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| What: | Prime Time (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
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| By: | Max Allen, London, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 April 2011 |
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| Rating: |   7 |
The Real McCoy
| What: | Goth Opera (Missing Adventures novels) |
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| By: | Max Allen, London, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 14 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
Top range stuff!
| What: | Black Orchid (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
What struck me the most about this wonderful two parter is its brilliant costume design. The ladies dresses particularly look highly authentic and convincing. This is light relief from the stories around it. And yet this story is a really touching little jewel. George is a tragic character, and the treatment he's recieved from other characters is barbaric. Sarah Sutton too gets a brilliantly strong role as Nyssa and Ann Talbot. I love Nyssa a lot. She has such a caring attitude which appeals greatly to me. The fall from the roof by George is a really downbeat and sad conclusion to a brilliantly realised whodunnit. This is definiely a very very very good Doctor Who story. And the Doctor has to explain what trains are to his alien companions, which is a good case in point as the crew seem to know rather a lot about Earth otherwise which I always thought was a strange point, so Terrence actually remembered for once that Adric and Nyssa are alien.
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 | The Time Meddler medal... |
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| What: | The Time Meddler (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This tale is a comedic rest after the Chase. William Hartnell is on fine form, Peter Purves really gets into the role of Steven, and Maureen is great as usual as Vicki. The inclusion of Peter Butterworth is inspired, he's excellent as the Meddling Monk. The natives are interesting, although the vikings here are wonderfully stupid and spineless! The fight sequence is a bit flaccid, but this was the 1960s. This is a highly entertaining character piece, and Peter Butterworth dominates everything so very well indeed. A great historical piece.
| What: | The Beginning (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
An Unearthly Child is a brilliant start to the best series on TV, at least the classic series anyway. It starts with a good mystery, and quickly rips off into an historical yarn that is dark and very convincing. The Daleks is at times a little strained and slow, but the conviction of the entire cast is a revelation. The Edge of Destruction is brilliant, a good little piece of psychology and a good character piece. The characters are really studied in depth and so we begin to feel we know them after these tales. This was Doctor Who back when it first began: With style and drive. These were very strong stories. The fight between Za and Kal is unexpectedly realistic, and the moral dilemma in the Daleks is addressed excellently. The start of something really cool is what these three stories were....
William Hartnell was perfectly cast as the gripy Time Lord, and Carole Ann Ford was a wonderful foil to his strong character, in that she frequently calmed him down when he flew off the handle at anyone or anything. And William Russell and Jacqueline Hill were totally awesome characters. They had such humanity and charm, and they all worked together so well. The stories are all the better for their chemistry.
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| Grim, dark, creepy and effective... |
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| What: | Revelation of the Daleks (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Terry Molloy was allowed to tone down the madness of Davros in this story. That makes his Davros all the more menacing and believable. So at times he is raving, but then there are quite moments when he barely whispers, which makes Davros scary as hell here.
The Daleks really seem to take the back seat in this story righ up until the explosive ending when the black Daleks arrive. That head in the glass dalek was very diturbing and frighteningly effective. William Gaunt is excellent as the Knight of Oberon. But who i like the most are Eleanor Bron and Clive Sift, their characters are so demented and sickly in their own ways, and both actors give their all to the role. The mutant at the beginning is a tragic addition to the story. And for once the Doctor takes a bit of a back seat too. This is more of a Davros story. But that isnt a bad thing. We seem to truly get into his head in this story more than any of the other TV stories except for aye Genesis.
The fact that the Doctor here falls for the trap set by Davros bursts the sixth doctors pomposity bubble for once, and makes him a little bit more vulnerable as he has been in the Big Finish story run.
