Saturday, October 17, 2009

Doctor Who: The Mighty 200!

Doctor Who Magazine Issue #413 includes a run down of The Mighty 200!. A total of 6,700 people voted and ranked all 200 episodes of Doctor Who from the First Doctor on down to the Tenth Doctor. Wow! No one contacted me. I would have enjoyed being 6,701. My personal favorite, the Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker is quickly followed by David Tennant, Christopher Eccleston and Matt Smith. As of this writing there are eleven Doctors and as far as we know The Doctor can regenerate just twelve times. After that, well, I'm not sure. It has probably been well-covered in certain circles. They would hardly ruin a franchise based upon original mythology when it's as successful as this one.

So I thought I would present to you the order of the episodes, as ranked by the voters, for the doctors I plan on watching here at Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic. I plan on taking the stroll down memory lane with Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor then moving on to Chistopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor for a single season wrapping up with David Tennant's Tenth Doctor for three seasons.  I'll get to them all someday.

Fourth Doctor: Tom Baker.
Ninth Doctor: Christopher Eccleston.
Tenth Doctor: David Tennant.

197. Underworld [4th Doctor].
192. Fear Her [10th].
189. The Horns Of Nimon [4th].
188. Meglos [4th].
184. The Creature From The Pit [4th].
174. The Power Of Kroll [4th].
168. The Armageddon Factor [4th].
167. Nightmare Of Eden [4th].
165. The Long Game [9th].
164. The Invisible Enemy [4th].
155. The Invasion Of Time [4th].
153. Love & Monsters [10th].
152. Daleks In Manhattan/ Evolution Of The Daleks [10th].
150. The Lazarus Experiment [10th].
149. The Leisure Hive [4th].
147. The Sun Makers [4th].
143. New Earth [10th].
141. Boom Town [9th].
140. The Doctor's Daughter [10th].
138. The Idiot's Lantern [10th].
136. 42 [10th].
132. Aliens Of The World/ World War Three [9th].
130. Revenge Of The Cybermen [4th].
123. The Android Invasion [4th].
121. Destiny Of The Daleks [4th].
116. The Face Of Evil [4th].
115. The Runaway Bride [10th].
114. Voyage Of The Damned [10th].
109. The Pirate Planet [4th].
107. The Next Doctor [10th].
106. Robot [4th].
105. The Ribos Operation [4th].
103. The Sontaran Experiment [4th]
101. Full Circle [4th].
99. Planet Of The Dead [10th].
98. Partners In Crime [10th].
96. The Hand Of Fear [4th].
95. The Androids Of Tara [4th].
94. The End Of The World [9th].
91. The Sontaran Strategem/ The Poison Sky [10th].
88. The Masque Of Mandragora [4th].
87. State Of Decay [4th].
84. Planet Of Evil [4th].
83. The Unicorn And The Wasp [10th].
81. Warrior's Gate [4th].
79. Planet Of The Ood [10th].
74. Gridlock [10th].
73. Image Of The Fendahl [4th].
70. The Keeper Of Traken [4th].
68. Rise Of The Cybermen/ The Age Of Steel [10th].
67. The Stones Of Blood [4th].
66. Smith & Jones [10th].
64. The Shakespeare Code [10th].
63. Rose [9th].
56. The Fires Of Pompeii [10th].
54. The Unquiet Dead [9th].
53. Logopolis [4th].
52. Tooth And Claw [10th].
49. Father's Day [9th].
48. The Christmas Invasion [10th].
43. Midnight [10th].
40. The Brain Of Morbius [4th].
35. The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit [10th].
33. School Reunion [10th].
28. The Ark In Space [4th].
27. Utopia/ The Sound Of Drums/ The Last Of The Time Lords [10th].
26. Horror Of Fang Rock [4th]/
24. Silence In The Library/ Forest Of The Dead [10th].
22. Army Of Ghosts/ Doomsday [10th].
20. The Deadly Assassin [4th].
19. Earth Shock [5th: Peter Davison].
18. The Evil Of The Daleks [2nd: Patrick Troughton].
17. Terror Of The Zygons [4th].
16. The Seeds Of Doom [4th].
15. Dalek [9th].
14. Remembrance Of The Daleks [7th: Sylvester McCoy].
13. The Stolen Earth/ Journey's End [10th]
12. Turn Left [10th].
11. The Girl In The Fireplace [10th].
10. Bad Wolf/ The Parting Of The Ways [9th].
9. The Robots Of Death [4th].
8. City Of Death [4th].
7. Pyramids Of Mars [4th].
6. Human Nature/ The Family Of Blood [10th].
5. The Empty Child/ The Doctor Dances [9th].
4. The Talons Of Weng-Chiang [4th].
3. Genesis Of The Daleks [4th].
2. Blink [10th].
1. The Caves Of Androzani [5th: Peter Davison].

As you can see, I'll be skipping the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors. There's just too damn many stories to cover, but I will make exceptions. Remember, each so-called episode is sometimes made up of two, four and six or more parts. I did note a few in the Top 20 from the other doctors as the stories must be pretty strong. I will note that Peter Davison peaks my curiosity because my grandmother loved a show in which he starred called All Creatures Great And Small based upon the novel by James Herriot. She loved that book. But I have my work cut out for me just concentrating on one Doctor. Further, I might add, you might note a sizable amount of the Top 25 is certainly held by the three Doctors I am highlighting here today. I'm pleased to see my youth was populated with one of the most fruitful periods of Doctor Who. The poll even goes on to show these three Doctors as the most popular of all.

1. Christopher Eccleston [74.4%].
2. David Tennant [73.6%].
3. Tom Baker [70.7%]. This is how they ranked in order of popularity.

I can't help but wonder if some stories might have been better received had the actors delivered on their part of the bargain, in particular for the 6th Doctor. Was it the script or actor Colin Baker that failed there? Let's face it, it is a collective enterprise and perhaps some of these would have been higher or lower based on performance. Also, I can't say enough about the companion chemistry central to Doctor Who. Elisabeth Sladen, Billie Piper and Louise Jameson really rank among the best for me. Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen were magic. These ladies really brought out elements in their respective stories that elevated the material. I love them.


Anyway, I told you I loved lists and polls and this one was a whopper from Doctor Who #413. There was so much information to feast on. It was good fun a poll addict like myself.

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