LDS Geeks Podcast #26: Second Doctor Review

And finally TJ have made it to the end of our discussions on the Second Doctor... just as I finished the Third Doctor. Enjoy our ramblings and ravings about this cosmic hobo, as he's been called.

--Spencer

Listen to Episode 26 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

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Show Notes:

00:10 - Introductions
01:33 - Spencer's Recommendation: Percy Jackson and the Olympians
05:32 - TJ's Recommendation: 7 Little Words
06:48 - Introducing the Second Doctor
09:22 - The Doctor's new personality
12:27 - Introducing regeneration
15:22 - Wise Grandpa or Weird Uncle
16:59 - The TARDIS Team
26:40 - Doctor Who firsts
36:31 - Missing episodes
41:44 - Second Doctor's ending
43:38 - Portrayal of the Doctors
48:25 - Ranking the Doctors (Favorite-Least Favorite)
            Spencer: 1-2
            TJ: 2-1
53:00 - Conclusion

Third Doctor Revisited: "The Three Doctors"

I knew I had to write something about the tenth anniversary special of Doctor Who when TJ and I got to that point. Despite the “First Law of Time” (as it’s called by the Time Lords) precluding the crossing of one’s own timeline, this story set the precedent for anniversary stories; “The Five Doctors” (twentieth anniversary) and “The Day of the Doctor” (fiftieth anniversary) continued this trend, in addition to other multi-Doctor stories (like “The Two Doctors” and “Twice Upon a Time”).

This story saw the return of the First Doctor, though due to William Hartnell’s health he was limited to filming his character trapped in a “time eddy”. According to the pseudo-canon material, he was pulled from time at the period when Vicki and Steven were his companions. Hartnell was unable to film with the other Doctors, but was able to film his scenes elsewhere to still help the other Doctors defeat Omega. It was the last appearance of the First Doctor, as portrayed by William Hartnell, as he passed away about two years later. All Whovians ought to be grateful to that first First Doctor actor, who started this 60+ year journey.

P

atrick Troughton as the Second Doctor also returned of course, recalling his encounters with Benton and Lethbridge-Stewart in “The Web of Fear” and “The Invasion”. I found his rivalry with his future self amusing. We kind of saw that dynamic between the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, but this rivalry was much more pronounced. Unlike future multi-Doctor stories where the memories were blurred and mostly forgotten, the Second Doctor seemed to remember this adventure when encountering the Third Doctor again in “The Five Doctors”. His stories weren’t my favorite, but I enjoyed him as the Doctor, so I’m glad he returned and would return two more times. As he was on the orders of the Time Lords, my theory places this appearance after “The War Games” and before his regeneration (see my Fugitive Doctor post for more on that), but the pseudo-canon places this moment while Jamie and Zoe were still in the TARDIS.

Finally, the third of the three Doctors was naturally the current Jon Pertwee incarnation. Unlike other multi-Doctor stories, the Third Doctor was the only incarnation with a clear companion (even in “The Day of the Doctor” you could sort of say that Queen Elizabeth was the Tenth Doctor’s companion). Jo had wonderful chemistry with all three of the Doctors and I felt like she kept the story moving. And finally, after years of being stuck on Earth with UNIT, the Third Doctor’s exile on Earth finally ended, allowing him and Jo to willingly head into time and space (instead of the Time Lords directing his travels). 

This story also marks the first time the Brigadier and Benton entered the TARDIS. Insert “bigger on the inside” commentaries and the Brig’s repeatedly skeptical comments. You’d think that after three years of working closely with the Doctor, he’d be more willing to believe. But I guess like Ben and Ian, we needed that skeptic in the TARDIS.

The Time Lords in crisis: Something you don’t see too often. It shows just how big of a threat Omega was, though honestly I’m not sure I understand what effect Omega had on Gallifrey during this story. All the same, Omega was a big enough deal that he would be referenced throughout the series (example: The Hand of Omega in “Remembrance of the Daleks”) and he would reappear against the Fifth Doctor. Only a couple other Time Lords have that much recurring prominence in Doctor Who, besides the Master. But we’ll get to more Time Lords as we get into the Fourth Doctor era shortly I’m sure.

LDS Geeks Podcast #24: Second Doctor Villains

Technical difficulties aside (hopefully you can't hear them too much) we had fun revisiting the Second Doctor's foes across his time in the TARDIS. Let us know which Second Doctor villains you'd have added to our list. 

--Spencer

LDS Geeks Podcast #21: Second Doctor Companions

After a little bit of a hiatus, because life got busy for him, I got to record with TJ again. We're moving along through our Second Doctor series. Check out our discussion about his companions. Much less than the First Doctor, we were mostly a fan of the Second Doctor's TARDIS teams.

--Spencer

Second Doctor Revisited: "The Mind Robber"

As TJ and I work through Classic Doctor Who and while we wait for the Fifteenth Doctor’s first season, I still have plenty of thoughts about the Second Doctor’s era to ramble on about. So for this installment of revisiting the Doctor’s stories, I’m talking about “The Mind Roober”. 

