"No, Not the Mind Probe!!?!"

Day Two: Your Favourite Classic Series Episode

Right, well that would be Part...Three, I think, of The Creature from the Pit, whichever one it is where Tom and Lalla are nudging each other in the background and...

Yes, yes I know I'm by no means the first person do that rather lame joke... I'm assuming this means Favourite Classic Who Story, and well, that's a bit of a hard one, isn't it? I was going to give some cop-out answer or maybe a top ten countdown, but instead decided that I should try to answer the question in the spirit in which it was posed. So...

 

Well, as I say, really difficult question to answer, with so many great stories jockeying for position, but much like the quote yesterday when I actually gave the question serious thought, one choice seemed to leap to the fore. Now, it's not a story I really praise or even mention a lot on the intrawebs, which is a bit of a criminal oversight on my part, because I love it to bits; maybe I've seen it that many times I just take it for granted, which is also a criminal oversight. So, today's choice is:

Remembrance of the Daleks

Why did I pick this one? Well, for a start, it's really good! It's a "Beeg Meestake", as Fabio Capello might say, to dismiss Season 24 out of hand, but Remembrance is for me the point where Seven, and Sylvester McCoy for that matter, really hits his stride. Ace is, well, ace, and Sylv and Sophie Aldred just seem to "click" from the outset, just the way their characters do. The awesomeness of Seven and Ace in this story, individually and as a team, is not to be underestimated. Okay, neither Sylv nor Sophie is the greatest actor in the world ever, but there's a lot of heart there and when they have primo material to work with, they're brilliant together. In many ways, this story sets the tone for the rest of the Seven era, not just in the oft-mentioned way it introduces Seven's aspect as this scheming manipulator, but just in establishing this really strong central duo and their fascinating relationship which will be at the forefront of everything else to come in Seasons 25-26.

Yes, if you think RTD invented companion character arcs (although Ace wasn't even the first classic companion to have one of those)...

The quality extends to the whole production. It's a truism that classic Who always does period settings well, but that's because it's, well, true. You know, I've never actually seen early 60s London at first hand, but to me it certainly looks the part. Everything from the clothes, the set decoration, the vehicles, just shows that the BBC could do this kind of thing in its sleep in those days. And the supporting cast are generally excellent; Simon Williams and Pamela Salem playing a kind of ersatz version of The Brig and Liz Shaw, Dursley McLinden as Ace's confused and ultimately doomed love interest of the week (and is it really a coincidence that his character is called Mike?!), and such familiar Brit film/TV faces as Michael Sheard and George Sewell in supporting roles. And of course Joseph Marcell, Geoffrey the butler out of Fresh Prince of Bel Air, in one immortal scene!

And the Daleks! Unlike a lot of Who fans, I will never get sick of Daleks, no matter how overexposed they get, and this is a great Dalek story for the sidelight it casts on their nature and behaviour. We have two Dalek factions here, different from each other in only minor cosmetic touches, but prepared to battle each other to the death for their notion of racial purity. Yes, it's a bit of a heavy-handed "right on" typically-80s message about racism (nothing wrong with that though - at leat 80s telly was politically engaged and prepared to try and say something semi-profound on issues like this), but it's also an interesting characterisation of the Daleks, casting them as these hysterical, not particularly bright and quite pathetic creatures, but no less murderously dangerous for that.

The massed Dalek battle might not look so impressive now compared to NuWho's vast CGI armadas conquering whole planets in the space of a pre-credits teaser, but to my ten year old self watching it on BBC1 one school night, it was the coolest thing I had ever seen on television. And then the Special Weapons Dalek came on the scene, and it just became the coolest thing I had ever seen! And that explains a lot of the appeal this story still has for me. I vividly remember seeing this on TV the first time it was ever broadcast, and seeing it again just takes me back to a particular time and place and unlocks all of the other memories connected to that. That's why I'll always be a classic rather than a NuWho fan, and why I am so happy for the kids seeing NuWho for the first time now who are going to grow up with those great memories, and hopefully create Doctor Who The Third Generation twenty or thirty years from now, when the works of Rusty and the Moff are as much of a nostalgic curiosity as things like Remembrance. Or so I like to think.

So yeah, without casting aspersions on Silver Nemesis, Remembrance is the 25th anniversary story Doctor Who deserved rather than the one it got. And it seems conscious of it, taking the show back to where it all began, with 1963 and Totter's Lane and Coal Hill School and Daleks (I wonder why they didn't get the Tribe of Gum back for a rematch?!). And more than that; it seems clear now that the much-vaunted Cartmel Masterplan is in large part a load of boloids invented by Cartmel after the fact, but there is nevertheless intent clear in this story, the intent to take the Doctor back to his roots in a way, make him this mysterious character with perhaps dubious motives at times, and whether you agree with this take on the Doctor or not, it was for me the making of the Seven era, and all of the good things that were to come over those last two seasons of classic Who.

But to sum up, what other Doctor Who story has anything to compare to this?!
 

You'll notice that the Imperial Daleks pretty much cement their deviant scum status by having white/yellow blaster fire instead of the classic blue...

And if you ever get a chance, check out the Target novelisation by Ben Aaronovitch, who also wrote the TV story - it's a masterpiece!

Oh yeah, and I think it's only fair to warn you now - there are going to be quite a few Seven-related choices in these thirty days!

The Rest of the Days:

Day 01 - Your Favorite Quote
Day 02 – Your Favorite Classic Series Episode
Day 03 – Your Favorite New Series Episode
Day 04 – Your Favorite Doctor
Day 05 – Your Favorite Companion
Day 06 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 07 – Your Favorite Piece of Music
Day 08 – A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Happy
Day 09 – A Who-Related Photo That Makes You Angry/Sad
Day 10 – A Who-Related Photo That You Took
Day 11 – Your Favorite Season (Classic or New)
Day 12 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 13 – Your Favorite Villain
Day 14 – The Villain Who Scared You the Most
Day 15 – Favorite Who-Related Tumblr
Day 16 – Your Favorite Who-Related FanFic
Day 17 – A Piece of Who-Related FanArt
Day 18 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 20 – The Character Who Is Most Like You
Day 21 – Your Doctor Who OTP
Day 22 – A Who-Related Fan-Site
Day 23 – A Who-Related YouTube Video
Day 24 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Day 25 – Favorite Who Actor
Day 26 – Favorite Who Actress
Day 27 – An Episode You Wish Hadn’t Been Made
Day 28 – An Episode Idea You Created Yourself
Day 29 – Who You Think Should Be the Next Doctor
Day 30 – Whatever Tickles Your Fancy