Doctor Who, My First Time

Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor courtesy BBC
Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor courtesy BBC

Doctor Who is celebrating his 50th Anniversary with a new companion, new monsters and the return of old enemies. As we await the return of new episodes and details of the 50th Anniversary special I am flashing back to my favorite memories of the Time Lord.

Doctor Who’s adventures in time and space launched in 1963 but I didn’t catch up until my youth in 1978 when my local public television station aired Tom Baker serials. The Pirate Planet was the first episode I remember seeing. Tom Baker was joined by the late Mary Tamm as Romana in an adventure scripted by sci-fi author Douglas Adams. It was the second story within a story as the two Time Lords (The White Guardian assigned Romana as an assistant) went in search of The Key to Time (which consisted of hidden pieces scattered across time and space.) As a kid I was fascinated by K-9 the robot dog and the Pirate Captain’s robot hawk. Watching The Pirate Planet as an adult I enjoyed the Baker/Tamm chemistry, the trademark humor of Adams and the secret of the planet.

Doctor Who returns March 30th.

Here’s a BBC link dedicated to the classic series.

By Editor