Doctor Who: Season 24 (1987). Spoons Out. 

Oh god, this takes me back! I supplied/made the melting head sequence with my then work partner Stephen. Considering it was churned out in double quick time I thought it worked rather well considering we were being asked to do a 'Raiders effect' on a tiny budget. Also we painted and dressed the Tetraps and the baby Chimeron coming out of the egg. Happy days....LOL

The Bonnie Langford Scream Theme was great. As a kid of a certain age back in the mid 80s, I cannot express how horrified I was to find out Bonnie Langford would be a companion. It’s like hearing your friend’s annoying kid sister is coming to the movies with you, and then she’s moving in, with all her dolls, and in a couple of years you’ll have to marry her And her pony.

I was 13 years old in 1987 and this video had me smiling from start to finish. Stam Fine would make a great Red Kang. Red Kangs are best!

That "scream theme" spooked my cat!

I met Sylvester at a London Star Trek sci-fi bar back in the naughties. He was absolutely charming, self effacing, and had us captivated with his spoon playing. Lovely guy.

I never appreciate how much I miss the singing Daleks until one of your Who videos lands...

The Bonnie Langford theme is truly terrifying 😆😱

Round of applause for the album jokes at the beginning! Can't wait for the Season 25 & 26 reviews!

SCREAMING THE THEME TUNE!

I was 16 in 1987 - I'm only a casual viewer of Dr Who at best, yet I still have a weird nostalgia over this era. Thanks StamFine - your videos make my Friday!

I am quite sad to come to the end of your reviews of Dr. Who so far- it's been a pleasure, Stam Fine. And damn good work

I think Paradis Towers is a great series, it's one of my favorites

I was 7 years old watching this on PBS in America

Brilliant!! Just in time for a post fish n chip dinner watch on a Friday night!! There's a touch of brilliance mashing Mel's screams with the title theme by the way, and as for Dalek Astley. Lastly, I might just have to track down this season just for the Butlin's Who segment!

I started watching Dr Who in the Pertwee era and his is still my absolute fave. I can't wait for him to return (hey! With CGI we can do anything ;-) Apart from a 'cartoony' or 'pantomime' feel to Season 24, i really did enjoy Sylvester McCoy's Doctor. I think Sylvester really put his heart and soul into the role and when Ace became his companion and JNT started to tease us with little bits of the Doctors history, i think we started to see what the modern (2005) Dr Who would be. Bonnie Langford was a typical screamy companion and tbh it suited her. And of course when Sophie Aldred joined the cast well... er.... I was a teenage male after all!

I actually liked the premise of Paradise Towers and enjoyed it at the time. Time and the Rani was indeed dire.

I think I enjoyed your review more than the season itself!

I'm just gonna say, I find Paradise Towers to be a guilty pleasure for some reason... I mean, Red Kangs, Red Kangs are BEST!

Paradise Towers was my first exposure to Dr. Who. Suffice to say, my friends and I weren't sure what to make of it.

The Bonnie Langford scream intro music was genius.

My wife has a soft spot for "Delta", it was filmed in the old Butlins in Barry Island where she worked in the early 80's.

Lovely Sylvester McCoy. I still see him as his character from Vision-On, even after more than half a century. At least I finally got a glimpse of his Doctor. Thank you Stam. Well, you can say what you like about Bonnie Langford...

During a re-watch of the series a while back when I found them on legit streaming, I was blown away at how over the top Mel's screaming was this season. The Screaming Women in the show has always been a popular topic of discussion, but this season was definitely one where I was amazed that I never really heard people going on about Mel's screaming. She actually fits the trope perfectly where the earlier seasons I always through the screaming FAR more subdued than the jokes made it out to be.

Believe it or not, the actor who played the pilot in Delta and the Bannermen (the one who says "goodbye everyone" at the end of this video) was my English Language teacher in college! Lovely guy.

Yaaa! The Doctor Who vids are back!!

