@@IsaacWhittakerDakin Android Invasion is not just one of my least favorite Tom Baker stories. I consider it one of the worst stories ever in the history of the show.
As much as I’ve tried it’s impossible for me to get through Talons. The racism is far too central to the plot and characters to just dismiss it, it’s an egregious example of how far the show fell since the 60s (yes I know Mavek Chen is yellow face as well but never before had Doctor Who lent into cultural stereotypes this much). Being “of its time” is therefore not an excuse and failing to even acknowledge this in such a list is pretty unacceptable. Watching this story with my ex who is East Asian made her really uncomfortable and I fully think the fanbase (particularly the white fanbase) needs to take ownership of this and stop listing it so highly. Ultimately, if a story relies so heavily on damaging stereotypes and outright racism then that’s not good writing, it’s a major limitation.
Nothing particularly surprising here: 1. Genesis of the Daleks 2. Pyramids of Mars 3. The Deadly Assassin 4. The Robots of Death 5. Terror of the Zygons
Talons is definitely one of the best Doctor Who serials ever made that a lot of fans get tore up about because of the yellow face but I say, get over it as they got an excellent actor to play the magician...probably the best they could get. I say Horns is the worst 4th Doctor story, like many others but again, my order may be different but I agree with with your top, middle and bottom tier parts of the list fairly close to what you said. I will say this...despite it's issues of budget and how it was thrown together I believe during some strike action, I have a soft spot for Invasion...if for no other reason than the great byplay between the Doctor and Borusa.
@IsaacWhittakerDakin Yeah, it is the combination of having a Caucasian actor play a Chinese character, despite the fact there were few available capable Asian actors in England at the time to consider, plus the so-called racism in the script, which was an accurate portrayal of attitudes during the Victorian Era that get people all tore up about this serial. Many really get upset about how the Doctor seems to embrace these attitudes but I feel he is just "going along with the natives". How Chinball had 13 always challenging attitudes in other eras always personally bothered me...just how do you think that character has survived being in these environments? Always being in your face opposed to the attitudes of the time isn't necessarily the safest approach for an outsider. If one loves Talons as I do they should consider getting the Jago and Litefoot box set from Big Finish. It's like Sherlock Holmes but with a Robert Holmes flare with the original actors in the roles!
1. The Armageddon Factor 2. The Android Invasion 3. Robots Of Death 4. Terror of The Zygons 5. Pyramids Of Mars 6 Genesis Of The Daleks 7 Revenge Of The Cybermen 8 The Talons of Weing Chang 9 Robot 10 The Androids Of Tara
The essential Tom Baker stories imo are: 1. Seeds of Doom 2. Pyramids of Mars 3.Talons of Weng Chiang 4. Terror of the Zygons 5. The Ark in Space 6. Horror of Fang Rock 7. The Brain of Morbius 8. Robots of Death 9. Hand of Fear... Plus honorable mentions 10. Genesis of the Daleks 11. The Sunmakers 12. The Mask of Mandragora 13. Stones of Blood Don't like the, 'Oh, so clever' flippancy/slapstick style of 'City of Death', so one my least favourite. Too many lesser stories/companions in the second half of Baker's run, Pertwee's run was more consistent overall. However, that combination of Tom Baker's Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith(The best ever companion)/Robert Holmes' scripts/Dudley Simpson soundtracks and Philip Hinchcliffe's production vision is unsurpassed. The first two on my list are my favourite stories of all-time.
You say what you like, the cliffhanger at the end of episode 4 of The Invasion of Time, when the Doctor thinks he's won and the Sontarons appear from nowhere, was one of the most thrilling things I've ever seen in my life. I was 8 and in heaven.
I also loved Underworld at the time. But I think it speaks volumes that years later, when I came to revisit the enthusiasms of my youth, I could remember nothing of either The Creature from the Pit or Meglos at all. I was surprised to discover they existed.
@@IsaacWhittakerDakin Well, I mean, I thought the whole serial was fantastic. Was the Doctor still good, was he a bad guy now, what was the mysterious alien threat, how could it be everywhere. I thought it was great. I loved seeing so much inside the Tardis! I didn't know it was all some hospital corridors. I thought I was learning how Time Lords lived.
I'd say Power of Krull and Creature from the pit are bad but most of Bakers last season is mostly bad apart from state of decay warriors gate the rest are pretty terrible especially Logoplis and I'd say the last Gothic Horror was Stones of Blood not Image of Fendahl
I think the term 'Your mileage may vary' applies here. I am not sure I agree with any of these ratings - I love some of the most terrible Doctor Who stories even more than the good ones. I stopped taking Doctor Who seriously when I left primary school. But I still love it. Oh well.
I'm a horror fan, so my top 5 are Talons, Stones of Blood, Seeds of Doom, Horror of Fang Rock and Pyramids of Mars. Funny thing is: so many 4th Doc serials make my top 10 overall list because of the horror vibe, yet the 4th Doc is only in the middle of the pack as far as me ranking the Doctors :)
I adore The Leisure Hive and not so much Meglos. Rating either below The Invisible Enemy or Nightmare of Eden just says something about your taste, I suppose. But the delicious, dark fun and great ideas of season 18 definitely has my love, even as it evolved gradually out of the messy madness of the Season 17 mode.
