Fri Oct 9, 2009 3:49PM13 comments ›
Fri Oct 9, 2009 — by Mike Gold
Six Great Doctor Who Moments
The Returh of the ComicMixSix!
As we brace ourselves for the new Doctor Who specials, the return of Sarah Jane Adventures, and Matt Smith's first season, here's a little gasoline to pour on the fan-fire – my take on the six top moments on Doctor Who.
6. Quiet Time
There’s a great moment in the Doctor Who teevee movie, one that we had rarely seen (if ever) in the original series: the Doctor, in this case Doctor Seven, quietly sitting in the TARDIS in his comphy chair, reading a book. Of course, drama being what it is he quickly gets, well, killed. Fatally. And then begins a difficult regeneration into Doctor Eight. That wasn’t the worst thing that confronted him: he had to face Eric Roberts as the Master. He, and his series of proposed telemovies, was doomed.
5. The Ears Have It
There’s this great moment in Rose, the first of Doctor Nine’s shows where Christopher Eccleston stops the action when he crosses a mirror in the TARDIS. He peers into the mirror, thinks he’s kind of good looking, but he’s not too sure about those ears. In one stroke, Russell T. Davies established the Doctor had just reincarnated and, therefore, the fight that destroyed the other Time Lords had “just” happened (however one defines “just” in time travel) while, at the same time, revealing quite a lot about this new Doctor’s personality. Nice moment.
4.
The One and Phony Master
Stephen Moffat is the current Doctor Who showrunner and, along with Davies, the most significant writer of the new series. But between this series and the original, the BBC aired a wonderful “Doctor Who” episode called The Curse of Fatal Death. It was a charity fundraiser ten years ago, a brilliant parody, and the Who debut of writer Moffat. It featured no less than five new Doctors – played, sequentially, by Rowan Atkinson, Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant and Joanna Lumley – and one stellar Master: the gifted stage and film performer, Jonathan Pryce. Had one of those movie projects ever gotten off the ground, he would have been perfect in the role and might have given Delgado a run for his money. It isn’t easy being menacing in such a broad parody, and it is to the credit of both Pryce and Moffat that it comes off.
3.
The One and True Master
It has long been my belief that the original Master, Roger Delgado, was not only the finest teevee villain but also the second most brilliantly evil villainous actor ever – right behind Charles “Ming the Merciless” Middleton. Brilliantly menacing with a joie de vivre unmatched until David Tennent came along. All of his successors pale in comparison, although John Simm was smart enough to abandon Delgado’s approach entirely and let loose his inner-Joker. Sadly, Delgado died in a car accident in 1973, between the 10th and 11th seasons of the original series.
2. Doctor, Doctor
Crossover moments between Doctors are few and far between – for very good reason. You don’t want to take your best stunt and run it into the ground, the way the Joker’s been overused the past several decades. So the latest (I think it’s the fourth?) happened between the third and the fourth series of the current show as another teevee fundraiser. Set squarely between the conclusion to The Last of the Time Lords and the beginning of Partners In Crime and using clips from both, Moffat wrote an eight-minute episode where Doctor Five meets Doctor Ten. Doubtful at first, Peter Davison thinks a fan has kidnapped him. David Tennant doesn’t let him off the hook, bouncing around with that joie de vivre I referred to above. Great fun – I loved the part where Doctor Five refers to the TARDIS’s appearance as a “desktop design” – and, damnit, it works.
1.
Cry Havoc – Again and Again
There are four reasons why I think the Jon Pertwee episodes are the best by far of the original series: the aforementioned Roger Delgado, the wonderful Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith (who came in about two-thirds of the way through Pertwee’s run), the hugely gifted Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier, and an outfit called Havoc. Oh, yeah, and Pertwee as Doctor Three. So that’s five. But let’s focus on Havoc. Damn near each serial ended with the soldiers of UNIT, under the direction of the Brigadier, mount a massive free-for-all assault against the monsters, aliens, and the Master. And I mean massive: they throw everything into it including the kitchen sink. Sort of like the opening of Saving Private Ryan but, you know, less serious. The soldiers were played by a stunt team called HAVOC (credited as "Action by Havoc"), and they were great. Headed by Derek Ware, these guys approached their work with an intensity that would stupefy even Mark Evanier. A perfect addition to a solid team, and great fun.
Of course, all this is only one fan’s opinion. If you’ve made it this far, you undoubtedly: 1) think I’m full of it, and 2) have your own ideas.
Well, that’s what the comments section is for!Jump to comments (13) 
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Comments (13)
Vinnie Bartilucci (4:19 PM on Fri Oct 9, 2009)
I've commented endlessly on the amazing on-screen charisma of Roger Delgado. A combination of wonderful dialogue and dry, patronizing delivery (plus a stellar withering gaze) made him a magnificent villain, especially for the flamboyant Pertwee Doctor. Tony Ainley came close once or twice (His performance in The Five Doctors came closest) and Simm was a scenery-noshing joy to watch but Derek Jacobi almost stole it all away in three minutes. He was all sorts of awesome.