Always love the Doctor Who videos 👍

McCoy was my Doctor growing up. Season 24 is poor but 25 and 26 are awesome

This was the first season I watched contemporarily... and I must say I have a huge soft spot for it. One thing this season has in spades is fun... McCoy's Doctor is always watchable... never ever boring.. yes daggy... but still entertaining... And "Time and the Rani" is my favourite guilty pleasure of the entire show (both incarnations)... The Rani is the closest thing to a drag queen in Doctor Who... and the opening line of the story (And season) is so ICONIC that I have it printed on cushions in my lounge "Leave the girl.... it's the MAN I want!" As a gay man I didn't have a chance. Yes things get better... but don't hate on this season. They had to start the rebuilding somewhere...

I was 8 years old when this went out and I absolutely loved it. Of course, the next two seasons went up several levels from this one!

Ah Stam. I haven't been here for a bit. Yeah I missed your epic reviews. You are the only one who does this absolutely brilliantly. Thank you, I spent the last 30 minutes laughing so hard. My ribs hurt.😂😂😂😂. Have a fab weekend ❤❤❤❤

"I met a Doctor who sang the blues and I asked him for some happy news, he just boarded the Tardis and dissolved away." "And the three men I admire the most, the Baker, the Pertwee and the Throughton most, they took the last key to time to the coast, the day the BBC died." Excellent review.

All I remember about Paradise Towers is "Bin Liner". Because that just seemed like a great name idea when I was a kid. Sadly, the American equivalent, "Trash bag" just doesn't have the same ring.

Of this season the stories I like are Paradise Towers and Dragonfire - glad to see Glitz again. The other stories I absolutely dislike except for episode 1 cliffhanger episode ending on Time and the Rani. Paradise Towers could of been a really dark story it had a Judge Dredd vibe to it. When I saw the film Dredd I actually thought of Paradise Towers. I found this season the lighting was way to bright.

Spoons are often great to have around... Especially if you're to duel Robin Hood, one day.

Oh man, I love Paradise Towers. Robots, cannibals, and hot girls It's pure entertainment. McCoy is my favorite. Outside Time and the Rani, I enjoy his whole run as the Doctor.

I was fortunate enough to have grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we had a handful of really great Public Television Stations. One of which had raised the money over the years to purchase a large number of British programs including a run of DR. Who which went back to the Pertwee years and on through to this season. We were seeing episodes not long after they aired on the BBC. I will agree this season had difficulty finding its footing. A lot of these stories weren't very good, but I still enjoyed seeing them. Sylvester McCoy is still one of my favorite actors in the role. Around this time Star Trek: The Next Generation had premiered and it too was not having a good first season. It was definitely a year I had to hope things would get better for both shows!

Fun Fact - Wanda Ventam (Col Lake) is the mother of Benedict Cumberbatch.

Every time I hear Don Henderson mentioned I remember that he was in Star Wars. And yes, the film was called Star Wars. No mention of new hope.

I watched the new stuff up to Capaldi because my wife liked it. It was okay. But 30 minutes of this channel riffing on ANYTHING...and I'm there.

McCoy Who has an incredible sense of darkness. Also, there was a lot of screaming.

Stam Fine, your Dire Straits references are gold but i'd choose Love Over Gold.

The biggest problem with season 25 (and a large part of why its ratings were still poor) was that people saw this season first. Can you imagine what poor McCoy's legacy would be like if the show had been cancelled here?

You make me proud to be an Australian, if only in the hope some of that dry wit is a common national resource . . . Plus I couldn't stop laughing at the Bonnie Langford scream theme!

Colin Baker was Peter Capaldi of the 80's. The perfect Dr Who actor, with the worst scripts. Poor old Sylvester McCoy had a similar issue. (P.S. Thank you for the Dalek Rock n Roll. They still sing better than Axel Rose at "Glasto").

Thought it was funny that you said "after the nuclear meltdown that was colin baker" and I looked at the year, 1987, Baker being the previous year, 1986 which was the year of the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl.

Great vid such a campy season but it’s fun

Ingreresting fact, Barnicle Cumbersnatche's mum is...

Back in the day, it didn’t take many episodes of this season to convince me to give up on Who until it revived.

In America, a lot of PBS stations ended up dumping Dr. Who after season 24 due to both low ratings and the increasing costs the BBC was charging them to run it.

Your reviews are by far my favorite! I knew nothing of Doctor Who before I stumbled upon your videos and now I'm a huge fan of the classic series. Thank you!

