Luke's Top 50 Doctor Who Stories: #50-46

In addition to my regular reviews of Doctor Who, I'm going to be sharing ranking lists over this year in honor of the show's 50th anniversary. I'm going to kick things off with my Top 50 Doctor Who stories, where each week I'll share five stories that I think are among Doctor Who's best. This won't just be a list however, as I'll be writing a couple sentence review and then linking you to the full review of that story (if I've written one yet). So let's kick things off with #50-46...

50. The Bells of Saint John

Steven Moffat boldly takes Doctor Who into the modern age with a tale of evil lurking in the WiFi. It turns out though that the enemy is really The Great Intelligence, who seems to be playing a big role in Series 7. This story also introduces the 21st century Clara Oswald, the great new companion to the Doctor.

49. Attack of the Cybermen

The first story of Colin Baker's first full season as the Doctor had a lot to live up to after his disappointing introduction story. Fortunately, his aggressive nature is toned down and we're treated to an intriguing tale bringing the Cybermen back down to the suers and back to Telos, their two most familiar homes. This story is also infamous for the Doctor shooting a Cyberman, but if you watch the story, who can blame him?

48. The Chase

I'm not a huge fan of the William Hartnell era, so The Chase is his only entry in my Top 50. This is however a rather funny and odd Doctor Who story, having the Daleks chase the Doctor and his friends throughout the galaxy in a overtly comedic way. It sees the saddening departure of Ian and Barbara.

47. The War Games

Patrick Troughton got an epic send-off as the Doctor, in this huge 10 part story featuring different wars from throughout history all clumped together under the rule of the War Chief and the War Lords. Turns out he is one of the Doctor's race, the Time Lords, who are the only ones who can put an end to the evil at hand.

46. The Stones of Blood

Part of 1978's year long Key to Time arc, The Stones of Blood is my favorite entry from that season. It features some wonderful modern day bits, along with some good atmospheric sections. The leads are great on all accounts, with great stuff for Tom Baker, the beautiful Romana I, and K-9 being his doggy self. And what better than having the baddie be a beautiful silver lady?

Terror of the Vervoids

Terror of the Vervoids
by Pip and Jane Baker
Originally Broadcasted: November 1st-November 22nd, 1986

While fighting for his life on trial in front of the High Council of Time Lords, the Doctor presents a case from the future in his defense, where he and soon-to-be companion Mel answer a distress call from space liner Hyperion III. A group of scientists are transporting creatures that if hatched could mean the end of animal life on Earth...

Terror of the Vervoids is the third part of 1986's Trial of the Time Lord, which sees the Doctor on trial for his constant meddling in the affairs of others. I'll examine the trial portions of the season in more depth when I review The Ultimate Foe. Terror of the Vervoids is the one section of the trial season that could stand on its own as a run-of-a-mill Doctor Who story. The Mysterious Planet and Mindwarp had the Valeyard present cases from the Doctor's past and present, while Terror of the Vervoids takes us into the future. In fact, the Doctor had yet to meet Mel, meaning this is the only companion without a real introduction story. The first we see of her is when she's on the TARDIS forcing the Doctor into a workout regime, as well as making him drink that yucky carrot juice. Some people like Mel, but I'm not one of them. She's a bit too out there for me. Bonnie Langford was known for doing pantomime and other such stage appearances, and it always seems like she's acting as if she were on stage. It's not necessarily bad acting, it's just not right for "serious drama" like Doctor Who. The story presented is kind of like an Agatha Christy who-dunnit. Right from the start of the story, everyone is a suspect. You really have to pay attention to all the action and clues to be able to figure out who could have a motive for these murders. I'd actually wager to say this is one of only a few Colin Baker stories that feels like classic Who. This story could have been placed in the Patrick Troughton or Tom Baker eras easily. The Vervoids themselves have infamously been compared to a rather naughty part of the male anatomy. How they managed to get through the design process looking like they do is a mystery to me. This story also features a couple of cracking cliffhangers. First you get the release of the Vervoids from their pods at the end of Part One (or Part Nine technically) with Mel's deafening scream taking us into the end credits. The end of Part Ten is also pretty creepy too, where a half human, half Vervoid is shown (as seen in the image above). Terror of the Vervoids is a bit hard to follow at times, with the jumps between the courtroom and the action, and the apparent meddling in the Matrix changing what actually happened. Overall though, it is a good, classic Doctor Who story, and it would have been nice to have seen Colin Baker's Doctor in more stories like this. Here he is presented as a lovable, charming Doctor. If he had been characterized like this from the get-go, perhaps he never would have been fired from the role...

