The longest-running science fiction series in the world, Doctor Who made a triumphant return to our screens in 2005 after a sixteen-year hiatus, but there are just as many exciting, suspenseful, and plain fun stories to be had during the show’s initial 26-year run from 1963 to 1989. Here are 10 of the best.
10. Vengeance on Varos
The mid-1980s tenure of Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor is commonly seen as a low point in Doctor Who’s history, with shoddy production value and a slew of poor stories. But when given decent material to work with, Baker did excellent work, as in this 1985 shocker.
9. Dragonfire
Many fans point to the 25th anniversary serial “Remembrance of the Daleks” (1988) as the highlight of Sylvester McCoy’s tenure as the Seventh Doctor. But the previous year’s “Dragonfire,” despite the uneasy melding of action with comedy beats, has much to commend it, including McCoy’s touching speech in the final episode.
8. The Three Doctors
This 1972-73 serial is tremendous fun, and saw previous incarnations of the Doctor joining forces with the current incarnation (at the time, Third Doctor Jon Pertwee) for the very first time. The serial represented First Doctor William Hartnell’s final television role; already seriously ill with arteriosclerosis, he died in 1975.
7. Black Orchid
Having dispensed with the historical dramas that peppered the first ten years or so of the show’s run, historical subjects made a belated return in the 1980s. 1982’s Black Orchid is one of the finest, and saw Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) venturing to interwar England to solve a murder mystery – and get in a spot of cricket to boot. Davison had not played cricket in years, but surprised the production crew by taking a wicket while the cameras were rolling.
6. The Aztecs
Another of the great historical dramas is 1964’s The Aztecs, in which the TARDIS travels back to pre-Columban Mesoamerica, and the First Doctor’s companion Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) gets mistaken for a goddess. The well-meaning schoolteacher wonders if it might be possible for her to change the past so as to dispose of some of the more brutal aspects of Aztec culture – only to be upbraided by the Doctor for her presumption.
5. The Curse of Fenric
The penultimate serial of the 1963-89 era saw Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor traveling with companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) to World War Two-era Britain, where he pits his wits against a long-dormant creature looking to take over the world. The production values are high, and both McCoy and Aldred deliver barnstorming performances, but it’s the dark, brooding storyline that sets the serial apart, and it also features one of the show’s finest cliffhangers.
4. The Green Death
Fans may giggle at the ridiculous special effects – the “terrifying” monsters are basically big, green maggots – but 1973’s The Green Death is otherwise an excellent example of Doctor Who’s 1970s dalliance with horror-tinged sci-fi, as Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor travels to a Welsh coal mine in which dark forces are busy breeding. Fan favorite Nicholas Courtenay bristles as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and the serial also gives a moving sendoff to longtime companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning).
3. The Tomb Of The Cybermen
This 1967 four-parter was one of the many old episodes of which no copy was thought to survive, until prints unexpectedly turned up at a Hong Kong TV station in 1991. Fans were rewarded with a great story featuring the Cybermen – aliens that would go on to become one of the Doctor’s most deadly foes. Patrick Troughton is imperious as the no-nonsense Second Doctor.
2. City of Death
For the briefest of periods, The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s author Douglas Adams worked as script editor for Doctor Who. 1979’s “City of Death” is a product of that era, and is a brilliant romp around 1970s Paris, involving fake copies of the Mona Lisa, a time-traveling villain ably played by Indiana Jones star Julian Glover, and some whip-smart one-liners.
1. Pyramids Of Mars
Tom Baker’s seven years as the Fourth Doctor saw some of Doctor Who’s very best stories, and fans are spoiled for choice, but this 1975 serial is as good as it gets, with the Doctor and his companion Sarah Janes Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) uncovering a sinister Osiran god in space. With suspenseful plotting, a gothic tone, and a delightful interplay between Baker and Sladen, 1970s Doctor Who has never been bettered.