UNADULTERATED BOORISH OPINION: THE "BAD YEARS" OF DOCTOR WHO - WHAT I REALLY THINK OF THEM: PART TWO

And we're off to Part Two of what will probably constitute my Greatest Rant Ever in this Blog. Amazingly enough, I didn't get any real pushback from Part One. In fact, most seemed to agree with it! 

Missed Part One? Scroll down a bit or click here: 

INSERT LINK HERE

If you haven't read it yet, you may want to. Otherwise, Part Two makes less sense.      

THE ART OF SKEWING 

In case it hasn't been made clear enough, yet: My biggest problem with fandom regarding this whole issue is how much they love to "skew". As I've already mentioned, the same story flaw can exist within a Golden Age or a "bad" period. But one will be virtually ignored while the other one gets blown out of proportion. It all depends on when the problem took place. This, alone, is a pretty horrific example of skewing.  

But the skewing process goes even further than that. A poor choice on the production team's behalf during a "bad" era can be a pretty minor one. But, because the Grumpy Old Fan (love the way Mark Gatiss used this term during a recent interview!) is looking for any little bit of ammunition to justify their vitriol, the small error suddenly has a huge effect on their ability to enjoy the show. Basically, one tiny mistake ruins everything. This, to me, is skewing being taken to a ridiculous extreme. 

Since I haven't really given an example of this, I'll make one now. Once more, I'll be using Comparison to bring home my point. 

I remember, back in the day, how much people would drone on about the cliffhanger in Mark of the Rani. 

"It's a cheat!" they used to complain, "At the end of Part One, the Doctor's about to plunge to his Doom. But then, during the reprise in Episode Two, they insert these extra shots showing that George Stephenson was rushing along to save him the whole time!" 

I can't refute the claim. This cliffhanger definitely has a "cheat resolution" to it. And this is where we see "extreme skewing" coming into play. There is much to love about Mark of the Rani. All the banter that takes place between the three Time Lords is some of my favorite dialogue in the whole history of the show. The Rani is an interesting new villainess whose very presence in the story creates a different sort of plot structure. In general, the whole thing is a well-put-together period story/pseudo-historical. 

But certain segments of fandom seemed completely oblivious to the better aspects of Mark of the Rani. That damned cliffhanger cheat ruined the whole story. Once we were a minute into Part Two, everything became total crap. Even all the stuff that had happened in Part One! 

And yet, back in the Great Almighty Hinchcliffe Era, no one bemoaned Planet of Evil. The resolution to Part Three's cliffhanger is equally cheap. The Doctor and Sarah are slid into a special compartment in the Morestran spaceship and should have been ejected into space. We saw the process earlier and know how much time it takes. They should be done for. And yet, as we return to the crisis in Part Four, the Doctor and Sarah just don't stay in the special airlock for as long as they did in the previous episode. Someone very quickly reverses the process and brings them back out. That's as bad of a cliffhanger resolution as the George Stephenson Sneak Attack. Perhaps even worse. Planet of Evil seems to actually be altering time. Even though no time travel mechanics were involved in the process! 

And what about the all-time greatest cliffhanger cop-out of them all? Not only does it also take place during what many consider to be the goldenest of Golden Ages, but it's in what a large amount of fans claim to be an absolute Classic. 

I'm speaking, of course, of Genesis of the Daleks. 

Sarah Jane Smith falling off the scaffolding she's climbing at the end of Part Two and then somehow managing to fall back on to it at the top of Part Three almost feels like Terry Nation was trying to make a parody of cliffhangers. Like he was actually taking the piss out of the whole plot device. 

"But wait, Rob!" those Grumpy Old Fans will persist, "It wasn't just the bad cliffhanger that pissed us off. That bit where Jack Ward turns into a tree and saves Peri is kinda stupid too!" 

Again I must agree. That moment didn't make a lot of sense. So Mark of the Rani does have two whole substantial problems to it. Should this really ruin the entire story, though? Both issues are pretty short-lived. There's a good 88 minutes of material, there, that stands up pretty well. But, because two minutes didn't work, the skewing happens. Mark of the Rani is garbage. 

Let's take a look at those two Hinchcliffe stories I just brought up. A good chunk of Episode Four of Planet of Evil actually stops making sense. Throughout the story, we've established some pretty clear rules on how anti-matter works. It actually seems to be seeking out and wanting to take back whatever stuff from its universe Doctor Solon has stolen. And yet, suddenly, when Solon has multiplied into a small army of anti-matter monsters, the Doctor repels the attackers by waving a cannister of anti-matter at them, 

Huh? That makes absolutely no sense. The anti-matter shouldn't be driving them away. If anything, it should be strengthening them. I know that, in the end, it's all pseudoscience and you can kinda do whatever you want with it. But this is pretty wildly inconsistent. Rules made about anti-matter in earlier episodes are being broken for the sheer sake of plot convenience. How about a line of dialogue somewhere that offers some kind of explanation for why anti-matter suddenly seems to be repelling other anti-matter rather than attracting it? 

The secondary problem that we can find in Genesis of the Daleks is considerably larger than a rather silly sequence involving a tree. It's the fact that there is nowhere near enough content to fill its six episodes. Sarah Jane's excursion on the scaffolding is a great example of the ridiculous amount of filler that is used throughout the plot. It's a gigantic, drawn-out capture-and-escape. It pads out the better part of an episode but then comes to absolutely no avail. Sarah Jane is re-captured and the whole story goes back to where it was twenty minutes previously. A similar thing is done with Harry and the Doctor trying to escape the Kaleds in Part One. And then, of course, there's the endless scenes of Davros trying to win over more fans in Part Six. More blatant padding that drags on forever and ever. 

Really, the problems with Hinchcliffe stories that also have cliffhanger cheats actually seem larger than the issues in Mark of the Rani. But one story gets berated because it took place in a "bad" time for the show. The other two seem to get glossed over because they are in a Golden Age. The fans skew the negatives in whatever direction they need to in order to justify their opinions. But the Basic Rules of Good Writing present a much different case. 

This is the great problem of skewing. It works on two levels. When something goes wrong in a tale from a "bad" period, it ignores similar problems that have happened during happier times. On top of that, it turns a molehill into a mountain. That small issue suddenly becomes so huge that the entire adventure is now considered "crap". 

Of course, if you skew often enough, then you can start claiming that entire eras of the show are falling short of the mark. The writing is bad. Or the producer sucks. Or something like that. When, really, there's not much of anything all that bad going on. In some cases, we're actually getting better content. Mark of the Rani, at least, does a good job of filling its four episodes. Whereas Genesis of the Daleks really does drag, in places. I'd consider that a far bigger problem than George Stephenson's surprise appearance and a sentient tree coming to the rescue. 

Just to back that point up: I have actually watched Mark of the Rani with far greater frequency than I have Genesis of the Daleks. In fact, I watch the Colin Baker Era way more than I do the Hinchcliffe Period. 

How's that for crazy?! 

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? PART ONE - THE BIG QUESTION 

Okay, so my little comparison method was fairly effective (to those of you who aren't ridiculously close-minded, at least!). But there might just be one great big gaping hole in my theory that still needs to be covered. One simple question that requires answering:: 

If there truly are no "bad" periods in Doctor Who, then why do fans actually believe that there are?     

Admittedly, it's a valid point. Why do the opinions of so many fans veer into such similar directions regarding what constitutes entertaining and unenjoyable periods for the show? Shouldn't more people see things the way I do?    

Well, firstly, I do think there are a lot more people than we realize that find the show's overall quality is fairly consistent throughout the years. But a lot of us that feel that way have learnt not to speak of such things too publicly. Denounce stuff in a Golden Age and you tend to get a lot of flack for it. Praise something that some fans don't like and you're going to get attacked. So, for the most part, we keep our mouths shut. Unless, of course, we write a blog!

But there is still a significant amount of fandom that subscribes to the idea that Doctor Who has high points and low points. And that those peaks and valleys have nothing to do with their own sense of perception. But, rather, the talent and abilities of those that are making the show at the time. So the question remains: What, exactly, has caused this phenomenon to happen?   

Primarily, I think it has a lot to do with the very simple principle of timing. External factors were going on that caused a lot of people to see the show in a certain light. I'd also attribute some of these opinions to good 'ole fashioned basic human nature, too. 

What do I mean by all this? Let me start by explaining how I think Golden Ages came into being.  

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? PART TWO - GOLDEN AGES 

Lots of fans have deep feelings about the Golden Ages of Doctor Who. They really are certain that this was when the best version of the show was being made. But, if you follow the show's general trajectory within the public consciousness, I think there's a much different explanation for why a Golden Age happens, 

Quite simply, it's when the show became part of the mainstream. 

At some point during New and Classic Who, the show grows away from being more of a "thing for sci-fi fans" and becomes an event that entire families choose to watch together. Everyone starts feeling like it's a great show. When, really, the quality was staying pretty consistent the whole time. But when Doctor Who first becomes a sort of zeitgeist in British culture, it gets labeled as being "better", . 

Admittedly, this theory is a bit more tenuous during the Classic Series. We did get Dalek Mania during the early 60s. This definitely propelled Doctor Who into the stratosphere. But I would argue that Dalek Mania was more about Daleks than the show, itself. When the Skarosian Tyrants weren't in episodes, ratings could definitely flounder. In fact, the show struggled quite a bit to stay alive during both Hartnell and Troughton. 

Now, many cite the Hinchcliffe Era as being Who at its absolute peak. But they will add that Classic Who's Golden Age spanned most of the 70s. Which means, of course, that it started with Pertwee. Which is about when the show became "Must-See Viewing" for a good chunk of the British public. Did the writing become any better during this period? Not really. I can, easily, compare Pertwee's stuff to Hartnell and Troughton and we'd see an equal proportion of brilliance and failure. I'm more inclined to believe that Doctor Who became more popular as Pertwee took the stage simply because it had been around long enough. Its longevity got a good enough number of people to finally take the time to check it out and start tuning in regularly. The quality had always been there. It just needed to get noticed. 