Luke's Rating: 7/10

Earthshock

Earthshock
by Eric Saward
Originally Broadcasted: March 8th-16th, 1982

A brigade led by Lieutenant Scott is investigating mysterious deaths inside some mysterious caves. Of course, the TARDIS crew shows up and are indeed accused of murder. Little do they know that the Cybermen are behind it all, with a plan to destroy the Earth and stop a united force to destroy the Cybermen. It's up to the Doctor and all his allies to put a stop to them, but one won't make it out alive...

Earthshock is not only a great Cybermen story, but also a phenomenal Doctor Who story. Skillfully written as a late replacement script by incoming script editor Eric Saward, Earthshock had the daunting task of reintroducing the Cybermen after a 7 year absence. Producer John Nathan-Turner wanted to keep the return of the Cybermen a secret to really put the shock in Earthshock, so he canceled Doctor Who's appearance on the front cover of the Radio Times and let no one outside of the production see the filming of this serial. Right up until the end of Part One, the Cybermen actually aren't shown. Instead we get a very atmospheric piece taking place in some caves. The Cybermen have placed androids there to guard a bomb, and explorers who have gone near this hidden bomb have been killed. The androids are very slowly revealed throughout the episode. Meanwhile, the TARDIS crew land in the caves and are captured under suspicion of murder by the troopers now investigating the deaths. It is only then when the androids attack that the Cybermen are revealed at the cliffhanger to Part One. And what a cliffhanger it is! I can only imagine how exciting it must have been to finally see the Cybermen return to Doctor Who after 7 years, or perhaps have seen these emotionless creatures for the first time. The Cybermen have been reinvented many times throughout the history of Doctor Who, but this was their first big redesign since their second appearance. I think these are my favorite Cybermen. The costumes still look great even today, and the actors (especially David Banks' Cyber Leader) give wonderful performances. I think they should bring the Cybermen closer back to this design in current Who. One of my favorite parts of the story is when the Cybermen are looking for clues to the android's destruction. The Cyber Leader comes across the TARDIS and recognizes it, but doesn't recognize anyone in the cave as the Doctor. So they then flip through a few clips of past Cybermen stories with William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, and Tom Baker. Some of my favorite moments in Doctor Who are these self-referential ones. It's always nice to see the show celebrate its past. But the Cybermen's reappearance wasn't the only shocking thing in Earthshock, for there was also Adric's death. And can I say he kind of deserved it? Ever since Adric first appeared the previous season in Full Circle, he was shown to be the biggest annoying brat. Now I'm not sure if that's down to the writing or Matthew Waterhouse's performance, or both, but there's just something about Adric that grinds my gears, and most other Doctor Who fans too. Adric could have easily saved his life had he just stayed put on the escape pod, but he let his annoying teenage tendencies (I CAN DO THIS) get the best of him, and he crashes, along with the spaceship. This leads to the weirdest closing of a Doctor Who episode ever. The credits roll silent over Adric's broken star. Fitting, but perhaps a bit too cheesy. Earthshock is a prime example of what makes Doctor Who great. I have seen this story so many times, yet every time I get thrilled, emotional, and really into the excellent storytelling!

Luke's Rating: 10/10

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol
by Steven Moffat
Originally Broadcasted: December 25th, 2010

Amy and Rory are onboard a crashing space liner, that could be saved if the grumpy miser on the planet bellow would switch off the cloud belt that would destroy the ship. It's then up to the Doctor to convince this miser to change his mind and his ways, through a journey to the past and a rethinking of the present...

