The 'Average' Doctor Who story/Episode
daveyboy7472
Posts: 16,416 Forum Member
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We're always discussing on this forum what's the best or or worst stories of any given Doctor, Companion, Monster etc but what about those poor old stories in between that are not quite good enough to be elevated to 'Classic' Status or or just a bit too good to be classified as an absolute clunker?
Now everybody will have a different opinion on what an average story is. Some think a particular classic is only average at best and some will think a particularly poor story deserves better than it's reputation suggests. That's all been done and discussed in the overrated and underrated threads. Here I just want to celebrate those stories that are really what they are....average!
So which stories do you think deserve the average tag?
Well, from Classic Who, I'm actually going to choose The Claws Of Axos. The reason I chose this story as average is because it's such a middle of the road story. It's one of many stories set on Earth during Pertwee's time, it doesn't stand out that much. There's some rare scenes between The Master and The Brigadier and we get to see inside the Console Room for the first time in ages.
But that's it, I don't regard it as a Classic or a Clunker.
Similarly in the New Series, I think Gridlock for me. It just doesn't ever stand out for me. I think compared to some other episodes of the Series it was average. There's some nice moments with The Doctor and Martha and with The Face Of Boe but that's it. I don't really find it that entertaining an episode but I don't dislike it either.
So that's me done. What about you? You can choose more than one story if you wish and it can be all from either New or Classic Who.
Now everybody will have a different opinion on what an average story is. Some think a particular classic is only average at best and some will think a particularly poor story deserves better than it's reputation suggests. That's all been done and discussed in the overrated and underrated threads. Here I just want to celebrate those stories that are really what they are....average!
So which stories do you think deserve the average tag?
Well, from Classic Who, I'm actually going to choose The Claws Of Axos. The reason I chose this story as average is because it's such a middle of the road story. It's one of many stories set on Earth during Pertwee's time, it doesn't stand out that much. There's some rare scenes between The Master and The Brigadier and we get to see inside the Console Room for the first time in ages.
But that's it, I don't regard it as a Classic or a Clunker.
Similarly in the New Series, I think Gridlock for me. It just doesn't ever stand out for me. I think compared to some other episodes of the Series it was average. There's some nice moments with The Doctor and Martha and with The Face Of Boe but that's it. I don't really find it that entertaining an episode but I don't dislike it either.
So that's me done. What about you? You can choose more than one story if you wish and it can be all from either New or Classic Who.
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Wasn't quite sure how to answer, there are stories I would call above average but not a classic like Claws of Axos and then stories that I would call below average but not a clunker like Death to the Daleks.
Then one occurred to me, The Sun Makers. Surrounded by real clunkers like Invisible Enemy, Underworld and Invasion of Time. Not as good as stories that I would call above average like Horror of Fang Rock or Image of the Fendahl let alone classics like Robots of Death and Talons of Weng Chiang and not a story I would describe as below average.
So my average story is The Sun Makers.
You'll never find the definitive "average story", as that would have to be the one where all other stories are either better than it or worse than it, an impossible task!
I remember a very average story to me was Colony in Space, Ambassadors of Death.....and errrm.... Planet of the Daleks!
Sorry - meant to change to a new Doctor! The Krotons and The Dominators were two average stories for me (as a 7 year old!)
Others: DR 4...possibly The Keeper of Traken....although it did reveal the new Master! Also not so much average - but BORING - that thing on the lighthouse!
DR 5: Very average was The King's Demons along with the thing with Concorde!
DR 6: Absolutely average and cheap was TimeLash!!!
DR 7: No Comment
DR 8: N/A
DR 9: Possibly - errm no average episode! (not that I can think of!)
DR 10: Maybe that thing with a cat and a girl drawing! Not average tho' is it?
DR 11: Nothing average...... it was tooooo out of this world and time!!! TOO NON - AVERAGE!!!
Its funny you mention Gridlock. Its an episode that only grew in my estimation upon rewatching. Something caught my imagination the first time I watched it. Certain scenes and moments that elevate it far beyond just another mid season one off. The scenes with FOB are stunning. The hymns. The effects are not over used but occasionally stunning especially for that era of the show. And then you have that amazing final scene. A defining moment for Tennant. And then with hindsight the entire New Who era up to and including the anniversary special. The more I watched it the more these gained significance and I found more and more to love. The fact it was followed by a hyped up Dalek two parter which promised so much and failed on every level just cements for me how special Gridlock is. Would I call it classic? Not in the broader sense. Its a classic for me. But at the very least a brilliant curio with great ideas, great execution and bigger ideas and implications for the Whoniverse than we could ever imagine at the time.
