Fifth Doctor Revisited: "The Five Doctors"

Working through Doctor Who had to include spotlighting every multi-Doctor story. Especially anniversary episodes. As I said regarding "The Three Doctors", the laws of time may have said you couldn't cross your own timeline, but apparently the Doctor is repeatedly an exception to that. While reports say this story would have been very different if Tom Baker had joined the fun, this was still an amazing crossover. Perhaps not cinematic like "The Day of the Doctor" but still epic. So here are some of my thoughts and ramblings about "The Five Doctors".

Let's start with the First Doctor and Susan. Recasted due to the passing of William Hartnell, the original Doctor appeared in this story, portrayed by Richard Hurndall. He was dragged into the Death Zone first and his capture was the most mundane. He was never companionless throughout his tenure, but his companions were nowhere to be seen. Speaking of companions, his granddaughter Susan was pulled from her time (presumably out of the 22nd Century where he'd left her) to be his companion in the Death Zone. My biggest question about him is why, despite his original assertion to return for Susan, he apparently left her behind again after this story. Also kind of bugged me how little the other Doctors acknowledged their granddaughter Susan.

Next up: The Second Doctor and the Brigadier. At this point, the Second Doctor has already been apprehended in "The War Games". The theory is that the Second Doctor was sent on various missions prior to forced regeneration. That would explain how he knew the fates of Jamie and Zoe. At this point in his timeline, like the Tenth Doctor, he was doing a farewell tour. While visiting the Brigadier of the Fifth Doctor's time, the two were captured and brought into the Death Zone.

The Third Doctor obviously came from the time period he spent with Sarah Jane. However, she came from the time after the Fourth Doctor had left her behind (and left her a K9 as a gift). Why she didn't get after him for leaving her at the opposite end of the United Kingdom? Especially since she treated the Tenth Doctor like she hadn't seen him since Aberdeen. Also take note that the Third Doctor took Seal of the High Council, which would later appear in "The Time of the Doctor". 

Since Tom Baker opted to skip this anniversary story, the Fourth Doctor was addressed as being stuck in a time eddy. This happened to the First Doctor, in "The Three Doctors", but the Fourth Doctor was unable to assist the others. The actual scenes of the Doctor and Romana came from the previously unfinished story "Shada". A clever way to include for the Fourth Doctor in the story.

Despite being the oldest Doctor, Peterson Davison was the youngest actor to play the Doctor for decades (finally relinquishing that title to Matt Smith). It was interesting to see the oldest of the Doctors mentored at times and helped by his younger selves. Perhaps there's a metaphor there about learning from your past. I might be more mature than I was as a college freshman, but there are still things to learn from that 18-year-old. Also, as a side note, I loved seeing Tegan adventuring across the Death Zone with the First Doctor.

Even though many claim that Doctor Who has been cancelled (it's on hiatus), epic stories like this remind me of the potential of the series. This story taught lessons about fear, immortality, and progression (and being careful what you wish for). It's definitely one of those stories I love to rewatch (even bought it on DVD back in the day). Even if the show is cancelled, the show is always keen to regenerate. There's always more to come.

More Content You Might Like:

• "Fifth Doctor Revisited: 'The Mawdryn Undead'" by Spencer
• "Fifth Doctor Revisited: 'Castrovalva'" by Spencer
• "Third Doctor Revisited: 'The Three Doctors'" by Spencer

LDS Geeks Podcast #70: Fourth Doctor Adventures (2)

We were fresh out of jelly babies for this recording, but it had to be done. We're working our way to the Fifth Doctor but we still have a couple pit stops to make along the way. So buckle up (I don't think the TARDIS has seat belts) for another round of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor stories.

--Spencer

LDS Geeks Podcast #68: Fourth Doctor Companions (2)

This might be the shortest podcast episode that TJ and I have ever done. Most of the Fourth Doctor's companions in the second half of his tenure weren't in the TARDIS very long before his regeneration. It made for an easy podcast episode at least.

--Spencer

LDS Geeks Podcast #60: Fourth Doctor Villains

Over the course of the Fourth Doctor era, we saw some incredible villains. Some were more notable than others (I'm rather fond of the captain in "The Pirate Planet"). TJ and I had a great discussion of about five of our favorites.

