calling all ye old school Whovians

[xparrot]

(First, quick follow-up to my Who music post. No dialogue in this one, so no spoilers, just the music (plus a cry from Ten), and if you want to know why Murray Gold pwns my soul, or at least my mp3 player, this is why - mp3 ripped from the denouement of "Last of the Time Lords," if you've seen the ep you'll remember the scene.)

Soooo. The Doctor Who Christmas special is six months away. And me? Not so much with the wanting to wait. And there are well over 600 episodes I haven't seen. So, to all the old-school fen out there - what should we be watching?

Thus far, we've rewatched the '96 movie (I'd seen it its original broadcast on Fox, when it made zero sense to me. It made about a fifth of a sense to me this time, and while it's got a measure of the crack, it doesn't have the...love, that so vividly inspired the new series. Paul McGann is adorable as the Eighth Doctor, though, even if he is kissing girls. And it does have about the only possible way I can imagine the Doctor using a gun - when he takes himself hostage, 'give me your scooter or I'll shoot myself!' Yup, that's the Doctor.)

We also watched "Pyramids of Mars" for a taste of Tom Baker's Doctor, and Sarah Jane Smith. Robot mummies! Oh dear. And oh, the f/x! (hey, I'm a second-generation Trekkie, going back to TOS - full speed to wobbly sets, bring on the camp!) (also Sutekh's voice drove me nuts, I swear I've heard it before but IMDB comes up blank. Maybe someone was imitating him in something?) And the Fourth Doctor is delightful, would like to see more of him. It's entertaining watching the original show and seeing the same char - because he is still the Doctor, then and now, so much of the basic individual is recognizable, his intensity, his eccentricity, his easily distracted genius, his compassion. His habit of holding his companion's hand as they run about! (*squee*) It probably doesn't hurt that Tom Baker is David Tennant's Doctor and thus he's drawing on the Fourth Doctor in his portrayal of Ten.

So, what old-Who eps should I check out? I'm game for anything, though of course I'm especially biased toward h/c and angst. And crack comedy. And bad-ass scifi. What are your favorite eps? Why are they? Share the love!

Comments

[naye]

Thank you~! You totally read my mind - I was going to ask you for that clip. ♥ (The cry totally doesn't hurts, either.) Will be curious to see what episodes you get recc'ed! Wouldn't be averse to watching a few of them myself...

[lifeinsomniac.livejournal.com]

Oh, ho. WIN.

Thank you so much for this and all the other sound clips because I adore Murray Gold. He's been collaborating with R.T.Davies since the Queer as Folk UK days and his music has only gotten more and more incredible. The official series 3 soundtrack for Doctor Who better get here damn fast.

[yma2.livejournal.com]

I love the Doomsday song myself. Got that on my MP3 player, really powerful stuff. Have you got it?
At any rate I recentally re-watched The Sea Devils which is a great third doctor ep, though it retains all the usual Old!School warnings. But if nothing else it has sword fights, Joe Grant being really rather kick ass in places (suprisingly enough), fantastic sound effects (BBC Radiophonics Workshop. Very special) The Master AND the Clangers. It also holds the position of being one of the very few Who eps to actually teriffy me as a child.

Another Must See has to be Gensis of the Daleks. Which is just awsome because you know how much builds out of it and, in it's own right, it's a damn good ep.

If you dare to check out the Seventh doc then I would like to recomment Ghost Light (beautifully spooky) and I think one called... the curse of Fenris? Not sure about that one but it's good at any rate.

Those are what my recomendations are.

My personal rec's...

[greenlady2.livejournal.com]

... See if you can find some first season episodes. 'An Unearthly Child' introduces the Doctor, played by William Hartnell. The second episode is called 'The Daleks'. Gee, wonder what that's about? :-)))

Very few Patrick Troughton episodes remain alive. The BBC didn't know what they had, so they threw out the tapes. Stupid BBC.

The first Doctor I ever saw was Jon Pertwee, the third Doctor. In his reign, the Doctor doesn't have the key to the TARDIS, and can't explore Time and Space. He becomes involved with UNIT. Remember UNIT from the the Chris Eccleston season? That's it. I loved Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. The episodes are in colour. The Doctor is a James Bondish sort of figure, rather than an explorer.

Everyone else will rec the Tom Baker eps, but I haven't seen many of them, so I'll leave it up to the experts.

The Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison... the writing was beginning to go downhill then, but I like Peter Davison as the Doctor. Well, hell, I love all the Doctors. The first episode, 'Castrovalva', is interesting because it was based on an Escher print. Figure that out if you can. :-)))

Colin Baker was unfairly treated. He's a good actor, and holds no grudges against the Doctor himself. But the writing and production values had really disintegrated by that time. He was the one to be blamed, and he got fired. Bah!

The stories by Sylvester McCoy's era were too silly for my taste.

And by now, we're up to Doctor Eight, and you've already seen the TV movie. Yeah, not really canon in some ways, but it was enjoyable.

There! That's my take on it all.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen any of the "new" episodes, but when I was in college I had some of the old stuff pimped at me. I liked the fifth Doctor best of the ones that I saw, for what it's worth.

[ro-anshi.livejournal.com]

We also watched "Pyramids of Mars" for a taste of Tom Baker's Doctor, and Sarah Jane Smith. Robot mummies!

Not just ROBOT MUMMIES, but ROBOT MUMMIES WITH DOLLY PARTON CHESTS!!! :D

And oh, the f/x!

Dincha just love the superimposed FLAMES when the Doctor blowed up the pyramid-spaceship thing Real Good?

(also Sutekh's voice drove me nuts, I swear I've heard it before but IMDB comes up blank. Maybe someone was imitating him in something?)

And here is where memory mostly fails me, 'cause y'know it's been almost 30 years (!!!!) but IIRC, the actor portraying Sutekh (who was actually in the suit, not just doing a voice-over) was primarily a radio actor, hence that lovely, evocative voice.... I believe Lis said that the actor had a hella time SITTING STILL while performing Sutekh (since, of course, being on radio, he'd act things out however he needed to get the end vocal result, never having to worry about actually being seen....)

Gosh, amazing how these bits of fannish trivia just rise to the surface among the rest of the detritus circling in my brain, isn't it?

probably doesn't hurt that Tom Baker is David Tennant's Doctor and thus he's drawing on the Fourth Doctor in his portrayal of Ten.

Oh, man, I did NOT need to hear that. A Four-ish Ten, huh? ::scowls::

So, what old-Who eps should I check out? I'm game for anything, though of course I'm especially biased toward h/c and angst.

Oh, man.... my gateway drug episode was "The Brain of Morbius." It's... awful. And yet the Doctor suffers greatly in it. I seem to recall a dying Doctor with his head in Sarah Jane's lap....

And... and... and.. the title "Planet of Evil" strikes a chord as having OMG Doctor!pain. But I could be wrong.

And crack comedy.

Damn, I'll have to look up the title of the one featuring the Usurians, who taxed EVERYTHING. "Time is money!"

And bad-ass scifi.

I don't know about bad-ass, but BAD sci-fi can be found in "The Invisible Enemy" which is a rip-off of "Fantastic Voyage." And I think there were miniaturized clones too.....

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

When I think of the fourth Doctor (the first one I truly fell for), I can't resist nudging you to watch at least a few of the episodes with Leela of the Sevateem, my favorite female companion. Which is not to say that every episode she appeared in was universally wonderful, but you should at least try to catch "The Face of Evil," "The Robots of Death," "The Talons of Weng-Chiang," "The Horror of Fang Rock" and "The Image of the Fendahl." (The complete list of Leela's episodes -- in what I believe is the proper chronological order -- is as follows: "The Face of Evil," "The Robots of Death," "The Talons of Weng-Chiang," "The Horror of Fang Rock," "The Invisible Enemy," "The Image of the Fendahl," "The Sun Makers," "The Underworld" and "The Invasion of Time.") Also, you should absolutely see the fourth Doctor episode "City of Death" -- it's completely and utterly fantastic.

Fifth Doctor, now, brings me to my favorite male companion, Turlough, and I can't help poking at you to watch his first three episodes: "Mawdryn Undead," "Terminus" and "Enlightenment." I'd also recommend "Planet of Fire," though actually more for the Master's role than for Turlough's.

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Please note that the fourth Doctor episode "City of Death" has nothing to do with Leela. (I just realized that I might have unintentionally given that impression.) Go forth and watch!

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Belatedly noticed that you wanted crack comedy, so I have to nudge again about one of the Leela episodes: "The Sun Makers." (Ro anshi mentioned it above; it's the one where the script writer had been having trouble with Britain's version of the IRS, so he created a futuristic society in which absolutely everything is taxed to the limit and beyond.)

