The first three seasons are an unalloyed joy
It has been said many times and in many places that the era of ‘Doctor Who’ produced by Philip Hinchcliffe – Tom Baker’s first three seasons – is the finest run of form in the show’s history. I know I’m not making an original observation, but watching the stories sequentially, just how good it is really does impress itself upon you. Sustaining hit after hit is no easy task. Of course, there are occasional dips. After the Pertwee hangover of ‘Robot’ there’s ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’, which is a weak Cyber story even if it makes up for it with an impressive guest cast and the return of the ‘Ark in Space’ sets, albeit redressed. Terry Nation’s ‘The Android Invasion’ is probably something he wrote in one go over a wet weekend, and it shows. Typically, brilliant hack that he was, the first three episodes are hugely entertaining, but what a shame it’s such a weak fond farewell to beloved former regulars Harry Sullivan and Sergeant Benton. Aside from those wobbles, you have ten solid episodes in Season Thirteen with Philip Madoc and then Tony Beckley as the principal baddies (‘The Brain of Morbius’ and ‘The Seeds of Doom’). There, the body horror would become as graphic as it ever would in ‘Doctor Who’, save perhaps for Colin Baker’s first season. As for Season Fourteen, which culminates in the incredibly disparate yet phenomenally popular stories ‘The Robots of Death and ‘The Talons of Weng-Chiang’, any fan can’t help but to be in TV heaven. It’s quite simply some of the best television drama ever made. Everything is just so right! Surely the winning formula can be maintained?
