It's interesting that this category would come up this week and in light of
this article about the current series of
Doctor Who.
It cast my mind back to a point in time in the late 80's. I'd just seen season 25 and felt like it had finally got the show back onto solid footing with two instant classics "Remembrance of the Daleks" and "Greatest Show in the Galaxy." I even liked "The Happiness Patrol" and "Silver Nemesis" on first viewing (both have dropped sharply in my estimation since that time). So, when I heard news that season 26 would feature the writer of "Remembrance" along with a new story by the guy who wrote "Dragonfire" I was pretty stoked for what had to be the greatest season in all of Doctor Who history.
Finally, Maryland Public Television got the rights to air the stories and showed the entire season over two successive Saturday nights. I recorded them, eager for some new favorites and instant classics.
And was left confused, befuddled and feeling a bit disappointed...and that was only halfway into the season debut, "Battlefield." It got worse with "Ghost Light" but finally things got back on track with "The Curse of Fenric.'
However, my initial disappointment soon turned to enjoyment as I went back and revisited the stories and a season as a whole. Since that time, I'd say that season 26 has jumped into my top three or four seasons of the entire series run. It's a short one, but it's got some ambitious stories and some solid work done. It has an arc of sorts and it ties the McCoy years together in an interesting way. It sees the Doctor at his darkest and most manipulative, but it's also balanced by a reunion with the Brigadier.
It may not be the favorite of many fans, but it's my favorite season. And it's a shame the series went on hiatus for fourteen years after this....
Labels: 30 days of Doctor Who, Doctor who
posted by Michael Hickerson at 5/26/2011 12:51:00 PM |
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