THE DOCTOR WHO RATINGS GUIDE: BY FANS, FOR FANS
The Top Ten

Everybody's got a Top Ten list of Doctor Who, from the ten best stories to the ten worst, from the ten reasons why Tom Baker shouldn't have written that autobiography to the ten reasons why Colin Baker shouldn't have been fired. Whatever the list, send it to the Guide!


The Top Ten Most Underrated Stories by Jennifer Cole 3/5/99

1. The Time Monster
2. Nightmare of Eden
3. The Chase (All three post-modern classics)
4. Invasion of the Dinosaurs
5. The Androids of Tara (witty literary references)
6. Planet of Giants
7. Meglos
8. The War Games (quite highly rated, but nowhere near enough)
9. The Happiness Patrol
10. Kinda


The Top 10 Colin Baker Argument Scenes in Doctor Who by Mekel Rogers 24/4/99

I really don't know why, but I've always loved Colin Baker's portrayal of the Doctor. True, some of his scripts weren't that great, but I found his arrogant personality and ability to become irritated by those around him a rather comical and refreshing change. It was fun for me to see the Doctor "lose it" once in a while, and let's face it, Colin Baker had the voice to pull it off. So, here are my favorite Colin Baker argument scenes (in no particular order):

1) from Revelation of the Daleks
Doctor: "I'll be lucky if I can lift you the amount you weigh."
Peri: "Watch it, Porky!"

2) from Timelash
Herbert (trying to convince the Doctor to change the past): "Who would know?"
Doctor (obviously very annoyed at Herbert): "I would. So would every Time Lord from here to Gallifrey, and I can assure you they are not all as pleasant and agreeable as I am."

3) from The Two Doctors
The entire scene in the TARDIS that begins with Baker's Doctor slapping Jamie's hand away from the console (just as Troughton's Doctor did earlier), Peri holding on for dear life as they dematerialize, and Baker's Doctor switching personal pronouns as he chastises his 2nd incarnation for getting captured. Just a fun gem of a scene.

4) from The Trial of a Time Lord
Doctor: "I was trying to save the lives of several hundred innocent people. Surely, not even in the eyes of Time Lords can that be found either immature or a crime."

5) from The Two Doctors
2nd Doctor: "Take you're hands off me!"
6th Doctor: "This way!"
2nd Doctor: "No! This way!"
6th Doctor: "Now look, you got me into this mess!"

6) from Attack of the Cybermen
Flast: "You are a Time Lord?"
Doctor: "Yes, and at the moment a rather angry one!"

7) from The Twin Dilemma
Doctor: "Wait a minute, I know you. You're the Chamberlain."
Chamberlain: "Yes, that's right, sir."
Doctor: "I don't like you."

8) from Timelash
(Colin Baker's Doctor tended to repeat the same word three times whenever he got irritated, each time with increasing volume.)
Peri: "Is that bad?"
Doctor: "Bad. Bad!"
(Peri covers her ears until she thinks it's safe. Upon uncovering them, the Doctor yells again).
Doctor: "Bad!"

9) from Mark of the Rani
Doctor: "Since we're insulting each other, I can't say much for your taste in clothes."
Rani: "You're regeneration isn't very attractive either."
Doctor: "You always did lack style."
Master: "Style is hardly the prime characteristic of your new regeneration."

10) from Timelash
Doctor: "Will you go, please?"

Peri: "I can't, you're being too reasonable." Doctor: "Then I shall be unreasonable. Get out!"


Top 20 Submissions BBC Books Would Rather Not Receive by Dr. Terry Evil 18/4/99

1. I've always hated Jon Pertwee, so I thought if John Peel can retcon away Skaro...
2. I've always thought Adolf Hitler was misunderstood...
3. I'm desperate to be published and I've always been a fan of Doctor Why...
4. Just because you said you couldn't use the Valeyard doesn't mean it's totally out of bounds...
5. I was thinking, how come no-one's ever explained K-9's voice changing for season 17...?
6. I hope you like it but I've got to warn you, I won't work for anything less than 50 grand...
7. Why should I follow your guidelines? Here, I've written my own...
8. It's entirely set in a small flat in Dulwich...
9. Well, I read The Pit, and I thought if he could get away with it...
10. It's like a Kate Orman book, except the Doctor really suffers...
11. Drugs are cool, right...?
12. He's got two hearts, right? So that led me to thinking of what else he's got two of...
13. It's totally shagadelic...
14. Well, actually it's only partly about this Doctor Who guy, but mostly it's about the alienation of an author suffering from writer's block...
15. You say he's a pacifist? Let me tell you; No-one's a pacifist...
16. He goes back to the birth of Jesus, right, and discovers what really happened...
17. I am confident in my ability with writing...
18. I don't like sci-fi...
19. What would happen if Gallifrey was destroyed...?
20. Well, I'm not as florid as Terrance Dicks...


Top Ten Incidental Music Themes in Doctor Who by Carl West 11/3/99

1. Ambassadors of Death: the "action theme," heard in such scenes as when the baddies are chasing Liz. I'm surprised more people haven't lauded this theme-- it's quite good. I have noticed a couple strains of it in Mind of Evil as well.

