Visit the official Doctor Who website

Visit the official Doctor Who website
Look to the future

Asylum seekers...

Asylum seekers...
Refuge of the Daleks

Doctor Who picture resource

Doctor Who picture resource
Roam the space lanes!

Explore the Doctor Who classic series website

Explore the Doctor Who classic series website
Step back in time

Infiltrate The Hub of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood

Infiltrate The Hub of Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood
Armed and extremely dangerous

Investigate The Sarah Jane Adventures

Investigate The Sarah Jane Adventures
Fearless in the face of adversity

Call on Dani’s House

Call on Dani’s House
Harmer’s a charmer

Intercept the UFO fabsite

Intercept the UFO fabsite
Defending the Earth against alien invaders!

Uncover the secrets of the Dollhouse

Uncover the secrets of the Dollhouse
Programmable agent Echo exposed!

Hell’s belles

Hell’s belles
Naughty but nice

Love Exposure

Love Exposure
Flash photography!

Primeval portal

Primeval portal
Dressed to kill or damsels in distress?

Charmed, to be sure!

Charmed, to be sure!
The witches of San Francisco

Take on t.A.T.u.

Take on t.A.T.u.
All the way from Moscow

Proceed to the Luther website

Proceed to the Luther website
John and Jenny discuss their next move

DCI Banks is on the case

DCI Banks is on the case
You can bet on it!

On The Grid with Spooks

On The Grid with Spooks
Secret agents of Section D

Bridge to Hustle

Bridge to Hustle
Shady characters

Life on Ashes To Ashes

Life on Ashes To Ashes
Coppers with a chequered past

Claire’s no Exile

Claire’s no Exile
Goose steps

Vexed is back on the beat!

Vexed is back on the beat!
Mismatched DI Armstrong and bright fast-tracker Georgina Dixon

Medium, both super and natural

Medium, both super and natural
Open the door to your dreams

Who’s that girl? (350-picture Slideshow)

Saturday 20 January 2007

Happy Birthday, Tom!



73 Today!

5 comments:

Old Cheeser said...

Happy Birthday Mr Baker! The best Doctor of them all! (Well in my humble estimation anyway).

I cannot believe that he is 73 - wow. He's holding up pretty well isn't he? I love his voiceover on "Little Britain" and it's great that he's still with us.

And his swansong Dr Who story is just about to come out on DVD! Hoorah! (I had to get that in somewhere didn't I?)

TimeWarden said...

I think it’s inevitable that people in their thirties will plump for either Tom Baker or Peter Davison as their favourite Doctor while those in their forties go for one or other of the first three. It’s a shame that Hartnell always comes off poorly in opinion polls and it’s because most fans are in their mid-to-late thirties rather than really reflecting the true quality of the show’s earliest stories.

It is hard to believe Tom is now 73 just as it’s hard to believe that that other “Starman” David Bowie turned 60 the other week! Many more fruitful years to both of them!!

Old Cheeser said...

True, it's a generational thing. You tend to prefer the Dr you grew up with. (Thank goodness I wasn't a youngster when Sly McCoy was Dr!! Although maybe I might have ended up liking him!) From the episodes and clips I have seen, Hartnell really did give an authoritative and comanding performance as the Dr and was an excellent first choice for the role.

Yes you tend to think of these people remaining the same even though time marches on! Tom still has his commanding eccentricity and that wonderfully rich, fruity voice that makes him so distinctive an actor.

Anonymous said...

I'm 37 and I'd put the Doctors in order as

Hartnell
Pertwee
Davison
Eccleston
Tom Baker

and then the rest in a bit of a guddle.

Bowie being 60 is just scary though!

TimeWarden said...

I have a gut feeling that each time the Doctor regenerates, brilliant concept though it undoubtedly is, the programme moves further away from what made it unique in the first place and more towards the commonplace. Thus, each new Doctor appears less inventive than the one before, even if you warm to them initially. But, despite this generalisation, they’ve all had their good and bad moments, ups and downs.

I believe the programme depends more on quality of script and production, than performance of an individual actor, with regard the success of each story, season or even era. For me, Simon, McCoy was fine if the story was strong enough to carry him. I appreciate he’s not the world’s greatest actor! And, Stuart, your choice of Eccleston over Tom surprises me, knowing how much you enjoy season 12. Or do Tom’s later seasons, under Graham Williams, undermine his earlier quality, for you?