Joseph's Classic Doctor Who Reviews

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Joseph's Classic Doctor Who Reviews, one day i shall come back, yes i shall come back

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JosephBoone View member profile	26th August 2018, 02:21 PM Post #1
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	I think it's pretty well established by now that I'm a massive Doctor Who fan, although it's been almost exclusively limited to the modern 2005 onwards series. Until recently I'd seen only a handful of episodes from the 1963 to 1989 run (plus the 1996 TV movie), but I'm finally branching out and buying all of the classic DVDs. I'm going to post some of my thoughts along the way in here to document my feelings as I watch through them all! If we have any more classic Who fans here, please feel free to chip in. Below is the list of classic episodes, colour-coded with the episodes that I've watched. I saw a few aired on Watch about 10 years ago but I've opted not to colour-code them as I'm not familiar with them and am intending to re-watch properly with the DVDs. I am not watching the episodes in any particular order, but hopefully I will have watched every available episode by the end! (re. the missing episodes, if there's are animated / reconstructed versions available to complete a serial, I've not marked it as missing. As long as I'll be able to watch in full somehow then I'll be getting around to watching it!)


JosephBoone View member profile	26th August 2018, 02:21 PM Post #2
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	KEY: Watched \| Not watched \| Missing First Doctor (William Hartnell) Season 1 (1963 – 1964) 1 An Unearthly Child 2 The Daleks 3 The Edge of Destruction 4 Marco Polo 5 The Keys of Marinus 6 The Aztecs 7 The Sensorites 8 The Reign of Terror Season 2 (1964 – 1965) 1 Planet of Giants 2 The Dalek Invasion of Earth (review) 3 The Rescue 4 The Romans 5 The Web Planet 6 The Crusade 7 The Space Museum 8 The Chase 9 The Time Meddler Season 3 (1965 – 1966) 1 Galaxy 4 2 Mission to the Unknown 3 The Myth Makers 4 The Daleks’ Master Plan 5 The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve 6 The Ark 7 The Celestial Toymaker 8 The Gunfighters 9 The Savages 10 The War Machines Season 4 (1966) 1 The Smugglers 2 The Tenth Planet Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) Season 4 (1966 – 1967) 3 The Power of the Daleks 4 The Highlanders 5 The Underwater Menace 6 The Moonbase 7 The Macra Terror 8 The Faceless Ones 9 The Evil of the Daleks Season 5 (1967 – 1968) 1 The Tomb of the Cybermen 2 The Abominable Snowman 3 The Ice Warriors 4 The Enemy of the World 5 The Web of Fear 6 Fury From the Deep 7 The Wheel In Space Season 6 (1968 – 1969) 1 The Dominators 2 The Mind Robber 3 The Invasion 4 The Krotons 5 The Seeds of Death 6 The Space Pirates 7 The War Games Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) Season 7 (1970) 1 Spearhead From Space (review) 2 Doctor Who & The Silurians 3 The Ambassadors of Death 4 Infero Season 8 (1971) 1 Terror of the Autons 2 The Mind of Evil 3 The Claws of Axos 4 Colony in Space 5 The Dæmons Season 9 (1972) 1 Day of the Daleks 2 The Curse of Peladon 3 The Sea Devils 4 The Mutants 5 The Time Monster Season 10 (1972 - 1973) 1 The Three Doctors 2 Carnival of Monsters 3 Frontier in Space 4 Planet of the Daleks 5 The Green Death Season 11 (1973 - 1974) 1 The Time Warrior 2 Invasion of the Dinosaurs 3 Death to the Daleks 4 The Monster of Peladon 5 Planet of the Spiders Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) Season 12 (1974 - 1975) 1 Robot 2 The Ark in Space 3 The Sontaran Experiment 4 Genesis of the Daleks (review) 5 Revenge of the Cybermen Season 13 (1975 - 1976) 1 Terror of the Zygons 2 Planet of Evil 3 Pyramids of Mars 4 The Android Invasion 5 The Brain of Morbius 6 The Seeds of Doom Season 14 (1976 - 1977) 1 The Masque of Mandragora 2 The Hand of Fear 3 The Deadly Assassin 4 The Face of Evil 5 The Robots of Death 6 The Talons of Weng-Chiang Season 15 (1977 - 1978) 1 Horror of Fang Rock 2 The Invisible Enemy 3 Image of the Fendahl 4 The Sun Makers 5 Underworld 6 The Invasion of Time Season 16: The Key to Time (1978 - 1979) (review) 1 The Ribos Operation 2 The Pirate Planet 3 The Stones of Blood 4 The Androids of Tara 5 The Power of Kroll 6 The Armageddon Factor Season 17 (1979 – 1980) 1 Destiny of the Daleks 2 City of Death 3 The Creature from the Pit 4 Nightmare of Eden 5 The Horns of Nimon 6 Shada Season 18 (1980 – 1981) 1 The Leisure Hive 2 Meglos 3 Full Circle 4 State of Decay 5 Warriors’ Gate 6 The Keeper of Traken 7 Logopolis Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) Season 19 (1982) 1 Castrovalva 2 Four to Doomsday 3 Kinda 4 The Visitation 5 Black Orchid 6 Earthshock 7 Time-Flight Season 20 (1983) 1 Arc of Infinity 2 Snakedance 3 Mawdryn Undead 4 Terminus 5 Enlightenment 6 The King’s Demons Special (1983) 1 The Five Doctors (review) Season 21 (1984) 1 Warriors of the Deep 2 The Awakening 3 Frontios 4 Resurrection of the Daleks 5 Planet of Fire 6 The Caves of Androzani Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) Season 21 (1984) 7 The Twin Dilemma (review) Season 22 (1985) 1 Attack of the Cybermen 2 Vengeance on Varos 3 The Mark of the Rani 4 The Two Doctors 5 Timelash 6 Revelation of the Daleks Season 23: The Trial of a Time Lord (1986) 1 The Mysterious Planet 2 Mindwarp 3 Terror of the Vervoids 4 The Ultimate Foe Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) Season 24 (1987) 1 Time and the Rani 2 Paradise Towers 3 Delta and the Bannermen 4 Dragonfire Season 25 (1988) 1 Remembrance of the Daleks 2 The Happiness Patrol 3 Silver Nemesis 4 The Greatest Show in the Galaxy Season 26 (1989) 1 Battlefield 2 Ghost Light 3 The Curse of Fenric 4 Survival Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) TV Movie (1966) 1 Doctor Who


