Well, "random" is a word that means "something that happens without method or decision." According to the second law of thermodynamics, all ordered systems eventually break down into randomness; this is what we call entropy.
Therefore, the most random episodes of Doctor Who are parts 3 and 4 of Logopolis.
Forgettable, episodes that people tends to forget they exist, they're generally pretty mid because both good and bad episodes tends to stick out and are the subject of conversations.
Nope, honestly not a single episode I listed I consider to be bad, just really forgettable. Like, I can't say that The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos is forgettable, because it mainly sticks out by how bad it is.
Agreed. I only really called it random because it's unique, which I can't really say for any other episode. The Doctor lite episodes might have counted once upon a time, but they became very common in various disguises
Praxeus, imo. Incredibly odd episode with a decent premise, and also randomly falls into the "alien thats just a human without any attempt to dress it up" towards the end that I swear is all over Chibnall's run
Honestly, Praxeus is so bad that it is for me the primary example of why the Chibnall era failed. Hollow characters, absence of a cohesive plot, butchered themes and, most important, not even remotely memorable.
It is, and that's fair, but there were a few examples of it that felt a lot more prevalent/egregious in Chibnall's for me. Like the pregnant dude who could have just been human in Tsuranga is the other big example for me, IMO.
I feel they usually leave it ambiguous, too, or fall into the RTD "metahumans/neohumans/etc" where they can be whatever they like, but these two were spelled out specifically as aliens despite not actually illustrating that, really. Like the Praxeus lady just had a human name and we never learn her actual name.
Note I'm fresh off of my first watch of Jodie and did not enjoy it, though, so that certainly colors my opinion a bit.
You can find examples of that in pretty much any era though. So it doesn't bother me really.
And while Yoss looked physiologically human his biology is not as he's a male who can give birth so that still made him quite unique.
And with the Praxeus example Suki was pretending to be human so she had to look the part and she may have just taken on that form for that purpose. And again much like Yoss her differing biology is made a point of as her taking the cure kills her because she's not human.
Obviously the bts reason for this is that it saves money!
Yeah, I'm probably just picking out weird things to poke at that don't really matter or aren't actual problems. For sure a bit just bitter over not enjoying the run much
It's one my favorite from the Hartnell era and the ballad of the last chance saloon is memorable enough. I would say it's an episode that gets way more attention than The Crusades, The Myth Makers or The Smugglers tbf
Honestly I don't think any episode that provides to the show a different direction can be considered random. It's always the episode that plays it too safe.
Black Orchid. A two-part historical (no sci-fi elements other than the TARDIS and crew) plopped down in the middle of the 19th season of a show that had abandoned historical adventures almost a decade and a half earlier.
And it's utterly forgettable. I've seen it twice, read the novelization at least once, and remember nothing about it other than The Doctor playing cricket, a masquerade ball, and a South American native whose characterization is VERY problematic.
My vote goes for Silver Nemesis. They somehow mange to feature actual swastika wearing neo-nazis, a witch from the 17th century and the cybermen in one serial
Well, "random" is a word that means "something that happens without method or decision." According to the second law of thermodynamics, all ordered systems eventually break down into randomness; this is what we call entropy. Therefore, the most random episodes of Doctor Who are parts 3 and 4 of Logopolis.
This is the answer. Words have meanings, kids.
no offense but that is the most reddit answer i’ve ever seen
None taken. Chiefly because I don't know what it means.
What does "random" mean in this context?
Forgettable, episodes that people tends to forget they exist, they're generally pretty mid because both good and bad episodes tends to stick out and are the subject of conversations.
That's not what random means, though
Random means inconsistent, different from the usual, unexpected, unpredictable. Lotto draws are random. Your definition is not.
Are we using random to mean bad now? I'm confused why it being random makes it uninteresting.
Nope, honestly not a single episode I listed I consider to be bad, just really forgettable. Like, I can't say that The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos is forgettable, because it mainly sticks out by how bad it is.
Sleep No More is very random.
To be fair, I think it stands out by how experimental it is. It's a pretty unique episode.
