BF - The Top 10 First 10

[Nyder]

As promised, and in order, here's my take on the first 10:-

10) The Land of the Dead
9) Red Dawn
8) The Sirens of Time
7) Phantasmagoria
6) The Fearmonger
5) The Marian Conspiracy
4) The Genocide Machine
3) The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
2) Winter for the Adept


1) WHISPERS OF TERROR

I had real trouble placing 4, 3, & 2 - they'll probably all swap round tomorrow!

[Anthony Williams]

And just for the sake of interest, here's the current ratings of the first 10, in order, going by the average rating (as of today) on PS:

10. The Land of the Dead
09. Winter for the Adept
08. Red Dawn
07. The Sirens of Time
06. The Genocide Machine
05. Phantasmagoria
04. Whispers of Terror
03. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
02. The Fearmonger
01. The Marian Conspiracy

As for my personal order, here it is:

10. The Land of the Dead
09. Red Dawn
08. Phantasmagoria
07. The Genocide Machine
06. The Sirens of Time
05. Winter for the Adept
04. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
03. The Fearmonger
02. The Marian Conspiracy
01. Whispers of Terror

It's always interesting to see how different people rate the different plays

[Nyder]

I think I'm the lone voice for Winter for the Adept. Good story - terrible title though!

[Dirk Gently]

My rating would be:-

01. Whispers of Terror

02. Phantasmagoria
03. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
04. The Marian Conspiracy
05. The Sirens of Time
06. The Fearmonger
07. Winter for the Adept
08. The Genocide Machine
09. Red Dawn
10. The Land of the Dead


Well, for today anyway. Out of this 10 Whispers' will never be topped, the others are likely to move with my mood.

[brandynigma]

10) Winter for the Adept
An interesting idea and great cast wasted in an appalling paced and poorly planned script.

9) Phantasmagoria
I always find Mark Gatiss's writing clever, but it leaves me cold. Also, with the brilliant period world he creates, the Sci Fi elects rather spoil it.

8) The Land of the Dead
Serviceable enough, with an evocative soundscape and convincing accents. Beginning of the 'Fifth Doctor is a prick' arc.

7) Red Dawn
A nice little Ice Warrior story- although the villain manages to go completely over the top in a story about xenogenetic engineering and giant reptiles. The music is pretty painful.

6) The Sirens of Time
An intriguing premise that DOESN'T fall apart when the Doctors meet up. The Temperons are a bit vague if you don't know about the Audio Visuals, in which they're bloody fascinating.

5) The Genocide Machine
A big budget Indiana Jones meets the Daleks in space adventure. And I like Bev Tarrant.

4) The Fearmonger
A perfect 'Season 27' adventure. The entire cast is brilliant, and it's a shame Jon Blum hasn't written any more adventures.

3) The Spectre of Lanyon Moor
Almost an updated version of The Dæmons. Could only have been made better with more Brig/Evelyn interaction.

2) The Marian Conspiracy
A delight from start to finish, and book ending what I said above about Sci-Fi elements in historicals. Queen Mary is beautifully written and portrayed, and Evelyn is the Troughton of companions (have YOU met anyone who doesn't like Evelyn or the Second Doctor?)

1) Whispers of Terror
The story not only suits the medium, but allows character development for the leads which was sadly lacking on screen. Throw in stereotyping inversion (Peter Miles as a goodie, Lisa Bowerman as a baddie) and a darkly witty script, and you've got a classic.