There are definitely some issues with the portrayals of the Aboriginal, Chinese, and Maya characters in relation to the Greek one, and parts of the first half drag on a bit, but it is a good story. Adric's characterization is a little sudden but good for his character, I think: he's been through so much and feels picked on and neglected, so it makes sense that he would fall for the premise of a perfect future with someone taking care of everyone. It illustrates the temptation of such a system. Tegan's characterization is really good, too: she's stuck being the only responsible adult on the tardis, her concerns and valid fears are brushed off as silly, and unlike the others she has a home and normality she still wants to get back to. It makes perfect sense that she freaks out and tries to take it into her own hands and just tries to leave in the tardis. And she actually sort of succeeds through determination and reading the manual!

I like the general message of anti-eugenics, of "perfecting" humanity being both unethical and incorrect as an ideal. And the ending where the dictator was shown to allow himself the same thing (fleshtime) that he convinced his followers they were better for no longer having was a good show of hypocrisy.

Also I enjoy the Doctor using a cricket ball to propel himself through space.

A story that's fast-paced, and still somewhat nice. That being said, it has not aged well. Between the deus-ex-machina of Tegan speaking the exact language that Kurkutji spoke, and the slightly racist undertones, it probably wouldn't be made today, but it was a very nice story nonetheless. The resolution did feel a bit rushed, and it was a tad convenient that the Doctor happened to have the poison needed and Monarch happened to be at least partially organic. In all honesty, I enjoyed the character dynamics in at least the first and last TARDIS scenes. Overall, a story that's still nice to have, but maybe not one of the earliest to watch.

It's far from perfect, but Four to Doomsday has a lot to offer viewers.  These early Fifth Doctor stories have a solid foundation for their companions.  They all really have a sense of purpose here and are each pretty entertaining in their own way.  Monarch isn't the most memorable villain but the weirdness of the Persuasion and Enlightenment characters definitely makes up for that a bit.  Overall, while not the best, it is memorable, creative, deeply silly, and, at its core, a true Doctor Who story.

From what I gather this is a story that tends to get ragged on a bit by the fandom and to be honest, I don't really see why. I believe this is the first Doctor Who story they ever shot out of sequence, meaning this is the first story they filmed with the new Doctor. Considering this I think Peter does an amazing job, he gets right into it, running about and giving the same energetic yet troubled performance you see in the rest of this season. I think this story works well because of where it's placed in the season. This is Five's first regular story and it's also placed in between Castrovalva and Kinda, two very unique stories that lean into more abstract concepts. In comparison this one feels like a very regular Doctor Who story, and it functions well as that.

For this era especially I think this story is very well made. The sets look great compared to other sets around this time; the costumes are great as well, particularly the urbankans who I think are underrated. The plot is fairly good, Monarch wanting to use earth's resources to fuel his own delusions of meeting himself at the beginning of time. While the side characters are not the most interesting the visual design and story carries it. There is however one element about this story that I am inclined to agree with the haters on, this is probably the poorest showing for Five's companions. Nyssa gets little to do, Tegan spends most of her time complaining and being unhelpful, and this story probably more than any other can be pointed to as causing the fandom's long standing hatred for Adric. Still I think this is a fun story and a good outing for Five, it was in fact his cricket ball moment in Part 4 that made him my favourite classic Doctor when I fist watched this story. 8/10 / 4 stars.

This is an odd story, even by Doctor Who's standards! I really like the concept of an alien planning to steal Earth's minerals in an attempt to break the speed of light, and the stuff with Persuasion and Enlightenment taking on the form of Tegan's drawing is a really clever one.

I also think it's worth noting that even though Peter Davison admitted to feeling nervous during the recording of this serial (it was the first story he filmed), it really doesn't show. He seems so comfortable and confident in the role from the start, a bit like Matt Smith did in the first story he shot, The Time of Angels/Flesh And Stone.

Tegan is really annoying in this story though. I really hated her when she just straight up abandoned the Doctor and the others and left in the TARDIS at the end of Episode Three. I mean, what the hell, Tegan? Shows how much you care about them.

Also: Monarchy is way too easily defeated at the end. All the Doctor does is chuck the poison at him and he's shrunk. I was expecting a little more.

Overall a pretty good story.