Season Two Overview

Planet of the Giants

Overall this was a good story. I wasn't thrilled with the last episode, but the first two were a visual treat by early Who standards.

The Dalek Invasion of Earth

A very solid story. Nation has a bad habit of ignoring certain details (like how the Daleks can survive without radiation) or only paying lip service to others (the explanation about these being Daleks from before the Thal uprising doesn't work for me.) I also call bullshit on the reasons that the Daleks chose Earth in the first place.

That being said, this story has some excellent acting from all of the series regulars. The dialog is good and the plot keeps moving along steadily. Susan's departure is probably the finest scene in Hartnell's era.

The Rescue

This is a utilitarian story. It needs to introduce Vicki and it does so in a manner that allows the young actress to show her acting chops.

This is also notable as the first time that the Doctor arrives on an alien world that he has already visited.

The Romans

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To Doctor Who.

Doctor Who experiments with farce. It works, but left me feeling that this was the weakest of the historicals to date.

The Web Planet

ZAARBIIIII!!!!!!!!!

The Crusade

The jewel of the season.

If Susan hadn't left at the end of Dalek Invasion of Earth then this would clearly be the best serial of the season. Susan's departure is so well written and acted that it nudges it past this story for the top spot.

The Space Museum

The first episode is like the best of the Twilight Zone. The rest of the story not so much.

It's almost as if the rest of the story was written as a biting satire of the BBC and was signifiacntly toned down by the time it was filmed.

The Chase

It took me a little while to get into the spirit of this one. Once I stopped trying to take the Daleks seriously, this turned into a fun little romp. Having two designers working on this one probably helped them avoid the pitfalls of The Keys of Marinus.

Ian and Barbara's departure left a bigger hole than the one created by Susan's. While this is an emotional goodbye, it's not the slam to the heart that Susan's was.

The Time Meddler

The series takes a new twist on the old historical. A bit of a mystery combined with some rum humor and fight scenes. Also the first hints as to what the Doctor really is.