December meme
sineala asked about my favorite Classic Who stories and why I love them. I've divided it up by Doctors, because there was no way I could pick just one or two stories for all of Classic Who. Or even all I've seen of it, which is the Second, Third, Fifth, and Eighth Doctors, most of the Fourth Doctor episodes, and a few of the First and Sixth.
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is my favorite. He's sweet, grumpy, silly, gentle, and altogether lovely, and he and Jamie McCrimmon have one of the most loving Doctor-companion relationships on the show, whether you read it slashily or not. His stories are in black and white, with special effects even more laughable than later Classic Who. Don't let any of that put you off.
"The Mind Robber": One of the most extraordinarily creative of all Doctor Who stories, and an example of how good writing can overcome little problems like having literally no budget for one episode, and having one of your stars fall sick with the measles during filming.
"The Invasion": Good plot, better effects and a higher budget than usual, the Doctor and Jamie being clingy, Zoe and her new friend Isobel being fashionable and slashy, some pricelessly funny moments, and an early (although not the earliest) appearance by Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.
"The War Games": The Second Doctor's farewell and one of the most powerful regeneration stories. Long, and marred by some racist stereotypes, but there's a lot of good stuff here, including great performances by the guest stars, the first mention and first appearance of the Time Lords, and a character who seems to be a prototype of the Master.
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is almost my favorite. He's adventurous, exuberant, and sometimes difficult, but in many ways the most human Doctor, perhaps because he spends a lot of time trapped on earth. Also, he wears velvet and drives a motorcar called Bessie. He too has great relationships with his companions, especially Jo Grant, and works closely if crankily with UNIT, and sometimes more closely with the Master than he's entirely happy about.
"The Claws of Axos": Bantering, bickering, and betrayal with the Master, and some hilariously suggestive moments if you have a dirty mind.
"The Time Monster": The Master again, plus a quite good plot, excellent character moments for everybody, actual feminism, and Sergeant Benton getting turned into a baby.
Fourth Doctor
I'm not a huge Fourth Doctor fan. Heresy, I know. I don't hate him, but he's not my favorite.
"Seeds of Doom": Deliciously cracked premise, a great villain, and Sarah Jane at her best.
Fifth Doctor
Five has a reputation as the sexiest of the old-school Doctors, but he's also, importantly, the fairly scary one. He does things that would have been well beyond the line for previous Doctors, which is both interesting and disconcerting. He's balanced out by some great companions: Tegan and Turlough are my favorites, but I like Nyssa and, yes, Adric too. And did I mention that Turlough is a hot, red-haired, morally ambiguous young man in a schoolboy uniform? If you're reading this on DreamWidth, that's Turlough in my icon.
"Enlightenment": Sailing ships in space, with pirates! Plus Tegan being awesome and Turlough and the Doctor flirting.
"The Five Doctors": Pure, delicious fanservice.
"Resurrection of the Daleks": Perhaps the epitome of the growing bleakness of Doctor Who during Five's era, although to see Five at his most ruthless you need to watch the next story, "Planet of Fire." Very powerful.
Eighth Doctor
I haven't seen a lot of Six and Seven's stories, and of what I have seen, there's nothing I much like except parts of "The Two Doctors" (specifically, the parts with Two and Jamie). So I move on to Eight, and I cheat, because Eight only had one TV story, about which no good can be said except that Paul McGann is fantastic. But he had lots of books, and then lots of Big Finish audios. I've only heard a few of the audios, and although they have the advantage of Paul McGann's voice, I like the books better because I love most of the book companions, especially Fitz Kreiner. Fitz is an amateur musician with a terrible childhood and an active fantasy life, who is pretty much textually in love with the Doctor.
Interference Book One and Interference Book Two, by Lawrence Miles: More complex, timey-wimey plotting than Steven Moffat has dreamt of, and genuine moral seriousness.
The Ancestor Cell, by Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole: The original Time War storyline, done far more interestingly than the TV series later managed.
The Blue Angel, by Paul Magrs and Jeremy Hoad: A wildly, wonderfully postmodern take on the Doctor Who mythos, with lots of bonus Star Trek references. I love this book. Most of the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels are very arc-y, but this one, which is a sort of interlude between The Ancestor Cell and the consequences of what happens in that book, can pretty much be read as a standalone.
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