Category Archives: Doctor Who

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Beast Below’

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

It’s time for us to check out the second episode of Series 5 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘The Beast Below’ by Steven Moffat, starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. In the episode, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy visit the Starship UK in the distant future where they discover a unsettling secret involving a giant star whale. Can the Doctor and Amy survive the Smilers and Winders aboard the Starship UK? This ‘Doctor Who’ episode also features Sophie Okonedo (who I’ve seen in the 2006 film ‘Stormbreaker’) as ‘the bloody queen’ called Liz 10 ( 😀 ) and the late Terrence Hardiman (well-known for playing the Demon Headmaster and he’s been in the Big Finish audio adaptation of ‘The English Way of Death’) as Hawthorne. ‘The Beast Below’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Eleventh Hour’

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

And welcome to the Steven Moffat reign of ‘Doctor Who’ where we begin the Matt Smith/Eleventh Doctor era. Both the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras of ‘Doctor Who’ are a mixed bag for me, but more will be unveiled as we go through each era. Today, we’re starting off with the first episode of Series 5 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, which is Matt Smith’s first season as the Eleventh Doctor. It’s time for ‘The Eleventh Hour’ by Steven Moffat, where Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor crash-lands to Earth and he meets Caitlin Blackwood as Amelia Pond, who soon grows up to become Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, the Doctor’s new companion. This episode also introduces us to Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, Amy’s boyfriend. Can the Eleventh Doctor work out the mystery of Prisoner Zero whilst recovering from his regeneration and identifying who he is, and will he win Amy Pond over before she becomes his new companion? ‘The Eleventh Hour’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

CD Review – ‘Wink’ (Doctor Who)

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

To close off our look into the David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’, I’m sharing my latest review on the Big Finish audio drama called ‘Wink’, which is the third and final story of the ‘Out of Time’ trilogy, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. I’m pleased that I’ve finished checking out the ‘Out of Time’ audio dramas of ‘Doctor Who’ by Big Finish, having enjoyed the first ‘Out of Time’ story with David Tennant and Tom Baker, and ‘The Gates of Hell’ with David Tennant and Peter Davison. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – Reflection on the Tenth Doctor

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

The David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ is an era that means a lot to me, as it was the one I grew up with when being properly introduced to the TV series in 2006. Whilst Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor is my favourite, David Tennant comes close to being second favourite from the TV series. 🙂 Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – 2008-2010 Specials Summary

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

Despite them not being an actual season (technically they’re part of Series 4), the 2008-2010 Specials of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series could be argued as being David Tennant’s fifth season of ‘Doctor Who’. This is despite him not having a regular companion accompanying him in the specials. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The End of Time’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

And here we are on the final ‘Doctor Who’ TV adventure starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. This is a two-part story called ‘The End of Time’ by Russell T. Davies, with ‘Part One’ originally shown on Christmas Day in 2009 and ‘Part Two’ originally shown on New Year’s Day in 2010. In this two-parter, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor reunites with Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott, as they team up to tackle the return of John Simm as the evil Master. This special adventure also features special guest star Timothy Dalton as Rassilon, the Lord President of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. There’s also Catherine Tate as Donna Noble and Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble. There are special guest stars like June Whitfield as Minnie Hooper, David Harewood as Joshua Naismith, Tracy Ifeacher as Abigail Naismith, Sinéad Keenan as Addams and Lawry Lewin as Rossiter. There are also special guest cameos of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Jessica Hynes as Verity Newman, Thomas Knight as Luke Smith and Russell Tovey as Midshipman Alonso Frame in the story. ‘The End of Time’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Waters of Mars’

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

We’re on the penultimate story of the David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ and it’s the third of the 2008-2010 Specials in the new TV series. It’s time for ‘The Waters of Mars’ by Russell T. Davies and Phil Ford. This autumn special was shown on the 15th of November 2009. Joining David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor is special guest star Lindsay Duncan as Captain Adelaide Brooke. In the special, the Doctor visits the planet Mars in the year 2059. He ends up at Bowie Base One where the crew led by Adelaide are soon attacked by alien water called the Flood. This is a proper full-on water-zombie adventure that ends on a rather tragic note for David Tennant’s Doctor, who’s on his way for his song to end. The cast also includes Peter O’Brien as Ed Gold, Aleksander Mikic as Yuri Kerenski, Gemma Chan as Mia Bennett, Sharon Duncan Brewster as Maggie Cain, Chook Sibtain as Tarak Ital, Alan Ruscoe as Andy Stone, Cosima Shaw as Steffie Ehrlich and Michael Goldsmith as Roman Groom. And of course, there’s Gadget the robot. 😀 ‘The Waters of Mars’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Planet of the Dead’

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

Let’s check out the second of the 2008-2010 Specials of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. This is also the first Easter Special ever made in the new TV series. It also serves as the 200th story in ‘Doctor Who’, featuring a London double-decker bus affectionately called the Mighty 200 as well as featuring Tritovores and alien stingrays. 😀 It’s time for ‘Planet of the Dead’ by Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts, which was shown on BBC TV on Easter Saturday (11th of April 2009). The special introduces Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina de Souza, who would go on to appear in her own spin-off audio series by Big Finish. There’s also the return of Noma Dumezweni as U.N.I.T. Captain Erisa Magambo and comedian Lee Evans as U.N.I.T. scientific advisor Malcolm Taylor. There’s Adam James as D.I. McMillan, Victoria Alcock as Angela Whitaker, David Ames as Nathan, Daniel Kaluuya as Barclay, Ellen Thomas as Carmen and Reginald Tsiboe as Lou. ‘Planet of the Dead’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Here we are on the last set of ‘Doctor Who’ stories featuring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, which are the 2008 to 2010 Specials in the new TV series. Today, we’re starting off on ‘The Next Doctor’, the 2008 Christmas Special by Russell T. Davies. This is a ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special that features the return of the Cybermen, who were last seen in ‘Doomsday’, and the story is set in Victorian London in the year 1851. There’s the introduction of David Morrisey (I’ve seen him in 1998’s BBC TV production of ‘Our Mutual Friend’) who claims to be a new incarnation of the Doctor. There are also special guest stars like Dervla Kirwan as the villainous Miss Hartigan and Velile Tshabalala as Rosita, the David Morrisey Doctor’s companion. Will the Tenth Doctor uncover the mystery about David Morrisey’s Doctor and how the Cybermen are involved? ‘The Next Doctor’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – Series 4 Summary

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

In my opinion, Series 4 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series is the best season out of the David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era. I have very fond memories of this season when I saw it back in 2008. It was my first proper ‘Doctor Who’ season to watch on TV after I saw the previous seasons on DVD. 🙂 Continue reading