Sunday, June 26, 2011

The A.V. Club looks back at Tom Baker's debut as the Doctor

"Robot" | Doctor Who (Classic) | TV Club | TV | The A.V. Club:


Screencap from "Robot" via The Onion


Before landing the role that would make him an icon of science-fiction TV, Tom Baker spent six years studying to be a monk, did a stint in the army, worked a construction job, and played an evil wizard in a Ray Harryhausen movie. As resumes go, that's all over the place, and it reminds me of a Dave Foley line from NewsRadio: 'Sounds like a drifter.' But it's somehow perfect for the guy who gave us the most unpredictable incarnation of the Doctor in the history of the show, and helped it achieve both some of its greatest moments and some of its worst.
The picture in this article got me feeling a little wistful. Ms. Sladen is gone. Mr. Courtney is gone. Mr. Marter died tragically young, in 1986 of a heart attack on his 42nd birthday. Tom Baker is 77 years-old with, we all hope and expect, several years of guest starring appearances and voice-over work ahead of him. It's just hard to believe time has marched so steadily onward for all involved ...

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