This time round, it's Season 6 versus Season 15. Both see companion departures, and the Time Lords show up for the finale. Both seasons suffered from the problem of last minute collapsing scripts, though Robert Holmes manages to get two stories included.
Season 6 is Patrick Troughton's last season as the Doctor, and the last one to be made and broadcast in B&W. It is also the only one of Troughton's seasons for which we still have the majority of episodes. There are two episodes missing from The Invasion, and we only have a single instalment from The Space Pirates, but otherwise everything else is retained in the archives.
The season comprises The Dominators, The Mind Robber, The Invasion, The Krotons, The Seeds of Death, The Space Pirates and The War Games. Companions throughout are Jamie and Zoe, who will depart with the Second Doctor at the season's close.
Many dislike The Dominators. It's not great, but neither is it terrible. It benefits from being reduced from 6 to 5 episodes, in the same way that The Mind Robber benefits from gaining an episode. Part One is one of the best Doctor Who episodes - a self contained instalment featuring only the regular cast and a few stock robot costumes, set in the TARDIS or on a plain white void. The following four episodes take us into the realms of fantasy (last visited in The Celestial Toymaker). Fans of the Cybermen get the 8-part epic The Invasion. The Cybermen don't actually turn up until the end of Part Four, but we have the excellent Kevin Stoney to enjoy as the human villain Tobias Vaughn. He's one of the series' greatest villains. This story also introduces UNIT and the Brigadier, and helps set up the Pertwee era. The Krotons, like the opening story, isn't highly regarded but again it isn't terrible. It's not bad for a first attempt by Robert Holmes. He gets a quick invite back for the space operatic The Space Pirates, which is rather dull. Perhaps if we could see it it might be better regarded, but we have to make do with one episode and the soundtrack. there aren't even any telesnaps and very few photographs were taken on set. Between the Holmes stories is The Seeds of Death - a very good Ice Warrior story, and the last monster story of the B&W era.
Finally we get to The War Games. Even the writers admit that there was rather a lot of padding to get it up to its 10-part length. This is mainly a lot of capture / escape in the WWI time zone. Things pick up in the second half when there's more emphasis on the War Chief and the aliens behind the games. Critics accuse it of being nine episodes of just waiting around for the Time Lords to arrive. Part Ten is a very special episode, giving us the Doctor's background, set on his home planet.
The stories are Horror of Fang Rock, The Invisible Enemy, Image of the Fendahl, The Sun Makers, Underworld, and The Invasion of Time. The companion is Leela, in her final year, and robotic dog K9 gets introduced.
Considering it's a late replacement Horror of Fang Rock is a very effective little horror story, with a small cast in a claustrophobic setting. All the supporting characters meet their doom. The Invisible Enemy is the first sign of where Williams wants to take the series - into the realms of space opera. (Star Wars was just around the corner). Image of the Fendahl is almost a Hinchcliffe-Holmes story. The Sun Makers was Louise Jameson's favourite story - a satire on the UK tax system by a disgruntled Robert Holmes. Underworld suffered most from lack of budget, with much of the action taking place using CSO. It's based on a Greek legend (Jason an the Argonauts) which is a sign that Anthony Read has arrived as the new script editor. Finally, The Invasion of Time was a last minute page one rewrite after another story collapsed. The decision was made to have a sequel to The Deadly Assassin, as Williams loved the Time Lords, and the sets and costumes were readily available. What should be an epic finale is let down by the location work at a disused mental hospital, and Leela's abrupt, out of character, departure.
Of the two, I must plump for Season 6 over Season 15. We have good outings for classic monsters - Ice Warriors and Cybermen - as well as new creations the Quarks, White Robots and Krotons. There's the wonderful performance of Stoney as Vaughn as well, and the humanoid villains of The War Games - the War Chief, the War Lord and the Security Chief.
Season 15 has its good points - The Sun Makers and Horror of Fang Rock for me, but others are very weak, let down by poor production values thanks to the budget restraints and industrial action. Williams was offered the option of cancelling Underworld and using the time and money on The Invasion of Time, but he declined - not wanting to fail to complete his first season. Maybe if he hadn't taken that decision, and given us a better 5 story season, this might have been better regarded.
Companions depart at the conclusion of both seasons - and that of Jamie and Zoe is so much better handled than that for Leela and the original K9.
As we are about the half way point, a quick summary of the rounds so far: 5 beat 9, 11 beat 26, 13 beat 19, 25 beat 3, 12 beat 20, 17 beat 16 and 7 beat 23.
Next time, it's Season 8 versus Season 21.
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