Ranking Hartnell 15-11

15. The Reign of Terror- Season 1
As someone who knows a lot about the French Revolution, the amount of bad history in this made me wince, but once I got past that it was an exciting and often gripping adventure tale with plenty of politicking and double crossing thrown in. The only real problem with it is that it's too long.

14. The Space Museum- Season 2
Reputed to be boring and rubbish, I enjoyed The Space Museum more than I was expecting. The central conceit is really clever, at least one of the episodes is brilliant, the plot is good science fiction and the whole thing is acted with a kind of ironic knowingness. The whole thing felt almost like something from Douglas Adams. Maybe I was in a funny mood when I watched it, but it certainly amused me.

13. The Dalek's Master Plan- Season 3
While reputed to be something of a classic, in truth this is a really uneven affair with a lot of setpieces strung together with a sort of bare plot, some of which are engaging and exciting, some are just weird and silly. The Christmas episode especially seems out of place. Shocking moments lurch to comedy and back again. It also is too long to be coherent. I probably couldn't actually describe what the Dalek's Master Plan actually is, or why they are pissing around with Mavic Chen and the space UN. But it's also fun with a lot of good bits. Deserving of a full restoration at some point.

12. Planet of the Giants- Season 2
A bit of a weird one this one, that doesn't really feel like a Doctor Who episode so much as a standalone Sci fi thriller, this is nicely short and punchy, integrating the A and B plots well and delivering a decent but simple message throughout. The effects and sets are also really well executed. A lot of fun.

11. The Chase- Season 2
The Chase is an absolute hoot. A genre-hopping comedy Dalek runaround that throws crazy, surreal and campy ideas at the screen and just sees what sticks. It's hilarious, fast moving and very entertaining in a really fresh pop art kind of way. It's almost the same tonally as something like 60s Batman. I can see this could be an acquired taste but it was pretty much the only Hartnell Dalek story that didn't drag or outstay its welcome at all. Sublime.

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5. The Tenth Planet- Season 4 I've noticed a trend recently of public opinion souring on this story, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps because it's basically our first base under siege, something which is done better later on in the show, but I love it. Everything about the Cybermen is brilliantly realised from the concept of Mondas to the horrific body horror implied by their look and the conversion process. They aren't just clompy robots here, they are real frightening abominations. The sing song voices are sublimely creepy and the nature of their costumes is really effective at looking like a cobbled together cyborg. And of course, at the end, we see the show take the radical step of killing off its main character and star. Dark, bleak and well executed. 4. The Time Meddler- Season 2 Clever, funny and full of surprises, The Time Meddler is the shows first historical to include Sci fi elements, dropping its twists and mystery early but then teasing...
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