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My huge Doctor Who episode marathon.


The Friendly Dalek
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I’m on holiday this week and totally bored so I’m getting in ahead of you :P Just watched The Pirate Planet. I love this story. Classic Douglas Adams. Some great concepts, a ship that covers an entire planets and strips it of all resources. Pure Adams that. Some say Bruce Purchase is OTT but I love it. See also his performance in Blake’s 7. The story keeps up across all 4 episodes and the KTT elements are done well. Mary Tamm continues to shine. 8/10.

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The Pirate Planet- I agree with you on this one Ravogd. It is a brilliant story. The script is imaginative and witty, and rather funny as well. The acting is good, and there is a good pace to this story, it never feels slow. Tom and Mary are great as always. I like that K9 gets to do things in this story, and the fight between K9 and the robot parrot actually still holds up ok. 

Overall- 8/10 

The Stones Of Blood- I love the first half of this story. It is very atmospheric, looks great and the characters and acting are good. Sadly it falls to bits in the second half. The acting becomes really over the top from all involved, especially Tom Baker. It loses the atmosphere and tension as soon as the story moves to the spaceship, and it slows a lot and becomes rather dull.

Overall- 5/10.

I feel like that rating shows that I like half of the story but dislike the second half. 

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The Androids Of Tara- I rather enjoy this one. The story is good, and the acting is good mostly. Some of it is over the top. However Tom Baker and Mary Tamm especially are fantastic. 

Some of the dialogue is poor in my opinion. The set design is good, and there are some good action sequences (especially that swordfight). This is another that is pulled down by mostly bland supporting characters, who are unmemorable and uninteresting. 

Overall- 7/10.

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The Power Of Kroll- Lets start with the positives. I really appreciated the marsh locations. It was an attempt to do something different and I like that. The regulars are good as usual.

And now the negatives. Most of the acting is pretty poor, and the supporting characters are poorly written. The dialogue and story are uninteresting and unmemorable. I don't like judging an older Doctor Who story from a visuals point of view, but Kroll looks pretty bad. 

Overall- 3/10.

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The Armageddon Factor- A very disappointing conclusion to the Key To Time story line.  

Tom and Mary are excellent (it's such a shame that this was Mary's last television story). Sadly the rest of the supporting cast are uninteresting, however there are two notable exceptions. Valentine Dyall is brilliant as the Black Guardian, and I loved his return in Season 20 (side note, would anyone else love to see the Guardians return in New Who?). The other is Lalla Ward as Princess Astra. 

The story itself is slow and dull, and drags a lot. The dialogue isn't interesting, and thus this is a chore to get through.

There is however one scene that I absolutely love, and that is the scene in the TARDIS when the Key To Time is completed. If you've seen this story you'll know what scene I am on about, and Tom's acting there is great. 

Overall- 2/10.

Overall rating for Season 16- 7/10.

I really do love the concept of the season-long story arc, and I feel like the arc in this season is a unique and interesting one. For the most part this season is very strong, but it is another which unfortunately falters towards the end.

Edited by The Friendly Dalek
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Destiny Of The Daleks- I think this is one of the weakest Dalek stories in classic Who. Tom Baker is great, and Lalla Ward is fantastic as Romana. The other side characters are pretty bland though. The dialogue isn't that great. I think David Gooderson does a good job as Davros. He is no where near as good as Michael Wisher was, but is still great. I think that he looks pretty bad though. Sadly this same criticism can be extended to the Daleks themselves. They don't look very good in this story. The story itself isn't anything special either.

Overall- 4/10. Purely because of the performances from the leads and David Gooderson, and the pacing is good. Although it isn't the best story it certainly isn't slow.

City Of Death- This is comedic Doctor Who at its peak. The dialogue and performances are hilarious. Tom and Lalla give some of their best performances here. The supporting characters are great, especially Duggan, who is a very memorable character. Julian Glover is excellent as Count Scarlioni. The makeup on Scaroth is brilliant as well, and Episode 1's cliff-hanger is one of the best in the show's history in my opinion. The plot is well paced and the story is well written.

Overall- 10/10.

Plus, John Cleese cameos at the end of this story. What's not to love about that? :D

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The Creature From The Pit- I'm not one of the people who thinks that this is one of the worst Doctor Who stories ever created. I think that there are episodes that are far, far worse. Is this a brilliant story? Not even close. But it isn't entirely awful either. 

