Season Two: Overview

The Second Season – Overall

Well , that was different, wasn’t it? Repeat after me – yes it was. The emphasis in the first season, for me, always came back to the crew, and the relationship between all of them. By the time of Planet of Giants they were working together as never before, and had become a really tight little unit. Then the Doctor locked Susan out at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and it was never going to be the same again. It’s been a season of flux. Vicki was actually a good addition to the crew, and allowed , at least in her first couple of stories, to do quite a bit more than Susan ever was. But then seeing off Ian and Barbara at the end of the Chase. That for me symbolized that the Doctor is now undoubtedly the hero of his own show. Yes, Steven will undoubtedly do some of the physical stuff that Ian did, but I can’t see that any companion will ever be the focus of identification for the viewers in the way that the two teachers were for the first season.

I think that there’s been another change as well. In the first season, I think you can argue that the Travellers only really make any difference to the places and people they encounter in The Daleks – The Keys of Marinus and The Sensorites. In fact, the most notably sci fi of the stories. That’s only 3 out of 8 stories. There are 9 stories in the second season, and of these you can argue that they have an effect in “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” - “The Romans” – giving Nero the idea of burning Rome -  The Web Planet – The Space Museum – The Chase and The Time Meddler. Now ok – in the Time Meddler the Doctor is only acting to preserve the status quo. But there’s another interesting thing – the Time Meddler seems to provide some proof that you actually can change time. That’s a big change too.

But it was a lot of fun wasn’t it? Accuse me of watching through rose tinted spectacles if you like, but there was something to enjoy about each of the 9 stories this season delivered- even if there wasn’t that much you could say that of in The Web Planet. It was a season where the production team(s) continued to experiment – most noticeable for my money in Planet of Giants and The Web Planet.

  

Mighty 200 Ratings

The Dalek Invasion of Earth – 44

The Time Meddler – 75

The Romans – 97

The Crusade - 100

The Rescue – 127

The Chase – 157

Planet of Giants – 163

The Web Planet – 178

The Space Museum – 190

Now my rating

The Dalek Invasion of Earth

Planet of Giants

The Time Meddler

The Crusade

The Romans

The Space Museum

The Chase

The Web Planet

The Rescue

The most obvious differences between my list and the mighty 200 rating is that I put Planet of Giants so high. But I honestly thought it was very good indeed – miles better than what I’d heard said, and what I’d read about it in the past. The Rescue, on the other hand, is the bottom of my list, because, well, I’m sorry, but it’s just so bland. The only thing that really saves it at all is Maureen O’Brien’s performance as Vicky – she’s foregrounded n this story and she makes the most of it. As regards The Web Planet – well, I have such mixed feelings about it that if I did the list again tomorrow, I might put it quite a bit higher. Nah, scratch that. I wouldn’t.