Was the Sixth Doctor really a 'psycho'?

Psycho? Nope. I'd say that particular undeserved aspect of the character's reputation came from a really unfortunate car crash of coincidences.

The announcement for the show being put on hiatus came during The Two Doctors on terrestrial television. A good story, a strong depiction of the Sixth Doctor, but particular eye I think would've been drawn to the story after it. Unfortunately, that story being pored over and pared apart with a critical eye was Timelash. A strange abnormality in the development of the Doctor and Peri during that season. Much more combatative than any story around it. We're back to a more subdued Six by Revelation of the Daleks, which fit with the developments we had during Season 22. It's also important to remember that Attack of the Cybermen debuted with 8 million viewers, that's more than any story from the preceding season. Including The Caves of Androzani and, then fan-favourite, Resurrection of the Daleks. There was definitely an interest in seeing how this Doctor would go.

Looking back on it, I reckon the components for the Doctor's long-term character arc are there. I think a while back I put up a rearranged viewing order for the season that went something like:

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

The season arc begins with the Doctor having not quite come to grips with the disturbing nature of his own regeneration. The initial violent bouts are over, but there's still bits and pieces of his own psyche all in a jumble. Hazy. (I kind of wonder if, as part of that reacclimatisation, the TARDIS deliberately took him to Totter's Lane to focus his memory.) We don't get a conclusion to this thread in Attack of the Cybermen, but in The Two Doctors instead. He comes in with an exhausted Peri saying he hasn't felt like himself lately. Then, we get the mindlock and link to his past on Space Station Camera. This tends to be one of the stories that people point to and say -- this is the Sixth Doctor. By the end, it does feel like we know him, specifically, a great deal better than we did before.

He and Peri are on much better terms come Vengeance on Varos, too. It feels comfortable. Peri can tease him about the series of near-death disasters (and domestic embarrassments) they've had since leaving Telos. The problems with the TARDIS feel much more about the Ship than its pilot. Varos gives us a Doctor in his element, but it's also important for Peri. It's the first time, quite uniquely, we see her grieve for him because she thinks he's dead. And the Doctor? He blows up the Punishment Dome's control centre to get her out when she's trapped. The Mark of the Rani, towards the end of the season, is almost practically his Big Finish self. He gently fusses over Peri when she puts herself in danger and has enough personal insight to know that he'll forget his moral scruples when outraged at an innocent's death.

Revelation of the Daleks? There's a little griping there between the two at the beginning, but it's not unwarranted. Here, the Doctor's visiting the funeral of an old friend. They're on edge. Quite a personal occassion to bring Peri in on, too, so again there's that trust. There's also an echo of Varos in how he reacts to her, reacting to the Dalek, over the tannoy in Tranquil Repose: "You murdered him! Why did you have to--?" The sound cuts and he squeezes his eyes shut. She's trapped at the heart of what he wanted her to avoid. Danger. There's a definite sense of compassion there. For Peri and others.

By the time we depart, it feels like we've rounded off the first phase of the Sixth Doctor. There's still room to grow, natch, but he's a very different man to the one suffering from his regeneration in The Twin Dilemma.

No. Psychosis is a medical condition with strict criteria. I guess temporary diminished incapacity would be a bit closer to what a "legal" defence of Colin's Doctors initial actions would be. Of course, colloquially speaking, I get the idea! 

You get the oft-quoted "onion" thing from Colin where we'd peel back layers and gradually get to know this Doctor. I think that was a noble idea but impractical by the mid-80s where there were far more expensive US tv shows being imported and an extra contender to dilute viewers in Channel 4. Immediacy was probably needed in some respects. You can maybe argue though that BF's version of the Sixth Doctor goes too far in the other direction and is very much the "cuddly uncle" Old Sixie rather than anything particularly true to his TV incarnation. We certainly get the abrasive Doctor sometimes but more often than not he's very much the character you imagine was the end goal rather than the TV version even when the stories are set during the TV era. I don't have an issue with that as I love the character but truly S23-like Doctor stories are thin on the ground.

As Wolfie rightly notes, the ratings for Colin's first full season were better than Davison's last so the notion that fans were completely turned off by the Twin Dillema - or even Colin's casting or costume - holds no water and is usually only repeated lazily. The show was going anyway to save money for the expensive Eastenders set and because there was no advocate for the show higher up to counter balance those who considered it expendable, no Jane Tranter. Many shows were cancelled around the same time for the same reason. What can be seen is that many didn't come back to the show when it returned for the Trial season when the portrayal of The Doctor was a bit kinder. Or at least less abrasive. I think there is a bit of revisionism about Colin's first run, usually caused by lack of context. Things like the infamous TV slaughterings by young Chibnall et al add to that notion, that even the fans had jumped ship, but that's not borne out by facts till the show returns.

It's always fun watching early Hartnell and seeing how really quite wicked that incarnation was - you can see Colin would be attracted to channelling that. I don't think there was a clearly defined idea of how to write him after the initial notion though and that's an issue. He's just kinda up and down depending who has the typewriter. In retrospect, him just being sniffy and arrogant would have done..he didn't really need to strangle Peri. That added nothing and led to less. It wasn't even acted or shot well, it was very am-dram. If they were intent on adding that, they really should have had much more of a "what have I done..." kinda scene. Tennant's Timelord Victorious, for one, is a solid example.

Yet...it didn't put audiences off enough to come back for the full season so I don't think it's all that much of a factor in the successes and failures of the era.

That's an interesting read.

I should state that, while I agree psycho is a problematic word and not ideal, the purpose of this thread is not a discussion about the Doctor's mental health, or even mental illness in general. Rather, it's about examining if the stereotype of the Sixth Doctor is actually accurate and, sadly, such terms have been used as shorthand in the past within the fandom. Doesn't make it remotely okay but it's what happened.