The main issue most people have is the creature itself, and it's rather poor design. I agree, it looks terrible. However, there are other things to this story if you can overlook that. The jungle sets and costumes look great in my opnion, and some of the main supporting characters are ok. Some of the acting is very over the top, which I don't like. I like the concept of this story but the execution was really bad.

Overall- 2/10.

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On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 10:15 PM, The Friendly Dalek said:

3 classic stories right there. You won't regret purchasing them. Glad I helped you to decide on which ones to get as well. :lol:

The Ark in Space was great if you can see past the bubble wrap (luckily it didn't come from Kerblam!).

Watched the first 2 episodes of the War Games and really enjoying it.

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Nightmare Of Eden- I actually rather like this one. I find it enjoyable. 

The characters are alright. They aren't hugely memorable but at least they aren't boring to watch. The dialogue is decent and the story is alright. 

I really appreciate how the writers tried to tackle drugs in Doctor Who, and although the execution wasn't perfect it was a good effort. 

The design of the Mandrels is pretty good for the time I think as well.

Overall- 7/10.

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1 minute ago, Bumper8 said:

The Ark in Space was great if you can see past the bubble wrap (luckily it didn't come from Kerblam!).

Watched the first 2 episodes of the War Games and really enjoying it.

Yeah, I don't really like judging classic episodes by effects, which is why I never mentioned the bubble wrap monsters in The Ark In Space. :lol:

The War Games is utterly fantastic, and trust me, it only gets better over the next 8 episodes.

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Just now, The Friendly Dalek said:

Yeah, I don't really like judging classic episodes by effects, which is why I never mentioned the bubble wrap monsters in The Ark In Space. :lol:

The War Games is utterly fantastic, and trust me, it only gets better over the next 8 episodes.

I get what you mean, but even in 1975 that was pants. Wouldn't it be great to see a story like that with up to date effects...

Yeah, I can see War Games becoming a firm favourite!

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The Horns Of Nimon- This is a poor ending for this season. I don't like this one much at all. I think that the characters are poorly written and the acting is really bad for the most part. Tom Baker and Lalla Ward do their best but the dialogue  they are given is bad. I also find that this one drags a lot. One positive I will say is that the costumes are good, especially the Nimons themselves, who look alright. The story is decent in concept, but this is another that was ruined in execution.

Overall- 2/10.

Overall rating for Season 17- 4/10.

This is the worst season in a while. The Baker era really declined around this point, especially when compared to the excellent first few seasons of his tenure. I think that the next season is a lot better than this one, but that's a story for another day. :D

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The Leisure Hive- We now enter 80s Who and I don't think that it is a problem at all. I love the 80s. :lol:

From the very beginning, everything feels different. For one, there is a radically different title sequence and theme, and honestly I prefer this version of the theme to the original (I know, blasphemy right? :P)

Tom Baker gets a new outfit for this Season, and I really like it. Everything looks more glossy and bright, and the score certainly sounds like the 80s. It all looks great, but the story falters in terms of character and dialogue. The villains are not memorable at all either.

Overall- 6/10.

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Meglos- I enjoy Tom Baker's double performance as The Doctor and Meglos (and the makeup on him looks pretty good I think) and that's about it. Jacqueline Hill (formerly Barbara back in 60s Who) returns but isn't given a great or memorable role. None of the supporting characters are interesting. The only other positive I can think of is that the short length means this story never drags. I don't get bored watching it, but it is still poorly made. Tom's performance really makes this story.

Overall- 3/10.

Full Circle- I think that this story is immensely underrated. No one ever mentions this one.

The locations look great and are atmospheric. The music also builds great atmosphere, especially in the first episode. The cliffhanger to that one is one of my favourites. The marshmen look great in my opinion.

The supporting characters aren't that good in my opinion. I don't mind Adric. I see why the character is disliked (and I agree with that judgment in certian stories) but I think the character is fine here. Most of the acting is fine, it's just that the dialogue pulls it down at points. I also think that the second half of the story isn't as strong as the first half, and the whole thing with the spiders feels kind of shoe horned in and pointless to me.

Overall- 8/10.

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State Of Decay- I feel like this one had lots of potential that just wasn't realised. I think that the horror tone and style should have been focused on more than it was. It all feels watered down, almost as if they tried to replicate the gothic horror of the earlier Baker years but missed the mark completely.

From a character standpoint this one is ok. It isn't boring but I also don't find it that memorable. I did like the idea that the vampires had a history of conflict with the Time Lords. I thought that was interesting. The acting is good, and the actors made the most of what they were given, but the script itself isn't brilliant.

