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

5. Ghost Light

One of the most impressive things about the Seventh Doctor's tenure is how, once Ace comes along, it makes the show a two-hander. Much like the modern series, the second and third seasons of this era are as much about the Doctor's companion as they are about the Doctor himself. The Seventh Doctor acted much as a tutor to the troubled Ace, echoed in her calling him 'Professor', and that's something which is well demonstrated in this story. Ghost Light sees the Doctor take his companion back to Victorian times to Gabriel Chase, a haunted house a young Ace hated and once burned to the ground. The story is often remembered for the ruthless editing which was done to it which removed most of the explanation of the plot. If you can get past that, however, Ghost Light is intelligent and atmospheric, coloured by a cast of quirky and eclectic characters including a Neanderthal butler, an insane explorer, a sinister housekeeper and the peculiarly long-lived owner of Gabriel Chase itself. Like many other successful McCoy stories it has something going on under the surface, too. Featuring a story about alien evolution set at a time when Charles Darwin shook Victorian society with his controversial findings, Ghost Light is all about the importance of change. A theme surely at the very heart of Doctor Who itself which helps makes this a standout story.