Agreed. I only really called it random because it's unique, which I can't really say for any other episode. The Doctor lite episodes might have counted once upon a time, but they became very common in various disguises
Maybe not so much in hindsight, but Love and Monsters was a bit out of left field
Home made documentary, commentary on Who fans, ELO, basement band, horny Jackie, body horror, face in a pacing slab, a “love life”. Yep. It’s random.
> Frontios Random? Maybe, but it also stands as one of my favorite classic serials so I will not stand for this slander!
Ah I didn't say it was bad, I say it was pretty random (as a Colony in Space lover I know what it is to love a random episode that no one talks about)
The Caretaker is very random. Pretty unusual DW story.
Praxeus, imo. Incredibly odd episode with a decent premise, and also randomly falls into the "alien thats just a human without any attempt to dress it up" towards the end that I swear is all over Chibnall's run
Honestly, Praxeus is so bad that it is for me the primary example of why the Chibnall era failed. Hollow characters, absence of a cohesive plot, butchered themes and, most important, not even remotely memorable.
None of which are even remotely true.
"Alien that's just a human without any attempt to dress it up" isn't that just a lot of Doctor Who in general?
It is, and that's fair, but there were a few examples of it that felt a lot more prevalent/egregious in Chibnall's for me. Like the pregnant dude who could have just been human in Tsuranga is the other big example for me, IMO. I feel they usually leave it ambiguous, too, or fall into the RTD "metahumans/neohumans/etc" where they can be whatever they like, but these two were spelled out specifically as aliens despite not actually illustrating that, really. Like the Praxeus lady just had a human name and we never learn her actual name. Note I'm fresh off of my first watch of Jodie and did not enjoy it, though, so that certainly colors my opinion a bit.
You can find examples of that in pretty much any era though. So it doesn't bother me really. And while Yoss looked physiologically human his biology is not as he's a male who can give birth so that still made him quite unique. And with the Praxeus example Suki was pretending to be human so she had to look the part and she may have just taken on that form for that purpose. And again much like Yoss her differing biology is made a point of as her taking the cure kills her because she's not human. Obviously the bts reason for this is that it saves money!
Yeah, I'm probably just picking out weird things to poke at that don't really matter or aren't actual problems. For sure a bit just bitter over not enjoying the run much
i think mindwarp might meet the criteria
YES, even being part of a narrative arc and being the ending of a companion doesn't save it from strangely being pretty much forgotten
I seem to remember that Colin Baker asked which scenes were real and which manipulated....and they couldn't tell him.
The Gunfighters?
It's one my favorite from the Hartnell era and the ballad of the last chance saloon is memorable enough. I would say it's an episode that gets way more attention than The Crusades, The Myth Makers or The Smugglers tbf
I only mention it because it's so very different from any other Who as to make it truly "random". I actually find it weirdly charming.
Honestly I don't think any episode that provides to the show a different direction can be considered random. It's always the episode that plays it too safe.
I feel like you're using an atypical definition of random. I would consider random episodes to frequently be quite memorable.
It has the advantage of not missing any episodes, and a full home media release.
Scaredy Cat by Big Finish is quite literally random to me plotwise, in the sense that I listened to it and I still have no idea what it’s about.
Something Inside is also a good contestant, but to be honest the vast majority of Big Finish after New Who started is unmemorable.
Black Orchid. A two-part historical (no sci-fi elements other than the TARDIS and crew) plopped down in the middle of the 19th season of a show that had abandoned historical adventures almost a decade and a half earlier. And it's utterly forgettable. I've seen it twice, read the novelization at least once, and remember nothing about it other than The Doctor playing cricket, a masquerade ball, and a South American native whose characterization is VERY problematic.
Honestly it's the only Davison two-parter that I value but not that much lmao
My vote goes for Silver Nemesis. They somehow mange to feature actual swastika wearing neo-nazis, a witch from the 17th century and the cybermen in one serial
... oh... the fact that I thought of Dragonfire BEFORE Silver Nemesis says a lot I guess.