#just watched my first ever troughton serial (the mind robber)

[oh-hamlet]

dr twooth

[circular-time]

All caps for my favorite for each Doctor and bold for my alltime fave; I've listed a smattering to give you glimpses of most of the companions and some vague non-spoilery comments since different stories appeal to different tastes.

First Doctor: The Daleks although slow-paced by today's standards set the show on its feet as the second serial and there's some extraordinary visuals for a 1963 show with no budget and almost no precedents to work from; The Aztecs has Babs being awesome some interesting perspective on white saviour syndrome trying to avert colonialism filmed when the last of the British Empire was still throwing out the Brits (also blink and you'll miss it gender discussion), THE ROMANS is a Funny Thing Happened on The Way To the Forum Meets Doctor Who, The Dalek Invasion of Earth was groundbreaking for the time (post-apocalyptic Earth was not yet a setting many mainstream audiences had seen outside of a few blockbuster films) a chewy story plus the first companion departure

Second Doctor: MIND ROBBER is just fun watch it, Enemy of the World with actual ( gasp) sharp acting all around partly because Troughton is the villain as well as the lead

Third Doctor: Spearhead from Space so you get at least one with Liz who is Great and the Brig in fine form, a lot of fans will rec Inferno for very good reason but be warned it drags in the middle, Terror of the Autons for a great Jo & Master story, The Daemons ditto plus one of the Brig's signature moments, no one ever remembers Carnival of Monsters because it's not important or epic and there's a lot of running about but it's a fun little D&D adventure like Ghost Monument, THE TIME MONSTER which is a bit naff but we love it to bits as The Gift That Keeps on Giving there's so many dumbass and funny and heartwarming moments in it

Fourth Doctor: MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA fun melodramatic costume drama with bonus gay couple don't talk to me I shipped Marco/Giuliano before I knew what gay WAS, Brain of Morbius has Sarah Jane and the Sisterhood of Karn and Four in fine form with bonus throwaway Hey That Totally Screwed Up Canon (What Canon?), The Deadly Assassin which established Gallifrey as we know it today and therefore pissed off fans tremendously, Face of Evil as an all around fun story introducing Leela Who Is Great I wish I could rec more of hers but i've already got too many of Four here; Horns of Nimon for a drinking game ep that's so bad it's hilarious (moreso if if you know the camp villain was considered for the role of the fourth doctor) but Romana is in a different story acting her socks off LIKE A BOSS, City of Death aka the Doctor and Romana's Paris honeymoon, Keeper of Traken because I just love it (preview of my favorite companion though she's only a side char) plus it kinda sets up spoilers spoilers still relevant in new Who

Fifth Doctor: Castrovalva is a fun regeneration story but find the Blu-Ray if you can where they were finally able to achieve the MC Escher effect intended, Black Orchid (I dunno why some people dislike this one it's Who meets Agatha Christie!), Kinda which is a little crack but there's some great acting and classic quotes even if my fave is out with a migraine, Mawdryn Undead for an interesting reunion with an old friend even if the writers once again can't juggle an ensemble cast, ENLIGHTENMENT is awesomesauce ok not as much now as then when the first cliffhanger literally pulled mom and me out of our seats but the story has aged well even if the FX now look quaint, Planet of the Shorts of Fire for some Master/Doctor shipping although they nearly had the Master say he was the Doctor's brother and cut the line mid-word!

Sixth Doctor: oh this poor guy didn't get enough good scripts until the audios showed just how fantastic he can be but The Two Doctors (which shows his era had gotten a bit grim for classic Who, but it's good), VENGEANCE ON VAROS which believe it or not predates the reality TV fad and I haven't seen it since the 80s but it was a damn good episode at the time

Seventh Doctor: Delta and the Bannermen is nutty and joyful and unique and a palate cleanser after Sixie's era got too dark and I will defend it to the death even if it's kind of insane, The Happiness Patrol for a strong Sylvester ep with Ace being great (these two are always great), BATTLEFIELD with the Brig (both of them!) and a girlfriend (we wished) for Ace and random Arthurian bullshit and Kate Stewart's mom and oh this was LOVE when it came out Doctor Who was BACK baby (poor Colin), Remembrance of the Daleks which should have been the 25th anniversary special and we all pretended it was and there is the most awesome cliffhanger ever (it's like the punchline to a joke 25 years in the making for fans) but really it's so good the guest chars in this story have a popular multi-season spinoff audio series; Survival as the very last story of classic Who with more Doctor/Master shipping which may have been deliberate and this time we know Ace's "girlfriend of the month" plotline was deliberate although it's coded and cloaked because the queer author had to slip it past the censors

Okay so I'm continuing to venture through Classic Doctor Who. I've watched chunks of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker and adore the TV Movie. I've also seen a few of the "specials" like The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors. I know some episodes are considered much better than others 👀 What's your favourite or must watch episode??? Help me out

[lesbiandonnanoble]

Top 5 classic who is episodes? I've been meaning to watch it but I don't have much time...

