I think the thread by Snooooopy establishes a general consensus that Tom Baker was the best of the many incarnations of the Doctor. I am inclined to agree. Having gone that far, I just wondered what people thought about: -who was the best companion/assistant to the good Doc, and
-who was the worst?
-Who was the best villain?
-Again, who was the worst?
-What was the best monster? (Besides the Daleks, I mean)
-Worst monster?
-What was the best storyline?
-Worst story?
For my money, the answers are:
-the second incarnation of Romana (the blonde one).
-I’d say the worst is a tie between Adric and Melanie.
-There can be no question it was the original Master.
-The whole Black Guardian thing was stupid and he didn’t deserve to be dredged up again as he was.
-I’ll always have a soft spot for the Cybermen, even though they were never used very well. (i’ve always suspected that the Borg on Star Trek were ripped off from them!)
-The Loch Ness Monster (even at 8, I winced at the bad special effects)
-Another tie, between the Deadly Assassin and Caves of Androzani, both of which seemed like completely unique stories unlike any other serial.
-I can’t remember the name, but the first full Colin Baker story. Was it “Twin Disasters”? Horribly lame in its own right, but especially so since it immediately followed one of the best stories of the whole series.
Best companion – Leela, especially when she was face-to-face with Victorian England in “The Talons of Weng Chiang”
Worst companion – I don’t care much for Peri (and who certainly wasn’t an American). Second worst was Nyssa, who was never given anything to do.
Best Villain – The Master, though Omega had some good moments. I also liked Helen A. – the only Dr. Who villain who truly thought she was helping people.
Best Monster – Sutekh and Fifi
Worst – The snake in Kinda. Fake looking and not scary.
Best story line – the best story line was “The Key to Time.” The best individual stories are “City of Death,” “The Pirate Planet” (both Douglas Adams), “Paradise Towers,” “The Happiness Patrol,” “The Talons of Weng-Chiang,” “Nightmare of Eden,” and “Mawdryn Undead.”
Worst story – “Kinda,” “Warriors of the Deep,” “Resurrection of the Daleks” (especially the American version, where the music and effects track was missing for most of it), and “The Two Doctors.”
Adric, or Peri. (she’s only here for two reasons, wink wink…)
The Master (Both) and Sutek the Destroyer: Honorable mention to Davros. Man (Being?) with an evil laugh and monomanical obsession will go far.
Eldrad (Eldrad must live!)
Cybermen
Loch Ness Monster (wince)
Key to Time (a Time Lord that speaks Cockney!), The Five Doctors “I knew this was going to be difficult, but I didn’t think that even you would be so stupid as to make this Impossible!” – The Master, to Dr. Who #5 Talons of Weng Chiang and the Robots of Death. Inferno.
The Brain of Morbius and others that I’ve blotted out from my brain.
Be careful or I’ll start a “Favorite Quotes from Dr Who” thread.
You want the worst episode? The truly worst ever - so horrible I hate to even contemplate it? So bad that every single thing about it is annoying? Ladies and gentlement, I give you:
The 2nd doctor episode: Planet of the Spiders.
(that may not actually be the precise name. LIke I said, I’m trying to forget it) But it’s so bad that I’d even rather watch Ambassadors of Death. I mean, you know it’s bad when Ambassadors is an option.
This may be the time to ask about the first episode. I know I watched it, but my memory is that it was about spiders (and two teachers / William Hartnell and his grandaughter…).
I think you are right about the first episode, except I can’t remember spiders in it. If I remember right, it was about ancient humans & the discovery of fire. What I meant was that Planet of the Spiders was a “2nd doctor” episode, not the 2nd episode of Doctor Who.
For further clarification about Planet of the Spiders, I remember an importart early plot point of that episode: One of the companions mysteriously loses their pen. In fact, that may be the highlight of the episode.
… I’m sorry, was there another question?