JosephBoone View member profile	26th August 2018, 02:22 PM Post #3
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	The Five Doctors Special Episode Starring: Peter Davison (Fifth Doctor), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka) and Mark Strickson (Vislor Turlough) Special Guests: Richard Hurndall (First Doctor), Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor), Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor), Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor), Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot), Caroline John (Liz Shaw), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), John Leeson (voice of K-9) and Lalla Ward (Romana II) Enemy: Borusa, The Master, Cybermen, Daleks, Raston Warrior Robot, Yeti I'm gonna start off with an episode I actually know quite well. I've had The Five Doctors on DVD for many years and I've watched it a few times, so I know it rather well. The 20th anniversary celebratory episode of Doctor Who was the only episode of the classic era not to be assigned to a season, as well as being aired in only one part. It brought together the first five Doctors... sort of. William Hartnell had passed eight years before, so Richard Hurndall was brought in to star as the First Doctor instead. Meanwhile, Tom Baker refused to return so soon after his departure, so the Fourth Doctor and Romana II feature in footage from the incomplete serial Shada. The plot revolves around the Death Zone on Gallifrey, as previous Doctors and companions are picked up by a time scoop and dumped there. The Fifth Doctor notices the disruption to his timeline and lands the TARDIS there too. They all make their way towards the tower, meeting various enemies along the way - old foes like the Daleks and Cybermen, as well as new alien the Raston Warrior Robot. The Master is summoned to help the Doctor by the Time Lords, in return for a new set of lives. As they reach the tower, Lord President Borusa is revealed to be wanting to become the President Eternal of Gallifrey, needing to gain immortality from the tomb of Rassilon. The main aim of The Five Doctors is to celebrate 20 years of a hugely popular TV show for the BBC, and whilst it doesn't quite work out as planned (mostly due to Tom Baker), it's still a brilliant summation of everything that has come so far. Cameos galore from old companions helped add to the nostalgic feel too. Criticisms could be made for what's quite a paper-thin plot, but I don't think it has a negative bearing on the episode because it serves its purpose so brilliantly.


