One good thing to note about "Arc of Infinity" is Peter Davidson's performance of a deteriorating Omega as he runs through Amsterdam discovering how it feels to live just as his life is about to end. A moment worth watching again.
I feel sorry for Omega in this story. The way he looked down at the child who just pushed past him and smiled. Omega's only crime was wanting to live his life in the real world. Something we all take for granted.
I was the person who was organizing the videos at Magnum Opus Con II where Pat Troughton died. And, by the way, it wasn't an official video room since the con organizer, Roland Castle, refused to have one because of the costs imposed by Lionheart. Anyway, it wasn't so much that Troughton said "The Dominators" was his favorite, it's just that when I mentioned it was one of the ones I was showing, he said, "Oh, the Dominators! I haven't seen that one since we made it! They kept saying, 'We've got to conserve the power!'". I can still remember him saying it in my mind in his exact voice. Anyway, he mentioned it several times during his panel later that day. I definitely did not get the impression that it was his favorite, just that he was excited about seeing it again for the first time in many years.
"Time-Flight" and "Mark of the Rani" were two episodes that showcased how the Master had become a parody of himself at that point, wearing elaborate disguises that served absolutely no purpose in the story and were just there because "he's the Master and he uses disguises".
Yes, but those disguises served a purpose. In "Time-Flight" he was disguised as an elderly mystic while on prehistoric Earth surrounded by mind controlled kidnap victims who didn't know who he was and were in no condition to care who he was. In "Mark of the Rani" he was standing in the middle of a field disguised as a scarecrow for no particular reason.
I never understood why The Master was in 'Mark of the Rani', JNT wanted a new recurring adversary and O'Mara was cast because of her chemistry (excuse the pun) with Baker from 'The Brothers'. Then they just sideline her and put in The Master. Which is a shame as I think that had we had more of The Rani and Sixth doctor it would have worked better. Also never understood why they gave The Rani a black nose stud in 'TATR'
Funny story. Here in MN back in the yearly '80s when I was barely 5, our public TV station in the twin cities started showing the Tom Baker episodes, IN ORDER, in their original format and, I, WAS, HOOKED!!! LOVED it! But then at the regeneration episode they totally stopped airing them at that time slot and format. Fast forward about two years and my family is having some kinda family get together and one of my cousins turns on the public access station and casually says, "Oh, it's Doctor Who." and I was like, "No it's not!" Forgetting about him changing in the last episode I saw. And lo and behold, it was! At a later time slot, in a 90 minute format. And which adventure was it???? Arc Of Infinity!!! lmao
I'd swap out Time Flight but not sure what I'd have in it's place. I enjoyed Arc of Infinity too, I remember getting both stories on DVD in a box set from a charity shop.
While not really disputing their places here, I tend to forgive "Time and the Rani" and "Underworld" because of their circumstances. "Underworld" was made at a time of runaway inflation, so by the time it was made, its budget had lost about ten percent of its purchasing power from the time the season budget was created. (Other notorious stories of the era suffering from the same issues were "The Invasion of Time" and "The Horns of Nimon", which I'm a little surprised didn't make this list.) The green screen sets were very much an experiment, and if they had worked, it would likely have a much better reputation. "Time and the Rani", meanwhile, was made in such haste after the show got a late pick-up that it's astonishing we have it at all. John Nathan-Turner quickly needed to acquire a new script editor and a new Doctor (after being forced to fire Colin Baker), so it's no wonder the team had to settle for whatever script Pip and Jane Baker could give them to launch the era.
The Web Planet is high on my list. An early First Doctor episode. The noise made by the ant-like Zarbi is ear-splitting, and IT JUST DOES NOT STOP! Augh! And the costuming leaves a lot to be desired, even for early Doctor Who! lol
I like when Ellie describes NuWho as a "revival", rather than a "reboot". It modernizes the show while not discarding its past, as a true reboot would by starting over...
Born in the hind end of the 70s, I was a child of the 80s. I have only the vaguest memories of 4 - usually ignited by clips and repeats of the Tom Baker era. Despite Saturday morning showings of the Peter Cushing movies, Peter Davison was *my* Doctor. Certainly I was put out when 5 became 6, but he was still *the* Doctor. I have never understood the fans that excoriate an actor before he or she has had an opportunity to prove themself. To my naive mind, the Doctor *is* the Doctor, and it doesn't matter what face they wear.
the lumbering of the myrka can be explained, its a deep sea creature normally used to the pressure at that depth, take it out of there into the air and it can be forgiven for not being able to move easily! it could even be at risk of exploding due to its internal pressure!
That said, it's still relieving to hear it menacingly skitter about the Target Novelisation's Sea Base, like the eel-tailed velociraptor it was supposed to be.
More often than not I read folks say the Myrna could’ve been forgiven if they lit this dark to make it foreboding. It was a case of the directors choosing bad mood lighting.
@@tigremalabarista3461 I seem to recall reading that the writer's vision of the underwater base was for it to be dark and dank with water dripping down the walls but in typical JNT fashion it was turned into a bright white, over-lit typical Doctor Who 'space station' instead. If they'd gone with the former then they could have made efforts to hide the risible myrka. They even made the Silurians' third eye flash on and off when they talked, as if they were Daleks, and the costumes were so shoddy that you can see the zips in some shots. Just terrible, terrible decisions all-round. It made a poor story irredeemable.
I'm surprised that "The Gunfighters" from the William Hartnell era didn't make the list. For some reason the story of the gunfight at the OK Corral never does well in the science fiction genre (see also "Spectre Of The Gun" from ST-TOS)
Oh I hated this singing. It was so unlogical. For me the worst episode of the Hartnell Era. I'm just watching for the first time classic who and I am still ine the fifth season, but the Gunfighters is till now the worst episode of Classic Who for me. The Underwater Menace is for my opinion really good. Let them change.
You are not alone, I thought the Dominators was pretty good. Certainly a superb performance from the TARDIS crew and the villains. I have to admit the native humans were a bit lame but wasn’t that the point. The clue is in the name, the Dominators, a cruel alien force that Dominated a timid native species by force and tyranny. It would not of worked if they were all action heroes like Chuck Norris. I guess most people don’t get the point of the story.
at 5:22 There is a convention in germany called "TimeLash" too. It's the biggest ONLY DOCTOR WHO(and Torchwood) convention in germany. It's very familiarly. I love it there. This year in October I think. Always in Kassel.
I like Arc of Infinity, Warriors of the Deep, apart from the Myrka, Timelash. Hey leave Time -Flight alone 😅...its one of my favourites. I agree with Twin Dillema!
Horns of the Nimon is great. First time the companion is the star of a seriel since DW went to color My introduction to the Doctor's greatest Companion: Romana
I think Arc of Infinity, The Dominators, The Space Pirates and Underworld aren't as bad as to be on the bottom. I'd put Paradise Towers, Delta and the Bannermen, The Trial of A Time Lord (esp. Mindwarp & The Ultimate Foe), The Horns of Nimon, The Creature from the Pit, The Krotons, The Gunflighters & The Romans as my least favorites.
