Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
!! Tropes associated with the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
* RoguesGallery: Malevilus, the Moderator General, Beep the Meep, Werelox, Daleks, Brimo, Sontarans, Zeus, Cannibals, Cybermen, and Catavolcus.
Deleted line(s) 182,186 (click to see context) :
[[folder:''Doctor Who Magazine'' Tropes]]
!! Tropes associated with the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
* RoguesGallery: Malevilus, the Moderator General, Beep the Meep, Werelox, Daleks, Brimo, Sontarans, Zeus, Cannibals, Cybermen, and Catavolcus.
[[/folder]]
!! Tropes associated with the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
* RoguesGallery: Malevilus, the Moderator General, Beep the Meep, Werelox, Daleks, Brimo, Sontarans, Zeus, Cannibals, Cybermen, and Catavolcus.
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Creating folders for easiler accessibility.
Changed line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) from:
The [[TheDrifter idiot abroad]], an aggravating cross between Sherlock Holmes and the Mad Hatter. Somewhat crazy-eyed, famous for a stupidly-long scarf, and very alien. In reaction to his long exile as the Third Doctor, the Fourth Doctor is defined by his strong wanderlust and a deep-seated resentment toward authority figures--particularly UNIT and his fellow Time Lords. Naturally, this resulted in Four's leash being yanked by ''every authority figure in the known universe'', including the show's embodiment of {{God}}; the White Guardian.
to:
The [[TheDrifter idiot abroad]], an aggravating cross between Sherlock Holmes and the Mad Hatter. Somewhat crazy-eyed, famous for a stupidly-long scarf, and very alien. In reaction to his long exile as the Third Doctor, the Fourth Doctor is defined by his strong wanderlust and a deep-seated resentment toward authority figures--particularly figures -- particularly UNIT and his fellow Time Lords. Naturally, this resulted in Four's leash being yanked by ''every authority figure in the known universe'', including the show's embodiment of {{God}}; the White Guardian.
Changed line(s) 17 (click to see context) from:
to:
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:TV Series Tropes]]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:TV Series Tropes]]
Changed line(s) 172 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Tropes]]
[[folder:Comic Tropes]]
Changed line(s) 175 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
[[folder:''Doctor Who Magazine'' Tropes]]
[[folder:''Doctor Who Magazine'' Tropes]]
Changed line(s) 178 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Big Finish Tropes]]
[[folder:Big Finish Tropes]]
Changed line(s) 198 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 119 (click to see context) from:
(The Doctor does a full 360 turn.)\\
to:
Changed line(s) 123,125 (click to see context) from:
'''The Doctor:''' Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch--
-->'''Scorby:''' What happened to him?
-->'''The Doctor:''' Who, Wolfgang Amadeus? (looks at the corpse next to him) ...Oh, ''him''! [[CaptainObvious He died]].
-->'''Scorby:''' What happened to him?
-->'''The Doctor:''' Who, Wolfgang Amadeus? (looks at the corpse next to him) ...Oh, ''him''! [[CaptainObvious He died]].
to:
'''The Doctor:''' Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch--
-->'''Scorby:'''pitch--\\
'''Scorby:''' What happened tohim?
-->'''Thehim?\\
'''The Doctor:''' Who, Wolfgang Amadeus?(looks ''(looks at the corpse next to him) ...him)'' ...Oh, ''him''! [[CaptainObvious He died]].
-->'''Scorby:'''
'''Scorby:''' What happened to
-->'''The
'''The Doctor:''' Who, Wolfgang Amadeus?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 54 (click to see context) from:
** He would often step on his scarf [[ThrowItIn by accident]], which always makes him cross.
to:
** He would often step on his scarf [[ThrowItIn by accident]], which always makes him cross. Often also traps it in the doors of the TARDIS, leading him opening the door, pulling the scarf in and then ''slamming'' the door behind him.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* PingPongNaivete: He's known for veering wildly between being quite a sexual character and a very asexual one. He has trouble understanding what features are supposed to make women beautiful in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]" and seems sexually oblivious to the gorgeous, ludicrously underdressed NubileSavage he has following him around for a while, except to remind her that her style of dress is inappropriate on modern-day Earth or Victorian London. Yet he gets dialogue with Romana that is clearly intended to be flirtatious, makes [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar double-entendres and even blowjob jokes]], and sometimes flirts with side characters. Sometimes he treats Sarah Jane very sensually, [[{{UST}} touching her face gently, talking to her in a sultry voice, sniffing her hair while hiding behind her and even spooning her on one occasion]] - wheras at other times he looks at her like a thing. While carrying Eldraad in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E2TheHandOfFear The Hand of Fear]]", he uses a delicate touch, parts of the action choreographed like a dance; but notice how he manhandles Sarah Jane in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E4TheAndroidInvasion The Android Invasion]]", in a way intended to give the impression he had no understanding of handling women.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: This was cleverly used in his first story - thanks to production scheduling, Creator/JonPertwee's producer Barry Letts was forced to produce it instead of the producer lined up for the new Doctor, Philip Hinchcliffe. Having the difficult task of establishing the new Doctor as different from Pertwee while having no idea what Hinchcliffe planned on doing with the character, Creator/TerranceDicks wrote the Doctor as a broad clownish comedy character (with some inspiration from [[Creator/TheMarxBrothers Harpo Marx]]) but establishes that he's in a loopy, unsettled post-regenerative state for almost the entire story, only indicated as settling down into his real personality at the very end of the episode where the Doctor [[BrickBreak injures his hand on a brick]] now that his overdriven physical processes have worn off. While a lot of the Fourth Doctor's quirks are established in this episode (such as the natural funniness, the [[ManChild childishness]], the bottomless pockets, his fondness for jelly babies and his resentment of all authority) Hinchcliffe took the character into a more GothicHorror influenced direction, giving the Doctor a brooding and [[ByronicHero Byronic]] side to add an edge to his funniness, and playing his capriciousness and unpredictability [[PlayedForDrama For Drama]] at times as well as for cheap laughs. Even when he became a comedy character again later, he became a playful wit rather than a clown.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 149 (click to see context) from:
* ShipTease: With Sarah Jane, the two were pretty much a couple until her departure. Also had it with both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
to:
* ShipTease: With Sarah Jane, the two were pretty much a couple until her departure. Also had it with both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 149 (click to see context) from:
* ShipTease: Had it with both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
to:
* ShipTease: Had With Sarah Jane, the two were pretty much a couple until her departure. Also had it with both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 149 (click to see context) from:
* ShipTease: Most famously with Sarah Jane Smith, the first time the Doctor fell in love. Also had it with both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
to:
* ShipTease: Most famously with Sarah Jane Smith, the first time the Doctor fell in love. Also had Had it with both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 112 (click to see context) from:
* {{Jerkass}}: He is generally one of the nicer Doctors but he loves tormenting people for fun (occasionally going very much too far), and generally has a 'difficult' personality, prone to [[MoodSwinger sudden]] intensely dark moods and periods of brooding interspersed with [[AttentionWhore attention-seeking]] and selfish unreliability. On his good days he's lovely to be around, fun and magnanimous and interesting and wise and hopelessly [[{{Adorkable}} adorable]] - on his bad days, he's virtually impossible to talk to and no sensible person would consent to being in the same building as him
to:
* {{Jerkass}}: JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He is generally one of the nicer Doctors but he loves tormenting people for fun (occasionally going very much too far), and generally has a 'difficult' personality, prone to [[MoodSwinger sudden]] intensely dark moods and periods of brooding interspersed with [[AttentionWhore attention-seeking]] and selfish unreliability. On his good days he's lovely to be around, fun and magnanimous and interesting and wise and hopelessly [[{{Adorkable}} adorable]] - on his bad days, he's virtually impossible to talk to and no sensible person would consent to being in the same building as himhim.
Deleted line(s) 130 (click to see context) :
* NiceGuy: If you could get past his weirdness, Four was a very sweet and kind-natured Doctor.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 150 (click to see context) from:
* ShipTease: With both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
to:
* ShipTease: With Most famously with Sarah Jane Smith, the first time the Doctor fell in love. Also had it with both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 200 (click to see context) from:
->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis "It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for." ]]''
to:
->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis "It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for." ]]''"]]''
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 199 (click to see context) from:
----
to:
->''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis "It's the end. But the moment has been prepared for." ]]''
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* {{Jerkass}}: He is generally one of the nicer Doctors but he loves tormenting people for fun (occasionally going very much too far), and generally has a 'difficult' personality, prone to [[MoodSwinger sudden]] intensely dark moods and periods of brooding interspersed with [[AttentionWhore attention-seeking]] and selfish unreliability. On his good days he's lovely to be around, fun and magnanimous and interesting and wise and hopelessly [[{{Adorkable}} adorable]] - on his bad days, he's virtually impossible to talk to and no sensible person would consent to being in the same building as him
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Added 2017
Changed line(s) 10,11 (click to see context) from:
->'''Played by:''' Creator/TomBaker (1974–81, 1993, 1997)
to:
->'''Played by:''' Creator/TomBaker (1974–81, 1993, 1997)
1997, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada 2017]] [[note]]Voice-over role with live-action cameo at the end of episode 6[[/note]])
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
![[center:'''[[Characters/DoctorWhoDoctors Index]]:''' Incarnations of the Doctor | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFirstDoctor 1]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSecondDoctor 2]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor 3]] | '''4''' | [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor 5]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor 6]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoSeventhDoctor 7]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor 8]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoWarDoctor War]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoNinthDoctor 9]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor 10]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoEleventhDoctor 11]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoTwelfthDoctor 12]] | [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor 13]]]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 173,175 (click to see context) from:
%%!! Tropes associated with the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
%%* RoguesGallery
%%* RoguesGallery
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 170 (click to see context) from:
%%!! Tropes associated with the TV comics line
to:
!! Tropes associated with the TV comics line
* RoguesGallery: Professor Sarric, Daleks, Shazar the Half Time Lord, Vogans, Nazis, Zandans, Vrakons, and Cycrans.
