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174-398: Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for having played the fourth incarnation and longest-serving Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981 . Later in his career, Baker performed in the television series Medics (1992–1995), Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000–2001) and Monarch of
348-541: A bureaucrat , courtier , diplomat, and member of parliament. Among Chaucer's many other works are The Book of the Duchess , The House of Fame , The Legend of Good Women , and Troilus and Criseyde . He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin . Chaucer's contemporary Thomas Hoccleve hailed him as "
522-651: A battle with Zygons in Scotland, Harry (having just spent an entire season with the Doctor as they tried to get back to the TARDIS) decided that taking the train was safer than the TARDIS, which the Doctor and Sarah Jane chose to try to make an appointment in London. Instead they ended up on the planet Zeta Minor ( Planet of Evil ), located at the far edge of the known universe. From this point on,
696-466: A brown wide-brimmed felt fedora. The rest was often picked from his own clothes (like neckties, trousers and a waistcoat ). A wider, brighter-coloured scarf debuted with Baker's fourth season and a light brown coat was introduced late in his fifth season. Baker also appeared in a one-off Sherlock Holmes -inspired costume in The Talons of Weng-Chiang . According to both the creators of the show and Baker,
870-423: A common medieval form of apprenticeship for boys into knighthood or prestige appointments. The countess was married to Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence , the second surviving son of the king, Edward III , and the position brought the teenage Chaucer into the close court circle, where he was to remain for the rest of his life. He also worked as a courtier, a diplomat, and a civil servant, as well as working for
1044-537: A copy in his library among other works of Chaucer), with G. K. Chesterton writing, "among the great canonical English authors, Chaucer and Dickens have the most in common." The large number of surviving manuscripts of Chaucer's works is testimony to the enduring interest in his poetry prior to the arrival of the printing press. There are 83 surviving manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales (in whole or part) alone, along with sixteen of Troilus and Criseyde , including
1218-495: A deposition in the case of Scrope v. Grosvenor . There is no further reference after this date to Philippa, Chaucer's wife. She is presumed to have died in 1387. He survived the political upheavals caused by the Lords Appellants , despite the fact that Chaucer knew some of the men executed over the affair quite well. On 12 July 1389, Chaucer was appointed the clerk of the king's works , a sort of foreman organising most of
1392-615: A four-part BBC1 miniseries version of The Hound of the Baskervilles ; in the US, this production was telecast on A&E . He also made an appearance in Blackadder II , in the episode "Potato", as the sea captain "Redbeard Rum". He played Puddleglum , a "marsh-wiggle", in the 1990 BBC adaptation of C. S. Lewis ' The Silver Chair . For the third series of the British game show Cluedo , Baker
1566-533: A general historical trend towards the creation of a vernacular literature , after the example of Dante , in many parts of Europe. A parallel trend in Chaucer's lifetime was underway in Scotland through the work of his slightly earlier contemporary, John Barbour . Barbour's work was likely to have been even more general, as is evidenced by the example of the Pearl Poet in the north of England. Although Chaucer's language
1740-619: A house in Royal Tunbridge Wells , Kent, before later moving to Rye, East Sussex . Baker is critical of religion and describes himself as irreligious , or occasionally as Buddhist , but not anti-religious . Politically, Baker has expressed disdain for the Conservative Party and New Labour , saying in 1998, "when the Conservatives were in I cannot tell you how much I hated them, but I realise how shallow I am because I now hate
1914-749: A later tour. The following year he played both Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty in The Mask of Moriarty by Hugh Leonard at the Gate Theatre in Dublin. In 1987, Baker played Inspector Goole in a revival production of An Inspector Calls directed by Peter Dews . In 1998, Baker provided narration on the track Witness to a Murder (Part 2) on the album Six by the English alternative rockband Mansun . On 13 May 2020, Dutch producer and songwriter Arjen Anthony Lucassen announced that Baker would provide spoken vocals for
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#17328551739472088-433: A lease on a residence within the close of Westminster Abbey on 24 December 1399. Henry IV renewed the grants assigned by Richard, but The Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse hints that the grants might not have been paid. The last mention of Chaucer is on 5 June 1400, when some debts owed to him were repaid. Chaucer died of unknown causes on 25 October 1400, although the only evidence for this date comes from
2262-424: A lightening of the tone and an "erratic decline" in both the popularity and quality of the series. In a 2014 interview, Baker described Hinchcliffe as "amazing" and identified that as his favourite time on the series. He described Hinchcliffe's successor, Graham Williams , as "absolutely devoted" but said he lacked his predecessor's flair and had "let me get away with murder". He acknowledged that his final producer on
2436-565: A long scarf and having a fondness for Jelly Babies – made him an immediately recognisable figure and he quickly captivated the viewing public's imagination. The producer of Baker's early seasons, Philip Hinchcliffe , stated that the Fourth Doctor's bohemian appearance and anti-establishment style appealed to older, college-age students. The Fourth Doctor's time enjoyed a significant boost in viewing figures, averaging between 8 and 10 million viewers in just his first year (20–25 percent of
2610-415: A long scarf—and his fondness for jelly babies ), as well as his voice, made him an immediately recognisable figure, and he quickly caught the viewing public's imagination. Baker contributed ideas for many aspects of his Doctor's personality; he became known for making "frequent and often comedic scripting suggestions and ad-libs ", but the idea of wearing a scarf had been created by accident. James Acheson ,
2784-511: A member of the royal court of Edward III as a valet de chambre , yeoman , or esquire on 20 June 1367, a position which could entail a wide variety of tasks. His wife also received a pension for court employment. He travelled abroad many times, at least some of them in his role as a valet. In 1368, he may have attended the wedding of Lionel of Antwerp to Violante Visconti , daughter of Galeazzo II Visconti , in Milan . Two other literary stars of
2958-571: A moment I thought you were Shirley Williams ." Baker later returned to Have I Got News For You as a guest host in 2008. Baker played the role of the Captain in the Challenge version of Fort Boyard , and has also hosted the children's literature series, The Book Tower . He recorded a special called, Tom Baker – In Confidence that was shown in April 2010. In the late 1990s, it was reported that Baker
3132-483: A more ornate tomb, making him the first writer interred in the area now known as Poets' Corner . Chaucer was a close friend of John of Gaunt , the wealthy Duke of Lancaster and father of Henry IV, and he served under Lancaster's patronage. Near the end of their lives, Lancaster and Chaucer became brothers-in-law when Lancaster married Katherine Swynford (de Roet) in 1396; she was the sister of Philippa (de) Roet, whom Chaucer had married in 1366. Chaucer's The Book of
3306-687: A noyse gan they make That erthe & eyr & tre & euery lake So ful was that onethe was there space For me to stonde, so ful was al the place. "The language of England, upon which Chaucer was the first to confer celebrity, has amply justified the foresight which led him to disdain all others for its sake, and, in turn, has conferred an enduring celebrity upon him who trusted his reputation to it without reserve." —T. R. Lounsbury. The poet Thomas Hoccleve , who may have met Chaucer and considered him his role model, hailed Chaucer as "the firste fyndere of our fair langage". John Lydgate referred to Chaucer within his own text The Fall of Princes as
3480-520: A part in the 2001 BBC Radio 4 version of The Thirty-Nine Steps as Sir Walter Bullivant . He guest starred in The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (a pastiche series written by Bert Coules ) in the 2002 episode " The Saviour of Cripplegate Square ". From 2000 to 2005 Baker voiced the character Max Bear in the Channel 4 (UK) Max Bear Productions animated series. He also voiced the role of
3654-500: A planet called Alzerius ( Full Circle ), where they are joined by a young prodigy named Adric . It's in E-Space that the Doctor destroys the last of a race of giant Vampires who had once threatened all life in his universe. Eventually, the Doctor and his two companions find themselves in a white void with no coordinates, a sort of membrane between the two universes. A way out soon forms, but Romana and K-9 choose to remain behind to help free
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#17328551739473828-517: A press conference with some old studio-set clothes to replace his modest garments. Baker told the Daily Express that his friends teased him that "the BBC scoured London to come up with the only middle-aged-ten-year-old in the business." Letts left the series after producing Baker's debut story, Robot (1974–1975), and was replaced by Philip Hinchcliffe . Under Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes ,
