Last Classic Who Story you watched

[kirk55555]

I actually like "The King's Demons". It has a lot of problems, don't get me wrong. But, I find it entertaining in a goofy way. Yeah, The master's plan is stupid and he really has no reason to do it, but Anthony Ainley is always great and fun to watch. Kamelion is also really interesting to me. If they'd just gone with a guy in a robot suit playing a robot who could change his appearance (so they wouldn't have to use what would probably be a goofy robot suit too much), I think it would have been a companion with potential. Even as it is, the story behind Kamelion is interesting to me. On an objective level the story isn't great, but I personally enjoy it more than most people seem to.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Its one of the most violently boring DW stories out there, though. And the guy playing the King is excruciatingly terrible. I can't stand to watch it again. One of the very few DW stories I pretend they don't exit.

 

[diankra]

"The King's Demons." I get home from work later than I'd like, so I find myself watching Retro's broadcast even after vowing to stop before "The Leisure Hive." Besides, this one's a 2-parter and they show an hour so I got the whole story.

It again falls in the Master pointlessly disguised trope trap that we last saw in...well, the last time he was in an episode, "Timeflight." Why is he farting around with a horrible disguise in 13th century England? Does everyone in 13th century England know the Master? Did he plan for the Doctor to show up? Why the red hair? And furthermore, if his disguise is electronic (it pixelates away instead of being pulled off Scooby Doo style), why bother with Chameleon? Why not just be the king himself?

It is kind of neat, having his TARDIS be an iron maiden (although I understand they aren't historically accurate, but I digress), but then why does he spend all his time trying to put people in it? Why does the castle lord just take it in stride, after seeing the Master act like a turd the whole time he's there and then seeing his disguise stripped away, suddenly decide he's the Good Guy over the Doctor?

Another trope of this era is Tegan just taking the TARDIS for little spins. For 20 years, the Doctor has been barely able to get it to do what he wants, but Tegan regularly takes it on short hops without hopelessly stranding herself and everyone else.

Yep, this one isn't a terrible story, if you don't think about it too much. And at least it's over quickly.

There's a script/production mismatch: as scripted, the end of part one is the Doctor seeing through the telepathic disguise (and then Tegan guessing from the TCE). But the locals still see him as Sir Gilles, and hence see the Master as a different person after Gilles' apparent death in the iron maiden.
But that isn't really how it comes across onscreen.

 

[Volpone]

I actually like "The King's Demons". It has a lot of problems, don't get me wrong. But, I find it entertaining in a goofy way. Yeah, The master's plan is stupid and he really has no reason to do it, but Anthony Ainley is always great and fun to watch. Kamelion is also really interesting to me. ...

Concur on all counts. I may have come across as overly critical in my post, but bottom line is that it is an OK hour or so of Dr. Who (as long as you don't look too closely at some of the plot holes).

Yeah, Kamelion, if they'd take a page from the Ron Moore Cylons, they would have had just some fairly generic androgynous actor to play him most of the time. They could have even painted the actor silver a lot of the time, like they did in "Circle of Fire," IIRC. Then trot out the robot prop on the rarest occasions. Problem was that JNT made some absolutely stupid production choices a lot of the time. As much as it pains me to say it, the show probably should have been canceled before we got to Sylvester McCoy. I used to be hard on the BBC for axing it, but these days I give them credit for giving it every possible chance. Problem was, they should have brought in a different producer instead of different actor(s).

 

[kirk55555]

I don't know if it should have been cancelled before McCoy. But, then again, my favorite Doctor is Colin Baker and least favorite is McCoy, so I guess canceling the show after Trial of a Timelord wouldn't have been too great a loss. Still, McCoy has his fans, and there were some ok stories in his era. In a perfect universe, the BBC would have gotten rid of JNT and then pumped money into the show along with a new producer. As it is, the guy in charge of the BBC hated Doctor Who near the end, so its fate was probably decided regardless of producer because of that.

