Doctor Who: Season Seven (1970)

[@AnthonyP73]

I've never found Inferno too long, it always grips me from start to finish.

[@AbrasiousProductions]

The music is so eerie

[@John-tj9to]

Yeh I duno what he meant by one ep too long I thought it was executed perfectly well.

[@swilliams937]

That episode scared the heck out of me as a kid!

[@Wrennsley]

Saldy, I do not agree I think inferno is 1 episode to long, the only stories which I think aren't to long are Genesis of the daleks and The talons of weng chei ang

[@richardbuckley1232]

Agreed - it’s fabulous.

[@lakecountynaturalist7617]

Inferno moves slowly in order to build tension. I wouldn’t cut a second of it. In my opinion it’s the best episode of any Doctor in any era.

[@TheSkirvo]

Agree 100 percent

[@ponchoman49]

Pertwee and Baker are by miles my favorite Doctors. The 70's was almost a magical time for me growing up as a kid watching this era of Who and 1970 stands out as one of the shows finest seasons!

[@markhayward7400]

The outdoor shooting for "Inferno" made use of what was then the Berry Wiggins oil refinery on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England. As a child of 5, I was taken by my dad to watch some of the filming, and I got to meet Jon Pertwee. Jon was MY Dr Who forever after. He was so kind and patient with me. I was a shy child, and he took the time to speak gently with me and make me smile. I have never forgotten this. I am 59 years old now!

[@RJLNetwork]

INFERNO is my favorite from this season and is my favorite 3rd Doctor story overall!

[@artyfartblast3289]

One of my favourite seasons ever.

[@widetubevision4423]

Mine too!

[@christopherengel7436]

Tom Baker & Jon Pertwee are my favorite doctors by a wide margin. Loved the episodes when the doctor worked with UNIT. The Brigadier & Jo were some of my favs as well. You do a wonderful & absolutely hysterical review of the seasons. Really brings back my youth of watching on PBS with my father & idiot brother. I thank you wholeheartedly for that.

[@themirrorsofmymind]

Your take on brothers brings back memories from my childhood as well... 😏😏😏

[@brucedanton3669]

And yes they are mine also then too-it must be the memories of growing up back then I guess so too of course?! Thank you anyway so too.

[@memoir4you]

Jon Pertwee's first season is a triumph. Every serial shines in my opinion. A strong season for sure.

[@swilliams937]

Literal LOL at Pertwee's doctor attempting to start Bessie's predecessor. Great use of artistic license there.

[@TMS5100]

pertwee was the james bond of dr. who.

[@DTM-Books]

Spearhead From Space demonstrates how good this series could have looked if it was always shot on film.

[@hothemeep1219]

Not entirely sure. Spearhead from Space looks great because it was shot outside, which is unusual. Most of the episodes were sometime shot on location but mainly shot on studio with low budget sets that would have looked atrocious if shot on film

[@LouiseBrooksBob]

I would definitely have watched "The Brigadier Blows Sh17 Up" and "The Liz Shaw Mysteries. "

[@blackpeter70]

I was shattered to find out the Brig's moustache was fake! Shattered!!!

[@flashrobbie]

One of the best easons ever and Liz was brilliant.

[@justinsullivan1285]

Jon Pertwee brought a James Bond vibe to the role which is obvious working for U.N.I.T. Pertwee is my second favorite doctor.(Tom Baker being my favorite)

[@Laceykat66]

Pertwee was MY Doctor. This was the season I was introduced to Dr. Who as an afternoon serial by a local, non-network, station. Pre-internet, or personal computer for that matter, the only thing I knew of British TV was the numerous syndicated shows stretching back to Secret Agent Man, AKA Danger Man. I loved the programs but like BBC America today, very few Briitish shows were ever available on a regular schedule. They pulled Dr. Who at the end of the summer and I never saw it again until I bumped into it in various PBS stations around the country. Thank you for this delightful history.