Did you know Benedict Cumberbatch is made of atoms? Every day teaches us something

Very well put together and researched. Funny too, that Mel scream theme tune 😂

i always love seeing a Stam Fine video in my feed.. cheers mate from UK

"slip, slop, slap it sounds like a breeze when you say it like that."

"Paradise Towers" always reminds me of "Beneath a Steel Sky". Wonderfully cynical game with a great art style, by the way.

Came for the review of season 24, stayed for Dalek Astley.

I liked Paradise towers, the kangs were anusing, the cannibal resi's were interesting and the chief caretaker had Richard Briars in the role.

I thought Sly McCoy's run highly visually stunning. The video quality better than previous 20 seasons. And the music was appropriate for the Era. The Rani was my favorite female villain.

I cant wait for season 4 of the new series, but 25 is good as well

Jolly good video old sausage! 👏🏼

Brilliantly cutting sense of humour gave rise to that laugh addition around 15:40. I expelled a mouthful of food.

That Mel scream theme hurt me to my very soul. The first McCoy ep I ever saw, Paradise Towers, almost put me off all non Tom Baker classic Who, with the exception of the security chief channeling his most Satanic John Cleese. This was one rough era of Doctor Who.

Thanks for posting. I just finished watching this season a few weeks ago, and was looking for your review of it. This made my Friday-but the Mel “scream-stream” was a little rough on my ears. :) As a fan of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits, I also appreciate your references to them in this video.

I was 87 in 1987. I eat Weetabix and watch Bonnie Langford

Yes quick jump to Season 25. Also was very excited. Been waiting for my Doctor Who content!

Love your work mate,I’m watching all the classic series and love watching your commentary afterwards,are you going to do seasons 25 and 26, Red Kangs are best!

Brilliant. So much work went into this video. Love the slip slop slap reference that only us Aussies will get. Cheers.

To me... Sylvester was the BEST thing about "Time and the Rani". Over the years, I slowly came to agree with all the hatred aimed at the story. I now view it as a 2-parter PAINFULLY STRETCHED out to 4. The best thing to come out of it was the DWM interview with Donald Pickering & Wanda Ventham, who revealed that due to their long friendship, they'd drive directors crazy by being unable to stop laughing whenever they were in the same room together. The image of Pickering having that kind of sense of humor took a bit of imagination... I liked "Paradise Towers" from the start, and it's currently my FAVORITE of the season. It's the EXACT moment when the show got good again, after YEARS of bad writing. I particularly love the scene with the rule book. Cracks me up that Clive Merrison became the only actor to actually adapt EVERY SINGLE Arthur Conan Doyle SHERLOCK HOLMES story, on radio. "Delta" had me scratching my head at first. An ongoing "WTF?" moment. It's GROWN on me over the years, mostly as I now see it as having Bonnie Langford's best writing. I also now recognize Stubby Kaye whenever I see him, and whenever I see Don Henderson, I usually wind up yelling "GAVROK!" at my TV. I love how the Doctor shows real human empathy in this one... for the first time since JON PERTWEE, for God's sake! Sylvester went on to become my #1 FAVORITE DOCTOR. And he still is. "Dragonfire" has 2 problems in my view. One is Mel's departure makes NO SENSE at all, while Ace is TOTALLY-unlikable. There was really NO WAY to predict how much I'd come to like her later on. The other is... the writer is displaying his total lack of professional experience, by trying to cram WAY TOO MUCH into a single story. And you know what? HE DID IT AGAIN in "The Curse Of Fenric". Yeah. That one's considered an all-time top classic... but not by me. Too much, and, too much that NEVER MAKES SENSE.

Somebody send Bonnie Langford that scream remix

Gosh "We are the Kangs! Red Kangs are best!". I do have a sneaking appreciation for the cannibalistic old ladies of Paradise Towers, however. But poor Pex was a cowardly cutlet. Should I be worried that so much of that has lodged in my brain?

Been waiting a while for this season's video and it didn't disappoint...

Almost exactly a year since this was done I hope tonight’s the night for season 25

I love your reviews! Although, having only seen the 1st two episodes of this season recently, I actually loved them. Paradise Towers is a sort of distillation of a lot of late 80's dystopian future that would set the stage for later dystopian fiction (and was seemingly influenced by previous dystopias presented by Philip K. Dick, etc.). I'm also a big fan of The Rani (as I'm working on a short fan film where she's regenerated into me, perhaps I'm biased), and thought there were some genuinely great moments from that first episode -- but yeah, it's largely Kate's acting that carries it off. Glad to see these continuing, you made my day brighter!

