The definite article?
Sep. 19th, 2023 07:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiBook Review: Who on Earth is Tom Baker? - An Autobiography, by Tom Baker
Having read biographies of Hartnell and Troughton by family members, and Pertwee's autobiography, and detoured by a Kindle deal on Elisabeth Sladen's memoirs, this, having been on the shelf for many years, was the next logical step. It's a curious approach, written by a curious man. Born into poverty in 1930s Liverpool, Baker was assimilated by the Catholic church, only to be spat out again (probably to everyone's benefit). On this reading, his acting career could best be described as faltering; it's well known that he was working on a building site when he landed the part of Doctor Who. In this volume he is generous to many, and critical of a few, but doesn't always come across as a particularly likeable character. There are some powerful words about how destructive a state of poverty is for a person, clearly written from experience. He writes fondly of his years as The Doctor, but in a rather odd way. One does get the impression that he was, indeed, acting somewhat as himself while reading the lines given to him.
Having read biographies of Hartnell and Troughton by family members, and Pertwee's autobiography, and detoured by a Kindle deal on Elisabeth Sladen's memoirs, this, having been on the shelf for many years, was the next logical step. It's a curious approach, written by a curious man. Born into poverty in 1930s Liverpool, Baker was assimilated by the Catholic church, only to be spat out again (probably to everyone's benefit). On this reading, his acting career could best be described as faltering; it's well known that he was working on a building site when he landed the part of Doctor Who. In this volume he is generous to many, and critical of a few, but doesn't always come across as a particularly likeable character. There are some powerful words about how destructive a state of poverty is for a person, clearly written from experience. He writes fondly of his years as The Doctor, but in a rather odd way. One does get the impression that he was, indeed, acting somewhat as himself while reading the lines given to him.