Doctor Who–Early Births & Deaths – Part 1

From time to time I’ve been writing up posts covering the activity of Doctor Who during particular calendar years. So far there are posts up for every year from 1963 to 1978.

Only in the last couple of these–1977 & 1978–have I started including notes about significant births and deaths of real-life people related to the series. That means there are fourteen years which I have covered in general, but not in this area.

(Daily Doctor Who #243)

Doctor Who: Bang-Bang-a-Boom! [Big Finish]

Bang-Bang-a-Boom! is the 39th entry in Big Finish’s “Main Range” or “Monthly Range” of Doctor Who audios, this time starring Sylvester McCoy as the 7th Doctor, accompanied by Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush. The story is largely a satire, set in an outer-space version of the Eurovision Song Contest, which is only a little stranger than the real Eurovision Song Contest seems to be at times.

(Daily Doctor Who #223)

Doctor Who: Looking Back at 47 Days #14 – Funniest Episode

A few years ago, I did a series of 47 daily posts which all looked at different questions related to the revival series of Doctor Who, focusing on stuff I like about the show. I worked out a series of questions in advance and then picked one randomly for each day. I’ve decided to revisit the series to see how my opinions may or may not have changed, and to bring two of my daughters into the discussion, since they are both big fans and have recently finished watching the revival series.

Doctor Who: The One Doctor [Big Finish]

Back in December 2001, Big Finish Productions released The One Doctor, their first ever “Christmas episode”.  This isn’t a trend they continued for very long, but it’s interesting to note that this precedes Doctor Who‘s first modern “Christmas episode” by a good four years.  In any case, this story features Colin Baker as the 6th Doctor, and Bonnie Langford as his companion Melanie Bush.  But it also features Christopher Biggins as the Doctor, and Clare Buckfield as his companion, Sally-Anne Stubbins.

Doctor Who Series 8 – Halfway There

As an avowed Doctor Who fan, I have been making a point of watching episodes from the new season as promptly as is convenient.  But as a bit of a lazy blogger who has been super busy at work and with visiting family, and also kind of sick, I haven’t been writing about each episode.  But I just finished The Caretaker, which is the 6th episode of the season, and I thought I’d just jot down a few thoughts about the season so far.

I already wrote fully about the opening installment, Deep Breath.  You can go and read about the whole thing but the short story is that while I really liked the new Doctor-Clara dynamic, and overall enjoy both lead performances, I wasn’t too impressed with the episode itself.  I think the Vastra-Jenny-Strax thing is long past its prime, and the “climactic” battle scene between them and the murderous androids is possibly one of the silliest and least believably directed sequences I have ever scene in modern Doctor Who.

So, with that opening, I was a bit nervous about what we’d find in the subsequent episodes. And now, five weeks later, what’s the verdict?  Well, as is inevitable, it’s a bit hit and miss, but with the hits coming more and more frequently.

Doctor Who: The Lodger [Episodes 5.11]

The Lodger is the 11th episode of the 5th season of Doctor Who, starring Matt Smith as the Doctor and guest starring James Corden as Craig Owen, and written by Gareth Roberts, based on a Doctor Who comic story he’d previously written.