous costuming (Colin himself had wanted a simple black outfit to reflect the Sixth's darker personality, but was overruled) and more violent tone were JNT's decision.