2. Mawdryn Undead: all the music, especially the music heard when the Doctor and his companions are exploring the "ghost" ship. This theme is altered and used to great effect in the Brigadier's flashback sequence.

3. Pyramids of Mars: that subtle, ominous Sutekh theme, used most memorably in the scenes where Scarman is addressing Sutekh through the sarcophagus/time tunnel.

4. Logopolis: all of the music used in the climax and regeneration scenes, particularly the music that is used when the Doctor is seeing all of his past companions in a flashback.

5. City of Death: Dudley Simpson's main piano theme, as well as that clarinet/piano variation on the theme used in the lovely final scene as the Doctor and Romana wave goodbye to Duggan.

6. The Leisure Hive great synthesizer music in this one, coming like a breath of fresh air into the later Tom Baker era.

7. Warrior's Gate: together with Logopolis and Leisure Hive, Gate continued Season 18's trend of great, atmospheric synth music. Take the banquet hall music, for instance.

8. The Moonbase, Tomb of the Cybermen, Web of Fear: it's that campy, brass theme with the booming drum undertone, used for instance in the outdoor battle scene in Web.

9. Revenge of the Cybermen: "Saxophone of Doom" stand aside! Never have a trumpet and a xylophone been used to such great, campy effect. This is the sort of musical magic that was missing from the John Nathan-Turner years (I'm being completely serious).

10. Death to the Daleks: Yes, I do in fact like the "Saxophone of Doom." Somehow, I think this music merges quite well with the gliding movements of the Daleks. Come on, folks, it was the Seventies.


The Top Ten Moments in Doctor Who That You Wish Never Happened... by Mike Morris 24/1/99

Doctor Who, as we all know, is the best television program in the world. Ever. Strangely, though, other people don't agree with this, and can't see its brilliance -- I'll never forget a friend of mine bursting into laughter when he first saw Styre in The Sontaran Experiment. However, here are the ten moments which really make me cringe...

1. It wins hands down... when Kroll attacks the Swampie's settlement in The Power of Kroll. More horrible than someone rubbing two lumps of polystyrene against each other.

2. The cliffhanger to Snakedance Part Three. You know, the "You speak as though you had a choice. Kill them!" bit. Well actually, I used to quite like this; it's just that it was replayed on one of those "Before they were Famous" shows last Christmas as the most embarassing piece of television that Martin Clunes has ever produced. That was the moment when I finally realised that Doctor Who is silly after all.

3. Time and the Rani. All of it.

4. That infamous bit from The Five Doctors: "No, not the Mind Probe!" And then you try to explain that Doctor Who was one of the most sophisticated programs of its time.

5. The War Machines Episode Four, when the Doctor quite clearly states that a War Machine hasn't been fully programmed yet. Yet somehow a Cabinet Minister doesn't understand this statement. His reply (with a sarcastic chuckle thrown in); "Could you make that a little clearer?" Ouch, ouch, ouch.

6. This list could never be complete without mentioning that orange carrier bag -- sorry, I mean Ogron God -- from Frontier in Space.

7. When the killer doll first comes to life in Terror of the Autons. And every other bit of rubbish CSO from the Pertwee era (and a fair amount of the Tom Baker era as well). Also worth a special mention; The Mutants, The Green Death, Planet of the Spiders, and of course Underworld.

8. A brief mention for The Mark of the Rani. That tree! Oh dear god, that tree! The bit when the branch swings round to save Peri's life! The two trees that hold the Doctor up on the pole! Those awful shots of things falling into the pit! Oh dear, that wasn't such a brief mention after all, was it? Er, did I mention the tree!

9. Season Twenty-Three. No, obviously I'm joking. Wasn't it great?

10. Well actually, I'm going to cheat a bit here and include a few moments. They're all of the mad villain's scream of triumph variety. The worst are probably "Nussing in ze vorld can shtop me now!" from The Underwater Menace, the Master's "Nothing and nobody can stop me now!" from The Time Monster, every single scene with The Shadow in it in The Armageddon Factor, and all those bits when a Mara-possessed Aris laughs maniacally for no apparent reason in Kinda. I thought about listing all the moments when a villain shouts "Resistance is futile!", but there really is too many...


The Ten Worst Cliffhangers in Doctor Who (Excluding the ones in the four-part version of The Five Doctors, which don't really count) by Mike Morris 9/1/99

1. Genesis of the Daleks Part Two. Oh no! Sarah's fallen off the scaffolding! She's going to die! And then next week we find that there was a platform underneath her. I mean, really...

2. Dragonfire Part One. Yes, that's the one where the Doctor simply lowers himself over an unending piece of ice because... well... erm, maybe it was a post-modern statement about cliffhangers or something.

3. Planet of the Daleks Part One. The fact that the story was called Planet of the Daleks sort of gave away the fact that they were going to find a Dalek on a planet at some point or another.

4. Death to the Daleks Part Three. Yes, it's the one where the Doctor is about to step on the city's floor trap. Only no-one's actually told us that it's a floor-trap yet. Ahem.