So like many Classic Who stories, the first episode was quite slow. Par for the course with Classic Who, but I can’t imagine being pulled into the story like this back in the 1960s. I feel like I have to binge the whole 2-10 episodes (depending on the story) for it to hold my attention. It’s one of the reasons I’m glad Doctor Who is 40-60 minutes in Modern Who. It’s more like a mini-movie every episode. 

I just had to chuckle at the temporary recasting of Jamie in the land of fiction. Looking into it, Frazer Hines had contracted chicken pox from his nephew, so they had to continue the story without him. What a clever way to keep the show moving along even without the full cast present. Reminds me of when William Hartnell was on vacation so they used a silent stand-in for his hand during “The Celestial Toymaker”. Doctor Who has always kind of been clever about how to use their cast to work around illness and the actors’ personal lives. 

Being the father of little children, the land of fiction reminded me of my toddler’s imaginative play (also reminded me of fan fiction I’ve written too, I guess). To whatever extent, what geek wouldn’t want to put themselves in the middle of their favorite stories, even for a moment. It makes me wonder which works of fiction I might encounter if I were pulled in like the Doctor and his TARDIS team.

This would have meant nothing to viewers back when the story first came out, but every time there was a mention of “the intelligence” or “the master” I had to stop myself. For viewers of Modern Who (or anyone who has seen later Classic Who after this point), references to “intelligence” or “master” will likely bring to mind a couple of recurring Doctor Who villains. Even having seen this story before, I had to stop and check the TARDIS wiki to make sure I hadn’t forgotten a Great Intelligence or Master story.

Let’s close out these ramblings with a question for you guys. Which books/stories/movies do you think would be included if this story had been done with one of the modern Doctors? The first things that come to my mind are some kind of sitcom spoof, Harry Potter, or a generic superhero (I suppose they had that in this episode).

LDS Geeks Podcast #13: Second Doctor Adventures

Beginning our series about the Second Doctor, we're starting again with our favorite stories. We hope you enjoy our discussion about Patrick Troughton's tenure in the TARDIS

--Spencer

Friday Creature Feature - Clara's Snowmen

After doing my creature feature about Calvin’s snowmen, it only made sense to do a post about the snowmen from Doctor Who. However, as much as I enjoy Clara’s snowmen, this post will probably spend more time exploring the intelligence behind the snowmen, instead of the creatures themselves. But first to the snowmen:

The Snowmen

So once upon a time in Victorian England, a non-sentient snow-like alien substance fell to Earth and its telepathetic field latched onto a lonely (and possibly disturbed) boy. With the telepathic “snow” mirroring his thoughts over the ensuing fifty years, the alien substance started taking on a mind of its own. By the time the Eleventh Doctor and Clara took on this “intelligence” it’s able to create carnivorous snowmen just at a thought. End goal: the “snow” wanted to become the ultimate combination of human and ice (sounds like a Power Rangers villain, to be honest). This all culminated with an ice lady chasing after the Doctor and Clara. After Clara fell to her death (again), her family’s grief over her loss spilled into the telepathetic field, melting the snowmen and the Intelligence. 

But the Doctor rightly theorized the Intelligence didn’t stop there. It’s hard to say where things went next though…

Miss Kizlet and the Wi-Fi

In 21st Century England, the wi-fi started absorbing people’s minds. The person seemingly behind it, Miss Kizlet, said she was feeding those minds to her “client” who was later revealed to be the Great Intelligence. Again, the Great Intelligence was acting like a parasite, feeding off the mind of a child; when Kizlet’s mind was “reset” she was mentally a kid again, after facing the Eleventh Doctor. No idea what happened to the Great Intelligence at that point.

Whispermen on Trenzalore

The next time the Eleventh Doctor saw the Great Intelligence was “The Day of the Doctor” when lured to Trenzalore with Clara. After the Great Intelligence got into the Doctor’s time stream (possibly explaining the Second Doctor’s encounters with the Great Intelligence), Clara jumped in to resolve the interference. So yay? No sign of the Great Intelligence since the Eleventh Doctor era though.

The Abominable Snowmen in Tibet

Way back when, an expedition in Tibet led by Professor Travers hunted down a supposed yeti. Turns out, the Yeti was a robot controlled by the Great Intelligence. The Second Doctor, his companions, and Travers take the yeti and the Intelligence out of commission. And as the Doctor and the TARDIS team departed, Travers started hunting down a real yeti.

Webs in the London Underground

Decades after Travers explored Tibet, his souvenir Yeti robot got activated again and the Great Intelligence (somehow reawakened–not entirely clear on how this happened). By the time the Second Doctor and his friends arrived on the scene, the London Underground was covered in massive cobwebs. Eventually the Doctor was able to trick the Intelligence and stop its plans. Oh and we also got the introduction of a longstanding ally to the Doctor: Allistair Lethbridge-Stewart (before he was Brigadier).

Other than the obvious progression of Trenzalore happening after the snowmen and the London Underground happening after Tibet, these incidents with the Great Intelligence are very timey-wimey. Difficult to place their order. But there’s every chance the Intelligence could return again. Especially with the wibbly-wobbly nature of its stories. 

