74. The Aztecs - You Cant Rewrite History
To the average fan, this scene may well be long forgotten but it is actually one of the most important as it lays down the most important rule. You cant change history. It was a question that was bound to come sooner or later. School teacher Barbara is mistaken for an Aztec God and worshipped by a society that sacrifices in her name. Appalled by this, Barbara intends to use her power to change Aztec society into a better one. The Doctor is equally appalled by Barbaras intentions lays down the law in force, You cant rewrite history. Not one line!. That was the 60s, the in thing at the moment is Time can be rewritten, but itll come back. Watch this space.
73. Fathers Day - Petes Death
This is a scene that genuinely changed the face of Doctor Who for the revived series. This is the episode that showed us that Doctor Who can make you cry. Rose travels back in time to see her Dad but cant resist saving him from the car that was meant to kill him. See the previous point to see why that is a bad idea. Time starts falling apart letting in the Reapers, hell bent on consuming everything within time itself. When the Doctor is consumed by them and there is no other way out, Pete runs out in front of the car that should have killed him as it circles round and round the church Roses family has taken refuge in. As Pete lies dying in the road, the resurrected Doctor tells Rose to do what she came for, to be with him when he dies. A terrific episode as a whole, with a gut wrenching finish.
72. Kinda - Tegan vs the Mara
This scene is a tricky one to get your head round and I admit that I had to have it explained to me. As Tegan sleeps alone by the hypnotic chimes of the Kinda, she is taken over by the Mara which taunts her deepest insecurities. Picture the scene; An old man and an old woman play chess talking cryptically about Tegan, but from what they say its impossible to tell if they acknowledge her existence at all. They sit by a weird piece of abstract art where a sort of joker I suppose dances about laughing and teasing her. Only he is able to answer her in this black void and he seems to talk in riddles. This is actually a metaphor for Tegans place in the TARDIS, mimicking the opening scene of the episode. Nyssa and Adric, both intelligent aliens play chess by the TARDIS, while the Doctor builds a delta wave augmenter. Do you see what they did there? Life in the TARDIS from Tegans point of view is something of a nightmare; shes the odd one out and so far from home nothing really makes sense. The joker plays upon her insecurities and makes her an offer to make it stop, opening her mind to the Mara.
71. TV Movie - The Seventh Doctor
This is another obscure choice but I think its worthy of note. If you picture Doctor Who when it ended, shot on video in an overlit and dated TARDIS, with the Doctor adorned in a pullover covered in question marks, you can understand why the plug was pulled. However, the opening of the TV Movie shows a sophisticated Seventh Doctor in a smart red waistcoat and huge, atmospheric TARDIS. He sits down and takes tea, before hell breaks loose and he does the Doctor-ish frantic working of the TARDIS controls. Imagine the disappointment when as soon as the TARDIS lands, the Seventh Doctor is gunned down. For a brief moment we are given a look at what the Seventh Doctor era could have been and its snatched away. If anything I kind of wish Sylvester McCoy had stayed for the whole thing. One can dream.