4002-409: A race of enslaved creatures in E-Space ( Warriors' Gate ). The Doctor and Adric have only just made it back when they're asked to help the people of Traken from a creature known as "Melkur." On Traken, Adric and the Doctor are introduced to the aristocratic teen Nyssa of Traken . Both Nyssa and her father, Tremas, assist the Doctor in stopping Melkur, who is in fact revealed to be another TARDIS that
4176-489: A scene where the Doctor follows the computer's instruction to marry Romana. In 1997, Baker reprised the role once again in a spot for New Zealand's National Superannuation insurance company. Tom Baker also recorded narration, in character as the Fourth Doctor, for a 1976 audio release of Genesis of the Daleks , which was subsequently re-issued by the BBC on cassette and CD as a radio drama. Baker returned again to Doctor Who for
4350-538: A science fiction explanation, rather than the typical magic . The Hinchcliffe Era (1974–1977) is one of the most controversial in the classic series run, the increasing horror elements and depictions of violence attracted much criticism from Mary Whitehouse , who had previously attacked the Barry Letts era for serials like Terror of the Autons (1971). The controversy led BBC Director General to apologise to Whitehouse for
4524-461: A series of stories reuniting him with Elisabeth Sladen 's character Sarah Jane Smith (for which special permission was obtained from the producers of The Sarah Jane Adventures TV series), but Sladen died in April 2011 before any stories could be recorded. Baker has also recorded several Big Finish audio stories with Matthew Waterhouse , who played Adric , and Lalla Ward , who played Romana II (though Ward recorded her sections separately). It
4698-825: A series of television advertisements in New Zealand in 1997). This incarnation is generally regarded as one of the most recognisable of the Doctors and one of the most popular, especially in the United States . In polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine , Tom Baker has lost the "Best Doctor" category only three times: once to Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor ) in 1990, and twice to David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor ) in 2006 and 2009. The Fourth Doctor's eccentric style of dress and speech – particularly his trademark look of wearing
4872-527: A similar narrator of Little Britain on BBC Radio 4 and remained in the role when it transferred to television. He has suggested that he was chosen for the part in Little Britain due to his popularity with creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams , part of the generation for whom he is the favourite Doctor. "I am now being employed by the children who grew up watching me", he stated in a DVD commentary. Another trademark of Little Britain ' s narration
5046-520: A style which had developed in English literature since around the 12th century as an alternative to the alliterative Anglo-Saxon metre . Chaucer is known for metrical innovation, inventing the rhyme royal , and he was one of the first English poets to use the five-stress line, a decasyllabic cousin to the iambic pentametre , in his work, with only a few anonymous short works using it before him. The arrangement of these five-stress lines into rhyming couplets , first seen in his The Legend of Good Women ,
5220-517: A system to allow the Universe to continue on past its point of heat death . Nyssa shows up, explaining that she was brought to Logopolis by the same figure that the Doctor encountered. Logopolis soon falls under the Master's control, but the stasis field he is generating ends up releasing Entropy and eroding matter throughout the universe, threatening to destroy the entire universe. The Master agrees to help
5394-565: A third time on 1 April 1986, to Sue Jerrard, who had been an assistant editor on Doctor Who . They moved to the Bell House, a converted school in Boughton Malherbe , Kent , where they kept several cats before moving to France in January 2003. They sold the property to Vic Reeves shortly after Baker had worked with him on the BBC revival of Randall and Hopkirk . In November 2006, Baker bought
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5568-409: A video release of the unfinished Douglas Adams Doctor Who serial Shada , originally begun in 1979 but abandoned due to strike action, and presented the video release The Tom Baker Years (1992), which was a look back at his time on the series with Baker watching short clips from his episodes. In November 2017, Baker returned to the Doctor role by completing Shada . Animation was added to complete
5742-405: A white shirt , waistcoat , cravat , trousers , a frock coat (with pockets containing a seemingly endless array of apparently useless items that would nevertheless suit the Doctor's purposes when used), a fedora and, most famously, his impractically long, multi-coloured scarf, which was apparently knitted for him by Madame Nostradamus (whom he refers to as a "witty little knitter"). When it
5916-509: A will dated 3 April 1354 and listed in the City Hustings Roll as "moneyer", said to be a moneyer at the Tower of London . In the City Hustings Roll 110, 5, Ric II, dated June 1380, Chaucer refers to himself as me Galfridum Chaucer, filium Johannis Chaucer, Vinetarii, Londonie , which translates as: "I, Geoffrey Chaucer, son of the vintner John Chaucer, London". While records concerning
6090-509: Is Tom Baker? was published in 1997 and made available on Kindle devices in September 2013. Baker has also written a short fairytale-style novel called The Boy Who Kicked Pigs . In 1981 he edited a collection of poems for children: Never Wear Your Wellies in the House and Other Poems to Make You Laugh . In 2019, Baker released a Doctor Who novel called Scratchman. Co-written with James Goss ,
6264-401: Is a reference to Lancaster (also called "Loncastel" and "Longcastell"), "walles white" is thought to be an oblique reference to Blanche, "Seynt Johan" was John of Gaunt's name-saint, and "ryche hil" is a reference to Richmond. These references reveal the identity of the grieving black knight of the poem as John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and Earl of Richmond. "White" is the English translation of
6438-629: Is at times tempered by his capacity for righteous anger. His initial companions were the journalist Sarah Jane Smith ( Elisabeth Sladen ), who had travelled with his previous incarnation , and Surgeon-Lieutenant Harry Sullivan ( Ian Marter ) of UNIT . His later companions were the warrior Leela ( Louise Jameson ), robotic dog K9 ( John Leeson and David Brierly ), female Time Lord Romana ( Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward ), teen mathematical genius Adric ( Matthew Waterhouse ), teen alien aristocrat Nyssa ( Sarah Sutton ), and Australian flight attendant Tegan Jovanka ( Janet Fielding ). Baker portrayed
6612-419: Is attested by the many poets who imitated or responded to his writing. John Lydgate was one of the earliest poets to write continuations of Chaucer's unfinished Tales . At the same time Robert Henryson 's Testament of Cresseid completes the story of Cressida left unfinished in his Troilus and Criseyde . Many of the manuscripts of Chaucer's works contain material from these poets, and later appreciations by
6786-459: Is believed that he started The Canterbury Tales in the 1380s. Chaucer also translated Boethius ' Consolation of Philosophy and The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris (extended by Jean de Meun). Eustache Deschamps called himself a "nettle in Chaucer's garden of poetry". In 1385, Thomas Usk made glowing mention of Chaucer, and John Gower also lauded him. Chaucer's Treatise on
6960-419: Is believed to be in Chaucer's Parlement of Foules (1382), a dream vision portraying a parliament for birds to choose their mates. Honouring the first anniversary of the engagement of fifteen-year-old King Richard II of England to fifteen-year-old Anne of Bohemia : For this was on seynt Volantynys day Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make Of euery kynde that men thinke may And that so heuge
7134-417: Is controlled by the Master. The Master is narrowly defeated, but manages to take over Tremas' body, thus giving himself a new incarnation. The Doctor decides to travel to Earth to scan a real Police Box as part of a plan to repair the "Chameleon Circuit", the shape-changing mechanism in the TARDIS. However, the Doctor soon spots a mysterious ghostly figure looking at him in the distance. He eventually confronts
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7308-520: Is damaged in The Ark in Space (1975), the Doctor declares with regret that it is "irreplaceable." According to Baker, the Doctor's scarf was the idea of costume designer James Acheson . Knowing little about knitting, Acheson procured large quantities of wool in various colours and commissioned Begonia Pope, a friend of his, to create a colourful design. She proceeded to use all of the wool provided, resulting in
7482-525: Is framed for the assassination of the President of the High Council of Time Lords and put on trial. To avoid execution, the Doctor invokes an obscure law and declares himself a candidate for the office, giving himself the time he needs to prove his innocence and expose the real culprit. This ultimately results in a climactic battle with the Master ( The Deadly Assassin ). The Doctor is seen to travel alone for
