Colin Baker

Colin Baker

In the graveyard slot it’s the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker.

Although no-one can blame him entirely for what went on during this time,
Colin Baker’s over-bearing and bombastic portrayal of the Doctor was all
wrong. There was just something very irritating about this Doctor. 

The Sixth Doctor was a totally unsympathetic figure; loud, brash, and in your
face - he was impossible to like. And dressed in that stupid looking outfit,
Colin Baker looked like Coco the Clown. It was just a very bad start. And i'm
afraid that's where it stayed. So it came as no surprise when the show was
interrupted by a long hiatus. We all though that was that. The show was over,
but after an 18 month break Doctor Who returned. But Colin Baker only played 
the Doctor for one more season. By this time, even the BBC had seen enough, so 
it was decided the Sixth Doctor would renerate, and Colin Baker, well, he would be picking up his P45!

But it was not always like this. The decision to cast Colin Baker as Peter Davison’s successor was seen by
many people as a positive move. After all, he had been for many years a well-regarded, highly renowned stage
and television actor. So, with some justification, we all looked forward to another golden era; it just felt
right, another guy named Baker… Unfortunately though, by this time, Doctor Who had run its course. Suddenly 
the special effects looked daft and the scripts were dull and boring. So it wasn't really Colin Baker's fault.
But this is what we thought at the time. Anyway, in an attempt to reverse the decline, the show was revamped. 
The old 25-minute episode was scrapped in favour of the longer, 45-minute format. Then of course Doctor Who 
wouldn't be Doctor Who unless the Daleks and Cybermen featured so they were back, but it was still no good.
With Colin Baker in the box-seat things just got worse.  

Obviously there are no classic stories associated with this era. In fact most of it was just garbage; Mindwarp,
Terror of the Vervoids, Timelash, they were all howlers. The only saving grace was the reappearance of Davros 
in Revelation of the Daleks and Servalan in the Two Doctors. So Colin Baker wasn't very good. However, his
decision to resurrect the Six Doctor for Big Finish Productions was an excellent one. In a 2001 poll, Colin
Baker was voted the 'greatest Doctor' of the audio plays. Not here though. Next...