Point
There have been several years since I took the time to watch Robot from season 12 of classic Doctor Who. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the Fourth Doctor first serial. As a result, I will watch it again soon. What got me was something the Doctor said as the final episode ended. Here is what got me. Sarah Jane says, “You are being childish.” Then the Doctor responds, “There is no point in being grown up if u can’t be childish sometimes.”
As I think about these words, I see that attitude throughout the Fourth Doctor’s reign. I love the quote, but I think this is a lot of the reason I return day after day as a child to watch Doctor Who. Tom Baker is my favorite Doctor and now that I have caught this morsel. I realize why I fell in love with Doctor Who.
Now, Tom Baker was a great actor and did a great job as the Doctor, and him being childish at times was not the only reason I love him as the Doctor. There is so much more to him than just that quote. The point here is that this added to his character. Even though, he was as old as he was he saw being childish at times a benefit. Personally, I don’t know that it is a benefit. As far as my life goes, there are times when I act childish, but I get myself in trouble.
He did use the childishness at times to get his way and make things work for his benefit. That was great, and it made Doctor Who better. His work includes the childishness and other great attributes. The smile and the way he dealt with things was amazing.
I understand not all Whovians have Baker as their favorite, but he is my favorite. The point is Baker used that idea all throughout his time as the Doctor. Because of this, I came back again and again to watch the Doctor.
One comment
Tom Baker is my favorite also. (I even have the t-shirt to prove it.) In interviews he said he was “just himself” a lot, in his portrayal of The Doctor and it just so happened his personality meshed perfectly with the character. I too loved this quote about childishness. But it wasn’t just his sparkling, almost manic, child-like qualities that made him the perfect “Doctor”. Yes, you could tell he was having a lot of fun playing the part, (all the best “Doctor” actors do enjoy the role immensely). There has to be fun involved to keep us coming back. But there are other character traits to our beloved character. My favorite aspect of “The Doctor” is his inner “Sherlock Holmes”. I love the way he never, ever, gives up and always has a plan, even when he doesn’t have a plan, for solving a problematic situation. There is also an enjoyable bit of “MacGyver” problem solving that goes on also – but sometimes it’s even the companions who come up with those sorts of solutions. Those surprising role-reversals are a lot of fun too. The classic episodes demonstrate that CG and sophisticated special effects are not required to have a truly great program. Historically speaking, “Doctor Who” reflects excellent writing and brilliant acting, and no actor was better at it than Tom Baker.
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