%%!! Tropes associated with theTV comics ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
* RoguesGallery: Professor Sarric, Daleks, Shazar the Half Time Lord, Vogans, Nazis, Zandans, Vrakons, and Cycrans.
%%!! Tropes associated with the
Deleted line(s) 173,175 (click to see context) :
%%!! Tropes associated with the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
%%* RoguesGallery
%%* RoguesGallery
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
[[caption-width-right:150:''"What's the point of a time machine if you don't use it, hmm?"'']]
Changed line(s) 184 (click to see context) from:
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Lists Daleks, Cybermen and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons Morris dancers]].
to:
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Lists Daleks, Cybermen and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons Morris dancers]]. dancers]] as his greatest enemies.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
[[caption-width-right:311:''"Would you like a jelly baby?"'']]
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 143 (click to see context) from:
* RummageSaleReject: Believe it or not, he's actually dressed in a dashing Creator/OscarWilde an outfit, with a poet shirt, classy trousers, riding boots and a crimson ascot (see "The Deadly Assassin"). It's just hidden underneath a collection of tacky vests, a giant coat and several layers of scarf. It comes as no surprise that Tom Baker hit several charity shops when first putting together his costume.
to:
* RummageSaleReject: Believe it or not, he's actually dressed in a dashing Creator/OscarWilde an outfit, with a poet shirt, classy trousers, riding boots and a crimson ascot (see "The Deadly Assassin"). It's just hidden underneath a collection of tacky vests, a giant coat and several layers of scarf. It comes as no surprise that Tom Baker hit several charity shops when first putting together his costume.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 143 (click to see context) from:
* RummageSaleReject: Believe it or not, he's actually dressed in a dashing Creator/OscarWilde an outfit, with a poet shirt, classy trousers, riding boots and a crimson ascot (see "The Deadly Assassin"). It's just hidden underneath a collection of tacky vests, a giant coat and several layers of scarf. It comes as no surprise that Tom Baker hit several goodwill stores when first putting together his costume.
to:
* RummageSaleReject: Believe it or not, he's actually dressed in a dashing Creator/OscarWilde an outfit, with a poet shirt, classy trousers, riding boots and a crimson ascot (see "The Deadly Assassin"). It's just hidden underneath a collection of tacky vests, a giant coat and several layers of scarf. It comes as no surprise that Tom Baker hit several goodwill stores charity shops when first putting together his costume.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
to:
[[caption-width-right:311:''"Would you like a jelly baby?"'']]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 153 (click to see context) from:
* TookALevelInJerkass: After Sarah Jane left, Four was noticeably more harsh to her successors (Tom Baker felt he didn't need a companion, much to producer Phillip Hinchcliffe's chagrin. After Hinchcliffe left Tom became much more difficult to work with, something which made it's way on screen).
to:
* TookALevelInJerkass: After Sarah Jane left, Four was noticeably more harsh to her successors (Tom Baker felt he didn't need a companion, much to companion; producer Phillip Hinchcliffe's chagrin. Hinchcliffe and the production team disagreed. After Hinchcliffe left was let go from the program, Tom became much more difficult to work with, something which made it's way on screen).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 92 (click to see context) from:
* HeroesLoveDogs: He adores K-9, and takes great offense at others for calling him a "machine" (ironically Tom Baker actually hated the character -- not without reason since the prop was notoriously temperamental and always breaking down, though he had John Leeson have always gotten along).
to:
* HeroesLoveDogs: He adores K-9, and takes great offense at others for calling him a "machine" (ironically Tom Baker actually hated the character -- not without reason since the prop was notoriously temperamental and always breaking down, though he had and John Leeson have always gotten along).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 92 (click to see context) from:
* HeroesLoveDogs: He adores K-9, and takes great offense at others for calling him a "machine."
to:
* HeroesLoveDogs: He adores K-9, and takes great offense at others for calling him a "machine." "machine" (ironically Tom Baker actually hated the character -- not without reason since the prop was notoriously temperamental and always breaking down, though he had John Leeson have always gotten along).
Added DiffLines:
* TookALevelInJerkass: After Sarah Jane left, Four was noticeably more harsh to her successors (Tom Baker felt he didn't need a companion, much to producer Phillip Hinchcliffe's chagrin. After Hinchcliffe left Tom became much more difficult to work with, something which made it's way on screen).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 53 (click to see context) from:
** When entering a corridor or entering a room, he always [[BigEntrance strikes a pose, rushes in flapping all over the place or enters in some other weird way]], with Tom Baker's aim being to 'never enter a room the same way twice'. This supposedly started from frustration with the lack of camera angle and lighting variation possible in most of the cheap sets Creator/heBBC used and the stereotypical ''Doctor Who'' fascination with [[{{Padding}} substituting action]] with running down [[RecycledSet identical corridors]], and so becomes very obvious in the more claustrophobic and corridor-based serials, like "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]". Since the Fourth Doctor is a massive AttentionWhore and [[LargeHam a ham to end all hams]], it works really well.
to:
** When entering a corridor or entering a room, he always [[BigEntrance strikes a pose, rushes in flapping all over the place or enters in some other weird way]], with Tom Baker's aim being to 'never enter a room the same way twice'. This supposedly started from frustration with the lack of camera angle and lighting variation possible in most of the cheap sets Creator/heBBC Creator/TheBBC used and the stereotypical ''Doctor Who'' fascination with [[{{Padding}} substituting action]] with running down [[RecycledSet identical corridors]], and so becomes very obvious in the more claustrophobic and corridor-based serials, like "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]". Since the Fourth Doctor is a massive AttentionWhore and [[LargeHam a ham to end all hams]], it works really well.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 193 (click to see context) from:
%%!! Tropes associated with Titan Comics
to:
%%!! Tropes associated with Titan ComicsComics
----
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 14,15 (click to see context) from:
The longest-serving Doctor to date in real-world time, and probably the best known of all his incarnations. If you don't know who Tom Baker is, close your eyes and think of ''Doctor Who''. That's him. (Or possibly Creator/DavidTennant -- see [[Characters/TenthDoctor the Tenth Doctor page]].)
to:
The longest-serving Doctor to date in real-world time, and probably the best known of all his incarnations. If you don't know who Tom Baker is, close your eyes and think of ''Doctor Who''. That's him. (Or possibly Creator/DavidTennant -- see [[Characters/TenthDoctor [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor the Tenth Doctor page]].)
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
!Fourth Doctor
[[quoteright:311:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dw_-_fourth_doctor_1_2632.jpg]]
->'''First appearance:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E5PlanetOfTheSpiders Planet of the Spiders]]" (1974)
->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot Robot]]" (1974-1975)
->'''Regeneration story:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis Logopolis]]" (1981)
->'''Played by:''' Creator/TomBaker (1974–81, 1993, 1997)
-->''"You may be '''a''' doctor, but I'm '''the''' Doctor. The definite article, you might say."''
The [[TheDrifter idiot abroad]], an aggravating cross between Sherlock Holmes and the Mad Hatter. Somewhat crazy-eyed, famous for a stupidly-long scarf, and very alien. In reaction to his long exile as the Third Doctor, the Fourth Doctor is defined by his strong wanderlust and a deep-seated resentment toward authority figures--particularly UNIT and his fellow Time Lords. Naturally, this resulted in Four's leash being yanked by ''every authority figure in the known universe'', including the show's embodiment of {{God}}; the White Guardian.
The longest-serving Doctor to date in real-world time, and probably the best known of all his incarnations. If you don't know who Tom Baker is, close your eyes and think of ''Doctor Who''. That's him. (Or possibly Creator/DavidTennant -- see [[Characters/TenthDoctor the Tenth Doctor page]].)
!! Tropes associated with the television series
* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: He tended to draw out his vowels a fair bit.
* ActionHero: In his earlier adventures, Four would have little problem leaping into action, such as in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment The Sontaran Experiment]]," but nearly all of his later adventures feature the Doctor more willing to give the monster-of-the-week a jelly baby than engage in fisticuffs. Keeping in mind that he was in the role for seven years, going from being forty to almost fifty during this time, this gradual slowing down does begin to make a bit more sense.
** The fact that Tom Baker also slipped and cracked his collarbone during the location filming for "The Sontaran Experiment" had something to do with it as well; for several weeks afterwards, Baker ''couldn't'' leap into those kinds of action sequences, so they either had find ways to stage those scenes with a stunt double without making it painfully obvious it ''was'' a stunt double, or the writers had to find a way to avoid action-hero scenes.
* {{Adorkable}}: He could act really cute.
* ArchEnemy: Davros and the Master[[note]]Mainly the decaying incarnation played by Peter Pratt and Geoffrey Beevers, but also did battle with the Anthony Ainley incarnation[[/note]].
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Much more so than even Eight and Eleven. All he has to do is ''think'' and he's completely zoned out of reality.
