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Classic Doctor Who, Season 24 Review
So I decided to abandon my plans to binge all of the Seventh Doctor before I turned 30 in mid-June, and as a result watching this season ended up being more of a slow drip than I had expected. Part of this was because I had originally planned to read the companion novels in between the Sixth and Seventh Doctor eras... but I couldn't resist seeing how they would handle the regeneration at the top of this season, so I ended up diving in without a second thought. And it certainly handled the transition as well as it could have. Everything about this season is extremely transitional, perhaps even more than past "transitional" seasons like Seasons 11, 18, and 21. This season had a brand new Doctor and a brand new head writer, but still had artifacts left over from the premature end of the Sixth Doctor's era such as Mel Bush, and the continued presence of John Nathan-Turner as the series producer. The end result was a lot of new, fresh elements of the series mixed in with elements that felt out of place.
It also doesn't help that there's been a clear time jump between the previous season and this one, contributing to the sense of disorientation as he's developed a relationship with his companion which we've only seen small pieces of. That said, I think this season manages to hit the beats in needs to, and clean up storylines enough to set up for a really strong future for this era of the show. It's still early, but I've already caught a glimpse of why so many people vibed with this Doctor, especially coming off more divisive runs earlier in the decade.
Like the previous twenty-two seasons, the serials are available to watch via streaming on Britbox. I very much suspect my ranking are going to be at odds with what a lot of fandom thinks about this season, but that's life I suppose.
Characters
Sylvester McCoy as The Seventh Doctor - There's this idea that's popped up in meta for the series that each Doctor's incarnation is somehow informed by the experiences of the former. So it's very weird to see this version of the Doctor having lived through a stretch of experiences TV viewers are mostly not privy too. We saw some suggestion in Terror of the Vervoids, but we don't actually know what the endpoint for the Sixth Doctor was and how it gave birth to this new incarnation. In some ways, though, it helps add an extra layer to this character. I've only seen a couple of glimpses at it so far, but this is a Doctor who is good at puzzles in a way that's unique among other Doctors, and I've heard it on good authority that he develops even more of a "trickster" persona. It's an interesting take on the Doctor that feels perfect for this point in the show's run, and I'm excited to see where McCoy takes it once the scripts become more tailored to his portrayal... and he's matched with a more suitable companion.
Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush - I'm going to start this off by saying I don't think Mel is a bad companion. I actually like her quite a lot, and I think Langford is fine in the role. That said, she was a character that always felt held at arms length. We never got to see her first adventure with the Doctor, and while we did get a few personal details it felt like we never really got to know her as a person. She was there to fill the companion role and she was never really given much dimension outside of that. (In a lot of ways it reminds me how Dodo Chaplet was created to fill the "Susan" archetype, but was never given the dimension that her predecessor Vicki was afforded). It also doesn't help that Mel and the Seventh Doctor felt like a mismatch from the very beginning. And that's understandable, considering she was a companion specifically designed to be paired with the Sixth Doctor. While her personality bounced off that incarnation in a very interesting way, with the Seventh Doctor it all feels weirdly flat. They have neither the affection of Four and Sarah nor the bristling tension of Six and Peri. They're coworkers who like each other just fine but don't really draw anything remarkable out of the other. So as sad as it was to see the show basically give up on Mel as a character, the writing was on the wall as soon as Colin Baker was fired. Oh what might have been.
Kate O'Mara as The Rani - I'm happy that the Rani got a better showing in her second appearance, and it really felt like O'Mara got to sink her teeth into the role and have some fun with it. As much as I love Ainley, I can't help but think about what could have been if they'd had him "stay dead" for a while after Planet of Fire and let the Rani take up the mantle of the "full-time" time lord adversary for the last few seasons. Going by her sole appearance this season, she's clever and creative enough to do it. She is camp, she is beauty, give her a spinoff.
Sophie Aldred as Ace - I only have her intro to go off of, so what I came away from this season with is the word "potential". Dragonfire went a long way to build her up as a character, but we also didn't see much of her and the Doctor actually interacting. It's honestly more backstory that we've gotten from most Classic companions, and I wonder how much of it will actually come into play during her television appearances. I do have some mixed feelings about her saying "Ace" as a catchphrase, and I wonder if that's something that continues.
We also saw a reappearance of Tony Selby as Sabalom Glitz. It was nice to see his role expanded beyond the trail storyline, and I thought he had a nice rapport with the Seventh Doctor. I also liked that he ended up being the (non-romantic) avenue that Mel used to leave the show, and I kind of want to see a spinoff showing what this new team did next.
