I Watched Old Doctor Who...

[@Faction.Paradox]

It's pretty clear that Tales of the Tardis is a gentle push to ease people into watching classic Who. It's a fantastic idea

[@DemetriusSorvo]

Have you watched it? It wasn't anything great.

[@TheBeastBoss04]

Russell wants us all to enjoy what he did as he was growing up, and I'm here for it

[@RobTFilms]

TOTT is neat but I wish we could just have the new bits in isolation from the omnibus of a story!

[@rnw2739]

​@kennethraymondmoore According to a mong like you, but then you like New Who which shows your level.

[@gaztheman7879]

@@RobTFilmswhy there no point to that.

[@bsmith3506]

Something you may not have noticed - in the 10th Doctor episode Tooth and Claw, he puts on that Scottish accent and introduces himself as Dr James McCrimmon - a name he took from Two's beloved Jamie. Also, it was actually Jamie who first gave the Doctor the alias John Smith!

[@BrendanJSmith]

It's really comforting to know that he still keeps Jamie in the back of his mind after all the centuries since they said goodbye.

[@elliotstedman1591]

If you were to watch another story from each Doctor, I'd recommend these as they're a mix of well regarded stories and ones that are good to jump into as a new who fan (plus these ones don't all feature villains you've seen in the modern series). 1st Doctor: The War Machines 2nd Doctor: The Web of Fear 3rd Doctor: Inferno 4th Doctor: City of Death 5th Doctor: The Caves of Androzani 6th Doctor: Vengeance on Varos 7th Doctor: The Curse of Fenric

[@CosmicCleric]

For the 4th Doctor I would have suggested The Ark in Space. The last of Humanity at risk of going extinct when the Doctor stumbles upon them with Sarah Jane and Harry. Great "Alien" movie scifi episode (with some admittedly cheesy effects/props, but then again, that's early Doctor Who for you). From Wikipedia: This was a view echoed by Steven Moffat, prior to the broadcast of the 2014 Doctor Who Christmas Special; replying to a question on borrowing material from the Alien films, he countered with "they never asked Doctor Who to borrow the plot of The Ark in Space". If not that, then "Pyramids of Mars" would be a close second recommendation by me. Also the 4th Doctor. Edit: Added the Wiki text.

[@elliotstedman1591]

@@CosmicCleric Ark in Space is another great choice!

[@jam-the-hologram]

I would have suggested The Invasion over The Web of Fear, as The Web of Fear is a direct sequel to the Abominable Snowmen + the better animation of The Invasion

[@williammcnirlan4820]

Only objection I would have is The War Machines. It's OK, but very late Hartnell. I would say The Aztecs. It's first season, the original team, and that now oddity, a historical. While An Unearthly Child should be seen, it does lead to Tribe of Gum. Maybe also this would be a time for a treat. IE, The Three/Five/Two Doctors. At that rate we could sneak in a lot of Classic Who

[@elliotstedman1591]

@jam-the-hologram I love The Invasion but thought I'd suggest some stories without Daleks or Cyberman (as all bar one in the video have them in). I also think Web ov Fear is still great without seeing Abominable Snowmen (I watched Web first and loved it)

[@kstomak4071]

I absolutely recommend Inferno from the Pertwee era. The way the tension builds is really well done, especially with how high the stakes are. Definitely one of my favorite Third Doctor stories :)

[@Thomas_of_the_forest]

Inferno is one of the few really great 7 parters

[@TRANZEURO]

Inferno is probably my favorite classic DW story though it does borrow a bit from the earlier Patrick Troughton story 'Fury From The Deep'.

[@jason_a_smith_gb]

Well done though. Fracking awesome!

[@gregsmith7949]

My favorite Pertwee story. 👍

[@leethomas2155]

One of my absolute favourite stories too of the 3rd Doctor and classic Who in general. Fast forward to now... goblins dancing and singing about eating babies in a Disney musical aimed at 3 year olds. It breaks my heart at what they've done to this once beloved iconic show.

[@thelukeofficial9626]

A Unearthly child is probably one of the most iconic stories to watch the very first dr who story you can see how different the doctor is and how he evolves into the doctor we know and love!!! I would highly recommend it

[@ozdocwho5177]

But The Tribe of Gum onwards? Story wise I don't think it's the best and acting wise even worse. Apart from, of course, the regulars.

[@darynvoss7883]

Glad you've finally got a taste. There are about 700 episodes, of which about 600 remain on archives and another 50 odd have been animated, so watching it all is a big task but some people have done it, like me lass on Marie Clare's World. If you're looking for further suggestions: An Unearthly Child: only because it's how this all started. The Tenth Planet The Enemy Of The World The Macra Terror The War Games (be warned, it's long) Inferno Terror of the Autons The Deadly Assassin City of Death Keeper of Traken Caves of Androzani Vengeance on Varos Ghost Light

[@176MarkW]

I agree with you that the chemistry between Sylvester and Sophie is next level. Up there with Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen.

[@kathyastrom1315]

Definitely! All those on my Top Five Companions list had terrific chemistry with their Doctors. I think the writers were inspired by that and wrote more engaging scenes with the Doctor and companion to take advantage of the chemistry, which inspired the actors even more, and it became a wonderful loop. (My list, in chronological order: Sarah Jane, Tegan, Ace, Donna, and Amy/Rory, but only as a pair, not Amy by herself.)

[@TheBrotherGrim]

He's been my favorite Doctor for years, and their chemistry really was amazing. I started with NuWho myself, then went back to watch the classic my mom told me my dad was such a fan of and easily prefer the classics over the new stuff. Much love to Big Finish for giving so many of the classics new stories too.

[@jam-the-hologram]

If you are going to do this again, I would recommend: 1- The Romans (An extremely fun pure historical) 2- The Invasion (One of my all time favourites) 3- The Daemons (A proper UNIT story + The Master) 4- Horror of Fang Rock (A classic Tom Baker Gothic Horror episode) 5- The Caves of Androzani (it’s hard to beat this one) 6- Vengeance on Varos (The best episode of 6s era) 7- The Curse of Fenric (one of Ace’s best episode)

[@FairladyZ2005]

Nice video! A very good list. I would add City of Death for another Tom Baker.

[@jam-the-hologram]

Absolutely @FairladyZ2005 ! It's such a fantastic story, and Romana is brilliant as well!

