CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO | Twin Dilemma - Part 1 | REACTION

[@MarieClaresWorld]

FULL LENGTH | CLASSIC DOCTOR WHO | Attack of the Cybermen - Part 2 | REACTION www.patreon.com/posts/full-length-who-69610385

[@heatsinker_5517]

Hi Marie-Claire, don't forget after every re-generation the Doctors brain is always scrambled to a small or huge degree and always takes time to readjust itself, remember the 4th (Tom Baker), running in place, jump rope with Harry, and wardrobe changes, "Beau Brummel" 😆 lol

[@jvieceli]

Met Colin at two conventions during his tenure. Whatever you think of his era, he was (at that time can’t say now) one of the most friendly, charming and accessible “celebrities” I ever met. For that, I will always have a regard for him.

[@stormhawk3319]

I keep hearing this excuse all the time “ what a nice friendly man he is”, but so what? It’s irrelevant to whether he was right for the part of The Doctor.

[@jvieceli]

@@stormhawk3319 Which is why I said “whatever you think of his era… “ So I wasn’t commenting at all on what kind of Doctor he was or was not. Right?

[@stormhawk3319]

@@jvieceli but it does say he’s milked his career and association with the show over just two below average seasons for over 30 years.

[@papalaz4444244]

Storm Hawk 1 subscriber This channel doesn't have any content

[@jvieceli]

@@papalaz4444244 Thanks. I wasn’t going to waste anymore time with it.

[@Concreteowl]

It was a bold move to start a new Doctor at the end of a series with this kind of crisis. But I think it was a mistake. I think his run should have started with a fresh series because it was a long gap to be left with that first impression. The story is pants. IMHO.

[@gamegeek812]

John Nathan-Turner was given free reign by the BBC to cast who ever he wanted as the Doctor. He chose Colin because he was great at entertaining guests at a wedding they both happened to be at. Playing the Doctor was Colin's dream job.

[@robalexander8065]

Such a change of tone and quality from the previous episode. Having the Doctor attempting to strangle his companion was certainly "different" but desperately ill-advised.

[@matthewclarke4127]

This episode is really painful and I am very impressed with your efforts to be open minded going into it.

[@rnw2739]

Nonsense! This episode is perfectly acceptable.

[@johnlarro6872]

And with that episode, my oldest brother ceased watching Doctor Who's original run. It took me numerous years later to drag him back to watch 7's era, which he found he enjoyed, but he still has no time for 6, because of the strangulation scene. "My Doctor doesn't strangle his companion". I agree, that Colin Baker has championed Doctor Who for many years, and I have a lot of time for him. I wont go into it, but there was "a Plan" for his era, of which this was the start.

[@ftumschk]

Colin's era coincided with my time at University. I remember only three or four of us diehard fans watching the show in the communal TV room, often feeling cringed out with what was happening on screen. For a generation brought up in the golden eras of Jon and Tom, this was a sad time indeed.

[@alansmith1989]

The scene where he sees himself in a reflection, copied a similar scene from 1968s "The Boston Strangler" where Tony Curtis halts his strangulation of a woman because his saw himself in a fallen mirror.

[@ftumschk]

@@alansmith1989 Just as well that he saw his reflection! Poor Peri :(

[@sadako24]

I think that's what I've struggled with the most with this story. Why the makers would deliberately choose a character course that they knew would outright repel a chunk of the viewers they had? I get that viewers like to be challenged and that TV drama benefits from sometimes shocking dramatic events onscreen to jolt the audience alert and get them paying attention. But if you get it wrong, then you've potentially left viewers who once loved this character feeling betrayed and no longer wanting to spend time in their company. That they went this unremittingly extreme with it, and with such a hostile characterization throughout.... that could take a long time to come round to and the show couldn't afford to leave viewers that in the cold. I think the problem ultimately was that, JNT was making this show largely for the fans now. He was listening to colin Baker, as a fan, make this suggestion for a character direction and assumed the fans would be like-minded. And so he trusted that the character could return to his more Hartnellian anti-hero beginnings and the fans would get it. Blind to the fact that there was a careful way we were introduced to the First Doctor and won over to him, whereas this is a thorough regression of a beloved character and a thorough spitting on our good will. But he thinks it will work twice. In a way, there was a good idea to Colin's Doctor, of going for the more morally ambiguous alien quality. The idea that this character had limitless possibilities of what he could still be. But we ended up with such an awful story and an awful way that alien quality was utilized here, whereby he largely just comes off as obnoxious and detestable.

[@whobp8]

Marmite is possibly a generous description for this story, as it has come in dead last on rankings of every Doctor Who story by fans in Doctor Who Magazine polls on multiple occasions. The idea behind Peter Davison regenerating in the penultimate story of the season instead of the finale, was that viewers would get to see what the new Doctor was like right away, an idea that is immediately undermined by having a story where the new Doctor's personality is in flux throughout, leaving viewers with very little idea what the new Doctor was actually like. Colin Baker is a good actor though, and I think you'll ultimately warm to him. Speaking of Flux, the actor who plays Hugo returned to the series in Jodie Whittaker's last full season as Professor Jericho.

