Series 4 - David Tennant - Partners in crime

Partners in Crime is the episode that signals Donna’s return to the show following her appearance in the ‘Runaway Bride’. Though possibly not one of her best episodes it gives a good insight into the relationship that the Doctor and his Donna will share for the rest of the series.

Catherine Tate’s Donna is almost definitely one of the most exciting companions that the Doctor has had, not only because she is the only one of the Doctor’s companions thus far in the modern series who does not fancy the Doctor and isn’t looking for any kind of romantic attention from him but because she is also an incredibly independent and strong woman who knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to tell the Doctor off when he is simply not being human enough. Donna finds the Doctor again after she finds herself unable to settle back into her normal life following their last encounter. Intent on finding the peculiar man in the blue box, Donna begins to investigate the mysterious Adipose Industries whose diet pills supposedly allow your fat to just walk away.

Series 5 - Matt Smith - 'The Pandorica Opens' and 'The Big Bang'

It appears we’ve been on a bit of a Matt Smith binge but this is hardly surprising having just acquired the blu-rays for seasons 5 and 6. For our 56th and 57th evenings with the Doctor we chose the two part story which sees the Doctor face all of his foes in one big standoff surrounding the mysterious Pandorica. As the finale of Matt Smith’s first series as the Doctor the audience widely expected wonderful things from The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang and with the promise of appearances from River Song, the Daleks, the Cybermen and well, just about every race of monsters the Doctor has ever come up against, there was only one way this episode could go.

Series 5 - Matt Smith - The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood

This two part story is the first episode to include the Silurians since the show’s 2005 re-launch. The Silurians are a species of Homo-reptilia who inhabited the earth long before the human race evolved. Legend has it that they took to their stasis chambers to sleep in order to avoid a disaster that they have predicted would affect the Earth in the coming years. The Silurians are a vastly advanced race when compared with humans, their technology and medicine outstrips the achievements of Earth by miles and they have seen more of the universe than humans have dreamed of so far. The Silurians have an army of female homo-reptilia who are fierce resourceful warriors with venomous tongues, camouflaged armour and pretty impressive blaster guns.

Series 6 - Matt Smith - The Girl Who Waited

The Girl who waited is probably one of Rory’s stronger episodes and Arthur Darvill plays the unlikely hero perfectly. Following his performances in ‘The Rebel Flesh’, ‘The Almost People’ and ‘A Good Man Goes to War’ Rory has shed his status as ‘Companion’s Boyfriend’ and has become a bonafide companion in his own right. He is a strong willed compassionate and caring character who shares the Doctor’s enthusiasm for preserving life but with much less passion for adventure and a much less prominent lust for danger and excitement. Rory is everyone’s favourite reluctant adventurer.

Arthur’s portrayal of the grief that comes from knowing that you are failing to save the woman you love and the way he deals with being confronted with the very woman he is failing to save is beautifully performed with just the right balance of despair, hope and frustration. Rory confronts the Doctor’s decision to trick the older Amy in order to save the younger Amy in a way that only Rory can. He gets right to the point of it, expressing the emotions that every audience member falls seeing the unfairness of Amy’s predicament and of the decision that the Doctor and Rory are forced to make. Yet Rory understands why the Doctor had to do what he did which is what makes him stand out so much as a companion. He is prepared to tell the Doctor how he feels but he is also prepared to do whatever it takes to keep Amy safe. I can’t think of many romances more beautiful than that of The Last Centurion and The Girl Who Waited.

Series 4 - David Tennant - The Stolen Earth and Journey's End

This two part story from the fourth Series of the re-launch Doctor Who is the finale of David Tennant’s last series with the show.  Following these episodes he only appeared in a series of specials before he gave his life to save Wilfred and regenerated into Matt Smith. Remarkably this episode didn’t just mark the end of David Tennant’s time as the Doctor but also celebrated Doctor Who’s 750^th episode and tied up a whole load of loose ends left over from the series.

So much happens in this episode and there are so many moments for the fans that you almost forget that this is the first appearance of Davros since the show’s return. Who doesn’t love a good Dalek episode? Davros’ plan is to use the 27 planets that he has stolen to create a ‘reality bomb’ which he will use to destroy the universe, very dastardly. As ever the Daleks are a very formidable foe, they work their way around the world cutting off communication links between the Doctor’s allies in the hope of stopping the Tardis from locating Earth. Martha, Sarah Jane, Harriett Jones and Torchwood are using their combined power to create a subwave signal that the Doctor will be able to track down from outside of the pocket universe they have been confined to.  