You know, I really thought Tom Baker was the ONLY actor to do justice to the Prydonian uniform. Everyone else just looks silly. 😋 Tom Baker, to this day, is the one actor non-fans think of when someone mentions Doctor Who. Even The Simpsons - when they find a reason to mock Doctor Who, it is Baker's Doctor with that scarf that they depict. You have to admit that Tom really knew how to create this totally alien character while still being approachable. I enjoyed most of his stories, and Tom could always add something to the sillier episodes. The only stories I really didn't much care for were the E-Space stories - I thought by that point, Tom was getting tired of the role and could no longer bring the enthusiasm. The switch in costumes to the magenta kinda brought that home to me - it was just darker and less approachable. The stories didn't make a lot of sense either. Very hard to really pick out my favorite stories from the Tom Baker era. Genesis of the Daleks, City of Death, Robots of Death, and Pyramids of Mars, are definitely on my list. There were so many good stories, and Tom was MY Doctor - he was the Doctor who appeared most on PBS, and, of course, he did more stories than anyone before or since. The writers seemed to really want to stretch the boundaries of what they could get away with during Baker's era. Doctor Who should be the show that could do ANY kind of story, from science fiction to fantasy to horror to historical, and, more than any other era, that was exercised very well here. The Horns of Nimon is kind of a guilty pleasure mostly due to Graham Crowden (whom I know best from Waiting for God) overacting his heart out throughout. The Key to Time Saga brought an interesting Doctor/Companion pairing with Romana, which sadly I thought suffered when Lalla Ward took over the role. Bit of a shame that Mary Tamm decided not to stick around for a second season, and I felt then that Lalla Ward was a reversion to the typical screaming girl companion role. Doctor Who just didn't do well with companions who are almost as smart as the Doctor (Liz Shaw in particular, though, of course, Zoe Heriot fit in well with the Second Doctor). Ward did have her moments, however. City of Death may be her best appearance, IMO. The Tom Baker era is definitely the Golden Age of Doctor Who, and, in many ways, the show never really reached those heights again. He is still one of my favorite Doctors (along with Patrick Troughton and Sylvester McCoy). No wonder they brought him back as the Caretaker - and he was still wonderful.
@@IsaacWhittakerDakin As with all classic Doctor Who there's good and bad. The good in this is very good. The overall story of a planet on the edge of the galaxy with enormous energy resources being mined by a group of humans is good. Acting by Frederick Jaeger as Professor Sorenson is outstanding. He completely convinces as a man trying to do the right thing but is lost in his own delusions. He looks as if he hasn't slept in weeks, he's baffled by this planet which seems to take back the powerful crystals which he has mined but he is determined to carry on in order to save his home planet. He's a man out of his depth. The monster looks great with its outline and has a good sound effect to accompany it. The initial transformation of Professor Sorenson is played very well with the camera taking his point of view in the kills. His agony as he 'changes' into the monster temporarily is played very well and reminds us he's not some mad scientist but a human being. The jungle looks fantastic - the plants look totally strange and creepy. The two regulars are great -their interplay is excellent and Tom Baker has some moments of real gravitas which sell the seriousness of the situation. The bad points are Prentis Hancock who hams it up continuously as the leader of the rescue team and the final transformation by Sorenson into the monster which is not half as scary as his transformation earlier in the story where he couldn't actually see him - the power of the imagination of the viewer is always stronger than showing us a man in a wig doing a slow pained walk. Liz Sladen said in the DVD extra that this was her favourite story and I can see why.
@@IsaacWhittakerDakin Great review. What raises the story for me I suppose was the dark atmosphere that comes from the production and the acting, as well as having a good story.
If I had seen Talons when it was first broadcast, I would have enjoyed it, but I only saw it recently, and couldn't get the modern sensibility goggles off when it comes to its casting. I think because it's such a well accomplished story that it's hurt more by those seventies attitudes. As for my favourites... anything with Douglas Adams' DNA in is particularly appreciated, especially City of Death, and even The Pirate Planet. For me, Genesis and Destiny of the Daleks are two sides of a coin, the shiny head and the tarnished tail, but they go together. I also love The Sunmakers, The Deadly Assassin, and when it comes to by #1, I'm torn between Pyramids of Mars, The Ribos Operation, and The Stones of Blood (not least because I read those particular Target novelisations until the books disintegrated).
By virtue of the fact that he was on so long, combined with the dynamic duo of Holmes and Hinchcliffe, the task of ranking is almost impossible. 1. The Deadly Assassin 2. The Ark in Space 3. The Sun Makers 4. Robots of Death 5. Pyramids of Mars
I’d still rewatch Invasion of Time and Creature from the Pit over ANYTHING that’s been released since Peter Capaldi left That being said, I can’t argue with your top 20. Spot on.
@@IsaacWhittakerDakinthat’s the beauty of it. Everyone has their favorites and favorite eras. Even though I don’t find that era remotely watchable, I certainly don’t look down on anyone who does. There are loads of people (me not being one, obviously) who don’t enjoy the classic era. Looking forward to your next videos. Cheers.
@christophercamp6601 "Even though I don’t find that era remotely watchable, I certainly don’t look down on anyone who does." That's totally OK. I just hate when people yuck on other people's yum. I like Doctor 13, but many people attack us who do. You can like whatever you prefer, but please, if you don't like something, just switch off and don't rain on our parade.
No it isn't. First it should have been a Master story, everything about it screamed this was The Master and then it pulled a bait and switch, and for no better reason that to palm us off with poorly executed a Fu Manchu rip off that was pretty dated even at the time. It aired nearly 18 years after the last of the Fu Manchu films that were poorly received even in those 'unenlightened' days mostly because of their overtly sinophobic racism. I get that Philip Hinchcliffe loved his British film references and there was no offence intended but he was a good enough writer and producer to have toned that element down a bit. Second how can anyone put it above Pyramids of Mars and Genesis of The Daleks? If you put either of those above the other you're always going to get a debate but to put a story that is a legitimate contender for one of the worst Tom Baker stories above both is completely nuts.
