BOOK OF LISTS: APPENDIX FIVE - DOCTORS: FROM WORST TO BEST

And so, in the dying days of 2020, we reach our final BOOK OF LISTS Appendix. The one you've all been waiting for (in my delusional view of things, I'm picturing you all in sheer suspense, right now): where does the thirteenth Doctor rank in my preferences? 

HOW DID THAT LIST LOOK BEFORE? 

As usual, we'll set things up by showing you how the rankings looked before this latest development. If you want to read the entries, yourself, they start right here: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/11/book-of-lists-doctors-from-worst-to.html. You can, of course, just keep moving on to the next entry to learn the rest of them. If you do read that first entry, however, then you should be warned: Some very controversial things get said. 

If you don't want to read all the essays, I've put the list together, here. I think, just by looking at it, you can guess why I said things are a bit controversial. As always, this is from least favorite to most. I stress this extra hard because many of you would think I'm doing things backwards, this time!

Ten-b (David Tennant) 

Three (Jon Pertwee)

Ten (David Tennant, again)

Four (Tom Baker)

War (John Hurt)

Nine (Christopher Eccleston)

Eight (Paul McGann) 

Twelve (Peter Capaldi)

Five (Peter Davison)

Two (Patrick Troughton)

Seven (Sylvester McCoy)

One (William Hartnell) 

Eleven (Matt Smith) 

'Ole Sixie (Colin Baker)

There it is. In all its glory. I'm still amazed I didn't receive more death-threats than I did for the Doctors I put on the bottom. Also, some people have called me completely nuts for making Colin my favorite incarnation. But, seriously, he was awesome. And the coat totally kicked ass! 

* SPECIAL NOTE: For those of you wondering who Doctor Ten-b might be, click on the link I provided just before the list. I explain it a bit there. 

** SPECIAL SPECIAL NOTE: Really, I love that coat! 

AN ADDITION THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE REALIZED

So I've been claiming that this essay will be the one that reveals where Thirteen will fit in this weird arrangement of my demented preferences. But there's actually two incarnations that I need to rank. She has had enough presence in the show that she deserves to receive an official position in here. So we're also going to assign a spot to the Ruth Doctor. 

Does this mean the Timeless Child in her first and ensuing incarnations that we see in the flashbacks should also get ranked? What about the faces we see in Brain of Morbius? Those are instances that are similar to the judgement I used in my RANKING THE MASTERS series. We just don't see enough of them to be able to make a proper call. Most of them, in fact, were only onscreen for a fraction of a second. You can't really form much of an opinion off of so little. It may be that we see more of that first incarnation of the Timeless Child in a future episode (it would be very interesting if we do). If she does return, she might make it onto the list. It really depends on just how much we see of her. At this point, however, a few flashback scenes are not enough. She hasn't even spoken any dialogue, yet!

"What about Brandon?" some of you may be asking, "He seems to be another hidden incarnation of the Doctor." He does get quite a bit of screentime during Ascension of the Cybermen. Maybe I should analyse the character a bit and also assign him a spot... 

Brandon, however, is governed by the same rules as the Derek Jacobi Master. Most of the time that we have seen him, his true identity has been ripped away from him. So we can't really judge how good of a Doctor he is because he's not actually acting like the Doctor. He's acting like the false identity that he's been given. To me, this makes it impossible to compare him to other Doctors. 

RUTH DOCTOR REVIEW FIRST 

As has been the case with my other posts like this, I like to write up a review of my choice before revealing its position on the list. We will start with the latest Blink-And-You'll-Miss-Them (and get attacked by a Weeping Angel) Doctor. 

A significant part of what will make this Doctor stick out in our memory was the stunning revelation of her existence. Something like this was done before, of course, with the War Doctor. That was a very suspenseful and effective moment. But I still think this reveal worked even better. The War Doctor got very dramatic music and cinematography. It was all quite intense. But I actually liked how much more simplistic this one was. Our jaw drops far harder just by watching a bit of dirt get cleared off a police box and then Jo Martin introducing herself as the Doctor. The minimalism of it all actually gets it to succeed way better. 

We get an immediate impression that, whoever this new version of the Doctor is, she's pretty bad-ass. She is holding a big nasty rifle in her hand as she introduces herself. The TARDIS console even seems to have a handle on it to hang the weapon from. She does try to re-assure Thirteen that she doesn't believe in causing harm but the nasty trick she plays on Gat seems to negate this. It's an interesting edge to give the character - making her just a bit more violent than the Doctor normally is. But I don't feel that it goes too far. Deep down inside, the Doctor does still seem to be there. But it does lead us to believe that this must be a younger version of our hero. One who still hasn't quite fully formed her moral compass. 

Jo Martin does a great job of solidifying the character to us, too. As is the case with Doctors like this, they have little time to establish themselves. So they need to be competent actors. The moment she smashes the fire alarm chameleon arch thingy, she brings her Doctor to life beautifully. So much so, that some fans have actually said they wish Jo Martin was playing Thirteen rather than Jodie Whittaker. While I think such a compliment is a bit mean-spirited, it does say something about Martin's skills. 

The second appearance of this Doctor in The Timeless Children is truly amazing. In just a few short sentences, Thirteen needs to be uplifted, given a hint as to how to defeat her enemy, and told how to escape the Matrix. All of this is done magnificently through Ruth's oh-so-brief conversation with her. It's some great dialogue that is also delivered perfectly. This moment really gets me to fall in love with this incarnation. So much is done in such a small scene. And Martin and Whittaker pull it off. I love the intensity of her "No time for rest..." line. It's almost throwaway dialogue, but it still gets tremendous attention from the actress. It really is a great little moment. 

It seems highly likely that we will see, at least, a bit more of this incarnation to better flesh out the whole mystery of the Timeless Child. I won't lie, I look forward to it. 

AND NOW, THIRTEEN'S REVIEW 

If you've been following this blog at all, (particularly some of the UNADULTERATED BOORISH OPINION essays I've recently written.  Like this one, for instance: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/12/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-female.html), you know that I have taken a very positive stance about this current era of the show. Other people out there might be complaining about it, but I think it's doing quite well. I thought Series Eleven was solid and Series Twelve was downright amazing. One of, if not the best, seasons of the New Series. 

With  that in mind, you can probably guess that I'm really enjoying Doctor Thirteen. And you'd be correct in that assumption. The character bears a strong resemblance to both Ten and Eleven. Both of them were overeager fanboys. Whittaker, of course, is an overeager fangirl - but it still amounts to the same thing. This seems to be a bit of a "default setting" for a New Who Doctor. You do get the occasional variation with Capaldi or Eccleston, but the Doctor's general personality, these days, tends to follow this pattern.

I feel that every actor that plays the Doctor in such a manner seems to improve upon the performance. There is a huge gap between how much I like Ten versus how I appreciate Eleven. That difference is there because I believe Matt Smith and Steven Moffat did a much better job of crafting a character of this nature. I feel, however, that Whittaker and Chibnall are doing this even better. Thirteen's boundless enthusiasm and endless optimism (tempered with a just a touch of realistic cynicism) make her an endless delight to watch. I love how much she talks to herself, too. It's especially funny in Timeless Children when she realizes she must be feeling better cause she's having conversations out loud again when there's no one around. 