I agree the low key episodes in their own way are just as good. I have found this with other TV Shows like Buffy where you have episodes that don't feature the big bad, aren't part of the story arc, they are individual episodes in their own right which are hugely entertaining. Along the way you get the opposite and those episodes are utter crap.
Now and again though, you get the average episodes which aren't one thing or the other and in the case of gridlock, I found it just one of those episodes. I agree certain elements of it are good but for me certain elements were bad as well. The Macra were a huge let down for a start and the hymn singing is never my cup of tea. But it was balanced by some nicer moment with The Doctor telling Martha about Gallifrey at the end and all the You are Not Alone stuff and the scenes with the Face Of Boe.
That is why it is for me an average episode. It wasn't good but it wasn't bad either.
1. The Sensorites- some shenanigans on an alien planet.
2. The Seeds of Death- some aliens try to invade Earth
3. Frontier in Space- some vaguely diplomatic shenanigans in space
4. The Face of Evil- A psychopathic computer acts psychopathic
5. The Visitation- Evil aliens want to kill everyone.
6. The Mysterious Planet- Tribal people vs. Robots
7. Silver Nemesis- Some Cybermen want to get a weapon.
8. The Movie- The Master wants to take over the world
9. Boom Town- Alien wants to destroy Earth
10. The Sontaran Stratagem- Aliens want to wipe out humanity.
11. The Bells of Saint John- Evil villain must be stopped.
1: It is aliens invading another planet!
2: The Master taking over the world/universe...everything!
3: The Doctor realises that THIS is the END of the UNIVERSE as we know it!!!!!
4: I HATE THE ABOVE ONE ^^^ !
5: Time Travel solves everything!!!
I Like the Doctor and companions going into adventures solving problems on whatever world they are in! No matter about "Saving the F*****g universe....he's NOT Superman!!
And that comment they make in every other story - "This is the worst thing that the planet can face - THE END OF THE Entire universe!!!!"
OMG - can we take any more?
I prefer the more normal stories to be honest!!:)
What I mean is that I like Dr Who and Companions to have adventures in Time and Space and a jolly good adventure with a nasty monster/alien/whatever! And NOT get involved in stupid 'Timey-Wimey' crap anymore!!!:o
I think examples of these have included...
Boom Town - it was a brilliant episode, and higher end of the 'average' spectrum. But it felt distinctly filler. Had there been a greater focus on the morality of Margaret earlier on in the episode it might have done much better. It's probably one of my favourites amongst all of the episodes I've mentioned here though.
The Idiot's Lantern - a brilliantly cast villain, and Tommy was a nice change of pace for a companion as well. It's the closest I've felt to having a genuine teenager as a companion, and he wasn't annoying either! But the episode didn't have a great deal of depth to it, and it seemed a bit lacking in any particular department you try to put it in - it wasn't overly memorable, it wasn't beaming with character, it wasn't particularly scary, and for long stretches it wasn't notably funny. It was just...there. I enjoyed it, but I can't really say much more than that.
Smith and Jones - this is the one that is the perfect example of average for me. Nothing in it was outright bad, but then it didn't do a single thing to stand out to me either. A shame given that it was Martha's debut, but there we go. The Judoon looked impressive, and Tennant stepped it up a notch from Series 2 (though he'd unfortunately plummet again until Series 4 long before Martha was through with him).
The Shakespeare Code - This is actually a really decent episode, and seemed to have a lot of money thrown at it as well. It was also the source of a number of references in other episodes later down the line so it's not entirely inconsequential either. But it lacks that something special that makes it stand out as anything more than a bit average - then again, as someone whose not a fan of Shakespeare, I may be a little biased with this one.
Planet of the Dead - for the only time ever, I chose not to watch DW when I had the chance to, instead opting to watch Primeval - which happened to clash for the only time ever. It was a decision I didn't regret for whilst the dinosaur show chucked out it's biggest ever plot twist that week, Doctor Who delivered a 'Special' that - outside of the location filming - felt wholly average. It's an example of average to the point it's actually a little tedious to watch it. It didn't do anything particularly badly, but it didn't do anything particularly well either.