I also think we should take into account that there was a baby boom going on just prior to the show starting. Which means lots of people reached that highly-influenceable age as the 70s kicked in. That magical period in life that one gets massively nostalgic about as they grow older. Which causes an era of a show to often be re-watched at a later time with rose-tinted glasses. Sure, there's some plot holes in the stories you grew up with. But they don't really matter. Cause you're remembering so well how thrilling it was to watch it when you were still just a kid. 

Television is moving much faster by the time New Who arrives. So it only took one season for it to become an institution, again. Admittedly, quality did have some role to play in this. Series One is quite excellent, If it had not been so well-constructed, becoming a zeitgeist might have taken longer. 

But there are a ton of stumbles that Series Two makes that many people who were discovering the show for the first time gloss over. They're caught up in the excitement of this great new show that they love and are less likely to notice the warts. As far as they're concerned, this is Doctor Who at its height. Don't tell them otherwise. 

Because television is moving faster, the second Golden Age of Doctor Who is much shorter. Whereas the first one spanned Pertwee and most of Tom Baker, this second peak only seems to last for Tenant. People still like the show for quite a bit after he leaves - but it's already only a shadow of its former self.  

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? PART THREE - THE "BAD" PERIODS

During the last part, I pointed out how a large part of Who's viewership during a Golden Age were at a highly-influenceable age when the show was being made. I stressed this for Classic Who but I also think it had a strong role to play in the New Series, as well. If we follow this logic, then, we can then see why "Bad" periods for the show can happen. 

Quite simply, the audience grows up and becomes a bit more discerning. 

When you're only twelve years old, Sutekh being given everything he needs to escape his imprisonment is something you neither notice nor care about. But watching a tree grab someone and save them from a land mine looks pretty stupid when you're in your 20s. Both scenarios are a bit ludicrous (again, I would even argue that the plot hole in Pyramids of Mars is far bigger) but you were far easier to win over when you were only twelve. Whereas you have a much more critical eye in your later years. I wouldn't say the show hasn't changed at all since you watched it as a kid. It's grown and evolved a bit. But it's always going to have shortcomings. You're just noticing them better, now. 

Something else besides nostalgia happens to a fan once they've hung in with a franchise for a bit: Entitlement. Enjoying something like Doctor Who for a handful of years will cause many a fan to believe that they know the show better than any professional that comes along and produces it. In this instance, it's no longer just a case of a more discerning eye - they've become hypercritical. If the show does anything to fall out of the specifications of what they hold to be "Good Who", they start foaming at the mouth! People that make a living creating television can't know how to make a better show than they do! Gosh darn it, they should be the Head Writer! 

We need only look at most of the fan fiction that gets made to see how bad of an idea that would be! 

There is a saying I've been hearing lately about fandoms, in general. It seems like many people want the franchises they love to be "preserved in amber". Once a formula has been found that resonates with them, they don't ever want things to change. 

But good television is also good art. And art evolves and transforms over time. It seems to me that Doctor Who continues to try to grow after a Golden Age. But parts of fandom just don't want to grow with it. 

WHY DOES IT HAPPEN? BECAUSE IT HAPPENS. ROLL THE BONES

(SORRY. COULDN'T RESIST MAKING THE RUSH REFERENCE) 

This has been a very long-winded essay. So much so, that I'm tempted to break it down and release it in installments (which I may still do! We'll see as I go through the editing!) (Oh look! I did!) 

Ironically, the whole crux of my argument can be summed up by one statement. A simple sentiment uttered way back in the 80s by a man in a Hawaiian shirt 

"Eat it. Just eat it." 

Wait. Wrong guy. 

The proper quote would be: 

"The Memory Cheats" 

The dips or rises in quality that Doctor Who has gone through over the years are negligible, at best. Overall, I feel it's always been a strong show. Some people, however, watch the show during a  certain  time in their lives where nostalgia can, sometimes, color their viewpoint.  

It probably helped that I'm a Canadian in his 50s - so I've experienced the show in a very different way from a lot of fans. I found Doctor Who on what we call PBS TV stations. In the area I live in, those stations broadcast the episodes all at once. Oftentimes, on a daily basis. I started watching Who around 1983. Within a year, I had watched the entirety of the show up to that point. From Hartnell to the first signs of Colin Baker, I'd seen it all. I was only about Twelve at the time. So all of it was very exciting for me. While I was still much less critical at that age, I could also be just a little bit more objective. I didn't just watch a certain era during that period of my life, I watched everything that was out there at the time. 

In that sense, it's allowed me to view Doctor Who just a little bit more holistically, Even at Twelve, there were scenes that I found to be genuinely cringeworthy. But, most of the time, I felt the program was quite brilliant. But I can't honestly think of a period where the show was "taking a turn for the worst". Nor do I feel like there was a time when Who was at its "absolute best".

I will go so far as to say that there are weaker seasons of Doctor Who. I'm not very fond of Season Seventeen or Series Two. Season Twenty-Four has some pretty nasty misfires too. But in all these instances, lessons get learnt. A much better season follows after that. 

Which means that, in the end, it all comes clean in the wash. Overall, the quality of Doctor Who remains consistent throughout the ages. You may beg to differ - and that's fine. As always, you're entitled to your opinion. I, at least, have managed to present mine with a fair degree of logic and impartiality.

There we go: Rant complete. Expressing such an opinion in so complete a manner actually felt quite good.

Some of you may be noticing that I'm writing in here less and less frequently. I contributed regularly to this blog for a good solid decade. Oftentimes, when I reach a ten year mark with something, I start growing disinterested. I often joke that this may be the reason why I never got married! 

What I'm really getting at is this could actually be my final PRETENTIOUS DOCTOR WHO ESSAY. If it is, this is a nice note to go out on. 

Thanks very much to anyone who has bothered to even sit through a single entry. And to those of you who have read quite a few: Hope you enjoyed the ride 

UNADULTERATED BOORISH OPINION: THE "BAD YEARS" OF DOCTOR WHO - WHAT I REALLY THINK ABOUT THEM: PART ONE

This is an entry that has been a long time in coming. I probably would have never even written about this if the show hadn't entered another one of these phases. But, since it has, I feel I should rant about it a bit. 

I want to talk about the periods where certain vocal fans decided that Doctor Who had become "bad".   

The non-geeks of the world are often befuddled by fandoms. They suppose that people that are heavily into a certain franchise are mostly happy by what it puts out. Sure, we might object to certain creative decisions that are made by the production teams that are currently in charge of the Brand. But, overall, we like what we're seeing. 

In many ways, this idea can't be further from the truth. Quite often, the latest output from a franchise is ruthlessly torn to pieces by its "fans". Every single flaw is picked apart under the harshest of microscopes and complained about endlessly. Only once a few years have passed does the content finally get "re-evaluated". It turns out the material wasn't so bad, after all. Maybe even quite good, in places. The latest crap that's coming out, however, is utter drivel! 

And the cycle continues...

In defense of geeks, it's usually only a small-but-very-vocal segment of fandom that does this. A lot of us really are, for the most part, happy with what the production team is doing with what we love. That small-but-very-vocal segment, however, loves to berate us if we state opinions that don't fall in line with what they feel. So, for the most part, we put up with them and just let them complain. There's little point in opposing them. Even if they do make us appear bad to those looking in from the outside.  It's just easier to silently appreciate what we're enjoying and stay out of the cross-hairs of toxic fans. 

We see this endless repetition of hate what's new and only like it later in Doctor Who over and over. But there can be a deviation in the pattern. For a time, the show can enter a period where the re-evaluation takes considerably longer. Or, for some people, never happens at all. It becomes a sincere belief that Production is creating material that is just-plain bad. 

"The show has slipped" small-but-vocal fans will say, "The stories are awful." 

Poor writing is usually cited as the main problem. Or, at least, that's the superficial claim. There are, sometimes, ulterior motives that are trying to be concealed. Those hidden reasons are usually of a somewhat off-color persuasion that would put the disgruntled viewer in a poor light. In recent years, for instance, some people have been upset that a woman or an openly-gay black male has been cast as the lead. But they know it's not something they should openly admit to. So they blame bad writing, instead. 

But we can't just use racism or misogyny to dismiss this issue. There can be other factors involved. 

THE TWO TIMES THIS HAS HAPPENED 

As we move forward with this diatribe, I should clearly establish which periods of the show have been considered by certain segments of fandom to be "bad". As we take a closer look at each era, we will see that the actual beginning of this decline in quality is somewhat subjective. In some instances, one might even say a bit misleading. 

The First Time

It would be almost easier to count the start of the first "bad" period of Doctor Who as occurring at the beginning of a season. But most people who feel that Classic Who took a turn for the worst would actually claim its initial problems manifested during a season finale. They would say it happened right at the end of Season Twenty-One. 

Right when Colin Baker took over the role. 

Most are nice to the actor, himself. They say he did the best with what he was handed. The blame is laid more at the feet of the producer and the writing team he put together. The critics will tell you that John Nathan-Turner made some very bad choices as Colin Baker was cast as the Doctor. He instructed the authors to make the Sixth Doctor too unlikeable. He accepted scripts that were ill-constructed. And, most significantly, he picked out that horrible costume! It's from Twin Dilemma onwards that the detractors say Doctor Who went downhill. 

This benchmark, however, is only so accurate. 

Harsher fans would actually say that it all began the moment JNT took over. Tom Baker's last season was a poor conclusion to his reign. Peter Davison's era was not really that great, either. Colin Baker was just a continuation of things that were already very problematic. 

On the other end of the spectrum, however, we see even more inaccuracies. Many fans will tell you that the show didn't keep degenerating once Seven took over. Sure, his first season was rough. But the final two seasons of the Classic Series were, in fact, two of its best. And the show only died because the BBC had decided it was going to regardless of how well-made the program had become.  

Others, however, will contradict such a notion and say that the show went down the tubes from Colin Baker, onwards. Regardless of how much most people loved Seasons Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six. 

As you can see, the waters regarding when Classic Who became "bad" are quite murky! It can last all the way from Season Eighteen to the end. Or it can be as short as Colin Baker and a bit of Sylvester McCoy. 

The Second Time

By the standards of some, it is believed that Doctor Who's second "bad" phase is happening even as I write this. 