5. The Power of Kroll Part Three. Yeah, that's clever: end an episode with the most unconvincing shot in the history of television. Was that thing actually meant to look real?

6. The Tomb of the Cybermen Part One. Another patently unconvincing monster, only this time it's actually supposed to be a dummy. How did that come about? Did someone actually think "hmm, I reckon if we have the Doctor confronted by a mannequin at the end of an episode, it'll be dead frightening..."?

7. The Underwater Menace Part Three. Come on, altogether now... "Nussing in ze vorld can shtop me now!"

8. Terminus Part Two. Another woeful line: "Now it's your turn. Only you I'm going to kill!" So cheesy I can't watch it without crackers.

9. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy Part One. The Doctor asks Ace whether she wants to go into the circus or not. Wow, talk about a behind the sofa moment...

10. The Trial of a Time Lord Parts One to Fourteen inclusive. It's that cliffhanger noise! I hate it! What was wrong with that "tcheeuuwwwww" noise we got during the Tom Baker era? Even the Davison noise was great. But as for that "wi-hi-hi-hi-huw" nonsense... that metallic 'clang' during the McCoy era was rubbish too.


Top 10 Stories by Tom May 24/12/98

  1. City of Death
    A superb blend of brilliant acting, sumptious wit, ingenious writing and beautiful Paris location work.
  2. Fury From The Deep
    A truly sinister psychological thriller, with an outstanding cast, many frightening set pieces and an unsurpassed score by Dudley Simpson.
  3. Ghost Light
    Densely laden with literary weight, Ghost Light has no padding, much black humour, again a great cast, music and atmosphere.
  4. The Talons of Weng-Chiang
    The fictitious world of Sherlock Holmes is perfectly evoked here, with great sets and costumes. Importantly, the dialogue is probably the finest written in Doctor Who's history, and again, the cast is formidable.
  5. The Androids of Tara
    The small stakes of this story are refreshing, as are the attractive locations used, Peter Jeffrey is outstanding, Lois Baxter gives a superbly understated performance, in what is a fun shwashbuckling romp.
  6. The Evil of the Daleks
    Troughton is magnificent (as always), the Daleks are a formidable enemy, Whitaker's plot has a very large and effective scope, there are many unforgettable scenes and, remarkably for a seven-parter, there's no real padding.
  7. Warriors' Gate
    The finest visual feat achieved by Doctor Who, this one has it all. Tense drama, subtle acting, some light relief, innovative visuals and a plot demanding of the viewer.
  8. Inferno
    A massively effective tale, with a doom-laden atmosphere, a truly dramatic 6th episode, a very well selected cast, Liz Shaw and some great dialogue and cliffhangers.
  9. The Curse of Fenric
    Expertly paced, chilling story with lots of depth. Great scenes are aplenty, with a first-rate cast to act them out. Great themes, characterisation and direction are fortes of a winning slice of Doctor Who.
  10. The War Games
    The epic adventure to end epic adventures. There's padding, but it's all very enjoyable stuff, with Troughton, Hines, Padbury, Madoc, Bree, Coleman, Brayshaw etc. providing exceptional performances. Episode 10 is probably the most essential of all individual Doctor Who episodes.

Just missing out are: The Ambassadors of Death, The Aztecs, Image of the Fendahl, The Robots of Death, The Seeds of Doom, and The Time Warrior.


Top 20 Female Guest Stars by Tom May 22/12/98

  1. Beatrix Lehmann
    Prof. Rumford (The Stones of Blood)
  2. Tina Packer
    Anne Travers (The Web of Fear)
  3. Lois Baxter
    Madame Lamia (The Androids of Tara)
  4. Pamela Salem
    Toos (The Robots of Death) & Rachel (Remembrance of the Daleks)
  5. Catherine Schell
    Countess Scarlione (City of Death)
  6. Sylvia Coleridge
    Amelia Ducat (The Seeds of Doom)
  7. Sheila Hancock
    Helen A (The Happiness Patrol)
  8. Nerys Hughes
    Todd (Kinda)
  9. Susan Engel
    Vivien Fay (The Stones of Blood)
  10. Wanda Ventham
    Jean Rock (The Faceless Ones), Thea Ransome (Image of the Fendahl) & Faroon (Time and the Rani)
  11. June Murphy
    Maggie Harris (Fury From The Deep) & Jane Blythe (The Sea Devils)
  12. Daphne Heard
    Mrs Tyler (Image of the Fendahl)
  13. Margaret John
    Megan Jones (Fury From The Deep)
  14. Angela Bruce
    Brig. Bambera (Battlefield)
  15. Pauline Collins
    Samantha Briggs (The Faceless Ones)
  16. Jean Marsh
    Joanna (The Crusade) & Morgaine (Battlefield)
  17. Myra Frances
    Lady Adrastra (The Creature From The Pit)
  18. Jonina Scott
    Marn (The Sunmakers)
  19. Sylvia Syms
    Mrs Pritchard (Ghost Light)
  20. Sara Griffiths
    Ray (Delta and the Bannermen)


