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I think that there is a rare eighth category - trial / test of character. Examples include Turn Left, Heaven sent, 73 yards. I think it should be it's own category because they all have a pretty distinct plot - doctor/companion are split up, with one or the other mostly missing, the character is forced to go through trials that test their character on their own, ending with them demonstrating their strength of character through doing the right thing despite hardship, ending with their death, resurrection and a loss of memory.

Time shenanigans = Wibbly Wobbly, Timey wimey

I would change mystery to "The Doctor doesn't know", as the reason they ARE mystery's are because we aren't given an instant solution and the Doctor's goal is to learn what he needs to do.

You know, the 11th doctor’s era makes at least some more sense when you view it as The Doctor trying to make the most of his last life

I really thought this video was going to be reducing the entirety of New Who into 7 episodes that still tell an understandable story. But this is good too!

One of my favourite misunderstood monster stories in Doctor Who is Time Heist. It has elements of mystery and even base under siege in reverse (The Doctor is besieging), but misunderstood monster is at the heart of the story

"187, by my rough count" as if there's a chance that's not the right number

Time shenanigans should be called 'Nathan Gibson' to honor the guy that's disappeared from wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.

Let's say Dot and Bubble is a " Misunderstood monsters" story

I didn't know Harbo was in so many episodes, guess a rewatch binge is in order!

The editing is so so good here

I like how this framework works to summarise the episodes without feeling limiting. There's plenty of variety within each type, even without hybridisation

Temporal dysfunction is a little better name.

Random but I was playing RuneScape in the background whilst watching the video. And I kept wondering why random RuneScape songs keeps playing, when I've been in the same location the entire time. Finally clicked on you're using the music in your video!😅🤣

Call it Timey-Wimey. My favourite Timey-Wimey is Blink, but Before the Flood is also a great Timey-Wimey.

I actually think there is one more story type that isn't covered here, that being "Character Study". There are stories that fit into the existing 7 categories vaguely but doing so misses the point of the episode. Girl in the fire place is both a historical and time travel story, but both of those only cover the backdrop of the story. The real heart of the story is a study of the character of Madam de Pompadore. Girl in the fireplace wasn't even the episode that drew me to this extra story type though, Human Nature was, since the entire focus is studying who the doctor is. Love and Monsters, and the character of Elton (and Jackie) also fits here really well, as does the new episode Dot and Bubble

I love the editing of this video with harbo just popping up all over time and space... harbo is Susan twist confirmed????

Very bold of you to introduce the "actually good unlike all the other terrible episodes" category just for Love and Monsters.

Base under siege is so interesting! That definitely is a classic DW narrative but I never really thought about the fact that it is fairly unique to this show

If I were to pick 7 episodes to hook fans, I think a good listing would be: Rose The empty child Blink The eleventh hour Oxygen World enough in time Day of the Doctor

Should Family of Blood not be a base under siege? They were just attacking one small town, and they didn't really attack the town itself until the last five minutes outside of one pub. Most of the focus was on the school.

I think there should be an "all is lost" category where the world already ended in a previous episode and the main goal is to reverse it. e.g Last of the Time Lords, The Big Bang, Wedding of River Song, Lie of the Land, Flux, and now Empire of Death.

as a Whovian who LOVED The Seven Basic Plots as a kid, I'm in awe of how well you accidentally catered directly to me here xD

Harbo is on the FBI's Most Wanted list now...

dalek emperor is definitley part of a super villain catagory in parting of the ways

The Eleventh Hour doesn’t feature an invasion; the earth was being threatened with destruction if they didn’t track down and give up Prisoner Zero.

I think it would be interesting to look at the highly- and lowly-rated episodes and see how well or poorly they implement a category. I'm thinking Spyfall... it has Invasion, Supervillain, Mystery, Historical, and Time Travl Shenanigans all in nearly equal mix, making it overall a rather weak story.

I would say that "Mummy on the Orient Express" and many other Mystery stories are also Base under Siege stories. (an isolated area (the Orient Express), a monster to do the sieging (the Foretold) and a cast of characters).

