Days Like Crazy Paving - A Doctor Who Fan Blog

 58. The Crimson Horror There is Nothing like a Dame The problem with doing a list like this is that it's ever changing. There are stories I'd rate higher than this one, but this one has the redeeming feature of the appearance of one of our most celebrated actresses. When it was announced Diana Rigg was to appear in Doctor Who it was like Christmas. One of my favourite actresses since I saw her as Emma Peel in the Avengers (thanks to those repeats in the 1980s on Channel 4!) One of the best Bond girls in one of the best Bond films and the Nell Gwunne to Eric Morecambe's King Charles. One of the most successful and respected actresses of stage and screen, often starring in heavy dramas such as Medea. But her comic timing was exceptional.  Fortunately Mark Gatiss is also a fan and wrote the part of Mrs Gillyflower especially for her. Now I have to admit he's not my favourite writer for the series, as despite being a fan, what makes truly great Doctor Who often alludes him...

59: Battlefield There's No Shame in Trying! 1989 - Doctor Who is on its last legs. Shoved unceremoniously in the schedules to start five minutes after it's main opposition, the dreaded Coronation Street, the show is regarded by some as a shadow of its former glory. Described by one BBC executive as "a battle weary Time Lord languishing in the backwaters of popularity" which to me is tantamount to dereliction of duty but it's over thirty years ago and I should let it go...  However behind the scenes, there's a production team working their socks off to keep the show alive. There's the leading actor and actress with fantastic onscreen chemistry. There's a producer who despite being in the job mine years is still determined for the series to look its best and a feisty young script editor who wants to push the show into new directions. This is a show where, those at the coal face are still passionate about. Does it show? Well, yes I think it does because d...

60. Destiny of the Daleks You never forget your first!  Poor old Destiny of the Daleks, always in the shadow of its big brother Genesis. There's an objective argument for why the former is superior to the latter (and yes Genesis will feature higher up in this list!) but this is not an objective list. It's a personal choice and therefore Destiny has to be there.  You never forget your first kiss (Kirsty Leeks, 4th year, Carswell Primary), your first football match (4th May 1997, a Yeovil Town beating Chertsey 4-0!) your first pop concert (Bucks Fizz, moving on...) And doctor who fans don't forget their first story. Now I'm talking about the story as a whole, not just clips or memories of brief snippets of episodes. If I did, Genesis would be first, as well as vivid memories of Planet of Evil, the Robots of Death and Image of the Fendahl. But Destiny was the first full story I can remember watching all the way through; from those opening TARDIS scenes to Davros's come...