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

Day 665: Timelash, Episode Two

Dear diary,

I don't know if I'm just in a more forgiving mood today, but this episode has been much more enjoyable than the first one was. Even some of the sets that seemed ridiculously bland yesterday have grown on me - and I rather like the light design on the wall of the Council Chamber! Not all the decor is to my tastes, though - the mural of the Third Doctor I could do without. It just seems far too much a fan-pleasing exercise than a good idea…

If I'm being honest - there's lots that I've enjoyed in this episode, but I think the whole is a great deal less than the sum of its parts. Lots of the things that I've liked don't really bare talking about at any length, so among them are the android's voices (and the way that they seem to be so at odds with the stature and shape of the creatures), The Timelash itself (I know it looks a bit rubbish, but an image of Colin being lowered down it on a rope is another one that captivated me as a young fan, seeing it for the first time), the cell that Peri is chained up in very briefly (possibly the best set in the entire story - a great design that wouldn't feel out of place in a German Expressionist film), and the smug look that Colin has on his face when he's ten seconds in the future and gets to push people; he science is nonsense, even by Doctor Who standards, but he just looks so pleased about it.

There's two things in today's episode that really are worth mentioning separately. The first is the make up on the Borad. Let's be honest, it's some of the best make up in all of Doctor Who, from 1963 right up to now. It's a great design, it's been well applied… yeah, it's hard not to like. I think I'd go as far as to say that it's the best thing in the entire story, and it's sort of a shame that it's let down by everything else around it - make up like this would still be the best thing in a fairly good story, so why waste it here!

The other thing I've loved… Herbert! Haha! I've never noticed before, but you wait nineteen years for a real-life historical figure to put in an appearance (the last such instance was right back in 1966 and The Gunfighters), and then you get two in one season! After George Stevenson, we've not got H. G. Wells, too. And you know what? I rather like the way that he's been used in this story - usually, we go in to them knowing who our famous 'historical celebrity' is going to be, but this time it comes as a surprise reveal in the final few minutes. There's loads of allusions to Wells' work throughout Timelash, but I'm not overly familiar with his stories, so I can't claim to have picked up on them all.

I just think that Herbert works ridiculously well with Colin's Doctor, and he's even become another one of those characters that I'd love to see return in an audio adventure some time - putting him up there with the likes of Duggan! I laughed out loud ridiculously hard when the Doctor has forcibly removed Peri from the TARDIS, only to take off and be confronted with Herbert. There's something about the way that they exchange 'hello' before getting in to everything! I love the scene in the first episode, too, where Herbert comes wandering out from the TARDIS corridors to explain that the ship is bigger on the inside… and the Doctor simply replies 'I know!'

Sadly, Herbert getting on so well with the Doctor comes at a price - he's especially awful to Peri in this story. Their relationship has never been quite as pleasant as, say either the Third or Fourth Doctor with Sarah Jane, or the Second Doctor with Zoe, but it's felt in the last couple of stories that they've settled into a groove where they bicker and argue, before they hug and make up, and simply love being with each other. In Timelash, he's perhaps worse to her than at any other time (even when trying to kill her!), and that's also put me off the story just a bit.

Sorry, Timelash, but great make-up and Herbert just isn't enough to stop you from becoming my lowest-rated story.

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

Day 664: Timelash, Episode One

Dear diary,

Although I try to keep an open mind about every story in this marathon as I reach it, I have to admit that I've been dreading this one. Unlike, say, Underworld, which had a bad reputation, but I'd never judged for myself, or The Twin Dilemma, which I'd enjoyed in spite of such an awful reputation, Timelash is a story that I can remember coming away from on a previous viewing and actively thinking that it had a well-deserved reputation for being rubbish. Ever since, it's existed on my list of 'stories I don't plan to watch again'. Now, this isn't the first time in this marathon where I've come across such a story, and it can usually swing wildly in one direction or the other - I'll either come away loving it because it's better than I'm expecting, or I'll hate it even more because I've spent the last few days being so sure that I would. Sadly… I think we're falling in to the later of those two categories.

Something that's been becoming more and more prevalent this season is that the Doctor and Peri spend such a long time in the TARDIS. In this episode, they don't make it out of the ship until something like 23 minutes through - in 'old money', that would mean the entire first episode stuck in there! It's a trend that's been steadily growing for a while now (especially through the last two seasons, but it started as far back as Season Eighteen), and I think I'm just a bit bored of it. There was a time, when I was quite a new fan of Doctor Who, when the more time spent inside the TARDIS, the better the episode was - I was absolutely fascinated by it, and loved a chance to just look at the console room. Now, I'm not so sure. I'm also not keen on the way that the TARDIS is being set up this season.

Put simply, it no longer feels like a powerful time and space machine in the way that it did right back at the start of the programme, and it's all down to the way it's being treated. In Vengeance on Varos, when the Doctor retires to muse on the rest of eternity being spent in a dying ship, he sits on a garishly 1980s chair, that just happens to be plonked in the console room, away from anything else! It doesn't feel as though it's part of this console room at all (and neither, for that matter, does the entirely different chair which occupies a similar spot in The Twin Dilemma). Way back when, the TARDIS console room used to contain a little wooden chair, and various other odds and ends like that, but they somehow seemed to fit in perfectly with this strange place inside the police box. During the events of The Edge of Destruction, for example, the chair Barbara has to slump in doesn't feel incongruous, it simply feels natural that it should be there. I think the fact that the TARDIS is now less a collection of different elements - different attempts at making roundel walls, and fault locators, and ceiling lights - and more of a white void, coupled with the fact that the chair is so dated by being made in the mid-1980s, really does harm it.