7656-422: Is heavily implied to be him in the episode itself. Peter Davison , who played the fifth incarnation, also appears in the series as himself. In 1979 and 1980, Tom Baker played the Fourth Doctor (alongside Lalla Ward 's Romana) in a series of four television commercials for Prime Computer . Disliking the scripts he was given, Baker agreed to film the advertisements only if he could rewrite them himself, and added
7830-451: Is much closer to Modern English than the text of Beowulf , such that (unlike that of Beowulf ) a Modern English speaker with an extensive vocabulary of archaic words may understand it, it differs enough that most publications modernise his idiom. The following is a sample from the prologue of The Summoner's Tale that compares Chaucer's text to a modern translation: The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love
8004-555: Is revealed to be a time-jumping criminal from the Earth's distant future. Later, the Doctor and Leela visit the Bi-Al Foundation medical centre, where they acquire the robot dog K-9 ( The Invisible Enemy ). While K-9 is malfunctioning, a time distortion leads the TARDIS back to contemporary rural England. While investigating the distortion, he and Leela are confronted by an ancient being that feeds on death from Time Lord history, called
8178-411: Is the deadpan quotation of old rap lyrics, usually in the opening credit sequence. On 17 November 2005, to mark the start of the third series of Little Britain , Baker read the continuity announcements on BBC One from 7 pm to 9:30 pm GMT . The scripts were written by Lucas and Walliams; Baker assumed his Little Britain persona. He used lines such as: Hello, telly viewers. You're watching
8352-445: Is uncertain how many children Chaucer and Philippa had, but three or four are most commonly cited. His son, Thomas Chaucer , had an illustrious career as chief butler to four kings, envoy to France, and Speaker of the House of Commons . Thomas's daughter, Alice , married the Duke of Suffolk . Thomas's great-grandson (Geoffrey's great-great-grandson), John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln , was
8526-460: Is uncertain, but he seems to have travelled in France, Spain, and Flanders , possibly as a messenger and perhaps even going on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela . Around 1366, Chaucer married Philippa (de) Roet . She was a lady-in-waiting to Edward III's queen, Philippa of Hainault , and a sister of Katherine Swynford , who later ( c. 1396 ) became the third wife of John of Gaunt . It
8700-719: The 1996 television movie and the 2013 Christmas special " The Time of the Doctor ". Visions of the Fourth Doctor appear in the Fifth Doctor serials Earthshock (1982), Mawdryn Undead (1983) and Resurrection of the Daleks (1984), and in the 21st century series in the episodes " The Next Doctor ", " The Eleventh Hour ", " The Lodger " and " Nightmare in Silver ". His voice is also used in " The Almost People ". The Fourth Doctor also appears in Sarah Jane's flashback in The Mad Woman in
8874-762: The Chichester Festival Theatre . The following year, he played Judge Brack in Hedda Gabler , with Susannah York as Hedda, in the West End. Also in 1982, Baker played Dr. Frank Bryant in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Educating Rita , alongside Kate Fitzgerald as Rita. He returned to the National Theatre in 1984 to play Mr Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer in the Olivier Theatre and on
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#17328551739479048-469: The Labour Party as much." to Make You Laugh (edited by Tom Baker) Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor , the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . He is portrayed by Tom Baker . Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in time and space in
9222-610: The Middle English language from a combination of the Kentish and Midlands dialects. This is probably overstated; the influence of the court, chancery and bureaucracy – of which Chaucer was a part – remains a more probable influence on the development of Standard English . Modern English is somewhat distanced from the language of Chaucer's poems owing to the effect of the Great Vowel Shift sometime after his death. This change in
9396-471: The Romantic era poets were shaped by their failure to distinguish the later "additions" from the original Chaucer. Writers of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as John Dryden , admired Chaucer for his stories but not for his rhythm and rhyme, as few critics could then read Middle English and the text had been butchered by printers, leaving a somewhat unadmirable mess. It was not until the late 19th century that
9570-502: The TARDIS , frequently with companions . At the end of life, the Doctor regenerates ; as a result, the physical appearance and personality of the Doctor changes. Preceded in regeneration by the Third Doctor ( Jon Pertwee ), he is followed by the Fifth Doctor ( Peter Davison ). Baker portrays the Fourth Doctor as a whimsical and sometimes brooding individual whose enormous personal warmth
9744-407: The TARDIS . On The Big Bang Theory , Stuart dresses as The Fourth Doctor at a party in the episode “The Justice League Recombination”. In the computer game Hugo II, Whodunit? , the player can save the Fourth Doctor from a Dalek in return for his sonic screwdriver . He is frequently impersonated by impressionist Jon Culshaw on the radio and television series Dead Ringers , who also voiced
9918-710: The Ten Commandments —in order—so he thought he should get out before he did something serious. Baker undertook his national service in the Royal Army Medical Corps , serving from 1955 until 1957. Upon leaving the army, he served in the Merchant Navy . Baker took up acting around 1956, joining the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup . He became a professional actor in the late 1960s. Baker
10092-565: The Third Doctor makes his way back to UNIT headquarters in the TARDIS , where the Time Lord K'Anpo Rimpoche aids him in regenerating ( Planet of the Spiders ). In his new incarnation, the Doctor is eager to leave Earth in favour of exploration, thus drawing back from continuous involvement with UNIT (with which he had worked closely as the Third Doctor). He has also grown tired of working for
10266-534: The pronunciation of English, still not fully understood, makes the reading of Chaucer difficult for the modern audience. The status of the final -e in Chaucer's verse is uncertain: it seems likely that during the period of Chaucer's writing, the final -e was dropping out of colloquial English and that its use was somewhat irregular. It may have been a vestige of the Old English dative singular suffix -e attached to most nouns. Chaucer's versification suggests that
10440-510: The "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner , in Westminster Abbey . Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer , composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his 10-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in the civil service as
10614-512: The "lodesterre (guiding principle) … off our language". Around two centuries later, Sir Philip Sidney greatly praised Troilus and Criseyde in his own Defence of Poesie . During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Chaucer came to be viewed as a symbol of the nation's poetic heritage. In Charles Dickens ' 1850 novel David Copperfield , the Victorian era author echoed Chaucer's use of Luke 23:34 from Troilus and Criseyde (Dickens held
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#173285517394710788-420: The 1990s audio cassette releases of "lost" Doctor Who stories. For some of these stories, he is in character as the Doctor. For others, he merely provides descriptive narration. Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( / ˈ tʃ ɔː s ər / CHAW -sər ; c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales . He has been called
10962-457: The 20th anniversary special " The Five Doctors " (1983). A renegade Time Lord attempts to pull the first five incarnations of the Doctor out of time, inadvertently trapping the Fourth Doctor (and Romana) in a "time eddy" from which they are later freed. The Fourth Doctor also had a small cameo at the beginning of Dimensions in Time , warning his Third, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh incarnation to watch out for
11136-451: The 24th episode of the series Epic Rap Battles of History the Tenth Doctor is in a rap battle with Doc Brown from Back to the Future when he is shot by a Dalek and regenerates into the Fourth Doctor (played by George Watsky ). A background character appearing in one episode of Toast of London portrayed by Lewis MacLeod highly resembles the fourth incarnation of the Doctor, and
11310-572: The 50th-anniversary special, " The Day of the Doctor ", stating, "I am in the special. I'm not supposed to tell you that, but I tell you that very willingly and specifically; the BBC told me not to tell anybody but I'm telling you straight away." The episode saw Baker in the role of a mysterious curator in the National Gallery who openly discusses his resemblance to the Fourth Doctor with the Eleventh Doctor . Baker also filmed inserts in 1992 for
11484-572: The Astrolabe describes the form and use of the astrolabe in detail and is sometimes cited as the first example of technical writing in the English language. It indicates that Chaucer was versed in science in addition to his literary talents. The equatorie of the planetis is a scientific work similar to the Treatise and sometimes ascribed to Chaucer because of its language and handwriting, an identification which scholars no longer deem tenable. Chaucer wrote in continental accentual-syllabic metre ,
