Planet of the Spiders

Premise: Mike Yates invites Sarah to visit him at a Buddhist centre where he’s been staying since his resignation from UNIT. He suspects evil is afoot there...

Notes: Following the shocking death of Roger Delgado and the departure of Katy Manning from the show, Jon Pertwee had made the decision to leave feeling that an era was coming to an end. Producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks were also moving on from the series. The exciting chase scene, which took up most of part two, featured Bessie, the Whomobile (made to fly through CSO), a gyrocopter, a police car, a hovercraft and a speedboat.

Verdict: With an exciting (if a little over the top) chase scene, shoddy CSO, great acting, witty gems of dialogue, UNIT, thought provoking moments, venusian aikido and slightly forced buddhist beliefs, this serial is the perfect summary of Jon Pertwee's era and a fitting end to his time as the Doctor 8/10

Death to the Daleks

Premise: Landing on planet Exxilon, the TARDIS is drained of power and an expedition from Earth is also stranded. But when a third ship lands, its occupants are revealed to be Daleks.

Notes: Jon Pertwee often said that he hated the Daleks as they were very difficult to work with for him as an actor. However, they were extremely popular with audiences which is why they had returned for another confrontation with the Doctor. This time, they had a look more in line with their original appearances rather than that used in previous colour serials. Oddly enough, they reverted back for their next appearance, Genisis of the Daleks, making their look in this serial unique.

Verdict: A very enjoyable story to watch which features the Dalek's at their best and puts them in an interesting scenario. The performances are good but nothing is really outstanding. The music is very repetitive and can be very annoy and the ending is lacking. However, those are the only problems with the story and do not detract from the enjoyment of watching it 8/10

Invasion of the Dinosaurs

Premise: Landing in London the Doctor and Sarah are puzzled to find the city deserted. Arrested as looters, they are eventually found by the Brigadier and brought to UNIT HQ.

Notes: Episode one was simply titled Invasion to keep the mystery of why London was evacuated hidden until the climax of the episode when a Tyrannosaurus Rex appears. However, this surprise was ruined by the Radio Times using a picture of a Tyrannosaurus-Rex for the listing of the first episode, much to the annoyance of Michael Hulke who wanted to name it Timescoop in the first place to maintain the surprise. However, that title was rejected because it was felt that it was not exciting enough. This serial is the first of two appearances of the Doctor's new vehicle commonly known as the Whomobile. Jon Pertwee had the car specially built for the series but was not complete at the time when this episode was being recorded so only played a small part. It had a much larger part in it's second and last appearance where it contributed to the chase scene in Planet of the Spiders.

Verdict: Poor effects aside, it is a stunning production with a great conspiracy tale at its core. While heavily criticised for the execution of the dinosaurs, they don't feature as prominently as the title may suggest and what really drives the plot in the great direction from Paddy Russell. It features many great moments for many characters and it's very hard to know who you can trust 10/10

The Time Warrior

Premise: Journalist Sarah Jane Smith poses as her aunt, virologist Lavinia Smith, in order to gain access to a research centre where top scientists are being held in protective custody.

Notes: This story was the first to feature Sarah Jane Smith (played by Elisabeth Sladen), the first to feature a Sontaran and the first story to be set in the past since in over five years. Bernard Lodge's brand new title sequence debuted here along with the distinctive diamond Doctor Who logo. This made use of a process called slit-scan to give a three dimensional time tunnel effect. For the first time, the Doctor's home planet is referred to as Gallifrey. 

Verdict: A brilliant period drama with a science fiction edge and topped off by an excellent performance from Elisabeth Sladen. With the right mix of humour and seriousness, this story succeeds in almost every way 10/10

Planet of the Daleks

Premise: On the jungle planet of Spiridon, the Doctor and Jo join forces with a group of Thals who have come to defeat a Dalek taskforce searching for the secret of invisibility.

Notes: The story begins where the last one left off and forms a loose twelve-part epic with the Doctor trying to stop the Dalek army, which will be used to destroy both Earth and Draconia, from awakening. This was Dalek creator Terry Nation's first story for the series since The Daleks' Master Plan in 1965. He had originally wanted to call the story Destination: Daleks with the planet being called Destinus but this was changed at the insistence of script editor Terrance Dicks. Nation also provided the Dalek Supreme prop for the final episode which was in fact a modified one from the sixties movies starring Peter Cushing. 

Verdict: An action packed Dalek romp showcasing some great, if not unoriginal, ideas. However, there is a fair bit of padding and while it does sustain itself for six parts it would've made a much better four part story 8/10

Frontier in Space

Premise: The TARDIS lands inside an Earth spaceship in the far future where the dominant space powers, Earth and Draconia, are on the brink of war.

Notes: This story and the next one form a loose twelve part epic where the Dalek's hire the Master to engage a war between Earth and Draconia so that when the Dalek army attacks both empires will be too weak to resist. Michael Wisher provides the Dalek voices for the first time here and would later go on to play Davros in Genesis of the Daleks. This was the last appearance of Roger Delgado as the Master as he died in a car crash in Turkey not long after the serial had finished its original broadcast.

Verdict: While it may be repetitive, there's no denying that this story has an epic scale that has rarely been seen in Doctor Who before. The adventure takes you across the galaxy and back and the appearance of the Daleks at the end is classic 9/10

Carnival of Monsters

Premise: The TARDIS lands on a cargo ship in 1926 but when a dinosaur appears and the crew and passengers begin repeating their actions, the Doctor realises that not all is as it seems.

Notes: This serial marks the first time since the War Games that the Doctor is able to pilot the TARDIS completely under his own control. This story was originally planned for the previous season and recorded in that production block but then held back to allow Barry Letts to direct it without any difficulties due to his role as producer. The monsters that are displayed in Vorg's miniscope include Drashigs, Ogrons and Cybermen. The latter of which only appeared in one other Thrid Doctor story, The Mind of Evil, which was only a hallucination in that story. 

Verdict: A ridiculous production with silly costumes, awful masks, bad CSO and a very strange plot. However, it is a very fun story to watch 7/10