Rank & Rate: The Sylvester McCoy Era

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Finally, we reach the final OldWho Doctor, under whom the BBC decided to permanantly "retire" the show from the airwaves until further notice (basically, until the next millenium).

What did you think of him? What do you rank his era? Which of his 12 stories did you like best? What did you think of the Cartmel Masterplan?

Because Paul McGann did only one movie, I'd encourage including it in these ranks, for completion's sake. After all, this Doctor's in it, so what the hey.

Discuss!

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Well, this era is... mixed. On the one hand, it continues the bad budgetary problems from the Davison/Baker eras, and there certainly hasn't been an effort from the BBC to help the program in ANY WAY. J.N.T. by now wanted to leave his job as producer, and it shows, with Cartmel basically running the show in that last year by himself. On the other hand, the show has been steadily improving, storytelling-wise. Its last two seasons, while flawed, have definitely signs of life that the franchise clearly exhubed. Unfortunately, the wings for that era were cut short, but as many said, maybe it served the show right. After all, the show DID come back with a bang in 2005.

McCoy is, IMO, a great Doctor. He's the one most reminiscent of the First Doctor (until Twelfth, that is), in attitude and demeanour. I'm glad Big Finish explored and expanded this Doctor's characterization to a great degree.

13. Time and the Rani
12. Silver Nemesis
11. Delta and the Bannermen
10. Dragonfire
9. The Enemy Within (TV movie)
8. Paradise Towers

7. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
6. The Happiness Patrol
5. Survival
4. Battlefield
3. The Curse of Fenric
2. Ghost Light
1. Remembrance of the Daleks

 

[MacLeod]

As has already been mentioned the show did start to improve in quality towards the end, but with everything else conspiring against the show I think it was to little to late.

 

[zarkon]

Listage, best to worst:

Remembrance of the Daleks
The Curse of Fenric (director's cut)
Ghost Light
Survival
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
The Happiness Patrol
Paradise Towers
Battlefield
Dragonfire
---cut off for me overall enjoying the episode
Delta and the Bannermen
Silver Nemesis
Time and the Rani

Remembrance of the Daleks is my favourite ep, old or new. It has a great story, it's fast paced and McCoy is at the top of his game. Has this scene too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blzpa5oyUVg

The recut Curse of Fenric from the dvd is also brilliant, resolving issues from the way the original was done. The McCoy era has the best ratio of good/bad eps, with only three poor serials. McCoy himself (the cartmel version) is also my favourite doctor, and Sophie Aldred one of the best companions. Just as the show was getting cancelled it was producing some of the best stuff since the Hinchcliffe/Holmes era, and even when the story was weak, the characters and new mystique could drive it into being enjoyable (like with battlefield). I'm glad JNT stayed around and fought to keep the show alive (and went to great lengths to ensure that Greatest Show in the Galaxy even got made), as its some of the best Who ever.

Personally I don't feel the movie is really a mccoy thing. The new Tardis definitely fit him though! A shame they didn't save the set.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Personally I don't feel the movie is really a mccoy thing. The new Tardis definitely fit him though! A shame they didn't save the set.

Its not, but for ranking's sake, I thought it'd be nice to include it.

 

[kirk55555]

The second Doctor whose whole run I completed, and the only Doctor I hate. This is going to be brutal

Rating his serials in categories

Good:
Battlefield
Delta and the Bannermen

Meh:
Silver Nemesis
Survival

Bad:
Paradise Towers
Dragonfire
Remembrance of the Daleks
The Happiness Patrol

Terrible:
Time and the Rani
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (This is also my most hated Doctor Who story in the entire franchise)
Ghost Light
The Curse of Fenric

A Doctor with potential, ruined by a late decision to turn him into basically The Master. If he'd stayed the eccentric, spoon playing guy who mixed up his metaphors, he could have been really good, especially with Ace. Instead, he became the most uncaring, vicious bastard The Doctor has ever been (and I'll even include the War Doctor in that, although he don't know a lot about what he did). The only reason three of his later serials are on my good/ok lists are because one had the brigadier to help the episode, one had Anthony Ainley and the other wasn't amazing, but at least it wasn't focused on torturing Ace.

Ace was a great companion, but she had the worst Doctor ever. I've never seen The Doctor mentally torture a companion before, and it was freaky to see it. Heck, she wasn't even a random choice. He (for some reason that I don't remember, but I'm sure was horrible) shot her into space himself (I guess while Mel was sleeping ) just so he could find her and basically manipulate her into being his companion. The end result of his torture/experiments? She's probably still afraid of clowns, she knows a house she thought was haunted was basically haunted, and her mother was, yes, a baby at one time, although it doesn't means she wasn't still a horrible mother.

