As I write this there is much discussion on the new character of the ninth Doctor. My mind goes back, however, to my reaction to the first regeneration. Others have asked the question as to what the appearance of the second Doctor would have had on them had they seen it at the time, rather than with hindsight. In a word my reaction at the time was one of complete confusion.

The Tenth Planet led us to believe the Doctor was not well, but what was the change that we saw? How could a man change? I had nothing to suggest that the Doctor was not human - he was simply an old man with a time machine who knew a great deal. Today we look back on elements in the first Doctor's era and try to identify those that identify him as alien, but nothing had made me think so at the time of the regeneration. 

Ben's doubts spoke for me. Polly's acceptance of the change seemed irrational. However, if what I was watching was not the Doctor, then what the hell was I watching? The new Doctor's behaviour did not endear (though now the second Doctor remains my favourite). The Doctor simply does not behave as he did. Where was the gravitas?

My confusion remained. However, the appearance of the Daleks soon kept me hooked. Along with Ben and Polly it was the recognition of the Doctor by the Daleks themselves that confirmed for me that this must be the Doctor.

Looking back now the regeneration was genius. I do not simply mean the idea - but also its portrayal. We were not given an explanation. To have the Doctor change without any real justification was risky and, at the time, left me with questions I wanted answers to and these were denied to me. Getting a new body for one that was wearing out was not an explanation. Did my confusion detract from the story? At first, possibly, but Daleks put most things into the shade. In hindsight the lack of information increased the mystery and led us slowly on the path that led us to the War Games and the slow drip of information after that.

At this distance my memories of the Troughton era vary. However, the striking effect of the regeneration was so strong that it remains as clear as any. If the way that the regeneration was handled was meant to make an impression, it certainly worked. Who knows, if we had been given an explanation, maybe I would have accepted it easily and allowed the memories to fade. Thank goodness we weren't and they haven't!

The first thing I think anyone who is attempting to review this story is bash your head against your desk at the prospect of having to add anything of consequence to one of Paul Clarke’s stupefyingly comprehensive reviews. So I will take an alternate track and approach it from an entirely different angle. However, I still think it’s really good.

I experienced the story from the audio soundtrack on mp3, the version narrated by Frazer Hines, who I would never have recognized since I only know his work from Doctor Who. This is why the only voice I can associate with him is that thickly overdone Scottish accent. I suspect this weirdness is shared by the rest of you whose Frazer experience is limited. Viewed in conjunction with the slide shows of the story on the BBC website, as well as an active imagination, is almost as good as bringing a VCR back to 1967 and taping the story as it was broadcast. If only TARDISes were more readily available to the Doctor Who fandom. 

As a side note, I expect most of the TARDIS travellers would ignore the salvation of the missing shows and instead a legion of horny high school fans would descend upon young Deborah Watling in whatever ways their own active imaginations could muster. But anyway . . . 

Characterization of everyone involved in this story, from the regulars and major guests (Edward Waterfield and Maxtible), to the bit players (Molly the maid, Kemel the wrestler, Perry the antiques dealer) is superb. The plot is intricate, and nothing ever feels like the filler that is almost necessary for seven episodes, simply because there are no moments without purpose. The first episode is probably most likely to be labelled filler, which I think is undeserved for the following reason.

The plot of Evil of the Daleks is a strategy game played by the Doctor and the Emperor Dalek. The Emperor aims at the destruction of humanity, and the Doctor aims at the destruction of the Daleks. These seven episodes are a game of chess with the fate of two species hanging in the balance. The suspense comes not only from watching these brilliantly portrayed characters, but from watching the different levels of this battle of wits unfold, plus the strange joy that both these master manipulators get from putting their schemes in action. 

