and other thing....



The use of 3 part stories during the McCoy era didnt work at all -especially with Ghost Light, which cried out to be a 4 part story.



What JNT should have done was do three 4 part stories, followed by a 2 parter.



I think the 2 parters that the program had before worked quite well, and could have easily been used during the McCoy era.

The choice of two four parters and two three parters sounds like a real no-brainer from the production side--they were offered three budgeted stories, two four parters and a six parter. They split the six parter along the studio and location filming, leaving the show as we kindly remember it from those years.



I am continually amazed by their choice of candidates.

I deeply resent the shoe horning of The Greatest Show in the Galaxy as an anniversary story. It did not fit, the join line stuck out like a sore thumb, and it was poorly thought out. However, season 26 worked as a single story. It was cohesive, in the same way that season 25 was like the latest ACME device the coyote sends away for to catch the road runner. Beep beep!



Season 26 also came out tops in terms of development. All you can say in favour of 25 is "it wasn't 24 again". Indeed, if you reverseed their order then 26 would also look better than it is for sheer proximity to total crap.



On content it evens out a bit. Silver Nemesis looks like nothing other than a silly Rememebrence of the Daleks retread, when even without the better looking sibling hanging 'round it'd still be the Ugly Stepsister. Yeash. Happiness Patrol and Greatest Show have their moments, but Battlefield, Ghost Light, Curse and even Survival all outrate them. It's 26 on all counts!



In  the ultraviolet corner, with two Doctors, four companions, two Cybermen and two Dalek stories, it's season 4!



And in the infrared corner, with one Doctor, two companions, one Cyberman stories and a ten second clip of a Dalek--it's season 6!



Ding ding!

ok straight to it then...



COHESIVNESS



The events of The Tenth Planet had a direct bearing on the next story, Power of the Daleks....which then lead to the introduction of Jamie in The Highlanders.  A few stories later Ben & Polly left, which led to Victoria being introduced in Evil of the Daleks.



Season 6's stories on the other hand were generally self contained - even though they did still have the cliffhanger endings at the end of each story, but it wasn't as a 'satisfying whole' as Season 4.



So Season 4 wins this one.



DEVELOPMENT



Season 4 had a huge development in the re-generation of the Dr himself.  This 1 incident alone would influence the producers and writers of the show for years to come in the way to handle an introduction of a new Dr.  Apart from that....Ben & Polly left, Jamie and Victoria were introduced, the Cybermen were introduced and the Daleks appeared in what would be their last story for 5 years.



In comparison Season 6 didn't have as much development, however...the UNIT set up was further refined, which would influence the direction of the Pertwee era, Jamie, Victoria and Dr No 2 all left at the end of The War Games.  Plus the further definition of the Doctors home planet.



I think the development of Season 4 would be hard to match, so it wins.



STORY CONTENT



From what Ive seen of Season 4, I enjoyed almost all of the stories, and found them very entertaining and suspensful - with a great performance from Troughton who seemed to hit the ground running with his interpretation of the role.



Season 6 did have a few good stories in it, such as The Mind Robber, which I think is one of the best of the early Who stories.  The Seeds of Death I quite enjoyed as well.  The Dominators & The Krotons didnt do much for me at all - and neither did the bits I saw of The Space Pirates.  The Invasion & The War Games were good, but they suffered from overlength.



I think Season 4 had better quality stories than in 6, and even though I've seen more of Season 6 than 4, Im going with 4 in regards to Story Content.

Season four is the strangest year of Who. It has the highest number of one time authors, and *that* incident near the start. Six on the other hand settled down to a bit of a groove, and so I'd give it to this year for no better reason than the scripts were homogeneous.



Season six saw the last of the Cybermen for six years, the loss of all three leads, but most important of all the final explanation of the backstory to the show itself. Pretty strong stuff, but all contained within the last two episodes--and the last five minutes of the second last one! What can four give? The loss of two companions, and the welcome of two more. The Cybermen themselves. The last historicals for a long time. And Daleks. What's the first ever regeneration worth? Only about all the others put together! The "renewal" is the single most important thing within the show's own history. It's gotta be four!



Content. Six is the only halfway complete Troughton year, but disappointing in it's stories. The Dominators is quite promising, however you do tend to end up sympathizing with Tully about how boring Dulkis is--and hoping the Dominators end up wiping them out. The Mind Robber is quite good in a pantomime sense, and The Invasion sounds great. The Krotons is little more than a space opera potboiler, and Seeds of Death is a good example of the same. Space Pirates is served poorly by its existing episode, and is probably better in the whole. The War Games is quite good, but overlong.

Now to compare four. The Smugglers is quite a good idea, and probably worked well with the other historical, The Highlanders. The Tenth Planet and The Moonbase are quite similar, and show the way the production team would be moving with siege based stories, as are Power and Evil of the Daleks. The very strange stories are The Underwater Menace, The Macra Terror and The Faceless Ones. They show much evidence of rewriting, and some truly bizzare concepts. On the whole I prefer the show to try (and even fail), so I'm going with four!



That's six for cohesion, and four for development and content!



It's 14 episodes of violent overcoloured fun, it's season 23!



It's 25 episodes, 19 in colour, it's season 7!



Ding ding!

COHESIVNESS



The stories of Season 7 weren't necessarily linked, although they did show the gradual progression of the Dr towards the Brigadeer and UNIT.



Season 23 of course was one big serial, with 'mini stories' wrapped around a courtroom setting.



I found Season 7s stories to be more satisfying on the whole.  With Season 23 you had to follow the entire thing to understand what was going on - and even then it didn't clearly make sense!!!



DEVELOPMENT



In Season 7.....The 3rd Dr made his first appearance, first/last appearance of Liz Shaw, the first real set up of the UNIT/Earthbound format, The Autons/Silurians were introduced, Barry Letts came on board as producer, and the first colour Dr Who.



Season 23 had the first 'umbrella season' since Key To Time, Peri left, Mel joined, the last story penned by Robert Holmes, the departure of Eric Saward, and the last story for Colin Baker.



In terms of importance I rate Season 7 as the winner, as the set up of the Pertwee era moved the show into a more adult direction and gave the show new life which it built upon in years to come.



STORY CONTENT



Season 7's 4 stories were very interesting, with what I think is the best opening story for any doctor with The Auton Invasion.  The following stories further developed the characters, backed by solid acting by all concerned.



Season 23 was quite frankly a mess.  I feel doing an entire season on one story was a mistake and shouldn't have been attempted.  What Dr Who needed at that time was fresh original stories that grabbed the casual viewer, as well as existing fans.



The continuity fest of the season did the show no favours, and the less said about the introduction of Mel, the better!!!!



Having said that, I did like The Valeyard as a villain and I thought the last 2 parts were the best.



It would have been very interesting had they gone with Eric Saward's original ending as well......



So Season 7 wins by a mile on story content.

It's got to be 23 for cohesion--arc seasons are like that!



And development. Twenty three gives more of an insight into the Time Lords and the potential future of the Doctor. Seven gives only one companion, the new Doctor, and a demonstration of the new format.



However Seven has it all away on content. Only Ambassadors of Death I find disappointing, largely because it didn't manage to fill seven episodes without cacking itself. Inferno did it with he change in setting, and Silurians did by delaying the traditional reveal of the monster cliffhanger to the end of episode three.



So that makes it 23, 23, 7 and I'll give it to 23!



It's 20 episodes of Tom at his most indulgent, it's season 17! And it's 14 episodes of pure crap, it's season 24!

(sharpens his knife for Season 24) !!!.........



COHESIVNESS



Season 17 returned to the unrelated story structure after the Key to Time season.  Although the actual quality of the stories varied wildly, it is without doubt a more satisfying season as a whole than Season 24.



The idea of Cartmel getting brand new writers was a good one - but what Season 24 needed was stability, with some firm past writers who knew what made a good Dr Who story work.



Season 17 wins this one for sure.



DEVELOPMENT



Romana 2 & K9 mk 2 made their debuts in Season 17, the Daleks returned, and Graham Williams bid farewell as Producer at the end of the season.



Season 24 - Dr 7 debuts, Mel leaves (yay!), Ace debuts, Cartmel signs on as Script Editor....and the lighting technicians do their utmost to destroy Cartmel's genuis!!!!!



I find this a difficult one to go for, but I'll actually go for Season 24 in this case.  I think all of the behind the scenes chaos of that season contributed to the eventual demise of the show, and this was certainly a 'bad development' from which it never recovered.



STORY CONTENT



Season 17 wins easily, no contest!!!



This season has its critics, but I found it to be quite amusing, and the interplay with Baker and Ward was great to watch.



Plus it contains one of my fave Baker stories in it - The City of Death - I love that story, still stands up today. Would have been great had Shada been completed though...



The words 'Story Content' & Season 24, dont mix!!!



I'm betting that the stories of Season 24 will be the last ones to arrive onto dvd as well.....sometime in 2020 at the current rate!

Seventeen's much maligned, and I've only recently found out how much worse it could have been. Twenty four's got real problems, and it dosn't much work as a single piece, unless the theme is, say, blech. Seventeen for cohesion.



Development. Well, not much occurs in 17, sadly. Twenty four does actualy go somewhere, even if it's planet yuck. Twenty four it is!



And content. Seventeen has City of Death, it's main asset. On the not so good side it has Destiny of the Daleks and Nightmare of Eden. In the "really didn't need to know that" category are Creature from the Pit and Hoirns of Nimon. Twenty four was all bad.



It's 26 episodes of Keys--it's season 16!

And 26 episodes of Pertwee--season 9!



Ding ding!

COHESIVNESS



This is an easy one, it has to be Season 16.  The one thing I didn't like about the Trial season, was that it wasn't as 'together' as the Key to Time season was.  Each story in this season blended in quite well with each other.



Seasons 9 was ok, but seemed to be a scramble of stories, rather than a complete whole.



DEVELOPMENT



Season 9 - Daleks return after 5 years, Sea Devils introduced, The Master returns.  Apart from that, not much else - the characters stayed about the same as they were in Season 8.



Season 16 - The first season to have one long story arc, Romana 1 is introduced, The Black Guardian is introduced.  As Ive said before, the Graham Williams era wasnt exactly noted for its character development, although I did find the relationship between the Dr and Romana to be very interesting, so Im giving this one to Season 16.



STORY CONTENT



I enjoyed Curse of Peladon and The Sea Devils, but the rest of Season 9s stories I could take or leave.



The stories in Season 16 were generally well done - except for Power of Kroll, which I didnt think much of.  But I thought the idea of doing a whole season arc was a good one, and each story did at least have their own individual style.  So Season 16 wins for this one as well.

Martin - just had a thought:



When we get to the end of this can we do a battle between the 20th Anniversary story and the 1996 Telemovie?

Ok, why not?



Season 16 has the advantage of being an arc, so it wins cohesion easily.



Season 16 gets it on development too. The strange idea that the Doctor is sent on this quest...that alone is more than anything we get in 9!



And content. Nine is not my favourite year; the third season of being confined to Earth except when the script called for him to not be, in which case he wasn't. Day of the Daleks is good, Curse of Peladon OK, the three six parters are less fun. Sixteen has a couple of slower stories. In Prisoner of Zenda (sorry, Androids of Tara) they even get the Key business over right at the start, so as not to interfere with the single least inspired rip off in the show's history. But it's still way more fun than 9!



That's 16 on all three counts.



It's 22 episodes an an anniversary special--it's season 20!

An it's 20 episodes of his most Tomness, it's season 12!



Ding ding!

COHESIVNESS



Season 20 was of course the anniversary season, where JNT in his wisdom decided that every story must have something from the past in it.  it also had a mini version of the Key to Time season, with the Black Guardian trilogy. 



Season 12 was Tom's first season and that too had almost every story linked together, via the time ring device.



I find this a hard one to choose, but I'll go for Season 20, as it had that linked trilogy in the middle of it.



DEVELOPMENT



Season 12 - Tom debuts, Harry debuts, the UNIT plot strand nears its end in the series, Davros debuts and the Cybermen return after a 7 year absense.  Plus the arrival of Phillip Hinchcliffe as Producer and Robert Holmes as Script Editor.



Season 20 - Nyssa leaves, Turlough arrives, Kameleon debuts (for better or worse!), The Master returns (yet again), Omega returns.



For me, Season 12 easily wins this one, as it had the definitive team of Baker, Sladen and the behind the scenes people starting to find their way together, and putting Who in a new direction.



STORY CONTENT



Without doubt, Season 12 wins.  The only bad story out of that group is Revenge of the Cybermen, which definately needed more script work done on it.



The stories of Season 20, while enjoyable, were certainly a case of style over substance.  I also hated seeing Omega return - one of JNTs more idiotic ideas - Omega worked best as a one off.  I do have a sneaking fondess for some of the stories of Season 20, but Season 12 was such an important season in Who history that it wins.

Twenty certainly had a theme: cram in the anniversary elements! Having said that, the stories from 12 always seemed to me to work well together. I'll call that a draw!



Twenty and 12 were both well developed seasons, and I'll agree to give the edge to 12.



But on content--it's not 20!



Weighing 26 episodes, it's season 14!

And weighing 20 episodes, two of them double length, it's season 21!

COHESIVNESS



The very end of the Hand of Fear led directly to events in The Deadly Assasin...which in turn gave way to the introduction to Leela in Face of Evil.



Season 21's Daleks story saw Tegan depart, which led to Peri being introduced, which in turn led to the 5th Drs last story, which itself led to the start of the 6th Drs era.



Based on this, I'll give this one to Season 21 for general plot flow on.



DEVELOPMENT



Season 14 - Sarah Jane departs, The Master returns, Leela debuts, the first solo Dr Who story, and the departure of Philip Hinchcliffe as Producer, signalling the end of a golden era.



Season 21 - The Sea Devils and Silurians return, Daleks return, Tegan, Turlough, Kameleon depart, Peri debuts, the 5th Dr regenerates, the 6th Dr era begins.



This is a very difficult one to choose, but in terms of actual character development, I'll go for Season 21.



STORY CONTENT



Season 14 absolutely wins this hands down.  Just about every story of this season is a classic - Masque, Deadly Assasin, Robots of Death, Talons, all great.  Hand of Fear was ok without being memorable, and I've never got into Face of Evil that much.



Season 21 meanwhile had the appalling Warriors of the Deep - complete with Sea Devil/Silurian costumes falling apart.  It does however have 'Caves of Androzani which could probably be termed the true last good Dr Who story of the classic era.  The rest of the season I could take or leave though.



So Season 14 is the winner in this one.

when's the next round?



We're almost to the end of the line here!!

things seem to have gone rather quiet  - so I'll take this chance to finish things off...



Season 2 vs Season 13



COHESIVNESS



Dalek Invasion of Earth saw Susan leave, which led into The Rescue, which introduced Vikki.  Generally the stories of Season 2 were fairly self contained - save for the cliffhangers at the end of each serial.



Season 13 was much the same as well - self contained stories with no firm link between them.



But as a general satisfying whole, I'll go for Season 13, as it cemented the relationship between the Dr and Sarah.



DEVELOPMENT



Season 2 - Daleks return, Susan, Ian & Barbara depart, Vicki & Steven join.



Season 13 - Further establishment of the Dr and Sarah dynamic and final appearance of the UNIT format.  Apart from that, not much development at all this time out.



Season 2 wins this for development easily, as having the first departures of companions.



STORY CONTENT



Season 13 hands down.  Almost every story this season is a classic and well remembered.  Season 2s stories were ok, but as Ive said before, Im not  a fan of the historical stories much. 



Zygons & Pyramids of Mars are both all time classics in my opinion.

and finally..........



The Five Doctors vs The 1996 Telemovie



COHESIVNESS



Five Drs of course was the anniversary story and had to cram in elements to satisfy the fan (& JNT)!  Despite the fact that so many characters appeared, the story worked quite well and managed to be held together until the end.



The Telemovie had numerous plot holes in it, and seemed to fall into a jumble towards the end - which is what you get when you have mainly Americans fiddling about with a British tv show!!!!



So Five Doctors wins for this one.



DEVELOPMENT



Five Drs - all 5 drs appear together, various companions/monsters return.  Deception of the Timelords uncovered.  i thought the backstory of the timelord history was well done and interesting.



The 1996 Telemovie - the Dr and Master regenerate, Grace appears as a new companion, Eye of Harmony seen in the Tardis.  First 'American made' Who movie. 



Although I did enjoy the Five Doctors in regards to development, I'll go with the Telemovie on this one - as the failure of it showed future writers what NOT to do with a Who story, and sent it back to the drawing board.



STORY CONTENT



The Five Doctors wins.  For a nostalgic anniversary story, it works. It set out to celebrate its history, whilst further driving the mythos along, and succeeded very well.



The Telemovie was just plain awful - the ending where the Dr simply turns back time to erase mistakes was badly misjudged and insulting  -and thats just for starters!  Although I still think given the right story, McGann would have made for a great Dr.



and so ends this round!!!

Technically the Master did not regenerate, he took over the ambulance drivers body, just as he did in the story when he took over the body of the father of Nyssa.

axelf date=28/10/2006 17:34 : and finally.......... The Five Doctors vs The 1996 Telemovie The 1996 Telemovie - the Dr and Master regenerate, Grace appears as a new companion, Eye of Harmony seen in the Tardis.  First 'American made' Who movie.

hey what about the to Dalek movies I know they are just the dumb down version of Daleks and invasion of daleks but they still deserve a chance.