K.O. Round 1.13

 

This is the final knock-out competition of Round One - Season 2 versus Season 14. Both see the departures of hugely popular companions.

Season 2 has Verity Lambert as Producer throughout, but we have three different Story Editors over the course of its run. David Whitaker hands over to Dennis Spooner for most of the season, but he is replaced by Donald Tosh for the final story.

On screen, there were also big changes this year. Only one of the four regulars who started the season made it to the end - William Hartnell's Doctor.

The first two stories were actually recorded as part of the first season, then held over to launch the new. Planet of Giants makes for a low key beginning. The BBC weren't too keen on it - preferring the following The Dalek Invasion of Earth as a season premiere - but issues with Susan's departure and replacement precluded this. As it was Planet of Giants ended up having two episodes edited into one to to try and make it more exciting.

The new companion, Vicki, made her debut in The Rescue. This and the following historical story The Romans were made a one 6 episode block. The Romans is notable for its comedy elements, especially the farcical third instalment.

The Web Planet was a brave experiment in trying to give us a planet devoid of any human beings. There are four different alien species on screen, all based on insect life. It wasn't an unqualified success, but you have to admire the effort. The Crusade is David Whitaker's second contribution to the season (the first being Vicki's two-part introduction). It is regarded as one of the greatest of this genre, the language almost Shakespearean. From the sublime to the ridiculous... The Space Museum is this season's attempt at a "sideways" story. An excellent first episode gives way to a standard runaround, with fairly bland protagonists. 

The Chase is the second Dalek story of the season. Weaker than its predecessors, it has some feeble attempts at humour, such as a stupid Dalek. It does come good at the end with the battle between Daleks and Mechonoids, plus the departure of Ian and Barbara. Peter Purves plays two different roles, being invited back to play new companion Steven.

Steven was apparently left behind on Mechanus, but he turns up in the TARDIS at the beginning of The Time Meddler. This story introduces the Monk, played by Peter Butterworth, who is another member of the Doctor's own race and has a TARDIS of his own. It's the first of the pseudo-historical stories, in which alien intervention occurs against the backdrop of a period of Earth's history - in this case the events of 1066.

This is the final year for the Hinchcliffe-Holmes partnership, which had been running for the last two years. These had been characterised by an emphasis on horror and the Gothic.

Hinchcliffe would be forced to move on at the end of this season, though Holmes would agree to stay on for a few months and help the next Producer settle in.

There would also be a change in front of the camera, as Lis Sladen would bow out and Louise Jameson would be introduced as the latest companion.

Sladen had intended to leave the series in Season 13, but stayed on as it was hoped that the movie planned by Tom Baker and Ian Marter might finally get off the ground. When it looked unlikely to happen, she agreed to depart midway into this season. She is there in The Masque of Mandragora, which introduces a new wood-panelled TARDIS console room. The setting is an Italian Dukedom in the Renaissance period, and the location filming took place in Portmeirion (famous as the locale for The Prisoner's Village). Sarah spends most of first half of The Hand of Fear possessed by the silicon-based alien Eldrad. At the story's conclusion, the Doctor receives a summons to return home to Gallifrey, and she cannot go with him. It's a terribly sad departure, made more bearable in hindsight as we will get to see her again.

The Deadly Assassin was a controversial story at the time. The Doctor has no new companion - something allowed by Hinchcliffe to try and convince Baker that he needed one. We get our first visit to Gallifrey for many years, but the once god-like Time Lords are now seen to be corrupt politicians, or doddery old men. The Master is brought back in a cadaverous state - so that a future production team could cast their own new incarnation.

Leela is introduced in The Face of Evil, a story which looks at the consequences of a previous visit from the Doctor. Tom Baker didn't like the character of Leela, but was lead to believe that she would only be featuring in three stories.

The Robots of Death is a murder mystery set in a high tech environment instead of a country house. A huge pity that the title gives the game away.

Hinchcliffe's final story is The Talons of Weng-Chiang. It is written by Robert Holmes, and he crams it full of many of his literary and cinema favourites. The Victorian setting provides a backdrop to a story influenced by The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, and Jack the Ripper. The one weak element is a giant rat (inspired by Sherlock Holmes' mention of the giant rat of Sumatra), but at least it isn't on screen too much.

Whilst Season 14 has some highly regarded stories, which usually feature in the upper reaches of every fan poll, my own personal favourite between these two has to be Season 2. When you consider the facilities which they had to contend with, it's amazing what they managed to achieve. I love the variety of the stories and the imagination on show.

Round 2 will feature the following winning seasons - 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 22 and 25. As this is an odd number, I'll permit a close second season to be added back in. This will be Season 21, meaning all the Doctors will be represented. The first contest will be between Seasons 10 and 13.

K.O. Round 1.12

 

A tough one this time, for a 1960's fan like myself especially. 

This round sees the first William Hartnell season compete against his last (which was also Patrick Troughton's first). Season 4 featured Hartnell in only the first two stories, after which Troughton took over for the remainder.

Season 1 comprises An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, The Edge of Destruction, Marco Polo, The Keys of Marinus, The Aztecs, The Sensorites and The Reign of Terror.

The companions throughout are Ian, Barbara and Susan, and behind the scenes the production team was a stable one - Producer Verity Lambert and Story Editor David Whitaker.

We are fortunate in that the vast majority of this season has survived. Only one story is missing in its entirety - Marco Polo - plus two episodes from The Reign of Terror (although these have been animated).

The season balances sci-fi stories with historical ones, including two of the most highly regarded - Marco Polo and The Aztecs. Other than the Daleks, there aren't many aliens on view here - only really the Voord and the Sensorites. The first story has a fantastic opening episode, but even the production team were unhappy with the three episodes which followed - thinking it a weak launch to the series.

The Daleks is such an influential story, but it does show some padding in the second half.

The Keys of Marinus is interesting in that it is a quest story, comprising different segments in different locations, with different threats in each. The Voord are under-utilised, however. We get our first spaceship in The Sensorites, and the titular aliens are better presented than the Voord were.

Season 4 comprises The Smugglers and The Tenth Planet, with Hartnell as the Doctor, and then Power of the Daleks, The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, The Moonbase, The Macra Terror, The Faceless Ones and Evil of the Daleks, with Troughton as the new Doctor.

