Doctor Who legend Tom Baker’s best 7 moments as the Fourth Doctor ranked

Tom Baker appeared in 172 episodes of Doctor Who, holding the role of the Doctor for seven consecutive years from 1974 to 1981.

His Doctor’s iconic look has become as ingrained in popular culture as the Daleks and the TARDIS itself.

Having recently collected his MBE, now is the perfect time to look back at some of the most significant moments from one of the most recognisable Time Lords.

Without further ado, here are our picks for Tom Baker's best 7 moments as the Doctor! Did your favourite make the list?

7. A new wardrobe for a new Doctor (from Robot – 1974)

"There's no point in being grown-up if you can't be childish sometimes."

Choosing a trademark outfit is something of a rite of passage for all new Doctors, and it was Tom Baker’s Doctor that took this process to new heights, parading a variety of eccentric looks for the approval of Harry Sullivan and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. First up was a Viking warrior, followed by the Jack straight from a deck of playing cards. The Doctor then presented himself as a Pierrot clown before finally settling on the hat and coat paired with the world-famous autumnal striped scarf.

Costume designer James Acheson was inspired by the Toulouse-Lautrec poster Ambassadeur to design a bold new look for the new Doctor. He instructed Begonia Pope to knit a long flowing scarf in the style of the painting. Famously misunderstanding how much wool to use, she ended up using every ball she was given, resulting in the scarf’s impressive length.

This scene put a much more jovial angle on the Doctor’s post-regeneration confusion. As ever, Doctor Who was going through a period of significant change at this time, moving away from the UNIT focused adventures of Jon Pertwee’s tenure. In Tom Baker’s debut episode, Robot, the stage was set for an altogether more unpredictable Doctor, a wide-eyed maverick with a twinkle in his eye.

6. The Doctor regenerates (from Logopolis – 1981)

“It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for."

Tom Baker saw Doctor Who through some of its most significant milestones, and in that time the Doctor had his fair share of companions: Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan, Leela, K9, and two Romanas. In his final season, the Fourth Doctor also met three characters who would later become prominent companions of the Fifth Doctor: Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan.

It was all change in season 18, as new producer John Nathan-Turner brought a radical new approach to the show’s direction, even bringing in a new wardrobe for Tom (under Nathan-Turner, question marks on every Doctor’s outfit became customary). But how do you say goodbye to arguably the most iconic Doctor? In a deadly confrontation with the Master, of course.

There was nothing especially complicated about the Fourth Doctor’s cause of regeneration: he plummeted to his death from the Pharos Project radio telescope control tower remembering all the times his foes had wished him ill, before finding himself on the ground being comforted by the memories of all his former companions who had such faith in him. This moving moment set a precedent for future regenerations, giving the Doctor and the viewers at home a chance to pause and reflect.

Logopolis was a fitting and somewhat understated regeneration story, showcasing (as all of season 18 did) a more vulnerable side to the Fourth Doctor.

5. The battle against Sutekh (From Pyramids of Mars 1975)

“Kneel before the might of Sutekh!"

Pyramids of Mars became one of the defining stories of the Philip Hinchcliffe era. He was the producer of Doctor Who from 1974-1977, famously bringing gothic horror to the show. This story introduced Sutekh the Destroyer, last of the Osirans. Sutekh was a villain who brought the Doctor to his knees as he tortured and possessed him in a fight for his freedom, proving to be one of the most formidable opponents the Doctor had ever faced.

A firm fan-favourite for a reason, Pyramids of Mars sees the Fourth Doctor at his most burdened and perhaps most alien, solemnly telling Sarah Jane (Elisabeth Sladen) at the start of the story:

“The Earth isn't my home, Sarah. I'm a Time Lord, I walk in eternity.'"

4. Leela meets the Doctor (The Face of Evil 1977)

“Would you like a jelly baby?”

The Doctor is at his most whimsical, but also most commanding as he meets his new companion, Leela (Louise Jameson) in The Face of Evil. The first thing Leela sees of him as she falls before his feet is that famous scarf. He promptly apologises for startling her and offers her a jelly baby.

Shortly after, he is mistaken for the “Evil One” by members of the Sevateem tribe, who have him surrounded, angrily pointing their crossbows at him.

‘Now drop your weapons,’ says the Doctor as he makes a feeble attempt to hold one of the tribe hostage, ‘or I’ll kill him with this deadly jelly baby.’

‘Kill him then,’ remarks one of his assailants.

‘I don’t take orders from anyone,’ the Doctor retorts coldly, whilst munching on the offending jelly baby.

Offering people jelly babies became a trademark of Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor, but surprisingly, this quirky gesture was actually introduced by Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor.

