Tuesday, March 03, 2015

ROUND 2: CLASSIC DR. WHO FIELD OF 64

NOW ON TO DIVISION 2 - THE FIRST ROUND (DIVISION 1) CAN BE SEEN BELOW ON THE MARCH 1 POST . . . AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE BRACKET THINGY.  To give you a better look at things, I'm just going to blow up the second division section of the bracket for a looky loo.

#1 seed)  PYRAMIDS OF MARS   Vs.    #16 seed)  THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT

#1)  PYRAMIDS OF MARS - "Your evil is my good.  I am Sutekh the Destroyer.  Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness.  I find that good!"  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  The first ever DOCTOR WHO episode I watched when I was a kid was episode 2 or 3 of PYRAMIDS OF MARS.  It's got mummies (albeit mechanical ones)!  And it's got Sutekh the Destroyer and his fabulous helm, it's got mummies, it's got a walking corpse barking orders, it's got mummies, it's got the beautiful Priory set which will one day become the site of UNIT HQ, it's got mummies, it's got outdoor locations on Mick Jagger's estate and it's got mummies!

VS.

#16)  THE SONTARAN EXPERIMENT  -  "It's absolutely typical of Harry . . . how anyone in his right mind can fall down a whacking great subsidence like that..."  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's got Field Major Styre of the G3 Military Assessment Survey and his fab sphereoid conveyance, Sarah's yellow mac and wooly hat, a great deal of outdoor action and quarry utilization and the brevity of an economical two episodes.   

  THE WINNER:  PYRAMIDS OF MARS

#2 seed)  GENESIS OF THE DALEKS   Vs.   #15 seed)  BATTLEFIELD

#2)  GENESIS OF THE DALEKS  -  "We are entombed, but we live on.  This is only the beginning.  When the time is right we will emerge and take our rightful place as the supreme power of the universe!"  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's got the new revisionist origin of the Daleks, the debut of one of the greatest villains in Davros, and the Doctor's classic "do I have the right" speech with the two wires.

VS.

#15)  BATTLEFIELD  -  "Exotic alien sword are easy to come by . . . Aces are rare!"  The Doctor:  Sylvester McCoy.  It's got tons of Arthurian stuff and the return of Jean Marsh but this time as Morgaine.

THE WINNER:  GENESIS OF THE DALEKS

#3 seed)  THE ARK IN SPACE    Vs.    #14 seed)  THE AWAKENING

#3)  THE ARK IN SPACE  -  "There will be a two-minute interregnum preceding the commencement of irradiation."  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's good too many great things to mention:  Space Station Nerva and the beginning of a semi-story arc which takes up much of Tom Baker's first series, the wonderful Wirrn, the Doctor's classic "homo sapiens" speech, the Doctor's goading of Sarah Jane when she becomes stuck in the air duct, the quick glimpse of Sarah's knickers in episode one, the transmat pads, the superb Wendy Williams as Vira, the hilarious comedy duo of Tom Baker & Ian Marter and the probable strong influence on the future film ALIEN.

VS.

#14)  THE AWAKENING  -  "The toast of Little Hodcombe."  The Doctor:  Peter Davison.  It's got that huge-faced Malus, the marvelous Will Chandler and the diabolist-haunted English Village atmosphere last seen in THE DAEMONS.

THE WINNER:  THE ARK IN SPACE

#4 seed)  REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS   Vs.  #13 seed)  THE SILURIANS

#4)  REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS - "Only a fool argues with his Doctor."  The Doctor:  Sylvester McCoy.  Ace beats up a Dalek with a baseball bat.  Nuff said!

VS.

#13)  THE SILURIANS - "The Brigadier won't listen to reason.  Perhaps the Silurians will."  The Doctor:  Jon Pertwee.  It's got the title "DOCTOR WHO AND THE SILURIANS"and   it's got the introduction of the "other" native inhabitants of Earth:  the reptilian Silurians who would appear multiple times throughout the series as well as in the current "reboot".