I've mentioned before but will state it again: I'm particularly happy to see such a prominent moral compass in this incarnation. Her strong desire to avoid violence as much as possible is a nice thing to see after several years of Doctors being just a little too undoctorish, sometimes (ie: possibly pushing cyborgs out of escape pods or sending Solomon to his death or even letting Cassandra die right in front of him during the very second episode of the whole show!). Admittedly, those virtues do slide a little bit, here and there, but this is still the Doctor with the purest heart since the show has been revived. I really like her for that. 

Some have complained that Series Eleven gave us a Doctor who was far too light and airy. I think, now, we can see why the character was played out in such a manner. When the Doctor starts going to darker places in Series Twelve, we feel it all the more succinctly. She seemed so bright and cheery for so long. That gets taken away from her at the end of Spyfall - Part Two and comes back to rear its ugly head a few more times over the course of the season. When this does happen, it's always a deeply intense moment. Particularly during The Haunting of Villa Diodati when she makes her famous Flat Team Structure speech. We really feel the weight of it because of the time it took for it to finally happen. It reminds me of how the fifth Doctor was during Season Nineteen until he finally gets in a fight with the Cyberleader. There's a great build-up, there. This really shows some tremendous foresight on Chibnall's behalf. He was definitely planning ahead with things. It made even smaller gestures like the Doctor suddenly pushing the Master to the ground while he taunts her in the Matrix have a ridiculously huge impact. This is the first time we've seen the Doctor exhibit behavior like this in this incarnation. Getting such a gesture to only take place after two seasons made it very dramatic. It really was such a simple little act that still ended up flooring me. All because of the way the character has been constructed over a gradual period of time.   

I look forward to seeing where this whole Timeless Child storyline will continue to go. I know some are very upset over the revelation of the Doctor's secret origins, but I'm quite intrigued by the whole thing and want to learn more. 

I also enjoyed the whole the three companion dynamic, but am eager to see just the Doctor and Yaz in the TARDIS. Both characters will get much more attention, now. Some interesting stuff should grow out of that. 

To me, the thirteenth Doctor's future looks very bright. I love what Jodie is doing with the role and think Chibnall is an awesome Head Writer. Not everyone feels that way (and some are being quite vocal about it!), but I'm of a very different mind. 

To me, the show is moving in a great direction. I can't wait to see where it goes next.  

RANKINGS

This will be another one of those lists that is going to get re-structured a fair amount. In my original entries I mentioned, already, that this is a fairly fluid issue. My feelings on a Doctor can change over time. But I still wanted to commit to some sort of order of preference when I compiled it all. 

For the most part, how I first ranked the Doctors from the past will remain the same. So that highly controversial Bottom Four sticks. No one's position changes there. Even though many of you savagely disagree with the choices I made!

As we get to those shorter-lived incarnations, things start to change up. As I mention in the actual Blink-and-You'll-Miss-Them (and get attacked by a Weeping Angel) essay, it's difficult for me to get too attached to a Doctor that is only around for a short period of time. For the most part, they can't really climb any higher than the point I've put them at. 

I do like the Ruth Doctor a little bit better than the War Doctor. But I don't think she beats Nine. So I'm placing her between the two. Here's how that chunk of the list will look, then: 

War (John Hurt)

Ruth (Jo Martin) 

Nine (Christopher Eccleston)

Eight (Paul McGann)

It's possible that, as I see more of the Ruth Doctor, she may achieve a better position. 

Our Lower and Upper Mid-Ranges also won't see any real changes. Admittedly, Twelve had the potential to climb a bit since a whole other season was produced with him as the Doctor after the list was made. It was a very strong season and Capaldi was excellent in it, but my opinion on these Doctors remain the same. 

And so, now, we reach what used to be the Top Three. They are now the Top Four. That's just how much I love Thirteen. She's made it up this high. 

If you should go back and read what I wrote about Colin Baker's Doctor, you'll notice that I actually favor him a bit more just because he's something of an underdog. So much criticism was levelled at his period of the show. And so much of it seemed so unfounded. I loved how beautifully arrogant the incarnation was. But, on top of that, I stand up for him just that little bit more because I felt he was treated so unfairly. 

A similar thing is happening with Jodie Whittaker. In fact, a lot of this really resembles what we were seeing in the late 80s. Certain people just seemed impossible to satisfy and they had to let you know about it. So, just like Colin, I do love her portrayal enormously. But I also become just that little bit more loyal to her because of the adversity she's facing. 

Which means that she is now my second-favorite Doctor. Only behind the Great 'Ole Sixie, himself. Which also means she is now my favorite Doctor from the New Series. I still like Matt a lot, too. But I like Jodie that little bit better. 

However, I'm still going to change the Top Four structure just a little bit more. Oddly enough, I just don't feel comfortable with two New Who Doctors so close to the top. It's weird, I know. But the List just no longer feels right, that way. So I'm also switching Eleven with One. Does that make any real sense? Not in the slightest. But, these are my preferences, so I don't feel any need to justify myself too much!   

Here's how the Top Four now looks: 

Eleven (Matt Smith) 

One (William Hartnell) 

Thirteen (Jodie Whittaker) 

Six (Colin "The Man" Baker)

Like Ruth, Thirteen has the potential to climb higher as we see more of her. But it will be difficult for her to beat Colin. My love of Six runs deep...

And that's where the first and second female Doctors fit in the scheme of things. Both, I feel, are doing quite well. Overall, I think the role suits a woman as much as a man. In fact, I might even believe that the character is better suited to an actress. How's that for being controversial?! 

And you thought putting Tennant and Tom Baker so close to the bottom was crazy!! 

There we go: All the major updates that were needed for my BOOK OF LISTS have been made. And we got it done just before the year was over. 

2020 has been a crazy year for all of us, I'm sure. But I hope you're all doing okay, out there. I also hope that my blog has been a nice diversion for some of you while you've been stuck indoors.  Feel free to keep doing that if you need to. The number of hits that I see on a daily basis always warms my heart! Thanks, so much, for all of your support. I appreciate it deeply. 

Happy New Year! 

BOOK OF LISTS: APPENDIX 4 - RANKING THE MASTER

We're nearing the end of December. I'm going to try squeeze in two more entries before 2020 is over. Given that I'm living in an area where we are back in Lockdown, this doesn't seem like something too impossible. 

I've been very conscious of scale as I've been writing these. I started with something reasonably large and attention-grabbing in my first essay of the month. I looked at where my preference for the Doctor's most current regeneration fits in with all the others (here it is, right here, if you haven't looked at it, yet: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/12/book-of-lists-appendix-1-ranking.html). After that essay, however, I made Appendixes for lists that I figured people might not be as interested in (Top 6 Favorite Episodes: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/12/book-of-lists-appendix-2-top-6-episodes.html and Top Five Two-Timers: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/12/book-of-lists-appendix-2-top-6-episodes.html). Basically, I tried to "hook you in" with something more exciting but then go low-key for a bit. 

But now, as the countdown reaches its conclusion, it's time to bring out the Big Guns. We're going to finish things off with some developments in the show that have had major impact on some of my tastes. This essay, for instance, will cover how I feel about this latest incarnation of the Master. 