Thinking of the plot in these terms, the Doctor’s detective work in the twentieth century is the start of the game. The Emperor has taken advantage of Waterfield and Maxtible’s time travel experiments, set up his Daleks in the mansion, and is using Waterfield as a pawn to lure the Doctor into their trap. And the Doctor waltzes into danger without even realizing it. So begins the Doctor’s manipulations of the Daleks. He learns their plan to isolate the Human Factor, but he understands what it will do to the Daleks when it is introduced. 

At the start of episode six, when the humanized Daleks first speak, the Doctor sees his plan coming to fruition. The Daleks have sown their own destruction by introducing the ability to question orders to their race. One of the first things the Doctor said when he discovered the Daleks had lured him to 1866 for the experiments was “I will not be your slave!” The Daleks treat their human captives as slaves. During the behavioural experiments on Jamie, Victoria is paraded about as bait and expected to obey without question. When Arthur Terrall, Maxtible’s prospective son-in-law, is fully enslaved to his Dalek control device, he bullies everyone around him into obeying him. He dominates by making people his slaves. And what phrase do the Daleks say more often even than “Exterminate” in this story? “You will obey.”

When Edward Waterfield comes to rescue the Doctor from the Dalek capital, crumbling in flames of civil war between the slave Daleks and the free – humanized – Daleks, the Doctor is inspiring one last group of the humanized to rebel and fight the Emperor for their lives. As the Daleks disappear down the corridor and Waterfield begs the Doctor to leave, what response does he get? “That’s all right. I’m finished.” This was his checkmate over the Emperor Dalek. 

Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor has the reputation as the grand schemer, the manipulative one for whom even his best friends are pieces in a strategy game. But Patrick Troughton here gambles with his friends’ lives just as much as McCoy did in the darkest of the New Adventures. In fact, his deviousness comes out even more in Evil of the Daleks, as we can see the plan forming from the start, then marching almost inevitably to the conclusion: the total destruction of an entire species. And what was the foundation of the Doctor’s plot? The essential part of the human spirit that questions, that will not obey. Maxtible dies at the end of the story, blown to bits with the Dalek city, but he really died when he was implanted with the Dalek Factor, when he lost his individuality. I find it quite appropriate that the Doctor defeated his greatest enemies, formless blobs in tanks indistinguishable from each other, with the spirit of rebellion. That was the spirit that motivates the Doctor from the start. 

Evil of the Daleks has wonderfully drawn characters. Its script and plot is fast-paced and engrossing even over seven episodes – three hours in one sitting. At the centre of it all, it is impossible to take your eyes (or ears) off the Doctor, so phenomenal is Troughton’s performance and so complex does his character appear here. It has a thematic depth that can be inspiring. All these factors make Evil of the Daleks one of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time, no matter what form it may take.

One of the greatly underrated stories that populate Doctor Who's archives. Why? It's a matter of defying expectations. Of course, now people lap it all up, with Russel T. Davies being congratulated galore for setting up an action-packed adventure about an exploding nuclear power plant, and delivering a soppy moralising sermon against the death sentence. Back, then, however, this behaviour was clearly frowned upon.

This is the second-last part of the mirthful Season 16, remembered for rampant whimsy and a general "Boy's Own" mentality. Furthermore, it is scripted by Robert Holmes, who was famous for his layered, bizarre plots and his sparkling sense of humour. Holmes, however, goes completely against expectations, and delivers a simple plot, filled with gritty violence. Oh, and a big squid.

Kroll, the squid in question, is the most criticised aspect of the entire episode. Holmes famously was asked by script editor Anthony Read to include 'the largest monster ever to appear in Doctor Who', and was relucant to integrate it into his plot. It was definitely a foolish decision, to create such a massive enemy on their often painfully small budget. That said, Kroll's legendary awfulness is much exaggerated. Especially compared to the Skarasen from "Terror of the Zygons"

And, this is all nullified by the skilled dramatic tension Holmes uses in the introduction of Kroll into the story, who is handled by typical horror style, as he is surveyed by the terrified personnel of the rickety refinery.

