Where were we? We’ve covered the elderly First Doctor (1963-1966), the puckish Second Doctor (1966-1969) and the dandy-ish Third Doctor (1970-74). This brings us, ever so logically, to the number four. Funny how time slips away …

4. The Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker. “And now for something completely different …” A mere pup in light of his predecessors, Tom Baker clocked in at only 40 years old in 1970. He not only was younger, but he looked younger. It is little wonder that this Doctor remains the most iconic, what with his head of brown hair, curly and unruly, offset with a floppy hat and a colorful scarf stories-long. His Doctor’s adventures were epic and far-reaching, stretching across seven seasons and involving no less than nine different companions at various times.

While a bit of unspoken tension had been established between the Third and Sarah Jane Smith, the first couple of the Fourth’s seasons served greatly to solidify a certain unfulfilled potential between the pair. However, in the middle of Baker’s third season, an intergalactic court summons pulls the Doctor back to Gallifrey where nice human girls are not allowed to go. The Doctor’s next companion is Leela — imagine Xena and Eliza Doolittle all wrapped up in a buckskin tribute to Barbarella. For a season or so, Doctor Who plays out a bit like My Fair Lady In Time & Space. But in the end, this Henry Higgins succeeds in subduing just enough of Leela’s built-in savagery for her to fall in love with some random palace guard from Gallifrey. So it goes.

Then along came another Timelord, a student from his home planet with a very long name best shortened to just Romana. Played by Mary Tamm throughout the “Key to Time” story arc, Romana was haughty and brusque, more of a foil than any kind of romantic possibility. It wasn’t until the following season, after Tamm left the show, that Romana (now regenerated-at-will and looking/behaving like actress Lalla Ward) and The Doctor became what could arguably be considered the first actual leading couple of the whole series. Of course, the chemistry evident on-screen might’ve only been overflow from the developing off-screen romance between Baker and Ward. The pair of actors were married in 1981, just after her departure from the show and before the end of his Doctor-ing stint.

They divorced a year and a half later.

Love? Entirely possible, but not likely. This Doctor was younger, not nearly as paternal in behavior. And it cannot be denied the episodes involving Lalla Ward are rife with charm (“City Of Death” — filmed in modern day (1977) Paris — is a favorite). But still, there was no physical contact beyond the occasional snatch and grab from the jaws of imminent death. While the gossip rags might’ve had a field day with the off-set coupling, canon relationships remained strictly platonic in nature.

5. The Fifth Doctor. Peter Davison. 1981. Time for a new Doctor. And this time, he’s younger still. Peter Davison was only 30 years old when he got his TARDIS key. Before his first episode was over, he shed the floppy hat and scarf ensemble, opting instead for a more athletic look (by British standards, I suppose) involving cricketing kit, complete with sweater. In this way, the Fifth Doctor’s look defined the character’s demeanor. Deadly serious when the situation called, this Doctor liked nothing more than an occasion to play by the rules of a given game and succeed through skill rather than force.

Through his stint, the Fifth added new companions of both genders, plus a shape-shifting robot that could be considered either. In the “boys” column, he traveled with a know-it-all math whiz named Adric and an angry young man called Turlough. Girl-wise, he inherited a young velvet-clad ingenue named Nyssa, took on a Australian flight attendant named Tegan (twice!) and invited aboard an “American” named Peri. We’ll talk more about her soon enough.

Love? Possibilities were there, surely. With a change of Doctor came a change in scheduling, as the Doctor Who timeslot went from Saturday morning to a pair of weekly weeknights. But even with a prime time slot and a younger Doctor at the helm, the show’s producers did all they could to keep relations aboard the TARDIS as innocent as possible. Though a citation is sorely lacking, Wikipedia offers an additional tidbit: “… during his era (Fifth Doctor) he was instructed to avoid putting even a fatherly arm round any but his male companions.” Interesting direction, to be sure.

6. The Sixth Doctor. Colin Baker. So soon? Only four years in and already another Doctor. This one, older than the Fifth by eight years, would last for less time than any of his predecessors (though about a season longer than the Ninth). The new Baker had little in common with the previous Baker, except perhaps their follicular similarities. After time spent with the playful Fifth, the Sixth seemed a bit too brash, a little too cocky and (after being directed to behave so) just too unstable to endure. Dressed in an odd amalgated costume that paid simultaneous homage to all three of his immediate predecessors, the Sixth cut an odd figure to say the least. One of the few blessings to count, I suppose, could be the fact that Baker was tall enough to avoid looking like a total Oompa-Loompa …

Sorry. I got distracted.

Peri. The Sixth kept the last companion of the Fifth around for almost all of his run, even though most of their dialogue centered around just how little regard he had for her intelligence or overall usefulness. Some have said that this was just semi-romantic banter, making the two of them a kind of intergalactic David & Maddie, but I really doubt it. Even if Who‘s producer, Jon Nathan-Turner, did bring Nicola Bryant aboard to add a certain amount of sex appeal, the end result was a bit too harsh and the surrounding circumstances of the series (a severe darkening of the subject matter, a worrisome 18-month hiatus in 1985, a mass firing of production staff, etc.) blinded the audience to any such “Oh, you …” cuteness.

Love? Romance doesn’t blossom easily in a war zone, does it? Even though I’m sure that Baker had the best of intentions (and has become a great supporter of the series and all of its spinoffs ever since), his era was plagued with disappointment. Sexy companion or none, this Doctor was destined to be put on trial. His companion was destined for even worse treatment. Love just wasn’t in the cards.

Six down. Four to go. It can only get better from here, can’t it?

(Original images can be found on either the amazing Doctor Who Image Archive or somewhere on the BBC website.)

[tags]”Doctor Who”[/tags]