In today's episode, it's the sudden appearance of straps being used like seat belts which feels out of place. When the Second Doctor gets up from regeneration and starts rummaging through a chest in the TARDIS console room, pulling out knives and cloaks and mirrors, it somehow feels natural. Similarly, when the Tenth Doctor does the same in The Unicorn and the Wasp, I'm somehow able to suspend my belief for long enough to just accept it. Here, though, it simply feels odd, and completely out-of-place with the set. If anything, it comes across as an excuse to pad out the running time a little (and I think I'm right in saying that the second episode, at least, did need some padding out with extra TARDIS scenes, so I may not be that far off the mark…!)

All that said… maybe they're better off being stuck inside the TARDIS, because the set design on Karfel leaves plenty to be desired. I get the impression that they're going for a kind of totalitarian minimalism effect - all blank walls and very little to inspire the people - but it just comes across as looking bland. Note how much more interesting it all looks, and how much my attention picked up, when we go in to the… I don't know, 'power chamber'? Suddenly, the lights are down, and they're trying something interesting with the colours. The sets aren't just flat blank walls, but rather there's some detail to them. Even the bland costumes look rather nice when there's some shadow to them!

I've little else to add, really, because Timelash simply isn't inspiring me to talk about it all that much! I'm in the sorry position of simply wanting to get tomorrow's episode over with, so I can move on to something that's hopefully a little bit better…

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

Day 663: The Two Doctors, Episode Three

Dear diary,

The one part of this story that I've never been very keen on is the Second Doctor's transformation in to an Androgum. It's always just felt a bit odd, and seemed like such a strange thing to do to Patrick Troughton - surely if you'd got the Second Doctor back for one story, you'd want to spend as much time as possible with him simply being the Doctor? Watching it this time, though, I suddenly 'get' it - Patrick Troughton is absolutely relishing the part, and I dare say that he's giving a better performance as an Androgum than he is as the Doctor! He's really going for it, and I can't help but love that!

It's nice that he gets to spend some time with Colin Baker in this episode, too. I always think of the Second and Third Doctors failing to get on with each other, but the way that these two gently tease each other is brilliant, and I'm almost sorry that we don't get more of it. From the way the Second Doctor tells his Sixth self not to expect any thanks for saving him, through to the little jibe at the end about keeping out of each other's way… it's all just such good fun! There's a clip on Youtube from an American showing of Doctor Who in the 1980s, where they have a quick chat to Troughton, and ask him to introduce one of Colin's adventures. He makes a point of referring to Colin's Doctor as 'miss piggy', and it's clear that the good-natured playfighting continues well beyond the screen - I can imagine that the pair of them had a great deal of fun, sending each other up in rehearsals!

I figure that this is also the perfect point to bring up one of my favourite legends about the programme. There's a long-standing rumour that at one point in the 1980s, Patrick Troughton came back to the show and played a monster (possibly only for a single scene during the studio day). I've never known of the rumour being confirmed at any point… does anyone know? I'm aware that Troughton stood in for Peter Davison during some of the camera set ups on Castrovalva, but I'd love to think that he's inside a monster costume at some point in this period! It wasn't that long after this story that Troughton died, and so the thought that he may have made just one more appearance somewhere is appealing!

As for this story on the whole… Oh, I can't help but quite like it. The Sontarans are bumbling fools (but they're rarely anything else), lots of the stuff about the way that time machines work doesn't really tally with anything else we've ever been told about them, and there's really no point at all for being in Spain, but everyone is clearly having a good time making the story, and that enthusiasm is infectious.

I'm also wondering if I can find a way of incorporating this one into my ever-growing narrative of the Time War. The Time Lords are worried about the emergence of potentially viable time machines within the Third Zone, and send a Doctor to help… could it be that it's because they're worried that the Daleks might get their protrubances on one of the crafts? Equally, could it be that the Sontarans don't want the machine simply for the reasons they claim here, but because they're still trying to 'audition' for the Time War (as I postulated during The Invasion of Time)? Or, even, is it viable to imagine that maybe Chasene isn't simply working for herself to take over the universe, and is actually working for some more Dalek-y pay masters behind-the-scenes? 

