- 8 months ago
Discover the bold and colorful era of the Sixth Doctor, played by Colin Baker. Known for his vibrant, patchwork coat and larger-than-life personality, Colin Baker brought a unique mix of arrogance, charm, and complexity to the role. This video dives into the adventurous and sometimes controversial tenure of the Sixth Doctor, featuring memorable stories, intense drama, and classic foes like the Daleks and the Cybermen. Explore how his time in the TARDIS pushed the boundaries of Doctor Who storytelling and left a lasting impression on the series’ legacy.
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00:00doctor number six arrived with a hell of an impact because I think this was very clever decision on
00:20the production team's part he was the complete antithesis to Peter Davison the 1980s was a
00:26decade that was brash colorful and didn't exactly respect the past the sixth doctor is the perfect
00:32embodiment of his time out went the charming young man in came a Time Lord who demanded your attention
00:38he was the doctor that you weren't sure about who was unpredictable who you didn't know how he was
00:43going to react whether he was going to do the right thing do the wrong thing I just don't care that
00:49really added a spice to the storytelling the script dictated that I should be so disturbed by my
00:57regeneration that I was angry and cruel and violent again which didn't help the audience to warm to
01:05old six years I call him now a firm mouth a face beaming with a vast intelligence a dear child on
01:12earth you're complaining about it's the most extraordinary improvement on what my last
01:17incarnation I was never happy with that one why ever not it had a sort of feckless charm which
01:25simply wasn't me absolute rubbish the sick doctor uh takes the doctor in a sort of unexpected new
01:32direction they pushed him to the sort of bumptious uh arrogant end of his persona to turn him into this
01:39you know grand-standing show-off and his amazing colorful clothes he didn't really care about
01:45upsetting people's feelings it's almost as if the process of regeneration had sort of wiped out that
01:52bit of his personality oh this has been a timely change change change there is no change no rhyme no time
02:09a place for space nothing nothing but the grinding engines of the universe the crushing border of eternity
02:21whereas other doctors had sidled into a situation the sixth doctor was always at the center of things
02:32viewers couldn't take their eyes off him mostly thanks to his costume 1980s color televisions were
02:39tested to the limit by the doctor's eye-watering coat I think the sixth doctor one could say the
02:46lovely Colin Baker was colorful it's quite amazing how they managed to find so many colors that didn't
02:52go with each other he cared that you noticed him he cared that you listened to what he said but he didn't
03:00care at all if you liked him that's in a way what the costumes are I don't care what you think the coat idea
03:06which is so 80s was a wonderful reflection of his state of mind this sort of patchwork mishmash of
03:12colors and checks and stripes was fantastic the sixth doctor's costume is legendary designed to shock
03:19you and initially alienate you it was a bold decision and I kind of I admire that my first action as of the
03:26doctor was to stand up and go and look for something to wear in a very bombastic and manic way
03:31you're not serious I'm almost serious you can't go out dressed like that why ever not you look dreadful
03:42it was the 80s if you look at all the doctors what they wear is very much a reflection of the era in
03:49which they were asked to wear it the sixth doctor's personality took as much getting used to as his
03:55costume there was no doubting that this time Lord was an alien traumatized by his regeneration he could
04:01be as terrifying as he was heroic and as dangerous as he was lovable he started off troubled by his
04:09regeneration and in a very dramatic way you don't even know what a peary is do you perry no I'll tell you
04:22a peary is a good and beautiful fairy in Persian mythology the interesting thing is before it became
04:28good it was evil and that's what you are trying to strangle his companion not a good start the moment
04:35where Colin's sixth doctor actually turned on Perry and nearly killed her was a really shocking moment
04:44in Doctor Who history doctor stop it no no not even a fairy an alien spy send here to spy on me
04:54I'm glad we did it because it was different and it was brave and it was dramatic but I think that
05:14was probably quite a defining moment in an era that respected strong leadership this doctor was
05:20commanding he may not have always been right but he was certainly brilliant a compassionate soul he'd
05:26save your planet even if he didn't like you very much I would like to think that my doctor was actually
05:34up at the top of the league in terms of compassion and caring the death of Edgeworth his former mentor
05:41from Gallifrey was our first glimpse of what drives the doctor of his compassion you were the finest
05:48teacher I ever had
05:51you learned all I know much of a size
05:57he's pure doctor and you finally are comforted after several episodes where he
06:03been on the edge of you see that he really is still there and the doctor is properly back
06:06in the 80s everyone was doing DIY even the doctor ever since we first met him his TARDIS had
06:22I shall miss you, old friend.