The companions at the start of the season are Ben and Polly, but they are soon joined by Jamie in The Highlanders. Ben and Polly depart in The Faceless Ones, and we see the arrival of Victoria Waterfield in Evil of the Daleks. The Producer throughout is Innes Lloyd, but Story Editor Gerry Davis departs part way through the final story, replaced by Peter Bryant.

This season includes the first ever regeneration, the first appearance of the Cybermen, the final pure historical story, and two of the most highly regarded Dalek stories. The Cybermen have been introduced to help replace the Daleks, and they are quickly brought back in a story which is almost a rerun of the first, with the Cybermen themselves fully redesigned.  The era of the base-under-siege begins here.

The historical stories are phased out. These are genre-history stories, based more on classic adventure novels than academic history.

This season is particularly badly hit by the episode wiping that went on from 1967 to 1977. The Highlanders was wiped only a month or two after its broadcast. Luckily a lot of what is now missing has been covered by animation, so we can have a relatively good idea of what they might have looked like. Most animations are faithful to the original episodes, although The Macra Terror uses the medium to give us things which could never have been achieved on screen.

Only the two historicals lack episodes or animations, but we do have the soundtracks and telesnaps to go by.

As much as I love Season 1, the winner for me has to be Season 4, mainly because of the wide variety of stories on show. It also benefits from having two Doctors, two Cyberman stories and two Dalek stories - all good ones. Only The Underwater Menace lets the season down, but even that has some arresting images and sound design.

Next time: the final bout of Round 1. Season 2 versus Season 14.

K.O. Round 1.11

This time we have Season 10 versus Season 24, so this shouldn't take long. McCoy fans might want to look away...

Both seasons represent a period of change in the programme, with a companion departure in the final story, and a rogue Time Lord in the first.

Season 10 marks the first big anniversary that the series celebrated. It opened with the first multi-Doctor story, which saw the return of both William Hartnell (his final appearance and the only one in colour) and Patrick Troughton. This was in The Three Doctors, which had as its villain a powerful Time Lord, Omega, and saw the termination of the Doctor's exile to UNIT-based stories. Considering its ingredients, it is handled like a normal four part story and isn't given any special "epic" treatment.

It is followed by the colourful Carnival of Monsters, which combines sci-fi and historical elements.

The following two stories were originally going to be a massive 12-part epic, but the last director to have attempted such a thing advised against this. Instead we get a set-up story featuring the Master and the Ogrons, plus some great new aliens in the Draconians. This is Frontier in Space, and marks the last appearance by Roger Delgado as the Master, before his untimely death.

The Daleks turn up at the conclusion - leading into the second story, Planet of the Daleks.

The season ends with the final "UNIT Family" story, as this is when Katy Manning departs. Jo Grant leaves UNIT to get married at the end of The Green Death. Even non-fans knew "the one with the maggots".

Season 24 is the first to feature Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. After the sacking of Colin Baker, he declined to return for a regeneration so the first story - Time and the Rani - opens with McCoy in Baker's costume, wearing a Harpo Marx wig. It makes for an ignominious start. 

It's a throwback to the Baker era, set up before new script editor Andrew Cartmel has established himself. McCoy looks lost and his performance is rather amateurish, lacking any subtlety.

Cartmel starts to make his presence known with the next story - Paradise Towers - and McCoy starts to settle into the role after that poor start.

These are four-part stories, and the next two are only three episodes apiece. These days the series consists of only 14 episodes, comprising four stories. Season 10 had been 26 episodes in length.

The third story is a real oddity - Delta and the Bannermen - which can't quite work out how jokey or how serious it wants to be.

The series ends with Dragonfire, in which companion Mel departs and Ace arrives - the final part of a jigsaw that will see the series finally getting back on track. But not yet.

It will come as no surprise to learn that I much prefer Season 10 over Season 24. The same would apply to all but the most die-hard McCoy fan. He did make for a good Doctor - but not here - whereas Jon Pertwee was at his height in Season 10, accompanied by Katy Manning as Jo, the UNIT regulars in two of the stories, and Roger Delgado in his final appearance. Daleks, Draconians, Ogrons, Omega, Drashigs and giant maggots beat the Rani, Richard Briers and an Alien knock-off hands down.

Next time: Hartnell's first versus Troughton's first...

KO Round 1.10

 

This time we have the Battle of the Bakers, as Tom's final season goes up against Colin's first.

Season 18 comprises The Leisure Hive, Meglos, Full Circle, State of Decay, Warriors' Gate, The Keeper of Traken and Logopolis. The Blu-ray box set for this season also includes the K9 Special A Girl's Best Friend.

This is the first season to be produced by John Nathan-Turner, and when you watch The Leisure Hive following The Horns of Nimon, it is very much a case of the shock of the new. New incidental music, re-arranged theme music, new titles, and a new costume for Tom Baker. The latter, with its question marks on the collar, is turned into a uniform - one of the big mistakes of the JNT era. The ditching of Dudley Simpson is another. This season contains a lot of what JNT got right, and a lot of what he got wrong. The opening few minutes of Hive is one long tracking shot across Brighton beach, passing colourful bathing tents before settling on the TARDIS. The Doctor's snores get louder as we move towards his ship. As an opening, it is both brave, and boring.

Meglos is a definite throwback to Season 17. We then get the first of two trilogies - the one set in the pocket universe of E-Space. Full Circle was written by a 17 year old and is one of the highlights of the season. The Marshmen looking like the Creature from the Black lagoon were not his idea. New companion Adric is introduced. A promising character, but badly played and he will never be properly developed. State of a Decay is a vampire story - a left-over script from Season 15 by Terrance Dicks.

Warriors' Gate looks good, but it is a triumph of style over content, as there is a lot to confuse. Romana and K9 depart.

The Keeper of Traken marks the beginning of the next trilogy, which reintroduces the Master and sets up the ending for the Fourth Doctor in Logopolis. Tom Baker's departure after seven years hangs like a pall over the whole season, often lending a funereal atmosphere.

The K9 adventure sees the return of Sarah Jane Smith. It proved to be a failed pilot for a K9 series. It is very hard to judge from this what such a series might have looked like.

Season 22 is the only full traditional-style season which Colin Baker got to appear in. 

On paper it ought to have been a classic - Cybermen, Sontarans, the Master, Daleks and Davros all making an appearance. There's also a great new alien in Sil, and a new rogue Time Lord - female this time. To cap it all, we have the return of the Second Doctor and Jamie.

