BOOK OF LISTS: GUILTY PLEASURE #1

                                                        TIME FLIGHT




Yet another story from the 80s that suffers from "The Curse of Time" (a nice title for a Who story but we know, already, it won't be good!). Any story that has the word "time" in it doesn't tend to fare well among fandom. Particularly stories from the 80s. One of my other stories on this list exemplifies this idea quite well.

In some ways, Time Flight was dealt the same bad hand as Twin Dilemma. A super-intense Peter Davison story was just shown that was flat-out amazing and this is the story that has to come after it. It's like having to follow the guy in an open mic show who just did an awesome set. It's incredibly daunting and there's a good chance you're just not going to measure up. Even if you're just as good as he was - he went up first and rocked the House. You're the guy going after him and the House is a bit worn out from clapping so hard for the first guy.

There is, of course, a second similarity that Time Flight shares with Twin Dilemma: a tremendously poor budget. There was just no money left for either of these stories. And we can totally see that. It's pretty damned embarrassing, actually. Particularly any time the Plasmatons appear!

Here's the thing: I can put up with poor budgets and rough placements in the story order. There are countless other examples in Who where such dynamics occurred and everything was fine because we had a well-written script with a good director and some fine actors who were able to overcome the obstacles thrown at them. Unfortunately, both Time Flight and Twin Dilemma were not gifted in such areas. Both have sloppy scripts, lazy direction and less-than-stellar performances in them. Twin Dilemma does suffer from all these problems but not quite enough for me to officially declare the story bad. There are enough redeeming qualities to it that inspire me to defend this story to the bitter end and give it a "not as bad as everyone says it is" status.

Time Flight, however, is just plain bad. Not only is it hindered by a lack of budget and having to come after Earthshock - there's just not a lot of good stuff to say about the writing, acting or directing, either. It's just really weak. Not just the worst Fifth Doctor story, but one of the worst stories, ever.

And yet, I do love watching Time Flight just after I wrap up Earthshock. Or just before I dive into Arc of Infinity. Or I'll even just enjoy it all by itself. Can't for the life of me understand why - but I do really enjoy Time Flight.

What the hell's a matter with me?!

I am quite pleased with how the story started. Self-contained episodes were still very big back then in television. Even in Doctor Who, we often saw a new story start that didn't acknowledge at all what had happened in the previous one. It just put less pressure on everyone when you made TV that way. Writers didn't have to take on what the previous writer did. Script editors didn't have to work in extra references. Even actors could just dump out of their memories what had happened last week and start the slate fresh. But something so big happens in Earthshock that Time Flight has no choice but to pick up where things left off. The mourning between the three remaining TARDIS crewmembers is still woefully brief (which is your first clue that there might be something wrong with this story) but it's still good that it's there. The fact that Adric also appears in the illusions being thrown up against Nyssa and Tegan an episode later is also a nice touch. The Alzarian Brat might not have been too popular with the fans, but his passing is still handled somewhat respectfully. I like that.

Episode 1, in general, seems quite promising. We have a few shots that blatantly scream: "My God! Where has all the money gone?!". But then we also have some very nice location work at Heathrow to help atone for some of these low-budget sins. More importantly, there's a suitable amount of intrigue to the plot and some nice supporting cast that are introduced as the Doctor talks his way into riding on a concord jet. Even the reference to the Brigadier and UNIT isn't overworked. It's simply used as a quick device to get the Doctor into the story. I also quite like the fact that if the Doctor hadn't bothered to stop and check the cricket scores, none of this would've happened. There was a definite attempt to pull away from quirkiness because Tom Baker's Doctor had so much of it. It's nice to see the Doctor Five starting to indulge in his own version of eccentricity.

Part Two is where things starting getting a bit pear-shaped. There's some definite padding starting to creep in but it's still not actually too bad. Still, we can sense trouble on the horizon. Time is being marked for a big reveal at the end of the episode and that's never a good thing. Delaying plot development just so it lines up with a huge revelation can have huge consequences on pace and flow. We see some of this happening as the episode nears its climax.

The first time I saw Time Flight, the surprise return of the Master was very exciting. I was still very new to the show and had only seen a handful of stories. Those had included Logopolis and Castrovalva so I was familiar with the whole Doctor/Master rivalry and had greatly enjoyed it. But the format of the show was still so foreign to me. I didn't know that the Master was in the habit of "living to fight another day" so it was great to see that he was that sort of villain. I waited in eager anticipation for Episode Three.

Within moments of that new episode that excitement died away. Some very clear bad writing was presenting itself. "So you escaped Castrovalva, after all...." was all we got as an explanation for how the Master had survived his last peril. Really? That's it? Writers do know that when you seem to have killed off a character and he's suddenly still alive that an audience wants an explanation, right? No such luck, though. The scene moves on and how the Master survived Castrovalva is now an eternal mystery.

But the Master's return presents a second significant problem. Why was the Master dressed as Kalid in the first place? I mean, once the Doctor meets him in his control center - disguising himself just before the confrontation might make some sort of vague sense. But we see lots of shots of Kalid just by himself before this ever happens. Short of creating a really great ending to Part Two, why would the Master do this?

Episode Three begins with these two huge problems and just gets worse. Those who site Ainley's Master as being infinitely inferior to Delgado's Master are thinking of this episode. Ainley does really seem to go pretty over-the-top in this story. I actually have little or no objections to his performances in any other stories. But, here, he's just a bit too big of a ham. He's a full-on panto villain.

The storyline with the Xeraphin and the Master's need for them isn't too bad. A bit over-contrived in places and difficult to believe. But Who has dealt with far worse premises. The confrontation the Doctor has with them in the sarcophagus is one of the few moments where Episode Three seems to go well. Otherwise, it's all just a lot of silly runaround. Particularly when you consider that the Master has gone to all this trouble to get a workforce and then he just puts together an induction loop to achieve what he wants. Why didn't he just do that to begin with?!

Part Four doesn't improve too much. There is, of course, a certain amount divisiveness in Fandom about Professor Hayter's saving of the Doctor and his companions from the inner sanctum. Some say it was a very profound moment where Doctor Who offers just the slightest glimpse into the nature of the afterlife. Others say it was just a cheap cop-out to get the protagonists out of the corner they'd been painted into. I sit somewhere in the middle about this.

The rest of the episode has problems and strongpoints. A concord taking off in prehistoric times is a bit of a hard pill to swallow. Ainley does settle his performance down a bit - particularly during his bartering with Davison. Those are actually some fairly nice scenes that show a very different dynamic between the Doctor and his arch rival.

Overall, though, Time Flight's conclusion is fairly lackluster. The resolution, in general, is pretty unsatisfying. I remember when I first watched this story, I wasn't even totally sure how the conflict had been solved. It's a bit contrived.

So, there you go: a bit of a breakdown to help better understand why I enjoy this extremely weak story so much. The deeper problems with the story only start to really present themselves' in the later episodes. And, even then, there are some still some nice moments. It probably doesn't help, though, that I watch this story with a sense of retrospectiveness that colors it even more negatively. I know that Time Flight marks the beginning of a series of adventures where the Master just keeps on being left in horrible situations and no one makes the slightest attempt in his next appearance to explain how he made it out. It's very frustrating.

Still, even with all these problems - I love putting on Time Flight. As horrible of a visual as they may be, those swaying Plasmatons do seem to have a sort of hypnotic quality to them. Maybe, if you turn up the soundtrack really loud during the Plasmaton attacks, you can hear a voice faintly muttering: "This story is actually good. You will enjoy it. You will enjoy it...."








