The Fourth Doctor is undoubtedly the most iconic Doctor to date. The ridiculously brilliant long scarf, top hat and jelly babies. The cheeky grin, uncanny humour and meddling are all what made Tom Baker's incarnation fantastic. To many, the best Doctor, but to me he's just as equal as all other classic Doctors that came before and after him. He had a hard task in following Jon Pertwee but he did excellently and set the record as the longest reigning Doctor to date.
Baker's reign begins fantastically in the underrated Robot, a story I loved and was also the introductory story for new companion Harry. His first season is packed with infamous foes. He meets large insects in The Ark in Space, with no connection to The Web Planet, and despite it not being the greatest serial it was definitely better than the last story featuring overgrown insects!
The last three episodes of season 12 pitted the Doctor against three of his most vicious enemies. It started with The Sontaran Experiment which featured the return of the Sontarans one season on from their debut. It was a fantastic little serial and perfectly left the door open for any future Sontaran return.
Then came what many consider the greatest Doctor Who story ever. Genesis of the Daleks. It was an excellent story but there are many better in my opinion and despite this serial introducing the insanely marvellous Davros, it isn't quite the best story ever!
The season 12 finale was one I particularly enjoyed! After over 5 years away and missing an entire era, the Cybermen finally returned! Revenge of the Cybermen was outstanding and the new design of the Cybermen and the Cyber Leader was magnificent. A truly brilliant story!
Terror of the Zygons kicked off season 13 well and despite it being good, I believe it to be the most overrated serial in classic Doctor Who. Planet of Evil followed and with it seemingly forgettable, it was a serial I thoroughly enjoyed!
Pyramids of Mars, another famously popular story, followed and I loved this serial! The Robot Mummies and Sutekh provided brilliant enemies in a fantastic plot. The Android Invasion had a lot to live up to for two reasons. It had to follow a great serial, and also Terry Nation wrote his first non-Dalek story since The Keys of Marinus way back in season one! Sadly, Nation failed to live up to his sensational standards set in his previous stories, although it was good to see Sgt Benton return and Harry's departure could've been better. The season then finished on a high point with two fantastic stories in The Brain of Morbius and The Seeds of Doom.
Season 14 kicks off well with The Masque of Mandrogara. But then came another infamous Tom Baker classic in The Hand of Fear. A great story in its own right and featured the departure of Sarah Jane as companion who'd been there since the beginning of season 11. It was a sad and rushed departure, but a good one at that. Sarah Jane had departed the TARDIS and now the Doctor was alone, on his way to Gallifrey.
The Deadly Assassin was an absolutely brilliant story and fantastically saw the return of the Master, albeit in a decaying form. That actually gave him a much more evil edge which allowed Baker to perform excellently. It was an excellent story and despite it being the first with no companion, that didn't discredit it at all. The Face of Evil introduced a very different companion to the TARDIS with the savage Leela, who despite being drastically different from Sarah Jane, was great in her own right. The Robots of Death was another very good story but the season finale was the shining light of season 14.
The Talons of Weng-Chiang was an outstanding serial and is rightfully regarded as a classic. A wonderful story which also introduced Jago & Litefoot, who'd star in their own audio series which I look forward to eventually purchasing!
Tom Baker was still riding high as the Doctor and in the fifteenth season he'd star in some fantastic serials! Horror of Fang Rock was a great season opener and finally introduced the Rutans, long time war opponents to the Sontarans.
The Invisible Enemy is a tragically underrated story and with it introducing the magnificent K9 as companion, the story itself I rated very highly! The three stories that followed; Image of the Fendahl, The Sun Makers and Underworld were all very unique and the latter was the best in my view, but all were good!
The Invasion of Time was an outstanding season finale and after four parts of excellence with the story seemingly over, the Sontarans then invaded Gallifrey! The part 4 cliffhanger was excellent and the serial was great! The departure of Leela and K9 was saddening, but Baker brilliant introduced K9 mark II. We'd be keeping the robotic tin dog which was marvellous.
Season 16, in its entity, was the low point of the Fourth Doctor years. It was largely repetitive, dragged and for 6 serials in a row the ending was obvious. Romana was introduced as companion and she was largely okay, but didn't light the world alight. From The Ribos Operation to The Armageddon Factor, the 'Key to Time' season wasn't great at all. The Keys of Marinus was a much faster, more exciting and original concept! The saving grace of the season was the Black Guardian, who should have featured much more as he was brilliant!
Season 17 kicked off with two outstanding and infamous serials. It started with Destiny of the Daleks which featured the long awaited return of the Daleks, and Davros. Romana regenerated into the much better Romana II who is one of my all time favourite companions!
Then came City of Death which was yet again another Baker classic and deservedly was, it was excellent! From here on season 17 was largely forgettable with The Creature from the Pit and Nightmare of Eden. The Horns of Nimon followed in average form then we didn't even get to see the season finale as the production of Shada was abandoned. That's a tragedy in my opinion as the incomplete serial sounded fantastic.
Tom Baker's tenure in the TARDIS however did end on an extreme high as season 18 featured seven brilliant serials! The Leisure Hive and Meglos were both brilliant! The 'E-Space trilogy' that followed was action packed, eventful and all out excellent! Full Circle is a story I loved despite it introducing my least favourite companion in Adric. He was just annoying, dull and boring. I already couldn't wait for him to depart!
State of Decay and Warrior's Gate were both outstanding and the latter saw the sad departure of Romana II and K9, who'd decided to remain in E-Space.
By Tom Baker's penultimate serial, it was clear that his time as the Doctor was nearing an end. His companions had left and a new, younger cast was slowly being introduced. The Keeper of Traken introduced the marvellous Nyssa. It also saw the return of the Master who now found himself a new body. He was no longer decaying. Keeper holds a special place in my heart as it was the very first classic adventure I watched and I loved it!
Logopolis was a magnificent send off for Tom Baker. It saw the brilliant Anthony Ainley make his official debut as the Master and was more than capable of following Roger Delgado. The story introduced Tegan and saw Nyssa officially become a member of the TARDIS crew. The regeneration itself was interesting, I loved the mystery throughout regarding the Watcher. The moment with the Doctor falling from the satellite was iconic and the actual regeneration was memorable. Tom Baker's time as the Doctor had ended in style.
We wouldn't really see the Fourth Doctor again despite his role in The Five Doctors. Baker has been the star in many books (such as The Shadow of Weng-Chiang) and audio adventures (The Dalek Contract) that I look to purchase! I also cannot wait to hear him in The Light at the End which sounds outstanding!
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