Doctor Who: The Face of Evil - DVD review

Tom Baker is The Doctor. At least, or my money he is. And while it might sound blasphemous to die-hards, I don’t say that as a dyed-in-the-wool lifelong fan of the series or any type of expert on Time Lords or the TARDIS. As a matter of fact, reviewing this DVD is my first real exposure to the series and the character. Sure, I saw it as a kid, but most of the time I couldn’t bring myself to watch it – it appeared as though it was filmed in my parent’s backyard using cast-off equipment from a Soviet research lab circa 1952. To a child’s eye, it was the show that looked even worse than the 1960’s Star Trek (an impressive pedigree) which to a child’s mind denotes an inferior quality. And to be honest, the show was just boring and maybe even a little too creepy for me.

But still, Tom Baker is The Doctor. I guess it’s because his era was the one most Americans (myself included, obviously) are familiar with, as it was the era most often rebroadcast on PBS. But even as I’ve grown older and the show has experienced a revival, the gangly Brit with curly hair and a floor-length, multicolored scarf is the image that pops into my mind whenever I hear the good Doctor mentioned in conversation. Just as many fans Sean Connery to be the definitive Bond or Hulk Hogan is the face people envision when the words “pro wrestling” are uttered, Tom Baker is my Doctor Who… even though I’ve never really watched Doctor Who.

Read the rest of my review on Cinema Sentries ...