[@Chiggins_]

You're right, this is regarded as quite a Marmite story; Marmite with shards of broken glass in.

[@Joey15811]

Its ok at best. Plus even story wise, the acting of the twins os horrendous

[@jeffbroadbent5072]

The Sixth Doctor is my favourite Doctor, and I love all of his episodes to greater and lesser degrees. Really hope it's a great time for you!

[@HopeAuq]

Fun fact Colin Baker initially wanted his costume to be super stripped back akin to what we got with 9 but the people in charge for whatever reason gave him the multicolor coat Love sixie..I won't say anything about his on screen tenure for spoilers but his expanded media is legendary

[@ClaireWW]

It's fairly well established that the coat and the demeanour were part of a plan to sabotage the show. It somewhat backfired, as all it did was raise its profile as people clamoured for it to be better.

[@ftumschk]

@@ClaireWW The "totally tasteless" coat was John Nathan Turner's idea, which he later admitted was something of a mistake. The decision to make the Doctor nasty was agreed jointly by Colin and the production team, the idea being that his "arc" would see him gradually soften and become more likeable. There may or may not have been plans to sabotage the show from the higher-ups at this point, but neither the coat nor the Doctor's demeanour were part of them. They were creative, if misguided, decisions taken by the makers of the show.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

The coat was meant to be an exaggeration of 80s fashion excess.

[@ianbuckley2347]

Hope you start to enjoy the 6th Doctor Marie-Clare. It took me a while but I got there in the end. He'll never be a favourite of mine but I can still appreciate his era for what it is.🙂

[@julessherwood]

When the 6th Doctor made those negative remarks about the 5th that along with trying to strangle Peri is when I chose to switch of from this doctor and was much happier with his next incarnation that was a breath of fresh air for me anyway. The Twin Dilemma should never have been aired, the twins simply could not act. The only saving grace with this story is we have a very young Kevin Mcnally as the space police officer who would later become part of Jack Sparrows crew in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise with Johnny Depp. Thanks to the wisdom of John Nathan Turner this left a bitter taste for alot of Doctor Who fans who loved the 5th Doctor, understood that he would eventually change but we had this story and his arrogance until his proper run would take place so for many months that was the Doctor now who has such and ego and fought alot with Peri that for me at least was not how I wanted to have the memory of the Doctor as we had no DVDs or Blu ray players or I player to rewatch other stories from past incarnations to erase what we had witnessed on our screens where there was only 4 stations and you physically had to get up to change the channel. Season 21 should have ended with Caves of Androzani but we had the awful Twin Dilemma that had to follow such an epic story and it suffered.

[@kemmdog4444]

You might recognize the twin’s father as Gahrman from Genesis of the Daleks.

[@markdavidson9100]

And Kevin mcnally as Hugo played the professor in Flux

[@kemmdog4444]

@@markdavidson9100 Yes,indeed.

[@markdavidson9100]

First time I met him I wore a cat pendant in my shirt….going back to the car with my brother and father, we stopped at a newsagents for batteries, and there he was again buying a lottery ticket

[@bugsby4663]

It was a brave decision to make the new Doctor unstable and unlikable although having him attack peri was a major mistake. Unfortunately putting it at the end of the season meant there was no budget. The 12th Doctor showed how it should be done. The twins and all that is completely pointless. This is often voted the worst story of all time. It isn't but it's not brilliant either.

[@benji274]

Romulus and Remus are scarily like twin Adrics

[@bobchisholm7487]

They really did tuck this on to the end of a series so viewers would spend the off-season thinking "WTF?"

[@176MarkW]

Colin's first story wasn't the strongest, but I really grew to love this Doctor. I love that you defended his costume choice, MC! Colin himself admitted he wasn't a fan of it, and would have preferred something more along the line of Christopher Eccleston's doctor. But it very much became his signature look. It was the 80s, after all.

[@MegaDratsab]

This was my first experience of old Doctor Who. I'm glad I stuck it out.

[@bletheringfool]

Kevin McNally was also in Flux with Jodie. Rewatching this reminds me of the horrible 80s bowl cut I used to have. Far more traumatising than the doctor throttling Peri. That did freak me out as a kid, and those feelings did come back. It's been years since I watched it. This and Timeflight are my least favourite

[@ChristianJull]

Colin Baker's performance as 6 was pretty much in keeping with Maxil in 'Arc of Infinity' and Bayban in Blake's 7 ('City at the Edge of the World').

[@robert_bbiii]

I suggest anyone who can find it to read the novelization of this story. Has some nice little adiditons.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

Robert Holmes visited the camera rehearsals for this serial between Caves/Androzani’s recording and broadcast. He wasn’t impressed. In fact his jaw dropped open and he didn’t believe it was Who that he was watching being rehearsed, about to be recorded…

[@rnw2739]

Who cares? He was a nobody who had just directed one story at the time so he mounted his high horse rather prematurely.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

Robert Holmes wasn’t a director and he certainly wasn’t a nobody! In fact he wrote many serials that are now regarded as classics. He also script edited the show when Philip Hinchcliffe was producer (1974-77), which is regarded by the majority of fandom to be the period in the classic series with highest script and dramatic quality. He also created the Sontarans! So when he contributed so much hard work into making the series highly regarded (he even wrote the previous serial, Caves/A’zani), it would have come across as a bit of an insult to see all the hard work he did flushed down the toilet and the show turned into a ratings-losing show with a bad reputation - the very opposite of what it was when he was second-in-command of the show under Hinchcliffe! Caves itself is good, it only seems excellent because of the poor average writing quality of the other serials around it. Adapt it to Doc4 and SJS or Leela and put it in somewhere from 1974-77 and it would only be quite average compared to the other serials around it, such was the high average quality of the writing at that time. So yeah, maybe you should research who Robert Holmes was and his long and strong relationship to Who before dismissing him as someone he mostly definitely wasn’t! (This comment seems to keep getting deleted!)