[@Takeshi357]

Horror of Fang Rock really demonstrates Tom Baker's acting ability. I love how he can go from goofy and aloof to deadly serious at the drop of a hat, and sell both extremes of the spectrum 100%. Also seconding Vengeance on Varos. It's not only the best 6th Doctor story, although I understand some people are put off by how much of a sociopath he comes across in that story (yes, even more than usual), the themes of the story haven't aged at all.

[@edwardrea8924]

Earthshock for 5 imo

[@jam-the-hologram]

@@edwardrea8924 but he watched Earthshock in this exact video? Why would he need to rewatch it for the next?

[@ImJustSayingYKnow]

There's so much great stuff from the Tom Baker era! Don't miss: Ark in Space, Terror of the Zygons, Planet of Evil, Seeds of Doom, Masque of Mandragora, Hand of Fear, Face of Evil, Robots of Death, Talons of Weng Chiang, The Invisibly Enemy, The Sun Makers, City of Death, and more.

[@JasonHauser125]

I agree, Tom Baker had so many amazing episodes it's really hard to pick the "best".

[@Hephaetus666]

My favorite is The Pirate Planet

[@paulshorney3465]

Pyramids of mars 👍👍

[@JasonHauser125]

@@paulshorney3465 Seeds of Doom

[@ozdocwho5177]

What about The deadly Assassin, Horror of Fang Rock or Image of the Fendahl (To me one of the scariest stories I've ever seen on Who. That scene when the Fendahl Core first started to appear scared the wits out of me as a child)

[@brianartillery]

Earthshock, when first broadcast, had no spoilers that it was the return of the Cybermen. Anywhere. So it was a shock to see them at the end of episode 1. I was at home, watching, with my mum, who wasn't really a Doctor Who fan, but did like Peter Davison. I had to laugh, when she pointed at the Cybermen on the TV, and said, very matter of factly: "I didn't expect to see those bastards again!"

[@russelltietjen4407]

The Time Warrior is kind of a lore stealthbomb - you got the first appearance of Sarah Jane and the Sontarans, as well as the reveal that The Doctor's homeworld is called "Gallifrey", y'know... only 5 years after introducing the planet and the Time Lords lol

[@stickytapenrust6869]

And also the first appearance of the “time tunnel” titles idea!

[@paulshorney3465]

First appearance of a sontaran!

[@MarkWiseTechno]

Also, the first time that Doctor Who did a pseudo-historical story!

[@plantainsame2049]

​@@stickytapenrust6869Is a three d one at least

[@stickytapenrust6869]

@@MarkWiseTechno Not the first, the first pseudo-historical was The Time Meddler in 1965.

[@manticore5733]

I still remember that end credit roll of Earthshock part 4, I was 7 years old watching it on a small portable TV in our caravan. That made an impact that I still remember 40years later!

[@magusware8721]

Remembrance of the Daleks is my favourite Dr Who story. I absolutely love the different Dalek factions and the Doctor in the middle of it. So cool.

[@Tejiknasten]

The 10th planet, Logopolis, Castrovalva and The curse of Fenric are some of my personal favourites of the classic era.

[@williamkellogg4671]

These episodes are some of my favorite The third doctors inferno The fifth doctors caves of Androzani The seventh doctors curse of Fenrich

[@Shshsh-xg4hj]

Inferno is 3rd Doctors best story

[@nicktroisi6347]

I think Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker are tied as my favourite classic Doctors. I also think what makes “Genesis of The Daleks” so good, even today is that it cements their own existence in Doctor Who forever while the episode “Daleks” cements their presence in the show forever, it’s a brilliant way to make them so iconic. I think his decision to not destroy The Daleks there and then haunts him, like to think The Time War, The Whole Bad Wolf scenario, Canary Warf, The Stolen Earth all this major events could’ve been avoided if The Doctor had destroyed them. Don’t get me wrong I respect all the actors, especially William Hartnell, but you’ve gotta have a favourite

[@mr.dalerobinson]

Tom Baker was my first introduction to the fans transition from "who is this guy playing the Doctor", to "OMG he's THE Doctor" After that I knew after upon a new Doctor, there was a process to go thru, and it was usually worth it.

[@DeepThought42]

You're right about the binge watching not working for Classic DW Crispy. Serials were written and produced for watching just once a week so don't really work if binge watched. Especially for younger people so used to the fast paced TV now, and binge watching. As a kid who grew up watching Classic DW repeated to billy-o on the ABC at prime dinner/tea time I find I can successfully binge binge watch it. However I suspect younger generations may not appreciate it when binge watched, while they may well experience it differently and better if watching just one episode of a serial at a time. I'm impressed you understood the time period the shows were made in and the way TV was produced then, as without that many don't appreciate Classic DW.

[@jackknibb510]

You definitely need to watch terror of the Autons as your next 3rd doctor story, not only was it the introduction of Jo Grant but also the master played by Roger Delgado who is still the best master of all time.

[@DonnaLang42rockglobally]

Hi, Crispy - Here are some more classic Who stories you might enjoy: First Doctor: The Aztecs Second Doctor: Enemy of the World Third Doctor: The Daemons Fourth Doctor: Horror of Fang Rock Fifth Doctor: The Visitation Sixth Doctor: Vengeance On Varos Seventh Doctor: Battlefield

[@sparshjohri1109]

Not sure if I'd recommend The Daemons, but the other choices are pretty solid. Day of the Daleks and Doctor Who and the Silurians are pretty good Third Doctor stories, as are Terror of the Autons, Mind of Evil, and the Claws of Axos. City of Death (for the Fourth Doctor), Four to Doomsday (for the Fifth Doctor), and The Curse of Fenric (for the Seventh Doctor) are some other really great stories.

[@AllThePiecesMatter_]

If you wanna try one story from each doctor, go with this list; 1 The Daleks (its the frickin first Dalek story!) 2 The Mind Robber 3 Spearhead From Space (Pertwee's first/shop dummies a la 2005 Rose) 4 Pyramids From Mars (Sarah Jane is great and the voice of Sutekh is the same voice of the Beast from Impossible Planet/Satan Pit) 5 The Caves of Androzani (obvs) 6 Vengeance on Varos (very cynical/very violent) 7 The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (tickets please....)

[@KarolYuuki]

Everything but the greatest show in the galaxy, please. That arc is the "the moon is an egg" of classic who

[@corvus1970]

I'd absolutely swap in Caves of Androzani and Vengeance on Varos.