I am not surprised to see several of those here… “(Waste of) Time and the Rani,” “Lameshit, er, Timelash” (it’s anagram quality is probably unintended but fitting), and “Twin Dilemma” certainly deserve their spots on this list. I was somewhat surprised “Creature from the Pit” and “Horns of Nimon” were not on this list.
_The Dominators_ should be number 1, given that the production team thought it was so bad they cut it from 6 to 5 episodes and gave the last episode to the next serial, the stunning _The Mind Robber_
The Sixth Doctor's regeneration in Time and the Rani, basically falling and hitting his head to trigger it, was so bad that the BBC allowed Big Finish to completely retcon it and give the Sixth Doctor a proper ending.
Arc Of Infinity should not be on this list. Story is good, Colin Baker, location filming is great, return of Tegan, Michael Gough is always great, Peter Davison as Omega is well played.
I always think "The Underwater Menace" gets a raw deal in polls- yes, the budget is nowhere near enough for what the story wants to do, & I get the criticism of Zaroff's "nuzzing in ze world can stop me now!" , but it's also a lot of fun.... Maybe not one to show new fans, but as a guilty pleasure with a glass of wine...😁 this has the potential to be the Doctor Who version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show!
I definitely don't mind it. And I don't get why everyone rags on Joseph Furst -- he's playign the character exactly how he needs to be played: Totally over the top and ridiculous, but you can tell he and Troughton are having a great time, and I think that communicates to the audience when they're on screen. Also, the story kind of reminds me of a really cheap version of one of those pepplum/sword and sandal stories -- oe of the weirder ones where Hercules discovers Atlantis and they have slaves mining uranium and an evil archon/scientist runs everything from behind the scenes.
No, I bloody loved Arc of Infinity, despite it starting slightly slow. Underwater? Ok, the release mars it. What about the Time Monster(you feel bad for Ingrid Pitt), or the Leisure Hive.
Three Troughton stories? Surely you could ease off on The Space Pirates to give Jon Pertwee a chance to be in on the fun. Take your pick of his terrible Dalek stories (how did the Daleks not end up on this list?) I haven't seen enough Hartnell to really have a strong opinion but clearly one of the 10-12 parters must be harder to watch now than poor, silly Timelash.
The Arc of Infinity I put it in the middle between like and dislike but I don't want to go back and watch it again. The underwater menace I may have seen a surviving episode of it. It was ok. I like Warriors of the Deep but I can see the issues and problems with it. I like the dominators one of my fav! I like the time and the Rani but I can see the issues with it. I've not seen timelash. From what I've seen of the space pirates I liked but i didn't feel the music . I've seen Underworld I put it in the middle between like and dislike. The Tom Baker story you mentioned at number 2 I find boring! and time flight i liked when watching. I've never seen the twin dilemma.
I, too, like what I've seen of The Dominators--the Quark robots look like walking fridges, and the two Dominator scouts are wearing heavy shoulder armour--small wonder the actors wear uncomfortable expressions! LOL!! 🤣🤣😸😸🇬🇧🇬🇧
Others stories that could be mention, First Doctor The Keys Of Marinus The Web Planet The Crusade The Space Museum Galaxy 4 The Ark The Smugglers The Second Doctor The Wheel In Space The Krotons The Third Doctor The Mutants The Time Monster The Invasion (Not to be confused with the Patrick Troughton story of the same name) or we can called the Invasion of the Dinosaurs (I don't know depends on who you ask...) The Monster of Peladon Planet of the Spiders The Fourth Doctor Robot Revenge Of The Cybermen The Invasion Of Time The Power Of Kroll Desnity Of The Daleks The Creature from the Pit The Horns Of Nimon The Leisure Hive Meglos (Waste of Jacqueline Hill, unfortunately) The Fifth Doctor I don't remember much of his Era, but i remember how Ressuction Of The Daleks was a mess for sure... The Six Doctor His whole era was weak but Revelation Of The Daleks, is enjoyable The Seventh Doctor The whole Season 24, The Happiness Patrol and Silver Nemesis belong here.
I thought Keys of Marinus was one of Hartnell's better ones I disagree with most of your 4th Doctor picks but I am a Lalla Ward fanboy. Invasion of Time should have been 4 rather than 6 episodes
@@dazzle1545 A bit weird say that in a story were The Doctor is missing for some time and even when he is on screen he doesn't do much, but i respect your opinion.
The Dominators happens to be one of my favourites and I own it on DVD. I don't think it was that bad. Maybe the villains in the story Rago and Toba could have better written and done more. But, honest to god, the worst ever episode of Doctor Who in it's 59 year history of every episode that was ever written, filmed and broadcast by the BBC as far as I'm concerned is ''The Timeless Children''. It was an insult to us the fans and to the show's 56 year legacy and Chris Chibnall truly screwed up the mythology of The Doctor and the Time Lords. It was a bad as the final episode of Game of Thrones. 🔥 👿
I laughed out loud when you complemented Time-Flight's location filming whilst showing clips of the in-studio perspective set 😆 And speaking of location filming, the time spent in Amsterdam is an example of the most wasted opportunity in Classic Who as Director Ron Jones utterly fails to make these scenes remotely as dynamic as you claim. Otherwise, a spot on summary of Arse Of Inanity. Oh, and Kalid in Time-Flight is meant to be an Arabian Mystic, but in the end it's still as horrendously racist as an Eastern-looking Caucasian in Yellowface.
I actually liked Time Flight and The Dominators. Time Flight was the best series of that particular season in my honest opinion. The Dominators, while having really stupid looking robots, was really not a bad story at all
Unfortunately, rather than trying to double down on the actual psychological trauma plots, Eric Saward's Target Novelisation would rather poke fun at Douglas Adams' writing sensibilities. The strangle scene remains, with barely any lasting consequences.
I like the Twin Dilemma but I'm new to Who and any sort of characterization after the Davison years was more than welcome in my book. There's one Colin Baker story I barely made it through but it's not on this list.
@Dildo Insaney For McCoy, I recommend the Target Novelisations. The ones on "Remembrance of the Daleks" and "The Curse of Fenric" in particular. Also, there's a ton of Big Finish stuff you can look into (my personal favourites being "The Magic Mousetrap" and "The Two Masters"), and a lot of novels, such as "Human Nature" and "Illegal Alien". That said, I do respect your opinion; while McCoy is among my favourite Doctors, Season 24's lighthearted comedy nature can turn a lot of viewers off, and seeing the Doctor become an arch-manipulator does make the franchise just a bit bleaker. Not to mention, the writers were throwing a lot of ideas together and seeing if they could stick, so they are a bit disjointed ("Ghost Light" in particular). Oh well, at least there weren't any overly long and ugly-looking infodumps that ruined legitimately good-in-theory plot twists and tanked the runtime.
