Dr Who episodes 1 and 2 2025

 

So I watched both back to back yesterday

Err okay

The two episodes look great

I don't dislike Shuti Gatwa I want to make that clear. I do think he is playing the Doctor at the wrong time In these episodes the Dr  seems to be toned down a bit. Which is I think a pity- because I think at his best Gatwa has a bit of Tom Baker energy- He is a big weird he can make you a bit uncomfortable like Colin too  

So they seem to have picked an unpleasant person to play the companion.  Remember how the Dr and Tegan made each's other lives miserable why not rehash that They seem to be rehashing Rory's skepticism of the Doctor, and medical banter about being a nurse. 

The Robot Rebellion 

It is really difficult to see the star's sitting under a street lamp. 

Dr Who can condemn incels, and racism. Yet sees nothing wrong with a system when a highly trained medical professional must share a flat- and fear her landlord

So the Nurse's first  boyfriend or such merges with an A.I and now wants to marry her. If he is an incel why not simply have a harem on that planet. The episode hints he is deeply amoral-a solipsist or such 

Lux

This had some clever ideas. This is why I said this Doctor is here at  the wrong time.  This might have been a really good Weeping Angels story. Imagine this had been the Dr and Amy, or the Dr and Carla

It looks beautiful-by the way

I  think it is too easy for a British TV program to condemn the Deep South. Do the Notting Hill Race riots first, or the Bristol Bus boycott- We also seem to have segregation when its convenient for the plot. ie its treated like underage drinking or someone leaving a car running. 

Thus why not make this say Manchester? 

The meta bit with the fans- why did they have to apologize for what they are? I know we are annoying. You are in your own home love. Don't over think this

There are no Daleks, but the pantheon of Gods,  of which the Dr has beaten  several and so are less and lass dangerous they need to be explained 

Think Tank

It is nice to see Ruby Sunday back. She is more pleasant than the nurse

There is a lot of BBC London, oh and charming clutzes. Oh and in a pub scene, we have teenage /20 something girls telling  licensed professionals what to do 

Would a child have got hit in broad daylight in London in 2007

I liked the twist. I thought it was well done. It is supposed to tie into Robot? 

Russell gives us another rant, about crisis actors, and net commentators

The new villain is pretty good

Universal Song Contest

A planet destroyed so that a flavor could be harvested is not a bad idea- Though when you assume the universe is big, the question is why?

Yes, there is a lot of BBC love here. Ryan and Graham Norton

Nice to see the respitory bypass system get a look in again- The Doctor is blown out into Space. The glitter cannon is a homage to 4 to dooms day 

Finally Susan makes an appearance 

Oh and the Rani is back and she is comic relief. I am pleased to see the Rani back. Why a Bigeneration?

The Pyramid of Mars

 

So I have a pet theory about episode. 

The power of regeneration that the Timelords have-Via the Timeless Child is a gift of the Osirian's-Who  knew they would not be there to defeat Sutekh. Now imagine the horror  if he  Sutekh had allied with the Daleks or such. So they gave the power of regeneration to the Timelords via the Timeless child. That way, they could shape the fate of the Doctor, to destroy Sutekh. Regeneration means that Sutekh cannot trace the Dr through time

Well there is a reason it is a classic. I had the novelisation of this-Picked up at a school fete or jumble sale

I think this is the first time I have watched it all through, rather than bits and pieces

Tom Baker is almost malevolent In this episode he is driven, and distant. The Dr fights his most dangerous enemy, and he has gone toe to toe, with the Daleks. Interestingly the Time lords are far away 

Yes that is Mr Bronson! 

I wonder what the Ice Warriors were doing when Sutekh was enthroned on Mars

I like the description of the Osirian's domed heads and brains like spinal staircases

Its just so good. It is one story I would like to see remade. At conventions people ask other Doctors to read out the speech from The Rings of Akhenaten. Can you imagine Smith or Capaldi in full Edwardian garb..

 I am surprised that no one has come back to this story. Yes I know the Beast, in Impossible planet - Who is also hinted to be Satan- Novelisation does this explicitly. But why not a cult of Sutekh

Well perhaps things should be left buried 

Planet of the Spiders

 This is actually quite a dark episode of Dr Who. 

It must have been terrifying watching it as 7 year old in 73. As an aside I think the Actor playing the abbot is in yellow face too. 

I think this episode  gets overlooked because of the obvious filler. The chase scene, and because its a regeneration story. It is a wearying story. You can feel Jon Pertwee's age

The  Abbott offers an interesting maxim about time. The poor horse that you whip so hard. 

