Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: The Top Ten Patrick Troughton Stories

Last month I gave you my top 10 William Hartnell Stories and now it is time to delve into The Second Doctor’s Era and pick out the ones that I like the best. So here we go the Top 10 Patrick Troughton Doctor Who stories

10.   The Invasion

Written By Derrick Sherwin

Directed By David Maloney

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

Well for one the Cybermen coming out of the sewers of London and walking around London with that famous scene of the Cybermen with St. Paul’s Cathedral in the background.  It is also the story that UNIT first appeared in as this story was a testing ground to see if earth bound stories would work and if the fans would watch it.  Plus it has a pretty strong science fiction element to it and that is in itself pretty cool. 

 

9.  The Power of the Daleks

Written By David Whitaker

Directed By Christopher Barry

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

For one it is the first story to feature someone new in the role of The Doctor.   Patrick Troughton takes over the reins from William Hartnell and instantly makes the role his own with a different take on the character.  It is also the first Dalek story not written by Terry Nation.  Plus we get our first glimpse of what is actually inside a Dalek.

8.  The Abominable Snowmen

Written By Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln

Directed By Gerald Blake

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

The first appearance of the Great Intelligence and it has taken over a Buddhist monastery in 1935 Tibet.  The Abominable Snowmen is also the first appearance of the robotic Yeti which Professor Travers was searching for in the mountains. It’s a great story which has quite the mystery as The Great Intelligence has taken over Master Padmasambhava and is also controlling the robotic Yeti’s and a few amount of the monks.  The atmosphere of the story is pretty scary and since it is part of the Season of Monsters it absolutely works in that department by being scary.  Plus The Doctor is in a battle of wits with the Great Intelligence and uses his brain to win the day.

7.  Fury From the Deep

Written By Victor Pemberton

Directed By Hugh David

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

This story is absolutely scary and has a lot of chilling moments.  Even though it is the 60’s the sea weed creature is a pretty effective creature even if the effects of the day are crude.  But the way it shot gas into the air and took control of you was pretty scary.  Plus it has a pretty chilling cliffhanger for episode three.  Under the control of The Weed Maggie walks into the ocean to kill herself as Robson stands by after getting the Weeds instructions from Maggie.  That scene was a very chilling moment in the shows history.  Fury From The Deep also has a very prominent historical aspect to it as the sonic screw driver made its first appearance. 

6. The Ice Warriors

Written By Brian Hayles

Directed By Derek Martinus

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

The First appearance of The Ice Warriors as the TARDIS lands The Doctor, Victoria and Jamie on earth during the second Ice Age.  Love how they find a frozen Ice Warrior in the ice.  It sort of has the feel of classic movie The Thing to it for the first half of the story.  The Ice Warriors are written extremely well in it and so far this is the best story that they have been featured in. It’s another one of those classic stories where earth is threatened by an alien force and must rise up and defeat the invaders.  It is a good introductory story for the recurring villains The Ice Warriors and a story that still holds up today.  Plus Patrick Troughton gives a wonderful performance in it also.

5. The Enemy of the World

Written By David Whitaker

Directed By Barry Letts

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

The Enemy of the World is a pretty awesome story.  Patrick Troughton plays two roles in this story as he also plays the villainous Salamander.  How cool is that for a story.  You have the main actor playing both the hero and the villain.  It is a pretty cool concept that worked really well and you could tell Patrick Troughton enjoyed doing something different.   Plus he played such a wonderful villain that you forget he was also The Doctor.  Plus the way the two characters played cat and mouse pretending to be the other was pretty interesting to watch.  Plus the ending is one that is pretty chilling also.  Plus the swerve at the end is pretty good and one that is strange as you see someone that looks like The Doctor dying.  The story is pretty good also as it was a departure to the base under siege theme that had been going on with The Monster Season as this time they try to stop a madman from taking over the world.

4.  The Web of Fear

Written By    Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln

Directed By Douglas Camfield

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

Well it’s pretty obvious and it is not for the return of The Yeti and The Great Intelligence but that is a big factor.  The Web of Fear is the first appearance of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge – Stewart otherwise known as the Brigadier but in this story he is a Colonel and is part of the army as UNIT wasn’t formed yet.  It would be the beginning of a great relationship between him and The Doctor that would last a lifetime.  Here is another great story the builds on the fears of the viewer as the Yeti are in the London Underground planning their invasion.  This time The Great Intelligence had laid a trap by invading London with his fungus web so he could take over the Doctor’s mind.  This story is really good with lots of twists and cool scenes in the London Underground sets that it is truly a shame it is missing.

3. The Evil of the Daleks

Written By    David Whitaker

Directed By Derek Martinus Timothy Combe

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

The Daleks want the human factor and are asking The Doctor to give it to him by threatening Jamie and plus they have his TARDIS.  The thing that is clever is that The Daleks end up making a time machine that brings them all back to 1866.  What I liked about this story is what Jamie goes through in the house as he goes through some traps and eventual fights Kemel and once saving Kemel they become friends and fight the Daleks.  Plus It is enjoyable seeing The Doctor with the human factor Daleks and the mischief they cause when they end up back on Skaro and meet The Emperor Dalek.  This Dalek story was different than the Dalek stories we’ve had before as it wasn’t centered on them conquering a planet or the universe but more on being able to make themselves invincible by being able to think like humans. 

2. The Mind Robber

Written By Peter Ling

Directed By David Maloney

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

Well it is a pretty cool story and it takes place in a void and not on a planet.  It takes the literature characters and pits them against The Doctor.   Patrick Troughton turns in one of his best performances during his tenure.  It is a great story that is about a battle of wits between The Doctor and The Master of the Land of Fiction.  The Mind Robber is a pretty imaginative story that is something entirely different than what has been done before.  I just really like it and it is a fun story to watch especially with all the characters in it and for the funny part of The Doctor not being able to put Jamie’s face back together.  You would have thought he would know what Jamie looks like after traveling with him for so long. The Mind Robber is just a brilliantly written story and one that should be watched over and over again.

1. The Tomb of the Cybermen

Written By Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis

Directed By Morris Barry

Why It’s In The Top Ten:

It is just the best Cybermen story ever and one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time.  It is one of the stories that Patrick Troughton shows a long range of his acting abilities as the Doctor from mischievous clown to super serious to a caring person he does it all in The Tomb of the Cybermen.  Love the scene where Victoria and The Doctor have a heart to heart talk about family.  It is such a wonderful heartfelt scene and one of the best in Doctor Who’s history. Plus it is a really scary story that plays of the paranoid feelings of the exhibition that are looking for the tombs.  Plus you have the added bonus of Kleig who is a megalomaniac and wants to use the Cybermen and their secrets to help take over the earth.   There are so many twists in this story that makes it all the more enjoyable to watch.  The Tomb of the Cybermen introduces us to the Cybermens new home Telos, Cybermats and of course The Cyber Controller.  I love the scene when the Cybermen are coming out of the tombs themselves.  A very chilling, pardon the pun, moment that just builds to the excitement of the story and the reaction to the actors makes it that much more enjoyable and awesome.  The Tomb of the Cybermen is a true classic and is definitely the best story during Patrick Troughton’s era and perhaps one of the best stories in Doctor Who’s 50 year history.