Why is the Fourth Doctor so great?

[Graceful Leonard]

Would Sylvester Mccoy have been as good in 'Ark in Space'?

Absolutely not. It would have been even worse for him if he was teamed with strong companions--people would have forgotten McCoy was in it at all.

[tch]

Calm down, Leonard, it was just a hypothetical, rhetorical question. Was just pondering on how each Doctor is a creation of his time and circumstance.


Though, Harry, Sarah Jane and the 7th Doctor would have been an interesting combo.
But, that would have stuck Tom's Doctor with Mel, and I couldn't do that to him.

[Graceful Leonard]

Calm down, Leonard, it was just a hypothetical, rhetorical question. Was just pondering on how each Doctor is a creation of his time and circumstance.


Though, Harry, Sarah Jane and the 7th Doctor would have been an interesting combo.
But, that would have stuck Tom's Doctor with Mel, and I couldn't do that to him.

I am always exceedingly calm, provided I have a fine bottle of port to hand.

But no, I can't countenance McCoy at any price, or with any companion. The only good thing I can say about the show during his era is that at least they didn't waste a good assistant on him.

[Doctor John Smith]

The fourth Doctor is so great because - well he's a natural extension of our beloved Tom....

'Nuff said!

[Prydonian]

Unlike other Doctors who were more or less playing a role, Tom let much of himself into his portrayal of the Doctor. This appealed to the fans, which made the powers that be happy, so he kept it up to marvellous results and success.

[bcm77]

I think a big part of it is because Tom integrated his real life personality into his portrayal so he always sounded natural no matter what emotion he was conveying.

He was far & away the best at showing that the character was "not of this Earth" in terms of how he reacts to the situations he finds himself in.

Today's Doctors are written to behave far too "human" and as such become very predictable which for me takes away much of what makes him such an intresting character.

[metalheadjay]

The Doctor IS Tom Baker. Tom has said on numerous occasions that he was merely just being himself in the role as opposed to everything else he did. It's natural and real and that's why it works so well. He was following a script somewhat but he wasn't acting, folks.

[Mouser]

My affinity for Tom's Doctor was his intelligence and wit. Add to that the character's basic goodness.

His intelligence matched his character's age and experience. Yet, he retained the exuberance of youth. You were never quite sure what facet of the 4th Doctor you would see, wonder, anger or goofiness.

As an intelligent, but shy teen, he had the boldness I wish I had, the strength to bring the right conclusion about and the ability to (swearword) with authorities who were arrogant and selfish... and win!

[Prydonian]

Tom's Doctor could handle himself rather well with authorities in his stories, perhaps even more so than other incarnations could. I can see a few of them being intimidated at first, but not Tom! He could offer the sternest government offifical a jelly baby and get on with things at hand.

[metalheadjay]

I always enjoyed when he used reverse psychology on the authority figures/villains and made them look downright silly. The anger and frustration they would display at being made to look ridiculous by the Doctor was quite amusing. You rarely saw that on "Star Trek". Just yet another reason as to why "Tom Baker era WHO" is the best science fiction/fantasy program ever produced for Tv. Not to mention being the smartest.

Jay