THE DHAWAN MASTER   

Since composing my RANKING THE MASTER lists, we have had one more actor take on the part. There has been some debate regarding where exactly this interpretation of the role fits in regards to the renegade Time Lord's timeline. Some are sure he must be between the Simm Master and Gomez. Others are sure he comes after Missy. I make my opinion on the issue clear in this entry: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/06/chronologies-and-timelines-appendixes.html (it's the second part of the essay). So I won't go into it again, here. 

What I will focus on, of course, is the quality of Sacha Dhawan's performance and the calibre of Chris Chibnall's writing of the character. I will say, up front, that I have great appreciation for this latest incarnation and feel that the actor and writer are both doing excellently. 

I will also admit, however, that it is very difficult to truly determine where he fits in the rankings. Really, we have not seen that much of the character, yet. Technically, he's only gotten two full episodes. 

Yes, he was in both parts of Spyfall. But he was pretending to be someone else through most of the first episode. And he doesn't come into the Cybermen Three-Parter at the season finale of Series Twelve until the very end of Ascension of the Cybermen. So he really only has a solid presence in Spyfall - Part Two and The Timeless Children. 

Two episodes doesn't give us much to go on. But I do think it's enough to give him some sort of status on the list. Admittedly, as we get more episodes, his position might change. More than likely, it will go up. I really am enjoying this version of the Master. I do think that, the more I see him, the more I will like him. 

THE LIST 

This entry seems to be pretty "link heavy", already, But I will add one more. Here is the first essay in the countdown: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/11/book-of-lists-ranking-masters-part-1.html. For once, I am recommending that you do really look over this one. You should, at the very least, read those first few paragraphs where I explain my rules and exceptions to the rules for ranking the Masters the way I did. You may have a harder time understanding my choices if you don't 

After that, however, if you'd rather not get into some heavy reading - here's the short version of things. As always, I'm going from least favorite to most:    

Eric Roberts Master

John Simm Master

Roger Delgado Master

Corpse Master 

Anthony Ainley Master 

Missy 

I'm sure, if you never read the entries when they first came out, you're reeling from shock over where I placed Delgado. You might want to look at that specific entry about him to see why I made such a blasphemous choice. (Oh, all right! Another link, then: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/12/book-of-lists-ranking-masters-part-3.html). 

THE SACHA DHAWAN REVIEW - THE SUPERFICIAL STUFF

I will admit, there are a couple of superficial issues that get me to really like this latest incarnation. So let's get them out of the way, immediately: 

1) The Master finally has a TARDIS: When the character was first re-introduced in the RTD era, it looked like he was stranded without one and had to use the Doctor's to get around. Sometime after The End of Time, he finally got one of his own, again. But it was only ever talked about. Never seen. 

To me it was so beautiful to see that bungalow floating alongside the jetplane. Finally, we were definitely seeing that Master using his TARDIS. It just felt so good. While some complained about how the interior looked (basically, still just a bungalow but with a really funky-looking console at the middle), I quite liked it. The Doctor and the Master just don't quite seem like equals unless we see both of them operating their TARDISes a bit in a story. We've got that back, now. And I love it. 

2) His surprise return: While Utopia did do a great job of putting the Master right under our nose and then revealing him, I do think the ending of Spyfall - Part One accomplishes this task even better. There is, pehaps, too much attention given to Professor Yana - which gets us a bit suspicious that there is more to him than meets the eye. "O" is so pleasant and unassuming. We mistake him for just being a nice supporting character that will help the Doctor for the adventure. And then we pick our jaws up off the floor as he makes the "spy-master" pun. It's sheer brilliance!

Yes, just like John Barrowman in Fugitive of the Judoon, there were vague rumours of Sacha Dhawan playing a new incarnation of the Master. But we weren't taking them that seriously. The fact that he does such a convincing job as "O" gets us to take think, all-the-more, that the speculation was wrong. And then the tables turn oh-so-viciously in the final minutes of the episode. It might just be one of the best surprise reveals the show has ever achieved. 

3) The tissue compressor!: Easily, the silliest and most superficial reason for why I enjoy this incarnation so much. I have always loved the concept of a weapon that seems to shrink its victim to death. I'm not sure why. But it just seems so fun! Especially the way it leaves doll-like corpses behind. 

With Delgado and the Corpse Master, we only got glimpses of it. It was Ainley that truly brought the tissue compression eliminator to the forefront. In almost every tale the Ainley Master showed up in, he uses it on, at least, one occasion. In most stories, several victims are killed by it. And, always, shrunken bodies are left behind as a sort of "calling card" for the Doctor to find. It's the Master's sadistic way of letting his rival know that he's around, somewhere. Waiting to strike... 

I am absolutely thrilled to see this weapon is finally back and being used in great abundance. It's ridiculous how happy the return of the tissue compressor has made me. Naturally enough, because it's this Master that has brought it back, I can't help but love him for it.  

THE SACHA DHAWAN REVIEW - THE HEAVIER STUFF

And now, let's look at some legitimate reasons for why I enjoy this Master as much as I do: 

What I think I am enjoying most about this incarnation is his straightforwardness. He hates the Doctor and wants to kill her. He wants to take over the Universe. Those are his two prime motives and, for the most part, he sticks to them. Other Masters that we've seen in the New Series have tended to be more complicated than that. They did weird out-of-character things that we'd never really see Classic Who Masters do. In some cases, like the redemption arc that Missy moved through, I felt that this worked. In other instances, like the Simm Master willing himself to death after he'd been shot (particularly since the Doctor had just called his suicidal bluff a few minutes earlier), I wasn't so keen on it. So, for me, stripping the Master back down to basics is a happy thing. I'm glad to see him back to doing what he does best. Admittedly, this might get a bit too "one note" further down the road. But I'm assuming that if that starts to happen, the character will get re-invented a bit. 

The other thing I've really adored about this Master is the energy Dhawan is giving to the role. Yes, the Simm Master also demanded a lot of enthusiasm from its performer. But there were moments where Simm almost seemed to be turning to the camera and giving us a wink. Which led to a certain level of campiness to the character that I never particularly enjoyed.  Dhawan performs the role with this disturbing level of conviction. Even when he does silly things like imitate the heavy footsteps of the Cyber-Masters, he sells it. He's a demented child trapped in an adult's body. Rather than an adult who kinda knows he's being silly. It's only a slight difference in the way the role is portrayed, but it can have a tremendous effect on an audience's appreciation. Because of Dhawan's commitment to the part, he is genuinely chilling. He's almost even a bit exhausting to watch - but in a good way. All the effort he's putting into the part is sincere. So that high level of energy really impresses me. I imagine that, at the end of every shoot, he's pretty damned tired. And I applaud him for what he's putting into the whole thing. 

In a lot of ways, he is reminding me of the Ainley Master of the 80s. Not just because he likes to use the tissue compressor so much or enjoys dressing up in costumes. Ainley's Master was also very basic in his motives and the actor, himself, was tremendously committed to the part, too. Now, if you bother to look at where this incarnation ranks on my list (or even go read his review: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/12/book-of-lists-ranking-masters-part-3.html), you'll see that I am paying Dhawan the highest of compliments. I really loved that particular version of the evil renegade. So I'm really enjoying this latest one, too. 

