fajrdrako | Favourite Doctor Who episodes, series 2...

So: I was looking at the Doctor Who Magazine list that ranked people's favourite episodes of series 2 Doctor Who and I decided to do my own list. Ranking #1 as my favourite story and #10 as my least favourite, my list is as follows:

Best Story

1 Army of Ghosts/Doomsday
2 The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit
3 The Girl in the Fireplace
4 School Reunion
5 Love & Monsters
6 Fear Her
7 New Earth
8 Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel
9 Tooth and Claw
10 The Idiot's Lantern

Except for the first few listed, this is fairly different from the results of general favourites, as listed by the readers of the magazine, as follow:

Best Story (average out of 10)

1 Army of Ghosts/Doomsday- 9.1136
2 The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit- 8.561
3 School Reunion- 8.375
4 The Girl in the Fireplace- 8.174
5 Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel- 8.131
6 Tooth and Claw- 7.870
7 The Idiot's Lantern- 6.874
8 New Earth- 6.434
9 Love & Monsters- 6.135
10 Fear Her- 6.096

Cheers for Army of Ghosts/Doomsday from everyone's point of view, it was fantastic. The Idiot's Lantern? Not so much.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

cupati.livejournal.com

I'm really surprised that love and monsters didn't come last on theirs, because I feel that everyone has been saying how they din't like it. I loved it. It made me feel that writing fanfics was ok. ;)

And what's with their dislike of New Earth? I can see that the snog and the plot weren't up to much [pass on healing? Please. And why were they all still needed when they could all be cured?] But just for one-liners it was fantastic!

School reunion has too many plot-holes and too much predictability [how one single episode can have both, I've no idea...] for me and I'm sick of alien beings looking similar to earth organisms so acting similar to the said earth organisms.

I think someone has to speak up for idiot' lantern, but to be honest, I don't know how. Both Idiot's and Fear had the same problem, we were scared for the innocent victims until Rose/The Doctor joined them, then we knew they'd all be all right. Oh, and the self-satisfied-smugness in Fear was beyond belief.

I loved Army of Ghosts because that's how I actually see people in dreams. I can tell who they are, what they're wearing, but all I see are the ghosts, who fade away when I try to look at them.

Girl in the Fireplace? That one wink oh squee. I didn't like how close she was to finding out about him, and how he didn't care, but everything was redeemed with the reveal at the end. And Mickey in space, yay!

A inconsistency in the Satan Pit - all units are arbitary. So while it was 666 sommit or others, it was also 3.9 tingys. But love the Ood, as a most alien [but still bipedal] being of the series. Also the fact that it went out on week containing 06/06/06.

I love the Mickey / Rickey ting from ROTC. It asks the question: Did nine ever come to this universe?

Tooth and Claw was a good starting point for Torchwood speculation but not a good plot in itself. Extra kudos for being on the week containing Queen's Official/Actual [I can't remember which] birthday.

Have I missed any?

From:

fajrdrako.livejournal.com

I can think of good things to say about "The Idiot's Lantern". The thing is, I love all the episodes of series 2 Doctor Who, so it's all relative. "The Idiot's Lantern" may have had a comparatively lame plot and a lack of tension, but it did have good points. Like David Tennant's wonderful smile. What more does a show really need?

It also had the following delights:

- Tommy. I thought he was a great character.
- trainers
- Rose without a face. I don't know why I liked that, but I did.
- the Doctor being all angsty and protective of Rose (I'm a total sucker for the romance)
- good cop scenes
- self-referential sociological digs at television as a commodity
- that interesting scene at the end where Tommy goes to talk kindly to his abusive father and it seems the balance of power has changed
- the Queen

...There's probably something else, if I think hard enough.

I'm really surprised that love and monsters didn't come last on theirs, because I feel that everyone has been saying how they din't like it. I loved it.

I loved it so much! It's only defect was that David Tennant wasn't on the screen more, but the story was so terrific that I can forgive it with no difficulty whatsoever. And when the Doctor did turn up, he was truly cherce. I also loved seeing Rose get all angry and attacking Elton in defense of her mother! A clever, witty, insightful, intelligent, heartwarming script. In my opinion.

Plot holes in School Reunion? It's almost embarrassing the way plot holes tend to wash right over me - from time to time, in a show I don't enjoy all that much, they will simply ruin my enjoyment, but that's when a show has already lost me. If it's something I like, I can and do rationalize and ignore plot holes. I loved School Reunion for its relationship stuff, for K-9, for the pretty photography and for the performance given by Anthony Stewart Head. And other things. Like Kenny blowing up the school.