* BadassAdorable: He possessed great big eyes, huge amounts of childlike wonderment and behaviour, oversized clothes even though he was enormous and a dog he would treat like a puppy. For instance, on one occasion he wanted to go around modern-day Earth Cosplaying a historically-questionable Viking and is gutted when told it is inappropriate, acting just like a little kid told to take off his costume before he can go outside.
** When Tom Baker was asked to sum up his Doctor in one word, he said, "Adorable".
* BadassBaritone: Has the deepest and manliest voice of any Doctor.
* BadassLongcoat: In several colours.
* BadNewsInAGoodWay: (excitedly) "Gentlemen, I have news! This lighthouse is under attack and by morning we may all be dead!" (toothy grin)
* BerserkButton: The Fourth Doctor is the clown, the court jester, the life of the party. There are very few times in his existence where he is legitimately pissed off. When that happens...
* BewareTheNiceOnes: The friendly and childlike Fourth Doctor is also the Doctor who took part in the longest and most brutal fight in the show's history, when he spent the bulk of the episode playing cat-and-mouse with his opponent in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]."
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]" he threatened to shut off Davros' life support system to coerce him into destroying the Daleks, and he '''meant''' ''every word'' of it.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]", he spends nearly the entire episode either screaming at everyone, or trying ''very'' hard not to say ScrewThisImOuttaHere, grab Sarah Jane and leave Earth for good. Plus, he hits a minion with a chair.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E2ThePiratePlanet The Pirate Planet]]" is notable for featuring the Fourth exploding into a rage far more violently than he ever had before or after, and perhaps even more so than any other Doctor. As we've established, if you manage to even piss Four off, you're ''seriously'' screwed.
** While he told Leela "No more Janus thorns, ever!" in their first adventure, at other times he seemed to be much more sanguine about Leela killing random attackers, as long as she kept quiet about it.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: On a few occasions, it's even acknowledged he is ObfuscatingStupidity. ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]")
-->'''Countess''': I don't think he's as stupid as he seems.\\
'''Count''': My dear, ''nobody'' could be as stupid as ''he'' seems.\\
''(The Doctor flashes a manic wide-eyed grin at them both)''
* BigEntrance: Loved to ensure that all eyes were on him when he entered a room. Especially in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]": since the lighthouse was cramped and the camera had to be very static, Creator/TomBaker insisted on entering each room with a flourish to make up for it.
* TheBigGuy: At 6'3", matching Three's height in a rare case where incarnations don't get taller or shorter after regeneration, he also towers over almost everyone he meets, but is less likely to physically hit someone than he is to offer them a Jelly Baby, whip out a cunning plan, or troll a foe into submission.
* BlingOfWar: As part of his coronation as Lord President in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]]", the Fourth Doctor adorned himself with the giant gold Sash of Rassilon and its accompanying scepter.
* BourgeoisBohemian[=/=]CulturedBadass: Four may fool you into thinking he's just a cosmic hobo... until he fashions a concert flute out of a piece of reed in minutes, and sits down to play the Badinerie, Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor by J.S. Bach.
* BrilliantButLazy: Loves to put up his feet, draw his hat over his eyes and doze off -- especially while UNIT is talking to him. His old teacher at the Academy, Borusa, remembers him as being his most out-of-control student; the adult Doctor is unrepentant.
* CatchPhrase: "Would you like a jelly baby?"
* CharacterTics:
** He almost constantly [[EyePop boggles his eyes out]] and [[CreepyBlueEyes stares at things unsettlingly]]. You will rarely see him blink on screen, even if you're looking for it. His eyes [[MadEye don't quite point in the same direction]], especially when he's panicking, surprised or in a loopy mood.
** His [[CheshireCatGrin grin]] is a thing of pure horror and deployed generously. (Creator/ChristopherEccleston borrowed a dead-eyed, HurtingHero version of it for his Doctor.)
** He tends to run his hand through his hair when he's about to concentrate on something. (Creator/DavidTennant borrowed this for his Doctor too.) Occasionally fiddles with it if he's in a happy mood - see Creator/PeterDavison's impression of this, despite less hair, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E1Castrovalva Castrovalva]]" for a really funny moment.
** Saying "What!" whenever he heard something he didn't like.
** Cocking his head and going "Ah, ''well''..." whenever he was about to deliver {{technobabble}}. (David Tennant deliberately invoked that last one with his Doctor too.)
** Cheeky little hand-waves.
** A lot of his gestures call attention to his unusually big and awkward-looking nose - tapping or pushing on the side for 'on the nose' or 'it's a secret', prodding it, pinching the bridge or the tip in frustration, stroking it in thought.... even the very few times he's being flirty he tends to do so by delicately touching his nose.
** He would often step on his scarf [[ThrowItIn by accident]], which always makes him cross.
** When entering a corridor or entering a room, he always [[BigEntrance strikes a pose, rushes in flapping all over the place or enters in some other weird way]], with Tom Baker's aim being to 'never enter a room the same way twice'. This supposedly started from frustration with the lack of camera angle and lighting variation possible in most of the cheap sets Creator/heBBC used and the stereotypical ''Doctor Who'' fascination with [[{{Padding}} substituting action]] with running down [[RecycledSet identical corridors]], and so becomes very obvious in the more claustrophobic and corridor-based serials, like "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]". Since the Fourth Doctor is a massive AttentionWhore and [[LargeHam a ham to end all hams]], it works really well.
** He ''never'' looks at his hands when going for his pockets, so whenever he does he flails his hands around in a rather comical fashion before finding them.
** He [[OralFixation really likes having things in his mouth]]. Whenever he's fixing, making or sabotaging some sort of device, he will inevitably put one of the tools or parts into his mouth to hold it while he works on it with his hands, even if it'd make more sense for him to just put the item down. If nothing's available he tends to chew on his thumbnail. (This is deliberately alluded to in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath Deep Breath]]" when the post-regenerative-traumatised Twelve bites his thumb while contemplating how much he needs a really long scarf.) He also has a habit of licking his lips whenever he's excited.
** If there is a chair he has a habit where he will begin to sit on it, and then has a sudden flash of insight just before touching the seat and stands back up again. Particularly hilarious in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]" where he actually brings a chair over from another room just to do this to it.
** If he's sitting down he tends to put his legs up on anything he can. Note particularly when he props his legs up on the top of Bessie's windscreen in his first story - something the Third Doctor would find unthinkable.
** Remember Sarah Jane's line in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]" about the Doctor 'stroking' the TARDIS? This is the Doctor she was talking about. Note particularly the funny way the Sutekh-Doctor caresses the door switch open in the last part of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]".
* CheshireCatGrin: Creator/TomBaker has far too many teeth.
* ClassyCravat: Sports one on occasion, though it can be difficult to see under all that scarf.
* ClimbingClimax: This Doctor was defeated while trying to overpower the Master inside a radio telescope. It was up to the Fifth Doctor to finish the job.
* CloudCuckooLander: Possibly loopier than all other Doctors ''combined.'' If you ever need evidence for why this Doctor was the weirdest, fire up the scene "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]" when he barges into Sir Colin’s office. He walks around with a chair on his head, puts it down, goes to sit on it, doesn’t bother, soliloquizes on the nature of greed, throws a fit, accuses them of having a security leak whilst staring the guilty party right in the face, insults Sir Colin and orders a car! As written it is functional; but as read by Tom Baker, it is utterly barmy.
** Eventually learns to weaponise this, combined with his Time Lord Academy training: his learned resistance to mind-reading and his inherent loopiness make him able to mask his thoughts better than any other Time Lord.
* CompensatingForSomething: According to Romana.
* CreepyBlueEyes: Creator/TomBaker's thyroidism is used to full effect. Also, Four rarely blinks.
* CutenessProximity: With K-9, whom he insisted on treating like a real puppy.
* DeadManWalking: Four knew he was toast when he spotted the Watcher [[NothingIsScarier patiently standing by]]. This may overlap with Future Me Scares Me, depending on your interpretation of the Watcher.
* DependingOnTheWriter:
** Creator/StevenMoffat once criticised Tom Baker for this, saying his performance was 'thunderously effective' but he 'completely reinterpreted his character to fit that week's script', saying it's impossible to tell that the Doctor in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]" are supposed to be the same person. Moffat since disowned this criticism, but there is a grain of truth in it, especially early on: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot Robot]]", he's a genuinely funny and goofy CloudCuckooLander who doesn't care that much about anything, even Sarah; in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]", he's a fearsome and aloof ByronicHero and very openly fond of Sarah; in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment The Sontaran Experiment]]" he's all ObfuscatingStupidity and foul temper; in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]" he's all wisdom and righteousness and the potential for DirtyBusiness. "The Seeds of Doom" makes him a cold and violent TuxedoAndMartini {{Expy}}, "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" makes him into a bohemian and methodical Literature/SherlockHolmes {{Expy}}, in "City of Death" he's somewhere between [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox]] and [[Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency Dirk Gently]] and in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]" he's a WizardClassic. There are times in his tenure where he's an InvincibleHero who loves everyone and never ever shows any vulnerability, and times when he's a brooding and fallible Anti-Hero who genuinely struggles with his fear of the monsters, and sometimes swings into the opposite between stories. Tom Baker's performance holds the whole thing together, though arguably less from skill (his skill is in being able to pull off all those different personalities in the first place) and more from sheer force of personality.