[@pjgathergood6987]

Have only just stumbled across this video / channel and love it - extremely well (and amusing) put together review, this video deserves a LOT more likes. I'm currently watching, and reviewing (in text) each Classic Series story - even the recons of the sadly wiped 1960s stories; I'm mid-way through s8's 'Colony in Space' presently (some stories I'm only seen decades ago / never, at most having read the Target novels of them). I think I'll have a nice diet of watching one of these previous series reviews a day for the coming week or so! :) Series 7 saw so many changes in the series all at once, it's the closest thing the Classic ever had to a 'reboot'. I adore 'Spearhead from Space', to date it's my favourite Pertwee story; the Doctor is a bit off in places, playing it far more for comedy than would be the norm, but that could be explained away to regeneration effects. The iconic sequence with the Auton massacre in the high street is surprisingly stark and graphic, even now. 'The Silurians' is a surprisingly thoughtful script by Malcom Hulke that, even though is padded by an episode or so towards the end, is a strong one that stands out even more on hindsight. 'The Ambassadors of Death', the weakest of the season, is that odd case of being flawed on so very many levels, and yet somehow still being watchable enough to not be a total dud. The quality of production at the time and some good moments, but such a shame the storyline is often confusing and with gaping holes that make it hard to follow - yet still finding time to pad with absolute mundane things (like the Doctor spending ages trying to turn Bessie 'round in the mud!!) 'Inferno' finishes the season on a high, an excellent production and another favourite of mine. Tense and quite stark in places, it's a shame in many ways the 'reality' of s7 couldn't continue and develop longer. It's also a shame they never quite worked out how to utilise Liz, wonderfully played by Caroline John, as she was a great companion in so many ways ahead of her time, but alas it wasn't to be. ...That's my boring ramble on s7, I'm looking forward to going through your other season reviews over the next few days!! :)

[@StamFine]

Cool. Ramble away in the comments if you like, that's what they're there for.

[@jamesmccormick354]

John Pertwee has always been my favourite, even though I actually grew up with Tom Baker! Although, he's amazing too- just like Petrwee best

[@holydiver73]

Series 7 is my favourite of all time. Totally brilliant.

[@nerva-]

2:25 -- Wow I forgot how damn fine-looking Caroline John was as Liz Shaw.

[@Axess-sv8nq]

Jon Pertwee was my favorite Doctor of all! Everyone loved Tom Baker - and I just had to be different! 😎👍

[@hairychin]

A really well made & presented vid with some very good gags too! Keep up the quality work :)

[@Merglet]

Liz to this day is one of my favourite companions. She don't take crap from anyone, and DESTROYS a minidress like no one's business. Intelligent, independent, AND hot?!?! Sign me the hell up.

[@widetubevision4423]

John Pertwee is my favourite Doctor Who because I remember watching all the episodes during the 1970s on black and white television in Australia.

[@tubian323]

I think Jon Pertwee did very good with the straight acting except for when something was supposed to be killing him, he got this silly look on his face that I don't think was intentional.

[@GiantBoarMonster]

Dr. Elizabeth Shaw... that was the name of Noomi Rapace's character in Prometheus. Wonder if that was Ridley Scott's nod to Dr. Who

[@grimlockprime1972]

On a side note, I would totally watch a Doctor Who spinoff called "The Brigadier Blows Shit Up.".

[@teeteringonthebrink.305]

Me too. The Doctor was a bit miffed when the Brigadier blew up the Silurians. But I'm on the Brigs side here because, they did try to kill the human race with a highly contagious virus. So, sod 'em.

[@SammEater]

I like this running gag in the review of Bessie playing loud music while the Doctor is driving it. lol

[@TheDukeofMadness]

I only just found your reviews. I'm starting from here, as it's where I started with the Doctor.

[@DWor-]

Thank you. I enjoyed how decades ago I thought I might never get the gist of a lot of Doctor Who and then fun people and technology comes along and makes it more possible.

[@MunkiZee]

The Doppler effect on the tunes is a really nice touch. I'm sad to hear that our antipodal cousins are not able to trust things they read on the sides of buses either. Excellent video

[@DannyBeans]

The Pertwee era is probably my favorite of the series.

[@jorgeldejesus8465]

70s Doctor Who is the best Era ( 3rd & 4th Doctor) Golden Era

[@dougmaclennan8654]

Spearheads looked like a movie. Whereas prior seasons looked like studio soap operas.

