Doctor Who -Tom Baker years

[kennermike]

okay this this maybe a strange question but I have never seen one episode of this ? I would like to my question is where do I start ? what episodes should I watch? .thinking on buying some on dvd any info and help would be cool thanks guys

[Mikey]

I would say start with Tom's first story, Robot
It's a good story

Hmmm,
There's so many good Bakers out there it's had to make a favorites list
But you should start with Robot.

[bobws]

What he said,start from the beginning and develop the flavor as it was created. that first year holds up well.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

Tom Baker's run is a bit of an oddity, 'cos it shifts quite dramaticly halfway through. It starts as a kind of sci-fi horror series and ends as a sort of wistful cosmic sci-fi show.

Don C.

[jds1911a1]

many consider his run the best due to it's length (he was the doctor of most of the 70's). Most of Tom's stories are out on dvd and many of the early releases can be had for a low cost used (especially the Key to Time season which was remastered for a second dvd release last year) this is all the Tom stories out on dvd in the us as of today in original airing order (you can use Amazon if you want the release order)
Season 12
Robot - Not a bad regeneration story
The Ark in Space
The Sontaran Experiment
Genesis of the Daleks - one of the most regarded Dalek stories
Revenge of the Cybermen

season 13
Planet of Evil
Pyramids of Mars
The Brain of Morbius

season 14
The Masque of Mandragora
The Hand of Fear
The Deadly Assassin
The Robots of Death
The Talons of Weng-Chiang

season 15
Horror of Fang Rock
The Invisible Enemy
Image of the Fendahl
Underworld
The Invasion of Time

season 16 The Key to time Season long story Arc
The Ribos Operation
The Pirate Planet
The Stones of Blood
The Androids of Tara
The Power of Kroll
The Armageddon Factor

Season 17
Destiny of the Daleks - don't watch this unless you see Genesis of the Daleks first
City of Death - regarded as a top 10 of all time by many (I can't recall exactly where it ranked in the DWM poll)
Creature From the Pit - 70's who at it's worst the effects shots are poor and the plot is thin
Nightmare of Eden - 70's who at it's worst the effects shots are poor and the plot is thin
The Horns of Nimon - 70's who at it's worst the effects shots are poor and the plot is thin

Season 18 (the purple coat and JNT era begins)
The Leisure Hive
Espace trilogy
Full Circle
State of Decay
Warriors' Gate
The Keeper of Traken
Logopolis

[jds1911a1]

BBC site if you want story summaries and reviews
BBC - Doctor Who - Classic Series - Episode Guide - Fourth Doctor Index

[Mr.Krusher]

I'm in the same boat as MattelMike.

I have always been VERY curious - As I was telling another member here, I used to freak-OUT to that theme music, and the Dalek robots scared the hell outta me!!
(Hey, I was 5 years old! lol)

Not sure if I'm permitted to say this here, but -

Oddly, I had grown-up thinking that WHO was more of a 'drug thing' between my brother and his friends - the 'cool guys'. (You know, media such as: The Wall, Yellow Submarine, Flash Gordon, etc. - very visceral and VERY cool ) They would all have a 'smoke' and then watch WHO on PBS on his black and white set. I remember he would shoo me away as in 'you wouldnt get it' or 'this is too cool for you kid!'

None of my people really watched it or spoke of it by the time I was a teenager, and my buddies that WERE into the 'nerd interests' were more about Trek, D&D, Apple Computer stuff, and Apes. Strangely no WHO.

Anyhow, I'm not trying to pry-into your post MattelMike, I'm curious as well...

Take care -

[Mikey]

The thing about Dr Who, as long as you know his basic background you can jump in just about anywhere (not counting story arcs)

[palitoy]

I was watching the "Invisible Enemy" DVD last night and it kind of made me realise my interest in Tom's Doctor steadily declines once K9 enters the scene, I still have some faves from the "Post K9" era but I have a good deal of "Mehs".

I really find Graham Williams over ambitions are what most people laugh at when it comes to the cheapness of Doctor Who. Every producer had some horrible effects but man, that era is just trying to be bigger than it should.

[jds1911a1]

I was watching the "Invisible Enemy" DVD last night and it kind of made me realise my interest in Tom's Doctor steadily declines once K9 enters the scene, I still have some faves from the "Post K9" era but I have a good deal of "Mehs".

I really find Graham Williams over ambitions are what most people laugh at when it comes to the cheapness of Doctor Who. Every producer had some horrible effects but man, that era is just trying to be bigger than it should.

Invisible enemy is a real lowpoint in the non JNT Tom Baker's (I find most of season 18 horrid). It's not K9 that's bad it's the evil virus / giant Prawn rubber suit and the immense overuse of CSO (Underworld was even worse with CSO overload)
I like K9 and some of his stories are good but it's only a sign of how good the portrayal of John Leeson was that makes K9 work. K9 is great in the sun makers (not on dvd yet) and Androids of Tara

City of Death is my favorite post K9 story but k9 isn't in it

[palitoy]

Invisible enemy is a real lowpoint in the non JNT Tom Baker's (I find most of season 18 horrid). It's not K9 that's bad it's the evil virus / giant Prawn rubber suit and the immense overuse of CSO (Underworld was even worse with CSO overload)
I like K9 and some of his stories are good but it's only a sign of how good the portrayal of John Leeson was that makes K9 work. K9 is great in the sun makers (not on dvd yet) and Androids of Tara

Yeah, I wasn't specifically saying that I don't like K9, he's OK but he's a marker where the show went nuts with stuff like CSO and generally seemed to overtax itself.


I consider the K9/Robot Parrot fight a real low point for the series. It's laser pooping on him.

[Mikey]

I would have liked K-9 better if they made him a TARDIS computer instead of a robot.

Meaning, the Doctor can speak to the TARDIS like most other sci-fi shows do.

[ctc]

>that era is just trying to be bigger than it should

I think some of it is due to the changeover in special effects technology. Around the K9 era they started using more digital effects, instead of straight models and such.... and many shots haven't aged so good.

Don C.

[david_b]

Yeah, I wasn't specifically saying that I don't like K9, he's OK but he's a marker where the show went nuts with stuff like CSO and generally seemed to overtax itself.


I consider the K9/Robot Parrot fight a real low point for the series. It's laser pooping on him.

Agreed.. I appreciated the more sarcastic eps like 'Sun Makers', but over all the appearance of K9 could have been an early 'shark jump' for Baker.

I too loved K9, but like Palitoy is conveying, it sort of lost it's focus when it should have been telling good, meaty gothic/sci-fi stories, like 'Pyramids of Mars', 'Seeds of Doom', or 'Masque of Mandragora'.

The show was better when the CSO and other effects were more minimal and left in the background, rather than 'up-front'. It tried to be more than it was, and lost a lot in the effort.

david_b

[Bo8a_Fett]

Tom Baker's time as the Doctor is a mixed bag for me....in the JNT years there was nothing that stood out and it was mostly the Hinchcliffe/Holmes years that yielded the best from all concerned bar The Android Invasion and Revenge of the Cybermen, which are both ok but are poor next to the rest of the 3 seasons.
Ark in space, Planet of Evil, Robots of Death and Terror of the Zygons are real stand out stories for me and the rest of the stories are heavily influenced by Hammer horror movies and other horror genres.