Tag Archives: Sarah Jane Smith

The Chickified Sarah Jane

Posted on November 27, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Companion Tropes 41 Often when the Doctor regenerates there is an attempt to provide a contrast with the previous incarnation. The same thing applies, perhaps to an even greater extent, with the companions. In particular, we seem to veer back … Continue reading →

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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 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 →

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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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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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The Dr Who Annual 1975

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The Doctor Who annuals continued their slow decline in terms of the artwork, but the quality of the stories actually improved with the 1975 annual.  They are not quite so derivative of the television episodes, but more importantly the end … 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 Five Doctors

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Ext. The Death Zone.  IAN and BARBARA CHESTERTON are walking across a barren, rocky landscape.  BARBARA looks frightened. BARBARA: Ian, what was that strange pyramid? IAN: Presumably some kind of travel device.  We seem to have been transported somewhere. BARBARA: … Continue reading →

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The Sarah Jane Adventures

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Roger Pocock

As we near the end of looking at every Doctor Who story, we’re taking a detour this week to write about some of the spinoffs.  I probably won’t be covering them on an episode-by-episode basis, although The Sarah Jane Adventures … Continue reading →

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K9 and Company

Posted on September 3, 2018 by Roger Pocock

I’ve got an idea for the title sequence.  Why don’t we do that American TV thing where we cut together a lot of exciting bits of the first episode? But we’re scheduled to film the title sequence first. OK, then … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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Planet of Evil

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Never was there a more inappropriate title for a Doctor Who story (OK, maybe The Waking Ally), because the antimatter on Zeta Minor is not evil.  It even lets Sorenson go on his merry way despite being the cause of … Continue reading →

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Planet of the Spiders

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Roger Pocock

It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for, when the Doctor stole the blue crystal from Metebelis III at the start of The Green Death, and then gave it to Jo in an attempt to think of a … Continue reading →

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The Android Invasion

Posted on July 6, 2018 by Roger Pocock

This is one of those Doctor Who stories that it is fashionable not to like.  That has always baffled me because it is one of my favourites and the reasons given for not liking it have always struck me as … Continue reading →

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Downtime

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Roger Pocock

It was a funny old world being a Doctor Who fan in the 90s.  I had watched quite a bit of 80s Doctor Who but wouldn’t really have described myself as a fan, but from 1992 onwards I was a … Continue reading →

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The Sontaran Experiment

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Roger Pocock

You know those press conferences that happen before boxing matches, where the opponents do a bit of pre-fight trash talking?  I’m still waiting for the one where somebody calls the other one an “unspeakable abomination”.  But that’s beside the point. … Continue reading →

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The Time Warrior

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Oh, I could murder a cup of tea. …and at that moment the British viewing public fell in love with Sarah Jane Smith.  It was no thanks to Robert Holmes though.  Just look what Elisabeth Sladen has to contend with … Continue reading →

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