11658-574: The Attic , via footage taken from The Hand of Fear . Similar flashbacks appear in The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor . In " The Name of the Doctor ," he is seen briefly by Clara Oswald wandering around the TARDIS (clip taken from The Invasion of Time ). He was also seen as an echo running past Clara inside the Eleventh Doctor's time stream in the end of "The Name of
11832-740: The BBC One! In half an hour, Jenny Dickens's classic serial Bleak House . But first let's see what the poor people are up to in the first of two visits this evening to the EastEnders . Baker has appeared in various radio productions, including a role as "Britain's most celebrated criminal barrister", Sir Edward Marshall-Hall in John Mortimer Presents the Trials of Marshall Hall (1996), " Josiah Bounderby " in Charles Dickens ' Hard Times (1998) and
12006-503: The Brain of Morbius (released 4 February 2008), Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit (released on 7 April 2008) and Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars (released 14 August 2008). In October 2009, Baker was interviewed for BBC Radio 4 's Last Word to pay tribute to the deceased former Doctor Who producer Barry Letts . He described Letts, who originally cast him in the role, as "the big link in changing my entire life". On 20 November 2013, Baker revealed that he would appear in
12180-411: The Cybermen only had one story, Revenge of the Cybermen (1975). UNIT , which had featured in most of the Third Doctor's adventures, only appeared in four early Fourth Doctor stories, playing a minor role in its last appearance, season 13's The Seeds of Doom (1976) in which none of the regular UNIT staff appeared. At the same time, stories such as The Deadly Assassin (1976) established most of
12354-402: The Doctor (rather than on other principal characters) to drive the plot forward. Baker ultimately suggested that he may have stayed in the role for one series too many, stating that, in hindsight, he felt it would have been better for him to have left with Williams and let Nathan-Turner recast the role of the Doctor for season 18. According to Baker in 2017, "When I was doing Doctor Who , it was
12528-411: The Doctor and Sarah Jane travelled alone. The Doctor's companionship with Sarah Jane came to an end when he received a telepathic summons to Gallifrey, as humans were not then allowed on the planet. The summons turns out to be part of a trap set by his enemy the Master . The renegade Time Lord has used up all his regenerations and has degenerated into little more than a withered skeletal husk. The Doctor
12702-517: The Doctor begins frequently over-riding the machine, first travelling to Paris for a holiday, only to get caught up in an alien scheme to steal the Mona Lisa ( City of Death ). He eventually discards the device altogether, remarking that he's fed up with not knowing where he's going. Shortly after this, the Fourth Doctor and Romana are projected outside the known universe and into a universe of negative coordinates, known as Exo-Space. The TARDIS lands on
12876-463: The Doctor cures the computer, one of the Sevateem, Leela , joins him on his travels ( The Face of Evil ). The Doctor brings the intelligent but uneducated Leela to many locales in human history, teaching her about science and her own species' past. In Victorian London , the pair encounters the magician Li Hsien Chang and his master, the self-styled Weng-Chiang ( The Talons of Weng-Chiang ). Weng-Chiang
13050-504: The Doctor for the Big Finish audio The Kingmaker . Archival footage of the Fourth Doctor's first title sequence was used in the Family Guy episode " Blue Harvest " to parody hyperspace from Star Wars . In American Dad! some Whovians were shown, with several of them dressed as the Fourth Doctor. As the narrator of Little Britain , Tom Baker has himself alluded to Doctor Who . In
13224-520: The Doctor stop the spread of Entropy by adapting the Pharos Project radio telescope on Earth so that they are able to reopen the CVEs. However, when the Master tries to take control of it, the Doctor runs out under the upturned radio dish to sever the cable linking the Master to the CVEs. The Master makes the dish start rotating so that the Doctor will fall to his death. Before he falls, he manages to tear out
13398-522: The Doctor." Archival images were used for his appearance in " The Day of the Doctor ". During the special, Tom Baker portrays a mysterious museum curator who speaks with the Eleventh Doctor and hints to him that he may be a future version of the Doctor "revisiting" a favourite past incarnation. The Fourth Doctor is also seen briefly during Missy 's exposition of the Twelfth Doctor 's fighting android assassins (" The Witch's Familiar "). For audiences in
13572-554: The Duchess (also known as the Deeth of Blaunche the Duchesse ) was written to commemorate Blanche of Lancaster, John of Gaunt's first wife. The poem refers to John and Blanche in allegory as the narrator relates the tale of "A long castel with walles white/Be Seynt Johan, on a ryche hil" (1318–1319) who is mourning grievously after the death of his love, "And goode faire White she het/That was my lady name ryght" (948–949). The phrase "long castel"
13746-399: The Eleventh Doctor remarks he would like to hold this job some day. He alludes to his resemblance to the Fourth Doctor by talking about revisiting "old favourite" faces and hints that he too might be or have been the Doctor. Imposingly tall, with eyes that seem to constantly boggle, a mass of curls for hair and prominently displayed teeth, the Doctor favours an outfit that usually consists of
13920-600: The Fendahl ( Image of the Fendahl ). Eventually, the Doctor returns to Gallifrey and declares himself Lord President, based on the election held during his previous visit. This is in fact a ploy to reveal and defeat a Vardan invasion plan, which led to the unexpected consequence of leaving Gallifrey open to attack by the Sontarans ( The Invasion of Time ). In the aftermath Leela and K9 decide to remain on Gallifrey. The Doctor comforts himself by producing K9 Mark II. Shortly afterward,
14094-540: The Fourth Doctor in the 1997 video game Destiny of the Doctors where he provided the voice. His voice has also been featured in Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (2000), Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (2003), Sudeki (2004), Cold Winter (2005), MediEvil: Resurrection , Hostile Waters: Antaeus Rising , and Little Britain: The Video Game (2007). Baker is a prolific voiceover artist and his voice
14268-507: The Fourth Doctor were characterised by a strong "Gothic Horror" theme. The duo of writer/script editor Robert Holmes and producer Philip Hinchcliffe consciously tapped into horror icons like mummies ( Pyramids of Mars ) and Frankenstein ( The Brain of Morbius , Robot ), vampires ( State of Decay ) and Jekyll and Hyde ( Planet of Evil ), and even transformation ( The Ark in Space , The Seeds of Doom ) and various themes like alien abduction . In these stories, they were given
14442-405: The Fourth Doctor. Two early audio plays featuring Tom Baker voicing the Fourth Doctor date from Baker's television tenure as he had mainly declined to appear in any further audio plays since leaving the series. In 2009, however, it was announced that a new five-part series would be produced by BBC Audio (see below). After contracting radiation poisoning from the crystals of the planet Metebelis 3,
14616-647: The French word "blanche", implying that the white lady was Blanche of Lancaster. Chaucer's short poem Fortune , believed to have been written in the 1390s, is also thought to refer to Lancaster. "Chaucer as narrator" openly defies Fortune , proclaiming that he has learned who his enemies are through her tyranny and deceit, and declares "my suffisaunce" (15) and that "over himself hath the maystrye" (14). Fortune , in turn, does not understand Chaucer's harsh words to her for she believes that she has been kind to him, claims that he does not know what she has in store for him in
14790-594: The Glen (2004–2005). He also provided narration for the television comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Little Britain USA (2008). His voice, which has been described as "sonorous", was voted the fourth-most recognisable in the UK in 2006. Thomas Stewart Baker was born on Scotland Road in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool on 20 January 1934. His mother, Mary Jane ( née Fleming),
14964-547: The Laan , The Justice of Jalxar , Phantoms of the Deep , The Dalek Contract and The Final Phase ). Subsequent series also feature Baker alongside John Leeson as K9 , Lalla Ward as the second incarnation of Romana and Matthew Waterhouse as Adric , all reprising their television roles. In the third season of the animated series Star Wars Rebels , Baker provided the voice of Bendu, a powerful Force -sensitive being. Baker starred as
15138-475: The Narrator. Baker voiced both the narrator and the god "Tetsu" in the role-playing game Sudeki , but was uncredited. Baker was also the uncredited narrator for the 1985 science fiction movie "Enemy Mine". During the first three months of 2006, his voice was used by BT for spoken delivery of text messages to landline phones. He recorded 11,593 phrases, containing every sound in the English language, for use by
15312-492: The Rani . Brief holographic clips of the Fourth Doctor appear in " The Next Doctor " (2008) and " The Eleventh Hour " (2010). In the fiftieth anniversary special, " The Day of the Doctor " (2013), the Fourth Doctor appears again in clips as past and future incarnations come together to assist in the saving of Gallifrey. Tom Baker also appears in the final scene of the episode, as a mysterious elderly museum curator who appears right after
