A playlist of videos covering the issues with the BBC and transphobic reporting: kzfaq.info/sun/PLmWFOeT2jEofVIDW9X3OL7GqWuX3Dxopu

Colin had a lot of things stacked against him during this era, but I'd argue there were three main reasons why it didn't work out. Firstly, the producer, John Nathan-Turner, seemed to be trying to please the hardcore fans of the show while neglecting the general audience who felt alienated by his creative decisions (not least of all his decision to give Six that costume). The issues with Baker's run were already there in Davison's era, but I guess people were more forgiving when it came to Five. Secondly, there was the script editor, Eric Saward, who was kind of like what the head writer is in the modern series. He had a very fraught relationship with JNT, and apparently hated the fact that JNT had cast Colin Baker without his input. While I don't know if Saward hated the character of Peri or not, I believe he disliked Six and either made his character unlikable and hostile to her in their stories together or sidelined him from the story altogether as in the first half of Revelation of the Daleks. Thirdly, there was the BBC, in particular then-controller Michael Grade, who made no bones about the fact that he disliked Doctor Who and science fiction in general, and wanted to see it replaced with something like EastEnders. With all this stacked against him, it is no wonder the Sixth Doctor era didn't succeed, and it's a shame that poor Colin got blamed for it. Still, thank God for Big Finish. Also I'd argue that Vengeance on Varos is good, and a better story than Revelation of the Daleks in my opinion.

Knowing that "Dalek" was based on a sixth doctor story makes so much sense.

Colin Baker did nothing wrong. Also I’m so happy Bonnie is part of this new era to rehab Mel’s reputation onscreen. It was very much needed.

Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy all struggled for one big reason- Tom Baker. In the times before internet, it's hard to convey just how big his imprint on the franchise was. It's very similar to how the MCU has struggled since the departure of RDJ as Iron Man. Even without direct comparisons, the shadow looms large. Tom Baker introduced the franchise to most of America. His run was what got picked up by PBS in the early 80s. However most of us watched the show in a vacuum, family watched, and some friends, and we'd talk about it, but fan magazines were in the UK. And even in the UK the tendency to compare any new stuff to the high water mark of the franchise was strong. I don't think audiences were really ready to accept a new Doctor until Sylvester McCoy, and by then the writing had gone completely down the toilet and the show couldn't bring people back even with a genuinely interesting Doctor.

Vengeance on Varos is easily the best 6th Doctor story. It predicted the use of social media.

Vengeance on Varos is a top tier story and stands up well with any of the classic series.

I don't know how up to date you are on Big Finish, but their latest Sixie story (celebrating 40 years of Sixie) The Quin Dilemma very directly confronts the biggest problem with the television era that you (and most) fans had with it. It's glorious, and you absolutely should listen to it! It's a glorious celebration of the entire Sixie era, with four Sixies and two Peris from various points in their timelines. Not only do we get lots of scenes of Sixie and Peri talking about how happy they now are traveling together, but one of the older Sixies directly asks Peri the question we've all been wondering all these years: Why on Earth did she stay with him after how awful he was to her both during and after The Twin Dilemma. It's Big Finish at its finest, addressing Classic Who's shortcomings with very modern sensibilities and modern emotional complexity. And it totally fits with the original plan that they had for the Sixth Doctor's story arc. It allows Sixie to acknowledge and show remorse over the awful way he treated her. But more importantly, it allows Peri to explain to him - and to us - who she chose to stay in the TARDIS and on the show. It could almost be considered a direct response to this review of yours. MAJOR SPOILER WARNING: Basically, it all comes down to the Doctor's "death" and regeneration in Caves of Androzani. After the Doctor sacrificed himself for her, she realized how kind and caring and wonderful he was. From his behavior post-regeneration, she recognized how damaged he had been by the sacrifice, and decided to stay and guide him and help him heal back into the kind, compassionate man she knew him to be. The story makes it clear that her presence did just that. At also allows us to reframe all those fights in the TARDIS throughout season 22 as Peri trying to nudge the Doctor back to his true self. We also get some backstory as to Peri's recent backstory and headspace before and during Planet of Fire to make it all work. It's glorious! As a wonderful bonus, the story gives us the definitive (at least as far as Big Finish is concerned) timeline of Sixie and his various companions through all connected media.

I was there at the time. The choking wasn't really considered because the fandom of the era was a real boy's club. No, we were years deep into our JNT hate. The hate Moff and Chibs got? Nothing comparatively. That's where we laid the blame for every flaw in the show's declining years. We still do.

Colin Baker was someone who was, unfortunately, at the wrong place at the wrong time. Colin Baker is a great choice and he had the potential to be one of the greats, but he was let down by clashing showrunners (JNT responsible for THAT outfit which Colin hated, and Eric Saward who felt Colin was a bad choice from the start) and new incompetent BBC management that hated Doctor Who and science fiction in general. Funnily enough, both Vengeance on Varos and Revelation of the Daleks were among the first Doctor Who stories I ever watched and both stories got me excited to see what the rest of his era was like. Unfortunately, they ended up being the only two good stories of his run!

Big Finish was Colin's way of getting the run as the Doctor he deserved.

Some great Big Finish recommendations! Another great recommendation is Peri and the Piscon Paradox, which - strangely in what's otherwise a hilarious romp - really actively addresses the trauma that Peri has faced directly from the Doctor. In fact, pretty much any story featuring Peri that is written by Nev Fountain - Peri actress Nicola Bryant's real life partner - completely nails the character and is a great recommendation! One of the things that makes the Big Finish 6th Doctor Era with Evelyn so great is that she gets the character arc that Peri should have gotten. The series directly addresses the trauma that Evelyn experiences - not from the Doctor directly (as with Peri), but from the experiences that the Doctor puts Evelyn in, having her experience the deaths of so many people she cares about throughout time and space. It's one of the best runs of Doctor Who stories in any medium. RIP the beloved Maggie Stables!