i answered this VERY briefly on another one of these but i’ll go into detail here for you. so my personal top 5 classic who episodes are

the war games- this is really NOT a good one to start with if you’ve never watched classic who. it’s a season finale and it’s also 2′s regeneration serial AND jamie and zoe’s last serial BUT once you’re familiar with the characters it’s literally so good. it’s like. a Lot, emotionally. reasons this serial is the best are: introduction of the time lords!! and you really see the doctor’s relationship with them- he needs them to help resolve the conflict, it’s too big a problem for him to solve alone and if he doesn’t call them, thousands of people will suffer but he KNows that if he calls them, he’ll get in huge trouble for stealing a tardis and breaking the nonintervention laws. jamie and zoe and the doctor have some really soft family moments. it’s very emotionally driven, which is rare for early classic who. mr troughton made an executive decision to just act his fucking head off in the last few episodes in the serial and the doctor was in the middle of a panic attack for forty plus minutes straight of tv before going into this slump of heartbroken acceptance of what was going to happen peppered with these little interludes of hope or fear and troughton handled it so fucking well.. his Acting… 

inferno- y’all want mirrorverse??? this is the season 7 finale and in it the doctor gets stuck in a parallel universe where all his friends are there but they’re all evil

the aztecs- you want the first ever team tardis(ian, barbara, the doctor, and susan, the doctor’s granddaughter) enacting the plot of road to el dorado almost to a tee?? they make a mistake and get the tardis stuck in an aztec tomb and barbara has to pretend to be a god to buy them time to try to figure out how to get the tomb open again while two high priests(one that is nice and believes in her and one who’s mean and doubts her) battle it out for control of the community

the mind robber- really really batshit but fun 2 zoe jamie one. they get caught in a constructed reality(?) where the big bad is an author and if they let themselves get trapped there they’ll be fiction forever and they’ll never be able to leave. they need to stop this mastermind machine before they get themselves written into a story, all the while being menaced by heroes and villains from classic lit/mythology. very fun and meta and creative. 

logopolis- not really a good one to start with because it’s a regeneration serial and a season finale, but it’s part of the traken trio(keeper of traken, logopolis, castrovalva), three really iconic serials that are one after the other and just have So Much going on but it’s so good. nyssa gets introduced as a companion and i love her so :). 4 regenerates into 5. they need to stop the master’s evil plan. the master also gets a new body in this one, going from his burnt shell version to anthony ainley!! very fun, a really solid storyline, some very iconic moments as well

[happymeishappylife]

Prep for the 60th: Season 6 Recap

All these evils I have fought while you have done nothing but observe. True, I am guilty of interference, just as you are guilty of failing to use your great powers to help those in need!

In the final season of Patrick Troughton’s Doctor, we get more action packed stories, but a lore heavy final story that changes the series and marks the end of the 1960’s era of the show. Truly a great performance and heartbreak throughout, but a solid season overall. And with a solid cast as there were no introductions or departures to our TARDIS team. And since this is the only time we don’t get to see the new Doctor (at least for now), we don’t know who will become the new team going into season 7. But here they are, our TARDIS team for Season 6:

(From left: Zoe Heriot, The Doctor, and Jamie McCrimmon)

As it is Zoe’s and Jamie’s final season too, it felt good to have a whole season with them and to be honest this is one of my favorite all time teams. They just work well with each other and each brings unique talents and perspectives to each new place they land. I guess it makes sense that all three also experience such heartbreak at the end, but it is a sad departure which sucks since they are so good together.

The Serials:

1. The Dominators

When the team lands on planet, they soon encounter the locals who have given up on war and fighting, but are under threat by a race filled with that, called the Dominators. Aided by robotic creatures called Quarks, these Dominators threaten to destroy the planet as they focus on gathering radiation and taking the planet into their domain. But against the Doctor, they are no match, which is why he ends victorious at the end.

Overall Rating: 8/10

2. The Mind Robber

An alien intelligence has trapped an English writer and is on search for brilliant minds to help it, do something… So when the Doctor comes along, it obviously knows what it wants. He uses the Englishman he’s captured to send the Doctor and friends into trials with fictional characters and mythological creatures that feel real enough but are only powered by imagination which is ultimately the intelligence’s downfall. Still there is a funny moment when we get a different man to play Jamie when Frazer is unavailable for a couple of episodes. And all because the Doctor couldn’t place his nose correctly.

Overall Rating: 7/10

3. The Invasion

The Cybermen attempt to invade Earth in a first ever earth-centric planet panic. Aided by a megalomaniac name Tobias Vaugn, they come very close, but unfortunately the arrival of the TARDIS team foils it, especially when the Doctor hooks up with an old friend and new found Brigadier of U.N.I.T. who now are the military force in charge of preventing disaster and danger from alien or unknown threats. And even when betrayed, Vaughn’s only goal of destroying the Cybermen has nothing to do with a love for humanity, but his own hatred of them.

Overall Rating: 10/10

4. The Krotons

When the TARDIS team lands on an unknown planet, they are horrified that their first experience is watching someone come out of a machine and die. They soon learn this is the way and that many Gonds have died to help the masters of the planets of the Krotons, but once the Gonds learn people are dying, they rally to rise up. With the Doctor, Zoe, and Jamie’s help they succeed and banish the Krotons from their world so they can live in peace.

Overall Rating: 7/10

5. The Seeds of Death

The Ice Warriors decide its time to invade Earth and we learn in this serial that there are hierarchies in Martian command that send a scouting unit in first to destroy the Earth and make it habitable for their fleet. But as the Martians try to get a grasp of Earth’s world wide transmat system, the Doctor arrives on the moonbase via rocket to stop them and prevent a worldwide takeover. There are human questions as to how far will you go to save your own skin and what would you give up to save humanity which make this serial great.

Overall Rating: 9/10

6. The Space Pirates

This is the only lackluster story in the season, in which it feels like they wanted to write a sci-fi story but forgot they were writing for Doctor Who. The Doctor and team feel sidelined as the main story revolves around space control and space pirates, but since most of it is missing, it is easier to ignore in the rest of this great season.

Overall Rating: 2/10

7. The War Games

In a hard hitting finale, season six wraps up with a  fantastic story that introduces heavy lore into the show for the first time. We finally learn what race of people the Doctor comes from and how some do bad things, but ultimately how frustrated the Doctor is with their lack of action and why he runs away in the first place. Centering around a story of horrific ideas as an alien race sets up War Games around all the major Earth wars, the Doctor has no choice but to call his people to help, but ultimately he and his companions pay the price for that decision as the second Doctor’s story comes to an end.

Overall Rating: 10/10

 Things we learned so far (bold are new items we learned this season):

Things I’ve learned about the TARDIS:

It has a computer that reads and feed data to compute information about where to go next

It has a food generator where you pick flavors to be added to a nutrient bar

The lock comes away from the door and has 27 different mechanisms, getting one wrong might melt the lock

Field dimensions can be damaged by breaking down doors

The TARDIS is made of material that is impervious to Dalek shots

The Doctor does not have a Mark 4

Things we learn about the Doctor:

Pioneer among gallifreyans

Ian only refers to one heart being okay “his heart is okay”

He accidentally proposes to Cameca

Knows three dimensional graph geometry

He has a chair in the TARDIS that magnetizes people to it

He finally admits he isn’t human in the Evil of the Daleks

That he is a Time Lord

That he stole a TARDIS and ran away

That is frustrated by his people’s lack of action against evil threats

That he wanted to see the universe first hand

Things we learn about Gallifrey:

It’s quite like Earth, but at night the sky burns orange and the leaves on the trees are a bright silver

It’s people were the first to discover and harness the ability of time and space travel

Time Lords can live forever, barring any accident

Time Lords control their environments for ultimate comfort

Time Lords can overpower the TARDIS

Time Lords can force regenerations on other Timelords and steal the knowledge of TARDISes from them

Timelords we meet:

The Monk

The War Chief

Historical Figures:

Marco Polo

Kublai Khan

Maximillen Robespierre

Napoleon Bonaparte

Ceasar Nero

King Richard the Lionheart

Hector of Troy

Paris of Troy

Achilles

Odysseus

Agamemnon

Gaspard de Coligny

Doc Holiday

Wyatt Earp

People the Doctor has supposedly met before:

Pyrrho

Henry VIII

James Watt

[flynnspeaks]

Flynn Marathons Doctor Who, Part 15

(for anyone needing caught up–I’m doing a watch of Doctor Who from the very beginning of the show, bingewatching it by episode instead of by serial (which I find to be closer to the original spirit of the episodes, albeit still nothing like it at all), and then doing a writeup roughly every three serials or so)

Starting up Season 6:

The Dominators: Utter garbage. Misconcieved on just about every level, this is awful. The Dominators are silly, stupid villains, the Quarks are more cute than threatening (even their deaths are adorable--they’re the Troughton era’s answer to the Chumblies, except that the Chumblies were supposed to be friendly), and the story’s treatment of pacifism wrong-headed and insulting. I’ll admit, I’m biased against this one since going in I knew it was gonna be a turkey, but honestly as soon as they spent the first like five minutes of the episode setting up characters they immediately kill off I knew we were in for a rocky time--made even worse by the fact we haven’t had a story of this poor quality since at least The Celestial Toymaker--even Tomb for all its massive faults had a bunch of assorted good bits and pieces to hold it together in the end. This is just...wretched.

One interesting note--through the story is consistently wretched, it’s stunning how much the last two episodes pick up in quality (mostly because things actually happen for once). I remember reading that Sherwin and Terrance Dicks rewrote the last couple episodes once the story was truncated and it wouldn’t surprise me--as the old Sheldon Harnick quote goes “the problem with washing garbage is after you’re done it’s still garbage”, but Sherwin and Dicks make a valiant effort to produce at least well-paced and lively garbage.

There are scattered moments of pleasure to be had to keep it from being a complete waste of time--Zoe continues to work wonders as a companion, and I actually rather enjoy Jamie’s part of the story with Cully. And...fuck, I dunno, there’s a cute moment in Episode 1 with Balan testing one of his students? It’s all so little in such a bad story.

The Mind Robber: Ahhhhh and how great to go from that trainwreck to this wonderfully beautiful story. This is without a doubt my favorite Troughton, and you know what, my favorite Doctor Who story outright. This is phenomenal--playful and inventive, with loads of memorable bits and bobs.

I so adore the central premises here--the idea that events that are written after the fact are history, but if it’s written before the action it’s fiction; and then the notion that things only have power if you believe they do. It hadn’t donned on me until this rewatch, but this story had a phenomenal impact on my own personal worldviews, and it’s gratifying to see the strands that led me to my current place in life (also fun coincidence--this story features a cameo in D’Artagnan from The Three Musketeers, which I just a couple months ago provided the underscoring for a stage adaptation). I love the conceit of Gulliver, and the twist towards the end of the Doctor for once not being able to disbelieve in Karkus because he’s never heard of the character before (which leads into the delightful scene where Zoe kicks the Karkus’ ass).

This whole story is just delightful. If you ever get a chance, check it out--even if you’re not into Classic Who, or even Who in general, give this a shot. You won’t regret it.

