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‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Woman Who Lived’

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

It’s time to check out the second of the two-episode story arc featuring Maisie Williams as Ashildr in Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. Today, it’s time to check out ‘The Woman Who Lived’ by Catherine Tregenna. This is Catherine Tregenna’s first and (so far) only contribution to the ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, having written ‘Torchwood’ episodes like ‘Out of Time’ and ‘Captain Jack Harkness’ in Series 1, and ‘Meat’ and ‘Adam’ in Series 2. In this ‘Doctor Who’ episode, Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor reunites with Ashildr (Yes, I know she calls herself ‘Me’ in the TV series from hereon, but she’s Ashildr whether she likes it or not 😐 ) in England in the year 1651. This ‘Doctor Who’ episode also features guest star Rufus Hound (who would later play the Monk in the Big Finish audios) as Sam Swift. There’s also Ariyon Bakare as Leandro, a leonine alien who’s stranded on Earth and he happens to be Ashildr’s ally in the story. Leandro could have been a Tharil from ‘Warriors’ Gate’ if the new TV series was brave enough to do that. 😀 Is this a ‘Doctor Who’ episode that endears me to Ashildr more, especially after the Doctor saved her from death in ‘The Girl Who Died’? Or is there something about Ashildr that rubs me up the wrong way in how she’s developed as a ‘Doctor Who’ character? There’s a brief appearance of Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald at the episode’s end. ‘The Woman Who Lived’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Girl Who Died’

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

We’re back to single episode stories in Series 9 in ‘Doctor Who’, although we have the first of what is considered to be a two-episode story arc linked together by the introduction of a new character in the series. Today, we’re looking at ‘The Girl Who Died’ by Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat. This ‘Doctor Who’ episode has Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara visiting a Viking village where the alien Mire, led by David Schofield (who I’ve heard in ‘The Doomsday Quatrain’) as Odin, make their attack. The titular ‘girl who died’ happens to be Maisie Williams (well-known for being Arya Stark in ‘Games of Thornes’ and I’ve seen her as Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane in ‘The New Mutants’) as a Viking girl called Ashildr. This story also features Simon Lipkin (who played Mr. Poppy in ‘Nativity! The Musical’ and has been in the 2018 film ‘Nativity Rocks!’) as Nollarr, one of the Vikings in the Viking village. There’s Ian Conningham as ‘Chuckles’, Tom Stourton as ‘Lofty’, Alistair Parker as ‘Limpy’, Murray McArthur as Hasten, and Barnaby Kay (husband of Nicola Walker who plays Liv Chenka in the Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’) as ‘Heidi’. With Ashildr’s introduction in ‘The Girl Who Died’, she becomes a prominent character for the rest of Series 9. But does she win me over in her debut episode? Does she become a worthwhile character to be enjoyed in the ‘Doctor Who’ TV series? ‘The Girl Who Died’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Under the Lake’/’Before the Flood’

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

It’s time to check out another two-part story in Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. Today, it’s time for ‘Under the Lake’/’Before the Flood’ by Toby Whithouse, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara. This ‘Doctor Who’ adventure has the Doctor and Clara visiting an underwater mining base in Caithness, Scotland in the year 2119, where the crew discover an alien craft in the ruins of a submerged town. Ghosts start to appear aboard the base and the Doctor and Clara must help the crew to solve the mystery. The base’s crew includes Colin McFarlane (who’s been in the ‘Torchwood’ story ‘Children of Earth’ and the Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’) as Moran, the base’s commander, who gets killed off early in the story. There’s Sophie Stone as Case, who happens to be deaf both in real-life and in the story, and Zaqi Ismail as Lunn, who interprets on Cass’ behalf when she communicates in sign language. There’s Morven Christie (who’s been in the first three seasons of ‘Grantchester’) as O’Donnell, Arsher Ali as Bennett and Steven Robertson as Pitchard. There’s the introduction of a rock music version of the ‘Doctor Who’ theme in ‘Before the Flood’. This ‘Doctor Who’ story is meant to be a scary ghost story with the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. Does it work on all levels? Is it truly satisfying as a scary ‘Doctor Who’ ghost story? ‘Under the Lake’/’Before the Flood’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’/’The Witch’s Familiar’

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

And welcome to Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. This, in my opinion, is the weakest season out of the three that Peter Capaldi did as the Twelfth Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’. But do I think it’s worst than Series 6 – Matt Smith’s second season as the Eleventh Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’? I hope to unveil more about why Series 9 doesn’t work for me as a ‘Doctor Who’ season as we go through each story. Today, we’re starting off with the two-part story ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’/’The Witch’s Familiar’ by Steven Moffat. This ‘Doctor Who’ adventure features the return of Julian Bleach as Davros (who was last seen in ‘The Stolen Earth’/’Journey’s End’ in Series 4) as well as the dreaded Daleks. There’s also the return of Michelle Gomez as Missy, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart and Claire Higgins as Ohila. Do I think ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’/’The Witch’s Familiar’ is worthwhile as a two-part opening story in Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series? ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’/’The Witch’s Familiar’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. There’s also the prologue to this story, which can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer, as well as ‘The Doctor’s Mediation’, which can be checked out on DVD and Blu-ray. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘In the Forest of the Night’

