The Power of the Daleks (TV Story) Review

Title: The Power of the Daleks
Writer: David Whitaker
Original Broadcast Date: 5 November 1966 - 10 December 1966

Patrick Troughton's first story, unfortunately missing, sees Ben, Polly and the newly regenerated Doctor arrive on the Earth colony, Vulcan where trouble is stirred up when experiments on the inhabitants of a 200 year old capsule, buried deep beneath the earth, is dug up.

The first two episodes are some of the best Doctor Who has seen, with the former focusing on the Doctor's regeneration and Ben and Polly's reactions, and the latter bringing the main plot into centre stage with a gloomy, genuinely scary atmosphere. But beyond these first two episodes it goes downhill a bit unfortunately. un

By the fifth episode it starts to drag with not much happening and very little progress made between each episode, that is until the final part, which compared to its predecessors is slightly jarring, with a much faster pace and a vast array of action sequences. The story also feels slightly 'all bark no bite' with promises made of epic rebellion fight scenes and development of the trust between the Doctor and his companions not delivered on, or at least not to full potential.

The sixth and concluding part also only briefly touches on a concept, delving into the travesty the Daleks cause, that could have really benefitted the story if drawn out and developed much more, but didn't take away much with its brief mentioning.

From this review it may seem I hated the episode but honestly I really enjoyed it and I felt it was a rather strong story, but due it to it being one of the most hyped up stories of Doctor Who history I couldn't help feel a little disappointed with its flaws. Problems aside Troughton is fantastic and plays a strikingly different Doctor to Hartnell to great effect and proves himself a worthy replacement in this great Dalek story that, for me, just couldn't live up to it's reputation.

8/10

The Tenth Planet (TV Story) Review

Title: The Tenth Planet
Writer: Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis
Original Broadcast Date: 8 October 1966 - 29 October 1966

The Tenth Planet is the first of many things: the first appearance of the Cybermen, the first base-under-siege story and the first regeneration of the Doctor, but beyond its legendary status, the story remains standing as a clever and genuinely creepy bookend to the Hartnell era.

The Doctor, Ben and Polly land in the South Pole, 1986 where the most recent routine space flight has taken off, but strange things begin to happen. Outside the window of the spaceship the pilots see a tenth planet, that looks exactly like earth, moving towards them. And then something lands by the arctic base, something that was once human, but not anymore.

In their first ever story the Cybermen are incredibly menacing, and dare I say, scarier than the Daleks. The image of the blank faced creatures, lacking all human emotion, making its way across an icecap is particularly frightening; it is no wonder they were brought back only four stories later. My minor and only issue with them (and this story in fact) was the voiceover was sometimes out of sync with the actors, so the suspense was stunted a bit.

On the other end of the spectrum, in Hartnell's final regular appearance, he is stunning, despite his absence from the third chapter. He brings a definite gravitas to his scenes and proves his worth, making this a fantastic episode to leave in. His absence is written out fairly well, improving the regeneration with some lead up to the event, but it would have been nice to have had one of the very best Doctors at centre-stage the entirety of his final story.

His regeneration is short but sweet, and I proudly admit I shed a few tears at his final and heartbreaking line, which was such a major contrast from his frosty personality in his first few episodes, showing his growth as a character, but also seemingly a line talking directly about the show, because it didn't finish with Hartnell's departure; no; it was, it is far from being over:

"...It isn't all over. It's far from being all over... I must go now... Ah yes! Thank you. It's good! Keep warm."

9.5/10

Thank you, Mr Hartnell!

The Smugglers (TV Story) Review

Title: The Smugglers
Writer: Brian Hayles
Original Broadcast Date: 10 September 1966 - 1 October 1966

In Ben and Polly's first trip in the TARDIS, and Hartnell's penultimate one, we are served a fun yet slightly forgettable adventure of smugglers and pirates situated at the coast of Cornwall.

For the recent visitors, you may have noticed: this is my very first review of a missing episode and as no substantial video footage or animation are available this review is entirely based off the soundtrack, so my final rating is more of an estimate than a definite judgement as the addition of the video footage could either aid or lower the score it receives. Anyway: on with the review!

In his second-to-last story Hartnell is excellent. He achieves an wondrous charm next to his two new younger companions and the script proves the character has developed over his run, with The Doctor actively attempting to save people and going out of his way to do so, something that wouldn't have been dreamed of back in his first year.

The plot is relatively simple but by the third part gets clouded with too many unnecessary characters, something that wouldn't prove as much of a problem if I had visual aid, and without I felt a little lost and overwhelmed at times. The first two episodes, as often in the Hartnell era, are better than the final two, with the story dragging towards the end, subjecting to an unfocused wild goose chase that feels a little like a waste of time, but results in some fun.

The Smugglers is nothing special, but its not bad either. The plot is rather lackluster and is dragged on too long but the magnificence of Hartnell alongside his new companions played by Michael Craze and Anneke Wills does give this forgettable story some unforgettable moments.

7.5/10

Blog Announcement: Missing Episodes to be reviewed!

As I first begun my Doctor Who marathon I decided to avoid watching and thus reviewing the missing episodes to not over-complicate things but as time went on I begun to experience more and more gaps, that became ever more significant.