--Spencer

LDS Geeks Podcast #58: Fourth Doctor Adventures (1)

It's taken way too long, but thanks to some wonderfully exhausting insomnia I'm nearly done the Fourth Doctor's era. As such, I realized it's high time that I schedule time with TJ to record about the Doctor and his jelly babies, since we're planning on four more podcast episodes after this one. So grab your jelly babies and join us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

--Spencer

Fourth Doctor Revisited: "City of Death"

Welcome to 2026! How did we get here already? Wibbly wobbly timey wimey, of course. 

Thanks to some unfortunate insomnia, I've had some time to finally work my way through more Classic Doctor Who. Though I'd rather sleep, maybe it's Heavenly Father's way to forcing me to take some self-care time (I'd rather self-care with sleep, but He knows better than me). Recently I watched "City of Death" and had some more random thoughts about it (even more random than usual).

The "time slip" was an interesting mechanic. I kind of wish it had been used more throughout this story. Or maybe a story centered around it, a la Groundhog Day. With how the humans didn't seem affected by it, maybe this is the explanation of human Deja vu?

A plot to steal (and replace) artwork. Talk about a long con! One of the tools used in the heist made me chuckle. They used a "sonic knife" and all I could think about was Captain Jack Harkness, commenting on the Ninth Doctor's screwdriver: "This [knife] could be a little more sonic." Would've loved for the Doctor to commandeer it. Just because.

As if it weren't convoluted enough that Da Vinci painted about half a dozen copies of the Mona Lisa, modern viewers of Sarah Jane Adventures will remember when she came for revenge. Connecting the two stories, I have to wonder if all seven portraits used oils from sentient meteorite or if it was just the one that Sarah Jane's crew would encounter. Seven vengeful portraits is significantly more intense than the single.

Just like Clara Oswald in the modern series, Scaroth was splintered across time and space. Unlike Clara, the consciousness of his splinters were still telepathically connected and conscious of each other. Makes a long con like this easier over the centuries. Since the Doctor would eventually stop him, I can't complain too much about his meddling, since he apparently gave us some of our technological advances. 

I enjoyed Duggan tagging along with the Doctor and Romana. I kind of wish he'd become a companion to the Doctor. I don't know that we've had a detective on the TARDIS team before. Plus can you imagine the Doctor scolding Duggan across time and space for his impulsive fists. Though maybe after Duggan threw the most important punch in history, maybe the Doctor would've allowed it--kind of like how he would allow Ace's explosives (even though he'd say she couldn't have them).

There's still one question I need answered though: Why was it called "City of Death"? Of course there was death--it is Doctor Who after all--but it wasn't like all of Paris was dying. Was there a different plan for how the episode was supposed to go and the name never changed? Not important. Just curious, as I move towards the end of the Fourth Doctor.

This episode is also the origin of this iconic Fourth Doctor meme template.

Fourth Doctor Revisited: "The Armageddon Factor"

First off, I can never remember how many Gs and Ds are in "Armageddon"... This story rounded out the "Key to Time", which included the 500th episode of Doctor Who. After such an epic story, I figured I'd share some random musings from the finale. 

Villains of the story: The Shadow and the Black Guardian. After the Fourth Doctor and Romana diligently bounced through time and space for the White Guardian, the Shadow tried to swoop in and take the first five segments (after all that hard work). And to stop the Black Guardian from getting it... the Doctor undid the Key to Time arc, splitting the Key again. And with that the Doctor went on the run.

Regarding the actual plot of "The Armageddon Factor" itself, it's basically a fabricated war, like "Boom". Atrios vs. Zeos. The Shadow put this conflict together in service to the Black Guardian. Like the Trickster, the Black Guardian feeds on chaos. Makes me wonder if he's part of the Fifteenth Doctor's Pantheon (Toymaker, Trickster, Maestro, etc.), because he'd fit right in. I know the Black Guardian appears later on, especially during the Fifth Doctor era, so I'm looking forward to that.

This was our last appearance of the first Romana. She unceremoniously regenerated in the next episode, taking on the face of Princess Astra (from this story). Though, she had several faces during her regeneration process… do they each count as a regeneration? Also, did something trigger her regeneration? It seemed so casual.

