DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SEASON TWENTY-TWO

Easily, the most controversial season in the whole history of the show. 

Lots of things happen in this particular set of stories that upset a lot of people. Debates raged on among fans and even casual viewers about the extreme levels of violence. Or a Doctor who seemed to be acting out of character. Or even just the, overall, quality of the writing. While the term "hot take" had not been coined yet, a lot of them were going around during Twenty-Two!   

For some, there was no controversy.They had just decided that this was a terrible year for Who and couldn't be convinced, otherwise. They feel the same way about Season Twenty-Two as I do about Seventeen. 

In general, Season Twenty-Two drew a lot of negative attention to itself. It didn't help that, halfway through it, the BBC announced that they were putting the show on hiatus. Which creates the image that the season had gone so badly that the show needed to go off the air for a bit to fix itself. 

For quite a few years afterwards, Twenty-Two seems to leave a bad taste in most peoples' mouths. A lot of folks weren't happy with the direction the show went in that year. General audience, fans and even Executives at the Beeb were displeased. Mind you, it was a bit of a snowball effect. Certain individuals in  influential  positions denounced it and this created preconceptions for the rest of us. As a Canadian waiting for the episodes to make their way overseas, I can remember hearing what was being said about it by British fans and bracing myself for the worst. By the time I could get my eyes on the content, I watched it with a fairly large bias. I was, essentially, expecting the stories to be bad. 

Because of all this drama and debate, Season Twenty-Two might just be the most turbulent time in the entire history of the show. 

RE-EVALUATION

I was still a very young lad when this set of adventures reached my eyes. I was naive enough to believe that if General Fan Consensus thought something on a matter, they were probably right. Quite a bit of time and reflection would pass before I realised that this particular group of fans were often just a very vocal minority. But I didn't know that, yet. So, as I said in the last section, I expected this latest of batch of tales to be bad. 

I learnt a very valuable lesson during the Colin Baker Era: Quite often, General Fan Consensus was a load of crock! I really liked these stories. Sure, they had flaws (most stories do!). But they were bold and different and loads of fun. Quite a bit of the rest of fandom, however, lacked my positive outlook. Most people seemed to feel that Season Twenty-Two was largely troubled. Not necessarily awful, but heavy with problems. Many seemed to even feel that the show genuinely merited the hiatus and needed  to re-evaluate itself. This would be the general sentiment directed toward this run of stories for many years to come. 

It was not until the show came back on the air in 2005 that feelings on Season Twenty-Two would start to take a strong shift. Fans of New Who that wanted a better idea of where the show came from started diving into the past. Many were warned about Colin's period. To which quite a few responded with: "What are you talking about?! This is good!" You even had people like Wingy Media on YouTube who passionately defends Season Twenty-Two. Praising it for its willingness to be so different. 

After years of practically having to hide my affection for this season, it was nice to finally feel a bit of affirmation. 

THE COMPLAINTS I AGREE WITH....

Before this whole entry turns into some kind of "I was right the whole time" diatribe, let me actually point out several significant recurring flaws that do happen throughout the season. Oddly enough, they're not usually the complaints that I hear when people criticize this period. Nonetheless, they do irritate me quite a bit. 

1. No Longer Giving a Crap About "How They Got Out of It"

This has been a problem for quite some time with the Master, of course. Stories that feature him conclude with the evil Time Lord in a terrible, seemingly inescapable plight. The next time we see him, however, no explanation is given on how he escaped such a horrible fate. 

The one we get in Mark of the Rani feels like a bigger cheat than usual. The last time we saw the man, he was being burnt to a crisp. This one really needed something more than just: "I'm indestructible. The whole universe knows that!" But, alas, no such luck. Credulity gets thrown out the window and we care, even less, about whatever nasty thing will happen to him at the end of this story. The Master will just come back. That's all there is to it. 

Now, if this had just happened with the Master, that would have been bad enough. But something similar happens with Davros in Revelation of the Daleks. We do get a partial explanation of how he survived the events of Resurrection. He made it to his escape pod, after all. Good for him. But he was in the process of dying from the Movellan virus, too. How did he get out of that?!    

Yes, the Doctor didn't actually know the full extent of the Mad Kaled Scientist's suffering. So Davros might not care to give him a complete explanation. But, surely, the writer could have done a bit of "fudging". Make Davros want to brag all-the-more about his brilliance by explaining to his rival that he didn't just escape from an exploding ship. He cured himself of a terrible virus, too. Or something like that

This one is especially bad since both Resurrection and Revelation were written by the same person. I can get why one writer might not want to clean up the mess of another. But there's no excuse for this level of laziness. 

But that's still not enough. The Doctor, himself, is a victim of such negligence during Timelash. It seems especially ridiculous that a story that is running short on time can't be bothered to have a bit of a denouement where the Doctor tells Peri how he survived a direct hit from a Bendalypse Missile. I would have been much happier to get that scene than the completely awful filler that they did squeeze in. 

I get it, of course. In some ways, the explanations are hardly necessary. We just need the Doctor and his various enemies to live to fight another day. Does it really matter how they do it? 

I think it does. And I hate that this season abuses this issue so much. 

2. End-of-Story Supporting Cast Slaughterfests 

I've gone on about these endlessly, of course. So I won't dwell on them too much. 

Once more, we get three stories that resolve themselves by just killing off, pretty much, all of the secondary characters. That's now six stories in the last two seasons that have used this trick. By this point, it's gotten extremely tiresome. 

I'll even admit that, sometimes, you can actually end an adventure in such a manner. Horror of Fang Rock, for example, did exactly this.. But, because it's not surrounded by five other tales that concluded in the same way, we barely notice it. And it actually suits the plot that the lighthouse will be found with no survivors. I also think that, for similar reasons, it's acceptable for Warriors of the Deep to use this device. Everyone lying dead except the Doctor and his companions was meant to make a point about the futility of the Cold War. It worked. But the poignancy of such an ending is ruined by the fact that so many other stories will be executed in a similar fashion over the next little while.  

I actually find myself appreciating Vengeance on Varos, Mark of the Rani and even Timelash a little bit more because they don't just use the "everyone dies in the last twelve minutes" technique to resolve all their conflicts!  

THE COMPLAINTS I CAN'T GET BEHIND 

Okay, I have conceded that Season Twenty-Two is not some perfect work of art that, back in the 80s,  everyone-but-me was wrong about. It had some real flaws. But now, let's look at some common criticisms that were levelled at it that I feel have little or no merit. 

1. It's Too Violent

Kindly note that I underlined the word: "too" for emphasis. By no means am I claiming Season Twenty-Two is not violent. Season Twenty-Two is, in fact, damn violent. This was the whole intent of Production during this year: They wanted to make a very dark and gritty version of Doctor Who. Things were moving in this direction in the previous season. But they were reaching their ultimate depths, here. 

I will go so far as to admit that there were a few occasions were lines came perilously close to being crossed. Oddly enough, the instance that probably bothers me the most was making Lytton's hands so bloody after the Cybermen squeeze them too hard. It just seemed a bit too gory for something like Doctor Who. The other sequence that rankles me a bit is the "Your just desserts!" gag in Two Doctors. Yes, Sixie was fighting for his life and was in a kill-or-be-killed situation. Yes, Shockeye was an incredibly horrible creature who had done all sorts of terrible things over the course of the three episodes. So this fate does look a bit good on him. But the bad pun feels just a tad too callous. I think it might even have something to do with the delivery. As I don't feel that the very similar "You'll forgive if I don't join you!" gag in Vengeance on Varos bothers me in the slightest. Colin gets that moment to work. Whereas Shockeye's mothballing just seems to have the wrong tone. 

I do feel, though, that the violence in this season never truly goes too far. It gets very close during the sequences I mentioned (and a few others), but it never quite crosses the line. 

I would even argue that, although Season Twenty-Two has some highly disturbing content, I still wouldn't consider it the most violent season of Doctor Who. Seasons Thirteen and Fourteen, I feel, earn that title. As much of a crank as Mary Whitehouse was, she actually had a point, sometimes! Lyttons's bloody hands, for instance, are nothing compared to Condo's stomach blowing open in Brain of Morbius. And throwing a Horda at a member of the Sevateem because he slapped Leela is a far worse "Violence trying to be funny when it shouldn't" gag than the murder of Shockeye could ever hope to be. I actually consider throwing a land-based piranha at someone to be the most brutal thing the Doctor has ever done. No, he didn't kill the guy.  But, in many ways, he kinda did worse, More than likely, the poor soul was maimed for life. 

I'd even go so far to say that a lot of the Pertwee stuff was a bit too violent. He wasn't killing anyone with his Venusian Karate but he certainly beat the crap out of a whole lot of people. It wouldn't help that, decades later, we'd see Thirteen also using the same self-defence techniques in a manner that kept the harm to her victims at a bare minimum.  Which rather gives the impression that Three was a bit of a sadistic bastard that liked handing people their asses! 

So there are several seasons that I would find to be far more violent than Twenty-Two. And, during those seasons, things were definitely taken too far.  But Twenty-Two, itself, stays within some pretty healthy boundaries with how it handles the action in its stories. 

2. This is Not a "Proper" Doctor!   

Another big complaint that circulated around this time. It was first spurred on by how the Doctor was portrayed in Twin Dilemma. A lot of fans, I think, hoped that the Time Lord was behaving in such a way only because he was unstable from regeneration. Many were mortified to see he was still being arrogant and largely unpleasant as Attack of the Cybermen started. 

