This video should be much more popular. Big Finish improved so much of the 6th Doctor. Showing how good Colin is, given propper material. You mentioned you have to listen to "the last adventure". If you still have not, i will not spoil it, but i will say this. 5 hours Doctor vs Valeyard just epic. You will konw, the moment, when the ending starts "rolling in". I got chills and watery eyes, because thats an ending how it should be. Its one of Bif Finishs masterpieces
Thanks for the comment, glad you liked the video. Over the last couple of weeks I have listened to "the last adventure" which I did enjoy. I'm not going to say anything further incase I ever decide to return to the story in a future video
I'd say not. The 'Last Adventure' was given to people who were not as intrenched with writing or listening to Six since the Big Finish started, and it felt like his character growth was misinterpreted. But since it was seemingly such a perfect starting point, most writers comissioned were fresh and used it as a template themselves. Not listened for over a year, but ever since that boxset were released new stories turned Six into a mewling creature who was too afraid to assert himself even for the good of everyone or to save his own life instead of sometimes confrontational, but clearly warm and caring person he grew into, who still sometimes caught karma for his past transgressions, and was not all perfect saint, thought much better, but put all of himself into saving those he cared about and used his oratorial powers for good or at least was fiery and amusing batting off petulantly people who frustrated him
Big Finish making these Doctors who didn’t get a lot of screen time better seems to be a common theme. The 6-9th Doctors, including the War Doctor, feels like they all got a massive makeover and/or got that little extra push to solidify them all as the titular Timelord.
Colin Baker's character range for Sixth Doctor is just amazing. You can easily hear his speech and manner change when he's with Evelyn, so different. Even with younger Peri and Peri post-Widow's Assassin is recognisably different.
Colin Baker is one of the most underrated actors on the planet. The man deserved a far more successful career. Unfortunately, he's in his twilight years now so I don't think he can do physically demanding roles anymore, something he excelled at whilst playing the Doctor. However, he can still do comedy and drama equally well.
Because he was given better stories and wasn't treated like shit when he was at the bbc. Truly Colin Baker had a lot of potential and now he can express it at Big Finish.
It has always surprised and impressed me how Colin Baker maintained a friendship with JNT and tolerance of Eric Saward, seeing these two people were responsible for nearly all the wrong decisions that lead to the unfair view of the Sixth Doctor being a failure. From the horrid costume to the staff tensions especially during Trial of a Timelord he was dealt an incredibly unlucky time. Before Big Finish I could see just what a wonderful Doctor this actor could and would hopefully become. A pity he never got the chance to shine on the screen as he does on Big Finish. Of course the major factor was that with big Finish he was very well written and was allowed a chance to breathe and show his compassion and hugely entertaining eccentricity and intellect. Colin Baker you are a genius and thankfully there are thousands of fans who were to recognise your genius.
Baker has always maintained his Doctor's unlikeable personality as being part of the plan with John Nathan-Turner as he agreed to try that persona, as they both saw to see the sixth Doctor to be much different than the previous Doctors, and then slowly see the layers of the sixth Doctor's persona change in 4 years as Baker was contracted for, but it all fell apart with the chaos and turmoil behind the scenes and upper execs from the BBC interfering. The sixth Doctor's personality just abruptly changes between seasons 22 and 23 (and the imposed 18 month hiatus between seasons as BBC bosses demanded changes to the show, less episodes at 14 and back to the half hour format after season 22's 45 minute format, forcing the original plans for season 23 dropped as some scripts and story outlines were already in development at certain stages), how did that happen? It was Nathan Turner's idea to have the sixth Doctor have a totally tasteless costume to match the Doctor's arrogant, flippant persona, which Baker himself has stated he just hated the rainbow patchwork costume. Then these many years later, script editor Eric Saward has made his statements looking back that he thinks Baker was wrong for the lead role in his opinion. In the end, you are right, Nathan-Turner and Saward were producer and script editor, and they chose the stories that ended up getting made, which gave the sixth Doctor some terrible stories on TV.
Colin Baker is one of the friendliest, most charming people and having met him, I think it would be hard not to maintain a friendship with him despite any mistakes they may have made. As unlikeable as the Sixth Doctor began, he grew one me and that's in no small part due to the talent of the actor as well. It's always saddened me whenever people list the Sixth Doctor as their least favorite because Colin Baker is one of my favorite actors ever to play that role and such a decent, funny, and personable human being. I always say dislike the stories, but not the character because he salvaged as much as he could from it and singling out the character instead of the writing suggests including the actor in the fault and that just wasn't the case.
@@exhistoriascientia Beautifully put and articulated. I would share your opinion on everything you have said. You were lucky to meet the man himself. The telling thing is that someone like myself who has never met the actor still would know what a lovely fellow he is. I think one day he will become better appreciated.
The unfair view of the Sixth Doctor is maintained by fans. Viewing figures reveal that he wasn't unpopular at the time. The BF writers don't know how to write the Doctor's dialogue. They just write him like: generic man. On the show he actually sounds like a scientist who has read a lot of literature to boot.
Great to hear from from another 6th Doctor fan. Absolutely my favourite Doctor. Brash, blunt, direct and bold, after all you can't miss him in that outfit.
@@SammEater I thought we were talking about the sixth Doctor's time. But the fact that the show appeals to general audiences, while BF appeals to no one but fans is rather telling, don't you think? Nick Briggs has never been commissioned by anyone, other than himself. What does that tell you? I don't know why people pick on Chubby Chinballs so much, his stint was at least an improvement on Capaldi's tenure. The real reason people dislike series 11 is bc it wasn't cringe & it didn't rely on gimmicks. No one seems willing to admit that CC's New Year's specials were infinitely better than any of the Christmas Specials. You can pretty much guarantee that nothing succeeding Eve of the Daleks will top it. That's not to say Eve was good, it was garbage, but still better than what's to come.
