What stories do you think sums up the Fourth Doctor better than any other in terms of his portrayal and what story do you think he really was off key and not a typical Fourth Doctor one at all?

Off course, there were lots of changes in his character throughout his seven year stint on the show, we all know Seasons 13, 17 and 18 for example have very different interpretations of the character.

So for me, looking into the best way to find a story that sums up his basic character, I always think of is Masque Of Mandragora. This always sticks out for me as exactly what the Fourth Doctor should be. Authoritative, funny, a little bit of physicality and off course, the best banter he had with any of his companions in Sarah. Somehow that story just ticks all the boxes for me. Not too funny as in Season 17, not quite as violent as in some of the other stories around this period and certainly not as stale as Season 18. Off course, I prefer his Season 12 persona but that is a very early performance where he was still finding his feet. Here, he's at his peak when the show was at it's peak.

As for an atypical performance, that was much easier and really the story I chose was the idea behind this thread since I mentioned it earlier this afternoon: Planet Of Evil.

In this, he was just so sombre and quiet, barely any humour and I think by far the most serious performance he put in, even more serious than Season 18 at times. If anything it is Sarah who has any funny lines, what there are of them.

I could have chosen any story in Season 18 to sum up an atypical Fourth Doctor story(bar Meglos perhaps) but for me that's the story that stands out because of his performances in the other stories of this Season.

So, what are your thoughts?

The Ark in Space was the story that Baker showed why he was so good as the Doctor. His Homosapian speech could only have been delivered by him. His banter with Sarah and Harry was terrific in this story.

I'd say Logopolis and Keeper of Traken were his most brooding and sombere. There were hardly any humour in these stories at all.

It's hard to think of "typical" when thinking of TB's stories, as his character changes over time, and his mood can be different from story to story!
I think perhaps "Robot" is a candidate for atypical, simply because Baker is obviously trying to find his character, and there are several little mannerisms (eg, when Brig asks him what direction hasn't been covered, and he mimes a sort of submarine effect / pulling sad faces while trying on new costumes / blowing dandelion flower in Brig's face) which he tries out, but it's as if they're a bit over-acted and not quite right for the character, or something like that.

I find it harder to pick a typical story for Baker.


There are 2 stories that stand out for me as atypical. Robot because it is basically a Pertwee story with Baker in the lead role and Warriors Gate wich is basically an atypical Doctor Who story full stop.

Back to typical I'm going to say, without much conviction, The Sunmakers. It's by Robert Holmes probably Baker's most prolific writer, it has the Doctor come down and sort out society and go away again.

Also superficially it's very generic for Graham Williams time with a Tardis scene topping and tailing the story and features Baker's most prolific companion - K9.

So I'd probably go with that.

re Robot - I'd agree that the plot is very Pertwee-ish, but this was a deliberate decision so as not to alienate viewers. "Yes the Doctor has changed, but look, we still have the Brig and UNIT and mad scientists and Sarah!"
I'd argue that despite all these trappings Tom still manages to give a very Bakerish performance, very different from Jon Pertwee.

Perhaps the least Tom Bakerish stories took place in his last season. The stylistic changes imposed by JNT altered the whole feel of Doctor Who, and the Tom Baker persona didn't really fit in. The Leisure Hive seems to find Baker very out of sorts and while he seems to pick up as the season goes on I always find The Leisure Hive to be a rather joyless story, very different from previous Baker stories.

I'd agree with the choice of Masque Of Mandragora as being typical Tom - let's also add Terror Of The Zygons, Brain Of Morbius, Robots Of Death, Talons Of Weng Chiang and especially Pyramids Of Mars, which finds Tom at a real peak. He's an extremely commanding presence in this story.

I agree with those who think it's hard to narrow down a typical Fourth Doctor story to just one - as there are so many to choose from.

But I think The Seeds of Doom possibly qualifies as an atypical story. In many ways, it's actually atypical for Who as a whole, being much more of an Avengers story. That's not to say I don't like it - in fact, I love it because it's so different.

Tom Baker was also ill during his season season.

One of the writers talks about Tom's 'Ark in Space' speech and made the (very honest) point that its a scene Jon Pertwee wouldn't have been able to pull off. I think its on the Ark in Space DVD special features. The writers must have loved writing for Tom!

I think 'Ark in Space' is a great 'base under siege' story and - for me - those were Baker at his best: Ark in Space, Seeds of Doom, Horror of Fang Rock etc

Mention Tom Baker to me - and I automatically think of Sarah & Harry! Those years of Sarah-Jane were the best for me!
I never liked K9 (neither did Tom!) - just a gimmick that, thankfully, only lasted a few years!
JNT spoiled the era in that last lot for him.....the quirkiness was gone. I suppose he was paving the way for the next generation. I quite enjoyed the E-Space trilogy though.
Logopolis was a good start for the new 80's style to follow - giving Peter Davison a few extra companions to say the least!

It's not my favourite story but I'd say Horror of Fang Rock encapsulates most of the 4th Doctor's best qualities

I think "Pyramids of Mars" is the most typical of TB's early episodes, and "Androids of Tara" of the later ones. (Not the best, just the most typical.)

I almost nominated Androids of Tara when I said The Sunmakers. I think Pyramids of Mars is typical Hinchcliffe.

And what makes it more sad, is that during the filming of Keeper of Traken and Logopolis, Tom wouldn't look at Matthew Waterhouse. It shows at times too, when watched on DVD.

Tom didn't seem to get on with Matthew. The chemistry didn't seem to be there as much as hoped. When Peter Davison came along, the chemistry rocketed up, and both PD and MW got on well.

Just a shame Matthew left when he did. John Nathan-Turner was getting tired of the Tardis getting overcrowded, so he said that someone had to go. Rumour has it, it was JNT that decided to axe Matthew from DW, and not Matt himself.

Strange you should say that, as I actually thought Adric worked better with the 4th Doctor then the 5th. Baker didn't get on with Waterhouse, but he never really got on with anyone in season 18. His time was up playing The Doctor and when JNT came in, the writing was on the wall for Baker in the role.

I think it's just a bit unusual to see Baker with a sole male companion.