** Creator/ChrisBoucher wrote him as a passionate atheist who has OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions. He's a lot more respectful of other religions in other scripts
* DissonantSerenity: All the time.
--> '''The Doctor:''' [very happily] Gentlemen, I've got news for you. This lighthouse is under attack and by morning we might all be dead!
* DistressedDude: Seriously, HOW MANY times has this Doctor been captured, kidnapped, tied up, locked up, drugged, knocked out, imprisoned, tortured, etc.? Sometimes it happens to him more often than his own companions! The Fourth Doctor is just as bad as the Third.
* DuckSeasonRabbitSeason: Thanks to his NervesOfSteel and constant DissonantSerenity, when someone's trying to brand the Doctor's face with a red-hot iron and counting down from ten, Four helpfully joins in the countdown -- confusing his captor and making him lose track.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Borusa admits that the Time Lords owe him a debt of gratitude and literally [[GettingTheBoot shoves him out the door.]]
* EinsteinHair: A lot of it.
* ExpandedUniverse: Creator/TomBaker was the first Doctor to ever record audio stories (starting with "Doctor Who and the Pescatons," and all the way up to his current Creator/BigFinish audios). He and Lalla Ward (Romana) also appeared, in-character, in a series of ads for Prime computers (which drew on their RomanceOnTheSet, showing a very odd glimpse of the Doctor and Romana being lovey-dovey) and a New Zealand retirement planning company (as an aged version of the Fourth Doctor, which is now HeartwarmingInHindsight).
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: In one rather bizarre example, his brain became the nest of a pregnant space shrimp in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E2TheInvisibleEnemy The Invisible Enemy]]".
* FamousLastWords
--> "It's the end... but the moment has been prepared for."
* FantasticVoyagePlot: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E2TheInvisibleEnemy The Invisible Enemy]]", he has himself and Leela cloned and shrunk down so he can be injected into his own brain, fight the pregnant monster that's nesting inside it, make sure Leela's clone dies inside his head, and then absorb her corpse into his bloodstream to gain her natural immunity to the thing!
* FedoraOfAsskicking: Although not worn as often as his scarf. Gets shot at a few times.
* {{Foil}}: Foregoes any and all authority (and all seriousness) in response to having been forced into following it in his previous incarnation.
* GeniusBruiser: Prefers of course to use his considerable intelligence, but of all the Doctors, he's the most capable in the simple art of fisticuffs. His [[TheBigGuy stature]] probably has something to do with it.
* GeniusSweetTooth: TropeCodifier for the Doctor's fondness for jelly babies (after Two had them first).
* AGodAmI: He temporarily gains Guardian-level powers over time itself, through a nearly completed Key To Time and a bit of MacGyvering.
** AGodIAmNot: He is, after all, a vagabond at heart, with no interest in toys such as the Key to Time, or the Staff of Rassilon. That's not to say he doesn't enjoy trolling people with them, as seen in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor The Armageddon Factor]]".
--->'''Doctor:''' (mimics ProphetEyes) [[AC:As from this moment, there's no such thing as free will in the entire universe. There's only MY will. [[DrunkWithPower Because I possess the KEY TO TIME]].]]\\
'''Romana''': Doctor, are you all right?\\
'''Doctor''': (snaps out of it) Well of ''course'' I'm all right. But supposing I wasn't all right?
* GoOutWithASmile: Despite being clearly terrified and in pain, he suddenly flashes his trademark CheshireCatGrin in a final moment of [[GrinOfAudacity defiance]] before he quietly says his last words and dies.
* HeroesLoveDogs: He adores K-9, and takes great offense at others for calling him a "machine."
* HeroicSacrifice: Plummeted off a satellite tower after saving most of the universe from The Master.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Famously struggled with this in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]."
* HotbloodedSideburns: To go with his massive hair.
* HypnoticEyes: Much like the Master, although he only uses it occasionally, and is the only incarnation of the Doctor to do so.
* HypocriticalHumor: Tends to indulge in this both consciously and unconsciously.
* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: A few Doctors have since made reference to the scarf, dismissing it as an unfortunate garment choice.
** Seven tried on the burgundy Fourth Doctor ensemble, only to declare it "[[{{Pun}} old hat]]" and toss it away.
** An amnesiac Eight found a scarf in a hospital locker, but decided against taking it.
** A frigid Twelfth Doctor was overheard pining for a nice, long scarf, then rethought it.
----> "No, move on from that. Looks stupid."
* IconicItem:
** The scarf. Always the scarf. And jelly babies.
** To a lesser extent, his [[NiceHat Nice Fedora]] plays a part, especially when combined with his iconic curly hair.
* IconicSequelCharacter: For years, he was the most recognizable Doctor in terms of public consciousness. It wasn't until David Tennant that a real threat to this status came along.
* IdenticalGrandson: Of a sort. A retired incarnation of the Doctor, now peacefully pottering around the National Gallery, is wearing the Fourth Doctor's face for nostalgia's sake. ("[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]")
* InvincibleHero: By Season 15, the Doctor has morphed into Advertising/TheMostInterestingManInTheWorld. ''He tried being frightened once -- just to see what it was like.'' Season 18 dampened this effect somewhat, what with blood-sucking astronauts, a "mad cactus" framing him for murder, and of course the Master 2.0. Although the Fourth Doctor tried to remain unflappable, he was put into situations that were impressively tough.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Wastes no opportunity in letting the world know how brilliant, marvellous, wonderful and all around amazing he is. Four genuinely considers himself the greatest genius he's ever met, and acts entirely superior to everyone around him. Some of his companions put up with it. Romana, who had much better grades than him at the Academy, doesn't.
* KangarooCourt: The Master wanted the Doctor to die in ignominy and disgrace-- ''that's'' how much he hates him. Chancellor Goth hopes to win the Presidency and pin his predecessor's murder on the Doctor.
* LargeHam: Even his ''eyes'' are hammy.
* LiteralistSnarking: Frequently.
* LiteralMinded:
--> '''Scorby:''' Get your hands up. Turn around, Doctor.\\
(The Doctor does a full 360 turn.)\\
'''Scorby:''' Facing ''this way.''\\
'''The Doctor:''' Have we annoyed you or something?\\
'''Scorby:''' Shut up. Okay, start talking.\\
'''The Doctor:''' Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch--
-->'''Scorby:''' What happened to him?
-->'''The Doctor:''' Who, Wolfgang Amadeus? (looks at the corpse next to him) ...Oh, ''him''! [[CaptainObvious He died]].
* ManChild: Willing to go anywhere, do ''anything'' to avoid taking orders again.
* MessyHair: He has a mop of longish, aggressively curly hair. Messing it up from the Third Doctor's hairstyle with his hand is actually the very first thing he does after regenerating and it's usually tangled, though precisely how messy it is seems to have a lot of variation depending on the story (ranging from relatively smooth and tidy in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E1TerrorOfTheZygons Terror of the Zygons]]" to a complete frizz in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E5ThePowerOfKroll The Power of Kroll]]"). Tom Baker refused to let the makeup team touch it after the start of recording because he felt it would be out of character for the Doctor to comb his hair while he was saving the universe - see Episode 4 of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]", where he starts out with a combed bouffant which you can watch slowly coil up into a springy mess. In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]", the Doctor claims his hair curls whenever he's thought up a good idea (or when it's going to rain).
* MurderTropes: Four was more willing than most regenerations to commit murder, and didn't mind turning a blind eye to Leela's killings. At one point, he murders a villain by filling the room with deadly chemicals; later on, he kills a guy by strapping a bomb to his chest and merrily laughing when he blows up (though the man in question was an immoral monster who had it coming). "Genesis of the Daleks" has the Doctor trying to decide whether or not he has the right to commit genocide; he only refuses once he realizes more planets have united hands in peace ''because'' of the Dalek threat. (Also, [[NotSoDifferent spending a few minutes]] with Davros clearly rattled him.)
* MyGreatestFailure: His refusal to wipe out the Daleks from existence in "Genesis of the Daleks" has long lasting consequences for his future incarnations since he inadverently fired the first shot of the Last Great Time War by meddling with the Daleks' creation.
* NervesOfSteel: Has a habit of striking up casual conversation with whatever's trying to kill him. At one point, he greets someone who's strangling him with a very friendly "oh, hello!".
* NiceGuy: If you could get past his weirdness, Four was a very sweet and kind-natured Doctor.
* NoIndoorVoice: Usually very hammy.
* NoMisterBondIExpectYouToDine: Conquerors keep making the mistake of thinking the Doctor will be impressed with their exploits, preferably over red wine.
* NoSocialSkills: He doesn't care at all for social conventions, and at times seems genuinely oblivious to them.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Occasionally his temper got the better of him: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E4TheSunMakers The SunMakers]]", the Collector is happy to spill the beans about his exploitation of Pluto and how he taxed its inhabitants into indentured servitude. In the middle of wheedling the Collector with flattery, the Doctor turns around and declares him a bloodsucking leech. For more, see "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E3FullCircle Full Circle]]", which features one of the Doctor's all-time greatest freakouts. He also found it impossible to break bread with the Tharils in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]", overturning his goblet and disrupting the banquet they throw for him.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Frequently.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: All the time.
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: Through a twist of fate in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]", he finds himself elected President of Gallifrey -- and when he returns to the planet to take up the position in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]]", he promptly turns into a PresidentEvil. Actually, it's part of TheInfiltration to fool some Sontaran marauders; he clearly had fun tormenting his subordinates, though (his Emperor Nero moment with the jelly babies being a highlight).
