Past Seasons: Classic Who

[Llywela]

Up next is The Time Monster, which is one of the only Third Doctor stories that I haven't seen yet.

Oh, that one is absolutely bonkers. Fun - I like it, for all kinds of stupid reasons - but absolutely bonkers!

[tv-talk]

The Curse of Peladon was bloody wonderful. It's nice to finally get Three away from Earth for a bit

 

 

Agreed, I've come to find that's definitely my thing with 3. So much time spent on Earth doesnt really do it for me and there are so many instances where he is basically alien James Bond. I much prefer the off-Earth stories and really like Peladon as well.

[HauntedBathroom]

The Myrka?  That was the one in Davison's story ("Warriors of the Deep").  That's the one where somebody does the world's most eccentric karate chop against the thing.  I want some of whatever the production team was on when they made that story.

The Myrka suit had only been painted half an hour before it got to the studio, so the paint was still wet. The only explanation for Ingrid Pitts karate chop is that she and the director were both high on the fumes wafting off the costume.

[Ringthane]

I do like Pertwee's run.  For some odd reason, "The Mutants" through "The Three Doctors" are some of my favorite stories.  Of course, my first exposure to Doctor Who was...

 

"Horns of Nimon". 

 

So that may have something to do with it. 

 

(I'm not kidding.  The first time I ever saw DW was when I was around 11, and my parents let me stay up to watch it.  It was on WTTW, the Chicago PBS station, and the first story I saw was "Horns of Nimon".  I got to see that one through "Full Circle" before I had to go back to school and couldn't stay up so late on Sunday nights.  That was back before we even had a VCR.  The first story I was able to videotape and watch the next day?  "Inferno".  I suppose it could have been worse - my first story could have been "Time and the Rani".)

[Lokiberry]

My first Doctor Who story was The Masque of Mandragora. I wasn't entirely sure what the hell was going on. I stuck with it, and came to love Four. I was quite put out when he regenerated into Five (this was back in the 80's pre-internet, so my understanding of regeneration was a bit sketchy). Eventually, I came to love him too. Then there was, Six (the less said about him, the better), and then Seven and Ace, both of whom I also loved. Along the way, my PBS station aired all the existing DW stories.

 

I miss those good old days: two hours, from 8 to 10 pm, every Saturday, of Doctor Who (occasionally interrupted for pledge drives). It's always seemed fitting to me that NuWho airs on Saturdays too.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Lokiberry

[Ringthane]

For me it was always Sunday night, at 11PM.  Saturday night was Blakes 7 night.  Actually, Sunday night was an awesome night for TV on PBS in Chicago, as they had Monty Python at 10, Dave Allen at Large at 10:30, and Doctor Who at 11.  Then The Two Ronnies was on after Doctor Who (and I believe Image Union after that).  Plus Masterpiece Theatre with Alastair Cooke at 9.  So pretty much from 9 to whenever PBS went off the air (shows how old I am that I was around for TV channels signing off for the night), that was what our upstairs TV was tuned to.

 

Another thing I remember from those days is when I got my first Target novelisations.  The first ones I got were "Horns of Nimon", "Leisure Hive", and "Full Circle".  About a month later, my grandmother got me "Dalek Invasion of Earth".  At that time I didn't know about renegeration, or that Tom Baker was the fourth Doctor.  So I had no idea who the old guy with white hair they were calling the Doctor was.  Or who the companions were.  I thought they'd made some kind of mistake, or maybe the Doctor was like James Bond, and different people used the title. 

 

Somewhere in my basement I still have every Target novelisation, plus pretty much all of the special books, like Peter Hainings books, the Companions book, all kinds of things...  Between that and my pretty much complete collection of Star Trek novels, I'm probably sitting on a real goldmine.

[BK1978]

I cannot remember the first Doctor I was exposed to.  My father watched it and I would say either the fourth or fifth Doctor was the first one I saw on a regular basis.  The only Doctors that I did not really enjoy watching all that much was the first and the sixth.  I found a lot of the first Doctor's shows to be boring.  As for the sixth, well I honestly cannot remember why I disliked him as it has been years since I watched any of his episodes but I do remember not liking his version.

 

My favorite out of the original Doctors would probably be the second Doctor.  Granted I did not much of the second Doctor but I enjoyed how he was a more comedic Doctor.  I am probably one of the only people who actually enjoyed War Games (Yes there were episodes that did drag on in the middle).

