Doctor Who Playlists – Where To Start? Classic, New and Beyond

  

Do you want to watch some Doctor Who? Aliens from the past; wonders from the future; all of time and space. It’s the trip of a lifetime…

 

But where to start? Which Doctors? What style? Monsters, villains, scary horror? Wit, weirdness, wild ideas? Adventures in history, alien worlds, a bit of politics? Or sheer fun? What you need is a playlist.

 

 

Four Playlists – I’ve put together four playlists for you to dip in and out of different Doctors and enjoy the show’s variety. One skips around the Doctor’s TV adventures from 1963 to 2020 (but not necessarily in that order). One’s all a selection from ‘Classic Who’; another all ‘New Who’. And the last and most absurd – but intriguing – features not just the Doctor’s TV adventures but books, comics, audio plays and more (oh no, don’t run, come back!). Each playlist works as a big binge if you’re stuck inside for lockdown, or as weekly appointment TV. Each playlist splits into mini-playlists for friendlier access so you can find what most takes your fancy. When I published something like this back in March, it was in a hurry and an off-putting shapeless splat of titles. This version is a much easier read [though Blogger has made the formatting an absolute pain] and, if you think you’ve seen it all before, the ‘Classic Who’ playlist is all-new. Ironically. They’re in different colours if you want to find one quickly:

 

• Doctor Who Playlist 1 – TV Stories For Every Doctor (black)
• Doctor Who Playlist 2 – ‘Classic Who’ TV Stories (1963-1989+) (blue)
• Doctor Who Playlist 3 – ‘New Who’ TV Stories (2005-2020) (purple)
• Doctor Who Playlist 4 – TV Stories For Every Doctor and Many More Beyond (black and blue)

 

Boxed Sets – But first, what if you want to watch in order instead? There are 296 TV stories so far, and while the beginning is a great place to start, watching them all sequentially can be a bit daunting. If you feel like a ‘boxed set’, though, there are many out there (not least, for free, on BBC iPlayer). Here are half a dozen, if that’s your thing. I recommend starting with the Doctor, the current Doctor, followed by some of the best brilliant Blu-ray boxes:

 

Series Twelve [Season Thirty-Eight] (Jodie Whittaker, 2020)  

(Stories: Spyfall Part One / Spyfall Part Two, Orphan 55, Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror, Fugitive of the Judoon, Praxeus, Can You Hear Me?, The Haunting of Villa Diodati / Ascension of the Cybermen / The Timeless Children)

Season Twelve [yes, I know, confusing, but different scarf] (Tom Baker, 1974-5)  

(Stories: Robot, The Ark in Space, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks, Revenge of the Cybermen)

Season Fourteen (Tom Baker, 1976-7)  

(Stories: The Masque of Mandragora, The Hand of Fear, The Deadly Assassin, The Face of Evil, The Robots of Death, The Talons of Weng-Chiang)

Season Eighteen (Tom Baker, 1980-1)  

(Stories: The Leisure Hive, Meglos, Full Circle, State of Decay, Warriors’ Gate, The Keeper of Traken, Logopolis)

Season Twenty-Six (Sylvester McCoy, 1989)  

(Stories: Battlefield, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric, Survival)

Series One [Season Twenty-Seven] (Christopher Eccleston, 2005)  

(Stories: Rose, The End of the World, The Unquiet Dead, Aliens of London / World War Three, Dalek, The Long Game, Father’s Day, The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances, Boom Town, Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways)

 

Who is the Doctor? – Jodie Whittaker is the Doctor. Two years ago this month, she fell to Earth to play the role for the first time. And if you’ve never seen Doctor Who, the Doctor is a traveller in time and space who goes anywhere, from Earth’s past, present and future to alien worlds and stranger places still. The Doctor obeys no authority but their own moral sense, uses intelligence rather than violence, and takes joy in taking friends to explore the wonders of the Universe. And the Doctor lives remarkably long and fully, because instead of dying their body recreates itself, giving them a new lease of life. If you want to know more, I wrote an introduction for the new Doctor two years ago (So Who is The Doctor Anyway? All You Need To Know About Doctor Who), but best thing is just to get on with it.

 

 

 

Doctor Who Playlist 1 – TV Stories For Every Doctor

 

Introducing the Doctor and the TARDIS – The first few stories are exactly this. Great introductions to first the Doctor and then their magnificently erratic time-space ship the TARDIS, outside then in. And one cheat: I have taken stories out of this list to add Jodie Whittaker below, but it’s also designed, if you choose, as a weekly experience (with appropriate events should you begin at Doctor Who’s anniversary and make time every Saturday), so I wanted her there at the start – this playlist opens in a double bill with both the first Doctor Who I ever saw and the newest arrival.

 

01 — Robot 01 — The Woman Who Fell To Earth	(Tom Baker, 1974-5) (Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	21 November 21 November
02 — An Unearthly Child	(William Hartnell, 1963)	28 November
03 — Rose	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	5 December

 

Christmas – Featuring a Victorian ghost story, The Nativity… Of The Daleks (introducing the opposite of the Doctor and freedom, alien conquerors in armoured mini-tanks with a hatred for all others), and a Christmas special with Doctor Scrooge and nightmare deaths.

 

04 — Ghost Light	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	12 December
05 — Genesis of the Daleks	(Tom Baker, 1975)	19 December
06 — Last Christmas	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	26 December

 

New Year – A small but perfectly formed new start, yet it also looks like the end of a world…

 

07 — The Rescue

(William Hartnell, 1965)

2 January

 

The Time Lords and Time Wars – a beginner’s travel in time that builds to the Doctor’s people, the Time Lords. And what an incredible bunch they are.

 

08 — The End of the World	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	9 January
09 — The War Games	(Patrick Troughton, 1969)	16 January
10 — Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords	(David Tennant, 2007)	23 January
11 — The Day of the Doctor	(Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt with…, 2013)	30 January

 

Just A Bit of Fun (and a bit of politics) – Nothing serious, nothing political! Fun tales both entertaining and about entertainment gradually transform from satire into more serious politics, from Machiavellian scheming to moral heart (with natural and unnatural disasters along the way). Right from the first, Doctor Who stands up to bigots, bullies and fascists.

