A list of "mosts" ...

[WhiteCrow]

A simple series of questions for Doctor Who fans on your personal tastes.

Which Doctor Who story do you find fits each of these ...

As with such things, it's not just the story, but the reasons why which make replies interesting.

1) Most original story

Doesn't necessarily have to be the one you liked the most, but the one which had the most original premise.

2) Most ridiculous story

The story you feel takes the largest leap of faith to really sit back and watch.

3) Most political story

The one which seems to have dealt subversively with subjects.

4) Most dated story

The story which watched today really seems a relic of the past

5) Most watched story

Simple - the one you've watched the most.

[WhiteCrow]

1) Most original story

BLINK. The idea of statues which move when you're not looking is brilliant. It has a feel of a kind of urban legend you'd be told in the playground and believe utterly.

Most Stephen Moffat stories feel like they have an element of urban legend around them. They seem both familiar and instantly original at the same time.

2) Most ridiculous story

I know a lot of people will say Kandyman, but in truth, the Happiness Patrol is a brilliant tale that works on many levels. Somehow as well the idea of a mad confectionary cyborg killing machine seems very New Series.

So instead I'm going to go with ... the Brain of Morbius. I've not watched it since 1990, but I did find it at times a little silly.

3) Most political story

Got to be the Caves of Androzani, Trau Morgus is kind of the embodiment of an 80s Thatcherite. In fact like some Conservative minister of the time, it transpires he's moving work away from areas for his own self gain, and involved in dodgy dealings. I'm surprised he never mentions a simple sword of truth during his whole time.

4) Most dated story

The Doctor on the whole seemed to have quite a good relationship with most of his companions, even the ones who tried to kill him (yes you Turlough).

However it's his relationship with Jo Grant which is the hardest to watch. Where as with many a young woman he's more a kindly father figure, generally to Jo he's quite pig headed, rude and chauvenistic. Yes Hartnell could be a bit abraisive with his companions, but there was always a slight fatherly figure to him. Jon Pertwee sometimes just comes over as mean.

It's probably one of the reasons Jon Pertwee is one of my least favourite Doctors. So I'm going with Planet of the Daleks, although it might not quite be the one where he's the worst to her.

5) Most watched story

Earthshock - I missed it on TV first time around cos of Boy Scouts. It was such a shock, plus a good thriller too. Part 1 is very Aliens, with soldiers creepily being killed off one by one. And I still feel sorry for poor Adric.

Ironically I think we'd have forgotten Adric a lot more if it's not for his very powerful exit from the show.

[Andrew Curnow]

1) Most original story

The Happiness Patrol - I'm probably wrong, but I can't recall ever seeing a 'place where you MUST be happy' type of story before. Obviously in one sense it's just another 'Doctor helps rebels' story, but... Actually I'm typing this and losing faith in my own argument as I type. It is in fact just another 'Doctor helps rebels' story, as is Paradise Towers, as is The Sunmakers, as is The Space Museum - the trappings, the nature of the regime, may vary, but that's just the detail not the story. So, in that case, NOT The Happiness Patrol, bugger. I'll get back to you on this one!!

2) Most ridiculous story

Nowadays, surely it must be The Web Planet. I don't know how it looked in 1965, but even by the time the video came out in 1990 it looked just so dated. The sets, the stagey nature of the production, and the creature costumes, all give it the air of a theatre show that somebody's just plonked a camera in front of. Suspend your disbelief and it's one of the most rewarding stories ever, but you do need to suspend it. (I'm not sure I haven't really answered question 4, but I'll plough on.)

3) Most political story

The Silurians. Perhaps not 'political' exactly, but I've always been intrigued by the fact that the Doctor is not automatically siding with the human race - the implication being that our behaviour is, or can be, open to a great deal of criticism. As a kid reading the book I found that quite an eye opener. So I would say that's 'political' in the sense of not towing the usual sci-fi party line of 'the humans/good guys are ALWAYS right'.

4) Most dated story

The Ark - simply for its multi-cultural representation of the future of mankind... Obviously it's something they wouldn't necessarily have considered in 1966, but looked at now one thing that does leap out at you is that the human race are all white, all British, and mostly all male (at least all the important people). The Space Pirates at least tries to compensate by making its all-white, all-male crew about the police ship put on stupid accents to suggest different nations.

5) Most watched story

Probably Remembrance of the Daleks - certainly it's now the only story I genuinely can't watch and get involved in, because I'm just waiting for the next line, the musical cues, the cut to this and the edit to that. I haven't watched it in about five years, so I'm hoping that if I give it another five the effect will have worn off (or at least, my memory will have started to go!)

[Lord President]

1) Most original story

Warriors' Gate - What can I say, I've never seen Who like it before or since

2) Most ridiculous story

The Mind Robber - So out there it has no competition!