And what's with their dislike of New Earth?

It was the first series 2 episode I ever saw, and the only Doctor Who I'd seen ever (that I remembered) at that point was Rose. I'm afraid most of it went over my head, or bypassed me - it was fun, but I didn't understand it much on an emotional level and missed a lot of the jokes. Watching it subsequently, I think it's hilarious. But still shallow. I'm not sure what I wanted it to deliver that it didn't.

Girl in the Fireplace? That one wink oh squee.

Yes. Sexy, piquant, smart, unexpected. Like Love and Monsters, this plot threw away the predictability and did various things that television shows usually just don't do. It had me seriously worried for the fate and future of the characters. I thought - and still think - that this is one of the episodes where Rose really shows what strength and depth she has.

A inconsistency in the Satan Pit - all units are arbitary. So while it was 666 sommit or others, it was also 3.9 tingys.

That's fine by me. Numerology is pretty arbitrary anyway.

I love the Mickey / Rickey ting from ROTC. It asks the question: Did nine ever come to this universe?

I think Nine just... knew. All that cosmic awareness. I love it that Mickey found his place, turned himself into a hero, found a life without Rose.

Tooth and Claw was a good starting point for Torchwood speculation but not a good plot in itself.

It has two things I love - no, three - maybe more if I thought about, but certainly three things:

1. Scottish scenery
2. That slo-mo sequence of red-cloaked Ninja Scottish Extraterrestrial-worshiping monks. That just... tickles me.
3. The Victorian telescope that wasn't a telescope. Way cool.

I think what bothered me was ... I hadn't thought of this consciously till just now... that Rose seemed more immature in this one than usual.

Have I missed any?

You didn't say anyting about Doomsday, which is my favourite.

From:

cupati.livejournal.com

I was classing Doomsday as the same plot as Army of Ghosts. But more to say on it, I suppose:

How do you narrate your own death is a phrase I used too much whilst watching it. Good to see Mickey back, and it fullfiled all my expectations [i.e., more Cybermen, because there's one of each of the humans they all end up on the same side] and went beyond them [daleks].

I think I've only seen idiot's lantern once, so it hasn't stuck with me. I've seen most of the rest of the series twice. Was that a betamax machine? It's just gone up in my estimation, because that was so him. Oh, and that scene in the police station, I'd forgotten that. [Here's hoping christmas present = box set].

New earth is definatly a sequel to the other cassandra one [name bypassing me for a second].

School reunion was the only episode that

buzzruth and/or one of my maths teachers [same suit as ten, as near as (just wait until my fic Edited Highlights comes up)] saw, so I was slightly dissapointed for them, as it was so much backstory with Sarah Jane. I felt it wasn't as well written with the plotholes as it should have been, so could have been the reason they didn't see more.

And now I have a lecture.

From:

fajrdrako.livejournal.com

How do you narrate your own death is a phrase I used too much whilst watching it.

Well - in a story about an Army of Ghosts, it makes a certain sense. I can just imagine characters in Torchwood narrating their own deaths - Jack in particular, and anyone they've used the glove on!

Was that a betamax machine? It's just gone up in my estimation, because that was so him.

Oh, yes, very much so. He is in fine form in this silly story.

New earth is definatly a sequel to the other cassandra one [name bypassing me for a second].

The End of the World. The two titles make a nice pair.

one of my maths teachers [same suit as ten

Eee! How cool is that?

I was slightly dissapointed for them, as it was so much backstory with Sarah Jane

I was in much the same boat -it was actually the third episode I saw, after "Rose" and "New Earth" and I had no clue about Sarah Jane, though I'd heard of K-9. I actually found it filled in background for me well.

[Here's hoping christmas present = box set].

I'll put in a good word for you with Santa - not that there's any reason he should listen to me, but I'm sure he'll understand the sincerity of the request.

From:

cupati.livejournal.com

It isn't exactly the same suit, but guy in dark brown suit [who I don't recognise when he's not wearing it] with slightly uncontrolled brown hair stood in front of whiteboard talking about School Reunion means that in my imagination, the suit is tending towards the same one. As you can see, I found that rather squee-worthy [though the icon is credited to my previous account].

If anyone reads my latest fic between now and Monday, I'll put up Edited Highlights. [Hint.]