Tom Baker: Sam Neill And Jurassic Park

"I recall going to see Jurassic Park at the cinemas in Tunbridge Wells, near where I live. The most remarkable thing about it was that they had cast Sam Neill in the lead, who must be the most boring actor ever to darken our screens. He could bore for England, that man. He could earn a very good living curing whole audiences of insomniacs - they'd be dead to the world within minutes. And I watched this film and for the half-hour all the children were bored out of their brains - it was like being in an aviary. They used to be like that with Doctor Who when I had long dialogue sequences and all they wanted was the action. ... So I thought the film was terribly boring and completely relied on its amazing optical effects. What was Men In Black about? ... it was finally all just jokes. ... it was just a piss-take. There was nothing heroic, nothing lasting. With Doctor Who it was ... heroic and lasting. Of course it couldn't be particularly profound because everything had to be resolved by violence, simply because everything has ultimately to be resolved by violence - the violence of death generally."

 

-Tom Baker (Doctor Who Magazine #258, p. 11)-

No shortage of running for The Doctor in Doctor Who or Sam Neill in Jurassic Park, the man who would bore Tom Baker apparently.

 

 

 

"Do I Have The Right?" (A Doctor Who dinosaur coloring book echoing the scene from Genesis Of The Daleks)

 

 

 

And don't ask me how this strange little post came to fruition, because I'm not actually sure, but I guess we can start with Tom Baker's quote. The man has no filter.

Tom Baker: Working With Tom Baker

"I love being with actors most of the time. I like to think that the actors who worked with me on Doctor Who enjoyed it... Not many of them said that when I look back... Hmmn, not many actors ring me up, come to think of it...."

-Tom Baker (Doctor Who Magazine #258, p.13)-

 

Tom Baker: The Unsurprising Life

"I think the state of childhood is a state of surprise, isn't it, because children don't know anything. As you grow older, if you stay in one place nothing will happen that is surprising. This is what leads people to mischief, or leads them into fiction, or leads them into religion -  they are constantly looking for new surprises. That's why people change clothes or change brands or change partners; we need new surprises. People find it very difficult - I know I find it difficult - to cope with the monotony of an unsurprising life."

 -Tom Baker- (Doctor Who Magazine #258, p.9)

 

 

Well gosh, he sure does have a point. Though that's certainly one perspective and not the entire story when making these decisions. Still, the man can make an argument, but he does look of the devil though.

Tom Baker: The Children

"I really like children, but I can't bear them. They bring out the Jack the Ripper in me. I want to strangle them."

-Tom Baker- (Starlog Magazine #115, p.49)

I am positively addicted to just about anything Tom Baker has to say. He could be uttering pure nonsense or rubbish as they say in the old world, but the man pure dead amuses me to no end.




Baker remembers a visit to a hospital that somehow touched the man in ways that we don't often hear about from the eccentric actor.

"I remember I was filled with terror.  I went into a ward where there were children who are severely disturbed and catatonic. Some of the children were about 12 or 13.  The place was bristling with static.  We went through this big thick door and some children were just sitting and others were watching television.  All of them were looking absolutely distraught.  One boy with gimlet eyes looked at me and walked away thinking about what he had seen.  Then, it came into his mind and he said 'Doctor Who.'

I was very, very frightened and the boy just came up to me, having said that, just glided up to me.  He didn't stop until he was actually leaning against me and then he just slipped his hands inside my coat and just embraced me.  I was, of course, turned to stone and embraced him in return, not knowing what to say.  He said it again - 'Doctor Who,' and he gave me a little squeeze and went away.  When I left, the doctor was sweating.  He said, 'That boy hasn't spoken for about 14 months!'"

Ah, the power of the Doctor.



Click here when you want to see the Doctor enjoy tormenting those kids a bit.

Tom Baker: The Villains

"I loved the baddies. And I used to try and see their point of view. You know the way to play a baddie, it seems to me .... They weren't playing baddies. They were just playing characters that were misunderstood and I was getting in the way. That's the way to play it."

 

-Tom Baker, Doctor Who Stories, Terror Of The Zygons DVD Extras-

Well, speaking of baddies, I thoroughly enjoyed the baddie from the introductory episode, Deep Breath, of what is sure to be an interesting run for the Peter Capaldi years.

