Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 212: The Wheel in Space, Episode Two

Dear diary,

Something that I’ve seen complained about quite a lot in relation to The Wheel in Space is the idea that the Cybermen in the story are ‘hatched from eggs’. Admittedly, it’s a pretty fair description of what happens in the closing moments of this episode, but what the complaints fail to mention is just how effective it is as a cliffhanger.

Over the last two episodes, we’ve seen several of these eggs (the narration calls them ‘spheres’, but ‘egg’ just sounds better) float across the void of space and attach themselves to the side of the Wheel. We’ve watched the crew try to piece together all the various odd things that are happening to their systems, while we know that it’s being caused by the presence of these eggs. Now we find out that they’re not just some odd space phenomena – they’ve got Cybermen inside them!

Even more effective is that the cliffhanger still isn’t your run-of-the-mill ‘Cyberman bursts through a doorway!’, or ‘The Doctor and his companions turn around to see… a Cyberman!’. It’s left to you to recognise the fist of a Cyberman sticking out from the recently powered-up egg (there’s a sentence you don’t write every day), and then we’ll get the full reveal – I’d imagine – in the next episode. It’s nice, because it’s allowing the threat to build, and I’m less concerned about them spending the entire story stood around looking menacing, which is what I’d been expecting.

I think it’s always a good testament to the quality of a particular episode if you can remove the Doctor from the action (Patrick Troughton doesn’t appear at all in today’s instalment, and the unconscious Doctor is played by a stand-in) and still remain just as interested n the events unfolding on screen. Jamie is left to carry much of the action, heading out to explore the Wheel in the company of our new companion, Zoe. It’s interesting how much of a contrast they’re going for with Zoe, swapping out Victorian companion for a girl from the near-future, with an intellect that could square up to that of the Doctor.

What’s odd is that I don’t especially like Zoe, yet, and I’m not all that sure that you’re supposed to. She’s presented as treating things in a cool, logical manner and not really showing a great deal of personality. When asked to covertly keep an eye on Jamie as she gives him the grand tour, she declares that it could be ‘interesting’ as a project, and when another crew-member expresses fascination at the fact that some of the plant on the Wheel have travelled all the way from Venus, she chimes in to give the exact distance in several different measurements. I think Jamie sums it up best when he dryly responds: ‘Oh. I was dying to know that…’

The entire location of the Wheel feels very fleshed out – certainly more so than that of some other bases we’ve seen throughout this season. Yesterday i complained that none of the crew really stood out of the crowd for me, but today you get the impression of a history to these characters and a string of previous interactions in both their professional and private lives. This feels like a very real world, and I think that’s what’s drawing me in and keeping me interested. There’s discussion of people back on Earth who feel that the space programme should be suspended (although no further context is given) and they spot something is amiss with Jamie because he leaves his water – something that’s in short supply out in space. It all helps to make it feel like the TARDIS has landed our heroes into a place that’s been going for some time, and you get the impression that it’ll keep on going, long after they’ve left (assuming the Cybermen don’t totally wipe them out, that is).

Today’s entry can’t go by without mentioning two new naming additions to the series. Firstly, Jamie is given a middle name – Robert – when he identifies himself to Gemma. Secondly, and probably more importantly from the point of view of the series as whole, we get the first instance of the Doctor being given the alias ‘John Smith’. It’s a name Jamie takes from the side of some medical equipment, and it’s not fooling anyone from the start, but it’s a name that’s going to stick, and is still in use right up to the current series.

I’m almost sorry that we’re likely to move into a regular ‘base-under-siege’ tale from now on, in which the Cybermen attack the Wheel, as I’m enjoying all the build up. I’m hoping that the rich background that’s being painted here is going to hold firm throughout the rest of the story, as it would be lovely to see Season Five (and the format of Season Five) going out on a high. It’s certainly a good strong start…

a 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 211: The Wheel in Space, Episode One

Dear diary,

I’ve always thought that had I been both a fan of Doctor Who and working in a high position on the programme during the original run, I’d have spent half my time renting out viewing rooms in TV Centre and watching all the old episodes on a loop. Well, until they destroy them all, anyway. It seems I’m not the only one to have such a mindset, though, because David Whittaker has obviously written today’s episode fresh from a viewing of The Dead Planet, Episode One of The Daleks.

The whole episode is filled with elements that make up the first 25 minutes of that Dalek tale – there’s something wrong with the TARDIS’ fluid link (though, this time, there really is something wrong – the Doctor’s not just making it up), and the ship is unable to leave this strange, seemingly dead location until they can find some more mercury to get things working again. When the ship first starts to go wrong, the Doctor instructs Jamie to check the ‘fault indicator’, which is clearly a component of the earlier fault locator, if not the same device entirely. He describes it as being ‘over there on the left’, which you could interpret as Jamie being sent off to the same room that featured in several of the early Hartnell adventures.

We’ve even got a scene in which Jamie is bamboozled by a ‘futuristic’ food machine, which splits out his desired meal in the form of a small cube. The scene plays almost identically to the one in The Dead Planet, and I’d not be surprised to hear Ian make the same ‘I’ve heard of a square meal’ joke as Jamie does here (though he didn’t at the time).

Perhaps the biggest thing that makes this feel like the earlier adventure, though, is just how long we spend in the company of just the Doctor and Jamie. Oh, sure, there’s a Servo Robot waddling around in the background, but really our only focus for at least the first fifteen minutes of the story is our two regulars. We get a recap of Victoria’s departure, and on this occasion they mention the TARDIS’ unusual take off at the end of the previous story – it was omitted from the end of the Fury From the Deep narration (possibly to let the story go out with the emotion of Victoria’s departure) – and then we’re into that old classic of the Doctor and his companion exploring their new surroundings without encountering any of the guest cast.

It’s almost becoming a tradition now that the Doctor and Jamie get an episode to themselves before they encounter their next companion, but it’s another one of those great opportunities to see the pair shine together on screen. It gives the pair a chance to breathe, and makes Victoria’s departure from the programme all the more poignant. It’s not simply a case of one out, one in, but rather a bit of a break before they meet someone else that they’d enjoy spending their time with. The only problem this gives me is that I’d love a full story of just the Doctor and Jamie from start to finish, and you’d think that this would be the time to have one – fresh from their loss but not quite ready yet to make a new friend.

When the guest cast does finally arrive on the scene, the narration gives us a full run down of every member we see, and I have to confess that I rather lost track of them all by the end. I’m sure they’ll each develop their own distinct personalities before the end of the story, but for now I’m just labelling them ‘generic base crew’. It’s a slow start to the new story, but I’m cautiously optimistic. If nothing else, it’s nice to see that the Cybermen haven’t been introduced as the end-of-episode cliffhanger, but we’re left guessing for that little bit longer. In contrast to Fury From the Deep, this feels fresh and different, and that can only be a good thing.

a 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 210: Fury From the Deep, Episode Six

Dear diary,

'I was fond of her too,' the Doctor snaps at Jamie in the closing moments of this story, as the pair watch Victoria's departure from the TARDIS. Sadly, I'm not entirely sure that it's a sentiment that I can echo. For me, Victoria has really been the first of the companions that's not made any real impact on me. It's a shame, really, because Deborah Watling has turned in some nice performances, and Victoria has been part of some lovely scenes (and some really fab stories), but whereas with Steven, or Polly, I didn’t want to say goodbye... I'm not going to miss Victoria - I just don't really think I'll notice that she's gone.

That said, her departure is handled better in the last half of this episode than it has been for the rest of the story. Having gone through a few episodes with Victoria complaining about the state of their lives, things get somewhat toned down now, and we get a chance for her to actually stop and think about her decision, without having to make it in the middle of an adventure. The Doctor asks her if she really wants to leave, then offers to stay one more night, just to give her a chance to sleep on it. We then get that beautiful scene with Jamie and Victoria out on the balcony - it's possibly the best performance that we've had from either companion as they sadly discuss what's to come.

I think it helps that following this, much of the departure is then handled wordlessly. The narration on the soundtrack describes them as saying their goodbyes, before the Doctor and Jamie paddle back over to the TARDIS (it's back out in the middle of the ocean, now, as in Episode One, but during Episode Three it's described as having been 'conveniently washed up on the shore'. Has the ship just been going in and out with the tide while we've been off fighting sentient seaweed?) and have their discussion in the console room. It's lovely to be left not knowing what their final words to each other were: it feels far more romantic than actually watching in on them.

It's probably fitting that in the story introducing the Sonic Screwdriver to the series, the creature is defeated by noise, or as the Doctor more accurately puts it, 'sonic vibrations'. It's clear that his Sonic will play a vital role in the denouement… except it doesn't. A tape recording of Victoria's screams saves the day. In a way, I guess it's quite nice that she gets to be a vital part of the Doctor's life one last time, but it does feel odd. I'm going to go out on a limb and chalk this up as another one of those instances that makes the Doctor think more work is required to make the device all the more functional.

Overall, I've been really disappointed by Fury From the Deep. I don't think it helps that it's another one of those stories which has a reputation for being one of those big, Doctor Who 'classics'. There's an awful lot to love in here, and if you wanted to sum up the Troughton era in a single story, this would probably be the one to do it. As I've said before, though, it's just too close to everything around it to really stand out of the tide. The more that the story has gone on, the more I've been picking out similarities to other stories and trying to decide which version is better. Admittedly, Fury From the Deep wins out in a few cases, but not always. There's so many bits of the story that put me in mind of The Macra Terror (today's addition to the list is the Doctor and his friends staying behind after the adventure to enjoy a celebration with the guest characters), a story which I rated very highly - it's just made me want to listen to that one again!

Still, we now enter the third and final phase of the Second Doctor's era, with the introduction of Zoe. And to top it off? It's the return of my favourite monsters - the Cybermen. Unlike this story, I'm not really sure how fans rate The Wheel in Space, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised?

a 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 209: Fury From the Deep, Episode Five

Dear diary,

Quite a few times since Troughton took over the role, I've commented that certain scenes (or, in some cases, certain episodes) feel less like Doctor Who and more like anything else that was on television at around the same time. We've had one or two stories that wouldn't feel out of place in the more surreal parts of The Avengers, or Adam Adamant Lives!, for example.

What's really happening is that the programme is evolving. People always talk about the shift to colour and the grounding of the Third Doctor to contemporary Earth as though it's some huge sea change that occurs once the 1970s hit. Actually, ever since The War Machines at the tail-end of Season Three, we've been spending more and more time on modern-day (or close enough) Earth. Jamie and Victoria comment on it at the start of this very story: since the start of the programme's Fourth Season, there's been no end of tales set within 100 years either side of the broadcast date - ranging from The Tenth Planet twenty years ahead in the 1980s, to The Faceless Ones and The Web of Fear taking place during the year they're made (or thereabouts…). Even stories like The Enemy of the World can't be all that far into the future.

We just didn't really get things like this during the First Doctor's time at the TARDIS controls. Our history was usually further flung than the 1920s and we spent much more time out on distant worlds than we do now. It's this that causes the series to feel more like everything else that's being shown - because it's changing to fit the same format as many of these other programmes. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not especially looking forward to reaching the Third Doctor's era, but I'm surprised that it's all being fed in this early, and I'm wondering just how much of a change it's going to feel when the time does roll around for the Doctor's exile to Earth…

One of the benefits of the programme starting to feel more and more like all these other shows is that - from time to time - you can use the others to give context to an episode of Doctor Who. Today's episode sees first Robson (with Victoria as his captive), and then the Doctor and Jamie taking a helicopter out to the drilling platforms where they can confront the Weed. All the shots of the platforms were filmed at the Red Sands Fort in the Thames Estuary, a sea defense built to fire on enemy aircrafts fairly late into World War Two.

