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Top Ten Classic Doctor Who Serials List

The Classic Era of Doctor Who is quite flawed and not my favorite. I disliked the serials more than I liked them, but still the era has its fair share of excellent stories. For me the first half of its twenty six seasons is easily the better one and thus those stories would mostly populate this list. So without further ado these are ten best classic Doctor Who serials (stories that consist of mostly around four episodes) from the Classic Era with five honorable mentions.

10. Enlightenment

Peter Davison has never been a great Doctor and he unfortunately did not get much to do as most of his stories are forgettable. But this one from the 20th season is the major exception. It is a very powerful, smart serial with a sophisticated storyline, a very epic tone to it and it’s very well executed from start to finish. It’s undoubtedly the highlight of Peter Davison’s reign.

9. The Time Warrior

An alien spaceship crashes on the Middle Ages Earth and the Third Doctor is there to investigate. These kinds of Doctor Who stories are always a lot of fun and surely enough this serial mixes science fiction and history really well with an excellent attention to detail in recreating this period faithfully. And of course it has Jon Pertwee who is by far my favorite Doctor of this era.

8. The War Games

The Second Doctor is vastly overrated and not my cup of tea. However, this last serial of his is an impressive one not only due to a very entertaining, consistently involving World War I storyline (despite being ten episodes long!), but also due to one of the best and most unforgettable endings and regenerations so far.

7. The Deadly Assassin

The only Doctor Who story where he doesn’t have a companion is also the most political of the bunch as it entirely happens on the Doctor’s home planet Gallifrey and it explores the High Council and the intrigue particularly well. It is a very different, unique serial which gives us an important look into the character’s origins.

6. The Ark

The classic concept of Noah’s Ark is given a Doctor Who makeover and it surely fits the material and works wonders for this serial which is a very dark, but ultimately hopeful futuristic story which could happen in real life and is thus all the more powerful and effective. I wish that more serials were like this one.

5. The Sensorites

The titular creatures are incredibly intriguing both in their morally ambiguous nature and their interesting looks. This serial is at times silly in action, but mostly stupendously executed and particularly well shot and imagined. It’s a very atmospheric, incredibly engaging story which goes to show how fun the First Doctor serials could be.

4. Terror of the Autons

This serial most definitely is underutilized in its titular race, but they are unimportant when you have the Master in his debut and second best overall story. I loved this serial so much as it is incredibly entertaining to watch while also being very effective in its iconic villain and highly memorable in plot as well.

3. Spearhead from Space

This is one amazing serial! Spearhead from Space is not only terrifically effective as a horror story with the Autons being quite creepy and some scenes being memorably scary, but it is even more effective as an introduction to my favorite Third Doctor who is intriguingly sparingly used here as well as an introduction to Liz Shaw and the Brigadier who remain two of the best Doctor Who companions.

2. The Time Meddler

Set in 1066 but not concerned with history all too much, this excellent serial gives us the first ever Time Lord apart from the Doctor and sure enough it remains highly memorable in that important angle. The Monk is a fascinating character, the dialogue is very strong here and the twist is quite effective leading to one of the most entertaining and quintessential serials on this list.

1. Frontier in Space

Naturally my favorite Third Doctor played by Jon Pertwee gets the top spot on my list. However, this serial is great not just for featuring the Third Doctor at his most bravado moments, but most especially for utilizing on the Master and Joe Grant so well. It was just a lot of fun following the two hatching plans how to escape from the clutches of the Master. It is such a perfectly executed, consistently amusing serial and thus the very best when it comes to the Classic Era of Doctor Who.

Honorable Mentions:

Black Orchid – This refreshing tale unfortunately did not make the list, but it is still great and admirable for being a very different Doctor Who story influenced by Agatha Christie.

The Ark in Space – Featuring insectoid and parasitic aliens and a lot of menacing horror scenes, this ‘Alien’ influencer is certainly an important, groundbreaking serial.

The Enemy of the World – The Enemy of the World is undercooked and never as amazing as it easily could have been, but still it is a very interesting, striking political thriller.

Vengeance on Varos – The same applies here. Vengeance on Varos has a great concept solidly explored, but it should have been much better executed overall.

The Ultimate Foe – This late season serial is a pretty solid story with great roles for both the Doctor and the Master. It is a lot of fun for sure.