 

12 — Carnival of Monsters	(Jon Pertwee, 1973)	6 February
13 — Vengeance on Varos	(Colin Baker, 1985)	13 February
14 — Thin Ice	(Peter Capaldi, 2017)	20 February
15 — Boom Town	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	27 February
16 — The Caves of Androzani	(Peter Davison with…, 1984)	6 March
17 — The Enemy of the World	(Patrick Troughton, 1967-8)	13 March
18 — Doctor Who and the Silurians	(Jon Pertwee, 1970)	20 March
19 — Demons of the Punjab	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	27 March

 

Dark Religion, Gods and Demons – From politics, to religion! What, me, controversial? And once again starting with more fun stories and fake gods with the Victorians, then to horror and demonic evil through Victorians-in-space to the English countryside, a May Day special, and to end it all a dark god.

 

20 — The Talons of Weng-Chiang	(Tom Baker, 1977)	3 April
21 — The Crimson Horror	(Matt Smith, 2013)	10 April
22 — Kinda	(Peter Davison, 1982)	17 April
23 — The Curse of Fenric	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	24 April
24 — The Dæmons	(Jon Pertwee, 1971)	1 May
25 — Pyramids of Mars	(Tom Baker, 1975)	8 May

 

Alien Worlds – Carrying on the last theme’s archaeology takes us to the home planets of the alien races the Doctor has fought most often (dead planets may rise up as well as down), then a lively, greedy culture and the most colourful of other worlds. Also featuring (spoilers!) another Doctor than the one you were expecting, as does the next set along…

 

26 — The Tomb of the Cybermen	(Patrick Troughton, 1967)	15 May
27 — The Daleks	(William Hartnell, 1963-4)	22 May
28 — The Robots of Death	(Tom Baker, 1977)	29 May
29 — The Trial of a Time Lord	(Colin Baker with…, 1986)	5 June

 

Tragical History Tour – History, tragedy and moral dilemmas make a terrific set of stories and each, for me, the best Doctor Who of their years. And history as art, which takes me on to another collection…

 

30 — Amy’s Choice	(Matt Smith with…, 2010)	12 June
31 — The Aztecs	(William Hartnell, 1964)	19 June
32 — Rosa	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	26 June
33 — The Fires of Pompeii	(David Tennant, 2008)	3 July

 

Evil Under the Sun – And under the skin. Coming into Summer, if you’re so inclined, with holidays, wedding days, several more light-hearted stories and some very dark indeed. But which is which? All these have someone who’s not who they appear…

 

34 — Enlightenment	(Peter Davison, 1983)	10 July
35 — City of Death	(Tom Baker, 1979)	17 July
36 — The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion	(Peter Capaldi, 2015)	24 July
37 — The Androids of Tara	(Tom Baker, 1978)	31 July
38 — Human Nature / The Family of Blood	(David Tennant, 2007)	7 August
39 — The Doctor’s Wife	(Matt Smith, 2011)	14 August

 

The Master – From weddings to the Doctor’s… oldest friend, sometimes calling themselves the Master, sometimes Missy, often in improbable disguise, but almost always up to no good.

 

40 — Doctor Who (The TV Movie)	(Paul McGann with Sylvester McCoy, 1996)	21 August
41 — Dark Water / Death In Heaven	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	28 August
42 — Spyfall	(Jodie Whittaker, 2020)	4 September
43 — Logopolis	(Tom Baker with…, 1981)	11 September

 

Daleks and Monster Action! – From one arch-enemy to another, with Davros and his creations the Daleks in spectacular form, then further explosive action from Cybermen and Autons.

 

44 — Revelation of the Daleks	(Colin Baker, 1985)	18 September
45 — Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways	(Christopher Eccleston with…, 2005)	25 September
46 — Remembrance of the Daleks	(Sylvester McCoy, 1988)	2 October
47 — Earthshock	(Peter Davison, 1982)	9 October
48 — Spearhead From Space	(Jon Pertwee, 1970)	16 October

 

And Doctor Who Will Run Forever – A closing variety of favourites first showing the Doctor and all stories from outside, then the final story of the classic series (never the end), and an exciting adventure from the very latest series that opens new directions to past and future so that, too, says, ‘The story continues’. Then, for Doctor Who’s anniversary, its own anniversary and a grand finale, the best at last: my very favourite story so far, because there is always something new, always something wonderful still to come.

 

49 — Love & Monsters	(David Tennant, 2006)	23 October
50 — The Mind Robber	(Patrick Troughton, 1968)	30 October
51 — Survival	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	6 November
52 — Fugitive of the Judoon	(Jodie Whittaker, 2020)	13 November
53 — The Deadly Assassin	(Tom Baker, 1976)	20 November

 

And hopefully there’ll be more on the telly by the time you’ve finished watching.

 

Why 53 (ish) Stories? – I was originally inspired by Doctor Who’s 52^nd anniversary on November 23^rd, 2015, with the aim not just of recommending but of writing about one story a week (only some of which I managed). It’s an important and popular fact that there are 52 weeks in a year, which obviously suggests 52 stories. I picked one Doctor Who story for every week – then, if you start with a story at the beginning of your first week and finish with one at the end of your last week, you’ll watch 53 stories in a year (there’s another reason, too, which will make you groan). And I love an anniversary. When the world’s horrible, celebrating something fun On This Day often helps (as you’ll see with my most-daily OTD Tweets @AlexWilcock), if you make this weekly appointment TV, many stories will mark special dates. Doctor Who’s big two anniversaries are November 23^rd 1963 (the first ever episode) and March 26^th 2005 (when Doctor Who Rose again on TV), but I’m celebrating today as another major feast day. October 22^nd has a unique mix spread over fifty years: the launch day of not just one but two different Doctor Who spin-offs (Torchwood and Class), and the only day of the year that’s seen the first broadcast of two episodes each of Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and Class. So, Happy Little-November-23^rd (Little Doctor Who Day?), as absolutely no-one calls it!

 

Most lists of Doctor Who Stories You Must Watch! select stories in chronological order; others in order of preference. I wanted to offer much more of a mix. So I jump around as many Doctors as possible and choose different types of adventure to keep you interested. I’m not writing a history of Doctor Who, but trying to tempt and divert you with a constantly changing assortment. Variety is a major reason Doctor Who has lasted so long: if you don’t like one story, something different will be along in a couple of weeks; if you don’t like one Doctor or creative team, something different will be along in a couple of years. My playlists speed that up a bit. They’re not my own ‘top 53’, either, though I love almost all these stories. The one I love most, though, is The Deadly Assassin. And it’s the final story in the list both to go out on a high and because, had I kept to my original plan and blogged one story a week, readers would’ve expected it to stop at 52 stories and then been surprised. The Deadly Assassin has the line “A mere 53 storeys high”.