There will be spoilers :

Firstly, the Dr/ Jon Pertwee is beaten- It is the Great One's arrogance that leads to her downfall We realize that she has complete physical and emotional mastery over the Dr. She can turn him into her puppet. Pertwee's awkward movements as the Great One forces him to spin for her amusement. Shows off the Doctor's age and fragility  The Human rebels on Mettebulis 3 are beaten - (We will return to that planet again in Hide- A story I have reviewed here)

 I am interested in why (Hide excepted )Dr has never been back to the planet of the Spiders , nor why have not seen the Spiders again. Is it too traumatic? Would the desire for revenge be too strong?

Did the Valeyard or Timelord victorious return...

Secondly we have Sarah Jane Smith possessed- This must be a mentally taxing episode for Sarah, the scene where she is in the spiders larder waiting to be devoured, is a moment of Fridge horror. Then when she sees the Dr appear, only for him to appear beaten- A prisoner of the Spiders. The episode skips over this but for a few moments. Sarah must be in utter despair. Being exterminated by a Dalek is surely a kinder fate. 

The Spiders hating being called Spiders is interesting. It is a Human name. So that make sense- They are not Spiders, they are the 8 legs. The Spiders define themselves differently The Spiders are truly alien, despite being terrestrial in origin

Eusocial spiders having a Queen is a twist on biology. I wonder if the Spiders were bio- engineered in universe for some reason. Or maybe they were the great ones first experiment 

The  antagonists are interesting-  The first -Lupton, like everyone in this story is preying on the weak .

But who is weak?

 Lupton passed over and conspired against wants revenge on the world- A salesman, not a King, or Vizer, or General or Scientist. . To this end Lupton manipulates a small group in the Abbey. A spider tries to manipulate Lupton's group. Lupton and the Spider try to manipulate the Queen and council of Spiders  The Spiders manipulate the Dr through the rebels and then openly

 The Spider she notes that his( Lupton's)  mind is stronger than the Metabelians Which seems to imply the Metabelian humans have been domesticated by the Spiders. The children of the colonists are now livestock. 

Gareth Hunt is playing the leader of the human rebels. There clothes seem almost like Apaches - With the desert and crystal this is almost a Western. Pertwee as the Cowboy coming to put things right, and being bushwhacked 

This episode left an impression.. It took a toll  Farewell Jon Pertwee. I really enjoyed your stories 

The Thirteenth Doctor

It has been revealed that the 13th Doctor, will be a woman. Jodie

Alright.

I am willing to give it go,

There are several problems

Jodie may be too pretty to play the Dr, The Dr should be played by someone who is not. Tall or physically imposing or handsome or pretty. Why because then they do not need to be persuasive or charming or rational. Yes I understand, that Tennant and Smith have a significant fan girl faction. Yes I understand that our first introduction to Tennant's Dr was that he was sword fighting. He was sword fighting in a dressing grown.

A Dr who is physically beautiful or imposing means what? That we do what he asks, because we are scared of him, or we cannot off her/him whatever

Will we simply have lots of take that! I loathed the scene where the Dr, punches a racist in 19th century London, because why? is he always going to punch racists? What about classism? sectarianism?  Sexism. This was much better done, in Human nature when we saw the school nurse blindly tell Martha that coloured girls do not become Doctors. Or John Smith, telling Martha that she did not understand the difference between reality and fiction. Oh I bet Martha getting a job in the 1960s in Blink must have been great fun. The past is a different country. If you do not realize this, then why make the trip. Also, at one point the Dr says to Carla, We ate dinner in Berlin in the Nazi era-How many Jews did they save? Forget killing Hitler, you find someone with a Yellow star, and take them to Brooklyn

One reason, why the episode-Vincent and the Doctor worked was because there was no happy ending. Vincent could not win his battle. The Dr telling Medieval peasants women are just as good as men, is going to get tiresome. Historically it will be wrong.

Does this mean we have a male companion?

If we do, will it just be pratfalls, comic relief? what?

Like I said, I am willing to give the new Dr a chance, but with two caveats

1) The BBC must stop banging on about it. Criticizing older viewers who spent money and time on the series and now feel left behind is unfair. Colin Baker, said she is the Doctor, whether you like it or not! Yes that is true. But it is only a TV show. People might stop watching Dr Who for a number of reasons, clever and cute, brilliant and bogus. Why hector them.
Also related to this there is sub section of fandom that sees the Dr as too human now. Giving the Dr breasts is okay, having her with PMS is wrong - Wasn't she was born in a loom ?

2) Will this buy the series respect in the BBC's eyes? It was clear from end of Smith era, the BBC had lost interest in the show. They like they ratings, and the Big bang theory references, but...

3) She is the 14 dr, I count the meta crisis Dr, regeneration as occurring. In other words, there were two David Tennats Dr

The Bells of Saint John

Its a tribute to Peter Moffat that the onscreen exit of Amy and Rory stayed with me. I really did not enjoy this episode or indeed the latter half of season 7

There is not much wrong with Clara . she is very pretty . Indeed she is.

