Tag Archives: great intelligence (dw)

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

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

And thus, we have come to the season finale of Series 7 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. This is also where the 50th anniversary celebrations of ‘Doctor Who’ begin in the new TV series. It’s time for us to check out ‘The Name of the Doctor’ by Steven Moffat, starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. This is where the mystery of ‘the impossible girl’ is resolved, as the Doctor finds out who Clara is and how she died twice in ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ and ‘The Snowmen’. The episode features the Paternoster Gang, including Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint and Dan Starkey as Strax. There’s also the return of Alex Kingston as River Song, and there’s Richard E. Grant who returns as the Great Intelligence. This time, it’s not Yeti or Snowmen that the Great Intelligence are controlling, but it’s the Whispermen. 😀 There are nods to previous Doctors in the classic and new TV shows of ‘Doctor Who’ and we have the introduction of a unique incarnation of the Doctor that our time-travelling hero chooses to not talk about. ‘The Name of the Doctor’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Bells of Saint John’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

The Clara Season in Series 7 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series has restarted with the episode ‘The Bells of Saint John’ by Steven Moffat. This is where Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor meets Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald properly in the TV series. The previous two Claras in ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ and ‘The Snowmen’ were killed off. The Doctor needs to solve the mystery of ‘the impossible girl’ whilst also having to deal with a deadly Wi-Fi that’s uploading people’s minds to it without consent. The episode also features Celia Imrie (who would later go on to be in the third and fourth ‘Nativity’ movies) as Miss Kizlet. There’s Robert Whitlock (who’s done quite a number of Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’ including ‘The Edge’, ‘Psychodrome’ and ‘One Mile Down’) as Mahler. And there’s James Greene (who played Professor Purwell in ‘The Moon Stallion’ with Sarah Sutton) as the Abbott. Richard E. Grant also makes a return appearance as the Great Intelligence in the episode. ‘The Bells of Saint John’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

We’re starting on what is arguably labelled the Clara Season – the second half of Series 7 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. This is where Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor gets to meet his new companion – Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. Jenna Coleman previously played Oswin Oswald in ‘Asylum of the Daleks’. However, it turns out Matt Smith’s Doctor doesn’t get to meet Clara quite yet in this 2012 Christmas Special. This is ‘The Snowmen’ by Steven Moffat. I’m certain that the special was inspired by ‘The Snowman’ – both the book and TV special – by Raymond Briggs. 😀 The special takes place in London in the year 1892. It also features the return of the Paternoster Gang, including Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint and Dan Starkey as Strax, who previously appeared in the Series 6 episode ‘A Good Man Goes to War’. There’s special guest star Richard E. Grant (who played one of the Doctors in ‘The Curse of Fatal Death’ and the Doctor in ‘Scream of the Shalka’) as Dr. Simeon. And there’s Ian McKellen (who played Gandalf in ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ film trilogies and Magneto in the ‘X-Men’ films) as the voice of the Great Intelligence. ‘The Snowmen’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Web of Fear’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Let’s check out ‘The Web of Fear’, a six-part ‘Doctor Who’ story that features the second appearance of the Yeti in the TV series. Like ‘The Enemy of the World’, this was another ‘Doctor Who’ classic adventure that was considered lost from the BBC Archives before it was found and recovered in October 2013. Now the story can be enjoyed on DVD, Blu-ray and Britbox. The story stars Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, Frazer Hines as Jamie and Deborah Watling as Victoria. It also features the return of Jack Watling as Professor Travers and it introduces Nicholas Courtney as Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Abominable Snowmen’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Let’s check out ‘The Abominable Snowmen’, a six-part ‘Doctor Who’ story that introduces the Yeti and the Great Intelligence. It also stars Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, Frazer Hines as Jamie and Deborah Watling as Victoria. This ‘Doctor Who’ story has recently been animated for DVD and Blu-ray, as it’s currently one of the mostly missing ‘Doctor Who’ stories from the black-and-white days with ‘Episode Two’ still intact. ‘Episode Two’ of ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ is also available to check out on Britbox. Continue reading

Blu-ray review – ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ (Doctor Who)

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

As promised, here’s my updated review on the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘The Abominable Snowmen’. This updated review is based on the latest in a line of mostly missing black-and-white ‘Doctor Who’ TV stories from the 1960s that have been animated on DVD and Blu-ray for today. The story stars Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, Frazer Hines as Jamie and Deborah Watling as Victoria. Continue reading

Blu-ray review – ‘The Web of Fear: Special Edition’ (Doctor Who)

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

It’s time to check out the Special Edition of the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘The Web of Fear’ which has recently been released on DVD and Blu-ray. The Special Edition contains a brand-new animated lost episode in ‘Episode 3’ of the story. I’ve updated my thoughts in my brand-new review of ‘The Web of Fear’, which also contains new photos. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ Marathon – ‘The Name of the Doctor’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

The 50th anniversary of ‘Doctor Who’ has arrived and it’s the season finale to Series 7. This episode features the Doctor and Clara journeying to Trenzalore where they rescue Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax from the Great Intelligence. River Song makes an appearance and the Doctor’s secret is revealed. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ Marathon – ‘The Bells of Saint John’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s the first episode of the second half of Series 7 of ‘Doctor Who’. Matt Smith’s Doctor meets Jenna Coleman’s Clara Oswald for the first time. The two work together to stop an evil Wi-Fi that steals people. Will the new TARDIS duo find out who’s responsible for causing these disappearances with the Wi-Fi? Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ Marathon – ‘The Snowmen’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s Christmas time again and it’s Jenna-Louise Coleman’s second TV appearance in the ‘Doctor Who’ series. She plays Clara Oswin Oswald in this episode and she meets Matt Smith’s Doctor with Madame Vastra, Jenny and Strax in Victorian London where they face some scary snowmen and Richard E. Grant. 😀 Continue reading