Ratings UK

  Doctor Who: The Big Review Season 4 (1966-67) Season 4 sees the rise of a new incarnation, a fresh face to take on the show: Patrick Troughton. This season introduces the Cybermen to our screens as well as reacquainting us with the Doctor's arch enemy, the Daleks. Sadly, some episodes are missing and will be skipped, but with thanks to the power of animation, some have been entirely brought back to life. I'm excited to see what Troughton has to offer and I'm intrigued to see what differences appear, if any!  Below is a tag that explains which episodes I will not be reacting to since they are missing. Thankfully, only three are missing, so I should get a good feel for Troughton's first season. As always, I will grade each story on an A+ to F scale, judging it fairly, and with respect to the era it aired. Judging an episode from the 1960's with the same expectation of a modern episode would not be fair. Below is my grading criteria: For each serial, I will provide a...

 Doctor Who: The Big Review William Hartnell Era (1963 - 1966) Hartnell introduced us to the show we know and love today. We have a lot to thank him for. In this recount of what I've seen, I'll discuss my top five episodes of the Hartnell era, the viewing figures, wishes and wants and some key moments I wish to mention. It'll be a nice way to round off the era... Full of statistics, tables, and figures. What's more fitting for Ratings UK?! First of all, let's delve in to the ratings. Hartnell's era was met with quite a roller-coaster of figures, from highs of over twelve million to lows of four, but it never troubled the series, as it just kept on going. The chart below shows how each series performed. Now, upon first inspection, it's quite clear to see that Season 2 was Hartnell's strongest, with Season 1 and 3 just below with fairly similar statistics throughout. I definitely think there's reason for this. After the success of the first season, hyp...

  Doctor Who: The Big Review Season 3 (1965-66) Season 3 marks the last full season of William Hartnell's tenure. He’ll meet the Daleks, The Drahvins, and many other weird and wonderful villains. Season 3 introduces numerous new cast members, some of which don’t stick around for very long. I quite enjoy the constant change, never knowing what might happen to the people you grow attached to… However, Season 3 was hard-hit when it comes to missing episodes. Out of ten serials, six are missing. Now, as I’ve mentioned before, I have chosen to NOT comment on missing stories. I took this decision because I want to review what is readily available to the reader. It wouldn’t be fair to the series, either, to review episodes when most of the parts are missing or have to be pieced together with audio and stills. I will, of course, attempt to find the missing content in my own time, but for this review, I will only follow what is available whether it be animated or not. I hope this Is ok...

   Doctor Who: The Big Review Season 2 (1964-65) Season 2 came around about a month and a half after the first season. We were met with Daleks, Zarbi, Romans and more. Our TARDIS crew pop back up ready for more adventures, and it isn't long before there's new additions to the blue box, Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) and Steven Taylor (Peter Purves). Season two has a couple episodes missing, and as a result, 'The Crusade' will not be included in the evaluation.  First of all, I will grade each episode from A+ to F, the table below shows a concise list of the overall impression I'll want for each grade (episodes are rated in retrospect to the period it aired, some may not receive the same grades if they were to air today): For each serial, I will provide a list of the main cast (omitting a few who don't appear often), and a list of some key facts of the episodes, such as the writer and director. I will then offer a little synopsis and my overall verdict. My favourite...