We also met Drax (not the Destroyer), another Time Lord. He created Mentalis, the computer of K9's dreams. He was trapped on Earth for a time, but he was pulled into the Shadow's schemes. This story makes it sound like he was under duress, but pseudo-canon makes it seem like he had a more mischievous streak, like the Monk. Regardless, I wish we could have Drax back. Just one more of so many Time Lords we could have back!

Last thing: Drax called the Doctor “Thete” (Theta Sigma). It was a bit of a tease at the Doctor’s name. His real name, given so flippantly? Nope. College nickname. But I definitely remember talk of this moment when "The Name of the Doctor" was on the horizon. Personally, I hope we never get the Doctor's real name. That can stay between him, River Song, and Clara. It's not really important to the story anyway.

Alright. Now I need to get moving along through the Fourth Doctor and catch up to TJ... If only it hadn't been removed from Tubi... At least I've been able to watch the next story on Pluto TV so far. If you know it streaming somewhere else for free, let me know. 

LDS Geeks Podcast #49: Fourth Doctor Companions (1)

I'm still trying to work myself through the Fourth Doctor's adventures (it's hard these days to find time to watch 4-6 episodes close enough together to follow the story). But now that I've finished the first half of the Tom Baker era, we decided to start out with the first round of Fourth Doctor companions and stories. Here's to the man of the scarf!

--Spencer

Fourth Doctor Revisited: "The Invisible Enemy"

I feel like I'm finally getting into enough of a groove this year (only took me six months) that I've been able to work in time to continue through the Fourth Doctor stories. I recently watched "The Invisible Enemy" and while it's not a hugely highly rated story, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Plus it introduced the tin dog K-9 (in his first incarnation).

That's probably a great place to start: K-9. He was originally created as a companion to Dr. Marius. Since he couldn't bring his real pup into space, he created man's robo best friend. I've written about K-9 previously (see attached Creature Feature), but I just find it amusing and amazing how iconic the tin dog became. While certainly not a traditional companion, K-9 became endearing and loving towards the Fourth Doctor and Leela. I mean, there's a reason another version of K-9 was gifted to Sarah Jane.

Speaking of companions, Leela is no Dodo, but she hasn't been my favorite. That being said, she shines in this story. While her impulsive and possibly savage behavior can sometimes bug me, it became her strength in this story. Because she relied on her intuition and didn't overthink the situation, the Swarm couldn't take hold of her... I wonder what it's like to not overthink life... Maybe I could use some of Leela's antibodies.

The Swarm was an interesting villain. Because of its microscopic size, it can be the titular invisible enemy. Honestly, as creepy as the full-grown virus was, it was much more villainous when it was small. I understand wanting to get bigger (I'm not the tallest guy around) but the power of the Swarm was to infect people. Once it was human-sized, what was the appeal?

To fight against the Swam, the Doctor and Leela cloned and shrunk themselves to figure out the cause and cure. While the concept is very Magic School Bus, it was an interesting idea. Especially with the cloning involved and the accidental creation of the cure, there's a bit of Osmosis Jones going on there too. It's kind of out there but I felt like it was a perfect plot twist... if that term works for a positive twist.

Alright. I need to move along through the Fourth Doctor. TJ and I need more Doctor Who content to discuss. I look forward to meeting the Time Lady Romana again. Just a few stories to go. Did anyone else like "The Invisible Enemy" as much as me or am I the anomaly among Whovian?

Fourth Doctor Revisited: "The Deadly Assassin"

I'm still working my way through the Fourth Doctor era, trying to catch up to TJ. I recently watched "The Deadly Assassin" which is pretty unique among Doctor Who stories, especially of the classic era. We get a return to Gallifrey, the Master's dying form, a murder mystery, and the establishment of plenty of Doctor Who lore.

Let's start with the return to Gallifrey and the murder mystery. Last we left the Doctor, he said goodbye to Sarah Jane Smith (in the wrong city) to follow a call to Gallifrey. Come to find out it was a premonition about an assassination. And naturally the Doctor is in the right place at the wrong time and gets accused of the murder. How many times has that been used as a means of pulling the Doctor further into the drama? Not complaining. It works. Though this time it was an accusation from people who knew him and it took nominating himself as a presidential candidate to stay alive. And that role as the president keeps coming back whenever he visits Gallifrey again.

