Man, as much I love Dalek, I have to give it to Empty Child/Doctor Dances. Top 5 story of any era. As close to perfect as any revival era story has ever gotten. I love how watching it for the first time and then rewatching it feel like completely different experiences (first time, you’re sacred of the Empty Child, but second time, you’re scared for him).
I also just love how sex-positive it is. Pretty much every scene in some way relates to sex, either the act itself or the results of it (procreation, social dynamics, even abuse in a way that doesn’t derail everything else around it). As much as I understand the stance that the Doctor is inherently asexual (Eleventh is my Doctor and he is absolutely that, so I definitely get the appeal), there’s just something about establishing Ninth as full-blown bi in this two-parter that’s part of the reason he’s one of my faves.
A complete and utter banger, one of my favourite Doctor Who stories from my number two DW writer of all time, and the best Dalek story Dalek basically justified the existence of New Who, and the Time War as a plot point, by using the new format and RTD’s new backstory to deliver an episode that couldn’t (or rather, wouldn’t) have been done in classic. Add to that the stonking performances from Eccleston and Piper, and the little fact that it made the Daleks scary again, and you have an all-time great episode!
Honestly, the only bad thing about it is that it’s the only TV story by Robert Shearman! Someone bring him back already! I’m still bitterly disappointed he couldn’t make a Chimes of Midnight episode work for series 5 - a version of that story in that specific era would have been so good
Yeah, it’s always fun to resurrect a thread @Mattie1711 because everyone gets to see what people said a while back so check to see if a story you’re highlighting already has a club or thread.
Season 27 is really good (I know - understatement, right?), so I went with my group of three (power of three?) method and chose Dalek, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances for my votes. Right behind those for me would have to be The Unquiet Dead, Father’s Day, and The Parting of the Ways (going by release order). After that would be Rose, Boom Town, and Bad Wolf, with The End of the World, Aliens of London/World War Three, and The Long Game at the bottom (these are okay…decent…fine, with good moments, but my least favorite).
Dalek basically justified the existence of New Who, and the Time War as a plot point, by using the new format and RTD’s new backstory to deliver an episode that couldn’t (or rather, wouldn’t) have been done in classic. Add to that the stonking performances from Eccleston and Piper, and the little fact that it made the Daleks scary again, and you have an all-time great episode!