The other Four: 

#5 
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures.html

#4
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures_11.html

#3
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-five-guilty-pleasures.html

#2
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures_21.html





And, just for fun, here's a link to my 10th Favorite Who Story Of All Time. It will have links to the other Nine of them....

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-10.html



I have also referenced my "Not As Bad As They Say It Is" List once or twice in these posts. Here it is: 

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/07/book-of-lists-5-not-as-bad-as-everyone.html

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE GUILTY PLEASURES #2

                              FEAR HER


I have never been much of a Disney fan. The man, himself, led a fascinating life and I'm impressed with his achievements. But, within seconds of his death, Satan appeared to take over his company. Nowadays, Disney comes across as just a gang of greedy bastards who want to run everything in the world. There should almost be an episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor takes Disney on and defeats them in their evil plans.

But the thing I hate most about Disney is the "shmaltziness" that they have to put into almost all of their films. Even in their more classic days, when they weren't trying to just pluck our heartstrings to get more money from us, sentimentalism was often taken just a bit further than it needed to be. Lots of these movies were made for children so the creators felt they could push the emotional factor a bit harder. But, even as a kid, I would watch certain moments in a Disney project and just say to myself: "This is getting too sappy!".

Fear Her is, very much, a Disney version of Doctor Who. Particularly since one of the central characters is a child and her character progression becomes key in the resolution of the conflict. There's also a big nasty monster who just seems big and nasty but doesn't actually do anything that bad and nasty. A very kind and friendly hero also decorates the storyline. All popular elements of Disney tales that we see over and over. Even the aggressive ball of pencil scribbles has a very "cartoony" feel to it. Making the whole thing feel even more like a Disney flick.

But, of course, the biggest Disney influence is the shmaltziness. A lonely lovey-dovey alien takes root in the heart of a disenfranchised girl and starts bringing her dreams to life. Even the fact that there are some sinister consequences to this still gives the whole thing a Disney feel (magic going wrong and creating some "darkness" in the plot happens in many of these films - Magician's Apprentice, for instance).

So, having taken so much time to explain my hatred of All Things Disney and the bearing it seems to have on Fear Her should make this an open-and-shut case. Disney sucks. Fear Her sucks. End of story, right?

I still don't think I've made it through Fear Her without my eyes, at least, watering up a bit. I hate to admit that. Really, I do. But if I'm admitting to guilty pleasures, I need to come totally clean: Fear Her has reduced me to tears. It doesn't hit me as bad Father's Day. But then, nothing does!

I can't entirely figure out why the story affects me the way it does. It shouldn't, really. It doesn't have a lot of plot. The actual storyline that does exist is pretty ludicrous, at best. Particularly as we near the end. I mean, would we really keep the olympic torch moving along if all the people in the arena that were waiting for it had suddenly disappeared? Would a random stranger out of nowhere be allowed to keep carrying it after the proper runner fell? Is it, perhaps, just a bit too coincidental that the olympic flame is nearby when an alien needs lots of heat and a focus for love and hope to propel itself back into the cosmos? It's a bit much to swallow.

But I still can't fight back those warm fuzzies as the space ship dives into the relay torch. Or the Isolus proclaims: "I love you Chloe Weber" and departs from her body. Or the Doctor picks up the torch and carries on the run. Moments like that get me every time.

And I hate it.

I shouldn't enjoy that kind of shmaltziness - it's always made me cringe. But, somehow, Fear Her slips under the wire and hits me in the feels. I wish I knew how it did it.

One of the things that genuinely impresses me about the story is the fact that it deals with domestic abuse. A topic we haven't seen covered since Keys of Marinus (there's a wild theory that the Doctor's attempt to strangle Peri in Twin Dilemna is also domestic violence - but let's not go there!). Marinus only faces the issue in passing whereas Fear Her makes it a fairly central part of its plot. I quite like that it even dispels a common myth that domestic abuse survivors tend to believe in. That, once the abuser is removed from the situation, everything is all right. Poor little Chloe is dealing with all kinds of fallout because even if Daddy might be gone, what he did to her still affects her. The abuse might be over but she still needs help. I like that this was written into the story. It's Doctor Who actually passing on an important message about a delicate subject. Fear Her needs to be commended for that.

Some folks like to rip on the performance of the child actress. I think she actually did pretty good. To play a kid possessed by an alien has got to be pretty tricky. Particularly since it wasn't just an evil one. But, rather, one with a few "layers" to it. To just run around being vicious and scary cause an alien has taken over your body wouldn't have been such a tall order. But to have a benevolent-but-confused-and-petulant alien controlling you is a bit tougher. I think she fares well in the portrayal - particularly for a girl of her age. Could someone have played the role better? Probably. But a whole lot of people could've played it worse.

But as much I try to stress the good points of this tale, Fear Her has the distinct feel of a New Who version of Time Flight. The money appears to have run out (unlike Time Flight, this isn't the last story of the season - but the real budget is being pumped into a huge Cybermen/Dalek battle that is just around the corner) Because the production team has five pounds to make the whole thing, they drive out to a nearby suburb and try to create a story, there. They can afford one cheap CGI effect for about half-a-dozen shots. Otherwise, everything's gotta be shot practically. They can't even afford a real monster suit - just scary lights coming out of a closet.

But instead of working around the budget limits, the writer seems to fall victim to them. A whole lot of nothing happens for most of the first half of the episode. The Doctor and Rose investigate where the kids disappeared but don't really discover much. Chloe keeps sucking stuff into her pictures. More investigation that doesn't really turn up anything. More stuff sucking from Chloe. And so on...

Waiting for characters to figure out what's going on when we already know what is happening is always a tricky thing to do when plotting a story. It can become tortuous pretty quickly. Fear Her has to mark some serious time to fill out the episode, though, so it milks this for all its worth. We finally get a bit of excitement from the scribble attack - but it's such a silly idea that one has to wonder if it was worth it all. We also get a mid-episode TARDIS console-room visit - another notorious time filler.

Finally figuring out that it's Chloe causing the problem and discovering how she's doing it is probably the high point of the adventure. The Isolus are an interesting and cleverly-devised race. The symbiotic relationship that has developed between Chloe and the alien is quite touching (Rob starts getting his first few sniffles right around here).

But then the second half of the story kicks in and things get more and more preposterous. Rose running around with the pick-ax is a bit fun (the man from the Council seems to veer between amusing and annoying) but even that seems a bit hard to swallow. Would a mother really let a crazy pick-ax-wielding blond smash her way into her daughter's room? From there, of course, credulity gets stretched more and more. As does the shmaltziness of it all. Murray Gold's score has never tried harder to heighten the emotion of a moment. It's especially needed since we have a fairly boring story that gets flat-out silly toward the end.

And yet, somehow, I fall victim to a lot of the emotional manipulation. I get caught up in the rush and even end up having a little cry, now and again (still so embarrassed to admit this!). Overall, I enjoy this goofy little story that is considered by many to be the biggest mistake the New Series has made. I agree entirely with what the critics have said. And yet, I still love it when that little egg-shaped spaceship shoots out of the olympic torch and races off into space as David Tennant coos at it.

Hits me right in the feels every time.