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

Today, we’re on the penultimate story in Series 8 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. It’s time to check out the first contribution made by Frank Cottrell-Boyce as a ‘Doctor Who’ writer in the new TV series. The episode is called ‘In the Forest of the Night’. In the episode, Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor meets up with Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald and Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, as they take several Coal Hill pupils on an overnight school trip. They discover that London has been covered in a large forest that seems to have appeared out of nowhere the previous night. Can the Doctor work out what’s going on with the trees covering the entire planet Earth in one night? This episode introduces Abigail Eames as Maebh Arden, one of the pupils who went missing and is able to hear the voices of the large forest. There’s another cameo of Michelle Gomez as the mysterious Missy in the TV series. ‘In the Forest of the Night’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

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

We’re now on the ‘Doctor Who’ episode in Series 8 of the new TV series where Danny Pink finds out that Clara Oswald is living a secret life of space-and-time travel with the Twelfth Doctor in the TARDIS. This ‘Doctor Who’ episode is called ‘The Caretaker’ by Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat, and it’s where Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor gets to be the caretaker at Coal Hill School. It took him this long since he was Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor in ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’, but he’s finally become the caretaker at Coal Hill School at last. 😀 As well as Jenna Coleman as Clara and Samuel Anderson as Danny, there’s Ellis George as Courtney Woods, who is one of the pupils at Coal Hill School. There’s Nigel Betts as Mr. Armitage, the head teacher at Coal Hill School, and there’s Jimmy Vee as the robot-like Skovox Blitzer in the episode. Will the Twelfth Doctor accept Danny as Clara’s boyfriend in the ‘Doctor Who’ TV series? Will it be constant arguing and the Doctor utterly dismissing Danny for most of the episode? Could it mean the end of Clara’s relationship with Danny? ‘The Caretaker’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

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

Here we are on the second episode of the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era as well as Series 8 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. This is ‘Into the Dalek’ by Phil Ford and Steven Moffat. In this episode, Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor has Jenna Coleman as Clara join him on an adventure where they go inside a Dalek. The Doctor also asks Clara, “Am I good man?”, which forms part of the Twelfth Doctor’s journey throughout Series 8. This episode features guest stars like Zawe Ashton as Journey Blue and Michael Smiley as Colonel Morgan Blue, who get involved with the Dalek that seems sick and wishes for all Daleks to be destroyed. Incidentally, the Dalek ends up being called Rusty in the episode. We’re also introduced to Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink, who becomes Clara’s love interest in Series 8 and he’s the new mathematics teacher at Coal Hill School where Clara works. There’s also Nigel Betts as Mr. Armitage at Coal Hill School and we have another appearance of Michelle Gomez as Missy in the TV series. Is ‘Into the Dalek’ a worthy episode to check out in Series 8? ‘Into the Dalek’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Deep Breath’

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

It’s time for us to begin the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ and we’re starting off with the first episode of Series 8 in the new TV series called ‘Deep Breath’ by Steven Moffat. I saw this ‘Doctor Who’ episode on TV when I was on holiday in Scotland in August 2014. This episode was also released at cinemas. Joining Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor is Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, who is coming to terms with the newly regenerated Doctor. There’s the return of the Paternoster Gang, including Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny and Dan Starkey as Strax. There’s also the debut of Michelle Gomez as Missy at the end of the episode. Lately, I’ve seen a video clip of this episode on YouTube featuring a phone call conversation between Clara and a certain surprise character. There was a lot of hype surrounding Peter Capaldi’s arrival as the Twelfth Doctor, especially in the promotion that built up to Series 8 in 2014, including a World Tour. Is this reflected in the ‘Doctor Who’ episode? Is ‘Deep Breath’ a worthwhile ‘Doctor Who’ episode? ‘Deep Breath’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

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

Here we are on the final adventure of the Matt Smith/Eleventh Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’. This is ‘The Time of the Doctor’, the 2013 Christmas Special by Steven Moffat, starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. It’s the fourth Christmas Special to feature Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor. The special also has Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, Sontarans, the Silence and plenty more monsters to finish off the Eleventh Doctor. There’s Orla Brady (who I’ve seen more recently in the ‘Star Trek: Picard’ series) as Tasha Lem, and there are guest stars like Sheila Reid (who was in ‘Vengeance on Varos’) as Clara’s Gran. Tessa Peake-Jones (well-known for being in ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and she would go on to be in ‘Grantchester’) makes a small guest role in the special as Marta. There’s also a couple of guest cameos, including a past face and a new face in ‘Doctor Who’. 😀 Will this be a satisfying swansong of a ‘Doctor Who’ adventure for Matt Smith’s Doctor? Can a single Christmas Special conclude the Eleventh Doctor era entirely on a worthwhile note? ‘The Time of the Doctor’ 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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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