I am very fond of Colin Baker as the Doctor, thanks for this video. I remember when Big Finish started I was so happy they gave such good stories to the 6th Doctor.
@@FreeTheDonbas No argument here, Revelation is my favourite post Genesis Dalek story from the classic series. Orsini and Bostock could have had an awesome spin off series.
I got into big finish through the 8th doctor. I desided (because big finish is expensive) to follow Charlie instead of the 8th doctor after they part and she travels with the 6th doctor. However so far I’m very impressed.
New Who was my introduction to the Doctor, and I thought I loved it. After listening to the Big Finish stuff (introducing myself to Doctors 5,6,7 and 8), I now have a hard time watching new Who because it just never seems as good. The radio dramas are just on another level. SO GOOD!
TOATL is bar far not only my favourite 6th Doctor story arc, but probably my entire favourite series of any Doctor. Highly underrated by some in my view. I just wish we got to see more of the Inquisitior and the Valyard in later series/stories.
He has a voice for radio for sure. He intregues me. I wouldn't say it's because you can't see THAT coat, because even in the TV series he out-acted the costume he was given. I think the competent writing mixed with a very, very good actor made 6 a success
I always thought that Colin Baker was a much better Doctor than most people gave him credit for. He was sorely let down by poorly written stories and, of course, his costume (that he did NOT choose).
I never disliked the Colin Baker stories. I first saw "The Twin Dilemma" at a convention in Boston MA during the hiatus between seasons 21 and 22. I'm using the word "season" instead of "series" because that's how the first 18 were denoted in "Doctor Who-The Programme Guide." I spent a semester at Keele, in Staffordshire. I missed the first part of "Attack of the Cybermen," since that was my first day in England. When I found out the series had just started airing, I rented a TV. I audio-recorded all of the stories except the Dalek one. I was traveling in Europe at the time. A friend recorded it for me in my absence. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire season but thought the bits about the Second Doctor turning cannibal were silly and a waste of Troughton's talents. Otherwise, I thought it was fine. That is until I heard Big Finish's stories. They took Colin's fine acting to another level when they provided him with superior stories. I overlooked the flaws in the aired episodes because I was so happy to be seeing them as they premiered. The audio and picture quality was also pristine. In the US, I had the opportunity to see the show daily but the signal was poor since Rhode Island was a bit too far from the Boston and Hartford CT stations to receive a decent reception. Thank you for recapping the progression of the 6th Doctor's character!
The Sixth Doctor is very much so my favorite Doctor because of the audios. I don't really like the old tv series in general, but I do love the audios. His dynamic with every character is fantastic. Evelyn, Peri, Mel, Charley, Flip, Constance: his main companions. And, like you said, they drastically improved Mel's character as well as Peri's. Neither of them feel like women who are there just to be rescued, they're actual characters now. For awhile BF was making stories with the Fifth Doctor and Peri and I actually liked that dynamic a lot. Unfortunately they haven't done it since 2008, I think. I never really "got" or cared for the Fifth Doctor. Him and the Second Doctor are the only ones I've never really connected with (apart from the Thirteenth, of course, because of the horrifically bad writing). I never really understood the Fifth Doctor's schtick. Putting him with Peri, though, really brought out his potential as a character. He was the straight man to Peri being all over the place, it was a good dynamic. Better than Nyssa who, like the Fifth Doctor himself, is incredibly dry and boring. I like it when a companion is with multiple Doctors and so you get to see their dynamic with different Doctors. That's fun to me.
I really enjoyed hearing your opinion of the 6th. Historically I have avoided this era as it went really down hill and I had ranked colin baker era as the worst. However, I recently started to listen to Big Finish portrayals, and now, like you, he is one of my favourite doctors. Amazing what a difference an alternative production team and some good writing can do. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I feel it's because the medium of audio, in this case, allows him to show as an actor to the audience, without being distracted by that ridiculous costume he was saddled with. That, and he has better writers this time around.
2:53 Wha? 🤤 I agree with your analysis, though I'm quite far behind with Bigfinishes. I feel that Bigfinish has rationalised and developed many of the characters (including all of the Doctors) and their interpersonal relationships though.
A little appendage - I was thinking about the Third Doctor played by Jon Pertwee. That incarnation was very rude to others, had a huge bloated sense of self-importance, even grandeur. He was often bigoted and very sexist. He nearly always saw himself as the superior and was outright rude and ill mannered. Now there is still much I do like about Pertwee's tenure but why does his portrayal for these traits (which remember the actor chose to play the character as himself) get overlooked whilst Colin Baker copped a truckload of criticism? The writers have a bit to answer for, although Pip and Jane Baker were really thrown into the deep end having to provide a script for the final episode of Trial, in I think two nights. Thank you Louioe Marquis for this video. Hopefully it will draw more listeners to Big Finish and a re-evaluation of sixy!
I suppose people are more forgiving considering the horrible sexism etc of the earliest Doctors was very much the norm in society at the time. You're right though, it's not fair.
Pertwee's Doctor was very bitter about being exiled to earth, and being stuck in a military organisation. He steadily mellowed out in time, particually after the Timelords came crawling to him for help against Omega.
Because the Third Doctor could be charming, and his irascibility was a contrast that worked in the character's favour. The Sixth Doctor achieves amiable but not quite charming, and is in my opinion generally less distinctive. His grating tendencies work against him
Colin Baker sits as one of my least favourite TV doctors (Trial is practically unwatchable) But I now have him ranked one of my favourite doctors over all That’s entirely down to Big Finish - they know how to write for him.