Other Guilty Pleasures:

#5

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures.html

#4

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures_11.html

#3

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-five-guilty-pleasures.html

BOOK OF LISTS: FIVE GUILTY PLEASURES - NUMBER 3

                                                               THE CHASE


I still remember the very first time I watched The Chase. If you read my first anniversary post (http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/03/first-anniversary-special-something.html,) you'll know that I discovered Doctor Who way back when the internet was barely a glimmer in a programmer's eye. Learning about what the show was like back when I first became a fan was very much like making a patchwork quilt. You assemble a bunch of mismatched pieces til they eventually make sense. As The Chase was being broadcast on a local PBS station for the first time after I'd started following it, I'd heard about how Dalek Mania was all the rage during the show's earliest days. I'd even heard about how Dalek Masterplan had been made at the behest of a BBC executive whose mother wanted to see more Daleks. But I hadn't learnt how an entire six episodes had been devoted in Season 2 just to feed the frenzy.

There's a poignant moment in The Chase that probably a lot of fans my age experience. That moment where we realize: "Holy Crap! This is it. This whole story is going to be nothing but Daleks chasing the Doctor."

There is absolutely no real plot in The Chase. In fact, the premise gets established at the end of the previous story. There's a recap of it in Episode One to help mark a bit of time, and then it's nothing but two TARDISes in a protracted pursuit sequence. It's like that overindulgent chase scene in Planet of Spiders but it goes on for a whole six episodes.

Most likely, most fans my age shut down shortly after they made the: "This is going to be the whole story" realization. They gave up right there and then and sat through the remaining episodes just to be completists - but hated the whole thing! The Chase seems to be one of those Dalek stories that fandom avoids talking about as much as possible. It's an embarrassment, really. A blatant attempt to keep the groundlings happy. Like any other sane person, I should've shut down too when I made that horrific realization. But, instead, my brain seemed to go in a different direction.

"There's nothing to this." I resolved, "So let's just have fun with it!". So I just checked my brain at the door and let The Chase do what it's meant to - entertain me for a bit!

This is another Who story that looks like Ed Wood directed. As if plotless adventure wasn't damage enough, there's some major gaffs that occur during the filming that are just left in. And yet, seeing a Dalek in the background in the haunted house when they're not meant to arrive yet or a BBC camera being in plain view in the jungles of Mechanus doesn't seem to bother me much. Nor does the whole business with the android double of the Doctor really upset me (could there be a more obvious sequence in the history of television where a body double is being used?!). All of these mistakes just add to the charm.

The writing's pretty awful in spots, too. Aliens living on an ocean planet called Aridius that ended up completely drying out kinda had it coming to them. And how exactly does Peking cancel the Festival of Ghana? This seems to be a pretty hastily-written script. This should grate on me more than anything. I do actually make a bit of a living as a writer - I'm even starting to make some headway into television. So a poorly-written TV script should legitimately outrage me. And yet, I'm okay with it all.

The absolute silliest stuff in The Chase tends to be what I enjoy the most. The business on Aridius and Mechanus nearly becomes a genuine sci-fi story - a fan can almost appreciate these settings. But I'm more fond of the absolutely ludicrous stuff like the Marie Celeste or the haunted house. And, most significantly, that glorious sequence on the Empire State Building. Morton Dill seriously deserves his own spin-off series. At some point, of course, he meets his double: Steven Taylor. If Nyssa can do it in Black Orchid, we can see this happen.

Just once in a while, The Chase does actually manage to legitimately impress. That grand battle between Daleks and Mechanoids near the story's end does actually look pretty sweet. And Ian and Barbara's departure is quite touching - particularly the whole montage of still images. It's actually pretty neat that the six episodes aren't just pure kitchiness - there's a moment or two of sincerity thrown in there, too. Which adds greatly to the delight of it all.

Still, The Chase is mainly about feeding Dalekmania and not much of anything else. And if you can accept it at face value - it's a pretty fun story. Frankenstein's Monster throwing around a Dalek is an image that will forever burn in my memory....

....that cane fight between the Doctor and his android double is pretty wicked too!  

Missed my other guilty pleasures? 

#5
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures.html

#4
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures_11.html

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE GUILTY PLEASURES - #4

                                                          TIMELASH

            
Sometimes referred to as: "The Horns of Nimon of the 80s" (even though part of Horns of Nimon was actually broadcast in the 80s), Timelash comes in just a bit higher in my rankings because I do find it just a bit more fun to watch.    Kontron crystals are, basically, a bit cooler than hymetusite!  

            
Like Nimon, Timelash is a somewhat two-dimensional tale.    Villains, for the most part, are blacker than black -  and the heroes are utterly innocent.   We know, within seconds of seeing someone onscreen, which side they are on.    While such a writing style does lack imagination, it doesn't mean that it still can't produce something that is largely entertaining.  

            
The Borad, for instance, is a really great baddie.   As much as fandom wants to cloud its judgement by talking about tinsel tunnels or an awful turn by Paul Darrow, if you strip away those distractions - you find yourself really loving the Borad.   I would even say you could put him in the Gallery of Greatest Who Villains and not bat an eyelash.   He's that good.   He builds androids as well as Sharaz Jek and twists time as deftly as the Master.    On top of that, he's got a terrible self-image problem.   Boasting endlessly about how being a Morlox hybrid is so great, he still forbids any reflective substances so that he can never see his own appearance.   That's some classic villainy, if you ask me.   In a nutshell, the Borad kicks ass. 

            
The Timelash, itself, while lacking visual splendour - is a really well-done plot device.    The fact that it captures the TARDIS and drags the Doctor into the story is a nice way to get him involved in the adventure.   Rather than use the whole: "Oh look!  I just happened to show up on a planet during a period of great political upheaval" method, we get a feasible way of involving our main character and his travelling companion.   The Timelash keeps getting used effectively throughout the storyline.    It creates a nice plot complication when Vena falls into it with the amulet.   It provides us with a good cliffhanger.  It even dispatches our antagonist at the end.   And, of course, it provides the Doctor with a means to defend himself in battle.   

            
Yes, that last sequence also contains one of the most notoriously cheap effects in the show's history.   But, again, if you look past the Christmas tinsel, it's a very imaginative sequence.    The Doctor "dangling on the edge of oblivion" works quite well in a theoretical sense.    It's only the visuals that let the whole thing down.    And, of course, we get a couple of Kontron crystals out of the deal.    Which leads to some more fun with the plot.    

            
Long before Moffat gave us the term "timey whimey", Timelash did something cool and non-linear with the exploding android that appears out of nowhere and then gets sent back in time an hour later.     As much of a thorn in the side that Glen McCoy might have been, that's a clever way to use time travel in a storyline.    The other application of a Kontron crystal also plays out in a very fun way.    Particularly as the Doctor faces the Borad down in his lair.    These are some clever ideas that not only work out well in theory but are backed by some nice visuals on top of that.

            
There's also the fact that Timelash is a sequel to an unseen previous adventure involving the Third Doctor and Jo.    Yes, this is the era of Who where we all claim the series was getting too self-referential and relying too heavily on its own past (although, coincidentally enough, the Third Doctor era does something quite similar but never gets criticized for it) but I really like it when a story does this sort of trick.  It's a nice device that allows the Doctor to get on with what he does rather than getting locked up all the time because people think he's a spy or an infiltrator of some sort.    Terror of the Vervoids would pull a similar trick in the next season and get similar results.   The fact of the matter is, when a writer uses the "sequel to unseen story" technique, the story flows a bit better.   The painting of Jon Pertwee on the wall is also quite nice and the fact that there's a mirror behind it that is used against the Borad at a crucial moment is very effective.   

