The Doctor's Companion Blog

Well I have read the survey results in DWM and I’m not happy with it. I don’t think the Caves of Androzani is the best Dr Who of all time.  Its just the favourite of the sort of blokes (and its bound to be blokes) who read DWM.

Mind you, I should speak really, we did mean to send in our lists but never managed to finish ticking all the boxes.  But there you are – this list is made up of the likes and dislikes of the people who did manage to finish it. Says it all really.

Looking at the list in a bit more detail, there are a lot of inconsistencies.  Numbers 200 – 101 (described disparagingly in DWM as ‘clunkers’) had the Doctors-Daughter-in-a-tight-green-top at number 140!  What happened there?  And Fear Her, a reasonable episode although admittedly not my favourite, was number 192.  How can this be considered worse than the Macra (137), now only visible as a selection of photos connected by narrative on the BBC web-site?

The trouble also about lists like this is that it seems to indicate that those at the bottom of the list are bad.  Or ‘clunkers’, to quote DWM.  But I really like loads of the ‘clunkers’ at the bottom.  Even Time Flight (196), which everyone is rude about, last time I watched it I really enjoyed it.  Is that not the test of a good program?  Even if it does have rubbish props and effects.  And I have always  been rather fond of the Krotons too (166).

Jumping ahead, what about the top 10?

10. Bad Woolf – yes OK;
9. Robots of Death- hmm, not as good as others, e.g. The Fires of Pompeii (56) IMHO;
8. City of Death – yes definitely one of the best;
7. Pyramids of Mars – mmmyes all right;
6. Human Nature/Family of Blood – great episode;
5. Empty Child/Doctor Dances – of course, brilliant;
4.Talons – yes, yes, all right;
3. Genesis of the Daleks – no, sorry that has never rung my bell, too gloomy;
2. Blink – great of course but not actually my favourite Moffat;
1. Caves – no, not my favourite.

So what is my all time fave?  I suppose, thinking it over, it is the Library (24).  Which is probably why I felt I wanted it for my first review.