As I approached Hartnell's final two stories I decided I'd listen to The Smugglers, his penultimate story in audio form (released by the BBC with linking narration) and since I have decided from now on to start reviewing the missing episodes on this blog, well at least the soundtrack.

From tomorrow on wards The Smugglers will be reviewed and every missing story afterwards in chronological order, in between the surviving ones. For missing stories from the Hartnell era I've previously missed out I will go back and review them one day!

Also as a minor change, I will start releasing reviews and posts every two days rather than daily that I have been doing since last month. This is because I don't have enough time to watch and review a story per day, and my scheduled posts list is running dry.

Anyway: thanks for reading and enjoy all The Smugglers' review tomorrow and two days after that: The Tenth Planet, Hartnell's final story!

Companion Stats: Dodo Chaplet

Names: Dodo Chaplet

Actress: Jackie Lane

Doctor/s: First

Year/s: 1966

Only properly in 4 serials, (with two the only remaining) Dodo is a highly overlooked companion, but for a good reason. Far too similar to Susan, Dodo didn't really bring anything new to the show (if accents that change half way through an episode don't count). In my opinion Dodo was fun and acted well along side Hartnell, and unfairly suffered the worst exit of any Doctor Who companion: no exit at all!

Episode Ranking

1. The War Machines (9/10)
2. The Gunfighters (7/10)
3. The Ark (6.5/10)

N.A. The Celestial Toymaker

N.A. The Savages

Note: I haven't included The Massacre as she was only in it for the last episode, for a few minutes at the end.

These add up to give Dodo an average episode rating of...                               7.5/10

And a range of...                                                                                                  2.5

This can be broken down into:

1 Amazing Episode (9+/10)

1 Good Episode (7+/10)

1 Okay Episode (6+/10)

In my opinion, of the surviving episodes, Dodo is best in The Gunfighters where she displays both her feisty and also her cute side.

Here is a rather pointless graph showing her run of episodes:

As usual the red line shows the average.

Comparison

We can see Dodo comes in last place in terms of quality of episodes:

1. Vicki Pallister - 8.08/10
2. Steven Taylor - 8/10
3. Susan Foreman - 7.7/10
4. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 7.65/10
5. Dodo Chaplet - 7.5/10

But she has the best consistency of episodes (remember: the lower the range, the better the consistency of quality of episodes):

1. Dodo Chaplet - 2.5
2. Steven Taylor - 3
3. Susan Foreman - 5.5
4. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 8
5. Vicki Pallister - 8

And thus concludes the final companion to leave during the Hartnell era! Join us tomorrow for a breakthrough blog announcement! (Don't get too excited)

Season 3 - Ranking and Stats

Doctor Who - Season Three (1965/66)
11 September 1965 - 16 July 1966

After two seasons, Doctor Who faced a season of cast changes, from Vicki to Katarina, to Sara to Dodo, to Steven and finally to Ben and Polly, making up for a interesting season that feels as if it is trying to find its feet.

As so many of the stories are missing, tragically including the 13-part epic, The Dalek's Master Plan, there isn't much to rank and the average could be dramatically changed if we ever get hold of Season 3's missing episodes.

1. The War Machines (9/10)
2. The Gunfighters (7/10)
3. The Ark (6.5/10)

N.A. Galaxy Four (?/10)

N.A. Mission to the Unknown (?/10)

N.A. The Myth Makers (?/10)

N.A. The Dalek's Master Plan (?/10)

N.A. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve (?/10)

N.A. The Celestial Toymaker (?/10)

N.A. The Savages (?/10)

Averaging out the very limited amount of ratings means Season 3 has an average of...

                                                                                                                          7.5/10

And a range of...                                                                                                 2.5

From this we can see the remains of Season 3 had:

1 Amazing Episode (9+/10)

1 Good Episode (7+/10)

1 Okay Episode (6+/10)

Now for the (almost pointless) graph!

Comparison

As I'm only three seasons into my marathon there isn't a lot of results to go by so this is fairly limited...

1. Season Two - 7.94/10
2. Season One - 7.79/10
3. Season Three - 7.5/10

On terms of range, Seasons Three takes the top spot, with only three stories surviving, meaning it is the most consistent season so far. (Remember: the lower the range, the more consistent the series)

1. Season Three - 2.5
2. Season One - 5.5
3. Season Two - 8

Join us tomorrow for stats of Dodo Chaplet, the companion with only three surviving stories, the same three as Season 3's surviving ones.

The War Machines (TV Story) Review

Title: The War Machines
Writer: Ian Stuart Black (Idea by Kit Pedler)
Original Broadcast Date: 25 June 1966 - 16 July 1966

It might be just me but by the end of Season 3 I felt Doctor Who felt a bit distant. Steven, the companion left in the previous (missing) episode was a (needless to say a great companion but) a space traveler from the future, and Vicki the preceding companion (who was just as great) was a survivor of a spaceship crash, also from the future. Dodo, while from contemporary (or rather 1960s) London, didn't quite have to characteristics to suit the time period and felt a little out of date. Doctor Who felt a little too far from home, and The War Machines does a fantastic job of grounding the show, bringing in ties to contemporary times, something that had been missing for a large portion since Ian and Barbara's departure.