[sumeria.livejournal.com]

My favorite Doctor was by far the Sixth, Colin Baker, although I can't say anything against the Fourth (who can?) But the sixth Doctor is complicated. Also, crazy. Actually. The impression I always got was that the fifth was so repressed that he actually drove his next incarnation mad. Vengeance on Varos, which is a Colin Baker episode, is my all time favorite. It achieves a degree of moral complexity that the show hadn't previously really gotten to. And in the sixth doctor we most often see him pushed to his limits and on the breaking point. That said, I think he watches better when one's seen more background, so as to put him in his proper context.

For a good solid overview of the best of Who, I would run through the Dalek episodes, and the Master episodes. It will give you a good selection of the best of all the Doctors. (Caveat: I cannot abide the Seventh doctor, and found every episode of his run --and I did see them ALL-- to be such that I never want to see them again.)\

Tom Baker did have the best companions, however, or at least, my favorites: Leela and K-9. The arc where they traveled with him is my favorite arc that isn't in Colin Baker's run.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

(icon <3!)

Yup, I figured you'd want that clip! Any others, too, just ask...

Hee to old Who! Have got a fair share of things to try out, anyway!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

(I am so gonna have to check out QaF UK...) And you're welcome! The first couple seasons I didn't really notice the music, but it's really quite excellent, and 3rd season blows me away. Yessss want soundtrack now! Hope they make one just for 3rd season (heck, I'd like individual ep OSTs if I could get 'em!)

If there's any other 3rd series clips you want, just ask!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yep, I've got the whole OST (pretty much on repeat on my mp3 player) and I love the Doomsday piece, one of my favorites. Beautiful even though it breaks my heart to hear it!

"Sea Devils," eh? I've been wanting to see some of Jon Pertwee's Doctor, so will have to dig that one up! Thanks for the other recs, too, will let you know what we think! ^^ (eee more Daleks will always be fun!)

Re: My personal rec's...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heee, yup! I know all the Doctors by name & on sight thanks to the Confidentials...and have been interested in seeing the 5th Doctor because of what I've heard of him, and I like the look of Peter Davison. Will have to check all these out! Seems like I'm getting a good cross-Doctor rec list, anyway (I have this feeling few people are rec'ing Tom Baker just 'cuz everyone assumes everyone else will! ^^;)

Re: My personal rec's...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

forgot to say, thanks much for the detailed list! ^_^

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The new eps are worth watching for many great reasons! As for the old, hee! we've been wanting to see the 5th Doctor as we like his look in the specials...must check it out!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

ROBOT MUMMIES WITH DOLLY PARTON CHESTS!!

XDDD (there was one of the modern specials that Tom Baker was complaining about how they really did make him dress up as a mummy and shamble around, rather than just getting some stunt guy to do it. I think mainly just to annoy him XD)

And the new series actually brought the Sutekh guy back, because they all loved his voice from that ep (I'm telling you, the amount of fanning that goes on backstage in the new series is something. Not the least of which from Ten's actor, who casually quotes ep titles with which monsters and threw a hissy to get the credits changed from "Doctor Who" to "the Doctor" when he joined up.)

Oh this is not fair!! You know how to rec stuff to me! Eeeevil h/c fan that you are! :P (the Usurians are from "The Sun-makers" according to a comment below, will check it & the others out! ...Doctor!pain, don't say that, do you know what that does to me!?)

And just to be eeeevil myself -

A Four-ish Ten, huh?

Well, not exactly; Ten's performance is quite original from what I've seen. But elements, definitely. Ten talks rather more (than, er, anyone ever) and *bounces* and he's rude in a more oblivious way - the Fourth Doctor can be deliberately cutting, while Ten tends to insult accidentally half the time. And on purpose the other half. Ten's dark side also runs deeper, I believe. Ten is awesome because usually he is so young-seeming and fun and silly...but he's a lot older than he was. "I used to have so much mercy." It's dangerous to cross Ten.

And oh, the h/c...I have mentioned how very good David Tennant is at screaming in pain. (check out those mp3s I upped! from "42" especially...) Fortunately he's got his companions...and hugs! so many hugs! (this icon's not even half...!)