The idea may have originated as a tip of the hat to Troughton, as Tom Baker is a well-known fan of his interpretation of the character. But whoever came up with the idea in the first place, it’s fair to say that nobody has ever eaten a jelly baby with more deadpan savagery than Tom Baker did in this scene.

3. Goodbye Sarah Jane and onwards to Gallifrey (The Hand of Fear and The Deadly Assassin – 1976)

"Until we meet again, Sarah."

A farewell that endures in the minds of many a classic Doctor Who fan, the end of the story, The Hand of Fear, saw the Doctor bid farewell to his beloved Sarah Jane with all the bravado we had come to expect from the Fourth Doctor. Only a hint of heartbreak was allowed to creep in.

“Look, it’s too late apologising now, everything is packed, I’ve got to go,” Sarah Jane announces.

"How did you know?" the Doctor asks, telling her that he has been summoned to his home planet and that he can’t take her with him to find out what awaits on Gallifrey. And what awaited the Doctor was a groundbreaking adventure that took the show to new depths of darkness rarely seen in any iteration of Doctor Who.

The Deadly Assassin was considered so scary that Mary Whitehouse notoriously complained about the cliffhanger featuring the Doctor’s face being held underwater. The story was also considered daring because it saw the Master (Peter Pratt) in his most terrifying and lethal form as he grappled violently with the Doctor in an intense fight during the finale.

Robert Holmes’s script set out huge parts of Gallifreyan lore that are now embedded into Doctor Who’s core mythos. The Deadly Assassin saw Tom Baker strike out on his own in his most intense and perhaps most brilliant performance in the role.

2. The Doctor meets Count Scarlioni (City of Death – 1979)

“I say, what a wonderful butler, he's so violent!”

And now for something completely different… This 1979 classic comedic adventure, City of Death which even featured John Cleese in a cameo appearance, was made possible because Python super-fan and hot-new writing talent, Douglas Adams (fresh from the success of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) had just become script editor for Doctor Who's 17th season.

Tom Baker’s Doctor is best-known for his almost Shakespearean witticisms and self-professed child-like optimism in the face of the evils of the universe. So, who better to encapsulate that unique voice than Douglas Adams? He gave the Doctor some of his best lines and comedic set-pieces in this four-part serial, famously re-drafted from an abandoned script in just one weekend.

“Three waters, make them doubles”

In City of Death there’s a delicate balance between the humour and the drama, the light and the dark. What gives the story true gravitas are the scenes between Julian Glover (Count Scarlioni) and Tom Baker – it’s like watching a play and the actors give it the level of performance that the script deserves. It’s no surprise that this role was instrumental in Julian Glover’s casting as Kristatos in the 1981 James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.

Steven Moffat called the entire story "one of the perfect, not only Doctor Who scripts, but television scripts. It’s a wonderful piece of work".

It is also Doctor Who’s highest-rated story – part four attracted an impressive 16.1 million viewers.

1. The dilemma at the heart of Doctor Who (Genesis of the Daleks – 1975)

“Do I have the right?”

It seems the secret to any great Doctor’s success is to appear cool and flippant on the surface, but underneath it all, when push comes to shove, we know that it matters and they really do care. And this is true of both the character of the Doctor and the actor who plays them. There can be little doubt how much this scene mattered to Tom Baker in the classic serial, Genesis of the Daleks. It was the story that introduced not only Davros, but also a very significant moral dilemma.

The Doctor holds two separate wires in his hands. If connected, they would detonate explosives to wipe out the Daleks at their moment of creation. He hesitates and asks, “Do I have the Right?”.

Some call it the most important scene in the history of Doctor Who because it perfectly captures the Doctor’s never-ending battle with his own morality and the burden of absolute power. He would save millions of lives if he let the wires touch, but would this act of genocide make him as bad as the Daleks? Arguing with Sarah Jane, he says:

“But the final responsibility is mine, and mine alone. Listen, if someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?”

It’s bleak and there’s no time for gags here. Still, this speech, scripted by the creator of the Daleks, Terry Nation, has become the Fourth Doctor’s defining moment. It laid bare Doctor Who’s roots as a thought-provoking, sci-fi show that could be fun and silly at times, but would never forget to be serious.

Tom Baker’s interpretation of the character created a generation of loyal Doctor Who fans and cemented the show as an icon of British television. The Fourth Doctor is placed at the very heart of Doctor Who, with the character fittingly taking his place as the Curator in the 50th anniversary special. This profound speech was Tom Baker’s big moment, and one that will always be integral to the legacy of Doctor Who.

Now that that’s settled, would you like a jelly baby?

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