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!

Second Doctor Revisited: "The Highlanders"

Breaking into the Second Doctor era, I was surprised to enjoy "The Highlanders" so much. The purely historical episodes were not my favorite (which is interesting because I also highlighted "The Romans" in the First Doctor era). But it was a great display of the Second Doctor's character and an introduction to his longest running companion.

When I first learned that Doctor Who was dreamt up as an educational show, all I could do was wonder how Daleks fit into a history lesson. And then you get episodes like this and I imagine this is the kind of educational-ish episode the creators had. On a related subject, please note how the Doctor shows absolutely no consideration for aberrations through history. A far cry from the First Doctor insisting that Barbara could and should have no impact on the Aztecs.

It was great to see the Second Doctor begins to show his personality, with disguises, voices, and accent. "I want a hat like that." All I could think of when I heard these lines was the Eleventh Doctor energy. What other incarnation of the Doctor had such an affinity for hats? And yet we got two moments of that Matt Smith trickling back down the Doctor's timeline. "I would like a hat like that." Though it should be noted that the Second Doctor was seen admiring a fez in the "Prisoners of Time" comic. We can only hope he bought it.

There's this trope in Doctor Who where the TARDIS team gets split up. If it weren't for that, the Doctor would have actually booked it out the situation. This story was easily that classic "TARDIS team gets split up and has to get together before they can leave" motivation. Especially since the Doctor can't truly risk changing anything about Scottish history, it made for an interesting dynamic.

I was excited to watch/listen to this story because of the introduction of Jamie McCrimmon, who would become the Second Doctor's best friend and long-time companion (he'd stay with the Doctor until his forced regeneration). With how important the Doctor/Jamie bromance is to this era, I was a bit surprised by the last minute invite into the TARDIS. It made sense as a way to get Jamie to safety, but I was confused and put off a little that there was no thought of friends or family left behind. 

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".

Check out our other Doctor Who features:

• First Doctor
• Third Doctor
• Fourth Doctor Part 1 and Part 2
• Fifth Doctor
• Sixth Doctor
• Seventh Doctor
• Eighth Doctor
• Ninth Doctor
• Tenth Doctor
• Eleventh Doctor
• Twelfth Doctor

Fezzes Are Cool

One of the many iconic things and running jokes of the 11th Doctor era was his love of headwear. None did he love more than the fez.  I mean, come on, fezzes are cool! However, the 11th Doctor was not the first Doctor to wear a fez. Take a look at this.

In the 2nd Doctor chapter of the multi-Doctor comic story “Prisoners of Time”, the Doctor is shown admiring a fez at a hat shop at the Frenko Bazaar. He didn’t buy it or wear it, but he is definitely looking at it.

Some wonderful timing passing by the fez

In the 7th Doctor story "Silver Nemesis" he and Ace end up in a storage rea, where the Doctor finds a little red hat: his first fez (as far as we know). First thing he does, of course, is try it on. He may have looked older back then, but the 7th Doctor still had a childish side.

The Seventh Doctor with a fez and a mop. Foreshadowing?

The 8th Doctor also wore a fez in a comic story called “Doctor Who and the Nightmare Game”. He’d intended to land in Egypt, but instead landed in 1977 at a soccer match. I haven't read it, so I can't really tell you much about it, but here's the 8th Doctor wearing a fez.

Nope. Not Egypt.

Chronologically the next time the Doctor handles a fez, even if he didn't remember it, as the War Doctor finding the fez that his future incarnation had thrown through a time fissure into the lonely barn on Gallifrey, before traveling to his future incarnations (in the past) to return the fez.

The Doctor returning the fez to himself... and himself.

Not too long before that, the 10th Doctor found that same fez (wibbly wobbly timey wimey) in 16th century England, while wooing Queen Elizabeth (or her Zygon counterpart... It gets confusing), moments before his next incarnation dives through a time fissure to find his beloved fez. Even if it's just momentary, it was a beautiful moment to see the 10th Doctor wearing the fez.

"Anything could happen! ... For instance a fez."

Of course the 11th Doctor has a more extensive history with the fez. He found his first shortly before Big Bang 2, only for it to get destroyed by his future/already wife, River Song. However that works..... Anyway, he wears another fez along with Kazrin on Christmas Day in the 44th Centuary. Later he found another fez in his wardrobe, as he was de-monking himself for Clara Oswald. My favorite one though was when he took the fez from the under-gallery resulting in his War and 10th incarnations finding it shortly thereafter. (“One day, you could just walk past a fez.” “Never gonna happen.”)

"What in the name of sanity do you have on your head?"
"It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool."

Now the question will be for Peter Capaldi: can he just walk past a fez? If he ever does, that might be heartbreaking. In the meantime, however, I'm just planning on having Matt Smith wear my fez for our photo op (hopefully he gives it back.......). Anyway, looking forward to seeing you this weekend at Comic Con FanX. Feel free to stop me to say hi if you see me.

SLC Comic Con last fall
See you at FanX this weekend!