15486-400: The Spiders and his untelevised appearances in the six-part aborted serial Shada ) over a seven-year period, from 1974 to 1981. This makes him the longest-running on-screen Doctor of the series. He also appeared in the specials " The Five Doctors " (via footage from the incomplete Shada ), and made his final appearance as the Doctor in the charity special Dimensions in Time (aside from
15660-521: The Time Lords. Despite attempts to avoid them altogether, the Time Lords continue to send him on occasional missions, including an attempt to prevent the creation of the Daleks ( Genesis of the Daleks ), during which he also meets Davros . The Doctor travels with journalist Sarah Jane Smith , whom he had befriended prior to his regeneration, and, for a time, with UNIT Surgeon-Lieutenant Harry Sullivan. After
15834-556: The United States, who saw the show only in syndication (mostly on PBS ), Tom Baker was the incarnation of the Doctor who is the best known, since his episodes were the ones most frequently broadcast stateside. The first four seasons of these Time Life distributed stories added narration by Howard da Silva at the beginning and end of each episode. Also in Italy, where most of the classic series of Doctor Who were never broadcast on television,
16008-609: The Visconti and Sir John Hawkwood , English condottiere (mercenary leader) in Milan. It has been speculated that it was Hawkwood on whom Chaucer based his character, the Knight, in the Canterbury Tales , for a description matches that of a 14th-century condottiere. A possible indication that his career as a writer was appreciated came when Edward III granted Chaucer "a gallon of wine daily for
16182-435: The absurdly long, but iconic, accessory. Producer Philip Hinchcliffe had wardrobe create three distinct coats for Baker to wear depending on the type of story, the first being a rust safari jacket that he wore throughout all of his first season; the other two (full-length) coats were of dark brown velvet (for the darker horror stories) and taupe tweed (for more action-packed stories). The Wardrobe Department also provided
16356-751: The album was not released until 2009. Baker provides narrative at two British tourist attractions: the Nemesis roller coaster at Alton Towers , Staffordshire; and the London Dungeon , a museum depicting gory and macabre events in the capital, narrating the events leading up to and comprising the Great Fire of London . Baker voiced the character "Max Bear", a series of animated stories broadcast on Channel 4 (UK Terrestrial) from 2000 to 2005. He narrated Australian cartoonist Bruce Petty 's 2006 film about world politics, Global Haywire . Baker's autobiography, Who on Earth
16530-489: The cable, only to leave his companions watching as he clings to the cable. As his grip begins to slip, he sees visions of all the enemies he's faced over the years, then falls. Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan gather around the mortally wounded Doctor and call out his name. The Doctor begins seeing visions of all his companions and even the Brigadier calling his name. He then looks up at the three of them and utters his last words: "It's
16704-413: The cast and crew suffering from burnout and lack of resources, the season finale The Invasion of Time (1978) was completed largely by virtue of it having been written to make use of preexisting sets, props, and costumes. For their second season, Williams and Read had planned out an overarching storyline that would run through the whole of the season. With more editorial control, it was also decided that
16878-453: The character for seven consecutive seasons, which remains the longest tenure of any actor to portray the lead, counting both the classic and new series. Baker's tenure as the Doctor is highly regarded among fans of the show and he is considered as one of the most iconic incarnations of the character. The Fourth Doctor appeared in 172 episodes (179, counting the regeneration in Part 6 of Planet of
17052-616: The character of "The Storyteller" on Ayreon 's album, Transitus . Baker's first marriage was in 1961, to Anna Wheatcroft, niece of rose grower Harry Wheatcroft ; they had met and started dating whilst at acting school. They had two sons and divorced in 1966. Baker lost contact with his sons until a chance meeting with Piers in a New Zealand pub allowed them to renew their relationship. In December 1980, he married Lalla Ward , who had co-starred in Doctor Who as his character's companion Romana . They divorced in April 1982. Baker married for
17226-459: The character's look was originally based on paintings and posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec of his friend, Aristide Bruant , a singer and nightclub owner whose trademark was a black cloak and long red scarf. When John Nathan-Turner became the show's producer in Baker's last year, the Fourth Doctor was the first to sport an item of clothing adorned with question marks as a motif, in this case, above
17400-408: The commissioners of peace for Kent at a time when French invasion was a possibility. He is thought to have started work on The Canterbury Tales in the early 1380s. He also became a member of parliament for Kent in 1386 and attended the ' Wonderful Parliament ' that year. He appears to have been present at most of the 71 days it sat, for which he was paid £24 9s. On 15 October that year, he gave
17574-543: The conclusion of the quest, Romana regenerates into a new form (portrayed then by Lalla Ward ) ( Destiny of the Daleks ). In an effort to evade the Black Guardian, the Doctor installs a "Randomiser" in the TARDIS so that not even the Black Guardian can anticipate where they go. Ironically, the first place the Randomiser sends them is the home planet of the Daleks, Skaro ( Destiny of the Daleks ). Perhaps because of this,
17748-400: The costume designer assigned to his first story, had provided far more wool than necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope. However, due to a miscommunication, Pope knitted all the wool she was given. During his period as the star of Doctor Who , the original series received its highest viewing figures. Baker played the Doctor for seven consecutive seasons, making him the longest-serving actor in
17922-403: The dukes of Lancaster, York , and Gloucester , and a portion of line 76 ("as three of you or tweyne") is thought to refer to the ordinance of 1390 which specified that no royal gift could be authorised without the consent of at least two of the three dukes. Most conspicuous in this short poem is the number of references to Chaucer's "beste frend". Fortune states three times in her response to
18096-457: The end-- but the moment has been prepared for..." He then motions to the white-clad figure of the Watcher, who begins approaching the Doctor. The Watcher, a manifestation of the Doctor's future incarnation, merges with the Doctor and triggers his regeneration. " He was the Doctor all the time," remarks Nyssa, as the three watch him transform into the Fifth Doctor . The Fourth Doctor appears again in
18270-401: The ending of one episode of The Seeds of Doom (1976). Hinchcliffe was moved on to police drama Target in 1977 at the conclusion of his third year. Graham Williams – who had been developing Target – was brought on to take over as producer for Baker's fourth season. Williams was given specific instructions to lighten the tone of the stories, thus playing to Baker's strengths. However,
18444-515: The engraving on his tomb, which was erected more than 100 years after his death. There is some speculation that he was murdered by enemies of Richard II or even on the orders of his successor Henry IV, but the case is entirely circumstantial. Chaucer was buried in Westminster Abbey in London, as was his right owing to his status as a tenant of the Abbey's close. In 1556, his remains were transferred to
18618-495: The entire viewing audience of Britain). By 1979, the figures averaged between 9 and 11 million, going as high as 16.1 million for the final episode of City of Death (though this was during the ITV technicians strike of 1979 which meant the BBC was the sole broadcaster on the air for several weeks). After succeeding Jon Pertwee 's Third Doctor , Baker's portrayal of the Fourth
18792-565: The era were in attendance: Jean Froissart and Petrarch . Around this time, Chaucer is believed to have written The Book of the Duchess in honour of Blanche of Lancaster , the late wife of John of Gaunt, who died in 1369 of the plague. Chaucer travelled to Picardy the next year as part of a military expedition; in 1373, he visited Genoa and Florence . Numerous scholars such as Skeat, Boitani, and Rowland suggested that, on this Italian trip, he came into contact with Petrarch or Boccaccio . They introduced him to medieval Italian poetry ,
18966-412: The exhibits that demonstrate Darwin's theory of natural selection . He has made three other brief forays into the world of music: he provides the monologue to the track "Witness to a Murder (Part Two)" on the album Six by Mansun ; he appears on Technocat's single "Only Human" in 1995, and in 2002 he recorded the monologue to the track "Megamorphosis" on the album Andabrek by Stephen James, although
19140-412: The fifth story fell through. Robert Holmes consented to writing what would become The Power of Kroll (1978–79). Williams' third and final year on the show is considered a high point in terms of ratings and stories for the entire series. However it proved even more difficult for Williams behind the scenes, as he found Tom Baker increasingly hard to cope with. The most watched episode ever of Doctor Who
19314-399: The fifth story, Warriors' Gate . The story is notable for the Doctor's sombre mood and seeming death wish, as well as the surprisingly adult nature of the story. The surreal, even dream-like elements, such as time shifts and walking through mirrors, also earned the story some distinction. At John Nathan-Turner's insistence the Master was brought back. This was accomplished by Bidmead changing
