Colin Baker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Colin Baker | |
 Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor |
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| Born | June 8, 1943 (age 63) London, England, UK |
| Notable roles | The Sixth Doctor in Doctor Who |
Colin Baker (born London, June 8, 1943) is an English actor who is best known for playing the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.
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[edit] Background
Colin Baker was born in London, but his family moved north to Rochdale early in his life. He was educated at St Bede's College, Manchester. Before being selected to replace Peter Davison as the Doctor, Baker was an established television actor, his most notable role having been that of Paul Merroney in The Brothers. Baker also guest starred as Bayban in an episode of Blake's 7.
[edit] Career
[edit] Doctor Who (1984–1986)
After appearing in For Maddie with Love, Baker made his first appearance in Doctor Who as Commander Maxil in the story Arc of Infinity. Baker's performance as Maxil was described by producer John Nathan-Turner as being "quite arch" and a little sassy. Despite this, Baker's character became one of the few characters to actually shoot the Doctor, then played by Peter Davison.
When Baker was officially cast as Davison's successor, he became the only "Doctor" actor to have appeared in the television series as another character prior to taking on the leading role. (On audio, David Tennant has appeared in several Big Finish Doctor Who plays prior to appearing as the Doctor on television in 2005.) Ironically, when Baker was cast to replace Davison, many fans cited that shooting scene in Arc of Infinity, prompting Baker to say jokingly that he got the part of the Doctor by killing the incumbent. Colin Baker also stated that he was of no relation to Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who for seven years.
Baker's first appearance as the Doctor occurred at the final minutes of The Caves of Androzani, where he delivered his first few lines. The closing title sequence for episode four featured Baker's face instead of Peter Davison, and credits him as the Doctor before Davison's own credit. This was the first (and, to date, only) time that the new lead received top billing in the final story of an outgoing Doctor. Baker then made his first full story debut the following week in The Twin Dilemma. It was the first time since 1966 that a new leading actor's debut story was shown before the conclusion of the previous lead's season.
Baker's era was interrupted by a long 18 month hiatus between seasons 22 and 23, officially because the show was moved back from the spring to the autumn schedule. The Controller of BBC One at the time, Michael Grade, criticised Doctor Who, saying that the programme had become overly violent and its storylines farcical during season 22 in 1985. After the 18-month hiatus, the program was brought back for its 23rd season in autumn 1986. Season 23 featured a reduction of episodes produced, and the 14 episode long serial The Trial of a Time Lord was felt by some fans to reflect the fact that the series itself was "on trial" at this time. Many fans have drawn an analogy between the Doctor's trial and the programme itself which, at the time, was under threat of cancellation (although the BBC had on many occasions denied that this was the case).
Ultimately, Baker was dismissed from the part at the insistence of BBC management, who wanted to refresh the show. With only eleven stories and just short of three years as the incumbent Doctor, Baker remained the "current Doctor" for the shortest time until Christopher Eccleston in 2005, and he had the least amount of screen time in the role until Paul McGann in 1996.
Baker briefly reprised his role recently in BBC Scotland's videoGaiden presenting the "The videoGaiden Awards 2006". He also appeared on Top Gear in 2004 racing against other science fiction characters, including a Cyberman and pair of black Daleks.
[edit] Career after Who
Since leaving Doctor Who he has continued to act, mainly on the stage. He played the Doctor once again in the 1993 charity special Dimensions in Time. He also played a Doctor-like character in the BBV video series The Stranger, as well as a standalone BBV drama entitled The Airzone Solution, and has reprised the role of the Doctor in a series of audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. The audio plays are generally well received by fans, who have suggested that it was bad writing that his Doctor's era suffered from, and not a lack of ability on Baker's part. In a poll conducted by Doctor Who Magazine, fans voted Baker the "greatest" of the Doctors in the audio plays.
Later television work during the 1990s included guest appearances in the BBC's medical drama Casualty, Channel 4's adaptation of A Dance to the Music of Time and as himself as the resident celebrity in 'Dictionary Corner' on the daytime quiz show Countdown, also on Channel 4. He appeared in the first episode of Jonathan Creek (1997). In 1994, Colin Baker became the first (and so far only) Doctor to write a published Doctor Who story, The Age of Chaos, a graphic novel published by Marvel UK featuring the Sixth Doctor and Frobisher. He also guest-starred in the audio drama Sapphire and Steel: The Mystery of the Missing Hour.
After the death of his son Jack in 1983, Baker became active in increasing the profile of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. He raised funds for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, and was a Trustee from 1989 and their Chairman between 1997 and 2005. He has also appeared in operetta, starring in the Carl Rosa Company's production of H.M.S. Pinafore in the principal comedian's role of Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B.
Baker played Caldo Inman in the Big Finish Productions audio drama Earthsearch Mindwarp, based on a James Follett novel and recently broadcast on the digital radio station BBC 7.
Baker has been writing a regular column for his local newspaper, the Bucks Free Press since 1995.
At The Invasion convention in 2007, Baker cited the 2005 Steven Moffat story The Empty Child as the best Doctor Who story ever. Singling out the 'everybody lives' quote as the best dramatic moment in Doctor Who.
[edit] Seventies Porn Colin Internet Meme
When Doctor Who fans in the late 1990s discovered shirtless photographs of Baker as a young man, they affectionately dubbed the images "Seventies Porn Colin", due to the perceived resemblance to the generic image of a typical male porn star of the 1970s. (Neither Baker nor the photographs were actually affiliated with pornography in any way.) "Seventies Porn Colin" has subsequently become an internet meme, spreading through Doctor Who fan forums and LiveJournal pages. There is also an intentionally garish humour website dedicated to Seventies Porn Colin.
| Preceded by Peter Davison |
The Doctor (Sixth Doctor) 1984–1986 |
Succeeded by Sylvester McCoy |
| The Doctors |
|---|
| First Doctor (William Hartnell) | Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) |
| Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) | Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) |
| Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) | Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) |
| Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) | Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) |
| Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) | Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) |
| Other Doctors |
| Cushing Doctor (Peter Cushing) | Shalka Doctor (Richard E. Grant) |
[edit] External links
- Colin Baker at the Internet Movie Database
- BBC Sixth Doctor Gallery
- Archive of columns by Baker at the Bucks Free Press
- Another archive of columns by Baker
- Interview with Colin Baker on Dracula and acting for Theatre
- A comprehensive web guide to Colin Baker's career in and out of Doctor Who
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Baker, Colin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | English actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 8, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