Very interesting video! You chose a pretty distinctive subject to analyse, I haven't seen people talk about Doctor Who genres and I didn't knew I needed it. It gives pleasure to my obsessive need for organisation. 😂 I think you nailed it, it seems pretty accurate and the diversity of stories, with 7 main archetypes+different combinations, is the reason I love Doctor Who and when I don't like 1 episode, 3 episodes, 4 episodes... I'll never drop Doctor Who because the masterpiece is right behind the corner. All stories are so different and unique and this is what makes Doctor special. ❤ Good job with the video!

I’ve always wondered, is the waters of mars a historical episode set in the future?

I fucking love the monk trilogy

Wonderful video, the many story archetypes this show does, is the reason why I love it so much. Also possibly another name for the Time Travel shenanigans could be called Timey Wimey Stuff, a reference to Blink

Absolutely wonderful choices for music. Historic version Toothless Dances meme, a version of We Are Number One. It makes the video seem a lot more upbeat

I’d love to see more episodes of the Doctor actually using his time traveling abilities to benefit the episode. We often see the doctor go to someplace at sometime at the beginning of the episode, but I’d love it if he could utilize his TARDIS for more specific, in-story purposes.

New editing style is going hard 👍🏼👍🏼

Surely 'wibbly wobbly, timey wimey' fits the time travel shenanigans story type best 😂

you could’ve called time travel shenanigans wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff

15:05 I agree all stories fall into at least one of these, but yeah they don’t all fall into only one as you say. Waters of Mars, for example, is a celebrity historical AND a base under siege. Power of Three is an invasion and a mystery. But I agree that that’s what helps make it good :)

Love how you edited yourself into the show makes it way more fun to view! Really makes ya think, personally time travel shenanigans is my absolute fav!

Love your editing style in this one! Wasn't expecting to see you popping up in the shots!

"I won't use pre established genres. They must be specific to doctor who, for obvious reasons." Roughly 20 seconds later: "...Mystery .... Historicals"

I think you could get 8 by splitting historicals into character and settings there is a lot of difference between Rosa or Vincent and Demons of the Punjab or fires of Pompeii. I was wondering if old who might bring up another option that new who hasn't focused on. Maguffin hunt perhaps.

Was not expecting that Todd Howard jumpscare

Personally I just call them “Timey-Wimey episodes”

Shh, you're gonna end up on the RTD, Moffat or Chibnall kill list

I feel like it's hard to cleanly fit 73 Yards into any of these categories. The closest is a mystery, but it really isn't structured like a mystery - there's no progress towards an explanation, and that's largely the point of it. I think it makes a good argument for one more category: Horror. This could also include the other famous unsolved mystery episode, Midnight, and many, many others.

"Timey-wimey stuff" was right there for time-travel shenanigans, and you didn't use it?

Great list. 7 episode types, 7 chords. I think my favorite type is the base under siege, Horror of Fang Rock being my number 1.

X-Files was like this. They even made a special explaining it. I cant remember them all, but it was something like: Government Conspiracy, Alien Abduction, local legends and Weird human with abilities and I think it actually helps to not go all Willy Nilly.

I love the idea of "Midnight" being the setup of a Misunderstood Monster that progresses into a Supervillain episode by the end.

Ooo very good video! And editing yourself into scenes was HILARIOUS I loved it so so much

A medieval rendition of the driftveil city music? Top marks

"Time travel shenanigans" honestly should cover MORE episodes than it does.

They shouldnt be seen as catagories, instead as labels. this makes much more sense than having to justify pretty much every episode as "hybrid" just add the labels that apply to the episodes they apply to.

