20. The Web of Fear
Written By Mervyn
Haisman and Henry Lincoln
Directed By
Douglas Camfield
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
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 and it has been recently
discovered which makes its placement on the list even higher as I just love
this story and how cool it is to watch The Doctor and Brigadier interact for
the first time.
19. The Ark
In Space
Written By
Robert Holmes
Directed By
Rodney Bennett
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
The Ark in
Space is another Robert Holmes masterpiece. This time he uses bugs as the main
catalyst. Not just any bugs but a wasp like creature that absorbs the human
conscious into the swarm. The Wirrn are
a cool creature that deserves to come back and wreck mayhem in Doctor Who. They are just that cool and this story was
just so good and scary that it defined the Robert Holmes era of Doctor Who. Plus this was the first Doctor Who story I
saw and it holds a special place in my heart as it was the one that got me
hooked on Doctor Who.
18. The Evil
of the Daleks
Written By David
Whitaker
Directed By
Derek Martinus Timothy Combe
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
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.
17. The Girl
Who Waited
Written By Tom
MacRae
Directed By Nick
Hurran
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
Here is a
really good story that deals more with Amy and Rory than The Doctor which is a
rarity in itself in the new series. We
have the dilemma of old Amy and young Amy and what to do with both of
them. Rory is torn because he wants his
Amy back but wants to keep old Amy also but The Doctor knows what can happen if
both are in the TARDIS together. The
Doctor makes the decision to lock old Amy out of the TARDIS despite the threats
from Rory. An unpopular choice he makes
but it is the best decision and the right one.
Rory actually stands up to The Doctor in this story and actually shows some
back bone. The Girl Who Waited is a
strong story with a sad ending and yet again the writer and producer have
decided to do something different and go outside the box and came up with a
story that was clever and excellent. It
worked out perfectly and is one of the best stories in the Matt Smith era.
16. The
Robots of Death
Written By
Chris Boucher
Directed By
Michael Briant
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
I love the
fact that robots are used to kill off the crew.
Since it is set on a star miner there is nowhere to go and it gives you
a really freaky paranoia feeling to the whole story. The robots are so cool looking and they do
have certain creepiness to them as Leela so aptly labeled them. The Robots of Death is such a great story
that it also has quite a bit of action to it that gets forgotten mainly to the
great writing of the story. It also is a
good mystery as you try and figure out who is the one making the robots kill.
15. City of
Death
Written By
David Agnew
Directed By
Michael Hayes
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
It’s a
Douglas Adams story written under an alias.
It is pretty brilliant the way the whole story takes place and comes
about. The Jagaroth played brilliantly
by Julien Glover is split to pieces through time and is trying to get home by
pulling himself together. It is just a
well written story that has some great moments and has that Douglas Adams humor
that you would expect from him. Plus the
story isn’t all that silly which is not the norm for this era of Doctor
Who. Plus it is filmed partially in
Paris, France and is the first story filmed outside of the UK. Plus the Jagaroth with its spaghetti style
head and one eye does look pretty cool.
Plus there is that little sub plot of trying to steal the Mona Lisa
also.
14. Earthshock
Written By
Eric Saward
Directed By
Peter Grimwade
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
Earthshock is
one of the all-time best Cybermen stories ever.
Their appearance was kept a secret so no one knew they were going to
appear as the cliffhanger for episode one and what a great surprise reveal it
was. It is creepy and claustrophobic
feel to it makes it one of the best behind the sofa stories to watch with
children. Plus it has an historical
aspect to it and one of the most important and shocking one of its time as a
companion dies. Adric sacrifices his life
to save the Earth from being destroyed.
Not since the Hartnell era has this been done and to a regular companion
that has been traveling with The Doctor for a while. It was truly a moment that
the Doctor was powerless and could only watch.
13. The Mind of Evil
Written By
Don Houghton
Directed By
Timothy Combe
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
The Mind of
Evil is a story that I can see happen if it was made today. The themes and situations that are in it seem
perfect for today’s world. The Chinese
and US as the two main powers trying to come up with an agreement to avoid war
is not that unbelievable. The hijacking
of a missile that has chemical or nuclear capabilities is truly believable
especially with all the terrorist threats in the world. Plus The Master is in it as Roger Delgado
gives us another wonderful performance.
12. Terror of
the Zygons
Written By
Robert Banks Stewart
Directed By
Douglas Camfield
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
Terror of the
Zygons is a really great monster story with a monster that is finally getting
another chance at The Doctor later this year.
It’s also the last of the true UNIT stories and the last time we see the
Brigadier in active duty. I love how it
uses the myth of the Loch Ness Monster as the basis for the story. It is a great way to disguise and explain the
Skarassen and keeping the myth alive. Of
course The Zygons are in it and they are a fan favorite but do little as they
do more in their human form. It is a
classic monster story that is well done and this story you really get a feel
for what Tom Bakers Doctor will become.
11. The
Talons of Weng - Chiang
Written By
Robert Holmes
Directed By
David Maloney
Why It’s In
The Top 50:
It is one of
the best stories that Robert Holmes has written. It has a everything you would
want in a Doctor Who story. It has a
great villain in Magnus Greel and the way he uses his puppets the illusionist Li
H'sen Chang and the Peking Homunculus Mr. Sin is brilliant and using a theatre
as cover is brilliant and scary in itself.
It also works because it takes place in Victorian Times and that sets
the whole story up to be brilliant as it is in the past and it derives on the
fears of that time. Plus Jago and
Lightfoot make a good team and add a sense of comedy in what is a pretty
serious story. I just love that
murderous Mr. Sin played by Deep Roy. He
is a truly evil character and eventually tries to kill everyone.
Many of my favorites on this list, especially The Ark in Space
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