The Power of the Daleks

So Patrick Troughton is the Doctor's new body, and he's lovable and insane. His recorder playing in the first episode is hilarious and serves as a lightweight introduction to his character before the main plot gets going.

The Doctor gets involved in a struggle of power between the citizens of Vulcan and rebels. However, one of the government's scientists has found a capsule in a swamp, which contains old, deactivated Daleks. After reviving them, they plot to overthrow both the Rebels and the Guards, and the serial ends in a climactic duel.

I must say, this has been one of my favourite serials so far. The Doctor is on top-form, the Daleks are great, and the characters of Bragen, Lesterson, and Henshall are all great to watch. Complementing them is a fast-paced plot which is more action orientated than previous stories have been, and this is a breath of fresh air.

Did I mention the Daleks are back? They're scary, and it's even more scary to see Daleks pretending to be under human control but actually plotting themselves. It's gripping stuff.

Overall, a great serial for the introduction of Patrick Troughton, and the story is insightful as to the direction Doctor Who is taking.

Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman?

This radio one-off comedy was a pseudo-documentary about Susan's life after she departed the TARDIS. It's pretty accurate in terms of continuity but does reveal some amusing snippets about life on Gallifrey and her Grandfather's past. It's pretty funny for Doctor Who fans, especially all the parts about the Doctor retiring from a career selling 'imaginative ideas and concepts' in a small shop to travel in time and space.

Also explained in the programme is how Susan returned to present day Earth by phoning up her godfather to pick her up next time he was passing by in the space time continuum. It's all quite amusing, and contributions from Ian Chesterton (who has suffered time-lag and amnesia) help add even more humour to the story.

It's all quite lighthearted fun and I enjoyed it more and more as the half-an-hour programme progressed.

The Tenth Planet

So, it's time for William Hartnell's last story, and it really is very good. The TARDIS crew land in Antartica in a space rocket facility. Soon after their arrival, a planet appears in the sky and natives of the planet, called the cybermen, descend upon Earth, planning to 'refuel' their planet Mondas with all life and energy on Earth.

The cybermen here make fantastic villains, despite their atrocious costumes. The voices are chilling and it's unfortunate you don't see more of them in this serial. Also, the characters of Barclay and Cutler are good, with Cutler making for a good anti-hero. He means well, but you feel quite happy when he's shot dead.

Obviously, the most important part of this story is what happens at the end, and the regeneration is foreshadowed in episode three when the Doctor falls ill. Knowing about regeneration before watching this takes all of the surprise out of the moment, but I imagine that not knowing what's wrong with the Doctor would be quite worrying and the actual regeneration would leave people confused as to what's happening.

In order to explain this miraculous event, we have to move on to the next story, but not before clearing up one or two pieces of spin off media that take place during Hartnell's tenure as the Doctor.