Tag Archives: Steven

Steven the Deuteragonist

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Roger Pocock

Companion Tropes 28 Most readers of this blog will have probably heard of the term “protagonist”, and also “antagonist”, but in less common parlance is the “deuteragonist”.  This is mainly because the term describes a far rarer kind of character … Continue reading →

Posted in Companion Tropes, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged | 1 Comment

Cliffhangers: First Doctor 2

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Yesterday we looked at some of the cliffhangers in the First Doctor era, specifically the ones that reveal the monster.  Although these are the most iconic and best-remembered cliffhangers, they are not in the majority.  Most cliffhangers are a moment … Continue reading →

Posted in Cliffhangers, Doctor Who, Entertainment, Random Chatter, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Savages

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Nestled between two popular stories that are complete in the archives, the missing Savages tends to get overlooked and doesn’t provoke much in the way of strong reactions.  It is neither loved nor hated.  If anything, it is forgotten, or … Continue reading →

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

The Gunfighters

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Roger Pocock

This is one of those stories where Doctor Who crashes into another genre and sees how well the two fit together and how well the Doctor copes with being outside his usual comfort zone.  Broadly speaking there are two approaches … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, First Doctor, History, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

The Celestial Toymaker

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Roger Pocock

I have been looking forward to this moment with some degree of trepidation, because The Celestial Toymaker is an incredibly difficult Doctor Who story to write about nowadays.  Due to issues of racism it is probably the most controversial Doctor … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, First Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

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 →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, Random Chatter, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Ark

Posted on February 2, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The Ark shows us a bleak vision of the future.  Not for the last time we see the final moments of planet Earth, and the remaining humans are off on a journey to find a new home.  After ten million … Continue reading →

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

The Massacre

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The Massacre is Steven’s story.  Not only is the Doctor absent from two of the four episodes, but he barely interacts with the plot when he is in the story, not even meeting the main villain.  As this is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, First Doctor, History, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Myth Makers

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Roger Pocock

This is not so much a historical Doctor Who story as a mythical one.  Donald Cotton’s approach is to look for the entertaining narrative within history, irrespective of any underlying facts or the lack thereof, and as such he accepts … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctor Who, Entertainment, First Doctor, History, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Galaxy 4

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Roger Pocock

On a couple of lovely summer evenings in Nineteen-ninety-something I read the script of Galaxy 4, published by Titan Books.  This was my first experience of the story, and it was an immediate favourite of mine.  I still love the … Continue reading →

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

The Time Meddler

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Roger Pocock

The classic series has been enjoyed as individual stories on VHS or DVD for so many years now that it is easy to forget that there were actually season finales right from the start.  Just like a modern series of … Continue reading →

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

The Daleks’ Master Plan

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Roger Pocock

Well, this is all incredibly complex.  It is really impossible to do this story justice within a single article and one day it probably needs looking at on an episode-by-episode basis (no promises!).  We have already looked at The Feast … Continue reading →

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

The Chase

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Roger Pocock

When the Doctor switches on the Time-Space Visualiser, it displays some historical characters, a performance by the Beatles, and then a group of Daleks on their way to kill the Doctor. This extraordinary coincidence really sets the scene for the … Continue reading →

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

The Feast of Steven

Posted on December 1, 2017 by Roger Pocock

A Happy Christmas to all of you at home!  That line was inevitably going to form part of this article, so let’s get it done straight away.  Welcome to December on The View from the Junkyard!  We’re going to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Christmas, Doctor Who, Entertainment, First Doctor, Reviews, Science Fiction, Television | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment