Baker's got Talon-t

It's a tough call. While Pyramids, Horror, Terror and City are rightly seen as classics I've always had a soft spot for the hideously underrated Ribos Opeation.

But there's two clear leaders for me. Genesis of the Daleks and the Talons of Weng Chiang. 

Genesis looks great, contains some wonderful ideas and single-handedly reinvigorates the Daleks by adding in that Davros fuelled back story.

Genesis contains some of the series' most gripping moments - with Baker's Doctor squaring off memorably with Davros and then engaging in one of the series' best moral dilemmas with the 'do I have the right?' sequence.

To borrow a naff Americanism it's a certainly a 'game changer'.

But what of Talons? Well it's no 'game changer' in that way but it's equally unforgettable.

Tom's Doctor is at his absolute mercurial best and is ably assisted by Leela. Like a male Jamie, Leela brings the best out of the Doctor and, as with that Doctor-companion relationship, it's interesting that the viewer is placed in between the two in terms of 'knowing what's going on'. 

The partnership brings out the full range of humour and drama from this script and revelled in the Victorian setting. And who can't fail to have loved Tom's Sherlock Holmes deer stalker?! 

The story also gives us two of the most cherished guest characters in the show's history. The brilliant Jago and Litefoot. 

There's also the creepy magic show, shadowy old theatre, and sinister homunculus.

So, ignoring the daft rat, I'll have to, on this rare occasion, agree with my fellow blogger and plump for Talons. There's not much in it but the latter is laced with fun - just as Tom's Doctor was when in his prime. Plus, on relatively recent DVD viewing I found Genesis to have slipped a little from how I remembered (maybe an 8/10 now instead of a 9), whereas Talons had had the opposite reversal of fortunes.