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Classic Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Reaction Episodes (Requested)
🕑 Added 2023-03-01 06:07:34 +0000 UTCAlright, everybody! When I was getting ready to start reacting to Classic Who back in 2021, I had a short list of suggestions that I'd pulled from YouTube comments over the years. Very short list - only about 60 episodes of the entirety of Classic Who altogether! So I opened it up to patron suggestions, and the list really expanded. The Fourth Doctor's era went from 26 episodes to 102 episodes, and now we're up to 144 episode requests, and I need your help whittling things back down!
It might help the process if I reiterate my original criteria for episode selections:
- Each Doctor's first/last episode (if they are available!)
- The regeneration episodes
- A little bit of each companion if possible
- Each Master, and any particularly iconic Classic Who villains
- Any modern Who milestone connections (first use of the sonic, psychic paper, etc.)
So, basically, a distillation of each Doctor and their companions and foes, plus any can't-miss episodes when the Doctor is at their best.
I'm sorry I can't react to all the requested episodes, but hopefully we can get down to the very best of the very best. Also, if there are episodes you feel are essential to see (for continuity's sake) but not necessarily to react to, that might help cut things down as well.
Half of the Fourth Doctor's era would be 86 episodes, but if we can keep it under 100-ish, would that be a fair compromise? I've never set up a poll for this process, and Patreon's polling is pretty basic, so if I find a way to make the trimming down process easier I'll let you know, but right now it's just comment-based, so...let me know how we can get down to around 100 episodes from 144! Keeping in mind that I can either watch a few on my own or fill in the gaps by reading recaps if continuity is an issue, which of these episodes can we skip?
The list of requests for the Fourth Doctor's era:
- Robot (4 eps) 12x01
- The Ark in Space (4 eps) 12x02
- The Sontaran Experiment (2 eps) 12x03
- Genesis of the Daleks (6 eps) 12x04
- Revenge of the Cybermen (4 eps) 12x05
- Terror of the Zygons (4 eps) 13x01
- Planet Of Evil (4 eps) 13x02
- Pyramids of Mars (4 eps) 13x03
- The Brain of Morbius (4 eps) 13x05
- The Seeds Of Doom (6 eps) 13x06
- The Masque Of Mandragora (4 eps) 14x01
- The Hand of Fear (4 eps) 14x02
- The Face of Evil (4 eps) 14x04
- The Deadly Assassin (4 eps) 14x03
- The Robots of Death (4 eps) 14x05
- The Talons of Weng-Chiang (6 eps) 14x06
- Horror of Fang Rock (4 eps) 15x01
- Image of the Fendahl (4 eps) 15x03
- The Sun Makers (4 eps) 15x04
- The Invasion of Time (6 eps) 15x06
- The Ribos Operation (4 eps) 16x01
- The Pirate Planet (4 eps) 16x02
- The Stones of Blood (4 eps) 16x03
- The Androids of Tara (4 eps) 16x04
- The Power of Kroll (4 eps) 16x05
- The Armageddon Factor (6 eps) 16x06
- Destiny Of The Daleks (4 eps) 17x01
- City of Death (4 eps) 17x02
- The Leisure Hive (4 eps) 18x01
- Full Circle (4 eps) 18x03
- State of Decay (4 eps) 18x04
- Warriors’ Gate (4 eps) 18x05
- The Keeper of Traken (4 eps) 18x06
- Logopolis (4 eps) 18x07
Remember, no spoilers - I trust that there is a good reason you want me to react to something **lol** Thanks so much, everyone! I really appreciate your guidance! XOXO FWR
Comments
Nicole Mazza
I know some people are saying to skip 'Image of the Fendahl' and I get that, as it's a standalone, but it's one of my faves, so it's SO HARD...
Steven Cooper
Here's my attempt at cutting down the list... From Season 12 - 14 episodes: 12x01: Robot (4), 12x02: The Ark in Space (4), 12x04: Genesis of the Daleks (6) As you probably already know, this season's stories are closely linked -- in fact, the first seven of Tom Baker's stories lead directly from one into the next, like the early Hartnell stories. These three are the essential ones, though. From Season 13 - 14 episodes: 13x01: Terror of the Zygons (4), 13x03: Pyramids of Mars (4), 13x06: The Seeds of Doom (6) A pity to lose The Brain of Morbius (13x05), but one must be ruthless. You might want to watch or read up about that one on your own; you'll find a few links to the Moffatt era... From Season 14 - 20 episodes: 14x02: The Hand of Fear (4), 14x03: The Deadly Assassin (4), 14x04: The Face of Evil (4), 14x05: The Robots of Death (4), 14x06: The Talons of Weng-Chiang (6) Only the first story of this remarkable season (The Masque of Mandragora) is really disposable, although if you need to cut down further, you *could* (although it would be a great pity) skip The Robots of Death without missing anything continuity-wise. From Season 15 - 14 episodes: 15x02: The Invisible Enemy (4), 15x04: The Sun Makers (4), 15x06: The Invasion of Time (6) Although I personally prefer Horror of Fang Rock (15x01) and Image of the Fendahl (15x03) to the first two stories I've listed above, I've skipped them because (a) they're completely stand-alone, and (b) they stick closely to the style of the previous two seasons, rather than showing off the new directions the show explored in Season 15. There are many different facets to the Fourth Doctor's era, and I've tried to keep as many of them as possible in this list. I notice that The Invisible Enemy isn't in your original list of requested stories, but it really should be -- it features an important companion debut which I don't think you'll want to miss. From Season 16 - 8 episodes: 16x01: The Ribos Operation (4), 16x02: The Pirate Planet (4) Possibly the most controversial choice in my list, since the entire season has an explicit arc surrounding the six individual stories (for the first time in the show's history) which is set up in the first episode and paid off in the last. However, I disagree that this season is an "all or nothing" proposition -- I think the first two stories are the strongest of the season, and do a good job of showing off the season arc as well as being entertaining in their own right. The arc's payoff in The Armageddon Factor (16x06) is frankly quite weak, and I don't think it's worth spending six episodes' worth of reaction on (although you should probably still watch it for yourself or check out a recap before moving on to the next season). From Season 17 - 8 episodes: 17x01: Destiny of the Daleks (4), 17x02: City of Death (4) By contrast, this is the easiest of choices -- no other stories from this season were in your list (although I have a soft spot for Nightmare of Eden (17x04)). From Season 18 - 20 episodes: 18x03: Full Circle (4), 18x04: State of Decay (4), 18x05: Warriors' Gate (4), 18x06: The Keeper of Traken (4), 18x07: Logopolis (4) - 20 eps The first three stories on this list are a linked trilogy -- although if you're looking to cut down you could, at a pinch, skip State of Decay. The final two are essential, though. That gives a total of 98 episodes, covering a total of 23 of Tom's 42 stories -- pretty close to the same proportion of the era as you did for the Third Doctor.
Azmat Mahmood
No Talons of Weng Chiang? I'd swap that out for either The Invisible Enemy or The Invasion of Time personally. I get why you included those two, but Talons is so much better as a story, one of the best ever. Also, even though it's probably not necessary to do reactions for The Sontaran Experiment, Revenge of the Cybermen and the other season 16 stories you didn't mention, I'd argue it's still essential for her to watch them in her own time for continuity because both S12 and particularly S16 have very interlinked stories and form a season arc. Aside from that though, this is the list I agree with the most out all the ones I've seen here so far.
Darryl Gillikin
Lemme try and make a stab at the Essential Tom... :-) --Robot --The Ark in Space --Genesis of the Daleks --Terror of the Zygons --Pyramids of Mars --The Brain of Morbius --The Seeds of Doom --The Hand of Fear --The Deadly Assassin --The Face of Evil --The Robots of Death --Horror of Fang Rock --The Invisible Enemy (not the best story IMHO but has significance) --Image of the Fendahl --The Sun Makers --The Invasion of Time --The Ribos Operation --The Pirate Planet --Destiny of the Daleks --City of Death --Full Circle --State of Decay --Warriors Gate --The Keeper of Traken --Logopolis
