The one,
the only. Four isn’t my absolute
favorite Doctor, either for the show as a whole or from the original series,
but I do love him. He’s iconic, and I
completely understand why so many fans, especially those who grew up with him,
view him as the quintessential Doctor.
In some
ways, each regeneration feels like a response to the incarnation that came
before it, and that’s certainly the case with the Fourth Doctor. While Three was suave and steady, all
laboratory conditions, Venusian akido, and opera capes, Four is madcap and
wholehearted. From the moment he opens
those eyes of his, showing off his curly mop and slightly-cracked grin, you
know you’re in for somebody new.
The two
words that come most to mind for me with Four are “oddball” and “fun.” He’s wonderfully eccentric, with a
non-sequitur for every occasion and all manner of unexpected curiosities in his
pockets. Whether he’s trying to fight a
robot with his absurdly-long scarf or impromptu auditioning for a Victorian
music hall, he zips through the universe with an air of mischief about him,
this goofy unpredictability that frequently makes the bad guys underestimate
him.
And
really, he’s just a delight. Four is a
master of lively Doctor banter, and I love every moment of him grinning amiably
at the enemy who’s just tied him up. His
companions are all so different from one another, but I can see why each would be
drawn to him in their own way, how he sweeps them up in his adventure. I adore him bickering happily with Sarah
Jane, introducing Leela to something brand new, and getting shown up
intellectually by Romana, along with everything in between.
As Four,
Tom Baker had the longest tenure of any Doctor to date. After his seven seasons on the show, the BBC
had to air some reruns of previous Doctors because a whole new crop of young
fans had come up without knowing the Doctor could regenerate. Even though the show was still reinventing
itself through that time, again with companions as varied as Sarah Jane, Leela,
and Romana, seven seasons is a long time for any series, and not all of Four’s
stories are winners. There are points
where the creativity feels a little long in the tooth and Four’s antics feel
overly heightened, but the drawn-out TV-show syndrome is mild compared to
plenty of other shows and doesn’t take away from the overall legacy of Four’s
time on the show.
And of
course, regardless of how long Baker was open to staying on the show, it
wouldn’t have happened if the Fourth Doctor hadn’t had that magic something
that made fans want to hold onto him.
There’s a reason why, after the TARDIS itself and possibily a Dalek,
Four in his hat, coat, and scarf is the most indelible image that comes to mind
with Doctor Who.
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