[@stevehawkins1744]

My favourite 80s Doctor!

[@TimeLord1231]

The Sixth Doctor is essentially the classic series version of the Twelfth; at first, seemingly arrogant and rude, but underneath it all, one of the the most passionate and kindest of them all. The problem is that Colin never really got the chance to see his arc to the end until Big Finish.

[@flaggerify]

12 was likeable when being rude.

[@TimeLord1231]

@@flaggerify I guess that's the thing, though. To you he was (and I don't disagree), but to others, he was arrogant and off putting. Someone I know stopped watched not too long into Capaldi's run just for this reason.

[@flaggerify]

@@TimeLord1231 They missed out, then. Perhaps they should watch his Malcolm Tucker to see how relatively gentle his Doctor is.

[@TimeLord1231]

@@flaggerify indeed they did, and believe me, I’ve tried to explain why. However, I think that helps prove my point; despite initial appearances, both Colin and Peter needed to be given a chance, primarily because they were breaking the mould in terms of what had gone before. Peter was the most brusque of the new series Doctors, whilst the American could be said for Colin. For many it was off putting, but skipping them meant missing interesting performances. Of the new series Doctors, Capaldi is probably my favourite and I’ve always loved the Sixth as well.

[@andrewbowman4611]

The Twin Dilemma overall is something of a curate's egg. Personally, I think it's a good introductory story, although far from the best. He's very young here, and you've probably picked up on it by now, but Hugo Lang is played by a young Kevin McNally, who more recently played Eustacious Jericho in Flux. He was also in Life on Mars and, most famously, Pirates of the Caribbean. The Twin Dilemma was one of his earliest roles.

[@normandavidtidiman9918]

It's easily by far the worst introduction to a Doctor we'd had up to this point.

[@andrewbowman4611]

@@normandavidtidiman9918 I disagree. My least favourite is Robot, as I think it relies to heavily on the previous era to really make an impact. I understand why they did it, but it feels a bit lazy, frankly. The Twin Dilemma, on the other hand, feels unique to the Sixth Doctor, which is one of its strengths; that, and Colin Baker himself. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a great story, but I do think it's better than its reputation suggests. I actually prefer it to both The Christmas Invasion and Deep Breath, which I have much the same issue with as Robot. For the record, my top three favourite introductory stories are The Eleventh Hour, Spearhead from Space, and The Woman Who Fell to Earth, in that order.

[@normandavidtidiman9918]

@@andrewbowman4611 It may be unique,and I like Colin,but it’s a dreadful story. I’d certainly agree on two of those best introductions,but not Whittaker’s. I’d have Power of the Daleks.

[@johng5859]

Incidentally MC, if you are interested Colin Baker is popping up on BBC4 tonight to introduce a repeat run of 70s drama serial The Roads to Freedom, which gave him one of his first TV acting jobs.

[@apdarkness3027]

The thing I've always like about the 6th Doctor's beginning is the fact that the regeneration was very traumatic for him, due to the Spectrox toxaemia, and therefore when he came out the other end he was somewhat disturbed.

[@apdarkness3027]

@@BernardJKD Didn't ruin the chances for me, I like this new direction, and this Doctor.

[@toddbeilby6484]

Great reaction, lovely that you are so open minded. Colin gives 150% and it’s a great performance - even if the 6th Doctors behavior and this episode isn’t great. I love the coat too 💕

[@matleb8491]

I love the 6th doctor. One of my favorite but The Twin Dilemma...

[@CRINOTH]

It's fair to say that this isn't a widely appreciated story - but it suffers a lot from having to follow The Caves of Androzani :)

[@Joey15811]

Following one of the stories considered on of the best is always going to be bad

[@ftumschk]

Even if it hadn't followed "Caves", I think we'd still be saying that it's a lousy debut story for the 6th Doctor.

[@CRINOTH]

@@Joey15811 Yeah. Though every now and again it's possible to get two great ones in a row - such as Robots of Death & The Talons of Weng-Chiang. :)

[@NyderOfSkaro]

Colin Baker is superb in everything. The character might be all over the place at times, but he always plays into it the right way, even if others don't. His Doctor only gets better over time. The story isn't the best, but it's not a terrible script, but rather an average one let down by direction and production design. Just as great direction elevates an already great script (Androzani), poor production drags this down. That said, the guest cast includes some great performances, and there's some genuinely affective scenes. Not the worst story ever as many might say, but it's certainly far from decent as a whole.

