The 10 Faces Of Doctor Who

[MacNimon]

Many of you will remember the 5 Faces Of Doctor Who repeat season broadcast on BBC2 back in 1981, shortly before the broadcast of Peter Davison's debut story, Castrovalva. Just say the BBC decided, right now, to do a follow-up season of repeats called The 10 Faces Of Doctor Who, and that you were in charge of picking which stories were to be broadcast, which story/stories would you pick for each Doctor, and how would you broadcast it...an episode per day, an omnibus edition or something else entirely? The original season included The 3 Doctors, so we'll make this and the 5 Doctors automatic choices as part of the season, so don't count them as any of your choices.

Before you jump in simply with a list of your favourite stories for each Doctor, bear in mind you're supposedly working for the BBC here, and you're going to want stories which will appeal to the under-10 age group as well as the older viewers and fans. Also remember that many of these youngsters possibly won't ever have seen any episodes of the original series, so we want to make a good impression here. So some stories which we may love, especially from the b&w era, may not be exciting enough for the youngsters and be able to hold their attention, so make your choices carefully.


How would your season look, and what reasons do you have for your choices?

[Anthony Williams]

Firstly, i would double up each episode, so that each one would be roughly new series length.

Secondly, I'd have them broadcast twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

My schedule would be something like this:

1st Doc - The War Machines (broadcast as two episodes) - in my opinion, Hartnell at his best. Exciting, contemporary, and even "hip"
2nd Doc - The War Games (broadcast as five episodes) - maybe not the best choice, but it's an interesting story, and introduces the key concept of the Time Lords.
3rd Doc - The Three Doctors (broadcast as two episodes) - an enjoyable romp, featuring the best of the first three Doctors.
4th Doc - Genesis of the Daleks (broadcast as three episodes) - an obvious choice, introducing the Daleks.
5th Doc - The Caves of Androzani (broadcast as two episodes) - one of Davison's best. Gripping, exciting and what a final cliffhanger!
6th Doc - Vengeance on Varos (broadcast in original format) - a pastiche of reality tv, fifteen years before reality tv became popular. ideal for a modern audience.
7th Doc - The Curse of Fenric (special edition, broadcast in a specially extended slot) - one of McCoy's best. the special edition would show just how fantastic the old series could be at characterisation, as well as having more modern effects.
8th Doc - The TV Movie (also in a specially extended slot) - not many other options, really.
9th Doc - Father's Day - emotional, gripping, introducing Pete Tyler.
10th Doc - Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel - the best Tennant episodes for me. cinematically brilliant, and constantly gripping.

Ant x

that would last... 10 and a half weeks. and be pure gold

[MacNimon]

The First Doctor

I'd pick the first episode An Unearthly Child, but not the following three as they'd be a bit boring for kids, I reckon. I'd follow this up with The Chase...this would let them see early daleks, and it's a simple enough little runaround that they won't get bored.

The Second Doctor

Tomb Of The Cybermenwould get my vote, as I'd want to try to tie this season to the new series as often as possible, as long as there are good stories available. And there's also the fact that not many complete Troughton stories which can be broadcast...

The Third Doctor

This is a bit harder. I think I'd go for Terror Of The Autons here, not only does it tie-in with the Autons appearance in Rose, but there's also the first appearance of the Master and it's a great story, as well!

The Fourth Doctor

The Pyramids Of Mars...it's one of the greatest stories ever, and has another familiar face in Sarah Jane.

The Fifth Doctor

The Visitation...not much here that's too familiar, but it's a good story which shows that the Doctor had adventures in history long before he met Charles Dickens. I didn't want to over-use any monsters/villains, so I gave Earthshock a miss here.

The Sixth Doctor

The Two Doctors...it's a crossover story, which should keep newer viewers watching, and it would be an introduction to the Sontarans for anyone who hadn't seen them before...

The Seventh Doctor

A hard choice here, as there's so little that's decent to choose from. I think I'd pick Battlefield, it's maybe not a brilliant story but it's not too complex for the average viewer, like Ghost Light, and it's not simply awful like Paradise Towers.

The Eighth Doctor

The TVM....what else?!

The Ninth Doctor

I'd pick two episodes here, just to give him a similar screen time to the others. Dalek, simply because it's one of the best Dalek stories ever; and Fathers Day, as it features a storyline of a type never previously seen in the series. And it's one of the best stories ever, as well.

The Tenth Doctor

Slightly more screen time here than the ninth doc, simply because of the stories I've picked.School Reunion would remind the viewers of the earlier Sarah Jane story in the season, and ROTC/AOS bringing the Cybermen bang up to date couln't be omitted either.

Like Ant, I'd broadcast it twice a week in 50-minute chunks. As 2 individual 25-minute episodes, though, not edited together.

[Paul Clement]

This is actually quite tough.

Ok, in two parts...

PART 1

1st Doctor: War Machines

The b/w stories need to be a little bit special if they were to appeal to the younger audience. I discounted Daleks and Dalek Invasion of Earth as being too long. I don't think the historicals would prove to be popular enough, so Aztecs would be out of the window, and of course you would want to show a complete story, so a lot more are discounted there. It was a final choice between Unearthly Child, The Ark and War Machines, and of the three I think the latter two would interest children the most. The Ark suffers from the Monoids not looking good enough to sell the old series to potential new fans, so War Machines gets the slot almost by default.

2nd Doctor: Tomb of the Cybermen

Discounting most stories for not existing in their entirety, there's not a lot left to choose from. Still trying to choose the shorter episodes, I finally had Krotons and Tomb to choose from. The Cybermen's presence in the new series would give them more marketability so I went for Tomb as my choice.

3rd Doctor: Day of the Daleks

It's a Dalek story and one is needed at some stage. This one was chosen as the Pertwee choice because despite fandom finding the faults with the number of Daleks etc... the casual viewer probably wouldn't. Plus, although not the best Dalek story, Day does have less violence than Genesis so would perhaps make a better choice for the youngsters.

4th Doctor: City of Death

It shows another side to Doctor Who than the previous choices, with some moments played for laughs. It still looks very good, and Scaroth is still a Doctor Who villain that looks scary instead of silly.

5th Doctor: Caves of Androzani

A story where the Doctor regenerates would need to be in there somewhere, and this is probably a good one to use. The story has some very strong moments, including a couple of great cliffhangers and again, Sharaz Jek makes for a convincing villain of the piece.

[Paul Clement]

PART 2

6th Doctor: Mark of the Rani

It would explain the Master as a character before the upcoming TV Movie, and would give the Doctor's character a bit of back history with the mention of Gallifrey and the fact that the Master and the Rani are in it. I'd look at CGI effects being used for the tree scene though.

7th Doctor: Battlefield

Another not loved by fandom, but for the casual viewer it has a little bit of mysticism, an enigma as to whether the Doctor is Merlin or not and would offer a lot of action sequences. Added to that it fills in a bit more back history with the Brig and Bessie.

8th Doctor: The TV Movie

There's no real choice here is there.

9th Doctor: Dalek

Reintroducing the Daleks to the casual viewers, it also serves as a very good stand alone episode. It has action and excitement which should keep the viewers watching and gives a new light to the Daleks themselves.

10th Doctor: School Reunion

It's a good story and offers more merchandising potential by having K9 in it and would work as a belated promotional plug for the Sarah Jane Adventures.



I'd show them twice weekly, with two episodes shown per night, except for the TV Movie which would be standalone.

[transvamp]

I thought I'd go for the story arc idea. Beginning with the first story, then first appearance of the Time Lords, then first UNIT Earthbound story (complete with Autons), then visiting the creation of the Daleks (with a nice hint of the Doctor's freedom being restored), Earthshock and Vengeance on Varos would be nice precedents for the two new series stories I chose, and Survival and Shada would give Ace, the Master and Romana a chance to shine too.