Good list overall, although I feel the Dominators isn't that bad. Not good for sure, but not bottom 10. Time and the Rani is terrible, and deserves the rancor. I do dislike Underworld, but I feel the Invisible Enemy is worse, but not by much!
And rewrite her lines to be far less whiny and annoying. (Fun fact: She sounded so whiny as a side-effect of her fake American accent; when she does her normal British voice, she sounds fine)
Overall I really did like Arc Of Infinity because when I first watched this story on DVD, I was really surprised to see the return of Omega even though that I did like Omega's TARDIS while the mask is no good but the rest of his outfit is okay as well as the design for Gallifrey, even I was surprised to see Borusa return only this time as the Lord President Borusa including Colin Baker as Maxil even though I'm not a fan for Tegan because I hate this companion but I still like and enjoy this story.
From that list I actually liked the Arc of Infinity, The Dominators and Time and the Rani - for different reasons. In the first one lociation of filming was constantly changing - and I have impression that it doesn't happen often in DW. Second - yes, it had a repetitive phrase that got so dull after some time, but I liked the performance of Patric Troughton. And the last one was just light - it was kind of funny to watch new Doctor trying to get to grips with himself and some alien creatures with boring story, but funny way of running. With other episodes mentioned here - I agree.
The hatchet job on The Twin Dilemma shows no sign of letting up. I know it's not great...but the worst ever? I've never thought so. You've cut Tom Baler some slack. As brilliant as he was in the role, he starred in some utter turkeys towards the end of his reign. You've got Underworld but missed Horns of Nimon (amazed this escaped your top 10) and The Invisible Enemy. Same with Hartnell - The Gunfighters and The Web Planet are really bad as are - along with Time and the Rani - all the other stories from McCoy's first season
Underworld was Tom Baker's least popular? I mean, it wasn't the most memorable of his, but I don't think it was that bad. My vote would've gone to The Creature From The Pit!
"The Twin Dilemma" may have been a crappy main story, but I really enjoyed the novelisation of it, it added a lot of really cool side-stories based on aspects of the main story, I think it's my favourite Doctor Who novelisation!
You can't judge the Classic Who episodes by the crap design of the monsters. Warriors of the Deep wasn't that bad. I enjoy it for its continuation and extension of the Silurian/Sea Devil mythology.
Just as with the original Star Trek, you have to get beyond the cheap sets and special effects. At least 75-80% of Classic is better than the best New Who episode
I've got all of the episodes of Nu/Who practically memorized, but have seen little of the classic series. I really enjoyed your video with those classic "rubbish monsters"! I'm still laughing!!
I suspect if there were to pull the fans now the underwater menace would be a lot higher since it's got its animation the animation really makes that story enjoyable
Season 22 of the Colin Baker era was, I believe, the point of no return. It was so awful that it felt like the show was beyond repair. It was even almost cancelled because it made it go on an 18-month hiatus.
When talking about Classic Who, can people please stop doing that thing of mixing up a story with a episode, Classic DW was serials divided into seasons and each season had a set of stories, each story depending on the season would either be anything from one episode like Mission to the Unknown, two episodes like the Rescue (for example), three (Planet of Giants) but mostly four, sometimes five and very often six or seven, unless it's a epic like the ten parter which was the last black and white adventure (The War Games). They could go on for weeks like The Dalek Masterplan and be twelve episodes, or longer if you count the Trial of a Time Lord as one fourteen parter instead of three fours and a two. With the vast amount of info about the original series and New Who, and plus the fact we are nearing the sixtieth anniversary, you would think people would know better by now. NRM - Whovian 1981-?
I was born and raised in the US. When I was a little nerd back in the 80's, I watched DW on PBS. For awhile, they were shown as an episode (and I mean episode) every weeknight. However, not long after I started watching, they changed the format. DW starting being shown weekly in "ominbus" form; meaning the all the episodes of a story would air as one long (sometimes *very* long) episode. So while I know about the episodes/story thing, the way I watched the show affects the way I think (and subsequently talk and write) about the show. I'm willing to bet I'm not the only USAian who watched Classic Who that way.
@@aw-h3875 Nope. Seasons is the accepted term for 20th-century runs of DW, to distinguish them from the 21st-century runs, which are called Series instead. “Serial [X]” was literally the way the early stories were officially referenced in all production paperwork, even as late as the 1980s!
@@DrWhoFanJ nope Nobody in the 20C referred to Seasons of Dr Who. We would say the first series of Dr Who began in 1963:and the last series of Dr Who ended in 1989. As far as classic Dr Who is concerned Series is technically correct because each Season as you call it is a Series of adventures, or serials, so Series one of classic Who is the first series of adventures, or serials. Seasons is technically incorrect because in the 60s Dr Who was on almost all year round. In the 70s it was on for half a year. And more importantly NOBODY referred to Seasons of tv programmes because Seasons is an American term used by Americans to refer to American broadcast shows. The adoption of the word Season to describe a run of Dr Who serials or episodes is an attempt by the BBC to pander to the American fanbase to increase revenue from it's products by making them more palatable to prospective American purchasers. But here in the UK a tv series is a tv series, and a season is a time of the year
@@aw-h3875 Strange how precisely 0% of that is even remotely true/relevant here. 20th-century _Doctor Who_ comprises 26 seasons, while 21st-century _Doctor Who_ comprises 13 series (and counting). This is basic facts. Check any pair of home media release covers if you don’t believe me.
Well, Ellie, the 60th anniversary DWM poll is being released right now. This month we have the polls of the 5th and 6th Doctor, more Doctors to come, plus the finals. If you just waited for a while you could have the very last charts.
To be fair...The Underwater Menace was trying to do a LOT with very little budget and time...and was during a point where Who was going through a phase of "Avent Garde" crazy. At least they weren't afraid to take risks and try to punch above their weight. Sure, it didn't always work...but they tried...and that sense of adventure within the production is likely one of the things that helped the show remain popular. They could have played it safe and devolved to what a lot of the Hartnell era became...lots of identical looking aliens standing around and talking politics...and the show would have died. So yeah...The Underwater menace doesn't work...but at least they gave it the attempt. Warriors of the Deep got screwed by behind the scenes politics....they were told they only had a couple of weeks to film it because there was an Election coming up, and the head of the BBC (who was looking to kill off Dr Who) assigned the studios that were used to film Who, to the televised coverage of the election. So suddenly EVERYTHING was on a massive time constraint...they had so little time that the crew inside the Mirka (basically a pantomine horse with a CRT screen inside so the guy at the back could see where they were going...BAD IDEA) had no time to rehearse, they were on set and filming on their first day...and the paint on the Mirka wasn't even fully dry during filming. There was no time time. No time to fix production issues, or give the script a bit more work, or anything like that. The fact that the story mostly holds up, even if its bleak and the production is a rushed mess, is no mean feat. Nothing good to say about Underworld. Time-Flight is horrendous. It's just cheap, racist and idiotic...the "White Guy In Eastern Makeup" stuff was uncomfortable in Talons in the 1970s, but buy the 1980s everyone knew better and there's just no excuse for how stupid and awful the whole story is.