3) Most political story

The Sunmakers of course

4) Most dated story

Web Planet - It looks awful!

5) Most watched story

Genesis of the Daleks - Watched on video & DVD, listened to on LP, and narrated versions on cassette and CD.

[Pip Madeley]

1) Most original story

Difficult. Everything's derived from something else in some way, shape or form. I was going to say The Mind Robber but I'll leave that to someone else. So I'll say Midnight because it was so different from anything else the series had attempted. The Doctor is rendered helpless as his strengths are turned into weaknesses. His intelligence divides him from the others (not to mention the fact he's not even human) and he is robbed of his voice and therefore his power. His tendency to revel in mystery and mayhem (as Pip and Jane might have put it) is noted. Seeing the Doctor being taking down a peg is something rare, and not knowing anything about the 'baddie' even rarer. It was fresh, exciting and for Doctor Who, original.

2) Most ridiculous story

The Kings' Demons is pretty ridiculous. The Doctor just happens to land in ye olde England where the Master is trying to take over the world by stopping the Magna Carta... which isn't very important. And why does the Master put on that daft accent? And then he says "Medieval Misfiiiits!"... dear God.

3) Most political story

The Sunmakers, it's all about tax after all.

4) Most dated story

I should probably say a black and white story, given the visuals, but I'm going to say Silver Nemesis because as much as I like it, it has dated VERY badly. The musical is terribly 80s, the Cybermen are comical compared to their modern day counterparts, the videotape and cute effects (the Cyber ships exploding in space) make it look very cheap and then there's the cassette tape deck... bless.

5) Most watched story

Probably The Tomb of the Cybermen. I can recite large chunks of it from the top of my head, something I can't do with any other story.

[WhiteCrow]

2) Most ridiculous story

The Kings' Demons is pretty ridiculous. The Doctor just happens to land in ye olde England where the Master is trying to take over the world by stopping the Magna Carta... which isn't very important.

OMG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_carta

The Magna Carta was a revolutionary document, which set out that subjects had certain rights. It was a very early kind of bill of rights. It also tried to set limits for Kings and those in power - most noticeably that they could not set taxes for the sake of setting taxes. Hard to believe under this Government.

I accuse you of failing History at GCSE!

That said, I agree it is a silly story.

[Andrew Curnow]

Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you, Pip? Did she die in vain?

[WhiteCrow]

3) Most political story

The Sunmakers, it's all about tax after all.

You know I've never really seen this story. Looking at it, it's obviously a nod to the energy crises of the 70s.

Reading the Wikipedia synopsis, it feels very much like British Gas and their behaviour this year!

I'm dropping my ecological flag waving now - if Global Warming means I don't need to put the heater on as much and save my gas bills, let's go for it ...

[shada pavlova]

1) Most original story

An Unearthly Child.

The Doctor Who team had NEVER done a story like that EVER before.

2) Most ridiculous story

No question about it.

PARADISE TOWERS.

After three episodes, it is just so hammy it is unbelievable. The cannibalistic Rezzies have been disposed of, with plenty of atrocious gurns, Pex is bordering on total WIMP, and the cleaners look more like WASHING MACHINES. And why is there a yellow Macra in the swimming pool?!

I can't wait to see Part Four.

3) Most political story

argghh, always with the hard questions. I will say The Monster of Peladon, because I think it was meant to be like what was happening...then...um...cheese.

4) Most dated story

Umm...I would say probably Black Orchid. You get to know the exact date within the first few minutes.

5) Most watched story

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End. I just LOVE it because it uses so many elements from DW, TW and SJA so well. Definetely the best of the new series.

[WhiteCrow]

...then...um...cheese.

Please avoid random mentions of cheese - it send me off into an episode claiming "I am the God of Cheese", and my family have to live with this!

[Si Hunt]

1) Most original story

I think probably "Inferno", because no-one expected Doctor Who to destroy the Earth in a TV studio, or "Warriors Gate" for its unusual design.

2) Most ridiculous story

I think it might have to be "The Power of Kroll" - lots naked blokes painted green and forced to worship a huge CSO octopuss.

3) Most political story

"The Ultimate Foe" - an embodiment of the politics surrounding the series itself. The script editor had walked, the star was about to be sacked and the writers of the second episode were in danger of being sued if they found out what they were supposed to be writing about!

4) Most dated story

Perhaps "Terminus", with its big hair, eye make-up and farty synth music. Let's face it, it was always going to be something from the eighties wasn't it? The decade that taste forgot!

5) Most watched story

Without a shadow of a doubt, "The Five Doctors". From taping the original broadcast on Betamax, to buying it three times since, I could recite this story unprompted from start to finish. Or "Finished?" to "...Started", as it happens to be.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

Or "Finished?" to "...Started", as it happens to be.

Never noticed that before, was that deliberate from the Dicks?