            
Like Nimon, of course, I have an objection or two with Timelash.   Some of which I've already stated.   But my biggest bone of contention is, easily, our awful "filler scene" in the TARDIS console room near the story's climax.   It does bring the whole pace of the story to a grinding halt and I am frequently tempted to just fast-forward through the whole thing.    What makes this piece of filler all the more shameful is the fact that a scene in the console room with the Doctor explaining to Peri how he escaped the Bendalypse Missile would've worked quite nicely.   Instead, we are merely given an "I'll explain later" resolution.   Yes, the shot of Herbert's card is a great way to the finish off the story, but couldn't the Doctor have shown Peri the card after he explained his escape?    It's a remarkably bad piece of writing that finishes off the whole tale and leaves a very nasty final taste in all our mouths.   There was hope for Timelash before this sequence.    It was still cheap-looking and had some bad acting in it but it was also a lot of fun.   But when we get subjected to the filler scene and then an "I'll explain later" resolution - the story becomes legitimately troubled.    Which is a pity, really.   Because this story would make it much higher on my Guilty Pleasure List if it hadn't ended so poorly.   

            
Or, I might not even call it a Guilty Pleasure.  I might actually just call it a pretty good story.   

Missed Number 5? Here's the link: 

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures.html                                                                 

BOOK OF LISTS: TOP FIVE GUILTY PLEASURES

My Top Ten Doctor Who Stories Of All Time list that I posted over the new year seemed to get such a good response that I thought I might try something similar. This time, we're looking at my Top Five "Guilty Pleasure" stories. I decided not to make such a long list, this time (especially since fan review sites are a dime a dozen on the internet!) so we should get through this in the month of May. 

DEFINITION:

What constitutes a "guilty pleasure"? Well, a guilty pleasure, to me, is a story that we all agree is pretty bad but I still like it. There may be all kinds of elements to the production that are downright cringe-worthy but, for some unknown reason, I still find the thing enjoyable to watch. I shouldn't, really - but I do. It's the same idea as that pop song we hear on the radio that we know is completely awful but we still sing to it quite happily every time it comes on. So long as we're alone in our car when it does! 

Which means that you won't see stories on this list that I feel fandom has misjudged. Twin Dilemma is a great example of this. It's not the greatest story in the world, of course. But I feel fandom comes down on it way harder than it should. By no means does it deserve the ranking it gets in Doctor Who Magazine's: The Mighty 200 (or whatever number we're up to, now!). So I wouldn't call it a guilty pleasure because I actually think it's half-decent. I did a "Not as Bad as They Say it is" List a while back (http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/07/book-of-lists-5-not-as-bad-as-everyone.html). That's the category a story like Twin Dilemma would full under.

Whereas the stories you'll see here are ones that I'm actually embarrassed to admit that I like. They are legitimately crappy Doctor Who stories (which doesn't mean they are completely awful television - a bad Who Tale is still better than a lot of other stuff one finds on TV) but I still get an almost perverse enjoyment out of watching them. Can't even completely understand what it is that I like about them so much, but I still find them fun. 

Here's Number Five:

HORNS OF NIMON

I place Horns of Nimon at the end of this list for two chief reasons:

            1)  I only like it so much.

            2)  The story is only so bad.   In fact, a lot of fandom actually defends it and claims it's rather good.    So, if it's so well-liked, that only makes it so much of a "guilty pleasure".    As I've explained in the intro, the more a story is detested - the more it increases its status on this particular list.    So, with only a mild degree of unpopularity, this particular tale gets a fifth-place ranking.   

Now, let's go back to my first point.   Why do I only like Horns of Nimon so much?   For much the same reason as anyone only likes it so much, really.   There are some blatantly bad aspects to this production.    The most blatant being the acting.   Even our leads seem to be "phoning it in" throughout most of their scenes.   Lalla Ward seems largely disinterested in the whole affair.   As if she's busier learning her lines for Shada rather than concentrating on what's been put immediately in front of her.    And Dear Old Tom seems to have decided to thoroughly take the piss out of everything that's going on in the plot.    When fans argue about the comedy going too far during the Graham Willaims Era, it is Horns of Nimon and Creature from the Pit that they hold up as their best pieces of evidence.    At least in Creature from the Pit, Baker seems to still care about the words he's saying.    So much of his dialogue in Nimon looks so rushed that you'd swear Ed Wood was directing the whole thing ("Right then, Tom, terrible delivery but I'm no mood to do a second take so let's leave it as it is!").

But our supporting cast is no better.   Our Athenians, of course, can only take so much blame in this.   They are given little to work with.   They wander from scene-to-scene, looking terrified about everything.   But, that's all the script has handed them.   And, to their credit, they are showing genuine fear rather than going over-the-top like so many other people in the cast did.

            

Sadly, as we move through the rest of the supporting cast, things take a turn for the worst.    That Skonnon Captain who loves to shout "Weakling scum!" doesn't just need a new pair of pants - he needs a new acting coach!   He seems to have taken a page from Tom's book and is muttering so hurriedly through those lines  that it seems like he didn't get his script til ten minutes before the camera started rolling.   The interrogation scene with Soldeed is the best example of this.   It's, pretty well, the worst example of bad acting that Who has ever seen.   

            

And, since we mentioned Soldeed, I seem to recall hearing that James Crowden was actually being considered for the role of the Fourth Doctor way back when Pertwee was bowing out.    If Horns of Nimon is anything to go by, then we can believe that a better choice was definitely made with Tom Baker.    The campiness with which he approaches the role is tolerable in his earlier episodes.   But as he descends into madness, he becomes unwatchable.   I've heard fans defend Crowden's entire performance.   These are the same fans who get upset over the fact that Richard Briers is having a bit of fun in Paradise Towers when he gets possessed by Kroagnon.   The irony of this stance astounds me to no end.   Crowden has obviously decided to go full-on panto villain by Episode Four of Nimon.   Any credulity the character had left has been chucked right out the window of the House of Good Acting.   Whereas Briers is merely playing the villain with a bit of a wink in his eye.    It astounds me that fans can't see this.   But then, any Who pre-dating the JNT era seems to be viewed under an entirely different light. 

            

"Now wait a minute, Rob." some of you might be saying, "You referred to this story as a guilty pleasure.   So far, all you've been doing is trashing it.   Where's the part where you talk about what you liked about the story?"

            

Well, if you recall, the fact that I do have some strong criticisms about this tale is the main reason it's coming in at Number Five and not getting a stronger ranking.    But still, let's get on with the good stuff:

            

Horns of Nimon has a very memorable alien in it (and it's not only the ridiculous platform shoes that get us to remember him!).    So much so, that he's gotten honorable mention in the New Series.   Parasitical Alien Races always make for good sci fi, yes.   But the fact that our Nimon is also rooted in Greek myth makes him that much more interesting.    Factor in that he also exploits mankind through moral corruption and we get what is probably one of the best "layered" Parasitical Alien Races the show has ever produced.   It helps that the Nimon are also pretty damned fun to watch storming around corridors and shooting concentric circle lazer beams from their horns!    Yes, the artistes within the costume are having a good time overdoing their mannerisms, but this all ties in quite nicely with everyone else going so OTT with their roles.  