Top 20 Male Guest Stars by Tom May 20/12/98

  1. Julian Glover
    Richard (The Crusade) & Count Scarlione/Scaroth (City of Death)
  2. Philip Madoc
    Eelek (The Krotons), The War Lord (The War Games), Solon (The Brain of Morbius) & Fenner (The Power of Kroll)
  3. Peter Jeffrey
    The Pilot (The Macra Terror) & Count Grendel (The Androids of Tara)
  4. Peter Butterworth
    The Monk (The Time Meddler & The Daleks' Master Plan)
  5. Jack Watling
    Travers, (The Abominable Snowmen & The Web of Fear)
  6. Kevin Stoney
    Mavic Chen (The Daleks' Master Plan) & Tobais Vaughn (The Invasion)
  7. Victor Maddern
    Robson (Fury From The Deep)
  8. Simon Rouse
    Hindle (Kinda)
  9. David Daker
    Irongron (The Time Warrior) & Rigg (Nightmare of Eden)
  10. Nicholas Parsons
    Rev. Wainwright (The Curse of Fenric)
  11. John Abineri
    Van Lutyens (Fury From The Deep), General Carrington (The Ambassadors of Death), Railton (Death to the Daleks) & Ranquin (Power of Kroll)
  12. Dinsdale Landen
    Dr. Judson (The Curse of Fenric)
  13. Bernard Horsfall
    Gulliver (The Mind Robber), Time Lord (The War Games) & Goth (The Deadly Assassin)
  14. Martin Jarvis
    The Governer (Vengeance on Varos)
  15. Trevor Baxter
    Litefoot (The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
  16. Christopher Benjamin
    Sir Keith Gold (Inferno) & Jago (The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
  17. Christopher Gable
    Sharaz Jek (The Caves of Androzani)
  18. Tony Beckley
    Harrison Chase (The Seeds of Doom)
  19. Graham Crowden
    Soldeed (Horns of Nimon)
  20. Richard Leech
    The Collector (The Sunmakers)


Top Ten Worst Doctor Who's I've Seen (with concise reasoning) by Guy Thompson 16/12/98

  1. Time and the Rani
    [appaling in every imaginable way]
  2. Delta and the Bannermen
    [see above, but this was one episode less of torture]
  3. Earthshock
    [full of gimmicks and no plot]
  4. Terminus
    [atrociously directed and acted, Nyssa's strip scene keeps this one a couple of places off the top of the list]
  5. The Twin Dilemma
    [another shockingly bad Doctor's-first-story, with a not-very-clever and inaccessible plot]
  6. The Chase
    [two dull mini-stories on Aridius and Mechanus are separated and overshadowed by two inconceivably bad middle episodes that look like they were written in about, er, 25 minutes...]
  7. Battlefield
    [more crap acting, the Brigadier given even worse treatment than in The Three Doctors and a medieval knight in pink jogging bottoms, need I say more?]
  8. Planet of the Daleks
    [the most unimaginative, unorignal and derivative story ever in the history in the series, and not very well done either]
  9. The Power of Kroll
    [the second most unimaginative, unoriginal...]
  10. The Ribos Operation
    [dull, boring and uninteresting; a massive false- start for the Key to Time Season, from which it never really recovered]


Top Ten Cheesiest Lines in Doctor Who History by Bryan Smith 11/12/98

1. "No - not the mind probe!" (always gets a laugh)
2. "What you need is a jolly good smacked bottom!"
3. "How utterly evil!"
4. "Medieval misfiiiiits!"
5. "Doctor...who?"
6. "Fools!"
7. "Great balls of fire!"
8. "The quest is the quest."
9. "The sound of giant slugs..."
10. "You cannot stop the catharsis of spurious morality, Doctor."


Top Ten Favorite Guest Actors by Brian Smith 3/12/98

1. Simon Rouse (Mr. Hindle, Kinda)
2. Michael Robbins (Richard Mace, The Visitation)
3. Nabil Shaban (Sil, Vengeance on Varos and Mindwarp)
4. Beatrix Lehmann (Amelia Rumford, Stones of Blood)
5. Julian Glover (Scaroth, City of Death)
6. Clifford Rose (Rorvik, Warriors' Gate)
7. Tony Beckley (Harrison Chase, The Seeds of Doom)
8. David Daker (Irongron, The Time Warrior)
9. Kevin Stoney (Tobias Vaughn, The Invasion)
10. Beryl Reid (Captain Briggs, Earthshock)


Two Top Tens by Tim Roll-Pickering 17/11/98


Top Ten Stories by Stephen S. 21/10/98

1. The Deadly Assassin
2. Inferno
3. Genesis of the Daleks
4. Castrovalva
5. Tomb of the Cybermen
6. Curse of Fenric
7. Caves of Androzani
8. The Mind Robber
9. Talons of Weng-Chiang
10. Enlightenment


Top Ten Adventures by Michael D. Herman 13/6/98

10. The Five Doctors
9. Robots of Death
8. Doctor Who and the Silurians
7. Tomb of the Cybermen
6. Caves of Androzani
5. Revelation of the Daleks
4. State of Decay
3. The Deadly Assasin
2. Remembrance of the Daleks
1. Trial of a Timelord

As my list always seems to change I'll give honorable mention to the following: Keys of Marinus, The War Games, The Green Death, City of Death, Earthshock, The Two Doctors, Curse of Fenric, and Enemy Within (telemovie).