The bodysnatchers are very interesting characters, and Alexei Sayle as the DJ is a revelation. Sad that they all get killed off at the end of the story. he resolution to this tale isnt as overblown and good as in many others. This makes a good change for a change. Nicola is rather badly served as Peri again, but that doesnt detract from the fact that this is a very good story indeed.
| What: | The Mind Robber (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This story has always been a favourite of mine. The first episode is highly effective, a its really quite different in tone from all other Doctor Whos up to this point. The crew are in the middle of a white void, whilst an intelligence tries to get them to leave the TARDIS. And then after the brilliant climax of the TARDIS blowing up is a real shock, and the console disappearing into the void, we come to the brilliantly realised Land of Fiction.
I love the minds behind Frazer going down with chicken pox, and their casting of Hamish Wilson at a minutes notice. A real piece of good thinking, which is exceptable because the story's structure is made for good tweaking. The Toy Soldiers are an incredibly good design, although they must have been hell for the actors to wear with those straight leg sections.
The White robots too are excellent, and their "theme" is really quite chilling.
Benard Horsfall is brilliant as Gulliver, and his charm is great and brings the character to life right from the start. All the children here in this story are also very good indeed, and the acting isnt at all bad! Jamie and Zoe getting stuck in the book is another very strong cliffhanger to part four. The Karkus is brilliantly prtrayed by Chris Robbie. This is a highly imaginative story thats works so well because it has so many elents within it.
| What: | Ghost Light (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This is a dark and brooding tale, with plenty of horror elements. Those husks are excellently done, and those screeching birds make for a chilling scene. And Ace's horror at where they are is very very well performed by Sophie. I love the Reverand's stance on Josiah's theories, which are total twaddle. Light is a highly interesting creation. And the ending is original. The characters are all very well rounded and have lots of layers. The Policeman is some light relief compared to the harder horror aspects of this story. And Sylvester McCoy is and manipulative and unthamably good as ever. The editing at times can be a bit jarring, and the plot is hard to follow with ease, but once grasped then this is a very strong piece of Doctor Who. Sad it was the last one to be made for the last series, a real high note indeed.
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| An excellent follow up to the Daleks... |
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| What: | The Dalek Invasion of Earth (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This story has a better pace, better ideas and better acting than the first story to feature the metal pepperpots from Skaro. The ending of this story too is moving and a fitting farewell for Carole Ann Ford, whose depature is highly emotional for the time. The Doctor's leaving speech is an excellent piece of scripting. The Daleks too are well utilised throughout the story, doing their sucker waving. The ships dont look all that good, but the CGI effects are welcome and just add to the feel of the story which is very stong in making its point. The captured human scenes in the mine are more like a concentration camp. Their is credible acting from many of the crew, who really give the feel of despair at the invasion of the Daleks. The only thing that grates on me is here the dalek voices seem pretty wierd, too high pitched and totally un daleklike. But the action is well paced and th twists and turns are brilliant. The Slyther is pretty good too, although I dont know why a dalek would honestly want to have a pet. But on the whole a very good story, with especially Barbara getting a lot to do. And William Hartnell as usual is pretty excellent, dispite the fact that he was injured during the making of this story.
| What: | Vengeance on Varos (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Vengeance On Varos always seems to be reknowned for its violent content. And yet what I see is not so much violence as poltical bickering with a brilliant creation, Sil. Nabil Shaban is perfectly cast as the creature, giving the role real flare and inflection. He is a very interesting kind of villain.
One might think this is going to be a super cheap show, as that awful first scene of the punishment domes are the worst model use I think ever used on the show. But this is not the case, for the rest of the sets are imaginative, especially the punishment dome sections within. And I dont really care about weak looking models anyway.
Colin Baker is already on fine form as the Doctor. This Doctor always seemed louder, more easily riled, and yet his abhorence of evil is still as strong as it ever was. He gives a great performance in this story, from portraying his apparent dismay at the TARDIS not working properly. There is some brilliant dialogue here, as there is throughout the story.
Nicola Bryant is strong too, and her look as a bird is rather impressive. The Doctor's fight with those guards near the acid bath is an infamous scene, but I cant see what the problem is. The Doctor appears to be defending himself for the most part, and its accidental that the first bloke falls in. So there is no "infamous" stuff here whatsoever.