I can't really argue that many of these are *good*. Don't really hate any of the 60s or 70s ones -- they're usually at least a good time in some capacity. The Ark comes pretty close to being dire but at least is kind of interesting, and as a kid I at least loved the Celestial Toymaker novelisation. Destiny of the Daleks is one that I quite dislike, and it seems after that point the number of stinkers does increase somewhat for me. I came to the show in the late 80s when it was arguably experiencing very bad times, so I guess it says something that I stuck with it. Trial of a Time Lord is my least favourite -- the whole thing really, except for Mindwarp, sort of.
When I first clicked on this video I knew "The Twin Dilemma" would top the poll. I was not expecting a Tom Baker story but Underworld is a fair choice for this list.
I think I can guess the issues people have with "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", but I thought John Bennett did a masterful job portraying a Chinese man without making him into an insulting cliche. He looks Chinese, and he sounds Chinese, and sometimes her wears Chinese clothes. That's it. It probably was not easy to find a professional Chinese actor of the right age in London in 1977. If anyone ever asks me how they should play a character of a different ethnicity, I'll tell them to watch Bennett in this.
I always found The Keys of Marinus to be especially dodgy, but to be completely honest I'm not sure I would swap out anything on this list for it. And I'm even a massive 6th Doctor apologist.
I can't really argue much about the stories listed, nor with the methodology in choosing them. That said, if I'm making my own list of the episodes that I loathe the most, it starts with every single story of The Trial of a Time Lord series (in order of so, so bad to so much worse: stories 3, 1, 2, 4), followed by The Gunfighters. In my own personal head canon, I do not acknowledge that the Trial series ever happened.
I totally disagree for me, worse is better, and I don't know why, but I love low budget and bad sci fi more than anything. And I remember the dominators when I was in the first year of infant school, and talking about it in the play ground with other pupils who were just as fascinated with it as me, we thought the dominators were the little robots, and for some reason, one of the other pupils suggested the dominators might be in one of the outside school store rooms so we were looking though the dark windows trying to see them
Amazing how fans of a series that has so much creative potency can so parochially gravitate between the bright star - really, really like - and the 'death' star - absolutely despise-hate it. Why not just say "Hm. Didn't really work for me that time. Try another thought". It's not the absolute end of the Doctor Who universe and the moment has been prepared for. Infinity awaits and always outdoes finitudes.
Warriors From The Deep is a good story - despite the bad effects. It's the bleak ending that makes it for me. Timeflight is bad - you can tell the production team were so happy to get access to Concorde, but the story was very poor. Horns of Nimon is terrible as well. Invasion of the Dinosaurs is awful as well. Timelash - yep, a bad one from Colin Baker's era. Time and the Rani is bad - McCoy gets better later on.
Check out the NuWho version here. “Greatest” lists for both classic and modern are in the works! th-cam.com/video/LwbCKNmhMOA/w-d-xo.html
One good thing to note about "Arc of Infinity" is Peter Davidson's performance of a deteriorating Omega as he runs through Amsterdam discovering how it feels to live just as his life is about to end. A moment worth watching again.
I feel sorry for Omega in this story. The way he looked down at the child who just pushed past him and smiled. Omega's only crime was wanting to live his life in the real world. Something we all take for granted.
I was the person who was organizing the videos at Magnum Opus Con II where Pat Troughton died. And, by the way, it wasn't an official video room since the con organizer, Roland Castle, refused to have one because of the costs imposed by Lionheart. Anyway, it wasn't so much that Troughton said "The Dominators" was his favorite, it's just that when I mentioned it was one of the ones I was showing, he said, "Oh, the Dominators! I haven't seen that one since we made it! They kept saying, 'We've got to conserve the power!'". I can still remember him saying it in my mind in his exact voice. Anyway, he mentioned it several times during his panel later that day. I definitely did not get the impression that it was his favorite, just that he was excited about seeing it again for the first time in many years.
🧢
@@bobbybobstar1496 It's a fact whether you want to believe it or not.
The good thing about The Dominators was that it was followed by one of the best Second Doctor stories, The Mind Robber.
The footage of him on that convention talking to fans about The Dominators is the last piece of footage before he died. It’s on TH-cam.
@@sg-zd8eb Great actor. *RIP*
"Time-Flight" and "Mark of the Rani" were two episodes that showcased how the Master had become a parody of himself at that point, wearing elaborate disguises that served absolutely no purpose in the story and were just there because "he's the Master and he uses disguises".
the master used desguises in the third doctor era as well.
Yes, but those disguises served a purpose. In "Time-Flight" he was disguised as an elderly mystic while on prehistoric Earth surrounded by mind controlled kidnap victims who didn't know who he was and were in no condition to care who he was. In "Mark of the Rani" he was standing in the middle of a field disguised as a scarecrow for no particular reason.
Mark of the Rani was the only good thing in the Colin Baker era, they ruined Kate O/Mara in the sequal
The Mark of the Rani which was the highlight of the Colin Baker era would have been better without the Master
I never understood why The Master was in 'Mark of the Rani', JNT wanted a new recurring adversary and O'Mara was cast because of her chemistry (excuse the pun) with Baker from 'The Brothers'. Then they just sideline her and put in The Master. Which is a shame as I think that had we had more of The Rani and Sixth doctor it would have worked better.
Also never understood why they gave The Rani a black nose stud in 'TATR'
“A pair of punchable twins” absolutely made me laugh out loud. Brilliant.
It’s one of the top reasons why the Colin Baker years are not my favorite era or doctor
Funny story. Here in MN back in the yearly '80s when I was barely 5, our public TV station in the twin cities started showing the Tom Baker episodes, IN ORDER, in their original format and, I, WAS, HOOKED!!! LOVED it! But then at the regeneration episode they totally stopped airing them at that time slot and format. Fast forward about two years and my family is having some kinda family get together and one of my cousins turns on the public access station and casually says, "Oh, it's Doctor Who." and I was like, "No it's not!" Forgetting about him changing in the last episode I saw. And lo and behold, it was! At a later time slot, in a 90 minute format. And which adventure was it???? Arc Of Infinity!!! lmao
Arc of Infinity was my 1st Doctor Who story. Was also my first Target novelization. Has a special place for me. Timelash is also a guilty pleasure.
I'd swap out Time Flight but not sure what I'd have in it's place. I enjoyed Arc of Infinity too, I remember getting both stories on DVD in a box set from a charity shop.
