Category Archives: Book

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

And here we are on the season finale of Series 11 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series – Jodie Whittaker’s first season as the Thirteenth Doctor. This is ‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’ by Chris Chibnall. In the episode, the Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz respond to a series of distress signals on the planet Ranskoor Av Kolos. It’s where they confront Samuel Oatley as Tzim-Sha/Tim Shaw, the alien Stenza warrior who last appeared in ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’. Tzim-Shaw is using the powers of the psychic alien species called the Ux to shrink the planet Earth in revenge for what happened to him in the Thirteenth Doctor’s first TV outing. The episode also features Phyllis Logan (well-known for being in ‘Downton Abbey’) as Andinio, Percelle Ascott as Delph and Mark Addy (who’s been in ‘Young Hyacinth’ and the first ‘Downton Abbey’ movie) as Captain Paltraki. Apparently, Chris Chibnall has revealed that this episode was his least favourite script in the TV series. Do I consider this a least favourite ‘Doctor Who’ episode of mine? ‘The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Witchfinders’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Here we are on what is arguably a very good ‘Doctor Who’ episode in Series 11 of the new TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is ‘The Witchfinders’ by Joy Wilkinson, which happens to be another pseudo-historical adventure. In this episode, the Doctor and her three friends visit 17th century Lancashire where a witch hunt is taking place and it’s being held by a local landowner. The episode’s guest cast includes Alan Cumming (who I’ve seen in the ‘Spy Kids’ movies, ‘X-Men 2’ and ‘The Airzone Solution’) as King James, Siobhan Finneran (who’s been in ‘Downton Abbey’) as Becka Savage, and Tilly Steele (who’s recently been in ‘The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ Big Finish anthology ‘Lost Warriors’) as Willa Twiston. There are also mud witches in the episode. Whilst the episode received positive reviews from critics at the time of its BBC broadcast, do I consider this to be one of the best episodes from Series 11 of the new TV series as well as the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era? ‘The Witchfinders’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Demons of the Punjab’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

We’re on the sixth episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series today, and it happens to be ‘Demons of the Punjab’ by Vinay Patel. This is another ‘Doctor Who’ episode that delves into our human history, as Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz visit the Punjab in August 1947. Yaz has asked the Doctor to take her to see her nani during her youth. The Doctor and her friends soon get caught up in the events building up to the partition of India. Could aliens be involved in the death of a man that was killed during the Doctor and her friends’ visit to the Punjab? The guest cast includes Leena Dhingra (who’s also been in ‘The Unicorn and the Wasp’) as Nani Umbreen, Amita Suman as young Umbreen, Shane Zaza as Prem and Hamza Jeetooa (who later did a ‘Granchester’ episode) as Manish. There are also brief appearances of Yaz’s family at the episode’s beginning, including Shobna Gulati as Najia, Yaz’s mum; Ravin J. Ganatra as Hakim, Yaz’s dad; and Bhavnisha Parmar as Sonya, Yaz’s sister. ‘Demons of the Punjab’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Twice Upon a Time’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s time to check out the final story of the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ and it’s the final story of the Steven Moffat era. Here we are on the 2017 Christmas Special called ‘Twice Upon a Time’ by Steven Moffat. As well as Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, he gets to meet and team up with David Bradley as the First Doctor. David Bradley played William Hartnell in the 2013 docu-drama ‘An Adventure In Space and Time’. Since then, he’s played the First Doctor more than once in the Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’. Also in ‘Twice Upon a Time’, there’s the return of Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts and the introduction of Mark Gatiss as the Captain. There are guest returns of Rusty the Dalek from ‘Into the Dalek’, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald and Matt Lucas as Nardole. There are also small appearances of the First Doctor’s companions, including Polly (played by Anneke Wills/Lily Travers) and Ben (played by Michael Craze/Jared Garfield). With this being the last story of the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era, does ‘Twice Upon a Time’ conclude it on reassuring and satisfying notes? ‘Twice Upon a Time’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Listen’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Listen up, everyone! 🙂 (See what I did there? 😀 ) It’s time to check out the fourth episode in Series 8 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘Listen’ by Steven Moffat. This is a ‘Doctor Who’ episode where Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor becomes concerned about the monster that lurks under people’s beds. This episode also has Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald on a date with Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, who works at Coal Hill School with her. ‘Listen’ uncovers more about the Doctor’s past and his fears. It also has Clara getting to know Danny and his past as well as his future when she and the Doctor meet Orson Pink (also played by Samuel Anderson). This ‘Doctor Who’ episode has received a lot of praise over the years from critics, audiences and fans. Do I think it’s one of the best ‘Doctor Who’ episodes ever made in the new TV series? Is this a ‘Doctor Who’ episode worthy of my time? Apparently, Kirah Shah (who was in ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films as well as ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ 2005 film) plays the figure under the bed in the episode. ‘Listen’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Day of the Doctor’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

