Opening Round Matchups Part 3

Time to continue the first round of the tournament.  This time we set our sites on the Reverse The Polarity Division.  Any more upsets on the agenda for today?  We shall see.

This rounds first seed is titled Inferno.  This would be Liz Shaw's last story.  The evil, alternate universe version of the Brigadier makes an appearance as well.  How do you know he's an evil version of the Brig?  The eye patch of course.

VS

The 16th seed finds the third Doctor returning to Peladon, this time with Sarah Jane in Monster of Peladon.  Alpha Centauri and Aggedor are both back this time.  The planet is now ruled by a Queen who is having issues.  

WINNER: INFERNO

The Green Death is an 8th seeded story that finds us saying "Goodbye" to yet another companion.  This time Liz Shaw ends her journey with the doctor to get married.  

VS

The 9th seeded story Castrovalva.  The fifth Doctors first story finds him in the middle of the regeneration process and it's not going well.  In an effort to find salvation the Doctor enters an M.C. Escher type structure created by The Master.

WINNER: THE GREEN DEATH

The second Doctor along with Victoria and Jamie land in London's underground and find the Yeti are up to something in The Web of Fear a fourth seeded story.  

VS

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy, a 13th seed, brings up every creepy reason why people hate the circus and especially clowns.  Reminds me a little of Something Wicked This Way Comes.

WINNER: THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE GALAXY

The Time Meddler, a five seed, features the first Doctor facing off with another Time Lord called The Monk way back in 1066.  There's also Vikings.

VS

State of Decay is a 12th seeded story that features the fourth Doctor along with Romana and K-9 plus Adric makes his first appearance as a companion.  Mix in some vampires and you got yourself a party!

WINNER: STATE OF DECAY

In Remembrance of the Daleks, a third seed, the seventh Doctor and Ace have a go at facing off against Davros and the Daleks.  We also return to 76 Totter's Lane where it all started way back in An Unearthly Child.  

VS

Snakedance, a 14th seeded story features the fourth Doctor along with Nyssa and Tegan.  I liked this one better than the first Mara story Kinda.  This story has a Native American and Buddhist sort of feel to it.  

 

WINNER: REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS

The White Guardian gives the Doctor a quest: to find the six parts to The Key to Time.  This story, The Ribos Operation. a sixth seed. is the first story in The Key to Time Series.  The two con men Garron and Unstoffe pictured above provide comedic relief and make the story worth watching.  

VS

The Daemons, an 11th seeded story, brings about a close to the season of the Master who seems to be into devil worshiping now. If all that wasn't enough there's that cute little daemon who can't seem to keep its tongue in its mouth.   

WINNER: THE DAEMONS

If you look at the picture above it would seem the Doctor has a hole in his ace.  In The Talons of Weng-Chiang, a seventh seeded story, the Doctor and Leela try to figure out why an ancient Chinese god is hiding under a music hall and feasting on young ladies.

VS

A 10th seeded story, The Sun Makers is really a statement against taxation.  Yes, Doctor Who can get political without getting preachy especially after the produces made the writers tone it down a bit.  Leela and K-9 are again along for the ride.  Side note: originally Leela was supposed to be killed off at the end of this story but the writers and producers rethought it and decided not to.  

WINNER:  THE TALONS OF WENG-CHIANG

Our final pairing for this division begins with a two seeded episode The Robots of Death.  The Fourth Doctor and Leela land aboard a sand-miner, whose crew are being murdered one by one.  Think Agatha Christie meets I, Robot.  

VS

The Space Museum is a fifteenth seeded story featuring the first Doctor along with Barbara, Ian, and Vicki.  The group land on a planet named Xeros and right in the middle of a long forgotten museum.  Inside they find a display of themselves from the future where they were caught by the evil race of Moroks.  

WINNER: THE ROBOTS OF DEATH

More First Round Match-Ups.

We continue with more first round match-ups. I smell some upsets in the air today. Or one of my dogs farted, it's one or the other.  Today we have the stories in the Jelly Baby Division.  So on we go:

The number one seed The Caves of Androzani finds the fifth Doctor and Peri in the middle of a drug war between warring factions of gun runners.  Apparently Androzani is this particular universes version of Miami.

VS

The 16th seed Paradise Towers.  The seventh Doctor and Mel (retch!) go in search of a swimming pool and instead find all different colored Kangs (girl gangsters) and two old lady cannibals who are comedic gold, BTW.   

WINNER: THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI

The sixth Doctor and Peri have their own run in with Davros and the Daleks in this 8th seeded story.  Revelation of the Daleks is sort of like the Daleks meet Soylent Green.