Bad Wolf would also bring closure to the Time Lords and the Daleks and the Cybermen stories would follow on nicely from POTW with Rose telling her mum about the events of Father's Day

1. An Unearthly Child
2. The War Games
3. Spearhead from Space
4. Genesis of the Daleks
5. Earthshock
6. Vengeance on Varos
7. Survival
8. Shada (animated)
9. Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways
10. Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel

[Lord President]

1: The Romans (Fun Hartnell)
2: The Invasion (with Animation)
3: Terror of the Autons (Introduce The Master)
4: Stones of Blood (Fun Baker, great stuff)
5: Kinda (Grown-up and fun)
6: Mark of the Rani (Kate O'Mara and realistic trees!)
7: Remembrance of the Daleks (Unlimited Rice Pudding)
8: Seasons of Fear (Big Finish with Cosgrove Hall Animation)
9: Empty Child/Doctor Dances (Here's Jack!)
10: Impossible Planet/Satan Pit

Extra: Mark Gatiss in The Web of Caves

[duncan]

1. An Unearthly Child. (After all that's where it all started)
2. Tomb of the Cybermen. (A great 2nd Doctor adventure)
3. Planet of the Spiders. (A bit scarey and a regen)
4. The Deadly Assassin. (To show how it works without an assistant)
5. Caves of Androzani. (Full of tension and another regen)
6. The Two Doctors. (To show how the Doctor can meet his past selves)
7. Remberance of the Daleks. (To show how a great cliffhanger should be done)
8. The TV Movie. (no other option really)
9. The End of the World. (To show just how visual Doctor Who has become)
10. The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (because its very good)

[Raston]

1. The Time Meddler- The Doctor is not the only one with a Tardis, and its a nice historical as well. And Peter Butterworth is great.

2. Seeds of Death- The Ice Warriors are very well used and its a nice little tale with lost of action and location changes.

3. Time Warrior- Introduces SJS and the Sontarans and we get a nice story as well, with Dot Cotton.

4. Deadly Assasin- Set on Gallifrey, entertaining and the Matrix Based stuff all looks super and epic.

5. Earthshock- Companions are expendable

6. Vengence on Varos- Reality TV is evil and 'Who' is going to get rid of it with the TV channels returning to daram!

7. Curse of Fenric- Extended Movie edit- Doctor Who it its very best.

8. TV Movie- still one of the best directed bits of TV ever.

9. Fathers Day- Tragic and well written

10. Girl in the Fireplace- Moffat at the top of the TV writers game.

[Larry]

1/ The Chase - it has the Daleks and it is a lot of fun

2/ The Mind Robber - as this is a very unique and different kind of story that all allthough it is 5 episodes long still moves along at a good pace and is also fun.h.

3/ The Three Doctors - well i think you have to have an anniversary story and this is by far the best of the lot.

4/ Genesis of the Daleks - I don't think I need to explain why

5/ Earthshock - the Cybermen at there toughest and badest and the death of a companion.

6/ Vengance on Varos

7/ Ghostlight -

9/ Dalek

10/ School Reunion.. -

[Andrew Curnow]

1/ The War Machines - it's totally UNrepresentative of the Hartnell era, but it does demonstrate how good 60s Who was, and how good Hartnell was.

2/ Bugger, that'll teach me not to read Mac's opening post properly - are we allowed to pick missing tales? Assuming not, then (I'm limiting myself here to the traditional 5 Faces four-part length) I'm going to opt for The Tomb of the Cybermen as it's spooky enough to start with, and gets quite Cybertastic later on.

3/ The Time Warrior - surely the best of the Pertwee four-parters?

4/ Destiny of the Daleks - not just because I want to ensure the 10 Faces season includes the pepperpots, I also happen to think this is just a sublime story. Any tale which has the Doctor complimenting his companion by telling them they have the makings of a first-class navvy, is a hit in my book!

5/ Frontios - I'd opt for Castrovalva, but in isolation it's probably a tad confusing. Frontios on the other hand (save for its cliffhanger ending) is a self-contained gem, with such gorgeous dialogue. And, er, less-than-frightening monsters. But anyway...

6/ The Twin Dilemma - yes I'm serious, now shut up! It's nice to include a 'debut' story for a Doctor, and it was a choice between this and "Time and the Rani" so I went for this. I happen to think Colin is on top form here, at least when he is fully stabilised!

7/ Paradise Towers - a tough choice, but I've opted for this over TGSITG because it makes me laugh more! And McCoy is superb.

8/ Er, the TV Movie. Erm...

9/ TEC/TDD - It's not actually my favourite from the 2005 season, but it IS a great story nevertheless. And Eccleston gets to show such range. Plus I just so adore the line "Physical injury, as plague" that it gets my vote for that alone!

