Ranking the classic regeneration stories

What are your rankings and thoughts on each regeneration story?

War Games and Caves are the best by far.

45 years ago today the last part of Planet of the Spiders aired and for me it was the best.

Time and the Rani

Skipped over all that tedious emotional dross and gave us a regeneration immediately.

In order (favourite to least):

Tenth Planet - Love it. Wish i had seen it on original transmission when the idea of regeneration was new to everyone.
Caves - Apart from the Magma Beast and a couple of lines delivered by John Normington to the camera. Otherwise near perfect for me.
Logopolis - a few bits of silliness but on the whole very good with an excellent performance by Tom  Baker, something he didn't seem capable of during the Williams' years.
War Games - On the whole good but too long for my tastes. Too much running around to fill the story out to 10 episodes. The final episode is very good though.
Planet of the Spiders - again, too long imho. Used to indulge Jon Pertwee in some respects which leaves us with a very boring chase sequence in one episode. Still enjoyed it overall though.

Mine are...

1. The Caves of Androzani (My all time favourite)
2. Logopolis
3. Planet of the Spiders
4. The War Games
5. The Tenth Planet
6. Time and the Rani (Probably the worst regeneration of all time classic who and Nu Who.)

In order of preference...

Planet of the Spiders - 'om mani padme hum!' - I love all the Tibetan meditation centre stuff. Also how this one shows dramatic consequences from the previous season, with Yates redeeming himself and Jo's fateful return of the Metebelis crystal. Lupton and the Eight-Legs and their Queen make excellent villains. Not one for arachnophobes but definitely a memorable swansong for Pertwee's Doc with a quietly moving ending.

Caves of Androzani - absolutely brilliant last story for Davison with probably his greatest performance in the role. I felt he was at last embodying the same heroic role as his predecessors! It's truly classic stuff boosted by Christopher Gable's fine performance as surely one of the very best villains in the series' history.

The War Games - I like the opening with its grim Great War mood and how the series-changing concept of the Time Lords is then introduced and developed. Patrick Troughton's truly epic length finale really is a game changer, affecting how the show would evolve for the next few years. The ambiguity of the ending must certainly have left fans wondering what the hell was coming next... (thank goodness it was JP!)

The Tenth Planet - William Hartnell's departure might very well have ended the show once and for all and indeed it's hard to imagine what audiences must have made of the climactic regeneration at the time. Ground breaking as well with the Cybermen being introduced and quite effectively creepy they are here too.

Logopolis - Suitably funereal tone with some interesting ideas about the universe threatening to unravel no less. Anthony Ainley's Master is certainly a worthy opponent for Tom Baker's final adventure. What lets this one down somewhat is that it just looks so cheap at times so the grand concepts aren't done justice. I recently saw the newly enhanced special effects blu-ray version though and do now appreciate it a little more than previously.

Doctor Who - yes well I'm including the movie since it does feel rather like the belated end of the classic series, not least because we finally do see the conclusion of Sylvester McCoy's incarnation. If the film itself is something a mixed bag, the idea of the Doc meeting his end in hospital, after falling victim to a gang shoot-out, is handled quite effectively I thought. It's certainly a more impressive regeneration than....

Time and the Rani - wtf! - there's no convincing explanation for the regeneration which just seems ludicrously rushed. Strangely, the actual adventure I didn't mind too much as I liked Kate O'Mara's villainess. But this feels like they simply couldn't be bothered to justify why there's a new Doc here at all. Colin Baker, who of course doesn't even appear (and I don't blame him!), deserved more of a proper send-off and this wasn't it.

I believe he fell off of his exercise bike and smashed his skull open as he hit the floor. The novel says something completely different, though.

My favorites are fourth to fifth when tom falls off the telescope wires and blends with the watcher and changes into peter. My other favorite is fifth to sixth the effects are so cool looking him seeing his past companions and the master his cackling laugh.

According to the big finish audio story the last adventure,the sixth doctor had been infected with radiation after encountering the valeyard . He hears his future seventh self saying it is far from being all over"