tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post6662554113201181337..comments2024-03-26T19:08:32.544-04:00Comments on That's alls I know: Classic Doctor Who countdown (#10 - #1)Tommy Kraskerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-24189720524429309132018-01-24T13:19:28.655-05:002018-01-24T13:19:28.655-05:00I'll have a bash for at least the top 10. May...I'll have a bash for at least the top 10. Maybe even 20! :-)Bob Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08064350802590956177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-8662396762711336162018-01-20T13:08:44.351-05:002018-01-20T13:08:44.351-05:00You are much too kind. But truly, I'd at least...You are much too kind. But truly, I'd at least be curious to know what your top 10 are. My rankings of the classic catalog shifted around (sometimes wildly) as I was doing this countdown, but I think most of my very favorites have always been my very favorites. (Although truth be told, "Kinda" and "Abominable Snowmen" swapped places -- "Kinda" back to #11, "Snowmen" up to #10 -- the day I was posting this. That's how freakishly fluid my countdown was till the very end!)Tommy Kraskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-25417293447700387742018-01-20T13:04:09.131-05:002018-01-20T13:04:09.131-05:00I feel better about myself. Thank you! :)I feel better about myself. Thank you! :)Tommy Kraskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-52392273923533410152018-01-20T12:31:08.844-05:002018-01-20T12:31:08.844-05:00Just hopping in to say that I first saw Castrovalv...Just hopping in to say that I first saw Castrovalva at a Doctor Who convention in Chicago back in 1982. The entire audience gasped when the Portreeve made his big reveal. So we're not alone in being duped by Mr. Toynay...Bob Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08064350802590956177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-12822417828325900402018-01-20T12:28:57.543-05:002018-01-20T12:28:57.543-05:00My own Classic Countdown? Oh, gosh...I fear my po...My own Classic Countdown? Oh, gosh...I fear my powers of critical analysis would fail me long before the end. Besides, someone way smarter than me has already put a list together. Why compete with that brilliance! :-)Bob Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08064350802590956177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-32482908861423925952018-01-20T11:18:55.146-05:002018-01-20T11:18:55.146-05:00If it's "hard to believe" that you a...If it's "hard to believe" that you and your schoolfriends were taken in by Ainley's Portreeve, what does that say about me and Philip, who fell prey to the deception as adults! As adults in their freaking 40's! Occasionally, the magic of Doctor Who is much too potent... Tommy Kraskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-57845186668891582572018-01-20T09:44:01.542-05:002018-01-20T09:44:01.542-05:00Some great choices here. I too love Castrovalva, a...Some great choices here. I too love Castrovalva, and - hard to believe, perhaps - was completely taken in by Ainley's Portreeve, as were my schoolfriends. Thank goodness there were no online discussion boards in those days: if there had been, the 'Neil Toynay' anagram would have been deciphered before the show even aired.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00894786973064551928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-26454154337373680982018-01-13T15:40:08.867-05:002018-01-13T15:40:08.867-05:00OK, "they provide a blank slate for the vario...OK, "they provide a blank slate for the various 'villains' of the story to project their own needs on" is already more perceptive and eloquent than anything I managed in sixteen pages, so you definitely need to get started on your own Classic Countdown! I have always liked "Ambassadors," but it grows on me more and more with each subsequent viewing (as does the serial on this page that seems to have surprised folks most, in terms of my high ranking, "Abominable Snowmen"), so I suspect if I watched it again, I'd bump it even higher. You're right, it absolutely shows the validity and potential of what Bryant and Sherwin had in mind when they rebooted the series -- although, as you said, whether the concept would have been sustainable is unclear (hard to imagine it would still be running 47 years later). So nice to see another "Ambassadors" devotee -- after I first watched it, years ago, I went online to read fan reviews, and realized so many others prefer "Silurians" and "Inferno" from Season 7 -- I suspect at least in part because they're more traditional Who adventures. But "Ambassadors," for me, is the masterpiece.Tommy Kraskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-82389756282923646622018-01-13T12:05:34.900-05:002018-01-13T12:05:34.900-05:00I am well pleased you have Ambassadors ranked so p...I am well pleased you have Ambassadors ranked so prominently. If I ever try to put one of these together, I may rank it a bit higher. It is my favorite Pertwee story of all -- for all the reasons your note above. The Ambassadors are as unlike an alien race as we've ever seen in Who -- one that even the TARDIS cannot translate for us. As such, they provide a blank slate for the various "villians" of the story to project their own needs on.