Colin Baker is The Doctor

Colin Baker is The Doctor

The Sixth Doctor era started on Twitch last night to an enthusiastic and interested reaction.
It's a short run, of course, and will be finished on Wednesday and many of us who were there at the time would say that Colin was given a rough ride.

His Doctor is mecurial, arrogant and definately more alien than Peter Davison's interpretation of the part.

Colin the actor is a truly nice man and a joy to meet should you ever get the chance.
I've had the pleasure of meeting him on a few occasions and have never found him to be anything less than charming and funny.

I remember buying 'The Twin Dilemma' on VHS from my local Woolworths where it was exclusively available for a while.

I also bought (and had signed!) a copy of 'The Colin Baker Years' which features Colin watching clips of his episodes along with his appearances on such shows as 'Breakfast Time' and 'Blue Peter' not to mention his first encounter with 'Doctor Who' - Commander Maxil in 'Arc Of Infinity'.
I hope if that if the BBC decide to release either of Colin's seasons on Blu-ray that they will include his 'Years' video as they have done for Tom Baker on the Season 12 Blu ray.

When you are a 'Doctor Who' fan and one of the actors who played the Doctor or a companion appears in something else you always find yourself tuning in.

Hence we watched Colin on 'I'm A Celebrity...'  and I seem to remember even voted for him, though I think he was quite pleased to leave early and get back to see his wife.

We've also watched him in the likes of 'Jonathan Creek', 'Casualty'  (in which he appeared twice) and 'Hustle'. His appearance in 'Hustle' is brief but memorable as his character's death leads to the set up of the con.

He even pops up in an episode of 'The Mind of Mr J.G. Reeder' looking very young.

Andrew and I also saw him in quite a few stage productions, the most recent one being as Inspector Morse (in 'House Of Ghosts') at our local theatre in Poole; a part he made his own and allowed him to drink several pints of beer on stage, Or possibly shandy, we could not tell!

I was hoping that he would pop into the shop that I work in but alas no, he must have gone elsewhere when he was in town.

We also saw him playing in 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' as the entire D'Ascoyne family opposite Robert Powell as Louis Mazzini. This was a very interesting production and certainly gave Colin a lot to do, including having to dress as the female D'Ascoyne family members as well as a vicar, I seem to remember.

We also saw Colin playing the part of Major Powell in 'Corpse!', also starring Louise Jameson and David Warwick, making it a real treat for 'Doctor Who' fans.

Colin had appeared in 'Corpse!' earlier in his career playing the part of the twins Evelyn and Rupert Farrant in a production which also boasted Jack Watling as the Major.

And if. once Colin's era has finished on Twitch, you would like to experience some more Sixth Doctor dramas, we would point you towards his many appearances in the Big Finish range of audios, which have managed to flesh out the Sixth Doctor and also allowed him to meet the Brigadier.

One release that stands out for me is 'The Apocalypse Element' which features a moment of fury from Colin that is equal to that of Tom Baker in 'The Pirate Planet' or Matt Smith in 'The Beast Below' and it quite took my breath away when I listened to it.

Also well worth a listen is 'The One Doctor' which also stars Christopher Biggins and is a delight. And if you want to hear Colin singing in the style of Gilbert & Sullivan (not Harry!) then you should get 'Doctor Who and The Pirates', which also features Bill Oddie.

So you see Colin Baker is The Doctor wheither you like it or not.

Personally, I do!

You can see us chatting about 'The Twin Dilemma', 'Attack Of The Cybermen' and 'Vengeance On Varos' in our latest video, which can be seen here.

(By Lisa Parker)