Martin Jarvis is also well cast as the troubled Governor of Varos. There is real depth of character within this story. The only thing Id say about this story is that it does seem to go too fast at the end, with everything settled within a few minutes. But at least the ending is not farcical or unbelievable.
I cant see a whole lot of violence in this, its more of a satire on the effects of violence. So overall this is a very strong story.
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| The Highest Note possible.. |
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| What: | Survival (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The fina season of classic Who was one of the finest of the history of Doctor Who. We had the Arthurian legends in the excellent Battlefield, then the gothic insanity tale Ghost Light, then the finest Doctor Who horror story in The Curse of Fenric, and then came the intelligent and cat filled Survival. Why in the hell did they stop Doctor Who after this? Sylv and Sophie were the perfect duo, and all the characters were so very strong and catching. The Cheetah people are really impressive, and Ant Ainley was at his most evil best here in Survival, regressed to little more than an animal. And its highly effective stuff. The location work is brilliant, and the character of Ace is once again really delved into, more so than any previous companion I feel. Survival was Doctor Who at the height of its powers, and then some silly man says its being cancelled. How stupid. Whats even more stupid is when THE Doctor came back in the film and the new series, it was overall done abismally. Up til the end of Survival, Doctor Who always had character, and now all thats been lost sadly. The new series is about 20 out of 100, whilst Survival is 100 out of 100.
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| Can be summed up in one word: |
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| What: | Inferno (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
Incredible!
| What: | The Web Planet (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 4 |
Aside from the truly excellent looking Zarbi, the best design of the William Hartnell period of the show, and William's performance, this tale is just so very wooden and bland. The Animus looks very impressive too, but everything else about this tale is so dragging and forgettable in the extreme. One of the few terrible past stories. The Zarbi deserved more of a chance. They were a splendid creation, but just ended up in a totally lacklustre story. Sad indeed.
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| Flaming orange brilliance! |
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| What: | The Claws of Axos (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
1: Jon Pertwee is reaching his heights as the third Doctor. That the Master falls for his bluff towards the end of the tale is brilliant, and shows this Doctor is really quite manipulative but for a very good honest reason.
2: The UNIT team are all on fine form, highly entertaining. That Chinn idiot is a brilliant poncey political character. He has a hot head and nearly causes the entire destruction of Earth.
3: The axons are an incredible design. They look like totally mad spaghetti mutants and appear very real indeed. And the gold skinned axons are pretty brilliant too, aside from the very obvious zips!
4: Axos is a brilliant piece of design work. Totally garish, and I love that pulsing foam, giving the appearance of a heartbeat.
5: Roger Delgado is back as The Master and here at last we get a taste of his whole background story with the Doctor. His character is truly 3d and affective. Its no wonder he was so popular during the Jon Pertwee years.
6: The only niggles are Jo Grant given absolutely nothing to do at all throughout the whole of the story, she's just a true spare part. And if that complex was nuclear how come the explosion was so very small? Or did axos partly succeed in draining its power? This isnt really explained at the end. But aside from this minor snag this is a brilliant and convincing story. And Pigbin Josh is just an amusing creation. Uh...but why kill him off so soon> Ooohaarrh?!
| What: | Resurrection of the Daleks (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Friday 1 April 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The Peter Davison dalek story is definitely the most action oriented. But this is a special tale because there is thought behind the story too, unlike Earthshock, which i believe is Eric Saward's weakest script. I cant understand his views when it comes to his script for Ressurection. Its a neat and classy tale that isnt light hearted and has no dull background characters.
Tegan's farewell scene is excellently done too. I love Janet's obvious upset at leaving the crew of the TARDIS. Very convincing and a brilliant end to the story which is a real rollercoaster ride with sadly more death than the Terminator. Terry Molloy makes a very impressive debut as the cretinous Davros.