Again, there are problems with when it all started. Most would say it began when Chris Chibnall became Head Writer and cast Jodie Whitaker as the lead. Fans who believe this can be a bit crueler than the ones that bashed late 80s Who. They not only claim that the writing was poor but many also believe that Jodie's acting skills were not up to par. They continue to disapprove of things as RTD returns. The Sixtieth Anniversary Specials were a bit of a disappointment and the stuff with Ncuti Gatwa was absolutely horrible. These fans have one huge point that they love to make to support this idea. 

"Look at the ratings!" they'll say, "If Doctor Who isn't so bad, right now, then why are so few people watching it?!"

That very argument, however, points out the hugest flaw in their reasoning. 

New Who's ratings began their big plummet during Peter Capaldi's final season. Which is, of course, an entire year before Chibnall took over.  This was meant to be a time when the show was still "good". So if the ratings support the notion that the program has declined in quality, then why did they first drop during Series Ten? Such a situation should have only began when Thirteen was piloting the TARDIS. 

In both cases, the beginnings and even endings of these "bad" periods are somewhat nebulous. Opinions differ greatly on when things started going wrong. Which means we're already getting a strong indication that this whole theory of Doctor Who having significantly weaker eras might not be as sound as some would lead us to believe. 

WHAT I REALLY THINK (AND HOW I WILL PROVE MY POINT!)

So, if you've been following this blog at all, you know that Six is my favorite Doctor and Thirteen is my second favorite. Both of these incarnations are at the epicenter of what some consider to be Doctor Who at its worst. So you can, very obviously, figure out that I don't agree with this sentiment. Mind you, if you've never read this blog before, I think you can still tell by the tone of this entry, alone, that I don't find these periods to be "bad". 

Now, expressing your taste is one thing. I would, in fact, have no problem with fans that just say that these periods of the show "weren't their cup of tea", That's fine. If you didn't enjoy it - for whatever reason - you're entitled to that sentiment. 

But the fact that some people feel the need to label these eras as "bad" compels me to stand up and make my voice heard. And, more importantly, point out to the detractors that their opinions are only on so solid of a ground. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to validly insult the tastes of others (which is kinda what you're doing when you're saying something I like is "bad"), you should be ready to back up your points. So often, however, we just hear these people say things like: "The writing is awful." Which always makes me say: "Well, what's so awful about it?!" Most of the time, however, they don't elaborate. I get the equivalent of: "It just is!" 

So I'm going to try to pick some things apart, here. While many do remain vague in their opinions, I have heard a few pointed complaints about things that make these two periods so terrible. I'm going to address them and try to show how, quite often, the internal logic of these objections fall apart. 

WHAT I REALLY THINK (AND HOW I WILL PROVE MY POINT) PART 2: COMPARISON 

This is, perhaps, the best argument I can use in this debate. 

For the most part, fans who believe that there are periods when the show was "bad" also believe in the idea that it also had its Golden Ages. Eras where the show was absolute perfection. It could do no wrong. Everything that came out during such a time was absolute brilliance. These fans, themselves, will compare a low point in Doctor Who to one of these totally awesome Golden Ages and rant endlessly about how much better things were back then. 

I'm going to participate in a similar exercise. Except, in my case, I'm going to try to be more objective about it. 

Quite often, I find that when you line a "bad" time up against a Golden Age and remove those rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, the two eras are really not that different. Each has low points and moments of greatness. More times than not, it's all about skewing things. Certain traits - both negative and positive - get over-emphasized in order for people to get their points across. 

With this in mind, I shall do my best to strip away biases and show how the idea of Doctor Who being awful doesn't really make a lot of sense. If you're hating those supposedly weaker points in the show's history, than you should be despising those Golden Ages too. Because, in many ways, they're putting out the exact same level of quality in their content. 

The First Time

While I've pointed out the subjectivity of when exactly Classic Who's low point occurred, I'll focus in on the Colin Baker Era, anyway. That does seem to be the spot that people complain most about. The Big Question is: What, exactly, shall I compare it to?   

70s Who, in general, seems to be held in high regard. Pertwee's Doctor is greatly-loved and, of course, Tom Baker has achieved near-godhood! But to try to go through ten years of the show would probably be a bit too laborious of a read. So let's whittle things down a bit and look specifically at three seasons from that decade that receive the greatest level of appreciation. Many would even say that Doctor Who was never better than it was during this time. I, however, am about to make the most controversial of statements: 

The Philip Hinchcliffe Era is a bit overrated. 

It's got a few Classics in it, yes. Stories like Ark in Space and The Deadly Assassin have actually made it into my Top Ten Favorite Doctor Who Stories Ever. However, it should be noted that there are also what I call "Fake Classics" in there, too. Stories some fans love to go on about. But, when I look at them, I see way too many flaws for them to have such a status. Genesis of the Daleks, for instance, riddles itself with needless captures-and-escapes to pad out its six episode run. Terror of the Zygons possesses the most threadbare of plots. Both of these tales, however, tend to get tremendous respect. But, at best, they're really just middle-of-the-road. We even have something like Seeds of Doom - which I think is actually pretty bad. For two episodes, it gives us the most simple of adventures: A man turns into an evil plant. Then it stretches the exact same plot out again for four more episodes! It wasn't anything special the first time round, guys - what makes you think we want this again?!  

On top of the Fake Classics, we do have a number of stories that I feel are quite average but still good: The Sontaran Experiment, Planet of Evil, The Masque of Mandragora and The Face of Evil are all great examples of this. Nothing too spectacular - but still solid. 

I would even say that we have a Hidden Gem. Brain of Morbius is a legitimate Classic that never seems to get the credit it deserves. 

Then, finally, we get some duds. I consider The Android Invasion to be one of the worst Doctor Who stories, ever. Why do the Kraals go to ridiculous lengths to build a fake human village and populate it with androids just to figure out how to release a virus into our drinking water? It makes no sense! An equal amount of silliness happens in Revenge of the Cybermen. We have Vogans making shackles out of gold so that it's easy for Harry and Sarah-Jane to escape from them. But when it comes to bullets that could actually kill their most feared opponents - they seem to go for lead, instead! 

I think the greatest strength of the Hinchcliffe Period is that many of the serials are very well-directed. Even with the low budget, a lot of it looks quite filmic. The vivid moods created by the visuals (and some stellar incidental music) make a strong impact on viewers and help us to look past a lot of problems. Thus earning those Fake Classics the place they have in some of our hearts. Something like Talons of Weng Chiang might be dripping with atmosphere, but it's about two-and-a-half episodes longer than it needs to be. uses an extremely silly plot contrivance to extend itself (he forgot the key to the cabinet back at the theatre, really?!) and has an ending that just sort of peters out. 

And let's not even get into that eye make-up! 

We can then jump over to Sixie's period and see it's got all the same stuff. Some legitimate Classics like Vengeance on Varos (also in my Top Ten) and Revelation of the Daleks. A lot of mid-range stuff like Attack of the Cybermen, Mark of the Rani, The Mysterious Planet and Terror of the Vervoids. There's a few "clunkers", of course, like The Twin Dilemma and Timelash. But then, like Morbius, I find The Ultimate Foe to be a bit of an Unsung Classic. 

While the directing during Hinchliffe was its greatest strength, Colin Baker's era wins extra points for its boldness. It takes a number of tremendous risks with its grittiness and darker themes. It also gives us some genuinely odd stories like Varos and Mindwarp. .  

Finally, Colin's era takes a huge chance with a season-long concept like Trial of a Time Lord. A particularly bold idea since it's actually doing a bit of art imitating life. The Doctor is on trial for his life while his show is at the same time! 

While the directing is great, we don't really see much risk-taking in the Hinchcliffe era like we do, here. There are a few violent moments that go a bit too far but, aside from that, the show actually plays it pretty safe most of the time

Does all this experimental stuff of Seasons Twenty-Two and Twenty-Three always work? Of course not! But then, there were some pretty poor directorial choices during the Hinchliffe period too (what the Hell, for instance, is going on with some of the editing in Part One of Brain of Morbius?!) Even the strong points of a certain set of stories don't always go well. In either period that we're speaking of

I will even go out on a huge limb and actually claim that a lot of the writing during Colin's era is a bit tighter than the stuff of Hinchliffe. There are some absolutely abominable examples of plot padding during Hinchcliffe's time (Jago and Litefoot in the dumb waiter or Sarah Jane blowing the better part of an episode in Genesis of the Daleks climbing the side of a missile only to get caught again) Whereas Sixie's stuff rarely resorts to the capture-and-escape trick or other such nonsense. Tales like Attack of the Cybermen and Terror of the Vervoids almost seem to have more subplots than they truly need. But I'd still rather have this problem than something that's too thin and needs to mark time endlessly. 

In an extremely cold, unsentimental analysis, I see very little difference between these two eras. They both contain the same assortment of stories: Classics, mid-rangers, duds and underrated stuff. They have an equal number of strong points and weak points. The only real difference I can see is the attitude fans actually have towards them. Hinchcliffe is forgiven for most of his sins while the flaws during Colin's era are frequently over-exaggerated (more about this later). 

If fan reaction is the only thing that really mars something, can we actually put any real blame on the people creating the content? I think not! As far as I'm concerned, the time during Classic Who when the show was considered "bad" is absolved. It was the same show we had always been getting - some of the fans just started getting really picky! That's not the fault of anyone except the actual audience

The Second Time

The temptation, here, is to repeat the same task I just accomplished. But do it with New Who, instead. The most obvious action to take would be to compare Jodie's era to RTD's first run as Head Writer. . 

However, there is a problem: It's difficult for me to remain objective in such an exercise. I just don't feel like this particular Golden Age of Doctor Who is really all that ... golden! 

Series One is absolutely brilliant. I won't deny that. Series Two, however, is a pretty big disappointment for me. In fact, I consider it the second worst season in the entire history of the show (Season Seventeen is the only one I dislike more). Series Three bounces back quite nicely. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as One, but I still felt it was very strong. Series Four, for me, is a very mixed bag. I liked some episodes and found others to be largely uninteresting. Finally, aside from Waters of Mars, there's little about the 2009 Specials that I take much pleasure in. 

