TV #56 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 22 Colin Baker’s Sixth Doctor is a hard incarnation to love, especially here in his first full season (after regenerating near the end of the last one). He’s pompous and insulting to everyone, but particularly to his companion Peri, whom he yells at, belittles, fat-shames, leaves for …
Tag Archives: Classic Who
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 21
TV #51 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 21 Another bifurcated season of Doctor Who that I wish I could separate into its weaker and stronger parts — although here it’s particularly unfortunate that the former installments bookend the latter. The middle of this run delivers a fine span from RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS through …
Movie Review: Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983)
Movie #10 of 2025: Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983) For the tenth anniversary of Doctor Who in 1973, the producers hit upon a great idea: since the show is about a time-traveler, they could devise a story where the previous incarnations of the main character turn up to help the current version, then played …
Continue reading “Movie Review: Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983)”
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 20
TV #43 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 20 Doctor Who’s 1983 season may not have any all-time classic stories, but overall it’s a fun watch that I would say is stronger than the sum of its parts. The big idea for the twentieth anniversary run was to feature returning villains in every serial, and …
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 19
TV #34 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 19 I’m maybe overly charitable towards Peter Davison’s first season as the Fifth Doctor, but there were inevitably going to be growing pains after seven years of his predecessor Tom Baker. And to be clear, I am still not saying that this is great television, as a …
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 18
TV #20 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 18 Airing from 1980 to 1981, Tom Baker’s final season is a turbulent time for Doctor Who — and not just because it finds him finally departing the series after a still-unbroken record of seven years / 172 episodes as its star. This run also sends off …
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 17
TV #9 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 17 This is a strange year of Doctor Who! Less ambitious than the overarching Guardians / Key to Time stuff from the previous run, but that’s not such a bad thing given how poorly all that was executed. Unfortunately in its place we’ve got some definite clunkers …
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 16
TV #3 of 2025: Classic Doctor Who, season 16 Ambitious in concept but significantly less impressive in execution, unfortunately. This 1978-1979 season of Doctor Who introduces two major elements: the incoming companion Romana played (for now) by Mary Tamm, and a larger plot arc focused on a powerful artifact called the Key to Time. The …
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 15
TV #46 of 2024: Classic Doctor Who, season 15 This is the halfway mark of Tom Baker’s record seven seasons as the Fourth Doctor, and despite his ongoing popularity in that role, it’s also unfortunately where the shine starts to come off. Behind the scenes, Graham Williams replaced Philip Hinchcliffe as producer, and the series …
TV Review: Classic Doctor Who, season 14
TV #40 of 2024: Classic Doctor Who, season 14 Another strong year in the show’s Tom Baker era, notable for the exit of the Doctor’s companion Sarah Jane Smith (who’d been introduced during his predecessor’s tenure way back in season 11) and the debut of her replacement, the “savage” “primitive” Leela of the Sevateem. The …
The Lesser Joke: book reviews and more 