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Watched The Leisure Hive. That was....well, let's just say it's never a good thing when you have to go to the Wikipedia guide after to understand what the heck just went on with a story. Something was off, and it wasn't just the crummy new version of the opening. But then this same Wiki page informs me this is about the point things really turn downhill for the show. John Nathan-Turner takes over and makes a lot of changes that really angered the cast and crew, such as the Doctor's new outfit with the ridiculous question mark motifs on his collar, and K-9 being written out in a few serials. Even before I read that, I could feel this wasn't up to the usual snuff for the show. Hope the decline isn't too rapid, there's still a few Tom Baker stories left at least.

Ah, I see. I wish he would have more a part in that, though I do look forward to the others running around together at least (hope the William Hartnel impersonator is good).

Meglos. When I realized the bad guy was gonna be a freaking cactus, my eyes rolled out and up into space. But it over-came the whole being a cactus thing to make for a great doppleganger story. I especially liked how the meek human he latched onto managed to fight against it.

Next up, the E-Space trilogy. Full Circle was excellent. Twists and turns I didn't see coming, a new companion I didn't instantly hate, and Tom Baker getting a rare chance to chew the scenery and really show the angry side of the Doctor was worth seeing.

State of Decay was another one I expected to suck. Cause if you've read my posts in here at all, you'll know I feel that "Doctor Who + Horror = mass suckage". But the whole subplot angle of lords repressing technology and knowledge to keep a peasant class down while there was a rebel faction of them who tried to learn and fight back was interesting enough. Then enter freaking vampires and make them not only an ancient enemy of the Time Lords, but the very reason Time Lords more or less swore off violence. Good stuff.

And then for Warriors' Gate....is there a word for this? Oh, here's one: weird as all freaking hell. Seriously, it didn't know what direction it was trying to take, or what the heck was going on with the furry people and the mirror in the past....it didn't try to make sense. And Romana's departure was abrupt and unnatural feeling. Which is a real shame. I didn't like her at first, but Lalla Ward really grew into the role and had great chemistry with Tom Baker. Though the fact that they were romancing each other probably helped, heh.

Two more to go with good ol' 4th Doctor. I'm gonna miss this wacky guy. At least The Master comes back next one so they'll get one proper face off.

So long, Tom Baker.

I enjoyed The Keeper of Traken. My only real beef with it was the fact that The Master managed to steal that guy's body despite the fact that he was stripped of the Keeper's powers that were what supposedly enabled him to do that to begin with. It just seemed like a really glaring oversight they ignored for the sake of just bringing him back to proper form already.

Logopolis was a bit on the odd side (the whole 'the universe is about to die without our math!' thing seemed entirely out of left field), but it wasn't a bad one for Baker to go out on. I agree it got kind of lame and silly towards the end with the Master once again making a grab for power after saving the universe. I realize he's bad and all, but even bad guys save the world/universe once in a while so they can take it over later. I don't know, he didn't impress me right away, but I hope he grows into the role later. He's no Roger Delgado at all, but he's the only Master there is until the movie and new series.

Earthshock. Ah, Davidson is finally making the Doctor role his own, with a little help from the Cybermen. Really good story, another one to feel more like the early days of the good Doctor. Adric's death felt kind of....pointless, though. Sure, he died attempting to save everyone, but given that everyone was saved and the ship crashing into earth was *supposed* to happen (haha, so the Cybermen killed the dinosaurs), it just felt a waste. But then death rarely has meaning or purpose in real life, so whatever.

Time-Flight continues the mini streak of non-suck. I loved the pilots who got dragged into things, they just accepted things in stride and actually helped, as opposed to being in awe and just getting caught as hostages all the time. I really don't know why the Master felt the need to play dress up, though, cause it's not like the Xeraphin would recognize him, nor did he expect the Doctor to show up.

