Doctor Who Wasting Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor Began The Classic Show’s 1989 Downfall

Colin Baker’s time as the Sixth Doctor in Doctor Who was very much a waste of both the actor’s talents and the character’s potential. Baker’s tenure lasted for just two seasons, between 1984 and 1986, and, with a total of only eight televised stories under his belt, the Sixth Doctor had one of the shortest runs of all the Doctors. Additionally, Colin Baker’s take on the character rarely ranks highly on lists of the show’s best leads.

Doctor Who experienced a tumultuous time during the 1980s, which saw the famous British sci-fi show plagued by behind-the-scenes clashes and ratings struggles. This eventually led to its cancellation in 1989. Unfortunately, Baker bore much of the brunt of the problems, so much so that he was fired from the show, becoming the only actor who stopped playing the Doctor for this reason. However, neither Baker nor the Sixth Doctor ever really got the proper treatment they deserved.

Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor Didn’t Get A Fair Shake

Whenever the Doctor regenerates, they adopt a whole new persona that can be difficult to adjust to at first. When Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor made his first proper onscreen appearance in 1984’s “The Twin Dilemma”, his ruder, brasher, and more aggressive demeanor made his version of the character particularly difficult to warm to, especially when compared to his charming and gentle predecessor, Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor. Furthermore, a baffling decision by the show’s writers to have Baker’s Doctor brutally insult his companion, Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant), before strangling her in a post-regenerative fit of psychosis, only made him more alienating.

Despite a divisive introduction and strange production choices made throughout his era, both Colin Baker and the Sixth Doctor displayed a wealth of potential that only began to be realized during his second season. Baker’s contributions to Doctor Who‘s expanded media, including his impressive voice performances in numerous Big Finish audio dramas, further demonstrate how his talents were largely unutilized in the main series. The actor also reprised his role in both the 2022 special, “The Power of the Doctor” and the companion series, Tales of the TARDIS, which saw the Sixth Doctor finally get the upgrade he deserved.

Doctor Who’s Sixth Doctor Mistake Killed The Show

Though Doctor Who wouldn’t be taken off screens permanently until 1989, it was the Sixth Doctor’s time in the TARDIS that ultimately sealed its fate. A less likable incarnation of the Doctor, along with generally terrible scripts, and questionable decisions on the part of the show’s producer, John Nathan-Turner, resulted in a significant drop in ratings that the show never recovered from. After first putting the show on an 18-month hiatus, before forcing Nathan-Turner to fire Baker and replace him with Sylvester McCoy, BBC controller Michael Grade, who was vocal in his dislike of Doctor Who, canceled the series altogether.

The cancelation proved only to be temporary, with the show making a successful comeback in 2005. Nevertheless, the Sixth Doctor’s era is still generally remembered as a low point in Doctor Who‘s history, with Colin Baker narrowly edging out McCoy as the lead actor whose talents were most wasted. Fortunately, in the years since leaving the show, Baker has managed to prove what he can do when given decent material to work with, which somewhat makes up for the show’s poor handling of the Sixth Doctor.