I know there are several tournaments going on right now, but Radio Times just published their list of the 30 best classic Who stories. Their rankings are sure to be controversial here, but I thought it would make for a fun bracket tournament. With only 30 stories the top 2 seeds get a bye into the round of 16. There will be two matches per day and each match will be open for 24 hours So, without further ado, here are the first two matchups:
Match 1
Doctor Who and the Silurians
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
0voters
Match 2
The Invasion
Terror of the Zygons
0voters
Besides voting on the matches feel free to post your outrage over stories that Radio Times omitted! And be sure to say which stories don’t belong on their list!
I’m usually not the one to take these ratings too seriously, but… No McCoy in the top 30? Even though he is mentioned in the title?? What’s up with that
I find it interesting that there’s only one post-Season 16 story on here, and that being Earthshock. Otherwise, no McCoy, no Colin. Everything is 60s and 70s.
There’s always lots to discuss and disagree with when lists like this come out, but this might just be the wildest yet… one Davison story and nothing from Colin or Sylvester is absolutely ludicrous - particularly when things like The Crusade and The Abominable Snowmen are featured. Honestly my mind is blown.
No McCoy? No Androzani? No City of Death? The Web of Fear over The Mind Robber or The Enemy of the World?
The Crusade? The Robots of Death at 1? The list started so well, and went so badly.
I mean Robots of Death yayyy but a list with no Remembrance??? Seriously??? Like even if you don’t think it’s AMAZINGGG you must admit it’s weird that it’s not in a top 30 list.
Worth remembering these articles are made for clicks and to generate discussion, so no doubt some of it was put together quite cynically with that in mind.
I love The Robots of Death[1] and The Aztecs[2] and Hartnell and Troughtan are my favorite Doctors. But even so, I only have 12 of these in my top thirty, and that’s with my list having no Fifth or Sixth Doctor stories and only 2 Seventh Doctor stories. And if I was picking the top 30 stories for this list I would be certain to look at fan rankings and factor them in. Just because I persoanlly don’t mean it’s not a great story. Or at least I would look at @deltaandthebannermen’s and @MrColdStream’s rankings, as theirs are absolutely the correct ones.
No Androzani is genuinely nuts, most of the time I’m all for individual opinions but in this case I’d be willing to break out the Conscience of Marinus.
Certainly some interesting inclusions and omissions, the lack of 80s stories bar Earthshock most strikingly. Best to remember though that the list was compiled by a grand total of 3 people, so it’s hardly definitive, if such a thing existed. And it’s more interesting to see a list of stories someone likes rather than a list of stories someone thinks everyone else likes, given that I already know what the prevailing opinions are.
Doctor Who and the Silurians crushed The Talons of Weng-Chiang, 32-11, and The Invasion soundly defeated Terror of the Zygons, 26-14. The results appear to be strange at first blush based on the RT rankings, but both results closely reflect the TARDIS Guide weighted average rankings last fall[1].
I too mourn the lack of Colin Baker and McCoy in this list…what?! That being said, I’m enjoy interesting new ways for me to compare classic stories, so here we go!
Tough choices both. Pyramids is a classic for a reason and the Fourth Doctor at some of his best, not to mention a fantastic villain. Earthshock is one of the very few classic series that I have only seen twice. This is for personal reasons, as I quite liked Adric as a kid and this story pretty much traumatized me and I still find it too heartbreaking to watch to this day.. That being said, it is a terrific story and one of the best for the Fifth Doctor. So as it’s his only story on the list and it arguably had the most impact on me, I will give it to Earthshock.
Aztecs vs Tenth Planet is even harder. I would consider both to be among my favorite First Doctor stories for different reasons. Aztecs is a wonderful story for Barbara and the Doctor, Ian gets some fun action, and it’s really good historical all around. The early Cybermen are almost more creepy than they appear later and the tension at the base is very good. I really enjoy both Ben and Polly in this story in particular as they both get some great lines and actions. I will give it Tenth Planet, as there are other Ian and Barbara stories on the list and I do think Ben and Polly deserve a lot of credit for bridging us between the First and Second Doctors so well.
That being said, I’m enjoy interesting new ways for me to compare classic stories, so here we go!
