ANALYTICAL: HIDDEN INCARNATIONS - PARTS OF THE DOCTOR'S LIFE HE DOESN'T TALK ABOUT: FIRST EPISODE

MY INNER CONSCIENCE: "Hey Rob. Do you remember when you'd start a series in your Blog and finish it within a timely manner with little or no interruption?!"     

THE REST OF ME: "Not really...." 

I felt the inclination to write about something else rather than finish up my  REVIEW OVERVIEW series. So, here it is:     

Who can forget those last few minutes of Name of the Doctor? After several long episodes of wondering how it's been possible for Clara to die and return to the Doctor's life over and over, we're finally getting our answer. On top of that, all these previous incarnations of the Doctor are making quick little cameos. Sometimes with CGI and sometimes with body doubles. But it's all quite awesome. 

But then, suddenly, something even wilder happens. Eleven comes along to rescue Clara from the weird dreamscape she's trapped in and an unfamiliar figure appears with his back to us. His voice does not sound familiar. Clearly, this isn't a previous version of the Doctor. At least, not one we've ever seen before. He turns around, at last, and it's that guy from Alien (and Spaceballs) who had the baby alien rip out of his chest. A credit appears on the screen saying that he's the Doctor! 

"What the Hell?!" we all say to ourselves as the episode ends. Or, perhaps, we use a stronger word than "Hell". But I prefer to keep this Blog PG-13. 

This, to all intents and purposes, is the first time we bear witness to a Hidden Incarnation of the Doctor. There would be more in the future, of course. Many more, in fact. But the concept begins being explored here.  

Or does it?

THE HISTORY OF SECRET INCARNATIONS

If we're being super-duper-ultra-technical, secret incarnations were first displayed many years before Name of the Doctor.  It's not even strictly a New Series thing. The first Hidden Doctors appeared way back in the Classic Days. When 'ole Tommy Boy was at the Helm. 

I'm speaking, of course, of the notorious mind-bending battle that takes place between two rival Time Lords during the final part of Brain of Morbius. Just for a bit of fun, various technical personnel working on the story dress eccentrically and have pictures taken of them. Those images then appear in a flashback sequence as Morbius is willing the Doctor out of existence by regressing him through his prior incarnations. 

Once more, we're in a state of shock. Surely William Hartnell was the very first Doctor? Who are these other eight blokes who have been thrown into the mix?! 

We don't tend to remember this incident as well as John Hurt's surprise end-of-story cameo. Partly because it doesn't get the same kind of build-up that the War Doctor gets in Name of the Doctor.  But, more significantly, the whole thing was left with a very ambiguous cloud hanging over it. There are some signs that point towards an idea that these aren't incarnations of the Doctor that existed before William Hartnell. Equally so, there are any number of visual cues that indicate that we are seeing a whole plethora of Doctors that we never knew existed until we watched that scene. 

THE DETRACTORS

The quickest and easiest way to dismiss those eight faces that coalesce into existence after we see William Hartnell is to claim that they are not the Doctor at all. That they are, in fact, previous incarnations of Morbius. Which does have a sort of logic to it. We do see the Doctor pushing his enemy back through two iterations before doing some regression of his own. It's possible that the battle swings back in the Doctor's favor and we pick up where things left off with Morbius. We start sweeping through a whole host of the renegade Time Lord's past lives. We can even believe that, like the Doctor, Morbius had a penchant for wearing period clothing from Earth. It's all reasonably feasible. 

Some like to cite Morbius' last words before the mind-bending equipment shorts out as being final evidence that we're looking at the Doctor's previous faces. "How far back do you go, Time Lord?!" (or words to that effect - as usual, I'm terrible with quotes!). But the dialogue is still highly subjective. Perhaps this is more a cry of desperation. Those really were Morbius' incarnations and the Doctor has brought him all the way back to his beginning. Morbius really just wants to know how much of the Doctor's past he still needs to go through since he's so close to losing.  "Come on, Doctor!" he's actually saying, just in more flowery tones, "How much more do I need to regress you?! Cause I'm really close to being beaten, here!"

It helps that future stories will come along and dismiss the whole concept of incarnations existing prior to Hartnell. In a few years' time, we'll start getting tales like Mawdryn Undead and The Five Doctors. They will make very specific claims about just how many versions of our hero there are. From this period onwards, "the First Doctor" or "the fifth incarnation" (or titles of that nature) are no longer just terms used by fandom. They're ways in which various Doctors will identify themselves' in actual dialogue. Thus making it officially canon. So those other faces we saw in Brain of Morbius can't be the Doctor. His incarnations have very definitely been numbered. 

There is another interesting theory that some fans have put forward about the mind-bending battle. They believe that the Doctor is throwing up "phantom images" to hide Morbius' imminent victory from him. That these are just faces he's making up in his imagination and claiming are real past incarnations. It's an interesting notion. But the idea that we're seeing previous versions of Morbius seems like a more solid possibility to me. In fact, until quite recently, I even subscribed to this concept, myself. I believed that Hinchliffe and his Band of Merry Techies were all meant to be Morbius and not the Doctor. 

But then I had to eat my words...

SUPPORTIVE IDEAS 

On the other end of the spectrum, there's plenty of evidence to support that these eight fellows are the Doctor's past lives. The strongest point is the actual "flow" that the images move to. We see pictures of Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee before we suddenly flip over to Chop Suey the Galactic Conqueror and Bust Statue Face. This seems to indicate that Morbius was winning, at first. But then the Doctor fought back a bit. But then Morbius presses the advantage, again. Which causes us to go back to Tom Baker, then Jon Pertwee, then Patrick Troughton, then William Hartnell, then the Eight Other Guys. 

The fact that we jump back to Tom Baker's face before going down the line again clearly indicates that each time a Time Lord is losing, the image returns to the most recent incarnation and then regresses. So, if Morbius was suddenly being defeated, we should have seen Chop Suey and Bust Face again before seeing his other eight incarnations. We didn't, though. So we must assume that those incarnations belonged to the Doctor and not Morbius. The flow of images, at least, indicates this. 

Morbius proclaiming: "How far back do you go?!" helps to support this, of course. Yes, it could be a cry of desperation as I stated in the last section. But it sounds more like: "Holy crap! Do you ever have a lot of previous incarnations!" 

We see another strong piece of proof that the Doctor had lives before William Hartnell at the beginning of the next season. During the first few minutes of The Masque of Mandragora, the Doctor and Sarah Jane find that nice wood-paneled console room. While there, some interesting points get made. 

The Doctor discovers a costume hanging off a wrack that we've never seen him in before. This seems to indicate that it was worn by an incarnation yet to be featured on the show. He also makes the startling claim that "this was the original console room". By An Unearthly Child, he's in the white-rondel-covered console room. So, sometime before Doctor Who started, he was in here. Perhaps, again, it was these hitherto-unseen incarnations that dwelt in this place. 

SO WHICH IS IT? 

Based on the evidence seen in Seasons Thirteen and Fourteen, it's fairly indisputable that those eight extra faces are meant to belong to the Doctor. Theories about them actually belonging to Morbius or the Doctor throwing up fake images are all well and good. But the signs point far more strongly to the idea that the Doctor's past goes much deeper than we realized.  

The production team, of course, had every right to make these sort of allusions. Up until this point, no one had ever definitively claimed that Hartnell played the very first incarnation of the Doctor. So, if someone wanted to put forward the idea that he had predecessors, there was nothing in the established continuity of the show to stop them. 

But, as I have already stated, content would later come along that would flatly contradict the notions in Brain of Morbius. We would, eventually, get stories that deal with the specific numbering of the Doctor's various incarnations. Which means, quite simply, that what we saw during the mind-bending battle between the two Time Lords no longer makes any kind of real sense. The two concepts do not gel. A compromise had to be made that would, somehow, allow the clashing issues to co-exist peacefully.

The most simple solution would be to claim that the Doctor had a whole other identity before the current one that he either no longer recalls or just doesn't talk about. During that particular existence, he had the eight faces that we see in Brain of Morbius. Then, somehow, he became this completely new person that we've been watching since Unearthly Child. If he has actually forgotten this whole other series of lives, we don't know why. 

The first attempt to reconcile these differences would have taken place during the last two seasons of the Original Series. The production team began to work away at the Cartmel Masterplan: An ongoing storyline that would have eventually revealed that the Doctor had been this being known as the Other before he actually became the Doctor. Unfortunately, the show went off the air before the arc could be completed. 

While I am loathe to get into Expanded Universe material, the New and Missing Adventures novels published by Virgin did finish the whole saga. Cold Fusion - a Missing Adventure book that unites the Fifth and Seventh Doctors - does make reference to the mind-bending sequence in Brain of Morbius and implies that these were various incarnations of the Other. 

None of the stuff in these novels counts as official canon, of course. But it does, at least, show that attempts were being made to fix this fairly massive discrepancy. . 

THE MYSTERY DIES AWHILE 

As Doctor Who returns to our screens in 2005, solving the mystery of those eight extra faces in Brain of Morbius has, once more, been abandoned. Believe it or not, it's the sexual proclivity of Time Lords that causes this. 

One of the most integral aspects of the whole Cartmel Masterplan was the revelation that Time Lords don't naturally reproduce. They require Genetic Looms to continue their species. Which causes all Gallifreyans that are related to each other to be cousins and nothing else. No Moms or Dads or aunts or uncles. Just cousins. This concept never actually got mentioned on the show, itself. Again, it is something that only comes along in the Virgin novels. 

Quite early on in New Who, the Doctor speaks of being both a father and a grandfather. Which, pretty much, kicks out the concepts Cartmel was trying to bring in during those last two seasons of the Classic Series. Basically, the Lore that was starting to get built during that time has been effectively nullified. 

Given RTD's strong desire to make the show as accessible as possible to new fans, it made perfect sense for him to stay away from Looms and Cousins and make the reproduction practices of Gallifreyans as simple as possible. Since no proper mention was ever made about these facets of Time Lord society in those last few seasons of Old Who, he did not contradict any kind of established continuity when he did this. 

