As excitement over April’s new series of Doctor Who reaches ever more feverish levels, Total Sci-Fi presents a five-part countdown celebrating the greatest aspects of the show.

Covering everything from companions to audio adventures, and from toys to the TARDIS, we’ll be taking you through our favourite aspects of Who over the coming weeks.

And of course, make sure to let us know what you agree and disagree with by commenting beneath the feature! Words: Jonathan Wilkins

CLICK HERE TO READ PART ONE!

80) Inside the TARDIS (The Invasion of Time, TV episode, 1977)


It may be absurd, odd and horribly cheap, but we love the interior of the TARDIS, which is perhaps most fully explored in this epic six-parter. If the Doctor’s time machine can look like a police box on the outside, why shouldn’t it have crumbling brickwork, an art gallery, a swimming pool and so on inside? It’s more believable than the notion that later assistants had to share a room on this infinitely huge ship…

79) What if The Doctor…? (Doctor Who Unbound, Audio, 2003)


An intriguing collection of sidesteps that offer a glimpse at who the Doctor might have been if things had been slightly different. There’s the tale of how the Doctor never left Gallifrey; the story of the Doctor who arrived on Earth too late to foil the various alien invasions of the UNIT era; and there’s even a brutal Doctor who kills for the greater good. Arabella Weir’s turn as the Doctor in one episode is perhaps the weak link here, but Robert Shearman’s Deadline and Gary Russell’s He Jests at Scars (with the Valeyard from The Trial of a Time Lord as the protagonist) are essential listening.

78) Aliens in London! (The Invasion, TV episode, 1969)


It’s not the first time monsters patrolled the streets of England’s capital, but a great idea is worth repeating, and four years after the Daleks visited the city, the Cybermen take over St Paul’s. There’s still something chilling about seeing aliens marching on our deserted streets.

77) Haunted House (Ghost Light, TV episode, 1989)


Weird and confusing or stylish and intelligent? Ghostlight is a story that divides opinion. Sure, it’s a demanding story to watch, but give it your full attention and you’ll find the last classic of the original run of stories.

76) Flaming Daleks! (Palitoy talking Dalek, 1975)


Ten years after Dalekmania, fans of Skaro’s finest would be forgiven for thinking they had had their time on the shop shelves. But they were wrong. With great box art depicting a Dalek on a flaming battleground, the talking Dalek was a must-have for kids who’d just caught them in action in Genesis of the Daleks. You could even choose between red and silver!

75) Jungle Worlds (Planet of Evil/Creature from the Pit, TV episodes, 1975, 1980)


Science fiction stories are largely about the environment in which they take place and while Doctor Who occasionally over-relies on quarries, two planets – Zeta Minor and Chloris – have shown what the BBC can do in terms of world building. Even to this day, these misty, seamy jungles have yet to be bettered.

74) Ant Attack! (The Web Planet, TV episode, 1965)


This story from the show’s second season is often subjected to ridicule for its attempt to present a fully realised alien world populated by giant moths and ant creatures. It’d be a lie to say that it totally works, but it’s an entertaining story quite unlike anything else ever attempted and the makers of this six-part mini-epic should be at least commended for trying.

73) Two Time Lords! (Time Crash, Children in Need special, 2007)

Before he landed the top job on Doctor Who, Steven Moffat proved himself as king of the comedy skit. First, The Curse of Fatal Death offered an affectionate tribute that gently poked fun at the show’s dramatic conventions. This was followed some years later by a wonderful and genuinely moving scene in which the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) met the Fifth (Peter Davison). It’s a beautifully written piece that’s full of wit and warmth, and makes you wish Davison could return for a whole story...

72) Cyber-bully (The Five Doctors, TV episode, 1983)

With so many classic monsters returning for this 20th anniversary adventure, it’s easy to forget the Raston Warrior Robot, the fast-moving, killing machine that massacres the Cybermen.

71) Too Much of a Good Thing? ("Fanwank", term coined by Craig Hinton)


A term was necessary to describe Doctor Who authors’ propensity for overloading stories with elements from the show’s past designed to get fans excited – and Craig Hinton provided it. For example, a story which saw the Master join forces with Sutekh, Tobias Vaughn and the Terrible Zodin would be the height of fanwankery. It’s not always a bad thing though, and the originator of the word was happy to indulge from time to time himself!