While not really disputing their places here, I tend to forgive "Time and the Rani" and "Underworld" because of their circumstances. "Underworld" was made at a time of runaway inflation, so by the time it was made, its budget had lost about ten percent of its purchasing power from the time the season budget was created. (Other notorious stories of the era suffering from the same issues were "The Invasion of Time" and "The Horns of Nimon", which I'm a little surprised didn't make this list.) The green screen sets were very much an experiment, and if they had worked, it would likely have a much better reputation. "Time and the Rani", meanwhile, was made in such haste after the show got a late pick-up that it's astonishing we have it at all. John Nathan-Turner quickly needed to acquire a new script editor and a new Doctor (after being forced to fire Colin Baker), so it's no wonder the team had to settle for whatever script Pip and Jane Baker could give them to launch the era.
There is a lot more wrong with underworld than the bad CSO caves.
The Web Planet is high on my list. An early First Doctor episode. The noise made by the ant-like Zarbi is ear-splitting, and IT JUST DOES NOT STOP! Augh!
And the costuming leaves a lot to be desired, even for early Doctor Who! lol
While I admire the ambition of The Web Planet, the execution is woeful and the whole story is dull.
... I kind of like Timelash
lol, me too.
I've not seen it.
Same it is really good I hate the two doctors though that is awful
Me too, but only my Bluray version 😅
I thought I was the only one...
I like when Ellie describes NuWho as a "revival", rather than a "reboot". It modernizes the show while not discarding its past, as a true reboot would by starting over...
Born in the hind end of the 70s, I was a child of the 80s. I have only the vaguest memories of 4 - usually ignited by clips and repeats of the Tom Baker era. Despite Saturday morning showings of the Peter Cushing movies, Peter Davison was *my* Doctor. Certainly I was put out when 5 became 6, but he was still *the* Doctor. I have never understood the fans that excoriate an actor before he or she has had an opportunity to prove themself.
To my naive mind, the Doctor *is* the Doctor, and it doesn't matter what face they wear.
the lumbering of the myrka can be explained, its a deep sea creature normally used to the pressure at that depth, take it out of there into the air and it can be forgiven for not being able to move easily! it could even be at risk of exploding due to its internal pressure!
That said, it's still relieving to hear it menacingly skitter about the Target Novelisation's Sea Base, like the eel-tailed velociraptor it was supposed to be.
More often than not I read folks say the Myrna could’ve been forgiven if they lit this dark to make it foreboding. It was a case of the directors choosing bad mood lighting.
@@tigremalabarista3461 I seem to recall reading that the writer's vision of the underwater base was for it to be dark and dank with water dripping down the walls but in typical JNT fashion it was turned into a bright white, over-lit typical Doctor Who 'space station' instead. If they'd gone with the former then they could have made efforts to hide the risible myrka. They even made the Silurians' third eye flash on and off when they talked, as if they were Daleks, and the costumes were so shoddy that you can see the zips in some shots. Just terrible, terrible decisions all-round. It made a poor story irredeemable.
I'm surprised that "The Gunfighters" from the William Hartnell era didn't make the list. For some reason the story of the gunfight at the OK Corral never does well in the science fiction genre (see also "Spectre Of The Gun" from ST-TOS)
Oh I hated this singing. It was so unlogical. For me the worst episode of the Hartnell Era. I'm just watching for the first time classic who and I am still ine the fifth season, but the Gunfighters is till now the worst episode of Classic Who for me. The Underwater Menace is for my opinion really good. Let them change.
Time-Flight the chinese character i don't think was intended to be chinese that was simply the Master being in disguise of an Alien.
Yes, but WHY?!
I've probably watched Twin Dilemma more than any other classic Who. Its basically JNT trolling the fans and I love every minute of it.😂
Yep. The minute Colin put his hands around Nicola’s neck, we got it. And Turner was never welcome in the States again.
JN-T genuinely believed Twin Dilemma to be a good serial.
I love The Dominators. The Quarks really are the most adorable death machines in the universe.
You are not alone, I thought the Dominators was pretty good. Certainly a superb performance from the TARDIS crew and the villains. I have to admit the native humans were a bit lame but wasn’t that the point. The clue is in the name, the Dominators, a cruel alien force that Dominated a timid native species by force and tyranny. It would not of worked if they were all action heroes like Chuck Norris. I guess most people don’t get the point of the story.
@@dddayesq5061 They did get a brief name-check in The War Games.
at 5:22
There is a convention in germany called "TimeLash" too. It's the biggest ONLY DOCTOR WHO(and Torchwood) convention in germany. It's very familiarly. I love it there.
This year in October I think. Always in Kassel.
And yet, I love all of these episodes 😅 Warriors Of The Deep is my second favourite Who story ever ❤️
I like Arc of Infinity, Warriors of the Deep, apart from the Myrka, Timelash. Hey leave Time -Flight alone 😅...its one of my favourites. I agree with Twin Dillema!
I thinkTeagan had lost her air hostess job by Arc of Infinity.
We can't believe "The Horns of Nimon" isn't on this list somewhere ...
Watch it as the comedy episode it was intended to be.
Horns of the Nimon is great. First time the companion is the star of a seriel since DW went to color
My introduction to the Doctor's greatest Companion: Romana
I think Arc of Infinity, The Dominators, The Space Pirates and Underworld aren't as bad as to be on the bottom. I'd put Paradise Towers, Delta and the Bannermen, The Trial of A Time Lord (esp. Mindwarp & The Ultimate Foe), The Horns of Nimon, The Creature from the Pit, The Krotons, The Gunflighters & The Romans as my least favorites.
I am not surprised to see several of those here… “(Waste of) Time and the Rani,” “Lameshit, er, Timelash” (it’s anagram quality is probably unintended but fitting), and “Twin Dilemma” certainly deserve their spots on this list.
I was somewhat surprised “Creature from the Pit” and “Horns of Nimon” were not on this list.
_The Dominators_ should be number 1, given that the production team thought it was so bad they cut it from 6 to 5 episodes and gave the last episode to the next serial, the stunning _The Mind Robber_
The Master isn't playing an actual Chinese person in "Time-Flight" - he's in disguise as one. There's a big difference.
Not that it really matters or makes it any better, but i thought he was basically playing an Arabian sorcerer.
So what of he was playing an actual Chinese person.
It's perfectly fine for a black woman to play a real historical white woman.
The Sixth Doctor's regeneration in Time and the Rani, basically falling and hitting his head to trigger it, was so bad that the BBC allowed Big Finish to completely retcon it and give the Sixth Doctor a proper ending.
The sixth Doctor being portrayed by Sylvester McCoy in a wig is just the cherry on top.
"Leave the girl, It's the MAN I want" The Rani inadvertently inspiring every gay Who fan's chat up line.
…I kinda like Time and the Rani, it’s the weakest season 24 story but it’s not bad. Massive Seven stan here ❤
I also kind of like it & agreed it's not bad
Arc Of Infinity should not be on this list. Story is good, Colin Baker, location filming is great, return of Tegan, Michael Gough is always great, Peter Davison as Omega is well played.
