Doctor Who: Every Doctor's DEFINITIVE Episode
12. City Of Death (The Fourth Doctor)
Watching City of Death, it's tempting to believe that Tom Baker knew an ITV strike would make this the most-watched Doctor Who story of all time – peaking with 16.1 million for part four.
Baker is absolutely electric here, perhaps powered by his burgeoning romance with Lalla Ward, but primarily a script by Douglas Adams and Graham Williams that practically fizzes with energy.
City of Death has an incredible plot (using time travel to mass-produce Mona Lisas) that could easily have become a blockbuster movie. It's indicative of the ambition and high-concept ideas that are emblematic of the Tom Baker era in general.
This story also epitomises everything that Tom Baker wanted to bring to Doctor Who – wit, humour, energy – and does so without sacrificing its supporting cast or the gravity of the drama.
As a certain purple supervillain might say, it's perfectly balanced, just like a fine wine. And indeed, just like a fine wine, City of Death has aged beautifully, and still stands out as the most iconic and delightful Fourth Doctor story.