The Invasion: Easily the best Cybermen story of the classic series (my own idiosyncratic love of “The Tenth Planet” notwithstanding). The decision to structure the story as essentially two linked four-parters, with the reveal of the Cybermen leading into the second half, is very clever, and keeps the story developing nicely over the course of its runtime (it also does a good job of making each individual episode feel distinct in of itself, which helps when you’re bingewatching these some fifty years later).

Delaying the Cybermen’s entrance also prevents the story from resting on its laurels and assuming scenes of Cybermen menacing people would be sufficient. Instead it spends time developing the world the Cybermen invade, particularly Tobias Vaugn, who’s an absolutely wonderful villain played perfectly by Stoney (his turn at the end is sublime, particularly as it’s motivated out of spite instead of compassion). All the side characters here are great, from the Brigadier and UNIT to Professor Watkins and his daughter (I love the minor subplot about her photography and Zoe modelling for her). The only bum note here is the awful awful bit of sexism in the backhalf of the episode, all the more for how it makes feminism the butt of a joke. Other than that, though, this is really a wonderful story.

The Krotons: Good, though mostly from the perspective of “this is the debut story of one of the best writers Doctor Who has ever had” than it is from the perspective of “the thing following The Mind Robber and The Invasion”. There’s a lot of good stuff here that doesn’t often get commented on, though--Holmes rather interestingly speeds through the plot in episode one, getting us through “the Gonds realize the Krotons have been manipulating them and decide to do something about it” about halfway through the episode, whereas most other writers would stall until episode three or something to get us to that point. That leaves the rest of the episode to essentially be an extended debate on how best to achieve revolution--between Eelak’s violent measures and Selris’s more tempered approach.

And though the show obviously ends up siding with Selris, it’s interesting that Eelak’s final tactic of selling out the Doctor and Zoe does end up accelerating the destruction of the Krotons, leaving him a more ambiguous character than would first appear. I think part of this is due to Madoc’s performance, which is as layered and nuanced as you would expect from him. Overall, this isn’t a stone-cold classic of the Troughton era, but is more interesting and worth looking at than people often give it credit.

(also: hello there, “Oh my giddy aunt”! Was waiting for you to show up! Didn’t know this line came so late into the era given how iconic it is. Funny how these things go)

[circular-time]

Hi! I'm trying to go through Classic Who and was wondering what some good serials to start off with would be, in your opinion? From a variety of Doctors, if that's okay.

Great question. It’s hard for me to boil 27 years into a quick watchlist, but I’ll do my best to give you a good sampler with good stories, watershed events, and most classic companions. I’ll boldface my top rec for each Doctor.

My suggestion is to try 2 top-recommended stories for each of the classic Doctors, and then watch more of whichever Doctor/companions catch your fancy.

Rec list below the cut: 

First Doctor

I always wrestle with where to start newbies.

Unearthly Child is such a good launch, especially the first half hour. It establishes that the Doctor has a lot to learn from humans! But if you find the later episodes of that story a bit draggy, it's okay to skip ahead to when the show hits its stride.Here:

The Aztecs (Barbara, Ian, Susan): First TARDIS team, classic historical, first to grapple with ethics of altering history. Excellent story.

The Romans (Barbara, Ian, Vicki): Lighthearted historical with a lot of moments to make you grin.

The Time Meddler (Steven, Vicki): Another fun one, first to introduce another Time Lord (although at the time, the showrunners hadn’t decided that the Doctor wasn’t human; the “Time Lord” concept was introduced in the second Doctor’s final episode.).

Second Doctor

I know this era the least, because almost all its episodes were lost when I was a kid, and I still need to catch up on recons and recovered stories. A pity, because Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Peter Capaldi all look back to Patrick Troughton as their Doctor.

I’m still playing catch-up, but I warmly suggest:

Power of the Daleks (Ben, Polly) I’m not quite sure about this rec. It’s the first regeneration story ever, totally lost apart from the soundtrack, recently reconstructed using 1960s-comics-style animation. The visuals may not be your cup of tea, but it’s a good story. I guess this is another, “Try it, see if it works for you, and if not, move on.”

Enemy of the World (Jamie, Victoria) WATCH THIS. NO SERIOUSLY. It’s alarmingly topical, and Pat Troughton is amazeballs. Remember it’s 50 years old now.

The Mind Robber (Jamie, Zoe) a goofier, more lighthearted entry than most of my suggestions, but if you have a sense of humour, it’s a lot of fun. It reminds me that (a) Who was primarily a kids’s show smart enough for the whole family to enjoy and (b) early television was like watching a stage play;  you had to suspend disbelief, tolerate flat sets and basic props, and fill in the rest with your imagination. Our minds were the CGI of early TV.

Third Doctor

Three was my first Doctor, so from here on it gets difficult for me to be choosy.

Spearhead from Space (Liz, Brig) for sure; it’s the intro of the UNIT era and a good regeneration story. Keep in mind what a radical departure this was; not only was it in colour, but it was the first time the Doctor and companions had left at the end of one season and been replaced with an entirely new cast in the next. The Doctor was now Earthbound, working with UNIT. The Time Lords had just been established in the previous (10 episode long!) serial.

Inferno (Liz, Brig) is widely regarded and a heck of a story, with some unforgettable moments, but it’s another that’s about one episode longer than it needs to be according to modern tastes.

Terror of the Autons (Jo, Brig, Benton) introduces Jo AND the Master. Good story. Watch it. :)

The Three Doctors was the tenth anniversary special, and I love it, goofy monsters, ham acting, campy villain and all. William Hartnell passed away not long after.