By the 1960s, with the various sea forts abandoned, many were adopted as homes for pirate radio stations, and Red Sands became home to Radio 390. This setting formed the backdrop for one of the very last episodes of Danger Man in 1965, and I've watched it this evening to get a feel for the location, since it looks like it'll be playing a key part in the resolution of our current story! It's an odd change of pace to be watching something like Danger Man - shot on film, and containing an entire story in an hour-long episode, it's got a very different feel to Doctor Who: to sum it up, it's slicker.

The episode - Not So Jolly Rodger - is set almost entirely out on the Red Sands Fort, which gives plenty of opportunity to see the place showcased. It's a crying shame that we don't get to see more of it in the surviving tele snaps for Fury From the Deep, because it looks like a stunning location to set a story. Silhouetted against the clear blue sky while the sea lashes at the thick trunks that hold the forts above the waves, it's incredibly remote, and as 'alien' as you could possibly want. The tele snap of one tower covered with foam and weed is sadly not the best quality image - it could have made a very striking impression if it's our first shot of the towers in the story. Sadly, I imagine that they don't get shown off quite as well in Doctor Who as they do in Danger Man - the way the two shows were produced would have seen to that. It's worth tracking the episode down, though, just to get an idea of how brilliant it may have looked.

(Fittingly, the design of the Red Sands Fort was adapted in 1955 to be used for the very first off-shore drilling platform in the North Sea - so the location is pretty accurate!)

I still can't shake the feeling that this story would be rating a lot better with me if I were seeing it divorced from everything else around it. Today, we can add the two helicopters to the list of things cropping up this season (I was very impressed with the appearance of one during Enemy of the World, but it feels like old hat now!), plus the usual bouts of foam, possession, and Victoria whinging. I'm spending more time tying up plot developments to other recent stories than I am actually enjoying this one.

It's a shame, because it's perhaps easier to see in this episode, more than the first four, just how dark this story is. I've already mentioned just how scary some of the surviving clips are, but today's cliffhanger, with Robson almost swallowed in the foam as he announces that 'we've been waiting' for the Doctor could go down as one of the most unnerving things we've had in the show for a long time. Again, sadly, the tele snap doesn't do it any favours, laving the impression that it's either terrifying or hilarious.

There's plenty of great dialogue on show, too, that really helps to heighten the situation. My favourite has to be the Doctor's grim warning to Jamie - 'we're already in the lion's den. What we've got to concentrate on is keeping our heads out of it's mouth.' Much is being made, too, of the Doctor's lack of certainty with the situation. He's usually got a plan tucked up his sleeve, but today he's completely stumped. He spends while staring off into space as he thinks through the situation, then grimly declares that he simply doesn't know what to do. It's unsettling, and I really wish I could enjoy the story more than I am. Fury From the Deep is almost certainly a tale that could benefit hugely from a re-watch (re-listen) once the marathon is over…

a 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 208: Fury From the Deep, Episode Four

Dear diary,

Crikey, once Victoria has decided that she's had enough, she's really not going to let it go, is she? Having decided yesterday that she's sick of constantly being in trouble, she really labours the point here today, bringing it up on more than one occasion with both the Doctor and Jamie. In some ways, it's almost like she's completely lost faith in what they're doing - when Jamie reassures her that the Doctor will come up with something to save the day (after all, that's what he does in every story!) Victoria whines that she's not so certain, and then panics when the Doctor admits that he hasn't quite worked out what's going on yet.

My biggest issue with all this, though, is more the way that Victoria has been treated in the long-term. I've mentioned a couple of times how her character seems to swing back and forth between loving life in time and space and being less than certain the this life is for her. Wouldn't this feel so much better if she'd always been so unsure of things. I'll readily admit that I'd be complaining endlessly in these diary entries if she simply whinged on like this every week, but it would make her complete giving up here work just that little bit better.

However, I did suddenly wonder today if there might be an outside influence to her sudden departure. I'll need to hear the next two episodes before I can make a definitive statement, but I wonder if it's possible to add another footnote to my Great Intelligence timeline that makes her actions here seem to be a little less… sudden. We know that there's a small piece of the Intelligence in her mind left over from their trip to Tibet earlier in the season, and we know that she'll later be drawn back to the country, plagued by visions of her late father (I know this means treating the fan-made spin off Downtime as canon, but I've been doing so all along, and I've seen that more times than I've seen some official Doctor Who stories!).

Is it possible that the Great Intelligence, having survived the end of The Web of Fear and retreated back into space is calling on Victoria here, trying to separate her from the Doctor and Jamie so that she can become a pawn in his larger game? Although no date is given on screen for this story, fandom tends to assume sometime in the mid-1970s (indeed, this world tallies with some of the technology seen in the UNIT stories), which would be fitting - the Intelligence could draw Victoria into leaving the relative safety of the TARDIS and staying behind on Earth, ready to carry out his bidding during the 1980s and 90s. It's a stretch, I'll admit, but I think it could just about work. As I say, I'll need to hear the last third of the story before I can officially adopt this sequence of events in my mind, but I like it for now, at least!

If there's anything good to come from Victoria's sudden lack of ease with the lifestyle she's been leading of late, it's that we get a chance to see Jamie reaffirmed as perfect for life with the Doctor. The way that the Doctor teases him into heading down into the stats with him is fantastic ('you wouldn't let me go down by myself, would you?', he asks, somewhat sadly. 'Well,' Jamie replies, having to think for a moment, before reluctantly giving in: 'no…'), and there's then something brilliant about the pair exploring in the darkness with gas masks on. Right back when Frazer Hines joined in The Highlanders, I mused that it was strange to have a companion be so interlinked with a Doctor (Tegan comes close, though), but when you see this pair in action, almost two years on from all that… it's perfectly clear why they stuck together.

The other great thing about the pair exploring down in the system of the rigs - it survives! Well, sort of. Today, I popped in the Lost in Time DVD so that I could watch the surviving clips from this story - sometimes they work as a handy visual shorthand to keep in mind while listening. Among the assortment of clips was one of the Doctor and Jamie being scared by the seaweed creature, and it has to be said - it looks great. In some ways, I could simply write off the creature as playing to another stereotype of the Troughton era (the thing lives in the BBC's foam machine for goodness sake!) and add it to my list of things that feel tired in this story, but actually, it's bloody creepy.

There's another shot amongst the surviving clips of Van Lutyens being attacked and - for want of a better word - consumed by the weed creature, and it's actually terrifying. For what amounts to a lump of seaweed thrashing about in some foam, it's surprisingly effective. It also provides a chance to see Mr Oak and Mr Quill's attack of Maggie from the other day: another one of those scenes that's actually very un-nerving. It's so unusual, and the way the shot cuts back and forth from mouth to mouth, as the men stare wildly and stretch their jaws to breaking point…

I really do think that, watched in isolation, Fury From the Deep could absolutely deserve the high reputation that it's often given. I think had it survived for us to see then it would be far and away one of the greatest tales we'd had. Sadly, going by the soundtrack and the tele snaps (even with these few surviving bits and bobs) it still just isn't quite giving me enough…

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 207: Fury From the Deep, Episode Three

Dear diary,

It would appear that Debbie Watling has handed in her four-weeks notice between the last episode and this one, as Victoria's tone has suddenly shifted from being one of hating the thought of living in a place like this, to hating the throughout of continuing her travels with the Doctor. 'Why are we always in trouble?' she asks, and when the Doctor suggests that it's all part of the fun, she huffs that she's tired of being scared out of her wits.

Also interesting to note is the way that, having been set on the path of departing the TARDIS, Victoria is suddenly being given more to do as a companion than she has been for a long time. Over the last 30-odd episodes, she's swung wildly from being a bit useless and feeble to being a vital member of the team. Now, she seems to have turned into Liz Shaw, assisting the Doctor in his experiments on the seaweed, and even explaining them to Jamie.

Later on, she's responsible for picking a lock with a hair-pin (I'll assume the Doctor doesn't use his newly-created Sonic because it's still in the early stages of development. We've only seen it used to actually take out screws, and it would take an age to remove the door in that way. Maybe it needs some refinement before he can actually use it against locks?), while her friends watch on. It's like - out of nowhere - she's becoming indispensable again.

Elsewhere, the story is doing its best to be as creepy as possible. There's a brilliant moment, having seen off the weed from one attack, when we're reminded that there are hundreds of vents it could attack from, and now that it's inside the shafts, it has direct access to every one. I complained yesterday that this story seems to be something of a 'Best of Season Five' collection, but at least this feels like a slightly different threat - we're used to having proper, obvious monsters attacking, as opposed to a mass of something infecting the system.

Perhaps the most effective moment of the episode, though (and, truth be told, the story so far) is the cliffhanger, in which Maggie stares out across the sea, telling Robson that he will obey, and then walking, slowly, until she vanishes under the waves. It's incredibly un-nerving, and not something that you could imagine the modern series showing, for fear of kids playing copy-cat on a family trip to the beach. It's one of those moments that I've often in the past described as not really being Doctor Who, but things like this are starting to become quite routine for the series - the sudden, striking image. Long after I've forgotten everything else in this episode (and let's be honest, at least half of it has already started to fade from memory, half an hour on), this cliffhanger is going to linger. The tele snaps make it look fab, and it's rocketing up my list of 'things I'd love to see. Rest assured, the score of today's episode is raised simply by these final few minutes.

There's not really a great deal else to say on Fury From the Deep for now. Those odd few moments aside, it's still just feeling a bit 'run of the mill', and that's a shame, as it's not that there's anything wrong with this story - it's just that it's come at the wrong time. Had we seen this story at the end of Season Four, I'm sure I'd be singing its praises now, but having to follow on from so many other stories in the same mould, it's struggling to leave any real impression on me.

6/10 

The BBC have worked out a deal with broadcasters worldwide to simulcast the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special on 23rd November.

The decision will help prevent leaks or spoilers from surfacing online and will enable viewers worldwide to watch the special at exactly the same time.

Currently, the timeslot is scheduled at 7:00pm GMT which would air in the USA at 11:00am PST and in Australia at 6:00am on Sunday 24th November.

The special will feature Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt as The Doctor, and according to recent reports, a fourth actor is expected to reprise his role as The Doctor.

There is still no confirmation as to when a trailer (which Comic Con attendees saw last weekend) will appear, but DWO will bring you more as we get it.

+  The 50th Anniversary Special is due to air in 3D on 23rd November 2013 at 7:00pm.

[Source: Radio Times]

BBC Consumer Products have sent DWO the cover and details for the Doctor Who DVD release of The Complete Seventh Series.

The Complete Seventh Series
Featuring: The 11th Doctor

Say farewell to the Ponds all over again. Meet the enigmatic Clara for the first time - and the second, and the third. Face enemies new and old, follow the Doctor to the one place he should never go, and learn the secret to a really great soufflé. With a cliffhanger ending that will leave fans breathless, this set arrives just in time to catch up before the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special on 23rd November, and the Doctor’s regeneration in this year’s Christmas Special.

In the first part of series seven, the Ponds (Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill) make their final voyages with the Doctor. They save a spaceship full of dinosaurs, don Stetsons in the Wild West and are even kidnapped by the Doctor's oldest foe. But when they arrive in Manhattan the Weeping Angels are waiting for them - and the Doctor has to say goodbye to his companions forever.