When they started doing 45 minute episodes, the Australian broadcaster of Who (ABC) recut all the episodes to fit into the 25 minute slots they already had for it, leading to "cliffhangers" in the middle of scenes.

If you think they hated Peri, wait until you hear about how they treated Nickola Bryant. She was originally supposed to be in that really awkward Doctor Who crossover with Jim'll Fix It, but she was sidelined by JNT in favour of Janet Fielding because Nickola didn't want to do a pantomime tour that a lot of other cast members of DW were doing, she didn't want to do that whilst doing Doctor Who, so JNT tried to fuck with her career (even though he ended up doing her a favour)

Something else that played a role in the problems with that era was the then Director General of the BBC, John Birt. He was responsible for the lengthy hiatus of Doctor Who, the sacking of Colin Baker, the changing of episode lengths as well as broadcast days, and ultimately the cancelling of classic DW. He didn't like Doctor Who, and much of the changes that happened during the Sixth Doctor era was people trying to appease Birt and stop him from cancelling it. He was also the one responsible for cancelling of The Tripods. It had run for two series, and was much loved by fans. The third series (the final of the trilogy) was ready to be filmed... and he cancelled it.

Hoooboy, the 6th Doctor/Peri-dynamic. When I revisited the S22 stories in order for the first time in a long while thanks to the BluRay set, I was shocked at uncomfortable they were to watch. The character of Peri always felt like a traumatized daughter who couldn't escape her abusive father, and there were moments that had me wonder how they were ever allowed to make it to the screen, let alone on a scriptpage. However, I mostly blame Saward for how messy these seasons are. He was out of his depth in making JNT's vision for the show to work, and whatever the interview is you always get the impression of a guy who didn't want to be there. There was this story that Cartmel once told about taking over Saward's chair. When he moved into his office he found a stash of empty whisky bottles in the drawers. If you take that into account and look at how the seasons that he worked on got progressively worse (if not downright misguided) over the years, it makes a lot of sense why the Colin Baker years turned out the way they did.

It definitely seems like Peri is in an abusive relationship with Baker’s Doctor. It’s like she got involved with a pleasant, charming man who suddenly transformed into someone completely different and hostile. She feels obligated to stay with him because she remembers the man he once was. Whenever Peri suggests that the Doctor slow down or calm down or suggest he’s not “fully recovered” from his recent regeneration, it reads like an abused partner trying to reason with an addict or someone with an untreated mental illness that’s made them a threat to themselves and others. We never actually see a companion *choose* to travel with Baker’s Doctor. (Mel is a timey wimey situation.) I thought it really helped Capaldi’s Doctor that we saw him build that relationship (on his own) with Nardole and Bill. During the First and Second Doctor eras, the companions were often “stuck’ with the Doctor who couldn’t reliably control where the TARDIS landed. Peri could’ve walked away as soon as “Attack of the Cybermen,” which I believe takes place on then present-day London. There’s never a good reason why she continues to stay with him.

I agree, as bad as the strangle moment is it's not the turning point, it's just the easy go-to point. I was there at the time and I've always put that down to the Doctor's post regen trauma. I'd never thought about the writers despising Peri but you could be right, she certainly goes through more than other companions and it would explain why it continues through her run, not just the first story.

...Oh my gosh though. "The writers hated Peri" does put so much into perspective for the tone shift.

What might of contributed to it was the rivalry between Seward, and JNT, and also how JNT, and probably others treated Nicola Bryant. I feel bad for her, and Peri.

I actually really like the 6th Dr. It saddens me that it was a production, writing, and direction mess for his era.

I agree that the problem with Six is not just the strangle scene; it's the relationship that continued on afterward. I grew up on Doctor Who on PBS in the very early 1980s. Four was my doctor. As a kid, I looked up to him as a fatherly figure, and as a girl, I identified with companions like Sarah Jane and Nyssa. When Six acted as he did to Peri, it not only felt abusive, it felt personal. It felt like a parental figure was looking at you with distain. It was soul crushing. Yes, the Doctor can be harsh and dark and get angry, but usually that anger is directed outward toward an enemy. If it's directed toward a companion, it's usually because they've done (or contemplated) something morally wrong. Peri was a whiney "American" teenager. But you know what? So was I! It hurt to have a character I had admired for so long act so crappy to an audience surrogate that was so much like me and for no good reason.

