Posted in : BBC , Doctor Who , TV| Tagged : Audio Drama , bbc , large conclusion , doc who , tom baker
In laurels of the 50th anniversary of his launching as the Fourth Doctor on Doctor Who , we look at how Tom Baker became the show ’s " embassador . "
There ’s anotherDoctor Whoanniversary that ’s more meaningful for fans of the classic series . Tom Bakermade his debut as the Fourth Doctor fifty years ago . Baker meet The Doctor the longest , seven eld , and became the face of the series to fans worldwide , specially Americans . This is meaning in so many way of life . You could sayDoctor Whowouldn’t be as well - known globally if it was n’t for Tom Baker .
The First Truly Modern Doctor
The Fourth Doctor became the image non - fans still relate withDoctor Who , the long scarf joint , the TARDIS , and time locomotion . During his seven - year run , his episode were the most frequently repeated on PBS in the United States , so the simulacrum became cemented in the minds of Americans . And we all know America tends to set the trend in global entertainment . The irony is many Americans still think the serial is a rickety , dispirited - budget , shot - on - video mess with cheap sets . Not everyone lives on the internet like fandom does , after all .
Baker is currently one of the last and former surviving actors from ClassicDoctor Who . His predecessors , William Hartnell , Patrick Troughton , andJon Pertwee , are all hold out . Fans who discovered the serial when it was revived in 2005 might not think so , but he was the first truly modern Doctor . He press the persona of The Doctor into one that felt genuinely New , anarchic , and anti - establishment with his unwarranted hair , former apparel , and longsighted scarf like he picked them up at a charity shop class and throw them together , yet his costume was infinitely pragmatic , peculiarly with the sack .
Wackiness and Wit
The First and Third Doctors had the air of pro - establishment patriarch . Baker ’s performance was an extension of Patrick Troughton ’s , accept the comedic hobo swan to fresh stature . He often had the best speech communication and the funniest put - downs , not even bothering to hide his disrespect for would - be despots and megalomaniac . He was the one who amped up the Doctor ’s eccentricity , but it wrench out he was really act himself . Even when he hit stardom in his first seasons of the series , he was allegedly homeless ( after selling his flat and not buy a unexampled one ) and even slept in the studio after minute . Much of his public presentation was infused with his personality . He adlibbed a batch of his lines when he was n’t quenched with them . He sensed how much children needed the Doctor and always played it with a nictitation .
John Nathan - Turner , the producer of his terminal twelvemonth , began to neglect all the affair that made the Fourth Doctor fun : the irony , the goofy but quick wit , the sense of sport and violation , and Baker ’s enervation and disgruntlement showed , though he still did his good . But the center years of his run were ofttimes cockamamie , witty , and hilarious , infused with his sense of the absurd and the screwball drollery dynamic he had with his companions . Having Douglas Adams , who also begin to writeThe Hitchhiker ’s Guide to the Galaxyat the metre , as the hand editor program certainly helped . You could tell when Baker enjoy the script and was having fun because he made the fun infectious . His concluding season made him a old-hat old scold to a cluster of untried associate .
Baker has returned to play the Doctor in audio dramas forBig Finish . He may sound a bit old , but he has n’t missed a beat . We should savour his new taradiddle as long as he can still seem in them .
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