That it failed was due to a number of factors - excessive violence, an unlikeable Doctor, an annoying Doctor / companion relationship, over-reliance on continuity and some shoddy production values.

The stories are Attack of the Cybermen, Vengeance on Varos, The Mark of the Rani, The Two Doctors, Timelash and Revelation of the Daleks.

The Cyberman story is a sequel to Resurrection of the Daleks, and to just about every other Cyberman story. For those who like continuity references, this is the one that shows the dangers of taking them too far. Varos is one of the best Colin Baker stories with a great new villain in Sil. Unfortunately the Doctor and Peri don't turn up until halfway through the story - a real problem which besets this entire season. It's as if Script Editor Eric Saward much prefers the rest of the characters, and can't really be bothered with the TARDIS and its occupants. Mark is another historical story which would have worked better had the Rani been left as sole villain, Instead we get the Master shoe-horned in as well, and this totally unbalances the story.

The Two Doctors ought to have been a classic story, but it the direction is pedestrian, the Sontarans badly redesigned, the foreign location irrelevant, and the two Doctors are kept apart until the last few minutes. It is also overlong. Its own writer - Robert Holmes - hated it, as he had been forced to abide by one of JNT's infamous shopping lists of elements. Timelash has a two word anagram that is highly appropriate...

Revelation manages to just about save the set. It isn't perfect - it's another story where the Doctor and Peri needn't have bothered turning up. It's the best story of the Sixth Doctor era - but not the best Sixth Doctor story, if you see what I mean. That would be Varos, once Baker actually gets to be involved.

It was during The Two Doctors that the BBC attempted to cancel the show - instead placing it on temporary hiatus following popular outcry. The main reasons given were: cost, a feeling the show was well past its sell-by date, the failure of the 45 minute episode format, and the levels of violence.

I may have been knocking it, but my favourite of these two seasons is actually the Colin Baker one. It tries so hard to be liked, and you have to thank it for that, even if it fails a lot of the time. 

I find the Tom Baker one just a little bit more boring. I think I resent the changes too much as well. Saward's predecessor had a habit of sucking all the fun out of the series, so determined was he to include proper science. The irony was that he came up with some seriously stupid science of his own - like time loops that you could just talk your way out of.

K.O Round 1.9

This round sees Season 8 up against Season 21.

Season 8 was the first to be made entirely by the Barry Letts / Terrance Dicks partnership. The previous year had been set up by Peter Bryant and Derrick Sherwin, so Letts' hands had been tied. He didn't like the restriction to Earth or the seven episode story lengths. This year he got more stories, by reducing the episode count, and managed to find a way of getting the Doctor back into outer space. And a regular villain was introduced - a Moriarty to the Doctor's Holmes, and the Brigadier's Watson. The Master appeared in every story, which Letts and Dicks quickly came to regret as it became too predictable for the viewer. Letts took on the role of producer with a number of conditions - one of which was that he could get to direct the odd story. he does this on the season opener Terror of the Autons. Something else Letts intended was experimentation with the latest VFX techniques. He was a great champion of CSO (Colour Separation Overlay, as the BBC called it).

Autons stands out for the number of shots per episode, as well as the use of CSO to replace backgrounds - with the unfortunate result that Mrs Farrell appears to have a kitchen half a mile long. As well as introducing Roger Delgado's Master, we also get Katy Manning as Jo Grant, and Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates.

The Mind of Evil is notable for its prison setting, armed ambushes and convict gangs - brutally realistic ingredients for a family fantasy show. The monster is kept well down in the mix, so these harder elements are more prominent.

The Claws of Axos is another four-parter, and another very bright, colourful story. The Axon monsters are a great design. Director Michael Ferguson shared Letts' interest in experimenting with new VFX techniques.

Colony in Space got the Doctor back onto an alien planet, thanks to the clever idea of the Time Lords occasionally using the Doctor as their unofficial agent, thus managing to keep the exile in situ. This was the first story to be directed by Michael E Briant.

Finally, we get The Daemons, co-written by Letts using a nom de plume. Thanks to the mix of Paleolithic archaeology, paganism and black magic, set against the backdrop of a quaint English village that has the Master for its vicar, this one is a cast, crew and fan favourite.

Apparently, had Peter Davison known how good Season 21 as going to be he might have been tempted to change his mind about leaving. He hadn't enjoyed Season 20 very much - even though it was supposed to be the big anniversary year.

It doesn't get off to the best of starts. On paper, Warriors of the Deep should have been a classic, what with the return of both the Silurians and the Sea Devils, and a base under siege. There was also a new dinosaur-like monster, called the Myrka. The realisation was awful, however. Overly lit sets that should have been dark and dank, a pantomime horse Myrka, poorly redesigned Silurians and Sea Devils, a couple of dreadful guest performances, and messed up continuity.

The Awakening was the last of the old two-part stories, and it has obvious inspiration in a story from Season 8 - The Daemons. Quaint English village, ancient buried alien evil, and a church blowing up at the end. Frontios was written by former Script Editor Christopher H Bidmead and gave the character of Turlough some much-needed character development.

When Peter Davison announced his departure, it was decided that companions Tegan and Turlough would also depart. Janet Fielding did not want her departure overshadowed by that of the star, so she elected to leave first, in Resurrection of the Daleks. This was the rearranged 20th anniversary Dalek story. This saw the return of Davros, who would be played by Terry Molloy until the end of the classic series. The body count in this story is higher than The Terminator.

It was Mark Strickson's turn to leave in Planet of Fire, which also saw the introduction of new companion Peri Brown. Writer Peter Grimwade's shopping list also included the Master and a foreign filming locale - Lanzarote. It was then time for Davison to depart, in the highly regarded The Caves of Androzani. It has often topped polls, and never been excluded from any Top Ten.

But then we go from the sublime to the ridiculous. Producer JNT decided to introduce the new Doctor in the last story of the season, rather than have the audience wait for the start of the next.

If Caves tops polls, The Twin Dilemma tends to sit obstinately at the opposite end.

A difficult decision this one. Season 8 has the creation of the UNIT Family, the introduction of the Master, and The Daemons. Season 21 has The Caves of Androzani.  Caves isn't quite enough to see off a whole season of Roger Delgado, so I am going to declare Season 8 the victor. The first and last stories of 21 also drag it down.

