Tag Archives: paul kasey

‘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

‘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 – ‘Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS’

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

Here we are on a ‘Doctor Who’ episode in the new TV series that gets to delve deeper into the TARDIS. This is ‘Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS’ by Steve Thompson, who previously penned ‘The Curse of the Black Spot’ in Series 6 of the new TV series. In the episode, the TARDIS gets hit by a salvage ship’s magnetic tractor beam, which causes a lot of damage to the ship’s engines. Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor forces the salvage crew to help him rescue Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, when she gets lost in the depths of the sentient space and time machine. This episode features special guest star Ashley Walters as Gregor van Baalen. I’ve seen Ashely Walters in the 2006 film adaptation of ‘Stormbreaker’. Apparently, this episode is based on showrunner Steven Moffat’s frustrations with ‘The Invasion of Time’, which intended to explore the TARDIS’ interior. Does this episode excite me enough as a ‘Doctor Who’ fan when our heroes delve deeper into the TARDIS? ‘Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe’

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

It’s time to check out the second ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special with Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, which was released on Christmas Day in December 2011. This is ‘The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe’ by Steven Moffat, loosely inspired by ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis. As well as Matt Smith, there’s Claire Skinner as Madge Arwell. There are the Arwell children, including Maurice Cole as Cyril and Holly Earl as Lily. There’s Alexander Armstrong (well-known for voicing Mr. Smith in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’) as Reg Arwell, Madge’s husband. There are comedic guest stars like Bill Bailey, Paul Bazely and Arabella Weir (who played an alternative version of the Doctor in the Big Finish audio ‘Exile’) in the Christmas Special. And there’s a Wooden King (played by Spencer Wilding) and a Wooden Queen (played by Paul Kasey). Does this Christmas Special satisfy me in being a good homage to ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’? ‘The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Closing Time’

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

It’s time for us to check out the ‘Doctor Who’ episode called ‘Closing Time’ by Gareth Roberts. This is a sequel to the Series 5 episode called ‘The Lodger’ and it features the return of James Corden as Craig Owens. Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor is without Amy and Rory (though Karen Gillan as Amy and Arthur Darvill as Rory do appear briefly in the episode). Instead, Matt Smith’s Doctor teams up with Craig, as they work together to thwart some Cybermen hiding underneath a department store. And this is while Craig is looking after his baby son called Alfie – or Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All as he likes to be called, according to the Doctor. 😀 This episode also features the return of the Cybermats (well, one of them 😀 ), having last appeared in stories like ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’, ‘The Wheel In Space’, ‘Revenge of the Cybermen’ and ‘Spare Parts’. There’s also special guest star Lynda Baron (who played Captain Wrack in ‘Enlightenment’) as Val at the department store. ‘Closing Time’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Doctor’s Wife’

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

It’s time for the first ‘Doctor Who’ episode to be penned by Neil Gaiman, who is the creator of the comic book series called ‘The Sandman’ and the writer of novels such as ‘Good Omens’ and ‘Stardust’. Today’s ‘Doctor Who’ episode is called ‘The Doctor’s Wife’, featuring Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Karen Gillan as Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams. In the episode, our heroes receive a distress call and Matt Smith’s Doctor soon meets Suranne Jones as Idris, who happens to be the TARDIS in woman form. The story’s monster is called House and he’s voiced by Michael Sheen, who went on to be in the ‘Good Omens’ TV series with David Tennant. There’s an Ood with green eyes in the episode called Nephew, and there’s the return of the Russell T. Davies-era TARDIS console as well as the introduction of a new TARDIS console designed by ‘Blue Peter’ winner Susannah Leah. ‘The Doctor’s Wife’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

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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 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’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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