Doctor Who: The top ten greatest Fourth Doctor stories
By James Aggas
The Fourth Doctor had so many amazing adventures on television. But what are his ten best ones?
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
One of the many reasons why Tom Baker is considered to be one of the greatest Doctors is how many brilliant stories he had in Doctor Who. We look at ten of his very best.
In seven seasons, Tom Baker had so many great stories as the Fourth Doctor. Many of which aren’t just great stories of his era specifically, but are arguably some of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time.
In celebration of his eighty-fifth birthday today, I decided to list some of his best stories. Initially, I tried to do five. But if I’m honest, that was way too difficult. There are so many fantastic stories he’s had that it’s incredibly difficult to pick just five of them. So I decided that ten was as good a number as any.
Now, as I look at these stories, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. One, these are of course strictly my own personal choice, so you may disagree with how low or high a story is ranked.
Two, I’m a huge fan of the Philip Hinchcliffe era. Not that Tom Baker didn’t have any great stories after this era. After all, one story from a later producer’s run shows up in this list.
But yeah, this is mainly a Robert Holmes/Philip Hinchcliffe era list. Starting with…
The Doctor faces a dangerous Time Lord criminal in The Brain of Morbius.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Brain of Morbius
There’s so much I love about this story. It’s just absolutely rich in atmosphere. It strongly evokes the Universal Monster movies, especially Frankenstein. There’s even a monster made from different body parts! (And yes, the brain is especially important.)
There are also witches featured in this story, too. Well, they’re better known as the following:
"The Sisterhood of Karn. Keepers of the flame…of utter boredom!"
There’s just so much gorgeous horror in this story. The Brain of Morbius really isn’t afraid to show off its influences. (Even if, after a major re-write by Robert Holmes, Terrence Dicks wasn’t too keen on those influences being added to his original story. In fact, he even asked for “a bland pseudonym” to be used for the writing credit instead of his own name. As a result, “Robin Bland” was born!”)
Add to that an excellent performance by the brilliant Philip Madoc as Dr. Solon, some gorgeous set design and some wonderfully atmospheric lighting, and you’ve got a great mix for a classic Fourth Doctor story.
Another reason to watch this? It neatly sets up some key mythology for the fiftieth anniversary minisode, The Night of the Doctor. Which neatly brings me to…
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
Terror of the Zygons
Naturally, the first ever appearance of the Zygons just had to make this list. It’s funny to think that they never truly returned to the series until the fiftieth anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor. They’re just such a great monster, as Robert Banks Stewart’s story demonstrates.
They’ve got everything you could want in a classic monster. The Zygons have an amazing design, especially for this era of the show. (It says a lot that for the New Series, there was very little changed from that initial design when they were brought back.)
They also have very distinctive and creepy voices, the kind that kids in the playground could easily imitate. And they have a very cool ability – they can shapeshift into humans. So long as they kidnap the originals, first…
Again, we have a very clear horror influence on Terror of the Zygons – in this case, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. And it’s an idea that’s used well. The combination of that influence and a unique monster with some fantastic location work in Scotland is just perfect.
Speaking of which, the Loch Ness Monster shows up. In London. Only in Doctor Who could you see something like that.
The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane are on the run from a Krynoid!
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Seeds of Doom
Once again, we’ve got another absolute classic from Robert Banks Stewart. And, once again, it’s one with a very strong horror influence – in this case, The Thing from Another World.
There’s a lot of great body horror in The Seeds of Doom, and the stakes feel incredibly high. This is due to an excellent performance from Tom Baker, who continues to get across the gravity of the situation throughout the whole story. One of my favorite quotes in particular is brilliant at summing this up:
"If we don’t find that pod before it germinates, it’ll be the end of everything. Everything, you understand? Even your pension!"
In some ways, the Fourth Doctor acts a little out of character in this story. He’s more openly violent, throwing punches, carrying guns and jumping through windows. This is partially due to the threat the Krynoid presents, and partially because the script has some roots in The Avengers. (Specifically, the Sixties spy series, not the Marvel super heroes.)
Regardless, this is a very well made and very well acted story. It’s also full of horror and nasty deaths, and it made TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse furious. It’s not the only story to do that on this list…
On board a sand miner, humans are being murdered by their robot servants one by one…
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Robots of Death
This was one of very few Doctor Who stories that genuinely creeped me out as a kid. Particularly during the scene of the first murder. It’s so well shot, and everything just feels incredibly claustrophobic, too.