Top Ten Most Quotable Quotes by Daniel Coggins 5/6/98

10/ "One has no wish to be devoured by alien monstrousities, even in the cause of political progress!" One of the grey faced chaps in Carnival of Monsters
9/ "Klokleda Partha Menin Klatch, Naroon, naroon , naroon..." The Third Doctor hypnotising Aggedor in The Curse of Peladon.
8/"How well you know me Doctor.... my strength is as the strength of ten because my heart is pure..."(It isn't) The Master in Frontier in Space.
7/ Which Doctor?
Doctor of What?
Doctor Who?
Inevitably so, the Doctor's thoughts in the 7 and a bit Doctors.
6/"Rabbits!" Tegan's frequent swear-word.
5/"Ace!" similar to, but not identical to, the above, for Ace.
4/"Which, if you had been listening to him instead of fantasising about murdering people - we have worked together far to long for me not to recognise that wistful look, by the way - you would have known." The Managing Director in Business Unusual.
3/"Oh, absolutely" The Doctor's exchange in the wonderful semi-conversation (They're each having a different one with the other) with Jo in The Green Death.
2/"Eh... Doctor Who? What's he talking about?" William Hartnell not realising what he's started in An Unearthly Child.
1/Sylvester McCoy's wonderful "somewhere" speech in Survival. Last in the present series.


Top Ten Ace Moments by Oliver Thornton 1/6/98

Being a bit controversial, my favourite companion is not Sarah Jane, but Ace. Here are the top ten scenes/quotes why I like her so much:

10.
"I want to make them very unhappy!"
from The Happiness Patrol, because she does an excellent angry!

9.
"It was only a small explosion. They couldn't understand how blowing up the art room was a creative act!"
from Dragonfire

8.
Ace: "If I were you lot, I'd go for your tea break now."
Guard: "Why? What's in those cans?"
Ace: "Nitro-9. You've got 8 seconds. Last one back's a gooey mess."
also from Dragonfire, because it's fun!

7.
Brigadier Bambera: "What are you doing in the lake?" Ace - "Drowning." (gives excalibur to Ancelyn) "Here, you can be king of England!"
from Battlefield

6.
Ace on interstellar race politics: "It's simple, isn't it? Renegade daleks are blobs."
Doctor: "Blobs?"
Ace: "Imperial daleks are bionic bvlobs with bits added. Well, you can tell daleks are into racial purity. So - one lot of daleks reckon that the other lot of blobs are too different. Well, they're mutants. Not pure in their blobbiness."
Doctor: "Result?"
Ace: "They hate each other's chromosomes. War to the death."
from Remembrance of the Daleks, because Ace shows she can take any concept and put in its simplest form. And it's funny, too.

5.
Ace: "It's wierd, Doctor. I think I like this place. I like it. I feel like I belong here."
Doctor (quietly): "Connected!"
Ace: "It isn't scared. It feels...exciting."
Doctor: "What do you feel?"
Ace: "Like I could run forever - I can smell things as clear as pictures!"
Doctor: "Anything else?"
Ace: "Well...I'm starving, Professor."
from Survival, because it is pivotal, and Ace's darker side shows again.

4.
Ace: "What's down there?"
Doctor: "With any luck, a tunnel."
Ace: "A dark, mysterious one?"
Doctor: "Probably."
Ace: "Leading to unknown dangers?"
Doctor: "Indubitably."
Ace: "Oh, wicked!"
from Battlefield, because Ace is ready for anything and a real part of the adventures.

3.
Imperial Dalek: "Small human female sighted on level 3."
Ace: "Who are you calling small?" and attacks the dalek with super-powered baseball bat, causing it serious damage.
From Remembrance of the Daleks, because at last we have a gutsy companion (she's already blasted a dalek with a rocket launcher).

2.
The scene where the Doctor gives his speech starting, "I can't stand burnt toast. I loathe bus stations. Terrible places, full of lost luggage and lost souls..." And Ace responds, "I face mine on my own terms!" and runs off.
From Ghost Light, because although Ace doesn't say much in this scene, it is so well done and Ace's emotion is so real. Brilliant.

And, my all-time best Ace moment is...

1.
Ace talks to Mel about her life in Perivale and then on Svartos/Iceworld. The speech is long, so here are some snippets:
"I felt like I'd fallen from another planet...I'd dream that one day everything would come right... Only this time, I couldn't dream about going nowhere else. There wasn't nowhere else to go."
from Dragonfire. This is my favourite, because it gives Ace a complete depth of character in a single scene, and the ideals and emotions are so well portrayed. When I watch this scene, it strikes me as being close to a Shakespearian solliloquy in its style (Ace does all the speaking, practically, and the revelation of the character is similar). Absolutely fantastic stuff by Sophie Aldred.