Have I any complaints? I am just a bit bothered that we've got yet another "zany Master" in the New Series. If you look through my reviews, you'll see that I am clamouring a bit for something more in keeping with the Delgado portrayal. Essentially, I'd like a more conservative Master, again. We can still see that he's a sadistic bastard, but he's not so unabashed about it. His heart(s) is/are a bit less on his sleeve and we can find ourselves occasionally wondering what's really going on inside of him. The character is a bit more three-dimensional when he's played this way.

Having said that, however, if the actor is still doing a good job as they make their character very obviously insane (as Michelle Gomez did when she played the part) then I can live with the decision of yet-another Master who is nuttier than squirrel shit. So far, Dhawan is achieving this. I love every second that he's onscreen. Even if he is doing something with the role that I'm getting a bit tired of. 

WHERE HE RANKS

Okay, so those are my feelings on the matter. Both the superficial and the heavier stuff. Let's get on to the most important point: where does he fit on the list? 

I should specify, again, before I make my reveal that it is a bit early to truly commit to a ranking. I am guessing that, in a few more episodes, he will probably move up in position. I don't know if he'll ever make it all-the-way to the top. But it's entirely possible. I do really love Missy. Gomez was exceptional in the role and Moffat did a great job of writing her. However, Dhawan is really impressing me too. 

For now, though, I'm going to put him in Third Place. Just after the Corpse Master, but before Ainley. That seems the best spot for him. I'm going to guess he will, someday, beat Ainley. I just need a bit more time with him. 

When he does beat Ainley, of course, I will feel as though I have betrayed an old friend!   

All righty, then. Appendix Four complete. Our final entry of the year: What do I think of Jodie Whitaker's Doctor? Where does she fit on my List of DOCTORS - WORST TO BEST?

Sit tight. I'll be revealing that soon enough...   

 

BOOK OF LISTS - APPENDIX 3: TOP FIVE FAVORITE TWO-TIMERS

And the Appendixes keep rollin' in.....

DEFINITION OF A TWO-TIMER

What's a Two-Timer, you might ask? Rather than go to the trouble of typing up a definition all over again, I'll just go back to the first part of the original countdown and cut-and-paste what I wrote there. Far more efficient way of doing things for a lazy old sod like myself!

Here it is:

With a constant theme of the TARDIS going somewhere new and different almost every week, we've been lucky to get a little bit of consistency thrown in now and again. Sometimes, the Doctor returns to a location he's been to before to enjoy a second visit. Like, say, the human/monoid colony ship, or Peladon, or even Satellite Five. 

But I find what makes the series more enjoyable is when he runs into the same character for a second time. There's been some nice returning good guys like Professor Travers or Rigsy. And there's been some very nice baddies, too. Like Lytton (who ended up being a bit of a good guy in the second story) and the Lady Cassandra (who also kind of turned nice toward the end too). I like to refer to characters like these as two-timers. Not because they've double-crossed the Doctor in some way (or, maybe, cheated on him?!). But because we see them twice in the show. 

 If you enjoyed that definition so much that you'd love to see it in the original entry, here's the link:

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2019/06/book-of-lists-top-5-two-timers-number.html

You can, of course, read the rest of the essay if you'd like. You can also continue the countdown by just following the entries after that. I have noticed in my stats that some of you are actually bothering to go back and read those original posts. Thanks for your interest. 

THE LIST

As usual, of course, I don't expect you to go back and read those entries that I wrote. If you're just interested in the short version, here's a list of my Top Five Two Timers. From least favorite to most: 

Craig Owens (The Lodger, Closing Time) 

Professor Travers (The Abominable Snowmen, Web of Fear)

The Monk (The Time Meddler, Dalek Masterplan)

Sil (Vengeance on Varos, Mindwarp) 

The Rani (Mark of the Rani, Time and the Rani)

In the last few seasons since I compiled that list, we've had another Two-Timer come along that I really ended up liking a whole lot. I get the impression that the rest of Fandom is only so fond of him as he hails from an era that folks don't seem all that pleased with. But, as usual, I don't really care how others may feel about him. I have my peculiar tastes and I love to stick to them!   

THE NEW FAVORITE TWO-TIMER

Back in the Classic Series, the Sontarans were always the most entertaining of the warrior races featured on the show. Daleks and Cybermen were cool, of course, but I wouldn't call them true warriors. They didn't really follow any code of honor. They were just merciless conquerors. The Ice Warriors were also quite fascinating, but they eventually became goodies. Whereas you could always count on the Sontarans to be these nasty, belligerent jerks that lived by some weird set of rules that only really made sense to them but justified all their homicidal behavior. Even in stories that weren't so popular with all the fans like The Invasion of Time and The Two Doctors, we still tended to enjoy how the Sontarans were used in the plot - even if we weren't so happy with the plot, itself. 

Sadly, that seems to have changed during New Who. When they first appeared in Series Four, they were off to a good start. Sontaran Stratagem showed a fair amount of promise. Poison Sky, however, kinda fell flat on its ass. Oddly, I was particularly bothered by the fact that Sontarans seemed to be vulnerable to bullets, now. I'm quite sure that Classic Who Sontarans were never meant to be that easy to kill. I do really like Strax. But you're not really getting a real Sontaran story whenever he's featured. You're just getting some nice comic relief. So, as it stands, the Sontarans are not the warriors they once were. Which is disappointing, really. Doctor Who needs a good militant species that is genuinely threatening but is also almost a satire on the mentality of fascism. 

Super-controversial opinion: I do believe we finally found that in the Stenza. Series Eleven, technically, featured them in three episodes. Although they are only discussed in The Ghost Monument, we still learn a fair amount about their culture. At the very least, we discover that they're quite happy to enslave scientists to get them to build more effective weapons for them. They're also into ethnic cleansing. We will eventually learn that they are quite fond of sniper-bots, too. As they make their return in a later episode. Again, we don't actually see any Stenza in the adventure, but Ghost Monument helps to build their reputation. 

Of course, the two episodes that do actually feature a Stenza teach us all kinds of other interesting facts about the species. They have an obsession with preserving their "trophies". Not only do they stick the teeth of fallen enemies into their face, but they really like putting their acquisitions into stasis to just look at for the rest of eternity. They have all sorts of peculiar rituals, too. The way they choose a new leader is somewhat contrived (I especially like that cheating on the rules of the ritual is okay - as long no one catches you!). There are even some subtler nuances to the whole Stenza Code of Honor. Like the way Tim Shaw's teleport jump can't be fully completed until someone accepts his arrival. 

All these things, I find, have made the Stenza the best warrior race of the New Series. They dethrone the Sontarans from that status because, quite simply, those potato heads just aren't getting the representation they used to. But what gets me to love the Stenza so much, of course, is the notorious Tim Shaw. And he is the new Two Timer that has made it onto this list. 

FALLING TO EARTH

One of my favorite things about Tim Shaw is the way he actually gets his name. You know he's the type who wants the Universe to tremble in fear of him. So I love that the Doctor seems to intentionally pretend like she can't pronounce his ominous title and switches it to something more mundane. The fact that she continues doing this throughout their ensuing encounters and that Tim Shaw just gives up on getting her to say his name correctly is all-the-more amusing.

