Before we embark on the next phase of our adventure, Sue looks back on the Tom Baker years…
The Scores
Here are Sue’s scores for Tom’s stories in reverse order (and in transmission order when tied):
The Invasion of Time: “Oh dear.” – 0/10
Underworld: “Am I allowed to give negative scores?” – 1/10
Image of the Fendahl: “I’ve forgotten it already.” – 2/10
Destiny of the Daleks: “I hated that.” – 2/10
The Creature from the Pit: “Killed by a giant cock and balls…” – 2/10
Meglos: “Well, that was shit.” – 2/10
Revenge of the Cybermen: “A load of old rubbish.” – 3/10
The Keeper of Traken: “Tedious.” – 3/10
The Face of Evil: “Something was missing…” – 4/10
The Invisible Enemy: “A terrible mess.” – 4/10
The Armageddon Factor: “They had months to get that right…” – 4/10
Logopolis: “Disappointing.” – 4/10
Robot: “The story was pants.” – 5/10
The Sontaran Experiment: “Too short.” – 5/10
Planet of Evil: “The guy who played the commander was hopeless.” – 5/10
The Android Invasion: “It fell apart at the end.” – 5/10
The Robots of Death: “It didn’t make any sense.” – 5/10
The Horns of Nimon: “I think they all need a good lie down.” – 5/10
The Hand of Fear: “Good, very good, good, shit, really shit, then excellent.” – 6/10
The Sun Makers: “The script was very witty.” – 6/10
The Pirate Planet: “An imaginative mess.” – 6/10
The Leisure Hive: “Too much style and not enough substance.” – 6/10
The Ark in Space: “Tom Baker was brilliant.” – 7/10
Terror of the Zygons: “It had a lot going for it.” – 7/10
Pyramids of Mars: “I’d like a lot less gobbledygook and a lot more drama.” – 7/10
The Power of Kroll: “If K9 had been in it, I might have given it an eight.” – 7/10
Nightmare of Eden: “The premise was great and it kept me guessing.” – 7/10
Full Circle: “I like Adric. So there.” – 7/10
State of Decay: “I loved the set design.” – 7/10
The Brain of Morbius: “Some of the dialogue was priceless.” – 8/10
The Deadly Assassin: “The first three episodes were perfect.” – 8/10
The Talons of Weng-Chiang: “I’ll knock some marks off for the casual racism.” – 8/10
The Stones of Blood: “I really enjoyed that” – 8/10
Warriors Gate: “I didn’t understand it. But I don’t care.” – 8/10
Genesis of the Daleks: “Excellent.” – 9/10
The Masque of Mandragora: “Very accessible.” – 9/10
Horror of Fang Rock: “I really enjoyed that.” – 9/10
The Ribos Operation: “It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close.” – 9/10
The Androids of Tara: “I don’t think there was a bad performance.” – 9/10
The Seeds of Doom: “It can’t get any better than that.” – 10/10
City of Death: “That was faultless.” – 10/10
Ask Sue
I couldn’t whittle your questions down to 10, so here are 17 instead (apologies if I didn’t choose yours, I was swamped):
Me: The first question – and I think it’s important to set the right tone – is from Kelley, who wants to know: “Who would win a fight between the Master and the Black Guardian?”
Sue: That’s easy. The Black Guardian. The Master is bloody useless. He’d probably have to ask for the Doctor’s help. The Black Guardian is much more frightening, even though he hasn’t actually done anything yet. I’d rather have **** all than a **** up.
Me: Thanks for that. OK, Si Hart want to know: “If you had to go for a drink with any of Tom’s companions, who would you choose?”
Sue: The first Romana. I think she’d be the most interesting, although I wouldn’t say no to a threesome with Sarah Jane Smith. No, not like that. OK, this is getting a bit weird and it’s only the second question.
Me: Moving swiftly on, James P. Quick…
Sue: Does he?
Me: You did that joke last time. Anyway, James wants to know: “If you were, for some inexplicable reason, asked to take part in the 50th Anniversary special, what role would you like?”
Sue: Is it the Moff asking that question?
Me: No, it’s James P. Quick.
Sue: Like that’s his real name. OK… hmmm… I’d like to be a scientist in a white lab coat, and I’d like to set-off an alarm, if that’s OK.
