Into The Vortex: Seasons 1 - 22 (1963-1985)

[SiHart]

And surely everyone is entitled to give any story the point they want? You may not like it, Si (and neither do I), but others do like 'The Tenth Planet'. For instance, when we get to S17, you just know any points I give, especially on 'City of Death' will be completely opposite to you and many others.

Yes, well it was actually just mock annoyance you know! I will argue about City of Death again when the time comes!!

Si xx

[Paul Clement]

The Evil of the Daleks 7/10My opinion of this one has gone up this year, in part thanks to hearing the full story for the first time (thanks to Tim). But it still rambles around a bit too much, and although I can understand the people who watched it, one episode a week, in 1967 acclaiming it as the greatest story ever, it clearly isn't. What it is, is a very flimsy and even absurd plot, but performed, directed, and generally put-together with a real sense of quality and class, so that it becomes hugely atmospheric.

I know exactly what you mean. The story may have been great to watch at the timje, and if it existed it may seem better than it does now, but with the novelisation, existing episodes and audio to go by, it's still a long way from being the greatest ever episode.

[Antony Cox]

The Smugglers No vote, as Im completely unfamiliar with this story.

The Tenth Planet 5/10 Ive only ever read the Target novel so Im not entirely sure about this one. Ive given it a reasonable score based on my memories of the book.

The Power of the Daleks 8/10 I like this story! One of the few missing story soundtracks I have, but Ive only listened to it twice through, I think. Very atmospheric and mysterious, but one of those occasions when the Doctor really should have left well alone and not let his curiosity get the better of him.

The Highlanders No vote, as Im completely unfamiliar with this story.

The Underwater Menace 5/10 Ive seen the surviving episode many times and read the book, but I cant remember a lot about the story in its entirety.

The Moonbase 8/10 One of the better base-under-siege stories and some very scary moments!

The Macra Terror 7/10 Another missing soundtrack which Ive listened to on many occasions and really enjoyed. One of those stories which I really wish still existed.

The Faceless Ones 7/10 Enjoyed the Target novel from many years ago, but only recently saw the surviving episodes when I bought the Lost In Time DVD. A very un-Doctor Who Doctor Who story, more like The Champions or The Avengers. Very good for it, though.

The Evil of the Daleks 7/10 A good story which should have been a couple of episodes shorter. I love the argument between Jamie and The Doctor great performances by both actors!

[Andy Frankham]

I will argue about City of Death again when the time comes!!

Pity. I was looking forward to a sensible discussion instead. Ah well. And, dude, what's with the exclamation points? Comes across as extremely forceful and aggresive.

[Andrew Curnow]

I hope not, I'm always using exclamation marks when I post!

I don't think Si sounded aggressive, I suspect he was just putting off the inevitable 'City of Death is rubbish, Tom is silly, blah blah, season 17, crap, Adams, etc etc' debate for another occasion.

I suppose, to be fair to "The Tenth Planet" it's dated quite a lot, but in 1966 it was probably such a radical story - the Doctor seems to know what's happening (incidentally, is that knowledge ever explained) which is an unusual idea; it has a 'near-future' setting for the first time; and it introduces some revolutionary, unlike-anything-seen-before, monsters. And on top of that, the whole show goes totally surreal at the end, and the Doctor's face changes!

[Andy Frankham]

I'm sure Si didn't mean to be aggresive... or maybe he did, who knows? I'm not in his mind so I can't say.

As for 'The Tenth Planet'. I want to like it, really I do... maybe one day, when it's on DVD (with animated last episode!) I'll get around to liking it. After all, if I can like 'The Web Planet' then Hartnell's finale shouldn't be too difficult.

[Jonno]

I won't be going into too much detail here, as I have given such opinions over the last few months on the "What Are You Watching" thread plus Wayne's Troughton thread, having done all of S4 recently.

The Smugglers 7/10 - Big improvement on the likes of Myth Makers and Massacre for me (plus the one to follow)

The Tenth Planet 6.5/10 - Dare I say, over-rated?!

