Doctor Who: 10 Iconic Sixth Doctor Moments Nobody Will Ever Forget

9. Matrix Manipulation!

Time Lord #6 had a tendency to ride roughshod over established convention. Many of his actions would make originator William Hartnell choke on his dinner, yet the enduring feature of Doctor Who is its sense of change, and Baker was certainly that. Compassionate (if you stuck with him long enough to see it) but cunning, he regularly engaged in questionable conduct. However, even his biggest detractors were surprised when he was seen going all Danny Dyer with an axe in the control room of the starship Hyperion III during epic interstellar dockfest The Trial of a Time Lord. When did you last see the hero of a Saturday teatime show having it large with the business end of a sharp implement? Even for the sixth regeneration, this seemed somewhat OTT! To the relief of fans everywhere, though, this turned out to be a re-jigging of reality. The events witnessed via Time Lord data cloud the Matrix had been altered by villain the Valeyard to make the Doctor appear nastier than he was. There were other instances where it was unclear where the truth of the matter lay - his brutal interrogation of companion Peri on the rocks of Thoros Beta, for example. Had he really been so unpleasant? Such business led to Baker asking questions of script editor Eric Saward. However, his conscientious attitude was met with apathy from his beleaguered colleague. This confusion at the heart of TV Centre in some ways symbolised the contrary nature of the Sixth Doctor era.