I've only just started listening to the BF main range stuff they have up on Spotify and Colin Baker has been my favourite so far which is impressive since he was always my least favourite Doctor growing up. I've by no means seen anything close to the whole of Classic Who but all the stuff I saw of him I just really disliked the character. And Bonnie Langford was awful. Evelyn seems like a really well suited companion for him from what I have heard so far.
Beside Big Finish's expansion of the 6th Doctor stories, particularly with Mel, Look to the hard to find Virgin publishing and BBC publishing novels... Between the three so many wonderful Sixth doctor stories...
Colin Baker was too good for Doctor Who in that era.. why with the BBC boss at the time hating the show (and Colin) and Saward and JNT not getting on at all I'm surprised it worked as well as it did! Colin shining at Big Finish seems like poetic justice! Screw you Micheal Grade! 🖕🖕
@@CaJoel Thing is, we don't know how long Colin's Doctor lived before he regenerated. He could have aged significantly between Trial of a Time Lord and Time and the Rani. Remember, he still needed to meet Mel all over again after the Trial so the Mel in the TARDIS during Time and the Rani is a younger version than the one who offered him carrot juice.
Big Finish made me enjoy 6 more. Also, that alternate blue costume on the covers of some of his stories was actually cool. Anyways, my favorite Big Finish story with 6 has to be Juiblee. It's dark, intriguing, and has one of my favorite scenes from daleks. "Daleks DO NOT SING!"
I think it's the fits. That technicolored coat is AMAZING. Not saying i'd kill for it, but i might sell you into indentured servitude so i could get one made just like it....and lie my daddy bout the whole deal--but ofcourse
If I might offer a rebuttal. Telly Sixth Doctor is my favourite classic Doctor, and my 2nd fave Doctor overall (just underneath Thirteen). Big Finish's take on the Sixth Doctor however... is not. In a lot of ways, the Sixth Doctor was my first Doctor as full-on fan. I was born in '73, so I grew up with Tom, properly got into the show with Peter, but it was during Colin's run that my fandom really kicked in, joining the DWAS, discovering Doctor Who magazine, building my book/merch collection, all that stuff. Sure, at only 11, I was too young to see the many, MANY flaws in Twin Dilemma, but right from the outset, Colin was the first Doctor I remember consciously considering to be my favourite. I loved the costume, his attitude, everything about him. So understandably, I was thrilled when Big Finish came along in '99 and I thought I would finally to be able to get so much more of my (then) still all-time favourite Doctor. And we did. But also we didn't. Because it wasn't very long at all before Big Finish decided that rather than portray the actual Sixth Doctor, they would create their own version of the character. Though I use the word "character" in its very loosest sense, considering that Big Finish's Sixth Doctor doesn't actually have one. Largely devoid of his sardonic wit, his enormous ego and his sheer bombastic presence, Big Finish's Sixth Doctor is... meh. He's basically a blank slate, generic, Doctor-by-numbers. Kind of like if you kept all the Doc's core traits across every incarnation (kind, brave, clever, etc) but then removed all the unique personality traits that made every Doctor their own Doctor. Colin's still fantastic, of course, and I'm happy and grateful that he got to return to a part he loved and was so prematurely and unfairly removed from. But more often than not with his BF output, it feels like Colin is playing himself, rather than the Doctor. Because the only personality trait that BF's Six really possesses is Colin's own natural charisma. Beyond that, there's nothing in the writing that gives Six his own identity. It's essentially like Big Finish have Stepford Wife'd the Sixth Doctor, creating what they consider to be a more 'acceptable' version of the real thing. I've always considered Big Finish's Blue Coat/Costume for Six to be the perfect illustration for what they actually did to his character. Because they took something vibrant and loud and uncompromising and completely in your face... and they turned it into something safe and ordinary and completely mundane. Which simply isn't him.
It is a well-known phenomenon in psychology that the music, media and cultural experiences we have from about the age of 10 and encompassing our early teens is formative for us and sticks with us emotionally for life. It shapes our nostalgic tastes. I suggest, sir, that this is what's happened to you. You are emotionally attached to your tweenage experience watching this show and haven't come back to look at the flaws with a fresh unbiased viewpoint. The idea that you love the costume which literally everyone else finds abominable and a misfit for the character (well, unless the person whose opinion you ask has the initials JNT maybe) kind of stands as evidence that you are not looking at this thing objectively. What you're calling "sardonic wit" and "bombastic presence", most people just call janky writing.
@@EC2019 Or maybe people just have different opinions. I mean, I say "maybe", but the irony of course is that the notion of people having different opinion is not, as it turns out, an opinion, but a matter of fact. Which is a concept I would say "literally everyone else" understands, but evidence would often suggest otherwise. Also, the word literally is literally misused far too often these days. You're right that I'm not looking at this objectively. Which would also be the case for yourself, the creator of this video and basically everyone else who has ever had an opinion on a TV show. Or indeed, an audio production.
Agree with all of this. It doesn’t help that as he’s aged, Baker’s voice has lost that youthful aggression that made the TV Doctor so appealing. Now he just sounds like a kindly old man. Also, I think I’ve seen this take on Reddit?
@@EC2019 There's objectively nothing wrong with an ALIEN wearing such a ridiculous costume. It's not rocket science to conclude that an extraterrestrial creature's concept of fashion is completely different to a human's. That's the whole fucking point and it's spelled out VERY clearly!