Holy moly :) still my Doctor regardless..

Dalek Astley, OMG 😂

Nice one Stam (there wasnt a lot you could do with this season), I was about 12 or 13 when I saw this originally and even then I realised it was doggy doo's

Has anyone ever requested spoon playing?

Oh that infernal megabyte modem! Terrifying only in it’s lacklustre performance.

This season is great and no one will convince me otherwise.

Praying the Season 25 vid goes up today!

I think people can be terribly harsh on this season. There's some absolute drek in later Baker, T seasons and Baker, C only had a couple of successful stories. Yes, Time and the Rani is awful. But a recent rewatch has actually meant I really enjoyed Paradise Towers and Delta and the Bannermen. They both did things that were new for the show. Dragonfire to me is a bit meh, but not unenjoyable. In some ways I think the season is also reputationally harmed by what came after it, with maybe 4 of the final 8 serials being as good as classic Who ever got.

Oh my. I'd been both looking forward to and dreading this one. Really, I was so angry at how the Doctor was characterised in the first episode, with Norman Wisdom-esque pratfalls and clowning. But it did get better. Hated Delta & the Bannermen. Weirdly liked Paradise Towers. Rewatched it a few years ago and unironically enjoyed it. I know people hate Briers' performance, but I think it fits the tone of the story, which is a farce-cum-parody; it's not really satire, is it? No, for me, Paradise Towers is the forgotten gem. I will die on this hill.

Always look forward to your Dr Who reviews. Season 24 borders on ligh t enterainment at times, howeer Paradise Towers & Dragonfire are both enjoyable. Yellow Kangs are doomed! 👍

I love it when you do Doctor Who!

Good stuff. I was obsessed with Who around the time this aired. I got the number for the ABC publicity dept and would reliably call them about once every two weeks to ask when Dr Who was coming back on. #sad

I kinda want Stamfine to review Ultraman shows, i think that Ultraman is Japans equal to Doctor Who. Ultraseven especially, it's likebif the Doctor kept his identity a secret. What if an Ultraman was a companion to the Doctor? That would be a brilliant crossover.

Delta and the Bannermen... A play on the obscure band, Echo and the Bunnymen. God the McCoy era had some truly awful crap in it. Most of those series felt like they were missing an episode or two.

This was the season I checked out on Doctor Who.

One season I have somehow never seen an episode of. Bookended it, 'though, thanks by my parents giving me Trial of a Timelord boxed set in a tin Tardis (VHS) *and* Remembrance of the Daleks boxed set in a tin Dalek (VHS) for the same Christmas. Thanks, mum and dad.

My favourite Doctor

The pre-internet confusion of watching Doctor Who in Western Canada 🇨🇦. They skipped a couple seasons and I thought Season 25 was a new release in very early 1990.......after a long hiatus I was extremely underwhelmed and they only had a few episodes and dropped it. The US TV movie was hyped though.

Now there was another writer at the BBC in the late 80s who was just in his mid 20s and only had experience writing for this children's show from which he was fired after making it too plot driven. He grew up with both Doctor Who and comic books, and he was gay. Makes you think of what could've been if he was hired way back then, that wide-eyed young Welshman...

First, love Sylvester McCoy. He's my all-time favorite Doctor. Second, regarding the Mel scream-mix of the Doctor Who theme... how dare you, sir! ... lol

Aparently Benedict Cumberbatch's mother, was in Time And The Rani😜 😂😂😂😂😂

I could never get past the tour bus in space. Even that was too cheesy for me.

The Kangs should make a comeback.

OK, did NOT know her son is Benedict Cumberbatch! HE LOOKS LIKE HER!

ears obliterated

When I first saw it I loathed "Delta and the Bannermen". Funny thing though... On rewatch it's my favorite of this season. For no good reason, granted, but I kinda love it.

Remember this season vividly. I. Hated. It. I. Hated. Him. However... he had me eating out of his hand in the first ep of the following season.. ;)