19488-466: The figure, who warns him of future dangers. As the Doctor prepares to travel to the planet Logopolis to get the Chameleon Circuit fixed, Tegan Jovanka appears in the console room (having previously gotten lost in the corridors of the TARDIS). The conduit between E-Space and our own universe is revealed to be a Charged Vacuum Emboitment (CVE) created by the mathematicians of Logopolis as part of
19662-533: The final -e is sometimes to be vocalised and sometimes to be silent; however, this remains a point on which there is disagreement. Most scholars pronounce it as a schwa when it is vocalised. Besides the irregular spelling, much of the vocabulary is recognisable to the modern reader. Chaucer is also recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary as the first author to use many common English words in his writings. These words were probably frequently used in
19836-408: The first three stories (which were geared towards the previous style) had already been commissioned. Robert Holmes had agreed to stay on to edit them, but he ended up leaving after only doing the first two, Horror of Fang Rock (1977) and The Invisible Enemy (1977). The task of editing Image of the Fendahl (1977) fell to his successor Anthony Read . The season was only narrowly finished. With
20010-402: The first time, returning to a planet he had visited centuries before. During his previous visit, he had accidentally imprinted his own mind on a human colony ship's powerful computer, Xoanon, leaving it with multiple personalities . On his second visit the Doctor is now remembered as an evil god by the descendants of the colonists, some of whom had become a warrior tribe called the Sevateem. After
20184-568: The firste fyndere of our fair langage " (i.e., the first one capable of finding poetic matter in English). Almost two thousand English words are first attested to in Chaucerian manuscripts. Chaucer was born in London, most likely in the early 1340s (by some accounts, including his monument, he was born in 1343), though the precise date and location remain unknown. The Chaucer family offers an extraordinary example of upward mobility. His great-grandfather
20358-565: The forms and stories of which he would use later. The purposes of a voyage in 1377 are mysterious, as details within the historical record conflict. Later documents suggest it was a mission, along with Jean Froissart, to arrange a marriage between the future King Richard II and a French princess, thereby ending the Hundred Years' War. If this was the purpose of their trip, they seem to have been unsuccessful, as no wedding occurred. In 1378, Richard II sent Chaucer as an envoy (secret dispatch) to
20532-471: The funniest guest in the series' history. A particular highlight was when Baker gave an anecdotal account of how, while entering a recording studio in Wales , he was accosted by a member of the public who told Baker: "I will never forgive you, nor will my wife, for what you did to our grammar schools." Baker responded with: "What are you talking about, you daft bugger?" to which the stranger replied: "I'm so sorry. For
20706-464: The future, but most importantly, "And eek thou hast thy beste frend alyve" (32, 40, 48). Chaucer retorts, "My frend maystow nat reven, blind goddesse" (50) and orders her to take away those who merely pretend to be his friends. Fortune turns her attention to three princes whom she implores to relieve Chaucer of his pain and "Preyeth his beste frend of his noblesse/That to som beter estat he may atteyne" (78–79). The three princes are believed to represent
20880-471: The heir to the throne designated by Richard III before he was deposed. Geoffrey's other children probably included Elizabeth Chaucy, a nun at Barking Abbey , Agnes, an attendant at Henry IV 's coronation; and another son, Lewis Chaucer. Chaucer's "Treatise on the Astrolabe" was written for Lewis. According to tradition, Chaucer studied law in the Inner Temple (an Inn of Court ) at this time. He became
21054-418: The humour-driven stories of the previous season. The only one he ended up using was The Leisure Hive (1980), though only after heavily editing it. Bidmead asked a pair of writing friends to come up with what would be the second story of the season, Meglos (1980), which ended up being regarded as one of the weakest shows in the series' history up to that point. Bidmead only began to gain some momentum by
21228-591: The king from 1389 to 1391 as Clerk of the King's Works. In 1359, in the early stages of the Hundred Years' War , Edward III invaded France, and Chaucer travelled with Lionel of Antwerp, Elizabeth's husband, as part of the English army . In 1360, he was captured during the siege of Rheims . Edward paid £16 for his ransom, a considerable sum equivalent to £14,557 in 2023, and Chaucer was released. After this, Chaucer's life
21402-468: The king's building projects. No major works were begun during his tenure, but he did conduct repairs on Westminster Palace , St. George's Chapel, Windsor , continued building the wharf at the Tower of London and built the stands for a tournament held in 1390. It may have been a difficult job, but it paid two shillings a day, more than three times his salary as a comptroller. Chaucer was also appointed keeper of
21576-417: The language at the time, but Chaucer was the earliest extant manuscript source with his ear for common speech. Acceptable , alkali , altercation , amble , angrily , annex , annoyance , approaching , arbitration , armless , army , arrogant , arsenic , arc , artillery and aspect are just some of almost two thousand English words first attested in Chaucer. Widespread knowledge of Chaucer's works
21750-417: The liquid stipend until Richard II came to power, after which it was converted to a monetary grant on 18 April 1378. Chaucer obtained the very substantial job of comptroller of the customs for the port of London, which he began on 8 June 1374. He must have been suited for the role as he continued in it for twelve years, a long time in such a post at that time. His life goes undocumented for much of
21924-554: The lives of his contemporaries William Langland and the Gawain Poet are practically non-existent, since Chaucer was a public servant, his official life is very well documented, with nearly five hundred written items testifying to his career. The first of the "Chaucer Life Records" appears in 1357, in the household accounts of Elizabeth de Burgh , the Countess of Ulster , when he became the noblewoman's page through his father's connections,
22098-578: The lodge at the King's Park in Feckenham Forest in Worcestershire , which was a largely honorary appointment. In September 1390, records say that Chaucer was robbed and possibly injured while conducting the business, and he stopped working in this capacity on 17 June 1391. He began as Deputy Forester in the royal forest of Petherton Park in North Petherton , Somerset on 22 June. This
22272-454: The mythology surrounding the Time Lords and the Doctor's home planet Gallifrey and that would remain a key feature for the rest of the classic series and still be felt in the revived series. For example, it is established that Time Lords only have a limited number of regenerations, which is a driving plot point in the stories Mawdryn Undead , " The Five Doctors ", The Trial of a Time Lord ,
22446-542: The next ten years, but it is believed that he wrote (or began) most of his famous works during this period. Chaucer's "only surviving handwriting" dates from this period. This is a request for temporary leave from work presented to King Richard II, hitherto believed to be the work of one of his subordinates due to the low level of language. On 16 October 1379, Thomas Staundon filed a legal action against his former servant Cecily Chaumpaigne and Chaucer, accusing Chaucer of unlawfully employing Chaumpaigne before her term of service
22620-613: The novel is based on a script Tom Baker and Ian Marter wrote for a Doctor Who film in the 1970s. The plot involves the Fourth Doctor meeting Scratchman who may be the devil. In 1966, Baker became a member of Frank Dunlop 's Pop Theatre Company production of Shakespeare 's The Winter's Tale , which was performed at that year's Edinburgh International Festival and in the Cambridge Theatre , London. Other cast members included "Carry On..." stalwart Jim Dale and up-and-coming actress Jane Asher : Baker played several small roles within
22794-415: The official Chaucerian canon, accepted today, was decided upon, largely as a result of Walter William Skeat 's work. Roughly seventy-five years after Chaucer's death, The Canterbury Tales was selected by William Caxton as one of the first books to be printed in England. Chaucer is sometimes considered the source of the English vernacular tradition. His achievement for the language can be seen as part of
22968-405: The only episodes to be broadcast were those of the Fourth Doctor. The Fourth Doctor's distinctive appearance and manner have made him a target for affectionate parody. The character has appeared several times on The Simpsons and twice on Robot Chicken . He also had a cameo on Futurama emerging from the stomach of a space whale, and another episode, where he is briefly seen running into
23142-488: The original story. He also filmed one new scene for inclusion in the final episode. While Peter Davison , Colin Baker , Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann have all reprised their roles for audio adventures produced by Big Finish Productions (and sometimes the BBC) since the 1990s, Baker declined to voice the Doctor until 2009, saying that he had not seen a script he liked. In July 2009, the BBC announced that Baker would return to
