BBC Worldwide to release completed 1970s Doctor Who story for the first time ever
Tom Baker returns as the Fourth Doctor in a previously unbroadcast story, combining original live-action footage with hand-drawn animation. To be released on DVD, Bluray and digital download.
It seems rather amazing that a show I first watched nearly 30 years ago is still going. More amazing still is that despite the age it’s still very much the show it was; despite some very shaky seasons it’s recovered its heart and soul. It’s unlikely to ever hit the heights of the show at its prime but last season was a lot of fun and this first episode of S12 looks like more of the same.
Cured feels a little like a homage to some past episodes. It’s not the most original of setups with a research base and an excuse of humanoid characters for the crew to engage with. But the idea is nicely played out and the historical cameos allow some nice set pieces. Layered onto this light entertainment is a more nuanced subtext about the nature of evil; a bit deeper than most episodes involving the boys from the dwarf.
Possibly the best thing about the episode is a strong Cat episode; with Danny John Jules being allow to steal the show; many, many times. Anyone who’s ever thought cats were evil will not be surprised by some of the twists in this episode but no matter what your feelings are about feline friends these will make you laugh.
With a third box set, and the second to comprise entirely full-cast adventures, the Third Doctor, bless his little bouf, is back with us again. As before, Tim Treloar presents his on-the-button interpretation of Jon Pertwee’s eponymous Third Doc, ably assisted by Katy Manning’s Jo Grant, in a duo of stories set late in Ms Grant’s run.
First up is Nick Briggs’s The Conquest of Far, which is less a sequel to and more a direct continuation of TV’s Planet of the Daleks. The planet of Far is home to one of humanity’s greatest feats of spatial engineering – but it has been invaded by the Daleks, and is now a mere chess piece in a deadly intergalactic game. Can the Doctor save Far from complete oblivion?
Andrew Smith’s The Storm of the Horofax completes the set. A mysterious alien, apparently peaceful but with the ability to see the future, has made contact with the crew of Royal Navy destroyer. But who are the Horofax, and what are their true designs for the peoples of Earth?
Summer is always a good time for a blockbuster – if the promise of warmth comes good then it is a great way to relax, and if rain should encroach then it provides entertainment as respite.
Now it’s time for Big Finish to join the party, with another bombastic entry for Kate Stewart and Osgood taking aim at the holidays in UNIT: Assembled. For the fourth boxset featuring the latest UNIT lineup, Big Finish goes all the way back the 70s (or was it the 80s?) and a Silurian menace threatening humankind.
Good job they’ve got some old friends to call up – but the Silurians aren’t on their own either…
It is a beautiful but rare thing, the thud of a new Scarifyers audio on the metaphorical doormat – but we live in miraculous times, for such a thud has just been heard. Yes, for the first time since 2014’s The King of Winter, Messrs Crow and Dunning of MI13 are back in The Gnomes of Death. This time the pair are having to deal with the mysterious appearance of depeditated corpses (that’s having had their feet cut off), followed by Morris dancing, the odd Indian god or two and copious amounts of real ale. Just another weekend in 1930s Britain, then.
Although the culprits are telegraphed a little before the story has even begun – not least by the title and cover illustration – as with all Scarifyers stories it’s really the rollercoaster of the narrative, rather than the abrupt halt of the denouement, that’s the joy of the thing. And a veritable rollercoaster it is, too: in the grand tradition of scripts from writers Simon Barnard and Paul Morris, it’s a mix of adventure and comedy that never compromises the one for the other, but simultaneously seems to go overboard in providing each. Achieving that balance is quite the feat, and I only wish I could do it myself. (I can. Please pay me. You know you want to.) (more…)
BBC America have been sharing some of the cool Doctor Who stuff you’ll be able to pick up at Comicon (more tomorrow!).
In a remarkable series of ever hostile tweets, Edward Russell, Senior Brand Executive (formerly Brand Manager) of Doctor Who, took to social media tonight to belittle the very stars who queue up to star in the hit BBC One television series, all for the sake of gaining column inches.
Next week is the start of the two part series 10 finale, which sees Missy (Michelle Gomez) and the Master (John Simm) together for the first time. The pair are seen either side of the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) as they put their own chilling spin on the iconic poster image that previously accompanied Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary special, The Day of the Doctor. Will Missy stay good? Is it an act? Just who is the Master wanting to kill? (taking love yourself a bit too far?)
Simm will return to Doctor Who as the Master for the first time since New Year’s Day 2010, when he was responsible for the regeneration of the Tenth Doctor. This time the Master will come face-to-face with Missy, his later regeneration, and battle the Doctor during the series’ two part finale which begins next weekend.
The episodes will also feature the return of the Cybermen – including the original Mondasian Cybermen, for the first time in over 50 years – plus Bill Potts (Pearl Mackie) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) in an epic adventure that will change Doctor Who forever.
Doctor Who’s series finale begins with episode 11, World Enough and Time, at 6:45pm on Saturday 24 June on BBC One. It concludes on Saturday 1 July with episode 12, The Doctor Falls – an extended, 60 minute episode.
Once a year, Torchwood Cardiff does a different kind of public service – it helps the local police with long-idle cold cases.
Naturally, PC Andy jumps for this opportunity to follow in Gwen’s footsteps, though she isn’t to be his liaison – for what better member of Torchwood for Corpse Day than the currently-rather-dead Owen?
Together, Andy and Owen investigate a trend of missing girls, and soon end up far deeper than they expected. It’s not just The Rift that spirits people away, and sometimes humans can be more vicious and disturbing than anything beyond this planet…
Since the series came back in 2005 the one constant, for regular episodes, has been a prime time slot on Saturdays. While the time of year and the time of day have jumped about frequently each season has sat proudly in the Saturday schedules. But could this end next year?
A source close to production has told us that Series 11 will air on Sundays. When asked if this was in response to the drop in ratings no answer either way was forthcoming.
Will the Bells of St John now be ringing after Songs of Praise? Or will the BBC hold it’s nerve and keep Doctor Who as a flagship Saturday TV special?
We may have S11 for sure, but will when we get it turn out to be more of a surprise than the contents of the vault?