 

I told you you’d groan.

 

The Ones That Got Away – I first devised this list five years ago and eventually published this March. There was then nothing of Jodie Whittaker in it yet because I didn’t have the heart to update it – too hard to cut stories I love – but I should have, and so now I have. For variety, I aimed to give each Doctor four stories (the major exceptions Paul McGann, who had just one-ish on TV, and Tom Baker, who had more than everyone else and each of whose different eras I love to bits). That meant trimming, this time, the little bit more I’d included of personal favourite Doctors or eras of the show: The Dalek Invasion of Earth (William Hartnell, which would have been with the Dalek epics towards the end); Planet of Evil (Tom Baker, and the series’ most stunning alien world); Paradise Towers (Sylvester McCoy, witty, inventive and political); The Happiness Patrol (satirical and probably my favourite Sylvester McCoy performance); Kill the Moon (Peter Capaldi, which for several reasons fitted ideally just after Doctor Who and the Silurians); The Girl Who Died (Peter Capaldi, at the time one of the most recent stories and another statement about running forever). And I could never find room for The Curse of Peladon (Jon Pertwee), but that fits with the Politics too.

 

 

 

Doctor Who Playlist 2 – ‘Classic Who’ TV Stories (1963-1989+)

 

When I was a boy, September was when Doctor Who traditionally returned to TV. Though we had a new Doctor Who season at the start of this year, because of 2020 January seems geological ages ago. My husband and I watched Rose on its anniversary in March and enjoyed it so much we’ve been watching ‘New Who’ in order every Thursday since, so this Autumn felt time for an old-new season alongside it. I put together a ‘Classic Who’ playlist for September, and we’re now enjoying a story every Saturday as well. Ironically, my Classic Playlist is the only one to begin with the Russell T Davies model season-opening pattern of present(ish)-past-future…

 

Introducing the Doctor and the TARDIS – The first few stories are exactly this. Great introductions to first the Doctor and then their magnificently erratic time-space ship the TARDIS, outside then in.

 

01 — Robot	(Tom Baker, 1974-5)	05 September
02 — An Unearthly Child	(William Hartnell, 1963)	12 September
03 — The Robots of Death	(Tom Baker, 1977)	19 September

 

Daleks and Monster Fun! – Some of the Doctor’s greatest enemies and the series’ icons: Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans; K9, the Doctor’s robot dog; and Doctor Who’s most distinctive story idea, throwing alien complications into adventures in history. Plus three particularly fun stories and three outstandingly great authors – Ben Aaronovitch and Douglas Adams, probably best-known beyond Doctor Who, and Robert Holmes, probably Doctor Who’s finest writer.

Just to be contrary, having compiled this playlist, started watching it, and recommended it to you – we then watched two stories in ‘reverse order’. Obviously Daleks go above Cybermen, but I noticed that the broadcast anniversaries of Remembrance and Tomb fell before and after the opposite weeks. Yes, I know. Your nerdage may vary.

 

04 — Remembrance of the Daleks	(Sylvester McCoy, 1988)	26 September
05 — The Tomb of the Cybermen	(Patrick Troughton, 1967)	3 October
06 — The Time Warrior	(Jon Pertwee, 1973-4)	10 October
07 — The Pirate Planet	(Tom Baker, 1978)	17 October
08 — Carnival of Monsters	(Jon Pertwee, 1973)	24 October

 

The Time Lords – Horror for Halloween in a Time Lord ghost story before meeting the Doctor’s people, the Time Lords. And, as a bonus around Doctor Who’s anniversary, more of the many, many faces of the Doctor than most people mention! With two epics, the latter of which has a hint of A Christmas Carol…

 

09 — Image of the Fendahl	(Tom Baker, 1977)	31 October
10 — The Brain of Morbius	(Tom Baker with…, 1976)	7 November
11 — The War Games	(Patrick Troughton with…, 1969)	14 November
12 — The Three Doctors	(Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell, 1973)	21 November
13 — The Trial of a Time Lord	(Colin Baker with…, 1986)	28 November

 

Christmas – Featuring a Victorian ghost story, a Winter’s tale of rebirth, The Nativity… Of the Daleks, and though Christmas specials are more a ‘New Who’ speciality, a Snakemas spectacular where a world looks forward to its biggest festival, but some party poopers claim everyone’s forgotten its true meaning. It’s true, but no-one’s happy when they find out what it is.

 

14 — Ghost Light	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	5 December
15 — The Tenth Planet	(William Hartnell with…, 1966, part-animated)	12 December
16 — Genesis of the Daleks	(Tom Baker, 1975)	19 December
17 — Snakedance	(Peter Davison, 1983)	26 December

 

Two things I’m not usually including: as a rule, I’ve only picked stories that still exist in full. The BBC burned (burned!) many 1960s adventures, but all survived as soundtracks and several have now been animated to fill in the missing pictures. One episode of The Tenth Planet is a new animation (as two other stories here will be). And I recommend one seasonal Doctor Who audio drama: Spare Parts (Peter Davison) is as Christmassy as they come, ish, and makes a sparkling Advent decoration between The Tenth Planet and Genesis of the Daleks. Which reminds me of Kaldor City, a brilliant audio series of political thrillers set in the world of The Robots of Death (and more). I didn’t mention it above because I thought it would put you off immediately, but hopefully you’re reading this at Christmas and will be more tolerant / drunk.

 

New Year – A small but perfectly formed new start story lures you into a false sense of security before…

 

18 — The Rescue

(William Hartnell, 1965)

2 January

 

The Master – With a flourish of daffodils, the Doctor’s oldest friend and deadliest enemy springs out under a variety of names but usually referred to as the Master. A minor cheat: three stories here form a trilogy (and were released on DVD as such), so I’ve grouped them together as one. They are not alone.

