Last year marked forty years since the Sixth Doctor’s debut in Season 21’s final story, “The Twin Dilemma”. Placing a new Doctor's debut story at the end of a season is a risky choice. In the case of the Sixth Doctor, it may have been a costly one, too.
This isn’t because of Colin Baker, who always gave a great performance in the role. But it’s because of the specific choices made with his Doctor. The idea was that the Sixth Doctor would begin outwardly unlikeable and difficult before gradually developing and warming up over time.
So to have his first story included at the end of the previous Doctor’s season – a Doctor that was greatly loved by much of the fandom – was bad enough. But to show him doing things as terrible as physically attacking his companion in his first story, and then making the audience wait nine months to watch his next, was perhaps one of the worst decisions they could’ve made. Because as far as first impressions go, it’s a terrible one to leave audiences with. Honestly, it might be one of the worst decisions ever made in Doctor Who’s long history.
Season 22
It’s a shame that audiences were left with such a bad first impression. Season 22 isn’t one of the show’s best seasons, but it’s not one of the worst, either. It’s a season which has an extreme mix of highs and lows.
“Attack of the Cybermen” is an uneven start, although it’s worth watching for Maurice Colbourne’s return as Lytton, who gets most of the story’s best lines. “Vengeance on Varos” is much fresher and original and introduces one of the era’s best villains, Sil.
“The Mark of the Rani” introduces one key villain while bringing back another, while an iconic TARDIS team meets an old foe in “The Two Doctors”. “Timelash” is seen as either "so bad it's good" or just plain bad, while “Revelation of the Daleks” might be the strongest story of the season, one full of dark humor, memorable characters, and excellent dialogue. (Sadly, it doesn't include much of the Sixth Doctor and Peri.)
Increased violence
Overall, this season isn’t one of the worst. It has a mix of stories ranging from great to awful. But the directions taken with it did have a negative impact. One element that stood out was the level of violence. Throughout Season 22, people are shot, tortured, and stabbed, hands are crushed, and so much more. Perhaps the worst example is a scene in “Varos” when not one but two men fall into an acid bath. It’s a shockingly gory moment for a show that was still pre-watershed. Even worse is the Doctor's Bond-esque one-liner: "You'll forgive me if I don't join you!"
The level of violence in the show caused a backlash both external and internal. Notably, BBC controller Michael Grade was extremely vocal in how much he hated the show at this point, and placed it on an 18-month hiatus.
A fair criticism?
If I’m honest, I agree with the criticisms when it comes to the violence. I love Philip Hinchcliffe’s era, which was also full of violence and horror. But, while it occasionally pushed it with some of the era’s most horrific moments, it still knew where to draw the line, even if TV campaigner Mary Whitehouse disagreed. At the very least, the violence often worked well as part of the highly atmospheric and stylish stories.
Season 22, however, seemed to have many violent moments purely for shock value. In terms of style and audience, Doctor Who was heading in the wrong direction, one that was moving away from the family audience.
However, if you haven’t seen the season yet, then you don’t have to take my word for it. You can watch the whole of Season 22 for free right now on YouTube, specifically on the channel Doctor Who Classic, and decide for yourself if the level of violence was too much, as well as which story is your favorite. (“Revelation of the Daleks” is my personal choice, mainly for the excellent dialogue. “Only fools would take the risks I do!”)
At the very least, Season 22 is a fascinating season to watch, one that was made at a difficult time for the long-running show, and it's interesting seeing how the stories reflect that.