So having already done a thread on the Fifth Doctor, it's time to move onto the Sixth Doctor.

Now I've been struggling a bit to find a different angle on the Sixth Doctor. I kept thinking what is there to discuss on the Sixth Doctor we haven't discussed on here a zillion times before. How many more times, I thought, can we discuss the costume, The Twin Dilemma, the violence, Michael Grade and the hiatus, and his eventual sacking from the show.

Then once I thought about that I realised every single one of those topics is a negative topic. Why not, for once, can't we have a positive topic and try and highlight some of the more positive aspects of this Doctor.

As with Hartnell, I want to raise awareness of the more lighter side of his character and try and make it known if I haven't already a few times that The Twin Dilemma Sixth Doctor isn't the definitive Sixth Doctor version.

So starting with The Twin Dilemma, putting aside all the manic outbursts and attempts to strangle Peri, there is a few lighter moments when he asks Azmael's Aide if he has foul pest, the teacher analogy to the Twins('Ten out of ten, alpha plus') and I love the 'Lieutenant' gags. Perhaps more significantly, how this Doctor reacts to Azmael's death is quite touching and shows quite early on that the Sixth Doctor still has his compassionate side despite the trauma of his regeneration.

Season 22 sees him become more stable and again, putting aside the violence and distasteful gags, there's still humour to be had. Vengeance On Varos and his banter with Sil, asking the executioner if he gets all 'the priest parts.' In The Mark Of The Rani, I like his horrified reaction to Luke being turned into a tree and the banter between the three Time Lords is also quite amusing.

The Two Doctors brings the usual Doctor rivalry which Troughton was always very good at but he works as well with Jamie as his previous incarnation did. The gag about the rickety ladder etc is a good example of this

Timelash was a reversion almost to his debut story but the Dalek one, despite being sidelined in the first episode contained some good scenes for The Doctor as he speculates over his demise at the tomb Davros has made for him. Even his reaction to the fact Davros has turned the humans into food is again an interesting and compassionate one which goes against the perception of him being a dislikeable Doctor.

It's in Season 23 that he really comes into his own. The humour is increased and I love the scenes between him and the twins in the opening story and and those with Balazaar, the great books of life and being called 'Old One.' Even his friendship with Peri is improved and he treats both her and Mel with equal compassion. The Vervoids story was a quite engaging one for him and the last two episodes he mixes witticism and the serious stuff exceptionally well.

However, if there was one scene in that entire Season that goes against everything The Sixth Doctor is known for, it's his reaction to the 'death' of Peri. Here we see The Doctor in a vulnerable and distressed state for which we have never seen him before at this point. It wouldn't have looked out of place in the New Series. It was a brilliant piece of acting by Colin Baker.

So there you go, I could write lots more positive stuff about the Sixth Doctor but don't want to bore people to death before I start.

So on this thread I hope people will use it just to put forward what they liked about The Sixth Doctor and maybe redress the balance a little over the negativity he's received over the years.

The audio adventures show a much calmer Sixth Doctor. Haven't listened to them all yet, but intend too. So feel free to comment on those too if you wish.

I know he wasn't perfect, and he certainly isn't David Tennant. That's all been discussed before. Let's just try and be positive for once about him...if you can.

Fingers crossed.

Good luck with this.


I'll keep it brief as I may stray from your parameter's but the one major positive about the Sixth Doctor in my mind is Colin Baker.

I like his enthusiasm for the part and the energy he gives it. I like the relationship with Peri and Mel in the Trial of the Time Lord (much prefer Mel with 6 than 7). Like the humour from her Americanism and I too like the banter between the three time lords in Mark of the Rani, which is easily my favourite Colin Baker story.

The Sixth Doctor was great, he showed some real aggression and intelligence However its been ages since I saw his episodes to quote some real specifics ....

I've only ever seen Vengeance on Varos, which I watched the other day. After everything I had heard about how brash, pompous and unlikable he was, he didn't seem that bad. Still, as I say, only seen the one.

However, I was watching a panel with Colin, and he talked about how his inspiration for the Sixth Doctor was
Mr. Darcey from Pride and Prejudice, and the idea was for him to start off abrasive, but eventually reveal how caring he was underneath.

Unfortunately he wasn't able to complete that arc before he was fired, but he did get to play it out with the Big Finish audio dramas. In audios set in his earlier life, he's noticeably rougher around the edges. But after travelling with his companion, Evelyn Smythe, who had no problem putting him in his place when he went too far, he became much gentler.

They actually made an audio story called "The Wrong Doctors" where Six meets his younger self to illustrate the contrast, although I haven't heard it myself.