Itching to get at the next season. The Guardian stuff from the Key to Time finally comes back into play, Omega returns, Lethbridge-Stewart returns, and of course The Five Doctors to cap it off. Anxious to get to The Five Doctors is probably why I'm going so relatively quick through this generation, heh.

Well, The Five Doctors was decent, but it could have been so much better. I think the main problem was that the four Doctors didn't interact at all until the last 15 minutes or so. One of the great things about The Three Doctors was seeing 2 and 3 work together most of the time and at each other's throats (with occasional input from Doc 1). Here it just seemed more like 'hey, let's have a reunion with some of the older companions', and even then they missed out on the chance to catch us up on what they've been up to since departing the Doctor. Especially with Susan, since she'd been gone for like 17 years at that point. I don't know, it was nice to see them all again, and the guy playing the first Doctor did a good job immitating William Hartnell, but it left me feeling disappointed in the end.

Planet of Fire was pretty good. I rather like when he wanders into seemingly unadvanced civilizations rooted in superstition that inadvertantly had roots due to an alien crash. The whole bit with the transmitter calling them to the planet made crap for sense, and the kid being Thurlough's brother seemed a wee bit of a stretch, but it still managed an interesting story. And it was nice to see The Master be toyed with a bit too. Not a bad one for Thurlough to go out on at all. Regarding new companion Peri....boy, they're not even hiding the fan service with her. Within 5 minutes of her apperance she's wearing a very skimpy bikini. Not that a little sex appeal hurts a show, but still, probably a sign things are a changing for the show, heh

The Caves of Androzani. What can you say about a story with too many bad guys, and where one of the bad guys looked like a leather gimp? Well, I could say I really didn't like it. Story was too much of a mess and no one was likeable. At least Peter Davidson got to go out sacrificing himself to save Peri. I was amused to read that he likes to joke that Peri 'stole the spotlight' from his death scene by way of her ample clevage coming into frame over his face at the end there, cause that struck me as an unintended distraction from the bit too.

Regarding the serial, it's apparently Davidson's favorite, and a frequent fan favorite. This is like the third Doctor I've disagreed on regarding the best from their eras. I don't know if I'm picky or their opinions are just wrong. My favorite Davidson story is a toss up between Arc of Infinity and Time Flight, probably leaning more towards the later.

I'm gonna miss him. While not my favorite Doctor, he really developed into a unique and fun take on the character which ultimately left a good impression. He just had the misfortune of coming in during the beginning of a new era where quality seems to be declining considerably. He didn't deserve to have more of his stories suck than not, but that's how it ended up. Ah well, now I can look forward to his brief reprisal with the 10th Doctor.

Now onto Colin Baker. What can I expect from him? I can't say he left a good impression in the whole minute he was on the screen. (wow, there's only 20 some stories left before I'm done with the old series!)

The Mark of the Rani was exceedingly meh. Their attempt to bring in a second evil Time Lord to face off against the Doctor failed pretty miserably.

The Two Doctors was really good. It's a shame Throughton wasn't given more of an active role in the story, but it was nice to see him again. Jamie too, though being 20 years older the actor rather lacked the youthful enthusiasm that made the character so distinct back in the day.

Timelash was a 'Doctor helps people overthrow a dictator' story done right. The monster itself was a bit cheap looking, but the story was full of great betrayls and subdrifuge.

Revelation of the Daleks was....weird. The comedy relief DJ was exceedingly out of place, and Davros' plan to make planets rely on the factory he's controlling as a food source so he could take over seemed sketchy at best. Poor Daleks haven't been quite the same without Terry Nation.

Time and the Rani was....ok. Didn't do much to improve my dislike for the Rani character. Though I confess I did rather love her impersonation of Mel. Sylvester McCoy, like whoever plays Mel, seems competent enough, but doesn't really grab at you right away like past Doctors and companions have. But at least he's not making me hate him out the gate like his predecessor. Seems they've tried to go back to the older, more distinguished Doctor. We'll see how it works out in the short run that's left.