* PimpDuds: In contrast to his previous incarnation, this Doctor dressed to be invisible (well, more or less -- people tend to notice twelve-foot long multicoloured stripe scarves). In later life, however, he returned to wearing red velvet again. His floppy fedora got swapped for a maroon zoot hat with bright red trim.
* QuirkyCurls: ''Lots'' of them.
* RailRoading: Constantly railroaded, most frequently by the Time Lords, and sometimes by other factions. He ''hates'' it.
* RaygunGothic: The secondary TARDIS console room he decides to use instead of the main one for a while -- it first appears in "The Masque of Mandragora," near the end of his run with Sarah Jane, and goes on to be used for many of his adventures with Leela.
* RebelliousSpirit: Moreso than any other Doctor, he chafes at following orders, whether they be from his fellow Time Lords or the [[BigGood White Guardian]]. His first instinct at being in any kind of office is to [[RebelRelaxation put his feet on someone's desk]].
* RefugeInAudacity: Rather than face the indignity of hearing the judgement during his mockery of a trial, the Doctor puts himself up as a candidate for the Presidency, an act so barking mad that nobody bothers to question why this loon slipped through the net in the first place. ("The Deadly Assassin")
* RoguesGallery: K1, Wirrn, Sontarans, Davros, Daleks, Cybermen, Zygons, Sutekh, Kraals, Morbius, Krynoids, the Mandragora Helix, Eldrad, the Master, Xoanon, Taren Capel, Magnus Greel, Rutan Host, Vardans, The Captain, the Black Guardian, Scaroth the Jagaroth, Nimons, and the Great Vampires.
* RummageSaleReject: Believe it or not, he's actually dressed in a dashing Creator/OscarWilde an outfit, with a poet shirt, classy trousers, riding boots and a crimson ascot (see "The Deadly Assassin"). It's just hidden underneath a collection of tacky vests, a giant coat and several layers of scarf. It comes as no surprise that Tom Baker hit several goodwill stores when first putting together his costume.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Several iconic ones. In at least one episode he actually used it to trip up enemies.
** One interesting note: his very, very, very, VERY long scarf was originally intended to be of just ordinary length. But apparently the costume designer brought the knitter hired for the job ten times the amount of wool needed...and she [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome knitted all of it]]. "Witty little knitter" indeed. Also, it was ''shortened'' after "The Sontaran Experiment" when its length caused Tom Baker to trip and break his collarbone on location, requiring a double to take his place in long shots (!).
** And tripping enemies [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9B9kQfl0k0 wasn't the only use]] for the absurdly long and iconic accessory.
** Early on, he made the throwaway comment that it was knitted by Lady Nostradamus.
* ShipTease: With both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
* ShoutOut: His hat and scarf were inspired by Toulouse-Lautrec's famous posters of the French singer and comedian Aristide Bruant.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]", Magnus Greel and Four casually shuffle around chess pieces while Greel delivers his evil speech. Four wins, of course.
* StealthInsult: He is very fond of using these on villains, usually mixing them into the middle of his usual erratic chatter.
* SwordFight: Got into a rather magnificent and very long fencing duel at the climax of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara The Androids of Tara]]". He keeps the scarf on.
* TalkativeLoon: All the time.
* TorturePorn: "The Deadly Assassin" starts with him being subjected to an AgonyBeam and proceeds to take it UpToEleven. By the end of the adventure, he's lost half his wardrobe (and ripped the other half), he's bleeding heavily from several places, and he nearly drowns during a gratuitous mud wrestling/strangling match in a pond (and boy did all this cheese off MoralGuardians at the time).
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Jelly Babies, of course. Ginger beer was his favorite drink, but it didn't come up nearly as often.
* TricksterMentor: To Leela. He very much enjoyed intimidating her, placing her in FishOutOfWater situations and playfully calling her "Savage" (as well as other nicknames like "Mouse").
* TropeCodifier: 99% of [[WorldBuilding what's known about]] Time Lord Society comes from this Doctor's era. Being by far the longest-serving Doctor, Four also codified much of the Doctor's character, and the series as a whole. He's often considered one of the best Doctors, if not the best. Since his tenure lasted seven whole years, he's -- statistically -- the Doctor most longtime fans of the show grew up watching.
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: President of the Supreme Council of Gallifrey and All Her Dominions, Holder of the Wisdom of Rassilon, Preserver of the Matrix, Guardian of the Legacy of Omega.
* UnwittingPawn: The Master coerces him into an alliance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis Logopolis]]". If the whole universe disintegrates, there will never be a galaxy to rule, right? Not so fast: The Master plans to bargain the healing technobabble for the unquestioned allegiance of the universe's inhabitants.
-->'''Doctor:''' ''(outraged)'' Blackmail!\\
'''Master:''' [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord No, Doctor]], I'm [[DistinctionWithoutADifference merely reporting the state of affairs.]]
* VerbalTic: He says "weeeeell", "I say", generally extends low vooooowels whenever he can get away with it, and has a habit of drawing out the last syllable at the end of his sentence''eeeeees''. He also overpronounces the name of his home planet, 'Gallifrey', pronouncing it much closer to "Gallifree". Also, as his general speech is usually rather on the loud side, when he wants to emphasise something he instead drops into a slightly alarming [[StageWhisper loud whispering tone]].
* VitriolicBestBuds: Dives headfirst into this trope with the first Romana, who's sent over to become his assistant without him asking for it.
-->'''Romana:''' My name is Romanadvoratrelundar.\\
'''The Doctor:''' ...I'm so sorry about that. Is there anything we can do?
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Had a moral struggle when deciding between preventing the creation of the Daleks or letting them live in "Genesis of the Daleks".
* TheWorfEffect: All it takes is nerve-pinching the Fourth Doctor into oblivion, and he's down for the count. Amusingly, this is the exact opposite of Venusian akido.
%%!! Tropes associated with the TV comics line
%%* RoguesGallery
%%!! Tropes associated with the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
%%* RoguesGallery
!! Tropes associated with Big Finish
[[quoteright:150:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/four2_8651.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Jon Culshaw (2006); Creator/TomBaker (2012–present)
In 2006, the Fourth Doctor made a cameo appearance as a recording in ''The Kingmaker'', a Fifth Doctor audio. However, he was voiced by impressionist Jon Culshaw instead of the genuine article.
In 2011, a good five years later, someone ''somehow'' finally convinced Creator/TomBaker to join the cast of Creator/BigFinish. Baker says that it was Creator/ElisabethSladen and Louise Jameson who eventually wore him down. Tragically, Sladen passed away before a planned series of Four and Sarah Jane stories could be recorded. The Fourth Doctor is by far the loopiest of all regenerations, and freely uses ObfuscatingStupidity and ObfuscatingInsanity to make himself seem even more out-there than he already is. Creator/BigFinish likes to show off his skills as TheChessmaster as well.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Lists Daleks, Cybermen and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons Morris dancers]].
* BadLiar: Especially in "The Beautiful People".
* HypocriticalHumor: The Doctor is too modest to talk about how learned he is, and promptly goes on to talk about how great he is in other ways.
* InsufferableGenius
* TheMentor: To Leela.
* NotNowKiddo: A RunningGag with his companions, ''especially'' with K-9. The Doctor frequently gets tired of listening to K-9 [[TechnoBabble rambling on]] that he tells K-9 to be quiet just before he shares crucial information with the Doctor.
* ObfuscatingInsanity
* ObfuscatingStupidity
* RoguesGallery: The Black Guardian, Boudica, Cuthbert, Daleks, Drax, the Eminence, Jack Corrigan, Kraals, the Master, the Monk, the Rocket Men, Saiph, Sontarans, Quadrigger Stoyn, Vardans, Z'nai, and Zygons.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: "Babblesphere" has him up against a villain who's harmed by inane chatter. Four's extremely suited for the challenge.
%%!! Tropes associated with Titan Comics
[[quoteright:311:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dw_-_fourth_doctor_1_2632.jpg]]
->'''First appearance:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E5PlanetOfTheSpiders Planet of the Spiders]]" (1974)
->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot Robot]]" (1974-1975)
->'''Regeneration story:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis Logopolis]]" (1981)
->'''Played by:''' Creator/TomBaker (1974–81, 1993, 1997)
-->''"You may be '''a''' doctor, but I'm '''the''' Doctor. The definite article, you might say."''
The [[TheDrifter idiot abroad]], an aggravating cross between Sherlock Holmes and the Mad Hatter. Somewhat crazy-eyed, famous for a stupidly-long scarf, and very alien. In reaction to his long exile as the Third Doctor, the Fourth Doctor is defined by his strong wanderlust and a deep-seated resentment toward authority figures--particularly UNIT and his fellow Time Lords. Naturally, this resulted in Four's leash being yanked by ''every authority figure in the known universe'', including the show's embodiment of {{God}}; the White Guardian.
The longest-serving Doctor to date in real-world time, and probably the best known of all his incarnations. If you don't know who Tom Baker is, close your eyes and think of ''Doctor Who''. That's him. (Or possibly Creator/DavidTennant -- see [[Characters/TenthDoctor the Tenth Doctor page]].)
!! Tropes associated with the television series
* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: He tended to draw out his vowels a fair bit.
