The Fourth Doctor exhibited a sense of morality on a cosmic scale and, while he could be tone deaf when it came to dealing with the people around him, he was always well aware of the lives at stake when dealing with megalomaniacs, tyrants and, in this case, a planet-driving cyborg pirate. The Pirate Planet was the first script Douglas Adams contributed to the series and although its mostly humorous in tone, it does have a sense of gravity (pun intended). Adams was the perfect writer for Baker - they shared a sense of irony that was galactic in scope but were also keenly aware of the madness that tinged the human condition. This accounts for one of the best scenes in the serial in which the Doctor confronts the Pirate Captain over his collection of shrunken, desiccated planets. Toms performance builds brilliantly, beginning with his mounting realisation of the Captains plan, moving to weariness ("Then, its the most brilliant piece of astro-engineering Ive ever seen. Brilliant, but pointless) then into fury (What are you doing?!). The fact that he almost trips over his lines here really sells the force of the Doctors outrage. It all reminds you that Doctor Who, at heart, is a humanist show, and that in Tom Baker, it had found its perfect leading man.
I am Scotland's 278,000th best export and a self-proclaimed expert on all things Bond-related. When I'm not expounding on the delights of A View to a Kill, I might be found under a pile of Dr Who DVDs, or reading all the answers in Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. I also prefer to play Playstation games from the years 1997-1999. These are the things I like.