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

Day 662: The Two Doctors, Episode Two

Dear diary,

I can clearly remember buying this story on DVD. I was at college, and we'd taken a trip to Cambridge for the day, for some reason. I'd decided at some point on the route down there that I'd be picking up this story at some point, and when the time came, my friend Ben and I slipped off to the local WH Smiths to collect it. I recall this distinctly, because when the time came to pay, I realised that I was a few pounds short, and I remember being overjoyed that Ben agreed to foot the shortfall. On the trip home, I tried to explain the plot of the story to him (by this point, I was fairly clued up on most of the general plots of the older stories), and he was completely baffled by the fact that there could be two Doctors in one story. I only bring this up because it's another one of those weird coincidences that The 50 Year Diary throws up from time-to-time. I've only ever been to Cambridge properly that once. When I travel back home from Cardiff now and then to visit family, I sometimes end up at Cambridge station, but we're only there a matter of minutes and there's not a great deal to see. Today, though, I'm trying a bus across the country, and it just so happens that while I'm watching this episode on my iPad… we've pulled up outside the WH Smiths in Cambridge! The exact shop that I bought this DVD from seven or eight years ago! These little coincidences do crop up from time to time, and they always fascinate me a bit!

Anyway, today's episode. It's all a but of a mixed bag, isn't it? On the one hand, Robert Holmes is peppering the script with lots of his trademark elements, and that' always fun to have. On the other… it feels as though everything is just a bit wasted. We've got Patrick Troughton back as the Doctor for three nights only… and he's spent most of it either unconscious or strapped to a table (at times, both! I'll come back to the Second Doctor in a minute). We've headed off to Spain for the annual trip abroad… and it doesn't look all that much like there was any point. Oh, sure, the Hacienda looks nice enough, I guess, as does the olive grove, but I'm not convinced that they couldn't have replicated this kind of look back home for a bit less money. I think I'm right in saying that before they ended up in Seville, this story was planned to take place in New Orleans, which may have added more character perhaps? Still, I know we venture into the town itself in the next episode, so maybe that will help out a little?

So, the Second Doctor. As I've said, it feels almost as though he's being wasted in this episode. He gets some nice scenes in yesterday's instalment, getting to do his conversation with Dastari, but here he really is kept under wraps a fair amount, isn't he? It's telling, I suppose, that Patrick Troughton can still absolutely shine even in this diminished state, though. His chat with the Sontaran is fantastic, and I really laughed right the way through (of particular highlight was him asking 'tea time already, nurse?' as a trolley of medical equipment was wheeled in, and then commenting that the Sontaran's don't have faces built for laughter.)

Speaking of the Sontarans… I can never quite make my mind up on this pair. For a start, they're that bit too tall to be Sontarans (In my write-up of the species for the Doctor Who: Adventure in Time and Space Role Playing Game, I made a point of saying that Sontaran scientists are somewhat taller than the regular soldiers. It doesn't quite hang together, but it's close enough for me to squint and believe it), but it's really the masks that I'm not sure about. I think they're very good - the features are harder set and more 'militaristic' than any of the previous versions we've seen - and they've lost that heavy eye-shadow they'd become so fond of for The Invasion of Time. But then, the mouths don't really work, with the actor's lips visible behind the sculpted Sontaran lips. That's off-putting. And then there's the fact that the neck-rings seem to have beed just placed on to the costume, and not affixed in any way! There's several shots in today's episode where they seem to just float independently of the body, and that certainly doesn't look right to me!

And then you've got the Sixth Doctor and his companions. I've not really touched very much on the way that the Sixth Doctor and Peri's relationship seems to work - where he's often a bit of an arse to her, and she simply goes along with it - but I think this story shows it up very nicely. He is an arse to her, but you can see that they share a deep bond under all of that. Peri seems to go along with him because she knows that under all the pomposity and bluster (and rudeness, let's be honest!), he's a very good man, and she's proud to travel alongside him. As Clara said recently in The Caretaker, you get to see wonders, and Peri's willing to put up with this guy for those! I think she's the perfect companion for him in many ways, and I always love it when she cuts right through his showboating and brings things back down to earth. We get it in today's episode, where he ruminates on the approaching end of the universe, and then announces that it'll take a 'very few centuries' to occur. Peri laughs this off, and ventures off to find Jamie, leaving the Doctor performing to an empty room.

Jamie is working very well here, too, for that matter, and I'm enjoying the way he bounces off the Sixth Doctor. I think if I had to pick my favourite exchange from the episode, it would be from the Doctor trying to explain his different incarnations to the Highlander;

JAMIE
He's not the Doctor I know.

DOCTOR
I am too, Jamie McCrimmon. I am another aspect of him, just as he is of me.

JAMIE
Eh?

DOCTOR
I was him, he will be me.

JAMIE
Who will I be?

Although I'm longing to get just a bit more time of Jamie with his Second Doctor, I'm glad that he works so well with the Sixth, at least. By the time The War Games rolled around, and we waved goodbye to Jamie, I'd had more than enough of him, and was ready for him to leave. Enough time has passed now, though, that it's great to see him again - I'm glad to have him back, if briefly! I know he was paired with the Sixth Doctor again on audio a few years ago, and I think that might be worth checking out once this marathon is complete!

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

Day 661: The Two Doctors, Episode One

Dear diary,

The Two Doctors has always felt like a bit of an oddity. It's not an anniversary story, like The Five Doctors, or an excuse to bring back all the previous incarnations, as in The Three Doctors, but rather an excuse to get Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines back together again for a bit of a knees up in Spain. Who am I to complain about that, though? There's something a little bit magical about the way the titles fade into a black an white image of the pair (heightened by the fact that the titles are especially saturated today!), and the story starts off from there. Indeed, we don't even see Colin Baker's Doctor until almost ten minutes in to the episode!

