I can't wait to meet the 12th Doctor

I love Doctor Who, as you may have noticed from my other posts. I love each actor that comes to the role and most of the stories that happen in the show. There is plenty to love. Companions and monsters and all the rest. One thing that I find difficult to accept is that there are people that hold on to their Doctor. How many people can't get over David Tennant? I'm a huge fan of Tom Baker, he was and is my favorite of the bunch, and maybe it's not a fair comparison, but I've gotten over Tom leaving and lots of other Doctors coming into the mix.

There are plenty of people who are upset about Matt Smith Making a choice to leave the show, but for me, I'm just excited to see who the next Doctor will be. I've loved what has happened with everyone since the show came back, and I think it's just going to keep getting better even though I'm not excited with everything that Moffatt does with the story lines.

I have a theory about the Doctor though, and I'll share it with you:

The first three Doctors were

1. a GRUMPY old man
2. a daring ADVENTURER
3. a careless (and crafty) CLOWN

Ever since then, all of the Doctors are a combination of those 3 characteristics. What some proof?

1. Four-is mostly a clown, but also an adventurer
2. Five-a grumpy clown
3. Six-Lots of grumpy and an adventurer
4. Seven-Grumpy clown

You get the idea. So, the current Doctor is A clown that loves adventures as opposed to Tennant who was just plain grumpy in my opinion.

So what who will this new Doctor be? What will his defining characteristics be? I for one, can't wait to find out.

Why does Doctor Who continue to miss opportunities to draw fans into the old series?

So this will sounds a little petty and pointless to some of you that haven't really seen any of the old run of Doctor Who. I want you to know that I'm mostly happy with what is happening with the show, but like any long-time fan, I have some issues with what is happening, and I want to gripe about it a little bit.

I was super excited to find out that Doctor Who was starting again. I'd seen most of the old Doctors at some point growing up thanks in part to PBS carrying the show on a 7-year delay. I can say all sort of things about the original run, but lots of that can be found under other posts that I've already made here. I'm especially glad that they didn't choose to reboot the show like so many other shows have done. (Battlestar Galactica is an example of where this was a good idea. Doctor Who would have been a bad idea.)

The writers have paid tribute to the original Doctors from time to time, but that usually takes the form of the blurry series of images of the Doctor up to his current form like we see at the end of Eleventh Hour. What about some other homages to the Doctors of the past.

Before I get into examples of missed opportunities, I suppose I should make sure to point out one very valid spot where the writers looked back to the old show. When we get a copy of the Doctor in The Rebel Flesh storyline, we get to see this copy try to adjust to being replicated as a Time Lord rather than a human. We get to see this new copy of the Doctor go through the struggles of figuring out who the Doctor is including some references to older Doctors. ("Reverse the flow" coming from #3 and "Do you want a jelly baby?" coming from #4.)

So this begs the question, why didn't Matt Smith do any of these things when he started as the Doctor? The same question can be used for David Tennant. Christopher Eccleston has an excuse since he didn't actually regenerate on screen. Instead of reminding viewers of the past Doctors, we just get recurring jokes about new teeth.

What about in "The Doctor's Wife?" Sexy sends Amy and Rory to an older copy of the TARDIS control room. Which control room do they end up in? The previous Doctor's control room. Why not do a little searching and go back a little further? I was hoping it might even be the original control room. Sure it's not very exciting, but it might have made viewers take an interest in where that control room originated and go back to see it in action.

What about the very recent episode where the the Doctor is poisoned by Melody Pond and he struggles into the TARDIS and activates the Voice Interface and he gets to see a series of options for people to have for interaction. Sure it is nice to see images of Rose, Martha and Donna, but why not use someone from the older series? It could even be Sarah Jane Smith. That would be worth something, especially with the recent death of poor Miss Sladen. However, wouldn't it have been fun to see some of the other companions ad perhaps spark a little interest in those characters and those Doctors?

Well, that's probably why I don't write for Doctor Who, but it won't stop complaining about it. Leave some comments below.

So you want to start watching the Fourth Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Tom Baker thanks you for wanting to see his Doctor in action.

So you want start watching Doctor Who adventures featuring the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker? You are making a very good choice. You probably already know that Tom is my personal favorite Doctor. You have a lot of work to see all of his episodes. He was the Doctor for seven years.Why not try out a few of the more interesting stories? After all, some of the stories are better than others. (Remember that during the old series, they didn't have the budget or effects that are available today.) I could go on talking about how great Tom Baker is for a long time, but let's get on to the recommendations instead.