23316-520: The part" and be "a feed for other Doctors", he briefly returned to the role of the Doctor for the 30th anniversary charity special Dimensions in Time (1993) and also recorded the audio for the PC video game Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors (1997). Baker continued to be associated with the Doctor, appearing on documentaries such as the 40th anniversary BBC television retrospective The Story of Doctor Who (2003) and giving other interviews about his time on
23490-409: The part, and his incarnation is often regarded as the most popular of the Doctors. According to BBC News in 2006, in polls conducted by Doctor Who Magazine , Baker only lost the "Best Doctor" category to Sylvester McCoy in 1990 and to David Tennant in 2006. In a 2010 interview, Baker said that he had not watched Tennant's performance as the Doctor but thought his Hamlet was excellent. Many of
23664-647: The personal copy of Henry IV. Given the ravages of time, it is likely that these surviving manuscripts represent hundreds since lost. Chaucer's original audience was a courtly one and would have included women as well as men of the upper social classes. Yet even before his death in 1400, Chaucer's audience had begun to include members of the rising literate, middle and merchant classes. This included many Lollard sympathisers who may well have been inclined to read Chaucer as one of their own. Lollards were particularly attracted to Chaucer's satirical writings about friars, priests, and other church officials. In 1464, John Baron,
23838-631: The plaintiff, "And also, you still have your best friend alive" (32, 40, 48); she also refers to his "beste frend" in the envoy when appealing to his "noblesse" to help Chaucer to a higher estate. The narrator makes a fifth reference when he rails at Fortune that she shall not take his friend from him. Chaucer respected and admired Christians and was one himself, as he wrote in Canterbury Tales , "now I beg all those that listen to this little treatise, or read it, that if there be anything in it that pleases them, they thank our Lord Jesus Christ for it, from whom proceeds all understanding and goodness.", though he
24012-667: The play, including the infamous "bear". Baker joined the National Theatre in 1968 as an understudy for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead followed by small parts in The National Health by Peter Nichols (directed by Michael Blakemore ). After playing the horse in The Travails of Sancho Panza (directed by Joan Plowright ), Laurence Olivier subsequently cast him as the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice . The play
24186-425: The points on his shirt collars. His overall costume was redesigned, changing the colour focus from brown to burgundy. Designer June Hudson later revealed in an interview that Nathan-Turner had even given her permission to remove the scarf altogether if she wanted to. Hudson opted to keep the scarf, as it was such an iconic part of the character, changing it to crimson with violet purple stripes. The early stories of
24360-467: The powerful White Guardian assigns the Doctor the task of finding the six segments of the Key to Time , sending a young female Time Lord named Romana (as portrayed by Mary Tamm ) to assist him. The two Gallifreyans travel to a variety of planets, encountering strange and unusual allies and enemies, gathering the six segments and defeat the equally powerful Black Guardian , who sought the Key for himself. After
24534-584: The programme, including for documentaries on the extras of Doctor Who DVD releases from his era as the Doctor, and he has recorded DVD commentaries for many of the stories. Baker was also involved in the reading of old Target novelisations in the BBC Audio range of talking books, " Doctor Who (Classic Novels)". Doctor Who and the Giant Robot was the first release in the range read by Baker, released on 5 November 2007, followed by Baker reading Doctor Who and
24708-418: The realisation of all my childhood fantasies... so I took to it like a duck to water, and I still do. Doctor Who was more important than life to me—I used to dread the end of rehearsal... that's why I can't stay away from it." Although Baker declined to appear in the 20th anniversary Doctor Who episode " The Five Doctors " (1983) because it wasn't long since he'd left and he "didn't want to play 20 per cent of
24882-453: The rest of his life" for some unspecified task. This was an unusual grant, but given on a day of celebration, St George's Day , 1374, when artistic endeavours were traditionally rewarded, it is assumed to have been for another early poetic work. It is not known which, if any, of Chaucer's extant works prompted the reward, but the suggestion of him as a poet to a king places him as a precursor to later poets laureate . Chaucer continued to collect
25056-741: The role for a series of five audio dramas, co-starring Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates , which would begin release in September. The five audios comprise a single linked story under the banner title Hornets' Nest , written by author Paul Magrs . He returned with a sequel to Hornets' Nest called Demon Quest . In March 2011, it was announced that Baker would be returning as the Fourth Doctor initially for two series of plays for Big Finish Productions, starring alongside former companions Leela ( Louise Jameson ) and Romana I ( Mary Tamm ). The first series of six audios were released starting in January 2012. Big Finish had also arranged for Baker to record
25230-430: The role harder and harder to maintain and the previous season had been particularly draining on him. Many of this season's stories also had an elegiac tone, with entropy and decay being a recurring theme. New script editor Christopher Bidmead found himself faced with a serious problem from the outset of his time on the show. He ultimately deemed many of the stories left to him by Adams to be unusable, being too close to
25404-403: The role of the Fourth Doctor, first in three series of audio adventures for BBC Audiobooks : Hornet's Nest , Demon Quest and Serpents' Crest ; and now in a new series of Doctor Who audio adventures for Big Finish Productions also starring Louise Jameson as " Leela ". There were seven releases in 2013 with Mary Tamm as Romana : ( The Auntie Matter , The Sands of Life , War Against
25578-428: The series gained a "Gothic tone" influenced by Hammer Film Productions and, according to Hinchcliffe, was aimed "a bit more to the adults in the audience". Baker quickly made the part his own, and audience-viewing figures for his first few years returned to a level not seen since the height of ' Dalekmania ' a decade earlier. His eccentric style of dress and quirky personality (particularly his trademark look —-wearing
25752-453: The series' producer. He instituted a number of changes to the show, including toning down the humour and introducing more science fiction concepts. During this season the Fourth Doctor became very much subdued and, on occasion, melancholy. Baker began the season in poor health, though he eventually recovered. Both the actor and the character seemed noticeably older and tired, due to Baker's gaunt appearance and greying hair. Baker had been finding
25926-470: The series, John Nathan-Turner , had made changes he did not agree with and that they "did not see eye-to-eye really about very much"; however, according to Baker, the two became good friends afterwards and forgot their disagreements. Baker additionally criticised season 18 , his last on the show and Nathan-Turner's first as producer, for the decision to increase the number of actors in the regular cast, which Baker felt resulted in stories that relied too much on
26100-476: The stories from his early period in the role are considered to be classics of the series, including The Ark in Space (1975), Genesis of the Daleks (1975), The Brain of Morbius (1976), The Deadly Assassin (1976) and The Robots of Death (1977). However, the violent tone of the stories produced by Philip Hinchcliffe saw the series come under heavy criticism from morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse . Concerns over violence during this early period led to
26274-482: The text-to-speech service. The BT text message service returned from 1 December 2006 until 8 January 2007, with two pence from each text going to the charity Shelter . Also, a single "sung" by Baker's text voice, " You Really Got Me " by The Kinks , was released on 18 December 2006 with proceeds going to the charity. The creator of the song was Mark Murphy, designer of the site. Baker's voice may be heard at London's Natural History Museum narrating commentary to some of
26448-470: The time was looking for a successor to Third Doctor Jon Pertwee . Letts was impressed by Baker upon meeting him and, after seeing his performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad , became convinced he was right for the part. Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce. When he first took on the role, the media dubbed him "Boiler Suit Tom" because he had been supplied for
26622-482: The villain ZeeBad in the 2005 animated film version of The Magic Roundabout . In 2007, he voiced the character of Robert Baron in the BBC animated series The Secret Show . Baker narrated the children's animated series The Beeps which was shown on Channel 5 's Milkshake! as well as narrating Tales of Aesop on BBC , a television series with puppetry based on Aesop's Fables . Most recently, Baker has returned to
