Doctor Who
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The Griffiths Years
Season 24
Time and the Rani
The Ultimate Foe
Paradise Towers.
Delta and the Bannermen
Dragonfire
"Time and the Rani" was surprisingly a Sixth Doctor Episode though would conclude with the doctor regenerating at its end. The pre-title scene had Albert Einstein kidnapped by the Rani. The actual episode had the Sixth Doctor. be pulled out of his previous imprisonment by the Master, who appears to take his place. The Master tells the Doctor that he must defeat the Rani. The Episode follows from there and concluded with the Sixth Doctor sacrificing himself to destroy the Rani, regenerating into the Seventh Doctor in the process.
Speaking of the Seventh Doctor, Griffiths was chosen because of the belief that to revive the show's falling ratings it needed to appeal to a new audience. In this case children and Griffiths was chosen for his ability to do so.
Holmes' "The Ultimate Foe" involved the Doctor encountering the Duke of Clarence, who accuses him of being Jack the Ripper and tries to drown him at the episode's cliffhanger. The Doctor's amnesia from his regeneration does not help matters.
In "Paradise Towers" a mutated creature was living in the Paradise Towers pool. Pex is introduced as a muscle-bound moron to parody such popular American heroes as Rambo. Unfortunately(Not done OTL due to no British actors of appropriate age and build being available). The original music score for the episode is done by David Snell.
"Delta and the Bannermen"is set in 1957 and revealed that the Americans had launched a satellite in advance of the Russian Sputnik, only to have it knocked out of orbit by the Nostalgia Tours spacebus. Andrew Cartmel also included more detail on the Bannermen(revealing that they had polluted their own planet to the point that it was rendered uninhabitable).
"Dragonfire" introduced an original character called Razorback. Ace chose to join Kane as a mercenary, with his sovereign becoming permanently imprinted on her palm. Ace then rebelled only when ordered to kill Mel. She also had a stuffed dog named Wayne. Glitz accirde accidentally triggers a trap in the corridors beneath Iceworld and must be rescued by the Doctor. The Seventh Doctor also mixes up proverbs.
The Doctor took in several new companions, Ray from "Delta and the Bannermen" and one of the Red Kangs from "Paradise Towers".Ace went off with Glitz, while the Doctor and Mel went off together as normal.
Season 25
Remembrance of the Daleks
The Happiness Patrol
Transit
Silver Nemesis
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
"Remembrance of the Daleks" included two factions of Daleks: the "Red Daleks" led by the Emperor Dalek and the "Blue Daleks" led by the Black Dalek (also called the Dalek Supreme). The script by Ben Aaronovitch included a threatened nuclear strike on London, a dangerous trip from Totter's Lane to Coal Hill School for the Doctor and Ace(who returns for the episode), and Harry's extermination by the Daleks. One scene by Andrew Cartmel has Ace finding a NO COLOUREDS sign and tearing it down. The Special Weapons Dalek was on the Renegades' side, and had the ability to fire around corners. The Imperial Daleks possessed a flying battle platform.
"The Happiness Patrol" is filmed in Black and White due to its Film-Noir-ish atmosphere. Kandyman is instead a portly, bald man with black teeth and wearing a white lab coat, with the fact that he was made out of sweets being far subtler (principally being implied via his powdery white skin)(Original Design, they go with this here because this design works better in Black and White). The story takes place over several weeks, going into more detail into Helen A's regime. There's also a prison called Arcadia, complete with dozens of fruit machines and an elaborate go-kart game; this was replaced with the far simpler Waiting Zone. Ace tricked Susan Q into helping escape instead of Susan doing so willingly. Earl Sigma plays the trumpet. The Doctor and Ace are forced to entertain their audience or be executed.
"Transit" by Ben Aaronovitch is set in the future, a system of transportation portals spans the solar system, but now seems to have opened a gateway to Hell.
"Silver Nemesis" The policemen at the Nemesis' crash site is killed by a swarm of Cybermats. Prince Edward and Queen Elizabeth II make a cameo.
In "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" The Doctor and Mel arrive at the circus, where they were soon thrust into the ring with a punk werewolf, a creature called the Blob, the musclebound Nord (inspired by Thor), and an empath known as the Non-Entity. Rather than performing solo, the characters competed against each other for the family's entertainment in a series of games and challenges. Of the circus staff, it was the Ringmaster who played the most overtly villainous role. The circus was more high-tech and played a larger role, being occasionally glimpsed by Mel. At the adventure's climax, the circus was destroyed when the Non-Entity amplified the Doctor's rage at the needless deaths. Whizzkid also appears at a computer genius who was an expert at all the Circus' games. Segonax is a pastoral setting. The robot had dialogue. Captain Cook is killed off. Bellboy is haggard and white-haired, implying that he had suffered electric shock treatment. He was lashed to a kite, rather than a workbench. The last episode takes place during the day and the Doctor and Mel eat Pineapples rather than the "Muck".