What better place to begin than at the very beginning. In "The Robot," we get our first real glimpse of Tom Baker as the Doctor. The Doctor is lying on the floor in his laboratory at UNIT headquarters and hasn't recovered from his regeneration.

The Doctor seems very odd after his regeneration, but it turns out that this is who he is now. There are several great parts to this story. First, you get the Doctor's first words, " " You also get the fashion show where the Doctor figures out what he's going to wear. You also get a scene straight out of the Power Rangers when the robot of the title grows from around 7 feet to building-crushing height.

If you're watching the new series, you've already met his companion, Sarah Jane Smith, and you'll love getting to know her during her younger adventures.




"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is a very strange story. The Doctor is dressed up like Sherlock Holmes and his companion is a futuristic cave woman. Yeah, Leela is from a future human planet that has regressed to barbarism after a space ship crash lands on a planet. Leela is like an Eliza Doolittle character- she has great potential and the Doctor is trying to help her reach it. 


In this story, the Doctor has brought Leela to Earth's past to help her understand who her ancestors were. The plot revolves around a disappearing woman, Chinese tongs, an Oriental stage magician, and a killer ventriloquist's dummy. Oh and did I mention giant-killer sewer rats?






Lalla Ward is the second actress to play the Time Lord Romana (actually Romanadvoratrelundar, but who wants to say that more than once?) The character of Romana is great in either incarnation because she is a Time Lord, and in some ways is smarter than the Doctor. The first Romana is forced on the Doctor during the Key of Time stories, but she decides to stay with the Doctor after that adventure is over.

This is often considered one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time. The Doctor and Romana take a well deserved vacation in Paris and soon discover involving six original copies of the Mona Lisas. There's lots of adventure in this story and the Doctor makes a trip back in time to have a chat with Leonardo Da Vinci.



Of course there are plenty of stories featuring Tom Baker (42 stories with 172 episodes) so once you check these stories out, you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy this incarnation of the Doctor. Let me know if you have any feedback or thoughts on these episodes below.

Top Twelve Doctors in Doctor Who (Part V)

Here we are at the end of the list, just three more Doctors to go so there's no mystery about who they will be, but there is the question of which Doctor will get the top spot. Let's review numbers 4-12 before we begin. (You can also check out the full posts with these links: http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-i.html, http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-ii.html, http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-iii.html, http://lockheed40.blogspot.com/2010/12/top-12-doctors-in-doctor-who-part-iv.html)

Number 12-Paul McGann (Doctor #8)

Number 11-Rowan Atkinson (Charity Special)

Number 10-Colin Baker (Doctor #6)

Number 9-Sylvester McCoy (Doctor #7)

Number 8-Peter Davison (Doctor #5)

Number 7-Matt Smith (Doctor #11)

Number 6-Christopher Eccleston (Doctor #9)

Number 5-Jon Pertwee (Doctor #3)

Number 4-Patrick Troughton (Doctor #2)

Number 3

William Hartnell is the original Doctor kicking off the series in 1963 with a serial called "The Unearthly Child."

It's time to present the man that started it all, William Hartnell. In the 1960's, Doctor Who actually started as a show geared toward children. The idea was that the T.A.R.D.I.S. could travel to important historical events and discuss scientific concepts. BBC thought the show would last a few years at the most so they chose an older actor for the part and gave him a granddaughter to give the young audience a connection. No one expected what would happen next.

In the second story of this new show, the Doctor and company arrive on the strange planet Skaro. "What is so important about Skaro?" you ask. Skaro just happens to be the home planet of the Daleks. With the introduction of the Daleks, Doctor Who became a television phenomenon, but you don't care about the Doctor Who history lesson. You want to know about the original Doctor and what puts him within the top three Doctors.

While Hartnell is the oldest actor to play the Doctor, his portrayal is very much like that of a small child who is too smart for his own good. Part of this portrayal was because Hartnell was getting older and was having trouble with the lines so one of the directors suggested that the Doctor use it as a part of his character. Early on he kidnaps two teachers that barge into the T.A.R.D.I.S. and he also does some very devious things to get his way, but as time passes, he 'matures' and learns how to work with others.