 

19 — Terror of the Autons	(Jon Pertwee, 1971)	9 January
20 — The Keeper of Traken / Logopolis / Castrovalva	(Tom Baker and Peter Davison, 1981-2)	16 January
21 — Doctor Who (The TV Movie)	(Paul McGann with Sylvester McCoy, 1996)	23 January

 

Just A Bit of Politics – Two stories that I read the novelisations of as a boy and which helped make me a little Liberal, taking the moral that green scaly people are people too and different worlds are better off together than in bigoted isolation; ‘free your mind’; a deeply subtle political satire; a free-trade fable where the ruler’s destructive greed and blaming foreigners makes everybody poor and miserable; and media as social control with referendums as endless torment. No idea why I thought of those last two. But they’re also very funny.

 

22 — Doctor Who and the Silurians	(Jon Pertwee, 1970)	30 January
23 — The Curse of Peladon	(Jon Pertwee, 1972)	6 February
24 — The Macra Terror	(Patrick Troughton, 1967, animated)	13 February
25 — The Happiness Patrol	(Sylvester McCoy, 1988)	20 February
26 — The Creature from the Pit	(Tom Baker, 1979)	27 February
27 — Vengeance on Varos	(Colin Baker, 1985)	6 March

 

Brilliant Directors – Four of the classic series’ most outstanding directors bring pace and energy, atmosphere, inspiration and (because there’s no such thing as perfection) not always ideal monsters. Plus a spectacular downfall for the Ides of March! The last one also offers both a big show and a self-styled god, which leads into another theme…

[It also leads into the audio adventures of Jago & Litefoot, which begin with Doctor Who – The Mahogany Murderers and then their own series, a delight. But now back to just Classic Who on TV.]

 

28 — The Caves of Androzani	(Peter Davison with…, 1984)	13 March
29 — Earthshock	(Peter Davison, 1982)	20 March
30 — Terror of the Zygons	(Tom Baker, 1975)	27 March
31 — The Talons of Weng-Chiang	(Tom Baker, 1977)	3 April

 

Gods and Demons – Politics and religion? I spoil you. Another Victorian-ish (in space), clashes between god-like powers, and a May Day special. Plus another trilogy. But, thematically, that’s appropriate, as these stories also have something in common with the next set and beyond, because while they also feature gods, demons, self-styled saviours and religious icons, the appearance of the Master heralds…

 

32 — The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	(Sylvester McCoy, 1988-9)	10 April
33 — The Ribos Operation	(Tom Baker, 1978)	17 April
34 — Mawdryn Undead / Terminus / Enlightenment	(Peter Davison, 1983)	24 April
35 — The Dæmons	(Jon Pertwee, 1971)	1 May

 

The Villains – A spectacular set of baddies. If there’s one thing I love about Classic Who – no, there are many, many things I love, but I do adore a charismatic villain. And funny how many of them set themselves as religious authorities, isn’t it? Though among the women, men and genderfluid beings here who really mean it and the ones who strike a pose, the most fearful of all is a dark god. Look out for, threaded through several sets in a row, the work of a particular favourite (yet very underrated) Doctor Who author: David Fisher writes not just superb villains with recognisable motives but very witty scripts and a dash of sex that Classic Who rarely offers.

 

36 — Battlefield	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	8 May
37 — The Stones of Blood	(Tom Baker, 1978)	15 May
38 — The Hand of Fear	(Tom Baker, 1976)	22 May
39 — The Curse of Fenric	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	29 May
40 — Pyramids of Mars	(Tom Baker, 1975)	5 June
41 — The Aztecs	(William Hartnell, 1964)	12 June
42 — The Time Meddler	(William Hartnell, 1965)	19 June

 

Greed and Style (and more Villains) – More! More! More villains and never knowingly underplayed. But these also have in common not just villainy, not just superbly stylish outfits, but especially the wealthy and powerful’s greed for more power and wealth rather than acting from belief or evil for its own sake (it’s not its own. It’s mine). There’s even a fabulously wicked Count to contend with when the Doctor goes on holiday…

 

43 — The Mark of the Rani	(Colin Baker, 1985)	26 June
44 — The Invasion	(Patrick Troughton, 1968, part-animated)	3 July
45 — Revelation of the Daleks	(Colin Baker, 1985)	10 July
46 — City of Death	(Tom Baker, 1979)	17 July

 

A Holiday For the Doctor – From a gorgeous sun-dappled theme park world to globe-trotting Earth, both with lots of dressing up, to dressing up for the Wild West (not wise), then Classic Who’s two most outstandingly designed alien worlds.

 

47 — The Androids of Tara	(Tom Baker, 1978)	24 July
48 — The Enemy of the World	(Patrick Troughton and Patrick Troughton, 1967-8)	31 July
49 — The Gunfighters	(William Hartnell, 1966)	7 August
50 — The Daleks	(William Hartnell, 1963-4)	14 August
51 — Planet of Evil	(Tom Baker, 1975)	21 August

 

New Beginnings – …And we’re back in September. You thought this would be only a year’s-worth? Because Doctor Who ought to begin again in September, not end, this, too, is due to end at Doctor Who’s anniversary. But particularly because the New Who Playlist nearly triples my New Who recommendations, so it’s only fair to double the Classic Whos here (my shortlist tripled them, but that was a bit much). In this set, two gorgeous holiday openers to two absolutely magnificent seasons; a trip to Spain for a binge; a hell of a hangover in a jungle and a trio of giant creepy-crawlies; to, at last, a white void. Nothing? Well, that’s something…

 

52 — The Leisure Hive	(Tom Baker, 1980)	28 August
53 — The Masque of Mandragora	(Tom Baker, 1976)	4 September
54 — The Two Doctors	(Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton, 1985)	11 September
55 — Kinda	(Peter Davison, 1982)	18 September
56 — Planet of the Spiders	(Jon Pertwee with…, 1974)	25 September
57 — Full Circle / State of Decay / Warriors’ Gate	(Tom Baker, 1980-1)	2 October

 

And Doctor Who Will Run Forever – A closing variety of favourites that mix fresh starts and never-goodbyes, showing all stories from outside, bringing the series to your flat and high street, humanity surviving disasters and Daleks to find new life (just as the very first story I saw began this list and my second continues here for my birthday), worlds where the sky is burning, where the sea is asleep, and the rivers dream, people made of smoke, cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger. Somewhere there’s injustice. And somewhere else, the tea is getting cold.

It finishes, because Doctor Who never finishes, on my favourite story (so far), because there is always something new, always something wonderful still to come.