Me: I’m sure you’d do it beautifully. Anyway, Alisaunder says: “According to Neil, Tom Baker took his boots with him when he left Doctor Who. (Hang on, when did I say that? – Neil) Which companion costume from the Tom Baker era would you have taken home with you?”
Sue: Romana’s pink coat. I keep looking for one on Ebay.
Me: Gdb wants to know: “Tom Baker has said in passing that he’d like to play the Master in the new series. What do you think of this idea?”
Sue: It’s a stupid idea. Look, he’s too old and there’s far too much baggage – you wouldn’t be able to take him seriously in the role. And it might damage your memory of him, too. It’s not worth the risk.
Me: Matthew Clarke and Ruth Deller both want to know: “Who should Romana look like the next time she regenerates?”
Sue: Her off of Episodes. (She means Tamsin Greig).
Me: Here’s a very odd question from Richard Lyth: “If Adventures With the Wife In Space was made into a movie, who should play yourself, Neil and Nicol?”
Sue: It’d be a very boring movie. OK, I’d get Jenny Eclair to play me. Does she count as an actress? I would have said Ewan McGregor for you five years ago, but now it’d probably have to be Ian from EastEnders. And Nicol looks like Katie Holmes, not that Katie Holmes needs the money.
Me: JB from Chicago has opted for this old chestnut: “Snog, Shag or Kill – Murray Gold, Dudley Simpson, and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.”
Sue: How could I possibly shag the Radiophonic Workshop? Wait, don’t answer that… Oh, I don’t know… I’d kill Murray Gold (sorry) and I’d probably marry Dudley. I bet he’s really nice and he could play his marimbas to me as I fell asleep on the couch. Oh, I hate questions like this.
Me: John Wilson and Glen Allen both went for a safe, but interesting, question: “Who’s your favourite Doctor so far?”
Sue: Patrick Troughton. The rest haven’t come close.
Me: Fair enough. OK, Paul Roche asks: “If you and Neil were to renew your wedding vows, would you dress as Romana and the 4th Doctor?”
Sue: Yes, but not during the ceremony itself. And not at the reception, either.
Me: Lots of people asked variations on the next question, including Ciaran Dunne, James Skinner, Chris Orton, Andrew Marsden and many, many more: “Did Tom Baker stay in the part for too long? And if he did, when should he have left?”
Sue: He should have left when Romana and K9 did. In fact, none of them should have done the last season. Peter Davison should have turned up when John Nathan-Turner turned up. I don’t think Tom enjoyed himself very much in his final year.
Me: Lots of people want to know: “Will we ever watch Shada?”
Sue: I don’t know. Will we?
Me: Wait and see. Right, Sarah Hadley would like to know: “When Tom Baker was interviewed about his imminent departure, he introduced a little bit of controversy by suggesting the next Doctor might be a woman. What do you think? Could the Doctor be played by a woman? And if so, who should play her?”
Sue: That’s a very good question. I have no problem with the Doctor being a woman. It doesn’t bother me at all. I’d cast the woman from Episodes.
Me: Right, Bob McCow asks: “Did you ever fancy Tom?”
Sue: Never. I liked his roman nose but he was far too hairy for me.
Me: Oodverse asks: “Tom improves his acting when he’s playing against someone he respects. Who did he respect the most?”
Sue: Himself. He was brilliant whenever he had to share the screen with himself.
Me: Roderick T. Long came up with this: “What question should I ask, and what would your answer to it be?”
Sue: What?
Me: He’s a philosopher.
Sue: OK, right… OK, the question you should ask is: “Are you going to do the New Series?” and the answer is: “Neil won’t let me.”
Me: Johnny Morris wants to know: “If it wasn’t for Neil, when would you have stopped watching?”
Sue: I wouldn’t have started watching it in the first place! You should probably ask this question to Neil instead. How long would you have lasted if I wasn’t watching it with you, love?
Me: The Sensorities Episode Three, probably. And on that bombshell, you have to pick your favourite question, so the person who set it can win a mug.
Sue: OK, let’s pick somebody who used their real name… The question about the female Doctor. I really like that idea.
Me: Sarah, I’ll be in touch soon. OK, one final question before we go: if you had to sum up Tom Baker in three words what would they be?
