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

11. Dragonfire

Otherwise known as 'The One With the Literal Cliffhanger'. Yes, the most infamous moment from this story is the end to Part One in which, for no apparent reason, the Doctor climbs over the railings of an ice glacier only to, surprise surprise, have nothing to do but hang precariously over the edge. It probably tells you something about the rest of the story if this is the only thing it's remembered for. That said, Dragonfire is not another Time and the Rani. The plot may be slight - the Doctor and friends go on a hunt to find the mythical Dragon's treasure - but it's certainly not a disaster and it features a (literally) cool villain in Kane, a cousin of Batman's enemy, Mr Freeze. Also, Dragonfire may share the pantomime stylings of the rest of the Seventh Doctor's first season but it does show evidence of the development the series will go on over the next year. Particularly in the introduction of Ace, an ordinary London teenager who has been whisked off to the alien Iceworld by a mysterious Time Storm, something that sets up future plot threads. What's more, Mel's leaving scene is surprisingly touching not for the loss of Mel herself (sorry, Bonnie Langford) but for Sylvester McCoy's poignant speech about the Doctor's lack of an ordinary life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYeAwGXs9jI