6th Doctor

Colin Baker (1984-1986)

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Season 21 (1984)

The Twin Dilemma

Season 22 (1985)

Attack of the Cybermen
Vengeance on Varos
The Mark of the Rani
The Two Doctors
Timelash
Revelation of the Daleks

Season 23 (1986)

The Trial of a Time-Lord:
Parts 1 to 4: The Mysterious Planet
Parts 5 to 8: Mindwarp
Parts 9 to 12: Terror of the Vervoids
Parts 13 & 14: The Ultimate Foe

Comic Strips (DWM)

The Shape-Shifter
Voyager
Polly the Glot
Once Upon a Time-Lord...
War-Game
Funhouse
Kane's Story
Abel's Story
The Warrior's Story
Frobisher's Story
Exodus/Revelation/Genesis
Nature of the Beast
Time Bomb
Salad Daze
Changes
Profits of Doom
The Gift
The World Shapers
Emperor of the Daleks! Part 1
Up Above the Gods...
The Age of Chaos

The Sixth Doctor was an unpredictable and somewhat petulant egoist, whose garish, multicoloured attire reflected his volatile personality. 

He was both portentous and eloquent, even for the Doctor - of whom he saw himself as the finest incarnation yet – and his unpredictability was made even wilder by his mood swings, manic behaviour, bombastic outbursts and glib, unflappable wit. His personality also displayed occasionally fatalistic overtones.

The Sixth Doctor was almost supremely confident in his abilities and did not suffer fools gladly; he sometimes seemed to endure Peri's presence far more than he actually appreciated it, and his superiority complex applied to almost everyone he encountered.

His intellect could support his ego; for instance, though, and the Sixth Doctor was the only one who was able to repair and operate the Chameleon Circuit within the TARDIS, allowing it to change shape to suit its surroundings rather than looking constantly like a police box (although the appropriateness of the TARDIS's appearance to its environment was more-or-less nil) in Attack of the Cybermen. 

However, not only did his melodramatic arrogance and caustic wit eventually subside, it actually hid the fact that this incarnation retained the Doctor's strong moral sense and empathy, as seen in Revelation of the Daleks, in which he showed great compassion for a dying mutant; and The Trial of a Time Lord, where he displayed outrage at his own people for their part in a plot and cover-up which resulted in the death of most of the Earth's population. 

Underneath his blustering exterior, he was more determined than ever in his universal battles against evil, possessed of a tenacity and a thirst to do what was right that was far more visible than ever before. 

Despite his often unstable demeanour, he was always ready to act when necessary, and very little – even his companions – could hope to stand in his way.

His condescension towards the universe around him also extended to his companions, especially Peri. While his use of violence against his foes and his abrasive relationship with Peri were both often criticised by fans, the violence was largely in self-defence, and his relationship with Peri had mellowed significantly when the programme returned from hiatus for Season 23's The Trial of a Time Lord.

He was well known for his love of cats, and always wore one of a number of cat-shaped pins or brooches on the lapel of his patchwork coat, itself said to be the height of fashion on a distant planet.

The events surrounding the production of Doctor Who in the mid-1980s caused the Sixth Doctor's tenure to be cut short, and for a long time Colin Baker bore the brunt of the blame as the "unlikeable" Doctor.

During the Sixth Doctor's tenure in the Big Finish Productions audio plays, voiced by Baker, he appeared to be a somewhat calmer, wittier and altogether happier character (attributed in-story to the influence of companion Evelyn Smythe). In a 2001 poll in Doctor Who Magazine, Baker was voted the "greatest Doctor" of the audio plays. Baker has said that he was not given enough time in the 1980s to 'unpeel the layers' of his character.

Colin Baker wished to dress his Doctor in black, specifically black velvet, to reflect his character's darker personality. Producer John Nathan-Turner, however, opted for a deliberately tasteless costume with garish, clashing colours (later described by Colin Baker as "an explosion in a rainbow factory"). 
He also retained the question marks embroidered onto his collar, which Nathan-Turner had added to Tom Baker's costume in 1980 and had retained through Peter Davison's tenure. Baker added a cat badge to the ensemble.

The costume itself, however, mainly features the red frock coat, with green patchwork, and yellow and pink lapels. The Doctor always wore his white shirt with question marks on the collar. There were many variants on the waistcoat and cravat - the most recognized and earliest is the knitted brown waistcoat with a turquoise polka-dot cravat. 

The waistcoat was later changed to a red check one, and in the following story the cravat became red and polka-dot. A future variation was a yellow starfield cravat and purple, green and blue waistcoat. 

His trousers were yellow and striped, and his preferred footwear was a pair of green/black ankle boots with orange spats. 

In recent years, a blue variation of the costume has become a popular alternative. This outfit was used in the webcast Real Time, as the clashing colours of the original design were tricky to animate. It also has been used on the cover of some of the numerous audio drama stories from Big Finish Productions.

Next... The 7th Doctor!