The only issue that I now have, coming to this story having watched all the episode that precede it, is how wrong it feels for the Doctor and Jamie to be talking so casually about running a mission for the Time Lords, and the fact that he's able to pilot the TARDIS so well (for him, anyway). When I first saw The Two Doctors, it was simply The Second Doctor coming back in to the programme after many years away, and that was simply brilliant. Now it's all just a bit… off. I'm not going to go wildly in to the theory of Season 6B (I've never really decided if I like it as a concept or not…), but I can at least understand why people feel the need to explain these oddities away - they really do stand out.

Having had the Second Doctor and Jamie taking up the majority of the tale for the first ten minutes… we then barely see them again for the rest of the episode! The space station is attacked by an unseen menace (though we already know it's the Sontarans), and then we're more-or-less with the Sixth Doctor and Peri for the rest of the running time. That's not a bad thing, though, and in fact it may be some of the best time we've spent with the Sixth Doctor so far. There's something so sinister about the way that the Doctor comments on the work being done on this station 'threatened no one', and being answered by a booming voice, 'it threatened the Time Lords…'

I almost wonder if I would have liked that to come before we spend any time with the Second Doctor? It would be a wonderful hook for opening a story - the Doctor collapses and feels unwell, he goes to see Dastari, finds the station in ruins, hears the booming voice of the computer… and then starts to remember the last time he visited the station. Cue Jamie and the Second Doctor arriving at the station in their TARDIS, and deciding to slip in quietly. There's nothing wrong with what we've got here, but it seems odd to have such a wonderful mystery being set up for the Sixth Doctor while we already know what's happened!

While I'm on the subject of the station - isn't it a lovely design? I really like every bit of it, from the main station design right through to the service areas down below. There's something very 1980s about the style, but it really appeals to me. It also look fantastic when the Doctor and Peri get to explore in the dark, silhouetted against small pockets of colour and light. It's not often that Peter Moffat gives us something this well executed, so it's always nice to see when he does!

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

Day 660: The Mark of the Rani, Episode Two

Dear diary,

Well… we do have to spend a lot more time in the studio today than we did in yesterday's episode, but we still get a fair few sequences shot out on location, too, where the direction really does continue to be fantastic. It feels a bit like I'm watching a proper drama, with lovely close-ups of the actors, and beautifully composed three shots. I think, if there's one thing I'll be taking away from The Mark of the Rani, then it'll be just how good it looks.

There also needs to be a certain amount of love given for the location that they've used here. I think I'm right in saying that this story carried a dedication from the BBC to the 'Ironbridge Gorge Museum', where much of the story was filmed, and it's not hard to see why. I often find myself in stories like this praising the way that the BBC can build fantastic historical sets in the studio, but this is probably the best location that we've had for a historical tale in ages. I have a feeling that even going off for a holiday in Spain for the next episode is going to pale in comparison!

I'm also compelled to praise the Rani a little bit more with this episode, because she's brilliant! This story makes quite a point about the way the Master operates - seemingly always obsessed with killing the Doctor over anything else - but it also presents the Rani as the character that should be the Doctor's nemesis. Do you remember, back in The Mind of Evil, how I praised the way that the Master was able to control all of the events while sitting quite happily in the back of a car, smoking a cigar? Or the way he moves all the pieces in The Time Monster, sat in a high-backed chair before a fireplace? That character hasn't regenerated into the Master that's been doing battle with the Doctor from Traken to Sarn, that character became the Rani as we see her here.

She's not on Earth with some diabolical plan - she's here because she needs to be. There's no grandiose attempts to take control with robots shaped like the king, or huge radar dishes. She's here, she's set up everything she needs, and she's getting on with it. I also love that when the Master tries to get her assistance in killing the Doctor and taking control of Earth, she points out that she doesn't need to do that - she's already the ruler of a planet, and she's quite content, thank you very much. I'm even impressed by a fact about the Rani that's always left me a little cold in the past. It's said that she was exiled from Gallifrey because she bred giant mice, and one ate the Lord President's cat. It's always seemed like such a silly idea to me in the past, but the way that Kate O'Mara delivers the line is wonderful.

I can't talk about this episode without mentioning another one of the most famous things about it… the trees. Oh dear, the trees. I'm sure you know the story: Luke has been hypnotised by the Master. He's led Peri off to get her out of the way. The Rani has set some lethal land mines for the Doctor. Luke steps on one of these mines… and it turned in to a tree. Later on, a group of rebels carrying the Doctor on a pole also find themselves turned in to a tree… with the Doctor's pole suspended between branches. It should be silly, and indeed, I've always thought of it as being so… but I rather enjoyed it here! The trees don't look all that convincing, and the moment when Tree-Luke swoops down a branch to save Peri from the same fate is a bit ludicrous, but I rather like the actual transformation effect! I think it's generally a result of simply enjoying the episode so much that it can do very little wrong in my eyes!