Arriving in the swinging '60s, Dodo and The Doctor go off to investigate a brand new supercomputer with the ability to think for itself. The supercomputer, WOTAN is a nicely-achieved villain, who genuinely feels quite threatening, with his hypnotic powers. The plot involved contemporary (at the time) London being invaded by WOTAN and his War Machines, the very first of Doctor Who's many earth invasion stories. Because of this, this story feels closer to New Who than any other First Doctor story.

Hartnell is great in this one, showing just how clever The Doctor can be (although watch out for him banging his head on a low ceiling in the fourth episode) and Jackie Lane finally feels at home in her role... That is until she has the worst companion departure in Doctor Who history, involving her going off because of a headache in episode two and then not appearing ever again. Instead a message passed on to The Doctor via Polly, one of the two new companions introduced in this story.

While this is a total bummer (and it didn't fit in with her character at all, previously stating she had nothing to go back to in her old life) her replacements, Ben Jackson, a cockney sailor, and Polly Wright, a spunky secretary, are introduced wonderfully and make a good team, working well with Hartnell's cheeky character.

All in all The War Machines is fantastic, but suffers from a poor exit for a hugely underrated and overlooked companion. Despite this, the introduction of Polly and Ben, two fun new companions, do somewhat make up for this massive disservice to not only the character but to Doctor Who as a whole.

9/10

Companion Stats: Steven Taylor

Names: Steven Taylor

Actor: Peter Purves

Doctor/s: First

Year/s: 1965 - 1966

Steven Taylor had big shoes to fill, with the exit of the original companions, Ian and Barbara, right on the heels of his entrance and he pulled it off. Whilst not as good as his predecessors, Steven Taylor makes a good match for Vicki and Dodo, the other companions he acted alongside.

Episode Ranking

1. The Time Meddler (10/10)
2. The Chase (8.5/10)
3. The Gunfighters (7/10)
4. The Ark (6.5/10)

N.A. Galaxy Four (?/10)

N.A. Mission to the Unknown (?/10)

N.A. The Myth Makers (?/10)

N.A. The Dalek's Master Plan (?/10)

N.A. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve (?/10)

N.A. The Celestial Toymaker (?/10)

N.A. The Savages (?/10)

Thanks to the sheer amount of missing Season 3 episodes he is only present in 4 existing stories.

The remaining episodes average out to make...                                         8/10
And a range of...                                                                                           3

This can be broken down to mean he starred in:
1 Perfect Episode (10/10)
1 Great Episode (8+/10)
1 Good Episode (7+/10)
1 Okay Episode (6+/10)

In my opinion Steven is best in the masterpiece that is The Time Meddler due to his wonderful chemistry with both The Doctor and Vicki in his first proper story.

Here is a rather pointless graph showing off his episodes' performances:

Comparison

We can see Steven comes second with his quality of episodes:

1. Vicki Pallister - 8.08/10
2. Steven Taylor - 8/10
3. Susan Foreman - 7.7/10
4. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 7.65/10

And has the lowest range (remember: the lower the range, the better the consistency of quality of episodes):

1. Steven Taylor - 3
2. Susan Foreman - 5.5
3. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 8
4. Vicki Pallister - 8

Join us tomorrow for the final Season 3 episode review, The War Machines!

Remembering Jacqueline Hill (Feature Article)

On the 18^th of February, 1993, too soon did another of Doctor Who’s stars blink out of the sky. Jacqueline Hill, best known for her wonderful portrayal of one of Doctor Who’s best and brightest, Barbara Wright, died on this day, 23 years ago. In memory of such a sad passing, this article celebrates the accomplishments of Jacqueline Hill during her time on Doctor Who, in which she defeated the Daleks, outwitted the Aztecs, escaped from the Zarbi and even stood up to the Doctor himself. With such a strong character that Jacqueline brought to life, Barbara’s courage and independence set the stonework for the modern Doctor Who companion.

Barbara Wright was among the first companions to set foot in the TARDIS, travelling with the Doctor from the very first episode, An Unearthly Child (1963), to Season 2’s penultimate story, The Chase (1965). In 16 stories and 77 individual episodes, Jacqueline shared the TARDIS with William Hartnell’s Doctor, Susan, the Doctor’s Granddaughter, Vicki Pallister, an orphan from the 25^th century, but most importantly, Ian Chesterton, her partner in crime. These two were previously colleagues from Coal Hill School, before they were kidnapped by the Doctor and whisked off to various alien planets. These two frightened and unsure of the world they stumbled into stuck together through thick and thin, building the foundations of their relationship. Continuing that analogy, those foundations soon become a house by the third story, The Edge of Destruction, which (as a budget episode) set the four travellers (Ian, Barbara, the Doctor and Susan) alone in the TARDIS for two 25 minute episodes and whilst a little lacking in terms of plot, The Edge of Destruction is praised not often enough to be the story that really pulled the travellers together, from being four untrusting companions to becoming a family and this is where Barbara really shines. From her friendly banter with the Doctor and her teacher-like attitude towards Susan and Vicki, to her deep friendship (hinted to be something more) with Ian, Barbara displays her kind, caring personality, something Jacqueline pulls off excellently.