Peter Ferdinando played the Half-Face Man and was exceptional. He also was the lead for a film called Tony (2009), about a serial killer in London. I may need to check that out. Believe it or not Matt Johnson, of The The acclaim, provided the score. Actually Tony is a film by Gerard Johnson, Matt Johnson's brother. Scoring and soundtrack work is fine but I truly miss the music of The The and Matt Johnson complete with his gritty vocals. Soul Mining (1983), Infected (1986), Mind Bomb (1989) and Dusk (1993) are four fantastic recordings by The The. Those are essential. But I digress.





Ferdinando is terrific in his role and the character actually speaks to a good degree to the kind of thing Tom Baker waxes poetic about. Ferdinando will also appear in a film called High Rise (2014), directed by Ben Wheatley, alongside Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller and Tom Hiddleston. Wheatley directed this first episode, Deep Breath, of Series 8 starring Capaldi with Jenna Coleman.

First, Jenna Coleman continues to really impress as the Doctor's companion. She's a natural and clearly a gifted young actress.

Now I had high hopes for Capaldi and for whatever reason, essentially his look, I have him on this great pedestal. I have little evidence to suggest he would be a great Doctor apart from a small, but strong part in World War Z (2013). Though it was discovered later that Capaldi was cast in one of my very favorite films for a long time, Local Hero (1983), by Scottish director Bill Forsyth. It's a wonderful film and a very young Capaldi is in it.



So taking a deep breath, what were my initial impressions? They may not have been entirely what I expected, but he is a peculiar fellow and there was ample evidence enough to prove that Capaldi was not only a gifted actor but perhaps born to play the role of the Doctor like so many others. Toward the end there is this terrific shot of his eyes looking into the camera and there is this sense of mad genius about the man.

So despite having missed an abundance of episodes I decided to skip ahead and check Deep Breath out for myself. It didn't disappoint. And despite not necessarily knowing everything about the seeds of continuity in play I figured if the Doctor can jump forward in time so can I.

Doctor Who: Into Darkness.




There was a lot in play and there was definitely a good degree of depth worked into this fairly ambitious debut, a debut that seemed to grow more interesting as it headed towards its denouement.

The future of Doctor Who clearly bodes well in the hands of Capaldi and Coleman. Their chemistry was almost immediate and I suspect it will only grow more and more intriguing, unexpected and thrilling as the series progresses.

But speaking of baddies, as much as I like the Daleks as much as the next guy, does anyone else find it a slight bit tiresome that they are always rolling these plunger machines out each and every year? Does that always have to happen? In order for someone to enjoy a baddie, you have to miss them a little. This is why Christopher Eccleston's Dalek was so fantastic to use Eccleston's Doctor's word. We hadn't seen a Dalek in years in Doctor Who and Robert Shearman penned a great story. I for one wouldn't mind at all seeing the Daleks and the Cybermen mothballed for a time. And I don't want to sound pessimistic by suggesting I'm not the target audience, because I do think there is an appeal to Doctor Who that spans the ages, but yes I could take a break from the DAHHHLEKS!



Needless to say, the Steven Moffat-penned Deep Breath had a nice bit of complexity to it, an expertly handled ensemble cast of talent with a direct tie to Moffat's own Series 2, Episode 4, The Girl In The Fireplace.

So fans of Doctor Who should certainly be encouraged by the new developments and some of the new changes which surely keep things fresh and exciting in the world of the longest running science fiction series on the planet.

And speaking of those nasty Daleks, this was a truly knee-slapping story shared by the diabolical Tom Baker regarding the children coming upon one of the supreme baddies in Davros. Watch it and see if he doesn't bring it all back to life using your imagination. It just cracks me up seeing him tell this story about the children. I truly appreciate his humor.

Tom Baker: Watching Doctor Who

"I don't watch Doctor Who. I didn't watch Doctor Who when I was in it, so I'm not going to be watching someone else."

 

-Tom Baker, SciFiNow #45, p.43-

I love Tom Baker and all of his quirky, candid, sometimes wacky thought patterns. Even though his thoughts appear bat mad at times, they can actually be quite reasonable really. And Baker was recently awarded Favorite Doctor in Doctor Who Magazine #474. The man does have staying power. But what about some of those other doctors.

I'm quite thrilled about the impending arrival of new Doctor Peter Capaldi. And, unlike Baker, I for one am looking forward to watching Doctor Who again. His arrival here on BBC America is just days away. There are loads of folks out there waiting with baited breath. You know who you are.

