Tag Archives: Polly

Swinging Sixties Polly

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Companion Tropes 20 Last week we looked at Ace, a character who was introduced to represent a different aspect of Britain than Doctor Who had ever included before, when late 80s Doctor Who became far more diverse.  It is not … Continue reading →

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Cliffhangers: Second Doctor 1

Posted on September 1, 2018 by Roger Pocock

It’s down there, in the darkness, in the pipeline, waiting. Last time we looked at the First Doctor cliffhangers, and identified three main ways to end an episode leaving us wanting more: placing somebody in danger, the monster reveal, and … Continue reading →

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The Moonbase

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Now listen, everybody. I don’t know how many more of these Cybermen there are, but from our point of view we’re under siege. It is remarkable the extent to which the Troughton era arrives fully formed here, with a format … Continue reading →

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The Faceless Ones

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Between 11th March and 13th May 1967 Doctor Who had a run of 10 episodes that made going on your summer holidays a very scary idea.  First The Macra Terror showed the viewers a holiday camp infested with giant crabs, … Continue reading →

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The Underwater Menace

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Every so often a Doctor Who story is so incredibly ahead of its time that it ends up being widely misunderstood, and these tend to also be the moments where ambitions far outreach the capabilities of the budget.  The Underwater … Continue reading →

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The Highlanders

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Roger Pocock

About two a clock in the afternoon a rascal of the name of Gray, Solicitor Hume’s man from Edinburgh, with his hatful of tickets, and Miller and Solicitor Web from London, with this fellow Gray, presented the hat to me, … Continue reading →

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The Macra Terror

Posted on April 2, 2018 by Roger Pocock

This is the first of two Classic Series stories set in a holiday camp, a location that would have been instantly recognisable to contemporary viewers.  It might be expressed in terms of a colony here, but the imagery would have … Continue reading →

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The Power of the Daleks

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Apart from a handful of clips, The Power of the Daleks is a completely missing story.  Such is its importance that there have been more different representations of the story than another other, which makes it difficult to look through … Continue reading →

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The Smugglers

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Roger Pocock

With a plot that consists of various characters being captured, escaping and being captured again, this logically should not be a very good story, but strangely enough it is quite enjoyable.  The secret lies in the characters themselves, who are … Continue reading →

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The War Machines

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Roger Pocock

This is a perfect example of a story that makes it so worthwhile to watch all of Doctor Who in order, as it is totally different to anything that has gone before.  If you dip in and out of various … Continue reading →

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Audience Identification: First Doctor

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Question: who is the audience identification figure or figures in classic Star Trek?  Who is the pudding-brain who has to ask all the inane questions to help the audience along?  Answer: everyone.  Trek had a clever format: everyone was a … Continue reading →

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Twice Upon a Time

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Roger Pocock

“A long time ago, at the South Pole, the Doctor refused to regenerate…”  Sounds like the opening line of a children’s story, doesn’t it.  And that title: a reference to the opening words of so many fairy tales.  As somebody … Continue reading →

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The Tenth Planet

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Roger Pocock

A decade ago I wrote a review of The Tenth Planet, and here’s what I had to say about the Cybermen: The Cybermen themselves are superb creations: the often-criticised design is in fact genuinely creepy, and the face masks and … Continue reading →

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