The Sixth Doctor combined the temperament of a high-strung rock star, the arrogant entitlement of a crooked politician, and the fashion sense of the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Really, he never had a chance...
No, you
wish
he had never had a chance.
Ah, see, I did like Colin Baker. Which I know is not a popular stance. But I liked him because he was such a dick, and I hadn't seen the Doctor that way before. And then around that time I saw some of the 1st Doctor, and he was kind of a jerk, too. At least, as I recall. It's been a long time. But I was interested in seeing how they were going to get him involved in the plot when he didn't want to be.
The 1st Doctor was quite crabby, and certainly high-handedly superior, but he also had the dignity and moral fibre to carry it off. The 6th Doctor just seemed infantile. I still think they just decided that they weren't going to say no to a curly-haired actor surnamed 'Baker'.
That's the thing, the Doctors generally had some sort of fault or failing (arrogance being a common one, and the most forgivable trait of Dr6), but there was usually something heroic or sympathetic to offset it. The 6th Doctor was the only real exception. (No, not entirely true. The 5th Doctor went too far the other way, which made him pretty bland.)
The 6th Doctor isn't helped by having about the worst introduction of any Doctor (The Twin Dilemma, doubly disappointing after the excellent Caves of Androzani), and offhand I can't really think of any adventure of his that really makes the grade (the only noteworthy thing from his tenure was the villain Sil), but the character didn't help either.
Incidentally, Colin Baker appeared once during Peter Davison's tenure, as a Gallifreyan guard. He got to shoot the 5th Doctor in this role. Dr4's future incarnation tried to assist him, Dr5 gets shot by his, and as for Dr6, he spends half of his tenure being sued by his future incarnations for custody. There's a wealth of therapy bills right there.
That's because that's all the PBS stations in Tulsa, Denver, and Seattle had.
Before you got here, I saw all of Doctors 4 through 7 on Seattle TV.
(And all the good seasons of Red Dwarf, plus Blake's 7.)
You all are going on Doctor Who, but until last year I'd seen complete story arcs featuring only two -- Baker and Pertwee. That's because that's all the PBS stations in Tulsa, Denver, and Seattle had. And I never was around any fans of the show when I was in the UK (far more Red Dwarf fans).
I was for a long time a bit of a freak in preferring the patrician Pertwee's Doctor to Tom Baker's. I think I've normalised since then. The one I'd have liked to see more of is Dr2.
I feel an urge to rewatch lots and lots of Doctor Who. Sadly, I don't think Paul would be a fan.
Give in to your grownup tastes, talky meat.
The Boston PBS station, so far as I could tell, only showed Colin Baker's episodes when I was a kid. I think I saw one episode once with Peter Davison, and that was basically it until Nine.
I'm gonna miss Nine something awful, I can already tell.
(And all the good seasons of Red Dwarf, plus Blake's 7.)
Oh, that reminds me, last week I finally watched the first few eps of Farscape. Brendan and I agreed it carried a strong Blake's 7 vibe for us (not as dark, though), largely because of the ship. Sadly, it lacks Avon, but I suppose we can't hold that against it.
Avon, incidentally (or more precisely Paul Darrow), appeared in the Doctor Who adventure
Timelash.
And Vila showed up in The Sunmakers, and Servalan in
The Two Doctors.
Pretty similar character, in each case really.
Incidentally, Gareth Thomas (who played Blake) also once appeared on The Avengers, credited as "Assassin with Sunglasses".
sits next to Consuela
Make room for me. I was just rewatching a couple of eps today. Adore.
Mmm. Avon.
The Boston PBS station, so far as I could tell, only showed Colin Baker's episodes when I was a kid.
That would have been Tom Baker probably, as Colin Baker is mid-80s, well into my Who viewing.
Oh, that reminds me, last week I finally watched the first few eps of Farscape.
This reminds me of a miscommunication Paul and I had tonight while watching Due South. Two nights ago, Paul mentioned that Fraser reminded him of Captain Carrot. Tonight, I said, "Carrot crossed with Kryton." He looked really confused until I clarified that I meant Kryton, not Crichton.
Though I'm now amusing myself with Kryton/Crichton, and wondering who I could bribe.
This reminds me of a miscommunication Paul and I had tonight while watching Due South. Two nights ago, Paul mentioned that Fraser reminded him of Captain Carrot. Tonight, I said, "Carrot crossed with Kryton." He looked really confused until I clarified that I meant Kryton, not Crichton.
There's a new D&D campaign setting where you can basically play a living robot. I started out consciously modelling my character on Kryten. (He has a decent Int of 14, but Wis and Cha are both 6. He's great fun to play.)
