Category Archives: Fourth Doctor

The Doctor and the Enterprise

Posted on March 9, 2021 by DrAcrossthePond

Let me start this article by saying that I don’t usually do a lot of research for what I write.  I write from the hip, or from the heart, and it’s based on how I feel about a given subject.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Star Trek | 9 Comments

Doctor Who: Scratchman

Posted on March 8, 2020 by DrAcrossthePond

News flash: TOM BAKER IS AWESOME.  Let’s call a spade a gardening instrument: Tom Baker is 100% the reason I fell in love with Doctor Who as a show.  He showed me that it was perfectly acceptable to be quirky … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Doctor Who, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Target Storybook

Posted on February 2, 2020 by DrAcrossthePond

When I was a kid, nothing was more exciting than getting a new Doctor Who book from the TARGET book range.  I utterly adored them.  Then, one day, I finished the collection and there were none left to collect.  When … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Doctor Who, Eighth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, Entertainment, Fifth Doctor, First Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Second Doctor, Seventh Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Target Books, Tenth Doctor, Third Doctor, Thirteenth Doctor, Twelfth Doctor | 1 Comment

Doctor Who Annual (1982)

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Roger Pocock

The 1982 Doctor Who Annual (undated, published in 1981) has a split personality.  It’s a Fourth Doctor annual, and it’s a Fifth Doctor annual.  There are six stories and one comic strip, with all but the final two stories featuring … Continue reading →

Posted in Annuals, Books, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fifth Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Doctor Who Annual 1981

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Roger Pocock

The amount of stories was reduced again for the 1981 Doctor Who Annual, with just one comic strip and five short stories.  However, the child of 1980 had no reason to feel hard-done-by, because the stories are actually all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Annuals, Books, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Science Fiction | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Doctor Who Annual 1980

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Roger Pocock

The 1980 Doctor Who Annual offers slim pickings once again to fans of Doctor Who fiction, with only five stories and two comic strips.  On the plus side, it’s the first annual for many years to feature recognisable artwork for … Continue reading →

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The Dr Who Annual 1979

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Isn’t it strange how one of the high points of Doctor Who on television was accompanied by the low point of the annual range.  The Fourth Doctor annuals were really made to a very poor standard, and that applies to … Continue reading →

Posted in Annuals, Books, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Science Fiction | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Dr Who Annual 1978

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Roger Pocock

I described the 1977 Annual as the lowpoint of the annual range, and in terms of the artwork that is most certainly the case.  Surprisingly, they managed to find some more downhill for the stories.  For the 1978 Annual there … Continue reading →

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The Dr Who Annual 1977

Posted on October 19, 2018 by Roger Pocock

So here we have it, the infamous 1977 annual, the low point of the annual range.  It puts you in a bad mood before you have even opened it up, towering over the other annuals and poking out from the … Continue reading →

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Cliffhangers: Fourth Doctor 2

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Last time we looked at some different kinds of cliffhanger endings used in the Fourth Doctor era: the good old monster reveal, some threats to the Doctor or his companion, and some throwbacks to the Hartnell and Troughton eras.  As … Continue reading →

Posted in Cliffhangers, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Cliffhangers: Fourth Doctor 1

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Each time I prepare for one of these articles, the first thing I do is to make a list of the cliffhanger endings and then work out rough categories for them.  The interesting thing is that this has been a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cliffhangers, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The Dr Who Annual 1976

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The 1976 annual has a gorgeous frontispiece, depicting the Doctor and his companions exploring a beautiful alien landscape with monolithic ruins.  However, there is something a bit odd going on.  Who are the companions?  In particular, who is that scraggy … Continue reading →

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Shada

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Oh I do love the spring.  All the leaves, the colours. Cambridge is an amazing place.  When I was a teenager I stayed in one of the colleges for a few days, one summer, with a view to possibly studying … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

City of Death

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The appreciation of art can easily be extended to film and television.  It is not a giant leap to interpret Doctor Who as art, and more than once a story has actually taken a work of art as the starting … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, History, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a fabulous Doctor Who story, brilliantly written, dark and scary, with some of the best acting performances in the whole of Doctor Who, and a double act that was memorable enough to justify 14 box … Continue reading →

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The Robots of Death

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The era of Doctor Who produced by Philip Hinchliffe has taken inspiration from all kids of literary sources, nearly always horrors.  Chris Boucher instead goes down the route of an Agatha Christie whodunit, via Asimov.  The Asimov inspiration is plain … Continue reading →

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Destiny of the Daleks

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Roger Pocock

I’ll turn Davros and his life-support system into scrap metal. Now spack off! It’s not often we hear the Doctor swear.  I suppose that must be some kind of Time Lord insult.  All joking aside, the situation at that point … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Hand of Fear

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Well, I quite liked her, but I couldn’t stand him.  Never has a companion reflected the views of the viewers more thoroughly.  Judith Paris manages to portray a genuinely alien being in Eldrad. The excellent costume design aids her performance, … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The Brain of Morbius

Posted on August 14, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Anyone who watched Doctor Who as a child will understand what I mean when I say that it can be difficult to appreciate certain stories without looking at them through the prism of childhood.  Just as we love some stories … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Pyramids of Mars

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Roger Pocock

It’s no wonder the Doctor seems scared.  Sutekh is a threat like no other, a primal, mythical force of destruction, who really can bring a “gift of death” on a massive scale if he is set free.  There is nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fourth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , | 1 Comment