The Seeds of Death

Premise: The TARDIS arrives on Earth where T-Mat has revolutionised travel. However, the Ice Warriors have seized control and use T-Mat to distribute Martian seed pods across the world.

Notes: After their appearance in The Ice Warriors, the decision was made to bring the monsters back (partly due to the cost of the costumes not wanting to be wasted on only one story). The original story submitted by Brian Hayles was titled the Lords of the Red Planet which was to be set on mars but was considered unworkable. This story was then written instead but more problems arose when Frazer Hines postponed his departure and Terrance Dicks thought the original ending was lackluster and unworkable. He then re-wrote episodes three through six but Brian Hayles was the only on credited as the writer of the story.

Verdict: A brilliant serial with amazing characters and great performances from the whole cast. Mrs Kelly is one of the strongest female characters we've ever seen and Slaar is everything you'd want in a Doctor Who villain. However the ending (while written not to be so) still feels a bit lackluster while in a story that up to there has been very gripping 9/10

The Krotons

Premise: The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to a world where they meet the Gonds who annually send two brilliant students into the Dynatrope to be the companions of the Krotons.

Notes: This story, originally titled The Trap and later The Space Trap, saw the debut of writer Robert Holmes who would go on to write many more for the series. He originally submitted this story to the BBC as an independent serial but was denied and instead recommended to submit it to Doctor Who instead. The script was kept back as a spare until Dick Sharples gender-swap satire feel through and a replacement was needed quickly.

Verdict: A fun enough story with a decent script, its biggest down fall is the Krotons themselves, perhaps the worst designed monsters in the entire series 6/10

The Invasion

Premise: The travellers land in London where they agree to help find computer scientist Professor Watkins and discover Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is also investigating disappearances.

Notes: There was originally going to be a scene where UNIT rescued Professor Watkins from the IE car which was escorting him. However, it was cut because of the budget so another scene was written to replace it where Gregory (who would have been shot in the attack) describes the attack instead and is subsequently killed by the Cybermen.

Verdict: An amazing thriller with an great villain in Vaughn and another great performance from Troughton. It doesn't feel padded out at all, contrary to belief that it is overlong. Although lacking in Cybermen, the moments that do have them in are chilling and the music is really amazing all the way through and really does create a good atmosphere. This is the Cybermen's finest hour with only a few minor flaws here and there 10/10

The Web of Fear

Premise: The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria discover that Yeti have invaded the London Underground.

Notes: This sequel to The Abominable Snowmen features the first appearance of Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart (later Brigadier) played by Nicholas Coutney who would go on to appear in many more stories up until the shows cancellation in 1989. Jack Watling also returned as Proffessor Travers with heavy makeup to make him seem older than he was in The Abominable Snowmen. London Transport denied permission to film in the real London Underground so they were forced to create sets for the studio. These sets were so believable that London Transport complained that they had filmed on their property without permission.

Verdict: A hugely atmospheric tale set in familiar but somewhat ominous surroundings. The Yeti are surprisingly menacing and the climax of the fourth part is simply unbeatable. It's just a shame that after this it begins to slip 9/10

The Enemy of the World

Premise: After arriving in Australia, the Doctor is mistaken for a scientist called Salamander who is regarded as a hero. But some believe he is intent on being dictator of the world...

Notes: The idea of the Doctor having a villainous double was not original to this story, as it was used before in the William Hartnell story The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. However, this time he actually gets to meet himself, but practical reasons limited this meeting to the climax of the story. Patrick Troughton's son, David Troughton, made an appearance as an extra, playing one of the guards in episodes five and six. This marks the first involvement of future producer Barry Letts in the series as director of this serial. He would later go on to become producer for the vast majority of Jon Pertwee's era until finally stepping down in 1975. The scene in episode one where the helicopter blows up was taken from the James Bond movie, From Russia With Love.

Verdict: A great spy thriller full of intelligent plot points and political intrigue. However, due to the lack of monsters it often ends up rather talky and doesn't give much opportunity for decent cliffhangers 7/10

The Ice Warriors

Premise: The TARDIS arrives on Earth during a new ice age. The Doctor, Victoria and Jamie enter Brittanicus Base but out on the glacier, a large Viking like creature is found buried.

Notes: Different from the norm, the story title, writer and episode number in this story are presented against an icy backdrop. For this story only, the word 'episode' is omitted from this sequence leaving only the number. Bernard Bresslaw, best known for his roles in the Carry On film series, appears here as the Ice Warrior leader, Varga, and is responsible for creating their distinctive hissing speech which is used in every story containing the Ice Warriors in the future. Deborah Watling was not available for the complete studio recording of the sixth episode. This was explained in story by the Doctor asking Victoria to go back to the TARDIS.

Verdict: An enjoyable story with an important moral message which ultimately takes up too much time. An interesting icy backdrop plays host to a less than interesting chase scene and the Ice Warriors themselves are impressive until they begin to move 6/10 

The Tomb of the Cybermen

Premise: The TARDIS takes the Doctor, Jamie and their new companion, Victoria to the world of Telos where they encounter an archaeological expedition in search of the long dead Cybermen.

Notes: Thought of as a classic by fans of the series, it features the introduction of both the Cyber Controller and the Cybermats. The latter of which were controlled by various means throughout the serial, some by wires, some by a wind-up feature, some by remote control and other were just simply shoved into the shot by the crew. It is the only serial from the fifth season to completely survived, also making it the only complete serial to feature Deborah Watling as Victoria.

Verdict: The scariest Cyberman story ever and one of the scariest Doctor Who stories ever, even the title gives you chills. The acting is great and you really worry and feel for these characters as you don't know who will make it out of there alive. The plot good but slips in the second half along with a lot of other things 9/10