Sue: Charming, unpredictable and bonkers.
We will begin the Peter Davison era on Tuesday, which just happens to be Sue’s birthday (I really know how to treat a woman). The first Davison update should be here on Thursday, but if you are really, really lucky you might get something extra special before then…
Revised – update now expected 8th September.
The experiment continues…
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It tickles me how C.H. Bidmead has criticized the RTD era for not being hard SF, when he was the man who had the Doctor trying to “flush out” the Master by opening the TARDIS doors in the Thames, and the Master holding the entire universe to ransom through a megaphone…
Also, Nicol looks like Katie Holmes? Is she single?
Yes, she does. And… we’ve had that question. It got creepy.
Sorry…
Nicol looks a lot better than Katie Holmes, if you ask me…
Has he criticized RTD for that precise reason? ‘Cause he’s very careful in the interviews on the older DVDs that he didn’t want his season to be “hard SF”.
He called him a “First draft writer”… Search “Christopher Bidmead on New Who” on Youtube. It may not be what you expect, but it represents his views.
Compare Castrovalva to Gridlock and you can see why RTD’s approch to worldbuilding might make him spit his coffee out.
True. I had to agree with some of Bidmead’s points actually.
Mmm, it’s a bit po-faced on the subject of actual jokes, particularly when he takes them literally, In terms of structure, his argument is pretty sound though.
Well, ‘first draft’ writer is a problem separate from it being ‘hard SF’, after all. I will have to look up the interview, though.
Nobody’s perfect, but given CHB managed to do more stories based on hard sci-fi* than RTD, despite the latter having more opportunities to do so, CHB still wins the argument… yeah, there is some hypocrisy but it’s minor when every nuance is counted… “Meglos” is a thousand times better than 99% of what RTD put out…
* or real sci-fi rather than idle fantasy with the WHO trademarks thrown in
Meglos? Let’s no go THAT far.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue on to the new series.
Just do the whole damn show, why in the world would you stop at 8?
I mean by all means take a break, but I want to see the wife in space cover 9/10/11 and I know I am not alone on this!
Also, why won’t you ever include your own scores?
I would love to see how you rate an episode compared to your wife.
Hell i would still love to see your ratings for 1-4 even now posted.
I too would love you to continue on with the new series.
The thing is that Sue’s already watched those when they were first shown. Whereas part of the nature of this blog is to record Sue reacting to a series she’s mostly unfamiliar with. The new series is just something she has previously watched in much the same way that Neil has, as far as I can tell, so there’s not much novelty or surprise to be found there.
true, but i am interested in her thoughts on all doctor who
I would also find Neils scores/thoughts interesting. Been reading this blog for a long time, it is by far my favorite and would be a shame to end. I am selfish like that unfortunately 
Yeah, I don’t think it would be so much fun to do a new series version – it’s big budget and mostly competently-made, so laughing at the wobbly 1970s models and weird chroma would be out (occasionally dodgy CG isn’t as funny); and it’s mostly very self-knowing by this stage too, so you lose the charm of the little show just earnestly trying to do its best.
However, ‘Adventures With The Wife And Blake’ I *would* read!
It may be interesting to read Sue’s thoughts on the revival, having now seen the original run; it should put the new(-ish) series into a different context…
Oooh, I’m not sure – after all, it’s been 7 years since the series came back, that’s a lot of episodes (not to mention 3 Doctors and assorted companions). Unless Sue and Neil have be re-watching them all since they were first broadcast, then there’s bound to be bits they’ve forgotten.
I recently re-watched a few episodes of the Eccleston series and as surprised at which bits I’d forgotten and also how good (and occasionally bad) they were.
Maybe if the experiment continues the vibe will be slightly different, but it’d still be interesting and very readable.
Another vote to do New Who as phase 2 of the project, please.
I’m sure they won’t remember every last thing, it’s more just that Neil and Sue have had very different experiences of the original series. Neil’s been a fan of it for years, whereas until recently Sue would have had only the occasional impression of it, and is now watching it in order, reacting to it on a very different basis than would have been possible for Neil. So there’s a clear distinction between their perspectives on it. Whereas they’ll have both experienced the new series in more or less the same way at the same time, so there’s probably a lot less difference in how they perceive it at least, however they may each evaluate it.