I know a lot of people feel very differently about RTD's first time in the Driver's Seat. They think this is the best part of New Who and nothing else beats it. Whereas I see things very differently. 

If we line up the so-called New Who Golden Age with Jodie's period, things fall apart for me pretty quickly. Yup, Series Eleven is a bit rough in places. But I find the Chibnall/Whitaker era gets better and better with every season. By the time we do get to Flux and Power of the Doctor the show is at an absolute high point. For me, it's a no-brainer. In a comparison, these two eras don't even feel equal. I actually like the "bad' period far better than the Golden Age.  

I do sincerely believe that trying to make an objective comparison between these two points in the show just won't work. Too much would be purely opinion-based. But I do think there's another interesting comparison that I can engage in that will feel a bit more fact-based. 

It's pretty safe to say that quite a few fans were not happy with how Ncuti's first season concluded. Most were just fine with The Legend of Ruby Sunday, but Empire of Death did not go over so well. Even I had a problem or two with that particular episode. My biggest issue with it was the fact that it was not a story that worked like 73 Yards. There were certain explanations that RTD needed to give us that were not provided. My biggest qualm being: "Why the Hell was Ruby able to make it snow?!" I can do a bit of headcannon, of course. I assume it was some sort of side effect from using the time window. Or Sutekh being able to influence reality in and around the TARDIS. Or even a combination thereof! But the fact of the matter is: RTD should have supplied us with a proper answer. There were a few other issues of this nature with the plot. But they feel less consequential to me. In the end, however, the narrative needed just a little more exposition than it actually got. 

There's still lots to like about Empire of Death. I do enjoy the concept of the Doctor cobbling together a plan to defeat Sutekh with knick-knacks he found in the Memory TARDIS I also loved the speeches Ncuti delivers as he drags the evil Osiran through the vortex. I know some fans consider the whole episode something of an abomination. But I don't think it's all that bad. 

We should also remember that it is the second half of a two-parter. And I'm actually quite impressed with Legend of Ruby Sunday. The whole plot was designed to lead up to that big reveal in the last few seconds of the episode. But it does contain quite a bit of compelling action before it reaches that point. I particularly enjoyed everything that takes place in the time window. In many ways, Legend reminds me of Part One of Enlightenment. It was really all about seeing the boats in space - but the other twenty-two-and-a-half minutes of the episode are quite strong too!    

Which means that - for me, at least - it's a fairly passable season finale. A few weak points in the second half that mar things a bit. But, overall, I'm okay with it. Even though some love to dismiss it as "complete crap". Or use other derogatory terms of this nature.***

Okay, here's where the comparison comes in: Just for fun, I watched Pyramids of Mars and Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death back-to-back. I thought it would be interesting to see Sutekh's full story from beginning to end. 

The average fan would have you believe that I'm going to see the hugest of contrasts. Pyramids of Mars is an absolute Classic. The best of the best from the greatest Doctor of them all. Whereas Sutekh's Return is total garbage. We should almost not even consider it canon. It adds a nasty aftertaste to the Osiran's first tale. 

The truth of the matter is, however, there's quite a few problems with the script to Pyramids of Mars. The main premise is that Sutekh is attempting to break out of the prison his own people placed him in. But if he was such a danger to the Universe, then why on Earth did his captors leave him with all the equipment he needs to escape?! The guy's been given explosives and a rocket and even mummy robots to put it all together. 

Where is the logic in this?! Why do you imprison someone and then hand him everything he needs to escape?!  This element of the plot, for me, chops the story off at its knees. Most of what we're watching throughout these four episodes makes little to no sense.    

But there are other problems. The story is not big enough to fit four parts. So some really obvious padding gets added to it. The Doctor becomes Indiana Jones for an episode and must assail a whole series of traps. A trick the show was doing quite often during that period in order to mark some time. We also get the Poacher in Part Two. A character who was brought along strictly as an extra plot strand to help fill out the episode. This becomes especially obvious when he's quickly killed off near the end of the episode. It's almost like the writer is saying: "Right. The ep is full enough now that we cut away to you every few minutes to watch you run around the Scarman Estate for a bit. We can be done with you, now. I'll even give you one of the most ridiculous deaths in the history of the show. Your fate shall be ... Death by Mummy Boobs!" Killing off the Poacher at the end of Part Two can even be seen as a legitimately bad writing choice. In the next episode, Sarah suddenly has to become an expert marksman. It would have been so much smarter to keep the Poacher alive and have him take the shot. 

Now, there's still a lot to like about Pyramids of Mars - don't get me wrong. But it also has a few serious flaws. In fact, I'd go so far to say that there are more problems with the writing in Pyramids than there are in Empire of Death. The "Classic" has some legitimate structural issues. The "piece of crap" just needed to explain things a bit better. 

Comparing the two stories to each other in a microcosm like this illustrates a much bigger picture. Strip away the nostalgia and see things for what they really are, and you start to see that General Fan Consensus is not always what it's cracked up to be. The Classic isn't always a Classic and the piece of crap isn't always fecal matter. When you take a genuine look at the pros and cons of each story, things can often balance out quite evenly. 

Yes, there are still some stories that are genuinely bad. I can barely sit through Creature from the Pit, for instance. And there are Doctor Who adventures that are truly superior. No matter how often I put on Power of the Doctor, I'm always punching the air during so many scenes. But there are a bunch of other times where quality levels stay pretty even. But fans will choose to ignore the flaws in some tales but then overemphasize them in others. Such an exercise creates what I like to call: "skewing", Which gets us to see Golden Ages that aren't really there. 

And, of course, the exact opposite, too: "Bad" periods that weren't really so awful.   

***IMPORTANT NOTE: People that use such extreme terms when they express an opinion need to face a fact: When you talk in such a manner on a regular basis, you're viewed as a toxic fan. The average sensible individual has little or no desire to engage with you. We just see you as a bit of a narrow-minded fool. And an embarrassment to fandom, in general. 

Okay. This is tunring into a pretty long rant. So I'm going to stop things here and embark upon a second part to this topic. 

In Part Two, we will take a look at how the whole idea of "Good" and "Bad" eras of Doctor Who originated. Hopefully, we'll see you there.   

   

  

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BOOK OF LISTS: RANKING THE DOCTOR'S COSTUMES

For years, I've resisted doing this. It seemed like such a cliche. It's something that every fan that broadcasts themselves in some way always does. They have to let us know that they think Colin Baker's costume is the absolute worst of the bunch and then list all the outfits that other incarnations have worn in some kind of random order of preference. 

I've been tempted, of course, to weigh in on the matter, myself. To, perhaps, even, defend the aesthetics of 'Ole Sixie. But, thus far, I've steered clear of it all. 

Finally, however, I'm caving in...

Before we begin, it should be noted that I had initially intended this to be a REVIEW OVERVIEW entry. I wanted to create a list that was based on a complex scoring system so that I could scientifically prove which Doctor wore the best outfit. It seemed the soundest method to do this. This way, if I didn't rank "the most obvious choice" at the very bottom I could use my complex scoring system to back myself up. This had nothing to do with my own personal tastes. This was "science" proving me to be right. 

But then I threw all that out. A BOOK OF LISTS essay is based purely on my own tastes and preferences. And, sometimes, I shouldn't need to create analytics to validate how I feel on a matter. I should just step out into the world and say what I think and not care about the recriminations (as I did for the first few years that I wrote in here. When REVIEW OVERVIEW entries didn't exist yet). 

I will, nonetheless, still make this just a little bit ""REVIEW OVERVIEWish" by revealing a few determining factors in how I ranked things. Most of what I will be stating, here, is just my own personal opinion. But there will still be a few core elements that a good costume requires in order to get my approval. 

Let's get into them: 

1) Distinctiveness: Many fans have brought up the fact that the Doctor's outfits are, oftentimes, the dumbest thing a time traveler should wear. Someone journeying out of their own proper place in time and space  should be sporting apparel that helps them to blend in with the environment they're visiting. It shouldn't be some poly-chromatic nightmare that can be spotted from half a mile away. Or a garish-looking fifteen-foot long scarf that gets him to stick out like a sore thumb. Or even an outfit that looks like he's from the 1800s when he's about to ring in the 2000s. 

But that's still the sort of stuff the Doctor wears. And I adore him for it. The more an outfit makes him stand out, the more I tend to love it (hence the reason why Six will not be at the bottom of this list). I still remember the first few episodes that I randomly caught of the show back in my early teens. They were from Seasons Sixteen and Seventeen. While Tom Baker was wearing one of his simpler outfits, it still made him look ridiculously distinctive. And it was a trait that drew me quite strongly to the character. His choice in clothing showed that he was someone different. Unique. I wanted to learn more about the strange figure who was clearly eccentric. Even his general appearance showed off that fact. 

So let the Doctor look different. Even if it is impractical. This is what gets me to love an incarnation's costume more than anything. 

2) A "Period Feel": Some of the New Who Doctors are definitely going to suffer in this department. But I do like the Doctor better when he seems a bit "out of time". He might be wandering around a scrapyard in 1963, but he's wearing the suit of an Edwardian gentleman. Or he's stranded on Earth in the late 20th century, but he's still wearing a traditional dinner jacket and ruffled shirt. In this regard, even the fashion atrocity that Six sported still suits the motif. Yes, it's a mess of wild colors. But it still has those basic components of Victorian-era apparel. 

A good Doctor Outfit should harken back to a by-gone era where people sported wildly uncomfortable formal wear that still made them look astonishingly dashing. 

3) Tastefulness: A highly subjective concept, of course. But the Doctor should not just look distinctive, he should also looked distinguished. So the poor fashion choices that have sometimes been made in the building of a look will have a negative effect in the rankings. 

Once again, we'll drag the Sixth Doctor into this. He definitely stands out in a crowd with what he's wearing. So that will actually earn him points. But part of what causes him to be noticed will work to his detriment. In that same regard, as "iconic" as a long multi-colored scarf is, it also looks quite tacky. 

So both Bakers may end up suffering in this list. 