But that's just one of many things that makes the character and the race he hails from so interesting.  Tim Shaw really is a well-crafted character. Which is important since the crux of the season very much rested on his shoulders. If one is not careful, an alien warrior race can easily come across as quite generic. There's quite a few of them out there in the Doctor Who Universe. Not just returning monsters like Sontarans and Ice Warriors, but there's a few "one-time-onlies" like the Drahvins or Skonnons that have shown up now and again. If they're not careful, the warrior race that a writer creates can become quite vanilla. There's enough of them about to cause that. 

Not so with dear 'ole Tim Shaw, though. Everything about him intrigues me. Even the funky environment suit that he wears looks pretty cool. He's everything that you want an overly-aggressive aspiring tyrant-to-be. And more!

Part of what makes him so interesting is how he is introduced into the story. For quite a bit of The Woman Who Fell to Earth, we learn nothing about him. He is just this mysterious figure that is going around killing people and pulling their teeth out (I love how, if you're watching carefully, you can see him breaking open the jaws of his victims after he's killed them - so gruesome!). We even believe that his collection of bio-mechanical eels is an enemy alien rather than a tool he is illegally using in his challenge. The plot only fully assembles during Tim Shaw's initial confrontation. Things feel slightly similar to something from the Predator franchise but in a good way. It's not a total rip-off - but there's a bit of the same vibe. 

Oddly enough, an alien warrior causing all sorts trouble on Earth just to claim a trophy is not really something we've seen in the show before. So it makes for a nice story. Of course, how the monster is written and visualised is only part of the battle. The actor playing him is the real determining factor in its success. Samuel Oatley plays the role with much gusto and relish and really gets us to believe in the character. There is no doubt in our minds that Tim Shaw is a nasty old baddie that you don't want to mess with. He really brings him to life and puts tonnes of energy into every shot he's in. 

It's also wickedly cool that he kills people in the same way Kane did from Dragonfire. The whole suit that he's wearing isn't just cool armor, it's keeping him alive in temperatures that are impossible for him to live in. Just one more thing that makes the Stenza even more interesting...

There's a lot going on in that second confrontation up on the cranes. The scene is played more as a re-statement of the Doctor's core ethics. Most specifically, it declares the very specific code that Thirteen adheres to. After several incarnations of a Doctor who had slightly looser morals, Thirteen is back to trying to preserve life at all costs. This gets specifically illustrated when Karl kicks Tim Shaw over the edge of the crane arm. She scolds him heavily for doing it. Even though Tim Shaw is a really horrible person, in this Doctor's view, everyone deserves to live. 

Even though the whole sequence is about making the new Doctor shine, she needs a suitable foil to do this with. Tim Shaw provides that contrast beautifully. He is everything the Doctor despises. And yet, she still tries to believe he might have a better nature. That he can choose to improve. It's a great moment when he succinctly replies: "I choose to win!" and then gets his own weapon used against him. This is the sort of stuff I love in hero/villain stand-offs. 

As he plummets over the side and teleports out, we can't help but wonder if we'll see Tim Shaw again. And, in many ways, we're hoping we will. As a first enemy of a new Doctor, he really does well. 

RANSKOOR AV KOLOS (I ALMOST SPELT IT RIGHT WITHOUT HAVING TO CHECK)

In his second appearance, Tim Shaw is used to illustrate another important theme within the TARDIS crew. His first adventure helped the Doctor find herself. On Ranskoor Av Kolos, he causes Graham to question how far he's willing to go to avenge the death of his wife. This is part of what makes me love this character so much. He is a catalyst as well as a villain. 

But beyond sparking things in other people, there is a nice arc built into Tim Shaw, as well. In his first encounter, he is at the height of his game. He's just a hair's breadth away from becoming the ruler of his people. But then he is toppled and must re-build himself in his defeat. From his failure, however, comes something far more powerful than anyone had anticipated. He's now a legitimate threat to the Universe. Or, at the very least, the galaxy. 

Essentially, Tim Shaw is now a planet-eater. 

Probably one of the things I love most about The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos is how the fallen Stenza warrior actually says something quite inspirational. "The Universe provides." - he proclaims. But, because those words come from his mouth, the whole thing becomes ominous. It's a beautiful truth that sounds better when the Doctor says it later. But, from Tim Shaw, it sounds very dark. That's the mark of a true villain. The same sentence can have a totally different connotation when he says it. 

There is another nice confrontation between the Doctor and Tim Shaw in his second story. I like how the Time Lord remembers that she's gotten a new coat since they met. I also love his gigantic iron lungs that pump away in the background the whole time. But it's not just a bunch of fun aesthetics, it's a great little reunion between the two of them with some enjoyable banter.  

But, of course, the real meat of the story is the showdown between the fallen Stenza warrior and Graham. It's great how Tim Shaw genuinely taunts the man. Convinced, already, that Graham isn't the sort of person that would kill him. It is great how the strife between Ryan and his granddad is finally brought to a close as they end up dealing with this monster together. Tim Shaw is almost symbolic, in this sense. He represents the bad blood that has existed between these two being brought to its ultimate rest. It's not often that you see a villain in a Who story becoming a plot device like this. 

Placing Tim Shaw in stasis is great poetic justice. But it also implies something that I quite like. By no means is Tim Shaw well and truly defeated. Someone could break into that floating palace someday and set him free. He could become a three-timer. 

If they can keep writing him so well and Oatley keeps his portrayal so strong, then I'm happy to see him come back. 

HIS RANKING

The alteration to the list in my last entry was somewhat contrived. I'm going to go much simpler this time. Sorry, Craig Owen, you were a great character. But I'm bumping you down to Sixth Place and giving your position to Tim Shaw. You're both really fun to watch - but I like Tim Shaw just that little bit better. Maybe if Craig had stuck a few teeth in his face, he might still have won! 

I especially like that there's still some New Who representation in this list. The rest of the Great Two-Timers hail from the Classic Series. And, rightfully so. Two-Timers were very nicely done during that era (I'm still just a little bit ashamed that Lytton didn't quite make it into this list. I guess he's Seventh Place). New Who has done some good work in this department too, though. So a character from that period deserves to be in the list. 

I know most fans don't have much of anything nice to say about Series Eleven. It may even bother you that I have chosen someone from this season to be on this list. But I really do love all the great things that Chibnall achieves through the character in both of his stories. His villainy, in many ways, helps with some crucial arcs of the whole season. But, on top of that, he's just a really great alien whose origins have been well-conceived. Not only would I love to see him back, but I'd love to see more Stenza, in general. 

Even better: how about a war between the Sontarans and the Stenza? Where the Stenza totally kick the potato heads' asses!   

That completes another update. We're getting towards the end of the month. Time enough for two more entries, though. Both of them will deal with some pretty big issues....    

 

BOOK OF LISTS - APPENDIX 2: TOP 6 EPISODES OF DOCTOR WHO

Time for another update. I will examine a recent episode that made a really good impression on me. 

A NEW FAVE EPISODE

My very first, and still most popular, end-of-year countdown was my Top Ten Who Stories list. To this day, people still seem interested in knowing what my all-time favorite stories are and the posts still get hits on a regular basis. Which is pretty impressive considering you have to go quite a ways into the backlog to find those entries! (I'll make it easier for you and start at Number Ten. You can go from there. https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-10.html). 

Series Nine had recently wrapped up as I started that Countdown. I received several comments from readers that were to the nature of: "I hope Heaven Sent makes it onto the list." I had to explain that it, more-than-likely, wouldn't. This was a list of my favorite Doctor Who stories. Heaven Sent was a great piece of television, but it was a single episode of a three-parter. So the complete story had to be taken into consideration. I liked Face the Raven a lot and was even okay with Hell Bent (other fans tend to dislike this episode way more than I do), but I still felt that the full story didn't merit a place in this Top Ten. Even if Heaven Sent is so amazing. 

This prompted me to, eventually, compose a list of my Top Six Favorite Doctor Who Episodes. Here, of course, Heaven Sent received the glory it deserved. As did several other adventuress that, in their complete form, don't always measure up quite as well. But, when viewed as individual episodes, are really outstanding pieces of television. The episode that ranked Sixth Place in this list, for example, illustrates the idea very well. 

Fans who know their 60s Who will point out how The Space Museum is off to a great start but then quickly goes downhill as Part Two begins. Episodes Three and Four do nothing to improve the situation. But boy is that first part so good! 

I felt the same. I was particularly in love with how much Part One tries to recreate The Twilight Zone - another old black-and-white television program that I am madly in love with. The tribute that it does and the episode's ability to create so much creepiness with so little budget got it to rank in my Top Six. An Unearthly Child is another great example of this. Great first episode. But then the caveman politics are a bit less compelling. Neither of those full tales make it anywhere near my Top Ten Who Stories list. But these individual episodes deserve the heavy praise they get. 

In the years since I compiled my Top Ten Who Stories, nothing has come along that affects the rankings I've established. A few stories come close. But they still don't make it into the Top Ten. However, when we measure some of the show's output against my Top Six Episodes, there is a bit of movement that occurs. One episode that came out recently really caught my attention. Although it does constitute being a story in and of itself, competition in the Top Story category is just too fierce. However, when viewed against other single episodes, it gains enough ground to affect that ranking system. 

THE REVIEW

When I think of the many qualities of Fugitive of the Judoon, the one that first comes to mind is its effectiveness in springing its surprises. Keeping certain things a secret in Doctor Who had become a serious problem over the last few seasons. The huge surprise ending of Name of the Doctor gets leaked out by a premature Blu-Ray release. The first five scripts of Series Eight find their way on to the internet along with a rough cut of Deep Breath. The BBC takes it upon itself to reveal the return of John Simm as the Master in a trailer for Series Ten. It's like they needed to resurrect JNT and get him to use the same magic he wielded when he kept the return of the Cybermen a secret in Earthshock! 

Chibnal, however, does a great job of getting secrets to remain secrets during this amazing mid-season episode. His covertness is quite clever. He sends out some press releases letting us know that the Judoon will be returning in Series Twelve. We're all pretty cool with this. They're an interesting species that we found quite entertaining in their original story. The cameos they've made since Smith and Jones were also well-done. We all figure that, as long as it's written well, they definitely deserve a second full story. 

So we give Fugitive of the Judoon no further thought after Chibnall's announcement. We figure it will be a half-decent episode since it's featuring a good returning monster and start trying to piece together what the rest of the season will be about. 

What a great smokecreen this was! 

When Fugitive of the Judoon really is just about the Judoon, it's already telling a very good story. I especially like that, since we already have a good idea of what the Judoon are like, it doesn't waste much time re-establishing them. In a few hasty lines of dialogue, Thirteen explains to her companions what the species is about. A few quick shots of Judoon cataloguing humans reminds us of how they work. We don't need any more than that. And I'm glad the plot doesn't choose to focus too hard on such things. It gives us more of a sense that we have hit the ground running. Which is always good for a story's pace. Again, we are convinced that this will just be a nice little Judoon story and nothing more. 

But then, the first bomb gets dropped. 

Vague rumors, at best, had spread that Captain Jack might return this season. But, really, such gossip has occurred prior to many new seasons of Doctor Who. It's hard to take things like this too seriously. I do love that, on the day he was brought in to shoot his scenes, John Barrowman was escorted in and out of the studio with a cloth bag over his head (they did something similar with Peter Capaldi when they revealed him to be the new Doctor). It's extra little efforts of this nature that made his return all the more exciting. I even enjoy how we hear his voice first before he teleports in to pounce upon Graham. Barrowman's cadence is pretty distinctive. But there's still that magic moment where we're like: "Oh my God! Is it really him?!" The sense of mystery is short-lived, but it's still a great little device that works better than if he had just appeared in front of us.  

Once the whole surprise is over, however, Jack's scenes really are well-executed. This is the Captain Jack Harkness that we have always loved. Cheesy and roguish, but also deeply caring. The Doctor changed him in a major way back in Series One, and we see that his heart is still in the right place. Even if he does steal the odd spaceship now and again! 

And, of course, he does an excellent job of setting up a huge plot point that will come later in the season. "Beware the Lone Cybermen! Don't give him what he wants." resonates deeply with all of us. It also makes us all the more excited when the villain in question finally appears in The Haunting of Villa Diodati.  

As far as I'm concerned, the return of Captain Jack is Pure Who Gold. A great surprise that is then matched by some solid writing and direction. And much praise must be given to John Barrowman's performance. Within seconds, he has us falling in love with Jack all over again. That's a difficult thing to do with a character that's been brought back after a long period of absence. But Barrowman really delivers. His enthusiasm to be back on the show is genuinely contagious. 

So with Jack running off and the companions returning to Earth, we think that's it for surprises. We'll just go back to the Judoon plot and find out who the fugitive is meant to be. And we're fine with that since the whole plot thread is being handled quite well. Yes, the premise is quite similar to Smith and Jones, but it's also different enough to still be enjoyable. It seems that, in general, the Judoon hunt down fugitives. It's one of their jobs. It just so happens that another fugitive has hidden on 21st Century Earth and they have to retrieve them. 

It's made very clear early on that Lee is, somehow, involved in this situation. That he might even be the fugitive the Judoon are looking for. More and more, we suspect Ruth too. In her case, however, it seems that something has been done to her memory. 

And that's when the second, much bigger, bomb gets dropped on us.

Suddenly, the story seems to stop being about the Judoon for a bit. The whole tale takes a massive detour to go to an old lighthouse. This creates a very weird structure to the plot. But, again, we're okay with it. The whole thing works and is keeping us intrigued. Especially when we see what Lee's activation message means. Ruth is the fugitive. She's a Time Lord that has used a Chameleon Arch. Or, that's what we think, at first. Turns out she's much more than that. 