The Doctor's moral fibre coming to fruition again within this tale is very good too. When he starts out to kill Davros, you just know he wont see it through because he actually possesses a conscience (yeah, he did back in the classic series) You also get a brilliant one off appearance from Rula Lenska, who is truly great. Her role is very sympathtic and believable. Even the Dalek mutant designs are better than the last ones, they dont look like a mass of floppy skin! They are big mutant blobs that totally look like they mean business! All the plot threads within the story join together very neatly and the pace just never lets up.
Davros' total instability makes him a classic villain, and Terry has taken over from Michael and David brilliantly. That he should start to be affected by the movellan virus too is a brilliant touch. And the character of Stein is very interesting, as he really has some decent character developement through the story. And the gas effects make up is pretty disustingly realistic too. So I cant really see whats wrong with this story. Even those creepy policemen are totally soulless and inhuman, adding even more of a dark edge to the tale. After Kinda, Snakedance, Caves of Androzani and Planet of Fire this is probably Pete's best story. The daleks are back on good form, looking for a cure for the Movellan virus.
Perhaps the only thing I find a bit off with this tale is that that woman planning to blow up Davros dies so early, i feel there could have been a great character in her. Even in the few minutes shes in shes bold and yet also callous to the core, when she shoots her comrade down. Mind you, I dont think he would have wanted to keep his face when it was like that! In fact to be honest, this story could have easily have been a film if it werent just for the fact that its shot partly on tv camera and partly on film, as it is that grand in its thinking and its many complex elements. Even the woven in threat to the high council of time lords is done well, and all the plot elements tie together so well. This is a hugely enjoyable, and tense, and pretty sad tale. There was no playing about in this story, and its all the better for it!
| What: | Remembrance of the Daleks (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 31 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
This is the best of the white/black dalek faction tales, in that the characters are extremely well rounded, even the cameo roles are all highly memorable and imprsionable. And Sylvester McCoy is excellent throughout the tale, really a most excellent Doctor. Sophie Aldred's Ace is already developing into one of the best companions ever, as she always has been a favourite of mine. I love her interpretation of the role, its so engaging and sympathetic. Her dalek bashing seqeunce is highly brilliant. And Terry Molloy is back on brilliant form as Davros. The action is pretty unrelenting too, and the Daleks go up stairs at last! The end of this tale too is poignant and understated, and embued with genuine feeling. The seventh Doctors three seasons were all exceptionally good, and Remembrance of the Daleks is one of the very best dalek tales Ive seen or heard. Highly recommended. Good to see Michael Sheard and Peter Halliday too again, they both make their presences felt even in the short amount of scenes theyre both in. I like the racial theme to this story, and Aces disgust at that sign on the window i heartily agree with! This is Doctor Who at its most engaging and thoughtful. Those explosions too are rollicking!
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| Back when Doctor Who had morals..... |
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| What: | The Mutants (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 31 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
The new series has become a hive of dischord and total incompehensin. The Doctor is no longer really that heroic or interesting, and his moral standards seem to be slipping.
I am just grateful for the classic series. Back when Doctor Who had major points to make with intelligent and moral points. I am a person who loves and has a high regard for moral points.
Doctor Who always used to have character, the cheapness of it was part of its appeal for me.
The Mutants is a highly interesting tale. And the mutants are an excellent design, they do actually for once look like they could be real. And the moral core to this tale cannot be denied.
The Marshall is another great over the top villain, and the natives are all real and actually have a lot of character for once. The pace is never strained, even if some of the visual effects are not quite that good. But ive never cared about effects. Its the story I look at the most.
The transformation of Ky though is excellently achieved, and his angel like appearance is very striking.
The location filming is highly atmosheric. And Rick James acting is far better than many seem to think. The Mutants is an excellent piece of drama. The Jon Pertwee stories had many of the strongest moral points, and this tale of planetary and population abuse is gripping and one of the finest stories of its season.
