Ignoring the fact of the show’s cancellation after (during?) season 26, students of the show tend to regard the Seventh Doctor‘s era as a resetting of direction, a rethink of the mythos, even a regeneration. Does this stack up when you consider the stories? Let’s have a check check…

The Seventh Doctor on TV (1987-89)

Let’s summarise the episodes:

Story	Villain
Time and the Rani	The Rani
Paradise Towers	Chief Caretaker, Kroagnon
Delta and the Bannermen	Gavrok, Bannermen, Keillor
Dragonfire	Kane
Remembrance of the Daleks	Daleks, Davros
The Happiness Patrol	Helen A, The Kandyman
Silver Nemesis	Cybermen, Neo-Nazis
The Greatest Show in the Galaxy	Gods of Ragnarok, Chief Clown
Battlefield	Morgaine
Ghost Light	Light, Josiah Samuel Smith
The Curse of Fenric	Fenric, Haemovores
Survival	The Master, Cheetah People,

You could say Season 24 was an attempt at new stories (Rani excepted) and also proved too much for Mel’s character, cue Ace.

Season 25 has the excellent Remembrance of the Daleks, but also brings back Cybermen in a less than stellar story. So it’s not just about old enemies! [Is there a theme for modern Doctor Who?] It does have both my favourite, The Happiness Patrol and an old gods story.

Season 26 starts with the less than wonderful Battlefield, then picks up the pace with two crackers: the weird Ghost Light and the wonderful Curse of Fenric. Bring back the old gods! Then we have the (unintended) final story, aptly named Survival.

Actually then we had a sense of better stories near the end, not many old villains and some experiments that didn’t (for me) work that well. I think having only had twelve stories and ending reasonably well helps us look fondly on this era, perhaps too much?

What do you think? Let me know!