[Llywela]

I couldn't tell you the first Doctor Who I was exposed to, either - except that I was born during the Robots of Death serial, so I'd guess anything from then on! My Mum was a fan, so Doctor Who was always on in our house. Saturday teatime, BBC, Doctor Who - it was almost a religious routine. Still is - I was there last night and left just as the household were settling down to the latest episode (which I didn't want to watch)! The first serial I have definite memories of is Logopolis, when Tom Baker turned into Peter Davison - I'd have been four when that aired. After that, patchy memories become more and more definite until you hit the McCoy era, which was my era, when I was old enough to be properly hooked and a fan in my own right. We collected Target novelisations (my brother now has custody of those) and had as many VHS releases as we could afford, so I got to know the older Doctors via those - and then later there were UK Gold reruns on Sunday mornings. I can't remember a time when Doctor Who wasn't part of my life.

 

My favorite out of the original Doctors would probably be the second Doctor.  Granted I did not much of the second Doctor but I enjoyed how he was a more comedic Doctor.  I am probably one of the only people who actually enjoyed War Games (Yes there were episodes that did drag on in the middle).

 I've hung around Doctor Who fandom long enough to know that The War Games is considered a classic, one that most people enjoy despite its length, even those who aren't so keen on the 2nd Doctor. I certainly enjoy it myself.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Llywela

[tv-talk]

I too was a Saturday night PBS Doctor fan. There was something perfect about watching the show so "late" given it was scary for kids (occasionally) and a bit creepy. The very first entire serial I saw was Genesis of the Daleks which of course completely hooked me onto the Doctor permanently. Looking back feel pretty luck that was my first episode! Definitely was upset with Logolpolis, had no idea the Doctor would actually "die" and become someone else. At first couldnt stand Davison just because he wasnt Baker but quickly got over that and into the real swing of what the show is about. Baker, Davison, Baker...that was prime Who for me.

[John Potts]

The first story I have any memory of was The Robots of Death (Tom Baker - Four/Louise Jameson - Leela) which considering it came out when I was four, I'm rather surprised my parents let me see it (this is well before we had a video, so it would have to be live). It is one of my favourite stories, too (I have seen it since) - just the right mix of "Behind the sofa" scares and mystery. Though the first Season I remember is 2 years later, The Key to Time (Tom with Mary Tamm/Romana I) when I'd reached the grand age of six - I particularly remember a technician wanting to cut off Romana's head because he wanted to get a look at the workings (thinking she was an android - she looked just like the Princess IIRC so he assumed somebody had made a duplicate. This being amore innocent time - and going out at teatime on Saturday - it was not suggested this was for any lascivious purpose, which I'm sure the modern day series would allude to!).

 

(And I love the fact that if you type "Robots of..." into Google it's the third option!)

[SnideAsides]

Oh, that one is absolutely bonkers. Fun - I like it, for all kinds of stupid reasons - but absolutely bonkers!

I agree that The Time Monster is absolutely bonkers, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing. To me, it kind of felt like they came up with the TARDIS-in-a-TARDIS sight gag and built the first four episodes around it, then realised they needed to fill two more episodes so tacked on an actual visit to Atlantis to go with the rest of the Greek-mythology nods. Add on Pertwee's mugging at its most insufferable yet and it's not a story I'll be rushing to rewatch once this marathon is over.

 

But up next is The Three Doctors (you may have heard of it), which I'm quite looking forward to.

[Llywela]

I agree that The Time Monster is absolutely bonkers, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing. To me, it kind of felt like they came up with the TARDIS-in-a-TARDIS sight gag and built the first four episodes around it, then realised they needed to fill two more episodes so tacked on an actual visit to Atlantis to go with the rest of the Greek-mythology nods. Add on Pertwee's mugging at its most insufferable yet and it's not a story I'll be rushing to rewatch once this marathon is over.