The plot is very simple. The imperialistic Thawn (the excellent Neil McCarhty) who manages the methane refinery is looking for any excuse to massacre the indigenous Swampies on the moon of Delta Magna. He finds his excuse in the form of a visit by gun-runner Rohm-Dutt to the swampie camp, and aside from attacks by Kroll the plot really doesn't advance much further than that.

What I find appealing about this episode are the gritty portrayals of all the characters. Neil McCarthy's maniacal Thawn is nothing short of brilliant. Phillip Madoc gets less material as second-in-command Fenner, but shows the same flair he had in "The Brain of Morbius". And, finally, John Leeson get to be on camera this episode, and plays Dugeen, the one sympathetic character in the story, and does a very good job. Glyn Owen, likewise, is great as the gruff Rohm-Dutt, even though his character is underused. The rest of the cast all do good work as well.

The episode ends on an exciting note, with a genuinely unexpected Key to Time revelation, and some of Tom Baker's best eccentric behaviour. Interestingly, the episode ends on a different note. No moralising, no judgement of any of the parties. The Doctor just gets the hell out of there! In a way, it shows that imperialism cannot always be fixed.

An episode like this, in my opinion, could only be considered sub-par in a tenure as consistent as Tom Baker's. Nowhere near Holmes' best work, it is true, but mostly because here he writes in another style altogether.

‘The War Games’- my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ story.

Out of over forty years worth of ‘Who’, this is the story which in my heart of hearts I truly believe to be better than any others. It lasts for ten episodes, it features a lot of running around, it has repetitive music, bizarre cardboard glasses and some very, very dodgy looking rubber suits: all these things are used against it, but for me they help to make it what it is: the best ‘Doctor Who’ story ever.

When I first saw it, I was eleven years old. I’d seen most stories, and those that I had not seen I knew about, aside from a handful, which included this story. One day, I was off ill from school, so as a treat my Dad let me rent out a video from the local video store- this was the one I chose since I reasoned it would take me a while to watch it.

I ended up getting through it by the end of the day; from its beginning- eerie surroundings, special sequence for the titles- I was hooked. All the characters were being well acted, all the effects were looking very nice indeed, and everyone seemed to be taking it very seriously.

The comedic aspects to come were a breath of fresh air; a nice contrast to the rather haunting nature of the story, but there is no escaping the darker aspects. This is a story about war- many wars, being fought for no real reason.

When you hear the Aliens reel off the numbers of new specimens to be taken to the War Zones, it hurts because you realise that they are replacements as so many people have been needlessly killed. Likewise, when you see Carstairs get put through the Mind Wiping process, it seems cruel and sadistic- something I shall return to later…

The length of the story makes everything seem so much bigger- the story’s scope seems to be larger than most stories, and everything has an epic quality to it; the incidental music reflects this, sounding as triumphant as the story tries to be. This is a story unafraid of trying to be big and bold, and it succeeds at being so. It is, quite simply, an epic adventure.

This is a story about raising the stakes, and raising the odds against our heroes. We’ve had base-under-siege adventures where hundreds of lives are in danger; this is a story where hundreds of lives have already been lost, and it is up to the Doctor and his group of fighters to try to save everybody, and it needs a group. The Doctor, Jamie and Zoл alone are not enough: they need help; they need the resistance, and even then the resistance are desperate to grow in number.

It is here that the story has its biggest shortcoming, in that the budget simply never allows for the Resistance to seem as large as it should, but rather than let this be a bad thing, we are presented with characters who are memorable enough to make us not mind that we do not see more extras. Who cares about the rest of the Resistance when we have characters as well rounded and loveable as Russell?

This is a story about running: the heroes run from place to place, time zone to time zone but time is running out, and you cannot keep running forever- you have to stop eventually. This is a story about stopping.

Of course, this is also the story that introduces us to the Time Lords, and despite how much I love what Robert Holmes did to them in ‘The Deadly Assassin’, I would firmly argue that they were never better than they are here because, everybody, for one night only, you can see why the Doctor fled his home planet.

