The Elusive Tom Baker

To-day I noticed the official Doctor Who YouTube channel has a few condensed versions of Tom Baker serials. They squeezed the four episodes of Masque of Mandragara into just thirty minutes:

It's fine for about fifteen minutes and then it stops making sense. Characters appear who seem to know the Doctor and Sarah without having been introduced them. Tim Piggot-Smith is chained up in a dungeon in one scene and then happily enjoying a party a few scenes later without explanation. Roman soldiers creep up and capture the Doctor and Sarah while they're talking and then, moments later, the Doctor is alone wandering the temple with a sword. It was kind of fun to watch as someone who's seen the full serial but I can't imagine first time viewers having a fulfilling experience.

Now and then, I doodle Tom Baker on the chalkboard at the Japanese junior high school where I work. Like this:

If a student asks who it is, I write next to the picture "Tom Baker, Doctor Who". Of course, no-one actually knows who it is but some of the kids seem compelled to stare at the face a while. I did a search for "Tom Baker Doctor Who" on YouTube to-day to see what they might find and that's how I came upon The Masque of Mandragara. Some of the other clips on the Doctor Who channel are mostly simple enough English this hypothetical student may even be able to enjoy it.

A Doctor Who broadcast wiki called BroaDWcast has a pretty comprehensive history of Doctor Who in Japan. I was surprised to see some Tom Baker stories were released at all in the country. The only sign of Doctor Who I've personally seen has been a solitary Dalek vinyl record at the Tower Records in Shibuya.