[@johngurnhill8743]

Met Colin Baker once such a great person

[@jimcat6795]

My reaction (not on KZbin!) was the same. I grew to love him, especially on the audios.

[@neilmcdonald9164]

Mentor,under all that makeup,is played by same actor who played the base commander-and Brig standin-in The Sea Devils🎩

[@neilmcdonald9164]

Mestor not mentor 🎩

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

Colin Baker was one of my favourite classic Doctors. The idea of regeneration scrambling a Time Lord's brain had been explored before, and I personally enjoyed Colin's immediate paranoia and instability.

[@paulrichards4452]

The Sixth Doctor got off to a wonderful start dressing like a clown and trying to strangle his companion! I do love Colin Bakers take on the role as it’s much more alien and unpredictable. Great reaction.

[@overlordswapi594]

My favorite Doctor let's goooo!

[@robertkramer2271]

I stand by what I've always said. Colin is a great Doctor. What he suffered from was bad writing and too much up/down interference from the BBC.

[@mrjekyllandhyde9941]

Well at least you didn't hate it as much I thought you would the 6th Dr is very marmite as you say, but is one of my favorite Doctors so I hope he grows on you, and it's good to see you like his coat of many colours as again not everyone likes it but I think it's pretty funky personally.

[@stephencoppins9467]

You must be one of the few people throughout history who likes the Sixth Doctor’s coat. :) As other people have mentioned, this was not Colin’s choice of costume, but something imposed upon him. What Colin was onboard for was this Doctor’s more extreme post-regeneration trauma, but that strangulation scene was a mistake, which he has admitted on more than one occasion since. The manic behaviour of this Doctor was supposed to be more of a long-game subplot, at a time when character arch’s (and dare I say, fans), were not used to them at this point in the show’s history (e.g., getting over Adric’s death after five minutes in the next episode, Turlough only getting character growth, back story and a different costume in his last adventure). Remember, the First Doctor was not very likeable in An Unearthly Child (or for most of The Edge of Destruction), rightly or wrongly Colin was playing up to that part of the Doctor’s personality, but the public had a long wait to mull over their initial first impressions of this Doctor before his next outing, the following Season, which didn’t help either.

[@fadikhoory5350]

This should have been a season-opener hands down.

[@FrankNFurter1000]

Oh goodness... here we go...

[@Clayton-S.]

Never going to be regarded as a classic but there is some fun here, plus, as well as the cast members already mentioned, we have Edwin Richfield, who played Captain Hart in the Sea Devils as Mestor and the twins' father is played by Dennis Chinnery who was the Kaled scientist Gharman in Genesis of the Daleks.☺👍

[@davidbull7210]

Ha. Had no idea that was Captain Hart. Let himself go a bit, didn't he?

[@Clayton-S.]

@@davidbull7210 😂 he sure did!

[@CrazyHorseTheSiouxW4rrior]

1:20 but that's just the way the doctor lives because you forget that he is an alien he's not human fifth doctor is just a different "personality" or character of the doctor but the doctor is still the same person just different persona every time

[@stickytapenrust6869]

After this, I’d recommend watching both the Lenny Henry and Victoria Wood spoof Who sketches. They are VERY clearly based on this very serial.

[@edzeppelin1984]

Colin Baker always comes across as a good bloke, and he's a great ambassador for the show, but he's not the best actor in the world and he struggles to elevate weak material. For me, The Twin Dilemma has everything that could possibly go wrong, all go wrong at once: scripting, direction, acting, costumes, music. It's an extraordinary failure of quality control.

[@ftumschk]

I always felt that Colin's natural instincts as a larger-than-life stage actor often magnified the flaws in the scripts. That approach works well in the theatre (and audio for that matter) but it's less effective in a cramped TV studio.

[@eddherring4972]

I thought this story was awful and despite being old enough to have watched it’s original transmission. I watched the story once since then probably 25 years ago which is why I had that opinion. I rewatched this story literally about a month ago and my opinion has completely changed, not because of anything other than the character of Peri is so much more than screaming eye candy for the dads. She’s sassy, she answers people back (just like in Planet Of Fire to the Master/Kamelion “I am Perpeguilliam Brown and I can shout just as loudly as you.” I urge you to enjoy Peri in this story and to really understand that the story is huge development of her character. I am converted and I’d defend the writing completely. Love it (now!) and freely admit I was wrong.

[@GavinBollard]

This was more or less what really broke Doctor Who. We got this one story (and it's awful) then we had to wait a year for the next story... which nobody wanted because we didn't really like the doctor. As a result, everyone worked extra-hard to find faults with his first full season (personally I liked the next season) but there were lots of complaints. Doctor Who had many good stories after this and before 2005 but for the most part, the rabid fandom issues started here. Of course, Colin on Audio is brilliant - better than any of the other doctors on audio.

[@sadako24]

I think several smaller nails had been hammered into the show's coffin before this (Adric, Time-Flight, Ian Levine fanwank, Warriors of the Deep), but this was where someone brought in the power-drill to really sink it in. Season 22 maybe wasn't so bad if divorced of the taint of this debut. Maybe it was even better and flowed better than many of Davison's seasons, but I still find it leaves a nasty aftertaste with me, and Revelation is still the only one I feel is a genuine triumph.

