The Fourth Doctor Tom Baker

[Jesse412]

Several months ago I decided to watch the entire Tom Baker run from the beginning and he quickly became my favorite Doctor so I figured I'd share my thoughts as I go. Overall season 12 was pretty good.

"Robot" the first full episode to feature Tom Baker is easily the weakest. The highlights of this serial are the wardrobe montage, the first jelly babies reference and the giant robot which looks kind of cool despite some poor special effects.

Overall "The Ark in Space" is a really solid story despite Harry making some sexist remarks and the bug-eyed aliens looking absolutely silly. The remastered version I watched replaces the models of the space station with CGI for some reason.

The shortest serial of the season "The Sontaran Experiment" and the season finale "Revenge of the Cybermen" feature the return of the Sontarans and the Cybermen respectively.

The best serial "Genesis of the Daleks" gives us the Dalek's origin story, introduces Davros and contains a very defining moment for The Doctor when he decides that he can't commit genocide against the Daleks. The last two episodes are particularly good and Michael Wisher performance as Davros throughout is superb. The ending is one of the best resolutions of the entire series.

 

[Jesse412]

Overall season 13 was excellent. Really not a bad story in the bunch.

"Terror of the Zygons" was a solid story. The Loch Ness monster looked cheap but the Zygons and their sets were better. The tongue-like tentacle design of the Zygons themselves is pretty disgusting. Pity we don't see the Zygons again on TV until the 50th Anniversary special "Day of the Doctor".

"Planet of Evil" I couldn't find copies of the second and third parts of this but it's basically Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is space.

"Pyramids of Mars" is probably the classic Who story I've rewatched the most. It's excellent from beginning to end. Despite the robot Mummies looking a bit clunky Sutekh is one of the better villains of the classic series.

"The Android Invasion" The androids were creepy and the Kraals were kind of interesting. I wouldn't mind seeing them return to the new series. Plus Doctor doppelgangers are always fun.

"The Brain of Morbius" A Frankenstein-esque story with a talking brain in a jar. If that doesn't immediately sell this story to you I don't know what else will.

"The Seeds of Doom" starts off similar to The Thing complete with Antarctic base. The mood is creepy throughout and I find the plant life turned hostile theme to be pretty unsettling. I usually dislike the longer stories this being six parts it still managed to hold my attention. Tony Beckley gave a great performance as the villain Harrison Chase an the giant Krynoid attacking the house was a really cool visual.

 

[Dave]

Re: Season 12: I agree about it being one of the best Seasons and 'Genesis of the Daleks' is probably my top Doctor Who story. However, maybe that is just my age.

On the Harry sexist comments - he was obviously written that way, but my take was that it was deliberate, in order for him to be an emotional foil for Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane had originally been introduced with Jon Pertwee as a feisty reporter, pro women's-lib, a working self-sufficient woman. These were different times but Harry was still sexist even back then. Doctor Who has always introduced strong female assistants - Victoria and Jo as examples - where a few stories further on they just become another woman screaming at the monster of the week to be rescued by the Doctor. Sarah Jane had already begun to go the same way and I think Harry was an attempt to make her stronger again by being absolutely useless himself. He was also to do all that running around that the Doctor cannot do. Unfortunately, if that was the idea, it didn't work because Sarah Jane also did a lot of crying in her time.

 

[Jesse412]

Season 14 was really enjoyable.

"The Masque of Mandragora" was a pretty good start to the season. A proper period piece with an interesting alien threat, some swashbuckling and evil cult with creepy masks. Hieronymous looked particularly menacing in his purple robes and grotesque golden mask. The scene where he takes off his mask to reveal that he has become Helix energy was a cool visual. We also get a walk around the TARDIS interior and visit the secondary control room. I got a kick out of Sarah Jane picking up the Second Doctor's recorder and playing it.

"The Hand of Fear" is Sarah Jane Smith's final story as a regular companion. I liked the special effects makeup and costume design of Eldrad's female form. The Kastria sets weren't too bad either. Not a fan of the TARDIS console though. Elisabeth Sladen and Tom Baker's last words to each other were kind of touching and I liked how they ended on a joke.

"The Deadly Assassin" is the first appearance of The Master after Roger Delgado's death a few years earlier. Here The Master is decrepit and very much in need of a new regeneration. While the special effects makeup isn't great and looks a bit cheap it's still very creepy. I always like seeing more of Gallifrey and this episode is full of stuffy old Timelords. It also introduces several aspects of Time Lord society like the Matrix, Rassilon and the Eye of Harmony, the twelve regeneration limit and their trademark robes with the large collar and skull caps. It's also notable for being one of the few episodes in the series that doesn't feature a companion. The Doctor is at his best when trying to survive Goth's assault in the Matrix and the final showdown against the Master is pretty epic.

"The Face of Evil" introduces Leela as a regular companion. I laughed when Tom Baker was surrounded and he bluffs "Now drop your weapons or I'll kill him with this deadly jelly baby." I thought it interesting that the villain Xoanon was a super computer with split personalities one of which was based on the Doctor himself. I love that after The Doctor refuses her Leela just runs into the TARDIS, pushes a random button and the TARDIS dematerializes.

