Monthly Archives: February 2026

‘Beast Wars’ Review #33 – ‘Optimal Situation’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s the beginning of the end, as we come to the third and final season of ‘Beast Wars: Transformers’. I’ve greatly enjoyed sharing my updated reviews on the ‘Beast Wars’ episodes over the past year. Today, we’re checking out the first episode of Season 3 called ‘Optimal Situation’, which is a follow-up to the three-part story ‘The Agenda’ at the end of Season 2. Season 3 was never shown on GMTV in the UK, as the episodes were released on official VHS tapes instead. ‘Optimal Situation’ got its own VHS tape and was exclusively available with a ‘Beast Wars’ toy that you could purchase from Toys ‘R’ Us. That’s how I purchased my copy of ‘Optimal Situation’ from Toys ‘R’ Us in the UK. I later saw ‘Optimal Situation’ in a special ‘Beast Wars’ Volume 1 UK DVD release for Christmas in 2001, I believe. As well as ‘The Agenda’ and ‘Optimal Situation’, it also contained ‘Deep Metal’, ‘Changing of the Guard’ and ‘Cutting Edge’, which I’ll be sharing my updated reviews on soon. I also saw ‘Optimal Situation’ in the ‘Beast Wars’ 15th anniversary DVD box set, and it can now be seen on YouTube. Will the Maximals win, defeat Megatron and save Optimus Prime of the Autobots? Continue reading →

Book/Audio Review – ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

I’ve finished checking out ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ book by Douglas Adams. I read the book along with the audiobook read by Stephen Fry via Audible. It’s been fascinating to check out the first book of ‘The Hitchhiker’s’ franchise compared to checking out the first ‘Hitchhiker’s’ radio series called ‘Primary Phase’. I purchased the 42nd anniversary edition of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ book, which also includes a foreword by Russell T. Davies, who is the showrunner for ‘Doctor Who’, both from 2005 to 2010 and lately from 2023 onwards. Continue reading →

‘Beast Wars’ Review #32 – ‘The Agenda’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Here we are on the season finale of Season 2 of ‘Beast Wars: Transformers’, and it happens to be a three-part story called ‘The Agenda’. The first time I saw this three-part story was on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the October half-term week of 1999 in the UK via GMTV. I recorded all three episodes on VHS, which I enjoyed seeing repeatedly during the October half-term week. I later saw ‘The Agenda’ on an official VHS tape. I saw the story again on a special ‘Beast Wars’ Volume 1 UK DVD release, which contained ‘The Agenda’, ‘Optimal Situation’, ‘Deep Metal’, ‘Changing of the Guard’ and ‘Cutting Edge’. I saw ‘The Agenda’ in the ‘Beast Wars’ 15th anniversary DVD box set and it can now be seen on YouTube. The Maximals are hoping to return to Cybertron in this story. But their hopes may be curtailed in this story when Megatron’s agenda becomes unveiled. There are some surprise guest appearances of classic ‘Transformers’ characters in this story. Can the Maximals stop Megatron in his plans, which could end everything as we know it? Continue reading →

‘Beast Wars’ Review #31 – ‘Transmutate’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s time for the penultimate story in Season 2 of ‘Beast Wars: Transformers’. In today’s episode, we’re introduced to a character called Transmutate, who doesn’t have the ability to transform. Transmutate happens be voiced by a certain voice artist that voiced a character in the ‘Transformers’ 1986 film and the ‘Transformers’ TV series. Can you guess which one it is? 😀 Silverbolt and Rampage attempt to befriend Transmutate, but it isn’t easy when the two are from different sides – one from the Maximals and one from the Predacons. I first saw this ‘Beast Wars’ episode on the Tuesday of the October half-term week of 1999 in the UK via GMTV. I had this episode recorded on VHS, which I saw repeatedly during the October half-term week and later saw the episode on an official VHS tape as well as in the ‘Beast Wars’ 15th anniversary DVD box set. The episode is available on YouTube for everyone to enjoy. Incidentally, a lot of scenes were cut from the GMTV edit compared to the VHS, DVD and YouTube edits. 😐 Continue reading →

Tim’s Reactions to Season 20 of classic ‘Doctor Who’ (ALL in ONE COMPILATION)

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Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

To commemorate my first meeting with Sarah Sutton (Nyssa of Traken in ‘Doctor Who’) at the ‘Fifth Element’ convention in February 2010, here’s a brand-new video containing my reactions to Season 20 of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, originally shared from March to June 2025. This was when I was updating my reviews on the stories of Season 20 of the classic TV series during that year, based on ‘The Collection’ Blu-ray box set that was released in 2023. Continue reading →

‘Beast Wars’ Review #30 – ‘Code of Hero’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

We’re getting close to the end of Season 2 of ‘Beast Wars: Transformers’. How fast time flies when you’re having fun? 😀 In today’s instalment, we have a very significant exit for one of the best and well-loved characters in the ‘Beast Wars’ TV series as well as ‘Transformers’ in general. It’s time for ‘Code of Hero’, an episode where Dinobot makes the decision to fully oppose against Megatron and his tyranny when he attempts to destroy a valley containing proto-humans (Neanderthals). Dinobot ends up fighting against the Predacons, including Megatron, on his own whilst the Maximals are on their way to help him. The first time I saw this ‘Beast Wars’ episode was via GMTV and it was on the Monday of the October half-term week of 1999 in the UK. I had this episode recorded on VHS, which I saw repeatedly during that October half-term. I later saw the episode on an official VHS tape as well as in the ‘Beast Wars’ 15th anniversary DVD box set. The episode is currently available on YouTube for everyone to enjoy! Continue reading →