The Mark of the Rani is Pip and Jane Baker's first contribution to the programme, but they'll be back for a few more stories over the next few years. They've never been hailed as the greatest writers Doctor Who has ever had (indeed, I was hugely saddened, and more than a little offended, recently when Jane Baker passed away and there were some comments on my Facebook News Feed to the effect of 'good riddance, her episodes were rubbish'. Suffice to say, those people no longer show up on my newsfeed), but I have to say that I've really enjoyed this particular story. There are more than a few examples of their trademark thesaurus-needing dialogue on show, but I didn't find it distracting to the plot in the way that I'd expected to. That's another thing to keep an eye on, I think, over the next few stories from them. So as far as I'm concerned, they're very welcome to the programme with a story like this, and I'm actively looking forward to their next one (which I seem to recall enjoying more than any other part of the Trial season…!)

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

Day 659: The Mark of the Rani, Episode One

Dear diary,

The Mark of the Rani is, for me, another one of those 'fact' stories. What I mean is that I can rattle off plenty of information about it - it's the first Pip n' Jane story, the first appearance of the Rani, the Master's first face off against the Sixth Doctor - but I couldn't have told you just how good it is! I'm watching today's episode on a coach, making my way across the country, to visit family. I was praying that it might be an interesting enough instalment of Doctor Who to help break up the monotony… and is it ever! I've loved it!

The thing which is appealing to me the most here is the direction. It's genuinely some of the best we've ever had in the programme (it's better than The Caves of Androzani, which is the one every bangs on about direction-wise in this era, though for different reasons), and I'm gutted to know that this story represents Sarah Helling's only work on the programme, because she's got a talent that really could help improve the stock of the series.

I think it's partly helped by the fact that so much of today's episode takes place out on location (is this one of the highest film-to-videotape ratios that we've ever had?), and regular readers of the 50 Year Diary will be well aware of my feelings towards film in Doctor Who. There's lots of shots that look simply gorgeous here - beautifully framed - and I'm a little bit stunned by them. I've seen The Mark of the Rani before, but couldn't remember it being this visually gorgeous! I'm just hoping now that I won't have to pay the price tomorrow, and spend most of the episode trapped inside on video…

I've already made brief mention of the fact that this is the first appearance of the Rani in the programme. She's built up something of a reputation over the years for being a bit of a rubbish character, but I have to confess that I'm rather fond of her. I think it helps that this is the serial in which she's given less over-the-top eccentricities, and her plan is half-way decent, too. She's not here trying to impersonate the Doctor's companion, or trap him in a time loop on Albert Square, but rather because she's got her own experiments to work on.

I'm less thrilled to see the Master turning up, and surely this is the most ridiculous disguise that he ever wears? There's something quite creepy about the way the scarecrow's head moves as he watched the Doctor and Peri depart, but then when he takes off the costume (in one of the few poor areas of direction, sadly), there seems to have been no reason for the disguise at all. I can just about buy that he's ended up in the same place and time as the Rani, because he claims to have followed her here, but he seems to have been standing in the field just for something to do on a Tuesdays afternoon!

That said, when he's paired up with the Rani, I can't help but really love it. The way the pair spark off each other is hilarious, and you can't fault the Rani's description of the Master's schemes - ' It'll be something devious and over-complicated. He'd get dizzy if he tried to walk in a straight line.' The one area which does feel a bit out of place is that they seem to all subscribe to the Gallifreyan Academy's alumni newsletter. The Rani is well aware that the Master's last plan went wrong for him and seemed to finish him off, and they both know on sight exactly what this new Doctor looks like! It must be terribly awkward for him - every time he turns up to a reunion, he's got a different companion in tow, the old dog!

 Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Philip Martin

RRP: £14.99 (CD) / £12.99 (Download)

Release Date: January 2014

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 20th January 2014

Future Britain is bankrupt, its corporate owners facing financial ruin. Fortunately, the Universal Monetary Fund, and its slimy representative Sil, are willing to give its President a multi-billion credit bail-out... but terms and conditions apply, and Sil's proposed austerity measures go far beyond mere benefit cuts.

Responding to a distress call, the Doctor and his companion Flip land in a London whose pacified population has been driven largely underground. But the horrors down there in the dark are as nothing to the horrors that await them at ConCorp HQ, where a young biochemist in Sil's employ is working on a permanent solution to the nation's terminal unprofitability.

Because in the final account, Sil plans to make a killing...

* * *

Written as a direct sequel to Mindwarp, Antidote to Oblivion has a lot more in common with Philip Martin’s first entry for Doctor Who, Vengeance on Varos, and that is both its strongest and weakest point.

Like Varos, Antidote to Oblivion has a strong political message this time, focused rather bluntly on the economy and financial crisis. I say bluntly as the story is so obvious with what it is discussing you can almost see it being pointed out by red flashing headlights throughout. 

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it allows for a very enjoyable run of black humour even if the plans of the Government become somewhat ludicrously insane towards the end. I assume what Martin is getting at is that desperation can make even the most moral of people commit the most monstrous acts. 

Whatever issues I had with the story I cannot say entirely the same for the main cast.

Colin Baker plays the Doctor fantastically and his interaction with Sil really brings out the very best of the Sixth Doctor’s character.

As for Sil, played wonderfully once again by Nabil Shaban, he lifts the whole piece up. Shaban’s delightfully slimy and villainous performance is the real highlight of the whole story. 

