I finished the Sixth Doctor! That’s an accomplishment with
how painful some of his stories were. Maybe my expectations were exceptionally
low, but I liked him more than I thought I would. I actually have one or two
stories to recommend here. So here we go.
Season 21-22
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| "Hunger Games" anyone? |
Top Story: Vengeance
on Varos
First time I watched this story in 2013, I really struggled
with it. This time, however, I actually enjoyed it. It kind of had a “Hunger Games”
feel, with the barbaric reality TV being the norm on Varos. The one thing I REALLLLLLY
didn’t like was the odd spectator couple in the episode. I’m guessing they just
wanted to show an outsider point of view to the events proceeding, but to me
they added absolutely nothing to the overall story.
Flop Story:
Revelation of the Daleks
Usually Dalek stories rank a bit higher for me, but this one
was just so slow. The Doctor didn’t even see a Dalek until 50 minutes into the
story. In addition to the lack of Daleks in a Dalek story, the Doctor and Peri
seemed to just walk around outside forever before they actually joined the
action.
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| Six and Jamie. Just saying. |
Honorable Mention:
Attack of the Cybermen
Very often in Cybermen stories they’re left ambiguous in
origin. Telos? Mondas? It doesn’t always specify. This time we had specifically
Telos Cybermen, like we did in the Second Doctor
story “Tomb of the Cybermen”. This story also includes a “repaired” chameleon circuit.
Thank goodness the TARDIS turned back into a police box again.
Special Story: The
Two Doctors
It wasn’t an anniversary episode, like most multi-Doctor
stories, but I really enjoyed it. The first bit was a bit bland, but I really
enjoyed seeing the Sixth Doctor and Jamie interact. It made me wonder if the
Sixth Doctor would have done better with a male companion, instead of Peri (I
also just don’t like Peri).
Season 23
Technically season 23 was all one story “Trial of a Time
Lord”, but it has four distinct parts. So I’ll be using the fan names of those
four parts for my ranking.
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| As is typical, the Doctor is in control |
Top Story: Terror of
the Vervoids
This was Mel’s first story and it was episode 9-12 of “Trial
of a Time Lord”. For fans of the modern series, imagine “The Unicorn and the Wasp”
set in space with more aliens. We get a murder mystery story, with a sci fi
feel. So throughout the whole story we get clues about the mystery and I actually
found myself theorizing. Not so much action as it was intense and suspenseful.
Flop Story: Mindwarp
This was story was episode 5-8 of “Trial of a Time Lord” and
it was Peri’s last regular appearance. I struggled with this story because it
seemed the Doctor’s personality was altered, but I couldn’t follow what exactly
was going on with it. Was he playing along? Was that really him? I could be
that the Valeyard was messing with the images, but it was difficult to understand
in the meantime.
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| The Doctor faces off against the Valeyard |
Honorable Mention:
The Ultimate Foe
This was episode 13-14 of “Trial of a Time Lord” and it was
the part of the story in which the action was in the present, as opposed to
past or future. I’ll admit that I’m not a fan of the paradox that would have
ensued from Mel leaving the Doctor’s future to travel with the Doctor’s present
self. It was difficult for me to handle. However, despite that, I enjoyed it.
We had a return from the Master and we learned that the Valeyard is a future
incarnation of the Doctor, just from his future. Somewhere after the Twelfth
Doctor, it said. However, after everything that happened in this story, I’m
thinking the Valeyard may have been prevented from existing. Maybe someday we’ll
get a Valeyard season?
COMPANIONS:
Peri (5th
Doctor) - Mindwarp
Mel Terror of
the Vervoids* - (7th Doctor)
*This took place in a scene from the Doctor’s future. Future
Mel was later taken from timeline and traveled with the present Sixth Doctor.
Paradox much?
Favorite Companion: She only appeared in six episodes of the
Sixth Doctor’s two seasons and change, but I enjoyed Mel MUCH more than Peri.
Granted, some of this opinion is from watching her with the Seventh Doctor, but
I stand by it. She felt a lot more balanced to me than Peri did with the Sixth
Doctor. Seems like she had more depth and more personality, whereas Peri just
screamed.
Least Favorite Companion: Like I just said, Peri annoyed me
a lot. She screamed a lot. Her American accent was HORRENDOUS and she just didn’t
seem like a good match for the Doctor. During her tenure, I enjoyed the Doctor
interacting with Jamie MUCH more than with her. Can we just forget that she was
around? Also, there was the whole thing about her fate being left a bit ambiguous. "The Ultimate Foe" changed her fate but did they have to mess with us in "Mindwarp"?
What thoughts do you have on the infamous Sixth Doctor? How would
you choose to dispose of his awful rainbow jacket? Personally, I’d go with
gasoline and fire.
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| Colin Baker later (around the time of the 50th Anniversary Special) returned for a featurette called "The Five(ish) Doctors", along with Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy. |
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