Doctor Who: 10 Wise Things We Learnt From Tom Baker's Doctor

5. Always Have A Witty Comment Up Your Sleeve

Many of the Doctors would make charming dinner guests but most people, if they had to choose, would place the Fourth Doctor near the top of their wish list. The Fourth Doctor was an able storyteller and shameless namedropper. If it's anecdotes or historical scandal you're after, the Fourth would be your man. Constantly humorous, the Fourth Doctor also loved his word play and the chance to indulge in some verbal sparing with a quick minded opponent. The Fourth Doctor proved that a well constructed quip could be effective at defusing a dangerous situation. He sought the company of quick and witty people from Sarah Jane to the academia of Cambridge. To the Fourth Doctor, wit was a natural by-product of intelligence. The Fourth Doctor could also be the master of the put down, labelling the Cybermen "a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers," and sneering at Zygon Broton that: "You can't rule the world in hiding. You've got to come out on to the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle." His best, however, was to Chub on the Sandminer in The Robots of Death. "You are a classic example of the inverse ratio between the size of the mouth and the size of the brain." Ouch.