Saying that, it’s possible that because of this experiment (for want of a better word), Sue’s perception of 21st century Who has changed; it’s clear that Sue herself would like to do it, for, I imagine, that precise reason. A re-evaluation based on the whole shebang, rather than the last 7 years. Or something.
I also agree that it would be interesting to see what Sue thinks of the new series now, but there would be problems with that idea. Maybe it would be better if she just looked at certain episodes from each of the 3 latest doctors? Or better yet, maybe Neil could find a way of erasing Sue’s memories of the new series, and she can start from scratch again! Really glad Sue still loves Troughton, my favourite doctor!!
I don’t think that watching all the of the original series would necessarily make any significant difference to how Sue would perceive the new, especially as she admits that she doesn’t retain that much of the former in her memory long term anyway, owing to relative lack of interest.
I think Sue probably just fancies watching the new series again, with or without anyone writing up what she says about it, maybe even thinking of it as a reward for putting up with the earlier material, but as it’s something which is far more comfortable and familiar to her I doubt if she’d have as much to say about it in the same way, as it seems there’s less potential for comedic responses.
I’ll second that!
The new series isn’t always perfect, but there are some highly memorable episodes that are just as worthy as some of Classic WHO’s bests…
Yes. Even Doctor Who’s “Time Team” did not manage to continue past McGann, so you may well be the first team to actually ever manage to publish such a journey. You’re liable to beat Toby Hadoke and Rob Shearman at the moment…
Also, you could get in “The Curse of Fatal Death”. Last Saturday’s episode may appear so “new” after all…
I agree. I think Sue will be able to experience new Who very differenty once she has seen all the old stuff. But I can appreciate that there won’t be quite the same novelty value.
Congratulations on getting this far! Should be plain sailing from here on out, nice varied stories and no more stretched out 6-parters. You can do it!
Only a XX-parter, if you count Season 23 as one long tale
Plus a certain story from Season 22 that is the same length as a 6-parter…
“Plus a certain story from Season 22 that is the same length as a 6-parter…”
But I’d be pretty surprised if she doesn’t like the one you’re referring to.
Time will tell, though it is a story I dislike quite intensely.
Only one more Tom Baker-sized chunk to go…
And then Dimensions in Time!
Hey, thanks for picking my chestnut of a question. After watching “Asylum” tonight, I wanted to push Murray Gold off the Dalek spaceship myself. The music cues near the beginning were veering too-close to “Journey’s End” or “The End of Time” – bombastic and a bit too jovial (my only complaint as I thought they hit it out of the park tonight). I do think Murray’s contribution to the series was a vital one, and I’ve even recorded my own progressive rock suite of his themes throughout the first 5 of the new series, but I would welcome a change in the incidental/theme music whenever the Moff decides to pass the torch.
Anyways, been reading and enjoying the blog since the beginning. Sue never fails to make me laugh at least once in every entry, and I’m looking forward to her insight on the Peter ****ing Davison years.
Sue, you can buy a coat like Romana’s, the pink one. Cosplaysky make one.
http://cosplaysky.com/who-is-doctor-dr-long-pink-cashmere-trench-coat-costume.html
Thanks for the link! (for a different costume, heh…)
Pity they don’t have any designs from Blake’s 7…
I’m extremely pleased Sue liked my question.
My best friend’s always going on and on that Tamsin Greig (her from Episodes) should be the next Doctor, so I’ll have to familiarize myself with her now!
hi sarah. you can see tasim catch some ice cube sick from Adam in the Long Game if you have a bored 45 mins to spend.
Funnily enough, I always though Tamsin Greig would make a terrific Bernice Summerfield. She does a neat line in weary cynicism and witty ripostes.
There should never be a female Doctor – if Time Lords could change into the opposite sex then both David Campbell and Andred are in for a shock!
There are enough successful shows out there where the lead is a woman – the Doctor is a male part and should remain that way. Changing the sex would be like make Miss Marple into Mr Marple. You don’t mess with something that succesful. Would you change Sherlock Holmes into a woman?