The story is too big, the adventure is too over-whelming, and for once the Doctor cannot stop it- cue Time Lords.

Episode 10 of ‘The War Games’ is where ‘Doctor Who’ as a show changes forever. It starts off a tad ropey- attack of the stock footage!- but even this is fun, and more than forgivable given what is coming up. The trial of the Aliens is tense, a neat contrast from the fleeing of the Doctor we have just seen: from something so full of movement we are now presented with something so static.

This is where the parallels begin too. We have the War Lord’s trial reflected in the Doctor’s; we have the dispatch of the War Lord and the Aliens- death by dematerialisation- drawing parallels with what the Aliens themselves were doing: taking human ‘specimens’ and removing them from time forever; most horrifying of all, we have the mind wiping of Jamie and Zoл.

As mentioned earlier, when this happens before, the process horrifies us and that was when it happened to a supporting character. Now it happens to two regulars, it is too much to bear. You know something bad is going to happen- you can see it all in Patrick Troughton’s expressions; you hear that both Zoл and Jamie are safe, but it’s not enough; however it is only when the Time Lords both sentence the doctor to exile and force him to regenerate that the penny, as it were, finally drops: the Time Lords are no better than the Aliens.

The sentence imposed upon the Doctor is harsh and brutal- loss of two friends, loss of freedom and loss of identity. No wonder he fled whilst he still had the chance.

I could go on all day- there are bits I haven’t even mentioned: the absolutely terrific characters that are War Chief and the Security Chief, which are both superbly written and fantastically acted; I could mention the brilliant use of defamiliarisation- making the everyday object that is a pair of glasses seem so scary; I could go on at length about how this is the first time in ‘Doctor Who’ that you really, really care about the love lives of the supporting characters, namely Carstairs and Lady Jennifer. I could mention all this and more, but I have already gone on long enough.

‘The War Games’: my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ story for ever and ever and ever- I hope I’ve given a good enough reason for other people to love it as much as I do too….

‘Stop, you’re making me giddy!’

The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find themselves in the middle of No Mans Land, in the Great War. They soon find their way to the British trench where they are welcomed and sent to HQ. At the headquarters however they find a less friendly welcome. They are soon standing trial for espionage. Things are not what they seem on the front lines.

The War Games is grand in scope. Over ten episodes we are shown the first world war, Ancient Rome, the American Civil War, the War Lords base and (apparently) Gallifrey. Over the course of the ten episodes there is remarkably little padding, the story zipping along until about halfway through, then picking up speed again for the dйnouement. The set design is fantastic, particularly at the British HQ where it seems criminal to have recorded in colour as the set looks so authentic, down to graffiti on the walls. In the technology and base of the alien War Lords too there is much innovative design, and the classic sf device of striking contrasts and kaleidoscope patterns. If the guard’s strange rubber uniforms and diving masks are a little dodgy we’ll overlook them in favour of the splendid Time capsules; suggesting the Tardis ever before the clues of the connection are planted.

Performance wise the guests vary extremely; it is not exaggerating to say that James Bree, as the Security Chief, gives an abysmal performance. The painfully stilted delivery of his lines, no doubt intended to suggest his alien nature, must take up about three episodes running time. Also not so great is Noel Coleman as General Smythe, though it may be partially due to his lines. The majority of the rest of the cast is excellent, however. Special mention should go to Rudolph Walker for an excellent turn as a confused American soldier and to David Troughton in a brief but touching cameo.

Edward Brayshaw, as the War Chief, is compelling. His performance is well judged and in his cunning – and his facial hair - he is almost a blueprint for the Master even before it is revealed that the Doctor is of his race. The scene where he and the Doctor first come face to face is a treasure. Their later scenes also play very well. It seems a pity that the actor spends most of his screen time waiting for the Security Chief to finish dripping his dialogue into the scene. Best guest artist award must go to Philip Madoc however, who is so urbanely evil and calmly vicious that he sets a new benchmark for Who baddies which possibly only he will meet. Whether reclining on top of his desk, or stood facing the judgement of the Time Lords; he is a pleasure to watch.

