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Doctor Who - The Two DoctorsRating:
Release Date: 01 June, 2004 Retail Price: $34.98 OUR Price: $30.99 You SAVE: $3.99! Cast: Complete Cast (10 total) |
Doctor Who - The Two Doctors Reviews
Another vote for the great Colin Baker....
When I first saw Colin Baker in The Twin Dilemma, I immediately fell for him. He reminded me of the first doctor, William Hartnell, who is my all time favorite. Like many others, I would always say Tom Baker (who was extraordinary), but I really enjoyed Hartnell the most. Colin reminds me of him, in that he can be brusque, rude, sarcastic, and difficult. This never bothered me. The coat was a little silly, I'll grant you, but not the worst thing ever conceived. Colin was the fall guy for poor writing and for needless violence. This story, in many ways, exemplifies what was really wrong with the Colin Baker era. The character, Oscar, is needlessly killed in a ridiculously harsh way, and it doesn't really serve any purpose other than "let's kill him off.". The character of Shockeye (great name, by the way) is a very interesting one, even though he is quite violent, killing Oscar, and torturing Jaime with a meat tenderizer. The scenes that take place in Spain seem unnecessary. And, yet, Baker is fantastic as the Doctor, and is well matched by Patrick Troughton's performance. It was nice to see the return of a six part story, but it's rather ironic that this one is definitely padded, and when John Nathan Turner started as the producer of the series, he said he was doing away with six part stories because they were padded. The overall story is pretty good, and it's wonderful to see Troughton and Frazer Hines as Jaime again. Colin deserved better....
So why was Colin Baker fired??
The 5-star rating encompasses the whole Colin Baker era, the most underrated in Dr Who history. Colin Baker has the distinction of being the only Doctor not to leave the show of his own will. In other words, he was fired. Michael Grade, BBC Controller at that time, took it upon himself to order John Nathan-Turner to replace Baker. This was most unfortunate, as Baker brought a fresh, energetic approach to the role. He relished playing the Doctor, even stating at one point that he intended to stick around long enough to break Tom Baker's record tenure. This is a departure from the previous Doctor, who intended to stay on for only three years so as not to become typecast in the role.
The Colin Baker era is unfairly criticized for its undue violence. While it has its violent moments, is it any more violent than the UNIT era (arguably the best era in Doctor Who history)? Or how about Genesis of the Daleks, which opens with a soldier in a gas mask? If you want non-violent Who, watch the first several Hartnell stories. But even those contain scenes such as cavemen clubbing each other to death and daleks who "EX-TER-MI-NATE".
It took the Doctor six incarnations to finally get it. He understood that showing compassion for someone who's trying to kill you is ridiculously stupid. He understood that it's kill or be killed. His "uncompassionate" nature has been targeted by clueless critics who can't distinguish between killing an innocent victim and killing a vicious killer. The doctor's killing of Shockeye in "The Two Doctors" is a favorite target of these boneheads. I say if a murderous letch with the "strength to snap you in half with one hand", as the Doctor states, is out to kill you and have you for dinner, you do what you can to survive. Maybe these aformentioned critics would have rather seen the Doctor confront Shockeye, offer him a joint and sing "Kumbaya" to him like the pot-smoking hippies that these critics are.
So why was Colin Baker fired? That question baffled me, until I read somewhere that Michael Grade was dating Liza Goddard, Colin's ex-wife, at the time. I fully understand now. A professional vendetta is very unprofessional of you, Mr. Grade.
Consider who followed Baker, and what kind of stories we had to endure (i.e. Crappiness Patrol), it was only a matter of time before the series was killed off for good. Maybe they should have cancelled the show after Colin Baker was fired and spared us three years of 1-star stories, with a couple exceptions.
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