Klaus View member profile	26th August 2018, 02:43 PM Post #4
❤️❤️➕🟦 Joined: 3 June 2012 Posts: 22,246 User: 17,160	Oooo very intrigued for this thread, even if it just ends up being me and you here! I’ve seen all of them aside from The Space Museum - The War Games inclusive (although seen The Gunfighters, The Tomb of the Cyberman and The Seeds of Death) which i’m catching up on now! On the top of my head, favourites include: The Daleks, The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Dæmons, Planet of the Spiders, Genesis of the Daleks, Terror of the Zygons, The Android Invasion, The Robots of Death, The Talons..., The Sun Makers, City of Death, Snakedance, Remembrance of the Daleks and The Curse of Fenric! The Five Doctors is one of the few I’ve seen multiple times because it’s the most natural to watch coming into the world of classic-Who due to having (nearly) all the first 5 Doctors and lots of companions there as well as multiple monsters AND having the Time Lords and the Master! It perhaps is a bit cheesy, but you have to take it as it is... a celebration! And it celebrates the show very well although not too strong a story on its own.


ElectroBoy View member profile	26th August 2018, 05:19 PM Post #5
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 26 February 2007 Posts: 14,289 User: 3,002	Excellent thread Also of all the Classic Who stories you've seen - The Twin Dilemma The Five Doctors was the first ever VHS i owned of Who so is probably my most watched story! Obviously not the best, but fun and does its job well This post has been edited by ElectroBoy: 26th August 2018, 05:20 PM


JosephBoone View member profile	26th August 2018, 05:51 PM Post #6
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	QUOTE(ElectroBoy @ Aug 26 2018, 06:19 PM) Excellent thread Also of all the Classic Who stories you've seen - The Twin Dilemma The Five Doctors was the first ever VHS i owned of Who so is probably my most watched story! Obviously not the best, but fun and does its job well I actually just watched The Twin Dilemma as I was making the thread! I've heard a lot about its reputation and was keen to watch to see if it lived up.... I might have to make it my next review while it's fresh in my mind :')


King Rollo View member profile	26th August 2018, 06:06 PM Post #7
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 3 January 2017 Posts: 10,155 User: 23,961	Jon Pertwee was the Doctor when I first started watching the programme so I remember being so pleased to see him back for The Five Doctors. I haven't seen that story since it was first broadcast so I can't remember much about it.


ElectroBoy View member profile	26th August 2018, 06:24 PM Post #8
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 26 February 2007 Posts: 14,289 User: 3,002	QUOTE(JosephAvery @ Aug 26 2018, 06:51 PM) I actually just watched The Twin Dilemma as I was making the thread! I've heard a lot about its reputation and was keen to watch to see if it lived up.... I might have to make it my next review while it's fresh in my mind :') Haha Twin itself isn't great, but what they tried to do with the Sixth Doctor was brave... but it didn't work and the story just is poor, especially for a new Doctor. Colin gives it some though! I don't think it helps Caves comes before it which is superior in just about every way This post has been edited by ElectroBoy: 26th August 2018, 06:27 PM


Klaus View member profile	26th August 2018, 06:31 PM Post #9
❤️❤️➕🟦 Joined: 3 June 2012 Posts: 22,246 User: 17,160	The Doctor should just never be so cold/grumpy/blunt/angry etc in that way. I really don’t get why they tried to do it again with Capadli, it nearly ruined his Doctor when he showed signs of being great in Series 10. Hartnell shows tiny examples of some of those qualities but its also met with the caring nature towards Susan and also there’s so much joy/fun in parts!! It really balances it out.


ElectroBoy View member profile	26th August 2018, 06:33 PM Post #10
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 26 February 2007 Posts: 14,289 User: 3,002	I don't mind a grumpy Doctor and I like the growth in Capaldi as he mellowed out so much throughout the 3 years; same with Harntell.... and Pertwee too Strangling a Companion is the bridge too far for me