The Serials
I've ranked the serials based off my own personal preference which is only tangentially related to how good they are on a critical level.
4) Serial 3, Episodes 9-11 - Delta and the Bannermen
Delta and the Bannermen crams too many characters and subplots into a very short runtime, though it's ultimate downfall is the underwhelming acting and overall execution. Ray, the companion that wasn't, doesn't get a lot to do and almost feels like an afterthought by the end. (x)
I feel like ranking this at the bottom is a relatively spicy take, but I just never ended up gelling with this one. It felt like it was trying to do way too much from the jump, which is made worse by the fact that it could have potentially also contained Mel's exit and Ray becoming the full-time companion. Logistically, I don't know how Mel could've left here, as she would've been stuck back in time, unless in the original version of the script the tour bus survived. (Which I wouldn't have minded. The mass murder of everyone in the tour group was a definite low point of this story for me, as it felt wholly hollow and unnecessary.) It's also one of those stories where everyone is kind of running around to different locations and attacking each other, but not actually doing anything. It doesn't help that the serial doesn't really put any effort into making Delta all that compelling. Sure, she's trying to save this alien species, but she's wholely devoid of any personality behind this which makes it both hard to connect to her, and utterly baffling to watch Billy fall head over heels for her in the span of a day. It also doesn't help that Ray is a willing doormat for Billy the whole episode, even though its obvious he's not into her, and she doesn't develop beyond this. Maybe she would have if she'd become the next companion, but it's just as well this wasn't the route they'd gone down.
I'd comment more about the Doctor, but I was honestly not left with much of an impression of him in this story beyond McCoy acting circles around everyone else in it. Classic Who has dealt with it's fair share of weak day-players before, but some of the flat, wooden performances in this almost reach Timelash territory. If nothing else, at least some of the aesthetics were neat looking. I know for some this story is peak camp, but there were so much better examples of it this season alone that I can't give it a pass.
3) Serial 1, Episodes 1-4 - Time and the Rani
This is officially the point in the list where I ran into a lot of trouble with my rankings. I nearly put Dragonfire here merely because Time and the Rani did a much better job holding my attention, but when it came down to it, it felt like this story had less substance to it. Which is fine, and not all that surprising when you look at what it actually is. The bulk of this story is the Rani messing with the Doctor post-regeneration and making him believe that she's Mel. McCoy's Doctor is still in the formative stages, which allows O'Mara to absolutely dominate this story (as she deserves) and turn in a performance that I couldn't take my eyes away from. It was absolutely bonkers and very entertaining, which is usually not words I use for the stories mostly filmed in quarries. And I don't think it's a coincidence that the Rani popped back up here. The Bakers, who originally created her, wrote this premiere, and she was a familiar face from the last era that, weirdly, had more of a presence than Mel did at this point. It was also a great way to explain the Doctor's regeneration, and it was a very clever use of a post-regeneration story.
The weakest link here was, unfortunately, Mel. Because of the way her arc was constructed, we never saw her first adventure, and she wasn't very established in her appearances the previous seasons. She's too much of a stranger to serve as the bridge for the audience that the companion usually is in these situations, and going off the rest of the season it's clear the production knew she never would be and were essentially buying time. I get it, and it allows McCoy more time to figure out his portrayal of the Doctor, but it's somewhat odd to see a guest actor do the heavy lifting in the debut story of a Doctor. The scenes without O'Mara in it feel like connective tissue to get to our next scene with her in it, and as enjoyable as I found them I couldn't justify ranking this above the meatier Dragonfire.
2) Serial 4, Episodes 12-14 - Dragonfire
I think this is a very strong, if someone disjointed story. Hindsight being 20/20, as much as I enjoyed Time and the Rani I probably would've made that one the three-parter and given this one an extra episode of breathing room. Because it's doing a lot, and I think it accomplishes most of it pretty well, though it does so by sacrificing some notable elements. One of the most obvious is laying the foundation for Mel's exit. I think logistically it actually works quite well. Mel and Glitz had an entertaining rapport last season, and them going off together feel like a nice bow on that era of the show, and builds on this idea of Mel as this uncomplicated person in search of adventure... but it also lacks any real weight. We still don't really know Mel as a character, so her leaving doesn't really have any emotional impact, and she shares very little screen time with the Doctor in her final story as a companion.