[@Jiren261]

@@KarolYuuki While I like GSITG I think Curse Of Fenric would be the better McCoy option, Great story that one

[@tmartin6300]

@@KarolYuukiThe Greatest Show in the Galaxy is my personal favorite Seventh Doctor story. It is also my favorite 80s story and one of my favorite classic stories.

[@ChristyAbbey]

@@corvus1970 I've never understood the love for Caves. I forgot it right after watching it... except for the admittedly awesome ending.

[@applin121]

Part of the joy of 60s Who is that it isn’t overburdened with continuity, unlike its modern counterpart.

[@Baulderstone1]

I agree. The problem with too much continuity is that it makes all of time and space feel very small. On a similar note, I don''t like how famous they have made the Doctor. Part of the fun was him showing up in each plot as a mysterious wild card.

[@Markstubation01]

One of the reasons why I stopped watching the reboot series was because they kept messing with the rules.

[@fragalot]

The Brigadier (and UNIT) character started with the 2nd Doctor. The premise of the 3rd doctor was that he was banished by the Timelords to live on Earth, his TARDIS broken, and the Timelords removed his knowledge about the TARDIS and time travel. So he spent most of his time with UNIT, and the Brigadier was one of his main companions.

[@johnthecrazedsskull81]

There was something called Quatermass and the Pit (1958) which was basically a prototype of Doctor Who. I recommend giving it a watch as it's actually pretty good.

[@ftumschk]

The movie they made of the original TV series was pretty good, too. Given that it was released to cinemas in 1967, I wonder if the popularity of Doctor Who inspired them to make the movie. If so, it's kind of neat!

[@andygozzo72]

@@ftumschk plus there were 2 earlier quatermass serials, unfortunately only part of the first one remains,, but movies were made of them as well

[@ftumschk]

@@andygozzo72 Quite so, and there was a final TV fling in the late 1970s with Sir John Mills in the title role. It wasn't very successful by all accounts, but I remember enjoying it as a teenager. I enjoyed the novelisation even more, and I must still have it somewhere :)

[@paulharker7184]

It's a great show. The Hammer movie version is also utterly superb, and stars Andrew Keir, who had one of the lead roles in the movie Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150AD.

[@somthingbrutal]

Quatermass and the pit was must see TV back in the day and definitely worth a watch

[@DigitalBath742]

80s Cyberman drinking game: take a shot of your favourite drink every time the Cyber Leader says, "Excellent." You'll be drunk in no time.

[@lawrencestalbow-best2317]

Having grown up on it (classic Who is my favourite show ever), it kinda blows my mind that - in this age where the internet has brought fan communities closer - I find loads of Who fans who have...never seen 26 seasons of the show 😅 This was super wholesome to watch. Loved seeing your reactions ♥️

[@DsRelaxingSounds]

I tried but I genuinely couldn't watch it. Imo it's understandable why many modern fans have never seen it, it's very different to modern tv.

[@josephchambers2000]

The way I personally got into classic Doctor Who was mainly through Tom Baker, then veering into Davison, Troughton and Hartnell. I think in order of the first ten stories I watched went 1. The Robots Of Death 2. The Deadly Assassin 3. The Horror Of Fang Rock 4. The Keeper Of Traken 5. Logopolis 6. Castrovalva 7. The Invasion (with animated missing episodes) 8. An Unearthly Child 9. The Daleks 10. The Edge Of Destruction

[@wolf_of_fenric]

Fantastic video! The Time Warrior was a really odd recommendation for the Third Doctor story, it’s not bad but it’s not particularly renowned and there are much better Pertwee stories. Maybe the person who recommended it did so because there are lots of points familiar to modern viewers - Sarah Jane, Sontarans, UNIT. Also I wouldn’t have picked Attack of the Cybermen for Colin’s story - Revelation of the Daleks is better. Other than that, great recommendations, and it’s so great seeing you discover that Classic Who is actually fantastic!

[@alpine_newt]

There is a Genesis of the Daleks cut that's about 90 minutes long that was broadcast at Christmas the year after.

[@brendanokeeffe220]

Excellent video, my recommendations 1st Doctor; The Aztecs 2nd Doctor; The Mind Robber 3rd Doctor; Terror of the Autons 4th Doctor; City of Death or Robots of Death or The Talons of Weng-Chiang or Pyramids of Mars or The Deadly Assassin 5th Doctor; Caves of Androzani 6th Doctor; Vengeance on Varos (Or one of the 6th Doctor Big Finish audio dramas) 7th Doctor: Curse of Fenric (Remembrance of the Daleks is still the best introduction to Doctor 7)

[@jam-the-hologram]

great suggestions apart from The Talons of Weng-Chaing which is just hideously racist

[@brendanokeeffe220]

@@jam-the-hologram yeah, the casual racism in this is just f'n ugly.....but I still love it.

[@ExplosiveAction]

Another Australian here, who grew up watching McCoy as he aired on the ABC on The Afternoon Show. You picked a pretty safe set of episodes to not be disappointed in, so that was a good start. I would say dip into some non-dalek non-cybermen stories next. To pick one more from each Doctor. 1. An Unearthly Child: see where it all began 2. The Ice Warriors: you will have seen an Ice Warrior in the Smith era 3. Terror of the Autons: see both The Master and The Autons 4. Pyramids of Mars: having bad Egyptian gods before Stargate was cool 5. Caves of Androzani: frequently tops the best-ever episodes lists 6. Vengeance on Varos: objectively Colin's most interesting story 7. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: I always found this incredibly fun

[@tmartin6300]

They don’t necessarily have to be from each Doctor, but you could just take a list of 10 or so classic stories to watch at a time. That way you could also experience some of the story arcs a bit more like the E-Space Trilogy, the Black Guardian Trilogy, the Key to Time season, and The Trial of a Time Lord season.

[@TheHarper11]

Crispy I get it. Watching all the past episodes would be daunting. I realize you have a goal of being showrunner somewhere in the future and you look and see things differently when you watch. I absolutely loved Tom Baker for his humor and his ability to make it all seem believable when you can see the props are cardboard and glue. He was witty, so very clever spouting sciency things and solving things amidst the chaos. He honestly was a great actor. I would be okay if Dr. Who was weekly or bimonthly. It's the last good tv show out there and I will be sad to see it end.