The regular cast themselves are present and correct. Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury have little extra to do; even their leaving scene, sad though it is, is quite subdued. Patrick Troughton has some great grandstanding moments however, whether railing against the War Chief for his irresponsible actions, running to escape his people or getting cross when they expect him to choose a new face. Over the ten episodes you probably do get everything you love about the second Doctor, and it is a fitting farewell for him. We learn more about the character of the Doctor in the last twenty five minutes than has been revealed in the previous six years. Interesting that the explanation he offers here for leaving the Time Lords is different to the first Doctors suggestions that they were exiles, on the run. Would the first or the Second Doctor be telling a fib?

Malcolm Hulke has written here one of the most original plots the show has had, and it is a credit to his writing and the production team that the story doesn’t drag, as so many shorter ones do, and that the visuals are never less than convincingly executed. Not the best second Doctor story, but something like a greatest hits of Troughton, backed up with an original plot and some sterling performances. ‘The War Games’ is something special.

Spearhead From Space - new decade, new Doctor, new setting, new companion, new titles, re-arranged theme tune. Shot in colour, entirely on film and location. Phew, that's a whole lot of innovation going on! Admittedly, the latter two elements were forced upon the production team but was there ever such change brought about in one solitary story in the history of the series? An Unearthly Child was literally a new programme, the TV Movie wasn't, not really. One suspects that the Eccleston series will herald the greatest amount of change seen since January 1970. It must have felt odd seeing Troughton in control of the TARDIS having been used to the previous incumbent but all the usual trappings remained; companions, Daleks... Arguably Ark in Space is second only to Spearhead in the 'shock-of-the-new' stakes. Same companions and it carries on directly from Robot but just compare the two productions. Many consider Robot as a Pertwee story starring Tom Baker but no, it feels quite different. Baker, himself, gives it an unique feel and all the other, familiar characters are different because they react differently to a new actor. Ark in Space has a new Doctor, good old Sarah plus Harry but the whole atmosphere has changed. The story is positively charged with Baker, Hinchcliffe and Holmes. The combination is electric.

Spearhead from Space is virtually a new programme. History tells us that the BBC seriously considered scrapping the series in favour of something different. Effectively this happens with Season 7. The TARDIS makes little impact on the story (other than alerting the Brigadier to the possible return of the Doctor) and reference to the past is fairly oblique; Time Lords are alluded to, Jamie and Zoe are not even mentioned. It would seem that the production team were keen to attract new viewers, the complete lack of baggage appears to support this. This story really could have been part of new series completely unrelated to Doctor Who with very little change made to the script. The same goes for the rest of the season, and the next one too. 

Spearhead from Space benefits enormously from the deliberate and expedient changes wrought on the series. I don't subscribe to criticising any story that doesn't heavily feature the Doctor, as long as the story is a good one. Spearhead has a good, solid B-movie type script. This is not a to denigrate it, It's great; it tells a story that anyone can follow. No prior knowledge of the series is really necessary, UNIT is explained and all we really need to know is that something strange is happening in the woods and some soldiers are a bit twitchy. 

Effectively it's a story of two halves. The Brigadier carries the first two episodes and the Doctor takes command in parts three and four. This is probably the Brigadier's finest hour (and a half) and it's a shame that his characterisation isn't continued. He's an intelligent soldier with a pretty good grasp of science and not the Graham Chapman-like figure of later stories (it's easy to imagine Nicholas Courtney inside the TARDIS in The Three Doctors rebuking Troughton and Pertwee with, "Stop this, it's silly!"). The tale kicks in straight away with strange meteor showers hitting the Earth (south east England, naturally) and the way that Pertwee is introduced is a delight. Effectively we are teased by half-glimpses of him. Two hooks for the viewers: mysterious meteors; mysterious man.