[@RangaTurk]

I imagine it would if you have the original BBC VHS release.

[@ced1106]

Oh, now I know why this is my favorite Doctor. Thanks for the videos!!! 📺📺📺

[@chrisgibbings9499]

One of the top three seasons of the entire run in my view (well from what I watched, I didn't watch regularly from the early '80s onwards). I was eight when I saw season 7 so I was scared rigid by the Autons here (not so much in the sequel a year later) especially when it came to life behind the guy who broke into the lab, gripped by the stories of Silurians and Ambassadors and scared and tensed up by the Primords and ruthless characters and impending doom of Inferno. As an eight-year-old it was alarming to see things like Autons and Primords which looked like distorted versions of humans and which could actually run after you, a new one for Dr Who.

[@SJKPJR007]

Great work about a great work of TV.

[@StamFine]

Thanks!

[@hugodrax71]

A unique season. Unsettling, eerie and with a generous dose of Quatermass.

[@carlh-thehermitwithwi-fi679]

i LOVED THIS! Had to go back.....my first doctor was Tom Baker! Went to a Reinissnce Fair, someone was dressed like Tom Baker, i said "DOCTOR! AGAIN!"" and he totally got into character and said "you again, so glad to see you, doctor!" My daughter was about 7 and said "you're the Doctor! My father told me about you!" The nice fellow said "half lies, half truth, but your father is a good man, good to see him again!" She was STUNNED! "You know Doctor Who?" "of course kiddo, i know everyone....but i like this incarnation!" (side note - her first "doctor" was Matt Smith, so she might have had "a crush" on that.

[@ClydeRowing]

The car starting gag was one of the biggest laughs I've had for a long time!

[@merseydave1]

I was 5 in 1970, so John was my first (and best doctor) I new Patrick but John got me into Dr Who

[@ezravanmelle4333]

Love this season. For all its faults, I really enjoy Ambassadors of Death. It's got a real James Bond feel to it. And Inferno is a masterpiece - deliciously dark and apocalyptic.

[@twright1983]

Some of the episodes from the ambassadors of death were broadcast in black and white and were much later for DVD remastered in colour

[@paulhammond6978]

Well, no. Episodes of Jon Pertwee's era were kept in colour and black and white versions, so sometimes a Pertwee era story can be completed by supplementing the missing colour episodes by using the existing black and white versions. There's one episode of "Mind of Evil", for example, that only exists in black and white. But Ambassadors of Death is the one that has most of the colour episodes missing, so there were VHS releases of it in black and white until they got the colourisation right.

[@twright1983]

@@paulhammond6978 that’s what I mean - they colour pixelated it a few years ago All of the mind of evil can be purchased in colour now , as I have them all in colour

[@dratheart]

I loved DOCTOR Liz Shaw (& Caroline John) & she did keep defending Earth in BBV (Bill Baggs Video) as the head of PROBE with only casual hints to her origins allowed.

[@chibacityblues2003]

I would gladly hop over too the lava ad gremlins time line if it meant I could watch The Liz Shaw Mysteries

[@stevenhope3697]

you guys do a good job. I enjoyed the presentation.

[@StamFine]

Thanks!

[@hughsalter7769]

bought a book about dr who which said it was not shown in USA until number 4 which is incorrect we saw #3 after cartoons saturday mornings

[@ashroskell]

Loving your stuff. Thank u ✌️

[@chronovore3726]

I'd watch the Liz Shaw mysteries.

[@MH-sj9bg]

The drum and bass/techno Dr Who theme whenever he's driving will never not be funny to me.

[@davidsmith5523]

This Doctor was the first that I watched regularly. I liked his taking charge style and the nature of his stories. In fact we visited my auntie who had a colour television, so he was the first Doctor I saw who did not appear monochrome. Did not see Star Trek in colour until 1978. Another era but great times to be a child.

[@stormhawk3319]

Jon Pertwee was cast initially to be a pottier Doctor than Patrick Troughton because he was an established comic actor but he surprised everyone by playing the part straight.

[@tskmaster3837]

Having recently watched Inferno, I found it to be utterly amazing and captivating. The total star of the production is the use of the white noise of the drill as its soundtrack, ever present, ever droning but once that sound changes, oh wow, duck and cover boys and girls. If I have a complaint with it, it's Part 7 but not because the serial was overlong, it's that the Doctor was either unconscious or trying to explain what was going to go wrong in the wrong way. All he had to do was remove the man in charge by saying "hey, isn't he mutating now?" But as the Doctor wasn't in the sanest state of minds, it's more of an observation than a complaint. A++... it's not really a rating but Inferno isn't really a Doctor Who serial. It's a novel that borrows a few characters from Doctor Who season 7.

[@John-tj9to]

I always wondered why spearhead from space had superior film quality to the rest of pertwees era, shame they couldn't afford the top shelf film all the time and not just cos of a strike.

[@dalekapocalypse5727]

great video, i honestly would like to know what is the theme that plays whenever the doctor drives Bessie because it sounds very cool

[@StamFine]

it's a faux dubstep version of the Who theme

[@saftpackerl]

@@StamFine I love how you've added a subtle doppler effect when he passes the camera @10:00 :D

[@lukegreen5341]

I'm A Huge Doctor Who Fan. Thanks Mate. X

[@inguzwulf]

I've no idea why youtube dropped this into my lap but i'm glad it did. Took me right back to a time before the watershed. Ahh..! And yes, i did 'like' it because i actually, dictionary definition liked it. A proper youtube vid and not a 'tv' show (well, maybe a little bit). Still, informative, educational and entertaining..are you now the new BBC?

[@lightnear8085]

Been loving these reviews. If you don’t mind me asking what remix of the theme are you playing whenever the Doctor drives a car in the videos? (I’ve taken to calling it a Time Lord’s Ice Cream Truck music.)

[@ClydeRowing]

Its on an album dubstep hits, title dr who (dubstep remix)

[@lightnear8085]

@@ClydeRowing When I looked for it, a different song appeared than what was used in this video.

[@dylanlewis5113]

I'd definitely watch "The Brigadier Blows Shit Up". Or a UNIT spin-off. Surprised they never tried to make one in the Modern Era. Maybe they felt it would be too similar to Torchwood.

[@Cmor19]

Imagine if they re-casted the 70's UNIT crew and did a spinoff after the 3rd doctor left.

[@timeofthewhoviansunited1504]

Nice 👍

[@ian_b]

Pertwee was my first Doctor :)

[@rjjcms1]

Mine too,though I was only vaguely aware of what it was I watched until picking it up fully from The Daemons and Day of the Daleks onwards. We were lucky enough to have a colour TV set already at the start of the 70s.

[@ian_b]

@@rjjcms1 The first serial I really remember was The Green Death one.

[@rjjcms1]

@@ian_bOne of my favourites!

[@ian_b]

@@rjjcms1I remember it was a huge hit with my friend group at school!

[@scotplemmons4209]

Excellent

[@experi-mentalproductions5358]

This is a good video, but I do have 1 question... Why did you start with Season 7 rather than 1?

[@StamFine]

Mainly waiting on more stories with missing episodes being animated before tackling those. Will probably do those, but not for a while.

[@experi-mentalproductions5358]

@@StamFine Okay, fair enough... I suppose waiting *will* get me excited for them...

[@pjgathergood6987]

When doing my current "complete marathon" I did initially consider starting at as it's at least complete, but in the end decided to go right from the beginning, sitting through recons and all. The rate of animation has picked up quite a bit in last two years; though s1 only has one story completely missing ('Marco Polo'), that might still be doable for you and would love to see a review on it. :)

[@gdSwow]

Are you likely to visit the earlier who? Would be good to have your thoughts on Harnel era. Plenty of comedy

[@StamFine]

Will be starting 60s Who in 2023

[@mattpatasnik1195]

​@StamFine thank you. And I finally saw this guy's first story. I loved it. He looks like a Victorian Murder Mystery villain though. His comments made me laugh. He can be such a snide little ass. The Brigadier actually needs to stop and think. I thought he was going to kill the guy.