            

There are moments, too, where Tom's antics are genuinely amusing.   Where we don't feel like his humor isn't just tearing down the credibility of the scenes he's in.   Instead, he's actually being entertaining.   It's usually the more subtle stuff.  Like when he tries to steal Romana's sonic screwdriver or his joke about getting the order right when the Nimon threaten him.   Those sort of moments do really add some charm to the production.

            

This is also a great story for Romana.   She spends a good deal of time separated from the Doctor and accomplishes a number of useful things during those times.   One could even argue that Romana accomplishes far more than her counterpart in Horns of Nimon.   The Doctor tends to wander aimlessly and just get himself into trouble throughout a good chunk of the story.   Even when he does start proving useful, it's because he's got K9 helping him out.   Romana propels most of the plot, herself.    It's always interesting to watch when a show allows someone who isn't the titular character to be the protagonist.

            

We also get a nice little twist in Episode Four where Romana journeys to the previous planet that the Nimon exploited.   And there, amazingly enough, she finds the one actor who seems to be taking the story seriously.   The Head Scientist who brought the Nimon to that world and is now trying to fight them actually does a surprisingly good job in his role.   

Particularly as he confesses his sins to Romana.  There's a nice element of pathos, there.  In a production where everyone else is having way more fun than the audience is or just doesn't seem to care about their role at all, this particular actor gives us a much-needed breath of fresh air.   He also helps to really lift the story.    One almost wishes he'd been given the role Crowden got.  

            

So, there you go.  Horns of Nimon -  Number 5 on the list of Guilty Who Pleasures.   Earning its position because it does have problems - but there's a fair amount about it that I really like!   

CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES: A PROBABLE HISTORY OF THE SONTARANS

Taking a brief break from charting the First Doctor's Progression to look at a chronological arrangement of all stories involving those adorable potato-headed Sontarans. As there are considerably less stories involving them, this shouldn't go on as long as my Dalek history did! 

BEFORE WE ACTUALLY SEE THEM ON THE SHOW...

In a distant galaxy, a species of war-like beings developed on the planet Sontar. Since their earliest days, these creatures were in love with conquest. Before they discovered interstellar travel, they were content to attempt to dominate each other. Wars were constantly erupting within their society.

Like Earth, the varied climate of Sontar created different races. Sontarans that inhabited the colder regions of the planet had one type of appearance. Whereas the denizens of warmer climes looked another way. These minor variations, of course, provided enough reason for these races to hate each other and battle endlessly.

As they warred against each other, the Sontarans were still able develop technology among all this bloodshed. They eventually managed to begin travelling in space. As they did, their society re-shaped itself. They discovered other life forms and immediately decreed them inferior. They would need to be conquered and enslaved. This was a task that required the entire planet to unify itself. Racial differences were cast aside and the Sontarans went out into the universe to plunder it.

For quite some time, this went well for them. But, eventually, they encountered an equally-xenophobic race that were making their way through the galaxy on an invasion campaign of their own. The Rutans provided a challenge that was almost too great for the mighty Sontarans. The two warrior races began to clash.


THE SONTARANS WE SEE TODAY

Much to the shock of the Sontarans, the Rutans were actually able to push them back in their advance upon the Universe. This Host of amorphous jelly-fish like creatures proved not only difficult to kill, but also quite lethal in the way they attacked. The Sontarans were forced to retreat against their might.

And so, genetics became the great obsession for the Sontaran military scientists. The species re-designed itself. Taking after their enemy, they became creatures that fed off pure energy to survive rather than consumption of food. They did this by developing a probic vent in the back of the neck to use as a feedline for the energy. This also became known as a Sontaran's only weakness. Their genetically-modified bodies and space armour was so resilient, that they were impervious to most forms of attack.

But these genetic improvements were not enough. Sheer weight of numbers was the only way to crush the Rutan Host. In combat, it would take dozens of Sontarans just to down one Rutan. Having made the perfect warrior's body, Sontaran scientists then went on to master the cloning process. Millions of Sontarans could be hatched on a regular basis and programmed from an early age to become ruthless warriors dedicated to the destruction of the enemy. We see slight variations to those clones (ie: Sontarans in Two Doctors seem considerably taller), of course, because there were different races on Sontar. Each race got their own clone batch.

At last, the Sontarans were able to pose a legitimate threat to their foes. Their campaigns began to advance again.The war between the Sontarans and the Rutans could begin in deadly earnest.

THE CONUNDRUM OF INVASION OF TIME

Up until Series 4 of the New Series, placing The Invasion of Time in this timeline was pretty simple. It seemed to me that this would be the final story in their chronology. Which made sense. The Sontarans would have to be at their greatest, most advanced stage to penetrate that Transduction Shield and conquer the Panopticon. It helped that this is one of the few Sontaran stories that doesn't mention the Rutans. In my imagination, it signified that they had finally beaten their greatest enemy and could move on to bigger and better things like the conquest of Gallifrey. Again, this made me believe that this must have taken place at the end of all the other Sontaran stories we've seen.

But then we get The Sontaran Stratagem - which takes place sometime around 2008. General Staal laments toward the end of the episode of how the Sontarans were not allowed to participate in the Time Wars. Up until that moment, I liked to believe that the Time Wars took place in the far-flung future so that Invasion of Time could still fit my version of Sontaran history. Sometime after the events of Sontaran Experiment the Sontarans lead an aggravated assault on Gallifrey. But Staal's complaint indicates that the Time Wars probably happened in the 2000s. I suppose we could set up all kinds of timey whimey arguments that would still support my initial view. These are time-travelling Sontarans that have come back to the past. Or the Time Wars are in their own special time zone. Or Invasion of Time actually took place in an alternative reality where the Time Wars never happened. There's lots of directions we can take this in. But I prefer to just say that Invasion of Time takes place in a different point of Sontaran history than I had previously envisioned.

So now, I put Invasion of Time at the beginning of the timeline. At some point during their war against the Rutans, the Sontarans are winning and can start concentrating on side-campaigns. Seeing the tactical advantage that time travel could afford them, they begin experiments in the Fourth Dimension. This leads them to discovering the existence of the Time Lords. Sontaran mentality being what it is, the decision is made to devise a way to invade Gallifrey. A false alliance with the Vardans is forged and their plans are set in motion. The Invasion of Time takes place.

FIRST CONTACT WITH EARTH

A specific date for Invasion of Time is difficult to determine - but we're assuming it takes place, at least, a short while before the next story in their timeline: The Time Warrior.

Linx is in possession of an osmic projector - a sort of primitive time scoop with limited range. Perhaps the Sontarans managed to steal some of the secrets of the Time Lords during their short-lived occupation. Or, perhaps, Sontaran scientists made these discoveries on their own. Either way, Sontarans are now capable of short jumps through time.

There is no indication that it's time travel that brought Linx to Irongron's castle sometime during the 1200s so we have to assume that this is the proper era in which this tale takes place. Linx does talk to the Doctor about the little knowledge he has about Time Lord society. He doesn't have much good to say about them. According to the data he's been given, they are not even worth being conquered. We can safely assume this was propaganda created to cover up a defeat. It also gets Invasion to fit a bit more nicely at the beginning of this timescale.

Fortunately for Earth, the Sontarans see no real use for this world. Linx's crashlanding was a fluke. The strange little blue/green planet is too far out of the way of the main war. Of course, seven-or-so centuries later, a Rutan scout would be sent to investigate this part of the galaxy and have its efforts thwarted by the Doctor, too.