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| Far more enjoyable than any new series! |
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| What: | Meglos (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Thursday 31 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
Meglos as always seemed to be given the mantle of one of the worst Dotor Who stories ever. And yet yet again this is total rubbish. This story alone offers, for me anyway, far more interesting points than any story of Matt Smith's run. Tom Baker may look pretty ill here, especially in the scenes set in the TARDIS, but he still is that same brilliant Doctor who thwarts evil plans of aliens without all the kissy huggy stupid moronic stuff of the new series and without the the mind warping stupid plots either. I love the days when Doctor Who was a innocent programme, I lament the new series of Doctor Who, for it is too expensive, and now the character of the Doctor seems to have gone from universal hero to honestly universal weirdo. Where have all the plain and simple adventures gone?
Meglos presents an interesting religious dispute on an alien world, murderous plants, evil cactus and comical space mrcenaries. The Gaztaks ll make me laugh, and yet the story ploughs along at a good pace and the plot isnt mind melting either. The acting is solid and theres a really strong comedy edge to the scripting. And it is special in that we get to see the wonderful Jac Hill back in a new role as Lexa, who is just as good as her old companion of Barbara. She was a wonderful actress. The sets may not be hugely expensive, but that is good. These were the days when mone was tight, and yet more often than not the BBC presented something special with a lot of character. Tom Baker's Meglos is terrifically done too, and the mke up is not at all bad. Yeah, this classic series had so much going for it, a shame its all gone down the loo with this new modern series overall. Meglos is a better buy than any of the new series stuff.
| What: | Delta and the Bannermen (BBC classic series DVDs/Blu-rays) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 30 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
This is very different form of Doctor Who. I cant actually really point afinger to what makes it so good for me, the whole thing just comes together so very nicely indeed. So Im not sure if its Ken Dodd in his memorable cameo as the Toll Master, or the original ending where the young princess disables the Bannermen with her vocal performance. Or whether its those brilliant american guys...they add such comedy and light relief to the harder moments of the script, such as the shock murder of all on the space bus. Sylvester McCoy is really making himself at home in the role of the Doctor. And I still love Bonnie Langford to this day. And Sara Griffiths is totally brilliant and camp as Ray, and she would have made a brilliant companion. This is nearer to the best Doctor Who story than the worst as Ive found is often the case with mny wrongly maligned stories in the history of Doctor Who. And that first shot of the baby Chimmeron is excellently done. Don Henderson just completes the story with his totally nasty Gavrok. This really is a welcome relief as its such a different kind of Doctor Who tale. The effects are all rather good, with only the
blobby navarino letting the side down, but that can be forgiven as its only shown for seconds. (And maybe that washing up liduid bottle space satellite! But aside from this this stoy is very strikingly different and is a welcome addition to the series on dvd.
| What: | Fury from the Deep (TV episode audio soundtracks) |
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| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Wednesday 30 March 2011 |
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| Rating: | 10 |
What is particularly good about this story is, like the earlier Tomb of the Cybermen, there are some excellent Doctor/ Companion moments which add rather a lot of humanity to the otherwise largely thankless roles of the Doctor's companions. Deborah gives an excellent performance as Victoria, perhaps her best performance. Her conversation with Jamie in part four is really a very strong moment. And the final scenes of the story are not in anyway a letdown, in fact it is another excellent goodbye to a companion who should have been able to develop even further.
The horror moments of this story come thick and fast too. Mr Oak and Mr Quill are excellently realised, and the foam is a brilliant idea. And the final scenes where the Doctor enhances Victoria's screams to drive off the weed creature is highly original and very well directed too. It really is so sad that this story is a casualty of the BBCs clearance all those years ago. It really is shortsighted. The characters here are all well rounded and well acted, and the whole story moves along at a brisk and engaging pace, which is good considering its a six parter. This is Doctor Who at its best. Patrick Troughton is my favourite Doctor. And yet his era is the most affected by the actions of the BBC clearance. This is extremely irritating for a fan of the black and white era such as me. Just grateful that the audio tracks still exit, thats something at least
