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‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘It Takes You Away’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

This is the penultimate episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. We have Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz visiting Norway in the year 2018 in this episode. It’s time for ‘It Takes You Away’ by Ed Hime – his first contribution to the TV series. In the episode, our space-and-time travellers investigate the disappearance of a widower called Erik. They’re helped by Erik’s blind daughter named Hanne. The guest cast includes Ellie Wallwork (who would go on to appear in a Series 9 episode of ‘Call the Midwife’) as Hanne. There’s Christian Rubeck as Erik and Lisa Stokke as Trine, Erik’s wife and Hanne’s mother. There’s Kevin Eldon (who would go on to play Lance Corporal Jones in the 2019 remake of the Series 2 ‘lost episodes’ of ‘Dad’s Army’) as Ribbons. And there’s a special guest appearance of Sharon D. Clarke as Grace, Graham’s wife and Ryan’s nan. This episode has our heroes visiting another universe. It also has the Thirteenth Doctor meeting a frog. Can things get weirder than that? 😀 ‘It Takes You Away’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Here we are on what is arguably a very good ‘Doctor Who’ episode in Series 11 of the new TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is ‘The Witchfinders’ by Joy Wilkinson, which happens to be another pseudo-historical adventure. In this episode, the Doctor and her three friends visit 17th century Lancashire where a witch hunt is taking place and it’s being held by a local landowner. The episode’s guest cast includes Alan Cumming (who I’ve seen in the ‘Spy Kids’ movies, ‘X-Men 2’ and ‘The Airzone Solution’) as King James, Siobhan Finneran (who’s been in ‘Downton Abbey’) as Becka Savage, and Tilly Steele (who’s recently been in ‘The Ninth Doctor Adventures’ Big Finish anthology ‘Lost Warriors’) as Willa Twiston. There are also mud witches in the episode. Whilst the episode received positive reviews from critics at the time of its BBC broadcast, do I consider this to be one of the best episodes from Series 11 of the new TV series as well as the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era? ‘The Witchfinders’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Kerblam!’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s time for my favourite episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series as well as the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era. Today, we’re checking out ‘Kerblam!’ by Pete McTighe, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. Remember, “if you want it, Kerblam it!” 😀 This is an episode where the Thirteenth Doctor and her gang visit the delivery company called Kerblam in the far future. They investigate why a package sent to the Doctor in her TARDIS contained a message requesting for help. It turns out the company has some missing human employees and the automated workforce – the Kerblam men – are behaving oddly. 😐 The guest cast includes Julie Hesmondhalgh (of ‘Coronation Street’ fame) as Judy Maddox, Lee Mack (of ‘Not Going Out’ fame) as Dan Cooper, Callum Dixon as Jarva Slade, Claudie Jessia as Kira Arlo, Leo Flanagan as Charlie Duffy, and Matthew Gravelle as the voice of Kerblam. So, what is it about this ‘Doctor Who’ episode that makes me happy to see it every time I watch it? ‘Kerblam!’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Demons of the Punjab’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

We’re on the sixth episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series today, and it happens to be ‘Demons of the Punjab’ by Vinay Patel. This is another ‘Doctor Who’ episode that delves into our human history, as Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz visit the Punjab in August 1947. Yaz has asked the Doctor to take her to see her nani during her youth. The Doctor and her friends soon get caught up in the events building up to the partition of India. Could aliens be involved in the death of a man that was killed during the Doctor and her friends’ visit to the Punjab? The guest cast includes Leena Dhingra (who’s also been in ‘The Unicorn and the Wasp’) as Nani Umbreen, Amita Suman as young Umbreen, Shane Zaza as Prem and Hamza Jeetooa (who later did a ‘Granchester’ episode) as Manish. There are also brief appearances of Yaz’s family at the episode’s beginning, including Shobna Gulati as Najia, Yaz’s mum; Ravin J. Ganatra as Hakim, Yaz’s dad; and Bhavnisha Parmar as Sonya, Yaz’s sister. ‘Demons of the Punjab’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Let’s check out the fifth episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’ by Chris Chibnall. In the episode, Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz are brought aboard the medical ship called the Tsuranga where they recover from their injuries after being in close proximity to a sonic mine that detonated on an alien junkyard planet. They soon end up dealing with a dangerous alien creature called the Pting – which could be ‘Doctor Who’s equivalent of Stitch from Disney‘s ‘Lilo and Stitch’). The Pting becomes a threat to the Tsuranga ship and those transported aboard it. The episode’s guest cast includes Brett Goldstein as Astos, Lois Chimimba (who worked with Jodie Whittaker in ‘Trust Me’ in 2017) as Mabli, Suzanne Packer as Eve Cicero, Ben Bailey-Smith as Durkas Cicero, and Jack Shalloo (who later did the 2018 Christmas Special of ‘Call the Midwife’) as Yoss. Upon transmission via BBC TV, this episode was met with mixed reception from critics. Do I adhere to those views? 😐 ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Arachnids in the UK’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

