11. The Masque Of Mandragora
You can't count, Count!
This gem of a story doesn't always get a lot of attention which is a great shame. It is the reason Elisabeth Sladen decided not leave after the previous series' The Seeds of Doom and it's easy to see why. With its Renaissance setting this is Doctor Who embracing the historical element fully and it has a lot of fun with it along the way. Sword fights, masked balls and evil acolytes... This story has it all. The Mandragora threat adds another element to the story and without it, this is about Sarah and the Doctor engaging in the scheming politics rampant in Renaissance Italy. With it you have a force that can destroy the planet and a the Brethren of Demnos to do its bidding. This is an alien invasion historical adventure at its very best. It tuns this from an alien threat in the past into a universe-under threat story with depth and grandeur to boot. Kicking off the final series of the Hinchcliffe era, The Masque of Mandragora doesn't get the praise of its contemporaries but it certainly deserves it.