50 First Episodes

[SiHart]

Number 20:
City of Death (1979)

The star of this episode, if you don't count the sparkling dialogue, is Dudley Simpson. He rises to the occasion magnificently, giving us one of his finest scores. There are plenty of gaps for him to exploit as we get lots of sequences of the Doctor and Romana running round Paris, making the most of the foreign location shoots.

Witty dialogue, well played by the whole cast, lovely locations, marvellous modelwork, my favourite story. I can't really be objective about this one. It's all absolutely marvellous!

[Jonno]

A predictable choice there, Si! I have been known to hum the tune when I'm on the French Metro, which all these years later hasn't changed much.

[SiHart]

Number 21:
Ghost Light

Very atmospheric! Lots of crashing thunder, whispers of strange goings on after dark, very intriguing!

There's great dialogue in the episode, if not actually all that naturalistic, but McCoy in particular seems to respond well to it and gives a really good performance. There are some great scenes for him and Aldred and he plays really well against Ian Hogg too. Nice stuff for him.

The music is good, but very loud!

The sets are lovely. BBC does Victorian really well. That goes without saying!

[SiHart]

Number 22:
ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN (1985)

Like many things in life, what we're told is not necessarily the truth. Colin's Doctor is rather more likeable than you'd remember, the relationship with Peri is warmer than you'd think and we're not overwhelmed with continuity, though it is there. maybe we're just more sensitive to these things than anyone else would be.

What I like about this is that for the first half of the episode, the film work resembles a (1980s) contemporary thriller, in feel, with the diamond heist and gangsters plot. Like that a lot. It's typical Eric Saward macho business, but it gives it a different feel to most Doctor Who. Into this pop the Doctor and Peri looking completely, but wonderfully out of place. It's a nice contrast.

The the Cybermen pop up and it's Doctor Who. I still love the 80s versions. Even the Controller doesn't really look that fat, does he? Maybe I'm just in a good mood today, but I really enjoyed this episode.

[Andrew Curnow]

I agree, having watched Varos again recently for the first time in too long, the Doctor is really not an unlikeable character is he - infuriatingly smug at times, maybe, but there's a genuine warmth between Colin & Nicola that is also clear in the relationship between the Doctor and Peri.

[Dirk Gently]

Attack is probably my favourite Colin story. I really like it.

[SiHart]

Number 23:
Dragonfire (1987)

I enjoyed this one. It's a story I have mixed feelings about really- there's good stuff and bad stuff here. The tone is all over the place. In some ways this is a comedy story but it's played so absolutely straight that it doesn't quite come off. It's made quite competently, there are some good scenes- especially Ace meeting Kane, but then there are some childish moments- Ace throwing the milkshakes are pretty poor.

Nice to see Glitz back, though he's played with less menace.

The music is great.

[Dirk Gently]

For me this is probably the 2nd best of the season to Delta...and it still only gets about 5/10 may be 6.

[Rob McCow]

Yay! After occasionally catching Doctor Who by accident for years, Dragonfire was the first episode I sat down to watch.

[SiHart]

Number 24:
The Slave Traders (1965)

I love the relaxed start to this story. In a change for the normal frantic start to a story, this one has the Doctor and his friends relaxing and taking the time to enjoy life. The scenes in the villa are fantastic- very funny and it's ncie to see the new team so at ease with each other straight away. I love Ian and Barbara relaxing contrasting with Vicki and the Doctor eager to go off and have an adventure.

As is so often the way, the mood spins on a penny, as the Doctor and Vicki's trip to Rome is interrupted by the discovery of a dead body in the bushes by the road, and Ian and Barbara are captured by slave traders. It all begins to look a little bleak at the end. Nice contrast to how it started.

[SiHart]

Number 25:
Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970)

It's amazing really how quickly Pertwee has nailed the character of the third Doctor. He's on absolutely top form in this episode, being charming to Liz, rude to the Brig and anyone else in authority but always a commanding presence wherever he is. He dominates every scene he's in, which is quite a triumph when he's up against a cast of this calibre.

I very much liked Fulton McKay's smiling Dr Quinn. The smiles are great because rather than putting you at your ease they actually make you think he's up to something. No-one (other than me!) smiles that much- so you just think he's superficially happy and is hiding some secrets. Nice work!

[Stuart Wallis]

[B]No-one (other than me!) smiles that much- so you just think he's superficially happy and is hiding some secrets.

The inevitable question, Si... That's the first thing I noticed about Quinn; the "theatrical smile". That, and you take an actor so linked to a particular part, and you give him a role that makes you forget in the performance you're watching now, anything else you may associate him with.

[Jonno]

You're halfway through, Si - but almost 2/3 of the way through November. Gotta speed it up!

[SiHart]

Number 26:
The Space Race (2013)

The Doctor and Peri land in Russia in 1963, and immediately are thrust into danger, as they discover a crashed car, which almost immediately explodes! Talk about a quick opener!