The 2012 Christmas special, The Snowmen, brings the Doctor a new friend (Jenna Coleman) in Victorian London - but has he already met her before? And will she be able to pull him from his mourning in time to save London from the chilling menace that threatens it? The final eight episodes of series seven see the Doctor and his new companion battle monsters on distant alien planets, become trapped in a Russian submarine with a deadly passenger, chase terrifying ghosts, and come face-to-face with an army of upgraded Cybermen. When his friends are kidnapped, the Doctor and Clara are forced to visit the fields of Trenzalore, where the question that must never be answered is finally asked… and the Doctor uncovers the secret of the Impossible Girl.

The incredible list of guest stars includes John Hurt (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Warwick Davis (Willow, the Harry Potter films) Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones), David Warner (Titanic, TRON), Dougray Scott (Hemlock Grove, Ever After: A Cinderella Story), Ben Browder (Farscape), David Bradley (Game of Thrones) Jessica Raine (Call The Midwife, The Woman in Black), the mother-daughter duo of Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones) and Rachael Stirling (Women in Love, Snow White and the Huntsman), and the voice of Sir Ian McKellan (The Lord of The Rings films). The episodes are written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, as well as Neil Gaiman, Mark Gatiss, Neil Cross, Chris Chibnall, Toby Whithouse and Stephen Thompson.

Special Features:

•  Behind the scenes featurettes for every episode plus “The Making of the Gunslinger” and “Creating Clara”.
•  Other Featurettes including: “Doctor Who in the US,” “Last Days of the Ponds,” “Pond Life,” “The Science of Doctor Who,” “The Companions,” and “Doctor Who at Comic Con”.
•  Prequels to episodes: The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe, Asylum of the Daleks, The Snowmen (x3), The Bells of Saint John and The Name of the Doctor (x2).
•  Audio commentaries for episodes: The Snowmen, Cold War, Hide, and The Crimson Horror.

+  The Complete Seventh Series is released on 28th October 2013, priced £51.05.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: BBC Consumer Products]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 206: Fury From the Deep, Episode Two

Dear diary,

There are times that I really wish I were coming to the 'classic' series as a complete novice, without all that 'fan baggage' which means I know, for instance, that Fury From the Deep is the last story to feature Victoria. Or that it's the only story of the 1960s that uses one title to cover all its episodes without beginning with 'the'. Or, and this is the big one for today's episode, that the enemy is a big, writing mass of seaweed.

Imagine coming to this story completely free of all that knowledge. Watching the series from the start and not having a clue what was to happen at any given time. No idea that this is Victoria's last appearance (and there's no indication at this stage in the narrative that it might be - indeed she makes a point in today's episode of letting everyone know how much she wouldn't like living in a place like this!) and crucially, not knowing what all this seaweed has to do with anything.

When Victoria is explaining the attack she suffered in yesterday's episode, she describes the creature as being 'all covered in seaweed', hinting that there could be something hidden away underneath. It's heavily implied that she's been imagining it (although we know she hasn't). The entire setting of the story is based around a place mining gas, and then there's that ominous heartbeat echoing through the pipes…

There was a moment today when even I wondered if the Macra might be behind all this. It wouldn't be completely out of the blue - the Yeti have just joined the Cybermen and the Daleks in the ranks of 'creatures the Doctor has fought more than once', and all the trappings are certainly in place for it to be just such a showdown. Having remembered that they're not the villains in question, I was a little disappointed (I love Macra, even if there are no such things), but I love the thought of hearing this story thinking that they really could be controlling things on the rigs behind the scenes.

My main problem with Fury From the Deep, though, was summed up best by Nick Mellish in a conversation we had earlier this afternoon - “Like much of Season 5, works slightly better when listened to in isolation (i.e. not with the other Season 5 stories).” There's lots going on which, really, I should be lapping up, but we've seen it all before. Even worse - we've seen it all before this season. This is the kind of fatigue that I'd worried about when approaching Season Five (I knew from the start that this was likely to be the hardest of the 1960s seasons), though I guess I should be thankful that it hasn't set in until the penultimate story of the year.

June Murphy turns in a great performance as Maggie Harris, and plays the possession by the seaweed at just the right level of creepiness… but we've already seen people brainwashed by the enemy plenty of times this season, most prominently in the two Yeti tales, in which it's a key plot point. Robson is a perfectly good leader of the base, determined to keep to his own programme in the face of mounting evidence that it's the wrong decision… but he's not given the same amount of character that Clent had during The Ice Warriors.

In yesterday's episode, we had mysterious gloved hands creeping into shot to tamper with vital things, but the same thing was used for at least half of The Web of Fear, and it's only been a few days since I watched that one! Stretching back a little further to the end of Season Four, all those parallels that point toward the Macra are just as valid - this is an example of Doctor Who doing things very well, but things that it just does too often. Frankly, it feels like I've already watched this episode several times over…

a 

Ten years ago, it was announced that Doctor Who would return to Television - but the series was nearly stopped before it could begin...

In the first part of a look back at how and why Doctor Who was recommissioned back in 2003, DWM talks to the people who ensured its successful comeback, including the then BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning Jane Tranter, BBC Wales' Head of Drama Julie Gardner, and writer Russell T Davies. 

“When Michael Grade arrived back at the BBC as Chairman, Mark Thompson was back as Director General,” Jane tells DWM. “Michael Grade [who had been BBC1 controller in the 1980s, and tried to cancel the show] didn't like Doctor Who at all. Mark Thompson actually asked me if we could stop. I said, no, we couldn't!"

Also this issue:

NEXT PLEASE!
Doctor Who’s showrunner and head writer STEVEN MOFFAT presents the three pieces that he wrote for the actors that have auditioned for the role of the Twelfth Doctor – and presents them exclusively for DWM readers! 

TALKING TO A MAN ABOUT A DOG!
Prolific Doctor Who author BOB BAKER looks back on his career in an exclusive interview with DWM and speaks proudly of his most famous contribution to the Doctor Who universe: K9, the Doctor’s robotic dog.  

WHO’S SHE?
As we await the announcement of the new star of Doctor Who, journalist Claire Budd and novelist Una McCormack go head-to-head to debate the burning question: IS IT TIME FOR THE DOCTOR TO BECOME A WOMAN?

AFTER THE FLOOD!
Arriving in the far future, the Fourth Doctor, Harry and Sarah discover that the last survivors of mankind are about to face the deadly, parasitic Wirrn! The Fact of Fiction looks back to one of Doctor Who's all-time great adventures – THE ARK IN SPACE – and reveals some surprising new facts.

EVERYTHING IS NEW AGAIN!
It’s 2010, and the dawn of a new era as Matt Smith makes his début as the Eleventh Doctor. The show may have a new leading man and a new style, but it’s still Doctor Who in the latest instalment of DWM’s ongoing cruise through Doctor Who history in COUNTDOWN TO 50!

ANOTHER LIFE!
THE TIME TEAM take a trip to pre-war England as Chris, Emma, Michael and Will settle down to watch the two-part Tenth Doctor story HUMAN NATURE/THE FAMILY OF BLOOD and find that the formidable Family of Blood and their sinister Scarecrow servants are following the Doctor’s trail. What will the team make of it all?

SAND STORM!
Clara’s lunch date with the legendary pilot, Amy Johnson has been rudely interrupted by two identical copies of themselves… made from sand! Meanwhile, the Doctor is having trouble with his own doppelganger, and the real enemy is about to make its entrance. The latest astonishing comic strip adventure A WING AND A PRAYER – written by SCOTT GRAY with art by MIKE COLLINS – continues…

NOTHING STAYS THE SAME…
Change is an essential part of Doctor Who and has allowed the series to constantly reinvent and reinvigorate itself for 50 years. And, as JACQULINE RAYNER tells us in this issue’s RELATIVE DIMENSIONS, this means that the series can be a useful tool when teaching children that nothing lasts forever…

AUTONS IN HIGH DEFINITION!
Jon Pertwee IS the Doctor, as former Doctor Who Script Editor ANDREW CARTMEL reviews the new Blu-ray release of the Third Doctor's classic 1970 début adventure SPEARHEAD FROM SPACE.

COLOURFUL ENCOUNTERS!
The Watcher takes a look at Doctor Who episode titles in A History of Doctor Who in 100 Objects, and discovers that the names of colours have become a recent trend; he runs down the charts with Doctor Who themed titles in Top Ten Reality TV; the long suffering Professor Rubeish presents another joke of dubious quality; The Six Faces of Delusion has Jim Henson’s movie Labyrinth as a theme and asks you to spot the odd one out; and there is distinct Gallic flavour to this issue’s ousted Supporting Artist of the Month… All in this issue's WOTCHA!

PLUS! All the latest official news, TV and merchandise reviews, previews, competitions, a prize-winning crossword and much, much more!

+  Doctor Who Magazine Issue #463 is Out Now, priced £4.75.

+  Subscribe Worldwide to DWM for just £85.00 via CompareTheDalek!

+  Check Out The DWO Guide to Doctor Who Magazine!

[Source: Doctor Who Magazine]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 205: Fury From the Deep, Episode One

Dear diary,

I can easily take Victoria’s complaint that the TARDIS is always landing them on Earth - since she joined the team at the end of the last season, they’ve only visited two alien planets, and only one of those was the result of the TARDIS taking them there. What’s harder to buy is Jamie’s assertion that they always end up in England - is he forgetting their trip to Australia and Europe two stories ago? And the trip to Tibet earlier in the season? And where was the glacier in The Ice Warriors? In my mind it’s somewhere other than the UK, but I’m not sure if it was ever actually stated on screen…

The only explanation I can think of is that our three friends here have spent plenty of time having adventures that we haven’t seen. Certainly, the way they joke and play on the beach at the start of this story (in a scene hugely reminiscent of the opening to The Enemy of the World) gives the impression of a group of people that are very comfortable and happy together, while the stories that we’ve seen with them haven’t spread out over a great deal of time. It feels like an age since stories like Marco Polo or The Romans, when the TARDIS crew would spend months on end hanging out in a particular time or place.

What’s also pretty fun is the way that our regulars arrive in this location - with the TARDIS materialising in mid-air, and then gently coming to rest on the ocean waves. ‘The TARDIS is quite capable of floating,’ the Doctor explains, though it has to be said that it’s a bit unusual as an idea. The soundtrack makes the whole scene seem a little muddled, with the sound of the ship’s engines taking a really long time to dies down, but their row to the shore in a little boat taking only a matter of seconds. Still, it’s something a bit different, which is always good.

As for the story itself… it’s another one of these tales that’s very much at home being produced in this era. I’m always put in mind of Gary Russell’s comment in the Second Time Around feature on The Dominators DVD - North Sea gas was everywhere in the news in this era, and here’s a story that brings the Doctor’s adventures right into your home. I’ve always thought of the seaweed creature as being a bit of an odd choice for a Doctor Who monster, though actually it’s the kind of thing that the programme does very well - taking something perfectly ordinary and turning it into something that should be feared. I think this is most in evidence when Maggie Harris throws some out on her patio, and it begins to write and pulse: small clumps of the stuff like this will be littered all over when kids visit the beach, and it too could start to move…

Of course, the big thing to note about today’s episode? It’s the first appearance of the Sonic Screwdriver! Hooray! I’ve been counting down to this one for some time now (and tracking the Doctor’s train of thought as he starts to develop the device), and I’m pleased to say that this is everything that I could possibly want from its first use in the show. It’s not being used to break the Doctor and his companions out of a cell, or to shoot energy beams at an alien, or hold open a heavy stone door - this Sonic Screwdriver does exactly what it says on the tin - it’s used to unscrew the front of a little box with soundwaves.

