Popcorn Culture
Ruminations on TV Shows, Comics, And Music
The first season involved The Doctor basically kidnapping a couple of humans, traveling through space with them, eventually dropping them off home, and then "rescuing" other people who traveled with him. After an encounter with The Cybermen, he became very ill and regenerated into a somewhat friendlier personality. We begin this season with the same actor playing The Doctor, and the same companions from the final episode of last season. This will change. Season 2: Superluminal (Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, William Hartnell, Tom Baker) Episode 1: War Games (2024)
(2, Jamie, Zoe, Timelords) 25 minutes This is an updated episode. This spot was previously held by only the final episode of the ten episode long War Games. War Games was always a good serial, but ten episodes is Too Long, and the best part of the serial was the final episode, where we met The Timelords for the first time, and then we saw The Doctor regenerate again. Well, in 2024, they released an edited, colourised version of the serial that's only 90 minutes long (instead of nearly five hours) that even provide some fun tweaks that give nods to the modern series, and even hint that a character long suspected to be The Master might actually be The Master's first appearance. Maybe. Episode 2: Spearhead From Space (3, Brigadier, Liz, Autons) 100 minutes Imagine waking up with a new face, on a planet you know but aren't from, and all you want to do is sleep it off but some military jackwits who knew your old face drag you to their hospital. By the time you feel better there's some sort of invasion thing happening involving...mannequins? Hold on, this is ALSO the plot of the damned reboot from 2005 but with extra bonus military. The Autons are such a ridiculous enemy, we surely won't ever see them again. Serial 3: Terror Of The Autons (3, Brigadier, Jo, Mike, Timelords, Autons, The Master) 100 minutes Autons again? And who on Gallifrey is The Master? Another Time Lord? An evil Time Lord? I mean, they all sort of suck, so what makes this guy eviler than the rest of them? Wait, is this guy also trapped on Earth now? Is this the point where the soundtrack would go Dun-dun-DUNNNNNNN? Serial 4: Inferno (3, Brigadier, Jo, Timelords) 175 minutes One of the first really environmentally-focused episodes of the series is also our first time visiting an alternate timeline, as The Doctor ends up in something similar to Star Trek's Mirrorverse, trying to stop humans from accidentally releasing an evil into the world but the mirrorverse people won't listen to him and that world is destroyed. Luckily, this sends him back to the real universe and, oh dear, nobody is going to listen to him here, either. Serial 5: The Sea Devils (3, Brigadier, Jo, The Master, The Sea Devils) 150 minutes The Master is back for another ridiculous scheme. This time, he contacts The Sea Devils a race who once controled Earth before being driven into obscurity by humans. He helps them plan a revolt retake the planet. The ending is pretty Scooby Doo but it's overall a nice little romp. Serial 6: The Three Doctors (3, 2, 1, Brigadier, Joe, Benton, Timelords) 100 minutes Another Time Lord errand? Only this time, instead of The Master, it's some other Criminal Time Lord named Omega? This sounds like every other episode but with a slightly different villain. Only this one's in a mask instead of a goatee. What makes him so special? Oh. You need not only the current Doctor, but the two previous versions of The Doctor to take him down. How is the crotchety old dude who could barely talk at the end of his tenure going to be helpful in this scenario? You know what, I'll just sit back and see how this works itself out. Serial 7: Planet Of The Spiders (3, Brigadier, Mike, Benton, Sarah Jane, 4) 150 minutes We haven't been paying a lot of attention to the companions in this season. There's The Brigadier, some military people, and there have been a couple of scientists helping out (attractive female scientists of course, this was the 1970s). Well now there's a journalist named Sarah Jane who will be around Quite A Bit More Frequently than most companions. Well, the pesky journalist, one of the pesky military types, and a rock sent by one of those pretty scientists lead The Doctor to a spider problem. A very complex spider problem, and then it's time to regenerate again. Serial 8: Ark In Space (4, Sarah Jane, Harry) 100 minutes Yo. This show must involve actual time travelers because this new Doctor with his Huge-Ass Scarf is clearly starring in the movie Alien here. Only this came out Before Alien. And instead of those nightmare-inducing Xenomorphs it's...green bubble wrap? But it does eventually turn you into a giant insect? Fun! Serial 9: Genesis Of The Daleks (4, Sarah Jane, Harry, Daleks, Timelords, Davros) 150 minutes The genocidal trash cans are back! Sort of. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimeyness means we're back at the time The Daleks came into being. Man, their creator is cuh-ray-zee. But since we're back a the origin point for the race, surely The Doctor will just kill their creator before they come into being and we'll never have to see them again. That's obviously what's going to happen. Right? Serial 10: Terror Of The Zygons (4, Brigadier, Benton, Sarah Jane, Harry, Zygons) 100 minutes It's the Loch Ness monster! And weird rubber chameleon aliens! They are Not Messing Around. Let's wrap this season up with some good old fashion monster fighting and mistaken identity. And when we're done, let's put aside UNIT (the military outfit that showed up seven times this season!) away for awhile.
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