"The Robots of Death" I quite liked this serial and the setting reminded me a bit of Dune which apparently was intentional. Thought the design of the Voc robots was creepy and the sets looked pretty good as well. The story itself is an interesting 'whodunit' in the style of Agatha Christie. D84 telling Leela "Please do not throw hands at me" made me laugh. He was one of the better robots in the series and it's a shame he couldn't stick around as a companion.

"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" An excellent period piece set in Victorian London and one of the most popular stories of the entire series. For a six part serial it doesn't drag one bit and the atmosphere is eerie throughout. It introduces the characters Jago and Litefoot who would go on to star in their own audio series. I genuinely found them to be very likable. The giant sewer rats are menacing and the design of Mr Sin the Peking Homunculus was pretty creepy. The scene where Leela begins eating with her bare hands and Professor Litefoot joins in always makes me laugh. Leela also gets some decent action scenes even jumping out a glass window at one point. Michael Spice is quite good as the villain Magnus Greel. The final showdown was suspenseful and the resolution very satisfying

 

[Jesse412]

Season 15 is another really solid season and I was surprised that there were so many consecutively good episodes.

"Horror of Fang Rock" was a cracking good start to the season. I really like the creepy lighthouse setting, the characters were good and the alien threat was menacing. Interestingly Leela's eyes change color for the rest of the series after witnessing the explosion of the Rutan mother ship at the end of the serial. My only complaint (which actually isn't a criticism of the episode) is that I wish the Ruton Host were used more throughout the series. They are an interesting villain and it's a shame that this is their only TV appearance. I really like the design even though the effects here aren't the greatest they work well enough. I would also love to see more of their ongoing war with the Sontarans.

"The Invisible Enemy" contains some pretty solid special effects model work for the outerspace scenes. This episode also sees the return of the normal TARDIS console and introduces K-9 as a companion. The story really starts to get fun when clones of The Doctor and Leela are shrunken down and injected into The Doctor who has been infected with an alien virus that threatens to take over his mind. The Nucleus monster costume is absolutely ridiculous and hilariously looks like a giant shrimp. Aside from that this was a decent serial with some good laughs.

"Image of the Fendahl" starts with an interesting mystery about a skull that scientist say can't exist because it's millions of years older than man's earliest ancestors. When the skull starts to glow it drains the life from people. A fantastic serial they really nail the eerie mood throughout. The doctor offering the skull a jelly baby had me cracking up with laughter. The actress who plays the old lady gives an excellent performance. The Fendahl giant space slugs were kind of goofy looking but still pretty cool. Love the explosion at the end.

"The Sun Makers" I couldn't help but laugh at K-9 and the Doctor playing chess. The serial is a solid dystopia story where the company has created artificial suns that allow humans to colonize Pluto. The ruling elite oppress the people with excessive work hours and high taxes even using gas to control people's emotions and keep them docile. There's some interesting commentary on classism as the Doctor helps a group of revolutionaries to overthrow the company.

"Underworld" is an allegory for the Jason and the Argonauts myth about the Quest for the Golden Fleece. There are lots of green screens used in this because of budget restraints like the cave scenes and the zero gravity descent. The actual interior sets looked good though. I really like the design of the Shield guns and the Minyan's campy space suits were fun. The Citadel sacrifice scene was pretty creepy. I liked the reveal of the Seers' faces and the weird three-eyed design. The escape from the exploding planet inside the spiral nebula made for an exciting climax.

"The Invasion of Time" Tom Baker gives an excellent performance in this. The Doctor returns to Gallifrey, becomes President (which is a call back to last season in "The Deadly Assassin") and allows a race of telepathic aliens to invade in order to destroy them. The Vardans special effects look cheap and are pretty silly. Still the story is quite interesting and there is some mythology building regarding Gallifrey and Rassilon like introducing the De-mat Gun which can only be powered by the Great Key of Rassilon. I was happy to see the Sontarans show up. The climax is an exciting chase through the TARDIS interior and it was nice to get a look at the different rooms and corridors. This serial also marks the departure of Leela as a regular companion as she stays behind on Gallifrey.

 

[REBerg]

I have frequently said (perhaps even on this site) that Tom Baker is to the Doctor as Sir Sean Connery is to James Bond. Baker's mildly insane portrayal of the Doctor set the bar for all who would follow him in the role.

You are in for the ultimate Fourth Doctor treat with Season 16, as you may have already discovered. "The Key to Time," I think, is the only full Doctor Who season presented under a single story arc.

 

[BAYLOR]

This incarnation of the Doctor got me hooked on the series.

 

[BAYLOR]

Tom Baker's Doctor could comically funny and deadly serious in the same instant and that made his incursion of the Dpctpr sop good and so memorable . To be able ot pull that kind balance off as successfully he did requires some serious acting acting chops.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Tom (surely it should be 'Sir' by now?) is probably the most 'otherworldly' of all the Doctors; you never quite knew what he was going to do next. My impression of his acting in Doctor Who (and in just about everything else I've seen him in) is that he didn't adopt a persona, he was just being himself. He has a marvellous voice.