I've been spending a good deal of my free time bingeing on Doctor Who. I've made a concerted effort to watch the series and catch up by experiencing the evolution of the character, companions and stories in succession. I still have a good ways to go. As of this writing I have reached Doctor Who, Series 3, Human Nature (based on a 1995 Doctor Who novel) and Family Of Blood. I'll share a few brief observations and reflections on Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant.

Human Nature is certainly one of the most interesting approaches to a Doctor Who story within the Tennant run. I went to sleep before finishing it, but I'm looking forward to returning to it.

Eccleston's Series One, for me, is undeniably the most impressive, most consistently interesting of the first three years to date. Eccleston's performance is nuanced in a way that seems to oscillate between the darkness and the light, the levity and the sadness in a way that Tennant doesn't quite match. Tennant is likely the more popular, handsome Doctor, but his quick, cheeky wit, though likable, doesn't always reach the heights of Eccleston's Doctor turn that walked a fine line with such ease.



Also of note, Billie Piper's companion, Rose Tyler, is damn near perfection. She has am everyman or everywoman feel but is certainly street smart. She's effervescent and wide-eyed in her voracious appetite to see the universe. She draws us in as much as the Doctor Who character. Her chemistry with Eccleston was perfection. Interestingly, Rose has a wonderful romantic chemistry with Tennant too, and that gives Series Two a completely unique flavor.

I definitely fall within the percentage of people out there who prefer that near perfect year featuring Eccleston. But, I have yet to finish the Tennant run in its entirety. Perhaps the verdict is still out, but Eccleston, now on HBO's The Leftovers, was excellent. Tennant is still very good. Also, Tennant, does expertly capture some emotional moments in Series Three following the departure of Rose lending his Doctor a degree of loss. This underlying sense of sadness is captured beautifully by Eccleston following revelations regarding the Time Lords in Series One. And perhaps there is a slightly less jovial tone to Series Three with the absence of Billie Piper too.



New companion Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman, is certainly fine, but there is something lacking in her dynamic with Tennant. Quite frankly Billie Piper was a tough act to follow and Jones delivers solid work as Tennant's partner, but the magic of those first two series is missing for me.

Maybe there is the undeniable variable of the excessive bingeing effect, but Jones is an okay companion at the moment. Still, the final verdict is out for now.

In general, particularly with the Tennant run, there are some exceptional moments and sequences within some stories that are just average, but when those moments happen they are awesome. Many of those moments occur when Tennant reflects on his old companion Rose emphasizing the power of that relationship to him and to the series.



I hope to return to a completion of full analysis on the Eccleston run soon. As for the Tennant run, some real highlights from Series Two for me have been New Earth featuring Cassandra, of course School Reunion and the emotional convergence of the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, Steven Moffat's The Girl In The Fireplace and oddly enough Love And Monsters by Russell T. Davies. The latter barely features the Doctor and Rose at all and is a most bizarre Who tale, but is so enjoyable for the fact it steps away from formula so completely.

Series Three Human Nature steps away from that formula too and is even more successful in doing so. I have yet to complete this series and thus far it has been filled with great moments, but not exceptional Who episodes. Again, that may be the bingeing effect. I did really appreciate the unusual Gridlock and a story about denizens trapped inside of a traffic jam for years. Each car had a fully realized personality connected with each driver. Some of the Who stories never quite explain how certain things could possibly be, but we're expected to roll with it.

Thus far the edge goes to Eccleston pretty handily for me. Eccleston is boundless in his enthusiasm with energy to spare. Eccleston revitalized a character and a series (with Russell T. Davies) somehow alternating between an insatiable desire for exploration and discovery whilst infusing the character with a twist of masked sadness like no other. Despite the controversies surrounding his departure and his ephemeral reign as the Doctor, perhaps Eccleston was the genius in shining bright for a single season before his untimely regeneration. And yet, I'm still open to another assessment on Tennant as my journey with him continues.



In general, it's easy to see why Doctor Who is such a beloved series and why it has such a voracious fan base. It's a wonderful concept, but I wonder if I need to take a brief respite from the show following my conclusion of Series Three.

As for Peter "Am I Good Man?" Capaldi, he looks magnificent as a choice for the Doctor. I hope he delivers. So bring on Capaldi.