Category Archives: Reviews

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Time of Angels’/’Flesh and Stone’

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

Let’s check out the first two-part story in Series 5 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘The Time of Angels’/’Flesh and Stone’ by Steven Moffat, starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. This ‘Doctor Who’ adventure features the return of Alex Kingston as River Song, who was last seen in the Series 4 two-parter ‘Silence in the Library’/’Forest of the Dead’. There’s also the return of the Weeping Angels, who made their first appearance on TV in the Series 3 episode called ‘Blink’. There’s also Iain Glen (who I’ve seen in the 1999 BBC TV production of ‘Wives & Daughters’) as Father Octavian. Is this, for me, another exciting and thrilling ‘Doctor Who’ adventure featuring the Weeping Angels, or do I think ‘Blink’ is better than this two-part story? ‘The Time of Angels’/’Flesh and Stone’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Victory of the Daleks’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Today, we’re checking out the third episode of Series 5 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘Victory of the Daleks’ by Mark Gatiss, starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. This is the ‘Doctor Who’ episode where Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor meets the Daleks for the first time. It’s also an episode where the Eleventh Doctor and Amy meet up with Ian McNeice as Winston Churchill, as they travel back in time to the Cabinet War Rooms during the Second World War. This episode also features Bill Paterson as Edwin Bracewell. There are two new types of Daleks introduced in this ‘Doctor Who’ episode. There are the Ironside Daleks and there are the New Paradigm Daleks. Is this a ‘Doctor Who’ episode that impressed me greatly when I first saw it on TV back in April 2010? ‘Victory of the Daleks’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Disney+/Netflix Roundup – ‘Ever After’, ‘Knight and Day’ & ‘True Lies’

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

It’s that time again to share some quick reviews on three films I’ve seen on Disney+ lately. The first is a retelling of the Cinderella story starring Drew Barrymore, the second is an action film starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, and the third is an action-packed comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. 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

Quick Disney+ Series Review – ‘The Muppets Mayhem’

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

Oh dear. ‘The Muppets Mayhem’. This really wasn’t ‘The Muppets’ show I was expecting to see after seeing mostly all of the original ‘Muppet Show’ on Disney+. Now to be fair, ‘The Muppets Mayhem’ has an interesting premise behind it, and I will applaud the show for trying to do something different. Continue reading

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

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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’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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