5 Doctor Who Stories That Make You LOL!

Don't be fooled by the fans. Doctor Who is not a sacred text. There is nothing wrong with watching our favourite Timelord with a healthy sense of fun, frivolity and irony. Tease, mock and make with the funny! Even myself as a seasoned fan since the Pertwee era have had more fun exploring the show this way. I have also had a much better conversion rate for finding new fans jump on board the property this way. It's a balancing act. You need something visually appealing (we eat with our eyes) and provide plenty of fun poking opportunities. Repeated phrases, quirky characters, outrageous costumes and more camp accents than an Are you Being Served Christmas special. With this in mind, relax. Gather a group of witty folks, pour some wine or other dis-inhibiting substance of your choice and enjoy my Top 5 list of Who stories to watch for the LOLs.

5. Paradise Towers (1987)

Now don't laugh (actually - laugh, I'm laughing too) but at the tender age of 7 when I saw this I was convinced that the cleaners were the new Daleks....and was terrified of them getting me. Seriously. I lived in a very open plan home in the country so there really wasn't any chance of one sneaking up behind me and trapping me on a corridor but that didn't matter. Imagination is wonderful. Let it go wild. The Doctor is still in his pratt-fall stage but actually comes off second best in a camp off with the great architect himself Richard Briers (from Good Neighbours/The Good Life). The Kangs are basically all I can think of when my wife tries to explain the 80s to me and the scenes with Pex are well......just try to imagine Pex shouting GED OUD OF THE CHOPPER!!

4. Vengeance on Varos (1985)

To many the 6th Doctor era is one of acquired taste but this story is truly one that gets better with age. There's lots of good stuff here that could actually stand up to a "serious" review but when watching for LOLs there is one actor that carries these two episodes. Sil (pictured) as played by Nabil Shaban. A delicious creation amidst a story of reality TV, violent political protest and designed to look like some sort of homo-erotic S&M wonderland. There is even a couple of TV viewers within the story watching events while you're watching them watching....MIND BLOWN!

3. Enlightenment (1983)

This story gets quite meta and may mess with your head a bit but don't let that slow you down. There is a race of of beings that live forever and a chance to win enlightenment (apparently in crystal form). There's pantomime themed costumes and a busty pirate called Captain Wrack. The supreme forces of good and evil are represented by elderly gents with chickens on their heads (no, really) and a really creepy guy that finds Tegan fascinating. Oh, apparently rum is all that's needed to get you to work on a ship against your will. Keep that in mind while entertaining your guests.

2. City of Death (1979)

Let's do the Time Warp Again: you're doing it wrong! This story often wins out in best Doctor Who story polls of the classic era. It is shot in Paris so encapsulates the bohemian spirit that the 4th Doctor was all about and it virtually screams honeymoon for Tom Baker and Lalla Ward. Written by Douglas Adams (!!) this is a taste of the Doctor that we almost had right when Baker was at his most egotistical (or charismatic depending on your opinion) but before the producers were forced to reign the performance back in. It's got time travel, snappy nonsensical dialogue, a one eyed alien in a rubber mask (oh yes) and of course gets all pythonesque with a bonus scene with John Cleese and Elanor Bron. Garcon - more wine!!

1. Carnival of Monsters (1973)

A naked Drashig takes the TARDIS! This is seriously the first episode that I showed a chum of mine after returning home from the pub one night. Much fun was had. The tongue in cheek attitude of the Doctor and Joe in the opening episode. The high school drama class costumes of "showman". The highly evolved and not so evolved aliens. The Drashigs and Jo's reactions to them - highly probable that the monster had not yet been designed pre-production. Suffice to say that you'll be asking "Is this the S.S Bernice?" as a delicious in joke for days (or weeks) to come. This is by no means an exhaustive list - there's 48 years worth of material that holds different significance to each fan. Do you sometimes watch Doctor Who for LOLs? What's your favourite guilty pleasure story?