Important events that occur during this Doctor's tenure include the first episode with both the Daleks and Cybermen. There is also an episode featuring the Meddling Monk who is one of the Doctor's people. (The term Time Lord doesn't get used until the end of the second Doctor's time.) There is also an important character called the Celestial Toymaker. As part of the educational approach to the show we get to see the Doctor interacting with cavemen, Marco Polo, Aztecs, and ancient Romans. (You even get to see Nero set Rome on fire.)

As I mentioned previously, Hartnell left as the Doctor because of his failing health and was replaced in the middle of "The Tenth Planet" by Patrick Troughton. He did make a last appearance as the Doctor in the 10th anniversary episode "The Three Doctors." Unfortunately, many of the episodes featuring Hartnell and Troughton were lost due to bad decision making by the BBC, but the adventures that are available are definitely worth checking out.

Number 2

David Tennant was the tenth actor to play the Doctor. He is the most recognizable Doctor from the new series.

Taking over the role of the Doctor is not an easy task. First you have to convince the viewing audience that you are capable of taking the reins from the previous actor without making your Doctor too much like the other Doctor. Next you have to figure out who your particular Doctor is. (Jon Pertwee often said that he learned more about who he was in the 3 years he was the Doctor than in the rest of his life.) Finally when you have all of that figured out, you have to deal with the scripts and stories and the grueling production schedule.

David Tennant took on the challenge and excelled. His approach to the Doctor took a very different direction from Eccleston's dark and brooding Doctor. Tennant's Doctor enjoyed his adventures, especially while Rose was still his companion, to the point where he was even named as an enemy of England by Queen Victoria. He also got so wrapped up in the adventure that he often missed the interpersonal complications such as Martha's interest in him.

This Doctor sees the return of the Cybermen (much improved) as well as the Sontarans and the introduction of the Weeping Angels. More significant for fans of the original series is the return of the Master and through him a short-lived return of the Time Lords. The #2 Doctor also faced off against the devil. There's more to tell, but I still need to talk about the top Doctor, so I'll leave it at that for now. If you haven't seen David Tennant as the Doctor, we can't talk again until you do.

Number 1

Tom Baker was the fourth Doctor and the actor who filled the role for the longest time.

I've got a theory about Doctor Who. I think that it's like the James Bond movies. Think about how many actors have played Bond. It's just like the Doctor without an explanation about the differences. There's one other connection. My theory is that your first Doctor/Bond is likely to be your favorite. That doesn't mean that I don't have plenty of reasons to love Tom Baker as the Doctor. Let me share some of them with you.

Here are some elements that are a unique part of Tom Baker's Doctor: a 20 foot scarf, a robot dog (K-9), an entire season in an alternate reality, and traveling with another Time Lord. Baker's Doctor spent quite a bit of time interacting with the Time Lords even being sent on missions from time to time. He was the second Doctor to be put on trial by his people, and puts himself on the ballot for the Presidency of Gallifrey to put an end to the trial. (The fifth Doctor actually becomes President and runs away from the job.)

Tom Baker looks a little like Harpo Marks (at least in my opinion) and he has a similar approach in his Doctor. He works primarily with distraction either his own or to those he encounters. One of his tricks is to offer an unfriendly person a jelly baby from a bag extracted from his pocket. (Jelly babies are a candy developed after WWI, originally called Peace Babies, that are shaped like babies and similar to gummy bears.) He also has a tendency to get distracted during non-emergencies. On one occasion he spends the first episode trying to go fishing.

Baker also played the Doctor for longer than any other actor for seven years from 1974-1981. (I watched him on PBS late at night many years after the original showed on BBC. It was on just before Monty Python's Flying Circus.) This is another reason to put him on the top of the list. In polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine, he has only lost the "Best Doctor" category three times, once to Sylvester McCoy and twice to David Tennant.

I've talked about this and all the Doctors long enough for the month of December. Go check out all of the Doctors. There's just under 50 years of catching up to do. (50th anniversary is in 2013.) For Tom Baker check out "The City of Death." It has the Doctor and fellow Time Lord Romana sharing an adventure in Paris. 

That's my opinion on the Doctors of Doctor Who. In future posts, I'll be returning to Doctor Who, but for now it's time for a break. Feel free to leave a comment, or make a suggestion for other opinions below.