After the passing of Roger Delgado, the Master and his plots basically faded into the past, like the Great Intelligence and the Toymaker. "Frontier in Space" could have easily been the Master's last story. Instead, they decided to bring him back during the Fourth Doctor era. They could have simply made him regenerate, but instead gave him a plot to avoid his final death. This meant adding the rule of the twelve regenerations (which we'll address in a second) but it brought back this beloved villain. The first of many times that the Master should have been deader than dead and still came back. But we'll come back to this decaying version of the Master soon enough.

This is one of those stories that established parts of Doctor Who lore that has endured for decades. In addition to the limit of twelve regenerations, this story brought us back to Gallifrey, its politics and culture, and the Matrix. In some ways, showing the inner workings of Gallifrey makes them less mysterious I suppose (which is why I'd be very okay if they never reveal the Doctor's real name) but it gave a new sense of urgency. Yes, the Time Lords are very advanced and often benevolent. But this story also showed their darker aspects, making them not much better than humans. In addition, the regeneration limit puts a little more emphasis on each death of a Time Lord, as they're not just reborn forever. With the Doctor possibly being the Timeless Child, he might be the exception... but that's a discussion for when we rewatch the Thirteenth Doctor.

I couldn't find a source for the story, but I read on the Doctor Who wiki that Tom Baker wanted an episode all to himself. A big feat for any actor, to only play off himself. This is as close as we got in the classic era, but we've this companion-less style repeated in modern Doctor Who, with some companion-lite stories (like "Midnight") and one-off companions (like "Voyage of the Damned" and "Joy to the World"). It's one of the few times we truly see the Doctor alone (unless you count Spandrell or Engin as his companions). Peter Capaldi finally got to realize Tom Baker's Doctor-only adventure in "Heaven Sent" but even that story had the monster of the Confession.

Alright, guys! Time to speed things up with my Doctor Who viewing. I need to catch up with TJ so that we have more Whovian content to record on the podcast. 

Fourth Doctor Revisited: "The Brain of Morbius"

Working my way through the Fourth Doctor still, but I slowed myself down rewatching/preparing for Captain America, Daredevil Born Again, and Thunderbolts. Marvel projects aside, I did have some thoughts about the Doctor and Sarah Jane's adventure in "The Brain of Morbius". I thought to write about the Sisterhood of Karn or about Morbius. Final decision: All of the above.

First let's talk about the Sisterhood of Karn. Before I ever watched this story, I encountered the Sisterhood when the mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor" brought the Eighth Doctor full circle before the 50th Anniversary. It was a short visit, but the Doctor's banter with the sisters proved a point. The Sisterhood of Karn fought in this story for the perpetuation of their immortality and they dabbled in Time Lord science (maybe they were involved with Tecteun's experiments on the Timeless Child?) but what is life without an end? Even from a religious perspective, living forever without a greater purpose.... well, go read "Tuck Everlasting". Despite the Fourth Doctor's feelings about the Sisterhood, he was happy to keep their eternal flame glowing. To be fair, they saved Sarah Jane from being blinded forever. 

Next on my notes: Morbius. He and Solon certainly played the role of a Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. However, I'd love to get more about Morbius. TJ and I have talked a few times about how we need more variety with our rival Time Lords. This story came after a few years after the death of Roger Delgado (the first actor to play the Master), so I'm not sure Doctor Who knew what to do about the Doctor's rival. While the Master returned in "The Deadly Assassin" we could have easily gotten more from Morbius. It would've been earlier in his timeline, but still. With Morbius, the Monk, the War Chief, and other renegade Time Lords, I can't help but reiterate the point of giving us a variety. But that's enough ranting for now.

My third and final note for this story: the Doctor's previous faces. During the mental battle between Morbius and the Doctor, a number of faces appeared as incarnations of the Time Lord before the First Doctor. It's a perfect example of how continuity is fluid in Doctor Who and it's constantly evolving and expanding. For decades, these faces were seemingly disregarded, but the Thirteenth Doctor later learned that other faces existed before she was the First Doctor. So while the Timeless Child is a subject of controversy, I maintain that the constantly "regenerating" continuity of Doctor Who is what's kept the series alive for over sixty years now. We may never get more information on these past lives, erased from the Doctor's memory, but it's all part of the ongoing wibbly-wobbly story.