The 6th Doctor's era is genuinely one of my favorites of the entire show ever. I have no idea why people hate on it so much. I don't think it failed at all, I think people just didn't get what it was going for and were too quick to judge it by its cover despite it being pretty clear that they were attempting a slow burn character arc for the 6th Doctor where he develops from a more detached and alien Doctor into a more humane and emotionally vulnerable one just like the 1st Doctor. I never had problems with the more outlandish costume and melodramatic erratic nature of 6. This show is supposed to follow an alien from another planet who flies through space and time in a police box from the 60s, it makes sense the Doctor isn't exactly socially acceptable or normal and that he doesn't feel rational to us. This whole show has a bizarre premise, so why complain about it when it embraces that? I've seen all of Classic Who in chronological order from start to finish, and let me tell you, the 6th Doctor was such a breath of fresh air after 5 and his relatively gritty era. Doctor Who really needed more color and wackiness and life injected into it after years of downbeat companion and Doctor departures and overall grittiness, and the character of the Doctor needed to be dangerous and unpredictable again after the much softer, mundane and human 5. The 6th Doctor's era took risks and for me they paid off big time. I was far more invested in seeing whatever bizarre things 6 would get up to next, because he was so chaotic and off at first. The creative decision worked for me. The Twin Dilemma is hated for some reason, but to me it is a ton of fun as a post-regeneration story. I like to see the main characters reacting to the chaos that ensues from a regeneration gone wrong and come out stronger after surviving it all. I think Peri and 6 really bond through their rough start together, and I think it becomes clear that they truly care for each other underneath the quarreling old married couple act they establish in that story. Thanks to stories like that I really grew to love 6 and Peri together, despite not originally liking Peri much at all when she was introduced as a completely paper thin character. Attack of the Cybermen experimented with the TARDIS in fun ways and we got a darker look at the Cybermen than usual in that story, Vengeance on Varos and Revelation of the Daleks are absolute classics, The Two Doctors is a lot of fun, and in my opinion Trial of a Time Lord is very satisfying and entertaining throughout except for the messy final episode, which fails to motivate the villain properly and undoes a tragic event from the season which in my opinion was one of the most emotionally investing turns in the whole show up to that point. To me besides that writing mishap there is only one thing in this era that is a big mistake in my eyes, and that is the fact 6 never got a proper regeneration story, because Colin is definitely up there with the best Doctors and deserved it. I just felt very cheated because I could not say goodbye to his Doctor properly and 7 replaced him in a way that felt like they took a massive shit on Colin and just tried to erase his Doctor from existence and pretend like he was the fault for the show not doing so well, which isn't true in the slightest. Colin is a far better Doctor than a lot of them, I'd actually go so far as to rank him in the top 5 easily. Honestly I think the show had just become inaccessible for the casual viewer after going on for so long, and maybe it was out of touch with the times in some ways when it comes to the production values and the all over the place vibe it gave off, which you could easily mistake for being tasteless and without depth or talent. I just don't think many people who complain about the 6th Doctor's era have even seen the stories or the era at all, or seen it in chronological order after watching the previous eras first so that they could even have an informed opinion on it in context of the whole show. If you compare the quality of the show with 6 to the latter half of the 4th Doctor's era for example, I would much rather watch 6 than that boring mediocrity and I'm pretty sure quite a lot of people would do the same if they had gone through the show in chronological order and experienced stories after stories of forgettable bland tv in seasons 15-17. The only story of 6 that I actively dislike is The Mark of the Rani. One bad apple doesn't bring a whole era down, not even close. 6 is a great Doctor and his era rocks. There. I said it.

13th Doctor: To the Doctor Cave! *enters her tardis*

Never been a fan of Colin, but I was really surprised by just how good Vengeance on Varos was when I watched it sitting a 'best of each Doctor' run. It does exactly what you recommend and gives him a setting and story where his darker edge really works. I'd rate it above a lot of Tom's episodes

Colin is my favorite Doctor, Grade shafted him. Love his Big Finish stuff, especially with Evelyn!

I disagree with the idea that it "failed", it's a mostly OK era elevated by one of the most interesting Doctors, I feel people are often a little to harsh on his era and throw unfair absolute statements at it. I take some issues with 6 and Peri's dynamic, however there are some moments of hope and kindness between them which I feel often get overlooked, and on the flip side Mel helps in bringing out a more endearing side to 6 where he's more loveably grumpy. I'd say it's biggest issue is a lack of commitment to the story/character arc they set for the Doctor there are hints here and there in s22, and Trial of a Timelord was great in terms of having 6 face the consequences of his actions, setting him on the path for growth, however the higher ups messing around behind the scenes meant his era was cut short. It's thankfully less of an issue given how Big Finish picked it up and finished the 6th Doctor's journey, which thanks to RTD is canon, or at least the Evelyn stories are.

Speaking as a former child, I agree with this Council of Geeks assessment. In fact, it is surprisingly perceptive. The fans were rooting for Colin at the time, as he had shown great commitment to the show and had expressed a desire to do a long run, if possible, as opposed to the three years that Peter Davison, for example, had put in (on Patrick Troughton's advice, about typecasting). However, 6 was let down by the writers and the show runner, and faced the (now well-known) hostility of the BBC rent-a-toffs. I have to say that the quality of the writing had started to decline half-way through Tom Baker's era, with Douglas Adams' humour turning out badly on screen and Tom's flippant attitude getting out of hand. Boring stories started to appear in excessive numbers (a lot of them taking place in quasi-mediaeval courts. "Oh no! Not another one!"), and, although there was something of a sci-fi lift during 5's era, JNT and his writers dropped the ball again, and it went bouncing down the stairs into the privy. Technically speaking, Grade was right to say that the show had "lost its magic" - but it was his responsibility to sort it out and improve it, not starve it of support and resources until his own prejudices came true like a self-fulfilling prophecy. He should have sacked himself, and John Birt, in turn, should have reconstructed himself. I have said it before: Colin Baker represented a lost opportunity - we were robbed.

I watched Doctor Who back in the 80s and though I respected Colin Baker as an actor I felt at the time that the BBC were actively sabotaging the show with the abrasive personality of the Doctor.

What went wrong with the sixth doctor’s era? Eric Saward. He was a great script editor for Davison’s era but it’s clear he dropped the ball here. He hated Colin Baker’s casting and it really hindered his abilities. For example he kept the doctor out of the story he wrote, Revelation of the Daleks. It’s interesting to think about what you’re saying here where that hatred could’ve also bled over into a hatred of Peri, which isn’t something I’d considered before. A lot of the writers who worked under Saward struggled to figure out the 45 minute format and still tried to format the first part like a regular 25 minute episode which led to a lot of padding, and everyone’s first thought was apparently throwing in a scene of the Doctor and Peri arguing in the Tardis. The writers clearly needed a bit more guidance and Saward really should’ve stopped that padding from being so repetitive. Meanwhile Saward had a massive reverence for Robert Holmes (the script editor and main writer for the first 3 Tom Baker seasons) which also caused issues. Saward seemed to think the violence is what made Holmes’ seasons so great which is why the violence is so over the top in this era. That Reverence for Holmes also caused a ton of issues for the sixth Doctor’s final episode when he pulled it last minute over a disagreement about the ending with the producer. Saward’s dramatic exit from the show which he made very public at the time airing his grievances with everyone involved, didn’t help things for the show either. If he really hated Baker’s casting as much as he apparently did, then he shouldn’t have stayed on. Yes it sounds like JNT was a bad person to work with and it’s JNT’s fault the costume was so bad. Yes the BBC left the show with a very limited budget which caused problems. It’s not all Saward by any stretch of the imagination but I can’t imagine how much better things would’ve been with a script editor who actually liked his main character.