What I would like to see doctor who do to play with these reused "plots" 1) invasion. Have the invading force be human or timelord. The doctor lands in England as the Roman invade or north America for the British or Spanish invasions. Or to keep better with sci-fi, earths expansion to other planets or galifreys emperial age. 2) base under seige. Have the doctor try to contain an enemy team, and have the episode be from their perspective, having us debate his morality until we reveal his actions were completely necessary and reluctant. 3) mystery. The false mystery, where we start with the answer as the doctor works against his oppositions from finding out the truth. The easiest and best way to do this is "there is an alien amoung us" watching everyone create methods and test who is and isn't human as the doctor over comes each test with the aid of his companion. 4) time travle shenanigans. Don't reveal it to us at all, play the episode as a meta deconstruction full of reality and canon contradictions that would normally pull heavy criticism only to reveal a time traveler with a paradox machine At the end. 5) historical, having it played in universe as the doctor is someone else's historical legendary figure, like blink or river song, but having only heard of them and fully knowing how this story and event will play out in the long run. 6) super villian. The doctor vs companion. Either recent or long past, no brain control or manipulation, full disagreement into war. Like if Martha was there for timelord victorius "you've gone to far doctor" 7) misunderstood monster. Just have it be the doctor. Hell, even pair it with the mystery episode "there's an alien amoung us" from before for a solid 2 part episode.

Mystery and base episodes overlap a lot

Organizing Doctor Who stories by setting is absolutely valid, but I wonder if using theme as the commonality would perhaps better capture the breadth of the show. The Empty Child takes place during the Blitz, but it’s about abandonment. The Waters of Mars is set in a base under attack, but what’s important in the episode is the Doctor embracing the godhood of the Time Lord victorious. The Family of Blood has a lot in common with Casablanca: sometimes we are called upon to sacrifice love for the greater good. These are among the highest rated episodes, and I think that’s because Doctor Who, at its very best, uses setting/genre as a tool for exploring the nature of humanity. The structure of the show and the heart of the show are different things, and as if to emphasize which one is more crucial, they gave the Doctor two hearts.

Just change from “Time Travel Shenanigans” to “timey-wimey”

Nice editing and analysis!

I’d change Time travel shenanigans to Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey stories

"Time travel shennanegins?" Surely you mean "Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey...stuff"

love the editing on this one, great video!

They should give the Doctor a Dalek companion, The way Daleks kill the defected impure ones have one of them get saved by the Doctor and go on adventures. We had a few good Darlexs Clara and Rusty so why not at least for a few Episodes

Base Under Siege's has it's origins in 60s budgetary requirements, when during the Troughton era the production team established that they could maximise a story's budget by having limited guest stars and limited sets - a corridor, central control area and a smaller room that could function as multiple roles, such as sleeping quarters, lab etc. I think the term was popularised during the 80s in fan criticism/analysis. One of my favourite BUS of the modern era, which hybridises with the mystery type is _Wild Blue Yonder,_ where the Base in question is reality, and the only actors are the principals and their stand ins, taking place completely in a studio, thereby absolutely minimising any leaks. Remember the completely wild fan speculation around it prior to broadcast?

Loved the video and the editing is top notch!

"Not a monster" and "humans are the monster" twists usually come in mystery episodes. Since these episodes aren't narratively evident until the twist, it isn't really a story type, it seems more like a twist on another story type. It is definitely a trope, and an important Who pattern, but not a story type.

just have to say your background music choices for this video are fantastic :)

I would not count 'historicals' as separate type of story, as most of them can be fit within another category such as 'invasion' in the case of 'Vampires of venice', 'The unquiet dead' or 'Fires of pompei'. Other historical episodes, for instance 'Vincent and the Doctor' also fit in the category 'misunderstood monsters'.

Another story type I'd add is 'The Doppelganger'. There are a few stories like The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People and The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion where the Doctor and/or the characters around him have doppelgangers.

I don't know who coined the term "base under siege" but I first heard it about 20 years ago, used to describe Terry Nation's stories (ie most early Dalek stories). So as a description of DW stories it probably goes all the way back to the 60s or 70s.

Pretty damn good background music choice here, well played.

Here's my favourite episode of each category, not that anyone asked; Invasion - Army of Ghosts/Doomsday (Army of Ghosts is definitely more of a mystery but I think it gets a pass for the invasion category since it's set up for Doomsday which is a lot more invasiony wasiony) Base Under Siege - World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls Mystery - Heaven Sent Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff - The Day of The Doctor (this is also my favourite episode overall) Historical - Vincent and The Doctor/The Shakespeare Code/Tooth and Claw Supervillain - The End of Time/The Eleventh Hour/Smith and Jones Misunderstood Monster - The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

Omega Flowey: "NOOOO!!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!!!!!" The Seven Human Doctor Who Episodes:

This is my most anticipated video from your channel. Edit: Didn't expect to hear We Are Number One.

