Attack of the Cybermen

(Series 22, Episodes 1-2)

Summary: Hey – remember that one time the Doctor tried to fix the chameleon circuit and travelled through time and space in an organ? Me neither because it was terrible. Lytton is back, the Doctor is still a twat and Peri is still whiny (people really believed that American accent was genuine?!). The Cybermen are trying to stop the first Doctor from destroying Mondas in 1986 by redirecting Haley’s Comet to crash into Earth, everyone dies very slowly and dramatically and Lytton turns out to be not quite so bad as the Doctor originally thought.

Watch it because: Callback to a time when 1986 was the future.

Original Air Date: 5-12 January 1985.
Doctor: Colin Baker.
Companions: Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant).
Writer: “Paula Moore”.
Director: Matthew Robinson.
Producer: John Nathan-Turner.

The Twin Dilemma

(Series 21, Episodes 23-26)

Summary: The Doctor comes over all melodramatic, makes terrible wardrobe decisions and then tries to kill Peri, all down to his regeneration crisis. A pair of a precocious twins are kidnapped by a bug-eyed monster because they are apparently the only people in the universe capable of maths-ing some planets out of orbit. The Doctor meets up with an old drinking buddy and yet another pervy alien develops a crush on Peri.

Watch it because: The sixth Doctor is such a twat. I love him.

Original Air Date: 22-30 March 1984.
Doctor: Colin Baker.
Companions: Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant).
Writer: Anthony Steven.
Director: Peter Moffatt.
Producer: John Nathan-Turner.

The Caves of Androzani

(Episodes 19-22)

Summary: Everyone is fighting over Spectrox which is mined in the titular Caves of Androzani Minor; caves that are also haunted by bat dragons and plagued by mud bursts. The melodrama is off the scale, Sharaz Jek is basically the Phantom of the Opera with androids and the Doctor sets off on an epic quest to save Peri.

Watch it because: Feels different this time…

Original Air Date: 8-16 March 1984.
Doctor: Peter Davison.
Companions: Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant).
Writer: Robert Holmes.
Director: Graeme Harper.
Producer: John Nathan-Turner.

Planet of Fire

(Series 21, Episodes 15-18)

Summary: Planet of corny dialogue, more like. Turlough gets a backstory and a brother, Kamelion has an identity crisis and the phallic shrinking machine reappears. Turlough returns to his own planet and leaves the Doctor to take Peri on some gap year travelling (Howard’s gonna be in such big trouble with her mum!)

Watch it because: Turlough’s Tiny Shorts.

Original Air Date: 23 February – 2 March 1984.
Doctor: Peter Davison.
Companions: Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson), Kamelion (Gerald Flood) & Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant).
Writer: Peter Grimwade.
Director: Fiona Cumming.
Producer: John Nathan-Turner.

Resurrection of the Daleks

(Series 21, Episodes 11-14)

Summary: The Doctor gets dragged into in a squabble between Daleks, with Davros taking on the Supreme Dalek. “Trust me,” Turlough hisses in a most untrustworthy manner, and it’s not exactly clear just who is on which side in this story – Dalek stooge Stein is terribly well-mannered, Davros throws a toddler tantrum and the Doctor seems pretty unconcerned when Tegan’s taken out by a Dalek. And it’s never explained what happened to those ominous police officers…

Watch it because: “It stopped being fun anymore!” Brave heart, Tegan.

Original Air Date: 8-15 February 1984.
Doctor: Peter Davison.
Companions: Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) & Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson).
Writer: Eric Saward.
Director: Matthew Robinson.
Producer: John Nathan-Turner.

Frontios

(Series 21, Episodes 7-10)

Summary: The Doctor starts a love affair with his hatstand as everyone disappears down the rabbit hole. On the whole, it’s a very dark story, with people being pulled into the earth, muggings and corpses driving mining machines. Turlough is traumatised by giant bugs and the Doctor does an awful lot to help the human colony on Frontios considering his insistence that he shouldn’t be getting involved.

Watch it because: The Doctor and Tegan up the bickering ante.

Original Air Date: 26 January – 3 February 1984.
Doctor: Peter Davison.
Companions: Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) & Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson).
Writer: Christopher H. Bidmead.
Director: Ron Jones.
Producer: John Nathan-Turner.

The Awakening

(Series 21, Episodes 5-6)

Summary: Tegan tries to visit her grandfather and instead stumbles on a bunch of overgrown boys who’ve taken their historical re-enactment society too far. The Doctor discovers an evil presence in the village church and picks up a 17th century peasant.

Watch it because: It’s pretty pacey for Classic Who.

Original Air Date: 19-20 January 1984.
Doctor: Peter Davison.
Companions: Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding) & Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson).
Writer: Eric Pringle.
Director: Michael Owen Morris.
Producer: John Nathan-Turner.