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Every Episode of Dr Who

By Gregon

If I was to name any one TV show as being of most importance to me a child, it would be Dr Who (along with perhaps The Goodies). So I had all sorts of flashbacks and nostalgic moments in viewing this excellent fan-created collage of snippets from every episode of the show from 1963 to 2010 (though some of the accompanying music could have been better chosen):

I watched pretty much all of the Baker/Davison years as they were released in Australia (along with the Pertwee episodes which were also shown during this time), and viewing this collection I’d have to say that seasons 11 to 14 really constitute the golden period of Who for me. For me, Tom Baker simply *is* the Doctor, and always will be. And as for that theme song…it connects on a primal level, it’s like a warning siren that strangeness is afoot.

So many favourite stories, though if forced I’d probably choose The Pyramids of Mars, The Masque of Mandragora and Terror of the Zygons (but man, so many other great ones). Which tends to suggest that either (a) Dr Who had a formative influence on my later topics of interest, or (b) my interests were built-in at birth.

What’s your favourite Who storyline? Which, in your opinion, is/was the best ‘monster’ or adversary?

Greg
Editor
Greg is the owner-editor of The Daily Grail, as well as the author of a number of books including Stop Worrying, There Probably is an Afterlife.
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3 Comments

  1. Doctor Who
    I agree with Greg that Doctor Who is important and that it has always been my most favourite programme, influencing me tremendously. Being born in 1971 my earliest “Doctor Who” memories are Jon Pertwee however they mostly recall the brilliant Tom Baker. Its hard to choose a favourite though as I think that without exception all the actors who took on the role were brilliant although it is perhaps true that some were somewhat constained by weak stories, bostly from the late 1980s. For example the story in the Paul McGann outing was somewhat poor. however Paul McGann’s repraisal of the role in the Big Finish audios shows that he has made a fabulous interpretation of the part.

    My favourite stories are still mostly from the old era Doctor. The esoteric underpinnings to “The Daemons” and “Planet of the Spiders” These two were written by the late Barry Letts who I understand whas a Buddist and clearly versed in Tibetan Buddism and the Western Ceremonial tradition. To see Roger Delgardo as the Master in “The Daemons” misquote Crowley with “To do my will shalt be the whole of the law” is brilliant.

    The darker, more occult stories such as Tom Baker’s “Pyramids of Mars”, “Horror of Fang Rock” and “Talons of weng-Chiang” also capture the atmosphere.

    I recently watched a lot of old stories which I had not scene since early childhood and there is a funny feeling associated with a lot of them. I really used to hide behind the sofa and watching stories which scared me when I was 3 or 4 still creates the memory of the fear in me making watching them quite effective.

    Speaking as a magician and occultist I feel that perichoresis has played its part in Doctor Who and deeper truths have (and continue to) bubble through the stories into the real world. A lot could be worked with here in a practical sense and the stories can be approached in a way perhaps not too dissimilar to how Kenneth Grant worked with the HP Lovecraft mythos and the concepts buried within that.

    Cheers Paolo

  2. Doctor Who ROCKS!!!!
    I too grew up in the Tom Baker era. He is still the perfect Doctor. I loved Planet of the Spiders, but ironically, my favorite original Doctor Who episode is the Two Doctors. The best Doctor Who monster though is a toss up between the Daleks and the Cybermen. I hope that you have seen the new series as they are EXCELLENT. The Cybermen and Daleks now are truly scary. I can’t tel you how many times as a child, I watched Doctor Who from the end of the hall (it came on after I was supposed to be in bed) and proceeded to have nightmares (I was a an imaginative kid and nightmared easily when I was younger).

    Long Live the Doctor!

    Meredith

  3. from the Baker-for-Crossants-Dept.
    [quote=Greg]What’s your favourite Who storyline?[/quote]

    That’s a toughie. I started watching Dr. Who when the local station (at anywhere from 12 to 2 in the morning, after that wonderful Canadian vampire show, Forever Knight) was doing Pertwee…I think it was the Spearhead from Space or Dr Who and the Silurians. I haven’t really seen ALL the doctors — I haven’t seen enough of Troughton or Hartnell to form an opinion.

    So, my favourite episodes are probably: Horror at Fang Rock, Logopolis, The Doctor’s Wife, City of Death (a plot point which Douglas Adams uses in one of his Dirk Gently books later), Earthshock (favourite companion, Adric), The End of the World

    I’m finding that there is a big difference between the ‘old’ seasons and the ‘new’ seasons: the old seasons were mainly mysteries, problem-solving, etc whereas the ‘new’ series, there is a more Buddhistic joy-filled-life-in-the-face-of-reality theme.

    [quote]Which, in your opinion, is/was the best ‘monster’ or adversary?[/quote]

    Delgado :3 I always found the Daleks to be like salt n pepper shakers…THAT CAN KILL. They’ve tried very much in the new series to make them more menacing…I think they have succeeded. But I still would, if seeing on in RL, not be able to prevent myself from giggling. Same thing with the Autons :3 Of course, I’d still be dead…:3

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