That's enough about Morbius, but I'm sure I'll have more to say about renegade Time Lords at a later date (I always seem to have more). In the meantime, I need to figure out a good way to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of modern Doctor Who. Allons-y!

Friday Creature Feature - Sutekh

Once upon a time in college, to celebrate the 50th anniversary, my friends and I did a Doctor Who marathon of sorts. One story from each doctor over the course of a week. Just so happens that we picked Sutekh’s appearance for our Fourth Doctor story. We were underwhelmed by “Pyramids of Mars” and ended up picking a story from the Fourth Doctor/Romana era. There was no way we could know Sutekh would come back around during the Fifteenth Doctor’s tenure. 

In the pantheon of Egyptian gods, Sutekh is the god of death. I learned a little about him while writing a Yu-Gi-Oh fan fiction in high school. Sometimes known as Set or Seth, this deity reigned over violence, storms, deserts, and pretty much everything else unpleasant. In the world of Doctor Who, he’s still the god of death. However, like other myths portrayed on Doctor Who, the god-like power doesn’t make him a deity, only mistakable for one. Though not literally a god, Sutekh possessed immense power even on his first encounter with the Doctor. Those powers put him on par with and in league with powerful forces like the Toymaker, the Trickster, and Maestro.

By the time Sutekh encountered the Fourth Doctor, he had been imprisoned by Horus for a long time. Having recently taken control of an archaeologist named Marcus Scarman, his scheme centered around shooting a missile at the Eye of Horus on Mars, which held him captive. To his credit, unlike most villains, he was able to destroy the Eye and free himself… but the Doctor managed to get back to Earth first and trap him in a time corridor. Supposedly.

The Doctor banked on him aging to death in the time vortex. Unbeknownst to the Doctor (and all companions he had in the years following) Sutekh survived by latching onto the TARDIS–which made for a funny series of memes after the most recent season finale. Using the Doctor’s memory of his granddaughter Susan to create a trap, Sutekh reformed and spread his death dust across time and space. But using his own trap involving the mystery of Ruby’s mother, the Doctor managed to send Sutekh back into the time stream to really be destroyed this time. Probably. Maybe. Who knows?

As much as I recall the complaints of heavy plot armor to explain his defeat at the hands of the Fifteenth Doctor (and I’m not sure I can disagree with those complaints) I enjoyed the return of Sutekh. I think I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy the retelling and reframing of mythology for Doctor Who (probably why I’ve also enjoyed Once Upon a Time and Percy Jackson). There’s something about making fairytales and myths relatable and fresh to the viewer. Even better when the story can motivate me to learn about the original myth or source material. Whether he had that effect on you or not, he definitely made me rethink the idea that all dogs are good dogs. Hard to see a good dog in those evil glowing eyes. But maybe I’ll feel differently when I rewatch the story before the new season of Doctor Who… now if only they’d give us a premiere date for that.

Fourth Doctor Revisited: "Robot"

“You may be a Doctor, but I'm the Doctor.”

It’ll be another few months before TJ and I finish off our Third Doctor podcast episodes (blame technical difficulties, the holidays, etc.). In the meantime, I finished Planet of the Spiders and now we enter the era of the iconic Fourth Doctor, his scarf, and his jelly babies. So let’s start with a few thoughts I had from Tom Baker’s inaugural story: “Robot”

Every once in a while there’s a Doctor Who story with a distinct lack of alien involvement. I’m often hit and miss with these stories. This one hit home with a theme about humanity’s fatal flaw (well, one of them anyway). Seriously though, human knowledge and hubris is more dangerous than any alien. The titular K1 Robot was designed to cover human lies and scheming. And then it blew up in their faces anyway.

Now let’s take a note about the best part of humanity: kindness. Leave it to Sarah Jane Smith to empathize with and show compassion to a machine. It didn’t take much, but Sarah Jane’s treatment of K1 is what prevented global catastrophe. She tried to understand the feelings of a machine in regards to how it was being treated. Most human beings don’t show that much consideration for living beings, never mind machines. Seriously though, is this a cautionary tale of AI? Of humanity’s pride? Or of how we treat machines? Remember the episode next time your self-checkout at Walmart seems to glitch.