Fourth Doctor

This is especially hard to pick and choose because Tom’s era spanned seven years, and he had so many good companions and watershed stories. You don’t have to hit all of these; I just have trouble choosing.

Genesis of the Daleks (Harry, Sarah Jane) for sure, introduction of Davros. Unusually dark but important story, a real watershed.

The Brain of Morbius (Sarah Jane) is a solid Four-era adventure introducing the Sisterhood of Karn and another problematic Time Lord. It’s not a pivotal story so much as “this is absolutely classic classic Who, and good entertainment.” 

Hand of Fear is Sarah Jane’s final story. It’s a good sendoff, even if the writers had forgotten she was a tough bird; she shrieks more than I’d like. The final scene is embedded in the hearts of all Whovians of my generation. Our Sarah Jane.

The Deadly Assassin (just about the only solo Doctor serial): I waffle on whether to recommend this because it’s slow in spots, but it probably did the most to establish Gallifrey canon of any story, since it’s the first story that takes place on Gallifrey. 

The Face of Evil introduces Leela. And you can skip it. No really, it’s simply a good adventure, and I hate for you to miss Leela altogether.

The Pirate Planet (Romana I, K9) is hilariously over the top, a farce penned by the inimitable Douglas Adams, author of Hitchhiker’s Guide. Bonus: drinking game with the phrase “MIISTER FIBULIIIII!” Except that might land you in a hospital, so never mind.

The City of Death (Romana II) contains a lot of running through the streets of Paris and Tom Baker and Lalla Ward flirting shamelessly. Nevertheless, it’s a good story with an unusually good secondary cast. A fan favorite. Watch for the John Cleese cameo!

Drat, that’s too many Tom Bakers already, so I guess I shouldn’t say Keeper of Traken. But I’m gonna, because I’m biased. (It’s Nyssa’s intro, a Shakespearean tragedy with an interesting villain. More importantly, Anthony Ainley, the next Master, plays her father.)

Fifth Doctor

Castrovalva is the best regeneration story. Yes, I’m biased, but that sequence with Peter Davison wandering around the TARDIS imitating the Doctors he grew up watching is a great intro.

Earthshock (Adric, Tegan, Nyssa) I haven’t given you any Cybermen stories yet, have I? Watch this one. I refuse to spoil why; I’ve already spoiled the first cliffhanger (it had been seven years since the previous Cybermen story, and nobody was expecting them).

The Five Doctors (Tegan, Turlough, and everybody else) is the 20th anniversary special that brought back as many Doctors, companions and monsters as it possibly could. Pure fanservice, but fun for all that. Plus more Gallifrey worldbuilding.

Caves of Androzani (Peri) is often voted the best classic Who story ever. Not sure about that, but the directing in this one is so much better than most of the era it hurts. Even if modern audiences are no longer used to characters addressing the camera; it was a convention back then.

Sixth Doctor

Poor Colin; I love his audios but I haven’t gone back and watched his TV serials since the 80s. The two I remember as especially good are:

The Two Doctors (Jamie, Peri) - Colin Baker collides with Patrick Troughton. Not to mention Jackie Pearce, who played the arch-villain of Blake’s 7.

Vengeance on Varos (Peri) - keep in mind that so-called Reality TV was almost two decades away

Seventh Doctor

I loved the quirky first season of the Seventh Doctor era, but most people don’t. Delta and the Bannermen (Mel) was apparently penned under the influence of recreational substances, and I love it, but again, most people don’t. Happiness Patrol is another “I love it, but most people don’t” story.

These are safer, quality bets:

Battlefield. (Ace) WATCH IT. NO SERIOUSLY. Last Brig appearance on classic Who. A+ would recommend, if nothing else for the fact that Who clued in to having a diverse (and good) cast. Watch for Ace’s gal pal of the week. ;) 

Remembrance of the Daleks (Ace) was originally meant as the 25th anniversary special. The Doctor returns to Coal Hill School for the first time since Unearthly Child. There’s Daleks and the famous Unlimited Rice Pudding speech. Ace kicks Dalek ass.

Survival. Last classic Who ever. A Master story. Ace’s gal of the week is none other than Lisa Bowerman (Big Finish director, also plays Bernice Summerfield) disguised as a furry. Despite the naff costuming, it’s a good story, and the scriptwriter was slipping in as much lesbian subtext as she could get away with in the 80s (according to an interview).

Eighth Doctor

By all means, watch the TV movie, despite its flaws. When it came out, my friends compained, “Stop trying to appeal to Americans by making Doctor Who more American! We’re Anglophiles!” And I lamented, “This is the opposite of Doctor Who: The FX are superb [well, they were then] but the dialogue is mediocre!”  Nevertheless, we all loved Paul McGann as the Doctor and were angry on his behalf that he hadn’t been given a better script to reboot the franchise.

My opinion of the 1997 movie has risen considerably over the years, but it’s still a bit rocky.

And of course you have to see Night of the Doctor, but it’s only seven minutes. Perfect Paul.

Edited to add: Nobody is grading you on your hobby. Or if they are, F ’em. You are allowed to pick and choose! There is so much Who now that it’s pretty much impossible to see, read and listen to all of it. Different eras of the show have different styles and appeal to different tastes. So watch what gives you joy. Just remember there are overlooked gems in every period.