But to say that the issue has been completely muted forever would be difficult. This is Doctor Who. It's not afraid to make references to things that took place decades ago. They brought back the Macra in Series Three, for God's sake! 

Once the show had been effectively re-established to a new audience, it started going back and taking care of all kinds of inconsistencies that were caused in its distant past. And, so long as doing this doesn't get in the way of effective story-telling, I'm perfectly fine with the whole process. 

Which is exactly what we would eventually get with those mystery faces in Brain of Morbius. But not before the show introduces a whole different type of Hidden Doctor.... 

TWO IMPORTANT BEATS 

While we have just-about fully discussed the topic of the Hidden Doctors in Brain of Morbius, there is still one more thing that needs to be covered. This particular sequence sets up a number of important precedents regarding how Reveals of this nature will be handled. There are two main ones that should definitely be highlighted before moving on: 

1) Shock Factor 

Naturally enough, suddenly discovering that the protagonist of your favorite show has had secret lives that you've never known about is going to be a bit jolting. But how the Reveal of such a concept is handled can enhance that unsettled feeling immeasurably. 

Had they set their mind to it, the production team behind Brain of Morbius could have made things even more shocking. A discussion between the Doctor and Sarah Jane sometime after the mind-bending battle about who the faces were meant to be could have really juiced up the whole impact of the moment. Particularly when the Doctor reveals that he has no idea who those other incarnations were! 

As it stands, however, suddenly showing us eight versions of the Doctor we've never seen before smack-dab in the middle of the story's climax was still quite effective.  We're still picking our jaws up off the floor as the plot continues along at a bracing speed. 

Which is the main point of revealing Secret Incarnations. It needs to be carefully-engineered so that the whole thing gives us a nasty startle. The less we see it coming, the better. So that when it does, suddenly, come popping out at us - we're left a bit breathless. 

2) Teasing it Out

A Reveal of such magnitude is going to cause us to ask a lot of questions: Where does this Hidden Incarnation come from? Why have we never heard of him/her before? Will we, eventually, see Philip Hinchcliffe, Robert Holmes and Graeme Harper playing the Doctor in special anniversary episodes?! 

It's of utter importance that the production team takes their time answering these various dilemmas. The tension and suspense that can be drawn out from such a mystery makes it all-the-more enjoyable if the fans can speculate over these things. So the answers to our many questions should not come too quickly. 

In some cases, the teasing out of such an enigma can be taken to the ultimate extreme. Who exactly those eight faces in the mind-bending battle belonged to during Brain of Morbius, for instance, took over forty years to explain! 

There are, naturally enough, other recurring patterns that will happen during the Reveals of Hidden Incarnations. Quite often, for example, we're not given a fully-detailed explanation of why the previous life was a secret to begin with. There is still, at least, a slight air of mystery to it all. The whole experience should also leave a sort of open door to explore other adventures involving these newly-discovered vestiges of the Doctor. We will even get multiple appearances of these secret characters from time-to-time. They return in later episodes (usually only in cameos). But all of these elements - and others - are somewhat less relevant. What's most important is to have a strong Shock Factor and to Tease Things Out for as long as possible. 

Something that the surprise appearance of the eight faces in Brain of Morbius does very effectively.  

Well, I have to admit: I've spent way more time discussing Brain of Morbius than I expected! I'll end this entry for now and continue looking at the Hidden Doctors that start popping up in New Who in a second installment of this little study....

  . 

BOOK OF LISTS: MY SIXTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY PLAYLIST

We interrupt our ongoing series of REVIEW OVERVIEW posts to do something a little special to commemorate Doctor Who's latest anniversary....

ELEVENTH MONTH JOYS 

November is a pretty special month for me. For two reasons, at least. November Third is my birthday. And November Twenty-Third is, of course, Doctor Who's anniversary. 

I'm always looking for new fun ways to celebrate both occasions. Although, if I'm being truthful, I actually think the anniversary means a little more to me! This, my friends, is what true hardcore fandom is about. The birthday of the show you love has greater sentimental value to you than the date of your own birth! 

One of the interesting things I will do during the quieter moments of my birthday is to put on a Doctor Who story or two that I really enjoy. Quite often, it's either The Five Doctors or Day of the Doctor. Or both. I just like to watch an anniversary special on my special day. In a goofy sort of way, it makes me feel like Doctor Who and I are celebrating our birthdays together. 

This year, I got a silly sort of idea. Between my birthday and Who's anniversary are twenty days. Over that period, why not watch one story from each Doctor's era that I really like? That could be a fun way to commemorate both occasions at once. I'm giving myself a birthday gift of watching some of my all-time faves. And, at the same time, paying tribute to the greatest TV show the world has ever made. It's a nice compromise. 

So this entry will list the stories I watched. And, of course, each story will receive a bit of an explanation as to why it made it on to the list. 

So, here we go: 

FUGITIVE DOCTOR: FUGITIVE OF THE JUDOON

No doubt, there are those of you who will think I shouldn't be including her in this. Some will even be upset that I positioned her where she is. In your eyes, Hartnell is still the first and she's a "Season 6b Doctor". But, regardless of how you feel, I adore her. I genuinely pray we see her again someday. Which means, of course, I'm going to watch her in a story during my anniversary run. 

She is the first of our "Slim Pickins' Doctors". Not really a whole lot to choose from, here. One proper episode that features her and then a bunch of cameos (it could be argued that you're still watching her for quite a bit in Once, Upon Time since Jodie is impersonating her. But, really, it's just a cameo!). So I'm left with no choice but to put on Fugitive of the Judoon. 

Which is fine. It's a damned solid story. The gigantic "digging up the TARDIS plot twist" is still great to watch every time. Even though we've been given a lot of the answers to the great mystery it poses. Jo Martin also does an awesome job as the Doctor once she breaks the glass. I'm a bit offended that some fans say she's better than Jodie. I don't think that's the case. But she's certainly still very good. 

The actual stuff involving the Judoon is a great time, too. Captain Jack is back. I really enjoyed that. John Barrowman always delivers. Just don't look at any text messages he sends you!

FIRST DOCTOR: THE AZTECS

In many ways, there can be no other story. To me, The Aztecs really stands out from the rest of the First Doctor Era. 

It's not that this period of the show is full of bad stories. But many of them do get very "clunky", in places. The whole narrative just starts feeling a bit awkward here and there. Like it's not particularly sure where it's going. Which is to be expected in these Early Days. And the fact that television, itself, is still in an infant stage means there will be even more of this than, say, when the show was revived in 2005 and was trying to find its feet again. 

But that's the beauty of The Aztecs. It has a gorgeous poetic flow with lots of fun plot twists and a largely "unclunky" vibe to it. Some of the fight sequences look viciously under-rehearsed and things can feel just a little bit slow here and there. But, otherwise, this story is absolutely gorgeous. I treasure it. 

It was also nice to see the Doctor having an ever-so-brief love life during the Classic Series! 

SECOND DOCTOR: THE WEB OF FEAR 

A less obvious choice. TV is still quite primitive during this period. But Doctor Who has, by this point, found its feet. It's making a lot more really outstanding stories that suit this list. Tales like Tomb of the Cybermen or The Mind Robber. Even The War Games - as long-winded as it is - makes for a pretty damned good watch. 

But Web of Fear has an atmosphere that other Second Doctor Classics don't quite match. Not only is it a great adventure, but it's dark and gloomy and very claustrophobic. And there's an absolutely gorgeous sense of despair to it. For a while, it really does look like there's no way to defeat the Great Intelligence. Only in the last two episodes do we start getting a sense that the Doctor may have found a solution to it all.  

Web of Fear also has a great ending. The Doctor was about to win but then Jamie accidentally snatches the victory away from him. It's not how a plot is usually concluded on the show. Which makes for a welcome change. 

The revelation of who the Intelligence's secret ally has been all along is also magnificently done. Some great red herrings all over the place! 

THIRD DOCTOR: INFERNO 

This would be another really obvious choice for me. I'm not a big fan of most of the Jon Pertwee Era. Season Seven, for the most part, is absolutely brilliant. After that, we get some fairly formula-driven stuff for the next four years. Something that really stands out in a show that, most of the time, is trying to re-invent itself on a regular basis. 

There's a lot of stories from this period that don't particularly thrill me. And there's a few that I consider genuinely bad. Even though Fan Nostalgia feels differently about my sentiments on these tales. It baffles me, for instance, that anyone could like The Green Death all-that-much. Aside from a very touching ending, there's really not much to it. 

Inferno, for me, towers above so much else from this time. The only content that comes close to matching its quality would be the other three stories in Season Seven! 

Everything about this yarn is just so damned gripping. Which is especially impressive since it goes on for quite a few episodes. I will admit: there's the slightest sag to Part Six. But, otherwise, this really is a magnificent story. It's one of the few occasions that the show messes around in a proper parallel universe. It does so amazingly well. 

And, of course, there's the "Free will is not an illusion, after all." moment. It's a beautiful message full of hope that I didn't see coming. It still gives me a smile every time I watch it! 

FOURTH DOCTOR: THE INVASION OF TIME 

I'll be the first to admit it: This is a very odd choice. I ended up making a few of these throughout the course of this list. 

There are plenty of stories from the Tom Baker Era that are much better than Invasion of Time. There are even some fans that will tell you that this is a completely awful adventure. Clearly, I'm not one of them. 

The Invasion of Time is just a lot of fun. Something I was in the mood for the day I decided to put on some Fourth Doctor stuff. To me, it rides the cusp of Tom Baker Taking the Comedy Too Far - but never truly crosses the line. Baker ends up oozing with charm because of this. The scene of him speaking Latin to an imaginary Borusa is a prime example of this. Thanks to Tom's personality, what could have been an extraordinarily mundane sequence becomes quite magical. 