Lisa Greenwood returns as Flip and despite a spirited performance she is let down somewhat by the material. At times she is reduced to generic companion dialogue throughout the script but Greenwood is so charming in the role that you can overlook it. Flip is certainly one of the best companions Big Finish have created and I want to see much more from her, especially as she was so good in her first run of stories in 2012.

Despite some great performances from the supporting cast, their material is not as interesting as when the action shifts back to the main characters. That isn’t to say the material they work with is bad, on the contrary it is interesting but because Sil’s presence is so huge in the story that whenever he isn’t around I found my interest waning.

Antidote to Oblivion is not a bad story, but it feels at times that Philip Martin is treading on much too familiar ground. If you like Martin’s previous Doctor Who stories then you will not be disappointed. I was just hoping for something more.

Ex-Doctor Who star, Colin Baker (The 6th Doctor) has signed and donated a package of special jungle souvenirs for this exclusive DWO competition in support of Malaria No More UK – the beneficiary charity of I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

The jungle package includes a mess eating tin, a bandana, a Malaria No More UK t-shirt and a photo, all signed by Colin!  

Malaria No More UK works tirelessly to end deaths from malaria, a preventable disease which claims the life of a child every minute. Colin has united with his fellow celebrity contestants to support this inspiring cause with 15p from every vote going to Malaria No More UK to help save lives. Colin says: 

“What The Doctor has failed to do is to get a cure for malaria and take it back in time, which is what I am sure he would have done, had he thought of it!”

To enter the competition, simply answer this question: What is the name of the charity supported by Colin and the other I’m a Celebrity contestants? 

Email your answer, along with your full name to info@malarianomore.org.uk with the subject line: ‘Colin Baker Competition’.

Closing date: Monday 3rd December 2012

Terms and conditions:

Malaria No More UK will contact the winner of the competition using the email address provided within one week of the closing date.  If the winner has not responded within one month of the closing date, another winner will be chosen.

Malaria No More UK & Malaria No More UK Trading Ltd will use your personal information in order to process your entry to the competition and to keep you updated on the progress in the fight against malaria and how you can help. By entering this competition, you are agreeing to receive occasional email updates from Malaria No More UK & Malaria No More Trading Ltd (You can unsubscribe at any time).  If you would prefer not to receive these email updates please include NO EMAIL in the body of your email.

[Source: Malaria No More]

Ex-Doctor Who actor and friend to DWO, Colin Baker, has been confirmed as a contestant on this years 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here' reality TV show.

Colin is already in Australia and ready to enter the jungle when the popular reality show hits our screens this Sunday (11th November).

Famed for playing The 6th Doctor, Colin has expressed his excitement at entering the jungle and facing whatever challenges come his way. The 6th Doctor was renowned for hating carrot juice, but it seems 'old sixie' will be facing far worse than that downunder...

DWO have started the #ColinToWin hashtag on Twitter and encourage all our visitors to use it and help Colin win the coveted title of 'King of the Jungle'.

Baker recorded an intro video for the I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here website, which can be viewed below: 

[youtube:olz6jacSoKw]

+  I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here begins on Sunday 11th November at 9pm on ITV1.

[Source: ITV1]

BBC Consumer Products have sent DWO the cover and details for the Doctor Who DVD release of Vengeance on Varos: Special Edition.

Vengeance on Varos: Special Edition

Featuring: The 6th Doctor

The Doctor visits the planet Varos to obtain supplies of a rare ore called zeiton 7, vital to the functioning of the TARDIS. Varos was once a colony for the criminally insane and the descedants of the orginal guards still rule over the rest poverty-striken population. The Doctor and Peri meet two rebels, Jondar and Areta, and Peri and Areta are captured by Qullam, the Dome's sadistic commandant... 

Cleared Special Feautres:

•  00:44:42:11 - DOCTOR WHO - VENGEANCE ON VAROS - PART ONE (WITH AUDIO COMMENTARY)
•  00:44:45:02 - DOCTOR WHO - VENGEANCE ON VAROS - PART TWO (WITH AUDIO COMMENTARY)
•  00:01:37:07 - (ACID BATH SCENE) (ALTERNATE MUSIC TRACK)
•  00:29:37:17 - NICE OR NASTY? - THE MAKING OF VENGEANCE ON VAROS
•  00:07:29:11 - THE IDIOT'S LANTERN (FEATURETTE)
•  00:12:54:03 - TOMORROW'S TIMES - THE SIXTH DOCTOR (FEATURETTE)
•  00:07:31:05 - (FRENCH AND SAUNDERS) (TELEVISION CLIP)
•  00:17:42:04 - (EXTENDED & DELETED SCENES)
•  00:06:38:08 - VENGEANCE ON VAROS - PHOTO GALLERY
•  00:01:07:01 - (NEWS) (TELEVISION NEWS CLIP)
•  00:15:07:11 - (SATURDAY SUPERSTORE) (TELEVISION CLIP)
•  00:05:41:15 - BBC BREAKFAST TIME (TELEVISION CLIP)

+  Vengeance on Varos: Special Edition is released on 10th September 2012, priced £20.42.

+  Compare Prices for this product on CompareTheDalek.com.

[Source: BBC Consumer Products]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who VFX Desginer, Peter Wragg.

