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
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*
“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 Doctor seems to be using a bulky, proto-sonic screwdriver at one point. Which he describes as “My reacting vibrator!”
Good grief. 😳
“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
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
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
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
Power Of The Daleks: …and hello Pat! Instantly likeable as the Doctor. Of course some contemporary viewers weren’t happy with the change… 😄
The rebels in Power Of The Daleks fit the gun-arms back into the disarmed Daleks to use them to overthrow the Governor (and of course the Daleks end up killing them!)
Did they not think to just try figuring out a way to operate the guns themselves? #DoctorWho
The Highlanders: well it’s the last of the (by now, slightly plodding) historicals. But the best thing is that Jamie’s arrived. 😀
Fair play to Frazer for getting on so well with the cast and crew they took an incidental character and turned him into a new companion! #DoctorWho
The Underwater Menace: Hooo boy! 😆
Atlantis! Mad cults! Even madder Professors! Humans surgically-altered to become Fish-People! (!!) This is #DoctorWho at its most bonkers and comic-strip. Makes the 1960s Batman series look like I, Claudius.
Three times in about 30 minutes a Cyberman strolls into the sick bay through the back entrance, sees Polly (who screams), then casually picks up a patient and walks out.
Lock the bloody door, guys! 🤪 #DoctorWho
At least Polly gets to be proactive and clever by coming up with the idea of the ‘cocktail’ to dissolve the Cybermen’s plastic parts.
But of course she’s still given the role of making the coffee, and has to put up with Ben’s “Not you Polly, this is men’s work!” 🙄 #DoctorWho
The Macra Terror: or ‘ #DoctorWho Gets A Dose Of The Crabs’ or The One With No Villain At All, because as we all know: THERE ARE NO SUCH THING AS MACRA! MACRA DO NOT EXIST!
A similar theme to The Savages (by the same author), with an idyllic-seeming colony hiding a dark secret.
The Macra are comically rubbish at concealing what’s going on, broadcasting an image of a whacking great claw threatening the supposed leader. Doh!
Still, Polly’s response of screaming about how “They’re in control!!” makes a good cliffhanger. #DoctorWho
For a crab, the lead Macra has a very distinguished voice, with good clarity and projection.
If the whole evil plan of parasitically controlling space colonies doesn’t work out, then surely a career in the theatre beckons. #DoctorWho
The Faceless Ones: another abrupt companion departure, as Ben and Polly disappear after a couple of episodes. At least they get to come back for a goodbye at the end.
Ah, Samantha Briggs, with her crazy hat and flirting with Jamie. The great lost potential companion. #DoctorWho
Evil Of The Daleks: some very good Sherlockian deduction by the Doctor at the start, following the flimsiest of clues to find Kennedy.
And of course, this day was a huge temporal nexus in #DoctorWho , with War Machines, Chameleons and Daleks all active at the same time!
Klieg is the first in a long line of egotistical dumbasses who think “Oh, but the Cybermen will respect MY intelligence, and share their power with ME! Of course they will!”
Aaaand he ends up dead. Well done genius! Weren’t clever enough to see that coming, were you? #DoctorWho
Gavin Winters
Riggio