A Good Man Goes to War - Matt Smith's tenure was so outrageously mad that it was a long time before an episode came along that I felt was average (as opposed to being astonishingly good, or cringe-worthily bad). The sad thing is that this is one that was actually trying to be something big and special - something few of the other episodes here were actually trying to achieve. It makes the response to it even worse, I feel, but AGMGTW was just so overwhelmingly predictable, and disengaging. I saw a fleet of Cybermen, but I just don't care. We get the claim that the Doctor will rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further, and all I feel is like I'm stuck listening to a broken record because I've heard all of this before and it's become a little tiresome.
Closing Time: I was disappointed in this one, initially because it was a lesser sequel to the brilliant The Lodger, then also because it mistreated the Cybermen at the expense of a potentially brilliant two-part finale to Series 6 that we never got, and then later also because I'd always for some reason imagined a Lodger trilogy (I really don't know why!) and so it was all the worse that this is where we left the Craig character. There's a lot of fun here, the odd brilliant scene, and it so totally isn't Colchester but we'll let that one slide... however it never aspires to be anything particularly great. I'm not saying big, epic, dramatic, all-guns-blazing is what I'm after... but the story here was just soso and so my opinion of it was as well.
Finding it tough to decide but I think The Chase is one for me, it has it's good and bad, the good maybe the whole premise of flying about from one event/place to another, and the bad that some of it was therefore too rushed. But it is middle of the road watchable so if that qualifies it as average then fair enough.
The Ice Warriors and The Seeds of Death both are solid stories, I 'm not sure they are average but in terms of the high quality Second Doctor era they are. Both have solid themes and have interest with again some decent moments but they are outclassed by some of the better stories of the era.
Plenty in the Pertwee era...Ambassadors of Death, Day of the Daleks, The Time Warrior to name but a few really!.
I find a lot of this era in this band, while not actually disliking them just okay and have decent parts.
I'll go for Creature from the Pit, there is a few others to be considered but I just think this is an example of the standard of story typical of it's season, apart from City of Death. It is slightly unusual but not enough to be bad or better than those around it.
Quite a consistent era the Fifth, finding one is hard but The Kings Demons is shouting out as it is just unremarkable without being bad. It has a good feel about the production values, but the plot is well average and forgettable, even the Master's inclusion doesn't save it from being forgettable really.
Timelash, as I think a lot of people think it's a poor story, but I enjoy the Doctor's performance and other things in it. The plot, Borad and Morlox and most of the dialogue are not the greatest at times. So all in all this qualifies as an average story.
Probably, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. Enjoyed it more when I watched it as a kid, it has some creepy scenes with the clown. But no not a memorable one all round after rewatching it.
For the new series I'd go - Boom Town The Lazarus Experiment and Vampires of Venice. All of the same okay type of entertaining but not a classic or very good episode for me.
Haven't seen it for a while, but at the time I thought much the same of Sontaran Stratagem/Poison Sky. Some good bits (obviously; Donna and Wilf are in it!) but it just struck me as, you know, 'okay' .
I can't pick one of the Ninth Doctor two part stories as I enjoy the weakest of the three: Aliens of London/World War Three, is a neatly put together story. Good cliffhanger and helped establish Rose as my favourite companion of the new series.
For the Tenth Doctor era, I could accept Daleks of Manhattan/The Evolution of the Daleks. Shame as Daleks in Manhattan has all the ingredients to be a good episode but is let down by the cringy dialogue, poor plot and resolution of the latter.
Easy for the Smith era, The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood is not very interesting after the first watch. The Silurian angle is quite interesting the first time, but on rewatching it is a bit of a dull story.
So I suppose that must be the ultimate 'average' story.
Can't be Claws because it has Roger Delgardo in it!
It can't he Tom or Pat it it because he makes even the most rubbish stories watchable, or Jon Pertwee for the opposite reason or Hartnell because looking out for the Billyfluffs is fun.
Has to be 4 episodes because that is the most popular length.
None of the big monsters because that is an event
I would go for Vengeance of Varos, good performances, good sets, a good but not brilliant villain and Colin had eased off the harshness of the Doctor slightly
for NuWho:
I would have to go with a story with a story I enjoyed on first viewing but have not really had any compulsion to watch again: Power of 3 - cant even remember what the 3 refers to!
It was a double pun. the power of three makes something 3D/cubed and it was 'attack of the cubes'.
It also referred to The Doctor, Amy and Rory. They come as a three