26796-577: The villain in The Keeper of Traken (1981) into the Master. The overarching theme of decay reaches its conclusion in Baker's final story Logopolis (1981), which Bidmead personally wrote. The story is particularly sombre, even grim at times. Themes of decay and death are constant in the story, personified in the ghostly Watcher, effectively a harbinger of the Fourth Doctor's 'death'. The Fourth Doctor's stories saw fewer recurring (or returning) enemies than in previous eras. The Daleks only appeared twice and
26970-677: The villainous sorcerer, in Ray Harryhausen's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973). Baker also appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini 's 1972 film version of Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales , as the younger husband of the Wife of Bath . In early January 1974, Baker wrote a letter to Bill Slater, by then the BBC’s Head of Serials, looking for work. Reminded of the actor, Slater recommended Baker to Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, who at
27144-459: The writers would put more emphasis on elements of fantasy and humour. Holmes wrote the first story, The Ribos Operation (1978), and the writing team of Bob Baker and Dave Martin handled what would be the final story of the season, The Armageddon Factor (1979). Douglas Adams wrote the second story, The Pirate Planet (1978), while another newcomer, David Fisher , wrote the third and fourth stories. Again, difficulties began to arise when
27318-522: Was "Part 4" of City of Death (by Fisher, Adams, and Williams) which drew 16.1 million viewers. Douglas Adams became script editor and his style can be seen in the dialogue and stories. For example, in Destiny of the Daleks (1979), Adams included a scene of the Doctor trapped under a boulder that resembles a similar scene in the second series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . His time as script editor
27492-595: Was a candidate for the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films. Baker has since stated that he was only approached for "a role" in the film, and turned down the offer when told that it would mean spending months away in New Zealand. He appeared as Halvarth, the Elven healer, in Dungeons & Dragons (2000). After his work on Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World , Baker was cast as
27666-659: Was a cleaner and devout Catholic . His father, John Stewart Baker, was a seaman and was largely absent from the family due to being away at sea. Baker attended Cheswardine Hall Boarding School in Shropshire . At age 15, he became a novice religious brother with the Brothers of Ploermel (Brothers of Christian Instruction) in Jersey and later in Shropshire . He left the monastery six years later after losing his faith. In his autobiography, he said he had realised that he wanted to break each of
27840-504: Was a tavern keeper, his grandfather worked as a purveyor of wines, and his father, John Chaucer, rose to become an important wine merchant with a royal appointment. Several previous generations of Geoffrey Chaucer's family had been vintners and merchants in Ipswich . His family name is derived from the French chaucier , once thought to mean 'shoemaker', but now known to mean a maker of hose or leggings . In 1324, his father, John Chaucer,
28014-452: Was as Grigori Rasputin in the film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), which he got after Olivier had recommended him for the part. He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for his performance, one for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and another for Best Newcomer. Baker appeared as Moore, an artist whose paintings are imbued with voodoo power, in The Vault of Horror (1973), and as Koura,
28188-506: Was aware that as in any place some people in the church were venal and corrupt. Chaucer's first major work was The Book of the Duchess , an elegy for Blanche of Lancaster, who died in 1368. Two other early works were Anelida and Arcite and The House of Fame . He wrote many of his major works in a prolific period when he worked as customs comptroller for London (1374 to 1386). His Parlement of Foules , The Legend of Good Women , and Troilus and Criseyde all date from this time. It
28362-422: Was beset by problems; Adams often ended up having to greatly edit and even rewrite stories. Once again, facing burnout and lack of funds, Adams eventually agreed to write the final story Shada . Production proved difficult and ended up being unfinished due to a strike at the BBC. Williams left the show, dissatisfied with having left on what he considered to be a low note. In Season 18, John Nathan-Turner became
28536-482: Was cast as Professor Plum , a "man with a degree in suspicion". He was also cast in the 2004 series Strange , as a blind priest who possessed knowledge of the Devil. In addition, he played the part of Donald MacDonald in the BBC series Monarch of the Glen , from 2004 until 2005. Previously, he had appeared as a guest on the quiz show Have I Got News For You and was subsequently described by presenter Angus Deayton as
28710-741: Was completed, which violated the Statute of Labourers . Though eight court documents dated between October 1379 and July 1380 survive the action, the case was never prosecuted. No details survive about Chaumpaigne's service or how she came to leave Staundon's employ for Chaucer's. It is not known if Chaucer was in the City of London at the time of the Peasants' Revolt , but if he was, he would have seen its leaders pass almost directly under his apartment window at Aldgate . While still working as comptroller, Chaucer appears to have moved to Kent , being appointed as one of
28884-673: Was directed by Jonathan Miller , with Baker appearing alongside Olivier as Shylock . Still under contract at the National, Baker also played a Russian in The Idiot , Sir Frances Acton in A Woman Killed With Kindness , opposite Anthony Hopkins , and Filippo in The Rules of the Game . After leaving the role of The Doctor in 1981, Baker returned to theatre to play Oscar Wilde in Feasting with Panthers at
29058-789: Was given small parts and understudied; one of his bigger roles was the horse Rocinante in Don Quixote . Baker's stage work led to work on television, where he gained small parts in series such as Dixon of Dock Green , Z-Cars , Market in Honey Lane and Softly, Softly . In 1972 he played the Egyptian doctor in the BBC’s Play of the Month production of Shaw 's play The Millionairess , directed by Bill Slater and starring Maggie Smith , with whom Baker shared several scenes. His first major film role
29232-432: Was in his thirties when his professional acting career began and he worked in provincial rep theatre . He had his first break whilst performing in a late-night pub revue for the 1968 York Festival. His performance was seen by someone with the Royal National Theatre who encouraged him to audition for the company, which was headed at the time by Laurence Olivier . Baker did so and was offered a contract. From 1968 to 1971, he
29406-406: Was kidnapped by an aunt in the hope of marrying the 12-year-old to her daughter in an attempt to keep the property in Ipswich. The aunt was imprisoned and fined £250, now equivalent to about £200,000, suggesting that the family was financially secure. John Chaucer married Agnes Copton, who inherited properties in 1349, including 24 shops in London, from her uncle Hamo de Copton, who is described in
29580-407: Was no sinecure, with maintenance an essential part of the job, although there were many opportunities to derive profit. Richard II granted him an annual pension of 20 pounds in 1394 (equivalent to £22,034 in 2023), and Chaucer's name fades from the historical record not long after Richard's overthrow in 1399. The last few records of his life show his pension renewed by the new king and his taking
29754-625: Was not initially received enthusiastically by all of the critics. One writer in the Daily Mail complained in early 1975 that, "Mr. Baker makes Doctor Who look like Harpo Marx let loose from Horse Feathers ." Baker himself responded by saying, "We are not playing Doctor Who for laughs. I am trying to stress his strangeness, that he is not of this world, not human, therefore his reactions will be different from ours. I take it all very seriously. He has to be genuinely lovable, not pleased by violence, and he must be honest. Humorous, but never comical." There are also novels and audio plays featuring
29928-506: Was reported in April 2020 that Baker had recorded "Return of the Cybermen" for Big Finish, an alternative version of the story Revenge of the Cybermen (1975), with Sadie Miller , Elisabeth Sladen's daughter, taking over the role of Sarah Jane Smith from her mother. The story was released in March 2021. Baker also returned to the role of the Curator for Big Finish, joining the casts of The Eighth Doctor Adventures and UNIT: The New Series . In 1982, Baker portrayed Sherlock Holmes in
30102-406: Was used in much of his later work and became one of the standard poetic forms in English. His early influence as a satirist is also important, with the common humorous device, the funny accent of a regional dialect , apparently making its first appearance in The Reeve's Tale . The poetry of Chaucer, along with other writers of the era, is credited with helping to standardise the London Dialect of
30276-425: Was voted as the fourth most recognisable in the UK in 2006 after the Queen , Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher . In 1992 and 1993, Baker narrated BBC radio comedy series Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World . In 1994 he provided the narration for Channel 4 's Equinox rave documentary Rave New World . In 2002 he had a speaking role in the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful Hostile Waters as
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