06:26I shall indeed.
06:28In the 80s, everyone was doing DIY, even the Doctor.
06:33Ever since we first met him,
06:34his TARDIS had been stuck in the shape of a police box.
06:37But the Sixth Doctor was determined to fix his erratic time machine.
06:42It's the chameleon circuit that makes it turn into a blue police box in London in 1963.
06:48Like a chameleon, it adapts to its surroundings.
06:50The Sixth Doctor is the first Doctor who's actually managed to fix it
06:54since it got frozen in the shape of a police box in London.
06:57He managed to fix the circuit, but he didn't have control over it.
07:01How do we get in?
07:02I'm not sure.
07:04Well, there still is a way in.
07:06Of course there is.
07:07Somewhere.
07:08Of the very few times that the TARDIS has turned into something else,
07:24with great hilarity, this various things appeared.
07:29So that in Totter's Lane, which was where the first ever TARDIS landed,
07:33in the first episode of Doctor Who,
07:35it landed and turned into an organ.
07:39This is getting ridiculous.
07:49I'm not saying a word.
07:51It was utterly ridiculous,
07:52but kind of fitted in, in a very loud 80s way,
07:55to the junk yard.
07:57I had to learn the first bars of Barthes to Carter and Fugue.
08:06Shh!
08:08The TARDIS is such an iconic image
08:11that no one dare repair the comedian circuit again.
08:15In the 1980s, people were suddenly keeping fit,
08:18dieting and using an exercise bike.
08:21Mel was no exception,
08:22and she was determined the Doctor should be in great shape
08:25for a 900-year-old.
08:2731, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40!
08:37Perry Brown, bright and lovely girl,
08:40American, botanist.
08:43When young American student Perry joined the TARDIS,
08:46she found a best friend in the fifth Doctor.
08:49If she wasn't quite so sure about his replacement,
08:51she also wasn't afraid to stand up to him.
08:53It took an American to put the sixth Doctor in his place.
08:57I fell in love with the character of Perry instantly
09:00when I got my first script before I got the part.
09:03And what I liked about her was she wasn't just about standing there and screaming.
09:10She was a feisty girl, a pretty, curvaceous and lively girl.
09:15She's a spunky, gutsy, I-have-an-opinion-of-my-own kid from America.
09:22She'd carried you across the gap on the regeneration,
09:24so you felt safe with her,
09:26but you also felt her unease and outrage at this character
09:29who was being quite cruel to her.
09:32It becomes a much more combative relationship
09:35as she doesn't understand, she doesn't know him,
09:38and everything about him is the opposite of her.
09:41My first relationship with Perry was not...
09:43It didn't start off that well.
09:45She was very wary of the sixth Doctor
09:47because, you know, his manic outbursts threatened her.
09:51Does nothing...
09:53please you?
09:56Yes! Purposeful travel, not aimless wanderings.
10:00Aimless?
10:01We were scripted to quarrel, to bicker.
10:06You see our time together as aimless?
10:09Well, no, not exactly. I guess not.
10:14I hope not.
10:14Or perhaps you're trying to tell me you've had enough.
10:18They seem to argue and bicker all the time,
10:20but they would never be without each other.
10:23In that case, I can easily set the coordinates for Earth, 1985.
10:28No, no.
10:30That won't be necessary.
10:32Gradually, she warmed to her Doctor,
10:34and the relationship got better and better.
10:37Perry as a companion really did change her Doctor.
10:40You know, you could definitely see a warmth
10:41growing between them toward the end.
10:43Well done.
10:46Don't patronise me, Doctor.
10:48You knew from the start this amount of growth wasn't possible.
10:51I also knew that as a student of botany,
10:54you'd soon realise the truth without any prompting from me.
10:58And I think eventually,
10:59they sort of found this middle ground
11:02where there was a level of respect for each other.
11:05Is there any intelligent life here?
11:07Well, apart from me, you mean?
11:10Don't know.
11:12Shall we find out?
11:12By the time Perry left the programme,
11:17she and the sixth Doctor were soulmates.
11:22When I read the final script
11:23and I saw what was going to happen,
11:25I couldn't have been more pleased
11:27because I got an opportunity
11:29to do something quite different for that moment.
11:32She was killed.
11:34Her body was taken over by a malevolent slug creature
11:38in order that Kiv might live on in her body.
11:41Warm, not cold.
11:48The body is warm.
11:52Wonderful.
11:53legs, toes, toes, toes wriggling.
12:00There's a moment where she sits up with her shaven head
12:03and the voice that comes out was actually hers but was that of Kiv.
12:08She's drunk, her neck, strong, head free of pain.
12:16And everyone always goes on about,
12:18oh, your voice was turned into this completely different sound.
12:22And I was going, no, that's my voice.
12:23Now I am she, alive, within this oh-so-wonderful, wonderful frame.
12:31That cold-blooded reptile thing.
12:36I loved the drama of it and I loved that opportunity.
12:41Protect me!
12:44I am your lord and master.
12:46I don't think I could blame anyone for Perry's death.
12:58I think that's impossible because it depends which story you decide to believe
13:03as to what really happened.
13:04It was in a story that was part of the evidence produced in The Trial of a Time Lord.
13:12So when we got right to the end,
13:13and I, Colin, asked the question, did she die?
13:18The young woman, Miss Perpagilliam Browne,
13:21is alive and well and living as a warrior queen with King Eucanos.
13:26So then they put in this little picture afterwards
13:29of how Perry had ended married to Eucanos.
13:33They made a decision to say that, no, no, that was all a lie
13:36and she is now married to Browne Brassett.
13:41Following Perry's departure, cheery computer programmer Mel
13:46took up position on board the TARDIS.
13:48Feisty, energetic, with an obsession for carrot juice and keeping fit,
13:52this companion often found herself running into trouble.
13:56Along came Mel.
13:57Anyone who knows Bonnie Langford knows that she is a ball of energy.
14:00He was really quite a shock.
14:03She had a sort of predefined personality.
14:08We sort of knew Bonnie Langford.
14:10She was a proper, actual celebrity.
14:13We knew she was a dancer.
14:14We knew she'd been a child actor.
14:15It was a really good decision to go for a different kind of companion,
14:18whereas Perry was nervous and worried.
14:21Mel was very upbeat, very positive.
14:22Mel was quite a positive person, very upbeat, very problem-solving
14:38and very calm, very, very orderly
14:44and a little bit bossy at times, perhaps.
14:48Come on, Doctor!
14:50Come on, hurry!
14:52How I keep up with you is a constant source of amazement to me.
14:56No one sets a mayday call unless it's a matter of life and death.
14:59Yes.
15:00Let's exercise the grey cells for once, shall we?
15:04Rather than the muscles.
15:05In the 1980s, people were suddenly keeping fit,
15:09dieting and using an exercise bike.
15:12Mel was no exception
15:13and she was determined the doctor should be in great shape
15:16for a 900-year-old.
15:18It was considered a good idea to make her a fitness freak
15:21who was obsessed about the doctor being overweight.
15:24Poor old Colin was sitting on a very uncomfortable-looking exercise bike.
15:2924, 29, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
15:3431, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44.
15:46And I was having to make him drink carrot juice.
15:48I cannot bear carrot juice personally.
15:50So I think that was supposed to be the comedy element.
15:54Carrot juice?
15:56It'll do you good.
15:57Honestly, carrots are full of vitamin A.
16:00Mel, have you studied my ears lately?
16:04It's your waistline I'm concerned about.
16:07No, no.
16:08Seriously, though.
16:09Is it my imagination?
16:11Or have they started to grow longer?
16:13There was something wonderfully lubricious
16:16about the way that Nabil Shaban played the part
16:19and he came up with that amazing laugh
16:21that everyone tries to imitate but nobody can.
16:23Along the line, he said...
16:24Sontarans are aliens who are clearly defined by having no neck,
16:36a head that goes straight into their shoulders.
16:39They are implacably warlike.
16:41For them, it's battle and honour.
16:44The Sontarans were bred for war by the billion.
16:47This clone race poured out across the universe,
16:50locked in endless battle with the Rutan Cluster.
16:53Every Sontaran looked the same and thought the same.
16:56They didn't care about themselves,
16:58only about winning at any cost.