The Nestenes are not the most original of genre baddies. We've seen their like before, and since, many times. From Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, the Thing from Another World, Faceless Ones through to Michael Myers and the toy factory of Halloween III. However, this simply doesn't matter. As a baptism of fire for a new Doctor/series they are pretty unbeatable. They have an affinity with plastic - a brilliant conceit because it doesn't have to be explained how this actually works (no cogs, springs, micro-circuitry, etc.) and the ubiquity of the substance itself makes them a formidable threat.

The Autons are probably the series' most monstrous creations simply because they tap into our primal fear of familiar, inanimate things coming to life, be it displays in Madame Tussauds or shop window mannequins. Terror of the Autons extrapolated the idea more fully but Spearhead has it's share of scary moments: Ransome being stalked by a (sinisterly blank-faced) plastic man. General Scobie coming face-to-face with his facsimile and the activation of the shop window dummies. All different manifestations of the same relentless, uncaring and wholly alien menace.

Jon Pertwee makes a great start to his era. He amuses with his bizarre obsession for his shoes, his "Unhand me, madam!" to the nurse (Carry on Doctor, perhaps?) and The Shower Scene that wasn't Psycho or Dallas. This type of humour seems to have a lot of detractors but I can promise you that my 6 and 7 year old boys found if very funny indeed! Pertwee looks simply brilliant; a great, interesting face, imposing stature and flamboyant taste in clothes. He has an imperious quality, no doubt, but a certain vulnerability too. Especially when in hospital and his misfiring attempt to leave (the story precariously poised) in the TARDIS. To a 5 year old boy (as I was when these episodes first aired) Pertwee was peerless.

The story isn't faultless, it has dated and is a little bit creaky in places. Some of Dudley Simpson's music is great (the Auton retrieving the sphere from the crashed UNIT Land Rover) but the score that accompanies the sequence with the Doctor stealing the consultant's car is grating in the extreme; it seems Simpson is unwittingly creating the theme to Worzel Gummidge 9 years early, but not in a good way. Much of the sound isn't as clear as it might be and some of the locations are a bit threadbare such as the Brigadier's office. Caroline John seem ill-at-ease and it's difficult to warm to her.

The guest performances are generally very good; John Breslin plays UNIT's best captain and it's a shame he didn't do more episodes. John Woodnutt brings Hibbert to painful life, you can see his inner conflict in every look and gesture. Channing - great name. Chillingly played by Hugh Burden with the right mix of ruthlessness and intensity - alien but plausibly human.

Spearhead from Space. Scariest monsters, scariest title sequence, scariest arrangement of a scary theme tune. Add to that a very different Doctor banished to an all-too-familiar Earth and you have a winning combination.

As I alluded to earlier, there are many features that this story shares with the Halloween film series. Relentless, terrifying killer (in plastic mask?) wearing blue boiler suit. The much underestimated Halloween III (effectively written by Nigel Kneale - can we deny his influence on 70's Doctor Who?) told the story of a toy factory with a terrible secret, guarded by murderous automatons and presided over by a driven but charismatic boss. The film's finale more closely mirrors Terror of the Autons, this time with the Master mischievously engineering the wanton massacre of the nation's children with dolls (if not Halloween masks). Kneale utilises that other British institution Stonehenge and it is a bit like watching a fun but gory Doctor Who story even if there is no 'Doctor' to Halloween III's Irish-American 'Master'. John Carpenter is a self-confessed admirer of Kneale's work and he in turn (unwittingly?) plagarises the concepts of Spearhead and Terror which themselves... and so it goes. It's Interesting to note that Kneale had his name removed from the film's credits because he objected to the violence and that Barry Letts felt he had crossed the line with Terror of the Autons...