Anyway – another Doctor done. The next few will fly by – sadly. Great to see that Sue enjoyed so many of the fourth Doctor stories that much of fandom thanks is tosh – especially Nightmare of Eden. Interesting that the two that got ten’s – The Seeds of Doom and City of Death are the only ones that my own wife has ever sat through with me and in the case of Seeds actually asked to carry on watching to find out what happens.
Can’t wait to see what Sue thinks about certain stories in the 1980′s – there are some wonderful stories still to come – and some not so good ones!
I used to think exactly the same Gavin… and then I changed my mind. Besides, the 11th Doctor revealed in “The Doctor’s Wife” that Time Lords can change sex in different regenerations, when talking about his friend The Corsair.
However, I suspect that such a radical change comes about either as a result of a great trauma or as a controlled regeneration (such as Romana’s) with the Time Lord opting for a change of sex. After all, chromosome-wise in humans, there’s not a great deal of difference been x and y… maybe the same for Time Lords?
I think perhaps an “alternate universe” female Doctor turning up for a story opposite our usual male Doctor would be great fun though.
An alternative universe one for a story or two would be interesting, but I will never change my mind abot the Doctor being a woman permanently. I don’t see the need at all. If the BBC brought back Juliet Bravo would people want it to be called Julian Bravo in today’s PC world? I say again – there are so many good and succesful shows out there where the lead is a woman that you don’t need to change the Doctor into a woman just to fit in.
For what it’s worth I don’t think it’ll ever happen. It’s just a good story to put out whenever an actor leaves the part. I blame JNT and Tom Baker for starting it all off!
Wasn’t Juliet Bravo so called because of the phonetic alphabet? It certainly isn’t the lead character’s name!
To add to the discussion of female Doctors, the 11th’s revelation aside, it makes just as much sense that the Doctor can change gender as it is that he can change height, hair colour, skin colour even. However, it would need to be someone who isn’t an “obvious” woman (if you know what I mean?); someone slightly androgynous like Linda Henry (Shirley from EastEnders). If a younger actress was cast, I’d go for Emma Watson: she’s had experience in that kind of area, and I just think either one of those would be worthy of consideration. Anyway, that’s my two penn’orth
Yeah, Juliet Brave was the lead character’s call sign on the radio using the phonetic alphabet. This is why they were able to change the lead character but the name of the show remained the same!
Hey! Imagine doing that! I wonder where they got the idea from? ;o)
Except, of course, in JB the main character was replaced by a new character (Inspector Jean Darblay replaced by Inspector Kate Longton), and not a new actor playing the same lead role as we have with the character of the Doctor.
I am 100% in favour of a female Doctor and agree whole-heartedly that the choice of Doctor should have a “how is *that* going to work?!” reaction. Viewers need to be intrigued and the show needs to have that shot in the arm.
Miranda Hart is marvellous but as a Doctor, one can already imagine how she’d behave. Similarly, Stephen Fry and so on.
In particular, I’d roll my eyes if the next Doctor was a six foot tall, white, slim, brown-haired, English character.
I was worried having previously compared Wis to Jenny Eclair, I am not so worried now, phew
They’ve made movies based on blogs and Twitter feeds before, so I don’t think it’s that odd a question. Though I guess it would only work if they kept the Doctor Who watching to a minimum, something you both did after a hard day of exciting car chases and hunting for serial killers.
I’ve always favoured Tansin Greig as the Doctor too. Moffat reads this blog, right?
I enjoy the read and clearly you have plenty of time on your hands as you put a lot of effort into getting this stuff online. Well done you.
One thing to note however, in the mess that was Bakers final story, Longo, you said to Sue there were 3 Baker stories to go. In the past you have also lied to her about things in the show which frankly people would of known beforehand. Im not talking new assistant turning up as a dalek here!!, but everyone knew Longo was to be his final story..even my Gran knew and took a photo of Baker on the ground from her telly and posted it to me – i was in another country at the time.
Telling Sue this isnt the final story COMPLETETLY and TOTALLY messes up her ‘enjoyment’ for want of a better word of that particular story. And i dare say Sue would of marked a point or two higher ( not that it deserved it ) had she known..for example..this was to be the last time Baker would stand in his tardis shot, the last time Baker did…etc etc Please please in future give Sue the facts..esp as you know, the final Davidson story is indeed a bit of a classic.
thanks for your time.
