I always thought 'The Web Planet' was generally slated in fandom?

Regards,

Cypher

If I didn't know better, I'd say you were referring to my post!!!!

Allow me to elaborate. I have stated this before in the past about The Web Planet and I think it is one outdated snorefest that moves slower than a snail. The Optera sound like mexicans and the 'zarbbiii' shouting is truely cringeworthy.

As for The Silurians. It's just a personal thing, I hate the exile scenario as I stated in a thread last week and The Silurians is the epitome of Earthbound stories and I think it is too long at 7 episodes and drags enormously!

Hope that helps and by the way, it could be worse. Other Posters have apparently put The Caves Of Androzani in their choices!

What a great thread

The reason to like such threads is the diversity of the answers

Was so taken aback about certain episodes

Planet of the Spiders
Frontios
Silver Nemesis
etc etc

Some of those are considered classics and hold up well

Timeflight had to be mentioned but thats a story where story could not meet budget but producers had to broadcast something and I think that was the problem for a lot of the classic series

With a series as long and diverse as Dr Who there are obvious stinkers, but I look forward to seing more lists, but can we have a reason why if possible.

So for a 1 episode dislike story i go with...............
William Hartnel - Gunfighters

Now some love this story as its funny and quirky, but to me it doesnt fit. Didnt like the regular characters in a western setting and still dont. I dont even like Star Treks western episode.

And its not that I hate westerns, because there are many I love

I suppose its because its so so out of place and so quirky I cant enjoy it. William Hartnell should have fitted in well being gruff and irritable, but it just came across as all wrong. Visual wise it didnt have a lot to offer either, suprising when you consider the BBC do period drama so well

So thats my 1 episode down for worst episode.

Look forward to seeing more

I really like The Gunfighters. It's pure comedy but it works, and Hartnell really shines IMO. The one thing I'm not keen on is the lack of historical accuracy when it reaches the gunfight at the OK Corral.

The Gunfighters is lovely! The Doctor calling Wyatt Earp "Mister Werp" ... great stuff!

The Web Planet is such a great idea, and is obviously stretching the BBC as far as it will go, but it does look a bit rubbish, and drags on a bit. Some of the ideas are brilliant, and it would be good to see a version of the story made NOW, with mega-budgets. The Web Planet struggles to gets its ideas across because it's too elaborate and too optimistic a production to be made under such cramped and poorly-funded circumstances.

I've no idea. Only started reading Who fan opinions since around Time of Angels broadcast, mostly only this forum and haven't read every thread/post. I'm well out of touch. Rather enjoyed Web Planet (bit long, though). I did meet someone at work about 20 years ago who turned out to be in DWAS and told me that I mustn't enjoy Horns of Nimon (even back then I had almost entirely forgotten about Nimon and haven't seen since original broadcast so don't know if "they" are right. I think he was worried in case i met any of his friends and made a fool of myself by not being "in the know"). I became rather good friends with him for a couple of years, but that was my last immersion in Who fandom until now. My current friends who like Who (classic and revival) don't engage with fandom either so we just chat about it unenlightened.

I'm a rubbish so-called "fan" who hasn't even got every DVD, never been to a convention and can't remember every story I've ever seen. I'll see if I can get a list of 10 worst together from memory/recent viewings (or just read what fandom tells me to not like! )

Sorry - forgot to elaborate why I liked Web Planet. What Chuffnobbler said.

Also, haven't got ten dislikes together. I'll start with
1) twin dilemma
2) Two doctors. (probably should like it for troughton/jamie but. well. harrumph.)
3) terror of the vervoids.

Right! Just thought it looked funny to criticise a story about a species from earth, living under the surface of the earth and wanting to recolonise the surface of earth for being too earthbound. It's hardly their fault for not having flown to another planet when the moon came by. But that's not the point you're making, of course.

All these 6+ parters are padded massively. I make allowances for that, but no reason that anyone else should!

I didn't cringe through the "zarbbbiii" attacking stuff. But I didn't cringe through Love and Monsters either so don't take my opinion as worth much!

I think the six-parters are horribly padded. I wouldn't give a fig for most of the six parters. Note that a lot of my bottom 10 are six parters.

The seven-eight-ten-twelve parters are totally different because they are able to do so much more, build in other stories and go in totally new direcions. A long story can be two (or three, or more) stories in one. A six parter is not long enough to do that properly, but is too long to sustain just the one story. The storytelling gets very muddy and dragging in most six parters. I think the three seven-parters of Season Seven are outstanding.

Silver Nemesis is just terrible, it made the Cybermen worthless by being too easy to kill, Aces failure to grasp Cybermen=bad is just supremely annoying and the fact the plot is similar to Remembrance of the Daleks is just annoying too, especially when Ace points out in the story that the plot is almost identical to Remembrance of the Daleks. Does my bleeding head in.

I love Horns of Nimon, and I like The Gunfighters as well. The Web Planet isn't as bad as some of the other early ones, The Sensorites and The Keys of Marinus are both worse than it. At least The Web Planet tried to do something different.

