The Sixth Doctor

[BBrooks]

Now we have are own little forum for DW, I just wanted to do a little Tribute to the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker).

I've always felt sorry for Colin, after watching the end of a "making of " Documentary for "The Trial of a Timelord" he slightly blames himself for the dip in the show's popularity at the time. It wasn't his fault at all, the reason's his time on DW suffered was because of Poor Storylines and Poor Production, but it wasn't always bad his Season's had some Brilliant Episodes, such as "Vengeance on Varos", "The Two Doctors" and "Revelation of the Daleks".
The Sixth Doctor (in my view) was a Brilliant sign of things to come for the show and the character of The Doctor, he's Dark and at times slightly sinister (just like the Seventh Doctor), he's an all-action Doctor who doesn't need a Sonic Screwdriver to get him out of every situation (just like the Eighth), underneath his loud exterior there is a fragile more Human side to him (just like the Ninth) and he's Brash and Outgoing and certainly not an Introvert (just like the Tenth).
Colin was the first man to take the part in a completely new Direction, and if you watch his debut story "The Twin Dilemma" he gives us probably the most Interesting Portrayal of The Doctor ever, and that continued throughout his time on the show. It's a pity that we never saw more of the Sixth Doctor because if he would have been given the same stories that Sylvester McCoy had in has last 2 Season's and also if he had a say in what he wore for the show then his tenure would have been more sucessful.

I would love to read your thoughts and memories on The Sixth Doctor and maybe we can get some more Appreciation Topics on all of The Doctors.

[HStorm]

I agree that Colin was hard-done-by and under-rated, but it also must be conceded that there were times when he didn't help matters. His style was just too stagey for a program that (at the time) was being recorded on a small set largely made up of obvious strips of cardboard.

Colin is principally a theatre actor, and in some Doctor Who stories you can see it; his tendancy to yell lines with thorough over-pronunciation when the boom mike was less than two feet above his head made it seem like he was bellowing for the sake of the people on the back row of an audience that wasn't there. His performances in the courtroom in Trial Of A Time-Lord were truly painful, an exercise in ham overdose, while he only got away with his showing in Timelash because the script was so dire anyway, and Paul Darrow took such a blatant rise out of it on-screen, that hardly anyone noticed what Colin was doing.

For all that, I did quite like Colin's interpretation of the Doctor in patches, and he did put up a few good showings, especially his first two stories. But his best work in the role has been almost entirely in the Big Finish audios of recent years. And I can't help feeling that, in this case, it would have been better if he'd saved his best for first instead.

[DarkComet]

Don't feel too bad for Colin - the Big Finish audios have allowed people to rejudge his Doctor, and I believe he was voted the best of the BF Doctors by DWM, something I entirely agree with. With decent stories, direction and that snazzy blue number they did him up in for the book publicity shots later, he would have been hailed as one of the greats back in the day. As it is, his moment of glory has come later than it should have, but he's most definitely considered awesome in his own right now.

[BBrooks]

Don't feel too bad for Colin - the Big Finish audios have allowed people to rejudge his Doctor, and I believe he was voted the best of the BF Doctors by DWM, something I entirely agree with. With decent stories, direction and that snazzy blue number they did him up in for the book publicity shots later, he would have been hailed as one of the greats back in the day. As it is, his moment of glory has come later than it should have, but he's most definitely considered awesome in his own right now.

That's True, Colin has got his own back with the Big Finish Audio Dramas. I would love to see Colin return to the part on Television, they could maybe do another "Timecrash" episode with Matt Smith for Red Nose Day where this time it's the Sixth Doctor that he bumps into.

[Velda]

I can't really contribute much to this topic as the only Sixth Doctor story I've seen is "Revelation Of The Daleks" which I own as part of the Davros DVD boxset - it's a great story and I've heard it being described as the best TV Who story Colin did. I really need to buy a couple of his Big Finish stories this year, but I'm also wanting to see "Vengeance On Varos" and "Attack Of The Cybermen" (partly to witness just how violent they were!)

