Who Watch 2012 pt. 6: Lots and Lots of CHEESE

Story 037 The Tomb of the Cybermen
It's really a shame that so few full Troughton stories survived. I could see him becoming a favorite. Yes, the audio is around. However, his mannerisms and facial expressions are pretty awesome. A man needs everything at his disposal to sell a story this heavy on the really dated effects. It's difficult to be scared of dudes in silver jumpsuits with holey plastic balls glued on at key joints. Instead of mechanized walking sounds, the Cybermen tend to produce their own vocal effects and sound a bit like an oncoming toy train.  Then there are the cybermats who look like silverfish with spray painted ping pong balls and a scrubby brush. My first encounter with them was at the local Doctor Who emporium when I saw a package of six silver plastic lumps. I only looked as I thought Cyberman poo might get a few yucks at a Shindig. That said, I think Troughton manages to sell everything as credible threats to human life. 

Story 074 - Planet of the Spiders
AIYEEEEEEEEEE MUTANT NOVELTY-STORE RUBBER SPIDERS!!!! RUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN! Well, unless you're a man like Pertwee's Doctor. That guy could teach Gary Busey a thing or two about wrestling wildlife. He lived like a man, died like a man, and dressed like a queen. The end made me curious about how previous regenerations were handled. They introduced this super-soothing blatantly English imitation of a Tibetan wiseman and had him hold the audiences' hands. Felt like they really could've used the writers who handled the death of Mr. Hooper.

Story 086 - The Masque of Mandragora
When faced with powerful evil, The Doctor should always sit upon its altar and play with a yo-yo. Really digging Tom Baker's performance in this one. Great balance between man of action and crazy bastard. Eccentricities nicely cover for the fact I'm watching a guy who looks like Filthy Luca run around in tights as though he owns the world for half the serial despite the fact it's very clear he's going to be slaughtered by Mandragora energy in under 10 seconds.

Story 023 - The Ark
I really want the Monoids to return.Their awkward shuffling, their awful wigs, their blatant ping-pong-ball-in-mouth costumes, the throwing of vases against the ground to teach your enemies a lesson... such amazingly awesome villainy is rare!

 Story 027 - The War Machines
I think my favorite part of this one was the disposal of Dodo as a companion. She gets hypnotized, walks off, then is casually mentioned at the end of the serial. Also really dig the titular robots. They're this awesome unstoppable force which kills using limited range smoke and knocks over lots of boxes. They're so clunky it's hard to see them as a threat unless you're planning to move house. That said, it's interesting to see an OMG THE COMPUTERS WILL TAKE OVER tale from the early days of computing.

Story 048 - The Seeds of Death
All man kind must fear BUBBLE BATH ... at least until they find some water. Really try to not be a bitch about effects but the deadly fungus was so blatantly soap it was severely distracting. Troughton was pretty awesome though.

Story 054 - Inferno
I've always enjoyed evil alternate dimension storylines. Add/remove facial hair, scars, and eyepatches then hold a session of opposite day! This one was beautifully paced. Unlike most of the seven parters I've encountered Inferno didn't drag so bad I needed to take a break.