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.

Season 11 - Jon Pertwee - The Time Warrior

Day 7 and we’re pleased to say that we have successfully filled an entire week with Doctor Who, to mark the occasion we chose to watch the episode that saw the debut of Sarah Jane and the Sontarons. ‘The Time Warrior’ which aired in 1973 formed part of the Doctor’s eleventh season of television, it was set in a medieval world at the crash site of a Sontaron war ship.

At the beginning of this episode Jon Pertwee’s Doctor is summoned to a top secret scientific research centre by the Brigadier as his assistance is required to identify why key scientific personnel are disappearing. In order to get to the bottom of this mystery  the Brigadier confines everyone to the research centre, providing them all with bunks to sleep in so as he can keep an eye on them.

Season 12 - Tom Baker - Genesis of the Daleks

For Day 4 of our year with the Doctor we decided to check out the 6 part serial from the twelfth season of Doctor who featuring Tom Baker as the Doctor alongside Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan.

Tom Baker is a real fan favourite and he is also one of the longest running Doctors with his time on the show spanning 7 years from 1974 to 1981 and amassing 7 seasons in total. Tom Baker, with his crazy hair, wide eyes and ridiculously long scarf played the Doctor as a heroic, kooky alien with a love of jelly babies and a true compassion for other creatures. From the start of this episode it is easy to see why this often tops polls for the favourite episodes of the era and was a true representation of Tom Baker in the peak of his time in the Tardis.

After years of dominating our TV screens as one of the most terrifying and intelligent of the Doctor’s adversaries, it was finally time to learn the origin of the Daleks and the writers did not disappoint. This is also the first episode to feature Davros, a truly marvellous villain who would inspire many more stories and give children nightmares for years to come.

Day 4 - Genesis of the Daleks

Day 4 and still going strong. This evening we have watched the 'Genesis of the Daleks' with Tom Baker. This episode that was broadcast in 6 parts starting on 8 March 1975 and was the first episode that featured Davros. A really exciting episode and one I can't wait to review.

Reviews for 'Remembrance of the Daleks', 'Genesis of the Daleks' and an exclusive limited edition Silva Screen vinyl release to follow.