[DarkComet]

For awesome Colin Baker awesomeness, I recommend the Big Finish plays "Davros" (which acts as a prequal to Revelation, along with acting as an origin story for the title fellow) and "The Holy Terror" (where he's travelling with shapeshifting penguin Frobisher). Any of the ones with him and Evelyn Smyth are kickarse too. He's also surprisingly good with Mel, another example of a very-despised character in the original series who was done right in the audios ("The One Doctor", for example).

[Kieran]

Colin was rather badly done to in his time as the Doctor. Not only caught up in a time when the production team were having a bit of a crisis, the BBC were falling out of favour with the show as a product. No sooner had he completed his first year in the role, they went ahead and rested the show for 18 months.

And of course, he was then used as the scapegoat and ended up having his contract left unrenewed. Add that to a fairly poor attempt to charactertise the 6th Doctor as a bit of a madman...Sure, you can have the Doctor acting a bit hollier than thou, as many incarnations have done, but the whole strangle companions and argue with them forever was never going to work. I never felt Colin was at all to blame for this.

Still, as many have mentioned, his Big Finish stuff has seen a far better era for his character. It's well worth picking up a few stories just to flesh out his time in the show, some of them would have been very fine TV stories in the day, definitely.

[Pooka]

There's been a Sixth Doctor revival around the expanded universe recently, with all his graphic novel adventures released in two collections. And there's an excellent figurine of him here.

[Kieran]

Yes, I have that. It's the coat he wore in Real Time, the cartoon they played on the web a few years ago. It's a bit better than the standard costume...

[DarkComet]

There's been a Sixth Doctor revival around the expanded universe recently, with all his graphic novel adventures released in two collections. And there's an excellent figurine of him here.

That costume.

I want it.

Now.

[Kieran]

There's been a Sixth Doctor revival around the expanded universe recently, with all his graphic novel adventures released in two collections. And there's an excellent figurine of him here.

That costume.

I want it.

Now.

Check your local Forbidden Planet or suchlike. Not the costume itself, but £14 will likely get you the figure.

[HStorm]

On the subject of the mythical blue coat, check this out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJEw5xIDZZs

[wombstar]

Only ever seen "The Two Doctors" and "Revelation of the Daleks".
Both are alright. I've never been a fan of the potato heads and I found the first half of Revelation to be a bit weak.

So, what are the 'best' of Colin to check out?

[Billy]

I don't think there's any universally-agreed Best Sixth Doctor Story, he made so few (and that era in general is controversial enough to have at least one negative aspect per serial) but this I think is general fan consensus:

Twin Dilemma: Avoid like the plaque. Or watch if you want a hilarious example of how absolutely not to do a Doctor Who story.

Attack of the Cybermen: Awesome if you're a Cybermen fan (particularly a 'Tomb of the Cybermen' fan, the '67 Patrick Troughton story), dull and irritating if not.

Vengeance on Varos: Generally seen as pretty clever and groundbreaking but with some debatable violent sequences. Probably one I'd definitely pick to represent his era.

The Mark of the Rani: Average if fairly enjoyable with some annoying plotholes and cliffhanger revolutions.

The Two Doctors: Some absolutely love this, some hate it. I just think it was a wasted opportunity, a returning Doctor/companion barely used and the Sontarans just coming across as incredibly naff and unscary.

Timelash: Great villain but as hated a story as Twin Dilemma. I liked it as a kid although seeing pictures of some of the worst sets and graphics ever designed in the show's history, I doubt it would stand up well today.

Revelation of the Daleks: A mixed reception depending on if you agree with Eric Saward's vision of the show - I do and absokutely loved this, some incredible scenes and characters although suffering from a tired 1985 BBC budget. Would recommend it with Vengeance.

Then there's Trial of a Timelord which barely has anything redeeming about it at all - first story's dull, second is much better but impossibly confusing and unexplained, third is a children's show and the final two episodes are a bit of a mess due to being an odd mish-mash of four different writers.

[wombstar]

I've heard nothing but bad feedback about Trial of a Timelord, is it really that bad? I do like to judge myself and usualy tend to enjoy things most people dislike apparently.

I did watch the Dalek story today, I didn't think it was as good as the previous and next one. (resurrection or remembrance)