A Christmas Carol started off a two season string of the Christmas specials being inspired by or spoofing a well known piece of literature. 2011's The Doctor, The Widow, and The Wardrobe was of course inspired by the first Narnia book, and A Christmas Carol derives from the great Charles Dickens tale. A Christmas Carol is one of the most adapted stories of all time. I don't think I can think of another book that has had so many film and TV version of it produced. Now the version presented in Doctor Who is obviously not a word for word retelling, nor is it really the same story. But there are many elements quite obviously inspired by the Dickens original. Kazran Sardick (played by Dumbledore himself, Michael Gambon) is a wealthy old miser who owns much of the planet, as well as a cloud belt where a malfuctioning ship with Amy and Rory aboard will crash into unless Sardick turns the belt off. Being a grumpy old man with no feelings for anyone, he won't do that. So the Doctor heads off into the past to give Kazran some new memories, including introducing him to the love of his live, the beautiful Abigail, played by Katherine Jenkins. Abigail had given her life to Sardick's father as insurance against borrowed money. This in fact was the way his father always operated, as a giant storage room full of frozen people is shown. Secretly though, she is dying. The episode proceeds to get extremely joyful as The Doctor, a young Kazran, and Abigail spend every successive Christmas Eve together for a good 10 years (of course it takes mere hours for the Doctor). These experiences are what finally convince Kazran to change his ways, a la Scrooge. One of the funniest moments in the story is during the Doctor's Christmas Eve visits, when they head to Hollywood in its heyday (the last place I expected this story to head!), and the Doctor actually gets engaged to Marilyn Monroe. Matt Smith's performance of the Doctor makes a situation like this utterly believable, even though we actually never see Monroe. I remember thinking A Christmas Carol was only a decent story when it first aired back in 2010, but on this viewing, I really enjoyed it! Definitely ranks high among all the Christmas specials!

Luke's Rating: 9/10

The Tomb of the Cybermen

The Tomb of the Cybermen
by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis
Originally Broadcasted: September 2nd-23rd, 1967

The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria land on the planet Telos and come across an archeological expedition from the planet Earth. They are on Telos to discover the tomb of the Cybermen. Little do they know, one amongst them plans to bring the Cybermen back to life to aid in his play to rule the galaxy. The Cybermen are awakened, but aren't so keen on working with humans...

The Tomb of the Cybermen is one of the most well-known, classic episodes of Doctor Who from the show's history. It always seems to be at the top of fan's lists. Even current Doctor Matt Smith calls The Tomb of the Cybermen his favorite Doctor Who story. It's clear to see why this is a fan favorite. It features great mystery, a great set of supporting characters, a popular enemy, and one of the best Doctors, Patrick Troughton. Now I'll be honest, it's not my favorite Cybermen story. That honor has to go to Earthshock for me. But it is still a fabulous story. There is something about the older, and quite frankly, cheaper designs of the Cybermen that is actually more scary. In the Cybermen's one appearance in the 70s, they were portrayed as rather camp men in suits, and then in the 80s, they pretty much turned into Darth Vader. Here you just get a creepy electronic voice that matches the costumes perfectly. Every time a Cyberman would talk, chills would go down my spine, as if they were whispering in my ear. And of course, I have to mention the iconic moment from this story, where the tombs are unfrozen and hoards of Cybermen break out and climb down. One of the most iconic moments in the history of Doctor Who, aided wonderfully by the perfect choice of stock music. Introduced in this story are the Cybermats, little metallic rats that serve the Cybermen. They would only appear two more times, in Revenge of the Cybermen and Closing Time. Great chemistry is on display between The Doctor and Jamie, including a great comedic moment where he reaches for Jamie's hand, thinking it's Victoria's, and then they awkwardly take their hands away when they realize. Definitely one of the greatest Doctor-Companion pairings of all time. The Tomb of the Cybermen is a black and white story that still holds up to this day. WE WILL SURVIVE!

Luke's Rating: 7/10

Full Circle

Full Circle
by Andrew Smith
Originally Broadcasted: October 25th-November 15th, 1980

The Doctor and Romana have been summoned back to Gallifrey, but suddenly the TARDIS falls through a CVE into E Space and they arrive on the planet Alzarius, even though the TARDIS thinks they're on Gallifrey. On Alzarius, the Doctor must deal with superstitious people, as well as the "deadly" Mistfall and the marsh creatures that come during Mistfall...

