im working my way thru the dr who stories of jon pertwee and ive tried to watch ambassadors three times but i always get very bored after about 15 minutes. it's also a 7 parter which is very long. i don't like the assistant either. not as good as jo grant or sarah jane, and jon's dr isn't as good as he is in the later stories like terror of the autons.

i also looked up ambassadors and a lot of people say it is very boring to them too.

The Pertwee era is full of overly long slow-burners. I remember the first time I watched The Sea Devils as an adult, and being surprised how dull entire episodes were.

I think it was in the early Tom Baker years that the four-episode stories became the norm.

Not at all. To say this is the weakest story of Season 7 is, to me, a mark of just how strong Pertwee's opening season was.. This is arguably the story that best blends Doctor Who with the spy thriller type approach they were going for at the time, and though the final result had been tampered with a little by Dicks and Hulke, David Whitaker's exceedingly strong storytelling still shows through. Like the Silurian story before, we meet a group of aliens who we immediately judge to be a threat, only for them to turn out to not be a threat at all; we also have a villain who's not neccessarily evil but simply sees things in a radically different light, which was unusual amongst Doctor Who's more frequent use of typical mad scientists and the like. Another thing I loved was how mysterious the aliens in this story were, something which showed that just because the show was grounded on Earth didn't mean it lost its sense of wonder and intrigue (nowadays, New Who's Earth-based stories tend to miss this). It's a very intelligently plotted story that further fleshed out the sort of themes Pertwee's era would continue to touch upon. Jon Pertwee was great as usual, as were his co-stars Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John.

It's not without its flaws. You could say the story's a little too mature for family viewing where some would care little about such things, and seven episodes can lead to stretched out stories, but personally I see this as another outstanding story for one of my favourite eras of the entire show.

It isn't the worst story of the Pertwee Era for me, that has always been the preceding story which for me was totally Earthbound, no TARDIS and not very Doctor Who at all. It was also incredibly slow and tedious over 7 episodes as well. And the incidental music is rubbish.

A lot of that can applied to this story as well, but at least it makes the effort to be more like Doctor Who. It at least features the TARDIS Console, some stuff set in space and some aliens.

It's still a drag over 7 episodes but I think Season 7 did improve as the year went on. It still overall is one of my least favourite Seasons as it went against everything Doctor Who is supposed to be about. I like the fact Letts and Dicks over the following Seasons gradually got the show back to where it should be.

i'll just have to watch it then since you guys think it's good. but its hard work.

The next story, Inferno, is another seven-parter but is generally considered a classic and one of Pertwee's best stories. It moves along a little faster than Ambassadors.

If you don't mind watching out of order and want a Pertwee story that's more fast-paced and exciting, Day of the Daleks is a very popular one, or the Daemons, which is another fan favourite. The two Peladon tales, Curse of and Monster of, are also good if you want a more sci-fi type story of alien worlds, though they're very heavy on the political themes.

But avoid The Mutants if you don't like slow stories. It clocks in at 6 episodes but feels longer than all of Season 7 combined.

I think it's a v good story, but not quite up there with Inferno and '...The Silurians', both of which get top marks from me. With the longer stories, I generally take them a couple of episodes at a time. My least favourite Pertwee's would probably be The Mutants or The Time Monster. Found them pretty hard work when catching up with this era in my 'bootleg' Eighties days.

Might give them another chance on DVD sometime, though. Less fuzzy picture, for a start!

the first few jon pertwee stories were a lot different to the ones he did with Jo and Sarah as his assistants. im aware the change of producer did a lot to change the feel of the show. so after watching sea devils and then going back to the Silurians, i do feel sometimes it's like a different programme in an odd way. i should have started with season 1, ep 1 jon pertwee, but i watched sea devils first, then green death, but then worked my way back to the terror of the autons. now i'm at the mind of evil, i don't know what to do.

It's just a personal opinion this, but I find you get a much better feel for any Season or Era if you watch them in order. That way you get to see the bigger and not so bigger changes between Seasons and with Pertwee's Era I like the opening episodes of each Season as they always have a different feel to the previous ones.

Season 8 is particularly notable in this regard, I find the first episode a blast of fresh air after the tone and feel of Season 7.

