History Creator / PipAndJaneBaker

They're also known in ''Who'' fandom for being the two writers of the show who, alongside Nathan-Turner, took part in a panel in the 1980s in which they were confronted by a teenaged Creator/ChrisChibnall about the perceived SeasonalRot connected to the tenure of the Sixth Doctor (and ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' in particular); Chibnall would go on to write for the revival series and even become the series' showrunner from 2018 to 2022.

They're also known in ''Who'' fandom for being the two writers of the show who, alongside Nathan-Turner, took part in a panel in the 1980s in which they were confronted by a teenaged Creator/ChrisChibnall about the perceived SeasonalRot connected to the tenure of the Sixth Doctor (and ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' in particular); Chibnall would go on to write for the revival series and even become the series' showrunner from 2017 to 2022.

Pip and Jane Baker continued to contribute to the ''Doctor Who'' franchise after the TV series' cancellation in 1989, writing novelizations of their past stories, the choose-your-own-adventure book ''Race Against Time'', and the 2000 ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio play ''The Rani Reaps the Whirlwind''.

The following season was due to feature the Rani again in a story penned by veteran ''Who'' writer Creator/RobertHolmes, and the Bakers gave permission to use the character, but an internal squabble between the show's production staff and BBC executives resulted in the season being overhauled into ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', a 14-part story arc made up of four interconnected serials billed as one. The Bakers wrote the third of those stories, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E3TerrorOfTheVervoids Terror of the Vervoids]]" (1986), which introduced new companion Melanie "Mel" Bush (Creator/BonnieLangford). Unusually, she was introduced as a companion who had already been travelling with the Doctor for some time, with the story being set in the Sixth Doctor's future.

The finale for ''The Trial of a Time Lord'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe The Ultimate Foe]]", ended up being beset with further difficulties: Holmes was contracted to write both parts of it, but died before he could finish the second, resulting in script editor Creator/EricSaward taking over. However, when Creator/JohnNathanTurner objected to its BolivianArmyEnding, fearing that it would give the BBC an excuse to cancel the show, Saward walked out and took his script with him. Thus, Nathan-Turner commissioned the Bakers to write a new second part for "The Ultimate Foe" instead, divulging nothing of Holmes or Saward's plans.

Their final script for ''Doctor Who'' was the immediate follow-up to "The Ultimate Foe", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani Time and the Rani]]" (1987), the opening story of Season 24. Initially intended to be Colin Baker's regeneration story, it was rewritten into Creator/SylvesterMcCoy's debut after C. Baker declined to appear; he'd been fired from the role at the request of BBC executives and lobbied to be given a full season (since his contract wouldn't allow him to take on other projects if he only got the one story).

* {{Camp}}: A driving element of the Bakers' scripts, featuring plenty of HamToHamCombat, flowery language, and ostentatious designs, which contributed to their LighterAndSofter nature.

Their first contribution to the show was "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani The Mark of the Rani]]" (1985), in Creator/ColinBaker's first season as the Doctor. This was a historical story set in the early Industrial Revolution, featuring [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters the Master]] and introducing new Time Lord villainess the Rani.

The following season, they wrote "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E3TerrorOfTheVervoids Terror of the Vervoids]]" (1986), which introduced new companion Melanie "Mel" Bush (Creator/BonnieLangford). Unusually, she was introduced as a companion who had already been travelling with the Doctor for some time as part of the season-long ''Trial Of A Time Lord'' arc.

Immediately after that, they were called upon to write the second episode of the two-part season finale "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe The Ultimate Foe]]", at very short notice after former script editor Creator/EricSaward withdrew permission to use his script for the episode at the last minute.

Their final script for ''Doctor Who'' was "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani Time and the Rani]]" (1987), the opening story of Season 24. Initially intended to be Colin Baker's regeneration story, it because Creator/SylvesterMcCoy's debut instead as Colin Baker declined to appear due to disagreements with the BBC.

The Bakers have often been maligned by ''Doctor Who'' fandom, which views most of their stories in a rather negative light. However, it should be remembered that most of them were written under very trying circumstances, at a time when the show was suffering from upheaval, budget cuts and contempt from the BBC higher-ups.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani The Mark of the Rani]]", they have the Master proclaim that "fortuitous would be a more apposite epithet".
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe The Ultimate Foe]]", the Valeyard warns the Doctor that "There's nothing you can do to prevent the catharsis of spurious morality".

Their first contribution to the show was "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani The Mark of the Rani]]" (1985), in Creator/ColinBaker's first season as the Doctor. This was a historical story set in the early Industrial Revolution, featuring the Master and introducing new Time Lord villainess the Rani.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani The Mark of the Rani]]", the Master proclaims that "fortuitous would be a more apposite epithet".

The Bakers have often been maligned by ''Doctor Who'' fandom, which views most of their stories in a rather negative light. However, it should be remembered that most of them were written under very trying circumstances, at a time when the show was suffering from upheaval, budget cuts and contempt from the BBC higher-ups.

The Bakers have often been maligned by ''Doctor Who'' fandom, which views most of their stories in a rather negative light. However, it should be remembered that most of them were written under very trying circumstances, at a time when the show was suffering from upheaval, budget cuts and contempt from the BBC higher ups.

The Bakers have often been maligned by ''Doctor Who'' fandom, which views most of their stories in a rather negative light.

Immediately after that, they were called upon to write the second episode of the two-part season finale "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS23E4TheUltimateFoe The Ultimate Foe]]", at very short notice after former script editor Creator/EricSaward withdrew permission to use his script for the episode at the last moment.

Their final script for ''Doctor Who'' was "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS24E1TimeAndTheRani Time and the Rani]]" (1987), the opening story of Season 24. Initially intended to be Colin Baker's regeneration story, it because Creator/SylvesterMcCoy's debut instead as Colin Baker declined to appear due to disagreements with the BBC.

Their first contribution to the show was "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E3TheMarkOfTheRani The Mark of the Rani]]" (1985), in Creator/ColinBaker's first season as the Doctor.

Ernest Albert "Pip" Baker (3 January 1929 – 14 April 2020) and Iris "Jane" Baker (30 December 1924 – 29 August 2014), were a British husband-and-wife team of television writers, best known for contributing four stories to ''Series/DoctorWho'' in the 1980s.