6's dynamic w Peri is very like the first Dr's attitude in season 1 & maybe season 2. If it was done better, it could have been hailed as a throwback. I always think of 6 as a return of 1 through the fires of that specific near-death regeneration. Love 6. He works for me! Sorry, I even like the coat & pin 😸

A small American anecdote: my older brother (about five years older than our host) used to get episodes VHS taped off of PBS from a college of my Dad's who worked in a different state--our local PBS station didn't run Doctor Who. And the PBS station in that other state didn't order the full season. With the way that old Doctor Who episodes used to be relatively stand-alone in 2-4-6 episode batches, that normally worked reasonably. But along comes Trial of a Timelord, and the plan of not buying a whole season didn't work out that great. Or maybe that's not quite right, and it was our local PBS which didn't get all the episodes, hence tapes from somewhere else to fill in gaps. But the core remains: at least one PBS station didn't order whole seasons. And if stuff like airing out of order hurt various more modern sci-fi shows, it'd hurt here, too. Probably only a single straw in a large pile, but proverbially stuff like that matters.

For me I really liked Colin Baker's overall vibe as The Doctor, bit of a precursor to Time Lord Victorious in a lot of ways especially when we learn about The Valeyard and the vibes we get of the Doctor's darkness that we see in the New Who seasons more fleshed out. If his first season had been Trial of a Time Lord following his regeneration then it would have changed the overall perception of him. Going from him being this insufferable egotist to having to face his worst actions in that incarnation and then growing as a result would have probably made him quite beloved.

I was watching Dr Who on late Friday nights on PBS, in the 80s, and completely noped out on the show at the scene where he attacked Peri. Didn't watch the sixth doctor again until a complete rewatch to get ready for the 50th anniversary, and actually enjoyed the darkness and attempt at more serious themes in the 22nd season.

It also didn't help that it came at a time the BBC, under Michael Grade and then his protégé hated Doctor Who and wanted it gone. Thats what led to the hiatus between Colin Baker's 1st series and Trial of a Timelord. Then Jonathon Nathan-Turner was given the job of sacking Colin, with the promise that he would be free to leave Doctor Who himself to pursue other projects. He sacked Colin over the phone then the BBC went back on the deal and insister that Nathan-Turner had to stay. Finally the BBC bought the axe down on BBC... Even then not officially. They kept giving vague promises of an animated series of a co-production with an American studio, which eventually led to the McGann TV movie.

Looking forward to learning about this. Only story I saw was Trial of a Timelord Was married to a British guy who was the one who introduced me to doctor who at the start of Matt's run. He wasn't a fan of Colin's run.

When John Nathan-Turner took over as producer, you had a lot of companions introduced for a Doctor who regenerated a couple of stories later… Adric and Nyssa were truly designed to work opposite Tom Baker’s Doctor… an older mentor figure… and then you bring in Peter Davison. Nyssa kind of worked with Davison, but Adric needed that older mentor figure. Peri was meant to work with Davison… and then they regenerate him at the end of her second story into Colin Baker… and those two did not work together. Melanie Bush suffered from the same issue with Sylvester McCoy. Turlough and Ace worked with their respective Doctors because that is for whom they were designed. Sadly, Clara Oswald suffered from this in the revived series… but I think it was more that she overstayed her welcome. As for what went wrong with Colin’s time overall… I refer to it as a severe case of Bad Scriptitis. The writers did not help him at all. His best stories were written by veteran writer Robert Holmes, and Colin personally liked “Vengeance on Varos” as well (his comment to me at Dragon Con several years ago). Much of this was due to restrictions placed on JNT by the BBC in the form of budget cuts and directives that he get new writers.

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of this era itself, but I do like Colin as a person and the Sixth Doctor in isolation. He gives me shades of what 1-5, 8-14 could be if they weren’t reigned in (I didn’t include 7 because he could be similar to 6 at times) Attack of the Cybermen is my favourite, due to sometimes liking the show going past it’s intended audience. As for Peri and Mel, the 60th redeemed Mel for me. She was similar to Victoria from the Troughton era - a non-stop screamer, in my opinion. Peri (similar to the Season 19 version of Tegan and Ryan during 13’s run) doesn’t feel like she belongs in the show. I feel sorry for Colin, Nicola and and Bonnie. They could’ve been given great script or better directors, but JNT or the BBC at the time probably said “F-ck it, we’re not successful anymore. So we might as well let it die and put the blame on someone else”. I would love to listen to Big Finish, but I’m not great at visioning audio and my attention span for reading isn’t what it use to be, so sadly I won’t be reading the comics anytime soon.

The pairing of six and Evelyn was an absolute masterstroke. I'll be honest I always liked Colin baker even before big finish. It's very disheartening to see how he was done dirty

It's really a shame Colin's doctor didn't have a good series. He's a fantastic actor in my opinion, and he's one of the best champions for Doctor who in his later years.

Wasn't there also something with the head of BBC at the time? He really hated the show, wanted it gone, while also going out with Colin ex wife at the time?

I saw it as a kid on BBC 1. And the attack on Peri scene was quite shocking for dinner time (tea time) television in early 80s UK. (Additional: there was no writers room on Doctor Who, just commissioned writers and a permanent script editor, who was at the time, Eric Saward. The violence in 80s Who was generally down to him).

The Batman of Doctor Who, nice analogy

heeeey neat, The Holy Terror is on Spotify There are still two or three of Six's TV stories that I genuinely like, Vengeance on Varos being the big one... and there was one part of the Trial storyline that came very very close for me, but they, as I sometimes say, forgot about the part of storytelling where you actually tell the story. :) Either way that's not nearly as many "favourites" as I have for any of the other Doctors. I've only really dipped my claw in the audio stuff so far but now that I've got your recommendation and... well, no excuse :D I'm gonna have to make some time for that.