<br /><br />From what I understand, Letts and Dicks were not happy with the new format that the previous production team left them for season seven. But I think this story more than the other three of that season show that some sort of Doctor Who/Avengers hybrid could have been done. That said, I'm glad the team steered the show's direction back to Doctor Who proper.<br /><br />Also -- Enlightenment and Snakedance! Love those stories. Now I need to re-watch those, too!Bob Gallagherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08064350802590956177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-11481827061815005872017-07-29T12:33:11.907-04:002017-07-29T12:33:11.907-04:00My friend Neil asked the same question: would I be...My friend Neil asked the same question: would I be ranking & reviewing NuWho in the same way? I cannot imagine it! This set of 158 reviews totally did me in -- I can't imagine trying anything like this again for a long, long time. And I don't think my views about NuWho are all that different from a lot of folks, whereas I've always known that where Classic Who is concerned, my opinions are definitely not the "standard" ones. Thanks so much for reading, as always!Tommy Kraskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-67274540842483424362017-07-29T11:47:56.066-04:002017-07-29T11:47:56.066-04:00I love that none of your 10 make it onto mine! Tha...I love that none of your 10 make it onto mine! That's what happens when you discover something as an adult as opposed to a child. Good to see a spread of Doctors on there, although your two faves dominate! Are you going to do one for New Who now? The end of the Moffat era would make a good new stopping point... Just saying!!Child of the 70shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15045667514712502457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-10249775434253028412017-07-18T19:26:47.495-04:002017-07-18T19:26:47.495-04:00I apologize: I rambled on, and didn't direct y...I apologize: I rambled on, and didn't direct your comment that I "may be raving mad." I believe that is true. I'm pretty sure it runs in my family. (My mother is nuts.)Tommy Kraskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-84988105456239194222017-07-18T17:41:40.620-04:002017-07-18T17:41:40.620-04:00Paul, thanks so much. Part of me wishes I had had ...Paul, thanks so much. Part of me wishes I had had the chance to discover Classic Who as a kid, as so many of my friends did -- but there is something lovely, too, about coming to it "cold," as an adult. And yet, of course, I don't pretend that I have greater "objectivity" than the friends who've been watching it for 40 and 50 years. I know well that my own interests and preferences and passions inform my view of everything I watch: not just Doctor Who, heaven knows. This series of essays took me almost four months to write, and there were so many revelations along the way. I had very visceral responses to this latest rewatch. Serials that felt misogynistic bothered me more than ever -- I mean, they've always bothered me, but this time, I found them unforgivable. And I don't think I expected "Mindwarp" to descend all the way to the bottom, but I couldn't get past the basic "message" that it conveyed to me, which seemed so antithetical to everything I love about Doctor Who. On the other hand, several serials rose much higher in my rankings than I would have expected: in particular, "Leisure Hive" -- and maybe as I get older, a serial about aging just has greater resonance than ever -- and the last big surprise, "Abominable Snowmen," which crept into my top 10 during the final days I was writing this. I find myself so moved by it: spiritually, creatively -- I think it's now the serial I most long to see rediscovered.Tommy Kraskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564935526936828636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6768495027896028196.post-76715680340408682562017-07-16T17:30:55.201-04:002017-07-16T17:30:55.201-04:00Congrats on this achievement akin to the building ...Congrats on this achievement akin to the building of the wall of China. Your potted reviews will from now on be my go-to resource for determining the quality of an episode. Also, your productivity makes me think that you may be raving mad. This is not a bad thing.Paul Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02927027468227544676noreply@blogger.com