And now with this post-regeneration story, it’s time to explore the long-reaching era of Tom Baker and his marvelous scarf. Like previous regenerations, it took the Doctor some time to get his footing, but a mystery kept him going. Plus we got to meet Dr. Harry Sullivan, companion to Sarah Jane and the Doctor for the season, as we bid goodbye to the UNIT era of Doctor Who. No more regular appearances from the Brigadier (but at least he kept the Doctor on payroll).

Now off into time and space with Sarah Jane and Harry as his companions. Let’s part with some wise words the Fourth Doctor:

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes"

The Doctor's Doppelgängers

Next week begins the start of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials. This won't be the first time the Doctor encounters/wears a familiar face. In fact it almost seems like it's a recurring theme, the Doctor encountering his doppelgängers (or being his own doppelgänger in this case). Sometimes before he wears the face and sometimes after. Sometimes at the same time. So with the Fourteenth Doctor coming up (and with "Enemy of the World" in my recent memories) let's take a look at these twinners.

First Doctor - Abbot of Amboise (The Massacre)

Though the episode doesn't still exist in its entirety, "The Massacre" features the Doctor encountering (sort of) his lookalike in the 16th Century. The Doctor never appears on screen with the Abbot, so I suppose the Doctor could have been the Abbot the whole time (instead of just pretending to be him). But all the same, Steven couldn't tell for sure through the four episodes whether he was truly interacting with the Doctor or the Abbot. Frustrating I'm sure. That couldn't have helped with that outburst at the end, before he stormed out of the TARDIS. (Side note: If we're including the fact that David Bradley played the Doctor in "Twice Upon a Time" and "The Power of the Doctor", the First Doctor also had a double in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship")

Second Doctor - Ramón Salamander (The Enemy of the World)

Upon arriving in Australia 2018 (yet another future story now set in the past), what are the odds that the Doctor would encounter a Hispanic warlord version of himself? Naturally the dictatorship's enemies had to use the Doctor to infiltrate the bad guys' European home. But the Doctor being the Doctor had to make sure he was on the right side before agreeing to overthrow a regime. And enter the Doctor's superb acting skills, utilized multiple times in his second incarnation, to fool nearly all of Salamander's people. Long story short, good guys win and Salamander forgot to close the TARDIS doors before taking off.... so into the vortex he goes. Spin-off media took his story in another direction after that, but as TJ and I have said on the podcast, that goes into the pseudo-canon (pick-and-choose-canon) realm.

Fourth Doctor - The Curator (The Day of the Doctor)

As if it wasn't enough to have all thirteen Doctor's appear AND save Gallifrey, we were hit with another surprise as the legendary Tom Baker returned to Doctor Who. The Fourth Doctor is still the longest running Doctor, so to see him return as the Curator was/is a big deal for fans. Though not technically confirmed in the 50th Anniversary special, it was heavily hinted that the Curator is a future incarnation of the Doctor. Regardless, his face was recognizable by the Eleventh Doctor. The spin-off media expands on the Curator, but as previously noted, that's only sort-of canon.

Sixth Doctor - Maxil (Arc of Infinity)

Before appearing as the flamboyantly obnoxious Sixth Doctor, Collin Baker appeared as the Time Lord Maxil in "Arc of Infinity". Imagine with all the faces you could regenerate into and you turn into another Time Lord. I guess that's just the luck of the draw... except that sometimes the face isn't random (see the two examples below).

Tenth Doctor - Fourteenth Doctor (60th Anniversary Specials)

How do you become your own doppelgänger? By being the most popular Doctor of the modern era. We know next to nothing about the Fourteenth Doctor, except that for some reason he looks like the Tenth. From the trailers (Spoiler warning) we can kind of tell that the Fourteenth Doctor is going to wrap up some of his unfinished business from his time with Donna. What does that mean for them? Who knows? And how does the Toymaker play into things?

Twelfth Doctor - Lobus Caecilius (Fire of Pompeii)

We were told this Doctor double would be addressed during the tenure of the Twelfth Doctor. I don't know what I expected (maybe revisiting Roman times?) but I was underwhelmed at the explanation of why the Doctor looked like Caecilius. Maybe I wanted them to address Donna again? I don't know, but we're getting Donna again anyway. Also, though I never watched Torchwood, Peter Capaldi also appeared on the Doctor Who spin-off as John Frobisher and I kind of hoped they'd tie him into the Twelfth Doctor as well. Oh well.