Well what happens. The great intelligence is Stealing peoples minds over the internet. So first Clara must be shown as  something of an idiot. She asks if she can go on the internet after the female stage school brat

Oh yes and Carla is looking after a black British family. No I do not have a problem with this. I think the show is too pleased about it

The Dr has taken refuge in 12th century Cumbria sought sanctuary in a monastery . The maudling monk anyone
There is a nice scene where the Abbot comments on the Doctor's malady being due to a woman. Thus the novice crosses himself

I wondered about the existence of a stone monastery in Cumbria after the Harrying of the North

So the phone rings. The Dr answers and Clara speaks 
Mmm. We later find out its Missy who gave her the number.

So its Missy who beats the Great Intelligence

There is some backdrop porn of London. The Shard. Houses of Parliament . So forth. There is a whole swinging London-cool Britannia vibe being projected for the US audience

The Dr and the great intelligence do not meet on screen.

Celia imrie plays her part well. Showing her  range in her final scene. A cool calculating chief of operations of a culthu horror . Turning up and down her brainwashed staff intellects as needed. Dismissive of Human life.
Then a lost little girl. Who it seems spent a life time as a slave to an alien malevolence

Interesting story for Big Finish there

It grew on me.

An Unearthly Child.

I  will admit I watched this in response to a challenge. I had heard no less than Steven Moffat describe the first episode of Who as a classic. However it was the reviewer He Who Moans
Who stated ``you cannot call yourself a Dr Who fan if you have never seen this''

I am glad I took the bait 
The first episode is great. We are brought to an English high school in the early sixties. Whether a secondary modern or a grammar we are not told.
Meeting  two teachers Susan and Ian. The professors have become equally intrigued and bemused by Susan a pupil of precocious understanding and also rank ignorance. They decide to follow her home
 They do not find a council house or a bungalow. But a scrap yard. Susan seems to disappear into a police box
The teachers are challenged by an old man. Who accuses them of tresdtresdpass and refuses to answer what he is doing with, or to Susan
This is the strength of the episode. The episode hints but never says. That Susans grandfather is having an unhealthy relationship with Susan A criminal one.

Despite watching this 53 years in the future, the tension is still there...

Sontarans

I recently watched, the Sontaran experiment and the Time Warrior

Some general thoughts and then I will talk about both specific episodes.

One, Elizabeth Sladen was a fine actress and a credit to the role.

Both episodes demonstrate how you can tell good stories on limited budgets.

The Sontaran ships. (Large golf balls) look pleasingly Alien.

The Time warrior

While a historian would weep. The story seems to have been inspired by Ivanhoe
There is talk of Saxons its a bit late surely.
There is a fine guest star performance by Dot from EastEnders, no stranger to genre TV (June Brown)
The Time warrior gives us  a wonderful debut by Elizabeth Sladen, as Sarah Jane Smith
Ms Smith  has blagged herself into a secret project, after borrowing her great Aunts  ID, after blundering into the TARDIS. UNIT have sequestered several scientists. As scientists keep vanishing. When Lynx the villain of the piece makes his appearance SJS follows the Dr into the TARDIS.
After floundering about for a few moments. We see Sarah gradually compose herself, try to make sense of what is going on. When faced with the gang of medieval mercenaries
She insists ragweek.Or reconstruction
After Sarah manages to escape, she convinces June Brown, and her husband to aid her quest to kidnap the Doctor. Sarah Jane has incorrectly identified the Doctor as the big bad of the piece. Note Sarah Janes plan works. She manages to get hold of the Dr.
By the way, I probably should have explained the plot earlier so here goes

Spoilers

( An Alien Sontaran Lynx has crashed on Earth, and has made a deal with a Medieval robber baron The Sontaran is stealing scientists from the XX century to help Lynx repair his ship)

There is some nice AH bait with Lynx producing muskets for the Robber Baron

The Sontaran Experiment

At only 50 minutes long, the  Sontaran Experiment is one of the more accessible episodes of Classic Doctor Who.

The Sontaran experiment is a sequel to  the Ark in Space. The Dr, Sarah J and Harry beam down to Earth, and encounter a Sontaran who has run into a planetary survey team. The Sontaran is performing experiments on his human captives as the Sontarans prepare to invade your Galaxy

Everything is filmed on a bleak English moor. Which the Dr claims is likely Piccadilly circus. Why moor instead if a swamp if what we are seeing is London?

The future humans all have Safarican accents. I was minded of the Draka

It's bleak. It's a character piece. It could have been set a thousand years earlier

But it's classic SF the people do not change.

They are cowardly, knavish, brave and forgiving. They are struggling against something which is inhuman. The English moor, is not a place of relaxation and retreat but a terrible wasteland. So far from help and home.