Season 26
Battlefield
Alixion
Avatar
Illegal Alien
Lungbarrow
Shrine
Ghost Light
The Curse of Fenric
Survival
"Battlefield" Graeme Harper directed. The Brigadier is killed facing off against the Destroyer after being promoted to General.The Destroyer of Worlds is a well-dressed human man who later metamorphoses into a more monstrous form. The knights are dressed in futuristic combat gear that only looked like traditional armour at a glance. Bambera is an American captain acting on behalf of a joint US-European initiative codenamed “Camelot”. Another key supporting character was Lavender Warmington, director of a heritage group called the Carbury Trust, while the Asian student befriended by Ace was named Thai. Ace herself wielded a newly-constructed sonic screwdriver. Morgaine ensorcelled Ace and planned to sacrifice her to the demon she raised — otherwise, the demon would eradicate all life on Earth, thereby sealing the portal between this dimension and Morgaine's, and trapping A'tur. Lethbridge-Stewart called in an airstrike against the demon, and was mortally wounded; his death satisfied the demon, who then departed. Bambera killed Mordred to save Ancelyn, and a reawakened A'tur arrived, offering to bring Mordred back to life in return for Morgaine's obeisance. Bambera accompanied Ancelyn back to his dimension, while the Doctor would then continue travelling through time and space in honour of Lethbridge-Stewart.
"Lungbarrow" replaces "Ghost Light" ITTL, averting its existence as a
New Adventures title. The story had the Doctor reuniting with his estranged family and has been described as "
The Addams Family on acid".
"Ghost Light" had an added scene in which Mackenzie encountered a night maid and Mrs.Pritchard as they attempted to leave, with one of the maids chasing him with a machete. This is why he is running and muttering that Gabriel Chase is "a mad house" before being killed by Light. Other added scenes include Light preventing McKenzie from leaving Gabriel Chase by bolting the door and scenes expanding on the spy devices Josiah had hidden in the upper observatory where the Tardis materialised. Light is silent and had wings, which he used to kill the maid.
"The Curse of Fenric" by Ian Briggs has Dr.Judson be revealed to be gay like Alan Turing. The episode has a 1970's setting.
"Survival" has the return of the Cheetah People , which are now a lot more human-looking, with their possession by the cat-spirits of the Cheetah World represented by false eyes, teeth and some skin-colouring to suggest cheetah spots. The Master still appears in the story(executive Meddling but this turned out to be his final appearance in Classic Doctor Who). Sgt. Paterson is a policeman (and it was in this capacity that he investigated complaints of the Doctor's behaviour). Ace burned Karra on a funeral pyre, connecting with her pyromania. The Doctor transported both himself and the Master back to Perivale after their climactic duel on the planet of the Cheetah People. The Master then confronted the Doctor as to his true nature, accusing him of being something other than a Time Lord. The Doctor admits that he has evolved and is not "just" a Time Lord, before describing himself as "multi-talented". The Master then uses a Kitling lurking nearby to escape. The motorcycle duel between the Doctor and Midge takes place in a disused lot or building site — thus better explaining the seemingly miraculous appearance of the sofa on which the Doctor lands.
Season 27
Bad Destination
Thin Ice
Action at a Distance
Hostage
Night Thoughts
School for Glory
Nursery Crimes
Network
While "Bad Destination" was Cartmel's title, "Earth Aid" was the invention of
A Doctor Who Magazine article. Ace poses as the captain of a spaceship in a conflict against the Metatraxi, alien insectoid creatures with a Samurai-like code of honour.
"Thin Ice" has the Doctor want to enroll Ace at the Time Lord Academy on Gallifrey, but she must pass a final test to gain admission. In 1960's England, parts of the armour of an infamous Ice Lord have inadvertently become incorporated into a display at the London Dungeon. Elsewhere, another Ice Warrior awaits the revival of his longtime rival. The Doctor and Ace find an unlikely ally in a hippie named Cunningham with underworld connections; when his pregnant wife gives birth, the Doctor delivers the baby girl, called Raine, and becomes her godfather. Having succeeded in her audition, Ace leaves the Doctor to stay on Gallifrey, where they both hope that she will become a force for change in Time Lord society, dispelling the lethargy that has burdened it for millennia.
"Crime of the Century" was written by Andrew Cartmel. In the present day, the Doctor's goddaughter Raine Cunningham has grown up to become a burglar and a safe cracker, even as her father— once an East End crime boss— is trying to go straight.
"Hostage" by Neil Penswick. Elite soldiers pursue shapeshifting criminals Butler and Swarfe, who have stolen advanced weapons technology and brought it to a jungle planet where the Time Lords once fought a race called the Scaroth (who is related to the antagonist from "City of Death").
"Night Thoughts" by Edward Young. University academics are trapped at a remote house in the winter, not realising that there is a murderer in their midst. Young submitted the storyline to Big Finish several years before they started the Lost Stories and it was produced as part of their main range, revised to include audio original companion Hex.
"School for Glory" by Tony Etchells. A story of alien possession set in the British trenches of World War I and at an academy located in an English country house. This story being adapted butterflies away
Human Nature due to being the inspiration for it, though it's more accurate to say it's a Seventh Doctor story.
"Nursery Crimes" by Alan Moore. Moore was approached to write a script by Cartmel. The story he created brought back the Celestial Toymaker and essentially did the character much better as the Toymaker tormented the Doctor in a dark reality based around Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes.
"Network" by Ben Aaronovitch and Marc Platt. The story featured the return of the Rani, who was posing as the vice chancellor of an Earth university and featured the Doctor combating "a biological computer virus" (likely of the Rani's creation) attempting to infect all the world's computers. Brigadier Winifred Bambera and Sam Tollinger had supporting roles in this episode. This episode concluded with the Rani's defeat and the Seventh Doctor's regeneration.