Throughout the entire season, the Doctor is more of an anti-hero than a proper protagonist. Sure, he fights for what's right. But he does it in the rudest of manners. On top of that, he's not strangling Peri anymore, but he's still berating her on a fairly regular basis. 

Many viewers felt that this was all way too uncharacteristic for the Doctor.  His attitude was not in keeping with how other incarnations had acted. 

The great irony to this sentiment is that Colin was staying truer to the core character than most. Essentially, he'd gone all the way back to how the role was fashioned for Hartnell. There are, in fact, several moments where he's doing a perfect impression of the original Doctor (with hands on his lapels and everything!). 

Hartnell's Doctor was very much an anti-hero at the start of his period. He wasn't the easiest individual to get along with, either. Particularly in his treatment of Ian and Barbara.

Just like the First Doctor, the intention right from the start was to move the character out of the anti-hero mold and make him more likeable in later seasons. Certain versions of the Doctor do this. Rather than remaining constant, they move through character arcs. Thirteen exemplifies this process nicely, too. In her first season, she's pretty happy-go-lucky. As the years wear on, however, she's wrestling with more and more stress. To the point where the entire Universe rests on her shoulders during Flux.  

It's odd how audiences seem to have a hard time understanding starting points. A realistic character isn't just arrogant or carefree for twenty minutes and then moves into a new range of emotions. They have to spend a while in that state in order to convincingly evolve into a new one. It does almost feel like neither of these Doctors were given a proper chance in their first season. 

Whatever the case, I really don't feel Six was "not the Doctor" during Season Twenty-Two. Some might even say  he was "more the Doctor" than several other incarnations. He brought the character back to its original form and had a similar trajectory built into it that would enable our protagonist to grow over a period of time. 

Sadly, he was never given the chance to take the arc to its ultimate conclusion. And, instead, we are left with carrot juice... 

3,The Writing Was Bad 

This one baffles me.The writing, if anything, is a bit better than usual. The writers were given two substantial challenges this season. And, for the most part, they assailed both of them quite well. 

Firstly, there was the change in episode length. Something that I felt was a very smart decision (ultimately, New Who would agree with the sentiment and give the same run-time to their episodes). 46-minutes gives much more time for the story to "breathe" and feel less like a patchwork of intermittent cliffhangers. But, up until Season Twenty-Two, no one had written a story in this format. No doubt, this made things a bit more difficult for the writers as they had to sort out a new way to pace things. 

Secondly, there's this goal to make Doctor Who more dark and morbid than it's ever been. While doing this, authors still needed to be conscious of where "the line" was and make sure not to fully cross it. This could be a very tricky balancing act that had never been explored so deeply as it was in this year. Yes, the show had pushed the envelope in the past. But never with quite this level of resolve. This would be another strain on the scriptwriters. 

I do feel that, with both of these challenges, the writers succeeded. Sure there were some stumbles here and there. But there are plenty of stories from other seasons that pushed no boundaries and still floundered.  At least, on this occasion, there's an excuse for these errors in judgement. 

I think, if anything, certain people complain about the writing because they were handed something very different from what they had been getting in the past. We humans don't always adjust well to change, Rather than admit that, though, we claim something is "bad". That things are going in the wrong direction so that we can justify returning to our old ways rather than trying to explore something new. 

This, I feel, is the real source for a lot of the complaints about the writing. It really wasn't all that bad at all. Quite good in some places. But it was different from what we'd been getting for the last twenty-one years. And people don't always respond well to change.   

THE DUD 

Having just finished defending the writing on this Season, I'll contradict myself a bit by discussing the one plot that's a bit of a mess. 

Timelash is another one of those stories that makes it into my list of Top Five Guilty Pleasures (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-of-lists-top-five-guilty-pleasures_11.html). Which means that I do like it but still acknowledge that it's bad. I've already briefly mentioned my two biggest issues with it. 

1) No explanation is given on how the Doctor escaped what he was sure would be certain death at the hands of a Bendalypse Missile 

2) We are forced to endure what is, without-a-doubt, the most blatant piece of padding in the history of the show. I know I've complained a lot about some of the stuff in Frontier in Space, but it still can't touch the Arguing With Peri and then Herbert in the TARDIS scene. I have, on occasion, even just fast-forwarded through it! 

Having said that, however, a lot of the rest of the story is fairly well-constructed. There's a nice piece of timey-whimeyness with a burnt-out android and the Borad is a pretty fun villain. The tacked-on That Was Just a Clone You Killed scene was even okay. A bit of a cop-out, I'll admit. But throwing the Borad down his own Kontron Tunnel made for a more suitable end to the character (even if it contradicts Established Continuity about the Loch Ness Monster!). 

I guess what I'm getting at is that Timelash may be a bit of a clunker. But it's not that much of a clunker. It's almost passable, in fact. But there are just enough problems in it to give it a failing mark. 

Before I move on from Timelash, however, there is one last Great Flaw that bears mentioning: Paul Darrow. I have been able to accept that Classic Who's poor budget affects more than just the special effects. They can't always afford the best actors, either. It doesn't help that sci-fi can actually be very difficult to act in. If you're playing a grocery store clerk, for instance, you can go out and study people who work in that type of job and get a feel for what they're like. A Reptilian Prince from the Sulphur-Rich Planet of Mixquarkios Seven, however, can be a bit more of a stretch for an actor to get his head around! 

But there was no excuse for Paul Darrow. The man had played one of the most amazing characters in science fiction history on Blake's Seven. To come over and crap the bed on Doctor Who with some weird Richard the Third impersonation was an absolute embarrassment to watch. "When do you think that style of acting will come back into fashion, Paul?!"is still the best line from a DVD Commentary ever! 

THE MID-RANGERS

I do think a lot of the middle-of-the-line stuff in this season is actually above-average. Not quite Classics, but still quite strong. 

Attack of the Cybermen sits on slightly shaky ground. It's got a bit of a Resurrection of the Daleks vibe going on in that it is trying to do a little too much at once. Some folks like to point out that depending so heavily on the history of previous Cybermen stories was not a good move. But I actually love that they did this. It probably helps, of course, that I was already a hardcore fan and not a casual viewer. But I still think it's cool that the show consciously built on its own Lore in this way. It's Production's way of saying: "Hey fans. We do actually care about you guys!" 

Mark of the Rani shows a great sense of tonal awareness. Making every story super dark and gritty might have been just a bit too much for an audience to handle. So we are given one story that feels a bit lighter. Even whimsical, in places. And all the in-fighting between the Master, the Rani and the Doctor is great fun to watch. "He'd get dizzy trying to walk in a straight line" and other barbs like it are all quite amusing. 

The Two Doctors is, perhaps, the most curious specimen of them all. Here we have a veteran writer who could have easily said: "I'm God-damned Robert Holmes. I'll write whatever way I want! " And everyone would have allowed that because we're just so happy to get a script from him. But he does make a sincere effort to embrace the themes of the season. He really goes for some gruesome stuff in this tale. Shockeye catching and eating a rat was an extremely memorable visual! 

I should note that, while he is the most wretched of villains, I also absolutely adore Shockeye. John Stratton plays the part with just the perfect level of relish. An extremely twisted version of a bon-vivant who gets great lines like: "I'm not interested in the beliefs of primitives. Only in what they taste like!"

I'm also very impressed by how Holmes presented his vegetarian views. I'll admit, I'm still a merciless carnivore. But reversing the stakes and causing us to be the hapless creature on the plate was a great way to make his point without hitting us over the head with it in the way most vegans do. He does almost make me consider vegetarianism because of it. Unfortunately, I just love the taste of animal flesh too much!    

None of these mid-rangers are perfect, of course. I do agree, for instance, with the idea that there was little or no point in having the Sontarans in Two Doctors. But then, not being perfect is what makes them mid-rangers. And I do feel that a lot of the flaws some of these stories have are blown ridiculously out-of-proportion. Fans are really starting to watch the show under the harshest of microscopes. Picking the stories apart to such an extent that we almost can't call them fans, anymore. They're more like detractors. 

It becomes even more ridiculous that many of the flaws that are being denounced and causing the stories to be "awful" also exist in other stories from the past that have been labelled "Classics". Shouldn't they be considered terrible too?! 

Fandom is genuinely becoming hypocritical during this period. 

THE CLASSICS 

And then, finally, there are the Classics. Stories that are either perfect or near-perfect enough that the flaws barely matter. 

There are two of them in this Season. That's right, this "terrible" season produced two absolutely marvelous tales (in my opinion, at least). This rarely happens on the show. At least by my reckoning. These Reviews have, no doubt, shown you that there are certain stories that most of fandom consider Classics but I'm not of the same opinion.  And, of course, the reverse is sometimes true, too. In fact, this might actually be the case with Season Twenty-Two. You might not like either story that I consider to be a Classic!   

I've said quite a bit about Vengeance on Varos (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-3.html)  and Revelation of the Daleks (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/12/book-of-lists-top-five-dalek-stories_27.html) in previous entries. So I won't dwell on them too much, here. 

Varos, of course, is my third-favorite Doctor Who story, ever.  I adore it that much. I just find all of it so gripping. For me, it's an absolute masterpiece. Right from the opening shot of Jason Connery being tortured by a spotlight to the final scene of the Varosian couple (one of whom will, eventually, be Clara's Nan) staring, bewildered, at a blank screen. It's all absolutely beautiful. 