JosephBoone View member profile	27th August 2018, 12:58 PM Post #11
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	The Twin Dilemma Season 21, Story 7 (4 parts) Starring: Colin Baker (Sixth Doctor) and Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) Enemy: Mestor Here we go then. A story that is widely considered to be one of, if not THE worst Doctor Who story ever. Although I've not seen it yet, it follows the acclaimed episode The Caves of Androzani which sees Fifth Doctor Peter Davison regenerate into his sixth incarnation, played by Colin Baker. The Twin Dilemma sees the Sixth Doctor struggle with the post-regeneration side effects. He's erratic and acting very out of character - selfish, violent and even sexist. It's easy to see from the TARDIS scenes between the Doctor and Peri in episode 1 why this isn't particularly well liked. I don't see any problem in changing the Doctor's character traits between regenerations, it means each Doctor can stand out and play their own take on the role. However, they hugely overshot the mark with Colin's Doctor. A brilliant and enthusiastic actor was wasted from the start on an incarnation that was instantly very unlikeable. It's the wrong sort of contrast following what we saw before - even if the earlier Doctors had their snappy moments, they were all very likeable no matter what. It's a miracle that Peri doesn't actually give up on the Doctor actually. He's selfish and full of himself, and even tries to strangle her (in possibly the biggest WTF moment I've seen in Doctor Who so far). It's horrible to see how he treats his friend and it's exactly what Doctor Who isn't about in my opinion. I love to watch the Doctor and his friend(s) having fun exploring the universe. Different dynamics between the different incarnations and companions is important but that fundamental aspect got lost here. This is before we even get to the actual plot of The Twin Dilemma. It's actually not as offensive as the TARDIS scenes in episode 1, it's just quite uninteresting. There's nothing much to say and I must admit it lost my attention on many occasions because there just wasn't anything exciting. Nothing happens to redeem the Doctor's behaviour and he continues to be full of himself. It's strange to think that this was added to the end of season 21 to give the audience a taste of their new Doctor in a full adventure before the break between seasons, but with an episode like this, it probably did more harm than good.


ElectroBoy View member profile	27th August 2018, 01:59 PM Post #12
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 26 February 2007 Posts: 14,289 User: 3,002	If you want to continue your masochist watch of the worst of the classic series maybe go for Time-Flight or Underworld next. Joke. Watch something decent


JosephBoone View member profile	27th August 2018, 02:04 PM Post #13
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	QUOTE(ElectroBoy @ Aug 27 2018, 02:59 PM) If you want to continue your masochist watch of the worst of the classic series maybe go for Time-Flight or Underworld next. Joke. Watch something decent I don't actually have either of them on DVD yet so I'm spared I've got The Dominators on now for my first Troughton episode (excluding the multi-Doctor stories)


ElectroBoy View member profile	27th August 2018, 02:32 PM Post #14
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 26 February 2007 Posts: 14,289 User: 3,002	QUOTE(JosephAvery @ Aug 27 2018, 03:04 PM) I don't actually have either of them on DVD yet so I'm spared I've got The Dominators on now for my first Troughton episode (excluding the multi-Doctor stories) Starting from the bottom upwards with each Doctor


DalekTurret32 View member profile	27th August 2018, 04:12 PM Post #15
FIVE YEARS OF THE TURRET 15-20 Joined: 12 March 2015 Posts: 4,754 User: 21,666	Sad to see that a lot of the Hartnell and Troughton episodes are lost. If only there was someone who still had these missing episodes kept in his/her old VCR.


Calum View member profile	27th August 2018, 07:19 PM Post #16
nabad Pronouns: he/him Joined: 13 February 2013 Posts: 28,363 User: 18,316	Love this thread . This is something I definitely need to start doing soon - I've never really been inclined to go back and watch all of the Classic stories. I do own a fair few on DVD (mostly from Pertwee and Tom Baker's eras), however I haven't even made my way through them yet. I do feel like Pertwee's era is the one that I'd want to watch the most as what I've seen of him has been incredible (The Claws of Axos being a real stunner of a story!), so I might try and build up a collection of that and then make my way through everything else. I've seen a few Tom Baker stories too (notably The Robots of Death which was fantastic and The Sontaran Experiment which was at the complete opposite end of the scale ).