It's also one of those stories that adds a lot to the Lore of the show. It expands upon a bunch of ideas put forward in Deadly Assassin and gives us a better idea of what the Doctor's people are like. It's also just damned exciting to see the Doctor back on Gallifrey. 

This also has one of the most kick-ass cliffhangers in the whole history of the show. I absolutely love how this becomes a Sontaran story from Episode Five, onwards. 

I would not even call Invasion of Time a Classic. But, for me, it's a damned enjoyable watch that totally suits my mood every once in a while when I want to see Tom Baker being amusing but not totally taking the piss out of the show he's starring in. 

FIFTH DOCTOR: ENLIGHTENMENT 

Another tricky choice. There are some really outstanding stories featuring the Fifth Doctor. Kinda and Earthshock are the two most obvious ones. There's a lot of love for Caves of Androzani too, of course (although I don't enjoy it as much as most fans do). I, however, decided to favor an underdog. 

Enlightenment is a viciously under-rated story. The idea of sailboats floating through space is brilliant. The Eternals are an awesome concept. The whole conclusion to the Guardians Trilogy was absolutely wonderful. "Enlightenment wasn't the gem. Enlightenment was the choice" is such a stupendously great line. 

There is just so much to love, here. But this story does tend to get overshadowed by some other jewels in Peter Davison's crown. It also takes place in a season fans aren't particularly happy with. Which I think causes it to be noticed less. 

Whatever the case, Enlightenment belongs in the same category as the other Classics during this period. Like the Fourth Doctor story I just spoke about, it also contains an excellent cliffhanger. The image of those sailboats soaring through the void at the end of Part One was gorgeous. Even if it did look a little low-budget!    

SIXTH DOCTOR: MINDWARP

Admittedly, another odd choice. The thing about Colin Baker, though, is that I adore his Doctor to death. Any story he's in is a treat. I'd even be okay with watching Twin Dilemma or Timelash! 

What makes Mindwarp so delightful is its absolute weirdness. If it fits into any kind of genre, it would probably be "medical drama". Which is not something you'd ever expect to find in Doctor Who. And yet, there it is. Full of all sorts medical jargon and heavy tension in operating rooms. It's all quite bizarre and wonderful at the same time! 

Both Crozier and King Ycranos are great fun to watch. They chew up the scenery around them wonderfully but never actually ham it up too much. Which is especially impressive on Brian Blessed's behalf. His character was already written to be OTT before he even performs the part. 

Mindwarp also seems to use the trial framework better than any of the other stories this season. What happens in the adventure on the Matrix really does affect the course of the courtroom debate. In general, a lot of great drama unfolds between Doctor, Valeyard and Inquisitor. All three of them are very well-served in this script as they banter back and forth. 

SEVENTH DOCTOR: THE CURSE OF FENRIC 

Easily, one of the most difficult periods to choose from. Seasons Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six are chocked full of absolute Classics. There's even some stuff in the much-maligned Season Twenty-Four that I rather like. I'm a big fan of Paradise Towers, for instance. I don't even consider it a Guilty Pleasure. It's genuinely good!

The big temptation, of course, was to just do Remembrance of the Daleks. It is one of the greatest Doctor Who Stories Ever. But I like picking stories that do a really good job of showcasing the incarnation of the Doctor that I'm specifically viewing. Seven is really at his strongest during his final season. And there is no better version of him than the one we get in Curse of Fenric. 

His Cosmic Chess Player personae is at its absolute peak, here. The amount of manipulation and genuine deceit that he uses to take down Fenric is the greatest act of machiavellianism the Doctor has ever displayed. I love that he's been aware of his foe's machinations since Dragonfire and has just been waiting for the proper moment to flush him out and defeat him. And it's absolutely brutal to watch him destroy the faith Ace had in him in order to save the world.  

Speaking of Ace, her character receives the best treatment a companion has ever gotten in a single story. Yes, some great stuff was done with Rose during Series One. But none of that would have happened if we hadn't gotten Ace, first. She showed us all that the companion can be just as interesting as the Doctor. If she's given good scripts. And no script serves Ace better than this one. I just wish something as simple as taking a swim could get me to heal from resenting my parents! 

EIGHTH DOCTOR: NIGHT OF THE DOCTOR 

McGann begins a solid streak of "slim-pickins' Doctors". There's really not much to choose from, here. In fact, some would say I only have one choice: Doctor Who: The Movie. Which is a decent enough story. 

But I can "cheat" just a little bit - so I will! Night of the Doctor, for all its brevity, is so beautifully intense. It finally gives us what we've wanted for ages: We get to see Eight "die". But it accomplishes a bunch of other really great things in the process. And it does it all in just under eight minutes. It's an absolute masterpiece. 

WAR DOCTOR: DAY OF THE DOCTOR 

There is so much else going on in Day of the Doctor that it's difficult to focus on the War Doctor. But this really is the only story that gives him any genuine attention. Which makes John Hurt's death all-the-more tragic. It would be so great to enjoy more of his incarnation. Imagine, for instance, how awesome it would have been to see him as one more Guardian of the Edge during Power of the Doctor. 

Hurt has been given the same challenge as McGann. He's got one feature-length adventure to establish himself as his own unique incarnation of the Doctor. Like McGann, there are other Doctors involved that are stealing the spotlight for a bit. Hurt's got it worse, of course. He's dealing with two! 

What I really like about the War Doctor in this story, though, is the arc he's been given. He's a man at the end of his tether about to make the most terrible of choices. He's so disappointed with himself that he cannot even call himself the Doctor, anymore. And yet, by the end of the tale, he's found a path to absolution. It was a great way to make him a bigger piece of the story. He's more than just one more incarnation bantering away with the other two. He's a character who's gone through some substantial growth. It makes perfect sense for him to surrender to regeneration in his final scene. 

John Hurt has the acting chops to pull all of this off convincingly in so short a time. Which means that, although he only ever got one adventure, it's a very satisfying one. 

NINTH DOCTOR: BAD WOLF/PARTING OF THE WAYS

Our third "Slim Pickins' Doctor" in a row. But, in this case, we're getting a whole season to work with.. 

And what a season it is! Series One still stands up beautifully after all these years. Quite possibly, the best season in all of New Who. All the episodes are very strong. Even the stuff with the Slitheen! It's the outstanding quality of these stories that solidified the future of the show and brought Doctor Who back to our screens in a pretty permanent way. 

I decided that the season finale would be the best watch. It is an amazing (resisting the urge to use "fantastic" as an adjective) two-parter. Not all the season-long arcs finish very well in New Who. But this really does bring everything that was going on during this set of episodes to a gorgeous (still resisting) climax. 

And I'm not just talking about all the major plot threads involving Daleks and the Fourth Great Bountiful Empire. There's the smaller stuff, too. Rose and Mickey find a sort of peace in their break-up. Jackie accepts that what the Doctor is doing in her daughter's life is actually a good thing. And, of course, the Doctor resolves his survivor's guilt. It's all woven together with magnificent deftness. 

Okay, I'll say it. Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways is fantastic.

TENTH DOCTOR: MIDNIGHT

Midnight is one of those stories that makes you proud to be a Doctor Who fan. I can't think of any other show that would take an idea like: "Let's do a tribute to Franz Kafka on a futuristic train" and run with it. 

I will admit: There was a temptation to view Blink instead of this episode. It is probably the best story from this era. But a "Doctor Lite" tale seemed a tad inappropriate. Even if I'm not all that particularly fond of this incarnation. I thought about Human Nature/Family of Blood, too. As I am also deeply fond of this adventure. 

In the end, though, I went for this little masterpiece. Like Enlightenment, it doesn't tend to get the credit it deserves. It's a well-constructed psychological thriller. Watching the Doctor, for once, not be capable of commanding the people around him to fight the monster of the week is an almost surreal experience. 

But it's probably the sheer boldness of Midnight that I love best. Doctor Who actually gives us more of a stage-play than of a regular episode. An extremely brave choice. 

RTD took a major chance and it totally paid off. 

ELEVENTH DOCTOR: THE DOCTOR'S WIFE 

It's hard not to go for this one on a list like this. There are some great stories during this era, but there's something extra special about this episode. Just this once, the Doctor and the TARDIS get to speak to each other directly. There could've been no actual plot beyond this premise and I think most fans would have been okay with that. The fact that we do get more than that is a great treat. In fact, the Time Lord and his vessel being able to communicate is merely a side-effect from what's really going on in the plot. Which is really how a script of this nature should be constructed. 

And what a script it is! Neil frickin' Gaiman! Who knew he was such a hardcore fan?! Even the title of the episode shows off his knowledge of an obscure inside joke from 80s Who. 

It's entirely possible that he is, perhaps, too much of a fan. I do remember a friend of mine who wasn't into Who as much as I was complaining that it panders a bit too much to people like me. But then, if I'm being honest, this friend tended to bitch about everything! Personally, I think the whole thing is a very well-told story. Regardless of the fan-servicing.  

It's difficult for me to be objective, of course. Maybe my grumpy friend is actually right. I just know that I love watching this one. Idris' final ghostly appearance where she says "Hello" to the Doctor is impossible to watch with a dry eye...

TWELFTH DOCTOR: OXYGEN 

There are a few super-obvious choices, here. The best one being World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls. But I have been known to occasionally "overwatch" a story. And that's what's been going on with these two episodes, of late. I needed a break from them. Then, of course, there's Heaven Sent. But it's part of a three-parter and the other two eps are okay but not as incredible. 

There's a couple of single episode stories that I greatly adore. Flatline and Oxygen being the two that stand out the most. Both deal with very interesting premises and make some great social commentaries. They are also excellently-paced. They move at a pretty breakneck speed that barely gives us a chance to breathe (pun intended for the latter!). Both also have a fun little plot twist near the end that does a great job of resolving the whole conflict. 

Ultimately, Oxygen won by a sort of mental coin toss. As I really do have great love for both these stories. Though I am not the raging anti-capitalist that this author is, they still drive home a great point about the ruthlessness that can happen in the quest to make a profit. I do love how the Doctor's able to use the Company's own greed against them. 

