# Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, is Ninety Years Old **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388 "2024-01-20T15:45:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/1 "2024-01-20T15:45:07Z")
Happy ninetieth birthday Tom, you definite article, you. I’m truly happy to see you live this long. And to speak absolute truth, I never thought you would. For so many happy hours of my life that you gave me, I salute you. May you see many more years. Have a jelly baby. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/2 "2024-01-20T16:32:20Z")
My favorite Doctor as a kid. Kind of a hammy actor though. Despite this, perfect as the Doctor: 1 part Gandalf and 1 part Sherlock. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/3 "2024-01-20T16:33:24Z")
Still my favorite Doctor! And still producing audio works for the BBC as well. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/4 "2024-01-20T16:34:41Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Kind of a hammy actor though. Despite this, perfect as the Doctor: 1 part Gandalf and 1 part Sherlock. “You’re a beautiful woman, probably.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/5 "2024-01-20T16:34:42Z")
I had to admit a few years ago, David Tennant passed him for me. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/6 "2024-01-20T16:41:26Z")
Baker was my first Doctor, as well, watching re-runs of his shows on the local PBS station in '82 or '83. My first girlfriend knitted one of his scarves for me, and I still have it. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/7 "2024-01-20T16:43:56Z")
Our local NPR station was giving Tom Baker-Dr Who scarves as swag for donations one year - sadly, at a time when I could not afford the minimum donation level. But years later, I got one as a Christmas present! I still treasure it. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/8 "2024-01-20T16:47:04Z")
Oh, me too (not the scarf). I cut my Doctor teeth on Baker’s Doctor, and none of the other early doctors came close. I sadly stopped watching after trying to digest a few episodes with that pretty boy in the cricket outfit. I have to admit that all the re-boot Doctors have been excellent, up through Capaldi. I didn’t like the woman Doctor, not because she was a woman, but because I could not understand what anyone was saying, including her. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/9 "2024-01-20T16:48:14Z")
I saw a piece of a cartoon where the 4th Doctor (Baker) meets the 10th Doctor (Tennant). The voices were those of Baker and Tennant. At the end of it, as 4 heads back to his Tardis, he asks 10 if he can give him any hints as to what will happen to him. 10 says, That’s not allowed. 4 replies, Well, we’re not really big on the rules anyway, am I? 10 says, True. In that case, you find yourself a lady, settle down for a bit, and get a dog. 4 says, Well, if you don’t want to tell me… ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/10 "2024-01-21T21:07:53Z")
Although David Tennant is an excellent Doctor, Tom Baker was my favourite. He felt … alien! Here’s a marvellous bit from my favourite ever episode (and I’ve watched them all, starting with Hartnell 🕶) [The Eleventh Doctor Meets The Curator (Tom Baker) | The Day of the Doctor | Doctor Who (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cbQVfVfSrI) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/11 "2024-01-22T01:08:52Z")
> [@glee](#): > > [The Eleventh Doctor Meets The Curator (Tom Baker) | The Day of the Doctor | Doctor Who (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cbQVfVfSrI) Speculation exists that this could be the David Tennant Doctor that retired in our last episode. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/12 "2024-01-22T01:23:59Z")
Tom Baker was my second doctor, but my favorite, too. None of the immediately subsequent ones interested me. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/13 "2024-01-22T01:42:32Z")
Sylvester McCoy was quite good. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/14 "2024-01-22T01:49:58Z")
He was very good, but the writing was crappy at that point. I feel like the same thing happened to Capaldi. Poor Jodi never had a chance with the worse show runner ever. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/15 "2024-01-23T03:48:11Z")
He was the first Doctor I saw. Later I saw numbers 2 and 3. Went on to Davison and #6, and haven’t seen the rest. I liked what he was quoted as saying about the role. After playing Rasputin and and evil wizard in a Sinbad movie he said the only roles he was getting to look at were blue eyed maniacs. So he worked regular jobs for a while, then got the Doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2024, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-baker-the-fourth-doctor-is-ninety-years-old/996388/16 "2024-01-23T08:36:51Z")
The scarf-wearing Doctor was - as I recall - the only one PBS showed in the 70’s. If later on they showed other Doctor’s to me it’d have been as if there were other Bionic Men. I did watch the revival show from Eccleston through much of Tennant who I would have to say is the best one.