I like the idea that the Doctor has been developing this for a little while throughout Season Five (there’s another reason to imagine some unseen adventures for this trio - it gives him more time to work), and even though he claims here that the Sonic ‘never fails’, he’s clearly quite new to the tool, and Jamie obviously hasn’t seen it before (‘Neat, isn’t it?’, the Doctor adds). We’ll be seeing plenty more of the device over the next few years (well, the next few decades), but it’s nice to see it here in an extremely basic form - a ‘mark one’ of all the Sonics to come…

a 

Could we be seeing another Doctor in the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who Special this November? Radio Times seems to think so!

Quoted from their website, RT says: 

"Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary show will feature one of the five former doctors who wielded the Sonic Screwdriver before the Eccleston reboot, RadioTimes.com understands.

According to sources, one of either Colin Baker, Paul McGann, Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy or Peter Davison will be in the feature length special episode alongside Tennant’s Doctor and the current incumbent Matt Smith."

If true, this means we would see at least 4 Doctors in the special; Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt and the as-yet, unannounced actor.

At this year's Comic Con, Steven Moffat admitted he has "lied my arse off about the 50th", so could the fourth actor in fact be Christopher Eccleston? More news as we get it!

[Sources: RadioTimes.com]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 204: The Web of Fear, Episode Six

Dear diary,

It was always clear that this episode would feature some kind of defeat for the Great Intelligence, but it wasn't clear what form it would take. I half expected it to come down to the same as in the first Yeti tale, and we'd simply watch on as the Doctor disappeared down into the tunnels, where all we could hear would be his strangled cries. It worked well once, but I was dreading it a second time.

Thankfully, it's more interesting than a simple defeat - and you've got the Doctor berating Jamie for interrupting a plan that would have seen the creature fought off for good. It's not often that we get this kind of extra layer to the end of a story, and it really does help with the idea that the Intelligence is something a bit more sinister than your average Doctor Who baddie.

It makes me wonder if things are being set up for the proposed third Yeti story (which, I believe, was to be called The Laird of McCrimmon, and feature the departure of Jamie from the series). It's an interesting idea, preparing the viewers (and the characters) for an impending rematch, and that feels pretty different - the show doesn't often hint toward its own future in this way.

Indeed, the only recent example that I can think of is The Evil of the Daleks at the end of Season Four - but there's more connections to that story than just the hint of a survival for the monsters. I mused yesterday that the Doctor taking control of a Yeti was reminiscent of his control over the humanised Daleks in that earlier story, but isn't his plan almost the same, too?

Here, he's crossed some wires on the bad guy's super machine, so that it will do the opposite of what's intended. In The Evil of the Daleks, he switches around their machine so it makes more human Daleks, and they can rebel. It's not a problem, as such, but in a story I've enjoyed as much as The Web of Fear, it's a shame to see so many similarities to a (relatively) recent tale.

Also a shame… Do we ever find out just who was the Intelligence's pawn throughout the first few episodes? Was it always Arnold, or is that just since he went in to the fungus? Did I miss a bit? I was hoping for some big reveal that just didn't really come.

It's tempting to say 'I'd love to have The Web of Fear back in the archives, but I don't know if that's true. The first episode looks beautiful, but the story works so well on audio, that I think there's others is rather see. But in all? A success! It's no wonder that this is considered to be one of Doctor Who's all time classics - and so is the next story. Here's hoping things keep up like this!

7/10 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 203: The Web of Fear, Episode Five

Dear diary,

Back at the start of the month, when I was making my way through The Abominable Snowmen, I commented that I couldn’t quite get my head around the way that the Great Intelligence’s two 1960s stories joined up with the ones we’ve had this year in Series Seven. I started to put together a timeline (you can read the first four bullet points of it HERE), but I needed to wait for this story to come along before I could finish things up.

Thankfully, a lot of what we’ve had from the Intelligence during The Web of Fear corresponds to what I was hoping we’d get, so I don’t need to alter my timeline all that much to make it work. So, that said, I’ll be keeping the first four points the same as they were, and carrying it on as follows…

5) The Doctor defeats the Intelligence in Tibet, and Professor Travers takes some of the robotic equipment (including a complete Yeti) back with him to London. His success in this area wins him a small amount of notoriety, and the money he makes goes towards funding a new passion - electronics. By the mid-1930s, the money is drying up, so Travers sells his yeti to a friend, Who places it in his museum.

6) At the same time, the Intelligence has been forced back out onto the Asteral plane. Padmasambavah has now succumbed to his old age and died, leaving the creature without a form. From the Asteral Plane, the Intelligence is able to monitor the Doctor’s travels through time and space*, and so sets an intricate trap to catch him, and drain his mind of all it’s experiences*. As he does this, Travers is able to reactivate a Yeti control sphere, giving the Intelligence a closer presence to his creatures.

7) The events of The Web of Fear take place, and end… however they do in the next episode. I mean, obviously the Intelligence is defeated, but I don’t know how, yet. Following this, he retreats back to the Astral Plane, but keeps in contact with several minds ('I have many other human hands at my command', he tells the Doctor, here). One of those minds is Professor Travers, who at some point in the 1970s is drawn back to Det Sen Monastery, where he is kept alive beyond his years.

8) In the early 1980s, Victoria herself is brought back to Tibet, following visions of her father. The Intelligence takes control of her mind, giving her the instructions needed to create New World University, and formulating a plan to seize control of the planet via the emerging internet over the next fifteen years. At the same time, Ms Kislet is taken from her parents, and the Intelligence begins ‘whispering in her ear’, formulating different plans.

9) The New World University plan falls apart, partly because the internet isn’t yet widespread enough to take control globally (WOTAN would be disappointed), and partly because of a timely intervention from the Brigadier and Sarah Jane Smith. After this, he abandons the Yeti, as they’re not so vital to his current operations, and he’s gotten better at using humans for his dirty work. By 2013, he’s back to using the web as a way to take control, harvesting human minds via the wi-fi.

10) A plan which, once again gets stopped because of the Doctor’s intervention ('You thwarted me at every turn' he tells our hero in The Name of the Doctor). Now, yes, I know that the Intelligence in today’s episode claims that he doesn’t want to trap the Doctor for revenge (he calls it a very human emotion), but let’s face it, by the time The Name of the Doctor rolls around, the Intelligence is pretty darn vengeful. Having discovered the location of the Doctor’s grave, the Intelligence again plans to take control of the Doctor’s mind. Somehow.

11) When they arrive at the tomb, though, we’re introduced to the Doctor’s time stream - an the Intelligence realises that he can cause the Doctor an enormous amount of hurt by throwing himself into it. Sure, it’ll die in the process, but the Doctor (and his companions) have foiled his plans so many times now, that the sacrifice is worth it, just to know the Doctor is in that kind of pain.

And then it’s all over. No more Intelligence, and Clara has to run around the Doctor’s past adventures in hundreds of different forms, saving the day without anyone knowing. Somewhere, I’m tempted to believe that the Intelligence impersonates the Doctor during the Shalka incident, just because it tidies everything up, but I might be pushing it to include that somewhere, too.

I think everything ties together quite nicely, or at least nicely enough for me. I’ll probably review things when I reach Series Seven again (well over a year from now!), but it keeps things neat in my head for now, at least.

As for the episode itself? I’m still really enjoying the experience of being swept along with this one, but I’m starting to feel like it’s time to draw to some kind of resolution (that’s not a complaint - we’re at the end of Episode Five, things are about to come to a close). I then spent a while, as the Doctor controlled both a Sphere and later a full-blown Yeti trying to recall why it felt so familiar, before realising that he does a very similar thing with the Daleks at the end of Season Four. Here’s hoping that the final episode sees The Web of Fear going out on a real high - a story like this certainly deserves to!

*I’m going to assume that the Intelligence is only able to monitor the Second Doctor’s adventures, probably in the order that we’ve been seeing them (I guess he’s had more than two excursions between Tibet and now, we’ve just not been privy to them), otherwise he’d be trying to trap one of the later Doctors, who would have even more experience.

a 

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 202: The Web of Fear, Episode Four

Dear diary,

That sense of paranoia just keeps on growing in this episode - literally everyone is falling under suspicion at one point or another. Today’s suspects are mainly Chorley (absent here, but possibly off in the tunnels and up to no good), The Doctor (he’s always going to be under suspicion), Evans (Who’s acting stranger and stranger by the scene - there’s something up with him, even if he isn’t either working for the Intelligence, or an operative of Torchwood), and Travers, Who actually gets to turn up in the final scene, all possessed.

What’s quite nice is that I’m still trying to piece this all together - even though poor Travers is a pawn of the Intelligence now, has that been the case all along? Surely it wasn’t him steering the Yeti into position all this time? I’m expecting that things will be brought to a head in the next episode, so we’ll possibly be getting some answers pretty soon, just in time for the big climax.

I’m also rather pleased that having worked my way this far into the story, suddenly there’s a lot more of Downtime that makes sense to me. I said during The Abominable Snowmen that I’d never understood vast parts of the spin-off, but that story didn’t really help to put things straight for me. Here, with the Yeti figurines being used more as homing beacons than anything else, things are starting to slot into place more, and it’s all helping to form the rest of my big ‘Great Intelligence Timeline’, which I started in the entry for The Abominable Snowmen Episode Four, and will be continuing in tomorrow’s update.

It’s strange to see the Doctor bringing the Colonel up-to-speed on the TARDIS as quickly as this, as I’d always assumed that he didn’t find out all that much about it until the Third Doctor came to work for him - specifically, I’m thinking of The Three Doctors being the Brig’s first look inside the ship. Here, though, he’s willing to accept the Doctor’s description of his ‘craft’ at face value, telling one of his soldiers that he ‘doesn’t intend to leave any escape route unexplored’ no matter how ‘screwy’ it might seem!

Lines of comic relief like this have been peppered throughout the story so far, and they’re really helping to walk the line of this story being just the right balance of light and dark. So far, smiles have been raised by the description of the Yeti coming from Outer Space (How did they get here? Through the post!) and Evans stopping to pick up a chocolate bar from a conveniently-placed vending machine. In a story where things could be getting very sinister and brutal, they’re helping to keep things at least a bit jollier.

Which is necessary, really, because things are quite brutal in places. Today’s Yeti attack in Covent Garden is lost somewhat by appearing only on audio - the telesnaps for the scene, coupled with knowledge of Dougie Camfield’s direction, make it look fab - the new style Yeti even look imposing when outside. Last year, the Mirror newspaper published online a load of photos from this scene, with the Yeti menacing a man and his dog - they do look great!

The main problem I had with the scene was the use of music - its Space Adventure! That’s the Cybermen theme, not the Yeti! Have to admit (shamefully) that it did actually put me off a little for a few minutes. Sadly, though, it’s also the last time we’ll be hearing Space Adventure in Doctor Who, it’s retired after this use, I believe. A shame, as I think it’s always going to be one of my favourite pieces of music used in the series. Brilliantly, it was played as part of the Doctor Who Prom last week - and didn't it just sound wonderful?

a 

Matt Smith continues to enjoy himself at this years San Diego Comic Con, and our friends over at BBC America have evidenced this with their latest video showing Smith walking the floors of Comic Con in a Bart Simpson mask!

Watch the video, below:

[youtube:mU0aD91nGKU]

[Source: BBC America]

Ex-Doctor Who Companion, Karen Gillan, has stunned fans at this years San Diego Comic Con by unveiling her bald head, after shaving off her hair for a new film role.

