Doctor Who: Every Tom Baker/Hinchcliffe Era Story Ranked From Worst To Best

1. Genesis Of The Daleks

Nothing is subdued in this story, not the sheer brutality of the Kaled society or the wasteland they inhabit. Every corner is tightly packed with new and very believable horrors, starting with the Doctor and company in the usual quarry setting which turns out to be a hostile minefield which almost blows up the Doctor twice in episode one. From there on in the tone of complete vulnerability is set and adds a whole new layer of uncomfortableness. It€™s a story full of macabre details, like the dead manning the trenches, as though everybody in this world is well versed in warfare and are much smarter and well adapted to the situation than the leads could ever be. It€™s one of the few stories when you honestly get the sense that you€™re fighting on somebody else€™s home turf. It€™s this strength through adaption that causes the all-consuming drive in the face of annihilation that you believe would make the Kaleds as twisted and sadistic as they are. Like the Seeds of Doom having vicious characters meaning that you buy the stakes, here the setting is so vicious that you buy the vicious characters. It almost darkly humanises them since you feel that you€™ve stepped into the middle of their lives. The setting and characters are so strong that you feel the character arcs as they all slipped into this madness. Despite seeing none of it. €œNothing is subdued€ is the best way to sum up what makes this story work so well, what made the Hinchcliffe as a whole work so well and what made this era of the show so memorable. The less watered down a show is, the more real it can feel and the greater the emotional connection the viewer can have with the characters and their struggles. The entire team which drove this era understood this perfectly and that€™s why it's withstood forty years to feel fresh even now, because it's full of relatable human emotion that any viewer can understand and, above all, feel part of. What did you think of this list? Let us know in the comments section below.