The reason why the Sixth Doctor works on Big Finish is because a. he's no longer being judged by the viewing public but by a niche group of Who fans who like him already, and b. you don't have to look at him
While I am appreciative of what BF has done with the 6th Doctor, they've done an even better job rescuing the 5th Doctor for me. IMO, Davison has the weakest TV run of all the classic doctors and on BF, he has done a complete 360.
In hindsight now....The catastrophe that destroyed both classic Who and the supposed 'power team' of Doc 6 and Peri (and the aspiring stars chosen to play them) has created one of the longest lasting and most enduring teams in the entire DW canon as well as ... ironically ... fusing forever the identities of the stars and the characters they play. Since this is what they wanted at the time - to play the characters for years and cement them into the minds of the public forever - it seems they've got their wish, though maybe not as they would have liked. As a big fan of this team (as a callow youth in the mid-eighties) I was very disappointed by what happened and the cruel and incomplete way that their tenure finished - and I would have desperately wanted the era of 'Doc 6 and Peri' to continue into the nineties and maybe beyond....but, we at least have this....and they are now in charge! Colin and Nicola - who single handily rescued Season 22 from JNT's original concept of 'Psycho and Bimbos adventures in space, time, mutilation horror and cannibalism' - have become the scribes of a mythology that is among the richest in Who lore and perhaps all sci-fi lore...... So we have two stories - one in the 'real world' and one on the screen - which were so closely connected that they have long since ceased to be parallel and instead become one, single, incredible and astounding story!
This is... sort of true. I agree that he's great with Evelyn, and he's written very well with Peri in a lot of audios (mostly the ones written by Nev Fountain, who's Nicola Bryant's husband)... buuut I can't say that he kept that throughout. Big Finish managed to sand off literally all the edges of his character and turn him into the most uninteresting, safe, utterly generic Doctor imaginable. The decline started with Flip, continued into stories with Mel, and really accelerated with Constance. You listen to these Constancs stories, or stories with both Flip and Constance, and it's virtually impossible to tell that it's the Sixth Doctor. You could give these lines to Peter Davison and it would make complete sense. He is ungodly boring and it honestly ruins so many of these late-run Main Range stories.
You keep saying how bad, disastrous & low-quality everything was when it came to introducing the sixth Doctor. The case you're trying to make is that these bad decisions lead to the sixth Doctor being unpopular with audiences, but this claim is easily debunked just by checking the viewing figures. The show maintains the same numbers for season 22 that it had for season 21. General audiences did not dislike the Sixth Doctor. Whovians are just obsessed with revising history, like some sort of Doctor Who villain, on par with Michael Grade.
The Sixth Doctor is BARF. I still can't stand the fact that people try to justify his incarnation who had ruthlessly tried to choke his own companion in a most unDoctorish manner possible. Can't stand his personality. I also refer to Colin as the Wrong Baker.
Oh, sod off. Colin always did his best with the material he was handed, and he often managed to elevate the scripts in spite of themselves. And yeah, feel free to call me biased based on my avatar. As long as I can do the same based on yours.
Colin Baker's a better actor than Peter Capaldi. Peter Capaldi wouldn't have stood a chance with those scripts but Colin Baker managed to elevate even dogshit like The Twin Dilemma.
This video should be much more popular. Big Finish improved so much of the 6th Doctor. Showing how good Colin is, given propper material. You mentioned you have to listen to "the last adventure". If you still have not, i will not spoil it, but i will say this. 5 hours Doctor vs Valeyard just epic. You will konw, the moment, when the ending starts "rolling in". I got chills and watery eyes, because thats an ending how it should be. Its one of Bif Finishs masterpieces
Thanks for the comment, glad you liked the video. Over the last couple of weeks I have listened to "the last adventure" which I did enjoy. I'm not going to say anything further incase I ever decide to return to the story in a future video
I'd say not. The 'Last Adventure' was given to people who were not as intrenched with writing or listening to Six since the Big Finish started, and it felt like his character growth was misinterpreted. But since it was seemingly such a perfect starting point, most writers comissioned were fresh and used it as a template themselves. Not listened for over a year, but ever since that boxset were released new stories turned Six into a mewling creature who was too afraid to assert himself even for the good of everyone or to save his own life instead of sometimes confrontational, but clearly warm and caring person he grew into, who still sometimes caught karma for his past transgressions, and was not all perfect saint, thought much better, but put all of himself into saving those he cared about and used his oratorial powers for good or at least was fiery and amusing batting off petulantly people who frustrated him
Big Finish making these Doctors who didn’t get a lot of screen time better seems to be a common theme. The 6-9th Doctors, including the War Doctor, feels like they all got a massive makeover and/or got that little extra push to solidify them all as the titular Timelord.
Colin Baker's character range for Sixth Doctor is just amazing. You can easily hear his speech and manner change when he's with Evelyn, so different. Even with younger Peri and Peri post-Widow's Assassin is recognisably different.
Colin Baker is one of the most underrated actors on the planet. The man deserved a far more successful career. Unfortunately, he's in his twilight years now so I don't think he can do physically demanding roles anymore, something he excelled at whilst playing the Doctor. However, he can still do comedy and drama equally well.
Because he was given better stories and wasn't treated like shit when he was at the bbc. Truly Colin Baker had a lot of potential and now he can express it at Big Finish.
But BF's stories aren't better.
It has always surprised and impressed me how Colin Baker maintained a friendship with JNT and tolerance of Eric Saward, seeing these two people were responsible for nearly all the wrong decisions that lead to the unfair view of the Sixth Doctor being a failure. From the horrid costume to the staff tensions especially during Trial of a Timelord he was dealt an incredibly unlucky time. Before Big Finish I could see just what a wonderful Doctor this actor could and would hopefully become. A pity he never got the chance to shine on the screen as he does on Big Finish. Of course the major factor was that with big Finish he was very well written and was allowed a chance to breathe and show his compassion and hugely entertaining eccentricity and intellect. Colin Baker you are a genius and thankfully there are thousands of fans who were to recognise your genius.