Oh yeah, one more similarity between Oxygen and Flatline (besides only having one-word titles!). They're both really fun zombie stories!  

THIRTEENTH DOCTOR: POWER OF THE DOCTOR

The super-obvious choice. I can't get enough of this story!    

For me, Thirteen is a bit like Sixie. I can watch, pretty much, any episode and be quite fine with it (Legend of the Sea Devils is the only one that really lets me down). But Power of the Doctor is such a magnificent conclusion to her era. I couldn't resist putting it on when it came time to choose something from her period. 

As many are now saying, it's the real Sixtieth Anniversary Special. It's got everything in it that these sort of adventures are meant to have. It's a loving tribute to all that is great about the show. 

Classic recurring villains and multi-incarnation encounters aside, there's also a decently-strong plot going on. Nothing too complicated, But still great fun! It's a particularly great arc for the Master's character. Becoming the Doctor does represent a sort of ultimate victory for him. 

This is also a great swansong story. All the Big Stuff going on in this adventure makes this incarnation's passing feel all-the-more grandiose. But there are some equally-touching moments. The serenity  of Thirteen and Yaz eating ice cream together as they sit on the TARDIS is an excellent counterpoint to all the action and suspense in the tale. 

Essentially, Power of the Doctor has so many beautiful layers to it. No incarnation of the Doctor has gone out on so big a bang! 

FOURTEENTH DOCTOR: THE GIGGLE 

And.... we're back to slim pickins'! The Fourteenth Doctor has only three stories to choose from. Starbeast is passable. Wild Blue Yonder is a pretty big yawnfest. But The Giggle comes very close to what we truly wanted from an Anniversary Special. 

I would even say that, if those first two stories had, somehow, been compressed into a two-hour special with The Giggle occupying most of the last hour, then we would have had an excellent Sixtieth Anniversary Celebration. As is, if we ignore those other two episodes and focus solely on Giggle, then this is a great commemoration. .  

Casting for the Toymaker was brilliant. Neil Patrick Harris, pretty much, steals the show. It does feel like everyone else is sprinting along to keep up with him. Which works great since that's also what's happening in the actual plot. 

I quite liked the bi-generation. As usual, there's been division amongst fandom over such a big change in the Lore. But I do enjoy the whole idea that the Doctor's life is now divided. I don't know if they'll ever come back to the original Doctor and let us see what he's been up to. If they do, I hope he's regenerated into Tom Baker. It's not even because I love Tom's Doctor so much. I just want the continuity of the Curator's appearance at the end of the Fiftieth Anniversary Special to make full sense! 

FIFTEENTH DOCTOR: BOOM 

He's only got one season under his belt, so far. However, there's still quite a bit of good stuff to choose from, here. I'm not fond of Church on Ruby Road or Empire of Death. But everything in between is quite enjoyable. 

There are, nonetheless, a couple of stand-outs. 73 Yards is probably my absolute favorite. But, like Blink during the Tenth Doctor era, watching a Doctor-lite episode for Ncuti's period would not really make sense. So we go for the one that's only ever-so-slightly less impressive. 

We put on Boom.

There was this wonderful period of doubt going on during the first twenty minutes of this episode. It was trying to be Heaven Sent, again. The story is working under a very simple principle but still wants to be extremely engaging. Only this time, it felt like the trick might not work. That something so streamlined might not actually stay interesting. 

But then all Hell starts breaking loose. The deceased soldier's daughter shows up, looking for Daddy. And then other Anglican officers arrive. Ruby gets shot. Ambulances start rolling in from everywhere. We realize the whole war is just one great deception so that Villengard can continue to profit. The whole plot just kind of goes crazy and it's massively fascinating to watch. 

Suddenly, what started as a very basic premise becomes something extremely complex and heavily-layered. It's all quite amazing. Particularly the way the Dad AI saves the day. 

Still not quite at Heaven Sent's caliber - but pretty damned close!  

PLAYLIST COMPLETE 

And ... there you go! The seventeen stories I watched on the twenty-day journey I took from my birthday to the Most Important Day of the Year. It was a fun time

Did I always pick the absolute best adventures from each Doctor? No. Sometimes I opted for the most fun. Or the tale that best-featured that particular incarnation. On some occasions, it was just a fairly random choice. But all of it was quite enjoyable. 

So, here's my own little challenge back to you: Pick the stories you would watch from each Doctor during the anniversary and let me know in the Comments. Start watching them now. Or, wait until next year. Start on November Third and work your way to this day. It will feel like we're celebrating my birthday to the anniversary together! 

Now that we've completed this little Exercise in Self-Indulgence, we'll get back to my series of REVIEW OVERVIEW essays. 

Which is, of course, another exercise in self-indulgence! 

REVIEW OVERVIEW: BAD FIRST IMPRESSIONS - RATING THE FIRST APPEARANCES OF RECURRING FOES: TENTH, ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH DOCTOR ERAS

We're nearly done. What an adventure this has been! 

Or, at the very least, what a long series of entries. 

"The Rules": 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-overview-bad-first-impressions.html

A MULTIPLE-DOCTOR SITUATION 

New Recurring Foes, at this point in the show's history, are becoming few and far between. Which, when you think about it, didn't need to be the case. New Who was only one season in. It could, easily, introduce a whole slew of never-seen-before returning baddies while still slowly-but-surely bringing back those old enemies from the Classic Days. That's exactly what had happened in Eccleston's season. There was no reason to not continue doing this as Tennant took over. 

In some ways, we did get a bit of this. Certain alien species that we'd never seen up until the Revived Series were showing their faces at regular intervals. The Ood, for instance, started popping up all over the place. But there were other more incidental creatures making appearances, too. Baby Adiposes got a whole story to themselves in Partners in Crime. But then we also got a cute little cameo from them towards the end of Part Two of The End of Time (though an infant in a drinking establishment doesn't really make sense. Beyond the fact, of course, that it looked really cute seeing him stumble off the edge of the bar!).

While these new aliens are being seen everywhere, not many of them are all that particularly malevolent. The Doctor encounters them, but doesn't actually need to fight them. Even the afore-mentioned Ood are pretty nice in most of the stories they're featured in. And when they are legitimately dangerous in a plot, it's because they're being possessed by Satan. Which means they really can't be called villains in that particular tale. 

Because there are so few genuine Recurring Foes making their first appearances over the next few seasons, we will be able to cover the eras of three different Doctors in this entry. But even with such a long timespan, I'm still going to stretch the rules just a little bit. 

SMITH AND JONES

Recurring Foe: The Judoon

This is the one where I'm going to blur the lines. Technically, the Judoon are meant to be good guys. But they don't tend to do a very good job of it. They do behave themselves fairly well when the Shadow Proclamation is keeping a close eye on them. But when they're out on the field, they cause a lot of problems. In both stories where they've been heavily featured, the Doctor is fighting against them quite a bit. On top of that, of course, there's also the fact that they actually captured the Doctor at one point and imprisoned her for an extensive period of time. If that doesn't say: "Enemy", I don't know what does!    

I think we can fairly view the Judoon as a Recurring Foe. They may be rent-a-cops, but they're awful enough at the job to cause the Doctor to oppose them on a regular basis.   

Writing:          ........................................         8

The Judoon are certainly a worthy addition to the various races we would start seeing on a semi-regular basis in New Who. Although, it does a feel a bit weird that they pop up all over the place these days but neither hide nor hair was seen of them in Classic Who. The Fourth Doctor, for instance, should have run into an Ood or two. Or Sixie should have dealt with a platoon of Judoon now and again. We can claim there were unseen adventures, of course. But it still feels just a bit "off" that these currently commonly-witnessed aliens were totally unseen for the first twenty-six seasons.  

The other somewhat minor problem I have with Judoon is that they ever-so-slightly resemble the Sontarans. Moreso in a physical sense. Their space armor looks a bit like the sort of suits the potato heads wear. Which, I suppose, has little to do with the writing. Except the particular writer of this script would also be approving their image. 

Aside from this, there's actually quite a bit to like about these guys. Their whole social structure seems quite interesting and different from a lot of other aliens we've seen on the show (not entirely unique, though. Lytton, for instance, also seems to hail from a race of intergalactic mercenaries). Because I have only minor objections to them, they deserve the slightly-above-average rating that they receive. 

Performance:  ........................................           8

Creature designers and movement artists are finally starting to make lemons out of lemonade. If the costume is big and clunky - then make the actual alien big and clunky! Everyone does a pretty good job of capturing the distilled essence of anthropomorphic rhinoceroses. The one Judoon that takes the helmet off does seem really limited in its expression. We especially notice this when Fugitive of the Judoon shows us a much more advanced prosthetic design several years later. But this is more the fault of technology than the performances of those inhabiting the costumes. 

The Actual Story:  ...............................             7

A decent little start to the season. Nothing intensely spectacular, but still solid. It was smart to begin the season with this particular adventure. It gave the quality of later stories somewhere to go. Things build to a much better to a climax if you have a strong foundation but you still bank your more high-quality scripts for later on. 

How the Doctor Interacts with Them: ...         6

He doesn't really interact with them much, actually. He mainly just runs and hides from them. It might have been nice if he had been given a scene berating the Judoon for their ham-fisted tactics.

Long-Term Impact:  .............................             8

The Judoon are frequently taking a back seat in the stories that feature them. In Smith and Jones, they play Second Fiddle to the Plasmavore. Fugitive of the Judoon deals far more with introducing the mystery of Ruth than it is about the rhino aliens that are in the title. But they still have a good presence in both of these adventures. Even if they aren't the main focus. All the other little cameos they've had over the years are also always quite fun.  I particularly love how they pop up at the end of Series Twelve and provide us with a great cliffhanger. 

FINAL SCORE: 37

Again, claiming they're Recurring Foes is just a little bit of a stretch. But I do think they're worthy of the title. I hope they keep showing up in future episodes. Both in small appearances or with a stronger presence. In either situation, I enjoy watching them. 