Thirteen digging up the roof of a police box and suddenly being confronted by someone that no one recognizes but is calling herself the Doctor is, pretty much, mind-blowing. Yup, there's been a hidden incarnation before. But, again, it's being handled in a very different way. We really have no clear idea where this incarnation is meant to come from. And we will all go insane with theories about it as we wait for the rest of the season to continue. This moment really got everyone talking. Fans and casual viewers alike. Even people who don't watch the show at all were intrigued by the whole thing as the media, in general, started discussing the event. As much as some people have complained about him, his detractors have to admit that Chibnall made one of the biggest impacts a Head Writer has ever made. His twist got everyone talking. And there weren't a whole lot of negative comments in the discussion. Everyone was really blown away but what he did. The whole reveal was handled magnificently. 

From there, we get some good 'ole fashioned multi-incarnation banter that, somehow, seems a bit surreal since we're not sure where one of the incarnations fits in the Doctor's actual timeline. We return to the Judoon plotline and things reach a very satisfactory resolution. None of the more serious questions that the story has created were actually answered. We don't know what the Lone Cybermen wants. We have no idea who this new version of the Doctor is. We only know that the Judoon did not get their fugitive (not yet, at least). But, somehow, that's enough. We're all aware that this is a mid-season episode and that its real purpose is to set up a bunch of stuff that's meant to happen later. And, in this sense, the story does an incredible job of this. We cannot wait to see where the show will take us next. 

But if Fugitive of the Judoon  had been nothing but a series of set-ups and surprises, it wouldn't have made it onto this list. Beyond all the thrills and spills is a genuinely well-put-together plot that uses a returning monster very effectively. There's a real foundation to the episode that just happens to have some awesome plot twists and establish some fascinating mysteries. This, to me, is what catapults the whole thing into greatness. Like so many other episodes and/or stories that I love in this show, it remembers to put story first. 

THE RANKING

As with my last entry, I don't expect you to go back through the original BOOK OF LISTS essays to find out how I ranked things (although, if you want to, here's the first one: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-of-lists-top-six-doctor-who.html. Just follow from there...). I'll produce the whole list, here. As usual, they are ranked from lowest to highest: 

The Space Museum - Part One 

Rose 

Blink 

An Unearthly Child 

Earthshock - Part One

Heaven Sent 

I'm going to fit Fugitive of the Judoon into the list in a slightly odd way. I still really like the first episode of The Space Museum and think it belongs where it is. I also think Rose should stay where it's at, too. So neither of these episodes will be affected by this new addition. 

Maybe it's a bit blasphemous to bump Blink out. It's considered a Classic and got all kinds of major awards and recognition. But, if given the choice between re-watching Blink or re-watching Fugitive of the Judoon, I would watch Fugitive first. Whereas, I would still want to re-watch An Unearthly Child before Fugitive. So I really do think the episode belongs in Third Place. But I also think Fourth and Fifth should remain where they're at. So, rather than alter the whole line-up, I'm just going to kick Blink right out. I guess, if it went anywhere, it became Seventh. Not sure if such a choice makes any real sense. But I'm not exactly renowned for my logical behaviour. I'm just going with my gut, here. And my gut says: "Make Fugitive Third but don't upset the rest of the list!". So that's how I'm doing things. 

Of course, the real big question is: why did I decide to list my six favorite episodes? Why six? It seems an odd number to choose. 

The answer: I don't even know!! 

That's another BOOK OF LISTS updated. More to come...    

 

BOOK OF LISTS: APPENDIX 1 - RANKING THE REGENERATIONS

It's time for another end-of-year countdown. But, this time, I decided to try something a little different...

TIME FOR SOME UPDATES

Over the years, I have composed quite a few BOOK OF LISTS entries. When I first started writing this blog, it was the only style of essay that I wrote that was purely an opinion piece. It ended up giving us a nice break from the more formal analysis I was doing in the rest of my content. 

These days, I write a few more types of entries that are "opinion-centric". BOOK OF LISTS essays, however, still seem to be a favorite for the readers. You seem to enjoy my ranking systems and learning the reasons why I have the preferences I have. Most popular are the BOOK OF LISTS entries that I create in December. I tend to tackle something big during that time of year. Like my Top Ten Who Stories  or Doctors - From Worst to Best. These are my tastes regarding some of the major aspects of the show. They seem to attract a lot more attention than a list of preferences that I release during other months. 

Regardless of whether these were end-of-the-year countdowns or just mid-year rants, quite some time has passed since certain BOOK OF LISTS were compiled. Which means, quite naturally, that more of the show has been made since these entries were posted. Some of the developments that have occurred in the show have an effect on the ranking systems I've created. For instance: a few years ago, I listed my preferences for all the different incarnations of the Master. At the time, Missy was the most current incarnation. Since then, of course, Sacha Dhawan has taken over the role. Some of you may be actually wondering: where might this new incarnation fit in my preferences?   

For this last month of the year, I'm going to make some updates to an assortment of my BOOK OF LISTS entries. Some will pertain to larger issues that were covered in end-of-year countdowns. Others might not be quite so grandiose but will, hopefully, still hold your interest. The final update of the year will probably be the one that gets the most attention. I will reveal where Jodie Whitaker's Doctor stands in my Doctors - From Worst to Best series. 

As we build up to that moment, however, I will try to offer some other updates that should pique your curiosity.  

RANKING THE REGENERATIONS

This one goes all the way back to my very first BOOK OF LISTS essay. I went to the trouble of figuring out exactly how much I liked each of the Doctor's regenerations and put them in an order of some sort. It was quite the lengthy entry, but you still may want to read it  (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-book-of-lists-ranking-regenarations.html). However, for the sake of expediency, I will list my order of preference here: 

To be clear, the order is from worst to best:

Sixth to Seventh

Tenth to Tenth

Third to Fourth 

Tenth to Eleventh

Seventh to Eighth 

First to Second

War to Ninth

Ninth to Tenth 

Second to Third 

Eleventh to Twelfth

Eighth to War 

Fifth to Sixth 

Fourth to Fifth

There's probably a less-contrived way to present that list, of course. Instead of "Sixth to Seventh", for instance, I could have just said: "the sixth regeneration". But I think this makes it super clear which regeneration I'm talking about. And, things could have become really confusing when we get to some of the regnerations that occur in the New Series. The War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor really turn that regeneration count murky!

So, if you've taken a good look at things, you'll see that the list was created when Eleven turned into Twelve. One more regeneration has happened since this was written: Twelve to Thirteen. We're going to determine where this latest regeneration fits in the rankings. 

MY WEIRD TASTES IN REGENERATION

Just in case you don't go to the trouble of reading the original essay, I will re-state an important note that I make in it. When some people determine their liking of a regeneration, they look purely at the actual sequence, itself. That final moment where the Doctor accepts that the current incarnation is done and the regeneration process is triggered. They think only, for instance, of that bit in the console room where Ten mutters: "I don't want to go." and then lets the regeneration energy rip. 

Others consider the entire final story of a Doctor as part of their determining process. They look at the whole plot and themes that lead up to that fateful sequence. In this instance, a fan considers all of The End of Time - Part One and Two rather than just the final moment where Ten gets all weepy in the console room. 

And then there's me. I'm not sure anyone else in fandom rates regenerations quite the way I do. I actually take into consideration the recovery period after the process occurs. So when I look at, say, the Tenth Doctor's transformation into the Eleventh, I also watch Eleven's first story. So I include End of Time - Part One and Two and The Eleventh Hour in my decision-making process. I know that's kinda weird but I never said I was normal! 