He got so jovial, he even burst into song on occasion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIdDXQ2h1Pc

So I can safely say, even if his TV tenure left something to be desired, he more than made up for it by reinventing himself in the audio medium.

I've watched a couple of 6th doctor stories, and I have to say, even though I havent watched a lot of classic who, of what I have seen (which is at least one story of each doctor from the 4th onwards) he is one of my preferred Classic who doctors.

I enjoy that he is so confident and as such exudes authority with ease. I also like that he is brash and says it how he see's it, no holds barred. For all people's talk of the harsh tones of Capaldi and Hartnell, the 6th doctor is probably less afraid to offend than any other incarnation. While a lot of people see that as a turn off, I see it as not only a rather unique feature among the incarnations, but also one which makes him seem more like a realistic person than some of the others. Let's face it, real people get annoyed and are willing to voice it, and especially if they spend a lot of time with the same one person that person will get on their nerves.

Also, he really has vigour in the part. Many of the lines he deilvers it feels like they thrust out of his mouth from up inside him.

So yeah, from someone who is only sort of acquainted with Classic who, he is probably one of the only Classic who doctors who I have such a strong opinion of because he makes such an impression in the role in my opinion.

P.s never really got the overwhelming hate for the costume either. For a eccentric alien who was currently in an incarnation where he was loud and brash, I think it suited that personality.

The Sixth Doctor had terrific potential and Colin Baker was, and is, marvellous in the role. Personally, I preferred him to the Fifth Doctor, and he was light years ahead of the terrible incarnation that succeeded him. I loved the Sixth Doctor's arrogance and spikiness - so reminiscent of the First Doctor, for me.

Yes, RTD is correct in stating the Sixth Doctor's costume is possibly the single greatest mistake in TV history. And, yes, The Twin Dilemma is an awful debut story (though it's City of Death compared with Time And The Rani), but whatever deficiencies his era might have had, they were nothing to do with the Doctor or the actor.

One of my favourite Doctors. Loved him! Gutted when Colin was sacked but loving his Big Finish adventures. I spent a day with Colin at an event once. Lovely bloke!

I really liked the sixth Doctor. He was confident, funny, slightly arrogant but not in a horrible way it was more aimed at his enemies. Shame about the costume but he was so much more interesting than the bland boring wet fifth Doctor. Was glad to see the back of him.

whats really ironic is that the costume that Colin wanted for his Doctor was the costume that Chris Eccelston got!

I think it's important to watch the whole of his era to get the full impression of his Doctor.

Starting slightly negatively, it's not a favourite era and one I don't often revisit. There's some good stuff in there and I enjoyed it well enough at the time, though. But anyway....the Sixth Doctor.

Became a fan with Davison, so this was sort of the first 'new' Doctor for me, and as a teenager I took to Colin from the off. He was quite the contrast to the Fifth, but I knew by then that Doctors could be very different from one incarnation to the next. I rather liked his pomposity and arrogance, which was often undercut, and grew fond of him by the end of his first year. Then we had the 'suspension' and there was a lot of negativity about the show. Suddenly felt like it might be on borrowed time. Which obviously in retrospect it was!

I'm not going to pretend I thought Season 23 was great, but the slight softening of the Sixth Doctor and his relationship with Peri worked for me. Similar to the First Doctor's development by the time we got to his second year. By the time of Terror of the Vervoids and The Ultimate Foe, I thought Colin was absolutely nailing it. Still could be a bit shouty, but really endearing with it. And yeah, the caustic wit reminds me of Peter C.

So....very fond of Colin, if not a number of his stories, and think he was treated *appallingly* by a BBC who clearly didn't give a flying fig about the show at the time. But he will always be Sixie...and will really have to get around to exploring his Big Finish output sometime, as only hear good things about him.

There 'he' was in Night of.. and 'Day of the Doctor. Still in that blinking coat. And those moments made me smile. Extra kudos to Mr Baker for being hilariously self-mocking and amusing in The Five(ish) Doctors. Top bloke.

Six is easily one of my top 3 favourite Doctors. I really wish he'd have gotten more eps than he did and I really don't understand why he gets so much hate. Yes the episodes aren't the best, but that's the writers fault, and people complain that his Doctor was too dark yet get excited by the thought of Capaldi's Doctor being dark! Its just bloody favourtism!

He is by far the best Doctor on Audio (well my favourite anyway). Shame his tv tenure wasn't as good (or long) but that is the BBC's fault not Colin's.

Also I didn't mind his coat, I def can't see him in a leather jacket like 9!

He's always been one of my favourite Doctors.
I thought it was very bold to have him be slightly messed up from his regeneration, perhaps if it had been executed in a less violent way it would have been more palatable for the wider audience.

