Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor's 15 Greatest Stories

1. The Seeds Of Doom

If we don't find that pod before it germinates, it will be the end of everything - EVERYTHING, you understand?! Even your pension!

This serial is the epitomy of what Doctor Who can do. The Seeds of Doom is a cross between The Thing From Outer Space and Day Of The Triffids featuring alien pods have been uncovered in an Antarctic base and seeds that, if grown, will unleash the terrifying Krynoid, an alien planet life that will destroy everything on the planet. The Doctor and Sarah arrive just as the first pod opens and infects a helpless member of the base and turning him into a killing machine. The first two episode are a frantic, tense adventure but it is when the Doctor follows a pod transported to England that the real fun starts. Harrison Chase is a great foil for the Doctor, a sort of James Bond villain whose love of botany and disregard for humanity allows the Krynoid to grow to full strength, It takes the full might of UNIT - in their last appearance for 13 years - to destroy it. A perfect six parter where the first two episodes are the prelude for the bigger events of the final four, it also has Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen on fine form as the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. When he introduces her (Have you met Miss Smith, she's my best friend) you believe it. And so concludes the look at some of Tom Baker's very best episodes. Not only are they all time classics of the Fourth Doctor, many of them are all time classics for the show full stop. Why not celebrate the birthday of the great Tom Baker and watch a few - better still - start watching them all! Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.