When I first plotted out this article, my first thoughts were of the classics. Genesis of the Daleks, City of Death, Talons of Weng-Chiang, Pyramids of Mars, Earthshock and Tomb of the Cybermen all came to my mind, among the midst of other elite stories to compete for a spot in the Top 5. But then I thought again they're considered the best classic stories for a reason. I remember feeling very angry when I read that, had the 1995 movie been a success, they would have commissioned the show on FOX and they would remake Talons of Weng-Chiang set in New York and Tomb of the Cybs (renaming the Cybermen just should never happen). In my opinion, no matter how much money the BBC would throw at it, they would never be able to replicate the 'Do I have the right?' scene from Genesis of the Daleks or the friendship between Jago and Litefoot in Talons of Weng Chiang. So I went back to the drawing board. I thought to myself, what criteria do I need to have in order to justify an episode to be remade? So I decided to include stories that have either great concepts or great scripts, but had something lacking. Whether it be the production, casting, directing or just simply wanting to see a fresh, 21st Century perspective on an essentially great story, all these missed that little extra something which would've elevated it to the level of the stories mentioned previously. In this article, I will say why I consider the story worthy of a remake but also what production, direction and story improvements I would make.
Honorary Mentions:
There are two that made it very close to getting into my Top 5, and if I was to do a top 7, these stories would definitely make the grade. The first is The Dalek Master Plan. Seriously, a 12 part Dalek story, the Meddling Monk and Nicholas Courtney? What's not to love? Plus 9 of the 12 episodes are missing from the vault, so would be a perfect excuse to remake it. The only reason it isn't being included in my list is that apart from the fact that most of its missing, there's is no real reason to remake it. Based on the audio and the surviving episodes, is it was one of the best stories of the Hartnell years. The other one, was The Pirate Planet. An odd choice, but it's a strong story, but it's hamstrung by some weak acting in places so I think it would be a good story to remake. Ideally, I would really like the entire Key to Time series redone in 2014, with new stories but the same overall premise, which is why I chose not to include it in the list.