Top Ten Tom's

[genesis1]

Well, there were so many, but one of my all time favourites has to be Genesis of the Daleks. There were some great moments in this story, such as when Tom held the life of the Daleks in his hands, just by touching two wires together he could wipe the daleks from history, but as the Doctor he questions, 'Does he have that right?'
Also, the little arm restle with Davros, just before Nider clubs him with a black pudding!

So with this story in mind, here is an ongoing 3d construction of Toms Arm restling partner.

[Toothy Grin]

I'm sure everyone's got their favourite Dr Who stories of Tom's era, but could you pick your top 10? This is very difficult but at the moment I think mine would go like this:
1. City Of Death - just sublime. The Paris filming, the wittiest script ever, a wonderful villain, the chemistry between Tom & Lalla is at it's best, Duggan, John Cleese's cameo, the most hummable incidental score ever. Exquisite. Absolutely exquisite.
2. Pyramids Of Mars - Of all Tom's stories, I think this one has aged the best. No silly monsters, no wobbly sets, ropey effects or laughable costumes. Probably the best story to show to a newcomer actually, as it has the least potential to embarrass. Genuinely scary, the lumbering mummies and eerie organ music send chills up the spine,Tom's performance is at it's most alien, Sutekh is probably the most chilling villain ever, the period setting is suberb. A gothic masterpiece.
3. The Ark In Space - Despite the bubble-wrap and the cheap special effects, this is one of the most effective stories ever and contains some genuinely disturbing moments. The whole idea behind the Wirrn is terrifying, and the claustrophobic setting really adds to the tension. The curved corridors of the Ark look excellent, and Tom is outstanding.
4. The Robots Of Death -a little ropey in places, this is still a terrific story. The art-deco robots and sets make this something special, and there's a great psychological angle to the story with the theme of robophobia. Another tense and claustrophobic little masterpiece.
5. The Seeds Of Doom - A nightmarish story, with it's themes of body horror and a high level of realistic violence, this is not for the kiddies. Harrison Chase is a magnificent nutter, the eerie music really adds to the creepiness and the Krynoid is a wonderful monster.
6. The Pirate Planet - A totally bonkers script, but amazingly imaginative, some of the concepts are brain-burstingly clever. Brimming with witty dialogue, Tom and Mary Tamm work brilliantly together, the Captain is a marvellous creation, there's so much going on it never gets boring.
7. Image of the Fendahl - Hugely underrated, this is one of the darkest and creepiest of Tom's stories with a very clever script, very atmospheric and a surprisingly mature tone(a suicide, devil worship etc). Deserves far more recognition than it gets.
8. The Keeper Of Traken - the best story of Tom's last season, with some beautiful set design, a really believeable alien culture, and poetic dialogue. The return of the Master is skillfully done, there's a dreamlilke fairytale feel to the story and although Tom looks a little tired he still gives it his all.
9. The Talons Of Weng Chiang - Very slightly overrated, but still an almost flawless story with amazingly good period design and atmosphere. The depiction of Victorian London is brilliant, Magnus Greel and Mr Sin are terrifying creations, Tom does his audition for Sherlock Holmes and Leela shows her underwear. Shame about the pantomine rat.
10. Logopolis - Tom's swansong is hugely imaginative and thought-provoking, with very clever concepts and a funereal atmosphere. A fantastic music score, the idea of the Watcher is the story's masterstroke, and the emotional ending is hard to watch without getting a lump in the throat. Tom is on fine form throughout, and the way he accepts his inevitable fate with dignity make you love him all the more.

[Graceful Leonard]

[quote="Toothie Grin"]
I'm sure everyone's got their favourite Dr Who stories of Tom's era, but could you pick your top 10?
[/quote]

I stopped watching in the late seventies, but even limited by that, it's a tough choice!

1. Terror of the Zygons - this isn't perhaps the strongest story, but I think the cast were terrific (special mention for John Woodnutt), I also love the setting, and I think the chemistry between Tom, Ian, Lis is perfect here. It has a suitable dose of silliness as well.

2. Seeds of Doom - love the idea, even though it's basically Triffids. Great villain, just a lot of fun. I probably remember this more fondly as well since I haven't seen it for years, unfortunately.

3. Talons of Weng Chiang - again, I adore the Victorian London setting, some great sinister plot elements, the actor who plays the impresario is good as well. Only downfall is that it's Louise instead of Lis. Never quite got on with the Leela character. She lacked the humour and subtly of Sarah-Jane, though I liked Louise J in other things, such as Omega Factor.

4. Genesis of the Daleks - I remember this being my favourite as a child at the time. It seemed on such a grand scale story-wise, truly epic. Again, great chemistry between Doc and companions.

5. Hand of Fear - not a great story, I admit, but I was so devoted to Sarah-Jane that this made a great impression on me back then, and remains central to my memory of the show. After this, I started taking less interest.

6. Brain of Morbius - how they got away with this for kids I'll never know. Of course, it's essentially Frankenstein, but all great mythical stories are recycled. I remember two things distinctly as a child - the squeal of the ant-like insect when the servant beheads it...I found that deeply upsetting. The second thing was Sarah's, 'lovely fresh flowers guv' line when she is blinded — she’s at once terrified, sarcastic, and petulant...fab!

7. Robot – I loved Tom’s craziness, and the loony professor. I watched it again about two years ago and felt intensely sorry for the Robot…he was a bit like King Kong with the girl at the end. I often feel like that myself.

8. Pyramids of Mars – another one I haven’t watched for years, but it did impress me as a child. It harked back to some early Hammer films with the plundered Egyptian stuff, and the setting adds a lot.

9. Deadly Assassin – scared me at the time. Not because of the famous drowning scene, which didn’t bother me, but the whole idea of the Doctor stalked by a masked killer in a world that was recognisable as something earth-like, but in which no conventional rules held. That somehow made it scarier than if it had been a completely alien environment.

10. City of Death – I saw this one on VHS years after I gave up on the show, and have mixed feelings toward it. Julian Glover is great, John Cleese provides a funny cameo, and there’s some great dialogue. I had a bit of a problem with the Tom/Lalla chemistry though. Although I wasn’t aware of their off-screen relationship when I watched it, it seemed a little too much like ‘Doctor Who in Love’ to me. The dynamic of the companion/Doctor relationship had become distinctly different to how I remembered it, and it broke the conventions of the show for me a little. Had it been done not as Doctor Who, but as a one-off sci-fi drama I think I would have made the mental adjustment and loved it.

[hackenbush]

Oooh, good post! But a difficult one to answer. For me, I think it has to be the following ten (although this is only today's list and can change at short notice...). I'll do them in reverse order, because it's more interesting (maybe) that way...

10) The Nightmare of Eden. Anyone looking for Genesis of the Daleks in this list is going to think I'm mad, bypassing that in favour of this, but I have no real love for Terry Nation's writing and I think the Doctor's angry dismissal of Tryst at the end of this story is more effective than anything in an overlong dalek story that doesn't have enough daleks in it (sorry - personal opinion... I do think it's a shame that Tom didn't have a particularly strong dalek story during his era but, if pushed, I would nominate Destiny of the Daleks as my favourite of the two). Oh, and I've always loved the "my arms, my legs, my everything" bit! This is Doctor Who that the whole family can enjoy - forget the spoddy fans. The 80s are the unfortunate result of taking too much notice of what fans want (and I will stress that I like all three 80s Doctors before anyone comes after me with a cricket bat!) and I'm sorry to say that I don't think the Tom Baker era really gained anything from season 18... Although, for my ninth choice...

9)Warriors' Gate. Lovely script - superb music and some fab direction. The only season 18 story I would put in a top ten (although I do have a sneaky admiration for State of Decay and Full Circle). Oh, and I didn't mention Kenneth Cope. One that I can just about remember from original transmission, as well...

8)The Sunmakers. One of four Graham Williams stories in this list - but I do like his seasons almost as much as Hinchcliffe's. They're just...different...with an emphasis on humour that doesn't always come off. This, though, is beautifully satirical, even if the production values are not always as high as they could be. First saw this one on UK Gold, ages before it was on video...and I think it's a serious oversight that it's not yet on DVD.

7)The Brain of Morbius. I even bought the edited version of this, long after buying the uncut version on VHS (1990) because I liked it so much. Favourite moment - still - is the Doctor asking for a glass of water when Condo answers the door to them in the pouring rain. And Philip Madoc is wonderful.

6)The Ribos Operation. Garron and Unstoffe; the Graff Vynda K; Binro the Heretic... Robert Holmes presents a superbly detailed society and some of his most entertaining characters. For me, the highlight of the Key to Time season.

5)The Deadly Assassin. Part 3 alone is worth the price of admission. I'd seen a clip of this some time before the 1991 video release on a school's programme - it was the dramatic conclusion as the Panopticon comes crashing down around the Master whilst he unleashes the Eye of Harmony. Quite apart from his peculiar Welsh accent as he proclaims the Eye to be "all mine", I did think the clip must be from behind the scenes material as the camera was so wobbly. Anyway, I can forgive it both these things. Lovely sense of doom around the whole thing and another nice variation on Tom's costume - by the time I saw this, it was quickly becoming clear that season 14 is the best of all Doctor Who's seasons. And it still is.

4)Robots of Death. Ahhh. It's season 14 again - wonderful, wonderful stuff. This was the fourth ever Who video I owned, and the first Baker one (yes, I know, but as I could remember Tom's Doctor from when I was much younger, I felt a stronger urge to catch up with the Troughton and Pertwee videos available at that point...). It was also the first time I ever saw the original Baker opening titles in full and also my first sighting of my favourite TARDIS interior. And then there's Leela. Best female companion bar none.

3)Pyramids of Mars. There's a definite Hinchcliffe bias in my top ten and I make no apologies for this. The shooting of Scarman and crushing of the poacher by the mummies are two of my very favourite Who moments. This was one of the magic 1988 Christmas Day presents - I first saw this on the same day as my number 1 story and, sadly, no Doctor Who Christmas Special since has been able to match the experience.

2)City of Death. I didn't like this much when I first saw it (again, video - 1991). I suppose it's a style thing. But it didn't take long to grow on me - it may not be "scary" Who (and I do like my Doctor Who to have scares...), but it does have some of the finest production values of any of the 70s stories (and certainly better, in terms of production, than most of the Graham Williams era - although do see "Ribos Operation" above). Dudley's music is fab and it's one of the stories, like my number 1 story below, that cannot fail but put a smile on your face.

1) The Talons of Weng-Chiang. I first saw this on video, late on Christmas Day, 1988. My vision of the perf
ect Who story changed forever from that point. I'd seen photos previously and also wanted to see the one where the Doctor "played Holmes" but the story turned out to be much better than that. A pitch perfect Robert Holmes script and the gorgeous pairing of Trevor Baxter and Christopher Benjamin; Louise Jameson as Leela (when the character was still being developed and prior to the retrograde steps taken in the fifteenth season); John Bennett's superb performance; Mr Sin!; even the rat!! For me, and I have to admit to loving other eras as well as Tom's (sorry, folks!), this is still *the* single best Doctor Who story and, at the very least, one of the very best performances from any of the Doctors. I can't praise it more highly than that (although I could try...)