[nukirisame]

Doctor Who Rewatch 2.0 - Second Doctor Ranked

21) “The Space Pirates” by Robert Holmes

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves inside a space beacon being attacked by space pirates. The travellers are separated from the TARDIS and flung into the depths of space.

Literally what can you say about this story? It’s one of the worst-regarded stories by the fanbase (at least those who have bothered to try and watch it) and it’s one of the handful of stories where I really, really don’t have anything nice to say about it. One thing people give as a positive is the fact that Troughton is in it... except he really isn’t. Not much at least. The focus is mostly on a comedy space cowboy who’s got to be one of the most insufferable characters ever created. The model shots are a bit impressive except they use the same shots over and over and over and over. The pacing is excruciating, the plot is weak, the concepts are stupid... the only reason you can really excuse this is because every pound not spent on this went towards the season’s finale, The War Games, which turned out amazingly.

20) “The Dominators” by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln

A Dominator spacecraft lands on the peaceful world of Dulkis where two Dominators, Rago and Toba, plan to turn the entire planet into a radioactive fuel source for their war fleet.

Plan 9 from Doctor Who. Except not ironically entertaining. Seriously, this is such a good example of shitty sci-fi. Peaceful, war-is-bad aliens VS evil, war-is-good aliens. Robots that are just boxes with legs. While Troughton is actually in this one a lot, I’m not THAT big of a fan for him to save this. In fact I actually enjoyed the titular Dominators the most despite them being the most generic thing in existence. It was fun to watch them bicker. Well, for a bit at least. Everything else about this story is dull. Painfully, excruciatingly dull.

19) “The Underwater Menace” by Geoffrey Orme

Arriving on the shores of a volcanic island, the time travellers are taken prisoner and descend deep into the Earth where they discover the legendary city of Atlantis.

Oh dear. You have to wonder what’s going through the crew’s minds when they’re making something like this. I’m glad they did though: The Underwater Menace is the most B movie, so-bad-its-good story Doctor Who’s ever produced. The main villain is an insane scientist whose entire motivation is “hey, blowing up the world would be so fucking cool”. Some of the Fish People are just normal people with snorkels on; I guess they ran out of money. The resolution wouldn’t have happened if Atlantis just had fridges. This one’s amazing for all the wrong reasons; it’s an experience.

18) “The Krotons” by Robert Holmes

The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to a world where they meet the Gonds who annually send two brilliant students into the Dynatrope to be the companions of the Krotons.

Prolific writer Robert Holmes makes his Doctor Who debut and... ehhhhhhh. Like The Dominators, this one is very, very generic, but not really poorly written by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a story you can basically get the gist of with a quick summary - ‘planet built on slavery, Doctor stops it’. We’ve watched this plot so many times now, what’s left to say? The Krotons themselves are actually a bit interesting, they’re pretty alien and bizarre, but the script never really does anything with them. And the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe have enough fun moments to keep you entertained. It’s not bad at all, just painfully ‘fine’.

17) “The Moonbase” by Kit Pedler

When the Doctor and his companions arrive in 2070, they discover Earth's weather is controlled by the Gravitron and the Cybermen are responsible for a mysterious epidemic.

The Moonbase has quite a few problems. The biggest one is the fact that it has the exact same basic plot (Cybermen attacking a base) that was seen just a few serials ago in The Tenth Planet. Also though it became before most of them it’s such a basic base-under-siege story that it just feels so samey and bland, especially the first half. It picks up with the second half, and the ending is very exciting (complete with some amazing direction and sets as the Cybermen march on the surface of the moon). Troughton also starts to feel more like his version of the Doctor rather than just comic relief. Overall though The Moonbase, while good in places, isn’t anything special.

16) “The Wheel in Space” by David Whitaker

The TARDIS lands on a small space craft where the Doctor is attacked by a Servo Robot and rendered unconscious. However, the ship is also the staging ground for the Cybermen.

See: my opinion of The Moonbase. No, seriously, they’re practically the same thing, and all my complaints with it can be ascribed to Wheel as well. It’s kinda hard to decide which I like more, but Wheel has a very nice first episode which stars solely the Doctor and Jamie (and the Servo Robot. The only episode to feature it, actually), sorta reminiscent of The Edge of Destruction or The Mind Robber’s first episode, though not quite to that level. It does a decent job at introducing new companion Zoe as well, so eh, whatever, it’s alright.

15) “The Highlanders” by Elwyn Jones and Gerry Davis

The TARDIS arrives in the Scottish highlands in 1746, just as the battle of Culloden has come to an end. The travellers join a group of Highlanders on the run.

The Highlanders is an interesting story. It’s the last pure historical of the series until 1982′s “Black Orchid”. Compared to the ones before it The Highlanders is a bit of a pantomime. As Troughton’s second story he’s still figuring out the part, which isn’t helped by all of his appearances having him either put on an awful German accent or disguising himself as a woman. The description ‘baggy little clown man’ suits him here more than any other story. The best character in this one is Polly actually, who’s written quite snappy and cunning, very different from her usual portrayals, but I like it. And I like this story overall, even though it is pretty fucking weird and... not amazing.

14) “The Seeds of Death” by Brian Hayles

The TARDIS arrives on Earth where T-Mat has revolutionised travel. However, the Ice Warriors have seized control and use T-Mat to distribute Martian seed pods across the world.