That said, they do something very interesting in that she's paired with Ace for most of the story, and is the one who sees the potential in her as a companion and suggests that the Doctor take her along in the TARDIS. I know Seven and Ace are an iconic duo as far as Classic Who goes, so it was interesting that they basically didn't interact in this at all. The Doctor was off with Glitz, slowly falling off a ledge and dealing with an exiled villain on the hunt for a robot dragon (which I felt very bad for). Mel hung out with Ace, who was defensive but ultimately very open about her life story, and the two ended up forming a very entertaining double act. And, honestly, it allows the audience to see what Mel sees, so having Ace become the new companion makes sense when it happens at the end, and maybe that's why Mel felt she could finally move on.
Silly stunts aside, I also really liked how this story looked. I think a weird space diner in a resort on an otherwise punishing-looking ice planet is bonkers and also very delightful both visually and logistically. I do think the villainous machinations of Kane deserved more breathing room to play out, in particular his proposal to Ace, but I think what we got was very effective, even if the homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark looked very silly. It also felt like the situation with Glitz and his crew deserved a little more time to play out, since I don't really remember how that all sorted itself out beyond him getting his ship back. Here's hoping Mel gets a better deal than his previous crew at least.
1) Serial 2, Episodes 5-8 - Paradise Towers
I'd also be remiss not to mention that the ultimate villains of this story were the cleaning robots that started spontaneously eating people and the ghost of the building's architect possessing the head security officer halfway through. Now that is camp.
Final Thoughts
If this is the Seventh Doctor's weakest season (and I can kind of see why that would be the case) I can't wait to see what the next two seasons have in store! I will be taking a belated detour into the companion novels first, however, since it's summer and I feel like spending some time sitting outside and reading would probably be good for me, and this feels like as good a time as any to take a break... especially considering how long it took me to actually sit down and finish writing this review. I started the season at the end of April, finished watching it at the beginning of July, and I've been chipping away at this ever since. I need better time management, especially since dreamwidth only allows one autosave draft, which means I can't really make other posts to the site until I finish up the review I'm writing.
As far as the novels go, I'm very curious to see what's next in the journeys of Tourlough and Harry Sullivan. I suspect I may also see some familiar faces in these books, and I wonder how this early expanded content will stack up - especially since I had to go through the trouble of ordering the original 80's paperbacks, since digital copies are nowhere to be found online. And as far as the show goes, I'm really looking forward to seeing Ace and Seven establish an actual relationship. There's a lot of expectations to live up for, but just going from the setup at the end of the season I'm optimistic that they'll be met. Not sure how I'll feel if she keeps saying the "Ace" catchphrase though.
It also doesn't help that there's been a clear time jump between the previous season and this one, contributing to the sense of disorientation as he's developed a relationship with his companion which we've only seen small pieces of. That said, I think this season manages to hit the beats in needs to, and clean up storylines enough to set up for a really strong future for this era of the show. It's still early, but I've already caught a glimpse of why so many people vibed with this Doctor, especially coming off more divisive runs earlier in the decade.
Like the previous twenty-two seasons, the serials are available to watch via streaming on Britbox. I very much suspect my ranking are going to be at odds with what a lot of fandom thinks about this season, but that's life I suppose.
Characters
Sylvester McCoy as The Seventh Doctor - There's this idea that's popped up in meta for the series that each Doctor's incarnation is somehow informed by the experiences of the former. So it's very weird to see this version of the Doctor having lived through a stretch of experiences TV viewers are mostly not privy too. We saw some suggestion in Terror of the Vervoids, but we don't actually know what the endpoint for the Sixth Doctor was and how it gave birth to this new incarnation. In some ways, though, it helps add an extra layer to this character. I've only seen a couple of glimpses at it so far, but this is a Doctor who is good at puzzles in a way that's unique among other Doctors, and I've heard it on good authority that he develops even more of a "trickster" persona. It's an interesting take on the Doctor that feels perfect for this point in the show's run, and I'm excited to see where McCoy takes it once the scripts become more tailored to his portrayal... and he's matched with a more suitable companion.
Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush - I'm going to start this off by saying I don't think Mel is a bad companion. I actually like her quite a lot, and I think Langford is fine in the role. That said, she was a character that always felt held at arms length. We never got to see her first adventure with the Doctor, and while we did get a few personal details it felt like we never really got to know her as a person. She was there to fill the companion role and she was never really given much dimension outside of that. (In a lot of ways it reminds me how Dodo Chaplet was created to fill the "Susan" archetype, but was never given the dimension that her predecessor Vicki was afforded). It also doesn't help that Mel and the Seventh Doctor felt like a mismatch from the very beginning. And that's understandable, considering she was a companion specifically designed to be paired with the Sixth Doctor. While her personality bounced off that incarnation in a very interesting way, with the Seventh Doctor it all feels weirdly flat. They have neither the affection of Four and Sarah nor the bristling tension of Six and Peri. They're coworkers who like each other just fine but don't really draw anything remarkable out of the other. So as sad as it was to see the show basically give up on Mel as a character, the writing was on the wall as soon as Colin Baker was fired. Oh what might have been.