Next time, it's a battle of the Bakers - Season 18 versus Season 22.

K.O. Round 1.8

 

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.

If Season 6 marks an ending, Season 15 lies at the exact mid-point of Tom Baker's seven year reign as the Doctor. It is the first season to be made after the departure of producer Philip Hinchcliffe, though Robert Holmes has stayed on for a bit to help new producer Graham Williams settle in. Two of the stories maintain a Hinchcliffe-Holmes horror movie feel, and another is a direct sequel to one of their most Gothic of stories. The others demonstrate Williams' wish to move away from horror movie tropes to embrace rockets and robots Sci-fi.

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.

K.O. Round 1.7

 

This ought to be a quick one, as it is Season 7 against Season 23 - two of the shortest seasons as far as number of stories go. Season 7 is a full 28 episodes, but comprises only four stories, and technically Season 23 is just a single story, albeit one 14 episodes long.

Season 7 sees a number of firsts - Jon Pertwee becomes the Doctor, the programme moves to colour, and there is a format change, in that the Doctor is now exiled to Earth, without the use of his TARDIS. There is a clean break with Season 6 as companions Jamie and Zoe have also left, so we have a new assistant in the form of Liz Shaw, a scientist. The only connection with the past is the return of Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart of UNIT (last seen in The Invasion). 

There are changes behind the scenes as well, as Derrick Sherwin produces only the first story, with Barry Letts taking over for the remaining three (though he is inheriting Sherwin's commissions). Terrance Dicks remains, however, as Script Editor.

Spearhead From Space is written by Robert Holmes, and sees the introduction of Liz as companion, and the Nestene and Autons as the monsters. the story - and Pertwee - benefit from strike action at the BBC. The story is made on film and on location, rather than on video in studio, so it looks great - and this type of filming was more familiar to Pertwee, who had very little TV experience.

The Silurians is the first of his stories to be made in studio, though there is a sizeable amount to location work as well. This story is by Malcolm Hulke, as a response to concerns that the new format might only deliver alien invasions or mad scientists. The Silurians are already on Earth - its original inhabitants. Like the Autons, the Silurians would prove so successful that they would still be going strong in the second decade of the 21st Century.

The Ambassadors of Death had a very troubled gestation - and this shows in its disjointed nature (a brand new villain turns up out of nowhere halfway through the story). The story is credited to David Whitaker - his last - but there is very little of his work left after rewrites by others, mainly Hulke.

Finally we get Inferno - often appearing in Top 10 polls as the fan-favourite Pertwee story. The story is best remembered for its alternative universe episode, where the UNIT regulars get to play evil versions of themselves.

If Season 7 has a problem, it is the seven episode format which Sherwin imposed on it. Spearhead is a more comfortable four episodes long, but the other three stories are stretched to seven for budgetary reasons (only three lots of sets, costumes and guest artists required for 21 episodes). 'Padding' is necessary - a plague sub-plot in The Silurians, a space mission in Ambassadors, and that alternative universe in Inferno.

Season 23 had been carefully set up, on the model of Season 22, when the upper echelons of the BBC decided to put the programme on hold. It was really an attempt to cancel it by stealth, but the public outcry meant that it was announced it was only on hiatus for one year - the money required for extending the TV day, and a new soap opera.

What had been planned included potential return appearances by the Celestial Toymaker, Sil, the Rani, Ice Warriors, the Master and the Tractators. With the series on trial by the BBC, it was decided to tear up the planned stories and start afresh with a single storyline, in which the Doctor would be put on trial by the Time Lords (again). The season was drastically reduced to just 14 episodes. The trial would be broken down into sub-sections - pieces of evidence based around Dickens' A Christmas Carol (elements from the Doctor's past, present and future). 

Robert Holmes wrote the opening four episodes, usually known as The Mysterious Planet. This reworked elements of his very first story, The Krotons. Philip Martin brought the popular villain Sil back in Mindwarp, which saw the Doctor and Peri visit his home planet. This story ended with Peri's apparent demise. Pip & Jane Baker then contributed Terror of the Vervoids - an adventure from the Doctor's future where he was now travelling with Melanie Bush (played by Bonnie Langford). Holmes was then to have wrapped the story up in episodes 13 and 14, but sadly died before he could complete Part 14. An argument over this final episode between producer (JNT) and Script Editor (Eric Saward) spilled over into the public domain as Saward quit and let all his frustrations with JNT be known. The Bakers had to step in and write a new concluding episode.

The public were not impressed by Trial of a Time Lord, and not were the BBC. The most prominent victim was Colin Baker, whose contract was not renewed for a fourth year.

Two periods of transition - one intended and successful, the other unplanned, and ultimately a failure. Season 23 is a poor one, no matter what way you look at it, whilst Season 7 contains a much better standard of writing, and of performances. There was only ever one possible outcome for this particular contest - the Pertwee season beats the Colin Baker one hands down.

K.O. Round 1.6

The latest Classic Era season knockout competition sees a pair of consecutive Tom Baker seasons battle it out. Both are also Graham Williams seasons. Both feature Romana as companion - though we have a different incarnation in each. 

Season 16 was the Key to Time season. This had been Producer Graham Williams' first idea on taking on the job - a series of linked stories providing a season long story arc. On taking up the post, planning on Season 15 was already too far advanced, so he had to wait until this one to put his idea into practice. The stories comprise The Ribos Operation, in which the Doctor is given his mission to locate the six segments of the Key to Time, as well as a new companion to help find them. There then follows The Pirate Planet, The Stones of Blood, The Androids of Tara and The Power of Kroll. The arc comes to an end with The Armageddon Factor. Unusually, only one of the stories this year takes place on Earth (and even then half the episodes see the Doctor trapped on a spaceship).

The first half of Stones is quite good, but the spaceship stuff is inferior. Tara is just a rehash of The Prisoner of Zenda - and isn't altered enough from the source material. Kroll will be done far, far better when it comes to Peter Davison's last story.

Despite this, the season is also rather light on alien monsters, preferring humanoid villains. David Fisher writes two consecutive stories, which means we have some strong female characters for a change. The Taran Wood Beast costume is terrible, and a communications problem between director and VFX means that the Kroll puppet isn't properly integrated into the filming, but apart from that there are no serious problems with the visuals. Performances are fairly solid throughout. If there's a criticism, it's that the series is rather a dull one, which is let down by its conclusion. When the success of the entire season depends on the climax to an individual story, that's a serious problem.