Baker has always maintained his Doctor's unlikeable personality as being part of the plan with John Nathan-Turner as he agreed to try that persona, as they both saw to see the sixth Doctor to be much different than the previous Doctors, and then slowly see the layers of the sixth Doctor's persona change in 4 years as Baker was contracted for, but it all fell apart with the chaos and turmoil behind the scenes and upper execs from the BBC interfering. The sixth Doctor's personality just abruptly changes between seasons 22 and 23 (and the imposed 18 month hiatus between seasons as BBC bosses demanded changes to the show, less episodes at 14 and back to the half hour format after season 22's 45 minute format, forcing the original plans for season 23 dropped as some scripts and story outlines were already in development at certain stages), how did that happen? It was Nathan Turner's idea to have the sixth Doctor have a totally tasteless costume to match the Doctor's arrogant, flippant persona, which Baker himself has stated he just hated the rainbow patchwork costume. Then these many years later, script editor Eric Saward has made his statements looking back that he thinks Baker was wrong for the lead role in his opinion. In the end, you are right, Nathan-Turner and Saward were producer and script editor, and they chose the stories that ended up getting made, which gave the sixth Doctor some terrible stories on TV.
@@SupermanKalL That is an excellent summary of what happened.
Colin Baker is one of the friendliest, most charming people and having met him, I think it would be hard not to maintain a friendship with him despite any mistakes they may have made. As unlikeable as the Sixth Doctor began, he grew one me and that's in no small part due to the talent of the actor as well. It's always saddened me whenever people list the Sixth Doctor as their least favorite because Colin Baker is one of my favorite actors ever to play that role and such a decent, funny, and personable human being. I always say dislike the stories, but not the character because he salvaged as much as he could from it and singling out the character instead of the writing suggests including the actor in the fault and that just wasn't the case.
@@exhistoriascientia Beautifully put and articulated. I would share your opinion on everything you have said. You were lucky to meet the man himself. The telling thing is that someone like myself who has never met the actor still would know what a lovely fellow he is. I think one day he will become better appreciated.
The unfair view of the Sixth Doctor is maintained by fans. Viewing figures reveal that he wasn't unpopular at the time. The BF writers don't know how to write the Doctor's dialogue. They just write him like: generic man. On the show he actually sounds like a scientist who has read a lot of literature to boot.
Great to hear from from another 6th Doctor fan. Absolutely my favourite Doctor. Brash, blunt, direct and bold, after all you can't miss him in that outfit.
Colin Baker is one of my favourite Doctors him and Sylvester McCoy are tied can’t decide where to place them 5th or 6th places they are both great
I am glad the Sixth Doctor got the respect he deserved at Big Finish, if only those writters were involved with the actual show.
But none of the BF stories are better than the TV stories, so why would you wish that?
@@FreeTheDonbas Nice try, but you can't possibly tell me any of Chibs episodes are better than the lowest rated Big Finish audio book.
@@SammEater I thought we were talking about the sixth Doctor's time. But the fact that the show appeals to general audiences, while BF appeals to no one but fans is rather telling, don't you think? Nick Briggs has never been commissioned by anyone, other than himself. What does that tell you?
I don't know why people pick on Chubby Chinballs so much, his stint was at least an improvement on Capaldi's tenure. The real reason people dislike series 11 is bc it wasn't cringe & it didn't rely on gimmicks. No one seems willing to admit that CC's New Year's specials were infinitely better than any of the Christmas Specials. You can pretty much guarantee that nothing succeeding Eve of the Daleks will top it. That's not to say Eve was good, it was garbage, but still better than what's to come.
@@FreeTheDonbas Wow, nice joke Chibs.
One of my favourite 6th Doctor stories is The Arrangements for War, I was stunned by its ending and by Colin's acting in it.
big finish had the balls to write the darkest stories
I am very fond of Colin Baker as the Doctor, thanks for this video. I remember when Big Finish started I was so happy they gave such good stories to the 6th Doctor.
name one good story BF gave the 6th Doctor.
@@FreeTheDonbas I really enjoyed Jubilee.
@@ultra_marcus Revelation of the Daleks was infinitely better.
@@FreeTheDonbas No argument here, Revelation is my favourite post Genesis Dalek story from the classic series. Orsini and Bostock could have had an awesome spin off series.
I got into big finish through the 8th doctor. I desided (because big finish is expensive) to follow Charlie instead of the 8th doctor after they part and she travels with the 6th doctor. However so far I’m very impressed.
Also helps that Colin had a pretty decent experience in radio and commercials *before* Doctor Who
You can't see his outfit. That's the main improvement
I was thinking that.
New Who was my introduction to the Doctor, and I thought I loved it. After listening to the Big Finish stuff (introducing myself to Doctors 5,6,7 and 8), I now have a hard time watching new Who because it just never seems as good. The radio dramas are just on another level. SO GOOD!
It was big finish who helped push six up to top five of my favorite doctors
I hope Jodie goes to Big Finish and just like Colin her Doctor gets better in Big Finish
yeah, she'd be amazing with some good writers. they could really change the fans' opinion like they did with colin.
Great video Louie. Really highlighted how good this underrated Doctor is and how well he was further developed in Big Finish.
Glad you enjoyed it
TOATL is bar far not only my favourite 6th Doctor story arc, but probably my entire favourite series of any Doctor. Highly underrated by some in my view. I just wish we got to see more of the Inquisitior and the Valyard in later series/stories.