Kate O'Mara as The Rani - I'm happy that the Rani got a better showing in her second appearance, and it really felt like O'Mara got to sink her teeth into the role and have some fun with it. As much as I love Ainley, I can't help but think about what could have been if they'd had him "stay dead" for a while after Planet of Fire and let the Rani take up the mantle of the "full-time" time lord adversary for the last few seasons. Going by her sole appearance this season, she's clever and creative enough to do it. She is camp, she is beauty, give her a spinoff.
Sophie Aldred as Ace - I only have her intro to go off of, so what I came away from this season with is the word "potential". Dragonfire went a long way to build her up as a character, but we also didn't see much of her and the Doctor actually interacting. It's honestly more backstory that we've gotten from most Classic companions, and I wonder how much of it will actually come into play during her television appearances. I do have some mixed feelings about her saying "Ace" as a catchphrase, and I wonder if that's something that continues.
We also saw a reappearance of Tony Selby as Sabalom Glitz. It was nice to see his role expanded beyond the trail storyline, and I thought he had a nice rapport with the Seventh Doctor. I also liked that he ended up being the (non-romantic) avenue that Mel used to leave the show, and I kind of want to see a spinoff showing what this new team did next.
The Serials
I've ranked the serials based off my own personal preference which is only tangentially related to how good they are on a critical level.
4) Serial 3, Episodes 9-11 - Delta and the Bannermen
Delta and the Bannermen crams too many characters and subplots into a very short runtime, though it's ultimate downfall is the underwhelming acting and overall execution. Ray, the companion that wasn't, doesn't get a lot to do and almost feels like an afterthought by the end. (x)
I'd comment more about the Doctor, but I was honestly not left with much of an impression of him in this story beyond McCoy acting circles around everyone else in it. Classic Who has dealt with it's fair share of weak day-players before, but some of the flat, wooden performances in this almost reach Timelash territory. If nothing else, at least some of the aesthetics were neat looking. I know for some this story is peak camp, but there were so much better examples of it this season alone that I can't give it a pass.
3) Serial 1, Episodes 1-4 - Time and the Rani
Time and the Rani is an absolutely bonkers story that somehow manages to pull off and explain the regeneration while using it creatively as part of the story's plot. The Seventh Doctor is serviceable in his debut but The Rani is absolutely the star of this story. Mel is present. (x)
This is officially the point in the list where I ran into a lot of trouble with my rankings. I nearly put Dragonfire here merely because Time and the Rani did a much better job holding my attention, but when it came down to it, it felt like this story had less substance to it. Which is fine, and not all that surprising when you look at what it actually is. The bulk of this story is the Rani messing with the Doctor post-regeneration and making him believe that she's Mel. McCoy's Doctor is still in the formative stages, which allows O'Mara to absolutely dominate this story (as she deserves) and turn in a performance that I couldn't take my eyes away from. It was absolutely bonkers and very entertaining, which is usually not words I use for the stories mostly filmed in quarries. And I don't think it's a coincidence that the Rani popped back up here. The Bakers, who originally created her, wrote this premiere, and she was a familiar face from the last era that, weirdly, had more of a presence than Mel did at this point. It was also a great way to explain the Doctor's regeneration, and it was a very clever use of a post-regeneration story.
The weakest link here was, unfortunately, Mel. Because of the way her arc was constructed, we never saw her first adventure, and she wasn't very established in her appearances the previous seasons. She's too much of a stranger to serve as the bridge for the audience that the companion usually is in these situations, and going off the rest of the season it's clear the production knew she never would be and were essentially buying time. I get it, and it allows McCoy more time to figure out his portrayal of the Doctor, but it's somewhat odd to see a guest actor do the heavy lifting in the debut story of a Doctor. The scenes without O'Mara in it feel like connective tissue to get to our next scene with her in it, and as enjoyable as I found them I couldn't justify ranking this above the meatier Dragonfire.
