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

[Jonno]

Yes, it was a very special event those 5 weeks. Must put the great lengthy trailer for it from some of the DVDs on again soon for an extra buzz!

BTW 25 years ago to the day we were watching the final part of The Three Doctors!

[MacNimon]

Yes, it was a very special event those 5 weeks.

In those days before video and when there were no repeats, this was a major event. For those who weren't around at the time, it's impossible to put into words just how important this season of repeats actually was. Silly as it may seem, the only thing in recent years to compare to it was the broadcast of last years revival, or at least the anticipation of it!

[Michael Mills]

100,000 BC (I refuse to call it An Unearthly Child) - 7/10
The Daleks - 7/10
The Edge of Destruction - 5/10
Marco Polo - 9/10
The Keys of Marinus - 7/10
The Aztecs - 7/10
The Sensorites - 3/10 My God it's eye-bleedingly dull!
The Reign of Terror - 8/10

[Paul Clement]

The Sensorites - 3/10 My God it's eye-bleedingly dull!

I thought the first episode was excellent. Ok, the rest of it isn't as good, but it's not that bad either.

[Jason Thompson]

An Unearthly Child

Almost two separate stories, since the first episode stands alone so well. In fact, the first episode still stands up as a good piece of TV to this day. The other three are often overlooked, which is quite unfair as they're actually rather good, especially in terms of the regular characters. Susan is as annoying here as she always will be, though. Score: 8/10

The Daleks

A classic, though it shouldn't be. The regulars get locked up in the first ten minutes of episode 2 and don't get out until the very end of episode 3, possibly the longest incarceration in the show's history. It's an example par excellence of making four episodes' worth of plot stretch to seven without seeming overly padded. And all the supporting characters are actually characters (with the possible exception, unfortuinately, of Dyoni). Score: 10/10

The Edge Of Destruction

Being hastily conceived as a way to round the series to 13 episodes in case the plug was pulled is the only excuse for this. It's rubbish. The characters act out of character when we hardly know them, often for little reason except to bamboozle the viewer. The most ludicrous part is when Ian comes to tell the others (after a brief discussion) that the Doctor is going to try the scanner, a process that takes all of one second to flip a switch, yet he hasn't done it by the time Susan rushes in to stop him.

The only thing that drags this up off the floor is the moment that Barbara finally loses her cool and yells at the Doctor, and the development of the Doctor's character that comes when he realises what a git he's been. Score 3/10

Marco Polo

The first one that is hard to judge by dint of being missing entirely. Judging by the soundtrack I'd have to say the story is excellent, and most performances seem to be very good. Marco is an interesting character, even though he takes forever to realise that Tegana is evil despite some very obvious signs. From the stills the sets look very good, as you would expect from a BBC period drama. Like The Daleks before it, even at seven episodes it does not seem too long, especially if you view it as it was intended, an episode at a time, rather than trying to sit through it all in one go.

My only reservation is that if this ever turns up we'll be sorely disappointed by how it could look, especially as I have visions of shadows being cast on the backdrops, as in every other story of that era with a barren, featureless landscape as one of its settings. Score: 8/10

The Keys Of Marinus

Oh dear. Nice idea, poorly done. Susan gets hysterical when a weed touches her, the TARDIS is obviously a tiny model when it materialises, we have the first of the pure white futuristic sets, the cardboard Voord, and the fact that no-one notices that Arbitan now has a pointy head in episode 6 (the first case of the costume design not really fitting the scripted actions: see The Tenth Planet for possibly the worst example). Each episode is decidedly insubstantial. The best part is the section in Millennius, but then I've always had a liking for trial-type stories (though my comments on season 23, when we get there, may seem to contradict that).

It does have one of my favourite fluffs in, though: the Doctor, asked if the sea could be frozen: 'No, impossible at this temperature, besides it's too warm.'

Score: 4/10

The Aztecs

The perfect historical? Superb performances by all, a blinder of a disagreement between the Doctor and Barbara. Everyone always goes on about the one before the sacrifice, but I prefer the one after, when the Doctor tears into Barbara for her foolish actions before realising she is genuinely upset, apologising and then trying to reassure her that things can still work out all right for them.