The time has come for ‘The Day of the Doctor’ by Steven Moffat – the 50th anniversary special of ‘Doctor Who’. This was shown on BBC TV on the 23rd of November 2013. It stars Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, Billie Piper as the Moment and John Hurt as the War Doctor. There are special guest stars like Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Osgood and Joanna Page as Queen Elizabeth I. The story also features the Daleks as well as the return of the Zygons, who previously appeared in their first TV story ‘Terror of the Zygons’. There are surprise guest cameos of Doctors and companions that a keen ‘Doctor Who’ fan would need to look out for. 😀 This is a ‘Doctor Who’ anniversary special that’s highly rated by the fans. Do I agree with that? Do I think that this is a better anniversary special than ‘The Five Doctors’, the 20th anniversary special? Does it cover everything that I want to celebrate about 50 years of my favourite TV show? Are there things that I like about ‘The Day of the Doctor’? 😀 ‘The Day of the Doctor’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Crimson Horror’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s time for us to check out ‘The Crimson Horror’, which happens to be the second contribution made by Mark Gatiss in Series 7 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series (the first one being ‘Cold War’). In this ‘Doctor Who’ episode, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara visit Victorian London in the year 1893. There’s the return of the Paternoster Gang, including Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny and Dan Starkey as Strax. Interestingly, the Paternoster Gang mostly appear in the first half of the episode, since the Eleventh Doctor and Clara don’t appear until the episode’s second half. 😐 An unnerving mystery takes place at a utopian community in Yorkshire called Sweetville, led by the late Dame Diana Rigg (well-known for playing Emma Peel in the 1960s TV show ‘The Avengers’) as Mrs. Gillyflower. There’s also Rachael Stirling (Diana Rigg’s real-life daughter) as Ada. Can our heroes solve the mystery as to what’s happening with ‘the crimson horror’? ‘The Crimson Horror’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Christmas Invasion’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Today, we begin the David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’, as we check out the first Christmas Special in the new TV series. It’s time for ‘The Christmas Invasion’ by Russell T. Davies, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose. This Christmas Special also features Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, Rose’s mum, and Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, Rose’s former boyfriend. There’s also the return of Penelope Wilton as Harriet Jones from ‘Aliens of London’/’World War Three’. This ‘Doctor Who’ adventure introduces us to the Robot Santas as well as the blood-obsessed Sycorax. Will the new Tenth Doctor recover from his recent regeneration to save the planet Earth from the Sycorax? ‘The Christmas Invasion’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Dalek’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Today, we’re checking out a ‘Doctor Who’ episode that’s very special to me. This was the one that started it all for me. I was introduced to the TV series overall; Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as Rose; and a Dalek for the first time through this episode. It’s time for ‘Dalek’ by Robert Shearman, and I consider it one of the best ‘Doctor Who’ stories ever made in the new TV series. This episode also features the debut of Bruno Langley as Adam Mitchell, who becomes a short-time companion in the TV series. There’s also Corey Johnson as Henry van Statten and Anna-Louise Plowman as Diana Goddard. The Dalek is operated is Barnaby Edwards and the Dalek voice is by Nicholas Briggs. ‘Dalek’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Rose’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

And welcome to the new TV series of ‘Doctor Who’, which started back in 2005! 🙂 It’s time to check out the Christopher Eccleston/Ninth Doctor era, and we’re starting off with Series 1. We’re also introduced to the Ninth Doctor’s companion: Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, and the first episode of the Ninth Doctor era is of course called ‘Rose’ by Russell T. Davies. There’s also the introduction of Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, Rose’s mum and Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, Rose’s boyfriend. This episode also features the dramatic return of the Autons, who were in ‘Spearhead From Space’ and ‘Terror of the Autons’ during the Jon Pertwee/Third Doctor era. ‘Rose’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →