Here sits a significant (albeit moved) goalpost in my marathon. As stated in the last inauguration post, the Seventies were sort of a black hole of Doctor Who knowledge for me - at once the most popular and beloved decade of the show's history, as well as the one of which I had seen the least. Now the hole is filled, and I feel more enriched for the experience.
On the whole, I have to say that the Pertwee era agreed with me more than the 6/7ths of the Tom Baker era that fall within this decade. Although both have been incredibly solid runs on the whole, the Pertwee era, by virtue of having the same production team almost all the way throughout, feels a bit more consistent. I've had my ups and downs with Tom, but in spite of those I've made a lot of new favorite stories along the way.
If I had to make a pronouncement about the general trends this decade of the program has shown, I would say that we have witnessed the show's blossoming into an enduring and multi-generational phenomenon. Although the core series mythology was first laid down in the Sixties, one cannot underestimate the amount of equally crucial elements that have appeared during these eleven seasons, from our first decent look at Gallifrey to key elements of the Doctor's character.
I am eager to see how Classic Who, as I left it in the first days of 1980, develops over its last decade.
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Here are my rankings of all 58 serials which aired during this era.
- Genesis of the Daleks - 10.00
- Carnival of Monsters - 10.00
- The Seeds of Doom - 10.00
- The Brain of Morbius - 10.00
- The Pirate Planet - 10.00
- City of Death - 10.00
- The Green Death - 9.83
- Spearhead from Space - 9.75
- The Robots of Death - 9.75
- Inferno - 9.57
- The Time Warrior - 9.50
- The Ark in Space - 9.50
- Doctor Who and the Silurians - 9.43
- Image of the Fendahl - 9.25
- Day of the Daleks - 9.25
- The Daemons - 9.20
- The Hand of Fear - 9.00
- The Horror of Fang Rock - 9.00
- Terror of the Zygons - 9.00
- The Face of Evil - 8.75
- Frontier in Space - 8.67
- Invasion of the Dinosaurs - 8.50
- The Three Doctors - 8.50
- The Ribos Operation - 8.50
- The Sea Devils - 8.33
- Terror of the Autons - 8.25
- The Claws of Axos - 8.25
- The Curse of Peladon - 8.25
- The Deadly Assassin - 8.25
- The Sun Makers - 8.25
- The Stones of Blood - 8.25
- The Ambassadors of Death - 8.14
- Pyramids of Mars - 8.00
- The Sontaran Experiment - 8.00
- The Invasion of Time - 7.83
- The Mutants - 7.83
- Planet of Evil - 7.50
- Nightmare of Eden - 7.50
- Planet of the Spiders - 7.50
- The Mind of Evil - 7.33
- Planet of the Daleks - 7.33
- The Masque of Mandragora - 7.25
- Revenge of the Cybermen - 7.25
- Robot - 7.25
- Colony in Space - 7.17
- The Creature from the Pit - 7.00
- The Androids of Tara - 7.00
- The Invisible Enemy - 6.75
- The Power of Kroll - 6.50
- The Android Invasion - 6.50
- The Time Monster - 6.17
- The Talons of Weng-Chiang - 6.00
- The Armageddon Factor - 5.83
- Death to the Daleks - 5.75
- The Horns of Nimon - 5.75
- The Monster of Peladon - 5.67
- Destiny of the Daleks - 4.50
- Underworld - 3.25
Since I went to the trouble of doing so at the end of Monochrome Malarkey, I might as well post my general subjective ranking of how all of the seasons I've watched so far stack up against each other.
- Season Seven
- Season Twelve
- Season Two
- Season Ten
- Season One
- Season Sixteen
- Season Eight
- Season Thirteen
- Season Fifteen
- Season Seventeen
- Season Four
- Season Three
- Season Nine
- Season Six
- Season Fourteen
- Season Five
- Season Eleven
I think once I clear the Eighties that I should finally bite the bullet and switch to Arabic numerals for these typed season names. They are starting to get a bit cumbersome.
But never mind all that dross. I have done my share of housekeeping, and now bid this decade farewell. On to the next, and see you all then!
(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 6 October 2021.)
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