He has a voice for radio for sure. He intregues me.
I wouldn't say it's because you can't see THAT coat, because even in the TV series he out-acted the costume he was given.
I think the competent writing mixed with a very, very good actor made 6 a success
I always thought that Colin Baker was a much better Doctor than most people gave him credit for. He was sorely let down by poorly written stories and, of course, his costume (that he did NOT choose).
His stories weren't poorly written... at least not the TV broadcast ones. The audios on the other hand, stank.
doctor smythe and the sixth worked really well
I'm glad I watched this! I'll have to listen to the 6th Doctor's Big Finish adventures.
0:22 That’s an incredible spread!
It works so well because you don't have to look at his coat 😁
Think BBV's The Stranger spin-offs helped shape 6's character ✨
I never disliked the Colin Baker stories. I first saw "The Twin Dilemma" at a convention in Boston MA during the hiatus between seasons 21 and 22. I'm using the word "season" instead of "series" because that's how the first 18 were denoted in "Doctor Who-The Programme Guide." I spent a semester at Keele, in Staffordshire. I missed the first part of "Attack of the Cybermen," since that was my first day in England. When I found out the series had just started airing, I rented a TV. I audio-recorded all of the stories except the Dalek one. I was traveling in Europe at the time. A friend recorded it for me in my absence. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire season but thought the bits about the Second Doctor turning cannibal were silly and a waste of Troughton's talents. Otherwise, I thought it was fine. That is until I heard Big Finish's stories. They took Colin's fine acting to another level when they provided him with superior stories. I overlooked the flaws in the aired episodes because I was so happy to be seeing them as they premiered. The audio and picture quality was also pristine. In the US, I had the opportunity to see the show daily but the signal was poor since Rhode Island was a bit too far from the Boston and Hartford CT stations to receive a decent reception. Thank you for recapping the progression of the 6th Doctor's character!
Collon Baker is actually has always been my favorite Doctor.
The Sixth Doctor is very much so my favorite Doctor because of the audios. I don't really like the old tv series in general, but I do love the audios. His dynamic with every character is fantastic. Evelyn, Peri, Mel, Charley, Flip, Constance: his main companions. And, like you said, they drastically improved Mel's character as well as Peri's. Neither of them feel like women who are there just to be rescued, they're actual characters now. For awhile BF was making stories with the Fifth Doctor and Peri and I actually liked that dynamic a lot. Unfortunately they haven't done it since 2008, I think. I never really "got" or cared for the Fifth Doctor. Him and the Second Doctor are the only ones I've never really connected with (apart from the Thirteenth, of course, because of the horrifically bad writing). I never really understood the Fifth Doctor's schtick. Putting him with Peri, though, really brought out his potential as a character. He was the straight man to Peri being all over the place, it was a good dynamic. Better than Nyssa who, like the Fifth Doctor himself, is incredibly dry and boring. I like it when a companion is with multiple Doctors and so you get to see their dynamic with different Doctors. That's fun to me.
Were you paid to post this gibberish?
I really enjoyed hearing your opinion of the 6th. Historically I have avoided this era as it went really down hill and I had ranked colin baker era as the worst. However, I recently started to listen to Big Finish portrayals, and now, like you, he is one of my favourite doctors. Amazing what a difference an alternative production team and some good writing can do. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I completely agree. I loved the sixth Doctor's adventures with Charley Pollard which ,in a sense, predicted the timey wimey complexity of River Song.
I feel it's because the medium of audio, in this case, allows him to show as an actor to the audience, without being distracted by that ridiculous costume he was saddled with. That, and he has better writers this time around.
always felt bad for Baker; an excellent actor even his otherwise the wonky TV run, and BF show what a real 'what could have been' Doctor he is
2:03 is that a Phineas & Ferb reference?
Nice
Looking forward to Jodie getting similary treatment
2:53 Wha? 🤤
I agree with your analysis, though I'm quite far behind with Bigfinishes. I feel that Bigfinish has rationalised and developed many of the characters (including all of the Doctors) and their interpersonal relationships though.
A little appendage - I was thinking about the Third Doctor played by Jon Pertwee. That incarnation was very rude to others, had a huge bloated sense of self-importance, even grandeur. He was often bigoted and very sexist. He nearly always saw himself as the superior and was outright rude and ill mannered. Now there is still much I do like about Pertwee's tenure but why does his portrayal for these traits (which remember the actor chose to play the character as himself) get overlooked whilst Colin Baker copped a truckload of criticism? The writers have a bit to answer for, although Pip and Jane Baker were really thrown into the deep end having to provide a script for the final episode of Trial, in I think two nights.
Thank you Louioe Marquis for this video. Hopefully it will draw more listeners to Big Finish and a re-evaluation of sixy!
I suppose people are more forgiving considering the horrible sexism etc of the earliest Doctors was very much the norm in society at the time. You're right though, it's not fair.
Nostalgia for that era, I’d expect. People were a lot less tolerant of Who by the 80s.
Pertwee's Doctor was very bitter about being exiled to earth, and being stuck in a military organisation. He steadily mellowed out in time, particually after the Timelords came crawling to him for help against Omega.
Because the Third Doctor could be charming, and his irascibility was a contrast that worked in the character's favour. The Sixth Doctor achieves amiable but not quite charming, and is in my opinion generally less distinctive. His grating tendencies work against him
@@minicle426 A fair and valid point. I did increasingly warm to him in his last season particularly.
I've always wanted to see the Big Finish stories set to animation. It was great when Night Of The Doctor officially made them canon
Now we have to wait for Night of the Doctor to be canonised.
