The Fourth Doctor
Today’s blog post is going to be light hearted. It concerns my admiration for the fourth doctor Who. When I first discovered Dr Who on my PBS station in the 1980’s, I enjoyed it at a time when I was in need of my science fiction fix. I was often up during this time because of a colicky baby. It was fun to watch with the time travel and adventures all over the galaxy. Many actors that would be famous later on played bit roles in the shows back then and now.
Then there was Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith was the companion of the Third and Fourth Doctors. She held the honor of being one of the few people the Doctor considered one of his best friends. She reunited with him in his tenth incarnation and had adventures with him in his eleventh incarnation. Sarah met nine of the Doctor’s incarnations in total: those already mentioned and the first, second, fifth, seventh and eighth.
With the exception of K9, Sarah spent most of her life alone after traveling with him, but maintained previous friendships with UNIT staff; her connections to the Doctor and the Brigadier afforded her enough pull with the group to call them in to mop up messes after a threat was averted.
In the shows, by the 2000s, Sarah Jane had risen to become one of the top three journalists in the UK, thanks to her passion for investigation and moral compass allowing her to publish any news that would reveal the evil or selfish nature of others. We need more real journalists with this passion now!
Sadly Elisabeth Sladen has died. Thank you Elisabeth for the memories. You will always be in my heart and all other Dr Who fans hearts!
How Tom Baker got to be the Forth Doctor a Time Lord!
Thomas Stewart Baker was born on Scotland Road in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool on 20 January 1934. His mother, Mary Jane, was a cleaner and devout Catholic. His father, John Stewart Baker, was a seaman and was largely absent from the family due to being away at sea.
Baker attended Cheswardine Hall Boarding School in Shropshire. At age 15, he became a novice religious brother with the Brothers of Ploermel (Brothers of Christian Instruction) in Jersey and later in Shropshire. He left the monastery six years later after losing his faith. In his autobiography, he said he had realized that he wanted to break each of the Ten Commandments—in order—so he thought he should get out before he did something serious.
Baker undertook his national service in the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving from 1955 until 1957. Upon leaving the army, he served in the Merchant Navy.
Baker took up acting around 1956, joining the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup. He became a professional actor in the late 1960s. Thus he landed the role of the fourth Doctor by his work in theater and on BBC TV shows.
He was the longest serving Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981. Baker quickly made the part his own, and audience-viewing figures for his first few years returned to a level not seen since the height of ‘Dalekmania‘ a decade earlier. His eccentric style of dress and quirky personality (particularly his trademark look of wearing a long scarf—and his fondness for jelly babies).
Yes, I like Jelly Babies also. Sometimes I find them in grocery stores. Then there is his voice, it made him an immediately recognizable figure, and he quickly caught the viewing public’s imagination. Baker contributed ideas for many aspects of his Doctor’s personality. Tom became known for making “frequent and often comedic scripting suggestions and ad-libs”. The idea of wearing a scarf had been created by accident. James Acheson, the costume designer assigned to his first story, had provided far more wool than necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope, thinking this would enable her to choose a suitable color. However, due to a miscommunication, Pope knitted all the wool she was given. Thus producing a crazy look that added to this version of the Doctor!
Tom Baker Now
Well Tom is now 90 years old. His latest picture he still has the fourth doctor look.
So Why am I writing this
When you see my on this website, my links to Tom Baker as the forth Doctor you will know why. I liked the fourth Doctor better than any of the others.
Lastly there is the TARDIS
The Doctor traveled in the TRADIS. When I first watched Dr Who, I had not idea what it meant. TARDIS, an acronym for “Time And Relative Dimension In Space” is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft. I sort of figured that out after see a few episodes. Guess my dyslexic brain and my father “Big Tom” who was an engineer and made great use of abbreviations helped me figure this out.
Then there was the inside of the TARDIS. I was use to seeing in the 1960’s to 1970’s cramped space ships from NASA with the astronaut jammed into a very small space. However the TARDIS interior influenced a future film director George Lucas to make grand space ships for his Star Wars movies. Note – George never said this out loud. He just showed it in his films.
So How do I end this Blog post about The Fourth Doctor
I end it with dedications. This post is dedicated to all those who enjoyed the Fourth Doctor. To Elisabeth Sladen, Tom Baker and all the staff who have worked on the Dr Who series in the past and present. Also for those of us who have trouble managing our Time due to ADHD. Yes, I have an issue with time management. I also have a big issue with the evil and the selfish nature of bad leaders. Thank you Sarah Jane for pointing this out in your career with the Doctors. Only on YouTube are some journalists free to express their investigations. Thus they are free from money hungry owners and editors who just want you attention.
The Sirens’ Call and it’s about how attention became the most important and endangered resource of our age, how its relentless extraction warps both public debate and our inner lives, and how we can reclaim our minds. Something to think about.
Sorry
This post appears longer a than most of my other posts. I hope you enjoy it and share it with friends. The Forth Doctor helped shape my attitude during a tough time in my life. Yes, I did throw in a bit about bad leaders at the end. It is difficult not to these days. The Fourth Doctor and other Doctors did this also. One quote for a later Dr Who, “I am just an idiot with a box and a screwdriver just pass thru. Helping out any way I can”. That is all I am attempting to do with my posts.