There is a common idea that Doctor Who, whilst in its early years featured female companions known to scream far too much and do far too little, but Barbara easily does not fit that bill. With only a few screams during her entire run (which when done, struck terror for that very reason), Barbara is a display of strong female independency, a rare sight in 1960s Sci-Fi, standing up to various enemies and the Doctor many times. Most notably as an example of this: Jacqueline’s performance in The Aztecs, but also an example of pure acting brilliance. In performing, Jacqueline lights up the room, – or rather, the set – bringing redeemable values to even the poorest quality stories (I’m looking at you Web Planet) and, I found, episodes without her presence lacked some gravitas in the performances, not to insult other members of the main cast, but rather the extras, who are known to be generally rubbish in 60s Who.

Beautiful, clever, compassionate, loving and strong-willed, Jacqueline Hill perfectly portrayed the character of Barbara Wright, who’s acting accomplishments remain to this day to be enjoyed over and over again or for the first time and aided Doctor Who to get on to its feet in its beginning, bringing enjoyment to even the worst episodes, and bringing much, much more to the very best. If Hartnell’s frosty but loveable Doctor and amazing story telling aren’t enough to convince you the Hartnell era is worth your time, Barbara Wright is sure to be that. Jacqueline Hill, while gone, is definitely not forgotten, providing the template for all companions to follow, her legacy echoing endlessly throughout Doctor Who.

The Gunfighters (TV Story) Review

Title: The Gunfighters
Writer: Donald Cotton
Original Broadcast Date: 30 April 1966 - 21 May 1966

Once again skipping over the missing episodes, we come to The Gunfighters, which to popular belief is the worst episode of Doctor Who ever. To my surprise, I enjoyed it!

Common complaints include the bad american accents, ridiculous plot and the musical aspects, which I completely disagree with... except the bad american accents. (Even I can do a better accent than some of the actors here). The plot's rather enjoyable, ridiculous, but it doesn't take itself too seriously. The musical aspects, with a tune linking and sometimes narrating most scenes is actually one aspect I really loved about it, and the tune is really catchy, so do expect it to be stuck in your head for quite some time.

The first two episodes are the best, with the last two bogged down with slightly complicated relationships between characters and ones introduced out of nowhere. Dodo is delightfully good in this one, making a great team with Steven, although not as good as her predecessor.

Well, is it the worst episode of Doctor Who ever? No. A long way off it infact. I rather enjoyed this adventure into the Wild West for what it was: experimental and unique in which one of the most overlooked companions was given some great moments to shine.

7/10

The Ark (TV Story) Review

Title: The Ark
Writer: Paul Erickson and Lesley Scott
Original Broadcast Date: 5 March 1966 - 26 March 1966

Taking a big jump thanks to the sheer amount of missing Season 3 episodes, The Ark, the first avaliable story after The Time Meddler is an interesting one, with great concepts but poor execution.

The worst part of this story is the Monoids, which honestly looks like a lump of rubber with a mop thrown on top for the hair. They're actually quite scary looking until they start waddling about. The aforementioned ideas are rather intriguing, with a cold almost wiping out future humans due to their lack of resistance against it, but it just seems like a sidetrack for the main story to take place, over 700 years after the disease outbreak, involving the Monoids having taken over human life on the Ark.

There is a lovely idea involving a statue, but the prop just looks rather silly so the effect is ruined. There are also a few fight scenes which, with the Monoid waddling, look even worse. Dodo, in her first full story, is an interesting addition, being relatively similar to Susan and changing her accent half way through the story.

Overall, this story could have been brilliant, but with poor execution on the writing and visual front there isn't a lot to like about The Ark.

6.5/10

Companion Stats - Vicki Pallister

Names: Vicki Pallister

Actress: Maureen O'Brien

Doctor/s: First

Year/s: 1964 - 1965

Replacing Susan, The Doctor's granddaughter, Vicki is a great improvement, thanks to O'Brien's superior acting and the character's badass-ery (I'm never using that word again).

Episode Ranking

1. The Time Meddler (10/10)
2. The Romans (10/10)
3. The Rescue (9/10)
4. The Space Museum (9/10)
5. The Chase (8.5/10)
6. The Web Planet (2/10)

N/A. The Crusade (?/10)

N/A. Galaxy Four (?/10)

N.A. The Myth Makers (?/10)

Averaging these out means she has an average rating of...                          8.08/10

And she has a range of...                                                                                   8

This means Vicki stars in:

2 Perfect Episodes (10/10)

2 Amazing Episodes (9+/10)

1 Great Episode (8+/10)

1 Terrible Episode (2+/10)

Unfortunately this doesn't include the three stories that are missing: The Crusade, Galaxy Four and The Myth Makers.

In my opinion, Vicki is at her best in The Space Museum as she encourages revolution on the planet Xeros and has a romance with one of the natives. I reckon this would have been The Myth Makers if it survived.

