Publishing a few days early in case Sandy punches me in the nuts.
Story 075 - Robot
I initially tried starting this initiative here. After all, Tom Baker was the one whom my few friends seemingly aware the show existed to 2005 fawned over. That attempt failed because Robot struck me as insanely clunky at the time. After a complete watching with some more perspective, I think that was another argument for the hypocrisy of this blog. I really need to experience entertainments with a bare minimum of pre-conception to enjoy them. Being told a daft yet intelligent man with this epic scarf would sweep me off to the stars and make me never wish to return home for so many years didn't mesh so well with meeting number 4 while he was regenerating and establishing himself as different from 3 yet still The Doctor. It did a nice job establishing what Baker was going to do with the character and effectively told a decent story. Not an instant favorite but far from Adric-bad.
Story 105
- City of Death
Okay. Now I get it. Baker was positively sublime in this one. He struck this amazing balance between insane and insanely gifted. It was just a delight to watch from start to finish. Of course, I adored lead writer Douglas Adams' novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and saying he borrowed from this storyline for it would be an understatement. Only real blight on my enjoyment of this one was the wish the third Dirk book got completed because the lead of that and the lead of this had so very many parallels. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Story 092 -
Horror of Fang Rock
Horror . . . simply didn't work for me. After City of Death I wasn't prepared for Baker scowling into the mist a lot. Plus, Leela: Warrior Princess made my head hurt. It was neat meeting the sworn enemy of the baked space potat.. er Sontarans though. Also nice of it to eviscerate some really cloying rich d-bag stereotypes.
Story 051
Spearhead from Space
After the rewatch of Robot, I wanted to try out the debut of another actor in the role. Pertwee was fun in The Three Doctors so I opted for this episode. The Nestene Conciousness scared the crap out of me. They introduced the possibility of my Masters of the Universe Collection strangling me and setting fire to the house while I slept. Jon Pertwee handled them with proper gravitas and made me want to be #13 if only to have access to his wardrobe in the TARDIS.
Story 069 -
The Green Death
I'm glad Dad couldn't stand Doctor Who when I was growing up. There was this bucket outside which he dropped garbage into to feed a large colony of maggots. I thought of them quite fondly right up until seeing this serial. I guess so long as we didn't upgrade the Apple //e to B. O. S. S. levels with a Transwarp card. OH WAIT! WE DID! I AM DEAD!
Story 052 -
Doctor Who and the Silurians
I had some interest in Silurians because of Moffat's ninja avocado warrior episodes. Got to say I prefer the original version with the funky multipurpose headlights. Sure the costumes are a bit cheesier but there's no random Kill Bill posing. Instead, there's a rather stylish yellow car named Bessie. Loved it!
Story 062
The Sea Devils
The Silurians have some cousins who wear stylish blue netting and live under the ocean. Fortunately, they were manipulated by The Master. I love me some Robert Delgado and Jon Pertwee pairing. The two complemented each other perfectly. Even with historical perspective telling me The Doctor can't los, The Master is a credible enough threat to cause some serious nailbiting.
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