Gavin WintersNever mind Kevin, wait a few decades and you’ll get a much better role in #DoctorWho.
Attack Of The Cybermen: this at least starts off much better than The Twin Dilemma. The bank heist plot leading to the discovery of Cybermen underground is very good, but would’ve been even better as an Earthshock-type surprise by not having their name in the title. #DoctorWho
Colin’s pompous, self-aggrandising Doctor can be very entertaining in the right circumstances. His leap into the garage pit with the fake policeman, followed by lots of off-screen thumping sounds is very funny. As is him later casually ordering Peri to shoot Russell(!) #DoctorWho
Who are Lytton’s fake cops anyway? Hired human mercenaries, or aliens like himself? We never find out.
And since they barely even saw each other in Resurrection Of The Daleks, why does the Doctor act like he knows Lytton well? #DoctorWho
The second half is where it all starts to unravel. A pointless continuity-fest designed to please members of DWAS who read Doctor Who Bulletin or other 1980s fanzines.
And the sub-plot with Bates and Stratton goes nowhere as they just get killed in the end. #DoctorWho
These twitchy, gesticulating Cybermen are more expressive than ever before.
Also a *hell* of a lot of them are blown up, decapitated, shot, etc. As if there’s an influence of 80s “video nasties” starting to creep in, which leads neatly into the next story… #DoctorWho
Vengeance On Varos: finally, a decent story for Colin, although not without its flaws.
Sil is one of the best original monster creations of the decade. He has that ‘kids-imitating-his-voice-in-the-school-playground’ factor not seen since the Daleks. #DoctorWho
Like many stories of this period, the TARDIS takes just too bloody long to get there and get the Doctor involved in the action.
And while he’s calmed down a lot, there’s still the issue of how he treats Peri. Why the hell does she want to keep travelling with him? #DoctorWho
Is the Doctor too violent here? You could argue the laser that kills the guard was set up as a warning, and he didn’t intend to kill him. And the infamous acid bath scene is clearly an accident.
But he then blatantly kills the bad guys at the end with poison vines…🤷🏻♂️ #DoctorWho
So the story is kind of trying to have its cake and eat it with the subject of violence. Criticising the idea of people watching it while simultaneously indulging in it.
The meta-commentary by Arak and Etta is a highlight of the story though. #DoctorWho
Quillam is a boring and pointless panto villain. An unnecessary addition when you already have Sil and the Chief. #DoctorWho
When you see how Varos deals with its Governors you’re torn between thinking “What a terrible vision of the future” and “Hmm, there’s actually some politicians I wouldn’t mind seeing that done to!” 😄 #DoctorWho
The Mark Of The Rani: a worthy debut for Pip and Jane Baker. Whatever you think of their stories (and there’s early examples here of their florid, unnatural dialogue) they wrote solid, straightforward scripts, and knew how to write well for the Sixth Doctor. #DoctorWho
So the Master dresses as a scarecrow and stands in a field like a twat, just to wait for the Doctor so he can gawp at him as he goes past?
He’s not quite right in the head, is he? #DoctorWho
Later he does the most evil thing he’s ever done - zapping and killing a dog! It’s hilarious in its ‘1980s TV not giving a fuck’ kind of way. I’m trying to imagine the uproar if a modern #DoctorWho showrunner had him doing that…
I like how the Rani is basically just annoyed at being caught up in the Doctor and the Master’s feud and sees them both as irritating idiots.
And her kneeing the Master in the bollocks will never not be one of the funniest things ever to happen in #DoctorWho
I’ve always liked the design of the Rani’s TARDIS interior. Those two silver rings on the console that fluctuate when in flight is such a simple but convincing practical effect. #DoctorWho
*record scratch*
*freeze frame*
“Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.” #DoctorWho
The Two Doctors: one last hurrah for the second Doctor and Jamie? Ah, why the hell not. Yeah, so they both look older. Yeah, the console is wrong and the continuity’s messed up (leading to the whole season 6b thing) but it’s still a huge joy to see them again. #DoctorWho
Troughton and Hines slip back into their roles easily, despite some awkward bits where their characters have been altered to fit the mid-80s style - the Doctor criticising Jamie’s accent (total opposite of The Faceless Ones) and Jamie actually stabbing with his knife. #DoctorWho
Likewise Colin continuously snapping at Peri for her Americanisms is getting a bit tiresome. What on Earth is supposed to be wrong with the perfectly normal (and universally used) term “framed”?? #DoctorWho
Um… why exactly does Jamie degenerate into a growling, shuffling zombie lurking in the space station’s infrastructure? #DoctorWho
Plenty of violent deaths in this story, but Shockeye murdering Oscar seems the most misjudged.
