The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon

Doctor Who - War Of God (05/02/06) Yay! An Historical! It seems like months since we've had one of those (Oh, hang about. It has been!). The Doctor and Steven have arrived in Paris in the 16th Century and whilst the Doctor's gone off to meet a scientist called Preslin who has theorised about germs, Steven's bumped into a group of Hugenots (that's French Protestants). A servant girl has overheard discussion of a plot to kill hundreds of Hugenots - something that happened recently in a small town to the north - and was chased by Catholic guards. She was rescued by Steven and the others. It's possible they could be introducing her as a companion, though we haven't seen much of her yet. Meanwhile, the people plotting the massacre have reported about the girl, Anne, to the Abbot of Amboise who looks exactly like the Doctor! Or is it actually the Doctor? Very good so far, similar to the French story from the first series but better as so much more happened ...

Doctor Who - The Feast Of Steven (25/12/05) An interesting episode: very Christmas without being overtly Christmassy! Having left the Daleks behind, the TARDIS landed on Earth and there was a comedy sequence at a police station with the trader Ben Daheer from the Saracen story in Jaffa. After this there was a bit of running around while the Doctor was rescued from being arrested then they all got back in the TARDIS and ended up on a Hollywood film set with Sheiks and Keystone Cops.  Yet more running around ensued until they got back to the TARDIS and buggered off again. Largely speaking, all of this was superfluous and had nothing to do with the Daleks; not sure if they'll be back next week - the Doctor seems to think they'll be after him when they realise the taranium was switched - but we did have six weeks of them. So anyway, no plot as such, but plenty of fun and it is Christmas! Oh, and at the end, the Doctor wished everyone at home a merry Christmas! Hmmm. Doctor ...

Doctor Who - The Nightmare Begins (13/11/05) When I saw the writer of this story was Terry Nation I was hoping that the title wouldn't be apt (in a Marinus kind of way). Fortunately, it isn't. Yep, this is what Mission To The Unknown was all about. Daleks that are scary are back. There was a particularly gruesome scene where they killed Brian Cant, and some good model work. Katarina's a bit weird, but I guess I'll get used to her. There's a guy called Mavic Chen - Guardian Of The Solar System, who started off seeming benevolent but now seems to be selling out to the Daleks. And a guy called Brett Vyon who is trying to hijack the TARDIS. The Doctor's found the message Marc Cory recorded but the Daleks have found the TARDIS! Very good so far - well written and gripping. The treachery of Mavic Chen is interesting and the story's hit the ground running (although technically it's episode two). The quality of stories is just improving this season - this,...

Doctor Who - Temple Of Secrets (16/10/05) Okay, so that was unexpected! No Daleks, but the Doctor and Steven (and Vicki for a short while - her ankle's still sprained) in a comedy set in Asia Minor! Much lighter than last week, but much better written than either story this season - some of the comedy was superb, such as the Doctor being mistaken for Zeus in the form of an 'old beggar', and the bickering between Agamemnon and Menelaus. Some of the comedy was surprisingly sophisticated and often quite dark and therefore hugely enjoyable - ie the jibing at Menelaus about Helen (his wife) being unfaithful, and the humour surrounding what was essentially a scene where they were talking about executing Steven. So far not much has happened plot-wise; the Doctor and Steven have both been captured by the Greek army and the cliffhanger was the discovery that the TARDIS has disappeared with Vicki inside it (The Web Planet, anyone?). But who cares when the writing and dialogue is ...

Doctor Who - Mission To The Unknown (09/10/05) Well, that was an odd one. No Doctor, no Vicki, no Steven. Just three men and some Daleks (the only way you knew this was Doctor Who!). It was really quite grim. One of the men was shot dead my another, Marc Cory, within the first few minutes as he was infected and turning into a Varga Plant (which he did do anyway), and another died about 15 minutes later. Meanwhile, the Daleks have a gathering of alien Delegates at a meeting on the planet and they're organising to take over the Universe, starting with Earth (for some reason - maybe because they didn't have a Delegate?). Anyhow, Marc Cory recorded a message when he found out that the Daleks were on Kembel (he's a Special Space Security Agent) but was hunted down and killed by the Daleks before he could send it off! Really quite a dark episode. I guess this is where the Doctor, Vicki and Steven come in. I have to say, this was a massive improvement on the last Dalek s...

Doctor Who - Four Hundred Dawns (11/09/05) Hmmm. Since Ian and Barbara's departure the show has seemed somewhat subdued. The story with the Monk was really good but had a sort of chilled, mellowed out feel to it, and this episode was quite similar. Okay, so we're on an alien planet, but it's practically deserted and the ambience - the music, the acting, the script gives the impression of being stoned. Don't know if it's the dynamic of the new team (it seems odd there being only three of them) or the fact I'd got so used to Ian and Barbara; maybe it's just me.Maybe I'm not warming to Steven. Vicki's as proactive as ever, accusing outright the Drahvins they encounter of wanting them dead, and the Doctor's as cautious and thoughtful as ever. It could be that since Ian and Barbara left the show's gone in a different direction. The family atmosphere is gone and the last story was an Historical but with an alien in it (and one of the Doctor...

Doctor Who - The Watcher (03/07/05) What an interesting episode! Turns out Steven did  escape the city on Mechanus and stumbled into the TARDIS. They've now arrived in 1066 and the Doctor's gone wandering while Steven is determined to prove to Vicki that it's not the 11th Century. Meanwhile, Peter Butterworth (soon to be) from the Carry On films is dressed as a Monk and is wandering about suspiciously.  The episode was quite good because it's set in the past (probably) but towards the end Steven found a 20th Century watch and the Doctor visited the Monastery to discover the Gregorian chanting was coming from an LP on a Gramophone! We've never had a story with anachronisms before and what with the melancholy of Ian and Barbara's departure (they get several mentions, as does Susan) the mellow ambience of the episode, the historical setting and the Monk's suspicious behaviour this is possibly one of the best episodes yet. It's plausible that the Monk ...