 

58 — The Mind Robber	(Patrick Troughton, 1968)	9 October
59 — Paradise Towers	(Sylvester McCoy, 1987)	16 October
60 — Spearhead From Space	(Jon Pertwee, 1970)	23 October
61 — The Ark in Space	(Tom Baker, 1975)	30 October
62 — The Dalek Invasion of Earth	(William Hartnell, 1964)	6 November
63 — Survival	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	13 November
64 — The Deadly Assassin	(Tom Baker, 1976)	20 November

 

You might think there will be no new ‘Classic Who’ stories, but – never mind the audio dramas – the animations of ’60s surviving soundtracks continue. The next rumoured recreations are Patrick Troughton tales The Abominable Snowmen (tempting) and The Evil of the Daleks (which is one of my absolute favourites and I’d add here like a shot). So keep watching…

 

 

 

Doctor Who Playlist 3 – ‘New Who’ TV Stories (2005-2020 So Far)

 

Every one of these is currently free on BBC iPlayer, making this the simplest playlist to watch (just sit on your sofa and click). And all available on many other media, whether for binge or weekly Saturday appointment…

 

Introducing the Doctor and the TARDIS – Doctor Who returned in 2005 with the best introduction to the TARDIS I’ve ever seen. This playlist opens in a double bill of that first ‘New Who’ paired with the current Doctor crashing into our world. Then I adore Martha Jones being pulled into the Doctor’s world, and another new Doctor’s experimental food. Which leaves just one more of the series’ absolute essentials to glide in…

 

01 — Rose 01 — The Woman Who Fell To Earth	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005) (Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	21 November 21 November
02 — Smith and Jones	(David Tennant, 2007)	28 November
03 — The Eleventh Hour	(Matt Smith, 2010)	5 December
04 — Dalek	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	12 December

 

Christmas – ‘New Who’ revels in its Christmas specials, so these are extended revels with a deadly Christmas tree, not just the scowl but the heart of Scrooge McDoctor, and don’t complain about the last one being well after Twelfth Night (and why, after The Eleventh Hour, none of his Christmases were called that is beyond me). Look, they first broadcast that first New Who Christmas Special in April – and it crosses over into the next theme, too…

 

05 — The Husbands of River Song	(Peter Capaldi, 2015)	19 December
06 — The Christmas Invasion	(David Tennant, 2005)	26 December
07 — Last Christmas	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	2 January
08 — The Unquiet Dead	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	9 January

 

History, Horror and Heists – They may style themselves Horror but these are all rather fun, and eventually the same mood takes us into the present and future to do the Hustle. But there’s an edge of tragedy for the last of their kind…

 

09 — The Witchfinders	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	16 January
10 — The Crimson Horror	(Matt Smith, 2013)	23 January
11 — Thin Ice	(Peter Capaldi, 2017)	30 January
12 — Partners In Crime	(David Tennant, 2008)	6 February
13 — The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	13 February
14 — Time Heist	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	20 February

 

The Time Lords and Time Wars – A beginner’s time travel builds to the Doctor’s people, the Time Lords. What could be worse than finding all of them are gone…? With a double bill (or big event and supporting feature) for the anniversary of New Who, and featuring the Doctor – which you might take for granted, but this time frequently not the one you’re expecting.

 

15 — The End of the World	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	27 February
16 — Gridlock	(David Tennant, 2007)	6 March
17 — Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords	(David Tennant, 2007)	13 March
18 — The Name of the Doctor	(Matt Smith with…, 2013)	20 March
19 — The Night of the Doctor 19 — The Day of the Doctor	(Paul McGann with…, 2013 mini-episode) (Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt with…, 2013)	27 March 27 March
20 — Dark Water / Death In Heaven	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	3 April
21 — Spyfall Part One / Spyfall Part Two	(Jodie Whittaker, 2020)	10 April
22 — Fugitive of the Judoon	(Jodie Whittaker with…, 2020)	17 April

 

And what rhymes with Judoon…? I’m sorry. It’s the law.

Fixed Points In Time, Tragedy and Life – Moral dilemmas and the problem of time travel. Some of Doctor Who’s most heart-stopping drama. But also some fantastic monsters.

 

23 — Kill the Moon	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	24 April
24 — Amy’s Choice	(Matt Smith with…, 2010)	1 May
25 — The Girl Who Died	(Peter Capaldi, 2015)	8 May
26 — Father’s Day	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	15 May
27 — Rosa	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	22 May
28 — The Fires of Pompeii	(David Tennant, 2008)	29 May
29 — The Waters of Mars	(David Tennant, 2009)	5 June
30 — The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion	(Peter Capaldi, 2015)	12 June
31 — Praxeus	(Jodie Whittaker, 2020)	19 June

 

Old Friends and Ancient Evil, and Which Is Which? – When the Doctor’s been around for so many lives, the nearest they have to friends are other great survivors. With a set full of demons that plunges deep into the Pit, Missy and Davros probably do make the best company, while there’s one you really don’t want to chat to at all… Which makes you appreciate all the more an old friend going on to Adventures of her own.

Also introducing the two most iconic New Who ‘monsters’: the Ood and the Weeping Angels.

 

32 — The Magician’s Apprentice / The Witch’s Familiar	(Peter Capaldi, 2015)	26 June
33 — The Doctor’s Wife	(Matt Smith, 2011)	3 July
34 — Blink	(David Tennant, 2007)	10 July
35 — Midnight	(David Tennant, 2008)	17 July
36 — The Eaters of Light	(Peter Capaldi, 2017)	24 July
37 — Demons of the Punjab	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	31 July
38 — The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit	(David Tennant, 2006)	7 August
39 — It Takes You Away	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	14 August
40 — School Reunion	(David Tennant, 2006)	21 August

 

Monsters Who Came Back For More! – and the Monster Mash-up, as the series mixes and matches some of the Doctor’s greatest enemies: Missy / the Master; Daleks; Cybermen; and the Slitheen! Who are probably the most fun before everything explodes into a series of grand finales (which often means death on an appalling scale and, sometimes worse, coming back).

 

41 — Aliens of London / World War Three	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	28 August
42 — Boom Town	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	4 September
43 — Nightmare In Silver	(Matt Smith, 2013)	11 September
44 — World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls	(Peter Capaldi, 2017)	18 September
45 — Army of Ghosts / Doomsday	(David Tennant, 2006)	25 September
46 — Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways	(Christopher Eccleston with…, 2005)	2 October
47 — Resolution	(Jodie Whittaker, 2019)	9 October

 

And Doctor Who Is Still Running – The series looking in on itself and art, looking back at its ancestors in science fiction’s birth as the Modern Prometheus, looking out and onward with the latest story shown so far – which it won’t be by the time you’ve finished watching – as the adventures always continue. Which makes my favourite New Who story so far all the more appropriate for a grand finale (never the end), because it’s not just great television but was born out of fierce hope and imagination between Classic and New Who, when there was more Doctor Who if you looked for it and always, still, something wonderful yet to come.