[@HudsonMedia]

So glad you enjoyed Classic Who. I always get curious as someone who was also brought up on predominantly New Who but also was fortunate to catch Classic Who steadily growing up, seeing other New Who fans dive into the Classic show. It's great to see when New Who fans enjoy the old show no matter its flaws and out-dated production values. It's a wonderfully charming era of the show. Loved the video and the way you went about putting this together with updating on your thoughts as you go. Love it!

[@ChristyAbbey]

i watched a few stories because... who the hell is this Davros dude? Wound up going back to the beginning, watching them all in 3 1/2 years, and finishing just before the 50th. Lots of what people say is wrong with nuWho I fiund to be baked in and just people yelling with nostalgia glasses on. Second Doctor forever!

[@JPH1138]

Apparently Tegan was created because the producer, JNT, became aware of how well Doctor Who rated in Australia and thought having an Australian companion could help pave the way for a coproduction with the ABC for extra cash and some overseas filming. This didn't come together, and then he tried the same thing with Peri, the American companion, when the show was doing well on PBS.

[@BrendanJSmith]

Are you saying JNT actually did something good for once?!?

[@thevirgologychannel6215]

Great video ! I’m always supportive of a Nu-Who fan who tries to engage with the classic series. I’m never convinced when folks say that a modern audience will be immediately turned off by old show. Loads of Gen Z You tubers reaction channels are jumping back and starting from the beginning. Yes, it’s different and silly at first but after a few stories in they realise how attached they become to these unfamiliar Doctors and companions. And they cry as much as they did when the 10th regenerated. The same as they do when they lost the third. By the way, Time Warrior was an odd choice. Inferno would’ve been better

[@tobyjack1238]

Honestly, as someone who started out as a Nu-Who fan, the only eras of the series that I thought were boring were Hartnell and Davison’s runs. Patrick Troughton and Tom Baker are top tier doctors for me.

[@mjhopkins76]

I actually sat down, a few years ago, and watched every single Doctor Who story, in order, from 1963 until present day. I may try to do it again, and update my Plex server with some of the ones that were Audio recreations with their animated counterparts. It's a mission. Watching it while I worked, in my free time, and pretty much whenever I could, it took about three months. One thing is for sure, it brought back some memories of watching them on grainy public access, here, probably 5 years after they aired everywhere else.

[@julieeverett7442]

actually you cant, 1st and 2nd has too many stories missing, almost the entirety of season three actually, if you mean all those available, now thats a ride!! Ok sorry, the audios are all available, but what ever you do do NOT try to listen to Daleks Master Plan in one hit, the little bugger is 5.5 hours long!!!

[@BrendanJSmith]

​@julieeverett7442 seasons 3, 4, and 5 are just a wasteland of lost media.

[@julieeverett7442]

@@BrendanJSmith I am aware

[@Sutra-xn1xl]

The Key to Time episodes. Awesome. First Romana. And her regeneration. Tom Baker rules! I’ve seen every episode that ever aired in America, and almost every one I could find online. Worth it!

[@jondbm]

You should definitely watch Survival, the final story of the classic show and now feels like a prequel to Rose almost. So much of the show we know comes from that. And while you’re on season 26, Ghost Light is an absolute classic (and a quick watch).

[@dst9997]

I second this! As the years have gone by I think Season 26, and to some degree 25, feel as similar to Series 1 as Series 11 does.

[@kiragoe]

Am I the only one who thought that episode weren't that great. It literally looked as though they absolutely ran out of budget. I recommened the Curse of Fenric for Sylvesters era, much better.

[@lucasoheyze4597]

Battlefield is my favourite of that season, so much going on in it.

[@DarthUmbris626]

​@@kiragoeIt's not just you. I've always felt Survival was a letdown overall. The Curse of Fenric was magnitudes better, and for Survival to come directly after is anticlimactic as hell. I do like the Master's appearance in it, but it also feels like he was shoehorned into it, which is a problem I've had with 80s Who doing that with him. Several stories have the Master in them where he doesn't belong.

[@DarthUmbris626]

​@@kiragoeIt's not just you. I've always felt Survival was a letdown overall. The Curse of Fenric was magnitudes better, and for Survival to come directly after is anticlimactic as hell. I do like the Master's appearance in it, but it also feels like he was shoehorned into it, which is a problem I've had with 80s Who doing that with him. Several stories have the Master in them where he doesn't belong.

[@linkjourney422]

Having Caves of Androzani not be the recommended story for the 5th doctor story is just sad. By far and away the best story from the 5th Doctor era.

[@TempoKong]

Not as sad as recommending Attack of the Cybermen over Vengeance on Varos ngl

[@caracal429]

Eh, Caves of Androzani is definitely a better episode, but Earthshock is probably one of the top 10 most iconic episodes of Doctor Who, so it makes sense to me. Also, seems that the recommendations were avoiding regeneration episodes.

[@caracal429]

Ok yeah, that was just sad. I’ll take Revelation of the Dalek over Attack of the Cybermen any day. What a sad misrepresentation of Colin Baker’s era.

[@TempoKong]

@@caracal429 Androzani is arguably more iconic than Earthshock

[@caracal429]

@@TempoKong To anyone well versed in the lore of Doctor Who? Yeah, I can see that. But not to somebody just starting a run of the classics. Earthshock is definitely a more basic episode by those standards, but what it did shattered the fanbase even back then. The idea that not only could you lose a companion, but in the absolute worst of ways is on the table set the stakes higher than ever in Doctor Who. Beyond just that, the Cybermen are just too iconic. Nobody remembers the majority of DW villains, much less of the classic era. You really have to do something crazy to stand out against the ones everybody knows, like the Daleks and Cybermen. The Weeping Angels are a good example of original villains growing to that iconic level. Finally, you and I agreeing on why the heck would a person recommend Attack of the Cybermen shows the #1 problem with the presented list. It all consists only of the villains everybody knows. Where's the Mind Robber? Where's the Curse of Peladon? Heck, the person was so picky they didn't even include an episode with The Master in it.