[@ivanelgharbi5861]

I would watch the shit of "The Brigadier Blows Shit up"

[@blueknight07]

Inferno feels like what all of season 7 should be. A thrilling tale of earth under threat with errie soundtracks and dark themes.

[@witch6178]

Whats the music you use for bessie? Some sort of techno dr who theme?

[@themirrorsofmymind]

8:19 *_"Infinitely shitier, and less impressive"_* precisely sums up the "dinosaurs" in "The Invasion of The Dinosaurs", which I've sometimes called "The Attack of The Atrociously Fake Looking, Rubber Monsters".

[@chrisgibbings9499]

Invasion of the Dinosaurs is the one Who story above all others that I'd choose for a makeover with cgi or whatever. They upgraded ones like The Five Doctors which didn't really need it. Very frustrating.

[@kevinshort3943]

Wasn't the 3rd Doctor supposed to be cashing in on the James Bond action film popularity ?

[@StamFine]

That's been said by a lot of writers over the years, but if you look at it, by the early 70's spymania had evaporated and even the Bond films were in danger of becoming irrelevant. Upping the actionwas more a by-product of "the Doctor's stuck on Earth, now what do we do?" Pertwee himself encouraged the action stuff since he loved that sort of thing. But if you also look, the big budget action stuff you see in Season 7 tapers off considerably after a few seasons.

[@kevinshort3943]

@@StamFine Well if it wasn't James Bond, it must have been the Basil Brush show. Am I the only one who thinks Pertwees' Dr looks like a live action Basil Brush (minus the fur) ? :)

[@StamFine]

Depending on the viewer, Pertwee is either 'Dr Action Sex' or 'Dr Arrogant Establishment Blow-hard.'

[@kevinshort3943]

@@StamFine Or Worzel Gummidge with his Dr head on :)

[@newtjorden1957]

I would watch a show called The Liz Shaw Mysteries

[@rotterdammer5243]

Hey Stam, Sorry to bug ya again but will you do Quatermass? Cheers from Quebec!!!

[@StamFine]

at some point. the tv ones at least

[@RealRoknRollr3108]

Big Finish will get a lot of ideas for spin offs from this video.

[@oscarl.ramirez7355]

A Favorite BBC Series.

[@oscarl.ramirez7355]

Nice Legs on Ms. Shaw.

[@shockingelderly]

Dis anyone else hear "Poor Liz Shaw" as "Paulie Shore" ?

[@themirrorsofmymind]

Yes! I thought it was intentional. A joke about the little man scientist that Liz is locked up with. 😕😕

[@octaviusfooks7194]

8:27 - AVON?!?

[@rjjcms1]

Avon calling.

[@rogerrambo4172]

Doctor Who Season 7: John Carpenter's Doctor Who

[@TillyOrifice]

Pertwee's first season is one of my personal favourites. Unfortunately they made a number of tweaks in subsequent seasons (and lost Caroline John) leaving things much less to my taste.

[@daverage4729]

"Hail Hydra!" Lmao!

[@jesseSixworld]

Love your reviews. Do you have a Patreon?

[@christopheralthouse6378]

Hey, where can I find your reviews of Seasons 1-6? Can't find them on your channel...😵

[@StamFine]

We started at the colour seasons since the stories are all complete. We’ll look at 60s seasons sometime when there are fewer gaps/more animated eps.

[@christopheralthouse6378]

@@StamFine That may take quite a while, may want to just go ahead and do them. Seasons 1, 2 and 6 don't have too many gaps to worry about...of them, Season 2 would be the easiest of them all as it is only missing two episodes (both from The Crusades)...☺️

[@johnclaxton9878]

Wheres your review of season 1-7 please

[@StamFine]

In the future, starting sometime in 2023

[@onlyme219]

Before the reboot of the show Pertwee and Baker where the best. I can't put one above the other

[@ericvonkaenel7657]

Where's the reviews of seasons 1 through 6 ?

[@AbrasiousProductions]

Why did you skip Hartnell & Troughton?