See, I like it for reasons unconnected to plot. I enjoy the character dynamics and interactions. I enjoy the guest characters Ruth and Stuart. I enjoy the UNIT dynamic - including a very rare instance of the Brigadier losing his cool when it looks like Yates and a bunch of their men have just been blown up. I enjoy seeing Benton using his brains to outwit the Master (albeit briefly) (and then being turned into a baby). I enjoy Jo bantering with the Doctor (although there are also occasions when I long for her to slap his patronising face!) and arguing with the Master and making the hard choices when the Doctor can't. There's plenty to appreciate in a story like this, even if the plot is completely bonkers.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Llywela

[HauntedBathroom]

The Time Monster is a wonderful snapshot of what some men in the 70s thought a feminist was. What with this, and Sarah's first year, it''s clear that Terrance Dicks thought that the little ladies should stay stupid and look pretty. Well, look at the ever gormless Jo!

[Llywela]

The Time Monster is a wonderful snapshot of what some men in the 70s thought a feminist was. What with this, and Sarah's first year, it''s clear that Terrance Dicks thought that the little ladies should stay stupid and look pretty. Well, look at the ever gormless Jo!

Why does The Time Monster make you think that? Because it features a lady scientist who isn't afraid to speak out? I do agree that male writers of Doctor Who in the '70s had fairly limited ideas of what feminism meant, but at least they were trying - it's easy to look back now and fail to recognise how progressive the show could be at times (just compare it with other TV being made at the same time, instead of with modern TV). Not perfect, perhaps - but it still isn't! As recently as Clara there have been moments where it is clear the (male) writer thinks he's making a stand for feminism but has actually missed the point completely.

 

I disagree that Jo was gormless - she may not have been as academically bright as some companions, but she made up for it with courage and strength of will and saved the Doctor a bunch of times. And while Sarah's feminism may be largely of the 'written by a man' variety, as a character she is full of spirit, intelligence and humour. I'll take both of them over Clara, any day.

[MDKNIGHT]

My first doctor was 4 and I got to see him years ago live.  Ironically selling tickets to see someone read "A Christmas Carol"  is STILL a thing which I found very amusing years later when the Show had Eccleston's Doctor run into Dickens himself doing it.  And yes, Tom's reading was awesome.  At that appearance he answered questions from the audience afterward and was accompanied by Sophie Aldred (Ace).  The thing was , most people including myself did not know who Sophie was because a bunch of affiliates including mine stopped showing the show during Sylvestor McCoy's early run and we hadn't seen him pick up Ace as a companion.  She seemed very nice.  I only got to see most of Sylvestor's run (and the LAST classic ep) years later when I bought all the dvds.

 

And reg upthread yes it was the Myrka that for me wins the hotly contested "worst monster ever on Doctor Who and maybe on anything else ever" award.  It was just Soooo bad. 

 

Regarding DW and feminism...I agree it wasn't great.  They had Jo Grant say the lines "God bless the good ship women's lib and all that sail in her" and they had Sarah Jane talk about women's lib in her first story when she went to medieval times with Jon Pertwee and I felt both scenes were terribly written.  Whenever the subject itself came up on old Who it definitely gave the impression that the writing was making fun of feminism BUT I felt that despite what MAY have been ill intentions on the part of some of the writers and well intentioned blundering on the part of other writers, that the show managed to still move women forward a little.  Liz Shaw was a genius. as was Zoe.  Sure Jo Grant was a moron but she could drive a giant military boat and escape chains. Not everybody is cut out for intellectual persuits and she was brave.  And despite the imperfect way she was written Sarah Jane was a great character.  Leela stabbed a Sontaran, Barbra drove a truck over a Dalek and Ace beat the hell out of a Dalek with a baseball bat.  I think the way I look at it is this...if they (the women of Who) had been really useless they would have stayed HOME.  And if they HADN'T gone roaming with the doctor the universe would have been destroyed many times over because Ami Pond willed the universe back, Clara saved the Doctor  AND Donna Noble saved the WHOLE universe with her typing.  My hope is that before the show goes to the final final end that the Doctor will regenerate into a woman.  The Master did and there is no reason why he couldn't.  Alternately they could spin off Susan (now recast into a different regeneration) since via logic since the Time Lords were NOT destroyed she is out there somewhere or spin off the Doctor's daughter.

[John Potts]

MDKNIGHT it was the Myrka that for me wins the hotly contested "worst monster ever on Doctor Who and maybe on anything else ever" award.

 

 

For my money, that goes to the giant caterpillar-thing from Ark in Space, that looked like an army surplus sleeping bag covered in bubble wrap... because that's probably what it was. But there are many to choose from!