17:01The Sontarans are a cloned warrior race.
17:04They've been fighting a seemingly never-ending war
17:07against their enemies, the Rutans,
17:09which has taken place across galaxies.
17:11Sontarans come from the planet Sontar.
17:14They're not evil,
17:15but they are very, very pugnacious, militaristic,
17:19and they want to fight.
17:21When we had our Sontarans,
17:23we had bigger Sontarans.
17:27They're quite strapping, these Sontarans.
17:28They're quite a lot taller than they are nowadays.
17:31You have a warrior who has no personal fear,
17:35no goal apart from defeating an enemy.
17:38If the Sontarans were identical,
17:40Sill was unique.
17:42The galaxy's slipperiest businessman.
17:44He sold worlds, enslaved races,
17:46and liked nothing more than torture and a warm bath.
17:49He would prove to be an adversary
17:51the sixth Doctor and Perry would have trouble forgetting.
17:54Sill, I suppose he fits in the villain mold,
17:57but he wasn't really a villain.
17:58He was a character, flawed character.
18:02He came onto the show in the 80s
18:05when people were becoming very aware of big business
18:09being the villain of the piece,
18:12and Sill represents the interests of big business in outer space.
18:16You're a reasonable man.
18:19Lower the price of your commodity a little, please.
18:23There was something wonderfully lubricious about the way that Nabil Shaban played the part,
18:30and he came up with that amazing laugh
18:32that everyone tries to imitate, but nobody can,
18:34along the lines of...
18:35Ah, that is enterprising.
18:41His revelry in other people's pain and suffering
18:45was just classic,
18:48almost like a Bond villain in his joy in other people's demise.
18:53Your idea, Governor?
18:56Yes?
18:57Are they really disturbing, these figures you sell?
19:02They show what befalls those who refuse to obey the orders
19:05by which the people of Varos must live.
19:07Torture, Blindness, Execution.
19:12All the functions of the Punishment Dome
19:14are recorded as warnings to miscreants everywhere.
19:17But they entertain as well as instruct.
19:21I really enjoyed the particular relationship, obviously,
19:24that, sort of, Sill and Perry had,
19:27and it was lovely to get the opportunity to meet him more than once,
19:31and in a way for him to be responsible for her end.
19:34The Sixth Doctor came into his own when he watched Perry die.
19:39On trial for his own life,
19:40he stood accused of breaking the sacred laws of Gallifrey.
19:44As part of the evidence,
19:45he was forced to watch what appeared to be
19:47the dramatic death of his companion,
19:49a death he blamed the Time Lords for.
19:51He's been brought back to his people
19:53and put through this ridiculous trial,
19:55and he really vents.
19:56But Perry died, Doctor, because you abandoned her.
20:01We had to end her life
20:02because your negligence had made it impossible for her to live.
20:06Lies.
20:07There's something else going on here.
20:09The High Council has no right to order Perry's
20:11or anyone else's death.
20:13It was brilliant to see
20:15how shocked and horrified he was,
20:18and to really cut onto those layers,
20:20the brashness, the arrogance,
20:21and to see how much she'd really mattered to him.
20:24I was taken out of time for another reason,
20:27and I have every intention of finding out what it is.
20:31The finest hour of the Sixth Doctor
20:33was the way he stood up to the Time Lords.
20:35You really felt like the stakes were as high as they could be.
20:38You really felt the emotion,
20:40the desperation,
20:41but also the determination to fight.
20:43There is a word to sum up the Sixth Doctor.
20:45It is justice.
20:47That which is right.
20:48If things are done that are wrong,
20:50wrong against nature,
20:51wrong against all the codes of what we call humanity,
20:55he will rail against it.
20:57A voice shouting in the wilderness.
21:00I'm the Doctor.
21:01The new Doctor lands on Saturday.
21:05I don't think I know who the Doctor is anymore.
21:07Refresh your memory
21:08with BBC America's Doctor Who Takeover Week.
21:10This is where I come in.
21:12All week, it's everything Doctor Who.
21:15From Adipose to Zygons and everything in between.
21:18Explain!
21:19It all leads up to the season premiere of Doctor Who
21:21on Saturday night.
21:23The Takeover continues
21:24with the premiere of The Ultimate Time Lord.
21:26An all-new special tonight at 10,
21:28only on BBC America.
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