Top Ten Best Quotes by Cody Salis 24/5/98

10. "One day I shall come back...." (Willam Hartnell The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
09. "Doctor Who?" "Yes quite right!" (Bat Masterson to the First Doctor, and the First Doctor's reply in The Gunfighters)
08. "It's the end... but the moment is prepared for." (Tom Baker in Logopolis)
07. "So, a new body at last." (Geoffery Beevers as the Master in The Keeper of Traken)
06. "Well, here we go again!" (The Brigadier in Planet of the Spiders)
05. "Eldrad must live!" (the possesed Sarah Jane Smith in The Hand of Fear)
04. "Contact has been made." (The Invisible Enemy)
03. "The cosmos without the Doctor scarcley bears thinking about." (The Master in The Five Doctors)
02. "Satisfactory be blowed!" (Jon Pertwee in The Mind of Evil)
and the number one line......
01. "We shall become more Powerful...." (Davros and the Seventh Doctor in Remembrance of the Daleks)


Top Ten Famous Last Words by Daniel Callahan 18/5/98

10. "Oh, thank-you my dear." (The First Doctor)
9. "Adric?" (The Fifth Doctor)
8. "Carrot juice, carrot juice, carrot juice!" (The Sixth Doctor)
7. "These are my servants." (Borusa, refering to the Doctors)
6. "Arrrrgh!" (The Seventh Doctor)
5. "Now I'll never know if I was right." (Adric)
4. "No, no, no, no!" (The Second Doctor)
3. "It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for." (The Fourth Doctor)
2. "While there's life there's...." (The Third Doctor)
1. "Sylvester McCoy convinced me to stay." (John Nathan-Turner)


The Ten Most Underrated Televised Adventures by Tom May 17/5/98

10 Timelash
09 The Time Meddler
08 Creature From The Pit
07 Four to Doomsday
06 Horns of Nimon
05 Greatest Show In The Galaxy
04 Ambassadors of Death
03 Nightmare of Eden
02 Androids of Tara
01 Mysterious Planet


Top Ten female companions that make my heart beat that bit faster (a totally sexist list) by Keith Bennett 18/4/98

1) Zoe - If only all computers looked as pretty as her.
2) Romana 2 - What a smile... (dreams wistfully)
3) Nyssa - If she could learn to crack a joke occasionally.
4) Peri - If she could learn to stop moaning occasionally. Then again, she was with the sixth Doctor...
5) Vicki - I think she's cute.
6) Katarina - Maybe higher on the list if she'd been on the progamme more.
7) Dodo - Nice enough...
8) Victoria - Maybe bump her a couple of notches higher, maybe not...
9) Polly - Also nice enough...
10) Leela - Ok, I know this knife-crazy girl is considered "hot stuff" by most of the male fans of our great programme, but the only reason she made it into my list is because it's a Top Ten. Yes, I know she's pretty stunning and was a great companion, but doesn't quite fit the girl-next-planet tastes that I humbly have...


Top Ten Best Directed Serials (in chronological order) by George Potter 10/4/98

1. The Deadly Assassin - directed by David Maloney
2. The Talons Of Weng Chiang - directed by David Maloney
3. The Invisible Enemy - directed by Derrick Goodwin
4. The Pirate Planet - directed by Pennant Roberts
5. Warrior's Gate - directed by Paul Joyce
6. Terminus - directed by Mary Ridge
7. The Caves Of Androzani - directed by Graeme Harper
8. The Two Doctors - directed by Peter Moffat
9. Remembrance Of The Daleks - directed by Andrew Morgan
10. The Curse Of Fenric - directed by Nicholas Mallet


Top Ten Serials by George Potter 6/4/98

1. The Invisible Enemy
2. The Two Doctors
3. The Deadly Assassin
4. The Talons Of Weng-Chiang
5. Horror Of Fang Rock
6. The Sunmakers
7. The Curse of Fenric
8. The Five Doctors
9. Remembrance Of The Daleks
10. The Twin Dillema


Ten lost stories I'd most like to see by Tom May 31/3/98

1. Evil of the Daleks
2. Fury From The Deep
3. Power of the Daleks
4. The Web of Fear
5. Marco Polo
6. The Daleks' Master Plan
7. The Massacre of St.Barthomelew's Eve
8. The Smugglers
9. The Enemy of the World
10. The Abominable Snowmen


My Top Ten of All-Time by Michael Hickerson 20/3/98

1. The Curse of Fenric
2. Caves of Androzani
3. Genesis of the Daleks
4. Tomb of the Cybermen
5. The Daemons
6. Remembrance of the Daleks
7. Doctor Who and the Silurians
8. Pyramids of Mars
9. The Aztecs
10. Greatest Show in the Galaxy


Top Ten Adventures... Sort of by Daniel Callahan 15/3/98

There's a difference between a story that's good because it's quality shines unmistakably and a story that's good for the vibes that sometimes come in spite of its flaws. If we see a story at just the right time in our lives, we'll look back on it favorably if only for the nostaglia (and rightfully so). Below are my top ten favorite adventures. Some but not all would make my top ten list of the best stories, but these are the ones I hold with the most affection.