Okay. I think that's all we really need to cover in this pre-amble. As usual, I've gone on for way longer than I should. But I do like to be thorough in my explanations. 

Nonetheless, let's get to it 

OH WAIT! THERE ARE A FEW MORE NOTES:

I'm going to be fairly comprehensive in this list. But, at the same time, only so comprehensive. 

Where I will be thorough: 

We really are going to look at every incarnation of the Doctor.  This will include the Fugitive and War Doctor. Ten and Fourteen will also get separate rankings. Hell, I even thought about including the Valeyard in this (the skullcap looks a bit goofy but those black robes are slick)! In the end, though, I chose not to include the Doctor's Darker Side. I also won't be rating the Tom Baker incarnation in Day of the Doctor. We really don't see him for very long. He also needs to be properly established in the Doctor's timeline before I'll give him much attention!

Where I will be less thorough: 

The costumes of many Doctors change and evolve over time. We do have incarnations like Five. Where almost absolutely nothing gets altered. His predecessor, on the other hand, goes through several looks that change radically over the seven seasons that he played the role. I could be super-specific with someone like Four and rate every single distinct outfit that he wore. But that seems a bit much. Where he places on the list will be determined by the positive and negative aspects of all his different outfits. 

Okay, now we really can get into it: 

I think a lot of us long-time fans were pretty shocked when they unveiled what the Ninth Doctor would be wearing. I know I certainly was. It wasn't just the utter simplicity of the outfit that was throwing me off, it was also how modern it was. The Doctor in a leather jacked and jeans?! What?! 

I do like the idea that the costume was a reflection of this incarnation's character. He's very "stripped down" in his ninth body. So, in this respect, the look works. I also think the coat looks so gorgeous that I went out and got one like it. Not because I'm trying to cosplay Nine.  I just really love the coat! 

Overall, though, the whole look is a little underwhelming. Which is why it finishes up at the bottom. Some fans got so upset by it that they claim it mars their enjoyment of Series One. Which, to me, is a bit extreme. But that's just the way fans can be, I suppose. I do know people who genuinely complain about Trial of a Time Lord because they don't like the way Colin Baker grew his hair out a bit!    

Ouch! The sartorial tastes of those first two Doctors of the New Series really disappointed me! 

I get what RTD was doing.in those early days. He wanted the show to feel as accessible as possible to a new audience. Throwing the protagonist into outdated suits would definitely work against that whole process. I also do like the whole "geek chic" vibe that Ten is going for. 

Ultimately, however, Ten is just a guy in a cheap suit that fits a bit too tight who occasionally wears a long coat that was made from a couch! Like Nine, he's not very distinctive-looking. Nor does anything he's wearing have much of any kind of "period feel" to it. He gets some points for tastefulness - but it only counts for so much. 

Not a very Doctorish style, in general. So we're putting him low on the list. 

 

Twelve makes it a bit higher on the list because a lot of what he's wearing does have a much more "classic" feel to it. This does help a lot. But then, there are some other choices that get made that do the exact opposite and cause him to fall into the "looking too contemporary" trap that Nine and Ten also suffer from. 

Admittedly, some of my reasons for disliking the costume are a bit stupid! I do, for instance, like my Doctors to have neckwear. Twelve did, occasionally, don a cravat. But, most of the time, he just walked around with his collar buttoned up all the way. In its own right, this look makes him very unique and distinctive. No other Doctor really did this with their collars. Instead, they actually threw something around them. A tie, or a bow tie, or a cravat. Or something! And I just like it a bit better when the Doctor does that. 

The first time Twelve threw on a hoodie was also a bit of a shock. It seemed like an accessory that was just too contemporary. It did, eventually, grow on me. Once it did, though, he made another too contemporary choice and wore a sweatshirt for the bulk of an episode! 

Admittedly, the costume did go in some nice directions as he progressed through his seasons. I like that he started throwing on some longer coats in his later years. And the velvety one that was a bit of a tribute to Three was gorgeous. But, even then, he'd shoot himself in the foot. That one coat that he wore in his last season that was so beat up that it looked like he'd fished it out of a dumpster was very bizarre!   

Capaldi, himself, claims that he wanted his outfit to be something that would be easy for a cosplayer to put together. That's a nice gesture. But there's also such thing as making things just a bit too simplistic. 

I've seen some lists made by fans that place Eight at the absolute bottom. I do agree a bit with their reasoning. 

In this incarnation, the Doctor's costume feels just a bit too "generic". Like he knew he should look Victorian and put in the bare minimum effort. Some even say that it almost feels more like something an actor would wear in a Doctor Who parody. The sort of thing worn by someone who's trying to look just a little too "stereotypically Doctorish". The fact that Rowan Atkinson's costume in Curse of Fatal Death or Mark Gatiss' outfit in The Web of Caves strongly resemble what Eight's wearing really helps to re-enforce this idea. 

On the plus side: We're still, at least, getting that "period feel" that I love so much. And the version we get in both Night of the Doctor and Power of the Doctor looks infinitely better. Which is why Eight doesn't end up on the very bottom of my list but only does a little bit better in the greater scheme of things. 

Oddly enough, this one makes it considerably higher than what Ten wore. 

I think it's the vest that mainly wins me over. It's really quite unique and helps to make Tennant feel much more distinctive this time round. As someone who owns far more vests than any human should (I have over fifty, now), this can have a strong bearing on my opinion. In fact, I enjoy this vest so much that I'm trying to find one that looks like it.  Not for cosplay. But to just to walk around in and, generally, look cool 

I also like the coat just a little bit better than the last one. Even though his first coat was quite fun by being so outlandishly long!

Of course, it's still just a little too simplistic and contemporary. But Fourteen manages to climb up the list a bit higher than Ten. 

There's a lot Patrick Troughton does to "sell" this costume. The  frock coat he's chosen, for instance, is super distinctive. It's not often you can find one that's cut like that. And we get that he's meant to be "the Cosmic Hobo", so he can get away with looking so shabby. That big 'ole hole in the knee of his trousers throughout the bulk of The War Games actually works! 

Ultimately, however, it feels just a tad too simple. It needs something more. Troughton does accessorize things a bit here and there. He throws on a cloak in Tomb of the Cybermen that looks quite nice. He sports a decent umbrella in The Krotons but it gets ruined pretty quickly by acid. 

Other attempts to add to the outfit don't always work so well. The fur coat in various Yeti-involved stories looks a bit too much like it should be worn by a woman, instead. And let's not even bring up the stovepipe hat! 

This one, I'm sure, will be controversial. 

A lot of Old School fans really love the Fourth Doctor's costume. 

"That scarf!" they'll proclaim, "It's just so iconic!" 

As I've already said, though, it is also a bit tacky. Particularly to the more objective eyes of New Who fans.

"I'm not sure what the fuss is about." some will admit, "The scarf kinda looks a little dumb." 

But even if you do love the scarf, there are other issues with this outfit. 

In the earlier days of the Fourth Doctor Era, he was going for a more "traditional" look. Underneath that scarf was a nice vest, cravat and coat combination. Strip away that scarf, however, and he looks almost as generic as Eight. We see this best in Planet of Evil, where he does ditch the scarf for most of the story. He still looks decent - but he doesn't look like anything special.    

(For the next paragraph, I will do an absolutely super duper ultra nitpick). 

During certain stories of this period, Tom Baker would pull up the collar on his shirt. Which is actually something certain types of shirts can do. The wing-tip collar that One wore, for instance, is meant to be worn that way. But it looks pretty stupid when you do this with a regular dress shirt. It almost seems like Tom doesn't know how to wear a shirt properly! 

And then we get to his mid-to-late period. Most specifically, Seasons Sixteen and Seventeen. It really looks like Tom just doesn't care anymore. Aside from the scarf, he's just thrown on a shirt, vest and coat. And quite a bit of the outfit is looking pretty battered. Troughton may have been the Cosmic Hobo, but Baker genuinely looks like he's living on the streets. One almost feels like we should be giving him change every time we see him! 

Thank God JNT orders a re-design for Baker's final season. The outlandishly long scarf is still present (and longer than ever), but the colors have been reigned in considerably. The whole burgundy-dominated motif actually looks quite beautiful. I even like the question marks. I know I'm one of the few fans that does! 

I will say: Were it not for the Season Eighteen costume, this Doctor would probably be much lower on the list. 

In the Grand Scheme of Things, Tom Baker starts off as a bit mediocre, descends into absolutely awful and then finishes strong. 

I should actually like this costume a lot less than I do. It doesn't have any kind of "period feel" to it whatsoever. And the "floods" that she's wearing do look pretty damned ridiculous. 

And yet, somehow, I appreciate it quite a bit. I think it has a lot do with the coat. It really is unique and looks absolutely great on her. To me, it feels far more "iconic" than some goofy long scarf ever could. 

I do disagree with everyone who complains that she should have worn the dark coat more often. It looks great too - but the original is equally excellent. And I like that she only actually wore the dark one when she was in some kind of surreal context: Like talking to her past selves in a mindscape or appearing as the Embodiment of Time. 

This, in many ways, is the most unique costume an incarnation has ever worn. But it makes sense. She is the first female Doctor. Thus making her different from all her predecessors. Which means the clothing can be radically different too. 

Another extremely unique costume for an extremely unique incarnation. 

The look almost doesn't have a style of its own. It seems more like a combination of McGann and Eccleston's costume. With only hints of "his own thing going on" with elements like the neck-scarf and the bandolier. 

But, like Thirteen, this makes a sort of sense. There's symbolism to all this. Because of all the atrocities he must commit during the Time Wars, this incarnation doesn't truly believe himself to be the Doctor.  He feels as though he's lost his identity. So the costume borrows a lot from the Doctors around him rather than establishing a presence of its own. It's a reflection of how this incarnation feels about himself. He takes items from other versions of him because he doesn't want to be who he is. 

It's a bit surreal that he's wearing a coat from his own future (albeit, more beat up than the one Eccleston wore), but still quite cool. 

Like Jodie, the outfit is still really only so exciting. It very much belongs in its middling state on this list. But I have little or no problem with it. It's really quite nice. 