Full Circle was the first of the three part E Space Trilogy of loosely connected stories all taking place in E Space, an alternate universe that should be impossible for the Doctor to be in. It was also the introduction story for one of the most beloved companions in Doctor Who history, Adric. Of course, I was being a wee bit sarcastic there. Right from the beginning we can see just how annoying Adric is. He's unhelpful, sarcastic, and a bit of a smarty pants. Certainly no artful dodger. Seeing him introduced just made me wish we were at Earthshock already... Our leads get some great stuff to work with in this episode. Tom Baker is at his most Doctor-like in this story, throughly being the voice of reason and intelligence. On the other end, Lalla Ward gets to play Romana as an almost evil character, having her brain waves altered to become more like the Marshmen. How clever of a realization was it that the humans on Alzarius had actually evolved over millions of years from the Marshmen. The thing their so afraid of is actually themselves. And with the Marshmen, we get one of the most iconic scenes from this era of the show, the Marshmen rising up out of the swamp as the cliffhanger to Part One. Sends shivers down my spine every time! I think the Deciders are a great parody of how government works. These three people are supposed to rule, govern, and change, and yet they seem to be incapable of any of that. It's only with the curiosity of Decider Login and the help of the Doctor that Alzarius finally comes full circle. One of my favorite elements of Full Circle is the fantastic incidental music provided by Paddy Kingsland. I think this is one of the finest examples of why I love early 80s Doctor Who music so much. It provides a creepy tone and a joyous one as well. Some people think the music in this era of Doctor Who is a bit overpowering, but I love it! Full Circle is a fine example of early 80s Doctor Who, which just so happens to be probably my favorite era of the show. And when you consider it was written by a 17 year old, that makes it all the more impressive! If only it hadn't introduced Adric...

Luke's Rating: 8/10

Death to the Daleks

Death to the Daleks
by Terry Nation
Originally Broadcasted: February 23rd-March 16th, 1974

The Doctor and Sarah Jane are on their way the beach planet of Florana for a well deserved vacation, when the TARDIS looses its power. They instead land on Exxilon, where Sarah comes across the ancient Exxilon race who prepare to sacrifice her. Further complicating things, the Daleks land on Exxilon, but they too have no power. But are the Daleks really weaponless? Or will they come up with a dirty old trick?

Everyone loves a good old Dalek story. Some of the more popular Dalek stories include the epic Genesis of the Daleks, which tells story of the creation of the Daleks, and Revelation of the Daleks, a beautifully written and rather creepy tale of turning humans into Daleks. While being almost nothing similar in tone to those two stories, Death to the Daleks, which I just viewed for the first time, ranks pretty high for me in the hierarchy of Dalek stories. This was the last time during the classic series that the Daleks appeared without their creator, Davros. We'd have to wait all the way until 2005's Dalek to see a lone Dalek again. Written by the creator of the Daleks, Terry Nation, this story has a very unique take on these screaming pepper-pots from Skaro. Their guns are taken away, and so they have to temporarily ally themselves with the humans. This presented the Daleks in a way I've never seen them before, and that was exciting to me. But always having a trick up their sleeves, the Daleks soon have good old fashioned machine guns installed, now able to dominate the humans and the Exxilons. Speaking of the Exxilions, what marvelously creepy aliens they are. They're actually rather scary to look at, with their dominating height and creepy faces. Add to that their ominous chanting and you get quite a creepy race! In fact, for a moment I almost forgot this was a Dalek story! And then you have the good Exxilon, Bellal, who turns out to be quite a lovable character. It would have actually been fun if he'd hopped aboard the TARDIS for an story or two. I would have loved to have seen more of the chemistry between Bellal and the Doctor. I must mention what is probably the worst cliffhanger in Doctor Who history. The Doctor and Bellal come across an odd pattern on the floor, the Doctor hastily says "Stop don't move" and the episode ends. Wow. What a cliffhanger! Death to the Daleks is well known for its innovative musical score. Most Doctor Who stories around this time were scored by Dudley Simpson, and while he provided some fantastic scores (my personal favorite being City of Death), his music was a bit repetitive. So it's nice to hear the more experimental soundtrack provided by Carey Blyton (who had previously scored Doctor Who and the Silurians). Death to the Daleks is an overlooked, yet surprisingly fun and exciting Doctor Who story. Well worth a peek from the old eyestalk!

Luke's Rating: 8/10