* ActionHero: In his earlier adventures, Four would have little problem leaping into action, such as in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment The Sontaran Experiment]]," but nearly all of his later adventures feature the Doctor more willing to give the monster-of-the-week a jelly baby than engage in fisticuffs. Keeping in mind that he was in the role for seven years, going from being forty to almost fifty during this time, this gradual slowing down does begin to make a bit more sense.
** The fact that Tom Baker also slipped and cracked his collarbone during the location filming for "The Sontaran Experiment" had something to do with it as well; for several weeks afterwards, Baker ''couldn't'' leap into those kinds of action sequences, so they either had find ways to stage those scenes with a stunt double without making it painfully obvious it ''was'' a stunt double, or the writers had to find a way to avoid action-hero scenes.
* {{Adorkable}}: He could act really cute.
* ArchEnemy: Davros and the Master[[note]]Mainly the decaying incarnation played by Peter Pratt and Geoffrey Beevers, but also did battle with the Anthony Ainley incarnation[[/note]].
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Much more so than even Eight and Eleven. All he has to do is ''think'' and he's completely zoned out of reality.
* BadassAdorable: He possessed great big eyes, huge amounts of childlike wonderment and behaviour, oversized clothes even though he was enormous and a dog he would treat like a puppy. For instance, on one occasion he wanted to go around modern-day Earth Cosplaying a historically-questionable Viking and is gutted when told it is inappropriate, acting just like a little kid told to take off his costume before he can go outside.
** When Tom Baker was asked to sum up his Doctor in one word, he said, "Adorable".
* BadassBaritone: Has the deepest and manliest voice of any Doctor.
* BadassLongcoat: In several colours.
* BadNewsInAGoodWay: (excitedly) "Gentlemen, I have news! This lighthouse is under attack and by morning we may all be dead!" (toothy grin)
* BerserkButton: The Fourth Doctor is the clown, the court jester, the life of the party. There are very few times in his existence where he is legitimately pissed off. When that happens...
* BewareTheNiceOnes: The friendly and childlike Fourth Doctor is also the Doctor who took part in the longest and most brutal fight in the show's history, when he spent the bulk of the episode playing cat-and-mouse with his opponent in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]."
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]" he threatened to shut off Davros' life support system to coerce him into destroying the Daleks, and he '''meant''' ''every word'' of it.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]", he spends nearly the entire episode either screaming at everyone, or trying ''very'' hard not to say ScrewThisImOuttaHere, grab Sarah Jane and leave Earth for good. Plus, he hits a minion with a chair.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E2ThePiratePlanet The Pirate Planet]]" is notable for featuring the Fourth exploding into a rage far more violently than he ever had before or after, and perhaps even more so than any other Doctor. As we've established, if you manage to even piss Four off, you're ''seriously'' screwed.
** While he told Leela "No more Janus thorns, ever!" in their first adventure, at other times he seemed to be much more sanguine about Leela killing random attackers, as long as she kept quiet about it.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: On a few occasions, it's even acknowledged he is ObfuscatingStupidity. ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]")
-->'''Countess''': I don't think he's as stupid as he seems.\\
'''Count''': My dear, ''nobody'' could be as stupid as ''he'' seems.\\
''(The Doctor flashes a manic wide-eyed grin at them both)''
* BigEntrance: Loved to ensure that all eyes were on him when he entered a room. Especially in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]": since the lighthouse was cramped and the camera had to be very static, Creator/TomBaker insisted on entering each room with a flourish to make up for it.
* TheBigGuy: At 6'3", matching Three's height in a rare case where incarnations don't get taller or shorter after regeneration, he also towers over almost everyone he meets, but is less likely to physically hit someone than he is to offer them a Jelly Baby, whip out a cunning plan, or troll a foe into submission.
* BlingOfWar: As part of his coronation as Lord President in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]]", the Fourth Doctor adorned himself with the giant gold Sash of Rassilon and its accompanying scepter.
* BourgeoisBohemian[=/=]CulturedBadass: Four may fool you into thinking he's just a cosmic hobo... until he fashions a concert flute out of a piece of reed in minutes, and sits down to play the Badinerie, Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor by J.S. Bach.
* BrilliantButLazy: Loves to put up his feet, draw his hat over his eyes and doze off -- especially while UNIT is talking to him. His old teacher at the Academy, Borusa, remembers him as being his most out-of-control student; the adult Doctor is unrepentant.
* CatchPhrase: "Would you like a jelly baby?"
* CharacterTics:
** He almost constantly [[EyePop boggles his eyes out]] and [[CreepyBlueEyes stares at things unsettlingly]]. You will rarely see him blink on screen, even if you're looking for it. His eyes [[MadEye don't quite point in the same direction]], especially when he's panicking, surprised or in a loopy mood.
** His [[CheshireCatGrin grin]] is a thing of pure horror and deployed generously. (Creator/ChristopherEccleston borrowed a dead-eyed, HurtingHero version of it for his Doctor.)
** He tends to run his hand through his hair when he's about to concentrate on something. (Creator/DavidTennant borrowed this for his Doctor too.) Occasionally fiddles with it if he's in a happy mood - see Creator/PeterDavison's impression of this, despite less hair, in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E1Castrovalva Castrovalva]]" for a really funny moment.
** Saying "What!" whenever he heard something he didn't like.
** Cocking his head and going "Ah, ''well''..." whenever he was about to deliver {{technobabble}}. (David Tennant deliberately invoked that last one with his Doctor too.)
** Cheeky little hand-waves.
** A lot of his gestures call attention to his unusually big and awkward-looking nose - tapping or pushing on the side for 'on the nose' or 'it's a secret', prodding it, pinching the bridge or the tip in frustration, stroking it in thought.... even the very few times he's being flirty he tends to do so by delicately touching his nose.
** He would often step on his scarf [[ThrowItIn by accident]], which always makes him cross.
** When entering a corridor or entering a room, he always [[BigEntrance strikes a pose, rushes in flapping all over the place or enters in some other weird way]], with Tom Baker's aim being to 'never enter a room the same way twice'. This supposedly started from frustration with the lack of camera angle and lighting variation possible in most of the cheap sets Creator/heBBC used and the stereotypical ''Doctor Who'' fascination with [[{{Padding}} substituting action]] with running down [[RecycledSet identical corridors]], and so becomes very obvious in the more claustrophobic and corridor-based serials, like "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E1HorrorOfFangRock Horror of Fang Rock]]". Since the Fourth Doctor is a massive AttentionWhore and [[LargeHam a ham to end all hams]], it works really well.
** He ''never'' looks at his hands when going for his pockets, so whenever he does he flails his hands around in a rather comical fashion before finding them.
** He [[OralFixation really likes having things in his mouth]]. Whenever he's fixing, making or sabotaging some sort of device, he will inevitably put one of the tools or parts into his mouth to hold it while he works on it with his hands, even if it'd make more sense for him to just put the item down. If nothing's available he tends to chew on his thumbnail. (This is deliberately alluded to in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E1DeepBreath Deep Breath]]" when the post-regenerative-traumatised Twelve bites his thumb while contemplating how much he needs a really long scarf.) He also has a habit of licking his lips whenever he's excited.
** If there is a chair he has a habit where he will begin to sit on it, and then has a sudden flash of insight just before touching the seat and stands back up again. Particularly hilarious in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]" where he actually brings a chair over from another room just to do this to it.
** If he's sitting down he tends to put his legs up on anything he can. Note particularly when he props his legs up on the top of Bessie's windscreen in his first story - something the Third Doctor would find unthinkable.
** Remember Sarah Jane's line in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E3SchoolReunion School Reunion]]" about the Doctor 'stroking' the TARDIS? This is the Doctor she was talking about. Note particularly the funny way the Sutekh-Doctor caresses the door switch open in the last part of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]".
* CheshireCatGrin: Creator/TomBaker has far too many teeth.
* ClassyCravat: Sports one on occasion, though it can be difficult to see under all that scarf.
* ClimbingClimax: This Doctor was defeated while trying to overpower the Master inside a radio telescope. It was up to the Fifth Doctor to finish the job.
* CloudCuckooLander: Possibly loopier than all other Doctors ''combined.'' If you ever need evidence for why this Doctor was the weirdest, fire up the scene "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]" when he barges into Sir Colin’s office. He walks around with a chair on his head, puts it down, goes to sit on it, doesn’t bother, soliloquizes on the nature of greed, throws a fit, accuses them of having a security leak whilst staring the guilty party right in the face, insults Sir Colin and orders a car! As written it is functional; but as read by Tom Baker, it is utterly barmy.
** Eventually learns to weaponise this, combined with his Time Lord Academy training: his learned resistance to mind-reading and his inherent loopiness make him able to mask his thoughts better than any other Time Lord.
* CompensatingForSomething: According to Romana.
* CreepyBlueEyes: Creator/TomBaker's thyroidism is used to full effect. Also, Four rarely blinks.
* CutenessProximity: With K-9, whom he insisted on treating like a real puppy.
* DeadManWalking: Four knew he was toast when he spotted the Watcher [[NothingIsScarier patiently standing by]]. This may overlap with Future Me Scares Me, depending on your interpretation of the Watcher.
