Our female Gallifreyan, played by Carole Ann Ford, will leave the TARDIS in November 1964. From that point on the audience will not see another female member of the Doctor’s race until Leela finds Rodan, in The Invasion of Time. In February 1978.

While the long gap is partly understandable (the concept of ‘Time Lords’ wasn’t invented until…[Read more]

Okay, a mere one-and-a-half weeks late. Blame Holy Week and Easter. 😀

Great episode – this is such a well written story. Within the limitations of time and budget it’s so well done.

For example, last week’s cliffhanger isn’t resolved easily. Ian really has to work at escaping from the rapidly rising water. I also note that what the scriptwriter…[Read more]

@Missy
It’s a perfectly genuine clip of a youtube video of some flooding. One of the items carried off in the flood was a portable toilet. A blue portable toilet. A TARDIS sized, blue, portable toilet.

First, add some Doctor Who Theme music.

Then, imagine a normal city street, with a river of floodwater running through it. The floodwater is of…[Read more]

@ddoherty95

“Splendid chaps, all of them.” 😀

Audio Commentary:

Not much commentary on this episode; the actors and producer frequently seem to be caught up in watching the action – and then remember that they’re supposed to be talking about it. 🙂

First comment is the way Jacqueline Hill took complete command of the first scene (and later scenes). Praise for Ian Cullen and Keith Pyott, as…[Read more]

@thane16

Hi, Thane!

For your problem, you’d have to distinguish between the different types of memory. We remember facts, events and what kind of person we are as different types of memory. My knowledge of this area of psychology is hugely out of date – there’s been a lot of recent research – but apparently our memory of our character is stored…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@blenkinsopthebrave and @whisht

Yes, you can see why some of the actors have decided to go for flat-out RSC style. ::cough:: Tlotoxl ::cough::

And you can’t help wondering whether Team TARDIS’ competence with weapons has been developed in the previous five stories; at least, I hope Barbara didn’t pick up that facility with knives during her…[Read more]

The Audio Commentary: Verity Lambert, William Russell, Carole Ann Ford.

General agreement that John Ringham is terrifying in the opening scene, especially for kids. ‘He means it’ is one comment. Bill Hartnell’s Doctor was always at odds with everyone he met – and William Russell remembers Bill was always looking for comic bits. You never knew…[Read more]

So, the audio commentary: the late Verity Lambert is running the interview, with William Russell and Carole Anne Ford.

Verity comments that the historicals had to be completely accurate – right dates, right costumes, authentic designs. Several decades later, they’re pretty impressed by the set and costumes (quite rightly, I’d say). Though the…[Read more]

Bit late in watching this one: it’s full of derring do, excitement, and the Doctor getting things wrong. 🙂
Given that the scriptwriters had an ‘educational’ remit, they’ve done really well in portraying the Aztecs as ‘people like us’. Good, bad, nosy, wise, foolish. Set in their ways, and open to new thoughts.

Susan learning the ‘Good Housewife…[Read more]

@2011bumblebee

Congratulations on creating a genuinely short and ‘no trouble’ survey. 🙂

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@devilishrobby

I agree that the spiritual home of Who has always been Saturday evenings, but Saturday evenings have changed – they’re now more Variety orientated, with big, often live, shows. The big ‘family drama’ slot is now Sunday from about 7.30 – they might be thinking of popping Who in the 8pm pre-watershed slot, for example. Currently,…[Read more]

@Craig

Thanks for that. I did think of dropping a hint about setting up ‘Female Time Lords Retrospective’, but then decided that I didn’t know whether you were hugely relieved/celebrating or drowning your sorrows. Glad to hear it’s ‘hugely relieved’.

🙂

My first comment would be that the Special Edition of the DVD is amazing value – for seven of our British Pounds, you get The Aztecs AND a reconstructed version of Galaxy 4. You also get two child orientated introductions to the Aztec people, various making of/commentaries/documentaries about Who. Plus How the Aztecs Made Cocoa. 🙂

Okay. Title:…[Read more]

@Craig

This post is ever so slightly off-topic. 🙂

@tardis123

It seems the Testimony has some way of either releasing the Doctor’s blocked memory, or replacing the lost memories.

@gamergirlavatar

Yes, I’d agree with that. Looking at the scene, the TARDIS is definitely throwing the Doctor out – and the next thing we see of the TARDIS from the Doctor’s perspective is an apparent explosion and the control room full of flames.

So my guess would be that the TARDIS knew the Doctor wouldn’t survive the explosion that was about…[Read more]

@Blenkinsopthebrave

I remember Peter Wyngarde very fondly from Department S and Jason King, but I didn’t like Planet of Fire that much.

I did also think about Edge of Destruction, but it turns out that we already rewatched it, back in 2015.

However, we haven’t done the Dalek Invasion of Earth. 🙂

Looking at this in a more timetable type way…[Read more]