Overall- 5/10.

Warrior's Gate- I think this is a very mature and brilliantly complex story. I also love things that are incredibly divisive (I love this story but one of my friends really doesn't like it). It's interesting to see how differently two people can view the same episode. The characters (for the most part) are great and the visuals are pretty good as well. As a final story for Romana, however, I don't think it's great. Her reason for leaving isn't particularly memorable or interesting in my opinion. A great end to a good trilogy.

Overall- 8/10.

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The Keeper Of Traken- A very enjoyable little story. The characters are nice, and the dialogue is good. The sets look great, and the simplicity of this story is very welcome after the E-Space trilogy. The Melkur is an alright villain. I can't talk about this story without talking about The Master. Geoffrey Beevers does a fantastic job as the character, and I prefer the fact that the effects were good enough at this point to allow the actor under the makeup to actually emote. It just makes for a more interesting performance. Sarah Sutton is wonderful as Nyssa.

Overall- 8/10.

Logopolis- I can't belive we are already at the end of Tom Baker's run as The Doctor. It's been a good run for one of the best Doctor's we have had. Thankfully it ends on a high. I love this story. The huge scale of this story and the scope of the threat make it seem very impressive, and the huge stakes add some much needed tension. Throughout this season The Doctor seems to become more and more melancholy, and by this story he seems no where near as excitable or charismatic as he used to be. I like the gradual change in his character, and Tom Baker really does play it well. Anthony Ainley is fantastic as The Master (and in my opinion is the second best version of the character, behind Roger Delgado). This is also the introductory story of the companion Tegan. The character does improve over future stories, and although Janet Fielding is a good actor, I find the character incredibly annoying the begin with. The supporting characters aren't great either.

Overall- 9/10.

Overall rating for Season 18- 8/10.

I love this season. I think it is a brilliant end to the Tom Baker era (and side note, I can't wait to be order the recently announced blu ray release for this season :D). He is wonderful throughout this season. I also thimk that the writing is considerably stronger in this season than in other recent ones.

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I have really enjoyed reading your reviews especially the Tom Baker episodes as this is when I originally saw and fell in love with Doctor Who. Logopolis was my first regeneration episode. Although it has the familiarity of past and present companions it was also unique in that the doctor was revealed to be the watcher. A plot device that seems to have been forgotten over time. Anthony Ainley was rather under-rated as the Master. He still remains one of my favourite incarnations of one of my favourite characters. Looking forward to your reviews of the Peter Davison years. For me the era of classic Who I most associate with.

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1 hour ago, Peter Capaldi Fan said:

I have really enjoyed reading your reviews especially the Tom Baker episodes as this is when I originally saw and fell in love with Doctor Who. Logopolis was my first regeneration episode. Although it has the familiarity of past and present companions it was also unique in that the doctor was revealed to be the watcher. A plot device that seems to have been forgotten over time. Anthony Ainley was rather under-rated as the Master. He still remains one of my favourite incarnations of one of my favourite characters. Looking forward to your reviews of the Peter Davison years. For me the era of classic Who I most associate with.

I'm glad you've been enjoying reading these. :D

My first regeneration episode was The aparting Of The Ways (which is still one of the best in my opinion). The Davison era is an interesting one (but no spoilers here, you'll have to wait until I do my little reviews to see what I think of the episodes :lol:).

My favourite era if classic Who will have to be from 1966-1976 ish (so the Troughton era, the Pertwee era and the first few years of Tom's era).

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Castrovalva- We have reached the Davison era, and this is a decent start. I don't love this story, but I don't hate it either. 

From the very start, Davison is wonderful as The Doctor. His acting here is great, and it's impressive for anyone to be able to follow up Tom Baker so well. I do feel that it is around this point where the TARDIS feels crowded, and there never seems to be enough for all 3 companions and The Doctor to be doing something. Anthony Ainley nails it again as The Master. His performance is wonderful. 

The main cast are great, but the supporting characters aren't memorable in my opinion. The dialogue isn't interesting and the story is slow. Some of the directing is great, and there are some fantastic visuals. 

Overall- 6/10.

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Four To Doomsday- This one just doesn't work in my eyes. I think that it looks really good, but that is about it. 

The regulars are good, but this story is one which really suffers from having too many characters. Monarch isn't an interesting villain at all, and the supporting characters aren't good either. The dialogue is poor and the story itself is uninteresting and dull. I know there are people out there who like this story, and I wish I could, but I just don't enjoy it.

Overall- 2/10.

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