 

[Volpone]

I'm weak and stupid and there are some post 5th Doctor stories I've only seen once (or not at all), so I've resolved to start watching the 8-9pm Retro weeknight broadcasts again. "Twin Dilemma" wrapped up tonight. It's like "Office Space": "Every day is the worst day of my life." Every episode is the worst episode in the history of "Dr. Who." And it is so frustrating. Because there is a non-terrible story at the nucleus of it. And a non-terrible producer could have done good things with the show. But instead we got JNT.

 

[Starkers]

I'm in the middle of watching The Ark. Dang it's creaky as anything but even back then there were some really interesting ideas at play. Seen to the end of episode 2 and it appears some timey-wimey shenanigans are occurring (not in a Moffat way but they do seem to be factoring in time travel as a plot point). Also I like Steven's point of how many times they might have carried germs to myriad times and places. How much destruction might they have wrought?

I guess it's easy enough to hand wave away, for the most part the Tardis decontaminates its occupants without them even realising it, but it is an interesting aspect of Tardis travel that, I don't think, gets addressed too often.

 

[kirk55555]

I'm weak and stupid and there are some post 5th Doctor stories I've only seen once (or not at all), so I've resolved to start watching the 8-9pm Retro weeknight broadcasts again. "Twin Dilemma" wrapped up tonight. It's like "Office Space": "Every day is the worst day of my life." Every episode is the worst episode in the history of "Dr. Who." And it is so frustrating. Because there is a non-terrible story at the nucleus of it. And a non-terrible producer could have done good things with the show. But instead we got JNT.

I still enjoy Twin Dilemma a lot. If they removed the scene of The Doctor attacking Peri, even if they changed nothing else, it would be a solidly ok story. Certainly better than half of McCoy's run. But I'm pretty biased, since I consider Timelash to be the only truly terrible 6th Doctor story.

 

[Mr Awe]

I'm in the middle of watching The Ark. Dang it's creaky as anything but even back then there were some really interesting ideas at play. Seen to the end of episode 2 and it appears some timey-wimey shenanigans are occurring (not in a Moffat way but they do seem to be factoring in time travel as a plot point). Also I like Steven's point of how many times they might have carried germs to myriad times and places. How much destruction might they have wrought?

I guess it's easy enough to hand wave away, for the most part the Tardis decontaminates its occupants without them even realising it, but it is an interesting aspect of Tardis travel that, I don't think, gets addressed too often.

The "security kitchen" in that story absolutely cracked me up. Clearly, a budget saving device that eliminates the need to create an additional set. I liked The Arc for the reasons you state. It dealt with time travel and the ramifications that we don't usually think about. Perhaps the translation to screen wasn't always the best, but there's a great story in there.

Mr Awe

 

[Mr Awe]

I'm weak and stupid and there are some post 5th Doctor stories I've only seen once (or not at all), so I've resolved to start watching the 8-9pm Retro weeknight broadcasts again. "Twin Dilemma" wrapped up tonight. It's like "Office Space": "Every day is the worst day of my life." Every episode is the worst episode in the history of "Dr. Who." And it is so frustrating. Because there is a non-terrible story at the nucleus of it. And a non-terrible producer could have done good things with the show. But instead we got JNT.

I rewatched Twin Dilemma recently for the first time since it originally aired here in the States. I was surprised that it wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered. Not a great story, just not absolutely wretched!

Mr Awe

 

[Starkers]

I'll post again about the Ark when I've finished it.

You know I'm not certain I've ever actually seen The Twin Dilemma, or if I have not since it first aired.

 

[kirk55555]

Just finished The Time Meddler. Some interesting elements, especially the Monk as the first other Timelord on the show, but overall the story was slow and a bit boring at times. Not a bad story, but an average adventure for the era.

