major_clanger | Best Who stories to showcase each Doctor?

Talking with

attimes_bracing about last night's Doctor Who I noted that Capaldi seems to be consciously channeling some of the actors who played the earliest incarnations of the character, in particular William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee. She asked what would be the best (surviving) stories from each Doctor to showcase the relevant actors' interpretations of the role; since I'm only really familiar with Who from Tom Baker onwards, I thought I'd invite suggestions.

(She's seen Genesis of the Daleks, which is often cited as classic Tom Baker but was very, very early in the role for him, and City of Death, which was nearer the end of his time. What else is seen as really good, and representative, Fourth Doctor? The Talons of Weng-Chiang, if you can overlook the yellowface casting and the awful Giant Rats?)

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From:

murphys-lawyer.livejournal.com

Pyramids of Mars. Classic Gothic, a great sense of world-shaking terror in a very small, very English setting, and some great acting especially from whoever was under Sukteh's mask.

The bit I'll always remember is when the Doctor demonstrates to Sarah-Jane that events in history can be catastophically changed. You really see how it shakes her confidence.

And then of course there's the fez. Fezzes are cool.

From:

lil-shepherd.livejournal.com

Some of the best of the surviving Hartnell are the historicals: The Aztecs is excellent, as is The Romans The Keys of Marinus has a deserved reputation of being thoughtful, while The Web Planet (though the effects are now risable) was astonishing for its time in its depiction of an alien culture.

From:

dalmeny

I also enjoyed The Aztecs and The Romans as well as the then-unrealisable ambition of The Web Planet. But I have to say I didn't enjoy Keys of Marinus due to the plot-coupon storyline.

Most of The Dalek Invasion of Earth is very good. As for Troughton, I'd recommend Tomb of the Cybermen. I'm told Enemy of the World is very good but I haven't seen it.

I'm not a fan of Pertwee, generally speaking, but can recommend Spearhead from Space. Inferno is almost great but is two or three episodes too long.

My other favourite Tom Baker episodes include Seeds of Doom and Brain of Morbius.

From:

major-clanger.livejournal.com

Seeds of Doom is a story I specifically recall hiding behind the sofa from (I would have been seven at the time!) It's pretty much The Thing from Another World meets the TV-series The Avengers, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Edited Date: 2014-09-28 11:56 am (UTC)

From:

swisstone.livejournal.com

Hartnell pretty much hits the ground running, and nearly everything you need to know about him is in "An Unearthly Child". But shout-outs for The Daleks, The Crusade and The Time Meddler.

Troughton: Tomb of the Cybermen. And Web of Fear.

If you want an encapsulation of what the Pertwee era was all about, then Daemons is the serial for you. I do like Inferno, even if it is a bit long, but like all of Season 7, it's a rather different show from what went before and after. Spearhead From Space is the same, plus Holmes (as he later complained) clearly doesn't know who he's writing for, and so writes for Troughton, so for all the story's merits, it doesn't show typical Pertwee. Episode 1 of Day of the Daleks is worth it just to see that, for all that the Third Doctor is criticised for patronising everyone around him, at least, given the opportunity, he also does it to himself.

For Baker, Talons of Weng-Chiang if you can set aside the racism, Robots of Death if you can't. Though I do rate Pyramids of Mars as well (it's a great Sarah-Jane showcase). In fact, the second and third Baker seasons are a wealth of riches, with barely a duffer amongst them (Android Invasion, maybe?). Genesis of the Daleks is great in lots of ways, but suffers from the same problem as Spearhead - Nation is still writing for Pertwee. And City of Death I still think is good, but not that good, and only shines so brightly because of the dross that surrounds it.

From:

a-cubed.livejournal.com

The Time Meddler for Hartnel.

The Tomb of the Cybermen and Enemy of the World for Troughton.

The Curse of Peladon and Monster of Peladon for Pertwee.

The Three Doctors is also good for highlighting the first three.

I have a fondness for The Ark in Space from Tom Baker. The Loch Ness Monster is also interesting when compared with the Day of the Doctor.

For Davison, the Five Doctors and also his finale, The Caves of Androzani.

For Colin Baker, Revelation of the Daleks is one of his better ones. I quite like Vengeance on Varos, but I suspect that's more of an acquired taste. Time lash is interesting for the Pertwee back-reference to a non-existent (from the show point of view) adventure.

I've never liked McCoy on screen. His audio adventures are better. He gets sufficient time to rehearse them and does a decent doctor - he'san actor who needs lots of rehearsal and the budget for the time.

The only McGann worth watching is The Night of the Doctor, though again he's had a good run on Big Finish Audio.

From:

parrot-knight.livejournal.com

I want to suggest The Invasion of Time for Tom, though it's atypical and falls apart as it goes along.

From:

woolymonkey.livejournal.com

I only discovered Who on the reboot so I'm mostly here to scrounge tips - thank you everyone who's made suggestions :)

But as a Who newbie, I can thoroughly recommend The Horns of Nimon when attimes finds herself in need of a good laugh. Had the whole monkey family rolling in hysterics. Have a bottle handy to drink when you hear the words 'Weakling scum!' No intentionally funny DW episode even comes close.

From:

davidwake.livejournal.com

All Doctors are of two parts: Tom Baker was good at the start, less so towards the end; Sylvester McCoy was a dreadful start and brilliant at the end; Paul McGann, marvellous stuff if you press stop just as the 'asian child' goes back into the TARDIS after walking around it.

When I watched all of them I kept a star rating. Five star stories:-

William Hartnell: An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Edge of Destruction.

Patrick Throughton: No actual 5's, but 4's: The Power of the Daleks, The Highlanders, Evil of the Daleks, Tomb of the Cybermen (that should be a 5), Abominable Snowmen, The Web of Fear (that should be a 5 too and Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart arrives).

Jon Pertwee: Planet of the Spiders. (Add the Green Death too)

Tom Baker: The Ark in Space, Genesis of the Daleks, Pyramids of Mars, the Brain of Morbious, the Deadly Assassin, the Face of Evil, Robots of Death, Talons of Weng-Chiang, Horror of Fang Rock (that's five stories in a row), but Logopolis was only 4 stars.

Peter Davison: Kinda only gets a 4, but the best is the classic Caves of Androzani.

Colin Baker: No 5s or 4s. Vengeance on Varos, the Two Doctors as decent 3s.

Sylvester McCoy: Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghostlight and the brilliant Curse of Fenric.

Paul McGann: first 40 minutes or so, then STOP.

Christopher Eccelston: Rose, the Empty Child, the Doctor Dances.

David Tennent: the Girl in the Fireplace, Doomsday, Human Nature, Family of Blood, Blink (run of three in a row), Forest of the Dead (a 2nd part), Turn Left.

Matt Smith: Vincent and the Doctor, the Lodger, the Impossible Astronaut, the Doctor's Wife.... and then I stopped leaving star ratings because I guess that was all they'd made when I did the marathon.

From:

purplecthulhu.livejournal.com

I think for Pertwee you have to have Delgado as the Master, so The Daemons gets my vote.

But The Green Death also has a lot of the spirit of 3, melding Unit, current affairs and some icky monsters.