Tag Archives: peter capaldi

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Knock Knock’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s time for us to check out a spooky haunted house ‘Doctor Who’ episode in the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era. Today, it’s time for ‘Knock Knock’ by Mike Bartlett. It has Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor joining Pearl Mackie as Bill on an adventure when she moves into a house with some friends, including Mandeep Dhillon as Shireen, Colin Ryan as Harry, Ben Presley as Paul, Alice Hewkin as Felicity and Bart Suavek as Pavel. The house happens to be owned by special guest star David Suchet (well-known for playing Hercule Poirot in the ITV series called ‘Poirot’ or ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot’) as the mysterious Landlord. There’s also Mariah Gale as Eliza, who lives in the house itself. Matt Lucas also makes another appearance as Nardole by the episode’s end. When I first saw ‘Knock Knock’ back in May 2017, I enjoyed watching it, especially via BBC iPlayer when I was using my tablet at a Premier Inn – I was attending ‘The Capitol II’ convention at the Arora Hotel in Gatwick at the time. Does the episode hold up well or are there noticeable flaws in it? ‘Knock Knock’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Thin Ice’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Just to be clear, we’re checking out the ‘Doctor Who’ TV episode called ‘Thin Ice’ today. Not the Big Finish audio story called ‘Thin Ice’. That audio drama features Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Sophie Aldred as Ace. The Ice Warriors are in that too. 😀 The ‘Thin Ice’ TV episode from Series 10 of the new TV series features Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Pearl Mackie as Bill, and it’s penned by Sarah Dollard, who previously wrote ‘Face the Raven’ in Series 9. No Ice Warriors are to be found, however. The TV episode ‘Thin Ice’ is a pseudo-historical adventure that takes place at the last great frost fair in London in the year 1814. The Doctor has visited the last great London frost fair before, when he was the First Doctor in the Big Finish audio story called ‘Frostfire’, along with Vicki and Steven. The frost fair in ‘Thin Ice’ must be the same one as the frost fair in ‘Frostfire’, right? 😀 Our heroes discover something lurking below the frozen Thames. But is this a sinister thing that’s lurking below the Thames? Matt Lucas as Nardole makes an appearance at the episode’s end. ‘Thin Ice’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Smile’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

We’re on the second episode of Series 10 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series today. It’s time for us to check out ‘Smile’ by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Pearl Mackie as Bill. Matt Lucas as Nardole briefly appears at the beginning of the episode. In ‘Smile’, the Twelfth Doctor and Bill visit an off-world Earth colony in the far future. There are robots called the Emojibots that give the Doctor and Bill badges, which record their emotions to the Vardy – nanobots that are meant to maintain the colony. Our heroes discover that are series of deaths are caused when negative emotions are reported to the Vardy via the emojis on people’s badges. Can the Doctor and Bill solve the mystery as well as save the colony’s inhabitants? The guest cast includes Mina Anwar (who’s been in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’) as Goodthing, Ralf Little (who I’ve seen in ‘Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?!’ and he plays Michael in WF92’s ‘Fifth Doctor’ series of ‘Doctor Who’ stories 😀 ) as Steadfast, and there’s Kiran Shah (who’s been scale doubles in ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films) as one of the Emojibots. ‘Smile’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

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

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s time for us to check out Peter Capaldi’s third and final season as the Twelfth Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’ – Series 10 of the new TV series. In the first episode called ‘The Pilot’ by Steven Moffat, the Twelfth Doctor is joined by a new companion – Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, who happens to be an openly gay character. There’s also Matt Lucas as Nardole, who helps the Doctor to protect a vault under St. Luke’s University in Bristol. This is Nardole’s third ‘Doctor Who’ TV appearance since being in ‘The Husbands of River Song’ and ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’. Apparently, the Doctor has been living the life of a university professor and Nardole has been his assistant at the university for 70 years. Throughout the episode, Bill finds herself falling for a girl – Stephanie Hyam as Heather – who turns out to be an alien water puddle. 😀 There’s also a brief appearance of the Daleks and the Movellans from ‘Destiny of the Daleks’ in the episode. Is ‘The Pilot’ a worthwhile introduction to Bill Potts as a new ‘Doctor Who’ companion? Is this a very good opening episode to Peter Capaldi’s third season as the Doctor? ‘The Pilot’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

There was only one ‘Doctor Who’ episode shown on TV in the year 2016, and that was the 2016 Christmas Special called ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’ by Steven Moffat, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. This ‘Doctor Who’ adventure goes into superhero territory, as the Doctor meets Justin Chatwin (who you may have seen in 2005’s ‘War of the Worlds’ with Tom Cruise as well as ‘Dragonball Evolution’) as Grant Gordon who becomes the superhero called the Ghost. There’s also Matt Lucas as Nardole, who was last seen in ‘The Husbands of River Song’ and has now become a companion of the Twelfth Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’. And there’s Charity Wakefield (who I’ve seen in the 2008 BBC production of ‘Sense & Sensibility’) as news reporter Lucy Fletcher who becomes Grant Gordon/the Ghost’s love interest in the Christmas Special. As you’re probably aware, I’m into superheroes (both Marvel and DC). So, does ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’ satisfy me as being a ‘Doctor Who’ take on the superhero genre. ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – Series 9 Summary