[@JackShipley74]

I'm 49 and have been watching Doctor Who since 1980, when I first discovered it on PBS (which is the Public Broadcasting System here in the US... it was the only way to watch Doctor Who when I was a kid). I started watching in the Tom Baker era, and one of the things PBS would do between the releases of new series of Baker's Doctor was go back and start with Unearthly Child, the very first episode, and then play every show they had each week (full 2 hour+ serials, instead of the episodes) until they caught up. This is how I got to basically got to see everything I missed before I discovered the show. It was pretty awesome. So I saw Jon Pertwee as a kid and my absolute favorite Pertwee episode was The Three Doctors. They brought back Hartnell and Troutman to reprise their roles (though Hartnell was becoming ill at his advanced age and thus his scenes were filmed separately). I believe this was the very first team up between past Doctors. It also features companion Jo Grant. Since you didn't love the Pertwee episode you saw, perhaps check this one out instead. It's so much fun, and endures as one of my favorite episodes in all of Doctor Who to this day. Now I'm going to go back to your video... I may have more to say :)

[@TimLeeSongs]

Great video, thank you. Glad you went in with an open mind, so used to hearing people dump on classic who and it’s such great comfort tv with so many inventive ideas.

[@gedbyrne8482]

4:00 it felt so weird when this didn’t go into a VPN ad.

[@jnielson1121]

You are 100% tight that Patrick Troughton is a legend and Ace & 7 are one of the best pairings EVER! Remembrance of the Daleks was the first DW story I saw broadcast live back in 1988. Instantly hooked :D Humble round 2 suggestions:... 1st: The Time Meddler 2nd: The Web of Fear 3rd: The Daemons 4th: Pyramids of Mars 5th: The Caves of Androzani 6th: The Two Doctors 7th: The Curse of Fenric

[@tmartin6300]

I am glad that after all these years, you finally got around to watching more Classic Who. I have been watching the show since I was a toddler, so I don’t remember what the first episode I ever saw was, but I am from the US, and I was born in 2006, and until I think 2016 or 2017, I was watching both Classic and Modern Who on Netflix until they removed it. My personal favorite Doctor is the Third Doctor, and my personal favorite classic story is “Inferno,” which was one of his stories.

[@thecrye6798]

While I agree that the pacing of classic who can feel slow at times, I love the stories regularly being serialized into multiple episodes. It allows for more cliffhangers and the stories are allowed to develop more and even throw in fun misdirections. My one complaint about New Who is that it sometimes feels that the mysteries are unraveled and monsters defeated TOO quickly.

[@Sci-Fi9131]

I love how today, they added it to BBC iPlayer.

[@bojkowski]

Have been binging Classic Who Season 15 (Leela’s last season) and really enjoying it. The Sun Makers was surprisingly entertaining!

[@VJacquette]

Several of the things you noticed weren't first times or one-offs, so you should definitely go back and watch all of them! For instance, breaking the fourth wall started with #1 and there are other instances of it along the way. And that's just one example. More importantly, of course, a LOT of the new shows draw on elements from the older ones, so you'll just "catch" a lot more if you have that foundation.

[@RavenThom]

absolutely agree, the nuances between ea Doctor and ea. companion also is just great to watch

[@GothAtheist]

Oh bro, fr? I can't believe I watched all of Classic Who, like 10x over, before Crispy ever did. Wow. You'll prolly love the Pertwee era

[@RKStrikerJK5]

7:30 Sarah Jane Smith IMHO is the best introduction of a companion and Sarah Jane Smith is my all-time favorite companion.

[@glenmartin7978]

Paul McGgann was the Movie

[@georgeowain]

Another seven episodes I'd recommend. 1st Dr - The Daleks 2nd Dr - The Mind Robber (FYI, many of Patrick Troughton's stories are either incomplete or completely lost) 3rd Dr - I cant decide but either The Daemons or The Sea Devils. Should also mention that in Jon Pertwee's first few seasons. The Doctor was exiled to Earth by the Time Lords. 4th Dr - Pyramids of Mars 5th Dr - The Caves of Androzani 6th Dr- Revelation of the Daleks 7th Dr - Silver Nemesis

[@johnp8131]

Pretty good choices, most would currently be in my top three choices for each Doctor. Although that could change as new animated versions are released for the first two Doctors?

[@RopeDrink]

I would avoid Silver Nemesis in this context because it's basically a scatty, jumbled, incoherent retelling of Rememberance, which the OP has already watched. Instead, I would recommend The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, which is wildly different - or Curse of Fenric, if they felt like watching a horror-movie version of Doctor Who. However, Curse of Fenric is best when you've followed Ace's ark, whereas Greatest Show and Remembrance require no pre-watching.

[@markpostgate2551]

I would avoid Silver Nemesis in any context!

[@tommarsdon5644]

One episode which I highly recommend is the deadly assassin. I don't necessarily think it's one of the absolute best (although it's still great), but it is perhaps the single most influential episode of the entire show, making it an amazing choice for somebody that already loves doctor who.

[@Kregnic]

1-the tenth planet 2-the mind robbers 3-spearhead from space 4-pyramids of mars 5-ressurection of the daleks 6-revalation of the the daleks 7-curse of fenrick Bonus 8 audio story you should try-chimes of midnight (Please do a follow up video, this was great)

[@colinfarren8326]

What everyone appears to not comment on is Louise Jamieson's performance as Liella (the hunter). She was outstanding as a huntress who became the Doctor's pupil. Not least in The Talons of Weng Chiang. Doctor Who has such a great set of supporting actors and actresses through it's near 70 year history.

[@justine_holloway]

Leela, not Liella but you're right, she was definitely one of the best companions. My fave in fact. So badass!

[@markstarkey5940]

Brilliant

[@codibooker5091]

Would defo love to see Crispy watch more classic who

[@overtheoverseer]

Great video Crispy. I can't believe you'd never watched classic Who before! I completely understand your disappointment with 'The Time Warrior' and 'Attack of the Cybermen.' I actually think they were odd recommendations for a new viewer! May I humbly suggest you check out the following; 1st Doctor - The Aztecs 2nd Doctor - The Krotons 3rd Doctor - Carnival of Monsters 4th Doctor - Pyramids of Mars 5th Doctor - The Five Doctors 6th Doctor - Revelation of the Daleks 7th Doctor - The Happiness Patrol

[@Nostalgic80s-nd3qb]

@overtheoverseer I completely agree with your picks, but THE KROTONS out of all the Troughton stories? If you like it, then good for you, I ain’t complaining.

[@overtheoverseer]

@@Nostalgic80s-nd3qb It's a highly unappreciated serial for me. If you can look past the crappy brummy Krotons themselves, I think it stands up really well.