Overall, I think McCoy was a good actor and could have played a great Doctor, if he'd gotten to stay the eccentric and jovial Doctor from his early run. As it is, he suffered from having bad stories written by mostly bad writers and had a mediocre person in charge (Andrew Cartmel sucked, and I'm glad his idiotic masterplan was never on TV, and that NuWho completely ignored the stupid books that followed the plan and firmly went against the whole idea).

 

[Timewalker]

Finally, we reach the final OldWho Doctor, under whom the BBC decided to permanantly "retire" the show from the airwaves until further notice (basically, until the next millenium).

I'm pretty sure the new millennium started in 2001, not 1989. The Eighth Doctor is part of the Classic era, not nuWho.

9. The Enemy Within (TV movie)

Is this the official title of the McGann movie?

 

[Chaos Descending]

Least favorite Doctor. Least favorite era. About the only episode I like is Remembrance of the Daleks.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I'm pretty sure the new millennium started in 2001, not 1989. The Eighth Doctor is part of the Classic era, not nuWho.

I view the Eighth in two ways: as a transitional Doctor, and an almost-purely audio Doctor. In both cases, he was not part of the original BBC 26-season run.

Is this the official title of the McGann m3ovie?

Well, if it isn't, it is its most well-known alternative title, and sometimes I just like to call a story an actual title, ya know?

 

[zarkon]

Also mccoy is just such a damn likeable guy. Here's dead ringers prank calling him a while back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfcSAMkQknM

 

[mythme]

Watching the two seasons of the McCoy era is almost like watching two different Doctors. As if when the coats change from white to brown, so does his demeanor (actually I think the coat change was intentional with this in mind). Took me a while to get into McCoy. While definitely not in my top half of favorite doctors, I pop in a story of his from time to time as a light diversion. AND I really like Ace. She's a BIG saving grace for that final season.

Remembrance of the Daleks
The Curse of Fenric (director's cut)
Ghost Light
Survival
Battlefield
The Happiness Patrol
Paradise Towers
Dragonfire
Silver Nemesis
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
Time and the Rani
Delta and the Bannermen

 

[Sindatur]

@Timewalker, Yes, The Enemy Within is the Subtitle of The McGann Movie

I like The McCoy Doctor as a manipulator and I like the mystery of The Cartmel Master Plan (Never read the books, so, don't really know how I would feel about the looms and what we didn't see of the Cartmel Master Plan on TV

Didn't think much of Mel, and having a second Mel in Time and the Rani was a nightmare come true.

I pretty much like all of the McCoy era, other than Time and the Rani and Delta and the Bannermen

 

[Chaos Descending]

Watching the two seasons of the McCoy era...

Two? Three, surely.

 

[mythme]

yes you're right. the seasons were so short by this time I forgot

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

They're the same number of serial as in Pertwee's time, but they also run shorter, sometimes in 3 episodes or what-not. His run as per stories is, like with Colin Baker, the same amount as Eccleston's. So short, then...

 

[Csalem]

McCoy was my Doctor and I was about four when I started watching it. If it wasn't for him I would probably not have watched it when it came back. Only issue is I don't know which is my favourite episode after watching them all on DVD. Remembrance is very good, as is Survival. Didn't like Greatest Show and I am still confused by Ghost Light.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Remembrance is a fantastic story throughout, with lots of character moments that I love, especially the one where Ace finds out the "no colored ones" sign. Brilliant. It really is the second best serial of that decade (Vengeance on Varos being a good third one).

Curse of Fenric I find to be an underrated gem, particularly its director's cut, as its been correctly pointed out. Its very concentrated on its story and character elements. I just wish it was presented as well.

 

[The Four Doctor]

Delta and the Bannermen. Famous for that baby painted green!

 

[VDCNI]

From best to worst

The Curse of Fenric
Remembrance of the Daleks
Ghost Light
Delta and the Bannermen
Battlefield
The Happiness Patrol
Dragonfire
Silver Nemesis
Time and the Rani
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
Survival
Paradise Towers

 

[Csalem]

Curse is a very good story too. My problem with this era is that because I was only 4 and 5 watching these episodes when broadcast I genuinely spent most of the time behind the sofa in fear, so only actually saw parts of these episodes. These impressions were imprinted on my mind so when I started watching them again on DVD when in my 20s, many childhood memorie and impressions were destroyed when I realised the monsters were men in suits.

The scene in Battlefield were Ace gets trapped behind the glass and it fills with water terrified me. But now as an adult when I watch it I know she will not die (though in real life that was nearly not the case). It is odd the way one's perecption and enjoyment of Who can change over the years.