Peter was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his work on the 5th Doctor adventures; The Visitation & Resurrection of the Daleks and the 6th Doctor adventure; Minwarp, which formed part of the Trial of a Time Lord season.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Peter's family and friends.

[Source: Steve Freestone]

It is with deepest regret that DWO announces the passing of Classic Series Doctor Who Actor, Richard Henry.

Richard was perhaps best known to Doctor Who fans for his role as a Mentor in the 6th Doctor adventure; Minwarp, which formed part of the Trial of a Time Lord season.

DWO would like to extend our sympathies to Richard's family and friends.

[Source: Neil Marsh]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: William Gallagher

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st March 2012

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 30th March 2012

In the year 16127, the once devastated and abandoned planet Earth is slowly being repopulated forty years after the colonists of Nerva Beacon returned. Those who have been chosen for the program find living conditions are from tough to the extreme. Transmat scientist Roger Buchman, his wife Veronica and daughter Toasty arrive at one of the new settlements on an island surrounded by the frozen waters of what was once called Loch Lomond.

The island is empty and the other crew members are nowhere to be found. As if that is not enough trouble to deal with, two complete strangers beam in from Nerva city, calling themselves Flip and The Doctor. It isn’t long before the horrific fate of the crew is discovered and The Doctor realizes an old enemy is lurking, hidden under the ice waiting to emerge and feed. But what do the Wirrn want other than hosts for their eggs? Who is the mysterious voice that taunts Flip over the two way radio and just what connection does it have to the Buchman family’s tragic past?

The Wirrn have always been a fascinatingly gruesome foe for The Doctor, and in Wirrn Isle (their second appearance in a Big Finish audio since the superb Wirrn Dawn), we get to see how the absorption of their host’s memories and personality can cause heartbreak and devastation on a galactic scale. The Wirrn were a strikingly visual creature on television, so it is up to the excellent sound design of Simon Robinson to bring every sinister chirp they make to life, creating a instant feeling of dread once they are heard.

The majority of The Wirrn swarm are used sparingly in the play, allowing the scenes in which the character of Iron appears, to have more of an emotional punch producing some genuinely chilling moments, such as the scene where he stalks Flip out on the ice over the radio. It is incredibly creepy and memorable scene.

Colin Baker is of course on top form as The Doctor, playing not only the scientific expert but a mediator between the warring factions of the Buchman family. The Doctor knows the terrible danger that he and the others are in and his struggle to keep them all together in the face of the ever growing danger is riveting to listen to. It is lovely to hear how The Doctor is becoming almost like a worried parent towards Flip and this is really rather touching. The Sixth Doctor has been lucky that Big Finish has provided him with such distinctive and likeable companions and in this trilogy he has struck gold again.

The wonderful Lisa Greenwood utterly shines as Flip, a character I personally am becoming fonder of the more I hear of her. Greenwood’s strong, funny and sweet natured performance has been one of the highlights of this series of plays. The scene in which she lies, broken and battered after a flight in a mini airplane while her blood has frozen her to the ice as The Wirrn begin to emerge is a truly nerve shredding moment and Greenwood sells every moment of it.

What is great about Flip is summed up by The Doctor himself in that he is not sure whether she is incredibly brave or foolhardy. The attention devoted to this idea makes one wonder whether this will be revisited in future stories with Flip of which I hope there will be many more of.

It is a shame when Flip ends up on Nerva City out of the main action, but this is necessary given the extremity of the family drama that plays out around The Doctor. He has enough trouble playing the science fiction equivalent of Jeremy Kyle as he struggles to keep the family together in the midst of coming galactic doom.

The rest of the cast perform very well in their roles particularly Jenny Funnell and Tim Bentinck who play Veronica and Roger. Funnell excels in a role which requires a lot of deep emotional turmoil, in regards to the loss of her son and her anger at everyone, including The Doctor if they so much as lead her on with false hope of any kind.

Some of the supporting characters, including the frankly ridiculously named Toasty, do not come off as well as the main players. I do not think this is a fault of the writing, but they seem to just not have as interesting a dynamic as that between The Doctor, Flip and Veronica and Roger.

I get the feeling that when Wirrn Isle expands the threat to a universal level it loses some of the intense, under siege threat that runs so strongly in the first two episodes. It doesn’t diminish the play at all, but the marvellous sense of claustrophobia is taken away.

Also if you are a lover of transmat action then this is the play for you as the latter half of the story seems to be utterly devoted to it. Although the presence of it adds much to the threat posed by The Wirrn, the story at times ends up being like a game of musical chairs, as one person or Wirrn is transported here there and everywhere for the latter half of the story.

Wirrn Isle is a very good play; a powerful family drama set amongst a horrific science fiction setting that, despite losing some of its momentum towards the end, has enough strong ideas and excellent moments to linger in the memory.

The Collectable Art Company has been officially licensed by BBC Worldwide to publish a series of Limited Edition Fine Art prints of Original Doctor Who Costume Designs.

Pat Godfrey’s final design drawing for The Sixth Doctor's distinctive, multi-coloured outfit will launch the series. In 1984 Doctor Who Producer John Nathan-Turner took the bold decision to make The Doctor’s Sixth incarnation’s dress sense ‘Totally tasteless’. The resulting costume was loved and hated by the fans of the series in equal measure!