I know a lot of fans, at the time, did not appreciate that the Doctor's clothes had become far more "tailored" during the 80s. But after coming off of an incarnation that was starting to look like he was homeless, I thought this was the smartest of moves. 

I also have just a bit of a bias. 80s Who was special to me. In my teens, I went back and watched all the 60s and 70s stuff. But it was in this decade that I first had to wait for new seasons to come out. In this sense, it's the era I grew up with. So I have lots of happy memories from this period. To the point where some of the costumes, maybe, should be lower on the list. But I do have stronger feelings for them. Much of those feelings that I have are, admittedly, motivated more by nostalgia than anything. 

With Five, the cricket motif looks classical enough that it still feels like we're getting that period feel. Which works well. It's a bit unsettling that this Doctor never wears any kind of neckwear like a tie or a cravat, but I get it - it's not something a cricketer would wear. 

This is another one of those coats that is gorgeously unique. You know that if you were to actually find one, it was completely made with the Fifth Doctor, in mind. It's not just something you come upon hanging off the peg at a regular clothing shop! 

And then, of course, there's the celery on the lapel. Why it actually works as well as it does, I cannot tell you. But Five really does manage to pull off a decorative vegetable. 

A very fun interesting Doctor whose costume matches her overall vibe quite well. 

The shirt is, in many ways, the centerpiece. It is gorgeously eye-catching. Not just because of the wild colors, but the design is very nice too. It's the first time in ages that we've seen the Doctor experimenting with ruffles. 

There are, perhaps, just a bit too many buttons going on, here. I get it, the whole outfit is about having a lot of buttons. But it does go just a tad too far with it. Which is why this is still a very pleasant costume, but it doesn't make it any higher on the list than here. 

With fans in the 80s already not liking question marks on the Doctor's collar, it's quite amusing how JNT really "doubles down" with this Doctor. 

The sweater definitely got quite a bit of hate when it first came out. But the sentiment really seems to have changed over the years. In the New Series, we have seen it come back as often as Tom Baker's scarf has (Osgoode sports the scarf in Day of the Doctor and the sweater in the Zygon episodes. Both elements are featured in the Master's Doctor costume during Power of the Doctor, etc...). Which almost leads one to believe that it just might be as iconic as what many fans believe to be the most iconic costume piece in all of Doctor Who. 

Admittedly, it also looks a bit tacky. But it's a good sort of tacky, really. A tacky that, somehow, works. 

The rest of the outfit is brilliant too. This is the incarnation from Classic Who that has the least amount of "period feel" to his look. But he still climbs quite high on this list. It's also impressive that when he comes back with a considerably different outfit in Doctor Who - The Movie, he doesn't feel as generic as his successor does. 

At long last, he appears. 

No doubt, many of you are savagely disagreeing with his placement. Particularly when you consider how many other Doctors he's beaten to get here. But I do genuinely believe that there is much to love about the Sixth Doctor's outfit. 

Yes, I'll acknowledge it: It is horrifically gaudy. But there is a great fun to that gaudiness. And it comes with an internal logic. The Doctor's regeneration had been very difficult, this time. Which had driven him temporarily mad. During that period of insanity, he put the outfit together. It seems to me that, once he had finally calmed down from it all, pride took over. Rather than admit the costume was a mistake, he kept wearing it. Even started making it tackier. 

My appreciation of it all becomes even more tenuous in Trial of a Time Lord when he dons a series of vests and cravats that are even more difficult to accept. Particularly what he's wearing in Terror of the Vervoids. That just might be too loud even for me! And yet, at the same time, I love the audacity of it all. The Doctor refuses to settle down. He's just going to keep ramping it up. To the point where some of his accessories appear almost child-like. Look at the way the chains on his vests appear in Trial of a Time Lord. They are brightly-colored, oversized, and made of cheap plastic. Almost like they belong on a toy rather than actual clothes an adult might wear. 

We also have yet another coat that is very extremely unique. Which, for some reason, always scores lots of points for me. I absolutely adore this coat. I hope, someday, to get one for myself. I know it won't be cheap, I will want it to look as authentic as possible and that will cost me some serious cash!. 

Still, I can't deny the tackiness of it all. But, honestly, if some of the features had been just a little more conservative, this would make it all the way to the top on this list. As it is, though, I do consider this to be "one of the Greats". 

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Matt Smith brought me great happiness as he took over the role of the Doctor. Not only do I love his portrayal, but the costume he chose had a much more classical feel to it. Which, after two Doctors in a row who wore outfits that did very little for me, brings great joy. 

The very first iteration of the costume does lack a little something. But I still like the way he looks like an eccentric professor rather than someone who is trying to impress the ladies (which is what the first two incarnations of New Who Doctors seem to be going for). It helps enormously that Amy keeps teasing him about how outdated he looks in a bow tie. It re-enforces the idea that this Doctor looks much more traditional.

Of course, as we get closer and closer to the 50th Anniversary, the Doctor looks more and more like he belongs in the Classic Series. Which is such a great direction for the outfit to move in. As we, at last, reach Day of the Doctor, we can believe that the most current Doctor belongs to a large pantheon of eccentrically-garbed characters. This is because he's no longer wearing jeans and a leather jacket or a skinny suit with a long coat. He truly resembles the Doctors of old. 

I do wish he'd worn that green coat a bit more often, though. Otherwise, this is another Great Doctor Costume.

Like the Second Doctor's outfit, this costume comes perilously close to being just a bit too simplistic. The Devil, however, is in the details. Or, at least, that's how the old saying goes....

Look, for instance, at what could easily constitute a simple black blazer. Instead, it's got cool oval lapels rather than the traditional triangular ones. And Hartnell frequently has a handkerchief hanging flamboyantly out of the side pocket. 

The vest and cravat also have a ribbon-like necklace that supports spectacles that help the Doctor to read. Even the key to the TARDIS is attached to the most eccentric of key chains. 

And then there's the way One chooses to accessorize things. The hats and scarves that he, sometimes, adds to his whole outfit look great. And the cloak he throws on from time-to-time is downright majestic. At the risk of sounding super-pedantic, I absolutely love its clasp!

One of the bigger elements that makes this costume so great is how definitive it is. These are the clothes that will help so many other choices that future Doctors will make as they finally spring into existence. For this reason, alone, One's apparel deserves to be this high in the rankings. 

The only Doctor who actually dresses as a time traveler should. He made a concerted effort on many occasions to wear clothes that will help him to blend in with the era he's visiting  

And yet, he still manages to stand out that little bit wherever he goes. Just look at something like The Devil's Chord. The Doctor and Ruby do that fun sequence where they exit the console room to visit the TARDIS wardrobe. They return a second later in absolutely perfect 60s garb. 

And that's just it. It's too damned perfect. Whatever Fifteen does, he does it with tremendous style. Which makes him impossible not to notice! 

At the same time, he still sports a "proper Doctor costume" on a regular enough basis. There is adequate consistency to the articles of clothing that he throws on so that he doesn't seem like just a regular person who switches up their outfits every day. He favors a certain type of shirt, for example, that we see him in quite often. And, of course, there's that long brown leather coat. A nice checkered one shows up now and again too. I also quite like his manskirts. And that's not just me trying to sound open-minded! 

He does, occasionally, make choices I'm less thrilled about. He's got a short black leather jacket that he likes to wear with just a basic white t-shirt that doesn't do much for me. And I'm really glad we didn't see him much in 73 Yards. That was, pretty much, the most unDoctorish outfit ever! 

Really, though, even the stuff that he wears that I don't like much still looks great on him. Which is why he ranks so high. Fifteen might not always choose what I feel are the sort of clothes that the Doctor should wear - but it hardly matters. He dresses spectacularly! 

The winner! 

I'm not particularly fond of the Third Doctor Era. I find most of the stories during this period to not be all that engaging and I even have problems with the way Jon Pertwee played the part. Nonetheless, I will not deny him the title of Best Dressed Doctor of Them All. 

As marvelous as Ncuti looks, he doesn't tick all those crucial boxes like Pertwee does. Not only does Three look distinctive, have a great "period feel" to his costume and show great taste, but he scores 100% in all these categories. There may be other things about him that I only like so much - but when it comes to Doctor costumes, he is King. 

Part of the appeal of his outfits is how much he varies his look while still maintaining a beautiful consistency. In every story, Three dresses differently. He'll add accessories for one adventure. Maybe he's in a vest or has a cravat or bow tie around his neck. But then some of those elements are altered or taken away for the adventure after that. Or it's a green blazer one week and a blue one the next. Or there's even that one time he wore a cummerbund during The Five Doctors. Something we never saw him in before or since. 

But regardless of all the different accessories, two important elements remain: He's always in a handsome dinner jacket and a cool ruffly shirt. These are the core elements of the Third Doctor Vibe. Everything that's built around it is so much window dressing. But all of it still looks amazing. 

And then, finally, there are the Inverness capes. So many different styles that he wore and he looked great in all of them! I am the proud owner of a somewhat cheap one, myself. It's funny how people will compliment me for it. Even say it makes me look a bit like Sherlock Holmes. 

"No way!" I'll answer with just a hint of angry defiance, "It's supposed to make me look like the Third Doctor!" 

He's the guy I want to resemble when I wear that thing. For the simple reason that no Doctor dresses better... 

LIST COMPLETE

And.... there you go. My list is done.  

No doubt, you all think I'm absolutely insane for ranking Six so high. And that's okay. You're entitled to your opinion. Also, I probably am just a little nuts. Who was it that once said: "Anything interesting is, at least, remotely insane!" 

It should be noted that, though I spoke poorly of some of these outfits, I don't genuinely hate any of them. Each costume helped to bring that particular incarnation of the Doctor to life in a new and interesting way. Often, there were still certain items within their whole look that I really loved. Even with the super simplistic style of Nine, I still adored the coat so much that I got one for myself. 

There is one exception to this: I really did genuinely dislike what Four was wearing during Seasons Sixteen and Seventeen. It almost seemed like the costumier for Baker had been caught sleeping with the producer's wife and had been sacked for it. It took forever to find a replacement so Tom was left to fend for himself for two years. During that time, he just decided to put as little effort into getting dressed as possible! 