I guess 6 sort of force-choked Peri since his hands are clearly a good centimetre or so from her throat in the infamous scene!
NO!!!!! NOT DOMINATORS! I understand about the quarks but I just had alot of fun with it(Plus also season 6 is my favorite!)
I love all of the Davison era. Arc of Infinity doesn’t belong on the list, IMO. I find things to enjoy in all these stories.
I liked 'Time and the Rani' just putting that out there. ♥♥
I always think "The Underwater Menace" gets a raw deal in polls- yes, the budget is nowhere near enough for what the story wants to do, & I get the criticism of Zaroff's "nuzzing in ze world can stop me now!" , but it's also a lot of fun.... Maybe not one to show new fans, but as a guilty pleasure with a glass of wine...😁 this has the potential to be the Doctor Who version of the Rocky Horror Picture Show!
I wonder if it'll get a boost in appraisal once the new Animated version comes out?
I definitely don't mind it. And I don't get why everyone rags on Joseph Furst -- he's playign the character exactly how he needs to be played: Totally over the top and ridiculous, but you can tell he and Troughton are having a great time, and I think that communicates to the audience when they're on screen. Also, the story kind of reminds me of a really cheap version of one of those pepplum/sword and sandal stories -- oe of the weirder ones where Hercules discovers Atlantis and they have slaves mining uranium and an evil archon/scientist runs everything from behind the scenes.
The fish people in "The Underwater Menace" kinda look like Old Gregg.
No, I bloody loved Arc of Infinity, despite it starting slightly slow. Underwater? Ok, the release mars it. What about the Time Monster(you feel bad for Ingrid Pitt), or the Leisure Hive.
Yeah Ingrid is in two Whos and neither is great.
Three Troughton stories? Surely you could ease off on The Space Pirates to give Jon Pertwee a chance to be in on the fun. Take your pick of his terrible Dalek stories (how did the Daleks not end up on this list?) I haven't seen enough Hartnell to really have a strong opinion but clearly one of the 10-12 parters must be harder to watch now than poor, silly Timelash.
Sorry to tell you, but I love all those Doctor Who videos, they are fun to watch.
The Arc of Infinity I put it in the middle between like and dislike but I don't want to go back and watch it again.
The underwater menace I may have seen a surviving episode of it. It was ok.
I like Warriors of the Deep but I can see the issues and problems with it.
I like the dominators one of my fav!
I like the time and the Rani but I can see the issues with it.
I've not seen timelash.
From what I've seen of the space pirates I liked but i didn't feel the music
.
I've seen Underworld I put it in the middle between like and dislike.
The Tom Baker story you mentioned at number 2 I find boring! and time flight i liked when watching.
I've never seen the twin dilemma.
I'm not going to lie, I actually have a sneaking like for The Dominators.
I, too, like what I've seen of The Dominators--the Quark robots look like walking fridges, and the two Dominator scouts are wearing heavy shoulder armour--small wonder the actors wear uncomfortable expressions! LOL!!
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I do think Underworld has an unfair reputation because of the CSO problems. It isn't a great story but it's still quite interesting.
It's very dull and bland compared to what came before it in the Baker era.
@@normanby100 It's a solid story for what it is. Don't know what you're on about.
@@Tedi652 It's not Dr Who's story though. It's Greek mythology.
Others stories that could be mention,
First Doctor
The Keys Of Marinus
The Web Planet
The Crusade
The Space Museum
Galaxy 4
The Ark
The Smugglers
The Second Doctor
The Wheel In Space
The Krotons
The Third Doctor
The Mutants
The Time Monster
The Invasion (Not to be confused with the Patrick Troughton story of the same name) or we can called the Invasion of the Dinosaurs (I don't know depends on who you ask...)
The Monster of Peladon
Planet of the Spiders
The Fourth Doctor
Robot
Revenge Of The Cybermen
The Invasion Of Time
The Power Of Kroll
Desnity Of The Daleks
The Creature from the Pit
The Horns Of Nimon
The Leisure Hive
Meglos (Waste of Jacqueline Hill, unfortunately)
The Fifth Doctor
I don't remember much of his Era, but i remember how Ressuction Of The Daleks was a mess for sure...
The Six Doctor
His whole era was weak but Revelation Of The Daleks, is enjoyable
The Seventh Doctor
The whole Season 24, The Happiness Patrol and Silver Nemesis belong here.
Broadly agree on your choices, though Invasion of the Dinosaurs is actually very good - effects aside.
I thought Keys of Marinus was one of Hartnell's better ones
I disagree with most of your 4th Doctor picks but I am a Lalla Ward fanboy. Invasion of Time should have been 4 rather than 6 episodes
@@robalexander8065I won't fully say they suck there something to appreciate even in the weakest stories.
@@dazzle1545 A bit weird say that in a story were The Doctor is missing for some time and even when he is on screen he doesn't do much, but i respect your opinion.
The Dominators happens to be one of my favourites and I own it on DVD. I don't think it was that bad. Maybe the villains in the story Rago and Toba could have better written and done more. But, honest to god, the worst ever episode of Doctor Who in it's 59 year history of every episode that was ever written, filmed and broadcast by the BBC as far as I'm concerned is ''The Timeless Children''. It was an insult to us the fans and to the show's 56 year legacy and Chris Chibnall truly screwed up the mythology of The Doctor and the Time Lords. It was a bad as the final episode of Game of Thrones. 🔥 👿
I laughed out loud when you complemented Time-Flight's location filming whilst showing clips of the in-studio perspective set 😆 And speaking of location filming, the time spent in Amsterdam is an example of the most wasted opportunity in Classic Who as Director Ron Jones utterly fails to make these scenes remotely as dynamic as you claim. Otherwise, a spot on summary of Arse Of Inanity. Oh, and Kalid in Time-Flight is meant to be an Arabian Mystic, but in the end it's still as horrendously racist as an Eastern-looking Caucasian in Yellowface.
Classic Doctor who didnt have big budgets back then
I actually liked Time Flight and The Dominators. Time Flight was the best series of that particular season in my honest opinion. The Dominators, while having really stupid looking robots, was really not a bad story at all
We all knew that The Twin Dilemma would be at #1. Be honest.
It's always been my least favorite. I kind of have a soft spot for "Arc of Infinity" though. I was genuinely surprised to see that one on the list.
I've not seen that episode
Unfortunately, rather than trying to double down on the actual psychological trauma plots, Eric Saward's Target Novelisation would rather poke fun at Douglas Adams' writing sensibilities. The strangle scene remains, with barely any lasting consequences.
I like the Twin Dilemma but I'm new to Who and any sort of characterization after the Davison years was more than welcome in my book.
There's one Colin Baker story I barely made it through but it's not on this list.
