Baker - Hinchcliffe - Holmes era

[twirling]

I just finished watching all the (US) available classic series DVDs in chronological order. It took a year!
For me, the Baker years when he was teamed with Producer Philip Hinchcliffe and Script Editor Robert Holmes were the high point of the whole classic run, in particular, Series 13. Pyramids of Mars was and still is my favorite story. The moment Scarman steps out of the time tunnel terrified me as a kid, and still does today.

[Captain Rum]

Yes, you're right, that era is the peak of Who for me, they had a winning formula and it produced some fantastic stories and Tom was at his peak then. They are the type of stories that you never get bored of and that there's always something new to notice with every viewing, be it in the actions of the characters, the atmosphere inside the set or just the fantastic writing and pace of the stories. Halloween is nearly upon us and I can't think of a better way of celebrating it than to watch the Hinchcliffe era of Who....a type to scare the little...so and so's

[Captain Rum]

Hi Pattie

I liked the "Baker's Dozen" twist and the list is excellent. I'm not sure in what order I would have Tom's stories in but for some reason "Logopolis" is my favourite story. It was the first one I can remember pretty clearly as an 8 year old growing up, remembering the Cloister bell, The Watcher, liking Nyssa and Tegan, Adric wasn't too bad a character either but then to see Tom disappear...well it took some getting used to but I kept faith with the show and always will with the Classic version.

[tracy]

logopoles made me cry at the end im not bad now when im watching it as i know tom is here with us im daft but i dont care

[Captain Rum]

Well we've all mourned a character departing (one way or another) and I was sad but the show was still good most of the time afterwards. There were great stories and writers before and after but Baker and Holmes were the best things to have happened to the show, although the whole of the 70s was excellent, adding Hinchcliffe to it though was a master-stroke, especially as he knew what he wanted to see from Tom and the show as a whole.

[tracy]

dont forget i stopped watching dr who when tom left any way ive been on my laptop to long my eyes are wondering where my bed is ha good night see you tomorrow

[John]

I think that most of us can agree that the Hinchcliffe/Homes era was the highpoint of Tom's seven years in the role. Like Letts and Dicks before them, Philip and Robert enjoyed a harmonious working relationship and had a firm vision for the show. Arguably Hinchcliffes greatest asset was Holmes himself, who in addition to polishing other writers scripts, wrote four of the shows most memorable and well loved stories in the shows history.

From the outset of their first full season, the show took a much darker path, tackling some pretty powerful and quite disturbing concepts. The two men increasingly moved into areas and exploited themes that previous production teams had steered clear of, producing some wonderfully macabre stories in the process.

This policy quickly attracted the attention of busy bodies such as Mary Whitehouse, whose narrow minded views would become the bain of the Doctor Who office. Personally, I think children like to be scared (I did), as it engages them with the story, and no matter how frightening the imagery, the hero always vanquishes the villain and those kids will be back next week in their rightful place, peeping out from behind the sofa.

[Captain Rum]

The problem Whitehouse had (and most people who complain about TV shows) is that they're so offended by it but they'll still watch the whole thing. Like "The Deadly Assassin"....how would they know about the "drowning" scene unless they watched the end of that particular episode? I'm assuming there were complaints before the reprise.

As for kids wanting to be scared, that's absolutely right, I remember watching Tom's Dr Who's in the 70s as a kid and some of it scared me as a kid but I knew it wasn't real, that's why you tended to run behind the sofa instead of running out of the house in fear. There was some great stories harking back to some old horror films/monsters, stories like "The Brain Of Morbius", "Pyramids Of Mars" and later with "State Of Decay" worked because it used horror a bit more than usual....but used it in a good and gripping way.

If someone doesn't like a show then they can always turn over, it's not as if there's only 1-3 channels anymore, there are hundreds so there's always something else to see.

Darker paths in "Who" have always been how I like it, but with some humour added too, in the most scariest of scenarios people sometimes joke to hide their fear from others and from themself.

[John]

Of course it was the infamous 'drowning' scene at the end of episode three of Deadly Assassin that was most likely the catalyst for Hinchcliffe's reassignment, though personally, I don't feel that the levels of violence in Tom's era were that high, certainly not when compared to that of Colin Baker's.

Let's be realistic, kid's aren't as daft as people like Mary Whitehouse like to make out. Yes, some of the stories could potentialy be quite frightening for a certain age group, if that's the case, then it's down to the parents to decide whether their children will be allowed to continue watching - don't ruin the show for the older children by over sanitising what I believe to be perfectly acceptable themes.

Anyway, as it turned out Whitehouse failed in her crusade, you've only got to see stories like Horror of Fang Rock and Talons of Weng Chiang to see that!

[merlinsseer]

I have to admit I've never quite understood the uproar of the " drowning scene", it wasn't that violent and after reading Mr. Baker's book , i think he was the only one at all that even remotely had a right to be upset about the scene. I don't blame him one bit- i was nearly drowned once, it leaves very deep scars.
The Brain Of Morbius was so much more violent all around than any other story from that era,between the stabbings, shootings, head chopping, threats of head chopping, throttlings and near thottlings , threats of throat cutting , and of course the burning at the stake ( blindings ! ) it was so much more graphically violent than any other story, " Seeds of Doom " running a close second . Was it just me or did that bon fire around Mr. Baker get EXTRA close--i swear i saw a curl get singed. Let's not forget Mr. Allsorts himself-one of the most disgusting looking creatures ever. By the way-i love this story

Of course it was the infamous 'drowning' scene at the end of episode three of Deadly Assassin that was most likely the catalyst for Hinchcliffe's reassignment, though personally, I don't feel that the levels of violence in Tom's era were that high, certainly not when compared to that of Colin Baker's.

Let's be realistic, kid's aren't as daft as people like Mary Whitehouse like to make out. Yes, some of the stories could potentialy be quite frightening for a certain age group, if that's the case, then it's down to the parents to decide whether their children will be allowed to continue watching - don't ruin the show for the older children by over sanitising what I believe to be perfectly acceptable themes.

Anyway, as it turned out Whitehouse failed in her crusade, you've only got to see stories like Horror of Fang Rock and Talons of Weng Chiang to see that!