Where Did Who Work Best?

[Si Hunt]

This is a topic about where (or when) old Doctor Who worked best. Broadly speaking, the old series (unlike the new) never restricted itself to a certain type of stories, the major exceptions being

(i) No historicals after "The Highlanders" (although I'd dispute this, as the likes of "Carnival of Monsters" and "The Time Warrior" are surely historical)
(ii) No Space stories in the Pertwee era (gradually lifted from "Colony in Space" onwards)

But given the open brief for the rest of the series, when did Doctor Who work best -

- When doing stories set in the "future" or outer space/alien planets - space ships, cargo holds, Earth Empires, big computers and people with silly facial hair

- When doing historicals - classy sets, ye olde dialogue and some rippingly cliched period dialogue

- When doing the present day - surburban streets, aliens invading the Home Counties, Hale and Pace and lots of soldiers

- When doing "near future" - shirtless collars, video phones and hilarious stabs at different Prime Ministers

Old Who had a go at all of these many times. And while mixing them up was undoubtedly the key to DW's longevity, which of these styles individually do you think worked the best? Which has stood the test of time? And which, today, do you enjoy watching the most?

Si.

[Perry Vale]

The Five Doctors.

[SiHart]

Although it's probably not my favourite kind of Doctor Who, which is a completely different matter, I think Doctor Who probably worked best in the yes of the viewers when doing the present day - surburban streets, aliens invading the Home Counties, Hale and Pace and lots of soldiers. These certainly seem to be the stories that have lodged themselves in the heads of the general public- the one with the maggots, the one with the shop windonw dummies coming to life, yeti in the underground etc. It's odd really since arguably this was something the series didn't do until it's third year, and yet it very quickly became the staple story of the show.

Si xx

[Paul Clement]

I'd agree with Si Hart. The UNIT stories, Invasion, Web of Fear and the many others that were set in the present day work better because there's a sense of realism and the here and now that make the stories seem more real.

[Simon R]

IT'S A SLEEPER HIT

[Jonno]

I agree with the views raised so far that contemporary Earthbound seems to suit it best, and contain most of my favourites - along with period settings.

Things like The Time Warrior and The Visitation are defined as pseudo-historicals though, Si - stories set in history but with alien involvement. I'd dispute that Carnival of Monsters counts as one though, because virtually all of it is set on an alien planet (think about it!) - bar the very last scene set on the SS Bernice when they've been returned.

[Nathan]

It worked best when it did all of them.

[Si Hunt]

The question asked specifically which style worked best for a certain story, hence "stories set in the future, on alien planets" etc.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

Jon Pertwee once said it - alien threats coming to Earth are most interesting stories than threats on the planet Delphos or whatever. Out of my top 10 Who stories (in that other thread), I notice that only two are set entirely on alien planets, and one of those features an expedition crew from Earth. So for me there's definitely something about an Earthbound tale.

But then again, I'd hate for the new series to become completely Earthbound - a bit of variety is needed.

[Andrew Curnow]

Just to stir it up a bit, I'd like to make a case for the historical settings - not the historical stories particularly, I'm thinking more of the pseudo-historical style.

The historical element, to my mind, helps keep the 'adventures in TIME' element in the programme in a way that modern-day stories don't. Plus I think the BBC has a good track-record at realistically (or at least, convincingly) recreating historical periods. I'm not just going to roll out Talons here as my star piece of evidence - amongst my favourite Who stories ever are such historical tales as The Time Warrior, The Curse of Fenric, Ghost Light, and yes admittedly the great Weng-Chiang; and all of them are the richer, and the more interesting, by being set in a past era. It continues today - The Unquiet Dead, and Tooth & Claw, even The Girl in the Fireplace, add a visual richness to their stories which I think they would lack being set on the Powell Estate.

[Ian Lethbridge-Stewart]

Im going to annoy Si by being a bit indecisive (as usual).
To be honest I think the old show did all of those things really well.

The earthbound alien invasions worked very well (several times). As has been said the associating them with the world we live in really works. The numerous industrial estates of the Pertwee era are fabulous but I think it really hits home when you see normal streets, shops and houses etc.

The historicals: There was a time when I used to not rate these although that has now changed. But the thread is about whether they worked well or not, well yes, I think they did. Again as has been mentioned already variety is the key and the Beeb do make historical production (Who and non-who) really well.