Here's a graph (remember the red line in the average):

Comparison

Compared to previous companions Vicki comes out on top in terms of quality of episodes:

1. Vicki Pallister - 8.08/10
2. Susan Foreman - 7.7/10
3. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 7.65/10

And ties with Ian and Barbara in last place for the range (remember, the lower, the more consistent the quality of episodes):

1. Susan Foreman - 5.5
2. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 8
3. Vicki Pallister - 8

Season 2 - Ranking and Stats

Doctor Who - Season Two (1964/65)
31 October 1964 - 24 July 1965

After a successful first season, Doctor Who returned for a second season later in 1965, bigger and better than ever. Here I've ranked the episodes of Hartnell's second and best season. Click on the episodes to see the full reviews.

1. The Time Meddler (10/10)
2. The Romans (10/10)
3. The Rescue (9/10)
4. The Space Museum (9/10)
5. The Chase (8.5/10)
6. Planet of Giants (8/10)
7. The Dalek Invasion of Earth (7/10)
8. The Web Planet (2/10)

N/A. The Crusade (?/10)

Unfortunately The Crusade is missing, but from the remaining episodes I'm sure it would be up in the top three of the season.

Averaging these out means Season Two has an average rating of...                    7.94/10

And a range of                                                                                                        8.0

If it wasn't for The The Web Planet, my least favourite episode of Doctor Who... ever, Season Two would have an average of 8.79/10 which is an astoundingly high score!

From my ratings we can see Season Two had:
2 Perfect Episodes (10/10)
2 Amazing Episodes (9+/10)
2 Great Episodes (8+/10)
1 Good Episode (7+/10)
1 Terrible Episode (2+/10)

Now for the graph!

As you can see, because of The Web Planet's abnormally low score only two episodes fall below the average.

Comparison

As we're only two seasons into Doctor Who, not much can be compared, but we can see Season Two has a higher average than Season One.

1. Season Two - 7.94/10
2. Season One - 7.79/10

But on the terms of range, Season One is much more consistent with its episodes, with a range lower than Season Two. (Remember: the lower the range, the more consistent the series)

1. Season One - 5.5
2. Season Two - 8

Join us tomorrow for the next Doctor Who review!

The Time Meddler (TV Story) Review

Title: The Time Meddler
Writer: Dennis Spooner
Original Broadcast Date: 3 July 1965 - 24 July 1965

After almost two seasons, Doctor Who had shared little to no information of The Doctor's planet and people, that is until The Time Meddler, a pitch perfect ending to Hartnell's best season.

Among other firsts, The Time Meddler is also the show's very first Pseudo-Historical, a genre that would eventually outlive the basic historical, with a meddling monk threatening to change the course of history, situated in England, 1066. The first episode opens with The Doctor and Vicki mourning the departure of Ian and Barbara, only to find another member onboard: Steven Taylor. This opening has some wonderful dialogue as The Doctor explains the TARDIS to Steven, including probably my favourite Hartnell quote:

That is the dematerializing control, and that over yonder is the horizontal hold. Up there is there is the scanner; those are the doors; that is a chair with a panda on it. Sheery poetry, dear boy! Now please stop bothering me!

The first episode is extremely atmospheric thanks to a wonderful echo-y chorus of singing monks, setting a gloomy, mysterious and slightly creepy mood. Vicki and Steven, separated from The Doctor most of the story, are brilliant together and have great chemistry. Its a definite shame there are no more surviving stories of these two. 

Peter Butterworth, in the role of the Monk, is a star, playing a perfect counterpart to Hartnell's mischievous Doctor, and their relationship reminds me of The Master's with The Doctor. The side characters are abnormally good in this story, with developments I genuinely cared about!

The Time Meddler is a masterpiece, with a great plot, wonderful characters and a perfect villain. Dennis Spooner has done it again!

10/10

Companion Stats: Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright

Names: Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright

Actor/Actress: William Russell and Jacqueline Hill

Doctor/s: First

Year/s: 1963 - 1965

The first two speaking roles in Doctor Who history, Ian and Barbara have a legacy unlike any other companion to this date, kickstarting this wonderful adventure in space and time that we all adore to this day.

Episode Ranking

1. The Romans (10/10)
2. The Aztecs (9.5/10)
3. The Rescue (9/10)
4. The Reign of Terror (9/10)
5. The Space Museum (9/10)
6. The Keys of Marinus (9/10)
7. The Daleks (8.5/10)
8. The Chase (8.5/10)
9. Planet of Giants (8/10)
10. An Unearthly Child (7.5/10)
11. The Dalek Invasion of Earth (7/10)
12. The Edge of Destruction (7/10)
13. The Sensorites (4/10)
14. The Web Planet (2/10)

N/A. Marco Polo (?/10)

N/A. The Crusade (?/10)

These average out to make...                                                                            7.65/10

With a range of...                                                                                                   8

We can also break this down into meaning that Ian and Barbara starred in:
1 Perfect Story (10/10)
5 Amazing Ones (9+/10)
3 Great Ones (8+/10)
3 Good Ones (7+/10)
1 Bad One (4+/10)
1 Terrible One (1+/10)

In my opinion Ian's best episode is The Daleks as he was great when encouraging a revolution from the Thals and Barbara's best episode is The Aztecs as she was amazing throughout, which Jacqueline Hill pulled off wonderfully.

