The Doctor Who Companion is now a decade old, and to celebrate, we’re taking into account the entire breadth of the TV show. But with over sixty years of history, how do we properly assess the highs and lows a televisual giant? With one-sentence reviews, of course!
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the second part since our appraisal of the First Doctor, here, we delve deep into Patrick Troughton’s time as the Second Doctor…
The Power of the Daleks
Doctor Who fans are shocked, as a new man claiming to be the Doctor proves his identity and his worth in defeating his arch enemies in a suspenseful and rewarding premier story.
The Highlanders
This missing historical has as much tartan as it has action, but we got Jamie McCrimmon out of it.
The Underwater Menace
The cheese is heavy here, with fish-people, fish-masks, and Doctor disguises, but the guiltiest pleasure of all is Dr. Zaroff in his quest TO RULE THE WORLD!
The Moonbase
If you’re going to watch a base-under-siege (and there are a lot of them in this era), make it The Moonbase, with wonderful character work led by Troughton, excellent set pieces, and top-notch Cybermen villainy.
The Macra Terror
When you have to deal with hypnotism, deadly gas, and a case of giant crabs, you’re lucky this impish Doctor makes house calls.
The Faceless Ones
A somewhat bloated six-parter features shape changing aliens with a little bit of Twilight Zone and a lot of airport.
The Evil of the Daleks
A much romanticised adventure, where we meet the Dalek Emperor, and witness the possible end of the Daleks… at least until the Beeb got the rights back.
The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Cybermen at their most terrifying, along with a brilliant cast led by Troughton at the very top of his game.
The Abominable Snowman
This windswept classic set in the mountains of Tibet goes a bit long with six episodes, but introduces the Yeti and Troughton shines as always.
The Ice Warriors
Earth’s on the verge of a new ice age when armored Martians are revived and attack another base in this bulky, but scary adventure, further bolstering Troughton as “The Monster Doctor”.
The Enemy of the World
Troughton shines as the Doctor and as the dictator Salamander in this ambitious, international adventure set on a dystopian future Earth.
The Web of Fear
One of the all time great Who stories, set in the London Underground, with UNIT, and big hairy monsters in the dark… in glorious black and white.
Fury from the Deep
Creatures hiding in the pipes, deadly gas, a base under siege, and some legit scary visuals make this adventure a missing, yet suspenseful gem.
The Wheel in Space
A more generic six-parter, this time with a Wheel under siege, Cybermen attacking, and Troughton doing most of the heavy lifting.
The Dominators
I think a more accurate title would be “The Monotone Time Wasting Bullies”.
The Mind Robber
A good example of how to properly execute a story that takes place in a fantasy world with fantasy elements, yet still feels like Doctor Who.
The Invasion
The template for future UNIT stories that pits the Brigadier and co. against the Cybermen in this leviathan of an eight-parter, featuring iconic visuals.
The Krotons
Robert Holmes’ first Who script gives us a simple, yet solid story of the Doctor and his companions helping an oppressed race against their enslavers.
The Seeds of Death
This one makes the most of its six parts with Ice Warriors, teleportation, the moon, seed pods OF DEATH, and oh, so, so, so much foam, with prime Troughton.
The Space Pirates
Another Holmes script, yet his quirky characters, space pirates, and even a brilliantly bizarre theme song, can’t really save this rather tedious six-parter.
The War Games
We learn about the Time Lords in this momentous, wonderfully paced ten-part finale, sadly capping off the era of the Second Doctor.
NEXT TIME: Cor, this new Doctor is an absolute UNIT.