Season 17, on the other hand, has some dreadful performances, and some really bad VFX. One director ended up being replaced mid-job, and to top it all the final story of the season was cancelled. Tom Baker was being over-indulged. The new Script Editor was Douglas Adams, who had been involved in that unsatisfying conclusion to the previous season.

The season kicked off with Destiny of the Daleks - a sequel to Genesis of the Daleks, and featuring the return of Davros. It should have been the highlight of the era - but things went awry. The Daleks were in a terrible state of repair, as was Davros' mask, whilst the ones on location were clearly lightweight copies. Terry Nation forgot that his creations weren't robots.

The next story, however, was a bit of a gem. City of Death regularly features in Top Ten polls of the series. Clever, witty, great performances and no naff SFX to let it down. It was written by Adams and Producer Graham Williams, after a David Fisher script fell through. Fisher did contribute the next story - The Creature From The Pit. An OK story on paper, it included a monster almost impossible to realise on screen. The following story was the one which lost its director - Nightmare of Eden. It was also great on paper, but let down by poor performances, bad SFX and a dodgy monster costume. The same could be said about The Horns of Nimon, which prematurely ended the season. Its broadcast close to Christmas led to obvious comparisons with pantomime. What should have followed was Shada. This was to have ended the participation of Adams and Williams, but was cancelled a third of the way through production due to strike action. We can see what it would have looked like as all the location filming had been completed, plus one third of the studio work. We'll include it here, as we allowed The Five Doctors to form part of Season 20.

Which season do I prefer? Well, Season 16 is better produced, has the proper K9, and makes for a more satisfying whole - but I also think it's a bit dull. Season 17 is all over the place, has an inferior K9, but has the greater imagination. It might fail in places, but at least it tried. 17's Romana is more watchable than 16's incarnation. Finally, City of Death helps swing things in favour of 17.

K.O Round 1.5

 

The latest instalment of our knockout competition sees Season 12 versus Season 20.

A very difficult one this, as Season 12 is Tom Baker's first as the Fourth Doctor, accompanied by Sarah and Harry, in stories involving Daleks, Cybermen and Sontarans.

Season 20, on the other hand, is an anniversary one - the last time the classic era of Doctor Who could be called truly popular. Stories involve elements from the past in each, including Omega, the Mara and the Black Guardian.

Season 12 comprises Robot, The Ark in Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks and Revenge of the Cybermen. It was originally intended that the season would end with Terror of the Zygons, but this was held back so that Season 13 could be launched earlier than planned. This is why Harry remains as a regular companion over the break, only to leave at the conclusion of the first story of the next season. The season is unusual in having two producers across its run. King Kong inspired Robot was the last story to be produced by Barry Letts, and was made as part of the Season 11 recording block. It's a UNIT story and very much a hangover from the Pertwee era. The Hinchcliffe-Holmes era really starts with The Ark in Space, which is where we get our first proper look at Tom's Doctor. This was the first story where Robert Holmes, as script editor, had to step in and write a story himself almost from scratch, after the original plan fell through. The Sontaran Experiment is a rare two part story, by Bob Baker & Dave Martin. It was decided to reduce the number of six parters, and so one of these was split in two - the two part Sontaran story, which would use the external filming allocation, and the four part Wirrn story, that would take the studio allocation. As it was, the Sontaran story, featuring Kevin Lindsay once again as the alien, used Outside Broadcast video cameras instead of the usual 16mm film cameras. Genesis of the Daleks, like the rest of this season, was commissioned by Letts and Terrance Dicks. Terry Nation had attempted to sell them the usual Dalek run-around, but Letts suggested an origins story for a change. This story introduces Davros, who'll dominate the Dalek stories for the rest of the classic era, and is the most explicit in showing the Nazi inspiration for the Daleks. Revenge of the Cybermen was the first Cyberman story in colour - the first since 1968. They hadn't been used at all during Pertwee's tenure, apart from a near miss on Frontier in Space and a cameo in Carnival of Monsters. This was written by Gerry Davis, their creator, but heavily reworked by Holmes. Three of this season's stories were the work of writers from the 1960's - as an early version of The Ark in Space was originally a submission by John Lucarotti.

It's therefore a backwards looking season - or a nostalgic one if you prefer. We wouldn't see an alien line-up like this again until Colin Baker's first season, when he would also meet Cybermen, Sontarans and Daleks in the same year. Hinchcliffe and Holmes preferred to create new villains, and favoured a strong single representative of the species for the Doctor to interact with, rather than massed ranks of them.

Backward looking is something that could also be said of Season 20, but this was a big anniversary year. It was never intended that each story would feature an element from the series' past. This just happened by accident, and was noticed by fan adviser Ian Levine. Once he'd pointed it out to the producer, it was added to the publicity and made to look planned from the outset.

The season opens with Arc of Infinity, then we have Snakedance, Mawdryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment, and The King's Demons. Like Season 12, the intended series finale - a Dalek story - was pushed back, in this case due to industrial action. As it was the 20th Anniversary story, and likely to be included in the Season 20 Blu-ray box-set when it arrives, we will include The Five Doctors in this season.

Arc of Infinity should have been a classic - the return of Omega, Gallifrey and location filming in Amsterdam. It's not a classic, however - quite the opposite. A shopping-list story that doesn't work. Snakedance is a sequel to Kinda and a lot of people prefer it as it is more straightforward. The next three stories for a trilogy, as all feature the Black Guardian and introduce Turlough as a duplicitous new companion, who is trying to kill the Doctor. How you regard the season overall depends on how you feel about this trilogy. Mawdryn Undead and Enlightenment are good, but Terminus, in the middle, is rather poor. It was never intended to end the season but, thanks to industrial action, The King's Demons is what we got, and it's not very good. The Doctor sort of criticises the story within the dialogue.

Luckily we have included The Five Doctors here. It is a fun run-around, with as many Doctors, companions and monsters as would fit into 90 minutes. It does what it was supposed to do, but the nature of the beast means that a lot of elements are seriously underused.

