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The McCoy Era Review The McCoy era was one that, like the previous Colin Baker tenure, was filled with controversy, instability and doubt. However, far from the general dross that was served up during the Colin Baker era, we have here some truly excellent stories. The biggest shame from my point of view is that the final series was of such good quality, and the BBC stillcancelled the show. From the actionsequences and fight scenes of Battlefield, to the cerebral adventures of Ghost Light and The Curse of Fenric to the conclusion in fine style of Survival. Really, I should probably be saying it was a fitting end to the classic series, but I will maintain that if they genuinely looked at the quality of the productions, they would never have cancelled it. The entire tenure though was not of universal good quality. In fact, the Sylvester McCoy got off to a very inauspicious start. The rushed and badly prepared dross that was served up in Time and the Rani and Paradise Towers are the best example of this. There are also stories that seem to entirely be playing for laughs and just being as camp as possible. The happiness Patrol in McCoys second series is the best example here of a story that appears as it is for the wrong reasons. After an almost universally bad first season, at the end of which one of the main problems, the existence of Bonnie Langford as a companion, was addressed by casting Sophie Aldred as Ace. This rejuvinated the partnership between Doctor and companion, and their first full story together, Rememberance of the Daleks, is testament to how much better Aldred is as a companion than Langford. The production then went on to produce stories that focussed more on Ace as the companion than the Doctor, and the relationship and interplay between the two really came out well in those stories. Overall, I am bery positive about the McCoy era despite it containing some of the most bizarre stories of the entire run of the classic series. The final series of the three in which McCoy played the Doctor really is a joy to behold. The stories that it contains are of universal good quality, and it had been some time since that had happened for an entire series. After that, it was therefore a real shame to see Doctor Who cancelled. Given the fact that it was cancelled for reasons entirely seperate to the production of the show, fans were rightly agrieved that the McCoy era ended as it did. Rating:  |