Gillan (who still looks just as gorgeous without hair as she does with hair) appeared at Comic Con on Friday sporting her trademark red hair, which, on Saturday, she admitted was in fact a wig!

Karen unveiled the new look at the Marvel press line for 'Guardians Of The Galaxy', in which she plays the role of villainous pirate, Nebula. The movie is due for release in 2014.

She follows in the footsteps of he ex-Doctor Who co star, Matt Smith, who shaved off his hair for a role in Ryan Gosling's upcoming directorial movie debut in 'How To Catch A Monster'.

Gillan can most recently be seen in Brit comedy movie, 'Not Another Happy Ending' in which she plays struggling author, Jane Lockhart. For more information on the movie, check out the trailer below or visit the website, here.

[youtube:1xmweTUqjkA]

[Source: Fraser Davies]

a  Day 201: The Web of Fear, Episode Three

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 201: The Web of Fear, Episode Three

Dear diary,

I really love it when the Doctor has an extended circle of friends. In the new series, I've always liked it when we find ourselves back on present-day Earth, and the Doctor meets up with Jackie, or Micky. The Stolen Earth is like heaven for me - all those friends he's made across the last four years, together! Brilliant stuff. More recently, we've got the Paternoster Row gang - a 'family' for the Eleventh Doctor. I don't doubt that when the Twelfth Doctor takes over next year, he'll get an extended group of friends for himself.

There's something about it that just feels so much more real than simply meeting friends, travelling with them for a bit, then dropping them off to never return. The Web of Fear marks the very first time that we get a returning 'good' character to the programme (as opposed to Daleks or Cybermen or whatever) in the form of Professor Travers. It's being played really nicely - there's an argument between Travers and Jamie early on in the tale, before Victoria realises who he is, and the Doctor catches up with him today like he's an old friend.

And as if that weren't enough, this story also marks the first appearance of perhaps the most famous of the Doctor's many recurring friends - in the form of the Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. Now, I know he wasn't considered as a long-running character at this point, but there's still something really brilliant about his first appearance being from a time before he became 'the Brigadier'. Fittingly, the man we're presented with here isn't quite the one we'll come to know and love over the years, but there's certainly elements in there that shine through, and as a Doctor Who fan, Nick Courtney's voice is so embedded in my mind that you can fail to recognise him the second he begins speaking.

Interestingly, he's played as something of a 'grey' character here, and we're not entirely sure that we're supposed to trust him. Certainly, if you pointed him out to a viewer watching in 1968 and told them that this man would become the Doctor's best friend through several incarnations, they'd think you were mad. Just as in yesterday's episode, tensions in the base are rising, and everyone is starting to suspect everyone else. What's great about this is that we're invited to join in with all this, and to start trying to work out just who is in league with the Yeti.

Certainly, for a while, it's supposed to be Lethbridge-Stewart himself (you have no idea how hard it is not to just call him 'the Brigadier'). When he first turns up, both the soldiers and Victoria wonder about where he might have come from - no one was expecting him, after all. It's pointed out that Evans didn't mention any other survivors of the ammunitions attack (where the Colonel claims to have come from), and the Doctor muses that he just appeared out of nowhere. As if to court the suspicion a little further, the Colonel himself even comments that the soldiers know more about the Doctor than they do about him, and that they still don't really know all that much about the Doctor…

Then you've got Evans, too, or 'our man from Torchwood' as I'm still insisting to think about it. There's something shifty going on with him, and I'm not entirely sure what it is just yet. Jamie seems to think that it's as simple as the man being a coward, looking to escape at any opportunity, but I'm not sure it's so simple. Having made up his mind to escape while he can, Evans is later found skulking around the tunnels, and every excuse he makes sounds just a little too forced.

Or maybe it's Chorley, the only reporter who's been allowed in to monitor the situation? He's been a thorn in everyone's side since the very first episode, and here he's seen talking to Victoria about the TARDIS, before locking her and the Doctor in a room and making his escape. Again, there's a suggestion that he might simply be too much of a coward to be stuck in this atmosphere any longer, but that might seem too obvious!

To put it bluntly, I'm not sure who is working with the Intelligence - and I like that! It's keeping me guessing (and second guessing) at every turn, and that's really helping to keep me engaged with the story. Something else that's keeping me involved is the stations that we're caught in - I'm off to London again this afternoon with Ellie, and the routes we need to take will pass us through Monument, Covent Garden, St Pauls… all these places that just don't seem to be all that safe right now! I'll keep an eye out for fungus…

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 200: The Web of Fear, Episode Two

Dear diary,

In some ways, this episode is absolutely made to be listened to as just the audio. Not only does the claustrophobia of the dark Underground tunnels really lend itself to being heard through headphones, but the script is almost written as if it were a radio play. 'Let's just hope they're not on the Circle Line!' one soldier exclaims, watching as the fungus moves along that very tunnel. Cut from this to Jamie and Evans, who instantly find a Tube map and declare themselves to be walking right down… the Central Line. Of course. We get another example a few minutes later, where we've just been told that Jamie is headed for Monument station, and we cut back to the soldiers discovering that the fungus is about to arrive at… Monument. (And just in case we needed the point underlined, the action then shifts back to Jamie, who emerges from a tunnel and loudly proclaims 'here we are! Monument!').

I also spent some time thinking that it was a good job we couldn't see the huge battle between the Yeti and the soldiers, until I remembered that it's a Douglas Camfield episode we're dealing with, and hurried to go through the tele snaps. It's hard to tell, because so many of the snaps catch people mid-action, but the impression I get is that it looked brilliant. The setting really helps, too, the cramped tunnels really helping to give the Yeti a kind of scale that was completely lost out on the Welsh hillside.

I think it's probably a testament to how much I'm enjoying this one that it was fifteen minutes or more before I noticed the complete absence of the Doctor from the story. It's been a while since I stopped tracking the cast's holidays (though for the record, Jamie and Victoria took a week off during The Enemy of the World that was nicely glossed over), but they're rarely as well done as this. Much of the story becomes about the absence of the Doctor. We're constantly reassured that he hasn't been killed in the explosion - because it didn't go off properly - but we're left to wonder exactly what has happened to him.

And in that absence, the suspicion is allowed to turn on him. It's Anne Travers who first makes the suggestion that the Doctor might be the one behind the Yeti - pointing out the odd coincidence that the Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria have all turned up on both occasions that the Yeti have been involved with her father's life. She dismisses this suggestion very quickly (though I'm hoping there's still some lingering doubt in her mind - it provides a nice bit of drama), but later on the idea resurfaces from some of the soldiers, who realise that the fungus has only just started moving again, after three weeks of inactivity, when the Doctor shows up on the scene.

It all helps to add to that sense of tension that's really at the heart of this story. We're in such a closed, confined space that it's only a matter of time before this kind of suspicion is going to arise from people. It's almost the same as the small group of characters we get in Midnight: trapped in a small space, with terror closing in around you, of course you're going to start turning on each other. In this instance, the soldiers have someone else that they can project their fear onto in this mysterious 'Doctor' who no one has actually seen, and just happened to be around when the explosive attack failed. Coming so soon after an episode in which the bad guy is the Doctor's double, it's nice to see this kind of atmosphere.

And it's nice to see the return to that old favourite, the base-under-siege story, being done so well. It's effectively the same kind of situation we've had in some form throughout the Fifth Season, from The Tomb of the Cybermen to The Ice Warriors, and even this story's predecessor, The Abominable Snowmen, but the change of setting really helps to amp up the tension.

When we're trapped in Det Sen Monastery, there's the vast rolling mountains outside to help expand the setting and give you room to breathe. The ice tombs on Telos has that handy lobby area where the Doctor and the guest cast could retreat to in order to catch their breath and plot their next move. So much of The Ice Warriors took place out on the open ice plains, and even when we were trapped inside, it was in a nice, high-tech environment, where they had the technology to end it all if need be (though not necessarily in the way that they'd like).

But trapped down in the London Underground is a totally different story. They've got several ways out… but they can see the enemy creeping along them in the form of the fungus. They know which weapons they need to defeat the Yeti… but their deliveries keep getting attacked and destroyed. It's the best atmosphere we've had for one of these stories, so it's a great one to kick back into them with.

One thing I did wonder, though: they find Evans wandering around the tunnel all on his own (singing a song). He claims to be one of the ammunitions drivers, and has a rank, but makes a point (twice) of pointing out that he's not one of Knight's men, and claims to be lost trying to find his way back from the Yeti attack. I don't know where the character is going for the rest of the story, but in my mind, I've decided that he's not a driver at all, but rather an agent for Torchwood, trying to keep an eye on exactly what's happening down here - robot Yeti could be good for Queen and country, after all!

 

IGN have uploaded a video interview with Matt Smith, taken at this year's San Diego Comic Con.

In the interview, Matt talks about his hair, the Christmas Special, the 50th Anniversary Special and the future.

Watch the full IGN video interview with Matt Smith, below:

[Source: IGN]

In celebration of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, acclaimed comedian and Sony Gold nominee Toby Hadoke performs both of his Who-themed solo shows in a West End double bill for one night only. 

No super fan's 50th anniversary celebration will be complete without this unique opportunity to see both ‘Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf' and ‘My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver' presented together for the first, and quite possibly also the last, time.

Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf

Get out from behind that sofa and get aboard Toby Hadoke's TARDIS on a trip through time - charting the rise, fall and rise again of a television legend. This delightful show is a personal, satirical and razor sharp comic odyssey from child to man, through obsession, joy and disappointment. 

My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver

Intimate knowledge of the TARDIS is not required to enjoy this bittersweet comedy of parenting through sci-fi evangelism: Hadoke's compelling and incisive shows are universal in appeal. This Chortle Awards 2012 nominee has an acid tongue and a warm heart. 

Join Toby as he takes you on a heart-warming journey that begins with losing a partner, ends with gaining a stepson and pays homage to the restorative powers of the Time Lord in between. Intimate knowledge of the TARDIS is not required to enjoy this bittersweet comedy of parenting through sci-fi evangelism.

Below are a list of dates for 'My Stepson Stole My Sonic Screwdriver':

Thursday 3rd October 2013 - 7.30pm | The Castle | Wellingborough
Tickets and information: www.thecastle.org.uk | 01933 229 022

Friday 4th October - 7.30pm | Customs House | South Shields
Tickets and information: www.customshouse.co.uk | 0191 454 1234

Friday 1st November - 7.45pm | Riverfront Theatre, Newport
Tickets and information here  | 01633 656757

Sunday 17th November - 7pm | Garrick Theatre, Charing Cross Road, London.
Tickets and information here | 0844 482 9673

Thursday 21st November 2013 - 7.30pm | Lincoln Drill Hall | Lincoln
Tickets and information: www.lincolndrillhall.com | 01522 873894

Thursday 5th December 2013 - 7.30pm | Rondo Theatre | Bath
Tickets and information: www.rondotheatre.co.uk | 01225 463362 

+  Book Tickets for the double bill at the Garrick Theatre, here.
+  For more information visit Toby's website: http://www.tobyhadoke.com
+  Follow Toby Hadoke on Twitter: @TobyHadoke

[Source: Toby Hadoke]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 199: The Web of Fear, Episode One

Dear diary,

Hooray! It's the welcome return of Douglas Camfield to the director's chair! It feels like an absolute age since we last had some of his work on the series (it is: the last Doctor Who he directed was The Daleks' Master Plan, which finished broadcast just over two years before this story began), and he's managed to completely by-pass the entirety of Innes Lloyd's time on the show. Over the course of Seasons Four and Five so far, I've often had Camfield's style in mind when listening to the soundtracks, but it's lovely to see his return to the series actually surviving in the archives.