10/ The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit - apart from the (I gather filmed in a hurry) final scene in the cavern, I think this is Tennant's finest performance to date. Plus it has oodles (or maybe just oods) of atmosphere.

[Paul Clement]

8/ Er, the TV Movie. Erm...

Maybe we would be better served letting them listen to Chimes of Midnight and then saying, 'This is what he can do when given the right material'.

[MacNimon]

Maybe we would be better served letting them listen to Chimes of Midnight and then saying, 'This is what he can do when given the right material'.

An animated version, perhaps? Or is there another BF audio which would work better if animated?

[brandynigma]

1- The Time Meddler: For reasons mentioned above, Vicki explaining the TARDIS, and a rare gem (these days) of another Time Lord.

2- The Tomb of the Cybermen: Obvious, I know, but a very good adventurous plotline. Importantly, you don't need to be familiar with the background of the Cybermen. Daleks are namechecked, and Victoria uses a pistol!

3- Day of the Daleks: With newly recorded voices by Nick Briggs. It's one of the best plots the Daleks are in, discusses the problems of time travel, and I think Aubrey Woods gives a truly great a sympathetic performance.

4- The Deadly Assassin: Emphasises a darker Doctor, shows off the Time Lords and the Master, and has a great script with much incident.

5- Frontios: A well rounded adventure, good cliffhangers, and plenty of action to go around. Peter Davison and Mark Stricksons' performances are astounding, and while badly staged, the scene with the traitor ambushed by the outlanders is very effective.

6- Attack of the Cybermen: Might make a bit more sense only a month after Tomb! There are some needlessly violent scenes, but there a- re also great performances all round.

7- The Curse of Fenric: Movie edition. I might just pop off and watch it now, actually.

8- The Movie: It's actually not that bad.

9- The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances: Still the best story of 2005 for me. Excellent pacing, fine performances, and a tragically vivacious Doctor. Themes of death and rebirth are dealt with without being dwelt on to the point of depression.

10- The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit: Much the same as above. And it's got Toby and Danny. I'm reaching out...

[Carol Baynes]

Good thread!

I'm going to be ruthless here, and axe the black and white stories from the season, and go with an all colour series of repeats. It'd be great to show them, but I'm going witht he idea that colour will appeal more to a younger audience. I may be wrong, but it makes for an interesting set of stoy choices...

1. The three Doctors
It's awfully tacky, but good fun. You'd get to see Pat Troughton and William Hartnell in the same story as well.

2. Death to the Daleks
Seriously underated story, with some great Dalek cunning in evidence. Plus it gets a story from season 11 repeated on BBC2, which would be a first!

3. Pyramids of Mars
Sublime! A great example of Hinchcliffe horror.

4. Full circle
I want K9. I want Tom Baker. I want burgundy scarves. I want neon tube logo and SONIC BOOM. Savvy?!

5. The Five Doctors.
Get 'em all in there! Yetis too!...and we get to see wome cybermen!

5. The caves of Andozani.
People don't always live happily ever after. A well directed piece of grimness to shock the kids.

6. Revelation of the Daleks.
No contest.

7. The curse of Fenric.
Still looks great.

8. The TV movie.
Mr. Sax directs. Still looks expensive and impressive.

9. The unquiet dead.
I want to scare the kiddies.

10. School reunion.
It made me cry (in a good way). I prefer 'The girl in the fireplace', but this is a popular choice.

Not sure if I like my season after all, but it'd cater for just about everybody, I think.

[MacNimon]

I'm going to be ruthless here, and axe the black and white stories from the season, and go with an all colour series of repeats. It'd be great to show them, but I'm going witht he idea that colour will appeal more to a younger audience. I may be wrong, but it makes for an interesting set of stoy choices...

Good thinking! It's not an easy job getting many kids to watch b&w tv....my youngest kid does, no problem...as long as it's something enjoyable. But my 14-year old simply has the attitude that if it's b&w, it's rubbish....no exceptions. "Why would anyone even want to watch something in b&w when we have colour tv?" is her argument, and she's not for budging. Although it's her loss, imo!

[Ralph]

If there was such a thing shown on BBC then to showcase the series I'd go for:

The Daleks
The Invasion
The Green Death
The Seeds Of Doom
Earthshock
Revelation of the Daleks
Battlefield
The Movie (what else)
Rose
Love and Monsters