As a lifelong Doctor Who fan there are many aspects of the classic era of the show that simply don't bother me, but I can understand why they may have put other people off the show.
I've never had a problem with the early wobbly sets. Most of the time the extras spray painted green and dressed in a pair of Marigold gloves pretending to be that weeks bizarre aliens just add to the shows charm. Maybe they do use BBC computers on Gallifrey and that explains why Peter Davison had one on his Tardis console. The special effects that involved things like spray painted washing up liquid bottles (that's why they had the Marigolds!) with chroma key composting was state of the art in it's time, if you think about it it's quite amazing what they achieved on the budgets they had.
But over the years there have been several moments when even I have felt embarrassed by the show, not just in the original run but also in new-Who. So stick around, prepare to cringe, and let's look back at some of them together.
The Kandy Man
Season 24 was not the best, it really wasn't. I was so confident that season 25 would be so much better, and as a whole it was. Mel was gone, McCoy had a year under his belt, the only way was up. Remembrance Of The Daleks was good, very good. The Happiness Patrol started of as another great story, and as a whole I enjoyed it, but why oh why did they have to include Bertie Bassett? I thought the BBC had rules against that kind of product placement? To this day the Kandy Man remains my least favourite monster ever featured on the show. It's a cringingly terrible idea, and I hate Liquorice Allsorts, especially the ones with the blue bumpy bits on!
Abzorbaloff
It's such a shame because 90% of Love And Monsters is very good. Marc Warren was excellent and the idea behind this Doctor-lite story was clever, plus it had a great soundtrack. Two things spoiled Love And Monsters for me and made it just an embarrassment of an episode. Firstly, Victor Kennedy and the whole Abzorbaloff fiasco. What astounds me so much about the Abzorbaloff is that the design of the monster won a Blue Peter competition, what on earth came second?
The other thing that spoiled Love And Monsters is...
Oral Sex With A Paving Slab
This man and this paving slab "have a bit of a love life." I am in no way a prude, but come on!
Sticking with the 'sexual' theme...
The Creature From The Pit
There is just no escaping the fact that the 'creature' has a big green penis. Tom Baker caresses it and even kisses it at one time. Surely they knew what they were doing there? It's a shame because, like Love And Monsters, The Creature From The Pit is a very good story, but the addition of an enormous green potato with a huge member makes it a very embarrassing moment in Who history.
The Introduction Of Peri
I swear to God this story is true.
This entry is a slightly different type of embarrassing moment. I was an uncomfortable 12 year old when Planet Of Fire was first broadcast, I would watch Doctor Who by myself whilst my family got on with other 'more important' things. But this night, just as Peri was about to jump overboard my Dad entered the room, he paused, stared at the screen, then sat down, not saying a word. You could feel the leching in the room. Eventually he got up and left, still not saying a word. It was the most uncomfortable 15 minutes of my life to date, even now just watching that clip above I feel quite embarrassed for 12 year old me.
Dimensions In Time
I've already covered Dimensions In Time in a recent article here, and clearly most of it is an embarrassment. But I wanted to give a special mention to the embarrassing floating disembodied heads of Angry Paul McCartney and Doc Brown from Back To The Future.
Are there any moments in Doctor Who that you have had you cringing with embarrassment?
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