After John Pertwee left the show in
1974 and the then unheard of Tom Baker (who was, at the time of
selection, working construction jobs. ). They had no way of knowing,
however, that they had selected who was to becoming the longest
running, and most iconic image of the Doctor, if not in the whole
series, then in the classic serial.
After the third Doctor contracted a
fatal case of radiation poisoning, he regenerated at the end of
Planet of the Spiders.
The new man eagerly ditched Earth to once again roam amongst the
stars.
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| So long and thanks for all the fish...or jelly babies... |
This
Doctor would probably be the one that those familiar only to the new
series could pick up on the most. Baker was silly, manic, had a niche
for technobabble, but still had a dark, brooding, if not downright
sinister side. This was the Mad Hatter of the Doctors. He was also
far more distant and solitary, considering himself at home neither on
Gallifrey nor on Earth. He was still interested in humanity (even
calling them his “favorite species”) but it was definitely from
an outsider's prospective.
This
was also one of the more confrontational Doctors, having to issue
with using weapons (non-lethal and otherwise) as well as taking the
martial arts expertise of his immediate predecessor. Oh, and there
were jelly babies. Oh so many jelly babies.
Of
course, the thing that everyone remembers about this particular
Doctor is his appearance. Tom Baker sported absurdly curly hair, eyes
that continually bugged out, and very prominent teeth. To add to this
already striking visage, the doctor wore a 14 foot long, multicolored
scarf allegedly knitted for him by Madam Nostrodamus.
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| This is either a kookey alien or a Bond villain...I'm not sure which |
As
with any series that lasts as long as Baker's, the story style
changed throughout his tenure. At the beginning of the run, the show
seemed to lean more towards horror and suspense. Although many fans
of the classic series view these as the best stories of the whole
show, the darker and darker tone was under a lot of criticism, and
admittedly did not play to Baker's strengths. Therefore, 1977 saw a
switch over to a lighter, more humorous style of show. It was during
this time that author Douglas Adams began writing for the show, to
mixed reactions. Some believe that the Hitchhiker's
Guide
author was a flop, while others rave that he was the best thing since
regeneration.
Finally,
the show went an entirely new, sombre direction, as the Doctor began
to become more melancholy to the point of near-depression. This theme
of grim decay continued all the way to his regeneration in Logopolis,
where
he suffers a fatal fall from a high wire.
Baker
did not appear as the Doctor in any subsequent specials (his role in
The Five Doctors
being
comprised of unused shots from his original run) and seemed to
dislike his unbreakable connection to the character. Despite him,
however, the fourth Doctor continued to be the hands-down favorite of
the audience, losing in only two polls for “Best Doctor” to
Sylvester McCoy (the 7th
Doctor) and David Tennant (the 10th).
But,
as long lasting and popular as he was, Tom Baker had to eventually
step down, and the studio decided, once again, to in a completely new
direction with the character...
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| You may be a doctor. But I'm the Doctor. The definite article, you might say. |