Who wins? Well, Season 20 might have been an anniversary season, culminating in The Five Doctors, but overall it doesn't stand up to the five stories which make up Season 12. The latter has two excellent stories, with three good ones. Season 20 has some good stories, but none I'd class as excellent. It also has a couple of poor ones. The Ark in Space and genesis of the Daleks re enough on their own to have Season 12 declared the winner.

Next time: adjacent Tom Baker / Graham Williams seasons 16 and 17 compete.

KO Round 1.4

 

Round four of our knock-out competition sees Season 3 vie against Season 25. 

At first glance this might seem a little unfair, as Season 3 comprises ten stories, whilst Season 25 only has four. On the other hand, we have all of Season 25 in the archives, and very little of Season 3, other than soundtracks and a few orphan episodes until we reach the second half. There are only three complete stories.

Season 3 comprises: Galaxy 4, Mission to the Unknown, The Myth Makers, The Daleks' Master Plan, The Massacre, The Ark, The Celestial Toymaker, The Gunfighters, The Savages, and The War Machines.

An experimental season, which coincides with a period of great change. Apart from William Hartnell, everyone in front of the camera at the start of the season will have gone by the end of it - with some companions coming and going within the season. Behind the scenes there are just as many changes, with three producers and two script editors during the period (with the first story having been commissioned by a third).

We have three historical stories, and two Dalek ones (though one is just a single episode prequel to the other).

Galaxy 4 is a straightforward sci-fi tale, using the old "don't judge by appearances" motto. The Ark was the sort of story new producer John Wiles wanted to tell, if he hadn't been lumbered with 12 episodes of Daleks and a star who didn't like him (the feeling was mutual). It's unusual in that you think the story has ended after two episodes, only for the viewers to learn that it hasn't. The TARDIS leaves, but materialises at the same location centuries later for more Monoid mayhem. The Savages is another standard sci-fi story, wherein it transpires that the race which the Doctor thinks are nice and cultured and civilised are really parasites, preying on their weaker neighbours. The Celestial Toymaker is an oddity - one of those "sideways" stories which were supposed to be part of the mix when the series was first set up. For years this was the great lost classic, but then people saw the surviving episode and re-evaluated it downwards. Two of the historicals are written by Donald Cotton - which means we have comedy for three episodes followed by a bloodbath in the fourth. The Massacre is based on what is, for many people, a relatively unknown period of history - Europe's wars of religion. It stands out especially as Hartnell plays two roles - the Doctor and the nasty Abbot of Amboise. The War Machines offers us a glimpse of things to come, with the Doctor arriving in contemporary London and allying himself with armed forces to defeat the story's menace. It sees the introduction of new companions Ben and Polly. We started with Steven and Vicki, passed through Katarina, Sara Kingdom and Dodo Chaplet, to get to them.

In deciding how good this season is, we do have to consider whether or not to count it as it was, or as it now is. Your attitude towards it would certainly change if all these episodes existed in their entirety. As we can no longer see them all, we have to go by the episodes which remain, and the soundtracks / photographs for the missing ones. 

Season 25 is an anniversary season - the silver one, so it was almost certain that the Cybermen would appear. They get the anniversary story - Silver Nemesis - whose first episode was broadcast on the 23rd November 1988 itself. It's only three episodes long, and has to fit in three lots of villains, and yet there is still loads of useless padding (comedy skinheads and someone from Broadway who we are supposed to recognise but don't).

The season kicked off on a much stronger footing with Remembrance of the Daleks. This sees the return of Davros, but no longer swamping his creations, and we have a Dalek civil war. The story ties in with the first two stories back in 1963. Such a pity no-one bothered to check how to spell "Foreman" for the junkyard gates at 76 Totters Lane. Another problem is that the main plot here gets recycled for Silver Nemesis - Doctor has left ancient Gallifreyan super-weapon hanging around Earth, and old enemy turns up looking for it. Doctor allows old enemy to take it, because he wants them to use it and wipe themselves out. And the Doctor isn't just some ordinary Time Lord... As the stronger of the pair, Remembrance really ought to have been the anniversary story.

The other two stories this year have a certain fantastical, comic book feel to them - especially The Happiness Patrol. A monster based on a brand of sweets sits (awkwardly) within what should be a political thriller setting but manages to work. The circus-set The Greatest Show in the Galaxy has things to say about Doctor Who itself - not always complimentary (an anorak fan who thinks the show isn't as good as it used to be).

Unlike Season 3, we have some continuity of personnel - the same producer, script editor, Doctor and companion from start to finish. Three good stories, No embarrassing VFX.

The verdict? If Season 3 had been complete then I don't think there would be any competition. However, it's mostly the best bits of the season which are missing, so - even though it's far from perfect - I'm giving this round to Season 25.

Next time - it's Season 12 versus Season 20.

KO Round 1.3

 

This round sees Season 13 up against Season 19, so quite a tough one.

Season 13 comprises Terror of the Zygons, Planet of Evil, Pyramids of Mars, The Android Invasion, The Brain of Morbius and The Seeds of Doom. 

It's Tom Baker's second series, starring alongside Lis Sladen's Sarah Jane Smith. We have the final appearances by UNIT regulars the Brigadier and Benton, as well as Harry Sullivan.

Terror of the Zygons was supposed to have concluded the previous season, making more sense of Harry's arc, but it was held back so that this season could launch earlier than usual and so beat off Space: 1999 as a potential rival. It's a near perfect story, with a fantastic creature design. The only thing that lets it down is the glove puppet Skarasen.

Planet of Evil boasts a great jungle set by Roger Murray-Leach, and a story based on Jekyll & Hyde, with a bit of Forbidden Planet (and therefore The Tempest) thrown in.

Season 13 is, it should be noted, the height of the Hinchcliffe-Holmes partnership, when the series is showing its Gothic roots, and inspiration from classic horror and Sci-Fi movies. Frankenstein and The Mummy are both referenced this year.

Two of the stories, however, owe more of a debt to The Avengers than they do to classic horror movies - The Android Invasion mirroring several Steed and Emma Peel escapades, and The Seeds of Doom being virtually a remake of another one. The latter also references The Thing From Another World in its opening two episodes.

The relationship between the Fourth Doctor and Sarah is the strongest it ever gets, especially now that Harry is out of the way. This is the Tom Baker / Lis Sladen season.

Season 19 is Peter Davison's first series. It comprises Castrolvalva, Four to Doomsday, Kinda, The Visitation, Black Orchid, Earthshock and Time-Flight.