[SnideAsides]

The Time Monster is the one that has a no-nonsense female captain tell Benton to just stay there and look pretty, so... actually, I'm not sure whether this proves or disproves your point.

[Glendenning]

The Time Monster would have been livened up by the Master not just turning Benton into a baby, but into a baby girl! (Ruth checks the nappy: "OH. MY. GOD!")

[SnideAsides]

The Three Doctors, as it (finally) turns out, isn't actually that good? I know I said The Time Monster was a story built around a sight gag, but... Jesus. Once you get past "the Doctor, talking to the Doctor!" there's really not that much here. Sigh.

[Ringthane]

You have to wonder how much different or better it would have been if Hartnell had been well enough to take a larger part in the story.  IIRC, he was supposed to be with Two and Three when they confronted Omega. 

[benteen]

Yeah, The Three Doctors was disappointing.  It's not helped by Omega being the first of several Doctor Who villains who thought the best way to show how evil you are is to SCREAM EVERY LINE OF YOUR DIALOGUE!  The Brigadier is also portrayed at his most stupid in this one.

 

That being said, this story is completely worth it for Patrick Troughton's return to Doctor Who.  He's GREAT here and his interaction with Jon Pertwee is another highlight.  Benton also serves as the Second Doctor's unofficial companion and does very well in that role.

Edited December 3, 2015 by benteen

[caci]

For me it was always Sunday night, at 11PM. Saturday night was Blakes 7 night. Actually, Sunday night was an awesome night for TV on PBS in Chicago, as they had Monty Python at 10, Dave Allen at Large at 10:30, and Doctor Who at 11. Then The Two Ronnies was on after Doctor Who (and I believe Image Union after that). Plus Masterpiece Theatre with Alastair Cooke at 9. So pretty much from 9 to whenever PBS went off the air (shows how old I am that I was around for TV channels signing off for the night), that was what our upstairs TV was tuned to.

Another thing I remember from those days is when I got my first Target novelisations. The first ones I got were "Horns of Nimon", "Leisure Hive", and "Full Circle". About a month later, my grandmother got me "Dalek Invasion of Earth". At that time I didn't know about renegeration, or that Tom Baker was the fourth Doctor. So I had no idea who the old guy with white hair they were calling the Doctor was. Or who the companions were. I thought they'd made some kind of mistake, or maybe the Doctor was like James Bond, and different people used the title.

Somewhere in my basement I still have every Target novelisation, plus pretty much all of the special books, like Peter Hainings books, the Companions book, all kinds of things... Between that and my pretty much complete collection of Star Trek novels, I'm probably sitting on a real goldmine.

[caci]

Ringthane, we must have grown up at about the same time in the same area. Sunday nights were great (at least in the summer when I could stay up). I also have most of the novels. I keep thinking I should get rid of them, but don't have the heart.

[Sharpie66]

Ringthane and caci, me too!  I was born in 1966, started watching Doctor Who on WTTW after I graduated from junior high in 1980 (which was when my mom would let me stay up past 11:00 on a Sunday night--not that she was happy about it, she just said it was up to me if I wanted to be sleepy at school on Monday morning). My older brother and sister were already watching it, so I was able to join them. I had already been watching Monty Python/Fawlty Towers and Dave Allen/The Goodies/The Two Ronnies in the 10-11 slot, so being able to watch Doctor Who was a big thing for me.

 

My sister, a friend of hers, and I all went to a DW convention in Rosemont in 1982, where I met Tom Baker (even gave him a kiss on the cheek!). That was my first con, and it was a blast. A friend of mine and I went to another con at the Blackstone Hotel in downtown Chicago in 1984, but that was a bust. We spent the day wandering the floor and skipped the two featured guests (it was a DW/Star Trek con, so they had George Takei and Mary Tamm, but we didn't want to wait in line for two people we really didn't care much about).

[HauntedBathroom]

Yeah, The Three Doctors was disappointing.  It's not helped by Omega being the first of several Doctor Who villains who thought the best way to show how evil you are is to SCREAM EVERY LINE OF YOUR DIALOGUE!  The Brigadier is also portrayed at his most stupid in this one.

 

That being said, this story is completely worth it for Patrick Troughton's return to Doctor Who.  He's GREAT here and his interaction with Jon Pertwee is another highlight.  Benton also serves as the Second Doctor's unofficial companion and does very well in that role.