 

48 — Love & Monsters	(David Tennant, 2006)	16 October
49 — Vincent and the Doctor	(Matt Smith, 2010)	23 October
50 — Flatline	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	30 October
51 — The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People	(Matt Smith with…, 2011)	6 November
52 — The Haunting of Villa Diodati / Ascension of the Cybermen / The Timeless Children	(Jodie Whittaker with…, 2020)	13 November
53 — Human Nature / The Family of Blood	(David Tennant with…, 2007)	20 November

 

 

Something More – I’ve Written Reasons To Watch Half A Dozen Stories (plus another five)

 

If a list of titles isn’t enough to persuade you, here are links to the articles I wrote on why I love just a few of those stories and why you should watch them. If you just read one, try the Ten Reasons… for Rose. That’s one of my best.

 

Ten Reasons to Watch Robot

 

Five Reasons to Read Doctor Who and the Cybermen

 

Ten Reasons to Watch An Unearthly Child

 

Five Reasons to Read Doctor Who In An Exciting Adventure With the Daleks

 

Five Reasons to Watch The Trip of a Lifetime Trailer

 

Ten Reasons to Watch Rose

 

Five Reasons to Read Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion

 

Ten Reasons to Watch Ghost Light

 

Five Reasons to Listen To Home Truths

 

Ten Reasons to Watch Last Christmas

 

Ten Reasons to Watch The Rescue

The ‘Five Reasons to…’ stories weren’t in any of the playlists above. My original idea was to write about one Doctor Who story every week, giving ten reasons to watch each in turn. I’d deliberately chosen 53 stories that were broadcast on TV and which still exist – the most accessible form of Doctor Who. But that’s not all I love. I made it up to a full hundred by also fitting in and around them many other forms of Doctor Who that I love just as much. Novelisations, novels, audio dramas, comic strips, even a trailer (by far the shortest choice in here). And a few are even brilliant Doctor Who stories the BBC transmitted in the 1960s and then burnt (still! Burnt!), all of which survive as soundtracks recorded off-air, increasing numbers of which are being animated to give them a new lease of life. I may not have written articles for anywhere near a hundred, but I love them all. Are you ready?

 

If Doctor Who on television alone isn’t enough for you – and why should it be? – then here is an expanded universe on the same themes.

 

 

 

Doctor Who Playlist 4 – TV Stories For Every Doctor and Many More Beyond

 

Introducing the Doctor and the TARDIS – The first few stories are exactly this. Great introductions to first the Doctor and then the TARDIS, one big cheat in a Tom Baker-Jodie Whittaker double bill right up front so the current Doctor is there from the start, and a weekly experience, should you feel the urge, with appropriate events following should you begin at Doctor Who’s anniversary and make time every Saturday. I intertwine the first Doctor TV ever saw, the fantastic return and their current incarnation with the first Doctor Who story I ever saw – it worked for me – and intertwine Saturday television with in-between-oddities, my first with the first Who books and the most glorious trailer I’ve ever seen. And this is just the start.

 

1 — Robot 1 — The Woman Who Fell To Earth	(Tom Baker, 1974-5) (Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	21 November 21 November
A — Doctor Who and the Cybermen	(book, Patrick Troughton, 1975)
2 — An Unearthly Child	(William Hartnell, 1963)	28 November
B — Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure With the Daleks	(book, William Hartnell, 1964)
C — Doctor Who – Series One Trailer: The Trip of a Lifetime	(TV, Christopher Eccleston, 2005)
3 — Rose	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	5 December
D — Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion	(book, Jon Pertwee, 1974)

 

Christmas – Featuring a Victorian ghost story, The Nativity… Of The Daleks, and a Christmas special with Doctor Scrooge and nightmare deaths. With a bonus ghost story close to home and tales from the Doctor’s longest Christmas (where Snakemas is still the highlight).

 

4 — Ghost Light	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	12 December
E — Doctor Who – Home Truths	(audio, William Hartnell, 2008)
5 — Genesis of the Daleks	(Tom Baker, 1975)	19 December
6 — Last Christmas	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	26 December
F — Doctor Who – Tales of Trenzalore	(book, Matt Smith, 2014)

 

New Year – A small but perfectly formed new start, yet it also looks like the end of a world…

 

7 — The Rescue

(William Hartnell, 1965)

2 January

 

The Time Lords and Time Wars – A beginner’s travel in time that builds to the Doctor’s people, the Time Lords. And what an incredible bunch they are. If there’s one reason to explore the wonders of Doctor Who outside the box, this set is it: the War spreading forwards, backwards and sideways in time through the books and audios here is so much stranger and darker, so much broader and deeper than anything TV could hold. And so much better.

 

8 — The End of the World	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	9 January
G — Doctor Who – Alien Bodies	(book, Paul McGann, 1997)
9 — The War Games	(Patrick Troughton, 1969)	16 January
H — Doctor Who and the Two Doctors	(book, Colin Baker with Patrick Troughton, 1985)
10 — Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords	(David Tennant, 2007)	23 January
J — The Night of the Doctor	(TV, Paul McGann with…, 2013)
K — Faction Paradox – The Book of the War	(book, Time War…?, 2002)
11 — The Day of the Doctor	(Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt with…, 2013)	30 January
L — Doctor Who – The War Doctor 2: Infernal Devices	(audio, John Hurt, 2016)

 

Just A Bit of Fun (and a bit of politics) – nothing serious, nothing political! Fun tales both entertaining and about entertainment gradually transform through satire into more serious politics, from Machiavellian scheming to moral heart (with natural and unnatural disasters along the way). Right from the first, Doctor Who stands up to bigots, bullies and fascists. And a terrific pair of novels offer different angles on arguably Doctor Who’s two greatest writers – Russell T Davies and Robert Holmes – in the week between the anniversary of New Who and the birthday of the wicked old man. One of them is even Doctor Who in the inner city, with gangs, guns, stabbings, drugs and prostitution. Speaking of which, following all that…

