Doctor Who: The Big Review (Season 5)

 

Doctor Who: The Big Review

Season 5 (1967-68)


Patrick Troughton is well into his tenure as The Doctor now. Season 5 is his season to shine before his last adventures as The Doctor. He'll face some terrifying foes like the Ice Warriors, the Cybermen and the Great Intelligence. We'll also see the introduction of Zoe Heriot, something I was looking forward to since Patrick Troughton's tenure began. Let's get into the review!

Below is a tag that explains which episodes I will not be reacting to since they are missing. As it shows, The Wheel in Space may or may not appear in my review since so much of the visual is still missing. It'll be dependent on the overarching quality and whether I feel I can make a fair judgement on little content. 


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 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 serial will then be listed at the bottom, where I will offer a few further thoughts and opinions. 

Below is a table which offers some short, concise figures and a more in-depth description just below.


1. THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN (four episodes)
Main Cast: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield), George Pastell (Eric Klieg), Shirley Cooklin (Kaftan).
Broadcast: 2 September 1967 - 23 September 1967
Writer: Kit Pedler & Gerry Davies
Director: Morris Barry

Synopsis: When a team of archaeologists discover a seemingly empty Cyberman tomb, some of them plan their own uprising, bringing the dormant cybermen back to life. With a plan to conquer Earth, will the traitors get the help they want?
Verdict: What a strong episode! The fourth instalment was weaker, in my opinion, but it doesn't take away from the tremendous efforts of the first three parts and I would only say that to be as picky as possible. So much tension, so many brilliant shots and constant menace.
GRADE: A+

2. THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN (six episodes)
Main Cast: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield), Jack Watling (Professor Travers), Wolfe Morris (Padmasambhava).
Broadcast: 30 September 1967 - 4 November 1967
Writer: Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln
Director: Gerald Blake

Synopsis: The once gentle Yeti have turned savage and besieged a Buddhist monastery, under the orders of a higher being known as The Great Intelligence. After becoming ensnared in its plans, the crew join forces with Professor Travis Edwards (Jack Watling) to stop the being and save the planet from conquest. 
Verdict: N/A

3. THE ICE WARRIORS (six episodes)
Main Cast: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield), Peter Barkworth (Clent), Wendy Gifford (Miss Garrett), Peter Sallis (Penley). 
Broadcast: 11 November 1967 - 16 December 1967
Writer: Brian Hayles
Director: Derek Martinus

Synopsis: On Earth, during a new Ice Age, the TARDIS group find a base where the crew have discovered a humanoid being in the ice. This being has plans to revive its race and take over the planet. 
Verdict: A very slow episode. The Ice Warriors are brilliant, but they can't entirely make up for a tedious story. This one just didn't hit the mark for me. I applaud the set design and Victoria though.
GRADE: C-

4. THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD (six episodes)
Main Cast: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield), Mary Peach (Astrid Ferrier), Patrick Troughton (Salamander), Bill Kerr (Giles Kent), Colin Douglas (Donald Bruce), Carmen Munroe (Fariah).
Broadcast: 23 December 1967 - 27 January 1968
Writer: David Whitaker
Director: Barry Letts

Synopsis: The TARDIS team work with a couple of spies to try and uncover the truth about the dictator, Salamander, who happens to look exactly like The Doctor. 
Verdict: I didn't know how to perceive this one. Some moments were brilliant, but some just dragged. The last part was a very solid episode though. It was okay.
GRADE: B-

5. THE WEB OF FEAR (six episodes)
Main Cast: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield), Nicholas Courtney (Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart), Jack Watling (Professor Travers), Tina Packer (Anne Travers), Jon Rollason (Harold Chorley), Derek Pollitt (Driver Evans). 
Broadcast: 3 February 1968 - 9 March 1968
Writer: Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln
Director: Douglas Camfield

Synopsis: In 21st Century on the London Underground, the Great Intelligence has returned to lure The Doctor into a trap. Through this it can attempt to drain his mind of all his knowledge.
Verdict: I wanted to LOVE this story, but it felt like it took some developing. As always, I'm loving Victoria and Jamie, though. The action sequences were really quite special, and the set design was very convincing!
GRADE: B

6. FURY FROM THE DEEP (six episodes)
Main Cast: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield), Victor Maddern (Robson).
Broadcast: 16 March 1968 - 20 April 1968
Writer: Victor Pemberton
Director: Hugh David

Synopsis: Finding themselves at Euro Sea Gas off the coast of England, an infectious weed is spreading rapidly and controlling anyone who comes into contact with it.
Verdict: Now, this was both strong and weak. I felt the latter parts were great; they were full of action and had some really heartfelt moments. However, once again, this story could've easily been condensed into fewer parts. It just didn't do much for me, but it was still a good story, overall.
GRADE: B

7. THE WHEEL IN SPACE
Main Cast: Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Wendy Padbury (Zoe Heriot), Michael Turner (Jarvis Bennett), Anne Ridler (Gemma Corwyn), Kenneth Watson (Bill Duggan), Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield). 
Broadcast: 27 April 1968 - 1 June 1968
Writer: David Whitaker (from a story by Kit Pedler)
Director: Tristan de Vere Cole

Synopsis: When stranded on a seemingly abandoned spaceship called Silver Carrier, The Doctor and Jamie make contact with another ship, W3. The only thing is, the Cybermen have followed and intend on using the ship's radio link for their invasion fleet, intent on reaching Earth. 
Verdict: I watched what I could for this story since reconstructions were available. I could then piece together what I would think if it were complete. A particular joy of this episode was Jamie and his relationship with Zoe. He carried a lot of this story. The Cybermen were not particularly interesting, however so the story wasn't up to much either.
GRADE: C+

My Conclusions


This was quite an easy pick for me. The Tomb of the Cybermen was a terrific episode. The music was particularly tense and really aided the tension of the story. The first three parts were terrific, the last lacking slightly, but not enough to knock the score down from an A+. I liked the guest cast, the design, the writing. There weren't many negatives apart from the connotations from this story. I went in with low expectations since I watched this one as a child, and at the time, felt it wasn't that great so now I was not only surprised, but excited by it too! Victoria also seemed to be quite a strong character too. She had a backbone, was more three-dimensional than most female roles. She made for a lovely and fresh addition to the TARDIS. 

*

Season 5 started off brilliantly, but I never felt like any episode neared the quality of the first. However, it ended up being the lowest rated since Season 1 with an average score of B-. Having said that, the average was just edging towards that grade, it very nearly was a B. It's a shame because every story had a lot of potential. I do believe that every serial struggled purely because they were split across too many parts. It seems to be a common issue for Classic Who so far. It just makes for a more tedious viewing now and then. However, the plus points are definitely the cast. I think every main character has been pretty superb, and Jamie is rather stunning. Victoria also had character, which was a surprise since most female companions did nothing but scream. I believe Season 6 is sometimes regarded as quite a mixed bag so I'm excited to see where we go next in Troughton's final run in the TARDIS, and what I'll end up thinking of it.


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