 

Yes, The Three Doctors has rather a silly plot, but it's worth it for the Truff waltzing in and stealing Pertwees series out from under his nose.

 

And speaking of the Brig being stupid, I don't think there's anything to top the "Dick Barton theme played on barrel organ" moment when the Brig realises his HQ has been stolen to Cromer.

[caci]

Sharpie66, I went to my one and only convention at the Rosemont. It was so good I honestly didn't want to go to another one for fear of being disappointed. I'm jealous about the Tom Baker meeting. The closest I got to an actor was when Jon Pertwee walked by me in costume and I thought that was pretty exciting!

[Lantern7]

For the record, I've met four Doctors . . . checked off McGann during my first DW con last month. I don't know if I'd go back for a con with a narrow focus, but I got to meet interesting people. Katy Manning hugged me twice and kissed me. Here are the pics.

 

And I like "The Three Doctors." Sure, a healthier Hartnell might have improved the story, but the line about the other two Doctors being "a dandy and a clown!" was funny to me. Talk about self-serve! And I'm cool with Omega, empty head and all. Also liked Pertwee flipping him over. Maybe I'm a softer touch.

[John Potts]

Aww, I like The Three Doctors for its inter-Doctor bickering - of course there is the Fridge Logic of everyone deferring to the First Doctor when he should be the least experienced of them (still, I love his dismissive attitude to his successors).

 

I did meet Tom Baker some time in the 70s - queued up for hours at a book signing. I remember getting Destiny of the Daleks (which he signed) and that he stayed in character the entire time, at least as far as I recall.

[Ringthane]

I remember reading somewhere that the reason that Two and Three defer to Hartnell is because he was the original, and the only one who wasn't a regeneration.  I don't remember where I read it, or why that mattered.

As far as my celebrity encouters go, I've gone to conventions with Tom and Colin Baker, gotten autographs from Sylvester McCoy, and had two near misses - like somebody else, Jon Pertwee walked by me dressed in character at one of my first conventions.  And at another one, I was in the dealers' room, and at the next table was Sally Knyvette from Blakes 7 (I'm a fan of that show too).  I was too shy at the time to talk to her, though.

[SnideAsides]

Carnival of Monsters was... okay. I'm not sure I bought the costumes that look like they were made from licorice allsorts, but the Ogrons were pretty cool (not sure we needed the "they work for the Daleks!" line though) and the plot itself was pretty decent. I've been pretty underwhelmed by Pertwee so far, but this is one of his better stories.

[benteen]

The costumes sucked but I really enjoyed Carnival.  It's probably the most un-Third Doctor story of his entire run.

[SnideAsides]

So now that I've seen Frontier in Space, I'm not sure whether that line about the Ogrons working for the Daleks is good because it stopped the final episode from being a deus ex machina, or bad because it ruined the surprise of the Daleks showing up. The rest of the story worked pretty well for me - it's probably the most visually appealing story we've had for a while, among other things - but I don't know whether I'd have been as interested if I didn't realise as soon as the Ogrons appeared that this was the middle part of a trilogy.

[Llywela]

So now that I've seen Frontier in Space, I'm not sure whether that line about the Ogrons working for the Daleks is good because it stopped the final episode from being a deus ex machina, or bad because it ruined the surprise of the Daleks showing up. The rest of the story worked pretty well for me - it's probably the most visually appealing story we've had for a while, among other things - but I don't know whether I'd have been as interested if I didn't realise as soon as the Ogrons appeared that this was the middle part of a trilogy.

If they did it today, we'd call it foreshadowing and be pleased to have a common thread (of sorts) pulling the standalone adventures together. This was an early attempt at something of the sort.

[SnideAsides]

That's true, and it was a much better attempt at a story arc than, say, the last two seasons of NuWho, but my thought is... like, I'm assuming people in 1973 didn't know the next story was a Dalek story, so to add a new element in Part Six of a story that already had a decent amount of padding seemed weird to me.

[benteen]

I know Terrance Dicks wanted to do a twelve-part story in the vein of The Daleks Master Plan for Frontier in Space and Planet of the Daleks but was talked out of it by the executive producer because of how long the shooting would be and having the various guest stars under contract.

