Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of Doctor Who, or least six sterling examples of it.
#42 — The End of the World — Some stories on this list are here for their imagination, execution, and wit. Others are important for what they represent in terms of the evolution of the show, and this is squarely where this story falls, important more for what Doctor Who could be in the nu-Who era. RTD wanted to demonstrate that Doctor Who had moved away from the perceived wisdom of dodgy effects and even dodgier sets and look every bit as good as ‘the competition.’ A success all the way around.
#41 — Midnight — This story topped the 50 for 50 list, but, and we admit shamefully so, was not on the list of the Tour Brain Trust. This is the type of story mentioned above, a tense, bottle episode propelled entirely by imagination, execution, and wit. A rare example of where the Doctor loses control of the situation and escapes rather than resolves the situation, made all the more scary by being unseen.
#40 — The Keeper of Traken / Logopolis — A small confessional here. Because the Tour suddenly forgot how count these two stories, although linked, were separate entries. Fortunately their adjacency made combining these not only possible, but logical. Traken is a exercise in exquisite style and design, Logopolis prevails in mood, quite funereal as it happens. There’s a haunted look in Tom Baker, which had to match that of the audience, as they were about to be unmoored for the first time in seven years.
#39 — Listen — A real highlight for the early Capaldi’s, exploring explicitly the notion for what scares us, and why.
#38 — Vincent and the Doctor — Another story which, because it came from the pen of Richard Curtis, to be more of a tone piece. Instead there’s tons of heart on display. Anyone who doesn’t get emotional themselves watching Tony Curran as van Gogh getting overwhelmed by the legacy of his work simply must conclude that this type of Doctor Who is not for them. It certainly was for us.
#37 — The War Machines — Coming in nearly at the end of the Hartnell era this story takes place in modern day London and with Polly coming aboard in her first story, it suddenly felt like Doctor Who had made a crucial pivot turn (under the producership of Innes Lloyd) to a different sensibility in storytelling. This was a story where you saw the Doctor interacting, much like Pertwee would do years later, with people and characters who were pushing the bounds of earth-bound science (such as in Inferno or The Mind of Evil). And it all felt very modern.
The thrill of victory.