Here is a graph showing Ian and Barbara's episodes as companions:

Comparison

So far we can see Barbara and Ian don't have as good of a episode average as Susan, despite them being better companions by a longshot.

1. Susan Foreman - 7.72/10
2. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 7.65/10

In terms of range they also come out worse thanks to The Web Planet.

1. Susan Foreman - 5.5
2. Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright - 8

Join us tomorrow for the review of Season 2's final story, The Time Meddler and the day after that for the Season 2 overview and stat fest!

The Chase (TV Story) Review

Title: The Chase
Writer: Terry Nation
Original Broadcast Date: 22 May 1965 - 26 June 1965

Season 2's penultimate story tragically is the final adventure for Ian and Barbara, two of the very best companions Doctor Who has seen! Fabulously interwoven with hilarious scenes, The Chase offers up a great mix of comedy and thriller, with a touch of human emotion.

Similar to The Keys of Marinus, one of of Terry Nation's previous stories, The Chase takes place over a vast selection of different alien planets and cities, as the Daleks chase the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki throughout time and space. This format offers up something new (sometimes twice) each episode, which allows for fast-paced action to match the frantically busy plot, with a huge array of species popping in and out including Daleks, weird-half-man-half-fish-things, Texans, Dracula, Sailors and croaky robots, to name a few. As it is all a little silly, The Chase is best when not taken seriously.

At the very end of the story, we say goodbye to Ian and Barbara, which is pulled off with wonderful effect (Hartnell's performance is astounding) and you genuinely do feel a strong sense of loss as the credits roll up. I must admit I cried quite a bit in the closing scenes. (RIP the best TARDIS team of the Hartnell era)

Overall, The Chase is a little silly, but is nonetheless a thrilling, riveting last hurrah for the unforgettable schoolteachers, kidnapped by the Doctor oh so long ago!

8.5/10

The Space Museum (TV Story) Review

Title: The Space Museum
Writer: Glyn Jones
Original Broadcast Date: 24 April 1965 - 15 May 1965

After jumping a time track and seeing into their future, The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki attempt to change their fate, but how do you know if the next thing you do will deter your path or lead you to your death?

After two seasons Doctor Who had yet to really touch on the fourth dimension (time). The Space Museum does just that and yet simultaneously perfects the basic Hartnell episode formula.

The first episode of The Space Museum is hands down phenomenal, perfect from start to end and incredibly clever, which seems to have inspired Steven Moffat's timey-wimey scripts.The second, third and fourth episodes aren't nearly as good, but are none-the-less great. There is some fantastic incidental music, something I'd not really noticed before, and all four of our travelers are fantastic, Vicki especially who has a slight love interest in this story.

The idea of not knowing what will bring you closer to your fate is well handled, and adds its lovely own spin of the typical revolution-type plot of the Hartnell era and is resolved wonderfully with a lovely twist I didn't expect. My only issue is after one episode of no other talking parts other than the TARDIS crew, the introduction of the other races is slightly jarring and drags a bit. Other than that this serial a well-structured typical Hartnell story, with an untypical twist blended in.

9/10

The Web Planet (TV Story) Review

Title: The Web Planet
Writer: Bill Strutton
Original Broadcast Date: 13 February 1965 - 20 March 1965

The Web Planet is ambitious - one of the most of the Hartnell era (and that is saying a lot). But that isn't necessarily a good thing. The Web Planet is an example of how sometimes high ambition and low budgets don't mix very well.

After a pretty decent first episode, this serial is genuinely terrible and probably one of the worst Doctor Who stories... ever. Yes - I said it! This ugly, offensively bad atrocity, sticking out like a sour thumb amongst the brilliance that is the rest of Season 2 is possibly the worst Doctor Who story ever. Yes: even worse than Love and Monsters. At least in that episode you only have the Absorbaloff for 5 minutes or so at the end; in this one you have six 25 minute episodes of that crap. If you thought the Sensorites were bad, you've got another thing coming!: there are not one, not two, but three different races in this serial and their all Doctor Who costume design at its lowest.

Away from the issue of the aliens, the plot is so very dull, and I almost fell asleep on multiple occasions whilst watching, the sound design is poor to say the least (the Zaarbi make a noise that I assume is so annoying to wake you up), the sets are uninteresting and the single only redeeming factor is Hartnell's performance, which is wasted on this drawn-out, poorly written, chaotic monstrosity.

2/10

The Romans (TV Story) Review

Title: The Romans
Writer: Dennis Spooner
Original Broadcast Date: 16 January 1965 - 6 February 1965

I always struggle with writing reviews for something that is utterly perfect, and that is why I have had so much trouble writing one for The Romans, a masterful example of how comedy and Doctor Who mix rather well.

This story opens on the TARDIS falling off a cliff, but almost immediately cuts away to a month later, with Barbara, Ian, the Doctor and Vicki enjoying the luxuries of ancient Rome in their very own villa. Vicki, in her second ever story, is fantastic and proves to be just as good and perhaps an even better match for Harnell's cheek and charm. Ian and Barbara's relationship is especially well developed in this one, and Russell and Hill (as usual) play the parts wonderfully.

