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‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Pandorica Opens’/’The Big Bang’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Here we are on the two-part season finale of Series 5 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘The Pandorica Opens’/’The Big Bang’ by Steven Moffat. In this two-part adventure, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond receive a message. They journey back in time to Roman Britain where they reunite with Alex Kingston as River Song. The trio soon ride off on horses to Stonehenge. There, they go underground to find a box-like structure called the Pandorica, which has been waiting for the Doctor. This story features a number of returning characters who have appeared in Series 5, including the return of Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, who has managed to survive and cheat death following ‘Cold Blood’. This adventure also features the Pandorica Alliance of ‘Doctor Who’ monsters, including Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Judoon, Silurians, etc. ‘The Pandorica Opens’/’The Big Bang’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

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

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Today, it’s time for us to check out the ‘Doctor Who’ episode from Series 5 of the new TV series called ‘The Lodger’ by Gareth Roberts. This happens to be a TV episode based on a 2006 ‘Doctor Who Magazine’ comic story of the same name by Gareth Roberts, featuring the Tenth Doctor. I must check out more comic stories and perhaps do a comparison between the comic and TV versions of ‘The Lodger’. In the TV version of ‘The Lodger’, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor becomes stranded on Earth after stepping out of the TARDIS whilst Karen Gillan as Amy Pond is still inside the blue box time machine. The Doctor meets up with James Corden as Craig Owens and ends up becoming his roommate. This is the first time I’ve come across James Corden in TV and film, and this is before James Corden went on to voice Peter Rabbit in the 2018 film and its 2021 sequel. 😀 ‘The Lodger’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Vincent and the Doctor’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s time for us to check out a ‘Doctor Who’ episode that’s penned by one of the writers of comedy TV shows like ‘Blackadder’, ‘Mr. Bean’ and ‘The Vicar of Dibley’. He was also the executive producer of ‘The Curse of Fatal Death’, which was written by Steven Moffat. Today, it’s time for us to check out ‘Vincent and the Doctor’ by Richard Curtis. Having lost Rory in ‘Cold Blood’, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Gillan as Amy Pond are now travelling in the TARDIS together. Visiting the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, they soon travel back in time to meet the artist Vincent van Gogh, played by Tony Curran, to solve a mystery that involves one of his paintings. This episode also features Bill Nighy (who I’ve heard play Sam Gamgee in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ radio series and many film and TV productions over the years) as Dr. Black. ‘Vincent and the Doctor’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Hungry Earth’/’Cold Blood’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

I’ve found out that the two-part ‘Doctor Who’ story we’re revisiting today – ‘The Hungry Earth’/’Cold Blood’ by Chris Chibnall – takes place in the year 2020. Keep in mind that the two-part story was shown on BBC TV in May 2010. I’d like to assume that the story takes place in early 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic ever happened. Or it could be that the story takes place in an alternative universe where Covid-19 never happened. 😀 Anyway, let’s check out this two-part story starring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, as they visit South Wales in 2020 and we have the return of the Silurians with a redesigned look compared to the classic TV series versions of them. The main Silurians featured in this story include Neve McIntosh as Alaya and Restac, Richard Hope as Malohkeh and Stephen Moore as Eldane. ‘The Hungry Earrth’/’Cold Blood’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Amy’s Choice’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s time for us to check out ‘Amy’s Choice’, another episode in Series 5 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. This ‘Doctor Who’ episode is by Simon Nye (who would go on to write ‘The Durrells’ and ‘The Larkins’ for ITV). In the episode, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams experience two dream worlds. One where Amy and Rory are older and are living married lives in Leadworth village, and another where the Doctor, Amy and Rory are in the TARDIS heading towards a star that is ‘burning cold’ which will kill them. This ‘Doctor Who’ episode also features special guest star Toby Jones (who I’ve seen in many film, audio and TV productions over the years like ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’, 2016‘s ‘Dad’s Army’ and recently in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’) as the Dream Lord. ‘Amy’s Choice’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Vampires of Venice’

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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

I saw this ‘Doctor Who’ episode on my birthday, as it was shown on BBC One on the 8th of May 2010. 😀 This is ‘The Vampires of Venice’ by Toby Whithouse. In this episode, Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan as Amy Pond are joined by Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, Amy’s fiancé, who previously appeared in ‘The Eleventh Hour’. The Doctor takes Amy and Rory on a romantic trip to Venice in 1580, but it goes pear-shaped since there happen to be vampires in Venice. But are these vampires like the ones in ‘State of Decay’ as well as in ‘Doctor Who’ books like ‘Goth Opera’ and ‘Blood Harvest’? This episode features the late Helen McCrory as Rosanna Calvierri, and there’s Gabriella Wilde (who’s been 2011’s ‘The Three Musketeers’ and ‘Wonder Woman 1984’) as one of the Vampire Girls. ‘The Vampires of Venice’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

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

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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’

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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’

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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 →

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

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Hello everyone! 🙂

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 →