* DependingOnTheWriter:
** Creator/StevenMoffat once criticised Tom Baker for this, saying his performance was 'thunderously effective' but he 'completely reinterpreted his character to fit that week's script', saying it's impossible to tell that the Doctor in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E6TheSeedsOfDoom The Seeds of Doom]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]" are supposed to be the same person. Moffat since disowned this criticism, but there is a grain of truth in it, especially early on: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot Robot]]", he's a genuinely funny and goofy CloudCuckooLander who doesn't care that much about anything, even Sarah; in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]", he's a fearsome and aloof ByronicHero and very openly fond of Sarah; in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment The Sontaran Experiment]]" he's all ObfuscatingStupidity and foul temper; in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]" he's all wisdom and righteousness and the potential for DirtyBusiness. "The Seeds of Doom" makes him a cold and violent TuxedoAndMartini {{Expy}}, "The Talons of Weng-Chiang" makes him into a bohemian and methodical Literature/SherlockHolmes {{Expy}}, in "City of Death" he's somewhere between [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox]] and [[Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency Dirk Gently]] and in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]" he's a WizardClassic. There are times in his tenure where he's an InvincibleHero who loves everyone and never ever shows any vulnerability, and times when he's a brooding and fallible Anti-Hero who genuinely struggles with his fear of the monsters, and sometimes swings into the opposite between stories. Tom Baker's performance holds the whole thing together, though arguably less from skill (his skill is in being able to pull off all those different personalities in the first place) and more from sheer force of personality.
** Creator/ChrisBoucher wrote him as a passionate atheist who has OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions. He's a lot more respectful of other religions in other scripts
* DissonantSerenity: All the time.
--> '''The Doctor:''' [very happily] Gentlemen, I've got news for you. This lighthouse is under attack and by morning we might all be dead!
* DistressedDude: Seriously, HOW MANY times has this Doctor been captured, kidnapped, tied up, locked up, drugged, knocked out, imprisoned, tortured, etc.? Sometimes it happens to him more often than his own companions! The Fourth Doctor is just as bad as the Third.
* DuckSeasonRabbitSeason: Thanks to his NervesOfSteel and constant DissonantSerenity, when someone's trying to brand the Doctor's face with a red-hot iron and counting down from ten, Four helpfully joins in the countdown -- confusing his captor and making him lose track.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Borusa admits that the Time Lords owe him a debt of gratitude and literally [[GettingTheBoot shoves him out the door.]]
* EinsteinHair: A lot of it.
* ExpandedUniverse: Creator/TomBaker was the first Doctor to ever record audio stories (starting with "Doctor Who and the Pescatons," and all the way up to his current Creator/BigFinish audios). He and Lalla Ward (Romana) also appeared, in-character, in a series of ads for Prime computers (which drew on their RomanceOnTheSet, showing a very odd glimpse of the Doctor and Romana being lovey-dovey) and a New Zealand retirement planning company (as an aged version of the Fourth Doctor, which is now HeartwarmingInHindsight).
* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: In one rather bizarre example, his brain became the nest of a pregnant space shrimp in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E2TheInvisibleEnemy The Invisible Enemy]]".
* FamousLastWords
--> "It's the end... but the moment has been prepared for."
* FantasticVoyagePlot: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E2TheInvisibleEnemy The Invisible Enemy]]", he has himself and Leela cloned and shrunk down so he can be injected into his own brain, fight the pregnant monster that's nesting inside it, make sure Leela's clone dies inside his head, and then absorb her corpse into his bloodstream to gain her natural immunity to the thing!
* FedoraOfAsskicking: Although not worn as often as his scarf. Gets shot at a few times.
* {{Foil}}: Foregoes any and all authority (and all seriousness) in response to having been forced into following it in his previous incarnation.
* GeniusBruiser: Prefers of course to use his considerable intelligence, but of all the Doctors, he's the most capable in the simple art of fisticuffs. His [[TheBigGuy stature]] probably has something to do with it.
* GeniusSweetTooth: TropeCodifier for the Doctor's fondness for jelly babies (after Two had them first).
* AGodAmI: He temporarily gains Guardian-level powers over time itself, through a nearly completed Key To Time and a bit of MacGyvering.
** AGodIAmNot: He is, after all, a vagabond at heart, with no interest in toys such as the Key to Time, or the Staff of Rassilon. That's not to say he doesn't enjoy trolling people with them, as seen in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor The Armageddon Factor]]".
--->'''Doctor:''' (mimics ProphetEyes) [[AC:As from this moment, there's no such thing as free will in the entire universe. There's only MY will. [[DrunkWithPower Because I possess the KEY TO TIME]].]]\\
'''Romana''': Doctor, are you all right?\\
'''Doctor''': (snaps out of it) Well of ''course'' I'm all right. But supposing I wasn't all right?
* GoOutWithASmile: Despite being clearly terrified and in pain, he suddenly flashes his trademark CheshireCatGrin in a final moment of [[GrinOfAudacity defiance]] before he quietly says his last words and dies.
* HeroesLoveDogs: He adores K-9, and takes great offense at others for calling him a "machine."
* HeroicSacrifice: Plummeted off a satellite tower after saving most of the universe from The Master.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Famously struggled with this in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks Genesis of the Daleks]]."
* HotbloodedSideburns: To go with his massive hair.
* HypnoticEyes: Much like the Master, although he only uses it occasionally, and is the only incarnation of the Doctor to do so.
* HypocriticalHumor: Tends to indulge in this both consciously and unconsciously.
* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: A few Doctors have since made reference to the scarf, dismissing it as an unfortunate garment choice.
** Seven tried on the burgundy Fourth Doctor ensemble, only to declare it "[[{{Pun}} old hat]]" and toss it away.
** An amnesiac Eight found a scarf in a hospital locker, but decided against taking it.
** A frigid Twelfth Doctor was overheard pining for a nice, long scarf, then rethought it.
----> "No, move on from that. Looks stupid."
* IconicItem:
** The scarf. Always the scarf. And jelly babies.
** To a lesser extent, his [[NiceHat Nice Fedora]] plays a part, especially when combined with his iconic curly hair.
* IconicSequelCharacter: For years, he was the most recognizable Doctor in terms of public consciousness. It wasn't until David Tennant that a real threat to this status came along.
* IdenticalGrandson: Of a sort. A retired incarnation of the Doctor, now peacefully pottering around the National Gallery, is wearing the Fourth Doctor's face for nostalgia's sake. ("[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]")
* InvincibleHero: By Season 15, the Doctor has morphed into Advertising/TheMostInterestingManInTheWorld. ''He tried being frightened once -- just to see what it was like.'' Season 18 dampened this effect somewhat, what with blood-sucking astronauts, a "mad cactus" framing him for murder, and of course the Master 2.0. Although the Fourth Doctor tried to remain unflappable, he was put into situations that were impressively tough.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Wastes no opportunity in letting the world know how brilliant, marvellous, wonderful and all around amazing he is. Four genuinely considers himself the greatest genius he's ever met, and acts entirely superior to everyone around him. Some of his companions put up with it. Romana, who had much better grades than him at the Academy, doesn't.
* KangarooCourt: The Master wanted the Doctor to die in ignominy and disgrace-- ''that's'' how much he hates him. Chancellor Goth hopes to win the Presidency and pin his predecessor's murder on the Doctor.
* LargeHam: Even his ''eyes'' are hammy.
* LiteralistSnarking: Frequently.
* LiteralMinded:
--> '''Scorby:''' Get your hands up. Turn around, Doctor.\\
(The Doctor does a full 360 turn.)\\
'''Scorby:''' Facing ''this way.''\\
'''The Doctor:''' Have we annoyed you or something?\\
'''Scorby:''' Shut up. Okay, start talking.\\
'''The Doctor:''' Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had perfect pitch--
-->'''Scorby:''' What happened to him?
-->'''The Doctor:''' Who, Wolfgang Amadeus? (looks at the corpse next to him) ...Oh, ''him''! [[CaptainObvious He died]].
* ManChild: Willing to go anywhere, do ''anything'' to avoid taking orders again.
* MessyHair: He has a mop of longish, aggressively curly hair. Messing it up from the Third Doctor's hairstyle with his hand is actually the very first thing he does after regenerating and it's usually tangled, though precisely how messy it is seems to have a lot of variation depending on the story (ranging from relatively smooth and tidy in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E1TerrorOfTheZygons Terror of the Zygons]]" to a complete frizz in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E5ThePowerOfKroll The Power of Kroll]]"). Tom Baker refused to let the makeup team touch it after the start of recording because he felt it would be out of character for the Doctor to comb his hair while he was saving the universe - see Episode 4 of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]", where he starts out with a combed bouffant which you can watch slowly coil up into a springy mess. In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]", the Doctor claims his hair curls whenever he's thought up a good idea (or when it's going to rain).
* MurderTropes: Four was more willing than most regenerations to commit murder, and didn't mind turning a blind eye to Leela's killings. At one point, he murders a villain by filling the room with deadly chemicals; later on, he kills a guy by strapping a bomb to his chest and merrily laughing when he blows up (though the man in question was an immoral monster who had it coming). "Genesis of the Daleks" has the Doctor trying to decide whether or not he has the right to commit genocide; he only refuses once he realizes more planets have united hands in peace ''because'' of the Dalek threat. (Also, [[NotSoDifferent spending a few minutes]] with Davros clearly rattled him.)
* MyGreatestFailure: His refusal to wipe out the Daleks from existence in "Genesis of the Daleks" has long lasting consequences for his future incarnations since he inadverently fired the first shot of the Last Great Time War by meddling with the Daleks' creation.
* NervesOfSteel: Has a habit of striking up casual conversation with whatever's trying to kill him. At one point, he greets someone who's strangling him with a very friendly "oh, hello!".