THE WINNER:  REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS

#5 seed)  THE CURSE OF PELADON    Vs.   #12 seed)   THE INVASION

#5)  THE CURSE OF PELADON  -  "One minute you're condemning the Doctor to death and the next minute you're proposing to me!"  The Doctor:  Jon Pertwee.  It's got the wackiest cast of characters in probably any DOCTOR WHO story including the incredibly silly yet lovable Alpha Centauri, it's got the return of the Ice Warriors, it's got Aggedor, it's got Jo apparently telling the beast to **blank** off!" and it's got Doctor Who Junior (Patrick Troughton's son as King Peladon).

VS.

#12)  THE INVASION  -  "I think those crazy kids have gone off to the sewers to get photographs of the Cybermen."  The Doctor:  Patrick Troughton.  It's got the Cybermen (natch) stomping menacingly around London landmarks (after they saw the Daleks do it), it's got Zoe's feather boa, it's got Lethbridge-Stewart promoted to Brigadier, the first appearance of Corporal (later Sgt.) Benton and a larger budget providing more action scenes.

THE WINNER:   THE INVASION

#6 seed)   THE GUNFIGHTERS    Vs.     #11 seed)   THE PIRATE PLANET

#6)  THE GUNFIGHTERS  -  "He gave me a gun, he extracted my tooth . . . what more do you want!"  The Doctor:  William Hartnell.  It's got the Doctor and companions in the Wild West, the musical "ballad" narration and more comedy and charm than you can shake a Dalek at.  For decades, this was universally called "the worst DOCTOR WHO story ever" by fans who a) took themselves and the show much too seriously and b) had never had the opportunity to actual watch it in all it's charming glory.

VS.

#11)  THE PIRATE PLANET  -  "You don't want to take over the universe, do you?  You wouldn't know what to do with it.  Except shout at it!"  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's got a wacky Douglas Adams script, an over-the-top villain and a cast that knows just how to play the comedy against the drama.  Odd that too such comedy-heavy stories should go head-to-head.

THE WINNER:  THE GUNFIGHTERS.

#7)   THE AZTECS      Vs.        #10)   THE WEB OF FEAR

#7)  THE AZTECS  -  "You can't rewrite history!  Not one line!"  The Doctor:  William Hartnell.  It's got one of the greatest "straight historical" DOCTOR WHO adventures ever, the wonderfully over-the-top "Richard III" performance of John Ringham, that classic "not one line" speech by Hartnell, the central significance of Barbara to the plot and a gem of a Shakespearean tragedy.

VS.

#10)  THE WEB OF FEAR  -  "Shall we go out and have a look?"  "Now, is it safe?"  "Oh, I shouldn't think so for a moment."  The Doctor:  Patrick Troughton.  It's got the cuddly Yeti, beautiful low-key lighting for that Hammer Horror look, tons of subterranean subway tunnels and lots of great creeps galore!  Also, it was lost except for episode one until it's rediscovery (sans an episode) last year!

THE WINNER:  THE WEB OF FEAR

#8 seed)  THE MASSACRE      Vs.     #9 seed)   THE DAEMONS

#8)  THE MASSACRE  -  "The city shall weep tears of blood."  The Doctor:  William Hartnell.  It's got a superb acting job by Hartnell (including his stellar "I should go home...but I can't" speech), and indeed a terrific performance by Peter Purves as well.  Called by the authors of "THE DISCONTINUITY GUIDE" as "Not only the best historical, but the best Hartnell and, in its serious handling of dramatic material in a truly dramatic style, arguably the best ever DOCTOR WHO story".  It's an absolute crime that this is the one story here that doesn't exist except in the audio soundtrack!

VS.

#9)  THE DAEMONS  -  "Chap with wings there . . . five rounds rapid."  The Doctor:  Jon Pertwee.  It's got that English Village in the grip of diabolism vibe previously mentioned, that "chap with wings", one of the best Brigadier one-liners ever (that quote up there), the Master in full cult-leader mode and marvelous Miss Hawthorne.

THE WINNER:  THE MASSACRE

So here's where we stand in this division:


THE END

OF DIVISION 2    
 

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