Some 36 years after his departure, Tom Baker has reprised the role of the Fourth Doctor to complete the abandoned 1979 Doctor Who serial ‘Shada’, penned by legendary author Douglas Adams.
Halted due to a strike and never finished, the BBC has now completed ‘Shada’ through a mix of the original footage, state of the art animation, and a new live-action scene featuring Baker back in his classic costume.
“When I was doing Doctor Who it was the realisation of all my childhood fantasies… so I took to it like a duck to water and I still do,” said Baker. “Doctor Who was more important than life to me – I used to dread the end of rehearsal… that’s why I can’t stay away from it. ‘Shada’ was one of my favourite Doctor Who stories. I have many fond memories of shooting the location scenes in Cambridge, and it was disappointing not to finish the story in studio. I’m so glad that BBC Worldwide have found a way to bring fans a complete visual version.”
Check out the trailer here…
Baker’s last Doctor Who outing came in the 2013 50th anniversary special ‘The Day of the Doctor’ where he portrayed the mysterious character The Curator. However, ‘Shada’ marks his first on-screen return as the Doctor since his departure in 1981.