With the space race hotting up, the Russians have sent a module into space to orbit the moon. The Doctor and Peri impersonate the scientists who died in the crashed car, are right in the centre of this, as the astronaut begins to exhibit strange symptoms... bringing her back to earth is taking time... and when she does, she's not the person who left...

Great performances, fast paced and intriguing. This is a great part 1 from Big Finish,

[Nyder]

I really enjoyed The Space Race - and that cliffhanger was a good 'un. Didn't see that coming!

[Rob McCow]

This is a great part 1 from Big Finish,

Now there's something you don't hear every day, especially in our household!

Whenever there's a great Part 1, I always remind myself that there's still 3/4 of the story left for it all to fall apart in. Keep on keeping on.

[SiHart]

Number 27:
The Ark In Space (1975)

Like The Dead Planet, this is one for the regular cast to get their teeth into. Aside from two voiceovers, Baker, Sladen and Marter carry this episode and do so brilliantly. Like with Pertwee in The Silurians, it's amazing how comfortable Tom is playing the Doctor. The homo-sapiens speech is rightly noted as an early triumph for him. That's not to denigrate what his co-stars are doing- they're both very good here- Ian Marter especially gets the chance to shine as Lis is rather sidelined (though I do like her giddy eyes as she passes out on the tranquilla couch!).

It's an episode of threat but mostly just exploration. Not something Doctor Who does as often you'd think. I love the scenes of the Doctor and Harry wandering round Nerva, just seeing what's there. There's a mystery, but no threat. Lovely.

[Jonno]

I vividly remember the scene with the Doctor and Harry trapped under the console with the light beam thing and Sarah fading away - one of my earliest Who memories!

[SiHart]

That episode was broadcast the day my Mum and Dad got married. My cousin had to sneak off and watch it somewhere in the hotel!

[SiHart]

Number 28:
The King's Demons (1983)

There's some nice things in this episode. the location filming is atmospheric (OK, mostly because it's so damn cold!) and the jousting scenes are great fun. The Doctor and Sir Giles' sword fight is a nice set piece, and energetically performed and we get a song (and very nice incidental music). The cliffhanger has always been a favourite of mine too.

None of this detracts from the fact that this is a very sill story. Very enjoyable, but very silly!

[SiHart]

Number 29:
Carnival of Monsters (1973)

This is a fun part 1, as you have two seemingly unrelated stories going on at the same time and it's a long time before we find out what links the two. On Inter Minor we have bored officials meeting two entertainers with a backdrop of industrial unrest, and seemingly on Earth, the Doctor and Jo land on the SS Bernice and meet some chickens and Major Daly. And then, just as you're beginning to side with Jo in thinking the Doctor has steered the TARDIS to the wrong place, a Pleisosaur rises from the sea. Blimey! And then the crew act as if nothing happens and everything is completely reset. Bewildering and wonderful!

Pertwee and Manning are at the top of their game here- Jo cheekily pricking the Doctor's pomposity at every turn but with great warmth. They're a joy to watch.

[Jonno]

I thought I'd work out what the 50th episode was, but it's part 5 of DIOE so that doesn't work! However, I'm sure you know that the 500th episode was the first part of Armageddon Factor...

[SiHart]

Number 30:
The War Games 1969

What's good about this one, aside from David Maloney's stylish Tardis materialising reflected in a puddle shot is that it's all played as though it's a historical. Until we get to the court martial there's not really any inkling that things are in any way out of the ordinary. The court martial is baffling and wonderful, and Troughton plays the exasperation at the situation extremely well. There's a real feeling that there's no way out of this for the crew- again like Invasion of the Dinosaurs that it doesn't matter what they say or do, they're just prisoners of bureaucracy and you can't fight against it.

Again, wonderful performances from all the regulars- what chemistry they had!

[SiHart]

Number 31:
The Nightmare Begins (1965)

In many ways this is ahead of its time. Terry Nation (or is it Donald Tosh?) does a very good job with making the year 400 feel like a real place, with the conversation between Roald and Lizan feeling very natural, with all the talk of news channels and sport and the latest model of space craft. It feels very contemporary in a way that it probably didn't in 1965.

It's a joy to hear Nicholas Courtney acting with Hartnell considering the relationship Courtney would go on to have with the show. Hartnell is on fine form- very commanding in this episode, taking centre stage reassuring Katarina and being concerned about Steven's plight, but sounding utterly disgusted when he find out it's the Daleks on this planet. No-one can make the word Daleks sound quite the way he does!

[SiHart]

Number 32:
The Impossible Astronaut (2011)

Odd one this one. There's loads that's good in it, but it comes to a climax where the companion shoots a child (which is, it turns out her own child). I remember there was a lot of debate at the time and at the time I thought it was justified, but I'm not sure it is really. It doesn't feel like something Amy Pond would do. One of Steve Moffat's missteps.

That said, I like the whole set up of the episode and there are some outstanding moments and the USA locations look magnificent. A good start to the season overall i think and an intriguing part 1.