Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor's Stories Ranked From Worst To Best

2. The Curse Of Fenric

It's generally considered that within the Seventh Doctor's era, which is full of imaginative and fresh tales, there are two undeniable classics of Doctor Who and The Curse of Fenric is certainly one of them. Set during World War Two, an ancient battle between the Doctor and Fenric, the essence of evil, comes to a head when the vampiric Haemovores besiege a Northern English coastal town. The penultimate story of the show's original run, Fenric is perhaps more of a traditional series finale. While Survival acts as the coda to the series, offering up thematic contemplations on the show's plight, Fenric wraps up many ongoing plot threads seeded throughout the Seventh Doctor's tenure as well as delivering a cracking story in its own right. Like Survival sets up the modern series' London roots, Fenric predates 21st century Doctor Who's love of story arcs. McCoy's Doctor is more manipulative than ever here as the long plans he had been building throughout his era come to a head and Aldred gets much to work with, including resolving her hatred of her mother. Away from the character and story arc elements, the serial also discusses issues of faith and sports several creepy moments to boot. In fact, there is so much in these episodes that perhaps the one big flaw of the serial is that it moves too quickly without letting it all breathe. This curse has thankfully been lifted, however, with the creation of a feature-length special edition on the story's DVD release.