And what a return it is! The direction of this episode is, to but it bluntly, stunning. It has the feel of an old 1930s film, and the use of both candles in the museum and shadows in the Underground really help to sell the effect. It's miles ahead of the stuff seen in The Enemy of the World Episode Three (our last surviving episode), and had me completely gripped.

The style is spot on for me right from the opening of the episode, with the shots of the Doctor and his friends caught in the TARDIS console room as it spins out of control. I'll admit, it's tricky to watch the way the Doctor and Victoria cling to each other as they write about on the floor and grunt a lot without something of a raised eyebrow, but the whole scene is filed with a real sense of tension, which isn't always easy. The crowning moment has to be when Jamie finally manages to find the right switch on the TARDIs console and get the doors to close - and the camera returns to a proper position as the doors shut. It's such a simple thing, but it really works.

Cut to the inside of Silverstein's museum and right into the face of a Yeti! It's so abrupt that it really strikes you, and had I not known that the creatures would be making their return in this story (I'm a Doctor Who fan, of course know the Yeti are back in this one, but just in case I didn't, there's a handy trailer at the end of The Enemy of the World, in which the Doctor directly address you and warns you that these Yeti are scarier than the last lot we encountered), I'd have been absolutely flawed by it. I'm one of the few people who actually quite likes the appearance of the creatures in The Abominable Snowmen, but even I'll admit that they're not the most terrifying thing we've ever had in the series. The use of angles and lighting here really sells the effect of the dormant one here, before we get the switchover to the newer, more powerful version that we'll be dealing with for the next few days.

It's strange to have the reveal of the Yeti come so early on into the adventure - indeed we know that the Yeti are involved long before the TARDIS has arrived on Earth - but it means that we get a very different type of episode once again. It's not about the Doctor and his companions getting caught in a base under attack from the monsters (well, not yet, anyway), but about the anticipation of our heroes discovering what we already know. The scene where the Doctor hides beneath the Underground platform, peering round to see the new-and-improved Yeti is fantastic, and a great chance for Troughton to pull one of his trademark faces.

Ah, yes, the Underground stations. It's a well-known anecdote about this story that having been given a cost for filming on the Underground, the BBC decided instead to build their own replica sets so convincing that they ended up being reprimanded by London Transport. I can't say I fully believe the story, but seeing what they've managed to build here… well, I guess there could have been cause for concern! They're fantastic, and it's hard to believe that most of this episode isn't shot out on location. The details are absolutely spot on, and the tunnels in particular are gorgeous. Indeed, my only complaint (having been in Covent Garden's Underground station just last week) is that it's in too good of a condition!

There's loads that I could rave about for this episode (my notes are overloaded with things!), but I'll hold off for now - there's still another five instalments to go, so there'll be plenty of time to discuss all the other aspects that make this so good. The Web of Fear is another one of those Season Five stories with a very high reputation, and I've not really fallen in step with the common feeling towards some of them so far - here's hoping that this one can buck the trend. If it carries on like this, I'd say there's a pretty good chance of that happening!

10/10 

Forbidden Planet have teamed up with Character Options for another San Diego Comic Con Exclusive Doctor Who Toy.

The 'Ace - Remembrance Of The Daleks' collector's figure features Ace with some of her well-known accessories, as-seen in the Classic Series adventure; Remembrance Of The Daleks.

The Seventh Doctor first met Ace in the Iceworld trading colony on the planet Svartos.

Ace was from Perivale on Earth in the 1980s, but had been deposited on Iceworld in a freak time storm. She hated her real name 'Dorothy', and instead rebelliously went by 'Ace'. She had a dangerous aptitude for high explosives and never shied away from danger.

A teen tearaway Ace matured considerably during her travels with the Doctor, encountering on the way many wondrous planets and places and a true menagerie of enemies from eight foot tall blue Demons, malevolent Victorian houses, the relentless Cybermen, inter-dimensional Arthurian knights, a psychopathic robot called the Kandyman and even the Master while helping the Cheetah People.

But it was against the Daleks on Earth in 1963 that she showed the most pluck by dispatching several of them with her trademark Nitro-9 explosives, an RPG and even a baseball bat enhanced by Time Lord technology...Wicked!

Contents:

1 x Ace action figure.
1 x Backpack with Baseball Bat accessory.
2 x Interchangeable arms (1 with Bazooka accessory).
3 x Nitro 9 can accessories. 

+  The 'Ace - Remembrance Of The Daleks' figure is released in August 2013, priced £15.99.

+  Preorder this product from Forbidden Planet for £15.99!

[Source: Forbidden Planet]

 Manufacturer: BBC Worldwide Consumer Products

Manufacturer: BBC Worldwide Consumer Products

Written By: Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis, Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks, Robert Sloman, Christopher H. Bidmead, Robert Holmes, Pip and Jane Baker, Matthew Jacobs, Russell T. Davies

RRP: £61.27

Release Date: 24th June 2013

Reviewed By: Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 18th July 2013

“The Time Lords have this little trick. It’s sort of a way of cheating death. Except, it means I’m gonna change.” - The Ninth Doctor, The Parting Of The Ways

This beautifully-packaged and limited edition coffee table book-styled collectors’ album is every Doctor Who fan’s dream possession.

Individually numbered and boasting six DVDs with over 1000 minutes of Doctor Who footage, it brings together every Doctor’s regeneration episode: from the first Doctor, exhausted from battling the Cyberman, to Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor suffering from radiation unleashed by the Great One (a giant spider); and from the spectacular transformation of the Ninth Doctor to David Tennant’s emotional farewell as the Tenth.

The album is adorned with superb photography from across the era and features detailed and informative accounts of every regeneration. And if that wasn’t enough, new to DVD is The Tenth Planet featuring the Doctor’s first regeneration – beautifully restored with the missing fourth episode now brought to life with stunning animation. Utilising the original soundtrack, off-screen photographs and a short surviving sequence of the Doctor’s regeneration the episode has been now reconstructed in animated form, incorporating the restored version of the surviving sequence.

* * *
As a special release to celebrate Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary, the Regeneration Box-set may seem something of an odd choice. While it highlights the process which has allowed the show to survive for all this time, it also means that the Doctor’s aren’t all given a fair crack of the whip. Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor bows out at the end of the 10-part epic The War Games, while Colin Baker and the Sixth Doctor are relegated to just two short scenes - hardly the best example of his Doctor - and Matt Smith only gets the final few minutes of The End of Time while we wait for his impending departure from the programme. 

Six of the nine stories presented here (The War Games, Planet Of The Spiders, Logopolis, The Caves of Androzani, Time and the Rani, and The TV Movie) have previously seen release as stand-alone DVDs, each packed with a bumper crop of special features, all of which have been removed for this release, allowing the stories to be spread across fewer discs. Bad Wolf / The Parting Of The Ways and The End of Time have also seen prior release in a couple of different forms.  

The versions of these stories used for the set are the same as those seen in their last DVD release, meaning that The Caves of Androzani and The TV Movie are both the higher-quality prints previously seen as part of the Revisitations box sets, as opposed to their earlier release.

For many fans whose interest has been raised by this release, though, it’s not those later regenerations that they’re keen to see again - it’s the very first one, in the form of The Tenth Planet, available here for the first time on DVD, complete with animated Episode Four, several months before it’s standalone release in November. The restoration of the three surviving episodes is up to the high standard that we’ve come to expect from the Restoration Team’s work, presenting the story in the best quality that could be hoped for.  

 Episode Four, newly animated to complete the story, builds on the success of the team’s earlier efforts on The Reign of Terror, and rectifies some of the complaints that the earlier release generated. Here, the shots chosen are far closer in style to the surviving episodes, and while there is still the occasional extreme close up of a character, it’s a device used far less on this occasion. The atmosphere of the story holds firm throughout this new version, and it’s a great way to experience this story as close to ‘complete’ as possible. You can see some examples from the animation in the sidebar to the right. 

With all nine stories spread across just six discs, there’s some unusual choices of how to split them, meaning that picture quality on the stories can be compromised in some instances. Disc One is home to the entirety of The Tenth Planet, alongside the first half of The War Games, with that story’s remaining episodes given Disc Two all to themselves. Planet of the Spiders occupies Disc Three while Disc Four holds Logopolis and The Caves of Androzani. Time and the Rani sits alongside The TV Movie for Disc Five, with the two new series stories - Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways and The End of Time filling up Disc Six. 

The discs are housed in a gorgeous presentation book, giving each of the Doctors their own double page spread, alongside information about both that specific incarnation and the story that represents them in the set. The book really is a work of art, and certainly one of the nicest pieces of 50th anniversary merchandise produced this year. It will no doubt take pride of place on many fan’s shelves before November hits. You can see some examples of pages for the First, Fourth, and Ninth Doctors throughout this review.

In all, the Regeneration Box-set achieves its aims - it provides a lovely collectable (each set is a numbered limited edition), and serves as a great introduction to the older Doctors on DVD. While many fans of the series are likely already own at least some of the stories contained within, this set would make a brilliant gift for a casual fan, or someone looking to take their first steps into the classic series.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com!

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 198: The Enemy of the World, Episode Six

Dear diary,

It's nice to see that there are themes in this episode which tie together nicely with things from way back at the beginning of the story. I've praised on a couple of occasions that the Doctor doesn't simply side against Salamander because he doesn't have all the facts needed to make a decision as to who is good and who is evil - and this comes back to haunt us now with the revelation that Kent was part of the plan to take these scientists and shut them all underground in the first place.

The Doctor claims to have known all along that what kent really wanted wasn't justice, but power (and perhaps that's why he's been so keen to talk of the differences between the two sides) but I have to admit that I didn't see it coming. Maybe it's because I've grown used to the way the series works at this point (the humans are the good guys, while we're supposed to fear/oppose the Daleks/Cyberemn/Yeti), that I didn't think they'd go in for something as intricate as we've seen in this story?

It's lovely, though, because it adds a whole other layer to the tale. I have to admit that I've not enjoyed it quite as much as my friend Graham did (though I can see why he likes it so much), but it's certainly on my list to listen to again once I've finished The 50 Year Diary. Knowing what's coming in the latter half of the tale may bring out elements of the beginning that were lost on me first time around - it's a very clever story, and certainly my favourite non-Power of the Daleks story from Whitaker.

I'm so very glad to see that Salamander's destruction is dealt with in such an interesting way - yesterday I commented that it wouldn't be right for the story to see him simply being assassinated, and we get something very different to the norm here. I twigged what was happening the second that the narration described 'the Doctor, stepping out onto the beach, looking worse for wear', and loved Salamander's comment that the Doctor had done such a good job impersonating him, that he wanted to repay the favour.

There's a single tele snap which shows Troughton on screen twice - in both roles - and it looks fantastic. So well done, and it's bizarre how much the two characters can look at once so identical and so different. It's a real shame that the third episode is the only one which we can still watch from this story, as it doesn't give the best first impression of Barry Letts' in the series - whereas tele snaps of the other areas in this tale really make his work look fantastic. I know we get some more from him during his time as producer in the 1970s, so this is a nice introduction in many ways.

We also get Innes Lloyd going out from the producer role on a high. The Enemy of the World isn't his best story by any account, but it's very much an example of him turning in something pretty darn brilliant. My highest rated story of this marathon so far (The Tomb of the Cybermen) is typically the only one not to be produced by Lloyd since The Celestial Toymaker (though he did commission it), and my lowest rated story (The Highlanders) also came from his tenure, but on the whole, my average score for his era has been higher than that of his two predecessors in the role.

