Doctor Who Season 26 (1989)
…………………………………………………
Doctor Who Season 26 Review
The twenty sixth season of Doctor Who is a solid, if not all too remarkable season which marked the end of the classic era for the series.
………………………………………………….
“It seems we must always meet again.
They do say opposites attract“
………………………………………………….
………………………………………………….
Battlefield is a pretty uninspired, dull take on the King Arthur legend. I did not find this serial either entertaining or memorable, but it did have one great thing going for it and that was the return of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart who is one of my all-time favorite classic Doctor Who companions. I just wish that he received a better and more memorable story.
Ghost Light is one of those very typical and highly unoriginal Doctor Who stories where we get a historical setting but mixed with aliens in it, this time the 19th century and Queen Victoria. It could have been a lot of fun, but it wasn’t as the story is decidedly unremarkable.
The Curse of Fenric actually started off quite strongly and I liked its first half quite a lot. It was very well executed and scored. However, the second half ruined all of that due to its addition of zombies whom I have always disliked and found boring.
Survival is by far the highlight of this entire season thanks to solid world building, memorable characters in Cheetah People and pretty solid, engaging storytelling. It’s a very well executed, mostly very fun classic Doctor Who serial.
………………………………………………….
………………………………………………….
So this is it, the end of all classic Doctor Who serials. Overall, I did not find this show to be all that great during its earlier years, but when it was well crafted, it was a lot of fun. I hope that the modern era is better though.
As for this particular season, it is overall solid, but mostly uninspired with only a half solid episodes. It is pretty much on par with the previous season. I liked Sylvester McCoy in the role but he unfortunately did not get much to do owing to his shortest turn in the role of the Doctor. I am particularly going to miss Ace as she was a very charming companion.
Worst Serial: Ghost Light.
Best Serial: Survival.
Worst Episodes: Battlefield Part One, Battlefield Part Two and Ghost Light Part Two.
Best Episodes: Survival Part One, Survival Part Three and Survival Part Four.
