For a lot of the podcasts and other fan interactive media that I partake in, the Fifth Doctor has a very nostalgic following. As someone who does not have that nostalgia bent, I think I have to take the unpopular opinion that the Fifth Doctor era is near the bottom of my list. There are some good stories and good performances, but the era overall suffers from a myriad of problems and a number are just the type that you can't hand wave away.
Peter Davidson himself has a very interesting take on the Doctor. He is the least confident and least in control Doctor of all of them. He also seems to be the one that makes a wrong guess or make the situation worse in the short term most often. That is not a unique trait (after all, how many times did the Third Doctor muck things up due to his arrogance) but it did seem to happen more often than not to the Fifth Doctor where he spends so much time dealing with a situation that could have been nipped in the bud at the beginning of the story.
He also seems to be the most empathetic of the Doctors. The Second Doctor was also caring but in that kindly uncle way. The Fifth Doctor seemed more like someone you could sit down and just be consoled with. He was kind and always looking for a way to solve a conflict without resorting to violence. It is rather ironic that his era became one of the bloodiest and bleakest eras.
One of the most telling things about the Fifth Doctor era is how the producers of the show were aware of one its worst flaws, but took no steps to address it. That is the companions. The Fifth Doctor was shown over and over again to be at his best when paired with an older person. Either sex did fine but being paired with older women seemed like the normal solution. But until Peter Davidson was cast, the Doctor had always been an older man and there was this idea that he should be a mentor figure to younger people. Even Romana, who carried herself as older, was played by actresses who were nearly 15 years younger than Tom Baker.
As such, there seemed to be this idea that the Doctor always had to be older than his companions. For the thirty year old Davidson, this idea meant traveling around with a bunch of teenagers and early 20-somethings. They also had the maturity of that age (and younger) which gave the show the feeling that the Doctor was babysitting rather than going out to explore and have adventures. Any story where the companions were split off and the Doctor was paired with a more mature companion to whom he could talk normally instantly became that much better.
Another problem with the Fifth Doctor era was that camera technology was going through some very significant improvements but the understanding of this technology (along with the overall budget of the show) was not keeping up. As such, you have scenes where sets, costumes and monsters are used that would have been fine in earlier eras but have their flaws exposed in the current era. You also get studios that are over-lit, exposing even more rather than in the dark and gloomy settings that would have covered some of these flaws. Many of the stories that are celebrated in the Fifth Doctor era (Earthshock, The Caves of Androzani, etc.) do simple things such as this and it pays off significant dividends.
Probably the biggest problem of the Fifth Doctor era was that it was a period of significant change and the show had some major growing pains during this era. The later half of the Fourth Doctor era oscillated wildly in its effort to get away from the Philip Hinchcliff era. John Nathan-Turner tried very hard to pull the show into a more dynamic style that fit the 80's, often while getting heavy friction from the BBC brass who were starting to actively work to kill the show. In many ways, the show didn't really start to find it's feet again until around Season 25 and the second year of the Seventh Doctor era.
Though we might want to cut the show some slack, you still have to watch what is given. There are some really good stories in the Fifth Doctor era but from an overall standpoint, without the pull of nostalgia, this era just doesn't do much for me and I would have to put it near the bottom of my list for re-watch.
Highest Rated Story: Earthshock - 4.5
Lowest Rated Story: Time-Flight - 1.0
Average overall rating: 2.85
Castrovalva
Four to Doomsday
Kinda
The Visitation
Black Orchid
Earthshock
Time-Flight
Arc of Infinity
Snakedance
Mawdryn Undead
Terminus
Enlightenment
The King's Demons
The Five Doctors
Warriors of the Deep
The Awakening
Frontios
Resurrection of the Daleks
Planet of Fire
The Caves of Androzani
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