This season saw the return of the Cybermen after a seven year absence, and companion Adric is killed in the same story - the first companion death for seventeen years.

The new Doctor gets off to a strong start this season, though some of the stories are a little weak. Castrovalva is a fairly dull affair, as is Four To Doomsday with its interminable "Recreationals".

Kinda is much better - a more adult Sci-Fi tale. The Visitation is also very good, bringing back the pseudo-historical / alien invasion story after a long absence. The Terileptil makes for a well-designed new monster - shame they weren't ever brought back.

Black Orchid is throwaway, notable only for being a purely historical story, the first since January 1967.

Earthshock is the standout story of the season - not just for bringing back the Cybermen with a fancy new design, but for daring to kill off a companion (the first since Sara Kingdom bought it back in 1966). Adric was never the most popular of companions (he's pretty badly written this entire season, after strong appearances in Baker's last two stories), so it would have been interesting if they had killed off one of the others rather than him.

With Time-Flight, they've run out of money and are attempting a story that should never have been commissioned. No amount of time or money would have saved this.

The winner - well it has to be Season 13. Even the worst story (Android) is better than some of the stronger stories in Season 19. The latter does have three good stories - especially the Cyberman one - but it just can't compete with Baker / Sladen / Hinchcliffe / Holmes at their height. Season 13 has a consistency of quality most other seasons lack.

KO Round 1.2

 

The Knockout competition moves onto a battle between Season 26, and Season 11.

Season 26 was the final one of the classic era of the programme, and as such marks the last appearances by Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor, Sophie Aldred as Ace, Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier, and Anthony Ainley as the Master. 

They're the last episodes to be produced by JNT, the programme's longest serving producer, and script edited by Andrew Cartmel.

Everyone agrees that the series was on an upward swing at this point - an improvement in quality which had begun with the previous season.

We have four stories per season by this stage, and this year's are: Battlefield, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric and Survival. There is a story arc of sorts - Ace's character development.

Battlefield sees the return of UNIT and the Brigadier after a long absence, and there are nods to the Pertwee era with the inclusion of "Bessie", and the appearance of Doris as the Brigadier's wife - someone first mentioned in Planet of the Spiders. Jean Marsh makes her final appearance in the programme, following two roles alongside William Hartnell.

The main inspiration is Arthurian legend, and there are some great idea here - but even its author wasn't happy with the execution. Things weren't helped when he was asked to change it from a three episode story to a four-parter.

Ghost Light was the final story to be recorded. It is a slightly confusing story, thanks to huge chunks of it being cut before transmission. Lots of things happen which aren't explained. It looks great, however, as the BBC were very good at period drama.

Probably the strongest story of the season is The Curse of Fenric - a tale of vampires in World War II England, with a lot of Norse mythology thrown in for good measure.

Survival brings the Doctor and Ace down to earth, in the everyday environs of suburban West London. Many see this as a precursor to the modern day settings of the programme when it returned in 2005. As well as Perivale, the action also takes place on the planet of the Cheetah People, where the Doctor encounters the Master. Ainley is far better here than he has been in a long time - less the pantomime villain. A great shame he couldn't have been allowed to tone it down this much in earlier appearances.

Not knowing that the series was going to be cancelled, there's no big finale. The story ends with the Doctor and Ace simply heading back to the TARDIS to continue their travels.

Season 11 marks another ending - this time the end of the Third Doctor, as played by Jon Pertwee. Katy manning had left at the end of the previous season, and Roger Delgado had been killed in a road accident. Producer Barry Letts and Story Editor Terrance Dicks were packing their bags and about to move on, so it really was the end of an era.

Just arriving, however, was Lis Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and we would get our first glimpse of Tom baker before the end.

Stories this season include appearances by the Daleks and the Ice Warriors, as well as the debut of the Sontarans.

Season 11 comprises: The Time Warrior, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Death to the Daleks, The Monster of Peladon and Planet of the Spiders.

The Time Warrior sees the introduction of both Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans, in the person of warrior Linx, played by Kevin Lindsay. It's a Robert Holmes story, and a very good example of the pseudo-historical story type. Pertwee rarely got to play in history.

Easily the weakest story of the season is Invasion of the Dinosaurs, mainly due to the terrible model work, but the conspiracy background tale isn't all that bad. If Season 26 was about Ace's character arc, then this season is about Mike Yates', as he turns to the dark side in this story.

Death to the Daleks is a typical Terry Nation Dalek story - not the greatest but certainly not the worst. It's the last "ordinary" Dalek story before Davros turns up and they are relegated to background characters.

The Monster of Peladon is the weaker of the two Peladon stories, though we do get the Ice Warriors going back to their old villainous ways. Nice to see Alpha Centauri and Aggedor back, and it's great that they made sure that the sets and costumes matched the earlier story, making it a genuine sequel.

Planet of the Spiders took the place of what should have been Roger Delgado's final outing as the Master (another mirror to Season 26). It's as much Barry Letts' swansong as it is Pertwee's. Lots of actors who had worked with both are brought back, Letts gets to write and direct the story as well as produce. Both the Doctor and Yates get resolutions to their story arcs which began in Season 9 and Season 10 respectively.

And the winner is...? A tougher choice than last time, but I have to plump for Season 11. Season 26 has two very strong stories, but Season 11 has just as many, plus some better quality middling ones. I like the mix of old and new as well. They didn't know Season 26 was going to be an ending, but they did know Season 11 was going to be one, so it has a slightly elegiac feel to it (especially if you know what's going on behind the scenes as well).

Next time, it's Tom Baker versus Peter Davison as Seasons 13 and 19 compete.

KO Round 1.1

 

Our knockout competition begins with Season 9 versus Season 5 - both very strong seasons which are probably overall favourites for some fans.

Season 9 marks the mid-point of the Jon Pertwee era, and includes the return of the Daleks after a lengthy absence - and in colour for the first time on TV. The Ice Warriors are also back after a break. UNIT and the Master are both present.

The season comprises: Day of the Daleks, The Curse of Peladon, The Sea Devils, The Mutants and The Time Monster.