JosephBoone View member profile	28th August 2018, 07:28 PM Post #17
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	The Key To Time Season 16 Starring: Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor), Mary Tamm (Romana I) and John Leeson (voice of K-9) Enemy: - Graff Vynda-K (The Ribos Operation) - Xanxia and the Captain (The Pirate Planet) - The Ogri and Cessair of Diplos (The Stones of Blood) - Count Grendel (The Androids of Tara) - Kroll (The Power of Kroll) - The Black Guardian and the Shadow (The Armageddon Factor) I'm gonna group all of these together because I have very similar feelings on most of them actually. Season 16 was Tom Baker's fifth season as the Doctor, and producer Graham Williams' second in charge. Williams decided to take a different approach this time, giving the entire of season 16 a subtitled name of The Key to Time, linking to a story arc tying every episode together. As we see in the opening scenes of The Ribos Operation, the White Guardian asks for the Doctor's assistance in finding all of the pieces of the Key to Time, scattered around the universe in disguised fragments. The Doctor is paired with Time Lady Romana for the mission, and alongside K-9, they hunt for all six pieces. A lot of the episodes fare very similarly in my affections - good, but not great. It doesn't help that most of them focus mostly on human villains as opposed to the aliens that Doctor Who is so famous for, with foes like the Daleks and Cybermen nowhere in sight. Human (or aliens that look identical to humans) villains are fine, but I like more variety! The Ribos Operation, The Pirate Planet and The Power of Kroll are all pretty fun but none make it especially high up my affections and watching each story in one viewing saw me lose interest nearer the end of each. The Stones of Blood had some great twists and turns throughout and I really enjoyed the scenes with the Megara in particular. The Androids of Tara kept my attention more although Mary Tamm playing two roles (plus their androids) was quite confusing at times and The Armageddon Factor was a pretty great conclusion, I enjoyed the use of the time loop and the twist at the end about the White Guardian actually being the Black Guardian was superb, although re-scattering the pieces of the Key to Time sorta rendered the entire season pointless For Mary Tamm's sole season as Romana, I thought she was great. Romana proved a great ally for the Doctor as well as an equal in terms of knowledge, even outsmarting him at times. Perhaps not best when the companion is supposed to be the audience identification figure, but Romana nevertheless still asked plenty of questions so the Doctor could explain, like you'd normally expect. It was also my first proper experience of K-9 in the classic series and I loved him, just like I have in his new series/SJA appearances. A great best friend for the Doctor and both intentionally and unintentionally funny.


Klaus View member profile	31st August 2018, 06:39 PM Post #18
❤️❤️➕🟦 Joined: 3 June 2012 Posts: 22,246 User: 17,160	The Key to Time makes for an odd series as there's no classic stories there really, and no classic monsters (either new or old)! I find The Ribos Operation a bit doll and The Power of Kroll falls short with its ambition. I really enjoy the rest of the stories though, particularly the madness of The Pirate Planet (what a beautifully bonkers idea from Douglas Adams!). I love the supporting characters in The Stones of Blood but the monsters are a bit crap. The Android Invasion does androids better but still an enjoyable watch! Romana Mark I is a bit of duller companion when compared to Jo, Sarah Jane and Leela that came before her, and Mark II that came after her but she does bring the glamour


ElectroBoy View member profile	31st August 2018, 06:49 PM Post #19
BuzzJack Platinum Member Joined: 26 February 2007 Posts: 14,289 User: 3,002	I like Romana 1 mainly as she has such a cool air about her which I think cuts Tom's humour well.


JosephBoone View member profile	2nd September 2018, 03:49 PM Post #20
you never forget your first time... Pronouns: he/him Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,685 User: 13,530	The Dalek Invasion of Earth Season 2, Story 2 (6 parts) Starring: William Hartnell (First Doctor), Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman), Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) and William Russell (Ian Chesterton) Enemy: Daleks This was the first black and white episode I watched in my marathon and I was a little sceptical. Perhaps it's because I've always known colour TV - I'm 21 years old so was born long past the end of black and white television, and any I've seen repeated hasn't been through my own choice. However, I went in with an open mind as I always do, and I've ended up with nothing but positive comments to say for The Dalek Invasion of Earth. After the huge success of the Daleks in their first appearance, the comeback was on for the second season and they had a lot of hype to live up to. However, this story becomes an instant classic when you consider shots like the one above - Daleks seen around huge London landmarks, can you get much more iconic? The Daleks are certainly well used, and we see the "exterminate" become solidified as an iconic catchphrase throughout this serial. The Dalek Invasion of Earth also had another task on its hands. Carole Ann Ford had quit her role as Susan Foreman, with this serial being her final appearance. This was the first time a regular cast member quit Doctor Who, so a suitable exit had to be written. It's nicely seeded throughout the episode as Susan becomes close with David Campbell and ultimately stays behind with him. This leads to the Doctor giving one of the most iconic speeches in the show's history - "One day I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine." The serial as a whole proves to be thrilling with plenty happening to keep your attention span. William Hartnell excels as the Doctor and I love what we see of his relationship with Susan (and I'm sure I'll see more of this in older episodes too). Hartnell doesn't actually appear in part 4 after sustaining a back injury, but his absence is well explained and doesn't hinder the plot. Certainly an essential episode to watch!