With this in mind, then, we have quite the epic regeneration to place into this list. One that spans an entire five episodes. World Enough and Time opens with the Doctor emerging from the TARDIS in a snowy landscape and appearing to trigger a regeneration. That, to me, means this episode is part of his swansong. The rest of the episode is, essentially, the backstory that will take us to that moment. The Doctor Falls continues to lead us into that scene. A plot twist is then introduced in the final fleeting seconds of that episode that takes us to Twice Upon a Time. Here, the regeneration "properly" occurs. Twelve proclaims: "Doctor, I let you go." and then turns into Thirteen. 

But then we have to factor in my weird tastes. For me, the recovery period afterwards is as important as the events leading up to the regeneration. This definitely includes The Woman Who Fell to Earth, of course. A good chunk of the adventure's subplot is this new Doctor trying to find herself after her transformation. But, if we want to get super-pedantic, Woman Who Fell to Earth ends on a cliffhanger. So, really, this does constitute a bit of a two-parter. The Ghost Monument should be included in the equation. 

By my standards, at least. 

MY ACTUAL FEELINGS ON THE REGENERATION

Part of what I did in my original Ranking the Regenerations post was to include a brief summation of how I felt about the stories that framed each regeneration sequence. Both before and after the process occurred. As I revealed, for instance, that my all-time favorite regeneration was from Fourth to Fifth, I also gave a brief review of both Logopolis and Castrovalva. I discussed all the amazing strongpoints that these two tales contain that cause this particular regeneration to be what I consider the best. 

This has always been an important aspect of any BOOK OF LISTS essay that I write. If you go back to that earlier section in this entry where I just list my order of preference, you can see it's nothing particularly exciting to look at. But a detailed review of all the episodes surrounding each regeneration makes for far more interesting reading. 

So, before I reveal where Twelve to Thirteen fits in my scheme of things, let's break down all the qualities and faults of the stories that are built around the actual event. As mentioned already, this is a pretty epic regeneration that covers quite a few episodes. So I will allow my review to go a little longer than normal.   

THE REVIEW

This is one of those regenerations that has a lot more riding on it than usual. It's a bit like War Games to Spearhead In Space. Or End of Time to Eleventh Hour. Occasionally, a very specific change is occurring behind-the-scenes as the regeneration happens. In this instance, of course, we're changing Head Writers.  Moffat is surrendering the reigns to Chibnall. 

Moffat goes out in an unabashed fanwank. He does a Cyberman Origins Story, re-unites two incarnations of the Master and then brings together two Doctors to regenerate at the same time. This is the sort of stuff that hardcore fans like myself dream of. I'm not sure, however, if this caused quite a bit of alienation for more casual viewers. But, in some ways, I don't really care. Mondasian Cybermen, the Simm Master and Missy working together and the triumphant return of David Bradley as the First Doctor are all beautiful things for someone like me to behold. 

Fortunately, this isn't just a bunch of fan service without any real actual substance to it. World Enough and Time is a particularly impressive episode that really sets up a gorgeous foundation. While neither The Doctor Falls or Twice Upon a Time are quite as good, they still maintain very high quality. I love how Twice is a uniquely villain-less episode. And that moment in Doctor Falls where he is setting off explosions and mentioning all the different occasions where he's beaten the Cybermen will be indelibly stamped upon my memory as being one of the most ultra-cool sequences of the show. 

I also really enjoy the slightly meta-textual stuff that goes on as the Doctor appears to be reaching his end. How, at the conclusion of Doctor Falls, he's trying to choose a final line before he goes by re-stating dialogue his predecessors have used. Or the giant monologue he delivers in his true final moments. I particularly adored how he goes just a little bit surreal as he talks about how certain children know his true name. This all does a gorgeous job of cementing the end of an era. Even if it might be just a little bit too much on the self-referential side. 

A huge tonal shift then happens as we move on to Doctor Thirteen. Some changes are more cosmetic. Like a whole new title sequence and theme song (gotta love that bass-drop!). Some run much deeper. Like having three companions for the first time in forever. 

I actually think the most significant change was the running time for episodes. This, to me, represents the first time that a New Who episode is truly allowed to breathe. Yes, multi-part stories in the New Series compensate for more character and theme development. But now, a single episode can do this because they last a whole hour. 

I know there have been lots of complaints about this latest iteration of the show. But I have no real problem with any of it. In fact, I'm quite fond of a lot of the choices Chibnall has made. Which means, of course, that I found both Woman Who Fell to Earth and Ghost Monument to be very solid episodes. Yes, they are very different from what has come before. That does make it a bit of a tricky adjustment. But I really do feel that Thirteen is off to a great start in Woman Who Fell to Earth. The high jump, for instance, from one crane to the other is quite exhilarating. And the monologue she delivers about forming her new personality after a regeneration is well-written and offers us some very interesting insights into the character. 

Ghost Monument does a great job of continuing the momentum as the TARDIS fam get swept up in a sort of futuristic "Great Race" event. We also get our first tease of the Timeless Child arc that will become so significant in the next season. That final scene where the first female Doctor beholds the new TARDIS interior and, for once, likes the re-decoration is quite magical. Again, something significant is cemented, here. The Thirteenth Doctor has well-and-truly arrived. Let the adventure begin!   

WHERE DOES IT PLACE? 

As you can see, I have a lot of very positive feelings about this regeneration. I particularly like that it has such an epic quality to it. They give Capaldi a good long time to properly bow out. And the whole era, in general, ends on a very high note. And then I really love how Whitaker steps into the role. I also think that the radical changes to the format take the show in a great new direction. This means that, more than likely, this regeneration is going to make it very high on the list. 

And it does. 

Twelfth to Thirteenth is so strong of a regeneration that it enters into the upper echelon. It can't quite touch my Top Two. And I'm still just a little bit too much in love with that oh-so-brief Paul McGann regeneration. But, after that, it fits in just fine. While Eleventh to Twelfth still stands as a great regeneration, I do like Twelfth to Thirteenth that little bit better. Which means, of course, that this is my fourth favorite regeneration. 

Just to be clear, I'll list my top five: 

Eleventh to Twelfth

Twelfth to Thirteenth

Eighth to War

Fifth to Sixth 

Fourth to Fifth 

The rest of this list, of course, remains unaffected. 

If we see any major trend, here, it's that the show seems to be doing a better and better job at creating really good regeneration sequences. The two most recent have made it into the Top Five. And, if we really want to get technical, Eighth to War was a regeneration filmed shortly before these two. Even though, chronologically speaking, it occurs much earlier in the Doctor's lives. So there's a lot to be said for how the show has been producing regenerations, of late. According to me, at least, they seem to be getting it right. 

It's just gonna be really tough for anyone to ever take down those Top Two, though. They really are amazing pieces of work. I'm not sure they can ever be beaten. 

Well, that's my first BOOK OF LISTS UPDATE of the month. It's taken quite a bit of time for me to finally sit down and write this. I really should have been on this sooner. Particularly since I am back in Lockdown and really don't have much to do! 

I do have, at least, three more BOOK OF LISTS that I want to tackle before the month ends. So I'll be back in here sooner with more things to rant about. Hope you enjoy all the updates....