[@adnkfnwjnjo1io2nieojuwfx14r]

I just realised how strange it must look if you've never seen doctor who, seeing all the different actors that are all referred to as "the doctor" lmao

[@mrmister3782]

Season 7 is probably the best season of classic who. Unfortunatly, most of these episode have lost their original colour masters and the episodes look like their from a VHS tape (The restoration team managed to bring back the colour, but it still looks like your watching a vhs tape)

[@DeepThought42]

I find that interesting as the first two serials of season 7 were available to the ABC in Australia to constantly repeat right up to the mid 1980s, so surely by the 80s there would have been decent colour copies available? The ABC broadcast DW (either new eps or repeat) at 630pm, often preceded by a repeat from another serial at 6pm weekdays for a large proportion of the year, year after year so Australians got to see all the serials over and over and over, but colour DW only. Ambassodors and Inferno weren't ones that got repeated - either at all or so rarely I don't remember. Nor, of course, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, but everthing else from No. 3, 4, 5 and 6. (No. 7 got relegated to a mid-afternoon weekday kids only timeslot as it wasn't deemed good enough for prime time and older audiences anymore.) And I can't agree with you that Season 7 is the best of Classic, guessing you're a Pertwee fan and like earth based stories in particular, whereas I get a bit bored with them after a while when they're constant. Hard to say which I think is the best but Season 12 (once you ge past Robot, although Tom's introduction bits are fun) is one of my favourites.

[@mrmister3782]

@@DeepThought42 Not only I like Season 7 because it's all the time on earth. It feels more adult compare to the rest of all the seasons and the strange alien planet sets are not present (except for maybe this one part in ambassadors). And I think this season doesn't have any bad episodes at all. Only bad thing that comes to my mind is probably how quickly the ending of Ambassadors was. It also had this... I don't know how to call it... "atmosphere"? which was only in this season. Season 7 was quite different to all the other seasons of Doctor Who. The next season began to be back to it's original form and made the new companion more stupid (replacing the scientist with the tea lady) which bothered me at first but than but I've gotten used to it.

[@METALFREAK03]

Whats wrong with VHS tapes? They were brilliant. Better than today. Pause and it pauses the motion. It's not the same ! Plus you could record asnything nowadays you have to pay digitally to get your on demand service which may or may not be there next year. I own the tapes, I can still watch them. No amazon, Beeb or other production/broadcast company can take it away by a flip of a button.

[@conzchannel5087]

I honestly think that Season is just fine. I love Spearhead from space and I like Inferno but I feel like the Silurians and the ambassadors of death drag and are way too long with 7 parts that makes them both almost 3 hours long and a lot of that season hasn’t aged well either and are pretty poor. The cliffhangers were supposed to be dramatic but when I watched them with my dad and then my grandad, they both laughed and so did I, even though I had watched it twice already. We just couldn’t take it seriously as it looked very silly

[@andygozzo72]

@@METALFREAK03 yep, 'physical' media whether tapes or dvds is always best, you cant rely on them always been available on the net for streaming or download....

[@mjanovec]

Each fan of classic Doctor Who has their own ideas of which stories are best. Ultimately the best approach is just to dive in and start watching them, deciding for yourself. You can either start at the beginning to feel the full evolution of the series. Or you can start somewhere in the middle and go from there, with Seasons 7 or 12 being good starting points. Then visit the early seasons once you’re hooked. I think watching one story a week is a good pace to enjoy them, giving you three years to work your way through the classic era. It’s not something to be rushed, but something to be savored.

[@aarononeil9832]

Earthshock was one of the episodes I actually saw in reruns as a kid before new Who started (started during Tom Baker of course), and I dare say it really shook me. From what I understand at the time people really didn't like Adric, but then this episode hit so hard that people were a lot softer to him after the fact. As a kid I didn't have any strong opinions on him, but I'd watched him on the TARDIS for some time by that point, and more than anything the reaction from the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa made it a truly game changing moment for me, almost as much as seeing the 4 to 5 regeneration shortly before that.

[@ChristyAbbey]

I did my complete watch-through of all Doctor Who (including recreations) before I knew anyone hated Adric. I'd purposely done zero research. Rather liked him myself.

[@juliefore]

I grew up on classic Who. I watched Earthshock and had a celebration at the end. I definitely did not like Adric.

[@thedivinepopss6526]

I also just watch old doctor who last April. Bro you are a trooper. I watched every color episode I could find from Tim baker forward. Then I concluded with the movie.

[@oisinjadran]

Michael Kilgarrif played BOTH the Cyber Controller in Tomb of the Cybermen and in Attack of the Cybermen

[@BilalHeuser1]

If I had a friend that never had seen Doctor Who before, I'd have them watch "A Journey Through Space and Time". While not an official Doctor Who adventure, it does help to explain the premise behind it.

[@powbarabajagal2435]

It’s so good, I cry every time. Thank you Mark Gatiss!!!

[@TheImmediatePastPrez]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the classic show! When I first watched it I was really bored by the pacing change but once I ajusted to it and became accustomed to the campiness, I loved it. Troughton's era in particular is my favorite. He's my favorite Doctor, and I highly recommend watching his era (mostly) chronologically because The War Games is really special once you're attached to the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe. But if you're looking for some amazing episodes to watch in any order really, I recommend The Mind Robber, Fury From the Deep, and Enemy of the World.

[@hinduismwithpremananddasbhagat]

When I was young Sylvester WAS the Doctor. The movie hadn't come out yet. He's went very dark (you watched when he had a white jacket, which they changed to brown to make him darker) and there's some great story arcs with Ace's character development.

[@sylkegaming]

If you want to watch more Patrick Troughton, The Faceless Ones is a great animated story. I also really like The Mind Robber and The Invasion is a fantastic story if you don't mind the length of it

[@KathleenHolland-nk8nk]

I agree 👍 Also Fury from the Deep.

[@sylkegaming]

Yeah that's also a great story!@@KathleenHolland-nk8nk

[@juicebirdmedia1406]

Great list! I'm an old school fan and those are all the exact ones I would suggest for each Doctor!

[@Alfieiswar245]

I recommend watching the movie, I watched it yesterday and its an underrated gem! Paul mcgann is such a good doctor

[@machineguncrally7020]

American Master was bloody brilliant, great casting that as well

[@seanryan3020]

Classic DW is available on Tubi now. And the entire show, including audio + stillshot restorations of the lost episodes are available on Dailymotion.