Revelation's greatest strength is that it takes everything that Season Twenty-Two is doing and gets it all absolutely right. The grittiness, the gore, the dark tones and the violence are all in perfect proportion. Because this is such a different direction for the show, there were some missteps here and there. But Revelation has ironed out all the kinks. There's even an unusually high survival rate in the End-of-story Supporting Cast Slaughterfest!   

FINAL EVALUATION 

As I reached the end of this season for the first time, I was quite mystified. I'd heard so many terrible things about it, but I didn't see any of it, myself. For the most part, I really enjoyed this year of Doctor Who. If I were to compare it, once more, to the seasons before it that JNT produced. I would say that it's, at least, tied with Season Nineteen. I might even like it a little bit better. 

Like Nineteen, it has two Classics in it. Which is a rare occurrence. But we must also acknowledge the "clunker" (putting the word "time" in the title of the story appears to be a curse!). Which takes away a few points, of course. But those mid-rangers are all so solid. So we can't hate on things too much. I think Twenty-Two triumphs that little bit more because the whole season has such a unique theme to it. It went for something really different throughout the entire season. Nineteen is quite unique, too. But it lacks that predominant vision that Twenty-Two  has. 

So, just for fun, here are how the seasons of JNT are currently ranking: 

Eighteen

Twenty-Two 

Nineteen 

Twenty and Twenty-One (tied).    

Overall, I'm finding all of these seasons to be above-average in quality. This feels more like a Golden Age of Doctor Who than the Hinchcliffe Era. The stories are fresh. The ideas unique. I could never, for instance, see the Fourth Doctor taking on the Mara back in the 70s. The story doesn't contain an entire episode of the Doctor just dealing with traps! It also doesn't have enough captures-and-escapes in it! 

Kinda is the sort of adventure that only JNT had the courage to produce. To me, that speaks volumes about his character. 

Was he a perfect producer? Of course not. He's human and is bound to make mistakes. But he certainly does not deserve the attacks he was starting to get during this period of the show. I believe it was at this time that DWB printed it's notorious issue that had "JNT Must Go!" on the cover. An absolutely atrocious thing for any fanzine to do. I can't even see someone like The National Enquirer running a headline like that. A truly tasteless gesture that makes me embarrassed to be a fan.  

In the same way that JNT doesn't deserve the hate he was getting, Season Twenty-Two also didn't merit the reputation it got. If you can strip away all the politics that toxic fandom was creating at the time, I think you'll find it really is an outstanding season. It's very different from what came before it. Which I can see might make it difficult to accept. But the experimental nature of Doctor Who is one of the traits that I love best about the programme. So I can't help but applaud it. 

No doubt, some of you will probably disagree savagely with what I've written, here. And I'm expecting that. Just like I said at the beginning of this entry - this is the most controversial season of the show, ever. So it doesn't really matter what opinion I express - I'm going to get some push-back!     

DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SEASON TWENTY-ONE

So, we had a fun little nostalgia trip all the way through Season Twenty. But the anniversary festivities are over, now. Time to get back to just making some regular Who. 

Season Twenty-One would usher in quite a bit of change. The biggest, of course, being the replacement of the lead. But it wouldn't end there. The supporting cast would be clearing out too. By the end of the year, it would be totally different faces in the TARDIS from the ones we had seen at the beginning. 

Perhaps more significantly, though, would be the tonal shift we would start seeing this season. The Doctor would seem quite ineffectual in several of the stories in Twenty-One. There would be quite a bit of violence erupting around him that he would be useless in being able to stop. Part of this was being done to give Tegan a distaste for the adventures she's been having, of late, and decide to leave.  But some fans also posit that this was meant to show the Doctor that his lofty morals were, perhaps, too impractical. That he needed to start getting his hands a bit more dirty in his battles. Which does seem to legitimately trigger a change in the Doctor's attitude and approach towards injustice. Not just in Doctors Six and Seven, but in most incarnations that we see in New Who, too. In this sense, alone, Season Twenty-One is highly significant. 

In many ways, it changes the show forever. 

THE "BAD" BOOKENDS 

Like Season Twenty, the beginning and end of this latest run would also be a bit weak. In fact, quite a few fans would actually say very weak! 

There is not a lot of fondness for Warriors of the Deep. Most complaints are about over-lit sets or wooden acting or the intensely ridiculous-looking Myrka!   Which, in some ways, are valid objections. Those styrofoam bulkhead doors flopping down at the end of Part Two are not easy to look at! But, as is often the case for me, bad visuals only mar my enjoyment so much. Classic Who did its damnedest to work within the stark means it was given. I tend to judge stories more on the merits of the writing and directorial choices. 

Which means I don't actually find Warriors all-that-bad. Episodes One, Two and Four are, for the most part, solidly put-together. It's really only Part Three that has pretty big problems with how the plot is structured (I go into greater detail about it here: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/09/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-was-it.html). But, otherwise, I'm pretty good with everything. I particularly like the ending. Admittedly, I can't argue with those who, maybe, find it a bit corny! It kinda is. But that doesn't stop me from liking it! 

Probably the only other real problem the story might have is that it does feel a tad dated, now. Warriors of the Deep is meant to be a bit of a protest against the nuclear arms race that was going on at the time. It does almost need to be watched contextually, now. The Cold War, as it was called, is long-dead. Modern-day viewers have a hard time grasping the concept of Mutually-Assured Destruction and how ridiculous-yet-horrifying it was. Because Warriors is trying to mine this fear, it has a lot less impact, now.  

At the other end of the run, of course, we have Twin Dilemma. Poor 'ole Twin Dilemma! It's reputation seems to precede it. It's almost as if Fandom always votes it as the worst story ever because that's what we're told to do. We hear so much about how bad it's meant to be that we walk in with a sort of witch-hunting mentality. The verdict has already been made. We're just looking for any little reason to justify our disdain for it. 

And there certainly are some problems with it. Clearly, the money has run out. The safe-house on Titan Three appears to be made mainly of tin-foil! The aliens are looking quite cheap, too. Particularly Mestor and his slug buddies. But, again, low budgets only bother me so much. I'm more concerned with the lightness of Dilemma's plot. There really isn't quite enough there to sustain the four episodes. I'm also not too certain that anyone really understands basic astronomy and/or physics all that well. Judging, at least, by how they intend do all the planet-moving that they want to accomplish!   

There is something that I feel really makes up for a lot of these problems. The Doctor, himself. I absolutely adore him in this story. In all of his stories, really. But I do think he's great in this one. His extreme arrogance is wildly entertaining. A great contrast from Peter's portrayal. 

I know every fan in the world seems to think the show chose the absolute worst way possible to introduce this incarnation. But I actually liked the whole idea of it. Making us genuinely unsure of his mental stability and whether or not we would actually like him was the sort of brave choice that I distinctly admire. Introductory stories for a new incarnation were starting to become just a bit formulaic. I really did feel that this was a great way to spice things up. No one else in the Universe seems to agree with me on this. But that's okay. I'm perfectly happy being the Great Contrarion!   

I wouldn't even consider Twin Dilemma a Guilty Pleasure. I think it's somewhat passable. Like Robot or Time and the Rani (or even Deep Breath), the story is still fairly weak. But it showcases the new incarnation very well  Much of the entertainment in the whole tale stems from just how fun the latest Doctor is to watch. Which makes all the adventures I just mentioned - and Twin Dilemma, itself - decent stories for me. Far from perfect, but still all right.   

Just for some really crazy context: If given the choice of having to sit through Twin Dilemma or Robot, Dilemma would win every time. Robot is a far clunkier "we have no money!" mess than Dilemma could ever hope to be!   

SOLID MID-RANGERS 

While its beginning and end are not up to everyone's preference (I, myself, like them but don't think they're all that particularly strong), most of what sits in the middle of Season Twenty-One delivers quite well.

The Awakening is a nice little tale that fits the two-part format perfectly. There's just enough there to fill the run-time. The fact that nothing all that particularly big happens in the plot also really suits the situation. The whole thing is a "smaller" adventure that the Doctor had and I love that each of Davison's seasons contains one of these. It just makes things feel a bit more diverse. Classic Who could have benifited massively from more two-parters. Particularly in the 70s when so many six-parters were stuffed full of plot padding. I would be a much happier fan if Seeds of Doom had just been a two-parter in Antarctica and then we had moved on to another story entirely!    

Frontios is also great fun. I love the concept that there are times the Doctor isn't supposed to visit. I also think the Tractators are very interesting monsters. The fact that they are harmless without a Gravis is an interesting twist. The Doctor being so deceptive with the Leader of the Tractators comes across as a bit of foreshadowing. He will become more and more like this with his enemies in Days to Come. 

My absolute favorite part of Frontios, however, is when Turlough goes barking mad! Mark Strickson does not hold back on the OTT and becomes great fun to watch. I saw this story for the first time with a group of friends and it became our favorite thing, for a while, to enter a room by running in and screaming: "Tractators! I saw one of them!" The less people there were in the room that actually got the reference, the more we seemed to enjoy it! 

Speaking of Turlough, of course, we must finally come to Planet of Fire. Like Adric, I decided not to talk about him much til we came to his last story. Also similar to Adric, there seems to be lot of fans who aren't that fond of him. He was intentionally-written to be a bit of an unlikable character and a lot of folks seem to have fallen for it a bit too well!  

I will just state outright that I loved Turlough. He wins out over Rory by just a little bit as being my favorite male companion in the whole history of Who. Yup, I even like him a bit better than Jamie. 