THE WEAKENING OF THE SONTARAN STRAIN

Sometime between The Time Warrior and Horror of Fang Rock, the Rutans make their own technological strides to combat the advantages that their enemies were holding over them. They don't seem to discover time travel but they become masters at shapeshifting. This ability to perfectly duplicate other life forms changes the tides of battle. The Sontarans are losing again. They need to take drastic steps to increase their numbers even more. Those super-resilient bodies are intentionally weakened so that larger batches of warriors can be hatched. They are not told, of course, that they are genetically inferior but we see evidence of greater vulnerability during the next few stories.

Deciding the osmic projector is not enough, the Sontarans decide they need to enhance their time travel abilities. They strike an uneasy alliance with Dastari and Chessene from Space Station Chimera to steal the Kartz/Reimer time travel module. They also abduct a Time Lord (who turns out to be the Doctor) to discover where his Rassilon Imprimature lies in his genetic code. Their operations lead them to Earth in 1984. The events of The Two Doctors take place. Like The Time Warrior, there is no implication of time travel so we can assume this is the proper year in which this adventure transpires. It is here where we see the first evidence of weaker Sontarans. They now seem to be vulnerable to coronic acid. Jamie's knife also seems to be capable of doing some legitimate harm to Group Marshal Stike. Information stated about Sontarans in previous stories insinuate that they are, generally, invulnerable to such attacks. That the probic vent is the only way to take them down (or a significantly large explosion). But this doesn't seem to be the case, anymore. Although, Stike does seem to recover from his knife wound fairly quickly. So this particular generation of Sontaran is still reasonably strong.

Over the next few decades, though, the gene-strain is diluted even further to swell their numbers. The Sontarans that attempt to convert Earth into a clone hatchery in 2008(ish) are now even vulnerable to a mere bullet. We have never seen such weak Sontarans as we do in The Sontaran Stratagem/Poison Sky. I like to think that there's a legitimate reason for this inconsistency. Which is why I came up with my silly weakening of the gene strain theory.


NEXT CONTACT WITH EARTH

And now we must jump forward a considerable amount of time to The Sontaran Experiment. Dating this particular story can be a bit tricky. It takes place sometime after all the solar flare trouble that Earth experiences in the 30th Century that gets discussed in stories like Ark In Space and Beast Below. But it needs to occur before we see the Earth that is, once more, thriving in the 40th Century in stories like The Dalek Masterplan.

A general impression is given that the sleepers on Nerva Beacon were meant to stay in hibernation for 5 000 years. The Doctor claims they've overslept by a few thousand years due to Wiirn sabotage. But I would venture that these estimates are off. All of this happened in centuries rather than millennia. So let's say Sontaran Experiment takes place sometime in the 38th Century. That gives enough time for the planet to re-colonize and show real political strength as Mavic Chen's dastardly schemes start hatching.

While the Sontarans learnt a bit about humans way back in the late 20th/early 21st Century, that knowledge has been intentionally lost. Again, Sontaran propaganda always ascertains that defeats were forgotten. But, once more, it's become strategically-sound to investigate humanity's corner of the universe. So Field Major Styre is sent off to assess humans and uncover their weaknesses.

Why does Styre have five fingers while all other Sontarans have three? Sontaran scientists are always assigned five fingers at their hatching so they can better handle delicate scientific apparatus.


STRAX!!

Although most of his stories take place on 18th Century Earth, Strax becomes Madame Vastra's butler through a convenient trip in time shortly after A Good Man Goes To War. Our favorite bumbling Sontaran really hails from the 41st Century. The first time we see him, Moff is nice enough to display that it is the Year 4037. We must assume that, even without Styre's report, the war with Earth and its associated colonies eventually proceeds. Strax's penance at the Battle of Zaruthrstra seems to be a definite conflict between Sontarans and humans. Interestingly enough, Sontaran nurses appear to be completely neutral on the field of battle. Willing to help either side with their medical needs.

After being transported to Demon's Run, Strax is killed and then resurrected. We're still not entirely sure how. Perhaps some kind of cloning trick that actually seems to downgrade him, slightly. Like taking a photocopy of a photocopy. But all his adventures in Victorian London that we see in The Snowmen, The Crimson Horror, The Name of the Doctor and Deep Breath are the result of a trip through time. Strax really comes from one of the latest points in the Sontaran timeline.

It may be entirely possible that the Sontaran gene-pool has, once again, been compromised. Strax is seen to be rendered unconscious in a bar brawl during Name of the Doctor by a blow to the front of his face by a shovel rather than to the probic vent (it's difficult to ascertain - given the fact that the attack is filmed as a pov shot). This weakness, however, might also be due to whatever was done to him at his resurrection. We can't be sure...


NEW SERIES CAMEOS

We see the Sontarans making a few brief cameos in the New Series along with a Rogue's Gallery of other recurring villains. Since the Daleks were there too, I've mapped out the timeline of those appearances during my post on their history. Putting the Sontarans into that timeline won't be difficult.

While there's no real indication of an exact date, I estimate that the Alliance to seal the Doctor in the Box of Pandorica must have happened sometime after the 40th Century. As I explained in my summary of Dalek History, the various aliens are from the future but they travel back in time to Stonehenge in 102 AD. More than likely, the Daleks set up some huge time corridor to get them all there. The Sontarans, with their own knowledge of time travel, may have assisted. Or, proud warriors that they are, they may have gotten there on their own.

Finally, there's the blockade around Trenzalore in Time of the Doctor. Again, no real date can be given but I estimate that it takes place sometime after the events of Pandorica Opens/Big Bang. I could go into detail about about how the events line up but it's not particularly efficient to re-state it here when there's a previous post that explains it all. I'll post a link at the bottom if you want something more thorough that explains the order of things.


All righty, then. Sontaran History charted. We'll deal with other recurring baddies in future posts. There's still quite a few of them to sort out. Oh yeah, here's that link to Dalek History that explains that last section a bit better:

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2015/07/chronologies-and-timelines-episode-5-of.html

ANALYTICAL: PROGRESSIVE DOCTORS 2: THE FIRST DOCTOR - PART 1

We return you, now, to our Progressive Doctors Series: an examination of incarnations of the Doctor that go through significant character growth.  Our first episode looked at the Doctor's most current body. Now, we go all the way back to the beginning. 

There are some basic "rules" as to what qualifies as a truly Progressive Doctor. Here's a link to the first part where those rules are contained therein.

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/02/analytical-progressive-doctors-part-1.html

I should also note that the First Doctor is, without a doubt, the most Progressive of them all. It's going to take two parts to cover everything properly. 


PROGRESSIVE DOCTORS: PART 2

THE ORIGINAL, YOU MIGHT SAY

As "clunky" and dated as those first few seasons of Doctor Who look, I treasure them (and, of course, seethe in anger over the number of episodes that were deleted). While there have been many tales of Bill Hartnell being not particularly easy to get along with, we can see that this role meant the world to him. After many years of being typecast in some very unchallenging material, he was finally given something with some real meat. And he took that bull by the horns as he portrayed this mysterious character who captured the imaginations of the British public. Every second that he is on the screen - he is giving it his all.

At the same time, though, a production team is offering their own one-hundred-and-ten percent effort to the project. It's like everyone knows they have something special on their hands. In truth, no one actually had the faintest glimmer that the show would last as long as it has . But they're making it as if, someday, it will have the legacy it currently possesses. And it's a beautiful thing to see.