I regret not chatting with Colin Baker at Gallifrey One 30. He was sitting by himself across from a dealer table where I bought a few books. I could’ve just walked up and said “How’re you, are you enjoying your trip?” but I wasn’t expecting the opportunity and had no idea what to say. I later enjoyed Big Finish “Jubilee” and have realized that the success of Doctor Who does not come down to the actor but also writers and producers. I wish I could go back in time and have that friendly chat.

Is this the first time the Doctor gets scary? Could it be that he doesn’t know how to turn it off

Thank you! Everyone else seems to love Robot, sometimes even claiming it as one of Tom Baker's best, but I couldn't stand it. I wanted to just turn it off, I was cringing so hard. The only parts I liked were when the Doctor was doing something funny or witty. This was a great analysis of the 6th Doctor's era, and explains a lot of the things that had been confusing me, so, thank you for that!

I'd also put forward Mysterious Planet as probably 6 at his best, at least as best as he was on TV. It's not great, but it's the only time on TV where 6 and Peri's dynamic really works. There's this great moment where Peri discovers that they have landed in a post-apocalyptic London, and Peri is clearly upset by this. You can tell the Doctor realizes that she is upset and tries to comfort her, but can't really understand why she is upset and doesn't quite know how to comfort her. It is a rare moment where you can see where they're going for with a more alien, distant abrasive Doctor and it actually works, because he is still caring and compassionate. I feel like if there were more moments like that, the 6th Doctor era would've been a lot better. Still mostly an average episode at the end of the day, though. I probably would not find it remarkable if it was in literally any other era.

I dont think the writers hated Peri, I think its that Eric Seward took all the wrong lessons from the success of The Caves of Androzani, a story in which she suffers a lot whilst in a situation which is out of her control and being leered at by the villain of the story, so Seward decided to do that over and over again. And the Peri issue isnt the only wrong lesson he took from that story, he just didnt understand that The Caves of Androzani was the sort of story that you can only really do once.

I am endlessly grateful to Big Finish for making me completely rethink my opinion on the Sixth Doctor and Colin Baker. If someone asked me before I've listened to his first audiostory, who was my least favorite Doctor, I would've said Sixth without missing a beat. Now he is one of my most favorites, and his pairing with Constance Clarke is one of the best TARDIS dream teams I've ever seen in Doctor Who. The show was really spiraling after Davidson left, and didn't complement Colin Baker's acting capabilities, and it's sad. I am so glad he was given another chance.

Great video. I always felt bad with his doctor. I do want to look into big finish, the recommendations you said I do want to hear. I can understand trying and experimenting, but it's the execution that can be a challenge. I do like that speech he gives too

To me, I always recommend the 6th Doctor's run like this -- Vengeance on Varos, Revelation of the Daleks, Trial of a Time Lord -- Evelyn Smyth audio stories, + Wrong Doctors, + *_Trial of the Valeyard_* (very important inclusion) -- Charley Pollard audio stories -- Flip audio stories, + The Widow's Assassin, + Flip and Constance stories -- Mel audio stories, _ending with Thicker Than Water_ (very important point) -- The Last Adventure boxset Because to me, the arc they were _GOING_ for was that this Doctor had the potential to go down a very dark path that would lead to him eventually becoming something born of his worst potential like the Valeyard (who was intended to come back as a re-occurring villain), which the Doctor averts by choosing to be the best of himself instead. That arc was never resolved due to Baker's firing, and therefore that doesn't come across in execution. JNT was definitely terrible at beginning stories, but I also think he was GREAT at endings. Take Logopolis, Caves of Androzani, and Survival. I think if he'd actually been able to finish Baker's run on TV as intended, we might not even necessarily look at his treatment of Peri as disdainful a creative decision as we do now (though I fully agree it doesn't work as intended in execution) because we'd see it as the initial "bookend" to which we'd be comparing his subsequent character-growth. I think the Big Finish run they gave him definitely completes that arc a lot better, especially in a story like "The Wrong Doctors" where you can literally compare two different points in his timeline and how he's evolved since then. In terms of how they execute the Valeyard concept (SPOILERS for "The Last Adventure") -he's essentially revealed to be an alternate timeline 7th Doctor, but before 6 can regenerate into him he sends a telepathic message back to his earlier self that causes him to regenerate sooner, thereby averting his regeneration into the Valeyard- (END OF SPOILERS). So essentially 6's arc goes from being the most self-absorbed Doctor to the most selfless, literally willing to sacrifice his own life to prevent a potentially negative outcome for others as a result of his actions. I think they were really trying to capture Hartnell's arc in that sense, in that he doesn't begin as the Doctor we all know and love but gradually becomes that character over the course of his character evolution.

Thank you for the video, Vera! My knowledge about the classic era of the Doctor Who TV series is superficial. The big challenge when introducing a new incarnation of the Doctor is to establish their character. It cannot be only about their physical appearance and, by extension, their costume and actor. The viewers must have a firm grasp of who that incarnation is, regardless if that will take some time to happen or they will go through a character arc, and the viewers also must care for them. Considering how media works, such as serial television, are group efforts, my opinion is everybody involved on them are responsible for their successes and failures (despite some professionals being deserved of taking more praise or blame). So Colin Baker also deserves some blame for the quality of the Sixth Doctor's era. However, the supposed drama behind the scenes and Baker having a bad experience during the production probably explain a lot why this era is so ill-regarded by most viewers. Usually, you cannot create something good under bad work conditions. And when the final product still ends being good despite these conditions, it is the exception rather than the rule.

The 6th Doctor was good..Just Bad TV stories ..But the his BF audios have really been AWESOME!!!