Series 4 - David Tennant - Turn Left

Turn left is another of those episodes where you barely see the Doctor; in fact for a large part of this episode the Doctor is dead! This is the episode where Donna is educated on her own importance and comes to understand how finely intertwined her destiny is to the destiny of the universe. In this episode conspiring presences from the universe and beyond force Donna to turn right at a crossroads in her life that had originally lead her to the Doctor.

If Donna never meets the Doctor then she doesn’t convince him to leave after he kills the Racnoss children and the Doctor dies, leaving the Earth to fend for itself. Without the Doctor Martha and Sarah Jane die at the hands of the Judoon, thousands of people die when the Titanic crashes into Buckingham Palace, 60 million people die in America as the Adipose rise and the Sontarans kill the entire Torchwood team bar Captain Jack who is left alone. England is thrown into a state of martial law, thousands of people need to be rehomed following the destruction of London and refugees are sent all over the country meanwhile immigrants are rounded up and placed into ‘Labour Camps’  in a horrible flashback to the holocaust.

Day 55 - RIP Harold Ramis

So this evening, 15 minutes into the Doctor Who Movie we became aware of the untimely passing of the genius that is Harold Ramis. In honour of his memory we have decided to forgo the rest of the movie until tomorrow and instead will be watching the Ghostbusters. I am sure you'll all join us in celebrating his memory.

NEWS - Series 8 - Danny Pink!

Series 8 of Doctor Who is looking ever more exciting by the day! The release of Peter Capaldi’s outfit was exciting enough and now we find out that there will be a new male recurring character named Danny Pink who will be played by Samuel Anderson (The History Boys, Gavin and Stacey) 

Early intelligence tells us that Danny will also be a teacher at Coal Hill School, the same school that Clara works at. Now Coal Hill School has a lot of historical significance through Doctor Who as it the school that the Doctor’s original companion (his granddaughter, Susan) attended and it will not be the first time that two teachers from Coal Hill take off together in the Tardis as during William Hartnell’s time as the Doctor he had two long running companions in Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright who both taught at the School. 

These little nods to classic Who may prove to be very popular with fans of the older episodes and also act as a tipped hat to the pioneers of the Who legacy. We are really excited to see which direction they will take this in and it will be great to see a male companion again after Rory’s departure. I for one can’t wait to find out more about Danny’s story! What do you think?? Will Danny be as reluctant an adventurer as Rory, as eager as Captain Jack or as resigned and resourceful as Jamie? Hurry up Series 8!!

Series 7 - Matt Smith - The Bells of Saint John

The Bells of Saint John was the modern day Clara’s first proper episode with the Doctor and there is something really special about the chemistry between Matt Smith’s Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald. The Doctor’s relationships differ from series to series and Doctor to Doctor and that is one of the most interesting things about Doctor Who, the iconic science fiction show isn’t just about monsters and danger, it is also about people, nature and compassion.

There is no denying that seeing Matt Smith with a companion other than Amy and Rory stirred up the audience and probably caused a few raised eyebrows but Clara is so different and refreshing that you’d be hard pushed to resist her charms. The Doctor definitely isn’t able to. The Doctor adored Amy, he doted on her and he cared for her and he did everything in his power to keep her safe sometimes at the expense of Rory and other people who they come into contact with, their relationship is almost paternal in its nature and Amy’s admiration of the Doctor is contagious, childlike and a little sad.

Series 6 - Matt Smith - The God Complex

The God Complex finds Amy, Rory and the Doctor trapped in a strange alien craft that has disguised itself as a seedy looking Earth hotel where they come across a group of people who have been wandering around the halls for some time. They quickly realise that behind each door, in every room of the hotel is a horrifying nightmare and that somewhere in the hotel is a nightmare that belongs to each of them personally. 

Series 4 - David Tennant - The Fires of Pompeii

The Fires of Pompeii marked Donna Noble’s first adventure in the Tardis as the Doctor’s new companion and is really revealing for anyone trying to work out what kind of companion Donna will be. The Doctor takes Donna to ancient Italy with the intention of showing her Rome and filling her mind with the wonders of time travel, however the Tardis lands in Pompeii instead on the day of Vesuvius’ eruption. 

We’re once again reminded in this episode of the horrible events of the Doctor’s past when Donna presents him with the task of trying to evacuate the people of Pompeii who they both know will die within a day. Donna is outraged when the Doctor tells her that they can’t save the people and exclaims “But that's what you do, you're the Doctor, you save people!” Which leads the Doctor to explain that he just can’t. 

Series 3 - David Tennant - The Lazarus Experiment

 Russell T Davies famously instructed Stephen Greenhorn that he wanted this episode to be like a classic marvel story of a mad scientist gone wrong, and the writer did not disappoint when he created the Lazarus Experiment.