[@GamingYes]

I like the confidence and hard shell the 6th doctor has gotten. Though the regenerative crisis could have been handled better. That strangling scene was unnecessary.

[@realsuperdoctor5260]

Poor Colin he got a bad start to his doctor that costume was not his choice but his Doctor does well on Big Finish better than he does on screen.

[@joshuajoshua2732]

This is what RTD describes as the beginning of the end of Doctor Who. On the subjects of The Sixth Doctor's costume Colin Baker did not have a say in what he wanted his Doctor to wear Colin Baker actually wanted to wear something to what Eccleston would wear but JNT had other ideas alot of fans including myself had the same reaction as Peri and thought "what is he wearing"? Your the first fan I've come across as positive on the outfit. The scene where he chokes Peri was very controversial especially back then which is one of the reasons why he wasn't popular which wasn't Colin's fault unfortunately like Jodie Whittaker was given terrible scripts he was given and the blame was taken on him.

[@sadako24]

For me the beginning of the end was probably either Time-Flight or Warriors of the Deep. Time-Flight for dropping the ball so badly after a fairly solid season and a dramatic shocker in Earthshock. To fail to follow that up well and do it justice I think left many viewers losing faith in the makers. So much good work was undone there. Warriors of the Deep for marking the show's real descent into 'death by niche'. The JNT era had been getting more and more fan-aimed leading up to this, but here was where the show was outright telling viewers this show was no longer for them if they started watching any later than 1972. It tried to be political, it tried to invoke the importance of the show's longevity and continuity history, as if to make the case for its continued worthiness.... only to completely embarrass its own case on every point. Resurrection of the Daleks probably did its damage too. I think that was where it became even more pronounced that Doctor Who was going the nihilistic route, and for many I think it was nihilistic too far.

[@alexfletcher5192]

'Sweet?... SWEEEET?.... Effete!...' - In a review of this story conducted decades after the fact, no less a figure than Mark Gatiss suggested that the new Doctor's personality was arrived at by drawing straight lines from one set of characteristics, exemplified by his predecessor, to their exact opposite. It's a difficult analysis to argue with. You can imagine scores of fans having a minor aneurysm at the shenanigans on display in this episode alone. It is an awkward watch; what with the obvious fashion disaster (tailored after John Nathan-Turner requested a 'totally tasteless' costume and kept sending back the design until it was wrong enough! - 'He's not wearing that!' my mum complained, after Colin turned up for the obligatory interview on Blue Peter) and the new Doctor apparently regenerating complete with make-up and lipstick (perhaps a nod to the fact that - unusually - he's a full decade older than the previous incumbent), but the show was certainly not going to be boring in the coming years. Even if it wasn't always for the right reasons...

[@rnw2739]

Yeah....like Peter Davison wasn't wearing make-up either.....

[@amcwvimes]

I love the 6th Doctor, he is actually my favourite but I admit, he takes a little getting used before you really warm to him. I think he's great but I also think you need some time to properly get to know him.

[@GlucoseDehydrogenase]

Was expecting you to recognise the bloke pointing his gun at the Doctor at the end - it was a young Kevin McNally, Eustacius Jericho in the most recent series of Who ("Flux"), the new companion(ish) who sacrificed himself in the final episode on the Sontaran ship. Btw I hated this episode back when it first aired. Also hated the Doctor's new outfit and never changed my mind about that.

[@johntomlinson6849]

After being an avid fan of the programme since 1972 (DWAS member, Blackpool visitor, the lot), I never regularly watched the classic series again after this crock of shit. Mr Turner should have been sacked on the spot.

[@seanryan3020]

By whom? The guy JNT was working for was intentionally trying to drive the show into the ground.

[@sadako24]

Sadly from reading JNT's production diary notes, I really do come away thinking he should've left the show no later than 1981. Right after production on Time-Flight wrapped. After that, all his (and Ian Levine's) worst ideas seemed to be put in immediate motion.

[@eddherring4972]

12:48 in your summary comments about arrogance and rude; Remember that this episode continues directly from the end of Caves Of Androzani and was in the same broadcasted season, effectually these stories are bridged together (and on original viewing seen in consecutive weeks.) like Frontier In Space and Planet of the Daleks for Jon Pertwee or his regeneration into Tom Baker. The difference being that this is within the same season where as the 3rd/4th regeneration span the end of season 11 and beginning of season 12. The other difference between the heroic, charismatic and vulnerable 5th Doctor changing into the “arrogant, rude and violent 6th Doctor. At the end of Caves you had your first encounter with the 6th Doctor and the dialogue is rude and arrogant: Peri “Doctor?” 6th “You were expecting someone else?” Peri “I….I..I” 6th “That’s three I’s in one breath, makes you seem a rather egotistical young lady.” Peri “What’s happened?” 6th “Change my dear, and it seems not a moment too soon.” The rudeness and arrogance continued into this episode and is therefore consistent, the change of actor actually happened the week before. The personality is the shock of this new story because we have already heard the 6th Doctor speak. In all the 1st 3rd and 4th (EDIT for information: we don’t see Patrick Troughton’s regeneration actually happen at all, Jon Pertwee’s first scene is falling out of the Tardis, coincidentally so is his last!! END OF EDIT) Doctor regeneration stories we see the new Doctor but don’t hear him speak until the next season which is basically a year later. Also no previous Doctor has appeared clinically mad or attempted to harm their companion of their own free will.