Longo? What the hell is Longo? Anyway, I apologise for messing with my wife’s “enjoyment” of the show. I’m going to sit her down and tell her how Peter Davison regenerates now…
Neil: I think “Longo” is the alternative Universe version of Logopolis in which the special effects work and Harry and Saragh come back in time via a Time Ring to save the 4th Doctor, who stays in the role – with jelly babies – until 1989…
Saragh being the alternative universe version of Sarah…. ahem…
The chap did say ‘not talking about new assist turning into a dalek’ – so no need for the silly remark regarding Davidsons regeneration. He has a valid point. You should not tamper with facts – IF your watching this series as it is shown then she would of known this was Bakers final story. No matter how low WHO had sunk in publics consciousness at that time – the likes of The Sun, Radio Times would of given it a mention. Play fair old bean.
Not necessarily. Like I said before, my family didn’t get the Sun or the Radio Times, so I didn’t know that Logopolis was the Doctor’s last story when I first watched it. Don’t assume everyone back then had the sort of instant access to spoilers which, well, spoils TV viewing today. Those were better times, when it was genuinely possible to be surprised by what you saw.
Neil, I know you’re going to do so anyway, but do what you want. You’ve enough respect for both your wife and the show to get the maximum enjoyment for you, her and us. I whole-heartedly approve of misleading her in the Longo entry, and indeed didn’t tell my friend the ending of Peter’s last story before he watched it for the first time. There’s a unique chance here to get the reaction without all the hype, spoilering and giveaways, and to watch the show ‘pure’.
Does she know about any of the surprises to come (you know what I mean)?
Scotty – don’t you think you’re taking this a wee bit too seriously?
I LOVE Neil’s ‘misleading’ Sue and her subsequent hurling of cushions. It’s a bit of FUN!
I also love the fact that Sue turns “fanboy perceptions” on their pointy little heads. She likes Adric! As a matter of fact, I’d find Adric far less irritating as a companion than Rory or Rose. (You could always send him to his room to sulk). ;o)
Keep on misleading Sue Neil – and keep chucking the cushions Sue!
I am still smiling at the evil Master chuckles as Neil misdirected Wis. One of the most amusing posts I have read in some time
Bah, it’s Logopolis. It’s not supposed to BE fun.
I do think deliberately misleading her when there’s nothing to be mislead about is a bit unfair. Spoiling when the Master shows up is one thing, but telling her something that everyone watching the story would’ve known when it came out is quite another.
Everyone? No. Not everyone. We didn’t get the Radio Times we I was a kid, so although I’d heard that Tom Baker was going to leave, I had no idea this was his last story until the end. There must’ve been other families who didn’t have the RT either, and were in the same position as me (and Sue).
Well, most people, anyways. The regenerations are typically (relatively) well-publicized events, after all.
I didn’t know about it at the time either.
Anyway, Sue doesn’t have to represent “most people” – she’s having her own unique viewing experience, there’s nothing to say that she’s supposed to be watching it as broadcast. She’s watching it without the week-long breaks; she’s able to pause it to ask questions; and she’s living in the 21st Century. There’s no way it can be an authentic 1981 experience.
True enough, but it damages the story as it assumes its audience will know Baker will regenerate at the end. There’s a number of things Sue ended up being confused about in the story that I think might’ve been glossed over had she known it was a regeneration story.
Especially since this is one of the few stories that fully commits to being a regeneration story, as opposed to an episode with a regeneration tacked on. Even Planet of the Spiders wasn’t as committed in its atmosphere and build-up. It’s one of the biggest strengths Logopolis has, so it’s a shame to see that lost for someone.
“…clearly you have plenty of time on your hands as you put a lot of effort into getting this stuff online.”
Now *there’s* a back-handed compliment if ever there was one!
Anyway, looking forward to the reviews of Congo and Four To Drongo.
Hehehehe…. Nice one.
“Now *there’s* a back-handed compliment if ever there was one!”
I thought that too. I think it’s a case of Adric Frustratus.
When I saw these on US PBS reruns at midnight I had no idea about anything, so I see no need to spoiler Sue with things. Rub her feet and buy her that pink coat!