10. Frontier in Space
9. Four to Doomsday
8. The Creature from the Pit
7. The Myth Makers
6. Marco Polo
5. The Power of the Daleks
4. The War Games
3. The Sensorites
2. The Web Planet
1. The Keys of Marinus


Top Ten "Forgotten Classics" by Michael Hickerson 10/3/98

Trying to get Who-fans to agree on what the top ten classic Doctor Who stories of all time are is about as possible as getting oil and water to mix. I've got my own personal picks of what the top ten are and I'm sure you've got yours. We may agree on a few, but odds are, we're not gonna always see eye to eye on them.

But instead of listing out what my top ten favorite Who stories of all time, I thought I'd take a different approach-- listing out those stories that have something wonderful to recommend about them but at times get lost in the shuffle. So, without any further blathering on, here are my ten "forgotten classics" of Doctor Who.

10. Vengeance on Varos
9. Warriors' Gate
8. The Space Musuem
7. The Seeds of Death
6. Carnival of Monsters
5. The Mind of Evil
4. Full Circle
3. Mawdryn Undead
2. The Leisure Hive
1. Greatest Show in the Galaxy


Top Ten Favourite Doctors and their Finest Quotes by Tom May 17/2/98

1. Tom Baker
("What a wonderful butler- he's so violent!" from the magnificent City of Death)

2. Patrick Troughton
("Logic, my dear Zoe, merely enables one to be wrong with authority." from the otherwise unwise The Wheel In Space)

3. Sylvester McCoy
("There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on Ace, we've work to do." from Survival)

4. Peter Davison
("There should've been another way." a poignant end to the disappointing Warriors of The Deep)

5. William Hartnell
("You're ideas are too narrow, too crippled. I am a citizen of the Universe, and a gentleman to boot!" from the epic The Daleks' Masterplan)

6. Paul McGann
("Ah, these shoes, they fit perfectly!" from Enemy Within)

7. Jon Pertwee
("So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me...He just sat there silently, expressionless, and he listened while I poured out my troubles to him...When I'd finished, he lifted a skeletal hand and he pointed. Do you know what he pointed at?...A flower. One of those little weeds. Just like a daisy it was. Well, I looked at it for a moment, and suddenly I saw it through his eyes. It was simply glowing with life, like a perfectly coloured jewel...yes, that was the daisiest daisy I'd ever seen...So, later I got up, and I ran down the mountain, and I found that the rocks weren't grey at all. They were red, brown, and purple, and gold. Those pathetic little patches of sludgy snow- they were shining white. Shining white in the sunlight." from The Time Monster)

8. Colin Baker
("In all my travelling throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspiritors! I should've stayed here. The oldest civilisation: decadent, degenerate, and rotten to the core. Power-mad conspirators, Daleks, Sontarans... Cybermen! They're still in the nursery compared to us. Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt." from The Ultimate Foe)

9. Richard Hurndall
("I might be any number of things, young lady, as it happens I am the Doctor, the "original," you might say..." from The Five Doctors)

10. Lalla Ward as the Second Romana (well...as a character, she's not far off the Doctor)
("That's an interesting philosophical question." from Warriors' Gate, and, of course "Shall we take the lift, or fly!" from City of Death)


Top Ten Most Memorable Quotes by Steevi Diamond 11/2/98

10. "Don't shoot, he's...British!" Dr Grace Holloway regarding The 8th Doctor in Enemy Within.

9. "Harry Sullivan is an Imbecile!" The 4th Doctor to Harry in Revenge of the Cybermen.

8. "Don't worry Brigadier, people will be shooting at you soon enough." The 7th Doctor in Battlefield.

7. "When you travel around as much as I do, it's almost inevitable that you'll run into yourself at some point." The 6th Doctor to Peri regarding the Second Doctor in The Two Doctors.

6. "The trouble with computers is that they are very sophiticated idiots." The 4th Doctor in Robot.

5. "It's the End, but the moment has been prepared for." The 4th Doctor's last words in Logopolis.

4. "All Teeth and Curls? Yes, well I haven't yet." The 3rd Doctor to Sarah Jane in The Five Doctors.

3. "Who is this Dr. Foreman that you keep refering to?" The 1st Doctor to Barbara in An Unearthly Child.

2. "I am far more than just another Timelord." The 7th Doctor in an unused scene from Remembrance of the Daleks.

1. "You may be a Doctor, but I'm the Doctor. The definate article you might say." The 4th Doctor just after regeneration in Robot.


Top Ten Seasons by Tom May 4/2/98

1. Season 14
2. Season 18
3. Season 7
4. Season 16
5. Season 26
6. Season 13
7. Season 17
8. Season 5
9. Season 19
10. Season 25


Top Ten things running through my mind while watching the Hartnell Era for the first time and in chronological order in the 1990s (and therefore cynical) by Phil Arnold 1/2/98

1.Are those toilet plungers? (The Daleks)
2. Please Ringo, make that eyeball in your mouth move again....(The Ark)
3.I wonder if those are real American actors? I just can't tell with those great accents! (The Gunfighters)
4.Wow, the Beatles! (The Chase)
5.I see the helpless female role is not played in this show....
6.Where can I get those cool clothes the Doctor is wearing?
7.Trash-can lids make great Dalek Saucers. (The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
8.Trash cans make great Daleks.
9.What happened to Vicki and Steven? And where the hell did this "Dodo" person come from? Thank goodness for the Net or I would be still be stumped on that one!
10.The Tardis must have a female occupant on board at all times!