@Dildo Insaney For McCoy, I recommend the Target Novelisations. The ones on "Remembrance of the Daleks" and "The Curse of Fenric" in particular. Also, there's a ton of Big Finish stuff you can look into (my personal favourites being "The Magic Mousetrap" and "The Two Masters"), and a lot of novels, such as "Human Nature" and "Illegal Alien".
That said, I do respect your opinion; while McCoy is among my favourite Doctors, Season 24's lighthearted comedy nature can turn a lot of viewers off, and seeing the Doctor become an arch-manipulator does make the franchise just a bit bleaker. Not to mention, the writers were throwing a lot of ideas together and seeing if they could stick, so they are a bit disjointed ("Ghost Light" in particular).
Oh well, at least there weren't any overly long and ugly-looking infodumps that ruined legitimately good-in-theory plot twists and tanked the runtime.
Anything with Whitakker is a thousand times worse than Timelash even
Good list overall, although I feel the Dominators isn't that bad. Not good for sure, but not bottom 10.
Time and the Rani is terrible, and deserves the rancor.
I do dislike Underworld, but I feel the Invisible Enemy is worse, but not by much!
They should have highlighted Peri’s assets more often.
And rewrite her lines to be far less whiny and annoying. (Fun fact: She sounded so whiny as a side-effect of her fake American accent; when she does her normal British voice, she sounds fine)
@@froggacuda1605 Agreed on all points.
Overall I really did like Arc Of Infinity because when I first watched this story on DVD, I was really surprised to see the return of Omega even though that I did like Omega's TARDIS while the mask is no good but the rest of his outfit is okay as well as the design for Gallifrey, even I was surprised to see Borusa return only this time as the Lord President Borusa including Colin Baker as Maxil even though I'm not a fan for Tegan because I hate this companion but I still like and enjoy this story.
You've invoked the name of Ian Levene. The Doctors worse enemy since '05
From that list I actually liked the Arc of Infinity, The Dominators and Time and the Rani - for different reasons. In the first one lociation of filming was constantly changing - and I have impression that it doesn't happen often in DW. Second - yes, it had a repetitive phrase that got so dull after some time, but I liked the performance of Patric Troughton. And the last one was just light - it was kind of funny to watch new Doctor trying to get to grips with himself and some alien creatures with boring story, but funny way of running.
With other episodes mentioned here - I agree.
I'm surprised The Web Planet isn't on this list.
The hatchet job on The Twin Dilemma shows no sign of letting up. I know it's not great...but the worst ever? I've never thought so. You've cut Tom Baler some slack. As brilliant as he was in the role, he starred in some utter turkeys towards the end of his reign. You've got Underworld but missed Horns of Nimon (amazed this escaped your top 10) and The Invisible Enemy. Same with Hartnell - The Gunfighters and The Web Planet are really bad as are - along with Time and the Rani - all the other stories from McCoy's first season
Underworld was Tom Baker's least popular? I mean, it wasn't the most memorable of his, but I don't think it was that bad. My vote would've gone to The Creature From The Pit!
"The quest is the quest" - a forced memorable line if ever there was in a season of them : "Praise the Company"; "Contact has been made"...
My list would certainly include The Twin Dilemma ( mostly for the twins) but would have included Kinda and/or Snakedance
Kinda is wonderful IMO
@@michaeldallaway1988 that’s cool
I found those episodes dull
"The Twin Dilemma" may have been a crappy main story, but I really enjoyed the novelisation of it, it added a lot of really cool side-stories based on aspects of the main story, I think it's my favourite Doctor Who novelisation!
I actually enjoyed The Twin Dilemma, guess its because Colin Baker was my Doctor growing up.
You can't judge the Classic Who episodes by the crap design of the monsters. Warriors of the Deep wasn't that bad. I enjoy it for its continuation and extension of the Silurian/Sea Devil mythology.
I don't even care much about the monster design, it's just a very flat dull story, and as far as the mythology goes it gets that badly wrong.
Just as with the original Star Trek, you have to get beyond the cheap sets and special effects. At least 75-80% of Classic is better than the best New Who episode
I've got all of the episodes of Nu/Who practically memorized, but have seen little of the classic series. I really enjoyed your video with those classic "rubbish monsters"! I'm still laughing!!
I suspect if there were to pull the fans now the underwater menace would be a lot higher since it's got its animation the animation really makes that story enjoyable
Nice mention of "Talons" there. 👍
Man, I loved Underworld. You must watch it.. The quest is the quest! 😂
Absolutely loved the Dominators, the repartee between the invaders is classic.
Season 22 of the Colin Baker era was, I believe, the point of no return. It was so awful that it felt like the show was beyond repair. It was even almost cancelled because it made it go on an 18-month hiatus.
I have a soft spot for The Dominators as it was the first Second Doctor story I ever saw.
When talking about Classic Who, can people please stop doing that thing of mixing up a story with a episode, Classic DW was serials divided into seasons and each season had a set of stories, each story depending on the season would either be anything from one episode like Mission to the Unknown, two episodes like the Rescue (for example), three (Planet of Giants) but mostly four, sometimes five and very often six or seven, unless it's a epic like the ten parter which was the last black and white adventure (The War Games). They could go on for weeks like The Dalek Masterplan and be twelve episodes, or longer if you count the Trial of a Time Lord as one fourteen parter instead of three fours and a two. With the vast amount of info about the original series and New Who, and plus the fact we are nearing the sixtieth anniversary, you would think people would know better by now. NRM - Whovian 1981-?
I was born and raised in the US. When I was a little nerd back in the 80's, I watched DW on PBS. For awhile, they were shown as an episode (and I mean episode) every weeknight. However, not long after I started watching, they changed the format. DW starting being shown weekly in "ominbus" form; meaning the all the episodes of a story would air as one long (sometimes *very* long) episode. So while I know about the episodes/story thing, the way I watched the show affects the way I think (and subsequently talk and write) about the show. I'm willing to bet I'm not the only USAian who watched Classic Who that way.
A Dr Who series is a series of stories. Each story is in episodes.
Seasons is an Americanism. Serials is a pedanticism.
@@aw-h3875 Nope. Seasons is the accepted term for 20th-century runs of DW, to distinguish them from the 21st-century runs, which are called Series instead.
“Serial [X]” was literally the way the early stories were officially referenced in all production paperwork, even as late as the 1980s!
@@DrWhoFanJ nope
Nobody in the 20C referred to Seasons of Dr Who.
We would say the first series of Dr Who began in 1963:and the last series of Dr Who ended in 1989.
As far as classic Dr Who is concerned Series is technically correct because each Season as you call it is a Series of adventures, or serials, so Series one of classic Who is the first series of adventures, or serials.
Seasons is technically incorrect because in the 60s Dr Who was on almost all year round. In the 70s it was on for half a year. And more importantly NOBODY referred to Seasons of tv programmes because Seasons is an American term used by Americans to refer to American broadcast shows.
