Techtite Feature Article!

"Here's the thing we don't get: if you're going to try and have the doctor take a "darker" or more serious tone, why dress like an imbecile? The whole thing was like someone going on a bear hunting trip while dressed like Winnie the Pooh."

---from the article

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Sidebar :

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The Clothes Make The Who. The "sixth doctor" was by all accounts the most ambiguous doctor of the series. On the one hand he looked silly; on the other hand he wanted to be the most "serious" doctor ever. In any more logical scenario, the sixth doctor would have at least chosen attire to match for his new, macabre personae --like, say, the black suit of a funeral director-- and at the very least he'd be dressed for the part. Yet they chose to rob the costume department of the Cirque du Soleil instead, and at the same time, make the Doctor more dark and mysterious. If the idea was to make this Doctor seem borderline psychotic, well: mission, accomplished.

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The clown colored coat. That rainbow parasol. The "cat badge." The carrot juice (carrot juice, carrot juice). Let's not forget how this "Doctor" was introduced by attempting to strangle his traveling companion to death. What a difference a first name makes! In the days of Tom Baker, you couldn't take two steps into a science fiction fan convention and not hear someone praise Doctor Who. In the days of Colin Baker (no relation), the only conversations heard about the show, were the many debates wondering what happened. This doctor was not only silly looking; he was rather schizophrenic as well.

Here's the thing we don't get: if you're going to try and have the doctor take a "darker" or more serious tone, why dress like an imbecile? The whole thing was like someone going on a bear hunting trip while dressed like Winnie the Pooh. Let's not forget the "cat badge" on his lapel. Hand crafted by Suzie Trevor, the concept was to have a different cat badge worn for each different story, to show how the doctor was a "travelling cat of different walks." Then they introduce this new "traveling cat," by having him try to strangle Peri.

This sixth "doctor" would prove to be more than the long-running series could handle. After 24 consecutive seasons on the air, Doctor Who would be placed on hiatus for a year and a half; "coincidentally," the time it took for "the sixth doctor's" contract to expire. Some have said this was some sort of personal attack against Colin Baker, though we doubt it. If anything, it was the only way to "kill off" The Sixth Doctor, and not be in breach of contract. Those who think that's rather cruel, need only look again at that rainbow parasol.

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