* NiceGuy: If you could get past his weirdness, Four was a very sweet and kind-natured Doctor.
* NoIndoorVoice: Usually very hammy.
* NoMisterBondIExpectYouToDine: Conquerors keep making the mistake of thinking the Doctor will be impressed with their exploits, preferably over red wine.
* NoSocialSkills: He doesn't care at all for social conventions, and at times seems genuinely oblivious to them.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Occasionally his temper got the better of him: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E4TheSunMakers The SunMakers]]", the Collector is happy to spill the beans about his exploitation of Pluto and how he taxed its inhabitants into indentured servitude. In the middle of wheedling the Collector with flattery, the Doctor turns around and declares him a bloodsucking leech. For more, see "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E3FullCircle Full Circle]]", which features one of the Doctor's all-time greatest freakouts. He also found it impossible to break bread with the Tharils in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]", overturning his goblet and disrupting the banquet they throw for him.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Frequently.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: All the time.
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: Through a twist of fate in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]", he finds himself elected President of Gallifrey -- and when he returns to the planet to take up the position in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime The Invasion of Time]]", he promptly turns into a PresidentEvil. Actually, it's part of TheInfiltration to fool some Sontaran marauders; he clearly had fun tormenting his subordinates, though (his Emperor Nero moment with the jelly babies being a highlight).
* PimpDuds: In contrast to his previous incarnation, this Doctor dressed to be invisible (well, more or less -- people tend to notice twelve-foot long multicoloured stripe scarves). In later life, however, he returned to wearing red velvet again. His floppy fedora got swapped for a maroon zoot hat with bright red trim.
* QuirkyCurls: ''Lots'' of them.
* RailRoading: Constantly railroaded, most frequently by the Time Lords, and sometimes by other factions. He ''hates'' it.
* RaygunGothic: The secondary TARDIS console room he decides to use instead of the main one for a while -- it first appears in "The Masque of Mandragora," near the end of his run with Sarah Jane, and goes on to be used for many of his adventures with Leela.
* RebelliousSpirit: Moreso than any other Doctor, he chafes at following orders, whether they be from his fellow Time Lords or the [[BigGood White Guardian]]. His first instinct at being in any kind of office is to [[RebelRelaxation put his feet on someone's desk]].
* RefugeInAudacity: Rather than face the indignity of hearing the judgement during his mockery of a trial, the Doctor puts himself up as a candidate for the Presidency, an act so barking mad that nobody bothers to question why this loon slipped through the net in the first place. ("The Deadly Assassin")
* RoguesGallery: K1, Wirrn, Sontarans, Davros, Daleks, Cybermen, Zygons, Sutekh, Kraals, Morbius, Krynoids, the Mandragora Helix, Eldrad, the Master, Xoanon, Taren Capel, Magnus Greel, Rutan Host, Vardans, The Captain, the Black Guardian, Scaroth the Jagaroth, Nimons, and the Great Vampires.
* RummageSaleReject: Believe it or not, he's actually dressed in a dashing Creator/OscarWilde an outfit, with a poet shirt, classy trousers, riding boots and a crimson ascot (see "The Deadly Assassin"). It's just hidden underneath a collection of tacky vests, a giant coat and several layers of scarf. It comes as no surprise that Tom Baker hit several goodwill stores when first putting together his costume.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Several iconic ones. In at least one episode he actually used it to trip up enemies.
** One interesting note: his very, very, very, VERY long scarf was originally intended to be of just ordinary length. But apparently the costume designer brought the knitter hired for the job ten times the amount of wool needed...and she [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome knitted all of it]]. "Witty little knitter" indeed. Also, it was ''shortened'' after "The Sontaran Experiment" when its length caused Tom Baker to trip and break his collarbone on location, requiring a double to take his place in long shots (!).
** And tripping enemies [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9B9kQfl0k0 wasn't the only use]] for the absurdly long and iconic accessory.
** Early on, he made the throwaway comment that it was knitted by Lady Nostradamus.
* ShipTease: With both incarnations of Romana. He had a KissingDiscretionShot (and a lot of innuendo) with the first in a Christmas sketch. Creator/TomBaker married the second one.
* ShoutOut: His hat and scarf were inspired by Toulouse-Lautrec's famous posters of the French singer and comedian Aristide Bruant.
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]", Magnus Greel and Four casually shuffle around chess pieces while Greel delivers his evil speech. Four wins, of course.
* StealthInsult: He is very fond of using these on villains, usually mixing them into the middle of his usual erratic chatter.
* SwordFight: Got into a rather magnificent and very long fencing duel at the climax of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara The Androids of Tara]]". He keeps the scarf on.
* TalkativeLoon: All the time.
* TorturePorn: "The Deadly Assassin" starts with him being subjected to an AgonyBeam and proceeds to take it UpToEleven. By the end of the adventure, he's lost half his wardrobe (and ripped the other half), he's bleeding heavily from several places, and he nearly drowns during a gratuitous mud wrestling/strangling match in a pond (and boy did all this cheese off MoralGuardians at the time).
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Jelly Babies, of course. Ginger beer was his favorite drink, but it didn't come up nearly as often.
* TricksterMentor: To Leela. He very much enjoyed intimidating her, placing her in FishOutOfWater situations and playfully calling her "Savage" (as well as other nicknames like "Mouse").
* TropeCodifier: 99% of [[WorldBuilding what's known about]] Time Lord Society comes from this Doctor's era. Being by far the longest-serving Doctor, Four also codified much of the Doctor's character, and the series as a whole. He's often considered one of the best Doctors, if not the best. Since his tenure lasted seven whole years, he's -- statistically -- the Doctor most longtime fans of the show grew up watching.
* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: President of the Supreme Council of Gallifrey and All Her Dominions, Holder of the Wisdom of Rassilon, Preserver of the Matrix, Guardian of the Legacy of Omega.
* UnwittingPawn: The Master coerces him into an alliance in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis Logopolis]]". If the whole universe disintegrates, there will never be a galaxy to rule, right? Not so fast: The Master plans to bargain the healing technobabble for the unquestioned allegiance of the universe's inhabitants.
-->'''Doctor:''' ''(outraged)'' Blackmail!\\
'''Master:''' [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord No, Doctor]], I'm [[DistinctionWithoutADifference merely reporting the state of affairs.]]
* VerbalTic: He says "weeeeell", "I say", generally extends low vooooowels whenever he can get away with it, and has a habit of drawing out the last syllable at the end of his sentence''eeeeees''. He also overpronounces the name of his home planet, 'Gallifrey', pronouncing it much closer to "Gallifree". Also, as his general speech is usually rather on the loud side, when he wants to emphasise something he instead drops into a slightly alarming [[StageWhisper loud whispering tone]].
* VitriolicBestBuds: Dives headfirst into this trope with the first Romana, who's sent over to become his assistant without him asking for it.
-->'''Romana:''' My name is Romanadvoratrelundar.\\
'''The Doctor:''' ...I'm so sorry about that. Is there anything we can do?
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Had a moral struggle when deciding between preventing the creation of the Daleks or letting them live in "Genesis of the Daleks".
* TheWorfEffect: All it takes is nerve-pinching the Fourth Doctor into oblivion, and he's down for the count. Amusingly, this is the exact opposite of Venusian akido.
%%!! Tropes associated with the TV comics line
%%* RoguesGallery
%%!! Tropes associated with the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' line
%%* RoguesGallery
!! Tropes associated with Big Finish
[[quoteright:150:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/four2_8651.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Jon Culshaw (2006); Creator/TomBaker (2012–present)
In 2006, the Fourth Doctor made a cameo appearance as a recording in ''The Kingmaker'', a Fifth Doctor audio. However, he was voiced by impressionist Jon Culshaw instead of the genuine article.
In 2011, a good five years later, someone ''somehow'' finally convinced Creator/TomBaker to join the cast of Creator/BigFinish. Baker says that it was Creator/ElisabethSladen and Louise Jameson who eventually wore him down. Tragically, Sladen passed away before a planned series of Four and Sarah Jane stories could be recorded. The Fourth Doctor is by far the loopiest of all regenerations, and freely uses ObfuscatingStupidity and ObfuscatingInsanity to make himself seem even more out-there than he already is. Creator/BigFinish likes to show off his skills as TheChessmaster as well.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Lists Daleks, Cybermen and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E5TheDaemons Morris dancers]].
* BadLiar: Especially in "The Beautiful People".
* HypocriticalHumor: The Doctor is too modest to talk about how learned he is, and promptly goes on to talk about how great he is in other ways.
* InsufferableGenius
* TheMentor: To Leela.
* NotNowKiddo: A RunningGag with his companions, ''especially'' with K-9. The Doctor frequently gets tired of listening to K-9 [[TechnoBabble rambling on]] that he tells K-9 to be quiet just before he shares crucial information with the Doctor.
* ObfuscatingInsanity
* ObfuscatingStupidity
* RoguesGallery: The Black Guardian, Boudica, Cuthbert, Daleks, Drax, the Eminence, Jack Corrigan, Kraals, the Master, the Monk, the Rocket Men, Saiph, Sontarans, Quadrigger Stoyn, Vardans, Z'nai, and Zygons.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: "Babblesphere" has him up against a villain who's harmed by inane chatter. Four's extremely suited for the challenge.
%%!! Tropes associated with Titan Comics
