When Doctor Who returned to the air after the firing of Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, it was with Sylvester McCoy at the helm. Initially with the Sixth Doctor’s last companion, Mel (Bonnie Langford), and later with the much more popular companion Ace (Sophie Aldred), McCoy helped bring the series back from its short death.
That wasn’t enough to save the show, however. While the Seventh Doctor and Ace are both very fondly remembered, most of the stories in the McCoy era sucked and sucked hard. “The Happiness Patrol”, “Time and the Rani”, and “Paradise Towers” are remembered as some of the worst stories ever aired during the original series run.
But there were some diamonds in the rough, and surprisingly, I’ve found five that were surprisingly good. Given that there were a total of only twelve McCoy stories, that’s actually a much better ratio than one might expect. Let’s have a look at those five!
5. Dragonfire (Story 147, 1987)
Not so fondly remembered as “the one where the Doctor climbs off the edge of a cliff and hangs there for no obvious reason”, this story really has many things to recommend it. First, it’s the last story with Mel. Now I don’t really hate the character, and I feel that she redeemed herself quite a bit in the audio stories, but she was created to travel with the Sixth Doctor, not the Seventh. The two just do not pair well together, and saying goodbye to her was a fine thing.
This story is also great because, yay, it introduced Ace! Sure, she was a bit too much of the mid-1980s rebellious teen, but she marked a real turn for the series, bringing the Seventh Doctor (who is in an unusually philosophical mood in this story), into a time of great mystery and she was certainly a marked departure from the screaming women that the show had been so in love with before. Plus, hey, you gotta love any story with Sabalom Glitz and a man melting Raiders-style, and it is so very, very great seeing Ace wincing as Mel screams right next to her.
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4 Comments
Have to say, been enjoying your Doctor Who episode ranking lists, though I have a few quibbles with some of them (The Horns of Nimon? Really? Soldeed, 4 and Romana aside, the story is just plain stupid. But I digress…) Anyway, as the Seventh Doctor’s era is one of my favorites, I have to say I’m happy to see someone else enjoy-however, your list is a bit off in my opinion. The Curse of Fenric is definitely the best one, but Remembrance of the Daleks should be number 2 (one of the best Dalek stories), and Ghost Light should be on the list at number 3 (great actors, lovely sets, loads of Victorian-era references and the kind of dry humor, creepy, unsettling surrealism and roundabout slightly confusing plotting that makes the new series great. Never understood the hate for this one from some fan quarters.). Survival, Battlefield and Greatest Show in the Galaxy should round out the list. Dragonfire should not be on that list-its better than Time and the Rani, Silver Nemesis and Delta and the Bannermen, but only just (I rather like Happiness Patrol and Paradise Towers, though they are only average stories despite their experimental nature) Just my opinion, I know, but I can’t help but argue over McCoy’s era with other Who fans, as it is vastly underappreciated…
“Ghost Light”‘s biggest problem is that it simply doesn’t make much sense. I can see what they were trying to do, and I think if they’d had four parts instead of three, it might have worked. I do think it had a lot of potential, and I do recognize that it had some greater arc significance.
You’re the second person recently to tell me that “Greatest Show…” is better than I give it credit for. I’ve recently gotten it on DVD, and it has been nearly twenty years since I last saw it, so I’ll go back and watch it again.
And, yes, “Horns of Nimon”. First, I really do love Soldeed, but second, what else would go there? I have a friend who is in love with “Image of the Fendhal”, but I enjoyed “Horns…” a lot more.
I have to agree with Gary, “Greatest Show…” should be in this list. Absolutely petrified me as a child! Lol. Clever and dark and creepy. :) Exactly how I think Doctor Who should be. I did also very much enjoy The Happiness Patrol though so maybe our tastes differ slightly… Ha ha. Seventh Doctor and Ace are by far my favourite pairing throughout the series, classic & new.
Ghostlight is the most atmospheric and thematically dense 7th doctor. The dvd interviews make the plot clearer. The plot is there it’s just, as usual, they editted it too much.
Where’s Silver Nemesis too?
Great show should be here.