It’s the first day in December 2023 today and we’re on the fourth episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. It’s time to check out ‘Arachnids in the UK’ by Chris Chibnall, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. In the episode, the Doctor takes her three friends back to Sheffield, where they discover a serious problem occurring in the city, which in the form of giant spiders. Is one of the spiders Shelob from ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’? 😀 There are special guest stars like Chris Noth as Jack Robertson, Tanya Fear as Dr. Jade McIntyre and Sharon D. Clarke as the ghost of Grace O’Brien, Graham’s wife. We’re also introduced to Yaz’s family, including Shobna Gulati as Najia, Yaz’s mum; Ravin J. Ganatra as Hakim, Yaz’s dad; and Bhavnisha Parmar as Sonya, Yaz’s sister. Upon transmission in October 2018, ‘Arachnids in the UK’ received generally positive reviews from critics. Do I consider this a very good ‘Doctor Who’ episode in Series 11? ‘Arachnids in the UK’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Today’s instalment in the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon has us delve into more of our human history. It’s the third episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘Rosa’ by Malorie Blackman (who also wrote the Puffin e-short story ‘The Ripple Effect’) and Chris Chibnall. ‘Rosa’ has Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz visiting Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, where they meet Vinette Robinson as Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks becomes a significant person in the American civil rights movement during the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Vinette Robinson has been in ‘Doctor Who’ before, as she was in the new TV series episode ’42’. She’s also been in the ‘Sherlock’ TV series and later in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’. There’s also Trevor White (who I’ve heard recently in the ‘Demon Quest’ audio story ‘Starfall’) as James Blake, and there’s Joshua Bowman as Krasko, a time-travelling criminal who wants to stop Rosa Parks’ influence in the American civil rights movement. ‘Rosa’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Ghost Monument’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Here we are on the second episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham O’Brien, Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair and Mandip Gill as Yasmin ‘Yaz’ Khan. It’s time for ‘The Ghost Monument’ by Chris Chibnall. In the episode, the Doctor and her friends are accidentally transported to a distant solar system, where they become part of an interplanetary alien rally that crash-lands at their final stop on the hostile planet of Desolation. The Doctor and her friends hope to reach the finish line – the titular ‘ghost monument’, which happens to be the TARDIS – to get back to Earth. There are special guest stars like Susan Lynch as Angstrom, Shaun Dooley (who I would later see in episodes of Series 6 of ‘Grantchester’) as Epzo and Art Malik (who I’ve seen in the final episode of ‘Sherlock’, 2023’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘True Lies’) as Ilin. There’s also Ian Gelder (who was in the five-part ‘Torchwood’ story (Series 3) called ‘Children of Earth’) as the voice of the Remnants. ‘The Ghost Monument’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

And welcome to the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’! 🙂 It’s Chris Chibnall’s turn to be showrunner of ‘Doctor Who’ from 2018 to 2022. He brings in his era of the show by having the main character be played by a woman. This era has divided fan opinion, but is this an era I regard highly compared to others? Let’s start off by checking out the first episode of Series 11 of the new TV series called ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ by Chris Chibnall. Following on from the end of ‘Twice Upon a Time’, Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor crash-lands to Earth and meets up with Bradley Walsh as Graham O’Brien, Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair and Mandip Gill as Yasmin ‘Yaz’ Khan. The episode also features Sharon D. Clarke as Grace, Graham’s wife and Ryan’s gran; Samuel Oatley as the alien Stenza warrior called Tzim-Sha (or as the Doctor calls him ‘Tim Shaw’); and there’s Johnny Dixon as Karl. This ‘Doctor Who’ episode received a rating of 10.96 million viewers as well as positive reviews from critics. Does it still hold up well after all these years? ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

Blu-ray Reviews – ‘Eve of the Daleks’ & ‘Legend of the Sea Devils’ (Doctor Who)

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

There’s still some time to reflect on Jodie Whittaker’s era of ‘Doctor Who’ before we say goodbye to her. Before we see the Thirteenth Doctor’s departure in the upcoming BBC Centenary Special, let’s check out the two recent ‘Doctor Who’ specials featuring Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor that were shown in January and April this year. Continue reading