"You thought the Chibnall era was rough..." Ummm... no, but I won't tell anyone they're wrong for disliking it for legitimate reasons. Like you! You disagree with me but I'm not about to say you're wrong. It's an opinion. Unless they're based on ACTUAL facts and not subjective art then they CAN'T be wrong lol.

Great commentary. With each rewatch, Peri is scared and ignored. The fifth Doctor feels responsible for her almost dying, and he sacrifices an incarnation save her. And it feels like the sixth Doctor holds ithe sacrifice against her. The Two Doctors adventure holds a place in my heart because the inclusion of Jamie displays the use of a second companion, and one of Jamie’s. Ali dr and acceptance of the Doctor’s other worldliness, helps to balance out the relationship within Peri. She needed some help,manthis Doctor. Part of the problem may have been the stereotypical damsel role of the classic companion compared to the more proactive and ground holding companions that were emerging. These types would take Sarah, Tegan, and others notches above what was seen before. The companion helps the audience accept the Doctor, but Peri does not accept as much as suffers this Doctor. And. Thus, the audience is left to do the same. This Doctor was set up for an evolution which the Powers That Be failed to see through. This also left a bad impression.

19:19 "They were experimenting too many things at once. They were already getting experimental with the dynamic between the Doctor and the companion, but then they were also getting experimental with the format." This right here is why Chibnall's era also failed. They got experimental by cramming an entire "Fam" into the TARDIS, and they got experimental with the format by turning the first series and a half of Jodie's run into monster-of-the-week with very little overarching storyline and very few established villains. And as much as I wish the Doctor being portrayed by someone other than a cis white male weren't experimental, we can throw that onto the pile too, particulalry for the historicals like Rosa and Witchfinders where her gender ended up hampering her ability to do the whole standard Doctor take-charge thing. Too many experiments at once, just like with Colin.

Hiya . x I'm loving your videos. I remember when the 5th doctor regenerated into the 6th ( 1985, I was a ten yr old and I started watching during the 4th doctors era) and this was when I started to lose interest. However I've been rewatching again , now as a 49 yr old - yikes !! - and I have to say I'm starting to really see what he was all about. As an actor he is superb and although some of the era could have been handled a little more carefully as a whole it is definitely worth watching ( again ) xxx

An excellent analysis of the Sixth Doctor and their era. Very well done, thank you. The only piece of their puzzle that I feel you skipped in your analysis is a bit about how you felt their relationship with Mel compared and contrasted to the rest of what you discussed.

So, in a recent Big Finish behind the scenes (The Quin Dilemma) Colin Baker mentioned a plan for his Doctor to start out abrasive and mellow out over his run, but it couldn't play out because the BBC weren't willing to wait. I'm not entirely sure if that plan was something he personally wanted for the show or if that was the actual intent of the writers at the time, but whichever it was, I'm really glad that Big Finish has given him that.

The 6th Doctors era has always been one of my favourites genuinely the only stories I do not care for are The Twin Dilemma(it's not as bad as some folk say it's just meh especially after such a great story like Caves, I also loved damn near all of 5s era) and The Vervoids, it's boring & confusing Underrated era imo

I quite enjoy that Colin Baker himself acknowledges how bad his era was. There's a clip floating around from a convention a few years ago where a panel of Doctor actors were asked which other Doctor they'd like to see do one of their stories, and Colin Baker said he'd like to see David Tennant do any of his scripts because "that'll wipe the smile off his face". XD

Best 6th Doctor episode is Vengeance on Varos. I've only watched it once, but could see myself giving it another viewing at some point. I wouldn't rewatch anything else from the era.

I feel a large problem with seasons 22 and 23 was Eric Saward. Not only him but the conflict between Saward and Turner. From everything I've heard, Eric Saward didn't really get the ethos of Doctor Who.

Colin Baker's time on TV as the doctor is a wild ride, full of interesting but undeveloped/wasted potential and some heavily bad writing, but he is my favorite Doctor and I just love how Big Finish gave him some kind of redemption. So just imagine my surprise when Colin Baker came back in 'The power of the doctor'.

It’s actually quite rare for The Doctor to regenerate in the final episode of a season, with 3,4, and 9 technically being the only ones to do so. 1 and 5,both regenerate before the end of their respective final seasons, 6 regenerates at the start of 7’s first season, 2 doesn’t actually regenerate on screen at the end of his final story (and if you go with the Season 6b continuity, that isn’t even the point at which he regenerates), and all the other doctors regenerate (or bigenerate) in standalone episodes.

The 6th Doctor era is the only era of classic who I’ve currently seen in its entirety and idk I actually quite liked most of it.

I always had a soft spot for 6, because he reminds me a bit of 1 - crabby and didn't really like people, but liked butting into other's business and "fixing" things, My fav story is actually The Mysterious Planet, but you are right none of them are great representations of what 6 could be. Before the Internet became what it is now, somebody posted many of the DWMag comics on a page. That created my love of 6,

Revelation I enjoy a lot as an early Dr-lite episode filled with other interesting characters. But agree that sometimes trying too many things at once leads to a mess

A few other 6th Doctor Big Finish recommendations from a HUGE 6th Doctor fan (thanks to Big Finish). These picks run the breadth of his various companions throughout his tenure to date, range in tone from purely comical to horrifically unsettling. In my opinion these, along with essay was recommended in the video, really gives you a great feel as to WHO the 6th Doctor is as a person. The best of him, the worst of him and everything between. And there's even more than this, but I wanted to try and not put too many. But these are some of my favorites. The Nowhere Place The One Doctor Project Twilight ...ish The Sandman Medicinal Purposes The Song of Megaptera The Wrong Doctors The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Water Worlds Out of Time 3: Wink

When I was first getting in to doctor who I was trying to get a feel for each individual incarnation of the Doctor and I read something online similar to what you've said but more to the effect of The concept of a darker incarnation of the Doctor is something that can be done well, look at the early days of Peter Capaldi's era, but the Sixth Doctor's TV era fails to answer a simple question: why anyone would want to travel with someone like that

