TW Pays Tribute To Tom Baker

By Owen Quinn author

Photo copyright BBC

Have you seen how people throw a wake for themselves just to see who would turn up and what they would say about the deceased? Well, I thought, why wait until a celebrity you admire dise before writing how much they have impacted you through their movies or television roles.

What can I say about Tom Baker? He is an icon of the highest degree and now in his 90s, Tom still has that same twinkle in his eye he had throughout his career.

He is, of course, the Doctor, the fourth to be precise and he elevated the show to international status under the watchful eye of then producer, John Nathan Turner. For seven magical years, Tom played the Time Lord and let’s face it, it really went to his head. He broke relationships that were mended later on in life and was just this tornado of energy. I first saw him as the magician Koura in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger.

“Always do what you’re best at!” he cried in Nightmare of Eden and he did exactly that. But for me, Tom went way beyond Doctor Who but the show is my first love and I’ve stuck with all these years in good and bad times. Earlier today, I watched a few episodes and one of them was Planet of the Spiders where Tom arrived and straight on to Robot. I have so many great childhood memories from that era. I remember omnibus editions of Robots of Death, falling in love with Leela and wanting a K9 all of my own. I was and still am, terrified by the Image of the Fendahl. I was frightened when Sarah Jane went blind in Brain of Morbius and the monster was right behind her. What if they get stuck on Skaro thousands of years in the past in Genesis of the Daleks when Davros debuted?

Tom’s voice is up there with Morgan Freemans. I used to watch the Book Tower weekly as he read stories that enchanted me just from his voice alone. He was a raconteur with a sharp wit and often messed with interviewers. I remember his sullen look and popping of the cheeks when his departure was announced. He was leaning against the Tardis as if all was lost for him.

I suppose in a way, it was. He was leaving the show that he defined more than anyone else up to that point. He was going on to play |Sherlock Holmes in the Hound of the Baskervilles, the Life and Loves of a She Devil, voiceovers, stage and conventions in America. So loves is Tom that the creators of Little Britain hired him to do voice work for them on every episode which again highlighted his md sense of humour and wit.

While he forever regrets not doing the Five Doctors twentieth anniversary story, he has returned time and again as the fourth Doctor in various things for Children in Need, the 50th anniversary story, the Day of the Doctor as the curator who looks exactly like the fourth Doctor and Shada restoration.

I’ve never met Tom and at this stage never will which is a pity. My late friend did when Tom landed in Belfast and visited schools here which can be found online. I still am jealous of him. But I can live with that.

Tom was a guiding light in my literature, reading and imagination as I too dreamt of joining him in the Tardis. Indeed, he joined the Big Finish audio plays where he has met his other selves, joined old companions like Leela and K9 and fought old foes like the decayed Master. And even now, Tom still has that love of the show and fans and always does a Christmas message for everyone.

His legacy is not that he is Tom Baker but his legacy is us. Every child that tuned in to see the madman in the giant scarf and were spellbound. We stayed with him in books and fired our imaginations. If I were to produce a show, there would be a place for Tom for sure.

I’ll finish by telling you of our house when his regeneration finally came in part four of Logopolis. I can tell you who was there, where they were sitting and what we were doing. A hush fell over us as the fourth Doctor sighed his last and in a cocoon, handed it all over to Peter Davison. Even my dad, who wasn’t a fan turned to see the fourth Doctor die.

There are few legends in the world but Tom Baker remains one of them and perhaps, the greatest of them all.