[SiHart]

1) Most original story
Tricky one this one. I think I'm going to plump for Nightmare of Eden, surprisingly. I love the way it explores a potential disaster that comes from travlling in space that no-one else ever thought of doing before and takes an animal and makes them the source of a drug and a machine that collects bits of planets and stores them on a crystal and then writes a story about how the three disperate ideas affect each other.


2) Most ridiculous story

Well there's lots of them to chose from, isn't there? To be honest I'm seldom put off watching a story because it is too ridiculous... but there is Time-Flight, which is especially ridiculous, especially so because everyone is taking it oh-so-seriously and think they're making serious drama.

3) Most political story

Pertwee allegories? Monster of Peladon and its miners strike issues? No- I'll go for Caves of Androzani for dealing with the politics of big business vs industry and we discussed in the pub yesterday. Its cynical, dark and nasty... and probably not far off the money in terms of realism in certain situations...


4) Most dated story

Actaully I'm pretty much with Si on Terminus, which hasn't dated well at all.

5) Most watched story

Well, again like Si it could well be The Five Doctors which I had on tape since original transmission and watched and watched and watched. Or it might be City of Death which as the whole universe knows I adore and have watched once or 100 times.

Si xx

[Andrew Curnow]

for Nightmare of Eden - some good points there, Si.

[Kaybee Bailey]

1) Most original story

Wow, start off with a difficult question. Aside from the one which invented the man in the police box who travels in time I'm probably say Blink. It has a unique narrative style and while the cause and effect thing may have been done to death before, this made it feel fresh.

2) Most ridiculous story

Sadly it's probably Timelash, but Brain of Morbius is up there too. I'm actually not entirely sure what happens in either, and I've watched them enough times.

3) Most political story

Gut reaction was The Sunmakers, with Caves of Androzani as a runner up. Both manage to be suitably political without it taking over the story. Although I think The Happiness Patrol gets an honourable mention here, with Sheila Hancock's Maggie parody.

4) Most dated story

Well, you could pick anything really. It depends how you take dated. In terms of look, I'd have to say The Web Planet. In terms of attitudes, particularly towards women, anything from the 60s or early 70s. Music... Death to the Daleks. Overall though I'll stick with The Web Planet though.

5) Most watched story

Remembrance of the Daleks, probably just over Day of the Daleks. Mostly because there was a very long time where I had no UK Gold and only three videos of Doctor Who (the other was The Chase and it was too long to watch as often!), so I watched them literally over and over. I still think Remembrance stands up pretty well as a story... might go and watch it in a bit.

[Captain Tancredi]

Most Original Story - Nobody's mentioned 'The Face of Evil' yet - can't think of another story which begins with the Doctor arriving somewhere he's already been and messed up through trying to solve everybody's problems. Also an honourable mention for 'Black Orchid', which uses a format which had only been tried twice before in 18 years and where the killer is ultimately a victim himself.

Most Ridiculous Story - I'd say 'The Sun Makers', but then I'm using the good sense of ridiculous, where the satire and comedy start to take over the narrative.

Most Political Story - I'll go for 'The Green Death' (the clue is in the title)- not just pollution but government acquiescence in the face of influential big business, environmentalism, even vegetarianism for goodness' sake!

Most Dated Story - 'The Space Museum', I think - in fact it probably looked dated in 1965.

Most Watched Story - Probably a tie between 'Pyramids of Mars' and 'The Robots of Death', as both have been a part of my life since the mid-1980s. That said, they're both so over-familiar now that I can barely watch either.

[Simon R]

I thought this said a list of "moists" at first.

[Si Hunt]

Never noticed that before, was that deliberate from the Dicks?

I don't know, but after 25 years I only just noticed it too. It's quite neat, isn't it?

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

Sure is.

Liked your choices Kaybee, I take it you were a bit of a Dalek fan as a kid?

[Lord President]

1) 5) Most watched story

Genesis of the Daleks - Watched on video & DVD, listened to on LP, and narrated versions on cassette and CD.

Oh, and I built a Genesis Diorama when I was about six out of Screwball Ice Cream containers!

[Antony Cox]

1) Most original story

I’d probably have to go for Warriors' Gate too – purely because it’s so weird.

2) Most ridiculous story

I’m going to go for The Android Invasion – such a convoluted plot which has no reasoned logic behind it at all!!

3) Most political story

I’d have to go for the obvious - The Green Death.

4) Most dated story

Frontier in Space – it’s just embarrassing!

5) Most watched story

For me, either Robots of Death, Pyramids or Ark in Space. The first two because they were the first BBV Videos I bought, and the latter because it’s my fave story. However, whereas I have become too over-familiar with Robots and Pyramids, I can watch Ark in Space again and again and never get bored of it!

[B]Or "Finished?" to "...Started", as it happens to be.

Si.

I noticed that years ago!