I'd be tempted to rec if nothing else "School Reunion" for SJS's return, because I think it's handled beautifully. At least Elizabeth Sladen thought so; she was thinking it was going to be an in-joke cameo and didn't want to debase her char like that, so was going to turn it down, but then she read the script, and was thrilled to do it. (and I suspect some of the Tenth Doctor's excitement at seeing her again is actually David Tennant bouncing about meeting one of his boyhood idols ^^)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Eeee, you're a Who-fan too? awesome! ^__^ (are you watching the new show, or are dedicated old-school? 'cuz the new show is pretty awesome. And a lot better than SV, I can promise you ^^ I'm so tempted to do an essay on how better because it's, mmm, frustrating, how much better Who does things like heroes and nemeses...)

Thank you for the Fourth Doctor recs! Leela looks very entertaining, the bit I've seen of her in the specials, will check 'em out! And we've been wanting to see the Fifth Doctor too (a male companion especially sounds fascinating, he doesn't have many of those...)

Plus, anything with the Master I perk up at. Eternal nemeses do it for me big-time!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee, awesome - it seems like the Sixth Doctor is one of the less-liked ones (I've heard it said before that's the fault of the writing more than Colin Baker, though that patchwork get-up they put him in couldn't have helped...) so it's great to get recs for him! Will check him out, maybe once we've seen some of the others. Context, like you said. I rather like crazy myself, so...

Watching Daleks and the Master sounds like fun to me! And I got a bunch of Leela recs above, so, yes, will haveta check all these out - thank you!

[airairo.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I've been wanting to check out some Old Who as well! The Confidentials have gotten me interested.

And since there are about a million months until Christmas... (Is it sad that I'm more looking forward to the Chrismas special than Christmas itself...? XD)

Be sure to let us know which ones you liked! As someone who had barely even heard of DW before watching the new series, it's hard to know where to begin XD

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

I can't claim to be more than a moderate Who fan, since it's mostly just the third, fourth and fifth Doctors I've seen. (Haven't yet caught any of the new episodes, but I will try to take a look.) Leela is indeed a lot of fun to watch -- I just wish she'd been around longer -- and Turlough kept me daydreaming Doctor/Turlough slash long after his arc was finished. (There are a few great stories in that genre on Viridian5's website.) Also, if you're specifically looking for episodes with the Master, I know there's at least one other episode with both Turlough and the Master: "The King's Demons."

[lifeinsomniac.livejournal.com]

QaF UK was an awesome series. And while some disagreed, I thought the conclusion of Stuart and Vince's story was absolutely PERFECT. R.T.Davies never dropped the ball on remaining true to these characters and he got the perfect blend of having them grow and yet remain exactly who they are. So wonderful. I heartily recommend it.

Re: My personal rec's...

[greenlady2.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. I hope my list was of some use. Reading it over, I realized that I do this sort of thing all the time. When someone asks for rec's of episodes of any show, I go off on tangents about why I can't rec any specific episodes, give a potted history of the show, and nearly tell them they should just watch the entire series in order. :-)))

[naye]

(<3 back at you - yours is very tragic OTP!)

It's beautiful, it really is... OST now pls?? WANT. Really, really badly. I wonder what that piece is called? It's the same used for the Master's madness in the Gallifrey flashback, right? And - oh! Speaking of music! You've seen who's guest starring in the Christmas special, right? Wouldn't that be the perfect opportunity for Murray Gold to write another song? And have Kylie sing it! I would like that, I think.

[sakurazuka-jae.livejournal.com]

Some of the Sylvester McCoy's were very good - I highly recommend Battlefield and Silver Nemesis. Survival also excellent and has the Master in it. Also Curse of Fenric. The best Roger Delgado as Master episode has got to be Mind of Evil which includes fantastic Master and Doctor arguing and the Master being unusually sweet towards Jo (everyone was - she was cute and fluffy! Okay she was not the brightest thing, but she was the nicest). Actually, I think it was Monster of Peladon with her in was also good (there are two Peladon stories - one with Sarah Jane and one with Jo. The one with Jo was better, but I get the titles muddled up). Agree with the person reccing Talons of Weng Chiang. A lot of the second Doctor stuff with Jamie and Zoe was good. Oh! And you have, have, HAVE to watch The Five Doctors. But watch some of the other stuff first to get more background.

And I really need to watch the 3rd season of New Who. I haven't yet, but I'm now looking forward to it a lot.