It has been a real pleasure reading Sue’s thoughts on Tom’s reign, as it has made a refreshing change from the “Hinchcliffe good, Williams bad” received wisdom that still tends to shape the narrative of this period. As it happens, Sue’s views of this era largely coincide with my own, with the exception of Season 18, which I like considerably more than her overall. It was great to see her question the worth of some of the Hinchcliffe-Holmes sacred cows, and to show some real appreciation of the better Williams stories, particularly during Season 16.
It’s hard to know what Sue will make of Davison. My guess is that she will like the fifth Doctor (who probably has more in common with Troughton than the other Doctors she has seen so far) but be rather less enamoured of many of the stories, which tend to continue in the S18 vein. As ever, it will be fun to find out…
I suspect it’ll be a lot easier in advance to guess which ones Sue likes and which ones she doesn’t.
She’ll like Enlightenment – not for the reason I do, because it’s a brilliant science-fiction concept, but because of all the wooden interiors!
And most of the actors aren’t wooden…
I’d wager she’ll find something to like about:
Castrovalva
Four to Doomsday
Kinda
The Visitation
Earthshock
Snakedance
Mawdryn Undead
Enlightenment
The King’s Demons
The Five Doctors
The Awakening
Resurrection of the Daleks
Frontios
Planet of Fire
The Caves of Androzani
Even if that is not suggesting she’ll like them as stories… I wouldn’t dare guess which ones of all his she’d rate at 8 or higher…
I think she’ll really go for that one too. There are definitely some corkers coming up.
Yay, Sarah got the mug!
But you forgot to include “Image of Fendahl” and Sue’s irrational hatred of all Adam Colby’s awesome lines.
Oppps – fixed.
Also, ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’ scored 3 and not 2.
Yes, sorry. I don’t know what the hell I was doing there. It should all be accurate now.
Happy Birthday for tomorrow, Sue!
Galaxy-sized thanks to both of you,
For the bestest site on the Wibbly Wobbly Woo!
(Is there a cake?)
I’ve been saying since they first brought DW back – Kathy Burke as the Doctor
Androids of Tara is listed here as scoring 8/10 but on the page of the review it say’s 9/10.
Sorry. This will teach me to do it in the middle of the night. Let me know if you spot anything else. Thanks.
Noticed another one just now. The Deadly Assassin was marked 8, rather than 9.
Blimey, did I get any of them right? Anyway, I’ve checked them all. That is the definitive list. Finally.
Next time we shall not be so lenient!
Happy Birthday Sue. Enjoy it, because God knows you deserve it!!
I agree that I’d be more interested in Sue doing Blakes 7 once she’s reached the TV Movie.
Interesting…
Based on “The Web,” my girlfriend refers to Blake’s 7 as “Fetusman.” Of course, Sue has already seen the puppet (?) in question, so maybe she’d skate past that.
I vote for Blake’s 7 as well, after Curse of Fatal Death though. And to solve the whole new series debate, you’ll finish these up soon (too soon!) so start her reviewing the new series when the 2nd half of 7 starts. Fair yes? Id rather like to hear her start reviewing starting with Asylum, but maybe too late now. Still, second half yes?
Happy belated Birthday, Sue!!
To prepare Sue for New Who and the RTD era, perhaps after McCoy you could view “Queer as Folk”? It is an RTD-written story, Genesis of the Daleks is in it, and K9 plays a pivotal role (and she does like K9)…..
I see no reason not to keep going after McGann and go through 2005 – on. It would be stellar to hear Sue’s reactions after having so much history exposed to her.
For one thing, there are many references to classic stories and characters that Sue will now be able to appreciate on a new level. ‘School Reunion’ and ‘The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End’ will have SO much more resonance now.
Can’t disagree.
She’s had a lot of insight into Classic WHO’s foibles, so for her to see and react to the new series’ foibles might be good as well.
And I’m keeping my mouth shut on those particular stories you’d mentioned until then.
Having watched quite a few of the Tom Baker era recently, even though he was “my Doctor”, I’m starting to form the opinion that the Pertwee era as a whole was more solid, in so much as it was more consistent, or at least the stories were better.
There are obviously great moments in the Baker era. Most of the first 2 seasons were brilliant, but after that… seasons 15-18 were a bit bitty. So the Pertwee era wins, by being consistent as I can’t find too many weak episodes, or a weak season.
I’m not trolling…