Best Episode: Seeds Of Death Given how few of Patrick Troughton's episodes are available to see, and given the fact that it features lesser characters in independent roles who figure out ways to aid in the conflict - something that can be rare in a series that tends to feature the Doctor in a role of Solver of All Problems - it stands out in many ways. Worst Episode: Underwater Menace Some might call this an unfair judgement, given that two of the episodes are missing, and the only versions that can be seen "reconstruct" the missing plot elements with found audio samples and stills, but it goes far beyond that in terms of both the ridiculous plot featuring the Doctor unionizing the Fish-People (yes, they're called that) and mad scientists that want to destroy the world on which they live. Best Race: The Cybermen Introduced in the last of William Hartnell's stories, they really get developed under Patrick Troughton. Again, a race with a chilling inhumanity, this time caused by a very human-like race slowly adapting to disaster by replacing their meat-parts with metal ones, they can remind us what we ourselves could become. Worst Race: The Fish People As if being called "The Fish People" isn't bad enough, the costumes were horrible, and their roles in the show was nothing more than revolting -literally. They don't even get any good speaking roles. Best Companion: Jamie MacCrimmon Even though Jamie is born into a warlike time and is effectively born to battle, he still manages to talk his way through situations at times, and basically provides an example of how to do correctly what was never really done with Steven Taylor under William Hartnell reign as the Doctor. Worst Companion: Victoria Waterfield This was the stereotype of the fragile female companion that feminists would describe as being problematic of Doctor Who - when in trouble, her role was to scream. In fact, in "Fury from the Deep," it's her screams that defeat the monsters!
Michael Marcus is a game designer, author, and mad scientist living in Hamtramck, Michigan; his current project list include a series of comic short-stories collectively called "One-Punch," a book on hypnosis and language called "The Prometheus Codex," a collaborative game project called "Art War," and a fun spy story called "The Adventures of Jack Uzi" at http://tinyurl.com/JackUziChannel (for those interested).