A lot of it has to do, I think, with the arcs the writers built into him His internal struggles during The Guardian Trilogy are magnificently-constructed. We really do believe in his choice at the end of Enlightenment because we've watched all the turmoil he's gone through as he accepts that he can't really kill the Doctor. 

After the trilogy is over, however, the writers continue to grow the character. Turlough seems to be a dyed-in-the-wool coward who slowly-but-surely develops backbone over the course of Season Twenty-One. When he is faced with the ultimate responsibility of dealing with his past, he accepts what he must do in order to accomplish a Greater Good. Even if it might have serious repercussions on his freedom. I really love all the treatment this character gets. The amount of growth he goes through (versus so many other companions who can really stagnate!) makes it near-impossible to not fall in love with him. Even if his desire to go home after the Guardian Trilogy does seem to contradict some of the stuff we get in Planet of Fire! 

Aside from saying bye to Turlough, there's a tonne of other things Fire has to accomplish. It must bring back the Master. It has to introduce Peri. Kamelion must also go. It will take advantage of the Lanzarote location. Somewhere along the way, it also has to have a plot of some sort! Planet of Fire does a very competent job with all these elements. To the point where it doesn't actually feel overstuffed at any point. Unfortunately, having to take care of so many things makes it nearly impossible for the poor writer to deliver us a True Classic of any sort. But it's still quite good.  

GOODBYE TEGAN

While I would also consider Resurrection of the Daleks a mid-ranger, I still thought I would give it a category of its own. It's a bit of a special case. 

I have this strange relationship with Resurrection of the Daleks. There have been times where I've watched it and really gotten into it. It's the Dalek Version of Earthshock. Very gritty and violent and genuinely disturbing, in places (that virus the Daleks release on the prison ship does some very nasty stuff!). Like Earthshock, things get very intense. And there's some great pacing to the whole thing. 

Other times, when I watch Resurrection of the Daleks, I really notice how clunky it can be. How it is trying to do waaaayyy too many things at once.  How it uses the end-of-story supporting cast slaughterfest. And how, because it has so many story strands, it feels like it doesn't actually have a real core plot. Just a bunch of threads that never truly come together to form a whole.  

Because it has so many different things working for and against it, the story feels quite middle-of-the-line. But in a very different way than most tales of this caliber do.  Most mid-rangers are just decently-told stories that could have been a bit better. This particular tale is different, though. For every good thing that Resurrection does, something equally-cringey will, oftentimes, happen a moment later. It, ultimately, still achieves mid-ranger status. But it's because it's, literally, 50% Good and 50% Bad. Which is not the usual way in which a Mid-Ranger sits with me. 

You can't review Resurrection, of course, without mentioning the departure of Tegan. My first impression of the scene is that it feels very rushed. But then, that makes a sort of sense. If she stops to think too long about what she's doing, Tegan won't follow through with the decision she's making. So everything has to happen fairly quickly. But it does feel that someone that's been on the show as long as she has deserved a farewell scene more akin to what Sarah Jane Smith got. 

In both Classic and Modern Who, there have been several companions that have hung in there for about three seasons.  This gives them a very special presence within the context of the programme. We feel a lot closer to them than we do most companions. Of all the Three Season Companions, I have always considered Tegan to be the most underrated. She is absolutely fantastic as the Mouth on Legs with a Brave Heart. I adored her. After Jamie, she is my absolute favorite in this category of companion. It was totally gut-wrenching to see her go. But I also absolutely love the bold way in which she was written out. Many times during the season, the Fifth Doctor seems to fail. And the fact that Tegan no longer seems to enjoy her travels with him is, perhaps, his greatest failure of them all. This is an extremely sobering moment for the Time Lord. I love it when the whole experience forces him to proclaim: "It seems I must mend my ways..." 

Like the rest of Resurrection of the Daleks, I have mixed feelings about Tegan's farewell. But I mostly appreciate what was achieved by it. And, of course, I cried like a bitch during Power of the Doctor when, at last, Tegan and Five made peace. I love how the hologram becomes solid for that briefest of moments as the Doctor answers: "Missed you too". 

But I am getting about 40 years ahead of myself, here. While Resurrection of the Daleks is a fairly strange tale, it is still another solid mid-ranger in the season.  

GOODBYE PETER

And then, at last, we reach what is considered by many as the Peak of Season Twenty-One. 

There is much to appreciate about The Caves of Androzani. A great script brought to life by some brilliant direction. I can see why it gets so much love. I, myself, enjoy it quite a bit until we get to Part Four. Where it does feel as though things fall apart a bit. And, of course, we get another end-of-story Supporting Cast Slaughterfest. I've griped about these quite a bit in other entries so I won't go on about them too much, here. Here is an essay where I do harp about it quite a bit: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/07/unadulterated-boorish-opinion-more.html

Androzani, to me, is another "Fake Classic". Unlike a lot of other stories of this nature,  it almost achieves the lofty status fans ascribe to it. As I said, those first three episodes are pretty damned amazing. Whereas many other Fake Classics out there like, say, Genesis of the Daleks or Talons of Weng Chiang or Seeds of Doom legitimately baffle me, They don't strike me as being all that particularly great. 

But I'm almost able to see what fans like so much about this story. I would say it's nearly a Classic. In the case of the other Fake Classics I just mentioned - I don't feel they come anywhere close to achieving such a title. With Caves, at least, I appreciate it more than I do most adventures that fit under this category.     

Peter Davison's send-off will always stand out for me. Other Doctors, in their final tale, get to pull off an act of heroism of some sort. At the bare minimum, they save a town of people like Eleven or Twelve did. In some instances, they do like Four and rescue the entire Universe!  But this particular incarnation just runs around and tries to stay alive for four episodes (and doesn't even manage that!). It's the ultimate example of how the Doctor's ways are no longer working and he must mend them. He needs to become more ruthless in his approach to fighting injustice. His current attitude no longer works. 

I was very sad  to see  this incarnation go. Also quite shocked! The first time I saw this story, I didn't actually know it was his last. So I was freaking out pretty badly in those final few minutes when he suddenly regenerates. As I have explained in another Review, Five was my Doctor. I may have actually experienced Tom first but it was in a fairly random way. I decided to sit down and start properly watching the show as Davison took the reigns. His three seasons represent quite the journey for me. I was falling in love with Doctor Who as I followed those seasons. So losing the Fifth Doctor took a heavy toll on me. I didn't want the man who had really shown me what this show was about to leave. 

Nostalgia aside, however, Davison gave us one of the best performances in the role. Nowadays, I do hear some fans say he's a bit vanilla. I almost resent such a statement. He simply played his version of the Doctor with a degree of subtlety and naturalism. Even in New Who, actors tend to make the part feel a bit stagy. Which is fine, really. The character lends itself to that sort of interpretation. But, for me, Davison stands out so much because he avoided that approach as much as possible. I will always hold the Fifth Doctor in very high regard because of the brilliant choices Davison made as he played him. 

He was a great Doctor. Better than most. 

FINAL ANALYSIS 

If I continue with my current trend of comparing all the JNT seasons to each other, I would say that Season Twenty-One ties with Twenty. There are some rougher stories in both seasons, of course. But neither Arc of Infinity nor King's Demons go as badly as  Warriors of the Deep and Twin Dilemma did. Twenty also has a "True Classic" in Enlightenment whereas Caves of Androzani doesn't quite get there because of its sloppy ending. Even as we compare mid-rangers, the anniversary season had Snakedance. Which may not quite be a Classic, but it's certainly outstanding. There's nothing in Twenty-One's middle-of-the-line stuff that stands out like Snakedance does.  

It's in the "overall vibe" of the two seasons where things come clean in the wash. Twenty attempts a great little nostalgia trip but, for the most part, fails in the effort. Whereas Twenty-One offers us something different and more gritty that is clearly taking the show in a new direction. Which I think makes the whole set of stories more interesting, in general. 

So, while Twenty-One falls a bit short with its individual stories, the whole is better than the parts. Whereas Twenty suffers the exact opposite problem. Which gets them to tie each other in the grander scheme of things. Nineteen, of course, beats them both by a bit. And Eighteen blows everything away. Not just in the JNT era, but in all of Doctor Who, ever.   

Speaking of the JNT Era, a strange undercurrent in fandom seems to start developing around this time. There are, of course, fans who have been disliking the Hawaiian-shirt-wearing producer since Day One. This sort of thing happens with just about any new showrunner. Some folks just aren't happy with the changes they institute in their favorite programme. JNT probably got this worse than some because he made very radical alterations to Doctor Who when he stepped in. Audiences can respond harshly when they don't feel as though they've been eased into new things. 

But it's right around this period that fans who dislike him seem to grow a bit in number and start becoming much more vocal. Discontent really starts to breed amongst those who are devoted to the show. Much of it is directed specifically at the Producer. And, while it would get much worse in years to come, the seeds of that disdain get planted here. 

Which strikes me as odd, really.  I'm greatly enjoying what JNT has done with things. Sure, we're getting the occasional Time Flight. But, overall, I find a lot of the content he's giving us to be more than above-average. Rant and rave all you want about Hinchcliffe or Letts. I'd actually take most of JNT's work over their output any day. He delivers quality material on a far more consistent basis. He gave us just as many Classics as the other two did. But gave us far less duds. 

