ROUND 3: CLASSIC DR. WHO FIELD OF 64

HERE'S THE THIRD DIVISION.  And here's your close-up peek at it.

#1 seed)  THE SEEDS OF DOOM    Vs.   #16 seed)   ROBOT

#1)  THE SEEDS OF DOOM  -  "I've heard of flower power but that's ridiculous!"  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  So, the first seed in this division is appropriately SEEDS.  It's got the best aspects of THE THING, THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT, as well as the ultra-cool TV classic "THE AVENGERS".  It's got one of the most gruesome cliffhangers (involving the mulcher), the Krynoid, UNIT (sadly sans the Brig), and the greatest compliment a Doctor ever gave a companion when he refers to Sarah Jane as "Miss Smith, my best friend".  And, if all that wasn't enough, it's got Camp Freddy!!!!!

VS.

#16)   ROBOT  -  "What's the point of being grown-up if you can't be childish sometimes?"  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's got Tom Baker's debut as the Doctor, the best "early transformation" regeneration wackiness until Matt Smith, the King Kong metaphor and the debut of jelly babies.

THE WINNER:  SEEDS OF DOOM

#2 seed)   THE ROBOTS OF DEATH   Vs.    #15 seed) THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE GALAXY

#2)  THE ROBOTS OF DEATH  -  "Please do not throw hands at me."  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's got an elegant script, a superb art deco design to the beautiful robots and sets and a kabuki-like rococo make-up design for the humans, an Agatha Christie whodunit structure.  And if all that's not enough, it's got Lonely from CALLAN!!!!

VS.

#15)  THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE GALAXY  -  "Get lost or I'll do something 'orrible to your ears!"  The Doctor:  Sylvester McCoy.  It's got a creepy clown, surreal and psychedelic design, a sneaky underlying dig at the producers of the show as well as the BBC and, if all that's not enough, it's got Richard "Tricky Dicky" Cole from EASTENDERS!!!

THE WINNER:  THE ROBOTS OF DEATH

#3 seed)  THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI   Vs.  #14 seed)  THE MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA

#3)  THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI  -  "It's not your lucky day either, is it?"  The Doctor:  Peter Davison.  It's got the final adventure of Peter Davison's Doctor (and a pretty terrific performance from the actor) and the first appearance of Colin Baker with his superb "Change, my dear..." quip, a terrificly designed villain and, at last, the explanation of the celery!

VS.

#14)  THE MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA  -  "You're going to hold a dance?!?"  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's got another example of excellent costume and set design, echoes of the Medici and Poe's MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH and the first appearance of the sumptuous wood-paneled secondary console room.

THE WINNER:  THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI

#4 seed)   THE INVASION OF TIME   Vs.   #13 seed)   SHADA

#4)  THE INVASION OF TIME  -  "Even the sonic screwdriver won't get me out of this one!"  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  Sort of a sequel to "THE DEADLY ASSASSIN", it's got a return to the political world of the Time Lords on Gallifrey, the return of the Sontarans, the final adventure of Leela and the awesome endless levels inside the Tardis (with the tiles and the potted plants -- I love it!!!).

VS.

#13)   SHADA  -  "I dunno . . . nowadays they'll publish anything."  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's the one that was scuppered by the strike and never finished.  However, it's got that typically wacky Douglas Adams script and the reconstruction job actually hangs together.  The Cambridge college setting really works for me and conjures up happy memories of the Big Finish audio adventures with Professor Evelyn Smythe.

THE WINNER:  SHADA

#5 seed)  REVELATION OF THE DALEKS    Vs.    #12)   EARTHSHOCK

#5)  REVELATION OF THE DALEKS  -  "I'm curious to know where he picked up his patter."  The Doctor:  Colin Baker.  It's got the funeral planet Necros and the funeral home Tranquil Repose, it's got the return of Davros, and, if all that's not enough, it's got Eleanor Bron AND Alexei Sayle!

VS.

#12)   EARTHSHOCK  -  "I'm just a mouth on legs."  The Doctor:  Peter Davison.  It's refreshing to have a match-up that doesn't feature a Tom Baker story for a change.  Just don't get used to it.  It's got the return of the Cybermen, the deading of Adric and, if all that's not enough, it's got Beryl Reid in leather!

THE WINNER:  EARTHSHOCK

#6 seed) HORROR OF FANG ROCK    Vs.     #11 seed)   THE TIME MEDDLER

#6)  HORROR OF FANG ROCK  -  "You will do as the Doctor instructs or I will cut out your heart."  The Doctor:  Tom Baker.  It's got a lighthouse!  It's a scary story set in a lighthouse!  That's pretty much all I need.  But it's also got the often mentioned but never-before-seen Rutans (arch-enemies of the Sontarans).

VS.

#11)  THE TIME MEDDLER  -  "That is the dematerializing control.  And that over yonder is the horizontal hold.  Up there is the scanner, those are the doors, that is a chair with a panda on it.  Sheer poetry, dear boy.  Now please stop bothering me."  The Doctor:  William Harnell.  It's got the Meddling Monk, the first inkling that the TARDIS and the Doctor are not unique in the universe, the superb performances by both Hartnell and Peter Butterworth and the stylish series-ending innovation of starting the theme music before the end of the show as they show a montage of the vast reaches of space with the Doctor and his companions faces superimposed.

THE WINNER:  HORROR OF FANG ROCK

#7 seed)  THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH   Vs.  #10 seed)  THE SEA DEVILS

#7)  THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH  -  "It is forbidden to dump bodies."  The Doctor:  William Hartnell.  It's got the return of the Daleks at the height of "Dalekmania", it's got those great "don't dump bodies in the river" signs, and the first departure of a companion.

VS.

#10)  THE SEA DEVILS  -  "Time for a quick one?"  The Doctor:  Jon Pertwee.  It's got those marvelous cousins of the Silurians:  the Sea Devils (and their string vests), it's got the Master watching the Clangers on telly, and the only actual time the Doctor actually reverses the polarity of the neutron flow!

THE WINNER:  THE SEA DEVILS

#8 seed)  THE SEEDS OF DEATH    Vs.    #9 seed)   THE REIGN OF TERROR

#8)  THE SEEDS OF DEATH  -  "Your leader will be angry if you kill me . . . I'm a genius!"  The Doctor:  Patrick Troughton.  It's got the return of the Ice Warriors and the beloved Doctor Who foam machine (and a delightful slapstick response to it by the actors).

VS.

#9)  THE REIGN OF TERROR  -  "Our lives are important -- at least to us -- and as we see, so we learn.  Our destiny is in the stars . . . so let's go and search for it."  The Doctor:  William Hartnell.  It's got that great speech by Hartnell, another excellent pure historical story set in the French Revolution and Robespierre even gets shot in the jaw!

THE WINNER:  THE REIGN OF TERROR

And so, here's where Division 3 stands . . .

THE END

OF THE THIRD DIVISION