BLINK 

Recurring Foe: The Weeping Angels 

The only monster from the New Series that has rivaled the potency of such Great Classic Who Villains as the Daleks and the Cybermen. So much of their success hinges on the effectiveness of their very first appearance. 

Writing:          .................................................         10

The Weeping Angels are brilliantly-written in Blink. Some huge info-dumps are given about them but they are interspersed with moments of sheer terror. It's a perfect balance, really. The Doctor. explains them for a bit, and then we get some super-creepy scene where angel statues suddenly appear when they weren't there a moment earlier. It's absolute nightmare-fare. 

Performance:  ................................................         10 

"And the award for Best Performance Given Under Completely Static Conditions goes to ..... (tears open envelope) ..... the actresses that played the Weeping Angels! (massive applause of agreement)" The women playing the Weeping Angels absolutely nail it. Never has anyone been so menacing whilst standing absolutely still and doing nothing! They totally capture the essence of how terrifying these beings are. 

The Actual Story: ...........................................       11

Another cheat! While Blink doesn't make it into my Top Ten Favorite Doctor Who Stories Ever, it does make it into my Top Five Favorite Single Episodes (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who_14.html). Which, to me, earns it the bonus point. It is an absolutely excellent non-linear plot that terrifies you to the core. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:  ........        8

Well, he doesn't, actually. But the video message he leaves for Sally Sparrow does almost, sort of, feel like he's telling the Angels off a bit from a screen. So I'll still give it a good score even though we don't truly get a proper confrontation scene.     

Long-Term Impact:    ......................................        8

If I'm being completely honest, I did feel the Weeping Angels really only merited one appearance. They were terrifying, yes. But they worked as well as they did because the whole non-linear plot of Blink is quite brilliant. Take away those trappings, and you've just got scary angel statues that send people into the past. But to try to create something else super-timey-whimey like Blink would just feel like needless repetition. 

Fortunately, the second story involving Weeping Angels is really good too. Particularly since their powers are expanded upon. Thus making them even more interesting. After that, however, we get Angels Take Manhattan. A story that tries to convince you that the Statue of Liberty can walk through New York and not get noticed! There are some enjoyable elements to the story, too. But Angels Take Manhattan does drag down this score a bit. 

Finally, however, we get Village of the Angels. An episode I enjoyed as much as Blink. Possibly more! This adventure, along with a few nice cameos here and there in stuff like The God Complex or Time of the Doctor, brings the score back up. It's a bit of a roller coaster ride with these Weeping Angels. But, overall, they have been worthy of their return appearances.  

FINAL SCORE: 47 

Thanks again, Mister Moffat for bringing us a top-ranking monster like the Weeping Angels. So long as the stories remain clever and inventive (and don't involve the Statue of Liberty!), I'm happy to see more of them.     

THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT/DAY OF THE MOON

Recurring Foe: The Silence (Kavorian Schism) 

After years of being the enemy of entire races, they switch things up a bit for the Doctor. This time, he's going up against a religious group. 

Writing:            ..........................................            8

Okay. Let's just address the Elephant on the Table: The Confession Priests work in a very similar way to the Weeping Angels. It feels ever-so-slightly like a rip-off but not too much. So, for the most part, we're willing to let it go. However, this should just penalize them a bit. There are enough differences between the two species that it doesn't just feel like a re-tread. Some new and interesting things are done with them. 

Performance:   ...........................................             10 

Another Perfect Ten to the movement artists that inhabit these costumes. They look particularly cool as they "load up" on the electricity around them and use it as a weapon. That scene with Amy in the bathroom is completely chilling. 

The Actual Story:  ......................................            10 

I will admit: Impossible Astronaut/Day of Moon almost makes it into my Top Ten Fave Who Stories Ever. It's a masterfully-crafted plot that gives us one of the best examples of the Doctor using his enemy's own energy against him. Getting Richard Nixon to show up all over the place to get the Doctor out of jams was utterly hilarious. And then, of course, there's those first few minutes where we watch the Doctor die in front of us. What a way to begin a season!    

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:   .....          10 

I was very tempted to cheat again and make this an Eleven. The Doctor telling off the Silence at the end of the story and then using their own post hypnotic suggestion powers against them was utterly brilliant. How Matt Smith plays that scene really shows off just how great his incarnation of the Doctor is. He just waltzes into the confrontation with a seemingly over-caffeinated disposition and takes down the Silence with complete style. It's an awesome thing to watch. 

I also love it when Amy asks if his flirting with River Song is really all that important!    

Long-Term Impact:  ...................................             9

I do like how our knowledge of the Kovarian Schism of the Silence slowly-but-surely expands over the course of Series Six. At first, we do think they are just one species. Yes, we do see just the slightest hint of Madame Kovarian, herself, in this first appearance. But we have no idea what she's about! 

As the season moves on, we learn that there are a lot of human soldiers also making up the organization. And, of course, there's the Headless Monks. Who I guess are, sort of, human. Getting us to know them better and better over the course of multiple episodes was a pretty good way to handle it. For the most part, it all works quite well. 

FINAL SCORE: 47 

While the Kovarian Schism of the Silence gets vaguely alluded to in Series Five, it's in the next season that we truly see them swinging into action. Throughout the course of the year, they really do make for an exciting Recurring Foe. I enjoyed them a lot and almost wish we'd seen more of them (Time of the Doctor doesn't count. That's just the regular Order of the Silence in that story). 

THE HUSBANDS OF RIVER SONG

Recurring Foe: The Shoal of Winter Harmony (or just Harmony Shoal)

Another interesting twist on a Recurring Foe. This one just appears for the first time near the end of one Christmas Special and then gets properly expanded upon in the next. It's a pretty fun approach. 

Writing:            ........................................              8

This is a very tricky first appearance. The Shoal of Winter Harmony seem fairly peripheral in their introductory story. At the same time, though, we find them intensely interesting. So when they do return in the next episode, we're very happy to see them back. 

But we also can't ignore the fact that they really don't have much of a presence in their first adventure. So we have to penalize them a bit. But not too much. Because I still quite like the way they're introduced!    

Performance:   .......................................              8

The actors playing all the members of the Shoal do a fairly solid job of creating an "uncanny valley effect" with their characters. We get that there's something "off" about them. That they are, essentially, bodies being driven around by someone else's brain. The one that River is dealing with gives the best performance, of course. But they're all pretty fun. 

The Story, Itself: ....................................              6

I'm not particularly fond of Husbands of River Song. As is often the case with a Christmas Special, it's more about spectacle than story. Particularly Husbands. It really does feel like Moff crapped this one out. That he was far too busy with other projects and probably should have handed script-writing duties to someone else. Had it not resolved some major threads for the Doctor and River Song in a very touching manner, it would probably score even lower. Probably somewhere around a Four. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them: ....            7

There is a fairly fun scene with the Doctor meeting the buyer of the Halassi Androvar and then trying to auction off King Hydrofax's head to the entire room full of Winter Shoalians. By no means is it one of those great stand-offish confrontations that I usually enjoy when the Doctor deals with an enemy. But it's still quite passable. 

Long-Term Impact:   ...................................          8

There is a gorgeous tease at the end of Return of Doctor Mysterio that hints at the idea that we've not seen the last of these nasty body snatchers. But, alas, we've not heard from them since. Which is sad. I think a third appearance would have fared well. I don't think we could have kept them going beyond that. But they are an interesting enough alien species to merit a trilogy. 

FINAL SCORE: 37

Hardly the Weeping Angels, of course. Not even the most wildly inventive of aliens. We've seen all sorts of body snatchers throughout the history of the show. And in science fiction, itself. But the Shoal of Winter Harmony are pretty damned fun. I'd like to see them back for, at least, one more outing. 

And that covers a whole big chunk of New Who. Oddly enough, the Doctor that gave us a whole season of no Recurring Foes introduces a whole bucketful of returning baddies. She'll get her own special entry all to herself. 

REVIEW OVERVIEW: BAD FIRST IMPRESSIONS - RATING THE FIRST APPEARANCES OF RECURRING FOES: SIXTH AND NINTH DOCTOR ERAS

 And we keep soldiering on! Finishing up the Classic Series and delving into New Who.   

"The Rules": https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-overview-bad-first-impressions.html

'OLE SIXIE: 

The best of the best. Not just my favorite Classic Who Doctor, but my all-time favorite Doctor of them all. No, I'm not being sarcastic. I know he finishes up near the bottom on most peoples' lists. But I just see that as people having poor taste!  

The Sixth Doctor was loud and bombastic. But also quite intrepid and dramatic when he needed to be. Really, he was everything. I loved the arc they were working through the character. Starting him off as a bit of anti-hero and evolving him into something more charming and likeable. I enjoyed this Doctor so much. I even adored the coat! 

We do get two really outstanding Recurring Foes that make their first appearance during this period. Just one more of the many things we can love about this incarnation! 

VENGEANCE ON VAROS

Recurring Foe: Sil 

A really fascinating alien. Within seconds of meeting him, we find ourselves saying: "Bring this guy back!" 

Writing:          ........................................          9

I suppose the biggest problem with Sil's construction is that we've seen his type before. The Usurians from The Sunmakers are the best example of an alien that resembles him. But there are a few more characters or monsters that have also appeared over the years that were very financially-motivated. 

Other than that, though, Sil is a magnificent character. All sorts of nuances are given to his personality that we haven't really seen before in a greedy alien. So we'll knock a point off for a slight lack of originality. But, otherwise, Sil is great. 

Performance:   .......................................          10

Nabil Shaban gives us the most convincing portrayal of an alien, ever. He just completely immerses himself into the character. Giving him so many interesting mannerisms that seem completely non-human. We don't really see a person in a costume when we look at Sil. We see some sort of sea slug that loves money and power. 