2 Replies

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Like Series 6 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, Series 9, in my opinion, is the weakest of the three seasons to feature Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in the Steven Moffat era. It’s not as convoluted as Series 6 is, but the overall season feels underwhelming, despite the good ideas it has. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Husbands of River Song’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Let’s check out the 2015 Christmas Special of ‘Doctor Who’ called ‘The Husbands of River Song’ by Steven Moffat, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Alex Kingston as River Song. This Christmas Special was the first ‘Doctor Who’ story I ever reviewed on ‘Bradley’s Basement’ from watching it on its initial BBC TV transmission on Christmas Day 2015. Since then, I’ve shared my in-depth review on the Christmas Special. ‘The Husbands of River Song’ also introduces Matt Lucas as Nardole, who would become a companion of the Twelfth Doctor in Series 10. The special also features guest star Greg Davis as King Hydroflax, along with Liam Cook as King Hydroflax’s body and Nonso Anozie as the voice of Hydroflax. After the horror aspects of ‘Last Christmas’ in 2014, this ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special decides to go into the realms of comedy. Does it work for me? Did I come away feeling happy from watching ‘The Husbands of River Song’? And does it feature a worthwhile interaction between the Twelfth Doctor and River Song? You can check out this ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Hell Bent’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

And here we are on the season finale of Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. This is also the third and final episode of the three-episode story arc that depicts the end of Series 9. It’s time for us to check out ‘Hell Bent’ by Steven Moffat, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. There’s the resolution of Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald and her death in Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. There’s also the return of the Time Lords and Gallifrey. This means the episode has special guest stars like Donald Sumpter as Rassilon, the Time Lord President – previously played by Timothy Dalton in ‘The End of Time’. There’s also Ken Bones as the General, who made his debut in ‘The Day of the Doctor’ and he soon regenerates into T’nia Miller in the episode. There’s the return of Clare Higgins as Ohila, who previously appeared in ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’, and there’s the final appearance (for now) of Maise Williams as Ashildr. The story arc featured throughout Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series has been about the mysterious Hybrid. Is the story arc resolved in a satisfying manner in this episode? ‘Hell Bent’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Heaven Sent’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

We’re now on the second episode of the three-episode story arc in Series 9 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. It’s time for us to check out ‘Heaven Sent’ by Steven Moffat. Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor is now alone, since Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald was killed off at the end of ‘Face the Raven’. 😦 This is a unique ‘Doctor Who’ episode in the new TV series, since it mostly features Peter Capaldi as the Doctor who is trying to get out of a waterlocked castle. The only other person that’s in the episode is a shrouded creature called the Veil, played by Jami Reid-Quarrell, who is pursuing the Doctor in the castle. There’s also Jenna Coleman as Clara appearing to the Twelfth Doctor as a vision. ‘Heaven Sent’ is arguably one of Steven Moffat’s best episodes in the new TV series and it’s possibly one of the best in the Peter Capaldi/Twelfth Doctor era. This and ‘The Zygon Invasion’/’The Zygon Inversion’ are rated highly. Is ‘Heaven Sent’ a ‘Doctor Who’ episode worth talking about? Do I still hold it in high regard, after watching it for the first time on BBC TV on the 28th of November 2015? ‘Heaven Sent’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Face the Raven’

Leave a reply

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

For this instalment of the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon, we’re starting off a three-episode story arc in Series 9 of the new TV series. This is the first of the last three episodes of Series 9, and they depict the departure of Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. I had an emotional reaction to ‘Face the Raven’ by Sarah Dollard as soon as it was transmitted on BBC TV on the 21st of November 2015. In ‘Face the Raven’, Clara is reunited with Joivan Wade as Rigsy, who previously appeared in the episode called ‘Flatline’ in Series 8. Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor agrees to help Rigsy, who has a number tattooed on the back of his neck that seems to be counting down to zero. This leads the Doctor, Clara and Rigsy to a trap street in present-day London, where they’re reunited with Maisie Williams as Ashildr (Yes, she still calls herself ‘Me’ in the TV series by this point, but I refuse to call her that since she’s Ashildr, whether she likes it or not). This episode also features Robin Soans, who played Luvic in ‘The Keeper of Traken’, playing the ‘Chronolock Guy’. 😐 There’s Letitia Wright (who would go on to play Shuri in the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’) as Anahson. And there’s Jenny Lee (who played Auntie Liz in ‘Monarch of the Glen’) as an elderly woman. How emotionally effective is ‘Face the Raven’? Does it see Clara Oswald off on a high note? ‘Face the Raven’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading →