Just watched the start of Series 9, man this show is on a roll! Peter Capaldi is cool as fuck and I didn't want to constantly punch Jenna Louise Coleman in the face for a change!

I don't know anyone who really liked Matt Smith. His was the only era which I didn't watch religiously.

The Escapist, here's some classic episodes in that vein that you might enjoy, one from each of the first eight Doctors. The recommendation comes with the proviso that they of course reflect the production techniques (and budgets) of vintage UK TV from up to fifty years ago. Your mileage may vary on this. But to me the storytelling is so good that they transcend those cosmetic limitations. 


An Unearthly Child (episode 1 from 1963, starring William Hartnell. How the mystery began. "Just let me get this straight. A thing that looks like a police box, standing in a junkyard... it can move anywhere in time and space?!")

The Mind Robber (A surreal story from 1968 starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor. When the TARDIS is caught in the path of a volcanic eruption the Doctor escapes by taking the ship out of reality. He and his companions find themselves trapped in a mysterious white void where the line between fantasy and reality becomes increasingly blurred. Ep 1 is very psychedelic - I guess reflecting the era perfectly!). 

Spearhead from Space (1970. Jon Pertwee's debut and the series' first colour story, which also introduces the Autons - as seen in Eccleston's debut. As it was an all-film production it's been recently remastered in HD & looks great on blu-ray). 

The Deadly Assassin (Tom Baker, 1977. The Doctor is summoned to Gallifrey after having a mysterious premonition of the President of the Time Lords being assassinated. There he encounters his old enemy the Master, who lures him into a deadly computer-simulated virtual reality called the Matrix, about 20 years before the film of that name).

The Caves of Androzani (1984. Peter Davison's last story and to my mind his best performance in the role. The tone of this story is strikingly different to the surrounding episodes, and indeed the series as a whole. It's visually and conceptually very dark, with the Doctor and Peri falling into the thick of a brutal conflict between a band of gun-runners and government troops over the supply of a life-prolonging drug found on the planet Androzani Minor. The story carries a doom-laden tone as events quickly spiral out of control, and the gun-runner characters are notable for their cold and sadistic behaviour, some of which I bet wouldn't make it to screen these days. There's also a rubbish monster in it very briefly, but the rest of the story is so good I let that pass, ha.)

Revelation of the Daleks (1985. I think this is the best Colin Baker story - his sparring with Davros here is a treat).

Ghost Light (Sylvester McCoy, 1989). The Doctor takes his companion Ace to 1883 and a creepy mansion house named Gabriel Chase. Ace had visited the house in 1983 and felt an evil presence there, so the Doctor takes her back in time to investigate its sinister origins. It's dark, intricately-plotted, and has an ingenious concept relating to evolution as its theme). 

Paul McGann (he's great in the 1996 TV movie, but I'd say it has the opposite problem to a lot of classic Who: stunning production values thanks to its multi-million dollar budget, but weak storytelling. McGann has since recorded many excellent audio adventures for Big Finish, including The Chimes of Midnight and the Dark Eyes series. It was great to see him reprise the role for the 50th anniversary mini-ep The Night of the Doctor).

Oh that's great to hear! I started watching the show when I was about 5 or 6, and was really into it by the time the original run finished in 1989 (my initial thought was "hmm, it'll probably be back next year..."). So it was a great thing to go back and discover that the series had this rich history behind it, though the books, videos and occasional repeats in the 90s.

Remembrance is a great one from that period. I would also recommend the Target novelisation of that story if you can find it. I think there's an audiobook version of it too. Written by the original scriptwriter Ben Aaronovitch, it really expands on the Dalek mythology and contains some brilliant sequences written from their perspective. I thought there was almost an echo of that in the opening story of the current series, where Clara's speech was translated by the Dalek casing.

I hope this series is a corker just to shut up the irksome 'Whovians' from forever slagging Moffat off. The man's an incredible talent. Sure, he goes overboard with the goofiness sometimes, but it's a very hard balance to strike, that mix of lightheartedness for the kids, and contemplativeness for the adults. The way I see it, the majority of the modern eps that are universally considered to be classics, such as Blink, The Girl In the Fireplace, Forest of the Dead etc. have all been penned by him, and he absolutely nailed the 50th anniversary special, so he's alright in my book. 

David Tennant and Catherine Tate are to reprise their roles as the 10th Doctor and Donna, in new audio dramas from Big Finish.


They're also recording a series of audios featuring the War Doctor, played by the legend that is John Hurt. Looking forward to hear all these. https%3A//soundcloud.com/big-finish/the-big-finish-podcast-the-war-doctor%23t%3D0%3A57

Above: Rocktor Doctor Who. Bonehead and Guigs just out of shot, sadly. 

I want to have sex with Karen Gillan while Jenna Louise Coleman watches and takes notes.

The problem I always had with Tennant is that he seems just so normal - so likeable. He pretty much was Rose's boyfriend at the end of season 2, and I like how Moffat has repeatedly shown how absurd that concept would be for a nearly 1000-year old alien.
His dramatic acting was spot on though, and he was very funny too - they all are, aren't they?

I voted for Tennant, but I'm watching Season 7 now and Matt Smith is *this* close to number one spot on my list. I pretty much hated him at first but he gets under your skin after a while, I suppose.

What a marvellous episode. Very topical and very powerful, especially the speech at the end. My dad described the episode as 'weak', a statement which left me speechless. Still, this is the same man who described Midnight as 'dull'.