[HauntedBathroom]

Also Barry Letts asked John Wiles, the producer of Daleks Master Plan, if a 12 episode Dalek story was a good idea, and was told very clearly "NO!!!!"

[Lantern7]

During one New York Comic Con, I was interviewed by BBC America about Doctor Who. Normally, I'm camera-shy (looks AND voice issues), but they were giving away DVDs for participation. I got the biggest one I could get my hands on . . . the "Dalek War" two-pack. Took me forever to get around to watching "Planet Of The Daleks." Also, it's a bummer that "Frontier In Space" was the last we saw of Roger Delgado as The Master. From what I heard, there was going to be a climatic battle between the Master and Jon Pertwee's Doctor, but Delgado was killed in a car crash. I imagine something even bigger than the swordfight in "The Sea Devils," albeit on an early 70s budget.

 

PS: My interview never made it on BBC America. I think I got the better of the deal.

[benteen]

Yeah, supposedly Delgado would have returned for the Third Doctor's final story and given his life to save the Doctor's.  But he had passed on and we got Planet of the Spiders.  I just saw that today and despite some flaws, I enjoyed it.  An excellent regeneration scene at the end.

[SnideAsides]

Planet of the Daleks is... there, I guess, but it's not particularly overwhelming or underwhelming. I don't think there was enough story there to sustain six episodes - there was barely enough when they used it to fill the final two episodes of The Chase - but it wasn't really that bad. By the end I was mostly watching for the hilariously shitty special effects though. How do you build a forest indoors? Put a green velvet sheet with some glitter on it in the background, apparently. Probably a good idea to frame the shots so they don't show the wall above it, though. Just a suggestion.

 

The Green Death, on the other hand, didn't really work for me. I don't mind a weird plot, but mining giant radioactive maggots was a touch too far. I was kind of sad to see Jo leave, but she did kind of stay too long so I can't really say I'm disappointed. And with that, I only have five Pertwee stories left to deal with. :)

[benteen]

The weird, snarky robot in The Green Death amused me.

[SnideAsides]

Highly intelligent thoughts on The Time Warrior ahead: SARAH JANE! SARAH JANE! (And I guess Sontarans too. But SARAH JANE!)

 

Invasion of the Dinosaurs is a much more complex story than I was expecting. It sort of seems like they realised either the early-1970s special effects for the dinosaurs wouldn't hold up or that they couldn't sustain a whole story on the idea of dinosaurs in London, and I really enjoyed the whole idea of the fake spaceship beneath the city. It's just bonkers enough to be wonderful without being, you know, the Racnoss.

[SnideAsides]

Death to the Daleks is pretty much a story that was set up to fail. Firstly, and most obviously, that title is the same sort of shitty grab-for-attention as Let's Kill Hitler. Secondly, the Daleks themselves are completely superfluous, which is really bizarre coming off of what was basically an eighteen-part epic last season. Third, the Doctor's story is basically an even less exciting version of The Celestial Toymaker (wow at the final cliffhanger being "the Doctor sees a pattern on the floor"), while Sarah Jane's is the same kind of class-warfare thing we've already seen quite a few times in the past. And yet... it almost works? Not a classic, but not completely terrible either? Weird.

[Ringthane]

The paint scheme on the Daleks in "Death to the Daleks" is my favorite of all of them - silver and black.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Ringthane

[benteen]

I just finished this season recently.

 

I really enjoyed The Time Monster.  The only pseudo-historical of the Pertwee era.  You get a LOT of first here, the most important of which is the introduction of Sarah Jane (who is terrific as always).  It's also the first appearance of The Sontarans and the Doctor's homeworld receives a name, Gallifrey.  Linx makes the Sontarans interesting and I like his interaction with Irongron...it's kind of a twisted version of the Doctor and Brigadier relationship.

 

I enjoyed Invasion of the Dinosaurs too, despite the awful dinosaur effects.  The last true UNIT episode of the Pertwee era, with Mike Yates getting a very interesting storyline.  Interesting fact, the first episode of IOTD was for many years the only episode of the Pertwee years that was lost.

[SnideAsides]

Last two Pertwee stories! The Monster of Peladon is not quite as good as the original Peladon story - I love Alpha Centauri, but its voice is just too grating after a while, and the plot is really just "stay out of caves, kids" again - but it's still one of the better stories I've watched so far. Unfortunately, I really, really did not like Planet of the Spiders. I don't know whether I was just expecting too much after The Tenth Planet and The War Games or whether the story really is too hard to take anywhere near as seriously as the show intends, but... eesh.