People always talk about Verity Lambert as being the 1960s Doctor Who producer - she was the one who oversaw the beginnings of the programme, after all, casting Hartnell (along with all those early companions) and getting things off to a pretty darn brilliant start, but for me it's Innes Lloyd who strikes a bigger chord. He's responsible for bringing in the changeover from one actor to another in the part of the Doctor (John Wiles had planned something different for The Celestial Toymaker, before passing it over to Lloyd, but his version would have been very difficult to do again and again over the following fifty years), the casting of Patrick Troughton, and the development of the Doctor into the character that we all know and love, all this time later. Many of the actors who've played the part since (including Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and most recently Matt Smith) have pointed to the Patrick Troughton mould of the Doctor as what they had in mind when finding their own feet in the series - and Lloyd has to be allowed to take some credit for that.

Verity Lambert may have been the producer who introduced the Daleks into the series, but it's Innes Lloyd who oversees them leaving the programme (at least temporarily), and filling that void with a succession of other creatures. All this time later, the Cybermen are still thought of as one of the programme's biggest monsters, and the Ice Warriors don't fall all that far behind, either. The Yeti, considering that they only act as a big monster for two stories in Season Five, are also very fondly remembered.

There's a real danger that I'm simply going to end up writing something of a love letter to the Lloyd era of the programme, here, but it's not often that I've seen people really praise the man. Sure, plenty of his stories get flagged up as being fan favourites, but I don't think I've ever really seen anyone discussing him, so I'd like to raise a big glass to him at the programme's 50th anniversary and say 'thank you'. Thank you for steering the show so brilliantly over the course of two hugely important years. Thank you for ensuring its long-term survival. Thank you for Patrick Troughton - the time I've spent with the Second Doctor so far has proven to me that he's more than a valid choice of 'favourite Doctor'. But most of all? Thank you for all the adventures.

7/10  

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 197: The Enemy of the World, Episode Five

Dear diary,

'Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones!', the Tenth Doctor spits at the Prime Minister in The Christmas Invasion, following her destruction of the fleeing Syxorax ship. 'I could bring down your government with a single word!' As it happens, it took his six words to ensure Harriet Jones' downfall, but its one of those stunning moments, those huge times when the Doctor proves why he doesn't need to carry weapons - the Doctor's skill is in using words to save the day.

Later in the Tenth Doctor's tenure, he is mocked by Davros for the way that he takes people and turns them into his weapons, and I think that The Enemy of the World is possibly the first time that we've actually seen this version of the Doctor in action. Our hero hasn't really done anything much in this story - he frolicked about in the ocean a bit in Episode One, before impersonating Slamander to get them out of a tight spot. Since then, he's mostly been swept along with the tide of the story, being forced into continuing his impersonation for the greater good.

I've praised the way that the Doctor in this story has stood up and questioned the way that he should just be expected to turn up and identify the differing sides of 'good' and 'evil' with no evidence, and now that he's gotten some he's started to operate in that way that - these days - we'd consider so very 'Doctor'. This entire episode is about people starting to question Salamander. We're seeing it out on the surface, with Bruce slowly coming round to the rebel way of thinking - the Doctor is pleased to find enough doubt in the man's mind to keep questioning his leader. There's also dissent in the ranks below ground, with Swan actively forcing Salamander to take him to the surface after he's discovered evidence of his own against this man he's trusted.

It's lovely to see these little parallels between two Doctors travelling 40 years apart, and it doesn't stop at the Doctor simply using words and questions to try and save the day: there's a lovely moment in Episode Four, when the Doctor is being pressured to pose as his double, and get close enough to kill the man. The Doctor announces that he'll expose Salamander, ruin him and have him arrested - but he refuses to be his executioner. A real line is drawn under this point today, when the Doctor takes a gun and hands it back to their captor. The Doctor doesn't need a weapon like this, and he thinks so little of him that he has no quibble about giving one away to a supposed enemy.

Today has given me an answer to one of my questions from yesterday's episode - yes, Salamander is the 'power behind the throne' for two of the zones, and simply looking to expand. I'm still somewhat in the dark, though, as to his exact reasons for keeping a group of people locked away underground. During his argument with Swan, he announces that he wants these people to inherit the Earth, but it's difficult to tell if this is just bluster and excuses to try and get out of the tricky situation he's found himself in.

What we do get confirmed is that these people under the ground are the source of Salamander's control over the volcano from Episode Two (and we also get told that there have been earthquakes caused at his command, too). I'm still not sure on the exact process, but I'm pleased to see that there's at least another chance that this technology might yet be adapted into that seen in The Moonbase - it's all tying together!

With only one episode to go, I'm not sure what I want to happen with Salamander. I'm determined that I don't want him simply assassinated - while that may be a fitting end to a story revolving around a dictator, it feels like it goes against the grain of the message here about weapons not being as black-and-white as you might think. I'm hoping we'll get a few more loose ends tied up as well, as I really want to love this story!

a 

Doctor Who is about to face his greatest challenge: his number one fan. Rob Lloyd (The Hounds, The Mutant Way, A Study in Scarlet (A Study of...) and Fan Number One) is putting The Doctor on trial.

Not just for Doctor Who fans, it’s a show about obsession and it’s many faces. What have you been obsessed with – a celebrity, a football team, a TV show? For Rob, it’s Doctor Who all the way.  

After sell out seasons at the Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, The Melbourne and Perth International Comedy Festivals and a full house for Armageddon Expo 2011 (Australia's Premier Science Fiction Convention) Rob Lloyd will be asking the BIG questions in WHO, ME. Rob will be investigating whether Doctor Who (the television show) is guilty of inciting in him a debilitating obsession, or whether it has shaped him into a well-rounded, mentally-sound member of society.

Since 1996 Rob Lloyd has dedicated himself to amassing as much Doctor Who knowledge, as well as videos, DVDs, novels, audios, action figures and assorted paraphernalia as he can afford. With his replica Jon Pertwee era sonic screwdriver in hand and dressed in his 10th Doctor get up he is ready to jump head first into finding out how and why he got here!

Built up through improvisation and storytelling techniques, this one-man show is a personal and fitting tribute to a television icon. Through the course of the show we will see how one TV program can influence a persons actions, behavior and psyche. You don’t need to be a Doctor Who fan to relate to this show, it speaks to anyone who has known obsession. It’s a hilarious romp across the Doctor’s 49 years, 11 faces and countless adventures.

Show Details:

Venue: Just The Tonic – Bristo Square
Dates: 1st-25th August (No show 13th August)
Time: 1:25pm (65 minutes)
Prices: £6-9
Tickets: www.edfringe.com/event/ROBLLOY

+  For more information visit Rob's website: http://www.roblloyd.com.au
+  Follow Rob Lloyd on Twitter: @futurerobby
+  'Like' the WHO, ME Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Who-Me/103024733135485

[Source: Rob Lloyd]

Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 196: The Enemy of the World, Episode Four

Dear diary,

One of the things that I really enjoy about listening to these soundtracks, as opposed to watching reckons or anything like that, is that all the stories are directed in whichever way my brain chooses. The first episode of The Enemy of the World was all fast cutting and action packed, like a modern summer blockbuster. Today's has swung in a completely different direction - it's all gone very film noir in my head, with hints of German expressionism.

I don't think I've ever been as visually connected to one of those soundtracks as I was during the first half of this episode, with the security forges closing in on the Doctor, Kent, and the others. It was like my head was mapping out exactly how I'd direct the scene if it were to be re-made, complete with angled cameras, and shots of our heroes on the run, silhouetted against the alleyway as the guards closed in. It really helped to draw me right in, in a way that only scenes in The Macra Terror came close to doing. Listening to the soundtrack as I walked across a sunny park could have helped to dissipate the tension somewhat, but all of that seemed to just melt away, and I was caught up in Salamander's world.

However, I'm starting to feel a bit lost with it all. The first couple of episodes seemed to imply that this world was made up of several different zones, all with their own leader, and that Salamander was simply an individual, looking to seize control of the world. Now, though, it's all very much being played as Salamander already being in control of the entire planet, pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

He has leaders killed and swapped for others at his own whim, everyone fears his wrath and they all seem to approach him for advice. Am I to assume that he only controls the Central European Zone, and the Australasia Zone? These are the only two that we've seen so far - is he simply looking to expand his empire to cover all the other zones? (Actually, while I'm at it, how many 'zones' do we think there are? I'd imagine there must be a 'Western European Zone' and a 'North American Zone'… Is there a 'Soviet Zone'?)

It was while I was busy musing about all this, and trying to pin-point exactly who Salamander is supposed to be that we get another shock reveal - he's hailed as the saviour of another group of people, who are all trapped deep underground, living in fear of a devastating nuclear war, which Salamander tells them is still raging up on the surface of the planet! Talk about a sudden twist! Am I to assume that there was a war (or at least a strong possibility of a war, like the Cold War at its height)? Salamander is clearly keeping these people locked away for some reason (and he refuses to take them to the surface, where they would discover the truth), so this spins the story off in an interesting new direction for the last third.

a 

Date: Saturday 13th July 2013

Time: 7:30pm onwards

Reviewed by: Doctor Who Online

On Saturday 13th July, DWO were invited to attend the 2013 Doctor Who Prom at the Royal Albert Hall - and what a show it was!

The venue was packed to the rafters, with a large number of hopeful fans queuing up all day for a standing-room-only ticket raffle - true dedication! From where we were sitting, we could clearly see the TARDIS on stage, emanating a familiar, welcoming blue glow, and numerous screens covered areas of the hall to ensure no-one missed a thing.

The show kicked off with Ben Foster (Conductor) entering the stage to rapturous applause, followed by Elin Manahan Thomas (Soprano) as they performed Murray Gold's 'The Mad Man with a Box'. After a brief pause for some well-deserved applause, we went straight into the second piece for the evening; Gold's 'I Am The Doctor'.

We were then treated to a video link of a specially recorded scene featuring Matt Smith as The Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara. The comical scene found The Doctor trying to swap places with two people inside the Albert Hall in order to attend the prom. As the scene came to an end, the action switched back inside the hall to thunderous applause as Matt and Jenna appeared from the Orchestra pit. There was also a clever little explanation as to why Matt's hair was short - but we'll leave that for the televised version!

Also worthy of note at this point, was a special gift given to Foster by The Doctor - a sonic baton, to which Foster used with precision throughout the entire prom.

The third piece of music for the evening was 'Carmen (Suite No.2) - Habanera' by George Bizet. There were a couple of puzzled faces sitting around us with some of the younger audience members, until Matt pointed out the music was used in the Series 7 story 'Asylum Of The Daleks' before looking at Jenna and claiming "last time we heard it, you were a Dalek!"

The fourth choice for the evening was introduced by Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and Strax (Dan Starkey), featuring a medley of Murray Gold's music titled 'The Companions', with extended versions of their respective themes in chronological order. Elin Manahan Thomas joined the stage again for the relevant sections. It was rather moving in places as the screens played out some of the pivotal moments from each of the New Series companions' eras, through the heart-wrenching climax of Rose Tyler's era, to Martha Jones, Donna Noble and finally Amy Pond.