Even though he's depicted as being grumpy and aggressive, the dynamic between him and Peri does go through several changes. Plus I like it when it is Peri that is being moody and miserable while the Doctor is more positive and upbeat but being totally unhelpful to her needs. lol

The sad thing about Colin's Doctor is a lot of his best stories aren't on-screen.
The One Doctor, Jubilee, Davros and Legend of the Cybermen are among my favourite Doctor Who stories over all and the closest we ever got to seeing them on screen was Dalek, which didn't even feature Colin

Great to see some positivity on the Sixth Doctor.

Hope it will at least show he has a nicer side. Just a shame it took so long to fully come out, but the audio stories put that right very nicely.

On TV Colin's Doctor is enjoyably serious. There's no sense of self-parody or of knowing winks towards the younger viewers — no farting aliens, no burping bins, etc. It attempts to treat the audience with respect. That and the brave move of making him quite a flawed hero suggests an ambition far beyond the budget. I've not heard any of the audios but I assume that's why they succeed: Colin's Doctor is finally allowed all the resources of your imagination.

I more or less concur with the general gist here: the best thing about the 6th Doctor was Colin Baker. Lots of things about the incarnation were flawed and the general standards of the show in terms of writing, production and acting was at an all-time low but I think they got it right with casting Colin Baker at least. He is what a Doctor Who actor should be: naturally charismatic and bold in his performance.

I am by no means a Dr.Who geek who knows all the ins and outs of each and every Doctor and all the series. I watched Chris Ecclestone when it returned in 2005 but when he left after one series I did not bother with it again, until now. The Horror Channel appearing recently on the Freeview platform has enabled me to watch with renewed interest the Dr Who's that I watched originally from my much younger days, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and at the moment Colin Baker.

My favourite era goes from Jon Pertwee to Peter Davison, and some of the late Pertwee and Tom Baker ones in the 70's genuinely scared me as a small boy. I recall loving the show at that time but knowing if I watched it on Saturday night I would have to go to bed feeling frightened and seeing whatever creatures had featured appearing out of the darkness in my bedroom, in my imagination.

Having seen all over again for the first time since the time they went out, the Tom Baker and Peter Davison ones, the Colin Baker incarnation which is currently showing The Two Doctors story this week and showed Attack Of The Cybermen last week has proved to me just how poor he was in comparison to those he succeeded. I especially dislike his companion Peri who seems such a whining and whingy sidekick. It's not hard to see that 1985 is the start of where the wheels came off Dr.Who, and watching again has just confirmed what my memory had long thought back to the time.

But on a positive note about Colin Baker, I took a look at how he appears nowadays and I have to say that for me he looks far better qualified looks wise to play Dr.Who nowadays than he did in the middle 80's.

Revelation of the Daleks is a good example of how the 6th Doctor's involvement was unnecessary as the outcome would have been the same without him.

I think this is a weakness in much of the writing around Colin's Doctor; lots of characters die (many of whom the Doctor never meets and so has no chance of saving) and other characters drive the narrative in such a way that the 6th Doctor may as well not be involved at all.

I also don't feel the move to 45-minute episodes was ever really embraced by JNT or the writers. It would have been the perfect time to have fast-paced, single episodes like we do today. Instead, we really just had the same pace of story only with episodes one and two broadcast as one, and the same for episodes three and four.

That said, I still love Colin's Doctor. Such a lift after Davison's rather dull Doctor.

Theatrical, dramatic - that was Doctor 6!! I loved him arguing with Peri as well!!
They were a perfect comedy double-act! Hated that coat though!!!
They loved each other really! What a shame they changed it all in that last abysmal season of 'Trial' - what a depressing 13 weeks that was!! I knew the end was coming by then!

Without detracting from the topic that was hardly Nicola Bryant's fault, it was the way her part was written, especially in Season 22. If you watch her last two stories you will see a big difference in the way she played the part and it was definitely less whiny and she was a lot friendlier with The Doctor.


Again, without getting off-topic too much, Eric Saward has said he would have loved another Season of 45 minute episodes to get the structure just right and iron out the problems from Season 22. So I'm not sure if it was universally unpopular with the production team and writers in particular.

I do, however, agree about the Dalek story. It's outrageous The Doctor and Peri are only in such a small part of the first episode and the second one doesn't do either of them much good either. Seen in four parts as shown in 1992 on BBC2, it's even worse and The Doctor doesn't do much until 'Part 4.'

Saying that I do strangely enjoy the story a lot, but yes, big mistake to sideline them both so dramatically.

Plus I obviously disagree about Davison but that's for another thread.......


I loved The Doctor/Peri relationship in Season 23! Should have been like that from the start!

A genuine Dr Who? serial then, or maybe Dr Where!