Yes, despite some fierce competition from the likes of Cybermen, Circuses and the Kandy Man, there is only one story that can be crowned the Seventh Doctor's best. Say hello to Remembrance of the Daleks. Returning to Coal Hill School in November 1963 (the setting of the series' first ever episode), the Doctor has to stop two sets of Daleks - the ivory Imperial Daleks and the gunmetal grey Renegades - from getting their grubby protuberances on the Hand of Omega, a Time Lord stellar manipulator of intense power. There's really something of everything in Remembrance of the Daleks. Hefty dollops of welcome continuity nods. small, touching moments and, most importantly, a great big Dalek civil war. Other stories in the Seventh Doctor's tenure might be better told stories or thematically stronger but Remembrance beats them all by way of sheer entertainment value. The Seventh Doctor is at his best here. Keeping secrets from both his enemies and allies alike, suggesting but not spelling out more about his mysterious history and defying Davros with cries of 'unlimited rice pudding'. And there's a beautiful scene where he takes some time out of the action to talk over the the nature of choices and messing with time. In short, there's every reason to love Sylvester McCoy's Doctor here and nothing for the Seventh Doctor's detractors to pick on. Likewise, Ace gets her definitive moment when she smashes up a Dalek with a baseball bat. Voted tenth best Doctor Who story ever in a recent poll conducted by Doctor Who Magazine, Remembrance will go down as one of Doctor Who's greats, shining a beacon for the whole of the Seventh Doctor's often misunderstood but hugely enjoyable era of the show. 'Every great decision creates ripples, 'like a huge boulder dropped in a lake', as the Seventh Doctor himself once said. So, do you agree with this list? Don't keep those Aces up your sleeve, join the discussion in the comments below!