This episode feature the Doctor and his companion Martha Jones and features around the time experiments of an elderly scientist named Lazarus who wishes to make himself young again in the hope of marketing youth and immortality to the people of the world. 

Series 3 - David Tennant - Utopia, The Sound of Drums and The Last of the Time Lords

This three part serial from Series 3 of Doctor Who after the 2005 revival is the first modern storyline to include the Master and Russell T Davies did not disappoint. Our Story begins at the edge of the universe. Captain Jack Harkness spots the Tardis and jumps on it just before it dematerialises sending the Tardis into a spin and taking the Doctor and Martha miles away from their intended destination.

Planet Malcassairo is a planet inhabited by the last of the human race who have begun to evolve into cannibalistic ‘Future humans’. The last of humanity rallies around the strength of a Professor named Yana who has promised to take them to Utopia. 

Season 21 - Peter Davidson - The Caves of Androzani

It seems strange to say that the second Peter Davidson episode that we watched was in fact his last but the fact is ‘The Caves of Androzani’ is widely hailed as one of the Fifth Doctor’s best episodes and the temptation was too much. Despite some slightly peculiar scenes in which Peri is kidnapped with Chloroform by a man names Jek in a PVC gimp suit.

In this episode the Doctor and his companion Peri land on the Androzani Minor and stumble across a ball of some kind of sticky substance, their then taken prisoner by the forces of General Chellak. It is whilst imprisoned that the Doctor and Peri learn that they have entered the early stages of Spectrox toxemia due to their exposure to a Spectrox. Queue the Doctors mission to the deepest part of the caves where there is no oxygen in search of the milk from a queen bat so that he can cure himself and Peri before the toxemia takes hold and they die.

Season 7 - Patrick Troughton - The Tomb of the Cybermen

The Tomb of the Cybermen was actually the first classic episode I ever saw and despite the fact that it briefly fooled me into believing that I didn’t really like the classic female companions at all, it is one of my favourite episodes. Patrick Troughton is captivating as the Doctor, he is silly and serious in perfect harmony and his devotion to his companions is palpable. Most of all though, it is his mind that I admire, he watches the people around him with equal parts curiosity and suspicion and isn’t afraid to do what needs to be done.

Season 7 - Tom Baker - The City of Death

City of Death was the first episode of the Doctor Who to ever be partially filmed on location outside of the UK and the BBC wasted no time in showing us the sights of Paris as the Doctor saw them on his trip with Romana. Much of the episode consists of scenes of them running through the streets of France, the Doctor’s scarf flapping in the wind and Romana nearly losing her hat.

The Doctor and his companion visit the Louvre where they discover that someone is out to steal the Mona Lisa and begin a hunt for an alien who is disguised as a rich baron named Scarlioni who wants to use the money he can get from the painting to fund his experiments in Time Travel. Scarlioni is actually Scaroth the last of the Jagaroth who was stranded on Earth and fragmented through its time line when his space ship explodes. 

Season 2 - William Hartnell - The Time Meddler

The Time Meddler is a really fun episode featuring a time meddler who has disguised himself as a monk and taken up residence in a monastery on the English coast in 1066. From his settlement the Monk plans to change the course of historic events by lighting beacon fires on the coast to guide the Vikings to the shore.

This episode features Maureen O’Brien as Vicki and Peter Purves as Stephen Taylor who have a great chemistry on screen together. They spend much of the episode running around after William Hartnell’s Doctor who has gone off on his own.

William Hartnell’s classic performance is perfect as ever and this charming little episode is definitely one of our favourites so far. There is something that just feels right about William Hartnell’s episodes.

All in all a 4/5

Series 7 - 50th Anniversary Special - Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt - Day of the Doctor

'The man who regrets and the man who forgets' 

50 years of television is a wonderful thing to celebrate and what better way than with a real fan pleaser of an episode broadcast not only on televisions all around the world but also in viewed by thousands of people in cinemas around the UK. The atmosphere at the cinema was brilliant; there were cosplayers everywhere, film crews interviewing fans and a massive queue for the screening. The most exciting thing was seeing just how many people, adults and children alike, there are who love Doctor Who in our area. Sometimes you just don’t realise how much you have in common with the people around you. 

My Toy Collection - By Jack

Even before I became a Doctor Who Fan I have always been a collector. Whether it is Star Wars or vinyl records or Doctor Who I have had a collector in me from a young age. So it was inevitable that when I became a Doctor Who fan I would no doubt want to collect the toys and merchandise from this iconic series. I started buying old annuals at boot fairs, mainly from the Tom Baker and Peter Davidson era, and I found a great Dalek annual from the 60s. I found a complete Tom Baker doll from the Denys Fisher toy line and even began to collect the modern toys as well.