(PS. And just for fun - try and get hold of The Curse of Fatal Death. It was done for the 1999 UK Comic Relief fund raiser, and it's not canon, but it is absolutely hysterical and includes Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor and Julia Sawalha (Saffy from AbFab) as his companion, with Jonathan Pryce as the Master).)

(And for pure crack, you can't go past The Happiness Patrol.)

[littlehollyleaf.livejournal.com]

I heard the voice of Sutek also voiced The Beastie in The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit- there was a lot of speculation at the time that the Beast actually was Sutek :) So if that was true that could be why the voice was familier to you :p

I recommend Peter Davison episodes! Because he is adorable! And daft! And his plots generally consist of him bumbling about while everything sorts itself out around him. It's great :P Hee. If you want good eps of him I suggest- Castrovalva (his first), Earthshock, Planet of Fire and Caves of Androzani (his last). At least two of those have old!school Master in too :) Although one of the better Anthony Ainley Master eps is Slyvester's Survival.

And I'll end there before my recommendations get too crazy!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

(they're not really my OTP, they're just...well, you cannot deny the chemistry! and it's been going on for years, apparently, because we watched the first of a John Pertwee ep tonight, and the Master was around, and yep, still slashy...)

OST HOSHIII~~~ yes! And yep, the funeral is the same theme as the Gallifrey scene - not the same piece exactly; there's unique scores for all the eps, as far as I can tell, so while themes are repeated every ep has a different variation (is gonna make the OST frustrating, I just know it's gonna be missing some of the arrangements I like. They need to release the OSTs for individual eps! Some shows have before, maybe they will for this one?)

I've seen the guest star for the Xmas special but have never heard of her! But I wouldn't mind another Murry Gold song, certainly!

[littlehollyleaf.livejournal.com]

Oh! And of course Mawdryn Undead should definately be checked out because of the role of the Brigadier! UNIT's finest member :) You know, until Ecceles-cake, Nicholas Courtney (Brig's actor) was the only actor to have worked with all eight doctors. He never got in a Colin Baker ep, or a Paul Mcgann one (obviously) but Big Finish Audios produced stories for both the Eighth and Sixth doctor which allowed Courtney to return to the role. He is a bit of a doctor who legend. If they don't at least mention him in the New Series soon all the good work Rusty did with the Master may well be undone in my mind...

But yes. The Brig! Brilliant. Though, it'll be better if you check him out in some Pertwee eps first, since that's when the character first came into his own. Someone above mentioned The Sea Devils, which I second. Great old!school stuff. The Deamons is also a bit of a classic, both for the Brig and the Master :D

This really is the end now!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I've got a lot of recs now, looking forward to checking them out! I'm in the same boat, I'd heard of Who but never seen any of it. The best (or terrifying) thing is that even if we watched 3 eps every night until Xmas, we still wouldn't be finished the show...

(and you're not the only one whose holiday anticipation is going to be taking a rather fangirlish slant...this'll be as bad as the Xmas we were watching B5...!)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

There seems to be several 7th Doctor fans on the flist, will definitely have to check him out! Thanks for the ep recs. And The Five Doctors, yes, totally want to see that, it sounds fun! Curse of Fatal Death does as well, hope I can dig it up...

Enjoy 3rd series! IMO it's the best season of New Who yet.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

We're watching "The Sea Devils" now! (...um is it kosher for me to point out that the Doctor and the Master were slashy even way back then...? ^^;) And then onto the first of Peter Davison's Doctor eps! (might watch the last two Fourth Doctor serials first, as according to wiki they're related, and we do want to see more Tom Baker. But the Fifth Doctor has looked rather adorable in the Confidentials.) And we coincidentally just watched the 1st series Confidential ep that talks about the Brigadier, and were wondering why he hasn't shown up in New Who yet! I have a hard time thinking they'd just forget him...

Thanks much for the recs - I'm looking forward to checking everything out! At least it won't be a Who-less 6 months ^^

[littlehollyleaf.livejournal.com]

Dunno about kosher... but I don't care if you do! :D I honestly never slashed a show till SV, but now I'm seeing it everywhere! It'll be fun going over the old eps and re-assessing everything I know about the Doc and the Master :)

Wiki is in fact right (as is so often the case!) the last 2 4th eps are related at least to Castrovalva. But a lot of old school stuff is related to other things that you don't necessarily have to know about really. It was different back then see, everything ended in a cliffhanger! Well... kind of :p I miss the old cliffhangers, the new series doesn't allow for enought of them.

