1984 - 1986 | 12 Adventures | 30 Episodes | 1040 minutes
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Colin Baker had appeared in Doctor who during Peter Davison's tenure. He had played Maxil, a Gallifreyan Commander in Arc If Infinity and had even shot at the Doctor so he was sure that would be his only part in the show - a little disappointed that he hadn't been the Doctor himself but happy to have been in the show... It came as something of a surprise then when he was asked to come back as the lead barely a year later!
Colin's Doctor will forever be remembered as the one with ludicrous taste in clothes. The question mark remained on the collar but Davisons cricket inspired flannels were replaced with trousers more akin to Rupert The Bear, the sweater was replaced by flamboyant waistcoats and the pseudo-Victorian overcoat was replaced by a mishmashed patchwork of vivid colours. If you were to try and pin it down, you might suggest it was a cross between Jon Pertwee's dandy flamboyance and Tom Baker's heavy coat with his scarf thrown in for a colour mix... but with everything turned up to full and thrown into overdrive! It was a visual disaster but was a perfect match to producer John Nathan-Turner's intentions...
The sixth Doctor's character was also put into overdrive. If Davison's arrival came with a troublesome regeneration that left him weak and unstable, Baker's was marked by irritation and aggression. He was introduced at the end of series 21 and not only was he unpleasant to companion Peri and uncomfortable to watch, his one adventure before the series ended was poor. The fans were left with a bitter taste and would have to wait 10 months to see if it would improve.
When the show returned for series 23, the Doctor had mellowed a little and was more accepting of Peri but there was still an uncertain edginess. Viewing figures were down and BBC management were getting increasingly nervous and announced that the show would be put on an eighteen month hiatus and the existing plan for the 24th series was scrapped despite being partially developed.
When the show returned, it was written as if time had passed and maybe the aborted series had taken place. The Doctor was more friendly and he and Peri were good friends at last. As mentioned, the episodes were back to their regular 25 minutes but with just one extra episode the story telling time was practically halved. In a twist of either genius or desperate irony, the series was structured as a trial. Four stories were told on the basic structure of past/present/future with occasional (frequent) cuts back to the courtroom. The stories were sound enough on the whole but the trial framework made it uncomfortable viewing. Viewing figures plummeted (and would not return until the shows return in 2005), script editor Eric Saward resigned after five years due to unresolvable differences with JNT (during the writing of the series finale) and the BBC pulled the plug... only to back down a few days later...
The details are unclear and it's debatable whether Colin Baker jumped, was pushed or simply fell but the generally understood story is that his contracted had come to an end after three years (rather than three series) since he had received payment during the hiatus. He was asked to come back for a short time to facilitate a regeneration story but declined, thus series 24 was forced to start with a little confusion and Sylvester McCoy in a curly wig and covered in video effects to disguise the fact that he was playing the before as well as the after part of the regeneration.
Colin's Doctor will forever be remembered as the one with ludicrous taste in clothes. The question mark remained on the collar but Davisons cricket inspired flannels were replaced with trousers more akin to Rupert The Bear, the sweater was replaced by flamboyant waistcoats and the pseudo-Victorian overcoat was replaced by a mishmashed patchwork of vivid colours. If you were to try and pin it down, you might suggest it was a cross between Jon Pertwee's dandy flamboyance and Tom Baker's heavy coat with his scarf thrown in for a colour mix... but with everything turned up to full and thrown into overdrive! It was a visual disaster but was a perfect match to producer John Nathan-Turner's intentions...
The sixth Doctor's character was also put into overdrive. If Davison's arrival came with a troublesome regeneration that left him weak and unstable, Baker's was marked by irritation and aggression. He was introduced at the end of series 21 and not only was he unpleasant to companion Peri and uncomfortable to watch, his one adventure before the series ended was poor. The fans were left with a bitter taste and would have to wait 10 months to see if it would improve.
When the show returned for series 23, the Doctor had mellowed a little and was more accepting of Peri but there was still an uncertain edginess. Viewing figures were down and BBC management were getting increasingly nervous and announced that the show would be put on an eighteen month hiatus and the existing plan for the 24th series was scrapped despite being partially developed.
When the show returned, it was written as if time had passed and maybe the aborted series had taken place. The Doctor was more friendly and he and Peri were good friends at last. As mentioned, the episodes were back to their regular 25 minutes but with just one extra episode the story telling time was practically halved. In a twist of either genius or desperate irony, the series was structured as a trial. Four stories were told on the basic structure of past/present/future with occasional (frequent) cuts back to the courtroom. The stories were sound enough on the whole but the trial framework made it uncomfortable viewing. Viewing figures plummeted (and would not return until the shows return in 2005), script editor Eric Saward resigned after five years due to unresolvable differences with JNT (during the writing of the series finale) and the BBC pulled the plug... only to back down a few days later...
The details are unclear and it's debatable whether Colin Baker jumped, was pushed or simply fell but the generally understood story is that his contracted had come to an end after three years (rather than three series) since he had received payment during the hiatus. He was asked to come back for a short time to facilitate a regeneration story but declined, thus series 24 was forced to start with a little confusion and Sylvester McCoy in a curly wig and covered in video effects to disguise the fact that he was playing the before as well as the after part of the regeneration.