One of the best ways in which we see these ideologies reflected is in the character of the Doctor, himself. While he is, now, commonly referred to as "The First Doctor" - back then, no one knew Hartnell would be turning into Pat Troughton after a few seasons. So, in his actual era, he was just The Doctor. A time traveler we knew little or nothing about. The actor and the various production teams that he worked with took it upon themselves' to put some serious concentration into the development of the character. As the Doctor traversed the Vortex, he went on an enormous personal journey, too. In fact, no other incarnation has gone through as much character growth as the original has.

It would be safe to say that no other Doctor is as Progressive as the First.

STREAMS

There is such a high abundance of that character growth in the Hartnell Era that it would be immensely difficult and convoluted to try to chart it all at once (I still seriously considered it - just to try to show off my "chops" as a writer). In order to make it easier to analyze, I've divided this essay into two specific "Streams". We'll follow two succinct character traits that develop the most prominently over the course of three-seasons-and-then-some period that the First Doctor exists in. It will just make the whole Progression easier to view and understand.

With both of these streams, I will try to illustrate key points where that trait underwent some serious expansion. As usual, there will be times when these turning points were influenced by external factors. While, on other occasions, these emotional growth spurts were the result of an internal decision made on the Doctor's behalf.

But before we get to the streams, let's look at the First Doctor's starting point:

STARTING POINT

At the very beginning, the Doctor was far from likeable. He was, in fact, a legitimate anti-hero. It seems almost odd that it's his name in the title sequence. Of the four main characters featured in An Unearthly Child, the Doctor is the least accessible. Perhaps, even, the least interesting. Certainly the least charming.

Of course, the sequence that best shows us just how rotten of a fellow the Doctor is occurs in Episode Three of his first adventure. Lumbered with the inconvenience of an injured caveman that he does not want to help because it will slow down his escape, the Doctor actually appears to be making a move to kill him. That's the sort of fellow he is back when we first meet him. It's hard to believe he would ever be this way - given how high-principled and genuinely good-hearted he is, these days. But that's how he started.

His callousness doesn't stop, there. In the next story, he campaigns to get a race of peace-loving people to fight on his behalf to recover his fluid link. In the story after that, he is ready to just fling Ian and Barbara out of the TARDIS into what appears to be a fairly hostile environment.

Basically, in his first few stories, he is just not a pleasant man .

Yes, there do seem to be hints of a better person somewhere beneath it all. In many ways, he seems to side with what is right. Given that he has a ship that can take him anywhere in Time and Space, he could be up to far more malicious things than just exploring. But this man who would, someday, champion the cause of good against the most oppressive of evils does not seem the slightest bit nice. It's hard to believe he will be any sort of hero at all. At least, not at this stage of the game.

STREAM 1: THE MORAL COMPASS

As a fan of the show who was not there at the very beginning, it was quite the shock to go back and watch the first few stories. The Doctor I'd first met (if you read an earlier post - you'd know it was Tom Baker) was a high-principled being who always fought for what's right. But this is not the Doctor we're seeing at the opening of the Hartnell Era. However, by the time his reign comes to an end, the morals we see him upholding for the rest of the show are firmly in place. So let's see where those turning points occur.

While we don't see the Doctor partaking in anything particularly malicious in his fourth adventure - he also doesn't seem to be portraying any firm moral backbone, either. He just wants to get his TARDIS back from Marco Polo and move on. Any decisions he makes that may have an influence on the cause and effect of the situation come from a largely selfish motive. Essentially, the Doctor is not doing anything particularly "bad" in this story - but he isn't doing anything particularly good, either.
The Keys Of Marinus, to all intents and purposes, is the first occasion where we see any real development in the moral code of the Doctor. At first, he still seems pretty ambiguous in his ethics. The Conscience of Marinus is usually the type of computer that he would express considerable outrage against. But, in his initial appraisal, he seems almost impressed with a device that is capable of controlling the minds of others. He also only offers his help to Arbitan because, like Marco Polo, he has cut him off from his TARDIS. So there's still no real sense of a Doctor who wants to do good.

It is only as he re-joins the party at Millenius that we first see a real sense of that heart of gold shining through. Ian has been accused of a crime he hasn't committed and will be sentenced to death if he's found guilty. Who comes forward to represent him pro bono? The Doctor, himself! If we look at the way he was during An Unearthly Child, he should not care one bit about Ian's problem. It's his own predicament. Perhaps, after Susan argued on the schoolteacher's behalf, her grandfather might decide to help him. But that's not what we see. The Doctor is more than willing to represent Ian at his trial. He not only wants to help his friend - he needs to see that justice is properly served. This is the first real sense of right or wrong that the Time Lord seems to be exhibiting. It's further re-enforced as he makes a pronouncement at the end of the story that the Conscience of Marinus is wrong. That people should be allowed to think for themselves'.

That trial at Millenius will also be discussed in our Second Stream. We will see some external influence having a bearing on how his attitude changes. But, for the most part, this first sign of the Doctor's morals seems to be more of an internal choice. He's just decided that it's time to start taking sides. To start standing up for certain principles.

STAYING UNINVOLVED

While he is starting to develop a moral compass, there is still a strong impulse that stops the Doctor from acting too much on anything he believes in. As a time traveler, the Early Days First Doctor emphasizes most heavily the importance to never damage the Web of Time by getting too involved in things. In his eleventh body, he delivers a speech to Amy at the beginning of The Beast Below that delves into this philosophy quite heavily. He very quickly shows, however, that he doesn't truly follow this ideology. All it takes is a crying girl for him to leap in and start trying to influence things for the better. But back in his first incarnation, it's a concept he adheres to with an almost white-knuckled conviction.

He presents this argument most strongly in his next story. There is much about Aztec culture that a modern day Doctor would deeply object to. Even the First Doctor seems to find this culture's love of torture, war and religiously-justified murder repugnant. But he insists to Barbara that they must allow these people to conduct themselves' in the ways they see fit. His famous "You can't re-write history - not one line!" speech is delivered, here. And it seems to almost be a mantra that he continues to follow for several more stories. Even in The Sensorites, the help he offers to the telepathic aliens is much like the involvement he has with Marinus and Marco Polo - he's doing it only to get his TARDIS back. In stories like The Reign of Terror, Planet of Giants and even Dalek Invasion of Earth, the plot is more about a TARDIS crew that's caught in a nasty situation and is just trying to get out - rather than a group of people that have arrived at a place where an evil is at work that they feel they must fight it.

However, we do observe the Doctor showing some desire to see justice served. While Planet of Giants is still mainly about the TARDIS crew trying to restore themselves' to normal size, the Doctor does want to report to the proper authorities that a man has been murdered. We see this need for justice grow even stronger in the next story. The return of the Daleks would probably represent the first real external influence in propelling the Doctor's moral impetus. He knows these creatures are nothing but evil and he takes a very strong stance against them. Particularly at the beginning of Episode Two. Strongly disputing the Daleks' claim of being "the Masters of Earth" is not the smartest thing one should do against such a hot-tempered species, but the Doctor's sense of right and wrong has become too pronounced. He must vocalize his contrary stance. In so doing, he is also showing his first real sense of moral backbone. He's going to get involved and try to change things for the better. It's a fairly pivotal moment for him that is prompted purely by the fact that these creatures are evil and must be stopped. For once, it's not an internal force compelling him - but circumstances outside of him.