I think JNT was probably the best Producer Classic Who ever had. And Season Twenty-One is just one more example of how good he was. It may have had a problem or two here and there, but it's still an excellent season. Far more enjoyable to watch than most other seasons. 

   

     

 

DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SEASON TWENTY

TWENTY YEARS!! 

We've made it  to another anniversary season! Sadly, this would be the last one we would get for a while where the show would actually be on the air (I know they tried to make the 25th year special, too - but it was just too soon to be celebrating again!). Thirty and Forty both felt very "empty" when they went by with no New Who on our screens to celebrate it with. Don't even try to say Dimensions in Time commemorated the Thirtieth Anniversary! That thing is like the Doctor in Distress song. It's better to  pretend it never happened!   

Season Twenty, in many ways, reminds me of Series Seven. The people making the show at the time recognized that producing a season during an anniversary year should be a bit nostalgic. Yes, there would be  a specific Anniversary Special, but the episodes preceding it should also be celebratory in nature, too. 

Season Twenty probably pursued this idea more diligently than Series Seven. It became a sort of mandate for the production team active during 1983 to make something from the show's past a vital part of every episode. Most of the time it was something that went really far back. Like the return of Omega, the Master and the Brigadier. Each of these characters made their first appearance, at least, a decade ago. But I do like that the show balanced things out with more recent guests too. We initially met the Guardians just a few years previously. And, of course, the Mara only came along last season.  

Oddly enough, bringing back the evil psychic serpent was one of the most successful ventures of the year. 

THE SNAKE IS BACK

A quick return  of the Mara less than a season later was something I was more-than-happy to see. Not only was he a great monster, but the writer who had created him was absolutely brilliant. If we were going to get another mind-blowingly incredible script like Kinda, then bring that damn Mara back!    

And we did, of course. Snakedance was also quite awesome. I am still madly in love with that shot of Dojjen sitting out in the desert. It's great how they return to it over and over until, at last, the Doctor joins him in the snakedance. It seems to convey that he knew all along what his purpose was in defeating the Mara and was just waiting for the rest of the plot to catch up with him. His last scene with him rising up and offering one final smile before he walks off is absolutely gorgeous. The sequence was as great as the "You created us, man of evil. But we are free!" moment in last season's Castrovalva. This is one of the things I love about the Davison era. While I may have been a fairly young impressionable lad when I first watched this period, it does have some really poignant scenes that would have still had a strong impact on me at any age.  The production team at the time just excelled at doing this sort of stuff.  Their use of Dojjen in Snakedance is one of the better examples of this. 

Snakedance also creates some excellent world-building through some very clever devices. Oftentimes, we learn about Manussan culture by simply watching it in action. The Punch and Judy puppet show alludes to the idea that this world has been heavily-influenced by humanity. But having a snake puppet emerge at the end of the performance to devour Punch displays how the Sous-Maran Empire distorted the tradition. The great parade and commemorative ritual in Part Four also reveals much about the people of Manussa. Yes, there's still some expository dialogue from various characters to help explain certain aspects of the civilisation. But just letting us observe these various customs is a very rich and creative way to illustrate things. It shows rather than tells. 

It was great to take a deeper dive into how the Mara came about. It was also excellent to see, once more, how diabolically clever this wretched creature is. While so many other Doctor Who villains and/or monsters try to create armies or build superweapons to conquer us, the Mara uses our own psychological disadvantages against us. He preys upon our greed and insecurity. He enslaves us by driving us mad. Again, such a unique and interesting being totally merited this return appearance. Which is another great trait of the JNT era. He knew when to bring back a character. Whether it be a fun villain like Sil or the Rani. Or someone a bit more amoral like Lytton or Glitz. It was always great when these special characters return.

Oddly enough, however, Snakedance sits with me in much the same way as Castrovalva does in regards to Logopolis. To all intents and purposes, it is as great a story as Kinda. And yet, I regard the first Mara tale to be a Classic. But I don't ascribe the same title to its sequel. I still absolutely love it. But I wouldn't can't give it that most lofty of titles. 

Still, it's an absolutely gorgeous story. 

THE BRIG IS BACK

I suppose if I were a "true" Doctor Who fan I'd be more excited about Nicholas Courtney being written back into the show than I would be a giant paper-mache snake! But, truth be told, there were some slight problems with this character's return. The Brigadier suddenly becoming a math teacher does seem a little odd and slightly unlikely. This happens, of course, because the script was originally supposed to be about Ian Chesterton coming back. But, for whatever reason, William Russel was not available. The re-write and Courtney's performance does a fairly competent job of glossing this over. But it's still a tad difficult to swallow that a retired military officer could suddenly get tenure at what looks to be a fairly posh boys' school. 

There is also the added problem that bringing the Brigadier back in to Mawdryn Undead also created what I like to call: "The Great UNIT Dating Nightmare"!  A topic I am still too scared to tackle in my FIXING CONTINUITY GLITCHES series!     

Other than that, though, Nicholas Courtney is wickedly amazing as he reprises his most famous of roles. It's particularly impressive that he must play the Brigadier from two different points in his life. There are certain subtleties that he puts into the portrayal that really do make it feel like we are witnessing Young Brigadier and Old Brigadier moving through their separate timelines. Showing us all that, even years later, Courtney was perfect for the part. 

Of course, Two Brigadiers from different time zones brings us to a very important point: Mawdryn Undead represents the show's first true attempt at doing something "timey whimey". There had been "stabs" at this sort of thing in stories like Day of the Daleks and The Space Museum. But this is the first story that really goes for it. That puts time travel and its various causes and effects at the forefront of the plot. It does so brilliantly. The Brigadiers finally having contact at the precise moment that they do (the Doctor even emphasises how they got it right down to the very nanosecond) is, perhaps, a tad difficult to swallow - but it's still a great non-linear tale. I particularly love how the writer even sweats the small stuff. Like the way Young Brigadier takes the TARDIS homing beacon so that Old Brigadier can give it to the Doctor later. 

While the flashback sequence in this story isn't quite as exciting as the one they used last season in Earthshock, Mawdryin Undead is still a great little adventure that brings back a beloved character. It was great to get an update on him. But, of course, he's not the only figure from the past that makes a return in this tale. 

THE GUARDIANS ARE BACK

Apparently, the return of the Brigadier wasn't enough for Mawdryn Undead, We needed more.So they rolled out that big 'ole nasty Black Guardian too. This is a villain I'd love to see more of, really. His antithesis too, of course. I get why they only brought them around so much during the 70s and 80s. We were a much more Christian-based culture back then and the Guardians of Time did, sort of, represent God and the Devil. I'm amazed they didn't cause more offense than they did. There is also another curious potential objection to them. I went out with a woman of color for most of the 90s. Date me for nearly a decade and, clearly, you're going to watch some Doctor Who! When she saw some stories featuring the Guardians, she couldn't help but remark: "Why does the evil one have to be Black and the good one White?!" Admittedly, she has a bit of a point. 

But, regardless of the religious or racial implications, I do still really love the Guardians.  I particularly love the 80s version of them. For some weird reason, I find the weird bird headdresses delightful. Their costumes, in general, look very cool. As opposed to the let's just have them look whatever way we feel like motif that they used in Key to Time. I enjoyed having them be more consistent in their appearance. 

I'm also glad that they brought back Valentine Dyall and Cyril Luckham to reprise their roles. Both do a great job. I particularly love Dyall's deep sinister voice and how unafraid he is to just look genuinely evil.  It's funny how, even though he does an excellent job of voicing Deep Thought in some versions of Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy, I'm still thinking: "It's the Black Guardian!" every time I hear him! 

The Black Guardian's presence throughout Mawdryn Undead and Terminus is really well-handled. He pops up just often enough to remind us of the important sub-plot running through the whole trilogy. That Turlough is meant to be killing the Doctor and isn't getting the job done. He's especially chilling when he confronts the young Trion man in a dream. It's wickedly cool when he shows Turlough he is still sleeping in bed. I love it as Dream Turlough starts screaming and we see Sleeping Turlough stirring uneasily!  

As we move on to Terminus, I find it to be a bit of a curious story. I have given it a bit of a review in a previous entry where I was analysing different Trilogies in the JNT era (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/05/review-overview-trilogies-of-doctor-who.html). I really like the tale. When we get a darker and grittier adventure during the Davison era, there also tends to be a lot of violence. Stories like Earthshock, Warriors of the Deep and Resurrection of the Daleks seek to disturb us by having a very high death-count in them. Terminus gets similar results but with less action sequences. It relies more on just being very bleak and despairing. It also likes to show us the harmful effects of allowing corporate greed to flow unchecked. On top all these well-explored themes, I find it to be a nicely-constructed plot, too. 

After I wrote the Review of Terminus in that last entry, however, some corners of Fandom came forward and told me I didn't know my butt from a hole in the ground. Terminus, according to some, is the story that comes up short during Season Twenty. That it even sits somewhere in Time Flight Territory! I beg to differ, however. It is still the weakest link in the Guardian Trilogy. But that's only because the other tales are ridiculously strong. 

Which leads us quite neatly to Enlightenment. This, to me, is a Classic. An incredibly imaginative excursion with one of the coolest cliffhangers in the history of the show.. The padding with Turlough in the airlock during Part Three is a bit hard to watch but, otherwise, it's an absolutely perfect story. 