The Power of the Daleks 10/10 - Masterpiece

The Highlanders 5/10 - Dull and unmemorable (characters and story)

The Underwater Menace 6/10 - Not as bad as its general reputation

The Moonbase 8/10 - Give me either of the missing episodes (preferably 3) over Tenth 4 any day!

The Macra Terror 7/10 - A sadly overlooked little gem (would probably get a higher score if I could see it)

The Faceless Ones 8/10 - Love it, it doesn't drag for me at all. Probably the first example of a 6 parter being a 4 + 2 with the new space station location being tacked on for the last third.

The Evil of the Daleks 7/10 - Has some great moments, but way too much padding to get to 1866, and of course all the Jamie/Kemel stuff. Very over-rated overall though.

[Jason Thompson]

The Moondbase may be a far less sensible story, but it's far more enjoyable to watch!

Fair enough. I'm not sure I agree. Both of them can seem quite pedestrian at times.

The one thing that really lets The Tenth Planet down for me is one of those instances where the designs don't tally with the demands of the script. When a script requires a monster to disguise itself as human by donning a hooded coat, don't design the monster with a huge lamp on top of its head! It's even worse than Yartek's pointy head not being noticed when he pretends to be Arbitan.

[Lord President]

The Smugglers 4/10 - Dull and daft
The Tenth Planet 7/10 - Quite dull, but a good intro to the Cybermen
The Power of the Daleks 9/10 - Great, Great, Great!!!!!!
The Highlanders 6/10 - Small scale epic
The Underwater Menace 3/10 - Ouch!!!!!!
The Moonbase 8/10 - The Cybermen hit the moon running!
The Macra Terror 4/10 - OK for occasional viewing/listening
The Faceless Ones 8/10 - Great romp!
The Evil of the Daleks 9/10 - Dalek heaven! (with Windsor Davies, who could ask for more?)

[Wayne]

Am now prepared to rate 'The Faceless Ones' with a 7/10.

With give my score for 'Evil of the Daleks' on Thursday or Friday.

[Ssarl]

The Smugglers: 8/10
Not a whole lot actually happens, and bizarrely, it's hard to follow on audio because *it has too many words in it*. I kind of find myself falling behind, wondering what meaning I'm supposed to gleam from what has been said.
That aside... it has SO many little lovable elements and morbid lines. Sawbones, what the Indians do to people's eyelids, the hook that bites deep into the tabletop, Polly's ridiculous notion that she's having fun being imprisoned, 'Fare thee well... Jamaica', and of course, the churchwarden utterly stuffing up the secret key which will have to be stated correctly like four times in the following episodes
The audio adds another layer - Annekke Wills getting to say things like 'smuggler's booty' with such relish!

The Tenth Planet: 4/10
It has Hartnell being creepy, Ben and Polly being lovely, girlie pictures on the wall (whaaaaaaaaat?), Alf from Home and Away, and 'Look, that's MALAYSIA!'. The Cybermen are utterly surreal and frightening, and we even get to see them invade MORE THAN THE IMMEDIATE AREA WHERE THE DOCTOR HAPPENS TO BE, which only ever happens again in The Invasion and the 2006 series. Yet... it's dull as dishwater. I agree with Si, it's the direction that kills this one.

The Power of the Daleks: 6/10
Insanely overexposed, to the point where I just don't care any more. Blah, regeneration, blah, Dalek production line, BLAH! The plot doesn't particularly make any sense (just try and outline the motive behind *any* guest character and you'll see), but it wholly makes up for this with how damn CREEPY Daleks are when acting all servile. The Doctor is actually pretty annoying post-regeneration, all vague an unhelpful, but I like the dynamic of Ben and Polly disagreeing over whether to trust him. The final episode, though rarely discussed, is the highlight to me - it's quite awful to listen to, and probably the most harrowing massacre the series has ever done.

The Highlanders: 7/10
So damn FUN! Polly's pwnage of Algernon Ffinch is pretty much all the story needs, but it also has the Doctor completely flipping his lid, two terrifying cliffhangers around drowning, and a real sense that they DON'T have a way out, until the Doctor works his insane genius. It's funny that none of these things are remembered whatsoever - I expected it to be the most boring story in the world, since all one hears is 'the last historical and also Jamie shows up'.