The first Second Doctor story I ever watched and, though a good introduction to his era, doesn’t really show how capable and quality these years of the show can be. The curse of this story is how its inferior in pretty much every way to its prequel. The direction isn’t as consistently good, and the subplot with the human race relying solely on a new invention rather than good ol’ rockets, while interesting, isn’t explored to its fullest potential. You could probably get a lot more enjoyment out of this if you’re a big, big Troughton fan, but for me it’s just ‘good, but nothing special’.

13) “The Ice Warriors” by Brian Hayles

The TARDIS arrives on Earth during a new ice age. The Doctor, Victoria and Jamie enter Brittanicus Base but out on the glacier, a large Viking like creature is found buried.

Troughton had a really solid run as the Doctor, only overshadowed by Pertwee imo. This I’d consider the cut-off point between all his great stuff and some of his... iffier entries. It’s good. Standard and kinda boring, but good. The highlight is the titular aliens, who have a great organic battle armour design. I can’t really come up with a better way for Doctor Who to handle martians. The story also has a very nice subplot about the future of humanity being dependent on computers, with one of the guest cast being an amazing scientist who chooses to lurk around the ice with the scavengers rather than be a machine’s meat servant. Add in some rather artsy direction and you’ve got something pretty good; the only time it fails is when you compare it to Troughton’s many masterpieces.

12) “The Faceless Ones” by David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke

The TARDIS arrives in the landing path of a plane at Gatwick airport, where the travellers discover that Chameleon Tours is a front for an alien operation to kidnap holidaymakers.

This is a great example of a modern-feeling classic story. With its setting and traditional alien invasion plot The Faceless Ones flows along with a lot of charm and style. It’s the first story to really feature the ‘Two and Jamie’ combo (partly because Ben and Polly are missing throughout most of it), and it shows just how good their chemistry is together. There are a bunch of fun guest characters including Samantha Briggs, a Liverpudlian girl with a knack for getting herself into trouble, and the Commandant, the generic skeptical authority figure who still manages to be a treat to watch. It’s sort of slow paced with not quite enough to fill out 6 episodes but it’s still great stuff.

11) “The Abominable Snowmen” by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln

The Doctor is delighted when the TARDIS returns him to the Himalayas in 1935 near the Detsen monastery where the Doctor had been given a sacred bell, the ghanta, for safe keeping.

Hugely overshadowed by its sequel, The Web of Fear (especially now that that one actually exists), The Abominable Snowmen has garnered little reputation over the years other than being just pretty damn good. And yeah, I agree, it’s pretty damn good. The most significant thing about it is the Yeti, which you could call a failure of a design, or you can just forget about the fact that they’re supposed to be scary and laugh at them waddle about. But where the Yeti lose on scare factor the actual ‘villain’, the Great Intelligence, succeeds. A raspy voice controlling a 300 year old monk, the final showdown with him is very memorable. Though it’s not one you’ll be itching to rewatch it’s still something great.

10) “The Tomb of the Cybermen” by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis

The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Jamie and their new companion, Victoria to the world of Telos where they encounter an archaeological expedition in search of the long dead Cybermen.

Talking about The Tomb of the Cybermen is weird because you usually only see one of two opinions. “Perfect 11/10 best story ever” or “overrated 3/10 if that”. Apparently it’s impossible to both hugely enjoy something and recognize its flaws. Most of the flaws aren’t awful factors but are just cases of what I’d call... iffiness. When you watch old TV you expect iffiness but there’s some real... iffiness here. But at the same time its littered with so much fantastic stuff, some even in parallel to the flaws (the director is AMAZING until they have to choreograph an action scene) that it’s very easy to overlook unless you’re just trying to spite all the fanboys. The best Troughton? Not even close. A classic? Ehhhhhhh. A great story? Definitely.

9) “The Macra Terror” by Ian Stuart Black

The TARDIS lands on a human colony world where everyone appears to be happy but they have been brainwashed by the crab-like Macra who are forcing them to mine a special gas.

Anything that can be described as ‘1984 but with giant crabs’ is pretty much the best thing ever. The Macra Terror is an amazingly cheesy amazingly fun adventure. It’s something that could’ve very easily been ruined by the effects (and still can honestly, no full episodes survive) but with dark enough lighting and bleepy enough music the production team manage to make the monsters work against all odds. Everything other than the main attraction is a bit traditional and safe, but it’s also notable for Ben’s role, who now had to stand out against Jamie when they could easily be written as the same character (*cough* Geoffrey Orme *cough*). Ben is the only one fully taken over by the Macra’s brainwashing and spends most of the story on the enemy side with brief returns to his sanity in order to help his friends.

8) “The Invasion” by Derrick Sherwin

The travellers land in London where they agree to help find computer scientist Professor Watkins and discover Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is also investigating disappearances.

Though The Web of Fear introduced the Brigadier, The Invasion introduces UNIT and is pretty much a little taste of the Third Doctor’s era, and in a lot of ways is the Cybermen story his era is missing. The title really sums it up, it’s just a classic invasion story. The Cybermen are on Earth for the first time and stomp through the streets of London, showing up even the Daleks. However, throughout the first half of the story they’re hidden in the shadows and the main villain is Tobias Vaughn, a cunning megalomaniac who’s planning to swindle his alien allies and rule the world himself. He’s a fantastic character and really steals the show, even in the Cybermen’s half. At eight episodes long The Invasion is somewhat of a drag in the middle, but its all worth it to see some of the Second Doctor’s most classic stuff.

7) “Fury from the Deep” by Victor Pemberton

The TARDIS lands on the sea near the coast of England. Reaching the shore by dinghy, the Doctor investigates a gas pipe and is concerned by the sound of a heartbeat from inside.

