SEASON 24
“Red Kangs are Best!” After turbulence from the BBC, the show suddenly has a new Doctor, played by Sylvester McCoy. A bit less erratic than his predecessor, the show heads in a new direction, with stories that take place in a Brazil-inspired Council Estate (predating Rose and Jackie’s Powell Estate by nearly twenty years), a camp in the 1950’s, and an ice planet in the exciting twenty fourth season of DOCTOR WHO!
Time and the Rani (Story 148) – Caught in a storm, a weakened Doctor falls, is killed and regenerates. The storm is part of a plan by the Rani, who has joined with the Master and kidnapped geniuses from throughout time to power an engine to control time throughout the Universe. Will the Doctor come to his senses in time to stop her?
Paradise Towers (Story 149) – Hoping to go for a swim, the Doctor and Mel go to the Paradise Towers, where they expect to find luxury accommodations. Instead, they land in a run-down slum filled with Kangs, Caretakers, Cannibals, Cleaners, and Wall Scrawl. Something in the basement is very old, very cross, and very, very hungry…
Delta and the Bannermen (Story 150) – After winning a contest, Mel and the Doctor are on their way to Disneyland in 1959. Of course, the bus gets its directions wrong, and they end up at Camp Shangri-La in South Wales instead. Evading her mercenary pursuers, the Bannermen, an alien queen has fled to Earth. When their paths cross, can the Doctor help save the future of the Chimeron people?
Dragonfire (Story 151) – On the planet Svartos, the Doctor and Mel help Sabalom Glitz (from Trial of a Timelord) in a new scheme. Beneath the shops and cafes of Iceworld lives Kane, seeking the secret of the dragonfire, and Sabalom has promised to help. Mel decides to move on with Savalom, and suggests new companion Mel (Sophie Aldred) travel with the Doctor, who promises to take her home via the scenic route.
SEASON 25
“We did good, didn’t we?” “Perhaps. Time will tell. It always does.” In Andrew Cartmel’s first full season as story editor, the series begins to shift back to the more serious tone of the Hinchcliffe era. Though let down in spots by the cuts in the series’ budget, the Doctor faced Daleks, Cybermen, and the gods of Ragnarok. Relive these adventures in the Silver Anniversary season of DOCTOR WHO!
Remembrance of the Daleks (Story 152) – December, 1963: The TARDIS lands once more in Trotter’s Lane, so the Doctor can recover the Hand of Omega. The Doctor and Ace are caught up in a battle between two factions of Daleks over racial purity, and the fight takes place in Coal Hill School, the school where Susan, Ian and Barbara first met.
The Happiness Patrol (Story 153) – Featuring a strong contender for the worst monster costume ever designed for the show, the story is a political attack on then current Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. On Terra Alpha, everyone must be happy at all times or face the legendary Kandyman. Can the Doctor stop him?
Silver Nemesis (Story 154) – Broadcast on the show’s 25 Anniversary, the Doctor sets a trap for his old foes, the Cybermen. The metal villains, Nazis wanting to set up the Fourth Reich and time travelers all want to control the Nemesis Statue.
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Story 155) – The Doctor takes Ace to visit the Psychic Circus on Segonax, despite her hatred of clowns. There they face killer robots and even the gods in the Dark Circus of Ragnarok.
SEASON 26
“There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea’s asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke, and cities made of song. Somewhere there’s danger, somewhere there’s injustice, and somewhere else the tea’s getting cold. Come on, Ace – we’ve got work to do!” – The Doctor
And so the long travels of the Doctor came to an end on the 6th of December, 1989. In this, the final season, seeds for later versions of the show would be sown. Things happen in the wrong order, the story of the companion was pulled into clear focus, and the stakes became personal in the last season of the Classic DOCTOR WHO!
Battlefield (Story 156) – A few years into the future, UNIT (now under Brigadier Winifred Bambera), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (retired) and Merlin (aka the Doctor) come together and fight the Lady in the Lake, trapped in her underwater spaceship. In his finest hour, this was the last appearance of the Brig in the series.
Ghost Light (Story 157) – The beginning of the “Ace Trilogy,” Ace comes face-to-face with her fear of an old house near where she grew up. Inside, they find details of an old story: Millennia ago, a being known as Light came to catalog all life in the galaxy. But while he slept, Earth evolved, and now the time has come to move on.
The Curse of Fenric (Story 158) – Ace faces her fear of water, her feelings about her mother, and begins to discover that she is growing up in this story set on the Northumbrian coast during World War II. The Doctor squares off against an old enemy, Fenric, who is seeking revenge for a chess match lost long ago.
Survival (Story 159) – In the final story, the Ace wonders what happened to her friends in Perivale. Facing her more recent past, Ace and the Doctor stumble into a mystery about feral felines and missing friends. Soon they are on a distant planet facing cat people and locked into a final chilling showdown against the Master!
