If you were to recommend 10 classic Who DVDs…

[The Sonic Mole]

A friend of mine has got into Doctor Who in a big way via the new series and recently asked me to recommend him ten classic Who DVDs. The list below contains my selection, and being in the mood to procrastinate on a Friday morning I thought I’d ask what everyone else would choose…

1. The Dalek Invasion Of Earth – For me the best of the early Dalek stories. Also, the fact that they choose Bedfordshire (my home county) of all places to base some of the story is very Doctor Who!

2.Tomb Of The Cybermen – Arguably not the greatest Cybermen story but this is a firm favourite of mine due to the exceptional art direction and off the wall soundtrack.

3.Spearhead From Space – The story that kicked off what may have been the strongest season in the show’s history. The scenes with the Autons are still chilling to this day.

4.Inferno – I love the sense of tension in this story and the idea of the parallel universe is nifty. Not sure about the “Teenwolf” monsters though!

5.The Ark In Space – One of the first Tom Baker Who adventures I saw. Contains the amazing “homo sapiens” monologue.

6.Genesis Of The Daleks – The first Davros story. For me Michael Wisher’s performance is definitive.

7.The Talons Of Weng Chiang – Brilliant Who-does-Sherlock Holmes epic and the supporting cast is fantastic.

8.The Caves Of Androzani – Davison’s final story and an excellent one at that. Genuinely moving at the end.

9.Vengeance On Varos – An infamous story. This is possibly Colin Baker’s finest adventure and an excellent satire on video nasties, etc.

10.Ghost Light – A good example of why the demise of the original series was so tragic. McCoy’s final season was full of strong, intelligent and mysterious stories, with this being my favourite.

 

[captcalhoun]

Genesis, Inferno and Tomb, yes. Spearhead, yes.

i'd go with...

Tomb
The Invasion
War Games
Spearhead
Inferno
Genesis
Battlefield
Rememberance of the Daleks

okay, it's a tad Dalek heavy, but you've got three great Davros stories there, including DWM's Best Who Story EVA! winner. You've got 2 great Cybermen stories - inc. UNIT's origin. You've got the end of Two's era and the intro of the Time Lords, the beginning of Three's era and then another one of The Best Stories Ever in City.
Destiny of the Daleks
City of Death

 

[Pindar]

Tough to limit it to 10

The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Invasion
Carnival of Monsters
The Green Death
Genesis of the Daleks
Horror of Fang Rock
City of Death
The Caves Of Androzani
The Two Doctors
Remembrance of the Daleks

 

[The Sonic Mole]

Tough to limit it to 10

Definitely! I sacrificed City Of Death and Invasion for the sake of covering all Doctors.

Interesting that you both chose Remembrance. I need to watch that again as I haven't seen it in years. Isn't Geoffrey from Fresh Pince of Bel Air in it?!

 

[Pindar]

Remembrance has some nice stuff in it for Ace, plus Doctor Who is on the Telly in the background (sort of)

 

[The Sonic Mole]

Aren't they in the scrap yard from the very first story?

 

[Pindar]

Aren't they in the scrap yard from the very first story?

Yes, Colin Baker ends up there too in Attack of the Cybermen

 

[The Sonic Mole]

Aren't they in the scrap yard from the very first story?

Yes, Colin Baker ends up there too in Attack of the Cybermen

Attack of the Cybermen... [shudders]

 

[Mr. Sin]

Totter's lane (or in this case Totter's yard) is also mentioned in Logopolis.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Re: If you were to recommend 10 classic Who DVDs…

I've only started dabbling in classic Who so I don't have ten but I really enjoyed Tomb and Rememberance.

 

[Mr. Sin]

I remember when "Rememberance" was considered the pinnacle of Who's special effects. Apart from a few missteps, the model work is pretty decent (Almost on par with the space station shot in "Trial of A Time Lord"). The Dalek's beams were also improved, and for the first time we got the "X-ray" effect for the extermination as oppossed to the negative film shot, which the new series would reuse in combination with the negative effect. The only dissiapointment IMO is the Daleks themselves, who run much better on slick corridor floors as oppossed to London's paved streets.

I've always felt Rememberance also has a very Third Doctor feel, with the Doctor cooperating with the military. It's no suprise that Ben Aaronovitch would later write the UNIT story Battlefield.