And to make things worse, after their initial reaction the extras playing customers in the restaurant go back to acting like nothing has happened. #DoctorWho
Never noticed before that the 10th (14th?) Doctor crosses his own timeline to make a cameo in the restaurant scene… #DoctorWho
Timelash: oh dear. 😬 Okay… maybe not quite as bad as it’s reputation, but still the worst of this season. Lots of clunky dialogue and painfully obvious exposition.
And the Doctor and Peri’s relationship has taken a backward step to Twin Dilemma levels of snappiness. #DoctorWho
Paul Darrow gives one of the most preposterous performances in the entire history of #DoctorWho. Equal parts appalling and hilarious. Really needs a hunchback or a cape or an eyepatch as the finishing touch.
Still, at least he’s having fun. I’m glad someone is!
The makeup for the Borad is one of the few positive elements, which still stands up against anything you’d see today.
And they show great restraint in holding back the full reveal for as long as they do. #DoctorWho
I quite like Herbert too, and how he provides some funny moments where he’s oblivious to how much he’s irritating the Doctor. I was convinced at the time he was going to be a new companion! #DoctorWho
Every time I see the blue-faced androids they remind me of how we were all trying to do those robotic dancing/movements in the 80s. #DoctorWho
The ending’s bloody awful though. After the total cop-out of “I’ll explain one day” as to how they survived the missile, the Doctor then lambasts the Borad for his “grotesque, ugly excuse for a body”. (Lovely message to send the kids who are watching, Doctor. 😐 )
And then he says that if Peri doesn’t scream when she sees the Borad’s face, he’ll consent to their marriage (!?!)
Jesus Christ, was this written in the 1950s?? Right, we need the Daleks as a palate cleanser after that! #DoctorWho
Revelation Of The Daleks: one of Colin’s top stories. Eric Saward does a decent job of channeling Robert Holmes, with plenty of gothic atmosphere, effective world-building, and of course everyone’s paired up in ‘double-acts’. Graeme Harper’s direction is top-notch too. #DoctorWho
Although it would be nice if Saward was actually interested in having the Doctor star in his own show. Once again it takes until nearly halfway through before he and Peri join the main story. Can’t the TARDIS ever land closer to the action? #DoctorWho
The nightmarish image of Stengos - a barely human, mutated lump of flesh growing inside a glass Dalek is a memorable one. I think even the modern series would balk at this as being a bit too much for kids. #DoctorWho
Bit unfortunate that we had two stories in a row where the villain is killed… only for it to be revealed that it was just a decoy clone and he’s really still around.
I love the black humour of Davros’ fingers scattered on the ground after his hand is shot off! #DoctorWho
Where? Where, damnit! I could tell it was somewhere beginning with ‘B’, and after the long wait for the next season I was very disappointed to discover I was apparently wrong… #DoctorWho
The powers-that-be have now forced me to pause this #DoctorWho rewatch for a hiatus of eighteen… hours.
Please do not release an ill-advised charity single to try to make me continue sooner, thanks.
The Mysterious Planet: I love Trial Of A Time Lord, in all its mad bonkers glory. That opening model shot is still impressive, and canny old JNT made damn sure they got their money’s worth from it as the season progresses. #DoctorWho
Robert Holmes may be past his best at the point (and recycling bits from The Krotons, amongst others) but this is still good stuff. Glitz is probably the last great character he contributes to the show. #DoctorWho
Colin’s blustering, indignant, theatrical Doctor is a perfect fit for the courtroom scenes. Whatever you think of those bits (and I know some really don’t like them), try to imagine literally any other Doctor there. They wouldn’t be half as funny or entertaining. #DoctorWho
The Time Lords are comically inept at covering up their dirty secret. Why include footage of Glitz saying:
“The Sleepers found a way into the… BLEEP! BLEEP! …the biggest repository of knowledge in the universe!”