Brilliant. 9/10

The Sensorites

Again, one to be watched an episode at a time. Not great but a commendable attempt at a decent alien culture. It's a shame it seems so ludicrous. They have a culture of trust (which oddly the First Elder still believes in even after he's had a Sensorite lie to him), yet they have warriors, guards and weapons, and can they really not tell each other apart except by the clothes they wear? That must be a nightmare, socially speaking.

At times it does come across as a bit of a science lecture (though strangely it goes into great detail about cats' eyes but then skips over a spectrograph, even though it sounded like Ian was about to explain it in very simple terms), and it is very slow indeed.

And another favourite fluff: 'I heard them over... over... t-talking'.

Score: 5/10

The Reign Of Terror

The first story to have outright comedy characters, rather than allowing the humour to arise naturally from the characters and situations, and the poorer for it, I think. Not a bad story by any means, but decidely forgettable.

Score: 5/10

[Paul Clement]

Despite the lowish rating I gave it, Reign of Terror does have one of my favourite scenes of the first season in it, when the Doctor tricks the leader of the chaingang. It's a really funny scene.

[Jonno]

possibly the longest incarceration in the show's history.

Nah, my money's on Frontier in Space...

[The Secretive Bus]

The first story to have outright comedy characters, rather than allowing the humour to arise naturally from the characters and situations,

What comedy characters? The jailer, who tries to wrangle sexual favours from Babs?

[Paul Clement]

What comedy characters? The jailer, who tries to wrangle sexual favours from Babs?

The chaingang leader was meant to be a comedy character. Or at least I've always assumed he was.

[Matthew T]

09 An Unearthly Child
09 The Daleks
04 The Edge of Destruction
09 Marco Polo
07 The Keys of Marinus
10 The Aztecs
07 The Sensorites
07 The Reign of Terror

[Jason Thompson]

What comedy characters? The jailer, who tries to wrangle sexual favours from Babs?

Yes. Don't let that little moment of 'adult-ness' fool you into thinking he's not there otherwise just to be the dim comic foil that the Doctor runs rings round. And the chain gang leader is there just for the same purpose.

Yes, they're both deeply unpleasant characters, but then so is Nero in The Romans....

[Antony Cox]

One of the interesting things that this sort of exercise reveals is that there is no perfect Doctor Who story; such a thing doesnt actually exist. The show has a format, something were all familiar with, but even that is fairly loose in a lot of respects and numerous stories have pushed the boundaries of this format almost to breaking point (some of them even going beyond the normal recognised boundaries).

Im thinking specifically of The Edge of Destruction, which is a great example of a story which bears almost no resemblance to what we would class as a typical or traditional Doctor Who adventure. There are no monsters or villains, no alien planets, no civilisations on the brink of disaster, no uprisings, no bases under siege; in fact the only recognisable features of the series as we know it are the main cast and the TARDIS.

However, for me that doesnt matter. I look at TEOD as a great piece of television drama that just happens to be part of my favourite TV series, but then each story could easily be viewed as such. Doctor Who has evolved to become the sum of its parts rather than being a strict format which stories then have to adhere to. Is the reason that most fans dont like TEOD just the fact that its not like any normal example of the series? Or do fans just think its a rubbish piece of TV? Do we judge each Doctor Who story on its individual merits or on how it fits into the big scheme of things? Do we automatically compare it to its neighbours, or against our favourite adventure which it then cannot help but fall short of? Ive seen various comments regarding TEOD stating the TARDIS crew is acting very out of character in the story, yet this was only the third story in the series; did we really know the characters back-to-front by this stage? Personally, I dont think so.

On the other hand, sometimes you dont like something but cant put your finger on why you dont like it, a sort of I dont know much about art, but I know what I dont like scenario.

Anyway, I think these opinion polls (or rather the ensuing discussions) make for fascinating reading long may they continue!

[SiHart]

Ive seen various comments regarding TEOD stating the TARDIS crew is acting very out of character in the story, yet this was only the third story in the series; did we really know the characters back-to-front by this stage? Personally, I dont think so.

Well, since there are no reviews from the time (as far as I know), I guess what we'll always have is the benefit of hindsight. We get to know these characters very well (especially compared to some other TARDIS crews) and knowing that it's easy to say in this one they don't behave like they normally would.
It's very difficult to review and make a judgement of a Doctor Who story, especially these days when most of us have seen it all, that doesn't compare it to the other stories around it. As fans we're not good at seeing things in isolation. We like to view it as part of the whole.

