Best Who stories to showcase each Doctor?

[major_clanger]

Talking with attimes_bracing about last night's Doctor Who I noted that Capaldi seems to be consciously channeling some of the actors who played the earliest incarnations of the character, in particular William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee. She asked what would be the best (surviving) stories from each Doctor to showcase the relevant actors' interpretations of the

Comments

[lil_shepherd]

Some of the best of the surviving Hartnell are the historicals: The Aztecs is excellent, as is The Romans The Keys of Marinus has a deserved reputation of being thoughtful, while The Web Planet (though the effects are now risable) was astonishing for its time in its depiction of an alien culture.

[dalmeny]

I also enjoyed The Aztecs and The Romans as well as the then-unrealisable ambition of The Web Planet. But I have to say I didn't enjoy Keys of Marinus due to the plot-coupon storyline.

Most of The Dalek Invasion of Earth is very good. As for Troughton, I'd recommend Tomb of the Cybermen. I'm told Enemy of the World is very good but I haven't seen it.

I'm not a fan of Pertwee, generally speaking, but can recommend Spearhead from Space. Inferno is almost great but is two or three episodes too long.

My other favourite Tom Baker episodes include Seeds of Doom and Brain of Morbius.

[major_clanger]

Seeds of Doom is a story I specifically recall hiding behind the sofa from (I would have been seven at the time!) It's pretty much The Thing from Another World meets the TV-series The Avengers, but there's nothing wrong with that.

[swisstone]

Hartnell pretty much hits the ground running, and nearly everything you need to know about him is in "An Unearthly Child". But shout-outs for The Daleks, The Crusade and The Time Meddler.

Troughton: Tomb of the Cybermen. And Web of Fear.

If you want an encapsulation of what the Pertwee era was all about, then Daemons is the serial for you. I do like Inferno, even if it is a bit long, but like all of Season 7, it's a rather different show from what went before and after. Spearhead From Space is the same, plus Holmes (as he later complained) clearly doesn't know who he's writing for, and so writes for Troughton, so for all the story's merits, it doesn't show typical Pertwee. Episode 1 of Day of the Daleks is worth it just to see that, for all that the Third Doctor is criticised for patronising everyone around him, at least, given the opportunity, he also does it to himself.

For Baker, Talons of Weng-Chiang if you can set aside the racism, Robots of Death if you can't. Though I do rate Pyramids of Mars as well (it's a great Sarah-

[a_cubed]

The Time Meddler for Hartnel.

The Tomb of the Cybermen and Enemy of the World for Troughton.

The Curse of Peladon and Monster of Peladon for Pertwee.

The Three Doctors is also good for highlighting the first three.

I have a fondness for The Ark in Space from Tom Baker. The Loch Ness Monster is also interesting when compared with the Day of the Doctor.

For Davison, the Five Doctors and also his finale, The Caves of Androzani.

For Colin Baker, Revelation of the Daleks is one of his better ones. I quite like Vengeance on Varos, but I suspect that's more of an acquired taste. Time lash is interesting for the Pertwee back-reference to a non-existent (from the show point of view) adventure.

I've never liked McCoy on screen. His audio adventures are better. He gets sufficient time to rehearse them and does a decent doctor - he'san actor who needs lots of rehearsal and the budget for the time.

The only McGann worth watching is The Night of the Doctor, though again he's had a good run on Big Finish Audio.

[parrot_knight]

I want to suggest The Invasion of Time for Tom, though it's atypical and falls apart as it goes along.

[woolymonkey]

I only discovered Who on the reboot so I'm mostly here to scrounge tips - thank you everyone who's made suggestions :)

But as a Who newbie, I can thoroughly recommend The Horns of Nimon when attimes finds herself in need of a good laugh. Had the whole monkey family rolling in hysterics. Have a bottle handy to drink when you hear the words 'Weakling scum!' No intentionally funny DW episode even comes close.