If that wasn’t obvious enough, you can lipread him! 😆#DoctorWho
CLIFFHANGER ZOOM INTO DOCTOR’S FACE!
(We’ll be seeing quite a few of those…) #DoctorWho
Mindwarp: this has a very grim and doom-laden feel throughout. The set design, the music, the lighting, all help to make Thoros Beta the most oppressive and gloomy setting for a story in quite a while. Nice FX work on making the exterior look properly alien too. #DoctorWho
It’s silly, but I do like the *absolute* childishness of the Doctor continuing to call the Valeyard the brickyard, knacker’s yard, etc, until the Inquisitor tells him off like a naughty schoolboy. 😄 #DoctorWho
Brian Blessed is hilarious as Yrcanos. Not so much chewing the scenery as devouring the sets, the cameras, the studio, the other actors… #DoctorWho
The flaw of course, is the lack of clarity over what’s happened to the Doctor. Affected by Crozier’s machine? Playing along as a ruse? Faked Matrix evidence? Or a mix of all three? By all accounts Colin wasn’t properly informed which it was, never mind the viewers. #DoctorWho
And just as the Sixth Doctor was calming down too. After a terrible start in Twin Dilemma, gradually becoming less acerbic in season 22, then finally having a decent relationship with Peri, they throw this massive spanner in and make him (apparently) a monster. Sigh. #DoctorWho
Even knowing how they’ll backtrack over it in a few weeks, the ending is still incredible and packs a hell of a punch, plus it gives Nicola Bryant some of the best material she’s had to work with.
Kind of glad they did change it though, and it wasn’t Peri’s final end. #DoctorWho
Terror Of The Vervoids: an awkward debut for Mel, just suddenly there with no proper intro, with a character who’s little more than “fitness fanatic”. And Pip & Jane’s ludicrous dialogue doesn’t help.
On the plus side, they did write this season’s best cliffhangers. #DoctorWho
The dirty towels on the spaceship are *pulverised*, in a massive machine, and ejected into space??
Don’t they have washing machines in the 30th century? #DoctorWho
Very few Sixth Doctor stories don’t feature or mention some “old acquaintance” of the Doctor. Here we get two - the Commodore and the investigator Hallett. The little we see of Hallett doesn’t really fit the Doctor’s description of him as some outrageous maverick. #DoctorWho
The fake Mogarian not using his translator is childishly obvious. Probably only there in fact to make kids feel clever by spotting it.
At least the Valeyard’s repetition of the words “arbitrary course” is slightly subtler and easy to miss. #DoctorWho
Lasky and Mel having a good old natter while the Doctor frustratedly fails to join in and show off his knowledge is very funny. The Sixth Doctor really needed FAR more scenes like that - puncture his pomposity and he’d be much more likeable as a result. #DoctorWho
You have to marvel at how the designers of the Vervoids have somehow managed to make them look like ALL the naughty bits simultaneously… #DoctorWho
“…and that concludes the evidence for the defence, in which I committed genocide against an entire species.”
“You did WHAT!”
“Oh bugger…”
The Ultimate Foe: for a story half-written by #DoctorWho’s most revered writer (Holmes) and half by its most reviled (the Bakers), with the differing styles being clear, this ends up working incredibly well.
And given all that was happening behind the scenes, miraculously well.
Juicy Cake Of FigsThe way that the revelation of the Valeyard’s true nature is delivered as a casual aside by the Master means that the first time you hear it you have the same reaction as the Doctor: “Did he say what I think he just said?!?” #DoctorWho
These are the best ever Matrix scenes, with the creepy Victorian setting overdubbed with ghostly music, voices and laughter.
Shame Mel’s still not written very well, and as this was recorded first, Bonnie’s still finding her way and playing it very theatrically. #DoctorWho
(Me watching this in 1986)
“What’s that weird stuff behind him, if he’s in his TARDIS?”
(Me watching this in 2023)
“Oh, he’s got a funky Zoom background.”
Is the trial being broadcast on live TV? Hence the report of Gallifrey “descending into chaos” and the High Council being deposed immediately after their crimes have been exposed.
Maybe Runcible survived The Deadly Assassin after all… #DoctorWho
And that’s it. A sad ending for Colin, who’s run was plagued with problems and setbacks throughout, but struggled on regardless. Never mind Col, Big Finish beckons!
“Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice…” #DoctorWho
