10 Most Cringeworthy Doctor Who Moments From The 70s

7. The Dinosaurs - Invasion Of The Dinosaurs (1974)

It's one thing when fans complain about the bad special effects in their favourite TV show. But when the producer of a particular story himself admits, "Yeah, we made a mistake there," you know you're in trouble. Despite having a decent script by a very good writer, and despite having excellent main actors, guest actors, and the whole shebang, Invasion of the Dinosaurs is let down by one inescapable problem: the dinosaurs. Producer Barry Letts had been assured that the BBC's visual effects department could realise the eponymous dinosaurs using puppets, which were then contracted out to an independent firm - which later went out of business. When we see what they delivered to Letts and company, it's hardly surprising. While there's no way Doctor Who could ever have done anything remotely like the dinosaurs in the 2005 series, the puppets in this story are particularly laughable, so much so that they completely pop you out of the story whenever they appear. Had they been used sparingly, this still might not have been a problem - but they aren't. They're in virtually every episode, and whenever they appear, they simply stand there, swaying slightly. Even worse is when they fight, at which point we're treated to something that looks like home movies of your kid brother playing with his dinosaur toys. "Cringey" doesn't begin to cover it.