It's strange, but wonderful at the same time, to find so many differing views of Doctor Who. Colin Baker was, for me, a marvelous Doctor on screen. Only stories I haven't watched of his yet are The Twin Dilemma and Timelash. I've lost count of the number of times I've rewatched Trial of a Time Lord - it was my comfort viewing for a long time, and one of the first stories I ever got on VHS back in the '90s as a teenager. I think part of why I don't have the same negative opinion of Colin's era as a lot of fandom is that I got into Doctor Who in such a piecemeal way - I saw the first and last episode from each Doctor's era on a PBS pledge drive in the summer between 8th and 9th grade, and I had no expectations. I'd tuned in to watch my older "friends" from the local Starfleet chapter man the phone bank, since I wasn't allowed to go up to West Palm Beach with them as a 14 year old (they ran the local Trek convention at the Broward Community College library every year, and I volunteered with some of my friends from school). So I saw episode 1 of An Unearthly Child followed by episode 10 of The War Games, then episode 1 of Spearhead from Space, episode 6 of Planet of the Spiders, etc. And my parents made me turn the channel at the end of episode 1 of Castrovalva, so I had to wait to find out about the others when the full stories aired later on. I had no idea of continuity, no idea of who the characters were, but I was mesmerized. So when the two stories PBS aired from Colin's era, Vengeance on Varos and Attack of the Cybermen, I had no clue of context. They weren't shown in "Doctor order", except that they'd aired Tomb of the Cybermen sometime before Attack, so I saw that it was meant to be a sequel. I didn't see the kind of abusive nature of the relationship people describe between the Doctor and Peri. I saw two friends who traveled together even though they didn't always agree on how to proceed, and I saw a Doctor who thought Peri could handle herself. That was almost exactly 30 years ago. In that time, I've watched nearly all of Colin's stories, learned the behind the scenes issues, met an actor who worked on The Two Doctors (the late Clinton Greyne, the very tall Sontaran, and my tour guide on my high school drama class's trip to England), read novels featuring the 6th Doctor and Peri (mostly the Virgin Publishing Missing Adventures from the 90s), and rewatched Trial so many times I can practically quote it if someone starts a line. Colin and Nicola were such good friends off-screen, I learned, and I know that influenced how I saw things. And how I still do. I haven't had the opportunity to listen to Colin's Big Finish stories, but he's still one of my favorite Doctors. And nothing I remember seeing, even in the most violent episodes, ever made me afraid of the 6th Doctor. Not the way I was of the Time Lord Victorious. I would watch/rewatch ANY of Colin's stories over rewatching the Waters of Mars. All that said, Colin got a raw deal from all the behind the scenes issues - Michael Grade, JN-T wanting to pass the show to a new producer and not being allowed to, the 18-month hiatus, Saward being at odds with JN-T, etc. But I never thought that colored his performance. He did the best with what he had, and while it might not be for everyone, his stuff is up there for me. And now I want to do a watch-through of all his stories.

Interesting! The only Sixth doctor media I actually interacted with was a choose your own adventure-style novel. Wasn’t sure what to make of it back then.

These are some good points, especially the one about Peri being written in such a way. I *was* around at the time (still a young kid) and I can't say for sure whether I was just getting older (3 years is a very long time at a child age) or whether what I felt was objectively true at the time, but the feel around Dr Who had become one of great negativity. BBC itself seeming to run hit pieces on it being very outdated, highlighting rickety sets and so forth. Previously I had been the child engrossed by the Myrka and that whole Peter Davison story (no word of a lie, I found all of that incredible at the time!). Also there seemed to be a whole fashion during Colin Baker's run that everyone insisted the show had been cancelled and it was off air before coming back for the Trial of a Timelord season. From the bits I have seen since, it seems this was the case and only the JNT campaigning of the time saved it. Once again I can't say for sure whether my being a bit older made me aware of certain things or not (or whether the negativity towards the show being put out in the press and tv had sunk into my head), but the show suddenly felt very cheap and downscaled. Remember Im used to a Tardis packed full of characters, and sure it downsized a little, but now there was just the Doctor and one other person, and they didnt seem to go to lots of different rooms. And they seemed to re-use the opening credit scene and colour it in just a bit more (reading Dr Who annuals and seeing stills of the previous Doctors opening credits was a joy in years before), so it felt like much of the enthusiasm and goodwill towards the show just wasn't there - plus the cheaper feel and low effort stories, and less companions and so on. Most people of my age had indeed written the show off, or repeated negative comments that had been circulating on tv and in the news. Maybe one or two of us in class watched the show and would speak, or borrow the novels from the library etc. People didn't even seem bothered when there was a dalek story (contrasting to before when it was a HUGE event for everyone if they knew the daleks would be in the show!) For what its worth I did enjoy Colin Baker's portrayal of the Doctor, and as you have pointed out, the whole strangling Peri never had any impact on me at all, I dont think I even remembered it at the time. Im pretty sure I would have written it off as "oh yes the doctor is a bit odd until he settles down after a regeneration" - as I had seen that in Davisons era. Peri's "death" really shocked me (even with it retconned at the end of the season), and I always remember feeling quite proud that they filmed the end of the trial parts in my City at some of the pottery locations - so it had that special feel for me. Thanks for the video its been great to see your take on it all

I like the idea of this video, but I’d still like to see you rank them (like with Eccleson). You could flip it like you’ve done in other videos and have it as more of a worst ranking. I really hope you do this with the 3rd Doctor as he has always been my favourite classic Doctor, and is always great in the episodes he is in.

Revelation of the Daleks is a great story - for the wonderful supporting cast, probably more than the main two

I feel that Colin and Sly were two great choices for the Doctor in terms of what the show runners wanted to accomplish with the character, but circumstances and botching of the execution gave us a very different outcome than what was intended. McCoy has ended up being one of my favorite Doctors, but overall, the post-Davison eras are a great tragedy because we now know what could have been.

