Finished Genesis of the Daleks rewatch last night. Absolutely superb.
Rewatching this for the nth time, I am reminded that I had an audiobook adaptation on tape I used to listen to as a child (esp on longer car rides). It had an even more ominous vibe to it that upped the fear factor somewhat, and still certain scenes in the tv show are more chilling as a result.
It’s brilliant sci-fi, done so well by all involved.
Currently two parts into Image of the Fendahl, and as of now I’d say I find it similar to Inferno or The Dæmons (in that it is incredibly overhyped)
Inferno overhyped, yeah I can kind of agree.
The Dæmons over- YOU TAKE THAT BACK!
/lh
Seasons 6 - 7 are great.
The Caves of Androzani: Such an unassuming title for such a monumental story. I’ve seen this one before, but watching it again it’s impossible not to be struck by just how brilliant it is. I wrote in the badge discussion thread yesterday that I thought Davison sometimes wasn’t sure how to play the Doctor during his run, but a repeat of this story reveals that I was talking pure rubbish - he knows exactly how to play the Doctor, given the right material, and boy howdy, does he get the right material from Robert Holmes in this one. He’s never better than he is here, Five’s era is never better than it is here, Classic Who might never be better than it is here. The supporting cast, dialogue, plotting, worldbuilding, production, direction and soundtrack are all singularly fantastic, there’s not one aspect here that’s even remotely a weak link. I know Davison is on record as wishing he could have had more stories like this, and I agree wholeheartedly. I wouldn’t want the show to be as dark and hopeless as this every week, but, as exceptionally good as this, now that would be something…
I actually rewatched Fendahl earlier today - and tbh I feel entirely correct in calling it a 4/5. Felt like it was playing by Pyramids of Mars’ playbook without the sheer charisma that story had. That said, I will ALWAYS love a spooky rural subplot.
Rewatched Dark Water yesterday only coz I haven’t seen it in years and needed to rate it for a badge I’m very close to getting and honestly it wasn’t as good as I remember
There were some great elements like Jenna Coleman’s acting, and the plot twists at the end, but Twelve comes across as just plain rude and a little unlikeable
I also think this falls under the ‘part one curse’ meaning little actually happens for the sake of building exposition and tension, or to set up for the majority of the action to take place in Death in Heaven
5/10
Quoted for truth for every story he’s in… 
In series 8 I can see where one is coming from, even if I like that version of the character. But S9 and 10 I don’t see how one could find him unlikable in every episode, by series 10 any episode. He’s not really characterized as a dick anymore after Series 8.
Just rewatched Death in Heaven again for the badge and yeah he’s a little more likeable here, I think there are some moments where he’s meant to be portrayed as awkward or a little socially inept but just comes off as rude to me, but I suppose it’s all open to interpretation
Death in Heaven was absolutely an improvement on Dark Water in my opinion, I enjoyed seeing UNIT and Missy is just brilliant start to finish
7/10
Finished Logopolis last week, it certainly had a unique feel to it.
I was thinking of rating it 7/10 for the story, but I had to up it to an 8/10 for the atmosphere that is maintained throughout the four episodes. It is very different to War Games, but also feels very similar in a weird kind of way - probably due to being a regeneration story - but they both have a sense of forboding that increases throughout the story.
The Watcher is partly responsible for this, and honestly, I still don’t really know exactly what he’s meant to be! 
The most likely explaination I can think of is that this is a similar situation to K’anpo / Cho-Je in Planet of the Spiders, as for some reason you had the future incarnation existing at the same time as the previous one.
I love how the Doctor gets flashbacks of all his companions/friends during his run as 4th Doctor, and that does make it a little bit sad that after having really close friendships with multiple companions like Sarah Jane and Romana, the companions he is surrounded by at his regeneration are Adric, who he’s not know that long, and Nyssa and Tegan who he’s basically only just met.
There are also other weird things I’ve heard about the regeneration: I heard a rumour that potentially the 4th Doctor was actually the last in his cycle (Morbius Doctors etc) and was uncertain if he would be granted another 12 cycles. The line ‘this is the end’ makes a bit more sense in that regard but I am pretty certain this theory is contradicted later on in the show.
If you do the maths, I believe this winds up being more a theory for the Fifth Doctor in Androzani. “Feels different this time. Is this death?” written by Robert Holmes who had introduced the regeneration limit in The Deadly Assassin, and who had a hand in introducing ‘previous Doctors’ during the writing process of Morbius. It’s a fun thing to ponder but, as you say, it doesn’t hold water given what happens beyond that in the show. But if you take the 'Morbius Doctors + the first five we see on screen, that brings you to the end of the first so-called-cycle.
Revenge of the Cybermen wrapped last night. These first arcs of Tom Baker are brilliant. Was a lot of fun to be back at Nerva again - and this time in the past. A big plus for Cyberman head guns.
The Twin Dilemma: I can see what this was going for - the more arrogant, pompous Doctor, the post-regeneration instability, the Doctor resenting Peri after his sacrifice in the previous story, Peri not trusting the Doctor after the regeneration and his behaviour, both of them still suffering lingering trauma from the events on Androzani. There’s a lot of fodder for a compelling Doctor introduction here, the problem is you need a lot of skill to pull all that off successfully, and unfortunately this story doesn’t manage it. Obviously this one has caught a lot of flack over the years so I won’t go any further, I’ll just leave things by saying I agree with the well-discussed criticisms of this one.
It’s fortunate that Sixie’s era does get much better from here. Colin and Nicola are both strong performers, the scripts and characterisations are a bit more considered, there’s good stuff to be found over the following two seasons.
Edit: Toned down my original comments a bit, while I didn’t enjoy it I was being unnecessarily mean before.
Some people seem to be a bit down on this, but I’ve always liked it - the return to Nerva, the cave filming, even the hands on hips cyberleader!
Watching The Dominators when I should be sleeping
The Dominators is what I watch if I need to fall asleep.
I like it so far!
The Dominators story is not especially good, but the Doctor/Jamie dynamic is 10/10 which more than makes up for it in my opinion
I still prefer the idea that the First Doctor was the First Doctor, as I started watching Doctor Who with him and obviously at the time everything written was assuming he was the original.
I am aware that the new series has thrown a spanner in the works but I am yet to watch that so will decide what I think about it when I come to it 