 

[Winterwind]

I agree with most of the initial list but I'd switch "Ghost Light" for "Remembrance of the Daleks". "Ghost Light" isn't that accessible for a lot, especially for new fans.

It also has one of my favourite lines, something along the lines of: "Hey, Dalek, over here! It's the Doctor! Don't you recognise your mortal enemy?"

 

[diankra]

I've always felt Rememberance also has a very Third Doctor feel, with the Doctor cooperating with the military. It's no suprise that Ben Aaronovitch would later write the UNIT story Battlefield.

ISTR that Battlefield was one of Aaronovitch's first ideas for the series, and he then got asked to write the 25th anniversary Dalek story while putting his original ideas on hold for a year.

 

[The Sonic Mole]

Yeah, so I guess I really need to watch Remembrance again!

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

"The Invasion." Patrick Troughton is probably my favorite Doctor. It's a great Cybermen story. Tobias Vaughn is one of the best human villains the show ever did. Plus, the animated replacements for episodes 1 & 4 are really well done.

"The Seeds of Death." More great Patrick Troughton stuff, this time against the Ice Warriors. More than most Doctors, I felt that Troughton did a good job of putting the Doctor in actual peril that not even he is sure he'll be able to get out of.

"The Three Doctors." It's an absolute hoot watching Patrick Troughton & Jon Pertwee bicker with each other. I can't imagine any other multi-Doctor pairing having as much chemistry. Plus, there's a tragic aspect to Omega that I really feel for; kind of a Phantom of the Opera sort of thing.

"The Time Warrior." The first appearance of both Sarah Jane Smith & the Sontarans. Great medieval production design. Also, Hal the archer is played by Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in the original Star Wars films).

"Robot." Some of the blue screen effects are a bit dodgy but I think Tom Baker is great fun in his debut story.

"Genesis of the Daleks." The first Davros story and still the best. IMO, Harry Sullivan is a very underrated companion.

"The Hand of Fear." Because ELDRAD MUST LIVE! IT IS THE LAW! ELDRAD MUST LIVE!

"The Pirate Planet." A couple of very fun villains in an excellent Douglas Adams story.

"City of Death." More Douglas Adams.

"The Five Doctors." I'm always one for nostalgia, and this 20th anniversary special is the most nostalgic of them all. Filled to the brim with Cybermen. Anthony Ainley is always great fun as the Master, this time attempting (and failing) to help the Doctor. Fun little dabs of Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, & Peter Davison. More companions than you can shake a stick at. I'm especially fond of reteaming the Brigadier with the 2nd Doctor. I've always felt that the Brig worked best with Troughton. Sarah Jane Smith seems absolutely befuddled about the whole thing.

Honorable mentions: "The Invasion of Time," "Earthshock," "The Two Doctors," "Remembrance of the Daleks."

I agree with most of the initial list but I'd switch "Ghost Light" for "Remembrance of the Daleks". "Ghost Light" isn't that accessible for a lot, especially for new fans.

It also has one of my favourite lines, something along the lines of: "Hey, Dalek, over here! It's the Doctor! Don't you recognise your mortal enemy?"

My favorite line from that story is:
"Nothing remotely human could have survived that."
"That's the point, Group Captain. The Daleks aren't even remotely human."

 

[Valin]

My list:

Dalek Invasion of Earth--Probably the best Dalek story (both versions, TV and movie, are excellent)

The Time Meddler -- first time a fellow time traveller from the Doctor's (and Susan's) planet is introduced; plus shows what the Doctor is capable off if you cross a line.

The Invasion -- Great 2nd Doctor story; and a taste of the Doctor/UNIT stories

Spearhead from Space --Possibly the best intro to a new Doctor (not counting the TV Movie since it isn't really part of the Classic era-though McGann's peformance was excellent)

Inferno-- My personnel favorite Who story--the one that made me a fan

Talons of Weng Chiang --The Doctor in a Sherlock Holmes/Fu Manchu story--great fun

The Deadly Assassin -- Best Gallifrey story; plus a very good action-adventure

The Caves of Androzani --one of the 5th Doctor's best; and my favorite "death scene" for a Doctor.

The Mark of the Rani --one of the 6th Doctor's best; plus two rival Timelords

The Curse of Fenric -- Perhaps the 7th's Doctor's best ; show the Doctor as chessmaster aspect.