Astounded by your inclusion of Ribos, that would be near my top ten best stories.

Also Sunmakers?? Very confused.

The Twin Dilemma
Silly Nemesis
Timelash
The Two Doctors
Paradise Towers
Time Flight
Battlefield
Warriors Of The Deep
The Power Of Kroll
Nightmare Of Eden

Also can't fathom why they thought they needed to throw in Nazis.

The Sunmakers is pure comedy and it works and yet somehow you have included it in your worst ten!!!

The Seeds of Doom was two stories in one six parter.

Or why they were at an open air jazz concert at the end of November!

Gaaaah, one of my worst ever, terrible acting from the Andy Warhol lookylikey and the *I'm gonna eat ye* baddie. Plus unneccessary dicking about in Spain. What a waste of Patrick Troughton.

Plus massively dislike Colin *badperm* Baker. Worst.Doctor.Ever

Agreed. And the way they ignored the end of The War Games was scandalous. On a mission for the Timelords? Preposterous.

Season 6B.

Yeah I know that theory's been put forward but it seems stretching it to me. Don't really see a gap in The War Games 10 where it could have occurred (plus why would the Timelords allow them to just drop Zoe off?)

Ahhhhh the reason i put Silver Nemises there was to show I wasent just picking really old episodes

That story isnt a classic and it isnt the worst

What it did do was based on the stories of that season add a little mystery to the doctors past. It put the who back into who was a comment i read in a magazine somewhere

I agree with most comments here and elaborate where I must, but just wanted to add that comment in a hope people see the point that in my view its not in the 10 worst. in fact i can mention quite a few mcCoy eps and C Baker episodes that may get included in the "where did it all go wrong" catagory lol

I stick to my opinion on Gunfighters - as a period piece it fails especially when you see Romans and Aztecs as period pieces and the whole western story to me just didnt work

I also stick to my opionion time flight was just a story that needed effects that budget wont allow. (still a poor davison episode though)

Love this thread - keep it up - cause I just like remenising over old who as its a big part of my life TV wise

Thanks for your understanding! Lol!
I do think the Silurians has some good parts, but Episode 6 in particular drags sooooooo much!

As for The 'Zarbi' thing, I can't stand it, it's probably the most cringeworthy piece of Doctor Who ever!

And off course your opinion is worthy, just like everyone else's on here. It's what makes it agreat thread!


I agree with all of this. I think it was ambitious for it's time and it probbably really came across well at the time it was transmitted. A lot of Hartnell stories have aged really well and you can watch them today and forget they were made in the Sixties. The Web Planet isn't one of them.
As you say, a remake now would obviously be better and who knows(no pun intended!) Moffat ot some future producer may make a return to Vortis. Doubt it, but it could happen!

The reason this stuff is so hard to agree is that many great stories had some very bad elements and vice versa.

For example, the Rani was a brilliant character well acted but placed within utterly lousy stories. Take The Mark Of The Rani. Boring as hell but fantastic dialogue between the Rani and the Master. Given that they were up against the annoying and objectionable C**** B**** and the almost as annoying Nicola Bryant, I ended that one cheering for the bad guys to win and take out as many boring people doing unconvincing northern accents as possible. Turn them into unconvincing rubber trees! See if I care! At least it will stop them going on about t'industrial revolution. Yes, I know it was meant to be educational, and, to some extent, it was. I certainly learned how bored it was possible to be.

The Web Planet is similar in reverse. There are some good ideas there but universally appalling acting. The various aliens were clearly played by unemployed ham actors found lurking round the BBC offices wearing sandwich boards saying "Classically Trained Thespian. Will work for BBC canteen food. No job too small. No costume too silly." The plot structure basically boils down to Get captured. Waffle a bit. Escape. Get captured by the other side. Waffle a bit. Escape. Repeat for 5.5 weeks with very minor variations. Defeat the unconvincing enemy. Bugger off and hope for something better next week.

Similarly there are dreadful elements in many good stories. Did Inferno really need those stupid Primords? Did Planet of the Spiders really need that stupid extended chase sequence? Was Roland Rat really the only rat available for The Talons Of Weng-Chiang. Couldn't Cotton in The Mutants have been played by somebody who could act? Did they audition anybody else? What were they like? Why was his script cockney but his delivery West Indian? Either would have been fine but not the mixture!

So, given that many bad episodes have good elements, what does it take to make a true out and out stinker? The combination of C**** B*****, B***** L****** and a lousy story will do it every time. Everything else is a bit more subjective.

Thanks for the replies everyone,its nice to see so many of the same stories in your lists.I dont know how many of you are new fans or oldies like myself but i feel sometimes that the bbc does'nt do the new fans much good by releasing so many crap classic stories on dvd.

one month they can release an absolute classic followed by a real stinker the next.If you were a new fan willing to give the old serials a chance and just happen by accident to pick up some of the many bad dvd's available you are going to be put off a lot buying any more.Something i know that has happend to people i know.

Its interesting to see so many recent dvd releases in the lists above.I know the bbc have to even out the stories or all the bad ones will be left to the end just like the classic vhs releases.