The plot takes all four travelers on enthralling trips around Rome, that'll leave you at the edge of your seat with everyscene and the joke of them barely avoiding each other as they go about their own adventures is fantastically pulled off, echoed years later with the Tenth Doctor and Donna in Partners in Crime. The Romans benefits most of all from its humor, that made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions, with a hilarious take on Emperor Nero and our lovable TARDIS team, proving comedy can be right at home on Doctor Who.

Dennis Spooner's second script is perfect, and so cleverly written; it'll leave you wiping tears of laughter away until the very end.

10/10

The Rescue (TV Story) Review

Title: The Rescue
Writer: David Whitaker
Original Broadcast Date: 2 January 1965 - 9 January 1964

After the departure of Carole Ann Ford, who played the Doctor's grandaughter, Susan Foreman, Doctor Who received its first ever change in companion with this short but sweet introduction to Vicki Pallister, a severely underrated companion.

I didn't remember much about this story. I remembered some plot points but I think I zoned out the first time I watched it, so when I rewatched The Rescue I was struck with surprise that I enjoyed it as much as I did. Despite the plot being drawn up rather quickly to act as a introduction to the character of Vicki, I was thoroughly intrigued throughout, probably due to its short length which allows the story to be told but not stretched thin like other stories were (notably The Sensorites and The Dalek Invasion of Earth).

The story features some highlight acting for the entire cast, notably Vicki and The Doctor, the latter with a brilliant confrontation scene towards the end which is pulled off with flying colours. I enjoyed the references to Susan as it made her feel as if she had a genuine impact on the Doctor but Vicki filled her role cleanly and proved herself to be better than just a Carole Ann Ford replacement.

Overall this is hugely underrated gem suited to a just as underrated companion, who too should not be overlooked.

9/10

Companion Stats: Susan Foreman

Name: Susan Foreman

Actress: Carole Ann Ford

Doctor/s: First

Year/s: 1963 - 1964

Susan Foreman was the very first companion on Doctor Who, the granddaughter of the Doctor. She was played by Carole Ann Ford from 1963 to 1964 alongside the First Doctor and Ian and Barbara, her two school teachers from Coal Hill School.

Episode Ranking

1. The Aztecs (9.5/10)
2. The Reign of Terror (9/10)
3. The Keys of Marinus (9/10)
4. The Daleks (8.5/10)
5. Planet of Giants (8/10)
6. An Unearthly Child (7.5/10)
7. The Dalek Invasion of Earth (7/10)
8. The Edge of Destruction (7/10)
9. The Sensorites (4/10)

N/A. Marco Polo (?/10)

These average out to make...                                                                                7.72/10

With a range of...                                                                                                    5.5

We can also break this down into meaning that Susan starred in:
3 Amazing Stories (9+/10)
2 Great Ones (8+/10)
3 Good Ones (7+/10)
1 Bad One (4+/10)

In my opinion the best story for Susan, rather than by rating, is The Dalek Invasion of Earth as I feel she shows real development, growing out of The Doctor in this story, tying into her exit in the final episode.

Here is a graph showing her episodes as a companion

Come back tomorrow for the review of The Rescue, the third story of Doctor Who's second season.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth (TV Story) Review

Title: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Writer: Terry Nation
Original Broadcast Date: 21 November 1964 - 26 December 1964

It hadn't even been a year since the Daleks first appeared on telly screens back in 1963, but their return came no later than in the second story of the second season of Doctor Who, the infamous The Dalek Invasion of Earth.

After the TARDIS is trapped under rubble, Ian, Barbara, the Doctor and Susan discover they've landed in London, but the year: 2164 and the earth has been invaded by everyone's favourite pepper-pot mutations. The first two episodes are absolutely fantastic and incredibly atmospheric, with the build up to the Daleks' appearance in the first episode brilliant and wonderfully chilling. From there it goes down hill, with sloppy action sequences, poor Robomen actors and dull pacing, which hits its worse at episode five. Despite these issues there are some truly brilliant scenes, including Barbara hitting some Daleks with a bus (another reason why Barbara is one of the best companions ever) and the farewell of the Doctor's granddaughter Susan in the final episode.

In these farewell scenes Hartnell is wonderful, performing a speech that remains iconic and spine-tingling to this day, plucking at your heartstrings (I must admit I did tear up). Other than those occasional great moments and the first couple of episodes this story is drawn out too long and in consequence of that is a little dull.

7/10

Planet of Giants (TV Story) Review

Title: Planet of Giants
Writer: Louis Marks
Original Broadcast Date: 31 October 1964 - 14 November 1964

After a mixed first season of Doctor Who, the show returned to screens later in 1964 with a fun, albeit slightly naff opener for the second season of the classic British TV series.

After a TARDIS malfunction, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan arrive on Earth, 1964, but not in the way they left, now about the size of an inch. The whole plot revolves around this idea of the TARDIS crew being shrunk, which, to be honest, is a little silly but does make up for some fun sequences such as Susan and the Doctor almost getting washed away down a sinkplug or Ian travelling via briefcase. Barbara, yet again, is fantastic and she has some lovely moments of acting brilliance. Hartnell and Ford prove to be a great team, really selling the grandfather-granddaughter relationship in this story, which adds nicely to her exit in the next story. I'd also like to point out the hilarious cliffhangers this story has involving cats and the aforementioned sink plug.