The fifth segment of music 'Cyber Shard' was introduced by Strax in one of his 'field reports', and garnered some laughs from the audience with his gentle digs at humans "resting their weak and feeble bodies in seats". As the title suggests, this pieces of music focused on the Cybermen. Near the centre of the hall, was a Cyberman with a portion of the set from Neil Gaiman's recent Doctor Who episode 'Nightmare In Silver', in which a lonesome Cyberman sits in a chair playing chess, re-enacting the actual events on screen from the episode itself. Cybermen then filled the Royal Albert Hall from the various entrances, infiltrating the audience with shrieks and screams.

Up next was the sixth piece of music - once again introduced by Vastra and Strax; 'Tocatta and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 - excerpt' by Johann Sebastian Bach and orchestrated by Leopold Stokowski. Interestingly, the piece didn't make use of the Royal Albert Hall's famous organ - an instrument which popular culture has grown to associate with this particular musical composition. This was definitely one for the Classic Series fans as it featured, albeit briefly, in The 6th Doctor story 'Attack Of The Cybermen'.

This then lead into 'The Final Chapter of Amelia Pond' by Murray Gold, with Elin Manahan Thomas once again joining the stage, as a Weeping Angel rose up from the centre of the hall as a fixed touchstone throughout the piece. The climax of this composition was quite moving as we relived the moments that Rory and Amy are taken from their time streams by the Weeping Angels, leaving a heart-broken Doctor.

To round off the first half of the Doctor Who prom, we were treated to Gold's anthemic 'The Rings Of Akhaten', featuring the voices of Kerry Ingram and Allan Clayton - backed by the London Philharmonic Choir. Vastra and Strax introduced the piece, explaining the departure of the Ponds and the introduction of Clara.

After a 20 minute interval we were thrown right back into the action as Gold's 'All The Strange, Strange Creatures' kicked off the closing act.

Matt Smith was welcomed back on stage, (now out of his Doctor's costume) to introduce the tenth piece of music for the evening; 'The Impossible Girl', which was dedicated to the most recent companion, Clara 'Oswin' Oswald. The room fell silent as Gold's delicate notes from this beautifully melodic piece filled our ears.

The next, slightly unusual, but welcomed choice of music was 'La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin' (The Girl With The Flaxen Hair), introduced by the Impossible Girl herself, Jenna-Louise Coleman. Like Toccata from Part One of the Prom, this piece of music was used in the Classic Series in 'The Robots Of Death' and was reimagined in 1973 by Doctor Who composers Dudley Simpson and Brian Hodgson. Ben Foster orchestrated this version which offered a brief pause from the straight Doctor Who setlist.

The twelfth selection of music was introduced - much to the welcomed surprise of the audience - by Peter Davison (The 5th Doctor). Davison commanded the audience with his comedic brilliance by opening with "wow, what amazing memories you all have - even though most of you weren't even born".

This section was one of the many highlights for us as it showcased some of the stand-out scores from The Classic Series, re-imagined and arranged by Mark Ayres and Orchestrated by Ben Foster. Featuring sound effects by Brian Hodgson and music from 'The Daleks', 'The Tomb Of The Cybermen', 'The Sea Devils', 'City Of Death', 'Logopolis', 'The Five Doctors' and 'The Curse Of Fenric'.

This was a true celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who as each piece of music seamlessly blended into each other with symphonic grandure. We watched stand-out scenes on the screens as the reimagined scores were played out on top of them. Mark Ayres was definitely in his element and his section of the stage looked like a snapshot from the classic days with reels turning in the background. There was also a little cameo from Doctor Who brand manager; Edward Russell operating a vintage BBC camera!

We would definitely champion for a standalone soundtrack to be released with these and many more Classic Series pieces, so listen up Silva Screen! Breathtaking stuff!

Vastra and Strax returned to introduce the 'Doctor Who Create A Soundtrack Competitions Winners' section, where two age groups (14-16 & 11-14 year-olds) were given the chance to create their own soundtrack to scenes from the Doctor Who Christmas Special 'The Snowmen'.

First up were the winners from the 14-16 year-old age group; Gabe Stone and Matthew Owen from Gloucestershire. Next were the winners from the 11-14 year-old age group; William Davenport and Jordan Picken from Stoke-On-Trent. It was a nice change of pace to offer a portion of the schedule to the younger fans, who produced two, very different but surprisingly good scores. Needless to say all four received a well-deserved round of applause!

The Daleks (with a little help from Nicholas Briggs' vocal talents) took to the stage for the next segment, titled; 'First There Were Daleks'. After some fun pantomime-style audience participation, the next few minutes celebrated The Doctor's most famous enemies, with selections of Murray Gold's Dalek related music from Series 4 and 7.

With the introduction of the penultimate item on the schedule came another surprise guest as Carole-Ann Ford (Susan Foreman; The Doctor's Granddaughter and first ever companion) took to the stage. Ford's words were filled with love for the show and its tenure as she introduced a piece of music from the final episode of Series 7 of Doctor Who; 'The Name Of The Doctor'.

For the final scheduled item on the setlist, Matt and Jenna took to the stage to introduce the world premiere of 'Song For Fifty' - something we were all looking forward to, after hearing and reading about it in the Prom's souvenir TARDIS brochure. Described by Murray Gold as his "love song to a television series", the piece featured lyrics sung by Elin Managan Thomas and Allan Clayton, for which we have included for our visitors below:

Song For Fifty
by Murray Gold

As I stand here waiting for my time to come, I follow in your footsteps, I follow when you run.

From the jaws of disaster, from a planet besieged by deadly ancient foes.

And you still make me smile when you stop and turn and say: 'This is a creature we can understand, a living being, it is just being. if we could find what's on its mind then perhaps we might survive.'

And as we stumble down our slow road I can't but wonder what would fit be like. To run away with you through time, where would we go who might we find. But on we go, cutting our paths, only one way, one day at a time, while you embrace the universe, spinning your way on the fast road, limitless endless.

So my dear friend you're getting kinda old now (or maybe we are). And now our children watch you do the deeds we marvelled at wondered at. From the jaws of disaster, from a planet besieged by ready ancient foes.

It's not the end yet there is no end.

Fumbling and bumbling while all around is crumbling and stumbling through time like you're a mad man still it's humbling to watch you reconcile divergent creeds without succumbing to the lure of weapons, force or greed you only use intelligence and jokes and charm.

Happy birthday. Doctor. You.

* * *
Once again, this was a beautifully crafted piece by Gold, whilst intelligently pitching a perfectly wonderful way to celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who.

Matt and Jenna returned one last time to ask "Who would like to hear some more?", to which there echoed a resounding yes from every audience member. 'Vale Decem' was the song of choice to and featured footage from each of the doctor's eras with regeneration being the main theme.

One last treat was Murray Gold's most recent version of the Doctor Who theme to close the evening's celebrations. A standing ovation saw Murray Gold, Ben Foster, Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman, Peter Davison, Carole-Ann Ford, Neve McIntosh, Dan Starkey, Elin Managan Thomas, Allan Clayton and Kerry Ingram return to the stage to take their well-earned bows. As they all left the stage for the final time, Smith and Davison walked off with their arms on each others shoulders in a wonderful display of support and admiration for each other, closely followed by Ford and Coleman. It somehow summed up the whole event; Classic meets New with one supporting the other.

Kudos to all the actors who wore thick padded costumes in the stifling heat of the Royal Albert Hall, helping to make everything in this extraordinary experience, come to life. Likewise to Nicholas Briggs with his endless CV of monstrous voices.

A huge nod to Ben Foster, who's boundless energy and bouncy hair (that always returned miraculously to its starting position) brought extra life to the whole performance.

And finally, to Murray Gold, whom Doctor Who is incredibly lucky to have had working on every episode since its triumphant return in 2005. Murray is a true musical genius; not just a composer, but a writer, an orchestrator, a dramatist - a fan! Seeing, or rather, hearing a tiny selection of his work at this Prom was an eye-opener to just how much he has produced for the show over the past 7 years, and the partnership with Foster's orchestration is a professional marriage that we hope will continue to be at the backbone of Doctor Who for many years to come.

This was a truly fantastic and eternally memorable evening and the perfect way to celebrate The Doctor's half century!

DWO have put together a small gallery of images from the Prom (in chronological order), below:

Watch some official clips from the 2013 Doctor Who Prom, below:

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[Source: Doctor Who Online]

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Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start... 

Day 195: The Enemy of the World, Episode Three

Dear diary,

Excitingly, not only does today’s episode survive in the archives, but it’s also the first time that Doctor Who has been broadcast in High Definition!

Oh, all right then. It’s not technically HD. This is, however, the first time that the series was made and broadcast as a 625-line picture (or 576i by today’s standard - feel that definition!). It sounds like quite a small thing, but it is a big increase on the 405-line image that has been the standard of the series (and, indeed, all BBC transmissions to this point). The switchover comes as part of a move towards something far bigger, though – bringing colour to BBC1. We’re still a little way off from that change, but it’s nice to see the journey beginning.

And what a story to feature an upgrade in picture quality! Episode One features a hovercraft and a helicopter on the beach! The second episode ends with the eruption of a volcano! This third episode is full of… well, corridors, decorated with varying types of garish wallpaper. Oh dear. Couldn’t we have had Episode One saved, instead?

I’m not being entirely fair, here. The episode does feature the images of volcanoes erupting again, but the majority of this episode is far more low-key and scaled back than the last two have been. It’s a pity in many ways, because I’ve been looking forward to seeing some of this story – the telesnaps for the last couple of days have made things look very unique, and I was keen to see Barry Letts’ directorial style in action.

It’s not a complete disaster, though, because having an episode that’s far more intimate than the last few means that we get another chance to really appreciate the performances of both our regulars and the guest cast. Perhaps the greatest guest performance has to be Patrick Troughton’s turn as Salamander. I know he’s not really a ‘guest’ as such, but he is giving a very different performance here, and as with Hartnell in The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve, it’s pretty easy to forget that you’re watching the same chap that you’ve known over the last however-many stories.

There’s a lovely moment at the start of Episode Two, after The Doctor has pretended to be Salamander, and he reverts back to the man we love. He gives a little cough after Bruce has left the room, and although it’s a small thing, it really does feel so much like the Doctor, it instantly reminds you who we’re really watching. His turn as Salamander really is a brilliant one, and the character’s nasty side just keeps oozing out. Today we get the lovely moment when he kills one of his top men for failing in his mission. Having reassured the man that there will be other ways to complete the task, he watches as he falls dead to the ground, and dryly issues a final sentence to him; ‘One chance, my friend. I said one chance…’

It’s a good episode for him in character as the Doctor, too, and we get another of those lines that’s very well known among fans – ‘Sad, really, isn't it? People spend all their time making nice things and then other people come along and break them.’ It’s a lovely line, and it works nicely in context. It also serves to nicely highlight the differences between his two performances, so it’s nice to see him in action as both for one episode, at least.

The one thing that I did have to wonder about was the Doctor’s slight disbelief that Salamander could have found a way to harness the ‘natural forces’ of the Earth and cause the volcano to erupt on cue. He describes it as ‘a little difficult to believe, but not impossible’. Wouldn’t it essentially be the same technology used in the Gravitron machine from last season? Maybe the Doctor’s just a little skeptical that Salamander could have developed a way of doing this in the era we’re currently visiting? The About Time books place The Enemy of the World as being somewhere around 2030, which would work nicely with The Moonbase coming about forty years later. I don’t know where this is all going (I’m not even entirely sure that Salamander is able to control things like the volcanoes, but the implication certainly seems to be so, and I don’t think I’d put anything past him. Brujo), but I’m hoping the end of the story leaves it open as a possibility that the Moonbase technology can be developed from here – it ties things together nicely.