The Actual Story:   ..................................          11

And, again, we give a bonus point to this tale because it makes into my Top Ten. Just like we did with Kinda in the last entry. There is just so much to love about Vengeance on Varos. On top of it being an awesome story, we also get a magnificent villain who will come to haunt us again. It's difficult to make this tale any better!  

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:  ..         10 

Colin really does have some of the best confrontation scenes with enemies. Even in the much-maligned Twin Dilemma, he's great when he tells off Mestor. What really makes him so awesome is his blending of styles. He shows the same moral indignation One and Three would often display in such moments. But he also throws in quite a bit of Four's sarcasm. And, of course, a bit of his own thing.  I especially like his first scene with Sil where he just uses him in a game of politics to save his life. But Sil's failed invasion plans is a great sequence, too. I love how Sil yells after him as the Doctor proclaims: "Now you see me...." and traipses off!

Long-Term Impact:   ..................................         9

What an amazingly odd story Mindwarp is! Such a strange pace to the whole thing that is quite amazing. But is also ever-so-slightly clunky, in places. It was interesting to get a fuller background on Sil and his people. Philip Martin does do some great world-building. For the most part, Sil's second appearance is quite awesome, too.   

But we need more! Nabil Shaban's getting pretty long in the tooth. Haul him back in before it's too late. In fact, he should get a few more appearances. Maybe even make him a major villain for a season. Both the character and the actor playing him can, easily, carry that sort of weight.

FINAL SCORE: 49 

Not quite as great as the Mara. But he's still up there!   

MARK OF THE RANI 

Recurring Foe: The Rani 

Writing:              ......................................          10

What a delightful villainess Pip and Jane Baker have written for us. A fully-fleshed Renegade Time Lord who seems to rival the impact the Master has had on our protagonist. We're even able to see that effect since they've dropped the Master into the plot, too! 

What gets us to love the Rani the most are her gimmicks. Not just her love of disguise and penchant for weird land mines. But it's also the idea that she's not just another maniac Time Lord like the Master who's hell-bent on universal domination. She's a cold, dispassionate chemist that just wants to be able to conduct her ruthless experiments. It makes her far more interesting than most Recurring Foes that have come out of the series. 

Performance:   ........................................         10 

Like Valentine Dyall as the Black Guardian, it is a screaming shame Kate O'Mara will not be able to reprise the role if the character ever makes its way into New Who. As someone capable of regenerating, it will be easy to write in a new actress, of course. But it just won't be the same. Kate's Rani will probably be held in the same regard as Delgado's Master. And she deserves it. She played the role to perfection. 

The Actual Story: ..................................          7

Mark of the Rani is a decent enough tale. It nearly earns an above-average score - but not quite. The first half really is quite excellent. Particularly when the Master, the Rani and the Doctor are all in one room bantering away. Those are some wonderful scenes. 

Part Two, however, is troubled. The plot doesn't really seem to go anywhere. We just deal with a series of set-pieces and then the Master and the Rani, rather anticlimactically, just leave. Part two does fall apart quite a bit. Half of the story is amazing. But the other half is a tad underwhelming. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:  ....     10 

There was the vaguest temptation to cheat again and give this one an "11". The sparring between villainess and hero in this tale is top-notch and deserves the bonus! 

What I really love about the chemistry between Sixie and the Rani is the way they really do make it feel like they've had a whole slew of unseen battles between them before this. In truth, of course, this is the Rani's first appearance (or she wouldn't be in this entry!). I really am impressed with the history these two create between each other.  Colin also gives us some more of that gorgeous "half serious/half smarmy" attitude that I love so well when he confronts his enemies. His delivery is pitch-perfect with the Rani (and the Master, for that matter). He's never too sarcastic with her. Nor does he ever become melodramatic as he berates her. This just might be my favorite villain confrontation sequence in the whole history of the show 

Long-Term Impact: ................................         4

Goodness me, is the Rani ill-served in her sequel! The actual plot of Time and the Rani isn't as bad as some folks would have you believe (truthfully, I'd give it about a "6"). But the Rani, herself, fits so poorly within its structure. Her two main "gimmicks" of disguising herself and creating mine fields are both ridiculously over-contrived, here. The Rani also seems very out-of-character. Gone is the cold, calculating chemist. She flies into fits of rage and just behaves like a run-of-the-mill megalomaniac. The story is far from incredible. But I have a much bigger bone of contention with how the Rani is used within it. 

FINAL SCORE: 41

Though her sequel really damages her final score, the Rani is probably still the villain from the Classic Series that we most want to see in New Who. Come on, BBC. Work out the legalities and bring her back! 

SORRY SEVEN, EIGHT AND WAR 

And now we have to take a big jump ahead. For three incarnations, we get absolutely no Recurring Foes that make a first appearance. We can see why Eight and the War Doctor didn't have any. There's just not a lot of presence that they genuinely have in the show. There's a barely a chance to introduce a new returning baddie during their very short tenures. 

While Sylvester McCoy does spend a bit more time in the role, it's only so much more. By this point in the show, the episode-count of the seasons had been drastically reduced. In many ways, there just wasn't a whole lot of of run-time available to start introducing new recurring foes. We could check in on the Daleks, Cybermen and the Master now and again. We could even bring the Rani back. After that, though, the production team focused on one-time-only villains. 

Although, I must admit, I really would've loved to have seen Fenric come back. He certainly merited another battle against the Doctor. "We play the contest again, Time Lord." is still one of the coolest and creepiest moments in the whole history of the show. At the risk of sounding "super-fannish", I would have really loved it if Fenric had been The One Who Waits at the end of Series Fourteen. 

Before digressing too much, I'll get to my real point: We are skipping over all these Doctors and bringing ourselves to.... 

THE NINTH DOCTOR ERA

It's 2005. Doctor Who is back! Yay! Christopher Eccleston is awesome as Doctor Nine. More Yay! But only stays in the role for a year. Boo!   

But what a year it was. A really super-solid first season for the New Series. Still one of the best. A great set of stories with some awesome arcs running through them. The chemistry between Doctor and companion is also quite excellent. And there's a really good supporting cast. Camille Coduri does a great job as Jackie. Sadly, however, it's hard to appreciate Noel Clarke's performance, anymore. 

While trying to forge a lot of new ground, the show still makes sure to acknowledge its first twenty-six seasons by featuring a third invasion attempt by the Nestene Consciousness right in its first episode. Which was a very nice touch that re-assured the hardcore fans that this wasn't going to be a full-on reboot that was forgetting everything that came before.  

From that point onward, the show works for a while on creating its own new continuity (until, of course, we hit Dalek). We get the first appearance of a Recurring Foe in the very second episode. Only two episodes later, another baddie that would return in the very same season makes its debut. 

Such choices are bold - but still wise. The more familiar faces RTD can create for this new audience, the better. And the cast of recurring characters don't all need to be friends like Jackie, Pete and Mickey. A few enemies that will come back from time-to-time will also help with building up a new Lore. 

THE END OF THE WORLD 

Recurring Foe: The Lady Cassandra

Writing:          ............................................         8

RTD creates a very fun villainess for us. She gets lots of jokey dialogue about her ex-husbands, her obsession with cosmetic surgery and some amusing historical inaccuracies concerning Earth. It all makes for a great little laugh. Even after it's revealed that she's actually brewing the most evil of plots, she's still a really good time. As the very first Recurring Foe created in the New Series, we're off to a good start. 

The biggest flaw in how she's written is that it seems pretty obvious that she's the true baddie behind it all. Even with the Red Herring that we're given with the Adherents of the Repeated Meme, we're not really fooled. We know she'll still be connected to the whole scandal in some way. 

Performance:   ..........................................          9

Zoe Wanamaker is delightful as the Lady Cassandra. We have a bit of a Sutekh situation with her. The character, itself, is very static. But the voice more than makes up for that. Although, she's not quite as good as Gabriel Woolf. But she's pretty damned close! 

The Actual Story:   ....................................          8

The End of the World ends up being a fairly solid episode. The fact that it's only the second story of the whole New Series and we're, already, watching the Earth get destroyed was a very bold move. It also introduces us to a very new twist in canon. The Time Lords are all dead and the Doctor's the only one left. It announces this in a suitably dramatic manner. We also get to see the first real signs of Nine's survival guilt.  

While doing all this, End of the World also remembers to have a half-decent plot to it. Not anything too spectacular. But still more-than-adequate.     

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:  ...          8

Eccleston seems to be taking more of a Tom Baker tact with how he confronts villains. He's quite smarmy when he tells them off. Of course, with Cassandra, it's pretty hard not to be dripping with sarcasm. She delivers quite a bit of sass, herself. So it's impossible to not give her some back. All in all, though, it's a very nice scene when he unveils that the bitchy trampoline is the true villainess of the plot. And the way he just allows her to die is always quite brutal to watch. 

Long-Term Impact:    ...................................          7

I'm giving this an average score even though New Earth is a fairly awful story. The plot does still treat Cassandra's character well. Her death scene is especially good. It's both clever and touching. But the overall poor quality of the story drags things down considerably. 

FINAL SCORE: 40

The Lady Cassandra does a fairly decent job of introducing fans to a Recurring Foe created entirely within the continuity of New Who. There would be better enemies of this nature that would come along, of course. But she's still pretty solid. 

ALIENS OF LONDON/WORLD WAR III 

Recurring Foe: Those fartin' Slitheen! 

Writing:           ..........................................            7

Oh my God! Farting aliens! How dare RTD write about such things?! Absolutely terrible! Damn him all to Hell!  

I'm being completely sarcastic in that first paragraph. I think the Slitheen are okay. The farting didn't really bother me. It actually seemed like a very "Whoish" trait to give an alien in the show.  A mix of menace and comedy is something we've seen in lots of monsters before them. 

RTD does his best to make the Raxacoricofallapitorans into a fascinating alien species. In the end, though, they're okay. Not much more than that. 

Performance:  ............................................             7

Performance matches writing. Those costumes often seem far too cumbersome for the movement artists working within them. There's also, of course, the bad blend between CGI and practical. There are still some nice moments, too. The creatures are articulated quite gorgeously, in places (the assistant getting pinned to the wall and being throttled to death looked really disturbing). But, because of the various strengths and weaknesses at play, the rating levels out into something fairly average. 

The Actual Story:  .....................................             7

And .... another average score! The very first multi-part story of New Who is neither awful nor spectacular. But it is okay. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them; ....            9

Again, some of that gorgeous Chris Eccleston smarmymess raises this category to above-average. The confrontations are particularly fun when he squares off with them from within the conference room. 

While I say that Nine's approach to bantering with villains resembles Tom Baker's, I should still point out he isn't completely mimicking him. He has his own special brand of sarcasm as he puts down his foes. Although, he does still use a wonderfully goofy grin the whole time he's getting in their face! 

Long-Term Impact:      ...............................           7

And.... back to average. Boomtown is a passable sequel. Not particularly spectacular, either. But there's little I can genuinely complain about. The Slitheen don't make a particularly large impact as Recurring Foes. But they're still decent. 

FINAL SCORE: 37

Yup. They fart. And, if you were one of those fans that just couldn't stand that, then you probably gave them much lower scores than I did. But I think the Slitheen are okay. It might even be fun to see them come back one more time and cause more trouble. They do seem to be a fairly large family... 

That wraps up Classic Who nicely and propels us firmly into the the New Series. First appearances of Recurring Foes become slimmer and slimmer pickings from this point, onward. We'll soon be done.

Have you missed earlier entries? Here they are: 

First Doctor

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-overview-bad-first-impressions_18.html

Second Doctor

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-overview-bad-first-impressions_22.html

Third Doctor

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/09/review-overview-bad-first-impressions.html

Fourth and Fifth Doctors

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/09/review-overview-bad-first-impressions_18.html

REVIEW OVERVIEW: BAD FIRST IMPRESSIONS - RATING THE FIRST APPEARANCES OF RECURRING FOES: FOURTH AND FIFTH DOCTOR ERAS

In case you've missed them, here are "The Rules" for this series. Give 'em a read before diving in:  

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2024/08/review-overview-bad-first-impressions.html

DECREASING RECURRING FOES

Things are finally starting to "thin out" a bit, here. Doctors One, Two and Three have laid most of the important foundations for the show. From this point, onward, we can coast a bit on established continuity. Which has a definite effect on how many new recurring foes we're going to see coming along. It's almost as if they can't fit new returning baddies in, anymore. Production seems almost scared to try establish some new villain and/or monster that's meant to be a massive threat to the Universe. If they do, the fans might respond with: "Why haven't we seen these guys sooner?!" 

For this reason, we won't be getting too many more entries that will feature just one Doctor. New recurring foes become few and far between from this point, onward. In some periods, we won't see any new ones at all!

THE FOURTH DOCTOR 

Admittedly, I could have actually given this Doctor his own entry. He has a total of four recurring foes making their first appearance during his era (which still seems like a small amount when you consider he's got seven seasons under his belt). Other Doctors in this study have also only had that many and gotten a post all to themselves'. 

But since his successor only has one first appearance from a returning enemy, I figured I'd lump the two together. Also, if we're being technical, there's really only three villains/monsters that make their debut during Tom Baker's reign. The fourth is another example of a "Recurring Foe that emerges from another Recurring Foe." Like the Cyber-Controller was during the Second Doctor era. Those are just a little bit of a cheat and should, probably, be left out. So, in some ways, this period does come up a bit short and could get blended with another one.   

GENESIS OF THE DALEKS

Recurring Foe: Davros 

Here, of course, is the "Recurring Foe from a Recurring Foe" that I just mentioned. Initially created by Terry Nation to handle some of the heavier dialogue that the Daleks get, he became so much more than that!    

Writing:            ........................................          8

"What?!!" some of you are probably screaming, "How can the writing of Davros' character get anything less than a Ten?!" 

I know many of you think this is one of the greatest Doctor Who stories ever. But I'm really only so impressed with it. And part of the problem does stem from how Davros is written. He's frequently assigned speeches that are really just there to fill time. This becomes especially apparent in Part Six when his appeals to the rebelling Kaled Scientists drone on forever and ever. It's funny how the Daleks made it over to the Thal Dome quite quickly in an earlier episode but just take so long to come back. Almost as if the final part of the story was a bit light on plot and Nation is stalling things for as long as he can! So we get Davros rambling endlessly while his creations move at the most sluggish of paces.

Of course, some of Davros' speeches aren't time-fillers. They're actually just silly! When the Doctor asks him a hypothetical question about a virus, he really does go on for quite a bit. I know lots of people like this monologue, but all I'm thinking is: "I don't really think anyone would get this excited about an imaginary virus!" 

Those speeches definitely make it impossible to give him a perfect score. But there's a lot of other stuff about him that I do like in this script. His utter ruthlessness to create what he believes to be the perfect race is a very engaging core trait. We now see why the Daleks are so fanatical. They're just emulating their creator.    

Performance:    ........................................           8

"What?!" you're screaming again, "Another Eight?!  How dare you?! Change that to a Ten this instant!" 

I don't hate Michael Wisher's performance, of course (if I did, it would have gotten a much lower score). But I do think this is one of those "he played the role first so we like him best" nostalgia effects. Wisher does still give a very definitive portrayal that will certainly influence anyone else that gets the part. But I don't actually like how stiff he makes Davros. I'm a lot fonder of the more emotive stuff that Molloy does with the role. Even in a story like Revelation of the Daleks, where Terry is just a head in an empty fish tank, he is so animated! Wisher's Davros is considerably more restrained. Which, for me, makes him less interesting. 

The Actual Story:     ..................................            7

I'm guessing, by now, that your voice has become too raw to scream any further. 

There's a lot about this plot that I don't particularly like. When you're already doing captures-and-escapes right in the first episode of a six parter, you know there's going to be trouble. I've always felt Genesis works much better in theory than it does in execution. The Doctor on a mission to prevent the creation of the Daleks is a great premise. But it really can't fill up the time its allotted. It drags horribly, in places. 

It has some excellent moments here and there. I absolutely love the twist where Davros helps the Thals to wipe out his own people. The way he keeps turning the tide of the war is very nicely done. These positive plot points help to balance out the more atrocious stuff we see in the writing and earns the tale an average score rather than a bad one. But this is still a far cry from the Classic many fans like to make it out to be.      

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:   ....          9

Tom Baker is at an interesting place with his role when this story gets made. He really seems unsure of just how he wants to play his Doctor. Because of this, he's making some very hard turns between comedy and drama. 

During Genesis, he's choosing to play things very straight. Which means he's taking Davros quite seriously in this tale (Oh, how different that will be when they meet again in Destiny!). Their confrontations play out quite nicely during most scenes. I just wish he hadn't asked him about that silly virus! 

Long-Term Impact:       ..............................          10 

Finally! A perfect score! Davros does go on to become a real heavy-hitter in the Recurring Foe Pantheon. From this point, onward, he's in every Dalek story we get in the Classic Series. He pops up frequently enough in New Who, too. Missy has every right to get a bit jealous when Twelve claims Davros is his greatest enemy. He really is the only villain that can legitimately overshadow the Master. 

FINAL SCORE: 42

A great villain who many of you believe was off to an excellent start. Unfortunately, I don't feel the same way. He still finishes up with a decent Final Score, though. In the end, there is still enough good stuff to Genesis of the Daleks to make it a more-than-passable first appearance for Davros. 

TERROR OF THE ZYGONS 

Recurring Foe: The Zygons 

For many years, these guys were the most popular "one-time only" monster. That finally changed during the Fiftieth Anniversary. It changed a bit more during the Peter Capaldi Era, too. 

Writing:             ................................................        6

If I'm being completely honest, I'm not sure why the Zygons were so popular. As far as evil aliens go, they're pretty generic. They lost their home world and now have eyes for Earth. We've witnessed this sort of motivation in monsters before and will see it again. We've also seen any number of species hiding out on Earth for many years and becoming responsible for some sort of legend. Even their shape-shifting skills are nothing special. There are plenty of nasty creatures out there that can do a great job of disguising themselves. There's really nothing new or special about them. 

Performance:   ..................................................        8

While the Zygon costumes look great, they are just a bit too much on the restrictive side. Which makes it difficult for the actors within them to give the creatures much body language. Even facial expressions seem hampered - even though we can see their features clearly. The headpieces they're wearing don't allow for much movement. 

Nonetheless, the performers are doing their damnedest within their constraints. They also do a very good job of being very sinister in their human form. It was an interesting choice to have the same actor playing both a Zygon and their human counterpart. In some ways, it may have been a better idea to have proper movement artists in the Zygon outfits. But, at least John Woodnutt got to show off his chops a bit more. He's great as Broton, Fake Duke of Forgill and Real Duke of Forgill! 

The Actual Story:    ..........................................         7

Terror of the Zygons is pretty "meh". Not terrible. But there's really nothing all that special about it. It plays with a few tropes involving double-identity and stranded aliens and then just, sort of, peters out somewhat anti-climatically. It is excellently-directed. Which helps to save some of the script's weaknesses. But I still can't give it much more than an average score. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:   .........          8

Tom Baker is still bouncing around quite a bit during this part of his tenure. He's serious one story and silly, the next. He's going a bit more for the laughs in this one (although it does seem like Camfield manages to reign him in during moments where things are meant to be really creepy). When Baker's in "goofy mode" he uses a style of confrontation that is somewhat new to the character: He mocks his enemy. At this stage of his run, this works quite well. The Fourth Doctor is being sarcastic with his foes but not going too far with it. This will, of course, rage completely out of control in later seasons. But, right now, it works. I particularly love: "Isn't it a bit big for just the five of you?!"

Long-Term Impact:   ..........................................         8

The Return of the Zygons in Day of the Doctor is one of those instances in New Who where the whole thing felt more like just a gesture for the fans than a proper plotline in the story. "Everyone misses the Zygons." Moff decided, "So let's bring 'em back! We won't care too hard about why they're in the story. It'll just be nice to see them again!" 