Upto you which way you do it, off course, but watching stuff in order I feel is the best way to gauge the feeling of any era, not just Pertwee's.

i think now i am on mind of evil i will just go forward, thanks

Agree entirely about Inferno - one of my favourite Pertwee stories. Sad, in a way, that New Who has never revisited this story either directly or through reference, what with all the parallel universe adventures the Doctor's had since 2005.

I think it works as a seven-episode story because it is like a four episode story with a three episode story wedged in the middle. But you are right - not all the longer stories are slow moving.

i have to go back for inferno, right?

I love The Ambassadors of Death!

While 7 parts is too long for the story, most of the reviews I've seen were very good. S7 is widely regarded as one of the best Doctor Who seasons, even if it has a slightly different feel.

I say no. Silurians bored the hell out of me.

I must say though - Liz Shaw is a superb companion.

It definitely is amongst long-time Who fans, although there are many newcomers or more casual fans who struggle to get into it. I think a lot of people found it a bit of a throw off with it being less on the fantasy side and basing itself on more scientific and mature storytelling, which has since been repeated multiple times in the show's history but was particularly jarring coming out of the black-and-white era of what was generally goofy, family-friendly fun. S7 still sticks out as one of the most radically different in the show's history and though it was a little divisive at the time it proved the show could adapt and evolve in ways the regeneration into Troughton's Doctor didn't touch upon. Troughton showed everyone the main lead could change, while Pertwee showed everyone the entire show's premise could do so to, and for that it was a very ambitious and experimental sort of season that didn't, and still doesn't, work for everyone.

No,

for me the worst Pertwee story (by a distance) is The Mutants.

It's all a matter of opinion of course, but I think you will find most people who are familiar with seeing all of Pertwee's stories will agree that Ambassadors of Death is a little overlong and slow paced but also it is by no way the worst Pertwee story -there's far worse!

For me its any of:
-Colony in Space
-The Time Monster
-The Monster of Peladon

and I'm not sure what I like least

As for The Mutants (which I see a few have mentioned) I don't mind it -sure a little boring & somewhat poor acting, but I quite like the premise in general, the mutant monster design and the cave scenes were brilliant. So for me, The Mutants is (almost) on a par with Ambassadors. Both original & quite memorable. But, that of course is my view for what its worth.

Got a few slow burners in this era, not the worst one for me.
In defence of the Ambassadors of Death, or thinking of things I enjoyed, the warehouse action sequence was memorable, and of course the twist of the aliens being manipulated is a decent plot device. Indeed the earlier episodes are quite engaging and a touch mysterious in parts.
Again seven episodes is clearly too long for what is on offer, some longer stories can work, The Invasion (eight episodes) and Pertwee's such as The Mind of Evil (six) and The Sea Devils (six) where the plot can be kept moving and evolving. There is a bit of Liz escaping then getting caught again which drags it out a little and other such like padding involved not in it's favour.
But as the OP asks, not the worst for me. The Mutants I would put forward as a lesser effort certainly.

Yes, have to agree The Mutants is my least favourite story outside of Season 7. Nice effects at times but there's something abut it that doesn't appeal and seems at odds with the other Pertwee stories of this period. Can never put my finger on what it is though!

The Mutants stands out for all the wrong reasons, it has a similar feel and look as The Pirate Planet for me a bit too 70s sci-fi if that makes any sense! I don't usually judge on production values that much generally either. The Pirate Planet luckily is less dull and jarring than The Mutants. But yes I know what you mean it does not sit right with the other stories around it.

Far from it. Admittedly, it's the weakest of Series 7 - but given that was the best (in my opinion) series of all, that's hardly a criticism.

It's thoughtful, eerie and thought provoking. And Liz Shaw, for me, is the most underrated companion. Give me her over anyone we've had since 2005, any day.

For me, Series 7 is everything Doctor Who should be. Mature, intelligent, and thought-provoking. If the writing is good - which it was constantly throughout Pertwee's first season - it doesn't matter if the story is set on Saturn or Tooting Bec.

Spearhead on BluRay is superb.

I have a soft spot for The Time Monster. It's all tommyrot, of course. But somehow it never fails to amuse me. The Mutants is a slog, but it gets a couple of points for an interesting central premise.

I don't doubt what that it's mature and thought provoking but you're talking about the stories themselves whereas I'm talking about the overall format and concept of The Doctor being stuck on Earth. That isn't Doctor Who for me regardless of how good or bad the stories actually were.