92.5%
Its funny, a lot of people cite City of Death as one of the best Doctor Who stories ever made. By funny, I mean certain producers (say, Philip Segal and Russell T Davies) rate this story quite highly. How ironic that these two individuals (Segal especially) have failed to produce anything that compares to City of Death.
I would agree, though - this is one of those stories that is close to perfection. The dialogue, the story, the pacing - all shine. At a time when Tom Baker was playing the role for laughs, it is easy to see this as yet another spot of Tom-foolery (sorry). However, somehow it works, it fits in with the idea of the Doctor on holiday. Not only that, a single, throwaway line in episode two ("My dear, nobody could be as stupid as he seems") allows the viewer to realise that it is a part of who the Doctor is and it is not long before the more serious side appears later on in the story and the progression to that moment is far smoother than anything Davies has been able to manage. In a way, City of Death shows us what Davies aspires to write - a feat he has failed in.
The story came at a time when Douglas Adams was becoming hot property, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (H2G2) was starting to become a massive success. It is ironic that the success of H2G2 meant that Adams could command a fee that was beyond the budget of each company seeking the novelisation of all the TV stories. It is even more ironic that Adams canabilised some of his own stories from Doctor Who for his own books. In my opinion, the greatest irony is that City of Death and the first radio series of H2G2 remain the pinnacle of Adams' achievements, somthing which all his other, later projects lacked. Much as I enjoyed the second radio series of H2G2 it lacked a lot of the qualities that made the original series so memorable. I enjoy listening to those first six episodes and would rank them among the best moments of radio broadcasting. Sadly, the novels pale by comparison, each subsequent tome proving to be poorer than the last.
Back to the City of Death - it boasts the best score for a Doctor Who story ever. Dudley Simpson excels in his work for this story and it is sad that such an excellent piece of work remains commercially unavailable. At a time when domestic VCRs were still a dream to many, this story was my introduction to the world of Doctor Who on audio. Perhaps that is why the score has stuck in my mind, but I challenge anyone to name a finer or superior one.
One last point: many years ago I read a book entitled Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text which mentioned the difference of opinion between Douglas Adams and John Nathan-Turner (JNT). It is established that the Doctor has left the TARDIS in an art gallery. JNT thought this was a stupid idea, Adams thought that it made perfect sense. I would agree with him, and it makes for one of those rare cameos that just stick in the mind. To quote one of the art lovers, City of Death is absolutely exquisite.
I was unlucky enough to miss the first episode on its original broadcast - although I did see the remainder of the story at the time. Fortunately, when the story was repeated in the summer of 1980 I was able to watch the story. I can't honestly say that it stuck in my mind at the time - on either viewing. Not even the fact that it was recorded in Paris held any sway over me. It wasn't until a friend of mine lent me an audio-recording of the story (pre-VCR/Hard drive recording days etc) that I rediscovered the story. The fantastic score drew me in and I asked him to make me a copy for continued listening. Over the years, until it finally arrived on video in the 1990s I listened to the story again and again. Not only did I enjoy Dudley Simpson's amazing score, I also enjoyed the dialogue and banter.
On all subsequent viewings both on the initial video release and then the DVD release, City of Death has remained a fine piece of Doctor Who. Watching it again, 30 years on, I find that it has not only stood the test of time, it positively shines as one of the best stories on the 1970s...not to mention one of Tom Baker's best...in fact, one of the best of the series. The last time I gave any thought to a full chart, in 2001, this story ranked in my top 10. Now, with the adventures of the ninth and tenth Doctors to take into account I can honestly say it is probably still in the top 10...that's not to say nothing recent will be in there. A few may have fallen by the wayside, their places taken by newer stories...but City of Death is not one of them. As I said in my previous review, Russell T Davies has failed to produce dialogue or banter that compares favourably to this story. Any aspiration he had to writing something of this calibre remains unrealised. Ironically, one of the original authors, Douglas Adams, failed to write anything memorable during his post H2G2 first radio series career.
I enjoy watching this story and I still find the score memorable - I have yet to set foot in Paris but can easily imagine that haunting piano melody going around in my head. All the performances are fine and, it goes without saying, Julian Glover turns in an excellent performance as Scaroth - once again, not a single slice of ham!