Have with your DW-a-thon!

[naye]

No, I meant - your icon is very symbolic of what a weird and dark little best-enemy OTP the Doctor and the Master are. ^^

Iiiinteresting, though, about Pertwee and - was that the Delgado Master?

It's so very beautiful and evocative and lovely, and oh, I want it! It's also interesting to listen to the variations, and - oh, it's just too gorgeous. (Though my copy of your file is now skipping in some places. No idea why. Is your copy fine?)

...you. Hadn't heard of her? That's - well. Um. Maybe she's more famous here in Europe and Australia and... ...no, really, you'd never heard of her? Interesting. Anyway - the first thing I thought about is that she's really tiny. About 150 cm, to David Tennant's 185, which means it's going to look really, really funny when they run around together. XD (If you've seen the photo of her and David, she's standing on a couple of stairs to reach that high.)

[utopiantrunks.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you posted this, because MAK and I have been thinking the same way... If you have good links to any of these downloads, might you be persuaded to share? 'Cause so far most of the ones I've found have been sans seeds. I need something to stave off Who-withdrawal until Christmas, and backstory would really hit the spot... ^^

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yup, Delgado's Master, freakish eyes and all! And they're not slashy like "I like it when you say my name" but...well, it's "The Sea Devils" and it begins with the Master in an army prison and the Doctor coming to check up on him, partly because he's worried he's got a plot up his sleeve and partly just...because. And the Master plays it nice and is all, 'please come and talk to me, I can't get any good conversation here' and while of course the Master does have something up his sleeve...still, you get the feeling he partly means it. Not to mention the Doctor's "He used to be a friend of mine once, a very good friend."

so, yes, OTP through the ages ^^;

My mp3's playing fine, and if you listened to it once without trouble...try d/ling it again, maybe it got corrupted somehow?

And nope, never heard of her! I think the Doctor said her name in an ep before? I might have heard a song by her (not sure, haven't seen her list or anything) but I'm guessing she's never had a major hit in the US, and I'm not really up on pop music unless it gets thrown at me, so...

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I've found most of them on http://www.mininova.org/ or http://isohunt.com/ - none of them going very quickly, but they're going. Try looking for the Doctor's actor name, I've found complete torrents for Pertwee and Davison. Having the most trouble finding good torrents for Tom Baker, actually, oddly enough...

I kind of love that it is all backstory. J-chan says it's like watching very long and poorly filmed flashback!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm not really a hard-core slasher - I have some show (SV) that I see it in, and others I really don't. Doctor and Master, though...on the one hand, I really rather prefer the Doctor being functionally asexual (his relationships just appeal to me more that way). On the other...Doctor/Master is hard to deny...! In any incarnation, apparently!

The great part about the old-school cliffhangers, for me, is that New Who uses the exact same stinger music at the end of the episodes, so either way we always know exactly when the ep is ending. ^^

[dhrachth.livejournal.com]

I think all the Doctors had good episodes and bad episodes.

For William Hartnell -
I never really got into the 1st Doctor. They're okay but not really my thing. However the first three eps are good viewing just for background:
1. An Unearthly Child
2. The Daleks
3. The Edge of Destruction

Patrick Troughton -
I've only actually seen 2 eps. One was a lot of fun the other unwatchably boring.
I recommend:
37. The Tomb of the Cybermen

Jon Pertwee -
His episodes were pretty consistently good, but not many of them standout individually. I'd recommend any of the Dalek episodes. He did 3 of them:
60. Day of the Daleks
68. Planet of the Daleks
72. Death to the Daleks

Tom Baker (my personal favorite)-
I love some of the Leela episodes:
90. The Robots of Death
91. The Talons of Weng-Chiang
92. Horror of Fang Rock
The Key to Time Arc is probably the definitive Doctor Who story arc and is not to be missed:
98. The Ribos Operation
99. The Pirate Planet
100. The Stones of Blood
101. The Androids of Tara
102. The Power of Kroll
103. The Armageddon Factor
There's a good mix of comedy and drama in the bunch and lots of fun with the 1st Romana and the 4th Doctor being snarky to each other.