 

[Christopher]

Hi, just found this thread... I've been doing a chronological rewatch of the whole series (including watching the lost-episode reconstructions for the first time), and I just reached the end of the Troughton era with "The War Games." I remember it feeling kind of tedious when I watched in 4-hour movie form on PBS Saturday nights (I don't think they broke it up, although they might have), but renting it from Netflix means I got it in two 5-part chunks, and this time I felt the pacing worked surprisingly well. It doesn't get tiresome, because the story keeps evolving and expanding and making new revelations. First we're in the War Zones and it's the sinister generals as the villains. Then we get the time-travel surprise and we start to learn about the control center and the gaming of various wars. Then the War Chief and the Security Chief come in and their rivalry develops. Then we start to get hints about the Time Lords and the mysterious link between the War Chief and the Doctor, and then the secrets of the Doctor's origins begin to come out. Then Philip Madoc shows up as the War Lord and totally steals the show with his mellow, understated menace, while the heroes return to the War Zones to build the resistance army. And then it all comes to a climax and then suddenly steps up to a whole new level as the Time Lords are brought in at last.

Considering how hastily it was written and how much it had to be stretched out to fill ten episodes, "The War Games" is a strikingly effective and well-structured narrative. The lack of monsters and the focus on man's inhumanity to man gives it a more serious, intense feel than most DW serials, though it doesn't lack for humor. It's also got what may be my favorite Dudley Simpson score, certainly where the Hartnell/Troughton era was concerned.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Agreed completely. Love the whole serial.

 

[Turbo]

I, too, love The War Games. Kinda want to watch it now, but it's packed away until this weekend's move.

Last I saw was Dragonfire. Made me excited (again) for the upcoming 7th/Ace/Mel audios. Dragonfire itself, though....well, it really runs on Ace and Mel's chemistry, their chemistry with the Doctor, and Ace's backstory. It's a pretty one-note story, frankly. And even with the patch "The Name of the Doctor" pulled off, the literal cliffhanger *still* makes no sense.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I watched The Aztecs.

Sooooo boring and so obvious it was white British people as brown Indian peoples.

 

[DarthPipes]

I hope to watch The War Games soon. I'm five episodes into The Invasion and I'm really enjoying it. Vaughn is an especially good villain and Packer is one of those good Who henchmen.

 

[NigellaDeanna20]

For me, It was Genesis Of The Daleks. Have the DVD so I watched this just prior to the start of series 9 last year and have to say it;'s an excellent story one of Tom Baker's best IMO.

 

[Christopher]

I hope to watch The War Games soon. I'm five episodes into The Invasion and I'm really enjoying it. Vaughn is an especially good villain and Packer is one of those good Who henchmen.

"The Invasion" is a classic too. It's a little padded to stretch out to 8 episodes, but it's a solid story. Vaughn is a good villain, and Packer is one of the all-time best henchmen, although

Spoiler: "Invasion" ending

I feel Packer's story arc lacked a good conclusion -- it would've been nice to see him turn on Vaughn, say.

And of course it's the template for the UNIT era, and it uses all its characters well. (It makes me regret that the plans to keep Zoe on as the Third Doctor's companion fell through when Padbury decided to leave with Troughton and Hines.)

For me, It was Genesis Of The Daleks. Have the DVD so I watched this just prior to the start of series 9 last year and have to say it;'s an excellent story one of Tom Baker's best IMO.

Yes, I daresay it's the best Terry Nation Dalek story, although story editor Robert Holmes no doubt had a hand in it. Some people assume Holmes rewrote it, but the consensus seems to be that his role was probably more along the lines of pushing Nation to up his game and get out of his rut of derivative, repetitive Dalek stories. Going back to the beginning and adding Davros probably revitalized Nation and helped him turn out such a potent story.

 

[Mr Awe]

Yes, I daresay it's the best Terry Nation Dalek story, although story editor Robert Holmes no doubt had a hand in it. Some people assume Holmes rewrote it, but the consensus seems to be that his role was probably more along the lines of pushing Nation to up his game and get out of his rut of derivative, repetitive Dalek stories. Going back to the beginning and adding Davros probably revitalized Nation and helped him turn out such a potent story.

It sounds like it was a group effort that pushed Nation to up his game. Barry Letts turned down a previous Nation story saying he had already sold that story to them . . . several times! Letts suggested something about the genesis of the Daleks. Maybe Dicks was involved as well. Of course, the script didn't show up until Letts/Dicks had moved on.

Mr Awe