One thing that helps the overall creepiness of this story is the robots themselves. With their “human” voices and still faces, they’re clearly designed in-universe to be friendly. But instead, everything about them just feels “off” from the start. So when the killing starts, they go from unsettling to truly terrifying…
But it’s not just the robots themselves that make this story. Chris Boucher also wrote some extremely fleshed-out human characters, too. Over time, these are people that you start to feel more and more sympathetic for, and you start to hope that some of them at least make it through to the end.
This is especially true of Uvanov. I’ve written before why his character really stands out. He goes from coming across as selfish and greedy to one of the show’s greatest one-off characters. A brilliantly fleshed out creation that’s wonderfully performed by Russell Hunter.
On the whole, The Robots of Death is an excellent horror classic in Doctor Who, and a prime example of what made the Hinchcliffe era so brilliant. Unlike the very next story in our list…
The Doctor investigates a strange mystery of seven Mona Lisas in City of Death.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
City of Death
If there’s one story that I can describe as being absolutely joyous to watch in Doctor Who, then it would have to be City of Death. It’s just such a gloriously fun and funny story and, despite having the writing credit of “David Agnew”, it has Douglas Adams’s wit and brilliance all over it.
For one thing, there’s the humor. It’s throughout the whole story and it’s constant. However, it never feels intrusive or ruins the tone. But so many of the characters have so many great lines. Especially the Fourth Doctor and Romana. Right from the start, there’s so much wonderfully witty banter between the two.
We’ve also got another great one-off character with Duggan. Tom Chadbon is hilarious in the role and plays the character perfectly – deadpan-serious and essentially believing he’s the awesome hero of the story, while failing to realize that he’s actually a violent idiot.
But of course, special mention has to be made of Julian Glover. An absolutely brilliant actor, he makes Count Scarlioni feel like a classic Bond villain. He brings such style, charm and overall coolness to the character, but he’s also horrifying and ruthless. Glover plays all of those traits to perfection.
City of Death is an incredibly fun story, and strongly recommended for any Whovian to watch.
The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane have to stop an ancient evil in Pyramids of Mars.
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Pyramids of Mars
And another story with clear horror influences. (You can tell that I’m a fan of the genre, can’t you?) With mummies, possessed zombies and evil gods, this story has it all.
Then again, there are other stories that use similar tropes very well. And honestly, Pyramids of Mars doesn’t exactly leave a huge impact on Doctor Who mythology, not on the TV series, at least. So why does it continue to stand out as one of the greatest stories of all time?
Because everything is so well handled, for one thing. Production, casting, the very look of the story – it’s all done so perfectly.
We also get one of the greatest villains ever in Doctor Who, and the brilliance of it is, he’s sitting down the whole time! (Again: only in Doctor Who!) Seriously, Sutekh is such a great character, and he’s brilliantly played by Gabriel Woolf. Woolf has a wonderfully rich voice and plays the character with such malevolence. You really believe that he’s the destroyer of worlds in this one.
But one of the best elements of the story? It’s Tom Baker himself. He really sells the threat in this one. Again, Sutekh is mainly confined to a chair the entire story, and yet Tom Baker’s excellent performance as the Fourth Doctor truly makes us believe that he’s facing his most powerful enemy yet. Just one more reason why he’s one of the greatest Doctors ever.
The Deadly Assassin was a huge story that shaped the depiction of the Time Lords for decades to come. We take a look at how it achieved this.
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Deadly Assassin
The Deadly Assassin is, in my opinion, an absolute masterpiece. It was hated by some at the time, due to its depiction of Gallifrey and the Time Lords. But Robert Holmes did such an incredible job when he wrote this story.
For one thing, he fleshed out the Time Lords in a big way. Their society, their politics, even their very look. All of these elements and more have not only endured for the rest of the Classic Series, but have even been explored in the New Series and of course the expanded universe.
But, more than that, The Deadly Assassin is just an extremely well-written story. It combines so many great genres, one thing. Political thriller, surreal science-fiction, horror – they’re all in here. And it all ends in an epic battle against the Master! Fantastic!
A new Master
Oh yes. The Master. After Roger Delgado’s untimely death, the character was brought back in a very different way in this story. No longer the charming criminal mastermind wanting to take over the universe, he was now a horrifically burnt and decaying Time Lord on his last life, desperate for survival.
It was a bold approach to take with the character, especially considering the timing of it. But, honestly, it worked very well for the story. The Deadly Assassin was just one of three appearances for the Master in Tom Baker’s era, but it was an excellent story to re-introduce the character in a fresh way.
It also really infuriated Mary Whitehouse with its high amount of violence, to the point where the makers of the show were told to use a lighter tone for the next season. It was never quite the same after that. Regardless, The Deadly Assassin remains as a true classic.
As controversial as it is, The Talons of Weng-Chiang is still one of Tom Baker’s best.
(Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: the official Doctor Who website.)
The Talons of Weng-Chiang
I’m going to get one thing out of the way: yes, The Talons of Weng-Chiang is definitely dated. That’s true of many Doctor Who stories, but even moreso here. Because, with not just its depiction of the Chinese, there’s also one very awkward fact. Namely, the main “Chinese” villain, Li H’sen Chang, is played by English actor John Bennett. In makeup. Very, very obvious makeup.
This aspect has clearly dated the story. So why is it so high in this list? Because, in terms of everything else, it’s so good. It’s a story that fully embraces the Victorian setting and truly brings it to life.
There are the dark and foggy streets of London where bloody murder occurs. There are the amazing performances at the theater, lead by impresario Henry Gordon Jago. We even have the Fourth Doctor losing the scarf in this story in favor of a deerstalker cap!
And the characters are so fleshed out. There are so many great characters with excellent dialogue. But there are two who truly stand out: Jago & Litefoot. They’re both excellent creations in their own right, and are brilliantly portrayed by Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter.
But the two are really at their best when they finally meet in the last two episodes. They’re such completely different people from completely different worlds. And yet, they balance out and perfectly fit each other. They really are wonderful to watch together.
For introducing Jago & Litefoot – and thus leading to one of my favorite spin-offs ever – The Talons of Weng-Chiang will always be a favorite.
The Ark in Space is still an absolute classic to this day, and the second greatest Fourth Doctor story. But what’s the first?
(Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.)
The Ark in Space
I’ve written so many articles about this one. How it terrified me as a kid. How it used bubble wrap for its story. (But in a very different way to last year’s Kerblam!) It was even a key example when I looked at the world-building of Robert Holmes.
But the fact is that there’s just so much to enjoy about The Ark in Space. For one thing, it’s perfectly paced. The first episode focuses on just the regular characters on their own, before bringing both other characters and monsters into the following three episodes.
As such, we get some great dialogue, especially between the Fourth Doctor and Harry Sullivan, who’s only just learning how to be a companion. It also means that the story doesn’t feel too dragged out, and that the monsters and other characters are given just the right amount of time in the story.
It’s also Tom Baker’s second story, and in fact, Philip Hinchcliffe’s first story as producer. It’s relatively early days for them both. And yet, amazingly, along with an excellent script from Robert Holmes, they give us one of Doctor Who‘s greatest ever stories.
The Wirrn are also an amazing monster. Truly horrifying, and yet, with interesting motives, too. They’ve been explored in expanded media really well, especially Eighth Doctor audio Wirrn Dawn. But I still would love to see them return in the New Series.
So, that’s why I consider The Ark in Space to be the second greatest Fourth Doctor story. But what’s the first?
Photo credit: Doctor Who/BBC
Image obtained from: official Doctor Who website.
Genesis of the Daleks
It couldn’t really be anything else. Genesis of the Daleks is a hugely influential story in so many ways. It gave us a completely fresh look at the Doctor’s greatest enemies. At the same time, it also introduced one of the show’s greatest ever villains. It features an excellent performance from Tom Baker. And, quite simply, it’s such a great story.
Getting to see the Daleks’ origins is definitely satisfying. Over a decade of the pepper pots being the main threat in the show, we’ve seen so many grand, evil plans from them already. So it’s fantastic to see them significantly stripped back, with their evil only just starting out.
However, while they’re only just getting started, the Doctor faces a far worse enemy: Davros, the man who created the Daleks.
Strong performances
Michael Wisher had a huge task in this story when he had to play such a major villain under a very restrictive prosthetic mask. But he portrayed Davros perfectly, giving the character so much depth using primarily his voice. To this day, he’s still thought of as one of the best actors to play the role.
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Peter Miles is also fantastic as Davros’s henchman Nyder. He’s completely loyal to Davros, and never believes for one moment that he’s working for the wrong side. He’s terrifying, but also far too believable, and a lot of that comes down to Miles’s performance.
But it’s Tom Baker who truly shines in this story. This script explores so many different sides to his relatively new Doctor’s character. Fear, desperation, guilt – all of this and more, he portrays brilliantly.
The scene in part six, when he’s considering wiping out the Daleks at their birth, is especially powerful. He knows that wiping them out could have a positive effect on the universe, but he genuinely wonders if this is a step too far. It’s a huge highlight not just for Genesis, but for Tom Baker, as he shows us exactly why he was one of the greatest Doctors ever in just his fourth story.
Next. Happy eighty-fifth birthday to the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker!. dark
Did your favorite make our list? Were there any stories of the Fourth Doctor that you feel should have been included, or even higher in their ranking? Let us know in the comments below.