Legendary Halloween Costumes: Tom Baker, Doctor Who (1973–1980)

By Emily Carney

When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, American public broadcasting stations (PBS) played episodes of the English cult TV series Doctor Who. Personally, as a young child I couldn’t really get into the show; I thought the episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus were much funnier, and the guys on that show seemed less freakishly scary than the star of DW, Tom Baker. (Of course, I ask myself now why my parents let me watch Monty Python at age 4. That show could get a bit adult-oriented to say the very least). As a child I found Baker less engaging than other TV characters, and more frightening and unusual than anything. Peter Davison (the next Doctor after Tom Baker) was far more “cuddly” and seemed more tailored to smaller children with his wan, handsome smile and cricket clothes.

As I’ve grown older, though, I’ve changed my mind and begun to realize why Tom Baker is considered by most Doctor Who diehards as the ultimate incarnation of the Doctor. He is the Doctor most fans my age and older grew up with. To this day Baker is the longest-running Doctor of the series. Even though I was very small when he left the TV series in 1980, I still remember his presence (and some hilariously bad special effects!) quite vividly.

Baker’s Doctor Who is the most peculiar-looking science fiction hero ever. He certainly didn’t look like any of the conventionally handsome actors in Star Wars. He constantly had a maniacal look on his face, capped off with the “crazy eyes” most memorable to his fans. (Seriously, his eyes bugged out of his head pretty intensely, which made his portrayal of a 900+ year-old Timelord even more strangely convincing.)

He also possessed the largest teeth ever, and was a giant person (he must’ve been at least 6’4″ or 6’5″). There was nothing subtle about him. He also wasn’t dressed like other sci-fi heroes of lore; he didn’t have the tight, “action star” outfits favored by Han Solo. He was imaginatively dressed in a scruffy Edwardian suit topped by a huge brown overcoat and the seminal, long, multi-colored scarf fans of the show remember most. His hair was styled in a curly, brown Afro with sideburns.

In addition to his physical magnetism, Tom Baker was probably the Doctor Who Who-Most-Didn’t-Give-A-Shit. This made him somehow much cooler than his other predecessors, who were, variously: a crotchety grandfather (Doctor #1, William Hartnell); a recorder-playing goofball (Doctor #2, Patrick Troughton); and an insanely-dressed, upper-class sounding guy (Doctor #3, Jon Pertwee). Tom Baker had a very distinctive, modulated voice, and you could just tell when he didn’t give a damn about the episode or the dialogue he was being directed to say. There was a sense that Tom Baker realized the inherent ridiculousness of his character, and loved it. This became more obvious as his stint as the Doctor came to an end, and more stuff like this happened.

I am disappointed that I have never seen anyone attempt to be Tom Baker’s Doctor for Halloween. For this reason, I would like to suggest some ingredients one might put together to become Tom Baker as Doctor Who.

How To Be Tom Baker As Doctor Who For Halloween:

Scruffy brown suit: Go for the full suit in tweed, with trousers; Argyle or plaid vest; and a white button-up shirt. You could probably improvise and wear a black or maroon jacket. Layers are KEY as apparently it gets pretty cold in the TARDIS in the vacuum of space/time. Reference this clip of Tom doing his thing in a plot line called “Genesis of the Daleks.”

Ascot: Once again, Tom Baker was all about layering.

Giant multi-colored scarf: This may be harder to find. The original scarf was apparently sold; you might have to search hard for a duplicate. Any copies of the scarf have been removed from eBay as the BBC (who own the series) cracked down upon fan merchandise. Here is a website with some patterns if you really feel like making the scarf, but be advised this site may disappear as well. In the end, any long red scarf with horizontal stripes will probably do the trick.

Huge brown overcoat (optional): If you live where I do (Florida), this might not be such a fantastic idea.

Brown afro-y wig.

Huge grin and massively bugged-out eyes: Also, couch your eager “trick or treats” in a slightly drunken, elegant-sounding English accent. Either people will recognize you (“HEY, IT’S TOM BAKER AT THE DOOR!”) or they might be creeped out. These are the risks associated with being Tom Baker’s Doctor. Remember, he sometimes even creeped out loyal viewers.

The finer points of this getup can most likely be found at any local thrift store at an economical price. If you can manage to find or build a replica of the TARDIS in time to go with your outfit, I salute you.

For those who want to replicate the man’s voice with accuracy, this website contains samples of Tom’s voice which you can send to your friends’ phones through “the magic of SMS.” Some of the results are pretty funny.