The Zygon Two-Parter during Capaldi's era helps to make up for this. A very well-put-together adventure with one of the best speeches the Doctor ever delivers. Had there only ever been the appearance in Day, this score would be substantially lower. 

FINAL SCORE: 37 

Admittedly, the Zygons are a great-looking monster. Beyond that, however, I never could understand what the fuss was about. There are any number of other one-time-only alien species that seemed intensely more interesting to me. They should have gotten a return appearance way before these guys did.  

PYRAMIDS OF MARS 

Recurring Foe: Sutekh the Destroyer 

That evil Osirian who we never thought we'd see again becomes the biggest surprise during the latest season of the show. Did we really need him back, though?   

Writing:             ............................................           10 

A magnificently-constructed villain. There is so much to love about Sutekh. I adore all the lore that gets built around him as the Doctor gradually explains throughout the course of the story why this Osirian is so dangerous. It's also great how we get a sense of his raw power when the Doctor takes a quick hop into the future to show Sarah how the Earth will look if they don't stop him. But, mostly, I enjoy those gorgeous speeches he gets at the beginning of Part Four as he tortures the Doctor.  It's all absolutely gorgeous. 

Performance:     ............................................           10 

It's all about the voice, of course. Especially since the character can't actually move for most of the story. So much has been said about Gabriel Woolf's glorious delivery of his lines. All those compliments are well-deserved. He makes the villain absolutely chilling. Easily, some of the best voice-work we've ever gotten on the show. 

The Actual Story:     ......................................            7

While Sutekh is a master-class villain, the adventure he's housed within really only works so well. The plot is pretty thin. And what does exist of it has quite a few holes. The biggest one being: Why do you imprison an evil being but then give him everything he needs to escape?! The utter absurdity of this particular issue almost destroys the whole logic of the story. The fact that Sutekh, himself, is so awesome raises the tale to an average score. Had he not been so enjoyable to watch, I would have probably accorded this adventure far less points. 

How the Doctor Interact With Them:    .....              10

That torture scene at the beginning of Part Four just might be one of the most gorgeous villain confrontations in the whole history of the show. Tom Baker. still in a very mercurial stage at this point, is in the mood to be serious during this story. It's such the right choice. He does a magnificent job of showing the Doctor's stubborn defiance against all evil. Regardless of how strong of a hold that evil might have on him. While not quite as dramatic, his final victory over Sutekh at the end when he strands him in the time corridor and ages him to death is also very well-played.   

Long-Term Impact:     ...................................              5

An even bigger gesture of fan-pleasing than the Zygons could ever hope to be. I complained about plot holes in Pyramids, but they're nothing compared to the stuff we get in Empire of Death. Even the very explanation we're given on how Sutekh survived his first battle against the Doctor doesn't make all that much sense. The One Who Waits really should have been someone else. Basically, anyone but Sutekh!    

FINAL SCORE: 42 

As a one-time villain, Sutekh is brilliant. The actual story he appears in is troubled but we really can let a lot of those problems go. Bringing him back, however, really wasn't the best of ideas. In some ways, it even tarnishes his reputation.   

THE ARMAGEDDON FACTOR 

Recurring Foe: The Black Guardian

An interesting addition to the whole Lore of the show. The Black Guardian is, essentially, the Devil. He's given some nice sci-fi trappings to make the comparison less obvious. But that's really who he is. And he's great fun! 

Writing:            ................................................             9

The whole concept of Guardians in Time, in general, is a very fascinating one. These two omnipotent beings don't actually seem to really do much of anything. Rather than get properly involved with the ebb and flow of the Universe, they prefer to move mortal beings around like pieces on a chessboard. Getting them to do most of the leg-work. It's quite an awesome image, really.  

Finally meeting the Black Guardian during the last few minutes of the whole season-long adventure is a great contrast to what we got with the White Guardian at the opening of the year. He's a great counterpoint to his rival. Even as he proclaims: "Doctor! You shall die for this!" we're already hoping to see more of him. He's a very well-crafted character. 

Performance:    ..................................................         10 

As much as I want to see the Guardians come back in New Who, the fact that Valentine Dyall is no longer around to play the role would be absolutely soul-crushing. He really knew how to just drink in that villainy and savor it like a fine wine. And then there's his actual voice. I would think that even just ordering at a dive-through would absolutely terrorize the poor fast-food employee working within the restaurant! He really knew how to make every word he pronounced sound absolutely evil! No one can play the Black Guardian better!

The Actual Story:    ............................................          6

The Armageddon Factor really does let down the whole arc of the Key to Time season. It's a fairly-substandard runaround that could have been accomplished in considerably less episodes. It's really quite bad, in places. So much so, that I seriously contemplated just watching Part Six since we only actually see the Black Guardian, there. I really didn't want to have to sit through the rest of the story. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:    ..........          8

By this point in his era, Tom Baker seems hell-bent on taking the piss out of just about anything the show has to offer. For some reason, however, he decides to take the Black Guardian a bit more seriously than he has anyone else throughout the season (except, maybe, the White Guardian!). He does still create a bit of comedy during their final confrontation, but it's properly reigned in. Overall, it's a pretty good scene. It could have played out a bit better, but not much. 

Long-Term Impact:     .........................................          10 

Quite honestly, I really prefer the next occasion that we see the Guardians. Particularly as we get to Enlightenment. The final few minutes where the Guardians greet the Winner of the Race is one of the coolest scenes in the whole history of the show. But the Black Guardian tormenting poor Turlough for so many episodes is also great fun to watch. I really loved the dream sequence in Mawdryn Undead. It's absolutely chilling when the Black Guardian shows Turlough he's still sleeping in bed. 

So why have we never gotten more of this infinitely-evil being?! His first appearance is problematic but we definitely got that fixed. Even if it won't be Valentine Dyall, anymore - I want me some more Black Guardian! 

FINAL SCORE: 43 

More Guardians, please! Their presence in a story always raises the stakes. So let's bring them back!    

THE FIFTH DOCTOR 

After the wild, seven-year-long roller coaster ride that was the Fourth Doctor, it's nice to see the protagonist transform into something far more subtle and mild-mannered. While I did actually start watching the show when Tom Baker was at the helm, Peter Davison feels far more like my Doctor. It was while he played the role that I became an avid fan. In fact, I'd say it was him that made me into an avid fan. Quite simply, I preferred what he was doing with the part. And this caused me to truly fall in love with the show.

By this point, however, new recurring foes are becoming quite scant. Which makes a sort of sense. Just checking in on all the old returning enemies can really chew up some episodes (just look at Season Twenty-Two - or even Season Twelve, for that matter!). If you still want the show to produce a steady influx of new characters, you have to start imposing some limits. 

Which means that, as delightful as Five is, he really only introduces us to one Recurring Foe. And, no, I'm not talking about Lytton. He gets disqualified because he's actually a good guy when he comes back in his second story. Attack of the Cybermen actually ends with the Doctor reflecting on how horribly he's misjudged Lytton. 

KINDA 

Recurring Foe: The Mara 

Writing:           ....................................................            10 

I absolutely love how the Mara is written. A sentience travelling through various people or appearing in different forms is such a cool concept. He starts as a dream figure, takes over Tegan for a while, transfers to Aris (who loves to brag about his voice!) then finally manifests as a big paper-mache snake. The whole journey of evil is incredible to watch. Yes, that final manifestation doesn't look too great - but that's hardly the scriptwriter's fault! 

Performance:  ....................................................            10

The journey the Mara takes doesn't just look good on paper. Each actor that either plays the malevolent being or becomes possessed by it takes on a very distinct personality. They actually seem quite snake-like. Vicious and angry and ready to strike at any moment. And, most importantly, no one goes for the cheap shtick of exaggerating any word that has the letter "s" in it! 

The Actual Story:     ...........................................           11

Just like when I was looking at the Sontarans in the last entry, I'm going to cheat a bit and give an above-ten score. If the actual story I'm reviewing makes it into my Top Ten Fave Doctor Who Stories Ever (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-6.html), it deserves a bonus point. Not only are we totally captivated by the evil plans of the Mara, but we have an equally-compelling conflict going on within the Habitation Dome as Hindle loses his mind and plots to blow up a good chunk of the planet. It's an absolutely fantastic story that truly shows off just how sophisticated television can be if you allow a writer's imagination to run wild. 

How the Doctor Interacts With Them:    ........           10 

Direct confrontations between the Doctor and the Mara are sporadic. But they're still quite good. The major one occurs right near the end when the Doctor is about to spring the ring of mirrors on his opponent. We get a lot of the same vibe that happens when he yells at the Cyberleader in Earthshock. But a bit more underplayed. Almost as if Davison knows what's coming and wants that one to get more attention. Still, he plays the scene beautifully, here, too. Allowing a certain momentum to build up before he really gets up in his rival's face. Once at his peak, he unleashes the mirrors. But you can't help but notice that he had to tell off the Mara before launching the attack. He could have just had the mirrors turn around right away, but he needed to have that angry little chat, first!    

Long-Term Impact:  .........................................          10 

There are some fan rumors out there that claim there had been plans for a Mara Trilogy (but then, you can find fan rumors on just-about anything!), but I'm fine that there was only one more story involving the Great Psychic Snake. In it, we learnt the Mara's origins and saw it get destroyed. So it does feel like the saga is truly complete. I'd even go so far to say that Snakedance is the greatest sequel the show ever produced. 

FINAL SCORE: 51

What?! The Mara got a score that was higher than the actual confines of the point system?! How is that possible?! Am I trying to say that this is the best first appearance of a Recurring Foe, ever?! 

Yes I am. 

Another installment done. This series really is just chugging right along. The next entry should take us quite nicely into New Who. But with a stop along the way to cover a few Recurring Foes that first appear alongside 'Ole Sixie....