154. Silver Nemesis

Silver and Gold! Silver and Gold!

So Doctor Who continues their silver 25th anniversary with this special story entitled Silver Nemesis. And who better to return in all their silver glory than the Cybermen. Of course they also trotted out a bunch of Nazis, a crazy lady from 17th century England, and a mysterious ancient statue flying through space. 

In the best tradition of Doctor Who, the Doctor and Ace basically run around for 3 episodes trying to stay out of the line of fire of all antagonists involved. Picking up on the reinfusing of mystery into the character of the Doctor, this story adds a few more questions just exactly who is Doctor Who?

While the Cybermen look magnificent, they're just window dressing and don't have any real substantive part of the story. The Nazis are a nice feature but don't pack enough punch. Instead of later day neo-Nazis, they should have been WWII Nazis straight from Hitler's ranks. And Lady Peinforte is way cray cray and provides plenty of comedy relief throughout. I think the potential of the story is far greater than what ended up on screen and could have been fleshed out to a 4 part story with more punch. All in all, the story is a bit of mess but its forgivable because of the anniversary, leaving the viewer with more questions for another 25 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Nemesis

153. The Happiness Patrol

Beware the Candyman!

I though Paradise Towers last season was bad. The Happiness Patrol is ever crazier! I know this is a mockery of the Thatcher administration, but is just too saccharin sweet. The character of the Candyman is SO bizarre! I love a good robot as much as the next guy, but made out of candy is a bit much. Between the Helen A- Thatcher homage, the candly floss pink girls, and the elves in the sewers, it's a crazy mess!  

Throughout Doctor Who history, he has helped with coups and deposing evil dictators. But I don't think  it's ever been so unrealistic. I do applaud the producers for trying something different and that is free of  continuity. But in this anniversary season, you'd think they would make every story extra special. Following the phenomenal Remembrance of the Daleks, and positioned before Silver Nemesis, this story really shines as very bad.

But I'm sure RTD or Moffat could do something wonderful with this premise. The Candyman will live again!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happiness_Patrol

152. Remembrance of the Daleks

Davros: The Daleks shall become Lords of Time! We shall become all-

[The Doctor finishes his sentence.]

The Doctor: Powerful! Crush the lesser races! Conquer the galaxy! UNIMAGINABLE POWER! UNLIMITED RICE PUDDING! ET CETERA, ET CETERA!

Happy 25th anniversary Doctor Who! We've finally reached season 25 for a silver celebration. And in fine tradition, we trot out an old enemy to kick things off! And this is probably the finest Dalek story in the classic series ever. The Doctor and the new newly joined Ace land where it all began, London England November 1963. We revisit Totter's Lane. We revisit Cole Hill School. It's like old home week. And drop some Daleks in the soup, we get a recipe for drama!

We begin to see what became know as the Cartmel Master plan, with teases of a great past for the Doctor and a return to mystery for a Time Lord we may know too much about. And for the first time in years, we get the Daleks in control of their story for 99% of it. Of course at the end they had to trot out old Davros in a shiny new shell for a guest appearance. The banter between the 7th Doctor and Davros is priceless and worth the wait. 

The story sees a return to classic storytelling for Doctor Who and reaffirms the greatness of Doctor Who and of Sylvester McCoy as the Doctor. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_of_the_Daleks

151. Dragonfire

The Doctor: Yes, that's right, you're going. You've been gone for ages. You're already gone. You're still here. You've just arrived. I haven't even met you yet. It all depends on who you are and how you look at it. Strange business, time.

After an uneven season, we reach the end of the 24th series with a high note. We get our first glimpse of a dark and moody 7th Doctor. We run into Glitz again. Mel decides to leave the TARDIS (with Glitz of all people), and we are introduced to a young naive Ace. Brill!

While the story is a little contrived and scattered, it's only a 3 part story so we get through it quickly. Kane is a great arch villain. Belaz is a great supporting cast member. Glitz is a waste of time and space. For a final story, this isn't a great Mel story but does a good job of introducing Ace and leaves enough unanswered questions about the girl. We also get a dragon alien whose head opens up and we get Kane's face melting in the sun light. Good times!

With the season over, there is more of a sense of hope than at then end of last season. The main actors have been replaced, and the show is born a new that will take it to the shows finale in 2 years.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonfire_(Doctor_Who)

150. Delta and the Bannermen

This is really Echo and the Bunnymen!

After the meandering mess of Paradise Towers, we get a more coherent, tighter, shorter story. For the first time in decades, we get a 3 episode story! And it actually works better than most 4 part stories we've had over the year. 

The Doctor and Mel somehow hook up with a group of vacationing aliens heading to a Wales England 1959 holiday camp. Little do they know that a queen with egg is flying a bad, bad man stows away on their trip and hides on Earth. The bad, bad man and his bunnymen pursue. 

Meanwhile, human boy falls in love with alien queen and his baby hatches and grows to pre-teenhood in 3 episodes. The hapless gal pal, who's in love with the human boy, get a motorcycle as a consolation prize and could have been the new companion in the TARDIS. Mel also wear denim during  the course of the story. Good times.

All in all, a fun episode and a great penultimate story for Miss Melanie Jane Bush.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_and_the_Bannermen

149. Paradise Towers

Take me down to Paradise Towers, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty...

Fresh off the heels of regenerating, the freshly christening 7th Doctor and Mel land at Paradise Towers so Mel can go swimming. Mad cap adventure ensues. Despite this being a completely fresh and original story, with no links, references, guest stars or ties to any past story, it's a big stinking mess. Sylvester McCoy is very entertaining and is the shining gem of the story. Mel screams her head off. The guest cast is varied and successful to different degrees. While the concept is good, the execution is lacking. It would be interesting to see this story done my Russell T Davies or Steven Moffat. But there is a lovely moral to the story. Pex lives! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Towers

148. Time and the Rani

Leave the girl, it's the MAN I want!

Crash! Bang! Time to regenerate! Season 24 kicks off with the 6th Doctor apparently hitting his head on the TARDIS console and regenerating into the 7th Doctor. Little does he know he's fallen into a trap laid by the Rani to use him for her evil machinations. 

Without Colin Baker back to do a proper regeneration, they tossed a wig on Sylvester McCoy and lashed together a regeneration scene. It works on screen, but doesn't really give the 6th Doctor a good ending. 

The return of Kate O'Mara as the Rani is wonderful. Her hair is teased to heaven, she has a fabulous new outfit and a sexy new beauty mark on her nose. The bitch is back! This time without the wet blanket of the Master, the Rani charges full steam ahead. She cooks her own mad cap scheme and manipulates the Doctor while impersonating Bonnie Langford's Mel. The impersonation is spot on and quite amusing. 

While the 7th Doctor's initial regeneration leaves him slightly dazed and confused, it's not as bad as the 6th Doctors. He quickly settles into his new persona and costume. And once Mel figures he's really the Doctor, a great new team is reborn for the rest of the season.

The story is pretty much a big mess, but a fun first adventure , breathing new life into the ol' show. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_and_the_Rani