Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 5

Geek Syndicate
shapes due to the Doctor “fixing” the Chameleon Circuit that allows the machine to blend in with its surroundings. The only real highlight of the Sixth Doctor’s reign, for me, was Vengeance on Varos – a story that hardly featured the Doctor in it’s first half. To add extra insult into the wound, the show was placed on hiaitus during this time, after which it returned with the season long arc, the Trial of a Timelord. This was a great improvement, with the Sixth Doctor seeming to warm up and he seemed to be more like The Doctor we all knew. Unfortunately it was too little too late. Baker refused to return when he was fired from the show for his regeneration meaning that ‘the Sixth Doctor’ is clearly replacement Sylvester McCoy in a wig. I have heard that the audio stories are a vast improvement, but based on his TV appearances, Colin Baker leaves much to be desired. I actually believe that any story you dislike in “new who” is still far superior to this tenure...

“Ch a And nge m mom it seem y dear s no . ent too t soo a n.”
Image © BBC William Hartnell, The Original Time Lord

10. The Third Doctor – Jon Pertwee (1970-1974)
The Third Doctor’s era is a strange time for me. As he regenerated from the Second Doctor, the Time Lord went from being a clever little rebel who used his intellect to outwit people, never using his fists to being an authoritarian who would happily make use of Venusian Akido to get past a particularly obstinate guard. Maybe it is because I have such fondness for Troughton but these overtly aggressive Doctors (like Colin Baker) just don’t work for me. Paradoxically the stories during this era are some of the best the show has ever produced. For me, much of this time feels more like a U.N.I.T spinoff show than Doctor Who because Pertwee doesn’t feel anything like the Doctor. The Third Doctor faces some of his most classic foes for the first time from Autons, Silurians and Sontarans are all here, as well as the most integral of them all: The Master. This Master is wonderfully portrayed by Roger Delgado as the Moriarty to the Doctor’s Sherlock Holmes. The constant duelling and almost brotherly love for each other is something that continues through the series all the way up to John Simm’s portrayal in 2009. A great set of episodes let down by a poor Doctor. For me there is not much difference between Pertwee and Colin Baker. Baker was just unlucky to be a part of a poor period in the show’s history.

9. The Seventh Doctor – Sylvester McCoy. (1987-1996)
McCoy’s Seventh Doctor is the polar opposite to Pertwee for me: he is good for the role but his stories are not good enough. After the arrogant, overt nature of the Sixth Doctor, the Seventh is a more intricate little man, using his intelligence to outwit his foes. At this time, the writers tried to bring back a lot of mystique to the character as well as suggesting that there is a lot more to the Doctor than meets the eye. Without this Doctor, neither Davies or Moffat would have probably come up with their ideas. McCoy’s brilliant Dalek story is really the

“Before I go I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And d’you know what? So was I.”
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