[@awall1701]

I was not a fan out the sixth doctor's outfit. As a teenager when I first saw this episode, I did find it interesting how erratic the doctor was after his regeneration where he tried to kill Peri, something I had never seen the doctor do before.

[@thomasstevens2746]

Exited to see what you think about this story

[@williammitchell4417]

Everyone knew Peter Davison From All Creatures Great and Small before he took on the role of the Doctor. Colin's character was never given a fair chance. Sylvester tried SO much to do damage control very much like Patrick did.

[@rnw2739]

Are you sure? Sylvesters performance in 'Time and the Rani' is one of the most embarrassing turns in the entire shows history. Those pathetically weak pratfalls and appalling 'acting' ....you can see the disgust in Kate O' Mara's eyes and whenever I see that story I end up cringing like I'm watching my nan in a bukkake video.

[@williammitchell4417]

@@rnw2739 Sylvester was playing for physical comedy back then. He wanted to bring a change to the role of the Doctor that MIGHT have avoided being CANCELLED altogether!!

[@johng5859]

Well, where do you start with that? I hated the sixth Doctor at the time, so much so that I stopped watching the classic show not long after his arrival. I was very young, and knew nothing about regeneration or the show’s history, and I was horrified at how this rude, arrogant impostor had suddenly replaced the “real”, nice Doctor. Nowadays, I can appreciate more what Colin was trying to do with the role, and I admire the enthusiastic way he seized it with both hands. The problem is, the Doctor is made too violent and unstable here, and it immediately turns the viewer against him - that certainly happened in March 1984, when this was first shown, and it helped to hobble this era from the start. I don’t like the coat, as it makes the Doctor look like a clown. Colin himself wanted to be dressed in dark, sober clothes, but JNT demanded his outfit be “totally tasteless” - even JNT was forced to admit years later that this had been a mistake. Hugo Lang is played by a young Kevin McNally, who you have recently seen playing Professor Jericho in Flux. The twins were cast after a long search by director Peter Moffatt for a pair who were suitable. He actually didn’t rate the acting ability of the Conrad brothers (correctly, as they are very wooden), but was refused permission to use twin girls instead, even though he had found a pair who could act better than the Conrads. As a result, Moffatt had to spend a lot of time coaching the boys, which probably didn’t help the rest of the production.

[@tenmark7055]

At the time I felt it was a boring story. Since it was a First Doctor story placed at the end of a previous Doctor's series I had expected more... They did everything they could to make this Doctor unlikable out of the gate, so that he could "grow on people". He did, but I still question the choice since after this episode it would be a while before the next series returned. I imagine it left a bad taste for the audience.

[@Nosregni]

Colin Baker is a brilliant actor let down by some really crappy scripts. (Not the last time that happens in DW!)

[@ftumschk]

Not so much a case of "Thou craggy knob!" as "Thou crappy script!"

[@davidbull7210]

I disagree. Some of his stories were much stronger script-wise than Davison's

[@neilmcdonald9164]

What the he'll is that?!?:it's a gastropod (a slug,basically)🎩

[@joshbostock_2040]

This is definitely a mixed story with most people leaning towards it being the worst Doctor who story ever, but I find it one of them Doctor who stories where I can acknowledge how bad it is but still find some enjoyment out of it and not get bored

[@stormhawk3319]

Marie, I totally agree with you, I just couldn’t stand Colin Baker’s Doctor. Like he was handpicked by a Blue Peter audience, costume as well.

[@jamesa.fitzpatrick1566]

Did you recognize Jericho from Flux? ;)

[@Jamienomore]

The one thing you must remember is unlike the other Doctors when they Regenerated, his previous Doctor died. That would obviously affect the new Doctor differently.

[@easty74]

I've been a fan for the last 40 years and I've learned to accept a lot of weird things in Doctor Who. But simply in story line terms, how the hell did the 6th Doctor fit into the same clothes that the 5th Doctor wore? lol Yes I know Colin had a bigger sized version on. but ya get what I'm saying here

[@Tyrconnell]

Well, given Hartnell/Troughton's trousers and Baker/Davison's footwear it's obvious that clothes regenerate along with the Time Lord...

[@easty74]

@@Tyrconnell Oh yeah I almost forgot about the boots that regenerated into shoes

[@davidbull7210]

It's not Marmite as some people like eating that (including me). It's more like shit.

[@markjohnson4356]

The Caves of Androzani Part 4 is my all-time best Doctor Who episode and The Twin Dilemma Part 1 is my all-time worst episode. One after the other causes such aesthetic whiplash, it is astounding. This is totally the wrong way to set up the new Doctor.

[@Adeodatus100]

Not gonna hold back here, I've always thought this was a dreadful story, a series of huge mistakes that got the Sixth Doctor off to a very poor start. After this, we had several months of thinking "What the **** just happened?" before getting his first full series. It was not a happy time for many fans.