Top Ten Doctor Who stories by Tom May 26/1/98

  1. City of Death
  2. The Talons of Weng-Chiang
  3. Inferno
  4. Ghost Light
  5. Warriors' Gate
  6. The Seeds of Doom
  7. The Androids of Tara
  8. The Pirate Planet
  9. Kinda
  10. The Evil of the Daleks


Top Ten Least Favourite Doctor Who Stories by Tom May 1/2/98

1. Time and the Rani
2. Time Flight
3. Twin Dilemma
4. Revenge of the Cybermen
5. Mindwarp
6. Silver Nemesis
7. Underworld
8. The King's Demons
9. Power of Kroll
10. The Underwater Menace


Top Ten Reasons Why Season Eleven is Doctor Who's Best by John Riordan 30/1/98

1. Jon Pertwee has completely mastered his role by this point, and is at the peak of his powers.
2. Jon Pertwee is the best Doctor (see my review).
3. Sarah Jane Smith is the best Companion (no arguments here, I hope).
4. The Time Warrior is a delightful seriocomic masterpiece.
5. It also introduced the Sontarans.
6. Invasion of the Dinosaurs is Malcolm Hulke's most powerful story (again, see review).
7. And if you want to criticize its special effects, let me paraphrase Dennis McDermott and say how much that would be like criticizing Bob Dylan's singing voice.
8. Death to the Daleks is a first-rate adventure story that withstands multiple viewings.
9. The Monster of Peladon, while not without its faults, is still better than almost any of the post-Davison stories.
10. Planet of the Spiders is a deep, meaningful, excellently-paced, and relentlessly exciting piece of work.


Top Ten Reasons We Like Doctor Who by Carl West 30/1/98

10. The Doctor tends to use his brain, not a phaser or laser gun.
9. Long story lengths-- usually four episodes-- which allows for wonderful plot and character development.
8. The Brit's love for their language-- the language in any BBC show sounds much more intelligent than the language in any American show.
7. The anti-establishment, maverick, anti-hero nature of the Doctor.
6. The show ran for 26 years-- it's a legend of epic proportions.
5. Pat Troughton, of course.
4. Tom Baker, of course.
3. The Doctors' witty costumes.
2. The Doctor is just so endearingly British-- he's become an icon of British culture.
1. It's just so different!


Top Ten Doctor Who Cliffhangers by Michael Hickerson 29/1/98

10. The Aztecs, Episode 2.
Barbara has been challenged by the Aztec priest to heal the fallen warrior. She slowly moves foward as the theme music fades in.

9. Vengeance on Varos, Episode 1.
"And cut it, now."

8. Pyramids of Mars, Episode 1.
"I bring Sutekh's gift of death to all humanity."

7. The Daleks, "The Dead Planet" (Episode 1)
The Dalek sucker arm moves toward Barbara. A classic moment.

6. Logopolis, Episode 3.
The Doctor and the Master shake hands to form an alliance to save the universe.

5. Caves of Androzani, Episode 1.
The Doctor and Peri are "executed."

4. Tomb of the Cybermen, Episode 2.
"You belong to us. You shall be like us."

3. Remembrance of the Daleks, Episode 1.
The Doctor runs up the stairs to escape from the Dalek...only to find it rising up the staircase behind him.

2. Warrior's Gate, Episode 3.
The Doctor and Romana are transferred back to the other side of the mirror. One of the most disconcerting cliffhangers ever.

1. The Curse of Fenric, Episode 3.
"We play the contest again, Time Lord."


Top Ten reasons why The Talons of Weng-Chiang is one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time by Daniel Callahan 24/1/98

  1. The Doctor to Greel: "I was with the Phillipino army during the final assault on Rekjavik."
  2. Leela to Greel: "When we are both in the Great Hereafter, I will hunt you down, Bent-Face! And put you through my agonies a thousand times!" Who says the Doctor's companions just scream a lot?
  3. Henry Gordon Jago & Professor Lightfoot... need more be said?
  4. The way the Doctor goes from being a police suspect to taking charge of the entire investigation in under five seconds.
  5. Weng-Chiang turns out to be Magnus Greel, the infamous Butcher of Brisbane, a war criminal from the 51st century.
  6. Leela's table manners and Professer Lightfoot's diplomatic response.
  7. Casey's reply to Jago's puffed-up, self-proclaimed role as an artist: "But you don't do anything, Mr. Jago!"
  8. Robert Holmes' rich vocabulary ("confluence", "Oh corks!", "homunculus", etc.)
  9. The way Jago stops worrying about himself and starts worrying about the two girls Greel intends to consume.
  10. The fantastic locations (especially the theatre).


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