 

12 — Carnival of Monsters	(Jon Pertwee, 1973)	6 February
13 — Vengeance on Varos	(Colin Baker, 1985)	13 February
14 — Thin Ice	(Peter Capaldi, 2017)	20 February
M — Doctor Who and the Creature From the Pit	(book, Tom Baker, 1981)
15 — Boom Town	(Christopher Eccleston, 2005)	27 February
N — Doctor Who – The Stealers of Dreams	(book, Christopher Eccleston, 2005)
16 — The Caves of Androzani	(Peter Davison with…, 1984)	6 March
17 — The Enemy of the World	(Patrick Troughton, 1967-8)	13 March
18 — Doctor Who and the Silurians	(Jon Pertwee, 1970)	20 March
19 — Demons of the Punjab	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	27 March
P — Doctor Who: The New Adventures – Damaged Goods	(book, Sylvester McCoy, 1996)
Q — Doctor Who and the Ark In Space	(book, Tom Baker, 1977)

 

Dark Religion, Gods and Demons – from politics to religion! What, me, controversial? And once again starting with more fun stories and fake gods with even more Victorians, then to horror and demonic evil through Victorians-in-space to the English countryside, a May Day special, and to end it all a dark god. Bonuses include extra disturbing religious figures, a most distinguished archaeologist and a trip to Heaven…

 

20 — The Talons of Weng-Chiang	(Tom Baker, 1977)	3 April
R — Jago & Litefoot – Series 1 (start with Doctor Who – The Mahogany Murderers)	(audio, Christopher Benjamin & Trevor Baxter, 2010)
S — Doctor Who: The New Adventures – All-Consuming Fire	(book, Sylvester McCoy, 1994)
21 — The Crimson Horror	(Matt Smith, 2013)	10 April
T — Doctor Who – The Tides of Time	(graphic novel, Peter Davison, 1982 / 2005)
T/A — TV21 – The Dalek Chronicles	(comic strip, the Daleks, 1965-7 / collected 1994)
U — The Sarah Jane Adventures – The Mad Woman in the Attic	(TV, Elisabeth Sladen, 2009)
22 — Kinda	(Peter Davison, 1982)	17 April
V — The Daleks’ Master Plan	(TV, William Hartnell, 1965-66 [part-missing])
23 — The Curse of Fenric	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	24 April
24 — The Dæmons	(Jon Pertwee, 1971)	1 May
W — Doctor Who – The Shadows of Avalon	(book, Paul McGann, 2000)
X — Doctor Who – The Holy Terror	(audio, Colin Baker, 2000)
25 — Pyramids of Mars	(Tom Baker, 1975)	8 May
Y — Doctor Who – The Good Doctor	(book, Jodie Whittaker, 2018)
Z — Doctor Who: The Novel Adaptations – Love and War	(audio, Sylvester McCoy, 2012)

 

Alien Worlds – Carrying on the last theme’s archaeology takes us to the worlds of two infamous alien races (dead planets may rise up as well as down), then a lively, greedy culture and the most colourful of other planets. In between Saturdays, two 1990s stories of alien worlds and civilisations that might just be the two finest original Who novels ever published. Also featuring (spoilers!) another Doctor than the one you were expecting, as does the next along…

 

26 — The Tomb of the Cybermen	(Patrick Troughton, 1967)	15 May
AA — Doctor Who – The Eye of Torment	(graphic novel, Peter Capaldi, 2015)
27 — The Daleks	(William Hartnell, 1963-4)	22 May
BB — Doctor Who: The New Adventures – The Also People	(book, Sylvester McCoy, 1995)
CC — Doctor Who: The New Adventures – Lucifer Rising	(book, Sylvester McCoy, 1993)
28 — The Robots of Death	(Tom Baker, 1977)	29 May
DD — The Tenth Planet	(TV, William Hartnell, 1966 [part- animated])
29 — The Trial of a Time Lord	(Colin Baker with…, 1986)	5 June

 

Tragical History Tour – History, tragedy and moral dilemmas make a terrific set of stories and each, for me, the best Doctor Who of their years (including a third 1990s alien civilisation story in a row to be among the finest original Who novels ever published). And history as art, which guides me on to another collection…

 

30 — Amy’s Choice	(Matt Smith with…, 2010)	12 June
EE — Doctor Who: The Missing Adventures – Venusian Lullaby	(book, William Hartnell, 1994)
31 — The Aztecs	(William Hartnell, 1964)	19 June
32 — Rosa	(Jodie Whittaker, 2018)	26 June
33 — The Fires of Pompeii	(David Tennant, 2008)	3 July
FF — Doctor Who – The Iron Legion	(graphic novel, Tom Baker, 1979-1980 / 2004)

 

Evil Under the Sun – And under the skin. Coming into Summer, if you’re so inclined, with holidays, wedding days, several more light-hearted stories, some very dark indeed, and a startling vein of politics. There’s so much lurking underneath…

 

GG — Doctor Who – The Pirate Loop	(book, David Tennant, 2007)
34 — Enlightenment	(Peter Davison, 1983)	10 July
HH — Doctor Who – The Stones of Venice	(audio, Paul McGann, 2001)
35 — City of Death	(Tom Baker, 1979)	17 July
36 — The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion	(Peter Capaldi, 2015)	24 July
JJ — The Macra Terror	(TV, Patrick Troughton, 1967 [animated])
KK — Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters	(book, Jon Pertwee, 1974)
37 — The Androids of Tara	(Tom Baker, 1978)	31 July
LL — The Evil of the Daleks	(TV, Patrick Troughton, 1967 [part-missing])
38 — Human Nature / The Family of Blood	(David Tennant, 2007)	7 August
MM — Doctor Who and the Time Warrior	(book, Jon Pertwee, 1978)
39 — The Doctor’s Wife	(Matt Smith, 2011)	14 August
NN — Doctor Who: The New Adventures – Lungbarrow	(book, Sylvester McCoy with…, 1997)

 

The Master – From weddings to the Doctor’s… oldest friend, sometimes calling themselves the Master, sometimes Missy, often in improbable disguise, but almost always up to no good. Listen to Geoffrey Beevers’ reading of The Doomsday Weapon for double the Masterly experience. Though there’s still an extra and extraordinarily entertaining wedding (and Master) to come…

 

40 — Doctor Who (The TV Movie)	(Paul McGann with Sylvester McCoy, 1996)	21 August
41 — Dark Water / Death In Heaven	(Peter Capaldi, 2014)	28 August
OO — Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon	(book, Jon Pertwee, 1974)
42 — Spyfall	(Jodie Whittaker, 2020)	4 September
43 — Logopolis	(Tom Baker with…, 1981)	11 September
PP — Doctor Who – Castrovalva	(book, Peter Davison, 1983)

 

Death and the Daleks! – From one arch-enemy to another, with Davros and his creations the Daleks in spectacular form, then further explosive action from Cybermen and Autons. And the consequences of all that exciting action come home in too many deaths. But this isn’t the end… Time to launch spin-offs in multiple directions.