And, of course, the White Guardian finally appears. Admittedly, his headdress does look a bit sillier - but I still love it! There is an absolutely gorgeous epic quality that Dyall and Luckham create as they banter a bit in the final few minutes of Episode Four. Turlough's final decision that banishes the Black Guardian is also quite powerful. And it's impossible not to love the Doctor's line: "Enlightenment wasn't the diamond. Enlightenment was the choice." It's another one of those really stand-out moments from the Fifth Doctor era. There's so many, really!   

OMEGA IS BACK 

Thus far, I've mainly had nothing but good things to say about Season Twenty. But now the road is going to get a bit bumpy. 

I've put a  lot of thought into what it is about Arc of Infinity that doesn't work for me. I do, mostly, like the tale. But I do feel that it is just a bit below-standard. Particularly since so much else in this season does work so well. 

After some consideration, I realised it was an over-reliance on technobabble that was irritating me so much. There is just too much made-up science littering the plot. Making it just a little too abstract to really connect to it much. It feels genuinely silly watching characters exclaims things like: "A pulse-loop, yes! What a great idea!" Or realise that Omega went to Amsterdam because his do-hickey works best below sea level. I know I've been picking on the franchise too much lately, but it's this sort  of stuff that makes me dislike Star Trek so much. 

Omega, himself, is actually quite great in this story. Everyone seems to go on endlessly about Stephen Thorne's performance and doesn't seem to bring up Ian Collier much. But he really brings some great pathos to the character. We feel sorry for him, here. Which is a great direction for the character to go in. He was loud and bombastic in The Three Doctors. But now he's just tired and wants to go home.    

When Davsion takes over the role for a bit during Part Four, he's positively incredible. It genuinely feels like we are seeing someone else as he strolls around Amsterdam trying to become accustomed to his new form. Cutting away to see him still playing the Doctor shows us just how good Davison's range is. Again, this totally feels like two different people. The scene where Omega watches the organ grinder is quite moving. Another moment that gets us to feel for Omega rather than just regard him as the usual Doctor Who Megalomaniac.  

All in all, though, Arc if Infinity is passable. But it certainly starts the season off weakly. Fortunately, several excellent stories are hot on its heels. 

AND, FINALLY, THE MASTER IS BACK 

Season Twenty starts weak and finishes the same way!  

Like Arc of Infinity, The King's Demons is - by no means - horrible. It's just nothing all that great, either. It's a decent little two-parter that is mainly there to remind us that the Mater is still kickin' around (although, once more, no explanation is given for how he escaped his last fate). The gesture is hardly necessary, however, since the Master is going to pop up again in just a few minutes!   

And then there's Kamelion. It's totally weird to introduce us to a new mechanical companion who will immediately disappear for nearly an entire season! It would have been nice if the scene they had given him in The Awakening had been kept in. It is still available to watch as a bonus feature on the DVD. But I wish there was an option that enabled you to insert it into the story, properly. 

EVERYONE (INCLUDING THE KITCHEN SINK) IS BACK! 

Technically, The Five Doctors is meant to just be a stand-alone feature presentation and not a part of Season Twenty. But, rather than give it a review all its own, I'll include it here. 

The Five Doctors is, essentially, everything that Season Twenty has been building up to. All the little dips into nostalgia that we've been getting have been leading here. Giving us the Brigadier and the Guardians and Omega were all just "teases" for this Grand Adventure.  

Which means, of course, that The Five Doctors had gigantic expectations to live up to. Impressively enough, the pay-off was totally worth it. 

By no stretch of the imagination can we consider this story a "True Classic". We can't discuss it in the same breath as such amazing stories as Kinda or Robots of Death. But, in many ways, I'd still actually call it a Classic. It might not contain a brilliantly-contrived plot like most Classics do .The demand made on the writer made such a feat, pretty much, impossible. Poor 'ole Terrance Dicks had to create something  that would suit five leads and a whole plethora of returning companions and baddies. You can't frame much of a story around that. Which makes Five Doctors more of just a showcase with a bit of Time Lord Political Intrigue attached to it. 

As insubstantial as Five Doctors might be, it's still absolutely wonderful. Terrance does a great job of giving everyone some good representation. In fact, I think it worked out better that Tom Baker chose not to be involved. By my understanding, it would have been him rather than Five that would have interacted with Borusa and the High Council. Which probably would have made Davison have to choose between Above, Between and Below and poor Hurndall would have just sat in the TARDIS with Susan and Turlough worrying about the bombs those Cybermen were planting. Just having four incarnations being active was a far more equitable arrangement. 

The Five Doctors is an absolute delight. Still one of the best Anniversary Specials ever made. In fact, you can read more praise for it here: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-overview-what-constitutes-good.html

DID BRINGING ALL THIS BACK ACTUALLY WORK? 

And so, with another ten years under its belt, the show moves on. But we have to ask ourselves: what was the smarter choice? Did Season Ten work better by just having a Special and then a normal set of stories after that? Or was building a whole season towards a Special the best way to do things?    

Steven Moffat seemed to feel that the latter option was the better one. When he was given the fiftieth anniversary to handle, he went for a similar structure that JNT had used for this anniversary. Series Seven wasn't quite the same nostalgia trip as Season Twenty was, but we still got Daleks, Ice Warriors, Cybermen and The Great Intelligence. More recent recurring characters also came aboard like River Song and the Paternoster Gang. There was a very specific arc running through the season that Day of the Doctor had a strong role to play in. This helped enhance the importance of the occasion too. 

And yet, many do feel that Series Seven only worked so well. In order to be successful in its execution, it needed to be absolutely amazing. And, though I did feel it was quite strong, there were times when Series Seven fell a bit short. Had it just been considered a regular season, there would have been less pressure on it to be that great. But because it made itself The Fiftieth Anniversary Season we felt more disappointed with it when it did flounder. 

Season Twenty suffers a similar fate. Maybe not as badly as Series Seven does, but it does feel a tad underwhelming here and there. This wouldn't have stood out as much if it wasn't heralding itself as being something special to commemorate the twentieth anniversary. Season Ten may have had the right idea. Get the celebrating done in one story and let the rest of the year be whatever it wants to be. 

I'm still quite happy with the general quality of Season Twenty. The production team of this period continues to deliver a lot of really great stuff. When they do misfire, it's considerably less of a mess. If a gun were put to my head and I was told I had to sit through either Hand of Fear, Horns of Nimon or Time Flight or they would pull the trigger - I'd happily watch Peter Davison climb aboard that Concorde every time!  

I would still say, however, that we've had another slight dip in quality, this year. Season Eighteen was, of course, absolutely amazing. Nineteen was slightly less good. Twenty, unfortunately, is not quite as strong as Nineteen. But we're hardly in any kind of real trouble, here. I still find everything we've been getting since JNT arrived to be above-average.  

Season Twenty might not have been all that it could be, but it was still quite excellent. Even in the re-watch, you get the sense that this came from a year when it was a great time to be a fan.     

  

DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SEASON NINETEEN

Tom Baker has left the show. That's it. Kaput. No more. Tommy be gone. 

Clearly, his successor has big shoes to fill. I may not have been the biggest Doctor Four Fan, but lots of folks were.They will have a hard time accepting the New Guy. It doesn't help that Baker stayed in the role for so long that some of the kids watching the show didn't even know that the Doctor could change. For them, he had always been their Doctor and the shock was enormous when he left the role. 

In terms of my own personal appreciation, there was a very different obstacle the show needed to overcome. I had absolutely adored Season Eighteen. In my opinion, it's the best season the show ever made. It also happens to be the first season JNT produced. So now I've got some big expectations. Everything that follows Eighteen needs to hold itself to a certain standard. I don't, necessarily, expect it to take my breath away quite as much - but it still needs to really impress me. 

So this becomes the Great Question to pose to ourselves as we embark upon Season Nineteen. Does it maintain the same level of quality that we get from our first year with JNT?    

Let's go through story-by-story to find the answer....

ONE MORE GIFT FROM BIDMEAD

Nineteen begins with a brief reprise of the final moments of the previous season (edited slightly so that we no longer see the costume inconsistency). It's a good way to start, really. So much has changed over the last year that getting things to feel as interconnected as possible is vital. This is such a different show from what he had been witnessing. The audience needs reminding that this is still the same programme that they've been getting for the last nineteen years. There's a couple nice little touches throughout the season to help with this. The Doctor, for instance, quotes K-9 in Kinda. Or he mentions how he wishes he still had his scarf in Time Flight. A serious attempt is being made to maintain a general sense of continuity in this new era. 

The most significant effort of this nature. however, is when Five goes through a whole series of flashbacks shortly after he regenerates. Peter Davison does some incredible impressions of previous incarnations. I, pretty much, fall in love with him, right here. In order to do such great portrayals, he must have some degree of serious raw talent. On top of this, though, he keeps making fun little continuity references throughout the entire story. He talks of  Daleks and Ogrons to the Portreeve. He mistakes Nyssa and Tegan for Vicki and Jo. All these little fan nods help to re-assure us that JNT might be giving us a very different version of Doctor Who - but it's still Doctor Who. It's a bit reminiscent of the talk Four and Romana have in the Time Lady's bedroom at the beginning of Full Circle. Their summary of the Doctor's experiences with Time Lords throughout the course of the show was another nice way to establish to everyone that this wasn't some kind of hard-reboot going on. 

