RTD Retrospective #3: Early Season Two-Parter

[TedShatner10]

The Sontaran story was the best all round, with the right mixture of action, humour and horror. The Sontarans were charismatic villains and UNIT were competent (by sci-fi cannon fodder standards).

The Cybermen story is a close second, with the alternative London setting well realized, and before the Cybermen rampage, was already an ominous place dominated by airships and a megacorporation. The Cybermen themselves are not quite as meaty as the Daleks and always somewhat primitive, but I always liked their bulky Art Deco appearance.

The Slitheen story is the third weakest and has retarded computer hacking, but was overall an OK story, with further important character development that was established in "Rose" and has a few impressive segments (like the Slitheen ship crashing into Westminster, using model effects that are better than some of The Mill's computer generated imagery).

The Dalek story is the weakest, but I quite liked the effort put into rendering 1930s New York on a budget and the Dalek's lair in the Empire State Building was impressive.

 

[Starkers]

And we didn't just get the Sontarans back, we got them back in a way far better than how they appeared in the Classic Series. It really feels like the first time since their very first appearance in "The Time Warrior" that they've been fully realized on-screen and not just the generic Monster of the Week. You can really believe that this is an entire culture dedicated to making war. And it was also nice to see so many Sontarans at once. THIS is how you bring back an enemy.

I pretty much agree, for me the second best Sontaran story, nothing beats the Time Warrior and Linx though...

 

[Stevil2001]

I voted for the Sontaran one, but mostly as the best of a middling bunch. It shouldn't work-- it's cliche, the plan makes no sense, the resolution is arbitrary, Rattigan has got nothing going for him-- but it's gleeful and fun. Christopher Ryan is the best Sontaran since Lynx/Styre. "Sontar-HA!" indeed.

The Slitheen one is probably second-- I really like the second episode, especially the material with the Doctor, Rose, and Harriet in the bunker. (And who doesn't like Harriet?)

The Cyberman one is dull (their plan makes even less sense) and Lumic is awful, and though I really enjoyed "Daleks in Manhattan", "Evolution" is the biggest piece of nonsense ever.

 

[Mitty]

Meh. None of them stand out to me for any particular reason. If anything It would have to be Aliens of London/World War Three, simply because of the Rose getting back 12 months later thing, and also because it was the first proper cliffhanger in nuwho. They all had their moments, but frankly I doubt I'd watch any of them all the way through ever again.

 

[Candlelight]

They all had their moments, but frankly I doubt I'd watch any of them all the way through ever again.

That's part of the problem I have at the moment. A lot of the episodes have scenes which are great but the episode as a whole doesn't really keep my attention (save for the first watch through).

Daleks in Manhatten was tolerable up until the last 2 minutes, and the second episode was hard to watch.

Old penis-head Sec was a 'jump the shark' moment.

Or do we call it a 'half-human' moment?

 

[Worf2DS9]

Had to go with the S2 Cyberman two-parter. Second place would go to the Slitheen story, even though they are a silly race.