VS

The 9th seeded The Keeper of Traken.  Here we have Nyssa's first appearance as Nyssa but not as a companion.  We also see the new Master Anthony Ainley who isn't the Master yet when this story begins.  What a tease!! 

WINNER: THE REVELATION OF THE DALEKS (by a teeny tiny margin)

The fourth doctor and Leela head for Brighton but first a stop off at a creepy light house.  In the fourth seeded Horror of Fang Rock there's also a glowing green blob of jelly stuff oozing around.

VS

Resurrection of the Daleks is a 13 seed.  Here we find the fifth Doctor along with Tegan and Turlough having a run in with Davros and those pesky Daleks.  Don't fool yourself the star of the story this time is a character named Lytton.  

   

WINNER: RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS

The number five seed in this division is the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors.  What makes this one so extra special is they did it with only four Doctors.  Three and a half if you count the stand in for the first Doctor who was dead by now. 

VS

Shada, a twelve seed, is an unfinished story that was pieced together due to a writers strike and released later.  Hey, I say it counts.  Shada is like the Doctors version of Arkham Asylum where all the villains go to prison.

 

WINNER: SHADA (another upset by just the slimmest of margins)

It's the swan song for the second Doctor as well as Jamie and Zoe all in one story!  The War Games, a three seed, finds the Doctor in the middle of World War 1, or is he?

VS

Black Orchid a quirky 14 seed where the fifth Doctor's cricket outfit finally makes sense.  Plus there's also Lord Cranleigh's Ball.

  

WINNER: THE WAR GAMES

Marco Polo is a sixth seeded story.  The Doctor and his companions travel back to 1289 and join Marco Polo's adventuring group.  Somewhere along the way they loose the Tardis.  

VS

Tom Baker's first story as the fourth doctor is an 11th seed.  This story also marks the first appearance of Harry Sullivan as a companion. 

WINNER: ROBOT

 

The one that started it all An Unearthly Child is a seventh seed.  First Doctor, first companions, first trip in the Tardis.  It was the first one!

VS

The one that ended it all, for a while, Survival, is a tenth seed.  The Doctor wouldn't be seen on TV for ten years after this story until the Doctor Who movie.  Ace getting feral kinda does it for me too.

 

WINNER: AN UNEARTHLY CHILD

A number 2 seed, The Deadly Assassin, finds the fourth doctor traveling alone for the first time.  After Sarah Jane leaves the Doctor, he has a dream about the president of Gallifrey being killed so he jumps into action.  Think Manchurian Candidate and you get the idea of how this story goes.  

VS

The 15th seed story Attack of the Cyberman is uber violent.  That's our old friend Lytton getting his hands crushed to bloody pulps as he is transformed into a Cyberman in the pic below.  

    

WINNER: ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN (just barely, but a relatively huge upset)

First Round Matches

Genesis of The Daleks a number one seed is the definitive origin story of the Daleks.  

VS

The Awakening.  The fifth Doctor takes on The Malus as it nearly restarts the English Civil War.  The story features Keith Jaynes as Will Chandler who should have stayed on to become a companion.

   

WINNER:  GENESIS OF THE DALEKS

8th seeded The Time Robber finds the second Doctor, along with Jamie and Zoe, trapped in a world of make believe.  The culprit?  The Master but not THAT master.  Also there's a new Jamie for a few episodes.  

VS

The Curse of Peladon a 9th seed.  The third Doctor and Jo take the Tardis out for a test drive and end up in the middle of a mess with the Ice Warriors, Alpha Centuri, and a big furry beast named Aggador.  Also there is the coronation of Peladon's new King about to happen.

WINNER: THE CURSE OF PELADON

Terror of the Autons a fourth seeded story featuring the third Doctor, Jo Grant, The Master, and The Nestene Consciousness.  

VS

The Enemy of the World which is a 14th seeded story.  The Doctors evil Mexican twin decides to take over the world and he's gonna use volcanoes to do it.

WINNER: TERROR OF THE AUTONS

The Dalek Invasion of Earth.  The second ever Dalek story is a fifth seed and it finds the evil aliens taking over Earth in the year 2164.  At the end of the story we are down a companion for the first time.  

VS

Twelfth seeded The Leisure Hive.  John Leeson returns as K9, the Doctor is rapidly aged to a decrepit old man, and Romana's sea side vacation is ruined.  This story also heralded the arrival of the burgundy jacket and scarf along with the question mark motif.  

   

WINNER: THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH

The second Doctor faces off against the Cybermen in the third seeded The Tomb of the Cybermen.  The Cybermen introduce us the The Controller as well as the Cybermats for the first time in this story.