Peter Davidson -
I've always found this Doctor kind of forgetable. I did like:
135. Planet of Fire

Colin Baker -
The series was really uneven with eps I couldn't stand but his Dalek episode is one of my all time favorite Doctor Who eps:
143. Revelation of the Daleks

Sylvester McCoy -
An excellent cast, but probably the weakest overall writing. I can't really recommend any episodes in particular but I did enjoy the reappearance of the Daleks and the Master, respectively:
152. Remembrance of the Daleks
159. Survival
It was also kind of nifty to see the Brigadier again:
154. Silver Nemesis

And 8, 9, & 10 you already know.

For more details on each of these episodes, I'd suggest checking here:
http://www.gallifreyone.com/epguide.php

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Eeee, thank you for the detailed listing! So much to check out, whee! We've enjoyed the bit we've seen so far (in a camp MST3K way, mostly, but I do like all the Doctor's incarnations I've seen ^^) and I look forward to more...

[(Anonymous)]

I hope you don't mind a wandering lurker stumbling onto this a couple weeks after you posted initially, but, well, I looked through the recs and felt the need to add a couple unmentioned and second a couple more. So feel free to ignor if you have enough recs, and I apologize if you've watched any of these already.

First, seconding Five Doctors, Curse of Fenric, and Battlefield. The former because it's fun watching the Doctors interact, and we get background on Gallifrey; plus, you get a nice overview of several companions. The latter two because, while Sylvester McCoy does have some silly storylines, he also has some lovely dark Doctor moments.

Adding:
The Three Doctors: During Pertwee's era, the first time any of the Doctors met up. Doctor interaction and the Brig's reaction to everything going on are both highlights. It's also the last appearance of William Hartnell.
Happiness Patrol: McCoy era. Admittedly, this one gets weird, but there's something damn sinister about a killer made out of candy. And Fifi.
And, while I know I've seen a lot of people complain about him, I'd recommend watching something with Adric. He's not the first companion to die while traveling with the Doctor, but I think the eps with Katarina and Sara Kingdom are pretty much lost.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hey!

I don't mind a lurker at all - everyone welcome, and I appreciate the recs! We've started watching eps, Fourth & Fifth Doctor mostly. Have enjoyed those. I actually rather liked Adric, the Doctor is fun with Wesley Crusher a kid! Though I was disappointed by his death, or rather the almost entire lack of acknowledgment - "Sigh, Adric's dead...now we wanna go to the fair!"

(actually so far the only companion I don't like is Nyssa; far as I'm concerned her only purpose is to be slashy with Tegan...)

Must check out McCoy - always up for a dark Doctor. Also, if there's any Third Doctor eps you'd recommend, I'd like to see more with Pertwee, we watched "The Sea Devils" and the ep itself was rather slow, but I liked his Doctor!)

[carmine-eyes.livejournal.com]

Remembering to sign in might be good when I do this, huh.

With the McCoy eps, you might want to stick with his last two seasons; they're darker and, IMO at least, a bit better. Plus, that way, you get to watch Ace (who beats up Daleks with a baseball bat) rather than Mel (who screams. A lot).

As for Pertwee recs, I've unfortunately not seen that many. I did, however, ask my mother, who's watched the show since she was in her teens. Between the two of us, we settled on:
Terror of the Autons: The first appearance of both the Master and Jo Grant. It was also highly compained about by parents because of the faceless policemen and the homicidal doll.
The Mind of Evil: I've never seen it, admittedly, but Mom remembers it as being quite good. The summary I'm reading mentions a scene in Chinese, a rocken transporter hijacking, a ground-to-air missile, and UNIT storming a prison.
The Daemons: More of the Master, this time involving witchcraft, an alien masquerading as the Devil, and maypole dancing. This is a fun one.
The Time Warrior: While it's not one of my absolute favorites, it does introduce Sarah Jane Smith. Plus, the Sontarans? Evil Mr. Potato Heads. Seriously.
Planet of the Spiders: The last Pertwee episode. Giant spiders and chase scenes.
Also, if you can get a hold of it, you'd probably enjoy seeing More Than 30 Years in the TARDIS. It's a documentary made after the series ended detailing the creation/writing/casting/making of/fandom/what have you. They bring back several former Doctors and Companions to interview, and have archival footage from when the show first took off. It's also really good for random facts and backstory (like the fact that aspirin could kill the Doctor).

Hope this helps.