A Look Back at Classic Who: The Sixth Doctor's Era · 1:12am Oct 1st, 2013
Let's continue this look back at "Classic Who" with the era of the Sixth Doctor!
The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker)
The Sixth Doctor made his debut following a very emotional and traumatic regeneration. He was very different from his predecessor. He was arrogant, careless, dramatic, stubborn, self-absorbed, and possessed both an ego nearly as infinite as the interior of the TARDIS and a fashion sense that would make anyone's eyes bleed. He also had the darkest introduction of any incarnation as, due to him suffering from a sudden surge of paranoia following his regeneration, he attempted to strangle Peri due to the paranoid belief that she was a spy. Despite his dark nature and abnormally large ego, the Sixth Doctor also had a compassionate side that shone through every now and then. He was the first Doctor who managed to mend the chameleon circuit in the TARDIS, which allowed it to transform again. But it eventually broke down again and the TARDIS returned to its form as a police box. The Sixth Doctor faced many old enemies like the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Master but also faced new enemies like the Rani, a renegade Time Lady, and the Valeyard, a dark incarnation of the Doctor that existed between his penultimate and final incarnations. As time went on, the Sixth's Doctor's compassionate side came to overshadow his darker, egotistical side and he came to care for his companions. Eventually, the Sixth Doctor met his end following an attack by the Rani on the TARDIS. The attack gave the Doctor serious physical trauma and he regenerated into a different, yet similar, man.
Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant)
Peri definitely had one of the most complicated experiences of any inherited companion. The Fifth Doctor gave his life to save Peri's while the newly-regenerated Sixth Doctor attempted to kill her out of paranoia. Peri's relationship with the Doctor changed drastically following his regeneration. While Peri had become close friends with the Fifth Doctor, she and Sixth Doctor had a rocky relationship. Peri was often annoyed by the Doctor's new egotistical personality and constantly questioned his choices and decisions he made solely for the reason of showing that he was better than everyone else. As time went on, Peri's relationship with the Sixth Doctor became better and while Peri was never again as close to the Doctor as she had been when he was in his fifth incarnation, she and the Sixth Doctor came to deeply respect each other. Peri traveled with the Doctor for a large portion of his sixth incarnation but they were eventually forced apart when the Doctor was put on trial by the Time Lords and the Valeyard. Due to the complications amongst the Time Lord factions, as well as some wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey, Peri has several fates. Her original fate was that her brain was replaced by that of Lord Kiv and both she and Kiv were killed by Yrcanos, a Krontep warrior king who fell in love with Peri. When Peri's original fate was announced to the Doctor, he instantly showed a great amount of grief and sadness upon hearing the terrible news. A rival Time Lord faction then came in and rescued Peri prior to her death and let her live out the rest of her days as Yrcanos' wife on Krontep. An unnamed Time Lord President (which is usually theorized to being Fourth Doctor companion Romana) then stepped into the time stream and returned Peri to her time and erased all of her memories of the Doctor save her first encounter with him. Peri also had a fate where she and Yrcanos ended up on Earth at some point after their marriage, another fate where she was returned to her time with all of her memories of the Doctor intact and she went on to have children and tell them stories of her travels in the TARDIS, and a final fate that was never fully described. Peri's departure remains to be the most complicated, controversial, and confusing companion departure in all of Doctor Who.
Melanie "Mel" Bush (Bonnie Langford)
Following a complicated companion departure for Peri, it was fitting for the next companion for the Sixth Doctor to have a complicated introduction. Mel was a computer programmer from West Sussex whom the Doctor first met out of chronological order. During the Doctor's second trial by the Time Lords, Mel was pulled out of her place in time as a witness. From her perspective, she had first met the Sixth Doctor in Brighton in 1989, an event that, at the time, resided in the Sixth Doctor's future. Following the trial, the Sixth Doctor returned Mel to his future self and went on to find Mel's past self to let time run its course. Mel had a very cheery personality as she always welcomed any new situation with a smile and good humor and was affectionate to the Doctor. She was optimistic and generally believed the best of people's natures. She was also a health enthusiast and often encouraged (and sometimes forced) the Doctor to exercise more. She had several adventures with the Sixth Doctor and, some time after the Doctor's trial when their timelines synchronized, Mel and the Doctor were attacked by the Rani while traveling in the TARDIS and Mel lost consciousness just before the Doctor regenerated.
And those were the major players of the Sixth Doctor's era! Next, I'll take look back at the era of the Seventh Doctor!
Reaction to Mel: River Song v.1.0
, but in a "love to hate it" sort of way. 
The only thing I hate about time travel
You know what I've noticed so far. It seems that it's more a phenomenon of the New Doctor Who for the Doctor to have companions who fall in love with him (Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Amy Pond to a certain extent, the first Clara Osborn sort of I guess). It might be interesting seeing a Doctor who's paranoid and self-centered. Maybe Peter Capaldi will go down that route. I see now that River Song was not the first companion for the Doctor to meet out of chronological order. Melanie Brush. Tee hee.
My sister's name is Melanie.
1386967 I think it would be fun meeting someone out of chronological order.
Vroom, Vroom
TARDIS materializes in my room
Doctor: Mariusioannesp! I told you I'd come back.
Mariusioannesp: Who are you, and how did you get a replica of the TARDIS in my room?
Doctor: Well, aren't you being silly. It's me, The Doctor. Don't tell me you've forgotten all our adventures together. I'm fairly certain I didn't erase your memories the last time we met.
Mariusioannesp: Uh, The Doctor isn't real. He's a character on a British TV show.
Doctor: Oh I see now. I came to you too early. Don't worry about it. I'll be back to you in a jiffy.
Vroom, Vroom
TARDIS dematerializes
Mariusioannesp: What the frak just happened?!
I've got no high points for this one - or at least no televised ones. Whispers of Terror, The Marian Conspiracy, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor, Doctor Who and the Pirates, The One Doctor and The Holy Terror are all fantastic.
Low points: The Twin Dilemma and Timelash
This guy is the reason why I am afraid to watch any Classic Episodes that aren't 4th Doctor
. Should really get over that.
I have this strange feeling that all other episodes will be same quality
1389861 Try Spearhead from Space, the Third Doctor's first appearance, as well as that of the Autons.