So you want to start watching the Fifth Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Castrovalva is obviously the best place to start watching the Fifth Doctor, it's where he got his start. Well actually, he technically made his first appearance in Logopolis, but I won't count that. All he really got there was a fade in shot of him dressed up in Tom Baker's get up and them him sitting up. Not really much to go on.

Just like most post regeneration episodes, the Doctor is very confused and disoriented. He doesn't know who he is yet, or what he even looks like. There is also some difficulty surrounding his regeneration because it isn't going completely smoothly. Throw the Master into the mix and things are going to get really complicated.

Castrovalva is a bit confusing because the writers are going in a direction that is new for the series and is mostly forgotten afterwards, but this is a great place to start in with Peter Davison.


Earthshock is one of the most momentous stories in Doctor Who history. For the most part it is just your typical Cyberman story, but there's more to it than that. Well, let me step back for a moment on this. At the end of Tom Baker's time as the Doctor, he had 3 Companions Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan, way too many for the show to work smoothly. The BBC decided that it was probably time for a change and decided to get rid of one of the companions.

That's not all there is to it either. This isn't one of those happy endings. No, this is the kind of moment that makes the end of "The Doctor Dances" make more sense. In this case, the companion isn't left behind, doesn't choose to go, instead this person makes a heroic decision to drive a space ship into a meteorite to save the Earth and his or her friends. I won't say more about it because I don't want to give away the ending, but this episode is big not just for the era, but for the show as a whole.


Black Orchid is one of the most bizarre adventures of the Davison era. It has a costume party with dancing, lots of confusion and the Doctor taking a break from saving the world to play a game of Cricket. That's right, the Doctor stopped in the middle of a world-ending threat to pitch the ball and take a swing. This is different from the Matt Smith story where the Doctor is trying to look normal and plays some football. This is a case of mistaken identity with a character who can't say no to a bit of cricket. His costume is even like a cricket uniform. It's a fun little romp and well worth checking out.

That's all for now. More to come soon with suggestions for the other Baker to play the Doctor.