70) Survival of the Fittest (Bloodtide, Audio, 2001)


The Sixth Doctor’s encounter with Charles Darwin and some particularly bloodthirsty Silurians on the Galapagos Islands is a tale that would be very much at home in the modern show. The inclusion of the Myrka is inspired: now there’s a monster that works far better unseen!

69) Monkey Business (The Time Meddler, TV episode, 1965)


It’s a cliché that Doctor Who villains are ranting madmen who address our hero as “Dock-tor!” while attempting to take over the world/galaxy/universe. The Meddling Monk, as played to comic perfection by Peter Butterworth, is quite the opposite. A naughty villain rather than an evil despot – and a member of the Doctor’s own race no less! – his antics on Earth are relatively low-key, but entertaining all the same.

68) Ship Ahoy! (Enlightenment, TV episode, 1982)


One of the eeriest sights in the series is the Eternals’ ships sailing through space. Don’t let the poor DVD special edition tell you otherwise: the original version of this is poetic and masterful. To replace the model ships with flat, computer-generated monstrosities is to do this underrated story a terrible disservice.

67) Twisted Reality? (Mindwarp, TV episode, 1986)


Offbeat doesn’t cover it. There’s a sense of genuine anarchy at work here as the Doctor turns evil – or does he? Peri dies tragically and off-camera – or does she? The series threatens to collapse under the weight of what’s just happened. A sense of atmosphere and cruel foreboding permeates this entire set of episodes. It wouldn’t work for every story, but in Mindwarp the idea is unsettling and great.

66) Fangs For the Memories (The Fangs of Time, Comic strip, 1996)


There comes a time in the life of every Doctor Who fan when they set aside their love of the show. Some come back to it; others abandon it altogether. This charming 1996 strip is a wonderful reminder of the fan experience. It’s a witty and poignant tribute to the show by writer/artist Sean Longcroft with lots of personal experiences that are also communal.

65) The Darkness Inside (Inside the Spaceship, TV episode, 1964)


One of the most unsettling stories in the history of the show (and only the third story in!) is this disturbing tale set entirely onboard the TARDIS. A budget-saving effort, it cleverly plays on the weirdness of the show’s central concept.

64) Pertwee For Peace! (Planet of the Daleks, TV episode, 1974)


Planet of the Daleks Part 17 by tardismedia

Beautifully delivered by Jon Pertwee, the Doctor’s speech against the glorification of war to the Thals is a delicately written and acted coda to an otherwise unremarkable story. "Don't glamorise it. Don't make war sound like an exciting and thrilling game… Tell them about the members of your mission that will not be returning, like Mayrell, Vaber, Marat. Tell them about the fear. Otherwise your people might relish the idea of war, and we don't want that."

63) Identity Crisis! (The Face of Evil, TV episode, 1977)


The Face of Evil (part9) by tardismedia

Xoanon, a computer reprogrammed by the Doctor, is left with a split personality. As it searches for its identity, a variety of male and female voices ask “Who am I?” until, just as the credits come in, an eerie child’s voice proffers the same question…

62) Best of Ten (Doctor Who 10th Anniversary Special, Book, 1973)


A complete guide to all of the adventures so far, including what was coming up over the next season? Check! An exclusive story by Terry Nation? Check! A set of plans showing how to build a Dalek? Check! Interviews with stars of the show, from past to present? Check! This Radio Times special had it all, but the highlight was indisputably the fantastic photos of the cast in situations relevant to their characters. We’re forever haunted by the sight of Peter Purves under a flyover, surrounded by dolls.

61) Frosty First (Time and Relative, Book, 2003)


Kim Newman’s tale, set prior to the events of An Unearthly Child, sees the First Doctor and Susan fight an enemy known as ‘The Cold’. There are plenty of humorous nods to the future for attentive fans and even a reference to the Doctor’s everlasting matches – first described in the novelisation of the initial Dalek story, Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks.

Come back for Part Three next week, where we’ll count down from 60 to 41…