Michael Troughton
Dad's Who
Doctor Who:
‘You could have put all sorts of other people in the role and I think it would’ve sunk like a lead balloon. I think it was the devotion and the real integrity and the insight that Pat brought to the character that allowed it to carry on.’
(Michael Craze)
Dad’s final characterisation of the Doctor that secured a continuation of the series has been described as a clown or a ‘cosmic hobo’ – whatever that is? It was neither of these. Pat’s portrayal was brave, complex and departed absolutely from his predecessor. Only on the surface did he appear to be a clown, tramp, hobo, drawing on child-like qualities, dressing in scruffy clothes, playing his recorder when all around him was in chaos, delving excitedly into a bag of jelly babies and acting the fool to confuse his dangerous enemies. This was just a veneer. Concealed within and plain to see was a powerful intellect, a great thinker, a solver of puzzles, a doer of good, a wild wizard who could calmly play a hand of cards when faced with danger. Even as he delved into his seemingly bottomless pockets and withdrew with a mad flourish such useless items as gobstoppers, conkers, string, half-eaten apples or a bag of marbles, one always knew that each of these ludicrous objects would have purpose and meaning and eventually save the day. The fact that he would always leave everything until the last moment and then have to make a snap decision simply showed us the workings of an eccentric genius – this was Dad’s Doctor.