Tag Archives: Master

Orphan 55

Posted on January 14, 2020 by Roger Pocock

Why do I watch Doctor Who? What is it about it that makes me keep watching? Why has it been my favourite television show for the vast majority of my life? It’s a very hard question to answer, because there … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television, Thirteenth Doctor | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Spyfall

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Roger Pocock

The most important question a writer should ask himself is “why?” That needs to be asked throughout a story. Why am I doing this as a writer? Why is this character there? Why is this happening? If a writer fails … Continue reading →

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Doctor Who Annual 1986

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Roger Pocock

We are at the end of a fascinating journey, looking at each and every one of the original run of Doctor Who annuals.  The range started off in the 60s as gloriously bizarre affairs, descending into thrown-together messes in the … Continue reading →

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Doctor Who Annual 1985

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Promoted as the “21st Year Anniversary Issue”, although oddly the 20th was never mentioned, the 1985 annual features seven short stories, and two articles that go behind the scenes on the production of Doctor Who.  The first of those is … Continue reading →

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Doctor Who Annual (1984)

Posted on February 15, 2019 by Roger Pocock

“Get back, Doctor!” One step closer and I trigger the bomb!” That’s not a bad opening line for the first story in a Doctor Who annual, is it, but before we get to all that it’s worth mentioning that this … Continue reading →

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Doctor Who Annual (1983)

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Roger Pocock

The 1983 Doctor Who Annual might have the blurriest photographic cover ever, but there seems to be a genuine attempt to make it more appealing to fans of Doctor Who than previous annuals.  The big change is the effort that … Continue reading →

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Cliffhangers: Fifth Doctor

Posted on October 21, 2018 by Roger Pocock

When I wrote about the Fourth Doctor cliffhanger endings, I mentioned how the variety and inventiveness of the cliffhangers had been a diminishing process since the 1960s.  That doesn’t just continue for the Fifth Doctor era, it falls off a … Continue reading →

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Cliffhangers: Third Doctor 2

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Last time we looked at some cliffhangers from the Third Doctor era and noted how limited they had become in comparison to the Sixties episodes.  Placing the Doctor and/or his companions in danger was the default cliffhanger.  What we didn’t … Continue reading →

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Cliffhangers: Third Doctor 1

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Roger Pocock

I have watched every Doctor Who episode in order a couple of times, and on both occasions the big slog to get through has been the Third Doctor era.  Somehow it always seems like an awful lot of the same … Continue reading →

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The Dr Who Annual 1974

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The Doctor Who annuals continue their slow decline with this offering, featuring endless boring lucky dips from the children’s encyclopedia.  There are six short stories and two comic strips.  The annuals always did feel out of step with the television … Continue reading →

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Doctor Who: The Movie

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The original series of Doctor Who came to an end in 1989, and the new series returned to our screens in 2005.  But between these two there was one fleeting ray of light, the moment Doctor Who returned for the … Continue reading →

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Frontier in Space

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The Doctor regained his freedom at the beginning of this series, and it didn’t take long before we get the obvious approach, now that the Earth-bound format is gone: an old-fashioned bit of sci-fi set in the future with galactic … Continue reading →

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Survival

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Survival is the final story of the Classic series of Doctor Who.  Remarkably it manages to bookend the series thematically and foreshadow the revival to come, and it does both of these things by accident.  We are back in contemporary … Continue reading →

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The Dr Who Annual 1973

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Observant readers will notice that the last annual we looked at was dated 1971 and this one is 1973, but we haven’t actually missed one out.  Doctor Who was not deemed a successful enough series to warrant an annual for … Continue reading →

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Planet of Fire

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Peter Grimwade had a lot to accomplish with this story.  It is one of those shopping list briefs that plague the Davison era: write out Turlough, introduce Peri, reintroduce Kamelion and then write him out, fill in Turlough’s background, resolving … Continue reading →

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Castrovalva

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Roger Pocock

There are lots of Doctor Who stories that are inspired by fiction or by films, but these are not the only sources of inspiration available.  I have not exactly showered the work of Christopher H. Bidmead with praise so far, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Fifth Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Logopolis

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Anyone who has read my other Season 18 articles will have worked out by now that I am not a big fan of Christopher H. Bidmead’s approach to Doctor Who, which basically amounts to rooting it in science.  Up to … Continue reading →

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The Keeper of Traken

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Roger Pocock

On Traken there is no evil.  Anything evil on the planet turns to stone.  The use of that word “evil” will give regular readers of this blog a clue as to what kind of an article this is going to … Continue reading →

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The Deadly Assassin

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Roger Pocock

I must have watched The Deadly Assassin half a dozen times, but it was only when I was thinking about writing this article that a thought occurred to me: what exactly is a “panopticon”?  Is it just a made up … Continue reading →

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Last of the Time Lords

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Roger Pocock

This article covers the episodes The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords, which together form a single Doctor Who story.  These are often considered to be part of a trilogy of episodes beginning with Utopia, but we … Continue reading →

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