Castrovalva, of course,  needs to be more than just fun continuity references. It needs to tell an engaging story, too. It does this remarkably well. Christopher H. Bidmead wrote us a beautiful farewell to Tom Baker in the previous season. But, apparently, that wasn't enough. He also wanted to make sure that Peter Davison was given a great welcome. This is another 80s tale with a beautiful aesthetic to it. The city of Castrovalva is meant to emulate the famous paintings by Escher. It does so magnificently. But the Doctor stumbling around in the TARDIS looks equally great. As does the location shooting with poor Nyssa and Tegan trying to transport the weakened Time Lord. The various careful choices made by the director almost cause us to feel like he's revealing his sensitive side to us. As if the whole story is one long delicately-written poem. 

The Master is also quite excellent in this story (Castrovalva comes in second place in my Top Five Master Stories https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/11/book-of-lists-top-five-master-stories_22.html). It's such a refreshing twist to see him just trying to kill the Doctor for a whole story. No evil plans for domination, he just wants to take out his worst enemy once and for all. We would continue to see stories of this nature for this incarnation. And I love that. The Doctor just foiling the Master's latest plan to take over the world and/or Universe had gotten tiresome. It was nice to see different plots being used for this character. Anthony Ainley also does an excellent job of fooling us as the Portreeve. Easily, one of the Master's best disguises ever. And I always love what happens shortly after that Big Reveal. Shardovan proclaiming: "You created us, man of evil. But we are free!" still gives me the shivers to this day. A really gorgeous moment. 

I'm not entirely sure why I don't quite hold Castrovalva in the same regard as I do Logopolis. One story is just as good as the other. They're both incredible works of art. But, for some reason, I just don't get as excited about Davison's Debut as I do for Baker's Farewell. 

Nonetheless, Castrovalva starts off the season excellently. 

"BRO, HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN DOCTOR WHO?!!"   

One of my favorite non-fiction Doctor Who books ever written is The Discontinuity Guide. It, basically, picks through every story from the Classic Series with a fine-toothed comb and reviews them in a very fun way. As it gets to Four to Doomsday, it makes an observation about it that I always felt best sums it up: 

"It almost feels like the writer has never actually watched the show!"

It is true: The whole tale does feel very odd and even a bit out-of-place. The pacing and overall vibe feels extremely different from anything else we've ever seen on the show. We won't really get anything like this afterwards, either. In many ways, Four to Doomsday is very unique. 

It is the first story of the season where Production is attempting to "strip down" the show. They're taking a premise that Doctor Who has frequently explored and telling it in its simplest and purest form. It was an effort to get "back to basics". Which was a very smart move. Season Eighteen did have some pretty complex stuff going on in it. It was a good idea to re-assure the audience that it was still possible to tell less complicated tales. In some ways, it felt like a celebration of Who's core values. 

Four to Doomsday, of course, is a stripped down version of the standard invasion plot. Another attempt is being made by evil aliens to colonise the Earth. We get to watch it just before it's all about to happen. In fact, it's actually nipped in the bud before it can even occur. You can't really strip down an invasion story any more than that! 

Keeping the plot so simple means you have to populate it with a couple of really interesting characters. Bigon is certainly one of them. He is this idealistic tortured rebel who is both well-written and well-portrayed. Enlightenment and Persuasion are a sort of macabre double-act who look quite adorable in their green outfits. But Monarch truly steals the show, here. A great villain with a rich plummy voice. He appears quite courteous most of the time. He only bares his teeth when he truly needs to. He's great fun to watch. But the performer never goes over-the-top with the character. Always a great thing to experience after several seasons of actors taking a role like this and going way too far with the mustache-twirling. 

Peter Davison is just a tad tricky to watch in certain parts of this tale. Production did the same trick with him as they would do with Matt Smith. They filmed his stories out of order so that he can be more confident in his choices when he finally performs in his first adventure. In some ways, this technique works great. But it does wrong-foot things just a bit when you get to the story that was filmed first. The Doctor's character suddenly feels a lot "rawer" and less-developed. In the case of Davison, his hair even suddenly looks a lot shorter than it did in Castrovalva! 

Having said that, however, Davison is still doing some great things with the character. The Doctor was quite erratic for a bit after this regeneration but he's definitely settled in, now. What we start seeing in Doomsday is the Doctor we're going to be getting for the next little while. His character traits are now "real" and not the result of him trying to recover from a somewhat traumatic biological process. 

After so many years of a Doctor that constantly seemed in control of everything, it was nice to see him so uncertain of himself, again. Not since Troughton had we watched our protagonist lose arguments or even get bullied. It was refreshing to see the Doctor not always be in complete authority at all times. This is exactly what the character needed. It's also quite fun to watch a Doctor that gets so easily flustered or even become neurotic, at times. Davison's interpretation is extremely well-executed. You can see how each little fidgety gesture is done with great thought and consideration.    

The other thing I really adore about this story is that neat little space walk in Part Four. Not, necessarily, some awesome special effects going on, here. But it's still a great time! Especially the way in which the Doctor uses basic physics to save the day.

For all its strangeness, Four to Doomsday turns out to be quite solid in its construction. 

THE FIRST TRUE CLASSIC 

Again, I must go back to my weird stance on Castrovalva for a bit. I consider it to be just as good as Logopolis. I do feel that Baker's swansong was, most definitely, a Classic. It's in my Top Ten for goodness sake! And yet, for some odd reason, Davison's first adventure doesn't have that same status for me. It's still amazing, but I don't see it as being quite on that level. 

Kinda, on the other hand, is undeniably a Classic. It also made it into my Top Ten (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-6.html). I was quite young the first time I saw it (only, about, 13 years old) and I was blown away by the whole thing. I loved all the weird imagery of Tegan's nightmare and how the Mara used her to enter our dimension. The whole nature of the relationship the Kinda have with this creature of evil was also fascinating. The way the Mara keeps ripping down what they build up on a regular basis was portrayed in such a brilliant manner. Again, some great imagery as the Doctor and Todd experience that vision at the end of Part Three that conveys all this. All those ticking clocks... 

And then, of course, there's Hindle. His whole mental disintegration was magnificently disturbing. Absolutely incredible to watch every time. Probably one of my favorite performances by a guest actor in the whole history of the show. How the Mara is even using Hindle's madness to his advantage so he can "keep the wheel turning" is just another great layer to the story. 

I remember watching this for the first time and thinking: "This is what I'm looking for in Science Fiction. Spaceship battles and laser gun fights are all fine and dandy, but I'd rather get this. Something really sophisticated that works on a whole bunch of levels. This is great sci fi!" 

It's at this point that we should point out an important fact about JNT's version of Doctor Who. It's really quite intelligent. Particularly in its earliest days. Stories like Warrior's Gate and Kinda were years ahead of their time. There were some pretty smart tales before JNT, of course. This is the same show that once did an entire four episodes that were a satire on the British taxation system. But there was also a pretty high level of content in those days that relied heavily on just creating some thrill factor rather than, maybe, going for some heavier character exploration or examining a theme more deeply. With the arrival of JNT, the show almost seems to be doing its best to avoid those baser elements of sci fi. It really endeavours to give us something sophisticated. And that, quite frankly, is a beautiful thing. 

As beautiful as watching a race of innocent telepaths fight off a psychic creature of pure evil.    

STRIPPIN' DOWN SOME MORE - THE PSEUDO-HISTORICAL 

Once more, the show decides to "go back to basics" with a theme they've explored countless times. The Visitation's central premise of an alien crashing on Earth and being stranded there is not only common to Who, but to sci-fi, in general. 

On top of this, however, is another important formula that has been frequently used in the show. All of this takes place in the past. Which earns it the label of being a Pseudo-Historical. This is a term fans have come up with for any story that takes place in history but involves other advanced technology besides the TARDIS, itself. A story like The Time Warrior, for example, is an archetypal pseudo-historical that is quite similar to Visitation. It also features an alien marooned on Earth during a more primitive time. On the other hand, a story like The Crusades is not a pseudo-historical. It would, instead, be considered a pure historical (or just a historical). It has no other sci-fi elements to it except the TARDIS and its crew. It deals only with getting caught up in certain intrigues from a period in Earth's past. 

The Visitation is, essentially, working with several "stripped down" versions of popular storylines that Doctor Who has engaged in over the years. And it does them all quite well. Pseudo-Historicals had become so complicated that it's actually a bit difficult to define them. The War Games, for instance, involves human history being influenced by alien technology. But it doesn't truly take place on Earth. So does it still count? Some fans also seem to feel that a pseudo-historical has to involve aliens. Do we include Talons of Weng Chiang, then? It's about a human who comes from the future rather than a being from another planet. 

Getting back to just telling a basic story about some Terrileptils stranded in history is actually quite pleasant. The earnestness and straightforwardness of the tale is delightfully refreshing. The actual aliens interfering with primitive Earth culture are quite interesting and totally merit a return appearance on the show. We, sort of, got that in Mindwarp when they re-used the mask on a much shorter artiste. But that doesn't properly count, of course (I'm assuming the creature was a sort of cousin to the Terrileptils). And we, at least, get a namecheck in Time of the Doctor, too (or was it The Pandorica Opens? Or both? They're mentioned somewhere!). So that's nice. But I'd still like to see them properly in action for a second time - not just as an illusion thrown up near the end of Part Two of Time Flight! 

There are a few nice "twists" thrown into the plot to ensure that it doesn't just feel like a boring old re-tread. The family that's under attack was a great way to start the tale. Generally, if an actor gets hired to be in Doctor Who it's for a few episodes. So it's always great when you just get a set of characters for only a handful of minutes and then they're written out (usually by being killed). We hadn't really seen this device being used since those two unfortunate campers in Stones of Blood. It was nice to have it back. It makes the beginning of the story feel special. 