Si xx

[Antony Cox]

As fans we're not good at seeing things in isolation. We like to view it as part of the whole.

I think you're right. It's a shame in some respects becuase it can unfairly taint the view of a particular story.

I suppose that's an intrinsic side-effect of appraising individual chunks of a series rather that, say, a film in isolation or a one-off TV drama.

[Jason Thompson]

Is the reason that most fans dont like TEOD just the fact that its not like any normal example of the series? Or do fans just think its a rubbish piece of TV?

The latter, primarily. It's just very, very dull, especially the first episode. In places it's painful. 'He's gone to try the scanner...' indeed. A supposedly dramatic event that requires William Hartnell to do a lot of 'hmm'-ing and mucking about in order that he hasn't flipped the switch in the time it takes William Russell to deliver the information in a very stilted fashion with no urgency whatsoever and for Carol Ann Ford to rush out to tell him not to.

The first 25 minutes really drags in ways that even some seven-parters don't.

As part of the series as a whole it's actually quite a significant story, marking a change in the Doctor and how he relates to his companions. Just a shame they couldn't have had that happen in a more interesting tale.

[brandynigma]

An Unearthly Child- An absolutely wonderful start to the series. The decision to take the travellers back to prehistoric man is a very sensible one. An immediate trip to the future, an alien world or even being shrunk down may have been too much of a shock for audiences. Instead, we meet our heroes who are then stripped back to basics, and presented with our own history, and a political power struggle. While eloquent in their own way, I find the cave society utterly convincing, and the backdrop continues to develop the characters brilliantly. 8/10

The Daleks- A game of two halves. The first half is clearly better, though that's not to say the second is bad. The characters continue to develop (Susan less so than the others), with a notable scene Ian's pragmatic, not vicious, admonishment of the Doctor in the second episode. The travellers illness is well played, as are the gentle Thals. So many great images and scenes, and when watched with an open mind, you can see just how much of the Daleks' aggression comes from fear and habit. 9/10

The Edge of Destruction- I read the book as a kid, and so was disappointed to see no trip the TARDIS engine room on the original version! I have to wonder what kids were thinking of this back in 1963, as it is rather disturbing even to me. One of Carole Ann Ford's best performances- she can do sinister terribly well (and pain... not so well). The majority of our character development comes to an end here, with the rather lovely scene of the Doctor and Barbara rounding out the last thirteen episodes. But why the hell does the Doctor have to explain the fault twice in the space of five minutes?! 7/10

Marco Polo- It's disjointed, overlong, has a very slight overall plot and a constant villain who 'lather-rinse-repeat' pattern is reminiscent of the Hooded Claw in The Perils of Penelope Pitstop. It should have failed miserabley- but it's simply wonderful and so easy to watch. The only reason I didn't watch the recon in one sitting is because I had to go to work. The dialogue, performances, design and pacing of the smaller plotlines are all sublime, and while Tegana's plot to kill the Khan is on the backburner, the multiple tensions in the final episode are palpable. I feel very sad for Marco at the end, because I think he would have loved to tag along in the flying caravan... or maybe it's just because Mark Eden's sexy in this. 9/10

The Keys of Marinus- I'm a sucker for a quest story- they are just so much fun! They're great in Doctor Who as they are totally at odds with the thrust of the series (getting into and sorting out random trouble) and this one's great because our heroes don't really try to fix anything, unless it serves their purposes! The jungle and snowscape episodes have particularly dark endings (even if Vasor is a scumbag), and the best plotline is the trial (maybe as there is more time to flesh it out). Morphoton's pretty damn groovy as well (go Babs!), and Altos has got to be the most questionable heterosexual love interest until Mike Yates. A fun romp. 7/10

