Not sure about tracking down the movie.  I have a DVD copy from when it was still available to purchase.

But here is the clip I was referring to.

It’s magical.

Thanks for that news. It would, indeed, be wonderful to see them. I don’t know if you are familiar with “The Smallest Show on Earth, a lovely comedy from the 1950s about a tiny cinema struggling to survive, that starred  Margaret Rutherford And Peter Sellars, among others. There is a wonderful scene where they are watching a clip from…[Read more]

Was sitting with Mrs Blenkinsop–each of us with a glass of wine, discussing alternative directions Who might have taken (eg, imagine Doctor River Song…or Doctor Ruth..). But then we started talking about show runners, andMrs Blenkinsop came up with a brilliant insight….who has managed to kill off the show? First it was John…[Read more]

Fabulous news!

Was just re-watching the recent colourized   version of “The War Games”–the last Troughton story and the first that introduced the Time Lords. And what a problematic group of authoritarian guardians they are. No wonder…[Read more]

Ford Talks Cut “Doctor Who” Finale Scene

BBC Remains Committed To “Doctor Who”

Of course, saying that “the TARDIS is going nowhere” lends itself to multiple readings.

New “Doctor Who” Could Be Five Years Off

That was a lovely description of Canada. I moved here (from Australia) about 12 years ago, although my wife (who is Canadian) and I met and married in Australia. But after visiting here (with her) about 25 years ago, I fell in love with the place. It took a while, but we finally made it. And I cannot think of a better place to be.

@mraem, @ps1l0v3y0u

I am assuming Ben meant ten years ago in his own past, so the 1950s. I could not place it, but here is a likely list:

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls051021435/

I was also wondering why any Hollywood movie clip would be hanging around in the BBC vault.

Like @whohar, I think it will be off our screens for at least two years.Perhaps more. Perhaps a lot more. RTD2 would seem to have managed what only JNT had previously achieved: to put the nail into the coffin of a well-beloved show. The fact that that it was RTD (the first iteration) who successfully revived the show makes…[Read more]

Davies: “Doctor Who” Fate Still Uncertain

Sorry that I missed your post on Billie Piper as the Tardis. It must have been a second glass of wine scan on my part…

But, also champion bonkerizing!

could Piper be the Tardis?

That is an inspired idea! I opens up all sorts of possibilities for how the new Doctor deals with their new found appearance, character, etc.

Champion bonkerizing!

Vincent and the Doctor. What a brilliant, brilliant show that was. And for all the reasons you point out. As you say , chalk and cheese compared to the current iteration.

Last  night we watched the only 3 surviving episodes of “The Dalek’s Master Plan” with the Hartnell Doctor (episodes 2, 5 and 10). The companions are Peter Purves as Steven and…Jean Marsh as Sarah K…[Read more]

“introducing Billie Piper”

How can you introduce an actor that everyone knows from past Who?

A strange use of the word “introduce”. Seemingly, it only make sense if you read it as “introducing Billie Piper as …well, somebody or other…”

@mudlark, the final paragraph of your most recent post was excellent (as always) and helped me clarify my questions regarding the issue. But I am still grappling with it.

Then I started thinking about how  fiction vs…[Read more]

Murky- do you mean top 5 since thE Gatwa Doctor, or from all of Who?

If it is from all of Who  then the top of my list would probably be the six part Troughton story-“The Web of Fear”. It was a stellar example of murky and gritty.

And–unfortunately–they don’t make them like that any more.

I liked the murky, dirty spaceships, the grim worlds, where everything seemed off kilter and cold.

@ps1lOv3y0u

I do miss the gritty old prosaic Who.

Yes! I am in agreement with both of you. I suppose we are missing the 20th century – the world we grew up in.

But at least I have my DVD collection of gritty old prosaic Who in the…[Read more]

Couldn’t’ help but wonder why UNIT’s defences only face one way!

Absolutely! And the scene where Kate turns the wheel and the entire top of the building tries to turn…

Of course, it gave her something to do, rather than (like her father) shouting out orders.

I should add that that scene was one of the reasons I enjoyed the episode!

There were some things I had…[Read more]

As “The Three Doctors” required all 3 Doctors (Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee) to defeat Omega, RTD2 decides to spend his Disney budget by finding a way to have all 15 Doctors present to defeat the Rani and banish Omega. And at the conclusion all 15 Doctors form a conga line, waving to the audience as…[Read more]

Re: midges, Mrs Blenkinsop reminded me of this love poem which she used to teach back in the day, by Anthony Hecht.

