Category Archives: Sci-Fi

Convention Report – ‘Happy Who Year 2026’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

And Happy Who Year everyone! 🙂 Yes! I’ve been to the latest ‘Happy Who Year’ convention at the Lights theatre in Andover and thoroughly enjoyed it! The convention exceeded my expectations! It was so well worth going to after celebrating Christmas and the New Year! Continue reading

‘Beast Wars’ Review #27 – ‘Maximal, No More’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Let’s return to another ‘Beast Wars: Transformers’ episode where we check out the Season 2 episode ‘Maximal, No More’. This is the fifth episode in Season 2 of ‘Beast Wars’ and it’s the fourth in the season. In the episode, Dinobot finds himself put to the test where he must decide whether he’s going to be a Maximal or a Predacon. He initially rejoins the Predacons, thinking Megatron will achieve a great victory in his agenda. But his loyalty is tested, especially when he’s made to destroy a Maximal comrade. Who could that be? 😀 I first saw ‘Maximal, No More’ as part of a double bill of episodes on Spring Bank Holiday Monday in May 1999. This was on GMTV early in the morning. The episode was later released on an official VHS tape as well as on DVD and is currently available on YouTube for everyone to see it. Is ‘Maximal, No More’ a great instalment in the ‘Beast Wars’ TV series featuring Dinobot as a Transformers character? Continue reading

Quick Movie Review – ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Okay, so, I’ve seen the third film in the ‘Avatar’ film series directed by James Cameron – ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. I decided to see this latest instalment at the cinema with my best friend Stephen in the New Year rather than during Christmas in 2025. I’m happy I did that. Continue reading

‘Beast Wars’ Review #26 – ‘Tangled Web’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s the New Year and we’re continuing where we left off in Season 2 of ‘Beast Wars: Transformers’. Hopefully, I’ll have finished updating the rest of my ‘Beast Wars’ reviews by May. 🙂 Anyway, let’s check out, ‘Tangled Web’, the fourth episode in Season 2 of ‘Beast Wars’ and the third story in the season. In this episode, Tarantulas, Blackarachnia and Quickstrike are sent on a mission by their Predacon leader Megatron to build a refuelling station in a cavern full of Energon cubes. Rattrap and Silverbolt of the Maximals are sent to investigate a signal that leads them to Tarantulas, Blackarachnia and Quickstrike. I saw ‘Tangled Web’ after seeing ‘Part 2’ of ‘Coming of the Fuzors’ via GMTV on Early Bank Holiday Monday in May 1999. The episode was later released on an official VHS tape as well as on DVD and is currently available on YouTube for everyone to see it. Is ‘Tangled Web’ a worthwhile episode to check out in Season 2 of ‘Beast Wars’ or is it a fairly average filler episode? Continue reading

Week 52a – ‘The Nyssa Challenge’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Happy New Year everyone! 🙂 And on the 1st of January 2026, it’s time for the final instalment of the latest ‘Nyssa Challenge’ mini-review season of ‘Doctor Who’ stories, which I’ve shared from December 2025 to January 2026. It’s time for the BBC Children’s Books adventure called ‘Doctor Who in Wonderland’ by Paul Magrs, featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough, which is set between ‘Mawdryn Undead’ and ‘Terminus’. I’d been meaning to read this story for the 2024 to 2025 ‘Nyssa Challenge’ mini-review season when the book was published in July 2024. I wasn’t able to find the time to check out the book, but thankfully, I’ve been able to find time and read the book for the 2025 to 2026 ‘Nyssa Challenge’ mini-review season. Continue reading

Week 35 – ‘The Nyssa Challenge’ REVISITED & UPDATED

dwmr178_1963fanfareforthecommonmen_1417_cover_large

 –UPDATED REVIEW ON AUDIO CD AND VINYL TODAY–

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s New Year’s Eve today! I’m sharing the penultimate instalment of my latest ‘Nyssa Challenge’ mini-review season on ‘Bradley’s Basement’. Today, it’s time to revisit the ‘Doctor Who’ audio story ‘1963: Fanfare For The Common Men’, which I’ve recently listened to on my brand-new vinyl recorder player. I greatly enjoyed revisiting ‘Fanfare’ on vinyl. I must admit, I enjoyed it more than revisiting ‘Spare Parts’ on vinyl lately. 😮 I know ‘Spare Parts’ is highly regarded as a Big Finish audio story, especially with it featuring the Cybermen in it. However, I found ‘Fanfare’ more enjoyable, especially with it being set in the 1960s and having a Beatles-like atmosphere to it as well as starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa. Continue reading

Week 21 – ‘The Nyssa Challenge’ REVISITED & UPDATED

 –UPDATED REVIEW ON AUDIO CD AND VINYL TODAY–

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

I’ve recently purchased a brand-new vinyl recorder player to play my ‘Doctor Who’ vinyls on. And because I’ve checked out the latest Big Finish audio story ‘Genesis of the Cybermen’ in my current ‘Nyssa Challenge’ mini-review season, I decided to revisit the Big Finish audio story ‘Spare Parts’ by Marc Platt, which has another version of the origins of the Cybermen on the planet Mondas. I regard ‘Spare Parts’ very highly and I prefer it over ‘Genesis of the Cybermen’. Not that ‘Genesis of the Cybermen’ is bad or anything. Far from it! It’s just I grew up with ‘Spare Parts’ first and I feel a leaning more towards that as a Mondasian Cybermen origins story compared to ‘Genesis of the Cybermen’. Continue reading

Quick TV Review – ‘Doctor Who Unleashed – 20 Years in Wales’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Okay, so, I must admit, I’ve not seen every episode of the behind-the-scenes documentary ‘Doctor Who Unleashed’ by this point. Hopefully, I can make up for this when it comes to doing in-depth reviews on Series 14 and 15 of ‘Doctor Who’ in 2026. 🙂 Continue reading

Week 12d – ‘The Nyssa Challenge’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

At last! I’m up to date with checking out the latest Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’ featuring Sarah Sutton as Nyssa in this year’s ‘Nyssa Challenge’ mini-review season from December 2025 to January 2026. And I’ve checked out the most epic Big Finish audio story of ‘Doctor Who’ ever made, which is spread out across two box sets, both on CD and as a download. It’s time for ‘Hooklight’, an epic 12-part ‘Doctor Who’ audio adventure by Tim Foley, starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka and Matthew Waterhouse as Adric. I’m so pleased I’ve been able to check out and do a brand-new review on the epic 12-part story at last! Continue reading

Week 12c – ‘The Nyssa Challenge’ REVISITED

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

I know I shared my review on this ‘Doctor Who’ story last year, but since this six-part audio adventure leads directly into the next story ‘Hooklight’, which is a twelve-part audio adventure, I decided to revisit it in order to be familiar with what went on in that story as well as what happened at the end. Hopefully, it’ll prepare me in terms of what to expect when it comes to checking out and reviewing ‘Hooklight’. Anyway, for today’s instalment of ‘The Nyssa Challenge’, let’s revisit ‘The Great Beyond’ by James Kettle, starring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, Janet Fielding as Tegan and Matthew Waterhouse as Adric.

Continue reading