The Doctor's Prescription: A New Who!
- Publication: Starlog
- Date: number 78 (January 1984)
- Author:
- Page: 13
- Language: English
The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced the brand new star of Doctor Who. Colin Baker, 40, will be the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the world's longest-running SF-TV series.
Colin Baker, no relation to the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, will take over the part this month, filming the 21st season's seventh story. Baker, a British TV and stage actor, is as all previous Doctors were, a relative unknown. His best-known performance came as a villainous banker in the mid-70s BBC series The Brothers, which has not been shown in the U.S. This series established him as a major star in Scandinavia, where he is in demand as a stage actor. Attentive Doctor Vho viewers may have seen Baker before. He played the Gallifreyan guard, Commander Maxil, who shot at the Doctor in "Arc of Infinity."
For Baker, it began with an invitation to producer John Nathan-Turner's office. With Peter Davison's decision to depart the show as yet unannounced, and thinking that he was to be asked to take part in a charity fete, Baker was amazed when, instead, Nathan-Turner offered him the title role. Since then, the two men have worked hard to develop the character of the sixth Doctor. "It's still very much up in the air at the moment," Nathan-Turner told STARLOG. "The Doctor will remain eccentric, but there will be a sort of acid wit to go along with it."
Also new to the series is Nicola Bryant. The 21-year-old Surrey, England native (who has lived much of her life in New England) plays the Doctor's modern-day American companion. Peri (short for Perpugilliam) Brown is to be a wealthy student, attracted by the Doctor's paternal traits, her own father having died when she was 13. Joining the Doctor midway through Davison's last series, Peri's relationship with him reflects changes in his character. As Nathan-Turner explains: "It's well-known that the Doctor, after a regeneration, will at first get along fairly unsuccessfully with his companion." Together, they'll travel through time and space in a TV series almost as old as she is!
Caption: The New Who team: producer John Nathan-Turner, Nicola Bryant and Colin Baker.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: (number 78 (January 1984)). The Doctor's Prescription: A New Who!. Starlog p. 13.
- MLA 7th ed.: "The Doctor's Prescription: A New Who!." Starlog [add city] number 78 (January 1984), 13. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "The Doctor's Prescription: A New Who!." Starlog, edition, sec., number 78 (January 1984)
- Turabian: "The Doctor's Prescription: A New Who!." Starlog, number 78 (January 1984), section, 13 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=The Doctor's Prescription: A New Who! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_Doctor%27s_Prescription:_A_New_Who! | work=Starlog | pages=13 | date=number 78 (January 1984) | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=The Doctor's Prescription: A New Who! | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/The_Doctor%27s_Prescription:_A_New_Who! | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=24 March 2025}}</ref>