2) Serial 4, Episodes 12-14 - Dragonfire
Dragonfire serves first and foremost as an introduction for Ace, with Mel's exit basically treated like an afterthought. Sabalom Glitz is very engaging on his return, but I found my attention drifting from the actual story. I felt bad for the titular Dragon, at least. (x)
I think this is a very strong, if someone disjointed story. Hindsight being 20/20, as much as I enjoyed Time and the Rani I probably would've made that one the three-parter and given this one an extra episode of breathing room. Because it's doing a lot, and I think it accomplishes most of it pretty well, though it does so by sacrificing some notable elements. One of the most obvious is laying the foundation for Mel's exit. I think logistically it actually works quite well. Mel and Glitz had an entertaining rapport last season, and them going off together feel like a nice bow on that era of the show, and builds on this idea of Mel as this uncomplicated person in search of adventure... but it also lacks any real weight. We still don't really know Mel as a character, so her leaving doesn't really have any emotional impact, and she shares very little screen time with the Doctor in her final story as a companion.
That said, they do something very interesting in that she's paired with Ace for most of the story, and is the one who sees the potential in her as a companion and suggests that the Doctor take her along in the TARDIS. I know Seven and Ace are an iconic duo as far as Classic Who goes, so it was interesting that they basically didn't interact in this at all. The Doctor was off with Glitz, slowly falling off a ledge and dealing with an exiled villain on the hunt for a robot dragon (which I felt very bad for). Mel hung out with Ace, who was defensive but ultimately very open about her life story, and the two ended up forming a very entertaining double act. And, honestly, it allows the audience to see what Mel sees, so having Ace become the new companion makes sense when it happens at the end, and maybe that's why Mel felt she could finally move on.
Silly stunts aside, I also really liked how this story looked. I think a weird space diner in a resort on an otherwise punishing-looking ice planet is bonkers and also very delightful both visually and logistically. I do think the villainous machinations of Kane deserved more breathing room to play out, in particular his proposal to Ace, but I think what we got was very effective, even if the homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark looked very silly. It also felt like the situation with Glitz and his crew deserved a little more time to play out, since I don't really remember how that all sorted itself out beyond him getting his ship back. Here's hoping Mel gets a better deal than his previous crew at least.
1) Serial 2, Episodes 5-8 - Paradise Towers
Paradise Towers is a very cheesy and very fun slice of late 80's sci-fi, with an aesthetic that's so over the top it somehow works. It has a lot of disparate elements that somehow come together, and it manages to utilize all of its very extensive cast. I also really enjoyed Pex. (x)
Okay, I think I'm gonna get dragged for this, since I feel like this story does not have a great reputation among fans of the show, even the ones that are here for the cheesy camp. But I loved this. It's the slice of late '80s madness I'd been waiting for, and it really felt like the writers and producers put a lot of thought into this setting and all the players involved. This is definitely Mel's best story this season, and it's fun watching her keep having tea with the cannibal grannies and running about with Pex. And I actually really loved Pex and how earnest he was, even with everyone in the story constantly making fun of him. Maybe I'm biased because he's extremely my type, but I thought casting a scrawnier actor in a role obviously written for a muscle-head was endearing, and that the way his story played out was very effective. The Kangs, as abrasive as they sometimes were, were also very fun to watch as they become less of a threat and more of a gang that the Seventh Doctor hung out with drinking soda. It was very fun watching that dynamic develop and play out, and really helped me connect to this Doctor after his more passive role in his debut. I also loved how willing the story was to add extraneous world-building elements like the cannibal grannies that didn't connect to the larger plot, but helped add dimension to this dystopia and gave it a really bizarre, fun vibe.I'd also be remiss not to mention that the ultimate villains of this story were the cleaning robots that started spontaneously eating people and the ghost of the building's architect possessing the head security officer halfway through. Now that is camp.
Final Thoughts
If this is the Seventh Doctor's weakest season (and I can kind of see why that would be the case) I can't wait to see what the next two seasons have in store! I will be taking a belated detour into the companion novels first, however, since it's summer and I feel like spending some time sitting outside and reading would probably be good for me, and this feels like as good a time as any to take a break... especially considering how long it took me to actually sit down and finish writing this review. I started the season at the end of April, finished watching it at the beginning of July, and I've been chipping away at this ever since. I need better time management, especially since dreamwidth only allows one autosave draft, which means I can't really make other posts to the site until I finish up the review I'm writing.
As far as the novels go, I'm very curious to see what's next in the journeys of Tourlough and Harry Sullivan. I suspect I may also see some familiar faces in these books, and I wonder how this early expanded content will stack up - especially since I had to go through the trouble of ordering the original 80's paperbacks, since digital copies are nowhere to be found online. And as far as the show goes, I'm really looking forward to seeing Ace and Seven establish an actual relationship. There's a lot of expectations to live up for, but just going from the setup at the end of the season I'm optimistic that they'll be met. Not sure how I'll feel if she keeps saying the "Ace" catchphrase though.