The Aztecs- A historical with a central plot, as well as being a character piece for Barbara and the Doctor. All of our heroes become victims of circumstance, much like their first adventure, but this time in a more civilised environment. Aztec culture, while endorsing sacrifice and arranged marriages, is presented with care, integrity and intelligence. Only the 'villain' is addressed disparagingly, and no-one patronises the people. The Doctor's romance with Cameca is charming, and their seperation surprisingly emotional. Ian and Susan are pushed into the background to further develop Barbara, whose strength of will never betrays her character of a teacher caught up in a wave of adventure and drama. The script is beautiful and lyrical, only serving for us to sympathise with Barbara in recognising the worth of this culture. Autloc's fate is presented as both tragedy and epiphany, and his scenes with Barbara are another delight. The only disappointment for me in Walter Randall, who seems to be walking through the part. Even so... 10/10

The Sensorites- In a word, slow. However, there are some great ideas. The Sensorites are very sinister, even once their weaknesses are revealed, as they have no eye language. Only their voice and stance convey meaning, and they do so strongly. There are also some great cliffhangers. Sadly, the human astronauts are a bit dull, and thankfully they are mostly represented by Carol (undoubtedly the most interesting!). The Sensorites internal politics are no exactly bad, but after An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Marco Polo, The Aztecs and even The Keys of Marinus have presented very intelligent legal/political arenas, those of the Sensesphere pale in comparison. The twist is very well handled though, and the story ends on an optimistic note for the humans and Sensorites, but not so for Ian and Barbara! 6/10

The Reign of Terror- This story is very well plotted to provide diverging plotlines, and incarceration scenes that don't drag on too much. Hartnell is in fine form, tricking a overseer, tailer, gaoler and finally Citizen Robespierre into thinking he's someone important and getting his own way. Despite great performances from the guest cast (Edwyn Bradshaw in particular), the story suffers from William Russell taking two weeks off, although the physician's betrayal of Barbara and Susan provides a nice bit of colour. The Napoleon bit is rather cute (with Barbara as a serving wench), but feels like it's too late. It all ends well though, and we do get a feeling that these four people, initially so distant, have banded together into a very special group. 6/10

Overall Season Ranking: 8/10

[MacNimon]

Last call for Season 1...Tomorrow we move onto Season 2....

[MacNimon]

Time to move onto Season 2, now....

So, marks out of ten everyone please, for....


Planet of Giants
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Rescue
The Romans
The Web Planet
The Crusade
The Space Museum
The Chase
The Time Meddler

[Wayne]

Planet of Giants - 8.5/10
The Dalek Invasion of Earth - 6.5/10
The Rescue - 4/10
The Romans - 3/10
The Web Planet - 7.5/10
The Crusade - 7/10
The Space Museum - 7.5/10
The Chase - 7/10
The Time Meddler - 5/10

[SiHart]

Planet of Giants 6
The Dalek Invasion of Earth 7
The Rescue 7
The Romans 8
The Web Planet 7
The Crusade 9
The Space Museum 5
The Chase 5
The Time Meddler 7

It's a fairly consistent season, but there's little that's as good as the best of season 1. This lots of dull stories or stories that really should have been better than they eventually turned out.

Si xx

[Antony Cox]

Planet of Giants 5/10 Unfortunately Ive never seen the VidFIREd version of the story; I used to have an Nth generation copy which was almost unwatchble, but I still like the story and would love to watch a decent copy so I can see the giant sets in all their glory.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth 7/10 I quite like this story but it does seem to drag a bit in places. Better in a lot of ways to The Daleks, though. I like the tearful ending too!

The Rescue 7/10 I like this story too - it has a nice cosy feel to it. I was never that keen on Vicki, though mainly due to her being IMHO an awful actress (at that stage at least: Ive seen her in relatively recent stuff on TV and thought she was rather good).

The Romans Ive only seen this once many years ago and so cant give much of an accurate critique of it. I do remember it being fun, though!

The Web Planet 3/10 Zzzzzzzzzzzz..

The Crusade 9/10 Aside from The Aztecs, this is probably my fave historical out of the ones that Ive seen. Tremendous performances from everyone involved and a cracking storyline. A great early offering from Douglas Camfield.

The Space Museum Again, Ive only seen this once many years ago and so cant give a true opinion of it. I dont remember being bowled over by it, though..

The Chase 5/10 Another story Ive only seen the once, but Ive given it a score purely on the basis of how shoddy the production was!