And then, of course, there's the fun little revelation in the final shot. The Pudding Lane sign goes up in flames and we realize the Doctor is responsible for yet another Great Disaster. A second great twist! 

All in all, The Visitation is a solid little four-parter that accomplishes its task of stripping down the "alien marooned in a pseudo-historical" premise magnificently. 

Season Nineteen, at this point, is still going strong. It really has the potential to be just as enjoyable as its predecessor. 

STRIPPIN' DOWN SOME MORE - THE HISTORICAL

As if to balance things out, Season Nineteen goes on to do the same thing for a True Historical that it did for the Pseudo. 

The first time I saw Black Orchid, I was not aware that it was a throwback to a style of adventure that was actually quite common in the 60s. All that I'd seen of Doctor Who, thus far, always involved aliens and spaceships and other cool things of this nature. I completely loved that Orchid was suddenly devoid of all that. That it was just about the TARDIS crew going into the past and discovering a dark secret about the Cranleigh Family. Even when I did discover that this was not an entirely new type of story for the show, Orchid still remained cool because it was the first time in over a decade that a pure historical had been made. I loved that they were willing to bring it back after such a long rest. In fact, I wish they had done more.

It was also quite enjoyable to see everyone aboard the TARDIS having some legitimate fun for a bit. The Doctor has a great game of cricket. Nyssa and Tegan have a good time at a masquerade party. Adric eats like a pig! And then some bad stuff happens. But the fact that things are pleasant  for everyone beforehand was an interesting way to pitch the story! 

Black Orchid also does this strangely amazing job of showing the genuine excitement of being a time traveller. Tegan learns about the history of a dance style in school and then goes back to a time where the actual moves she was taught are currently in fashion. It's a genuinely magical moment when she rushes out on the dance floor as the Charleston starts to play. Matthew Waterhouse's goofy look as he watches her even manages to enhance that moment!    

It was very smart to make the tale only two parts long. As fun as historicals might be, there just wasn't enough plot to sustain any more episodes than that. Not to mention that there are a lot six-parters out there that I'm not particularly fond of. I'd rather episodes be distributed in this manner. Which the Fifth Doctor Era will go on to do every season. 

Black Orchid, like Visitation, is an extremely simple adventure. But that just makes it all-the-more charming.    

THE SECOND TRUE CLASSIC 

I've said much about Earthshock in this blog, already. Like Kinda, it's in my Top Ten (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/12/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-4.html). It's also my all-time favorite Cybermen story (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2022/01/book-of-lists-top-five-cybermen-stories.html). I even consider Part One to be one of the best episodes of Doctor Who ever (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2019/01/book-of-lists-top-six-best-episodes.html). I'm not sure if there's any new forms of high praise that I can bestow upon it. I'll try, though. 

Within the context of Season Nineteen, Earthshock almost seems to speak to us. 

"Okay, fanboys and fangirls." it says, "You've been good little brainiacs for this whole season and the last. You've let us do all kinds of weird, high-concept stuff with time travelling lions and evil psychic snakes. For four episodes, we are going to pile on the action!" 

And yet, Earthshock is far from being mere spectacle. Especially when you consider that most folks consider the highest point of the story to be a debate about the usefulness of emotions. Clearly, the writer put in a few more layers than just nasty laser gun fights if he's able to get us to appreciate that scene so much. 

But the story also lets us know that, from time-to-time, we're going to be able to give our brain-box just a bit of a rest to enjoy some nice gritty violence. This type of story will pop up now and again in amongst all the smart stuff. Which is a nice counterpoint to occasionally weave into a season. 

Since this will be my last chance to discuss it, I should probably address a certain Elephant in the Room: 

Adric.

 As far as companions go, he's not exactly a fan favorite! Some like to claim that Matthew Waterhouse is a terrible actor. I would say he did a decent job. Particularly since he was still fairly young and inexperienced. Others just find the character to be thoroughly annoying. In the same way that the average Trek fan feels Wesley Crusher was genuinely detestable in STNG. 

There is an interesting theory that has been put forward about why geeks find socially-awkward highly intelligent boys so unlikable when they show up in a franchise. Apparently, we hate them because they remind us too much of how flawed we were when we were their age. That there really isn't anything inherently wrong with the character besides the fact that the portrayal hits a little too close to home. It's an interesting theory. One that I can even find myself believing in quite a bit. Particularly since I did actually think Adric was okay. Maybe not the greatest companion in the history of the show but he was more-than-passable. So I wasn't, necessarily, happy to see him die in Earthshock like some fans were. But I did adore the incredibly intense exit that he made. I even like the fact that, unlike a lot of other characters that get killed off in sci-fi, he has actually stayed dead. The Doctor will forever regret not being able to save Adric. And I love that this story has that sort of impact. 

I should also quickly mention that I don't think he needed to be written out because the TARDIS was getting too crowded. I actually felt that the three companion dynamic was working quite well. I even loved how much they argued! You can get a more detailed version of this opinion here: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2020/04/analytical-threes-company-what-makes_13.html  (Good God, Rob! You are posting a buttload of links in this one!).     

SO CLOSE....

Thus far, Season Nineteen is going great. Several stories are Classics and the rest are really quite good. It's genuinely looking like we might be getting another Season Eighteen. 

But then, unfortunately, we come to Time Flight. 

We were so close in so  many ways to another season as good as Eighteen. Not only had we made it through nearly the entire year before the turd dropped on us, but Time Flight, itself, comes perilously close to actually being a fairly decent story. When I did my Countdown of Favorite Guilty Pleasures, this story came in First Place (https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-of-lists-guilty-pleasure-1.html).  As I explained when I was discussing Horns of Nimon a few entries back, I may enjoy a story that I consider a guilty pleasure, but I also recognize that it's still quite bad. Time Flight, however, ranks as high as it does because parts of it are still very enjoyable. It has just enough flaws, however, to make it more bad than good. But only just enough. If even one problem had been corrected before it was broadcast, I'd actually consider it tolerable.

Most of the problems with Time Flight lie with how the Master is handled. It is great to see his triumphant return at the end of Part Two. But you very quickly see some inconsistencies rear their ugly heads as the third episode begins. Why was he disguised the whole time when there were several scenes where he was completely alone? Why would he conceal his identity if there's no one around? How did he actually escape from Castrovalva? No explanation is given. 

His actual plan is very strangely contrived, too. It's great to see we're getting another alternative to: "The Master is trying to take over the World/Universe again" premise. But this plot plays out a bit oddly. He kidnaps all these people from the future to use as a labor force to penetrate the Inner Sanctum. But then, suddenly, he just loops a big wire around it and gets what he wants anyway. Why not just do the Induction Loop to begin with?!    

My other major complaint would be that this is the one time where Ainley seems to go a little too over-the-top during certain points of his performance. The Master does feel just a tad too Panto  in certain places. 

Admittedly, it's a bit weird to get the two best Master stories in a row and then, only a short while later, the worst one comes along. But still, as I said, Time Flight comes so close to being decent. Unfortunately, however, it ruins Season Nineteen's winning streak. Because of Time Flight, Ninteeen doesn't quite "tie" Eighteen. But it comes pretty damn close. It is still a very awesome season. 

So, to answer the Big Question: As far ac I'm concerned, JNT is maintaining that amazing standard I was so concerned about. Even if there was just the slightest dip in his second season. Nonetheless, this is some excellently-produced Doctor Who. 

ADMITTING ANOTHER BIAS

When I discussed Destiny of the Daleks in my Review of Season Seventeen, I confessed that it might be difficult for me to remain objective about this tale. It was the first Doctor Who story I watched in its entirety. Clearly, nostalgia can cloud my judgement a bit as I pick it apart.    

Something quite similar happens with me as I analyse Season Nineteen. I first discovered the show while Season Sixteen was playing on a local TV station. For that season and the next, I only tuned in now and again. Oftentimes, only catching parts of a story. My viewing habits became more consistent during Season Eighteen. I did manage to watch several stories in their entirety. But, admittedly, there were a few times where I ducked out for a bit and missed quite a few episodes. 

As Season Nineteen started, I said to myself: "Okay. This is it. I'm sitting down and watching this show consistently for a whole season!".  I'm not sure how I'd found out (the internet was virtually non-existent at the time) but I knew that Time Flight was the last story of the season. While I was a bit disappointed with how things finished off, I had still fallen madly in love with this show. The PBS channel would start showing Season Twenty in a matter of days and I couldn't wait!     

From Season Nineteen onwards, I was catching every episode that came out. I had officially become a fan. It's for this reason that I actually consider Peter Davison to be my Doctor. Sure, I'd watched a bit of Tommy Boy here and there. He was, technically, the incarnation I initially discovered. But Five was the first Doctor that I genuinely followed.  And he won me over because his first season was such a delight. 

Regardless my own personal affection, Nineteen gives us two adventures that are in my Top Ten, one dud and then a bunch of excellent stories. Castrovalva is even a twisted version of a "Fake Classic". This actually puts it on par with Season Fourteen (by my standards, at least - I know many of you probably consider anything from Hinchcliffe to be leagues ahead of  JNT's output). I did consider Fourteen to be a pretty amazing season so I think it's safe to say that I feel the same about this one. 

More importantly, though, it caused a curious 13-year-old Canadian boy to fall madly in love with a strange British curiosity for the rest of his life. That, more than anything, makes it a pretty amazing season.