With the end of the Fourth Doctor’s era, things got rough for our favorite time traveler. Daleks? Cybermen? None of them can compare to the show’s ultimate enemy: the producers.
Classic Who began an unfortunate downward spiral around this point. The BBC began to pull its already limited funding away and the heads in charge made an active effort to get the show pulled off the air. It was a brutal position to be put in for any TV show. It lasting as long as it did in these circumstances just goes to show how insanely dedicated Whovians have always been.
But Doctor Who wouldn’t have lasted this long if it weren’t resilient. Even with its runners trying to kill it, the series kept trucking on. Not all of the stories we got were great; meddling all but ruined the 6th Doctor’s run. Yet we still have some fantastic episodes to watch!
Beginning with, ironically, an end.
Earthshock
In most TV shows, the hero’s plucky companions are more or less safe from danger. Can’t go killing the audience surrogate characters. Not in this show, they’re not. The Doctor dies every three seasons, why should any of them be safe?!
Landing beneath the Earth, the 5th Doctor and the gang find themselves caught in an expedition gone wrong. Things quickly spiral out of control, with malicious androids, threats of mass extinction, and a familiar deadly enemy: Cybermen. The Doctor has his work cut out for him. But even he won’t be able to save everyone this time.
The Cybermen are kinda funny in this outing. They’re supposed to be completely emotionless, yet they shout every line of dialogue like an angry dictator. Don’t even get me started on their goofy mouths or their plastic wrap ‘hibernation chambers’. Yet even still, they’re suitably menacing. Their confrontation with the Doctor regarding emotions is one of the Fifth’s strongest moments!
Speaking of whom: this episode highlights some flaws of the Doctor’s carefree attitude. In the beginning, the Doctor and Adric get into a fairly big fight. The Time Lord doesn’t listen to, understand, or respect his companion’s grievances or desires. As a result, a wedge is shoved into their relationship. The Doctor doesn’t want to lose his friend and Adric wants to earn his trust and respect. The end result?
Bang.
The Trial of a Time Lord
In all my travelings throughout the universe, I have battled against evil. Against power mad conspirators. I should have stayed here! The oldest civilization! Decadent! Degenerate! And rotten to the core! Power mad conspirators?! Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen?! They’re still in the nursery compared to us! Ten million years of absolute power! That’s what it takes to be really corrupt!
Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor, ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’
The Sixth Doctor was given some pretty awful scripts to work with. Colin Baker always did his utmost to elevate the material, but it was always an uphill battle. Just look at his outfit. So, what happened on the rare occasion that he actually had something to work with? His best televised story!
Also his last televised story. Poor dude got shafted completely.
The Doctor has been pulled back to his home planet, Gallifrey, to stand trial for crimes he did not commit. Standing judge: one of his oldest enemies, the Master. The prosecution: an amalgamation of all evil within the Doctor’s heart, dubbed the Valeyard. Trapped in a game rigged against him, can even the Doctor escape?
This is a huge story. On its own, it takes up a whole season of television! It’s got plenty of lows, but some of Classic Who’s greatest highs. The Doctor’s speech to the Time Lords – as transcribed above – is still awesome, even all these decades later!
Unfortunately, the only thing you’re allowed to drink while watching it is carrot juice. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.
Remembrance of the Daleks
Of all the Doctors in the shows history, the 7th is the one I’d least like to make an enemy of. The universe was his chess board, and he was the master player. Try as you might, it won’t matter; you’re dancing to his tune, not yours. You just don’t know it yet.
Remembrance of the Daleks pits the Doctor’s greatest enemy against their ultimate opposition: themselves. A civil war rages among the two Dalek factions, with the Doctor and Ace caught right in the middle. Both sides hunt the same thing: the Hand of Omega, a powerful Time Lord artifact. Should either acquire it, the universe would be plunged into chaos unending.
Also Ace hits a Dalek with a baseball bat because Ace is the best.
Fan of the modern series? Want to see how the Last Great Time War began? Then this is the Classic episode for you! In a roundabout sort of way, this set the stage for Doctor Who’s grand return! Davros declares war on the Time Lords in this very story!
Understandably so. The Doctor kinda manipulated his species into slaughtering each other. Honestly, if anyone started it, it was him.
Blood of the Daleks
Enter now into the Wilderness Years. Which probably sounds much cooler if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Though the Eighth Doctor got his start in a god awful American movie, Paul McGann was simply too good an actor for the part of the intrepid Time Lord to let go. Alas, he never got the TV era that he deserved.
But we did get a hell of a lot of really good audio dramas!
Human teenager Lucy Miller is warped aboard the Eighth Doctor’s Tardis. Stuck together for reasons neither understand, the pair land on a desolate world inhabited by only a few human survivors. But some of those few have mutated into an all-too familiar enemy. One that is bringing their ‘pure-blooded’ cousins in for a visit.
Lucy is an incredible companion. Her chemistry with Eight is a delight in every single scene. She’s sassy, quick-witted, and accepts none of the Time Lord’s sass. Her entire story across this season of Big Finish is worth listening to for her alone!
This story utilizes the Daleks brilliantly. Wearing the false face of friendship, they manipulate humans and lure them to their doom. Yet they never once lose their signature intensity. Its unnerving, hearing them make demands of their allies, knowing what blood bath awaits regardless of whether they’re obeyed or not. They’re terrifying!
Up until their extremely underwhelming defeat. As is often the case with the Daleks.
Honorable Mentions
Of course, these four stories barely scratch the surface. There are plenty more fantastic adventures to experience with all four of these Doctors. But time presses ever forward and the big 60th event draws nearer and nearer, so I’ll have to settle for a list of honorable mentions.
Next up: Modern Who. Or is it Classic Who 2 now? Doctor Two?
I’m gonna stop typing, here are the honorable mentions.
- Castrovalva (5th Doctor)
- Arc of Infinity (5th Doctor)
- Warriors of the Deep (5th Doctor)
- The Caves of Adrozani (5th Doctor)
- Revelation of the Daleks (6th Doctor)
- The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (7th Doctor)
- Ghost Light (7th Doctor)
- Survival (7th Doctor)
- Sword of Orion (8th Doctor)
- Invaders from Mars (8th Doctor)
- Chimes of Midnight (8th Doctor)
- Horror of Glam Rock (8th Doctor)
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