Limited to 1500 high quality prints, each A2 size reproduction is individually numbered and will be autographed by costume designer Pat Godfrey and The Sixth Doctor himself, Colin Baker.

It is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a special 28-page 'Script to Screen' booklet, which describes the making of The Sixth Doctor's iconic costume and includes an introduction by Colin Baker and an interview with Pat Godfrey.

Grahame Flynn, Managing Director of The Collectable Art Company said:

“We are delighted to have secured the rights to reproduce costume designs from this flagship BBC series. We are committed to bringing world-class, museum quality reproductions of the production designs to collectors. The range will expand to include the images from the classic and new series.”

+  The Sixth Doctor print is available for Preorder now from www.thecollectableartcompany.com, and will be formally on sale from 1st March.

[Source: The Collectable Art Company Ltd]

Manufacturer: Big Finish Productions

Written By: Jonathan Morris

RRP: £14.99

Release Date: 31st January 2012

Reviewed by: Matthew Davis for Doctor Who Online

Review Posted: 27th January 2012

It was just over a year ago that Philippa “Flip” Jackson found herself on an alien world being chased by giant robot mosquitoes in the company of a man known as “The Doctor”.

Now, stuck in a dead end job and relationship with her boyfriend Jared, she feels her life is going nowhere. So imagine her surprise when during a night on the town, a flying saucer crashes into the middle of London carrying one occupant, the Doctor.

However there is something not quite right about him; he is acting strangely and it doesn’t help that he is being hunted down by his old enemy, the Daleks.

With the Doctor a fugitive, Flip will soon be thrust into the real heart of the Dalek’s schemes; plans which are taking place two hundred years in the past on the fields of Waterloo. The fate of Europe hangs on this one moment in history and its outcome is threatened by the interference of the deranged creator of the Daleks; Davros.

This is a new year and we start the first release of the Big Finish Doctor Who main range with a brand new companion. To see Flip again, a character that originally appeared in The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, is a surprise to say the least. As returning characters go it was certainly not one I was expecting but after hearing the performance of Lisa Greenwood, it is soon obvious what a good decision it was.

Greenwood is utterly charming as Flip. Her streetwise attitude and accent could put you in mind of Rose from the new series, but she is so good in the role that any thought of comparison is brief. The character works as a great counterbalance to the Sixth Doctor, whose companions have been more of the, without wanting to sound snobbish, educated kind. Since Peri was a graduate and Evelyn an academic, it is nice to see that Flip is cut from a rougher side of the tracks. I have high hopes for her character working well with The Sixth Doctor.

Colin Baker is once again proving just how good a Doctor and skilled an actor he is. Without giving too much away, his performance of a Doctor not quite acting himself, is played with brilliant subtlety. He makes you question everything he does throughout so when the twist comes at the end of part two, even if you do figure it out before then, you appreciate just how well the actor kept you guessing.

This release is even more noteworthy for the return of Terry Molloy to Big Finish as Davros. Molloy is always a joy to listen to as the Dalek creator, particularly when the character is up against The Sixth Doctor. Baker and Molloy play off each other so well as they have done in previous Big Finish stories Davros and The Juggernauts, that the plot twist in this story only serves to strengthen that interplay.

The Curse of Davros is lucky to have an excellent supporting cast, and with special mention going to Jonathan Owen as Napoleon. His performance is a real highlight of this audio, especially towards its conclusion, as Owen’s very human but flawed Bonaparte is refreshing change to many previously unsympathetic dramatic portrayals of the French Emperor.

Nicholas Briggs holds the directing duties and once more voices the Daleks and to hear them again with their creator is great fun. One of the dangers of having Davros and the Daleks together is that sometimes their threat and menace can be lost. The Daleks can easily just become drones, and lose some of their cunning and malevolence. The Daleks in this story are indeed servants of Davros, but what is interesting is that they appear to be utterly terrified of him. One scene is particularly striking, when two Daleks admit their failure and are taught a lesson by their creator in a shockingly cruel way.

This simple twist helps to give Davros a much more dangerous edge and it is a credit to Briggs’ skill with the Dalek voices that he makes the fear of their creator very believable.

Jonathan Morris has written a fun and exciting story with some excellent character moments and an intriguing insight into the Davros character. It is difficult to find fault with this play, except to say I have some disappointment that the very well written character of Jared will be absent from the future audios, as Ashley Kumar was very good in the role.

Overall The Curse of Davros is a fantastic audio adventure and an excellent introduction to a what I’m sure will become a memorable companion.

On Sunday 4th September, in front of a packed Riverside Studios, Colin Baker (The 6th Doctor), proudly accepted the post of Honorary President of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society.

His surprise appearance at the "Day of the Daleks" convention held in Hammersmith, London followed a poll amongst DWAS members where he received more votes than all the other candidates combined. The post had been vacant since the death earlier this year of Nicholas Courtney, who had previously been the incumbent since 1997.

Colin received a rapturous reception from the audience, and was genuinely taken aback by both the title that was bestowed and also the response from those present.

Colin said: "I feel humble and truly delighted. To follow Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney is a great honour. I am abashed and very grateful." 

[Source: DWAS]