The eighty-fourth TV show: #79 Doctor Who (1963)
When doing a rewatch, it can be hard to pick a set of twenty episodes to watch of a show. More so when it ran for over twenty years, with several format changes, and stories are almost all multi parters. I tried to go with a four parter for each of the first five doctors - probably containing the better eras of the show.
And for quality, it will of course be a mixed bag - 26 seasons, with several stories each and several production crew changes, means that it goes up and down. It has endured though, and left an impact. There are a few factors in play: they have cast good Doctors, the one considered worst (Colin Baker) being led down by material, but shining when he got a chance to work with better (mostly after he left the show). Regeneration plays a big part as well - because they came up with a way to replace William Hartnell without ending the show, the doctor can change every few years, often in a way that reacts against what the previous performer did, and change everything around him.
By having leading men that could take on the part, and often with companions who could stand up to them, there's always something that helps them shine. At their best, when everything is firing on all cylinders, that becomes magic, highly entertaining and stretching a low budget to create a quality far higher than you'd expect.
When it's off, though, it's really off, and it's hard to drag yourself through those sections. The later seasons especially start focusing on fan continuity, which drags it down. Of course, it rarely approaches the spectacle of the new series, or the soap opera interactions, with characters being underwritten in comparison (thirty years and a change in budget standing in between), but it manages to bring something smaller scale that's as appealing at times. When it works, it brings you good sci fi fare, an action adventure with heart and a friendliness you don't get elsewhere.