The adoption of the word Season to describe a run of Dr Who serials or episodes is an attempt by the BBC to pander to the American fanbase to increase revenue from it's products by making them more palatable to prospective American purchasers.
But here in the UK a tv series is a tv series, and a season is a time of the year
@@aw-h3875 Strange how precisely 0% of that is even remotely true/relevant here.
20th-century _Doctor Who_ comprises 26 seasons, while 21st-century _Doctor Who_ comprises 13 series (and counting). This is basic facts. Check any pair of home media release covers if you don’t believe me.
Time And The Rani doesn't deserve such a harsh rating. It was actually pretty good.
Underworld story actually hangs together. The effects are cso hell.
Timeflight alien stool enemy
"The quest is the quest."
Well, Ellie, the 60th anniversary DWM poll is being released right now. This month we have the polls of the 5th and 6th Doctor, more Doctors to come, plus the finals. If you just waited for a while you could have the very last charts.
Latest? Unless you know something we don't.
How is the web planet not here!!
To be fair...The Underwater Menace was trying to do a LOT with very little budget and time...and was during a point where Who was going through a phase of "Avent Garde" crazy. At least they weren't afraid to take risks and try to punch above their weight. Sure, it didn't always work...but they tried...and that sense of adventure within the production is likely one of the things that helped the show remain popular. They could have played it safe and devolved to what a lot of the Hartnell era became...lots of identical looking aliens standing around and talking politics...and the show would have died. So yeah...The Underwater menace doesn't work...but at least they gave it the attempt.
Warriors of the Deep got screwed by behind the scenes politics....they were told they only had a couple of weeks to film it because there was an Election coming up, and the head of the BBC (who was looking to kill off Dr Who) assigned the studios that were used to film Who, to the televised coverage of the election. So suddenly EVERYTHING was on a massive time constraint...they had so little time that the crew inside the Mirka (basically a pantomine horse with a CRT screen inside so the guy at the back could see where they were going...BAD IDEA) had no time to rehearse, they were on set and filming on their first day...and the paint on the Mirka wasn't even fully dry during filming. There was no time time. No time to fix production issues, or give the script a bit more work, or anything like that. The fact that the story mostly holds up, even if its bleak and the production is a rushed mess, is no mean feat.
Nothing good to say about Underworld.
Time-Flight is horrendous. It's just cheap, racist and idiotic...the "White Guy In Eastern Makeup" stuff was uncomfortable in Talons in the 1970s, but buy the 1980s everyone knew better and there's just no excuse for how stupid and awful the whole story is.
Great video but what about "The Gun Fighters"?
There is no classic who story that I dislike let alone hate…
"Hate" is a strong word, especially when talking about something with such a huge fandom.
I would swap any four of these for The Trial of a Timelord season. I couldn't get on with those stories at all.
I can't really argue that many of these are *good*. Don't really hate any of the 60s or 70s ones -- they're usually at least a good time in some capacity. The Ark comes pretty close to being dire but at least is kind of interesting, and as a kid I at least loved the Celestial Toymaker novelisation. Destiny of the Daleks is one that I quite dislike, and it seems after that point the number of stinkers does increase somewhat for me. I came to the show in the late 80s when it was arguably experiencing very bad times, so I guess it says something that I stuck with it. Trial of a Time Lord is my least favourite -- the whole thing really, except for Mindwarp, sort of.
When I first clicked on this video I knew "The Twin Dilemma" would top the poll. I was not expecting a Tom Baker story but Underworld is a fair choice for this list.
@Dildo Insaney I feel where you're coming from but Lalla Ward. Loved her as Romana. Mary Tammwas great too.
I think I can guess the issues people have with "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", but I thought John Bennett did a masterful job portraying a Chinese man without making him into an insulting cliche. He looks Chinese, and he sounds Chinese, and sometimes her wears Chinese clothes. That's it. It probably was not easy to find a professional Chinese actor of the right age in London in 1977. If anyone ever asks me how they should play a character of a different ethnicity, I'll tell them to watch Bennett in this.
A surprising amount of Troughton and Davison stories here.
I've always liked our Air Hostess...Tegan Jovanka....=))
I always found The Keys of Marinus to be especially dodgy, but to be completely honest I'm not sure I would swap out anything on this list for it. And I'm even a massive 6th Doctor apologist.
I love the Underwater Menace it's one of my favorite episodes
Im glad to see some deserving stories here, as well as some that shouldn't be on there
I can't really argue much about the stories listed, nor with the methodology in choosing them.
That said, if I'm making my own list of the episodes that I loathe the most, it starts with every single story of The Trial of a Time Lord series (in order of so, so bad to so much worse: stories 3, 1, 2, 4), followed by The Gunfighters. In my own personal head canon, I do not acknowledge that the Trial series ever happened.
I love Doctor Who. Its had it's highs & lows I know! I can't name my least fave cos I like to look at things more positively.
Surely the worst thing about the Twin Dilemma was casting actors who couldn’t pronounce the letter R to play Romulus and Remus!
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Spot on! ;o)
No first doctor or 3rd doctor stories on this list, crazy
Yeah I can think 3 1st doctor episodes iv seen people dislike: The Keys of Marinus/The Sensorites/The Ark.
no web planet
Where was The Gunfighters on the list?
I totally disagree for me, worse is better, and I don't know why, but I love low budget and bad sci fi more than anything. And I remember the dominators when I was in the first year of infant school, and talking about it in the play ground with other pupils who were just as fascinated with it as me, we thought the dominators were the little robots, and for some reason, one of the other pupils suggested the dominators might be in one of the outside school store rooms so we were looking though the dark windows trying to see them
I think hate is a too harsher word dislike would be more appropriate.
Even Louise’s legs couldn’t save #3 🫤
Why isnt that God-awful one with Bertie Bassett in it on the list?
Amazing how fans of a series that has so much creative potency can so parochially gravitate between the bright star - really, really like - and the 'death' star - absolutely despise-hate it. Why not just say "Hm. Didn't really work for me that time. Try another thought". It's not the absolute end of the Doctor Who universe and the moment has been prepared for. Infinity awaits and always outdoes finitudes.
Having seen the animation of the underwater menace that came out last year I enjoyed it for what it was. But it could have been better
You forgot the krotons 😂
I was so horrified that the Doctor attacked Peri that I stopped watching the show.
Warriors From The Deep is a good story - despite the bad effects. It's the bleak ending that makes it for me. Timeflight is bad - you can tell the production team were so happy to get access to Concorde, but the story was very poor. Horns of Nimon is terrible as well. Invasion of the Dinosaurs is awful as well. Timelash - yep, a bad one from Colin Baker's era. Time and the Rani is bad - McCoy gets better later on.
The classic period is still the best, the modern version is up itself too much
"Arc of Infinity starts out like a gay porn film, and they get cold feet." was perhaps the best review.