Favourites from the Infernoverse! - Three

The JON PERTWEE Era - 1970 to 1974

1. 'The Ambassadors of Death' - a cunningly scripted epic Pertwee showcase, with all of the era's most loved features - gunfights, UNIT, aliens on Earth, corrupt power. Really properly good, and with the odd unusual choice that just highlights the period's quality.

2. 'Inferno' - a stunning and harrowing story, remarkably mature and very, very dark. Must watch past episode two to understand why.

3. 'Spearhead from Space' - Pertwee's first outing is surprisingly modern in feel, filmed all on video for a more filmic and professional look. First in colour, first Autons, first Pertwee - a landmark that lives up to the hype.

4. 'Day of the Daleks' - a really great story with a lot of interesting timey-wimey ideas, the first Daleks since 'Evil'. A little hashed, but that's the era, and watchable throughout (better original than the new special edition).

5. 'The Green Death' - renowned in all circles as 'that one with all the maggots', a description omitting to mention the story's masterful character work and memorable villain. Excellent, if a little slow in the middle.

6. 'The Time Warrior' - a story I often forget about, oddly, bearing the introduction of Sarah Jane Smith and the Sontarans. Very fun pseudo-historical with a good villain and neat, contained plot.

7. 'The Dæmons' - a flashy depiction of the home counties with brilliant Roger Delgado as the Master (as usual), a lot of nice touches and ideas - a little fast to expose detail and then slow to make use of the knowledge gained, but still well worth getting to the end.

8. 'The Curse of Peladon' - an endearing, warm, intriguing classic featuring the return of the Ice Warriors. A really excellent time on an alien planet - very unusual and refreshing for the Pertwee era, but slow in places.

9. 'The Dinosaur Invasion' - a sadly maligned serial that's underestimated because of its cheap looking effects. Not to be judged immediately, great intrigue and particularly good first episode.

10. 'Carnival of Monsters' - an early Robert Holmes contribution to the show, and generally a comedy in tone. Nice performances, some very silly aliens and the Drashigs, which are excellent. A bit of fun, be it a little insubstantial.