The pseudo historicals: I love these. I dont think they quite match up to present day earthbound invasions in the general view of the public, but personally I prefer them. Theres something so good about establishing a time and place some tine ago in the past, whether it be a cosy village, London or a selection of different wars within Earths history !! (to mention but a few) to me theres nothing quite like chucking an alien into the mix especially (as it often the case) an alien from what we would probably term as the future. It always works for me.
The Visitation, Ghost Light, Pyramids of Mars and even Mark of the Rani really do this well in my opinion.

The Alien/Space age stuff I love this too, these were always my favourites when I was younger. But I do think that the alien planets stories maybe do turn off some members of the public maybe its to do with the people who watch Who as an entertainment drama show with those who watch it as a entertainment sci-fi show?

I think Im saying that from a general popularity point of view that the Earthbound stories do seem to be the ones that the general public like and remember above all others.
Does that answer the question?

[Ssarl]

Without a doubt the best Who stories are the EPICS. Thinking about it, all of my favourite stories are either very very long or very, very fast - either way, a *lot* of things happen, we get to know many characters in detail, and even the settings are well mapped-out. It's especially wonderful when it takes a couple of episodes just to get a grasp of the main plot. Soooo captivating, and never boring. Best examples I can think of:

The Daleks' Master Plan (The first capture of the TARDIS crew by the Daleks is in Parts Five and Six, the second in Part Ten, and the third in Part Twelve. They don't actually interact in ANY of the other episodes, and you barely notice, that's how many little stories there are to tell).
The War Games (we learn some new detail of the plan every episode until the *seventh*, then after two episodes of fighting back Part Ten is a whole new story that happens to contain the biggest revelation ever.)
The Ambassadors of Death (they're clearly making it up as they go along, and it's ever so delightful to try and keep up)
The Armageddon Factor (look how much we learn just in the twelve minutes before the Doctor and Romana arrive)
Black Orchid, bizarrely enough (it has a more complex plot than average and doesn't even get a real start on it until the cliffhanger...)
The Trial of a Time Lord (ok so they ballsed up the pacing COMPLETELY, but there's a feeling of true satisfaction from staying with it so long)
Ghost Light (to process all the story crammed into this one it it's necessary to concentrate on the motives of *every character* as they speak. Worth it though)

[Ssarl]

As for what setting Who ought be in... I think by far the best are those where the story's clearly set on Earth in our present or past, where something is blatantly out of place, and only the TARDIS crew and the viewers seem to notice. Makes for the best mysteries - how the hell are they gonna explain this one? Army of Ghosts, Carnival of Monsters, Android Invasion, Storm Warning, Imperial Moon, and from the sound of the blurbs about half the BBC books ever written.

Intriguingly, the New Series seems to try and do this with our *future*. It completely doesn't work. I don't KNOW that they shouldn't have implants in their head in 200,000 AD so I don't particularly care why they do...

[Dave Tudor]

Where Did Who Work Best?

When he had that Saturday job at Freeman, Hardy & Willis back in the early eighties.

[transvamp]

I'd say the stories that involved the Time Lords as puirveyers of the destiny of the universe - Genesis of the Daleks and Trial of a Time Lord were the ones that stayed with me the most when I was young, because I found them mind expanding in how they suggested a grand scope that was laced with falling civilisations, genocide and armageddon beckoning.

I'd also probably say the most frightening stories for me were the ones that were borderline tragedies, such as Inferno and Genesis. They played well on the idea that even the Doctor can't always win and his failures can be devastating.

[Steven Ford]

I always felt that when Doctor Who was doing something kind of quirkly, abstract or anachronistic it worked best. I mean, to take two Troughton stories at random - I've always been a big fan of Evil of the Daleks, which worked so well having the futuristic Daleks rumbling around a Victorian mansion. To make a different point, I think the "The Mind Robber" really is quite special when the Tardis just sort of falls apart and goes at the beginning.

Oh yes, and also, hello/hello again everyone.

[Andrew Curnow]

Hello!!

[Steven Ford]

Hello you!

Those are a very fancy two stripes, and a very fancy "moderator" badge under your name.

How's it all been going since my brief hiatus from the Doctor Who world?

[Alex]

For me it's a mix of the Earth bound stories and the space age / futuristic ones, but in all honesty there'll always be a part of me which prefers the futuristic ones. I certainly found myself frustrated with the Pertwee era (when reading the target novelisations) as it was set on Earth so much of the time, I wanted a story set in amazing worlds beyond my imagination, filled with creatures and creations that you could only dream of.