These are (mostly) highly regarded stories. Day of the Daleks suffers from some poor direction - such as the failure to pay off the ghosts from the future / past UNIT HQ scene, and the rather feeble battle with just three Daleks. Having a gold leader Dalek was probably a good idea to begin with, but they hadn't considered how the battle sequence would look. And was having gunmetal grey Daleks really the best idea for their first colour outing? Even the 1960's B&W era Daleks were more colourful, with their blue hemispheres. 

Pros for this story include the introduction of the Ogrons and some nice performances from both regulars and guest cast. For the first time in a long time, the consequences of time travel are considered, as the guerrillas have gotten themselves tangled up in a temporal paradox.

The Curse of Peladon can be a little wordy, and short on incident, with too much politicking (though not as much as its sequel). Pros include the return of the Ice Warriors (also seen in colour for the first time, but benefiting more than the Daleks did), and the carnival of monsters which include Alpha Centauri, Aggedor and Arcturus.

The Sea Devils introduces another classic '70's monster with its title characters, and brings the original Roger Delgado Master back after a short break, in what is one of his best stories. UNIT are left behind at their HQ as the Doctor teams up with the Royal Navy for this story, and much use is made of RN stock footage.

The Mutants is the second of the stories this season set on an alien world, as the Doctor is sent on missions by the Time Lords. The two previous stories were swapped in broadcast order to split these alien jaunts up. Another political story, with a great monster design. These TARDIS trips do mean that we get to see very little of UNIT this season (which may be a good thing for some people, but not for others like me). Even Day of the Daleks didn't feature them for a large part of the running time, and they don't get to turn up against the Sea Devils.

The final story of the season - The Time Monster - does feature UNIT prominently (though only up to Part Four) and sees a return visit by the Master. It was an attempt to make lightning strike twice after the success of The Daemons at the close of the previous season - but fails badly. It's that dodgy director from Day of the Daleks back again. The story is all over the place, with seemingly random ideas thrown together to try to make a cohesive narrative. Kronos is unimpressive in both its forms.

Apparently, the first recording block for this story was the last time that the whole Pertwee "UNIT Family" (including the Master) were together in studio at the same time.

Season 5 is the one which introduces key elements which will go towards making that Pertwee UNIT Family. This one is often called "the Monster Season", or the "base-under-siege" season. 

It comprises Tomb of the Cybermen, The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors, The Enemy of the World, The Web of Fear, Fury from the Deep, and The Wheel in Space.

Cybermen top and tail the season, as this follows on from Terry Nation's withdrawal of the permission to use the Daleks in the series. The producer Innes Lloyd was after a regular enemy which he didn't have to pay extra for anyway, and the Cybermen had taken the place of the Daleks as the new Big Bad. As it was, Nation relented very quickly once he saw that his plans for his creations weren't going to get him anywhere, and he was already saying the BBC could have them back by the end of this season - so long as they didn't feature in any Cyberman story.

It should be noted that only two of these stories exist in their entirety for us to watch today. Recently one completely missing story was fully animated, and I have the audios and telesnaps for the others.

Tomb of the Cybermen was regarded as a perfect story in every way - whilst it was missing. As soon as it came back a lot of flaws were noted, but it still remains a very good story - one of the best Cyberman stories in fact. Whilst we have a monster, this isn't really a base under siege story - unless you say the Cybermen themselves are under siege from archaeologists, as it's their base we're in.

The Abominable Snowmen ticks the boxes for monsters and base-under-siege (in this case the Yeti and a Tibetan monastery respectively). The Yeti appear rather cuddly, and yet they seem to work as monsters. The setting is unusual - bases under siege in the programme tending to be high-tech scientific or industrial environments.

The Ice Warriors sees another popular new monster introduced, and another odd base, in that it is a scientific establishment - but it's set up in a Georgian mansion. The third story in a row with a cold, icy backdrop - and we're going to be on Earth for 5 consecutive stories, which the Doctor will even mention in dialogue.

The Enemy of the World is monster free, but does have a human villain who just happens to look identical to the Doctor. It's a globe-trotting spy-fi story, which was generally reviled when only Episode Three existed, but was revaluated positively once the rest of it turned up.

Before the first Yeti story had even been broadcast, a sequel was commissioned. The Web of Fear is one of that rare beast - a sequel which is better than its original. Significant for the first appearance of Nicholas Courtney as Lethbridge-Stewart - here a colonel but soon to be a brigadier - the Brigadier.

Fury from the Deep has always been held in high regard as a rather superior example of the monster / base-under-siege story. Companion Victoria bows out in this story, though Debbie Watling will be credited in Episode One of the next story - the return of the Cybermen in The Wheel in Space. Watling only appears in a reprise of the ending of the last story, but her replacement doesn't appear until Episode Two of this - Wendy Padbury's Zoe. The Cyber-plan is quite insane, and it is a real drop in quality from the story which opened this season.

So - which season do I prefer? Season 9 is a good one, but I think the series on either side of it are superior. The Dalek story is one of their weakest, and the closing story isn't terribly good.

I am a Troughton fan, and a Cyberman fan, and Season 5 offers a great run of stories. Yes, lots of bases come under lots of sieges, but there is enough variety in settings for this not to be a problem.

Season 5 therefore wins, and in Round 2 will compete with the winner of the next match...

Knockout Tournaments

 

I've never posted any sort of ranking of stories / seasons / Doctors / companions etc. on this blog - so it's probably about time I did. 10 best or 10 worst listings seem to be very popular with bloggers and vloggers

Later I will try ranking Master / Dalek / Cybermen stories, but to start with I'm going to look at Seasons.

I was going to try covering all 38 series, from 1963 to 2020 - but this might be like comparing oranges to bananas. I'm therefore going to split the Classic Era from Nu-Who. We'll start with the 26 seasons of the Classic Era.

The format I've chosen is the sudden death knockout format. I placed pieces of paper numbered 1 - 26 in a bowl and drew out the following first round matches:

9 v 5

26 v 11

13 v 19

3 v 25

12 v 20

17 v 16

7 v 23

6 v 15

8 v 21

18 v 22

10 v 24

1 v 4

2 v 14

We'll therefore start by comparing Seasons 9 and 5, and I'll decide which is my favourite - giving reasons why. Winners will naturally go through to the next round.

Once we get started, I'm sure some of you will have opposing opinions, so do make use of the comments section to log your assent / dissent.

We'll get started later in the week, once I've had a chance to consider the relative merits of the seasons in the first match.