[@tjtenser7828]

I really like Colin's Doctor bringing back some of the alien unpredictable nature to the character again. The 5th Doctor was at times too human and too vulnerable for my own tastes and I wasn't a big fan of him though i felt just shortly before he left the show that Davison was starting to really become much better and maybe left a little too prematurely. As for this story I've always rather liked it and enjoyed it unlike a lot of the fandom.

[@flaggerify]

"Let's make the new Doctor as obnoxious as possible".

[@chrisboot2468]

Oh no. So appalling. The WORST opening story of any Doctor. I feel so sorry for Colin Baker.

[@papalaz4444244]

I love the 6th Doctor era (but I am not a big fan of this story). Not the regenerative trauma part, that's completely fine.

[@geoffmason7215]

he does improve....promise

[@benbastianiartmusic1421]

I'm a bit scared for this one....

[@ShamrockParticle]

Your reactions are great! This story is... a mixed bag and ill-timed. That said, as a kid I followed along and enjoyed the action and adventure. But I understand why the story is loathed. To me it's sci-fi and is bound to do unconventional things. And should. It's just a matter of degree. Some effects don't match up, such as the ship fizzliing meaning it's now going to warp drive. I like 6's coat. Not the pants, though. Will you ever be watching Hartnell's era?

[@AmyWarriorPrincess]

For me, it took the entire season to like him.

[@leslieride5813]

Without a doubt the worst opening story to any era in classic Doctor Who back in the day i really felt sorry for Colin Baker a really fine actor.

[@AmyWarriorPrincess]

@@leslieride5813 I totally agree with you Leslie. He is a wonderful actor, but the writing let him down in this story.

[@stevepanozzo3716]

Colin Baker is a champion for Doctor Who. His commitment and support for it is almost unrivalled. And he is a brilliant actor. But he was woefully miscast as the Doctor and his characterisation was a massive misstep by the production team. Even being the mid-1980s doesn't excuse how wrong it all was then and remains so now. Of course, this is now a matter of history and he is now part of the Doctor Who legacy, a fact I reluctantly accept, but it is not an era I can ever watch and point to, saying, "this is my favourite show". It's incredulously bad - it's John Nathan-Turner off-the-rails.

[@sadako24]

I'm not sure JNT was ever on the rails in the first place.

[@Joey15811]

I don’t mind the story of this one and when younger the acting didn’t bother me but now it does. This story is hated but theres worse. Making the Doctor arrogant was a choice. Not a bad one but definitely not a good one. There’s 2 stories next season I despise whereas this one is just bad decisions and bad acting frok the support cast.

[@danieldunn613]

Personally I hate the sixth doctor's TV era, however the sixth doctor is my third favourite doctor overall, it's all thanks to the audio dramas My advice when you've finished watching 6's era, try some of his audio dramas, they're a far better showcase of the sixth doctor

[@joshuaverran9443]

Unfortunately and this pains me to say it Colin Baker is considered one of the least popular Doctors due to his arrogance and his costume but for me I like him because it shows how alien his Doctor is just like Tom Baker which is one of the reasons I didn't like Davison and Tennant because they were too human. Ok the strangling was abit much but he is going through a regeneration crisis because it is a process. The rainbow outfit was not Colin's choice he absolutely hated his costume he wanted to wear something similar to what Eccleston wore leather and black but John Nathan Turner the producer had other ideas and thought he should be totally tasteless to which Colin Baker wasn't keen on. Its also a strange way to start the new Doctor on a finale episode.

[@sadako24]

First time I watched this, I couldn't make it past that first cliffhanger. The Doctor had been an unapologetic bully throughout and when he was sniping at Peri over a wounded Hugo, that was the last straw. The strangulation scene might've been tolerable if he'd been apologetic after. The pettiness might've been tolerable if it wasn't on top of the strangulation in a situation where Peri was distressed enough without the taunts. Both at once just make for horrible, nasty viewing. When Hugo came round and immediately come to the dirt stupid conclusion that his rescuers who didn't even bother disarming him must be his attackers.... and decides to pull his gun on the Doctor (who could probably easily disarm him with a mere kick).... I'm not sure I even cared if the Doctor survived. Took me eight years to brave the rest. This story and Warriors of the Deep, both make me think the classic show would've been better ended on The Five Doctors.

[@rumblebars]

I rather like Ol' Sixie. But a bit of rocky start for his run.

[@markbelsom3174]

Most underrated doctor in my opinion. Not the best opening story but there are a lot worse.

[@alexlee2237]

The idea was to make the 6th Doctor spiky and unlikeable and then see him slowly soften. Basically what Capaldi does decades later. But it's taken way too far here and just left a bad taste in viewers mouths. He literally just died for Peri, and now he tries to kill her. The Sixth Doctor's early persona was supposedly a return to Hartnell's irascible, alien nature. But Hartnell wasn't irascible all the time, he softened and often had a twinkle in his eye or an impish laugh. Six is just unpleasant here. Colin got a really rough deal.

[@johng5859]

I think they were attempting with Six a similar character arc to the first Doctor, i.e. start by making him unlikeable and vaguely sinister, before he gradually turns into an heroic figure determined to fight the evils of the universe. The trouble was that you could easily do that in 1963 because no one had a preconceived idea of what the Doctor was like. Twenty years later, viewers did have preconceptions and to make the new Doctor so obnoxious was asking for trouble.

