Back to DMP and The TARDIS makes a quick stop-off on Earth on New Year’s Day. (I timed the rewatch of this episode well)

Then it’s a welcome return for the Monk. I wish we’d seen the bit where the Doctor wraps him up like a mummy and shoves him in a sarcophagus! #DoctorWho

Towards the end the Delegates are back. Pity we didn’t (apparently) get to see more of Sentreal, the Satanic Christmas Tree. We’re all agreed he’s everyone’s favourite, yes? 😁 #DoctorWho
What a surprise, the Daleks turn on Mavic Chen and exterminate him. So much for your genius plan, Space-Trump! #DoctorWho

RIP Sara, we hardly knew ya (but at least a bit more than Katarina) 🤷🏻‍♂️

#DoctorWho

The Massacre (…‘of St. Bartholomew’s Eve’ if you insist, but I prefer the short version). Just weeks since this show gave us the madcap antics of The Feast Of Steven and now we get this extremely heavy political and religious drama. Must’ve been a bit hardgoing for kids at the time. #DoctorWho
Steven’s big argument with the Doctor before storming out, and Hartnell’s poignant monologue afterwards (mentioning his home world!), must be one of the most “I wish the visuals still existed” moments In sixties #DoctorWho
Oh, hello Dodo, random young person with no apparent life or backstory or reason to stay on Earth and so is a ready-made companion after stumbling into the TARDIS. That’s pretty convenient! #DoctorWho

#DoctorWho : The Ark. They must have spent a bit of cash on this one - huge sets, loads of extras, even a bloody elephant in the studio!

The visual FX are noticeably starting to improve too, with some new tricks for merging one picture with another.

“Take them to the Security Kitchen! Where they can… make my breakfast! Securely!” #DoctorWho
The Monoids really are the most rubbish villains for *constantly* blurting out their evil plans and letting everyone else hear. #DoctorWho
The Celestial Toymaker: Hmm, for many years ‘received fan wisdom’ said this was an all-time classic. I always think it was just people who were kids at the time found it mind-blowing. So weird and surreal and format-breaking. But it’s all a bit…nothing, really. #DoctorWho
The Toymaker himself is a fun and interesting villain, and after watching this again I’m now looking forward to his (apparent) return, but the plot is wafer-thin. Same runaround nonsense repeated for four episodes. #DoctorWho
Still, the totally-not-copyright-infringing-and-definitely-not-Billy-Bunter character of Cyril in the final episode is such an odious, annoying prick that his eventual death is one of the most satisfying in all of #DoctorWho ! 😄

The complete inverse of The Celestial Toymaker, The Gunfighters had a reputation for being rubbish… until people actually got to see it. A perfectly enjoyable and funny story.

And yeah, I even don’t mind ‘The Ballad Of The Last Chance Saloon’. So sue me. 😜 #DoctorWho

Hartnell once again showing how good he is when given a bit of comedy business. All the bits with the Doctor’s toothache in the dentist’s office are hilarious. #DoctorWho

River Song: “A Time Lord’s body is a miracle. There are whole empires out there who’d rip this world apart just for one cell…”

Well don’t leave your bloody tooth on 19th-century Earth, Doctor!

*spaceships gather in the sky above Tombstone*

#DoctorWho

I thought Dodo had a wandering accent. It’s nothing compared to some of the “American” accents on display here. Arizona via Yorkshire. #DoctorWho

“Your humble servant, Doctor Caligari!”
“Doctor… Who?”
“Quite so!”

First example of that joke? Unless you count when Ian said it in the very first episode. #DoctorWho

The Savages: a very underrated story about a parasitic ruling elite literally draining the life from the lower echelons of society. Always think this would be much more highly rated if we could see it. Hope it’s considered for these new animations at some point. #DoctorWho

The Doctor seems to be using a bulky, proto-sonic screwdriver at one point. Which he describes as “My reacting vibrator!”

Good grief. 😳

#DoctorWho

“We can make the brave man braver, the strong man stronger, the wise man wiser!”

Just as you’re thinking, ‘well don’t these qualities apply to women?’ he adds:

“The beautiful girl more beautiful still!”

Oh… okay. 😐 #DoctorWho

Jano in The Savages “becoming” the Doctor is a nice twist, with a fun impersonation by Frederick Jaeger, but it’s sad to see that at this stage they have to write Hartnell out at every opportunity to give him a break.

Especially when he was so good in the earlier scene when the Doctor makes a furious condemnation of how their society works. #DoctorWho

The revolving door of companions in season three continues as Steven leaves for… no apparent reason. The only man who can help this society rebuild? Eh, really? Oh well, bye then! 😕 #DoctorWho
The War Machines: a return to contemporary earth, with the world under threat from a megalomaniacal computer, and the Doctor has all sorts of establishment contacts with scientists, the military, government… hang on, are we in the Pertwee era by mistake?? #DoctorWho
The Inferno Nightclub! The most ‘with it’, happening place in town! Where all the teenagers are at least 35! #DoctorWho
Stop calling it ‘VOTAN’ when it’s spelled ‘WOTAN’! Honestly, this is gif and jif all over again. #DoctorWho

Now it’s Dodo’s turn to be unceremoniously dumped in one of the worst companion exits ever, with an offscreen goodbye.

Oh well, at least we’ll now have a bit of stability for a while with Ben and Polly. #DoctorWho

The Smugglers: one of the least gripping historicals. You can see why they started phasing them out. We’ve come a long way from when The Aztecs or Marco Polo would be the highlights in a season. The sci-fi stories are now the far more interesting ones. #DoctorWho

Ah, the old convention of, when in a historical setting, put a woman in trousers and everyone immediately starts going “You there, boy!”

Come on lads, get your eyes tested! 😄 #DoctorWho

The Tenth Planet: Well, after several years of attempting to come up with a creature to rival the popularity of the Daleks, through Zarbi and Mechanoids and War Machines, it finally happens almost by accident as these guys stumble through the snow… #DoctorWho

Twice in recent stories we’ve had the modern convention of seeing news reports on the unfolding events. Long before RTD did it!

In fact everything feels subtly more modern, with the Doctor himself being the only leftover from a previous era that needs replacing… #DoctorWho

These early Cybermen might look cheaply knocked together with bits of tape and plastic and surgical stockings on actors faces, but they’re still one of the most effective designs, with elements of the human being still visible. #DoctorWho
Anyway, next up, Twice Upon A Time! #DoctorWho
(Just kidding!)

Power Of The Daleks: …and hello Pat! Instantly likeable as the Doctor. Of course some contemporary viewers weren’t happy with the change… 😄

#DoctorWho

It’s a clever device to have people investigating the Daleks as some ancient and dead curiosity, with only the Doctor (and the viewers) aware of the danger. Immediately puts you on the side of the new Doctor. You can see why they did it again with Tomb Of The Cybermen. #DoctorWho
Is the Dalek capsule meant to be bigger on the inside? Because when we finally see the full extent of it it’s bloody enormous! With a whole Dalek factory inside. How did they drag something that big into Lesterson’s laboratory? #DoctorWho
@gavinwinters I suppose there’s precedent with the “Dardis” seen in The Chase and The Daleks’ Master Plan…
@AOTAS Yes I was thinking it must be something along those lines.