The new series has had a lot of "hot damn" moments, mostly from a fanboy "I can't believe they remembered that" level. The Marcra showing up in Gridlock is a good example. I absolutely Splee'd when I heard that. I'd almost have to make separate lists from each era, almost each Doctor to make such a list even close to "complete". The first regenaration would almost have to be put in a hall of fame / out of competition cetegory, like you do with Citizen Kane when talking about films. perhaps I'll try and put one together later on
mike weber (6:14 PM on Fri Oct 9, 2009)
Umm, what came immedaitely after Tennant's meeting with Davidson was "Ship of Fools" - the "Titanic" episode.
Some great lines in that one:
Informed that the Master has been back, Davidson: "Does he still have that rubbish beard?"
Tennant (in what sounds like his own fanboy moment): "You were my Doctor."
(Which reminds me that Sandy Duncan was once informed that Mary Martin was in the audience while Duncan was playing the lead in "Peter Pan". After the show, Martin came to her dressing room, and said "I meet people everywhere I go who tell me that their image of Peter Pan is me. but I never had an actual image of Peter till tonight. You are my Peter Pan.")
Michael D. (12:29 AM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
Umm, what came immediately after Tennant's meeting with Davidson was "Voyage of the Damned" - the "Titanic" episode.
mike weber (1:33 AM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
Arrrgh. Don't know why i typed that.
But it's always that way - point out a tpoy in someone else's post, and make a topy in your own.
Michael D. (12:30 AM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
Umm, what came immediately after Tennant's meeting with Davison was "Voyage of the Damned" - the "Titanic" episode.
mike weber (1:32 AM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
You are correct - don't know why i typed that. Arrrgh
mike weber (1:33 AM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
Something weird is happening with posting.
Anonymous (11:37 AM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
Good moments, although mid-way it developed into Great Personalities and then tried to get back again - and what has the TARDIS to do w/ Eccleston's one? The Doctor was in Rose's flat then.
J. Celliers
Beccity98 (1:56 AM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
#5-The Doctor came across the mirror in Rose's apartment/house. Right before he is attacked by a plastic arm.
Anonymous (7:37 PM on Fri Oct 9, 2009)
I have a tape of The Curse of Fatal Death but have never seen your #2 moment. Is that on the DVD set for either season 3 or 4? If not, any idea where it's available. Okay, now that I type that I realize I should try YouTube.
Lee Houston, Junior (1:05 PM on Sat Oct 10, 2009)
There are too many monumental moments within the history of the show to list them all, but for me (chronology):
1. The First Regeneration
From William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton between the end of "The Tenth Planet" and the start of "The Power of the Daleks". If you weren't already a fan of the show and realized there was something unique going on before now, this was a major clue.
2. "The Three Doctors"
Filmed for the tenth anniversary of the show, the first (officially recorded/canonical) account of the Doctor ever meeting himself.
3. The concluding moments of "The Warrior's Gate".
Traveling companions have come and gone, and although it might have just been Tom Baker's (at the time) real life feelings for actress Lalla Ward (Romanna) slipping through, the first indication (to me) that the Doctor was growing lonely.
4. The 1996 Doctor Who TV movie.
Granted, some of the great moments were already noted by Mike Gold above, but this is also where Doctor Who fandom was acknowledged by another source (Fox) and the parting between the eighth Doctor and Holloway adds a depth of emotion to everybody's favorite Time Lord.
5. The Time War
Although unfilmed with no account of whatever happened officially recognized as canon yet, the point where everthing changes and practically all we knew is thrown out the window.
6. "Rose"
For not only the reasons Mike Gold stated above, but also for the start of the revival.
7. "School Reunion"
The Doctor has encountered people/events of his past before, but never quite like this as Elisabeth Sladen reprises Sarah Jane Smith for the first time since "The Five Doctors" 20th anniversary special.
8. "Utopia", "The Sound of Drums", "Last of the Time Lords"
The Doctor thought he was the last until the Master's return. But considering events here and the rumors surrounding David Tennant's upcoming finale as The Doctor, is this true?
9. "Silence In The Library", "Forest of the Dead"
Professor Riversong!
10. And of course, the one question that has been raised by the revival and not answered yet: Is a Time Lord (or at least the Doctor) still limited in the number of regenerations they possess?
Vinnie Bartilucci (9:28 PM on Sun Oct 11, 2009)
>>>Is a Time Lord (or at least the Doctor) still limited in the number of regenerations they possess?
RTD has said that there's no solution in place, but is wholly comfident that when the need arises, one will be found/created.
Lee Houston, Junior (3:12 PM on Fri Oct 16, 2009)
Of course, when a limit was first set back as part of the Master's overall storyline, I'm sure no one ever foresaw actually getting any where near it. But although we are approaching our eleventh Doctor, it will only be his tenth regeneration. So there is still time to contemplate the situation.
And for those not in the know, the limit was originally quoted as 12, a quantity which the Master used up long ago. But hopefully the Doctor will find a more positive and peaceful solution than his arch foe's when the need arises.