[@CanisTheSeawing]

Thanks! I’ll check it out on tubi. (Although this wasn’t directed at me)

[@DjangoCaron]

Ive been making my way through classic Who and I'm like midway through the fourth doctor. Currently, my favorite story from William Hartnell is "The Romans", Patrick Troughton's would be "The Enemy of the World", Jon Pertwee's would EASILY be "The Claws of Axos", and so far I have a BUNCH of favorites from Tom Baker's, but I would round it down to two, "The Seeds of Doom" and "The Deadly Assassin".

[@TheWilliShow-r4v]

If there are complaints about the length of six-parters, then thank god you haven’t seen the war games

[@TheBirdOfParadox]

I watched a fair bit of Classic Who and I personally think the best way to watch it is just one story at a time. Forget binging it, just watch what sounds fun and gets recommended

[@BrendanJSmith]

Binge the stories, not the seasons.

[@meatrace]

Great! If you want to go deeper, here's what I recommend: 1st Doctor: The Time Meddler 2nd Doctor: The Mind Robber, Invasion and War Games 3rd Doctor: Spearhead from Space, Carnival of Monsters, The Daemons 4th Doctor: The Ark in Space, The Stones of Blood 5th Doctor: The Five Doctors, The Caves of Androzani 6th Doctor: Vengeance on Varos, The Mysterious Planet 7th Doctor: Battlefield, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy and The Curse of Fenric

[@harryboi3000]

The Time Warrior definitely isn't the strongest 3rd Doctor story. Its good, but there's better. Watch an episode with 3 and Jo, they have a great Doctor/Companion dynamic.

[@djashley2002]

Yeah, The Time Warrior is a load of Rubeish!😉

[@DjangoCaron]

Totally disagree. One of the fastest four-part serials with a fucking ingenius villain, best the Sontarans ever were

[@BulbasaurRepresent]

It's my favourite personally!

[@dst9997]

@@DjangoCaronyeah it’s definitely one of the best paced stories

[@jam-the-hologram]

Definitely agreed, The Daemons or even The Three Doctors is far better

[@Someoneinthecomments-to8tm]

Great video, it's fantastic that classic who is getting more attention! For some further suggestions, my favorites are: The Aztecs, The Power of the Daleks, The Enemy of the World, The Invasion, Spearhead from Space, Inferno, The Ark in Space, City of Death, The Caves of Androzani & The Curse of Fenric.

[@HuigbertsGamed]

Pretty good choices, although I feel the Third Doctor didn't get represented too well. They probably picked this for Sarah Jane, in which case great episode. But if you really want some representation of the third doctor era I recommend most episodes with Joe and the Master. Some more recommendations, if you want a great historic episode, the first Doctor story "The Romans" is great, it really shows the First Doctor's character well. For the second doctor, enemy of the world is a really unique one in which Patrick Troughton gets to show a very different side of his range as an actor. For Tom Baker, "The Deadly Assassin" is an odd one out, as it's not really representative for his run (the only time there are no companions) but probably one of his best performances as it really focuses on him. And it's perhaps a bit of a cliché, but Shada is also one of the best 4th Doctor stories, plus it got Romana 2. I also recommend the Three Doctors and The Five Doctors, aka the anniversary episodes. All the different Doctors interacting with eachother is very fun, and a very different take on the concept than what the new show does.

[@danhollifield]

No lie detected... "Tomb Of The Cybermen" is one of the best episodes of Classic and New Who combined. I discovered the Doctor through novelizations of Classic episodes in the US back in the early 1970s, then was introduced to the videos in the mid-'70s when I was in college. I'll be 66 years old tomorrow. To new viewers of classic Doctor Who, I've always described the show as "Masterpiece Theater scripts/acting with a Dark Shadows budget." Nowadays, the acting is still world-class with New Who, but it's more of a major motion picture budget per episode. Last weekend at a small convention I was asked to gift someone with every surviving Classic ep from Hartnell and Troughton, as well as everything else their 256 Gb thumb drive could hold, so I gave them every multi-Doctor story, then whatever special/outstanding episodes I could fit on their thumb drive. I have over 3 Tbs of episodes, spinoffs, animations, telesnap reconstructions, parodies, making-of, and whatnot on my computer, thanks to friends in England who e-mailed me New Who episodes & making-of minisodes they recorded live, and several friends in the US who have amazing google-fu. My British wife understands that Doctor Who is my soap opera--just as Coronation Street & Emmerdale are her's.

[@BugCatcherSimp]

I think classic doctor who episodes need to be watched with a large amount of patience. They’re great, if you can stand the filler episodes or the occasional cheap dialogue. I highly recommend Tom Baker’s doctor to everyone, he’s just a load of fun!

[@Dredd2042]

I watched every classic doctor who episode when it was on PBS here in the States. This was around the 90s. That's why I am a who fan to this day.

[@powbarabajagal2435]

Another thing…it’s not a bad idea to collect all the DVDs! The extra content/documentaries on each story is often as good as the episodes, and some are actually quite funny or great historical context. And a lot of NuWho people are involved in the docs, as well as any surviving cast members.

[@julieeverett7442]

all 158 of them? That could get a little expensive!!

[@powbarabajagal2435]

@@julieeverett7442 just start with a couple, you'll get hooked! I watched the making of The Green Death one the other day, the segueways with the maggots crack me up. The Invasion has a sweet doc about 'the kids who recorded Doctor Who in the 60's' called Love On Air...it's short but really great. The Return of The Cybermen has an awesome doc about fans who traded video tapes. There are so many great documentaries they made. Tony Hadoke doing comedy with a 'home robot' on the Robots of Death is funny. Or then there are things like all about plastics on Terror of the Autons. And Terrance Dicks and Barry Letts getting interviewed for all their Pertwee stories. Really, worth collecting even a few of them for the extras.

[@Fitzroyfallz]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching these episodes vicariously with you in this video. Here’s my recommendations! 1. The Aztecs 2. The Enemy of the World 3. Spearhead From Space 4. Horror of Fang Rock 5. Caves of Androzani 6. The Mysterious Planet 7. Survival

[@jvblhc]

I liked all these stories, some more than other. But all are fun. The 7th Doctor and Ace story is my favorite of ALL Classic Doctor Who. Hope you had fun watching!