 

Current story ranking (best to worst, subject to change):

The War Games, Day of the Daleks, The Tenth Planet, Terror of the Autons, The Time Meddler, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Edge of Destruction, The Power of the Daleks, The Aztecs, Frontier in Space, The Curse of Peladon, The Mind Robber, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Enemy of the World, The War Machines, The Monster of Peladon, The Crusade, The Daleks' Master Plan, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Faceless Ones, The Time Warrior, The Reign of Terror, The Sea Devils, The Moonbase, The Underwater Menace, Carnival of Monsters, The Keys of Marinus, Planet of Giants, The Seeds of Death, The Daleks, The Rescue, The Gunfighters, The Space Museum, The Mutants, Spearhead from Space, Planet of the Daleks, The Evil of the Daleks, The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Chase, The Myth Makers, Colony in Space, The Ark, The Dominators, The Invasion, The Web Planet, Marco Polo, The Green Death, The Macra Terror, The Web of Fear, The Ambassadors of Death, The Three Doctors, Galaxy 4, The Wheel in Space, Death to the Daleks, The Time Monster, The Space Pirates, 100,000 BC, Inferno, The Sensorites, The Romans, Planet of the Spiders, The Krotons, The Mind of Evil, The Highlanders, The Smugglers, The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve, The Daemons, The Savages, The Claws of Axos, Mission to the Unknown, Fury from the Deep, The Celestial Toymaker

 

Current companion ranking (same thing):

Barbara, Ben, Sarah-Jane, Steven, Liz, Jo, Zoe, Polly, Jamie, Vicki, Sara, Dodo, Ian, Katarina, Susan, Victoria.

[SnideAsides]

Robot is... well, I assume Godzilla parodies weren't nearly as prevalent in 1974 or whatever year it is we're up to, so I'm not going to hold the lack of inventiveness against it. But I am already liking Tom Baker much more than I ever really liked Pertwee, so the next little while should be fun.

[benteen]

Robot is... well, I assume Godzilla parodies weren't nearly as prevalent in 1974 or whatever year it is we're up to, so I'm not going to hold the lack of inventiveness against it. But I am already liking Tom Baker much more than I ever really liked Pertwee, so the next little while should be fun.

 

"You may be a Doctor but I'm The Doctor.  The definite article you might say."

 

Tom Baker definitely make an immediate impression as the Fourth Doctor and we are officially introduced (the Brig name-dropped him in the previous story) to Harry Sullivan, an underrated companion.  This was also a really good episode for The Brigadier and his double-take in response to the Doctor's "the rest were all foreigners" comment is classic.

 

This was more of a Third Doctor story with Unit's involvement (and this was intentional) but that's just fine.

Edited December 29, 2015 by benteen

[HauntedBathroom]

Robot is... well, I assume Godzilla parodies weren't nearly as prevalent in 1974 or whatever year it is we're up to, so I'm not going to hold the lack of inventiveness against it. But I am already liking Tom Baker much more than I ever really liked Pertwee, so the next little while should be fun.

 

It's a King Kong rip, but yes, Baker blows Pertwee off the screen amazingly fast. That's probably the reason why Pertwee didn't care for him.

[SnideAsides]

That makes sense. Like, it's not that I ever hated Pertwee, because I didn't, it's just that the character he was playing wasn't really the Doctor.

 

Speaking of bad, though, The Ark in Space. Blergh. "There's no air in here!" YES THERE IS DOCTOR YOU JUST OPENED THE FUCKING DOOR. The Sontaran Experiment was good though, but even for a two-episode story it felt kind of short for what it was trying to accomplish. I've kind of stopped following the behind-the-scenes drama as I make my way through the show, but it feels like these two were replacements for a six-episode story that didn't wind up happening? Like, Ark is pretty much four episodes in an empty spaceship set the BBC probably already had lying around (I know that curved walkway that gets shown a couple of times turns up again later in the show's run, so I assume it would have already existed before this) and Experiment is just two episodes in a random field. Not exactly the sort of things that require a lot of preparation.

[benteen]

They were probably saving money for the next two story arcs.