I saw the Colin Baker era in the US not long after its initial UK showing. What was crazy was that the station I was watching it on was running the Hartnell and Troughton stories (that existed at that time) primarily with a Colin Baker story thrown in once a month or so. And, as I'd only discovered the show the year before, it made it hard for me to follow what was going on. That aside... I said at the time in a song that I wrote to the melody of "Auld Lang Syne" "So season twenty-two began, and there could be no doubt/The writing had declined and Peri's welcome had worn out." Sums it up pretty well, don't you think? But I never gave a thought to *why* that might be. Guess I owe you one for clearing that up--or at least explaining why it *might* have been so.

I have a Doctor Who companion guide that, in the review of the Peter Davison story 'Planet of fire' kind of sums up the 6th Doctor's era. It calls 'Planet of Fire' "The kind of average story that Doctor Who would suddenly, disastrously, forget how to make." And they're right. With the exception of Vengeance on Varos (with a good story but over violent and wooden acting from Jason Connery ) and The Dalek story (again, very violent and the Doctor's not really needed), every tale in his first season is a low scorer. (And the Two Doctors is over padded)

It's essentially the same thing as both Smith and Capaldi's eras

Did you ever read the fanmade webcomic "The Ten Doctors" ? I think it came out before season 4 of New Who, probably during season 3 as I've read Time Crash hadn't aired yet when they had 10's reaction to meeting 5. It stars (as the name suggests) all ten known Doctors, and most of their companions, and is set (from 10 and the show's perspective) right before "Smith and Jones"

For me one of Colin Baker's greatest Doctor Who moments wasn't from the show at all and was rather in the "More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS" documentary from back in the 90s. In that documentary he is asked about the nature of the Doctor and he says something to the effect that as an advanced alien the Doctor does what is "right" rather than what is "nice" or "pretty". He also kind of said something kind of similar back in "The Twin Dilemma", IIRC. It's not always strictly true of course, but it's as good a description of the Doctor as I've ever seen. It kind of reminds me of the saying regarding the difference between "nice guys" and "good men"; that nice guys aren't always good and good men aren't always nice. I'm sure I am massively paraphrasing Colin's quote. I no longer have the documentary and can't track down the relevant clip/quote online. If someone has the actual quote I'd appreciate it.

great analysis; at the time I watched but never really could get into that era

Too many Bakers spoil the broth.

I love the Two Doctors, Mark of the Rani, Revelation of the Daleks Doctor Who never works as Pantomime. JNT failed to learn this RTD forgets it too.

That ‘power-mad conspirators’ speech won me a Facebook competition for tickets to a Doctor Who convention. Though Six zags where the various Doctors typically zig, moments like that - ESPECIALLY coming from him - illuminate the core of the Doctor so much more.

I don't hate the Sixth Doctor's era. There are some bad stories but even then, Colin is good in them and makes them watchable. The Two Doctors is very flawed but still has occasional glimpses of Bob Holmes magic. Revelation of the Daleks is actually incredibly good, a really funny and very adult jet-black comedy. Trial of a Time Lord is - given that it's 14 episodes long and has multiple writers and directors trying to spin several narrative threads at once - surprisingly good and VERY watchable. So yeah, it has its moments. I don't even mind The Twin Dilemma; it's a garish comic book story that's very silly but I have a good time watching it. For me the only stories that I think are truly bad are Attack of the Cybermen, Mark of the Rani and Timelash.

Farscape is SUPERIOR

No wonder the 6th Doctor works on audio better. It's the only medium we cannot see that costume

About the Batman comparison... I think it would be more apt to compare Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor to Zack Snyder's take on Batman. Such a glaring misunderstanding of a character that every nuance of the character is stripped in favor of superficial traits. Batman is not a violent rich edgelord, he is more conplicated than that, and so is the Doctor.

Funny comparing the Sixth Doctor to Batman and then saying your favourite story of his is Holy Terror...

You were able to make a Top 10 13th Doctor Episodes video? Top 2 maybe but 10?!

Colin Baker wasn't a bad Doctor he was just a very 80's Doctor.

I feel like Colin Baker should be in contact with Eccleston. They'd get along great.

Yes, Twin Dilemma was a poor story, but I don’t think it impacted on the season 22 ratings much, because here in the UK, Attack of the Cybermen’s 1st two episodes garnered well over 9M viewers, which isn’t a shabby number after a 9 month gap!

I was a tween when Colin had his run, and I really never connected with him at all. And like the writers (allegedly) I hated Peri. She just annoyed me (and yet, they did worse by bringing in Mel, which surprised me when RTD made her likable to me). I talked s*** about his Doctor for years up until a few years ago when I rewatched some of his stories. Yes, they're bad, but I do enjoy Remembrance of the Daleks, and I really dig Trial, but mostly because of the courtroom moments and Sabolom Glitz(there's a character that deserved more, and I was so glad when he got a mention in Tennant's last special).

still only halfway thru the video so this might be touched on but ur note abt how the writers seemed to hate peri somewhat lines up w some comments nicola bryant gave abt john nathan turner - not that the writers as a whole were against her, but the guy effectively ‘in charge’ of the production would pull strings if she didnt play ball w/ whatever he wanted, in the case of the quote, she turned down a heavier work load that wouldve added another one of his productions, and so was turned down better opportunities within the bbc

Trial of a Timelord and Flux are very similar in a lot of ways to me. One they are both over arching stories throughout an entire season. The other thing being is I think it’s better than what came before

I did indeed see these episodes aired when they were new, but I was young. I didn't really have a concept of there being a fandom, as I was mocked and derided for liking "boy things". I didn't know a single other person that liked the show other than my English Great Gramma, my Gramma, my Mum and my Uncle. I wish I remembered any thoughts or feelings at the time, the Doctor was one of my heroes as a little girl. You'd think I'd remember more...but that was a rough time for me. Probably just made me cling harder to the idea of being whisked away in a TARDIS...

Vengeance on Varos?