Overall, Planet of Giants is rather silly but also a lot of fun and very entertaining, providing a light-hearted romp to kickstart Hartnell's best season.

8/10

The Diary of River Song: Series One - Review and Ranking

The Diary of River Song - Series One
Released 25th December 2015

The Diary of River Song's first series, my first proper dive into Big Finish, is a wondrous display of talent: from Alex Kingston's compelling acting to James Goss' poetic scriptwriting and beyond - The Diary of River Song is a match of actors, writers and editors made in heaven.

The Boundless Sea (Full Review Here)
This story had everything needed to make a fun, riveting adventure: River Song - check!; an archaeological dig - check!; reanimated corpses - check! But with a slow start and a questionable alien threat, who makes up for some rather ridiculous moments, The Boundless Sea never really hit its stride. Without a doubt the low point of the boxset, The Boundless Sea came out with mixed results, feeling too much of a filler, but is nonetheless entertaining.

6/10

I Went To A Marvellous Party (Full Review Here)

After a sloppy first chapter, The Diary of River Song picks up the pace with this second installment, I Went To A Marvellous Party (which is a title with River written all over it!). A wonderful cast and a well handled and nicely paced who-dunnit-style plot make I Went To A Marvellous Party, well, marvellous!

8/10

Signs (Full Review Here)

After a mediocre story and then a great one, The Diary of River Song delivers a masterpiece, which is perfect throughout, from the fantastic leading duo to the soundscape and the plot. Signs is a sign - Big Finish know what they're doing and they're doing it fantastically! A two-hander between Alex Kingston and Samuel West, Signs is filled to the brim with clever writing and genuine emotion, delivered wonderfully by the cast who have wonderful chemistry, and is a masterpiece that every Doctor Who fan has to listen to.

10/10

The Rulers of the Universe (Full Review Here)

The Diary of River Song's first series ties up with this fantastic story, featuring all the components of a great Doctor Who story: spaceships, sinister corparations, timey-wimey aspects and the Doctor himself! Whilst this story isn't as good as Signs, (I call this the Heaven Sent - Hell Bent syndrome) I thoroughly enjoyed it. The main storyline feels slightly sidelined by the appearance of the Doctor, but with the great chemistry between Kingston and McGann - who's complaining?

9/10

Overall The Diary of River Song is an amazing collection of amazing stories, essential for all fans of the show. What are you waiting for? Go and buy it!

Also listen to the amazing theme song!

Ranking

Now for the fun bit!

1. Signs (10/10)
2. The Rulers of the Universe (9/10)
3. I Went To A Marvellous Party (8/10)
4. The Boundless Sea (6/10)

Averaging these ratings out means Series One of the Diary of River Song receives an average of...                                                                                                      8.25/10

And a range of                                                                                                       4.0

And that's it! Series One of The Diary of River Song all reviewed! Join us tomorrow for the first of our Classic Who Season Two reviews, Planet of Giants!

The Rulers of the Universe (Audio) Review)

Title: The Rulers of the Universe
Writer: Matt Fitton
Original Release Date: 25 December 2015

The Diary of River Song's first series ties up with this fantastic story, featuring all the components of a great Doctor Who story: spaceships, sinister corparations, timey-wimey aspects and the Doctor himself!

On the subject matter, Paul McGann is fantastic in this story and has lovely interplay with Alex Kingston. His appearance is pulled off really well - although I do have one issue, (I'll get to that later) - and the chemistry between River and the Eighth Doctor leaves me hungry for more! The plot is well-construed and concludes the series arc nicely, solving various mysteries yet leaving some untouched, which, to my surprise, worked well, giving a god-like-complex to something I won't mention, as I don't want to spoil it for you.

Whilst this story isn't as good as Signs, (I call this the Heaven Sent - Hell Bent syndrome) I thoroughly enjoyed it. The main storyline feels slightly sidelined by the appearance of the Doctor, but with the great chemistry between Kingston and McGann - who's complaining?

9/10

Signs (Audio) Review

Title: The Diary of River Song: Signs
Writer: James Goss
Original Release Date: 25 December 2015

After a mediocre story and then a great one, The Diary of River Song delivers a masterpiece, which is perfect throughout, from the fantastic leading duo to the soundscape and the plot. Signs is a sign - Big Finish know what they're doing and they're doing it fantastically!

There is not much that can be said about Signs without spoiling it, as it a story interwoven by mystery. If there is a way I can describe it, it is a mix between Heaven Sent and Hide (to an extent), but despite this manages to find an identity of its own.

Alex Kingston and Samuel West have excellent chemistry, performing what is essentially a two-hander. The dialogue is fantastic and there are some profoundly beautiful and poetic scenes which sit comfortably alongside action sequences on various distant alien planets. Big Finish have done a marvellous job with the sound effects and music, that provide an atmospheric backdrop for the genius scriptwriting and phenomenal acting to combine in a perfect mix.

Overall, Signs is The Diary of River Song's masterpiece, a stand out story that needs to be listened to by any Doctor Who fan.

10/10