Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The Second Doctor

Been a while since I did a Classic Doctor Who post. It’s been a little while since I watched the Second Doctor (doesn’t help that Hulu can’t stream it anymore) so I’d better write this before I start forgetting everything. Here we go…



The Cybermen prepare to
attack in "The Moonbase"
Season 4
Top Story: The Moonbase
Season 4 episodes are spotty. The only complete story I was able to watch/listen to was The Moonbase. All the same, it was still a good episode. In it, the Doctor, Polly, Ben, and Jamie end up in the late 21st Century on a moonbase. It reintroduced he Cybermen which were introduced in the First Doctor's last story. It showed one of the Cybermen's weaknesses, to a concoction of chemicals put together by Polly. This story also showed the Doctor's legitimacy to holding that title, or at least he claims he got his doctorate in Glasgow in 1888.

Season 5
The Doctor once again confronts
the Cybermen in "The Tomb of
the Cybermen"
Top Story: Tomb of the Cybermen
Another Cyberman story for the second Doctor. In this one the Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria end up on an archaeological expedition with a group of people who are there to excavate the tomb of the Cybermen. However, a couple idiots in the group want to reawaken the Cybermen and use them. How stupid can people be? Anyway, I really liked this episode for its tender moments. In one scene, the Doctor talks to Victoria who has just lost her family and comforts her with some words including "Our lives are different to anybody else's. That's the exciting thing! Because nobody in the universe can do what we're doing." Another fun part of this episode is the interaction between the Doctor and Jamie. I'd love to see another Doctor/male companion combo like them.
Flop Story: Enemy of the World
I was excited when this story was recovered a couple years ago, but when I watched it this year I was as unimpressed. The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria end up in 2018 (only a couple years away and the government has fallen apart? Somehow television is mirroring reality with the upcoming election) and a group of freedom fighters get the Doctor to pose as a ruthless dictator, who is his doppelgänger. Honestly, it wasn't that bad of an episode, maybe I just have a hard time with the six-episode stories. It kind of just dragged on.
The Doctor teams up with
Lethbridge-Stewart for the first time
in "Web of Fear"
Honorable Mention: Web of Fear
The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria end up in a subway tunnel in the present day (well, 1968, so the present day of the time) and up against the yetis and the Great Intelligence. It also introduces Lethbridge-Stewart, who becomes an important part of the Third Doctor era. Despite seemingly defeating the Great Intelligence here, it appears again in the Eleventh Doctor era... Though the events of "The Name of the Doctor" may have happened first. It's hard to tell.

Seasons 6
The Doctor and Zoe take the test to
meet the bad guys in "The Krotons".
Top Story: The Krotons
The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe end up on an alien planet where the smartest and brightest end up being chosen to dwell with the overlords, the Krotons. In reality, they just get their mental energy drained and their empty shells dumped out to be destroyed. The Doctor and Zoe easily match up to their to brightest. As such they're able to take down the Krotons from the inside. I liked this story as it showed just how well Zoe matches up to the Doctor. It's nice to see someone who can match wits with the Doctor and then some.
Flop Story: The Dominators
So the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe end up against the Dominators and their Quarks. They have to get the local pacifists to stand up before their home is destroyed. I have a high tolerance for cheesy monsters in classic Doctor Who, but I couldn't even take these seriously. Also, the story was just hard to get into.
The Cybermen invade London for the
first time in "The Invasion".
Honorable Mention: The Invasion
I could have picked "The War Games" here, as it was the first episode to feature the Time Lords and Gallifrey (though it wasn't named at this point). However, I picked this one. It's a sequel of sorts to "Web of Fear", bringing Lethbridge-Stewart back (now Brigadier) to help the Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe fight the Cybermen. It formally introduced UNIT, which the Brigadier is now in charge of, which became an regular part of the ThirdDoctor era and a recurring element of Doctor Who ever since.

Second Doctor Companions:
Polly                (1st Doctor) - The Faceless Ones
Ben                  (1st Doctor) - The Faceless Ones
Jamie               The Highlanders - The War Games
Victoria           The Evil of the Daleks - Fury from the Deep
Zoe                  The Wheel in Space - The War Games

Zoe and Isobel in "The Invasion".
Favorite Companion:
My favorite companion was Zoe. It was a toss up between her and Jamie, but like I said with her in "The Krotons", it's nice to see someone who can match wits and is possibly even smarter than the Doctor. She was a nice strong female companion, especially in comparison to some who came before her including Susan, Dodo, and Victoria.
Victoria screams, as she does,
in "The Ice Warriors".
Least Favorite Companion:
On that note, my least favorite companion is Victoria. She didn't really do anything except scream and freak out. Some of it could be considered trauma because of what happened to her family, but it didn't make for good entertainment. Essentially since not a lot of development was shown. The whole time she was there she seemed to be the same.


That's all for now. Next Doctor Who post coming in a few weeks. Next week, expect a review of Captain America Civil War. I haven't decided whether to include spoilers or not. 

Patrick Troughton, as the Second Doctor, as appeared in every
multi-Doctor story, including "The Two Doctors".

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