30 days and still going strong! ~ By Kristy

36 days in and I can no longer say with any degree of confidence who my favourite Doctor is. Even though sometimes I come in from work and all I want to do is go to bed and sleep, the prospect of a brand new episode of Doctor Who is exciting enough to keep me out of my PJs just that little bit longer.

I really see this as a fantastic opportunity and have really enjoyed getting to know the different Doctors, their different companions and their wonderful adventures. Everything from the silliness of Sylvester McCoy to the beautiful class that is Tom Baker’s voice and the classic nature of William Hartnell’s performance has been really inspiring and I find myself thinking about Doctor Who even whilst at work.

One month on - By Jack

When I mentioned the idea for this blog to Kristy over the Christmas holidays I didn't think we would really end up doing it but Kristy was really up for it and starting building the blog, this got me very excited just wondering if we could really do it. Now a entire month has passed since we decided to take on Doctor Who for an entire year and we have successfully consumed at least one episode a day and are reviewing as we go.

It sounded easy to begin with, any Doctor Who fan would think watching an episode every day would be a piece of cake. To begin with we started by watching entire stories from the classic seasons every night, however we soon began to realise that such a pace would be impossible to keep up as many of these stories are 6 or 8 sections long. We can only watch episodes in the evening so watching a 3 hour episode meant that we simply weren’t having time to keep up with the reviews. Since this minor hiccup we have only been watching one segement of each serial a night and this is working out much better.  It has served to keep the episodes much fresher and gave us more time to think about the episodes as we consumed them.

Series 3 - David Tennant - 'Human Nature' and 'The Family of Blood'

Human Nature is very much Martha’s story. It tells the tale of her infatuation with the Doctor and shows the lengths she would go to in order to ensure his safety, but most of all this episode shows the lengths the Doctor is prepared to go to in order to preserve his own life and avoid his body falling into the wrong hands.

The Family of Blood are a family of space scavengers who desperately need the life force of a Time Lord in order to sustain their own lives, they pursue the Doctor so relentlessly that he is forced to contain his Time Lord self in a fob watch to push the Family off of his scent. The fact that the Family can absorb the very essence of a life is pretty devilish as far as villains go and their army of animated scarecrows was pretty creepy to behold.

Season 22 - Patrick Troughton and Colin Baker - 'The Two Doctors'

The Two Doctors saw the return of Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines to reprise their roles as the second Doctor and his companion Jamie McCrimmon alongside Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown. In this episode the Sixth Doctor has a vision of his previous self being put to death at the hands of a Sontaran so Peri and her Doctor home in on Patrick Troughton’s whereabouts and race to save his life? 

The Episode is partially based in a very 80s Neon and chrome space station and partially based in a grand manor house estate in Spain where Dastari and Chessene (a genetically enhanced Androgum) are conducting time experiments with the help of the Sontarans which are threatening the very fabric of time itself. It’s always fun to see a Doctor interact with himself and this is the third time that Patrick Troughton returned to his role for a one off episode so it must have been very exciting for the audience at the time who had seen him interact with all of the other Doctors in turn. However there isn’t actually a lot of interaction between the Two Doctors in this episode at all something I was really quite disappointed about. 

Season 22 - Colin Baker - Attack of the Cybermen

We chose 'Attack of the Cybermen' for Day 20 as we had not seen an episode with Colin Baker and as the first serial from Season 22 it seemed a good place to start with this Doctor. Unfortunately we did find ourselves a little disappointed with the episode which didn’t seem to flow particularly well and facets of the story were quite farcical.

Colin Baker’s Doctor is, if this is possible, almost more eccentric than many of the other incarnations and has an arrogance about him that actually makes him quite abrasive. The episode has a very slapstick feel to it which is partly due to the physical nature of Colin Baker’s portrayal and partly due to the very 80s feel to the storyline.

Peri, as ever, is partially clothed and a little whiney through most of the episode and is almost killed on several occasions but even though the character of Peri doesn’t really hold up amazingly well alongside other classic companions such as Sarah Jane and Jo Grant her sparring with the sixth Doctor brings a comedy element to Season 22 and provides a voice for the audience giving us a much appreciated reprieve from the Doctor’s showing off.

Though the story line wasn’t amazing and the relationship between this newly regenerated Doctor and his companion Peri is a little tense, it was great to see a different take on the Cybermen and was interesting, if comical, to see just what could happen if the chameleon circuit in the Tardis was working.  

Unfortunately we couldn’t find it in our hearts to award this episode more than a 2/5, hopefully we have a little more luck with some of Colin Baker’s other episodes.