 

QQ — The Sarah Jane Adventures – Death of the Doctor	(TV, Elisabeth Sladen with Matt Smith, 2010)
RR — Torchwood – They Keep Killing Suzie	(TV, John Barrowman, 2006)
44 — Revelation of the Daleks	(Colin Baker, 1985)	18 September
SS — Doctor Who – Jubilee	(audio, Colin Baker, 2003)
45 — Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways	(Christopher Eccleston with…, 2005)	25 September
TT — Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150AD	(Film, Peter Cushing, 1966)
46 — Remembrance of the Daleks	(Sylvester McCoy, 1988)	2 October
UU — Doctor Who – Remembrance of the Daleks	(book, Sylvester McCoy, 1990)
47 — Earthshock	(Peter Davison, 1982)	9 October
VV — The Invasion	(TV, Patrick Troughton, 1968 [part-animated])
48 — Spearhead From Space	(Jon Pertwee, 1970)	16 October

 

And Doctor Who Will Run Forever – A closing variety of favourites first celebrating the Doctor and all stories, then the final story of the classic series (never the end), and an exciting adventure from the very latest series that opens new directions to past and future so it, too, says, ‘The story continues’. Then, for Doctor Who’s anniversary, its own anniversary and a grand finale, the best at last: my very favourite story so far, because there is always something new, always something wonderful still to come.

 

49 — Love & Monsters	(David Tennant, 2006)	23 October
WW — Doctor Who: The New Adventures – Happy Endings	(book, Sylvester McCoy, 1996)
50 — The Mind Robber	(Patrick Troughton, 1968)	30 October
51 — Survival	(Sylvester McCoy, 1989)	6 November
52 — Fugitive of the Judoon	(Jodie Whittaker, 2020)	13 November
53 — The Deadly Assassin	(Tom Baker, 1976)	20 November

 

And whether or not there’s more Doctor Who made for TV by the time you finish, there will always, always be more Doctor Who.

 

I hope that whets your appetite. Or makes you binge. This monster of strange diversity is my favourite playlist. Of course it is. It’s just a little bit too much, but I love Doctor Who more than a little too much. Not least the stories that made it to the massive playlist in dual formats (some even better as Target novels than TV). One especial delight on revisiting all this is that The Macra Terror has transformed in a few years from being just a soundtrack with a few surviving pictures and film clips to a full animation, making one of my favourite stories very much easier to watch. And this very month, the multi-media Time Lord Victorious series of stories announced a TV tie-in selection, a themed Blu-ray set of Classic and New Doctor Who, several of which you’ll already have found multiple times above. It’s uncanny.

 

 

 

Even More Doctor Who – Big Finish

 

While the unfolding story of Doctor Who continues to expand on TV every year or two, Doctor Who on audio is growing at a far faster rate. I’ve recommended several above (as well as Magic Bullet’s Kaldor City audio plays), but there are so many others that I want to give Big Finish Productions their own bonus. An extra not-all-Bakers’-half-a-dozen brilliant stories I’ve heard since I first drew up my playlist:

 

• Doctor Who – The Trouble With Drax                             (Tom Baker)
• Doctor Who: The Lost Stories – Paradise 5                     (Colin Baker)
• Doctor Who: The Lost Stories – The Elite                       (Peter Davison; good one for novices)
• Doctor Who: The Novel Adaptations – Cold Fusion        (Peter Davison and Sylvester McCoy)
• Doctor Who: The Novel Adaptations – Damaged Goods    (Sylvester McCoy)
• Doctor Who: Ravenous 2 – Better Watch Out / Fairytale of Salzburg        (Paul McGann for Christmas)

 

I love particularly two of their ongoing teams alongside Sylvester McCoy:

With Ace and Hex, starting with The Harvest (set in 2021, so almost now) and reaching a peak with A Death in the Family;

With a very different companion in Klein, for whom I’d recommend the trilogy of four A Thousand Tiny Wings, Klein’s Story, Survival of the Fittest and The Architects of History, as well as UNIT: Dominion, where Klein’s not the only character not to be who you expect.

 

And I have to admit, I also love the Master. I especially recommend the naughty adventures of The War Master (Derek Jacobi) and Missy (Michelle Gomez), because both get to do so much more on audio and are not just amazing in the part but delightful (and disturbing) in the added interviews. Perhaps the best single purchase is The Diary of River Song Volume Five – all the stories are excellent, and you get four fabulous Masters to play with.

  

 

Even More Doctor Who – Terrance Dicks

 

Doctor Who’s most prolific novelist. I noticed with a slight pang that, though I started my playlist with the TV story he wrote that got me into Doctor Who in the first place, in my determination for variety I’d only chosen two of his books for the expanded version. So here are another extra half a dozen, the first starting with the greatest opening line in Doctor Who prose:

  

• Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth                          (William Hartnell)
• Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen                       (Patrick Troughton)
• Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons                           (Jon Pertwee)
• Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars                                   (Tom Baker)
• Doctor Who: The New Adventures – Timewyrm: Exodus    (Sylvester McCoy)
• Doctor Who – Made of Steel                                                (David Tennant)  

  

I Hope You Enjoyed All That

 

Well, some of it, at least.

 

Did you find a playlist that was to your taste? If they were all too intimidating, just pick any story, from any list, and give it a go.

 

Very little me watched Terrance Dicks’ Robot forty-five years ago, and I had no idea what I was getting into. Thanks to that experience, I’m still into it. I’ll give two other writers the last words on reason to love Doctor Who, Classic, New, and beyond.

Russell T Davies:

“Doctor Who is the best idea ever invented in the history of the world.”

 

Robert Holmes:

“Let’s frighten the little buggers to death!”