[@alexlee2237]

@@johng5859 Completely agree. Plus, we saw the First Doctor complete that character arc, and the character remained a hero for over two decades. So suddenly having him be spiky and seemingly self-serving again comes across as a regression.

[@johng5859]

@@alexlee2237 Precisely, and younger viewers in 1984 who had only known the Doctor as a hero would have been especially bewildered and/or horrified at the change.

[@alexlee2237]

@@johng5859 Particularly after the unbridled heroism in The Caves of Androzani. The Twin Dilemma was never going to win any medals, but coming into it after Caves feels like watching a different programme.

[@goblin457]

Ohh dear the absolute worse story in classic who feel sorry for Colin Baker 😢

[@ThunderForce2000]

The Twin Dilemma is often considered the worst Doctor Who story by many fans

[@Cruithneach]

Let's just say this isn't one of my favourites...

[@GrilloTheFlightless]

For a very long time this was widely regarded as the worst Dr Who story of all time. God bless it, it has plenty of faults. But it’s far more entertaining than Underworld or Creature From The Pit. The whole idea was that they wanted someone deliberately as different from Peter Davidson as possible. They wanted to get back to a grouchy Doctor, harking back to Hartnell. A decision was also made to make it clear that he was alien with a different set of values and priorities to humans. Colin Baker once said that this Doctor might not shed a tear at the destruction of a whole civilisation, but mourn the death of a butterfly. There was also the idea of having a faulty, unstable regeneration - you may recall when Five was ‘dying’ he said “who knows, I might regenerate. It feels different this time.” The plan was to make him start off rather unpleasant and gradually, over a long period of time, he’d settle and become more likeable. Baker has said that it’s more interesting as the character has a journey, whereas if he starts on an ideal place he has nowhere left to go in terms of development. Sadly, he never got the chance to see this character arc through. They started Capaldi’s run in a similar way, but I think they god cold feet and made him a substantially warmer character by his 2nd season. I think it’s a rather brave way to start his new tenure. Looking at it in hindsight, the story is actually not terrible. It suffers from precocious child actors, gaudy costumes, unconvincing monsters and really intrusive incidental music honking and parking all over the place. But the story is not too bad. The title bothers me. A dilemma is a choice between two equally difficult options. There was no dilemma to face in this story. Unless the dilemma was trying to decide which twin was the more annoying! I admire the deliberate decision to make him obnoxious and unlikeable, with his unstable regeneration. It was meant to be part of a big character arc where he’d develop and become more likeable over time, but he was never given the chance to see it through. They tried something similar with Capaldi, but they soon softened his character. It’s well worth persevering with this Doctor beyond this story. I enjoyed a lot of his stories. There’s some stories which I’m particularly looking forward to seeing you react to. I met Colin twice in the ‘90s. The first time, he was quite unpleasant and sarcastic to the shy, socially awkward 16 year old that I was at the time. I met him again in my twenties and he was funny, charming, and greeted me in such a friendly way. He asked me if I was local, in a Tubbs Tatsyrup voice. Maybe he was just having a bad day the first time I met him. In the mid 2000’s I was also lucky enough to see him in a production of a comedy thriller called Corpse! It had a cast of three, Louise Jameson, Mark McGann (who auditioned to play the 8th Doctor but was beaten to it by his brother Paul) and, of course, Colin - a veritable Who’s Who Of Who. Everyone was good in it, but Colin was a triumph. Larger than life and a force of nature on stage, and brilliant.

[@bananasaregood8655]

Ahh the infamous strangling of peri scene. Not the best way to start off a new doctor’s era. Everything about this story is just tacky 80s

[@Nosregni]

If only they could’ve delayed the strangling-the-companion scene until Mel. It would be wildly popular then!

[@bananasaregood8655]

@@Nosregni nah, need that screaming voice in good condition

[@neilmcdonald9164]

The twins are amongst the worst actors on the show🎩

[@kierenevans2521]

Yeah, this ep is hard to watch or even rewatch, which I did last year. This is the low point for me. A questionable end to the season for sure.

[@mark-s]

One of my least favourite classic stories hard to watch this and most of the 6th doctor stories season 22 starts in 1985 and this is were viewing figures plummeted btw the twins in this was awful actors

[@alexbennett7018]

This story was voted the worst story ever in both the 2009 and 2014 DWM polls.

[@alansmith1989]

For me- at the time, this is where I stopped watching the programme after this episode as I found the 6th Doctor- vile!! The strangling scene (Which borrows from the 1968 film "The Boston Strangler") was - to me- gross! The Sixth Doctor- an utter pig! His costume - a catastrophe! Hence, I did not bother watching `Dr Who` for some time. To say any more would be `spoilers` and I don't want to mess up Marie-Clare's watching of the show. For me, this episode was the utter pits!

[@eeeen]

I hope you enjoy this era, but for me this is the worst of the worst from classic Who. I've tried rewatching this era many times over the years, and I just can't stand it. Again, hope you enjoy it, but I'll be back when #7 arrives.