How did you get to have twin dilemma in the video? Because whenever I try to use it it makes my video not be able to be seen by anyone
I'm hoping that Big Finish can do for Eccleston's Doctor, what it did for Colin Bakers!
And also for Jodie. I really hope that big finish makes 13th justice
You know what?
I agree.
wait this video only has 850 views... WHAT!?!?!
well... that changed XD
although... You only have 145 Subscribers... WHAT!?!?!?!?
Because you can’t see his outfit?
Colin Baker sits as one of my least favourite TV doctors (Trial is practically unwatchable)
But I now have him ranked one of my favourite doctors over all
That’s entirely down to Big Finish - they know how to write for him.
lol yeah & Family Guy is better written than The Simpsons.
Becuase the writers and producers don’t hate his guts
I've only just started listening to the BF main range stuff they have up on Spotify and Colin Baker has been my favourite so far which is impressive since he was always my least favourite Doctor growing up. I've by no means seen anything close to the whole of Classic Who but all the stuff I saw of him I just really disliked the character. And Bonnie Langford was awful. Evelyn seems like a really well suited companion for him from what I have heard so far.
Beside Big Finish's expansion of the 6th Doctor stories, particularly with Mel, Look to the hard to find Virgin publishing and BBC publishing novels... Between the three so many wonderful Sixth doctor stories...
03:59 only the very cheapest sets from the BBC. Look at the state of those steps!
1:41 is that the absorb alien from Blom?
Great vid but at 3.20 you say its the first season to have an overarching plot throughout the season but what about 4th's Key to Time?
Colin Baker was too good for Doctor Who in that era.. why with the BBC boss at the time hating the show (and Colin) and Saward and JNT not getting on at all I'm surprised it worked as well as it did! Colin shining at Big Finish seems like poetic justice!
Screw you Micheal Grade! 🖕🖕
Sadly Colin's voice hasn't held up as well as Tom's. He sounds too old and raspy.
Suspend your disbelief. That’s what we do with Doctor Who. Got a few of his audios and it just sounds like an older Sixth Doctor, which it is.
A lot of people prefer his older sounding voice, even if there isn’t a canon reason why it sounds like that (as if it matters anyway)
I prefer the idea that sixth lived a long life, having time to travel with Peri, Mel, Evelyn, and Frobisher
@@CaJoel Thing is, we don't know how long Colin's Doctor lived before he regenerated. He could have aged significantly between Trial of a Time Lord and Time and the Rani. Remember, he still needed to meet Mel all over again after the Trial so the Mel in the TARDIS during Time and the Rani is a younger version than the one who offered him carrot juice.
Big Finish made me enjoy 6 more. Also, that alternate blue costume on the covers of some of his stories was actually cool. Anyways, my favorite Big Finish story with 6 has to be Juiblee. It's dark, intriguing, and has one of my favorite scenes from daleks.
"Daleks DO NOT SING!"
Revelation was better.
I think it's the fits. That technicolored coat is AMAZING. Not saying i'd kill for it, but i might sell you into indentured servitude so i could get one made just like it....and lie my daddy bout the whole deal--but ofcourse
I hope they can do the same for Jodie/13th. I really hope
To be fair of the first moment with the spy stuff it is implied to be post regeneration trauma.
Trial of a Timelord was not the first season-long arc; Key to Time was.
If I might offer a rebuttal. Telly Sixth Doctor is my favourite classic Doctor, and my 2nd fave Doctor overall (just underneath Thirteen). Big Finish's take on the Sixth Doctor however... is not.
In a lot of ways, the Sixth Doctor was my first Doctor as full-on fan. I was born in '73, so I grew up with Tom, properly got into the show with Peter, but it was during Colin's run that my fandom really kicked in, joining the DWAS, discovering Doctor Who magazine, building my book/merch collection, all that stuff.
Sure, at only 11, I was too young to see the many, MANY flaws in Twin Dilemma, but right from the outset, Colin was the first Doctor I remember consciously considering to be my favourite. I loved the costume, his attitude, everything about him. So understandably, I was thrilled when Big Finish came along in '99 and I thought I would finally to be able to get so much more of my (then) still all-time favourite Doctor.
And we did. But also we didn't. Because it wasn't very long at all before Big Finish decided that rather than portray the actual Sixth Doctor, they would create their own version of the character. Though I use the word "character" in its very loosest sense, considering that Big Finish's Sixth Doctor doesn't actually have one. Largely devoid of his sardonic wit, his enormous ego and his sheer bombastic presence, Big Finish's Sixth Doctor is... meh. He's basically a blank slate, generic, Doctor-by-numbers. Kind of like if you kept all the Doc's core traits across every incarnation (kind, brave, clever, etc) but then removed all the unique personality traits that made every Doctor their own Doctor.
Colin's still fantastic, of course, and I'm happy and grateful that he got to return to a part he loved and was so prematurely and unfairly removed from. But more often than not with his BF output, it feels like Colin is playing himself, rather than the Doctor. Because the only personality trait that BF's Six really possesses is Colin's own natural charisma. Beyond that, there's nothing in the writing that gives Six his own identity. It's essentially like Big Finish have Stepford Wife'd the Sixth Doctor, creating what they consider to be a more 'acceptable' version of the real thing.
I've always considered Big Finish's Blue Coat/Costume for Six to be the perfect illustration for what they actually did to his character. Because they took something vibrant and loud and uncompromising and completely in your face... and they turned it into something safe and ordinary and completely mundane.
Which simply isn't him.
