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My Picks for the Best and Worst of the Second Doctor
11 years ago
The good, the bad and the ugly of the overall series:
The good
Patrick Troughton's doctor was much more hands on, doing investigations, gathering information and evidence, which made him a kind of space Sherlock Holmes. There was tension and suspense in these episodes, a great use of subtle music to set the mood of the series.
The bad
The noise, Jesus Christ, the obnoxious sound effects that would reach ear-splitting levels and continue on forever. Also, the serials ran long with padding after padding to stretch things out. Also there was the fact that every episode was about mind control, I think two serials actually lacked mind control, but that is out of twenty serials.
The ugly
There are only six complete serials. Watching reconstructions just isn't the same and I feel robbed because of that.
My favourite episodes:
Power of the Daleks; the first time I thought the Daleks were actually a menace and an all around good episode.
The Moonbase; the Cybermen quickly became a favourite enemy of mine. Like the Daleks there was a nice moody build up to their reveal. Also, some pretty creepy imagery here involving nerve endings.
Tomb of the Cybermen; Fun and didn't overstay it's welcome, perhaps the best paced episode.
The Web of Fear; this was the fix to The Abominal Snowmen. A weird story about fungi, yeti and disembodied intelligences. I can see why they connected Who to Cthulhu Mythos in some circles.
The Wheel in Space; I think this is the first time that the villain wasn't introduced in the first episode of the serial, which I appreciated. A little over long but the build up made the episode
The War Games; I hate to admit it (as a fan of William Hartnell) but this IS the best episode of doctor Who I've ever seen. If you have to see one episode of the black and white this is it and it has to do with the doctor meeting his match.
The Worst Episodes
Underwater Menace; just incredibly stupid and nonsensical. Doctor Who meets Doctor Evil in Atlantis. Terrible effects, terrible costumes.
The Abominable Snowmen; everything wrong with this series is on display here: Noise, boring plot, plodding pacing and no good explanations as to what was going on. An episode so bad they remade it three serials later.
The Mind Robber; is just like the Celestial Toy Maker in tone. The writers took a fuck-ton of LSD and wrote this piece of shit episode.
The Space Pirates; Diamanda Hagan was spot-on as Doctor Who spoofs Star Trek complete with the music score. Watch it only for the tinfoil hairdo the lead actress is wearing.
Almost Great
The Faceless Ones; genuinely creepy attack of the body snatchers episode. Goes off the rails with a shrink ray plot device.
The good
Patrick Troughton's doctor was much more hands on, doing investigations, gathering information and evidence, which made him a kind of space Sherlock Holmes. There was tension and suspense in these episodes, a great use of subtle music to set the mood of the series.
The bad
The noise, Jesus Christ, the obnoxious sound effects that would reach ear-splitting levels and continue on forever. Also, the serials ran long with padding after padding to stretch things out. Also there was the fact that every episode was about mind control, I think two serials actually lacked mind control, but that is out of twenty serials.
The ugly
There are only six complete serials. Watching reconstructions just isn't the same and I feel robbed because of that.
My favourite episodes:
Power of the Daleks; the first time I thought the Daleks were actually a menace and an all around good episode.
The Moonbase; the Cybermen quickly became a favourite enemy of mine. Like the Daleks there was a nice moody build up to their reveal. Also, some pretty creepy imagery here involving nerve endings.
Tomb of the Cybermen; Fun and didn't overstay it's welcome, perhaps the best paced episode.
The Web of Fear; this was the fix to The Abominal Snowmen. A weird story about fungi, yeti and disembodied intelligences. I can see why they connected Who to Cthulhu Mythos in some circles.
The Wheel in Space; I think this is the first time that the villain wasn't introduced in the first episode of the serial, which I appreciated. A little over long but the build up made the episode
The War Games; I hate to admit it (as a fan of William Hartnell) but this IS the best episode of doctor Who I've ever seen. If you have to see one episode of the black and white this is it and it has to do with the doctor meeting his match.
The Worst Episodes
Underwater Menace; just incredibly stupid and nonsensical. Doctor Who meets Doctor Evil in Atlantis. Terrible effects, terrible costumes.
The Abominable Snowmen; everything wrong with this series is on display here: Noise, boring plot, plodding pacing and no good explanations as to what was going on. An episode so bad they remade it three serials later.
The Mind Robber; is just like the Celestial Toy Maker in tone. The writers took a fuck-ton of LSD and wrote this piece of shit episode.
The Space Pirates; Diamanda Hagan was spot-on as Doctor Who spoofs Star Trek complete with the music score. Watch it only for the tinfoil hairdo the lead actress is wearing.
Almost Great
The Faceless Ones; genuinely creepy attack of the body snatchers episode. Goes off the rails with a shrink ray plot device.
sci_the_cheetah
~scithecheetah
I haven't gotten a chance to watch the older doctors yet.
Feldon
~feldon
OP
I'm going in order the doctors. Pertwee is next, perhaps in a few months.