VS

Destiny of the Daleks.  A 14th seeded story that I feel like I should like more than I do.  It has the first appearance of Romana 2 but the Movellans aren't much to write home about.  

WINNER: THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN

Here we have the first appearance of Sarah Jane Smith, the first time we meet a member of the Sontaran race, and the first time Galifrey is mentioned as being the name of the Doctor's home planet.  All three of those things happen in The Time Warrior; a sixth seed.

VS

The Claws of Axos an eleventh seeded story also featuring the third Doctor but this time with Jo Grant as companion.  The Master and UNIT also show up.  The end of the episode we hear the Doctor declare that the Time Lords have made him into a galactic yo-yo.  It's a classic quote, I swear, look it up. 

 

WINNER: THE TIME WARRIOR

The very first Dalek story ever; The Daleks (how appropriately named) is a seventh seeded story that finds the evil Daleks trying to destroy the Thals.

VS

The 10th seeded story The Masque of Mandragora.  The fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane go to Italy.  This one always reminds me of The Mask of the Red death for some reason.  

WINNER: THE DALEKS  

Spearhead in Space is the first time we meet the third Doctor.  He's got a tattoo and we know that because we see him half naked.  It's also was the first time we met the Autons as well as the Nestene Consciousness.  We also meet the Doctor's new companion Liz Shaw and the Brigadier becomes a regular cast member.

VS

The Gunfighters; a 15th seed.  A Doctor Who musical?  This is probably as close as we ever get to one anyway.  I like this episode more than most Who fans.  What can I say?  I'm a western sort of guy I guess.  The Doctor travels back to the OK Corral to have a tooth pulled by Doc Holliday.  Did I mention the story is hilarious?

 

 

WINNER: SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE

Bigger Bracket Maybe You Can see This One

The 2015 March Madness Field of 64 Announcement Post

As I type this it is 8:00 in the evening on February 26th which means in three days it will be March 1st and it will be time for the (almost) Annual March Madness Field of 64 competition to begin.  This years contenders:  Classic Doctor Who stories.  Anything from the Doctor Who movie and before is considered "classic" Doctor Who here so no bull-crap complaints that a Matt Smith episode isn't included here.  So tie your bow ties real tight, put your fez on straight, and make sure you have enough jelly babies to get through the next month (or so if this thing runs longer than a month, and it will if I know me) because we are picking this blogs favorite Doctor Who story of all time.  Also as a side not my besttest buddy Rickster Rick over at The Land of Cerpts and Honey Blog is also doing a field of 64 for his favorite Doctor Who story as well.  What's the chances it's the same one?  Doubtful babe!  Also, yes I know that the picture is a little teeny tiny but I think if you click on it a larger version of the bracket may pop up.  At least I think it will.    

Fatherless Father's Day

  

      I have passed the rows of Father's Day cards when shopping for weeks now. It's like a knife to my heart every time. I even stopped and read a few last week, seeing what it would do to me to read words I'll never get to say again. The grief is different now, seven months after your death. It is a copper basin, deep and somber. It echoes when the teardrops fall, and they do fall still. It is fresh and old all at once, this grief. It has become a part of me.  The Father's Day ads are everywhere, a constant reminder. Each reminder lances that grief, sometimes deeply and others merely scratch the surface.  I envy the happy celebrants: the fathers, the sons and daughters who rush to buy one of those cards or will be grilling out for their dad this Sunday.
     I envy them, these daughters and sons whose fathers are still a part of their lives. They have a chance to fix mistakes, to show appreciation for the tough lessons, and still have the chance to sit down on the couch together and eat a bowl of ice cream. I have none of those; my chance to say thank you ended long before I knew how grateful I would truly be.  So instead I turn inward, memorializing through internal joy and personal sorrow. I pull out memories like photos in an album, trying to remember the moments as the details seem to fade more and more every day.  So, this year, I will hold those memories close to my heart and shut out the rest of the world on Father's Day

     Loss and pain have no set format, no five step list to be "OK." Grief ebbs and flows like an unpredictable tide, and is never far from the shore of happiness. Joy and pain for me are part of the same memories, joined together as an inseparable part of my life.  This Sunday I will laugh and celebrate the man that taught me to be strong and courageous. I will remember the man who taught me to throw a baseball properly. Though Sunday is an empty Father's Day for me, it holds a legacy full of love, laughter, and a rare strength forged through pain.  And I will realize that it is not a fatherless Father's Day for he is still with me, in my heart.


The feelings are mine the words are Michelle Hanson's