The Time Meddler 8/10 Another one of my favourite Hartnell stories. I love the cheekiness of the Monk and Hartnells condescending attitude towards him! I like Stephens proper debut and even Vicki is reasonably good value in this.

[Anthony Williams]

Planet of Giants - 7/10 - I do enjoy this romp of a story. It's nothing special, but it's a lot of fun!
The Dalek Invasion of Earth - 8/10 - I've loved this story since I first saw it, and I still love it to this very day. It always makes me feel better when I'm ill. Yes, it may be a little padded, but it's also a lot of fun, and shows the Daleks at their fascistic best!
The Rescue - 7/10 - This story is brilliant. So fantastically full of tension. The Doctor's final showdown with Bennett is just amazing, and both actors put in an excellent performance.
The Romans - 5/10 - As I said in my season 1 ratings, I don't like the "pure" historicals, and the comedy just makes this one worse. I wouldn't mind the story if it was in the mould of I, Claudius rather than Up Pompeii
The Web Planet - 4/10 - yawn.
The Crusade - 4/10 - Another "pure" historical. Oh joy. On top, this one is just plain dull.
The Space Museum - 5/10 - This one has a fantastic opening episode, but it's a shame about the rest of it!
The Chase - 7/10 - Just a plain load of fun. I know this one gets a lot of slack, but I think far too many people take it far too seriously. It's brilliance is in its ridiculousness.
The Time Meddler - 8/10 - a historical with elements of sci-fi... I love it! The Meddling Monk is just brilliant, and Hartnell plays this one very well.

Ant x

[Pip Madeley]

Onward we go!

Planet of Giants - 6/10
A nice idea, but even with an episode chopped off it still feels a little
slow and padded. Some nice cliffhangers though for eps 1 & 2.

The Dustbin Vacation On Earth - 5/10
A favourite with some, but personally I think it's rather average.
I'd rather watch the Cushing film instead...

The Rescue - 8/10
As Ant says, it has a sort of cosy feel to it. But it's a great story,
which when you really think about it is quite dark in content - Vicki
living with the man who murdered her father... the regulars are on
fine form (especially Hartnell) & it whizzes by entertainingly.

The Romans - 5/10
Like season 3's Myth Makers, it's an historical played for laughs, and
that damages it for me. Picks up in places, and Hartnel is again on good
form, but I'd rather watch Carry On Cleo...

The Web Planet - 4/10
A very brave production, but the fact remains, it's no classic.

The Crusade - 6/10
Not too familiar with this one, as I've not listened to the audio episodes
much, but the existing episodes are good viewing.

The Space Museum - 5/10
Part one deserves a 8 or even 9 out of ten, but the rest of it just
drags it down. It's like watching a car crash!

The Chase - 7/10
Like The Web Planet, a brave production, and like the Web Planet,
it can be very shoddy looking at times, but unlike The Web Planet,
it's a right laugh to watch! Entertaining stuff, plenty of fun to be had.

The Time Meddler - 8/10
A fine story, with excellent turns from Hartnell and Butterworth.
Can be a little slow in places, but it's worth staying with.

[Wayne]

I'd rather watch the Cushing film instead...

but I'd rather watch Carry On Cleo...

Ditto!

[Perry Vale]

Planet Of Giants 7/10 (68%) - Ok, but nothing special storywise, in the end you're willing it to end.
Dalek Invasion Of Earth 8/10 (82%) - Lots of iconic images, probably an episode or two too long.
The Rescue 7/10 (69%) - A pretty dreadful story, and some uninspiring acting from Maureen O'Brien.
The Romans 8.5/10 (86%) - Wonderful fun, and great performances all round.
The Web Planet 8/10 (79%) - I'm always baffled as to why this gets such bad "press", I love it. Great sets & design, and wonderfully spooky atmosphere too.
The Crusade 8.5/10 (86%) - Great historical, excellent performances from the guest & regular cast.
The Space Museum 6.5/10 (67%) - It's all downhill after episode 1, but there's worse to come.....
The Chase 6/10 (59%) - Some pretty awful stuff here, and dreadful production too. It's saving grace is Ian & Barbara's leaving scene, imo.
The Time Meddler 8.5/10 (86%) - Very rewatchable, some great scenes between Hartnell & Butterworth.

Average : 7.5/10