Fifth Doctor episodes

Terminus,

An interesting idea, King Kong on Molokai in Space. Space pirates wearing white cloaks and fab eighties big hair. Land on an inter galactic leper colony. The armour of the guards reminded me of Roman uniforms. We see Nyssa in her slip, and preparing an enzyme in her bedroom
The guard, at the beginning of the episode who wandered into the Forbidden Zone  looks like Martin from Green wing

The Black Orchid.

I did not dislike this one, as a period piece it works well enough. Remembering the distance in time between 1924-1984 is not an entire lifetime. Remember that there is nothing so remote as the recent past.

Tegan dances with the chief constable to save JNT from paying an extra. Tegan drinks a screwdriver (I was under the impression that screwdrivers were a product of the 1950s. American engineers in Turkey mixing orange juice and vodka Basil Faulty needs its explained in his show)

If anything I thought it would be interesting if, they had spun out events after the Dr is arrested. If the Police had not found the TARDIS. If we see the Dr being interrogated, roughed up and beaten
We see Nyssa and Adric being interrogated. Nyssa being committed and then Tegan finding the Tardis

Why go to the funeral, yes I know it's the decent thing.? Her ladyship was however willing to keep silent while the Dr, was accused of murder. I think you are excused Dr.

Mawdryn undead
Begins with some Dawson casting. Is that not a young George, from drop the dead donkey? The public school seems to be based on Harrow, the pupils are wearing straw boaters. The black guardian returns.
The Brigadier returns, playing himself in two time periods.  My dad must have really hated the silver jubilee. Speaking of times past. Tegan and Nyssa look contemporary in dress. As the eighties are being revised and revised. Compare with Sarah Jane in the Time Warrior, who is clearly a product of the 70s
Mawdryns space ship looks like a hotel lobby.  Or a hostel, in Peru.
There is a nice tough of continuity as Nyssa brings the 4th Doctors coat.
I thought Mawdryn and co, were on Rollerblades.The pastel and pink aliens seem to move quick enough for a group at deaths door

The Awakening
The fifth Dr, makes an off colour joke.

Random Thoughts

Random thoughts

What if Sarah, had shot Miss Winter at the end of Robot. Imagine that..

I would have  preferred that the Governor had taken the prison, in the Walking dead. I think he is an interesting character-a cross between nihilism and energy. Actually Nazi like, the same two qualities

I mean to read I-Robot, and actually Foundation.

Will Neighbours recycle the plots of Anne Robinson writing erotica, for Cameron..Or Phobe giving a nude photo of herself to Toby..



I worry QPR will blow it at the playoffs..and we will be set back another year. Redknapp will go taking a large cheque

Matt Smith to leave Dr Who

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/Matt-Smith-to-leave-Doctor-Who

Gutted

Centennial of the birth of Peter Cushing

Grand Moff Tarkin, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, Van Helsing,
 Husband, Friend, Birdwatcher

Dr Who, The Unquiet Dead

I guess its the just the middle of the week. I am doing strong room duty this week. The strong rooms, are where we keep valuable books, in an airtight room. Where they are protected from fire and decay by inergen gas.

I suggested to a barmaid that they use it for preserving wine

I watched, The Unquiet dead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unquiet_Dead

An episode of Doctor who, that was broadcast in 2005. Which I had not yet got round to watching. Despite the fact that it features Gwen from Torchwood. Playing a maid.

The story is set in 1869. In Cardiff. Where a small undertakers is finding that the dead won’t stay down

They even have the temerity to interrupt the performances of a jaded Charles Dickens ( Simon Callow)

Ms Piper was also charming in period costume.

Episode is a bit strange actually. There is a scene where Rose tries to get a 19th century housemaid interested in sex. Not with her, just generally. Perhaps open to her innate sensuality  Rose talks about looking at Guys and admiring their smiles and  bums to the maid. Making the maid blush. The maid keeps trying to retreat from the conversation. Rose insists. At one point the Maid calls Rose wild.

On the gripping hand Rose is a teenager. This is her first trip abroad. Yet in contrast. Rose complains earlier, when the undertaker, who had drugged her to smuggle away, had let his hand wander. Yes that’s a society you want to be free an easy in.

The other thing is Charles Dickens, was a sceptic. In this episode the Doctor is not the Scientist he was traditionally in the series. As the episode closes he listens to Dickens plans for turning Edward Drood Dickens last story into a ghost story. This was in spite of Dickens speech about striving to be rational and sceptical as ignorance and superstition caused so much suffering. Is moving. Yet basically the Doctors response is open your heart, and see how it feels. Callow’s Dickens  is simply better then writing here. Which is confused

Still the show was young

*******************

We were talking about the Peter Falconio murder at work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Falconio

I did some research on it. A co worker, had very strong opinions on the matter. Which were found to be baseless. I note this here as my opinionated colleague became a police man. I hope he doesn’t play his hunches.