10 Doctor Who Episodes More Important Than You Realised

The Krotons is seen as something of a nadir for the Patrick Troughton era of Doctor Who, but there are two reasons why it's an important serial in the overall history of the show.

In November 1981, The Krotons was selected to represent the Second Doctor in The Five Faces of Doctor Who on BBC2. This series of repeat stories was a way to keep fans occupied while they waited for the proper debut of Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor in January 1982.

The reason that The Krotons was chosen was because it was the only complete, four-part Patrick Troughton serial in the archives at that time. Thankfully, much more of his era has resurfaced in the years that followed.

The other big reason that The Krotons is so important to the history of Doctor Who is that it was the debut serial from Robert Holmes, who would go on to bigger and better things.

Holmes' tenure as script editor marks an undisputed golden age of Doctor Who between 1975 and 1977. Holmes is also responsible for much of the Gallifreyan and Time Lord mythology that still defines the show in 2024.

And it's all thanks to his inauspicious start scripting The Krotons!