It is a well-known phenomenon in psychology that the music, media and cultural experiences we have from about the age of 10 and encompassing our early teens is formative for us and sticks with us emotionally for life. It shapes our nostalgic tastes. I suggest, sir, that this is what's happened to you. You are emotionally attached to your tweenage experience watching this show and haven't come back to look at the flaws with a fresh unbiased viewpoint. The idea that you love the costume which literally everyone else finds abominable and a misfit for the character (well, unless the person whose opinion you ask has the initials JNT maybe) kind of stands as evidence that you are not looking at this thing objectively. What you're calling "sardonic wit" and "bombastic presence", most people just call janky writing.
@@EC2019 Or maybe people just have different opinions. I mean, I say "maybe", but the irony of course is that the notion of people having different opinion is not, as it turns out, an opinion, but a matter of fact. Which is a concept I would say "literally everyone else" understands, but evidence would often suggest otherwise. Also, the word literally is literally misused far too often these days.
You're right that I'm not looking at this objectively. Which would also be the case for yourself, the creator of this video and basically everyone else who has ever had an opinion on a TV show. Or indeed, an audio production.
Agree with all of this. It doesn’t help that as he’s aged, Baker’s voice has lost that youthful aggression that made the TV Doctor so appealing. Now he just sounds like a kindly old man.
Also, I think I’ve seen this take on Reddit?
@@EC2019 There's objectively nothing wrong with an ALIEN wearing such a ridiculous costume. It's not rocket science to conclude that an extraterrestrial creature's concept of fashion is completely different to a human's. That's the whole fucking point and it's spelled out VERY clearly!
The reason why the Sixth Doctor works on Big Finish is because
a. he's no longer being judged by the viewing public but by a niche group of Who fans who like him already, and
b. you don't have to look at him
Totally agree. Did not think much of Colin until Big Finish came along.
While I am appreciative of what BF has done with the 6th Doctor, they've done an even better job rescuing the 5th Doctor for me. IMO, Davison has the weakest TV run of all the classic doctors and on BF, he has done a complete 360.
360?
I think you mean 180.
Agreed.
I like the big finish 6th doctor.
This was supposed to be a darker more serious doctor and yet they dressed him in what looks like a clowns costume, It wasn't a good look,
"Strange choices to make him unlikable in the start..." - the director didn't want to do Dr Who so sabotaged it. Not a "strange choice".
I grew up watching John Perwtee Tom Baker and Peter Davidson.. Would Have to Say Tom baker was my doctor. This doctor was Too adult
Carrot juice.
What a way to go.
In hindsight now....The catastrophe that destroyed both classic Who and the supposed 'power team' of Doc 6 and Peri (and the aspiring stars chosen to play them) has created one of the longest lasting and most enduring teams in the entire DW canon as well as ... ironically ... fusing forever the identities of the stars and the characters they play. Since this is what they wanted at the time - to play the characters for years and cement them into the minds of the public forever - it seems they've got their wish, though maybe not as they would have liked.
As a big fan of this team (as a callow youth in the mid-eighties) I was very disappointed by what happened and the cruel and incomplete way that their tenure finished - and I would have desperately wanted the era of 'Doc 6 and Peri' to continue into the nineties and maybe beyond....but, we at least have this....and they are now in charge! Colin and Nicola - who single handily rescued Season 22 from JNT's original concept of 'Psycho and Bimbos adventures in space, time, mutilation horror and cannibalism' - have become the scribes of a mythology that is among the richest in Who lore and perhaps all sci-fi lore......
So we have two stories - one in the 'real world' and one on the screen - which were so closely connected that they have long since ceased to be parallel and instead become one, single, incredible and astounding story!
because the 6th Doctor is toned down i thought is the answer
This is... sort of true. I agree that he's great with Evelyn, and he's written very well with Peri in a lot of audios (mostly the ones written by Nev Fountain, who's Nicola Bryant's husband)... buuut I can't say that he kept that throughout. Big Finish managed to sand off literally all the edges of his character and turn him into the most uninteresting, safe, utterly generic Doctor imaginable. The decline started with Flip, continued into stories with Mel, and really accelerated with Constance. You listen to these Constancs stories, or stories with both Flip and Constance, and it's virtually impossible to tell that it's the Sixth Doctor. You could give these lines to Peter Davison and it would make complete sense. He is ungodly boring and it honestly ruins so many of these late-run Main Range stories.
You keep saying how bad, disastrous & low-quality everything was when it came to introducing the sixth Doctor. The case you're trying to make is that these bad decisions lead to the sixth Doctor being unpopular with audiences, but this claim is easily debunked just by checking the viewing figures. The show maintains the same numbers for season 22 that it had for season 21. General audiences did not dislike the Sixth Doctor. Whovians are just obsessed with revising history, like some sort of Doctor Who villain, on par with Michael Grade.
Big finish work at videos and streaming internet
The Sixth Doctor is BARF. I still can't stand the fact that people try to justify his incarnation who had ruthlessly tried to choke his own companion in a most unDoctorish manner possible. Can't stand his personality. I also refer to Colin as the Wrong Baker.
Because it's on audio and you can't see the awful costume.
Because people can't see his poor performance?
Yes, that's why, IF you like the stories...I would guess.
Oh, sod off. Colin always did his best with the material he was handed, and he often managed to elevate the scripts in spite of themselves.
And yeah, feel free to call me biased based on my avatar. As long as I can do the same based on yours.
Colin Baker's a better actor than Peter Capaldi. Peter Capaldi wouldn't have stood a chance with those scripts but Colin Baker managed to elevate even dogshit like The Twin Dilemma.
Really Disliked this Doctor - Hes Just as bad as Jodie Whitaker- Both are the Reasons for the Decline in Doctor Who
I liked CB both on TV and BF
Yeah...pretty much not having to see him in that costume is why for me. It was a turnoff from day one!