Thankfully, they came along and cleaned him up for his last season! 

Other than that, though, I love everything the Doctor has worn. I've just loved some outfits better than others. And that's why, of course, I came up with this list. 

 

   

 

UNADULTERATED BOORISH OPINION: HOW MIGHT THE 2026 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL PLAY OUT?

SPECIAL NOTE:  So I had intended to post this on Doctor Who Day. But then a bunch of "leaks" came out. A reliable source (or someone purporting to be that reliable source) claimed to have learnt the basic premise of the Christmas Special's plot. A very convincing behind-the-scenes pic (that was, more-than-likely, some really good AI) also came out supporting what the "reliable source" was claiming. 

I am pretty sure there are some fans out there that are still insisting all of this is true. And perhaps they might be right. But I think most of us have gone back to believing that there's probably a very different plan in mind for what we'll be getting at the end of 2026. 

Now that we've calmed down a bit, let's try to take a more objective look at things. 

. 

OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL NEWS 

It's Official: After several months of making the fans fret, we get a proper and real announcement from the Beeb. Even though Disney pulled out, BBC is going to keep making new eps of Doctor Who. From what we understand, we'll be getting a Christmas Special near the end of 2026 and then a full season sometime in 2027. 

While this can, mainly, be construed as good news, it's a bit grueling to hear that it will take so long to get new Who on our screens. But still, it's better to wait a while than to just get no new eps at all. Ultimately, this still represents a massive victory. Wish World/Reality War does not constitute a Survival of the 2000s. The show will not be taking another Long Sleep. 

At least, not yet!

Some fans are interpreting this news in an interesting manner. While I've seen nothing from the BBC to confirm this, many seem to think that the 2026 Christmas Special will be the final installment of the RTD2 Era. The new season we will get in 2027 will be made by a different Head Writer. And, more than likely, a new production team, in general. Essentially, RTD will have a single one hour episode to wrap whatever loose plot strands he still has lying around. 

Again, I have seen no official statement validating this idea (perhaps others have?). Which is not to say that this isn't what's actually going to happen. But, as far as I'm concerned, it's also just as likely that RTD is sticking around to helm a third series. Perhaps even more seasons after that. At least, at the time of writing this, either outcome is at equal odds of happening. 

LET'S PRETEND 

The main thrust of this essay will be to entertain this current fan notion that RTD has only one more story left to resolve all the arcs he still has up in the air. It seems like a monumental task, really. There are still quite a few mystery boxes floating around that I don't think can be properly explained in just an hour. Even if he was allowed a bit more run-time it would still be difficult to tackle everything without feeling too rushed. Which is why I'm inclined to believe that he will be hanging around for a bit after the Christmas Special. The odds really do seem strong that he will get one more year in the Driver's Seat. 

But let's say he's only got the one episode left. I'm filled with many questions, if that's the case. My biggest one being: If this truly is his final story, what does RTD definitely have to resolve in the Christmas Special? There are any number of minor plot points and/or mysteries that I think don't need to be examined any further (ie: What exactly was 73 Yards actually about?!)  But there are other elements of this period that we definitely need closure to before the ending credits for the Christmas Special roll up. 

But what are they, exactly?! 

There are also a few subsidiary questions that I have. They may even seem to take things in strange directions, but they still matter to me. One of the weirder ones would be: What is the order of importance of these unresolved issues that RTD still needs to tackle? Some of these mystery boxes mean more to me than others. So if we don't get answers to those "more important" ones then I will experience greater dissatisfaction with the story. Perhaps even the entire RTD2 Era, in general. Whereas less crucial storylines will still upset me if they're not properly concluded - but I won't be quite as bothered. 

I have two more Big Questions that are quite complimentary in nature: What is the most likely outcome to the Mystery Box? And: What is the outcome I most want to see? On some occasions, the answer to both these questions will be the same. Most of the time, however, they will diverge greatly. 

Let me try to give an example: 

As I have mentioned in other entries (oftentimes, to the disdain of my readers who have poor taste in music), my other great "geek passion" is for the Canadian prog rock band: Rush. For most of the group's career, they worked with a drummer named Neil Peart. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago. After grieving his loss for quite some time, the two surviving members found a replacement drummer and have embarked upon a new tour. Many Rush Nerds suspected something like this would happen.  We also guessed that they would do what most bands of their stature do in a situation like this. They selected a really talented up-and-coming musician who had made a bit of a name for themselves but was still only so big in the industry. There are several reason why a band like Rush does this. But it is a decision that makes a lot of sense. It is, quite simply, the most likely outcome to a situation of this nature. 

What I was hoping they would do, however, was pick the only other drummer I know in Prog Rock that could truly fill Neil Peart's shoes. I wanted them to hire Bill Brufford. A drummer who has already worked with very "Rushesque" bands like King Crimson and Yes. This was the outcome I most wanted to see but knew was highly unlikely of happening. Especially since Brufford officially retired as a musician quite some time ago. 

Do we see the difference, now? Most Likely and Most Desired outcomes can vary greatly.  .  

While I do think this little example illustrates the concept I'm trying to explain, I also believe the real reason I included it in the entry was so I could have an opportunity to talk about Rush for a bit! Having done that, let's get back to my real point: 

This essay will take the time to explain all the different ongoing storylines that RTD must wrap up if the Christmas Special really is his last ep. It will then rank those arcs in order of importance. Finally, it will discuss the most likely way in which the plot strands will be resolved. But it will also include how I'd most like to see them end. 

Right then, now that we've established all this, let's get on with it, shall we? 

PLOT POINT #1: 

So this is the biggest one of them all. The one that has gotten all of us eager to see what happens next. Quite simply: Why does the Doctor now look like Rose?!

The simplest answer is, of course, that this is what the latest version of what the Doctor looks like. We know, already, that regeneration can give a Time Lord a face they've seen before. Six was a copy of Commander Maxil from Arc of Infinity and Twelve looked like Caecilius in Fires of Pompeii. The Doctor can even "revisit old faces" like he has with his fourth and tenth incarnations. The process isn't so random that he always gets a completely original appearance. So looking like Rose doesn't come from completely out of nowhere. 

If this is, indeed, the case - then I have little problem with it. Billie Piper has more-than-proven that she is a highly competent actress and will give us a great interpretation of the role. She not only excelled as Rose in Doctor Who, but has gone on to play in many other TV shows over the years where she did an equally-awesome job. In several of these series, she even played the lead. So she can, easily, carry the weight that's required of a performer in a part of this stature. 

Most fans, however, suspect that there's a bit of a trick going on, here. The most commonly-held belief is that the Doctor will only look like Rose for a brief period of time and will then "properly regenerate" into the actor that will go on to play the Doctor in the next season(s) of Doctor Who. Many are citing how the ending credits of Reality War had a caption that read: "And Introducing Billie Piper". They believe this to be quite suspicious. Any other time that the Doctor has regenerated, that sentence finished off with: "as the Doctor". Because of this omission, many are convinced Piper will not be the latest incarnation of the Doctor. But something else, entirely. 

While I'm impressed by those who noticed this (I caught it, too!), I'm actually a bit amazed that no one seems to be remarking on how the regeneration was visually-represented this time. Since New Who started, the process looks, pretty much, the same. Exposed skin on a Time Lord's body glows in a sort of golden hue for a few seconds and then fades away as a new body appears. With Fifteen, however, the energy isn't just enveloping his head and hands. Instead, it seems to be swirling all around him. Coming out from all over the place. Go back and have a look. 

This visual cue seems to indicate that the regeneration isn't quite normal. Which does help support the idea that something weird is going on, here. It looks quite likely that Rose's appearance will not be the permanent result of this particular transformation. 

Using the actual Lore of the show, there are two potential outcomes that we can extrapolate: 

1) This might be something similar to the regeneration Romana had at the beginning of Destiny of the Daleks. For some reason, the Doctor is suddenly capable of trying on several bodies before making a final choice. For all we know, Rose will disappear just a few seconds into the Christmas Special and the Doctor assumes another form entirely. And, perhaps, a few more after that. And that will be all we see of her. 

2) This could have something to do with The Moment from Day of the Doctor. Perhaps the Interface has hijacked the Doctor in mid-regeneration. Out of familiarity, she gives him the same shape she has taken in their last encounter. She's doing all this because she needs him to prevent some major disaster. We have been seeing the Villengard Corporation a lot lately. Perhaps they've built a Moment of their own and the Gallifreyan version is trying to stop them. Or something to that effect... 

While both these theories tie in nicely with ideas we've already seen represented on the show, neither of them strike me as being all that particularly likely. The second one does hold a bit of water. I do think some external influence has affected the Doctor's appearance for a brief period of time - it's just not the Moment. Eventually the regeneration will complete itself and Rose will be replaced by someone else. I also think that whatever outside force this is, it's not something we've seen before on the show. It could be possible, however, that it's some sort of special technology being operated by a previously-established character from the Doctor's past, But that's as close as I think we'll get to employing continuity to solve the riddle. 

This does seem the most likely outcome to this situation. In this instance, it's also the one I most want to see.

SPECIAL NOTE: Some of you might feel that there is a third explanation that uses previously-established continuity that I'm neglecting to mention. I've heard any number of fans postulate that all of this has something to do with that brief moment in Series One when Rose Tyler was able to stare into the Heart of the TARDIS and become the Bad Wolf. It is a theory that does make a bit of sense. During that moment, Rose was able to see all of Time and Space. There might have been a moment in the far-flung future where she saw that the Doctor would need her help again. 

The biggest problem with this idea is that, when Rose became the Bad Wolf, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she talked and acted in a god-like manner. We see none of this behavior during the brief final seconds of The Reality War. Which leads me to believe this has nothing to do with when she was the Bad Wolf. 

PLOT POINT #2: 

The second mystery box that needs solving tugs at me almost as hard as the stuff about Rose. It was the very first arc RTD teased out way back in The Star Beast and we're still waiting for an answer. In fact, it even got mentioned near the tail end of The Reality War. Just to make sure we're all still asking ourselves the Big Question:  

Who is the Boss?   

