10 Most Cringeworthy Doctor Who Moments From The 70s

9. The Fourth Doctor's Costume Changes - Robot (1974)

In interviews, Terrance Dicks has said that he wrote Tom Baker's introductory story Robot with Baker's personality in mind, making the Fourth Doctor fairly over the top in the hopes that later writers would rein the character in a bit. That might explain why we get the scene in which the Doctor is trying on different outfits, none of which would be practical for going out and saving the universe in. For that matter, none of them are practical for going out in, period. When the Doctor first comes out, it's in full Viking dress, complete with sword and shield. For a Time Lord who generally avoids weapons, it's a bit of a shock, and you have to wonder if he's misunderstood and thinks the Brig and Harry are taking him to a Halloween party. Then he comes out dressed as... well, a royal from a playing card, it would seem. The final one before he settles on the outfit we all know and love is... that thing in the image above. Appropriate for a Batman villain, but not so much for a Time Lord. It's meant to be a funny scene, but it mostly just wants you want to fast-forward and get to the scarf already. If nothing else, it's ten times better than the equivalent scene in Time and the Rani. Or any scene in Time and the Rani, for that matter.