Tag Archives: paul kasey

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’/’The Timeless Children’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Here we are on the two-part season finale of Series 12 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’/’The Timeless Children’ by Chris Chibnall, where not only do we have another appearance of Patrick O’Kane as Ashad, the Lone Cyberman, from ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’, but we also have the debut of the Cyber Warriors – a new breed of Cybermen in ‘Doctor Who’. This story also features the return of Sacha Dhawan as the Master, who finally reveals the truth about the Timeless Child to Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor and how the Time Lords of Gallifrey lied to her all those years ago. Once again, the Timeless Child reveal has divided a lot of ‘Doctor Who’ fandom since it was introduced in 2020. Some are okay with it, others really loathe it. Where do I stand on this? Am I okay with the Timeless Child reveal? Does it affect my enjoyment of the Thirteenth Doctor era and the ‘Doctor Who’ TV series – both classic and new – in general? ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’/’The Timeless Children’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

We’re halfway through Series 12 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series and today, we’re onto one of the most insane episodes ever made. It’s time for ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’ by Vinay Patel and Chris Chibnall. Yes, the Judoon are back in this ‘Doctor Who’ episode and are voiced by Nicholas Briggs! Vinay Patel previously contributed to Series 11 as a ‘Doctor Who’ writer with his episode ‘Demons of the Punjab’. In ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’, the Judoon visit modern-day Gloucester in search for a fugitive. Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz attempt to regulate the situation. This episode features the surprise return of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness. There’s also the introduction of Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton, who turns out to be a previously unseen incarnation of the Doctor and is labelled ‘the Fugitive Doctor’. There’s Neil Stuke (who guest starred in the Big Finish audio drama ‘The Crooked Man’ with Tom Baker) as Lee Clayton and there’s Ritu Arya as Gat. So, how insane was this ‘Doctor Who’ episode when I first saw it on TV in 2020? ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Here we are with an historical adventure in Series 12 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’ by Nina Metivier, who apparently was a script editor on two episodes of Series 11 in the new TV series, including ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ and ‘It Takes You Away’. In this ‘Doctor Who’ episode, the Thirteenth Doctor TARDIS team meet Goran Višnjić (who’s been in the ‘Elektra’ film with Jennifer Garner) as Nikola Tesla in 1903. Our heroes meet him on the train journey from Niagara Falls to New York, as they help him to escape from being kidnapped by the Skithra aliens (who seem to be like the Racnoss from ‘The Runaway Bride’). They’re led by Anjli Mohindra (who played Rani Chandra in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’) as the Skithra Queen. The episode also features Robert Glenister (who’s been in ‘The Caves of Androzani’ and the BBC sitcom TV series ‘Sink or Swim’ with Peter Davison as well as ‘The Aeronauts’) as Thomas Edison. ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

Hello everyone! 🙂

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 Day of the Doctor’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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