"An Introduction to ..."



TV HMV have emitted details of a series of classic Doctor Who boxed set re-releases to coincide with no particular reason at all.  Probably Christmas.  So far there are three in all, each containing three stories.

An Introduction to the Third Doctor brings Spearhead From Space, The Dæmons and The Time Warrior.

An Introduction to the Fourth Doctor has Robot, Genesis of the Daleks (yes, again) and Pyramids of Mars (again).

An Introduction to the Fifth Doctor does Castrovalva, Earthshock and The Caves of Androzani.

From a fan perspective, I'd only quibble with the Tom release from the perspective that it only reflects the Hinchcliffe years and young fans might already have Pyramids after its inclusion on one of the SJA releases.  I'd probably have swapped it out for City of Death, but I'm bound to say that.

The inclusion of the regeneration seems logical but also sort of odd because such things never reflect the given Doctor at their moment of apogee.  In all three cases the version of the Doctor who appears isn't representative at all.  Plus they were already included in that astonishingly weird Regenerations set from a few years ago.

Since these are bound to sell like hot samosas, let's see if I can guess what'll be on the other sets.

An Introduction to the First Doctor should have An Unearthly Child, The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Time Meddler.

An Introduction to the Second Doctor might have The Tomb of the Cybermen, The Mind Robber and The War Games,

An Introduction to the Sixth Doctor could have The Twin Dilemma, Vengeance on Varos and Revelation of the Daleks.

An Introduction to the Seventh Doctor will be Time and the Rani, Remembrance of the Daleks and The Curse of Fenric.

An Introduction to the Eighth Doctor will be the TV movie, The Night of the Doctor and a rerelease of Bidding Adieu.  Or not.  Frankly he needs no introduction.  Ideally Big Finish will tie-in with Storm Warning, The Chimes of Midnight and Blood of the Daleks.

An Introduction to the Ninth Doctor will be Rose, Dalek, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways.

An Introduction to the Tenth Doctor.  Oh I don't know.  The Christmas Invasion, Blink, The Silence in the Library/The Forest of the Dead and Planet of the Dead.

An Introduction to the Eleventh Doctor.  The Eleventh Hour, Vincent and the Doctor, The Girl Who Waited and Time of the Doctor.

It's increasingly hard to choose in the revivals because so many episodes are interrelated and the quality in some cases is so high.  Also the consensus is pretty solid about the great works of the classic series whereas the revival is still in flux.  The confirm classics of the Tenth Doctor era, Human Nature/The Family of Blood and Blink are about how he's absent.

What would you choose?

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