The Underwater Menace: 9/10
Episode 3 is one of the most enjoyable episodes of Doctor Who ever made, due to its alarming concentration of barmy. I want a fish person for my garden. Episode 4, meanwhile, is a tight little drama which quite frightened me as all came so close to drowning, and many actually did... the first two eps, meanwhile, are played completely straight WHILE featuring such delights as a pet octopus and a Bond-style slow execution device... you put it together and sort of whoosh it up into a wonderful pudding - er, adventure.

The Moonbase: 8/10
It has no plot whatsoever, and the characters are nondescript, including the regulars... It's low on memorable moments - there's the 'some corners of the universe' speech, and the Polly Cocktail, and that's IT.
That said... I could watch it over and over and over. Because the Cybermen still give me the heebies. For this, I salute you, Moonbase.

The Macra Terror: 8/10
Everything about this is fun. Be it ominously speaking 'THERE ARE NO SUCH THING AS MACRA!' in public settings, or just trying to imagine Jamie doing the highland fling, or how utterly cumbersome those bloody props must have been... It says a lot that I can enjoy this story as much as I do without even a proper attempt to narrate the bloody thing.

The Faceless Ones: 7/10
A genuinely intriguing mystery in a story that's never talked about - this one was delightful to watch for the first time. Alas, when you know what's coming it does somewhat drag, and despite the airport setting it's not visually impressive at all. The acting is brilliant though - Evil Polly, Evil Nurse, even Ann, The Amazing Jumping Stewardess, are marvellously creepy...
I also love Polly's helpful response to being kidnapped - making as loud a possible a fuss as to how she will act as the only witness to their crime if they only let her go...

The Evil of the Daleks: 9/10
The best of several stories this season with a plot like Swiss Cheese, and more than enough charm to make up for it. All of the parts that were actually decipherable in the cassette version will stay with me forever - and the ones that weren't still seem new and shiny on the CD. A surreal experience of an already surreal story...
It's so funny and exciting and scary and horrible and intriguing all at once... and I *still* don't know why the hell Arthur Terrell is in it.

[Wayne]

Will give my score for 'Evil of the Daleks' on Thursday or Friday.

And it's 8/10.

[Paul Clement]

Tenth Planet has been a real love it or hate it story for the season. That's surprised me, as I never knew it was so unpopular in certain quarters.

[MacNimon]

It's time to move on again, so marks out of 10 please, everyone, for...

Season Five


The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Abominable Snowmen
The Ice Warriors
The Enemy of the World
The Web of Fear
Fury from the Deep
The Wheel In Space

[Wayne]

These scores might be different by the time i've finished my Troughton thread, but here goes, anyway:


The Tomb of the Cybermen - 10/10
The Abominable Snowmen - 7/10
The Ice Warriors - 7/10
The Enemy of the World 5/10
The Web of Fear - 8/10
Fury from the Deep - 7/10
The Wheel In Space - 6/10

[Anthony Williams]

The Tomb of the Cybermen - 6/10 - not nearly as good as people say it is. The Cybermen don't actually do that much, and they make some rather silly noises. Doesn't nearly deserve the reputation it has.

The Abominable Snowmen - NO VOTE

The Ice Warriors - 7/10 - not bad. drags along a bit. the design of the Ice Warriors is just superb, though.

The Enemy of the World - NO VOTE

The Web of Fear - 9/10 - Absolutely gripping. The story has an excellent atmosphere, with the Yeti seeming to present a real threat. The sets are just amazing, and it's a good introduction to Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart.

Fury from the Deep - 10/10 - Fantastic atmosphere, very creepy. A good story line, and the weed creature is terrifying. The infamous Quill and Oak scene is absolutely terrifying.

The Wheel In Space - 6/10 - somewhat of an anti-climax to the season. After two excellent stories, we are left with an extremely mediocre story. The story's biggest plus-point is the introduction of the lovely Zoe. The story itself is merely a repeat of the plots used in The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase.

Ant x

[Pip Madeley]

The Tomb of the Cybermen - 8.5/10
The Abominable Snowmen - 4/10
The Ice Warriors - 6/10
The Enemy of the World - 7/10
The Web of Fear - 6/10
Fury from the Deep - 10/10
The Wheel in Space - 5/10

Fury gets the first top marks from me. It's bloody marvellous.