We see one more key element of the Doctor's integrity shine through in this tale. As the Doctor and Susan take to the sewers with David Campbell, they run back into Tyler. A short while later, they also run into two Robomen. One is killed, the other disabled. As Tyler aims his pistol to dispatch the unconscious Dalek servant, the Doctor stops him. "I only take life when it directly threatens mine", he declares. That wasn't the case at the beginning of the show. He has most definitely grown in his attitude. He has also developed one of the most important elements in his core philosophy: the need to preserve life at all costs. It's almost a throwaway moment in Dalek Invasion of Earth, but it's a sequence that displays a key point in the Doctor's moral growth.

Ultimately, though, we could argue that a lot of what the Doctor does in this story is still just a course of action that will enable him to eventually unearth his buried TARDIS. There is still some selfish intent, there - it's not purely an act of good. As we move on to The Rescue there's little opportunity for him to really act out of a moral motivation. Koquillon/Bennet is a nasty fellow - but the fight he takes up against him is more a struggle for self-preservation than it is an attempt to see justice served. Still, the confrontation in the council chamber of Dido shows a Doctor who is standing up to a villain and calling him out on the carpet. It's a step in the right direction...

THE ROMANS - FAR MORE PIVOTAL THAN YOU WOULD EXPECT

Who would've thought that such a goofy little farce would be such a vital turning point for the Doctor's ethics? But as he and Vicky are on the road to Rome, they find the body of Maximus Pettulian. When the Doctor is mistaken for him, he decides to assume the role. He and Vicki become embroiled in politics at Nero's royal court.

And why does he do this? Well, there may be several reasons. But the one he explicitly states to Vicki is a desire to see justice served over the murder of Maximus Pettulian's death. There is probably also a bit of an interest in being able to get so close to a famous historical figure. But still, this is the first time we see the Doctor want to do something good without any real personal reward at stake. This isn't like The Keys of Marinus or The Sensorites, where he's lending a hand to regain access to his TARDIS. Or Dalek Invasion of Earth where he's fighting an evil monster who is, at the same time, posing a threat to his own personal safety. He's really quite selfless, here.

While his companions have, no doubt, been influencing him to become more and more humane - this still seems to be a decision drawn mainly by internal motives and not external influences. The Doctor has just decided to become a better person. To do good wherever he goes.

He also revokes his credo to never get involved in a pretty big way. In stories like The Aztecs and The Reign of Terror he is doing his damnedest to stay out of history's path. Here, he becomes partially responsible for one of the most famous disasters in human history.

It is in The Romans that we see the first seeds truly planted that will eventually grow into the Doctor we see nowadays: a man who always gets involved and tries to bring about positive change wherever he goes.


THE NEXT TURNING POINT

Perhaps the burning of Rome set a bit of a scare into the Doctor and he relapses for a bit. In Historicals like The Crusade, he reverts back to just being a man who is merely trying to survive during a turbulent time in the past. He does not attempt to influence things for the better. In stories like The Web Planet, The Space Museum and The Chase, any good he does is for the sake of looking after his own needs and/or safety.

It is only as we reach the end of Season 2 that we see him acting, once more, from a non-selfish standpoint. Another wrong must be righted and he doesn't care what good it might do for him. It just needs to be fought.

This time, it seems like an external influence that's motivating him. But it's not the guidance of a good friend. But, rather, the machinations of one of his own people. The latest evil that the Doctor feels he must stamp out is a plot by the Monk to change history. More than likely, the Doctor's own sense of obligation to see that the Web of Time isn't damaged is what gets him to start getting involved, again. But, after several stories of remaining on the sidelines and only effecting change if it benefits him, he needed something major to break the habit.

As Season Two wraps up, the Doctor's morals are becoming a major part of who he is.


IN PRAISE OF THE DALEKS

Galaxy Four sees a Doctor who is acting mainly under threat, but we still see him take great personal risk to ensure that Rills can launch their ship before the planet is destroyed. Mythmakers doesn't give much opportunity for him to show off his ethics, but he does become involved in another pivotal historical moment -  he comes up with the idea for the Trojan Horse.

Dalek Masterplan, however, really puts the Doctor's moral streak to the forefront. Just as they did on Earth in the 22nd Century, the Daleks' plans for conquest galvanize the Doctor's ethics. But, whereas he merely told off the Daleks in Dalek Invasion of Earth, this time he openly fights them. In Episode Two, he willingly disguises himself as Zephron and becomes embroiled in a protracted counterplot against the Daleks' Time Destructor Project. He could've looked for a way out and left things to Bret Vyon. That might have been something he would've done back at the beginning of Season 1. But that's not the Doctor, anymore. Now, he's a man who steps in and gets involved. When Bret praises him for his courage - he even shrugs it off.

The Doctor's desire to always do what's right has become so deeply ingrained that he's, now, willing to sacrifice himself to accomplish it. In the final episode of Dalek Masterplan, he's ready to die as he activates the Time Destructor and carries it off. We see the Doctor's morality come to full bloom, here. He is now willing to die for his beliefs.

Onwards from this 12-part Dalek Epic, he is the Doctor we currently know and love. His courage and moral fortitude are the very core of who he is. And if he needs to become involved to make a difference - he will do so. Oddly enough, he should be thankful to the Daleks. They are the ones chiefly responsible to turning him into the man he is.

THE ROAD TO REGENERATION

Aside from a bit of caution that he reluctantly shows in The Massacre, the Doctor continues to seek justice wherever he goes. He fights the oppression of the Monoids, the Elders and WOTAN. He even interferes in history a bit during The Gunfighters. He does actually try to plead for peace among the participants of the gunfight at the OK Corral. It's an event that he knows must happen but he still tries to apply his morals to the situation. If only Barbara had been around to see it!

After a quick little runaround of little consequence on the 17th Century Cornish Coast, we arrive at The Tenth Planet. Many fans complain of the Doctor not being more involved in the story. That he should've had a greater role to play in the defeat of the Cybermen. But from the point of tracking his moral compass, this is an excellent final story for Doctor One.

While he may not have done much to make a difference, the Doctor's ethics are proudly on display in this story. Understanding that Mondas has returned to Earth, he very quickly asserts himself into a position of influence to help with the battle.  There is no hesitancy to become involved - he must help Earth in its time of need. As the Cybermen arrive in Episode Two, the Doctor stands up to them and berates them constantly for their deplorable behavior. It's the best he can do under the circumstances - but it's beautiful to watch. He is a man who can no longer ignore his conscience and must always speak out in the name of righteousness. Even when surrounded by enemies that could easily kill him, he's not afraid to stand up and be heard.

It is true, he doesn't do much to tip the scales in The Tenth Planet. But he's won a much bigger fight in this story. He's defeated his own sense of indifference.

He has truly become the Doctor.



So, that's Stream 1 clearly charted. When we re-join the Progressive Doctors Series, we'll look at the development of a character trait that we also watched grow in Doctor Twelve. The "softening" of the character. Moments where the First Doctor became less and less abrasive and learnt to actually bond with the people around him. It was quite the process for Capaldi's Doctor - it's an even bigger journey for Hartnell. 

Stay tuned... 


(Just in case you want to read the Twelfth Doctor Essay and are too lazy to scroll up to the top of the page, here's that link again):

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/02/analytical-progressive-doctors-part-1.html