Dimensions in Time..

[Whofan]

I think there's a picture of a convention where Troughton, Pertwee, and Tom showed up some point in the 80s. In the photo, Tom looks very uncomfortable while Troughton, Pertwee etc. are smiling. Not sure where the photo is.

There's also the infamous wax dummy appearences used to promote the Five Doctors.

 

[starsuperion]

I think there's a picture of a convention where Troughton, Pertwee, and Tom showed up some point in the 80s. In the photo, Tom looks very uncomfortable while Troughton, Pertwee etc. are smiling. Not sure where the photo is.

There's also the infamous wax dummy appearences used to promote the Five Doctors.

I don't know, a part of me prefers the wax dummy version of Tom, at that time..

At least the wax dummy wasn't running fast away from what made him famous world wide...So as far as dummies go, the Baker-Wax Doctor was Pretty nice..at least he would stand for photos, and smile..

great job on that one Autons!

 

[Whofan]

Tom seemed to slowly work his way back into WHO after a while. Kind of like with Sean Connery and James Bond, or Nimoy and Spock.


Seriously though, apparentally Tom has quite a temper, and outside of Hartnell and Eccleston was probably the most difficult of the Doctors for the producers to work with. Apparentally he never speaks with Lalla, hates Waterhouse, Felding and Sutton and has an uneasy relationship with Jameson and Tamm.


He's still apparentally buddies with Sladen though.

 

[Bones2]

^
Shhhhh, don't mention that Eccleston was difficult. People will be demanding proof and calling you an RTD-hater.

 

[Starkers]

I thought it was pretty common knowledge that there were tensions on set during at least some of S1 filming.

And is this your way of revealing that you love RTD after all?

 

[The]

Apparentally he never speaks with Lalla, hates Waterhouse, Felding and Sutton and has an uneasy relationship with Jameson and Tamm.


He's still apparentally buddies with Sladen though.

From everything I have ever read, he and Sutton never had much of any interaction. He hated Fielding because he saw his own end, and they were the Next Gen. As for Waterhouse, you should read Matthew's interview in the latest DWM. It's perfectly clear that, yes, he was a complete ass to Adric. As for Jameson and Tamm, though, he always, always loved working with Mary Tamm. They both admit that. He didn't like the idea of Leela, and thus resented Jameson at the time. This was right after Liz Sladen left, and he was feeling particularly proprietary about the whole thing. I believe he and Louise get along just fine now days.

As for Liz Sladen, that's his love right there. It's been almost expressly stated that he had a crush on her, and she was happily married, and that they became the best of friends because of it. She was Senior Staff when he came along, and she welcomed him into the fold. She laughed at his jokes when no one else did, and she was very open to making sure it was the character of The Doctor that had the spotlight, even though she deserved a lot more screentime than he would have at that point. Liz Sladen is the premiere class-act of Doctor Who, and I think even Tombo knows that one...

 

[DWF]

Apparentally he never speaks with Lalla.

The story with Lalla Ward is that supoposedly he tried to kill her mother with a pair of garden shears, she won't be even be in the same room with him.

 

[MOSUGOJI]

actually it wasn't Lalla Wards mother he went after with garden shears it was his first wife's mother he went after with them and also a rake. This was mentioned in Tom's autobiography WHO ON EARTH IS TOM BAKER.


The story with Lalla Ward is that supoposedly he tried to kill her mother with a pair of garden shears, she won't be even be in the same room with him.[/QUOTE]

 

[EJA]

Yes, from what I've seen and heard, Tom Baker isn't a very nice man. He was extremely cruel to Matthew Waterhouse, and used to mouth off at members of the cast and crew a lot, as seen in the extras on the Logopolis DVD where he's effing and blinding all over the set and generally being a bit of a wanker. Frankly, I'm amazed no one ever punched him in the mouth. I didn't know Lalla Ward won't even be in the same room with him though.

 

[The]

I'm not sure that's true, to be honest. I think that's just a bit of myth passed down, since they're Ex's and not likely to want to work together.

Of course, time heals most all wounds. Baker is clean and sober now, and is honest in every interview I've seen from him in the 21st century about being a total dick back in the day. I also like, though, how he doesn't necessarily apologize for it, but just agrees he could have been nicer.

I would bet that if you stuck a million under his nose, and a million under hers, they would both run back to the TARDIS together for another outing. Money talks...

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

No. It's on The Two Doctors.

That's what I've heard, but I never seem able to find it. Am I just extraordinarily dense or is the an easter egg or something?

actually it wasn't Lalla Wards mother he went after with garden shears it was his first wife's mother he went after with them and also a rake. This was mentioned in Tom's autobiography WHO ON EARTH IS TOM BAKER.

And from the way Tom Baker tells it, no sane human in the world would blame him for trying to kill that particular mother-in-law. She goaded him into it and mocked him for it afterwards when he failed.

 

[Captain Pike]

No. It's on The Two Doctors.

That's what I've heard, but I never seem able to find it. Am I just extraordinarily dense or is the an easter egg or something?

