The Doctor Who Real Time Marathon

RESURRECTION OF THE DALEKS  (Part One)  08/02/2024  That was all incredibly dramatic and possibly the grittiest the show has ever been. It was written by Script Editor, Eric Saward, so it's perhaps not surprising that it had much in common with Earthshock. In fact, it had many of the same elements but turned up to 11! We have the return of one of the Big Bads, this time with no secrecy leading up to a shock revelation of the Daleks at the cliffhanger. This, to be fair, would have been difficult since this and next week's episode are double length due to scheduling issues brought about by coverage of the Winter Olympics. It actually made it feel like a bit of an event, as well, what with it being the metal meanies' first appearance (the Five Doctors  cameo aside) since their last story nearly five years ago. It's also a direct sequel to Destiny Of The Daleks  seeing the return of Davros, having been tried and imprisoned following his capture in that story 90 year...

FRONTIOS  (Part One)  26/01/2024  Another story with some detailed set-up and some really nice design. The TARDIS has arrived in the far future, or at the furthest reaches of the universe, or both - it's never made quite clear - but suffice to say they're orbiting a planet upon which is one of the very last remaining colonies of Humanity. The colony of Frontios is being bombarded by meteor storms and the TARDIS has been brought down in the most recent one. The Doctor noted that it had been caught in a gravitational pull, which seems odd, but I'm sure that will be explained later. The Doctor immediately set about helping the injured with the local doctor, Mr Range, while Tegan and Turlough went off with Range's daughter, Norna, to get a battery to power the lights in the hospital shelter. This is because something has jammed the interior door of the TARDIS. I can't help thinking Christopher H. Bidmead, back again after almost two years, was heavily influenced by the ...