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be here twiddling my thumbs, continuing along my Second Doctor rewatch, while I wait for the return of the Doctor and Donna. Happy 60th anniversary, Whovians!

Sarah Jane Smith Binge List

This month would have marked the 76th birthday of Elizabeth Sladen, who played fan-favorite Sarah Jane Smith alongside seven different Doctors and got her own spin-off Sarah Jane Adventures (SJA) during the early years of Modern Who. In honor of her birthday, I wanted to highlight some of her best stories that I want to rewatch someday soon.

Third Doctor Era (Season 11)

The Time Warrior - Naturally you need to start with her first appearance. She snuck into UNIT and teamed up with the Third Doctor, almost by accident.

Invasion of the Dinosaurs - This was my favorite of Sarah Jane’s early stories. To say the special effects are dated would be an understatement, but the story is solid

Planet of the Spiders - Sarah Jane’s first experience with the Doctor regenerating (also the first time “regeneration” was a canon term). It also gave us the only TV appearance of the Hermit.

Fourth Doctor Era (Seasons 12-14)

Robot - Can’t talk about Sarah Jane without addressing the beginning of the Fourth Doctor and the introduction of Harry Sullivan.

Genesis of the Daleks - One of Sarah Jane’s iconic stories, featuring Davros for the first time and the backstory of the Daleks.

The Android Invasion - In some ways, this one was freakier than Blink. But that’s just one Whovian's opinion.

The Hand of Fear - After her final adventure with the Fourth Doctor, it was sad to leave Sarah Jane behind, especially since she was left in the wrong place.

A Girl’s Best Friend - It was supposed to be a pilot for a spin-off series, but Sarah Jane wouldn’t get that spin-off until the modern era. But this Christmas special did get Sarah Jane her K-9, who would keep on reappearing.

Fifth Doctor Era (20th Anniversary)

The Five Doctors - Sarah Jane only had one appearance during Peter Davison’s run. She teamed up with the Third Doctor in the Death Zone, before returning to her home again. She would not be seen again in the Classic era.

Tenth Doctor Era (Series 2-4, SJA Series 1-3)

School Reunion - The Tenth Doctor, Rose, and Mickey teamed up with Sarah Jane and K-9. I would love more episodes like this, bringing Classic companions back for one-off stories.

SJA Series 1 - The first installment of the Sarah Jane Adventures introduced Luke, Maria, and Clyde. If you were to only watch a couple stories from this season I’d recommend  “Invasion of the Bane”, “Revenge of the Slitheen”, and “Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane?”

The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End - Sarah Jane and Luke guest star in this epic Doctor Who crossover, along with the companions of the main series and the team from Torchwood. 

SJA Series 2 - This season said goodbye to Maria and hello to Rani. Some of the must-sees from this period include “The Last Sontaran”, “The Day of the Clown”, and “The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith” (which explains why she was raised by her aunt).

SJA Series 3 - This season took place during the year of Tenth Doctor specials. Without a companion, he showed up in the Sarah Jane Adventures. “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith” saw him team up with Sarah Jane and her friends.

The End of Time - Sarah Jane and Luke only briefly show up during the Tenth Doctor’s farewell tour, but this heartbreaking scene is still worth watching.

Eleventh Doctor Era (SJA Series 4-5)

SJA Series 4 - With Luke off for early admission at Oxford, Sarah Jane had a smaller team. But that didn’t stop her from facing off against her alien foes. Highlights for this season are “The Nightmare Man”, “The Empty Planet”, and of course “Death of the Doctor”, which featured the return of Jo Grant and the appearance of the Eleventh Doctor.

SJA Series 5 - This season was cut short, due to Elizabeth Sladen’s passing. In “Sky” she adopted a little alien girl (named “Sky”) and “The Man Who Never Was” gave her a loving tribute at the end.

Sometime after this, Sarah Jane Smith reportedly died. We don’t know how she died, but some speculated she had been taken by the Doctor again. Her funeral was attended by many of the Doctor’s companions and her team. Her funeral was described in a webcast in 2020. A beautiful goodbye to a beautiful companion. We miss you, Sarah Jane. We miss you, Elizabeth Sladen.