When Timelords and teatime collided: Doctor Who’s 24th season (retrospective).

Hold onto your fezzes, Whovians! Stam Fine Reviews takes you on a wacky, nostalgic adventure through time, space, and the 1987 season of Doctor Who in this video!

Stam welcomes you aboard the TARDIS, with 80s synths blazing, as he unveils the fabulous, outrageous, and occasionally bewildering world of Doctor Who’s 24th season. Discover how our beloved Time Lord nearly got sucked into the vortex of oblivion (i.e., almost cancelled), and the daring rescue plan involving some guy named Sylvester McCoy.

Meet the 7th Doctor, a man of mystery and the occasional pratfall, alongside Mel, whose scream could potentially shatter Dalekanium. Stam dives into “Time and the Rani,” where Rani’s wardrobe deserves an award and fashion choices are possibly her most devious plot.

Remember that weird dream where you’re in a building with cannibals, robots, and punk teenagers? No? Well, the Doctor lived it. Stam dissects the ‘architectural nightmare’ that is “Paradise Towers.”

In an interlude, Stam has a meltdown while contemplating Doctor Who’s plot complexity, involving a Time Lord, a whiteboard, and red strings.

Next up, it’s “Delta and the Bannermen”, where Grease meets genocide in a trip to the 1950s with a time-traveling tour bus. Stam ponders: “How many Bannermen does it take to change a lightbulb?”

Enter Iceworld in “Dragonfire,” where the shopping is as cold as the climate. Stam unpacks the enigma wrapped in a frosty riddle that is this story and tries to understand why they decided to have a dragon in the freezer section.

Stam gushes about Ace, the explosion-loving, no-nonsense companion, who makes her grand entrance through a cloud of Nitro-9.

As Stam attempts to string together the common thread of the 24th season, spoiler alert: There isn’t one. Season 24 of Doctor Who: That wild TARDIS ride that began in September 1987 and took us on a journey through time, space, and very peculiar plotlines. For those just jumping aboard, hold onto your Sonic Screwdrivers, because this was the season that Sylvester McCoy made his debut as the Doctor, complete with a wink and a smile – literally.

Let’s talk about the Doctor’s grand entrance. McCoy emerged as the Seventh Doctor with all the subtlety of a pantomime villain. His animated face, which transformed from a scowl to a wink in the opening credits, must have left viewers with whiplash. Ah, the wonders of 80’s television. He had a silver/grey aesthetic, which either made him look ethereal or like he had taken a face-first dive into a bag of flour. Take your pick.

The opening theme music received a facelift too, courtesy of Keff McCulloch. To be honest, by the 24th season, the series needed some sprucing up, and the fresh arrangement gave it a retro feel that evoked nostalgia and an almost innocent sense of adventure.

Now, we must address the ‘Colin Baker Affair’. Apparently, the BBC, in a moment that could only be described as a brainwave from an alternate universe, decided that the show would only go on if there was a new Doctor in town. Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor, was left holding a regeneration he never got to film. Quite rude, considering all the times he saved Earth, and countless other planets. The Time Lords were more considerate.

Enter Kate O’Mara as the Rani in “Time and the Rani,” where she rocked some fantastically over-the-top outfits (naturally) and plotted to reshape the universe using the Doctor’s brains and those of history’s greatest geniuses. Yes, we’re in quintessential 1980s Doctor Who territory here.

“Paradise Towers” was up next. Nothing says paradise like cannibalistic old women, robotic cleaners gone rogue, and feral teenage girl gangs. The Doctor and Mel intended to vacation there, which leads us to question the Doctor’s taste in travel destinations. TripAdvisor would have been handy, Doctor.

“Delta and the Bannermen” then takes us to the 1950s with a time-traveling tour bus. It’s basically Doctor Who does “Grease”, but with genocidal aliens. So, it’s not really like “Grease” at all, but you get the picture.

Lastly, we have “Dragonfire,” which introduced us to Ace, the Doctor’s new companion. She came from the bewildering world of Iceworld, a place that couldn’t decide if it was a shopping center or a polar ice cap. Meanwhile, the Doctor seemed to be engaging in intergalactic archaeology with his old pal Sabalom Glitz, before discovering the dark secret of Iceworld’s rather frosty owner, Kane. Spoiler: He wasn’t a fan of warm hugs.

It’s fair to say that the 24th season was a bit like a roller-coaster designed by a mad scientist: convoluted, bizarre, and with the occasional scream of both terror and delight. It may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but it was Doctor Who in its classic, eccentric glory. Here’s a wink and a smile to season 24!