[@StamFine]

Several reasons, but mainly waiting for the missing stories/episodes to be animated. We will cover them at some point

[@petemarr824]

Not the plasticine dinosaur :(

[@THEGREATMAX]

Why do these reviews jump from season 1 to season 7? 🤔

[@StamFine]

Boring reasons. We started at 7 and are slowly filling in the gaps as more missing 60's stories have animated versions released.

[@THEGREATMAX]

@@StamFine Oh okay. I was just wondering because the 2nd Doctor/Jamie team is LEGENDARY and I wanted to hear your thoughts on 'em.

[@s13rr4buf3]

So, have you reviewed number 10 yet?

[@StamFine]

Is that a) Season 10, b) Series 10, or c) Doctor 10? The answers are yes, not yet and not yet.

[@s13rr4buf3]

@@StamFine Thank you. I meant c) Tennant's era.

[@StamFine]

@@s13rr4buf3 not yet. just done Eccleston's season a few weeks ago.

[@jeff3482]

Where's your first 6 series? Finding it very hard to find your videos in sequence..

[@StamFine]

we haven't done those yet. we started with the colour seasons and the black and white seasons will be reviewed starting from 2023.

[@jeff3482]

@@StamFine okay thanks for replying I was finding the load dates confusing cos I've done from 70 til your latest in 85 or 6 but then I saw no McCoy videos and then saw you did 2005 so I was thinking there were videos I couldn't find.

[@suttercane6]

Live Hazmat Suit Wrestling 😆

[@ralphwinter6421]

gud vid..

[@thomasgary1219]

Oh. Jon Pertwee made my 14 year old self realize that I just wasn't into girls.

[@Triussk61]

Not something I would have watched too often. Having grown up in that time, looking back at how the world went ga-ga with the UN ideals that lately have proven as shyte, the Who mobile, and the Doctor just about stuck on Earth, I would have hated it

[@nerva-]

Back when I started watching Doctor Who reruns in the early-80's, I never liked Pertwee's Doctor, but in the 90's DW fans brainwashed me into accepting him being one of the best because he was "serious" and "heroic". The last few years I've watched a few stories with Pertwee, and realized, my childhood opinion was correct -- he's just a jerk. Tom Baker will always be #1, with honorable mentions to William Hartnell for being the first and David Tennant for being the best on the revived program.

[@Blindgenxgamer]

🤣🤣🤣👍

[@StamFine]

Laughs are good.

[@Blindgenxgamer]

@@StamFine You are brilliant! I am a yank who grew up with Doctor Who ( Tom Baker broke my Whovian cherry) I love the Dalek song "EXTERMINATE My Baby" Rasilon bless you and keep up the good work 👍

[@Joey15811]

Spearhead from Space - The most over rated story of all time. To me its just an average post regen story. I don’t get why everyone thinks its one of the best of all time Silurians - Love this one could do with sone trimming but great. Ambassadors- Decent but too long. Inferno - Good but extremely over rated. The drilling and primord parts are meh but the volcano and paralell world aspect is great. Shame we never had an exit for Liz. My opinion is take 2 episodes of ambassadors and 1 from Silurians/Inferno and add another 4 parter and Give Liz said exit

[@amyclarke41]

D gs 75 😆d j a s

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

I really liked Liz Shaw and couldn’t stand Jo Grant. The third Doctor’s run is great apart from over ambitious effects, dodgy music and Jo Grant. Still, there’s no Bonnie Langford so I can’t complain too much.

[@Joey15811]

Same. I find Katy’s voice one that grated on me. It was like nails on a chalkboard but as a character, I think with age her voice annoys me less and I like her character arc

[@Joey15811]

Mel was badly written, Bonnie langford is decent but the writting for her making her a pure screamer was a dreadful decision

[@paulhammond6978]

@@Joey15811 I think there's also an acting adjustment thing going on with Bonnie Langford. She's done lots and lots of stage acting and musicals, and her performance in Doctor Who was too big, because she was basically still doing stage acting. I've seen her more recently in her role in EastEnders, and that was an excellent performance, so I think a combination of bad writing and not enough experience at the time of TV acting is what made Mel so annoying.