That Conrad is not redeemed.

The one thing I found slightly disorienting was when Belinda tells the Rani (after turning her head to look at the Rani): “My battle is in there, saving my daughter”. And the next shot is of Belinda holding Poppy in the gold  coloured box. It gave me the impression that Belinda was both outside the box and inside the box.

p.s. I hope…[Read more]

“Poppy is real”

I still have this lingering feeling that Poppy might be a Timelord, crazy as that sounds. How else to explain her appearance in “Space Babies” and, briefly, in Lagos?

Did the Doctor and Belinda actually have a child? If so, is Poppy a Timelord? If so, could Poppy…[Read more]

What insight did it provide to the Rani’s plan to bring back Omega on Saturday? Perhaps it confirms @pufferfish‘s brilliant assessment of the current Rani…[Read more]

I think the appearance of the Tardis with the Jo Martin Doctor was simply an egregious mistake on the part of Chibbers. One of many.

Will hold off on a more detailed response, as the annual marathon in my town that starts and concludes about a block from where I live is coming to its conclusion, and the ones coming in last are the ones…[Read more]

Poppy is clearly of great importance. She was there in “Space Babies, she was there briefly at the end of “The Story and the Engine” and now she is here, as the…[Read more]

(you have to have been on this site from the time @craig set it up to make sense of the above sentence.)

I really hope Belinda is not ‘special’.

As do I. If you recall, the Doctor scanned her DNA, so unless he was lying through his teeth, we can hope that she is regular Belinda.

p.s. Mrs Blenkinsop and I watched the very first Who story “An Unearthly Child” last night. It was brilliant. It brought back memories for me of watching it as a n…[Read more]

Brilliant!

Whatever actually happens cannot be as stupendously excellent as what you have outlined.

Are you available to take up the position as the next Showrunner?

You certainly have my vote.

https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/billy-proctor-heart-of-the-raincoast-dies-at-90-10678357

When Mrs Blenkinsop and I first visited over 20 years ago, we were walking around the inner harbour of the main city late one evening, and heard a bubbling sound.We…[Read more]

https://www.darkhorizons.com/doctor-who-team-plans-two-more-seasons/

As a lot of it is conjecture, I think this is the best place for it, as is any discussion.

I don’t think Belinda is Susan’s daughter. In last week’s episode she mentioned to the Doctor that her nan took her to visit India, so she could get a sense of her heritage. But what I find interesting about Belinda is she only ever refers to her parents. Not to friends, not to co-workers, not to relationships (let’s pass over the…[Read more]

The Doctor turns vicious, Susan appears (in order to call him back from the dark place he is inhabiting?). Well, OK, I suppose.

Hellion psycho tries to murder the audience, but not the Corporation ( poor Freddie Fox is in danger of being typecast if you recall him in Slow Horses).

We are still in…[Read more]

OK, perhaps not.

A wonderfully informative reflection on the episode.

I was unaware of the connection to the story of Sheherazade, for example. Thank you.

without being wildly OTT,

We are talking about RTD2, of course.

It’s a kid show. We’re overthinking it.

But it’s not a kid’s show anymore.  The last show runner who was capable of pitching it to both kids and adults was Moffat. And that’s part of the problem. Throwing in a giant mechanical spider in outer space doesn’t mean that kids can make anymore sense of a bunch of adults telling stories…[Read more]

At an obvious level, it is a story about  a story about forgiveness and redemption. And it does that quite well.…[Read more]

Back after I have found a pipe…

Actually, I would be a little disappointed if Conrad turns out to be a boring anti-vaxxer.  God of Untruth sounds much more cool.

Re: your question of what made the small child Conrad into the exremely unpleasant and exploitative adult, a different question popped into my head.  Why is no one on Earth (except the employees of UNIT) aware of the existence  of the Doctor? We have been watching this fictional show for 60 years about a population that never seems to r…[Read more]

Could Conrad be a strange version of the master?

Yes, he might well be. Given his behaviour, he has all the personaliy traits. And he knew about the Tardis, having seen it de-materialize when he was spying on Ruby.

In a way, I would like him to be a strange version of the Master, just so I could see him defeated by the Doctor,…[Read more]