[@TheBrotherGrim]

Same 7 and Ace were just so so good. He's easily my favorite Doctor

[@paulharker7184]

Absolute all time classic Doctor Who stories, in no particular order: City of Death (Tom Baker and Romana), written by Douglas Adams Resurrection of the Daleks (Davison et al) Revelation of the Daleks (Colin Baker / Peri) Death to the Daleks (Pertwee / Sarah Jane) Inferno (Pertwee) The Talons of Weng-Chiang (Tom Baker / Leela) The Five Doctors (all of them) Ghost Light (McCoy / Ace) The Curse of Fenric (McCoy / Ace) Survival (McCoy / Ace) The Caves of Androzani (Davison / Peri) In all honesty, almost all of classic Who is a joy. It's from a time when drama wasn't all about dramatic soap opera music, loud bangs, snappy sitcom dialogue and quick cuts. For all that it might lack in visual polish, it makes up for in sheer inventiveness, excellent performances and some truly amazing writing.

[@speakgeekstudio1867]

“Earthshock” is not the 5th Doctor story to watch. It is absolutely “Caves of Androzani”. That is one of the best classic Who stories ever.

[@julieeverett7442]

Some put it on a tie with Genesis as the best Dr Who story ever (classic, maybe)

[@wyrdwik4610]

Enjoyed the video! As more of a classic DW fan id suggest a few others, none featuring the big villains 1. Caves of androzani 2. Vengenace on varos 3. City of death 4. Inferno 5. Web of fear 6. The rescue 7. Ghostlight

[@CrispyPro]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@billthomas2652]

Very nice. Congrats. And as for the pacing, you nailed it. Watching a Jon Pertwee 10 parter in a sitting is DEADLY. But watching 30 minutes in an afternoon for a week and a half is lovely.

[@julieeverett7442]

Jon Pertwee never had a 10 parter, he had 7's particularly Inferno, 6's quite a few, but not 10. Patrick Troughton had 10, War Games, and a couple of 8's, please get your facts straight!!

[@angelasaunders3558]

Glad you got a look at Classic Dr.Who 😊. Since I grew up during that era ( though, being in the US, I hadn’t seen the show until the 70s when my local PBS station began broadcasting them), I pretty much understood the pacing of the episodes.

[@TheEldritchGoth]

I'm glad that more people are finally watching (what I perceive to be) the vastly superior half of this franchise. I wish streaming it was easier here in the States, but it fills my heart that others can experience this uniformity regardless

[@tomw4014]

Back in year 10 (2009) I started my journey into Classic Who, I decided to watch in order though through renting the DVDs at the library, or buying them myself if I couldn’t find a copy. With time and effort varying so much over the years I’m really only up to ‘City of Death’ of 4th Doctor, I’ve seen some serials here and there of the other incarnations, but I think 2nd Doctor is such a fantastic era (he’s one of my fave incarnations, with Jamie and Zoe being some fave companions too), Anyway, overall, I think because those first few years really focused on the writing (generally) with a shoestring budget, plenty of the early serials can be good easy viewing that gives good emotional responses :)

[@isack_hs]

the Doctor Who fandom can be so oversaturated with gatekeeping and HOW COULD YOU GET THIS TINY DETAIL WRONG type vibes, so i really loved this. Loved your work since you interviewed me at the 2014 world tour! 😂

[@CrispyPro]

I interviewed you at the WORLD TOUR? Wow what a throwback!!

[@marymungleandmidge4080]

It’s the other way round for me, I grew up watching Doctor Who in the 70’s and 80’s and much prefer the pace of classic Who compared to the fast pace of New Who. I like both, but for me the original series has so many great stories and characters.

[@bryanpypops8073]

I always say that every fan should (at some point) watch the first and final story of every Classic Who Doctor.

[@julieeverett7442]

And except for Power of the Daleks (2nd) they are all available, and there is the animated version now

[@markpostgate2551]

Some Doctors do not get great first stories though. Poor Colin, but poor Sylvester!

[@thomasdevine867]

The Colin Baker episode to watch is REVELATION OF THE DALEKS. For Sylvester McCoy you want GHOSTLIGHT or HAPPINESS PATROL.

[@FloorDoughnut]

attack of the cybermen was a,, uh,, interesting choice for colin baker, personally i'd've reccommended revelation of the daleks or vengence on varos. anyway banger vid

[@markcuthbert5881]

Harry is an alternative list for you that doesn't have dalek or Cybermen stories Dr 1 the Aztecs Dr 2 the enemy of the world Dr 3 terror of the autons Dr 4 the pyramids of Mars Dr 5 the caves of Andorzani Dr 6 vengeance on varos Dr 7 battlefield

[@cinemagoose]

As an American Teenage Doctor Who fan who has seen Classic Who (or at least is currently making my way through it) It's certainly refreshing to know that there are some other Doctor Who KZbinrs who haven't made it as far as I have. As for the problem of attention spans and such, there have been points when I have gotten bored of the show and stopped watching for weeks or even months at a time. I've only gotten through less than 3 doctors in over two years. But I have a lot more focus than many other people my age, and I very much enjoy classic who. There's no reason not to get into it.

[@ForTheLoveOfWho]

I'm glad that you are enjoying the older stories. I began watching the show when it returned in 2005 and started collecting classic DVDs with “Earthshock”, sometime during the Tennant years. I just had to watch Doctor Who, all of it. I will say, though, that I prefer watching one or two classic episodes at a time, especially with the longer serials. As for “Attack of the Cybermen”, the Doctor's attitude towards guns and fighting in general was different before David Tennant's Doctor.

[@KathleenHolland-nk8nk]

My favorite from Jon Pertwee's 3rd Doctor is Terror of the Autons. Good story IMO 👏 😊👍

[@squishmallowfan025]

This was one of those where I was too young to have seen the original broadcast (at one year old) but growing up was VERY familiar with it through the brilliant Target novelization and some knowledge of it's controversy....it's basically a grown-up satire that probably flew over the heads of young kids and completely unique. It's just terrific.

[@allan-shephard]

Glad I stumbled across your video. Great work. I grew up watching John Pertwee then Tom Baker. For the Tom Baker era, "Revenge of the Cybermen" seemed so scary as a little kid. Who would have thought a shampoo bottle, painted silver, dangling on a string, crafted to look like a spaceship turning slowly in space could seem so ominous. "Robot" is also a great Tom Baker episode (his first) featuring Sarah Jane. The way she shows empathy for the titular mining robot has always stayed with me.