Now someone needs to take these and watch the whole show, and see what combos each episode is

I called the base under siege story "Alien but the Doctor is in it"

The editing in this is too good 🙌🏼

Could you count episodes like New Earth as a historical? Its going somewhere in history, it just happens to be after us

Wow, great editing in this video.

The only one I can think of maybe not fitting is Hell Bent? Though maybe you could say it's an invasion story and the Doctor *is* the invading alien

I'd propose an eighth category, "Lore Dump", wherein the episode's events are really more of a vehicle for advancing the overarching story of the series. Moffat loved these: "A Good Man Goes to War", "Hell Bent", "Day of the Doctor", and I'd say "The Timeless Children" qualifies too. They're some of the more memorable episodes in the show, but not because of the actual conflict between the Doctor and the villains.

I thought this video was something else so I figured I'd suggest a video: If you could only have one episode from each Doctor, which ones would it be?

I have noticed this sort of pattern too but love the way its presented in this video.

Heaven Sent could be described primarily as poetic existential/philosophical musings, the mystery is secondary and only resolved in the next episode, and the Last Christmas was more about dreams and beliefs than the alien or mystery aspect.

Gotta just commend you on such an original idea for a video tbh

watching this and relating them to my planned doctor who series

I feel like 'docter light' episodes could be the last one

New Who didn't create the celebrity historical. It goes back all the way to 1964's "Marco Polo". Though that was also in the "pure historical" genre, which is exclusive to the classic series and non-TV stories where the only science fiction element is the presence of the TARDIS crew.

And then Jodie Whittaker's era comes along and adds "Character Drama".

Why oh why oh why do YT creators have to use the phrases "deep dive or dive in"? Brilliant YT channel. Ant p

‘Temporal trouble’ isn’t of ‘time travel shenanigans’

I was thinking there would be a new form category. Because there have been a few episodes of the doctor regenerating(or just before) and then having to get used to their new self.

We need a video where you make a 14 episode season with two episodes from each category

I love how much Siivagunner music you used in the intro lmao All joking aside this is a really cool video!!!

I would argue Doctor-Lite episodes are their own type of episode. Slice of life should definitely be considered at least a subcategory.

I think there is only one episode which doesn't have enough in any single category to be categories properly in my opinion. Which is journey to the centre of the Tardis, which has elements of Time Travel Shenanigans, Base Under Siege and Mystery

I think most or all of these fit OldWho pretty well too. Historicals go back to the very first story, "An Unearthly Child," although that's technically a prehistorical; maybe "The Aztecs" is a better example. Off the top of my head, I can think of Supervillain, Base Under Siege, and Invasion types from just the Fourth and Seventh Doctors' eras, which are the ones I'm most familiar with, but I'm pretty sure there are Mystery ones too (maybe Third Doctor era?). Not as sure about Misunderstood Monster and Time Travel Shenanigans.

I think I have an 8th category - "Mission" I'm struggling to fit Good Man Goes to War, The Doctor The Widow and the Wardrobe, and Asylum of the Daleks into any of the '7 episode types'. Good Man had elements of 'base under siege' but just it's The Doctor doing the sieging, Asylum has an element of 'mystery' but wouldn't say it's the main focus, and the other one is 'timey-wimey' because of the time portal to Narnia I suppose - that's just it, it's elements of these story types only. I don't feel those episodes truly fit in to those story types But all 3 of them ARE 'missions' Good Man is a mission to rescue Amy Narnia is a mission to rescue some children and an alien forest from acid rain And Asylum has the Daleks summon The Doctor to destroy their asylum planet for them I definitely think this is an 8th category here! 'Mission' has similarities to 'base under siege', but it's definitely a distinct story type

Base under seige is by far my favourite type of doctor who episode l, such great action packed episodes