The Doctor is in a base again. There’s a monster. The humans don’t believe the monster exists. Cue the monster terrorizing the base. By this point in Troughton’s run you’re really worn out on these kinds of stories. Everything is against Fury from the Deep, so it’s really surprising that it manages to be so well-made and enjoyable. It’s a fantastic story using a lame formula. Yeah, it sucks that it’s using a lame formula, but that doesn’t make it not fantastic imo. Everything about this story - the camerawork, characters, soundtrack (it’s bleepy but oh well) and how the plot intertwines with Victoria’s departure - is very, very well done. It doesn’t really have that spark to make it a favourite, but this is undeniably a gem and shouldn’t be overlooked.

6) “The Web of Fear” by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria discover that Yeti have invaded the London Underground

This is the quintessential 2nd Doctor story in my opinion, summing up all his era pretty well. Monsters, cramped sets, and suspense. It’s also known for being probably the most memorable episode of the 60s; ask any British 50+ year old about this show and they’ll probably mention ‘that one about the Yeti in the underground’. It’s not at the absolute top of my list, but I still recognize it as a classic. By far its strongest feature is its set design and direction (probably Douglas Camfield’s best work, which is saying a lot). It’s lit like a 1930s horror film, the sets are so realistic the London Underground themselves thought they were filming on location without permission, and pretty much every other shot is brilliantly done, will catch your eye and stick with you. Once again: an essential watch.

5) “The Power of the Daleks” by David Whitaker

The TARDIS arrives on the planet Vulcan, site of an Earth colony where the Doctor is mistaken as an Examiner from Earth who has been summoned to investigate a suspected rebellion.

You’d expect the first regeneration to be a huge deal, but no. Aside from a few minutes in the TARDIS and Ben and Polly’s reactions, The Power of the Daleks instead chooses to thrust you straight into a compelling story, which really works. After all, if there’s a way to convince people the man they’re watching is still the Doctor, it’s having him face the Daleks. And as a Dalek story, this is top notch. Daleks work best when they’re debilitated and force to scheme and manipulate. There are so many classic moments; personal favourite being Episode 2′s cliffhanger of the Dalek chanting “I AM YOUR SERVANT” while the Doctor pleads with the colonists to destroy them. The guest cast are fantastic as well, all caught up in their politics or desire for power when it’s only a matter of time until the exterminating starts...

4) “The Enemy of the World” by David Whitaker

After arriving in Australia, the Doctor is mistaken for a scientist called Salamander who is regarded as a hero. But some believe he is intent on being dictator of the world...

The Enemy of the World has gotten a LOT of praise ever since it was rediscovered, proving that missing episodes are probably 20x better than you actually think they are. I thought Enemy was great even when it was still missing, but yeah, seeing it in action really does it justice. The highlight is obviously Troughton’s dual role - he’s so good as the nefarious Salamander that you easily forgive his weird Mexican accent. The direction is also absolutely amazing, it’s done exactly like an American action series with great production values that shines brightest at the end where the Doctor and Salamander actually appear on-screen together (in 1968!) and have a showdown in the TARDIS. Absolute classic.

3) “The Evil of the Daleks” by David Whitaker

In pursuit of the stolen TARDIS, the Doctor and Jamie visit an antique shop owned by Edward Waterfield where they are transported back in time to 1867.

This would probably be my pick for the best Dalek story of the show (after all, Genesis is more about Davros, right?). Originally intended to write the Daleks out of the show and fuck what a one to (not really) go out on. Here they truly feel like calculating inhuman abominations, helped by Theordore Maxtible, one of the most fun human villains in the series. The concepts explored are amazing. There’s adventure, horror, drama, comedy, and one of my favourite things, fantasy and sci-fi mixed together in a great way, something which Doctor Who does regularly but not usually to this level of amazingness. Admittedly there’s one or two faults but who the hell cares when the good stuff is this good.

2) “The War Games” by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke

The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to the battlefields of World War I but once they are captured it starts to become clear that things aren't quite what they seem.

The big finale for the Second Doctor and 60s Who in general, The War Games pulls out all the stops. It’s one of the most beloved stories of the series and is easy to see why. It starts fairly typical - a historical setting with something not quite right. From this starts a 10 episode epic where more and more layers of the story are slowly revealed, you meet more and more allies and villains, and it all culminates in the reveal of the Doctor’s backstory, the Time Lords, and his prosecution and exile. In unappreciative eyes its a great story, in appreciative eyes it’s a real masterpiece. You really can’t overstate its status.

1) “The Mind Robber” by Peter Ling

Escaping a volcanic eruption, the Doctor takes the TARDIS out of normal time and space but Jamie and Zoe are lured into a white void populated only by robots and illusions.

Ayyyy it’s my absolute favourite story. I have a hard time talking about The Mind Robber, I think its because of two reasons. One, I don’t think I can do it justice. Hearing about it makes it seem amazing, yeah, but you really gotta actually experience it to fully understand just how wonderful it is. Two, it’s kinda hard to be critical and talk about its flaws. It ticks literally every box with me, black-and-white surrealist fantasy (with a lil psychological horror thrown in for good measure). I think it’s debatable whether it’s the best Troughton but hey, this is my list damn it.

...Last time I added a quote at the end of my #1 spot, but there’s not any quotes from this story that really give a similar feeling. Instead I’ll link this scene, which sums up the whole story pretty well.