There are many possibilities, of course. It could be a character we've never seen before. Or it could be one of those one-time-only villains that writers will, sometimes, bring back for a second battle (Please God, let it be Meglos. Please God, let it be Meglos. Please God, let it be....) Or it could be a recurring baddie that has plagued the Doctor on any number of occasions, already. It could even be that Super-Computer from The Green Death that was actually called The Boss! 

The thing is, though, it's pretty obvious who it is: 

The Boss is the Master. 

There are just a few too many clues that got thrown out. Particularly in the Sixtieth Anniversary Specials. When discussing the Boss, the Meep speaks of species that have two hearts. And then there's all the stuff involving the Toymaker's golden tooth in The Giggle. 

This could be a bunch of misdirection, of course. RTD could just be setting all this up to make things easy for a future writer who wants to bring the Master back. But RTD was never all that good at such tactics. He doesn't tend to create plot threads like this without cashing in on them later. He's also only so good at keeping his clues subtle (look how one little trailer got us all to work out that Neil Patrick Harris was the Toymaker!). So I'm going to safely say that the Boss is the Master. 

There is, perhaps, only one thing that contradicts this idea. The Toymaker's golden tooth isn't recovered till after the events of Star Beast. So how could the Master be the Boss if he hasn't actually been saved, yet? The solution is pretty simple, of course. He's a time traveler. He was rescued from the Toymaker's mouth and then went back in time and established himself as the Boss. He did something similar when he became Harold Saxon in Series Three. He is messing, ever-so-slightly, with Gallifreyan Mean Time when he does that (something that is no longer just a Fan Theory as it does get discussed in The End of Time - Part 1) but not quite enough to cause any kind of serious trouble. 

The Bigger Question in my mind is actually: Will Sacha Dhawan come back as the Master? I absolutely adored what he did with the role and would love to see him return. Dhawan has even said that he doesn't feel done with the part and wants to continue. And then there's the fact that we've yet to have a  Master in New Who "do an Anthony Ainley" and face the Doctor in several different incarnations. These are all factors that have me praying that they bring Dhawan back for more. Not just in this story but for others in the future.. 

Unless, of course, they decide to make the Boss Meglos. That would be the only thing that would make me happier!

PLOT POINT #3: 

Priorities are lowering every time we reach a new plot point, but this one still matters quite a bit to me. 

This is, perhaps, the most cleverly-built of the RTD2 arcs. It starts as a mere bit of fannish throwaway dialogue in The Devil's Chord. The Doctor mentions to Ruby that, in another part of London, the events of An Unearthly Child are happening. It's a quick reminder that the Doctor has a granddaughter. The season then ends with the Doctor and Ruby returning to modern-day Earth and suspecting that Susan Triad might actually be that granddaughter. She's not, though. 

For a while, there's no talk of Susan. And then, suddenly, in the middle of The Interstellar Song Contest, Susan starts communicating with her grandfather through some sort of weird telepathic link. She continues to do so throughout the rest of the season. 

Susan is still alive! She's out there, somewhere. And she's trying to get in touch with the Doctor. Which leads us to the latest Big Question: 

What the Hell is going on with Susan?!!   

It seems that RTD's main goal will be to finally sort out the complexity of the relationship between the Doctor and Susan. It doesn't seem to be as simple as the Doctor having a kid who had a kid. The conversation he has with Kate Stewart in Empire of Death hints at something far more complicated. The Doctor revealing in The Reality War that Time Lords are sterile makes the whole situation even murkier. I'm guessing that, if the Christmas Special is all that RTD has left, then the Doctor will finally find Susan and we'll get some explanations. 

I do hope, however, that we'll get more than just some confusing canon sorted out. That Susan is actually useful to the plot of the Christmas Special in some way. If we do get that, however, then it could lead us to a very sinister outcome: 

Susan might actually be the Boss. 

PLOT POINT #4: 

These last few points are very low on the totem. I'd like to see them get solved. But, quite honestly, if RTD doesn't get around to them because he's only got an hour-or-so of screentime left, then I'll be okay.

So the Doctor did this thing in Wild Blue Yonder that I thought was pretty cool. Basically, he poured a bit of salt and kinda changed the entire fabric of reality. The Whoniverse is now much more supernatural. It's not just the Pantheon that's crept in, there's all kinds of crazy things going on that don't necessarily have a proper logic to them.  

Prior to the events of Wild Blue Yonder, everything in Doctor Who had a proper scientific explanation to it. The science might be a little "wonly", at times. Or it might be more of a pseudoscience than the real thing. But there was still an internal logic going on. 

This is not so much the case anymore. Breaking a Fairy Circle can have devastating consequences. Or barber shops can travel on the backs of spiders that are powered by stories. And none of this requires a proper explanation. And I'm quite enjoying the more fantastical edge Doctor Who currently has.

But the Doctor does need to, eventually, "fix" the Universe. He has to find some way to restore things to what they once were. All the gods and goblins and what-have-yous need to get banished back to beyond the edge of the universe. We need to return to a reality that is governed by science and rules. 

This doesn't need to happen right away. I, for one, would be happy if we got a few more seasons like this before the problem was finally fixed. I'd almost even be a bit sad if RTD hits the re-set button in the Christmas Special. There's much more that can be explored...

Having said this, however, I would understand if we get our old Whoniverse back by the end of the episode. A new Head Writer might not want to step into something like this. They would probably prefer to return to the reality we've had for most of the show's run.  . 

PLOT POINT #5: 

And now we are moving into the Land of the Virtually Irrelevant. The world of I Am So Close to Not Caring About This. But let's examine these last few points, anyway!

There seems to be a bit of a consensus amongst Fandom that the Doctor needs to eventually "re-unite" with himself. That a bi-generation can only go on for so long and then the two separate incarnations must merge together again. Some seem to think that this is yet one more thing that will happen in this jam-packed Christmas Special: The two Doctors that now exist will bond back together into one. 

Interestingly enough, some believe that it won't be David Tennant playing the role of "the Other Doctor" when this happens. Many that feel a reunion between incarnations is due think that the Tennant version has also regenerated (which may be why they need to come back together - perhaps this is all part of the process of bi-generation. Once both incarnations have regenerated they need to re-unite. We don't really know since there are no established rules about how all of this works!). These fans believe that, when the two different versions meet again, the Other Doctor will now be Tom Baker. 

This will, of course, get that bit at the end of Day of the Doctor to finally have a proper place in the canon of the show. At some point offscreen, David Tennant changed into Tom Baker. Tom Baker went off to be the Curator for a while in the Secret Undergallery of London, There he briefly met Matt Smith and told him to go look for Gallifrey. Sometime after that, he ventures into the Christmas Special. There, he re-joins his other incarnation and the bi-generattion closes itself back up. 

If RTD does decide to do this, it could help with the idea of Rose serving as only a temporary incarnation. The Doctor takes on the form of his old companion until he can "heal" the bi-generation. Once the incarnations are back together, a proper regeneration ensues and we get the real actor who will play the Sixteenth Doctor. 

PLOT POINT #6:

Okay, this one barely even counts. But it may actually come up. 

Some fans who despise the Timeless Child arc that Chris Chibnall created were hoping that RTD would retcon the whole thing. That he would come up with some sort of plot contrivance that would wipe the entire concept from canon. Like the Doctor suddenly wakes up in the TARDIS still in his twelfth incarnation and proclaims: "All that time I spent as a woman. It was all just a dream!" 

Or something to that effect....

But RTD ended up doing the exact opposite. He clings quite tightly to the notion. In Church on Ruby Road, for instance, the Doctor mentions to Ruby that he recently discovered he was a foundling. We even get the briefest of cameos from the Fugitive Doctor during The Story and the Engine. Clearly, our current Head Writer is not wiping the Timeless Child out of existence. 

Chibnall, of course, left things very open-ended with the whole storyline. We learn a bit about the Timeless Child but then Thirteen tosses the fob watch that can tell her everything about her hidden past down a chasm in the TARDIS. While the gesture frustrated some fans, I thought it was pretty cool. Quite honestly, I'm glad we haven't gotten all the answers. It allows other writers to build on the myth in their own way.

It might be nice if RTD actually does some of that during the Christmas Special (if he can fit it in somewhere!). Perhaps the Doctor even stumbles upon the fob watch and allows it to share a bit more information with her. Or the Fugitive Doctor makes an appearance and tells the Doctor a bit more about her past. 

Or something to that effect.... 

RTD has made enough mention of the Timeless Child throughout Ncuti's era that if he did want to breach the subject a bit more in his final episode, it wouldn't seem out of place. 

IN THE END 

So, there it is. All the things that need sorting out if all we're getting is one more story from RTD. It seems like a lot, of course. But, as I pointed out, some of these issues are far less important than others. In some cases, they don't even really need to be resolved. The next Head Writer can deal with them. Or not! Doctor Who has a long history of hanging threads that were never properly concluded. It's become a legitimate core element of the show's format. 

You don't believe me? Look at how they had planned back in the Pertwee Era to reveal that the Master was the Doctor's brother. The story arc was abandoned after the passing of Roger Delgado but then still gets hinted at years later in Planet of Fire. Which means that, all this time, the two Time Lords may actually be related. But we still haven't really been given a proper answer. Or how about the way the Cartmel Masterplan never truly came to fruition because the show went off the air before the full story could be told? Or the very open-ended conclusion to The Doctor's Daughter where Jenny flies off into space expecting to get in more trouble and see her Dad some more .... but then we never see her again! The show is full of this kind of stuff. So it stands to reason that we get more of this in the years to come. 

If RTD only deals with my first three plot points, I'll be content. Although, really, I still think he should get one more season. I wish Ncuti was the star in that final season but we can't always get what we want.  Still, I'll be happy to see these arcs being allowed to breathe a bit rather than get compressed into one tiny little Christmas Special. Even if it's a new Doctor that has to wrap them up rather than one that started them all. Unfortunately, however, we have some very vocal grumpy old fans that want to see the back of this current Head Writer as quickly as possible. 

Sadly, they just might get their way.

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