TIETOJA TÄSTÄ JAKSOSTA
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A Theme with Energy But No Clarity on Genre
The episode opens with "Dancer Who," a drum and bass remix of the Doctor Who theme from an account called "Synth Theme Remixes." Despite nearly 13 years of existence and modest viewership, the track has undeniable energy and a strong beat. Whether it's actually pure drum and bass is debatable—there are keyboards and synthesizers involved—but it's undeniably danceable. The hosts hope their coverage might help this overlooked remix find a wider audience.
https://youtu.be/Puve_A9EFwQ?si=Mw5zOUxgQS27JnFn
A Season Where Companions Spend More Time Fighting Than Helping
Season 20 presents an interesting problem: the TARDIS is crowded. Tegan is improving as an actress, but only incrementally. Turlough raises the fundamental question: why is this character here at all? Even more surprising—by the time we're done, Adric starts looking better in retrospect. When you find yourself comparing a companion favorably to someone much-maligned by fandom, you know the roster has an issue.
A Creature Department with Nothing to Do
The hosts confront an uncomfortable truth about Season 20: it's remarkably free of monsters and creatures. The Mara is a villain, not a creature. The Garm exists but barely registers. The Eternals are villains. Kings Demons has... nothing. This absence reflects a deliberate editorial choice to ground the show under Peter Davison's influence—away from the wacky alien designs, toward something more naturalistic. The creature department was apparently just sitting around with nothing to build.
When Best Villain and Best Guest Star Diverge in Unexpected Ways
One host makes a surprising villain choice. Another champions a campy, over-the-top performance that might seem like it belongs in a different era of Doctor Who entirely. The Brigadier's return gets unanimous agreement as best guest star, but his performance in a particular story involves playing not one, but two versions of himself—a challenge that pays dividends. Meanwhile, the Black Guardian lingers as a presence but never quite rises to the occasion, despite excellent work from the actor.
Two Different Takes on the Same Brigadier Moment
Both hosts select best moments from the same story, but they pick different scenes. One focuses on the emotional weight of two versions of the same character finally meeting and reaching out. The other selects a memory-based sequence—a storytelling device that works beautifully here but one the hosts caution against overusing. It will show up again and again in New Who, and there's apparently a real tearjerker in the Sarah Jane Adventures that hits hard. But how many times can you deploy the same emotional tool before it loses power?
The Easiest and Hardest Superlatives
Best and worst episodes sort themselves out quickly—there's immediate consensus on what works best and what's interminable. But best monster becomes genuinely difficult when you realize the season doesn't have traditional creatures to choose from. Best companion is solved "by default." And best moment splinters into two thoughtful but different answers.
Comics: A Fishing Trip That Becomes a Moral Quandary"Lunar Lagoon" (DWM 76–77, April–May 1983) finds the Doctor landing on a Pacific island during World War II, not realizing what era he's actually in. A lone Japanese soldier still believes the war is ongoing. When an American pilot is shot down, the Doctor removes the bullets from the soldier's gun—but this act of mercy sets off a chain of events that results in the soldier's death and leaves the Doctor consumed with guilt.
The hosts note that while this is a hoary old cliche (the Japanese soldier who doesn't know the war is over), the Doctor's presence should have reframed it. Instead, critical details remain unclear—what year did the Doctor think he was in? Why was there suddenly an American WWII plane? The story needs another line or two of dialogue to ground what's happening. Additionally, the complete absence of a companion (despite Nyssa, Tegan, and Turlough all being available) makes the story feel oddly hollow. The Doctor carries everything through thought balloons and internal monologue, which limits the interplay a good Doctor Who story thrives on.
Memory TARDIS: A Landing That Nobody Expected"The Mind Robber" (Troughton, five-part story) sends the hosts into a discussion about a tale so weird, so far from grounded Doctor Who, that it might be impossible to imagine in Davison's era. The Land of Fiction, a rogue character masquerading as "the Master," Jamie's face literally rearranged due to actor illness, and a famous shot nobody will forget—this is 1968 Doctor Who at its most experimental.
Production Details:- Season 20 aired March–June 1983 (seven stories)
- The Five Doctors included with this season set (though technically separate)
- Best Companion: Nyssa (with significant caveats)
- Creature Department Status: Vastly underutilized
- Key Spoiler Cards for Season 21: The hosts avoid "New Doctor" (too spoilery), pick "Elementary, My Dear Jim" instead of "Body Count"
- Upcoming Writer Return: Robert Holmes returns for Season 21 with what many consider both Peter Davison's best story and Holmes's finest work
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