[Larry]

The Tomb of the Cybermen - 9/10
The Abominable Snowmen - no vote
The Ice Warriors - 7/10
The Enemy of the World - no vote
The Web of Fear - 7/10 based on tele scapse
Fury from the Deep - 7/10 based on tele snaps
The Wheel In Space - 5/10

[Perry Vale]

The Tomb of the Cybermen 8/10
The Abominable Snowmen 9.5/10
The Ice Warriors 7/10
The Enemy of the World 5.5/10
The Web of Fear 8/10
Fury from the Deep 7.5/10
The Wheel In Space 7/10

[Phillip Culley]

The Tomb of the Cybermen: 7/10
It's good, but not as good as we've been lead to believe. The tombs themselves are certainly very impressive on a visual level.

The Abominable Snowmen 4/10
Should have been called The Abominable Snoremen It goes on a bit too long (could well have worked better as a 4-part story), and the lack of incidental music doesn't help matters.

The Ice Warriors 5/10
The titular Warriors look very impressive, and the music is very good. Shame the story is a load of toss, really....

The Enemy of the World 9/10
Completely atypical of the series, and certainly the better for it, and Troughton does the Doctor and Salamander very well. It's just a shame all we have to base the story on is Episode 3, which (aside from the entertaining chef scenes), is very dull.

The Web of Fear 6/10
The first episode is very good, however the rest of the story turns into various people getting separated and having adventures in the tunnels. Were the other episodes to exist then the atmosphere and visuals could save it, however without this it suffers greatly.

Fury from the Deep 10/10
My favourite of the season, and works perfectly on the audio along, with the few censor clips adding to it (the Oak and Quill one especially). What I also like about this one is that unlike most other base under siege stories, this story is about ordinary people just doing their jobs, as opposed to military types, or people 'looking for trouble' as it were.

The Wheel in Space 8/10
Another personal favourite; I really can't say why I love it, however each time I do enjoy it. The first episode works very well with Troughton/Hines carrying the whole episode themselves; the fact the two get on so well makes it work all the better. And the story introduces Zoe, which always gives it bonus points!

[Logo Polish]

The Tomb of the Cybermen, 6/10, good in parts but not all that.
The Abominable Snowmen, 8/10, a bit slow, but atmospheric.
The Ice Warriors, 5/10, dull.
The Enemy of the World, 5/10, doesn't quite come off.
The Web of Fear, 8/10, still a bit stretched but but mostly good.
Fury from the Deep, 7/10, straightforward.
The Wheel in Space, 4/10, extremely dull.

[SiHart]

The Tomb of the Cybermen 8
The Abominable Snowmen 7
The Ice Warriors 5
The Enemy of the World 7
The Web of Fear 9
Fury from the Deep 7
The Wheel In Space 5

Si xx

[Rob McCow]

The Tomb of the Cybermen 9/10
It's a classic you fools! Just because you can actually see it...

The Abominable Snowmen 8/10
It's a classic you fools! Just because you can't actually see it...

The Ice Warriors 6/10
Thank heavens those two episodes are missing.

The Enemy of the World 8/10
Is this good? Yes! The focus isn't on the Doctor and his companions quite enough, but it gets two extra points for the horrible wallpaper.

The Web of Fear 10/10
It's PS's favourite. Probably!

Fury from the Deep 7/10
It's over-rated. Probably! Get away from my foam machine.

The Wheel In Space 6/10
Are we wheeely in space? Are we wheely? Get wheel. For wheel.

[Paul Clement]

The Tomb of the Cybermen 10/10
The Abominable Snowmen 9/10
The Ice Warriors 6/10
The Enemy of the World 7.5/10
The Web of Fear 10/10
Fury from the Deep 9.5/10
The Wheel In Space 8.5/10

[Stuart Wallis]

The Tomb of the Cybermen 8
The Abominable Snowmen 7
The Ice Warriors 7
The Enemy of the World 6
The Web of Fear 10
Fury from the Deep 3
The Wheel In Space 5