No, it's called "A fix with Sontarans and it appears on both the Special Features menu and on the contents shown on the box insert.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bb...ressreleases/2003/08_august/two_doctors.shtml

Special Features include:
Disc 1: 3 x 45 minute episodes
Commentary by stars Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Frazer Hines, Jacqueline Pearce and director Peter Moffatt
Isolated music soundtrack
Production Notes.
'A Fix with Sontarans' - a short mini-episode from 'Jim'll Fix It'. (approx 10 mins)
Easter Egg
Disc 2 includes:
Behind the Sofa - Robert Holmes & Doctor Who - a featurette about the work of the acclaimed Doctor Who writer and script editor. (approx 45 mins)
Beneath the Lights - in studio during recording of part of episode one. (approx 25 mins)
Beneath the Sun - VHS-sourced raw takes from the location filming in Spain. (Approx 35 mins.)
Adventures in Time and Spain - Production Manager Gary Downie talks about the trials and tribulations of working in a foreign location. (Approx 30 mins)
Wavelength - a radio production from 1984 following the cast and crew as they record the story. (Approx 29 mins).
Photo Gallery (approx 8 mins)

 

[DWF]

actually it wasn't Lalla Wards mother he went after with garden shears it was his first wife's mother he went after with them and also a rake. This was mentioned in Tom's autobiography WHO ON EARTH IS TOM BAKER.


The story with Lalla Ward is that supoposedly he tried to kill her mother with a pair of garden shears, she won't be even be in the same room with him.

[/QUOTE]

Thanks, for some strange I had heard it was Lalla's mother in the story.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I finally found it! My problem was that I was looking on disc 2. It never even occurred to me to look on disc 1. (And in this particular case, the extras list on the back of the box doesn't specify.)

It is, of course, a very simple, slim story. Still, I like the combination of the 6th Doctor & Tegan. Colin Baker needed to be paired up with a ballsy companion that wouldn't put up with his shit, not a pathetic screamer like Peri or Mel.

BTW, what is Jim'll Fix It anyway?

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Seriously though, apparentally Tom has quite a temper, and outside of Hartnell and Eccleston was probably the most difficult of the Doctors for the producers to work with. Apparentally he never speaks with Lalla

From the way the documentary makes it sound, the two of them were often not speaking to each other, even when they were together, even when they were making the show!

The bonus features on "Logopolis" have some great bits about Tom Baker and what led up to his departure. He does seem like an insufferable asshole at times. I can understand why the producers wanted him gone. At the same time, I think it's a shame that they weren't able to come up with some sort of accommodation for him. While he's not perfect and could be frustrating at times, I think that nearly every instinct he ever had about the character was spot on. I think Tom Baker was an actor uniquely qualified to play a Time Lord because I think Tom Baker really is a space alien in real life.

 

[diankra]

Yes, from what I've seen and heard, Tom Baker isn't a very nice man.

He's a very mercurial man, and when he's in a bad mood, he doesn't disguise it and takes it out on others (and in season 18, he was unhappy with the series's new direction, and ill, so he was in a bad mood a lot).
When he's in a good mood, he is the most brilliant company you could ever dream of.

 

[Captain Pike]

He felt very proprietarial about the show. He'd recently seen many changes, from the producer & script editor through to the costume design and the companions, and I don't think he agreed with a lot of the changes - he'd had a good working relationship with Hinchcliffe and Sladen and felt, quite understandably, like he knew the character, he knew what to say and how to say it and to have some 30 somethings come in and say 'No Tom, luv, do it this way' was just too much for him to bear. I can't say I totally disagree with his take on it either - Tom did and does know at an almost instinctual level on how to play his character, imo.

Of course, it's not all so clear cut when you have things like Tom suggesting the next companion be a cabbage, but a certain amount of that is him just blowing off steam and being flippant.

Yes he treated Matthew like shit, but I get the impression Waterhouse was a selfish little twat at that stage of his life as well, and at any rate Adric personified many of the shows changes that were going on around him, so I can understand why he lashed out at him.

 

[captcalhoun]

BTW, what is Jim'll Fix It anyway?

basically a wish-fulfillment show for kids from the 1980s.

Jimmy Saville was a DJ in the '60s and in this show he was basically your loaded mad grand-dad who would grant your wishes to do things like appear in Doctor Who, fly in an RAF Red Arrow plane, spend the day driving sports cars or whatever.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

BTW, what is Jim'll Fix It anyway?

basically a wish-fulfillment show for kids from the 1980s.

Jimmy Saville was a DJ in the '60s and in this show he was basically your loaded mad grand-dad who would grant your wishes to do things like appear in Doctor Who, fly in an RAF Red Arrow plane, spend the day driving sports cars or whatever.

*sigh* We need a Jim'll Fix It for adults in the U.S.

He felt very proprietarial about the show. He'd recently seen many changes, from the producer & script editor through to the costume design and the companions, and I don't think he agreed with a lot of the changes - he'd had a good working relationship with Hinchcliffe and Sladen and felt, quite understandably, like he knew the character, he knew what to say and how to say it and to have some 30 somethings come in and say 'No Tom, luv, do it this way' was just too much for him to bear. I can't say I totally disagree with his take on it either - Tom did and does know at an almost instinctual level on how to play his character, imo.

On the one hand, I admire the new creative team for trying to amp up the quality of the stories & the quality of the science fiction. On the other hand, I've seen the results in Seasons 19-26 and I'm not very impressed. Even when the creative team was putting in their best efforts, Doctor Who rarely passed muster as a serious science fiction show. It's silly, often cripplingly so. This comes from never quite rising above its origins as a children's show and never (during its original run anyway) getting a repectable budget to realize any decent sci-fi concepts. It's a show that, for pretty much its entire run, rises & falls on the charisma of its lead actor. And the fact is that Tom Baker has more charisma in his little finger than Peter Davison, Colin Baker, & Sylvester McCoy put together.

Honestly, if I were the BBC at the time, I would have made Tom Baker a producer and seen what happened.

 

[Captain Pike]

Agreed, well said.