Yes, indeed, the Doctor is back from his hols. It’s interesting to compare the obviously exhausted Billy Hartnell in the first couple of episodes with the bouncy Billy of this episode. On top of his acting form, obviously enjoying himself. By this time Doctor Who was a clear success; Bill Hartnell’s contribution to that was to act his socks off.…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@Wolfweed

Presumably that picture was taken before the Cyberman’s arm fell off?

😉

@Wolfweed

Yeah, I think Chibbers could well be prepared to go there – and capable of writing it in such a way that the kids don’t understand the implications. As you point out, he wrote the Nefertiti/Solomon scene in such a way that it implied both ‘slavery’ and ‘rape’, with the kids much more likely to pick up ‘slavery’. But Nefertiti was a…[Read more]

The epic this week was getting to actually watch the episode. Between the DVD getting lost in the post, my YouTube app collapsing, and DailyMotion deciding to perpetually replay an ad about alien casinos without ever getting to alien snowscapes, I was beginning to feel like someone trekking across a sub-zero landscape peopled by greedy wolves,…[Read more]

@wolfweed. Thanks for that link. Really love seeing the effects and concept art. R.2. (second son) is currently studying digital arts so must flick it over to him.
cheers
Janette

@wolfweed She does a rather good job of cosplaying me 🙂 I think I need to work on the posh accent though. (Or it is Lalla who needs to work on the south Australian accent?)
Cheers
Janette

Thank you and sorry to @wolfweed, @Craig, @Bluesqeekpip, @JimTheFish @Rorysmith @Bleckonstopthebrave @nerys @winston @missy and @whisit (and anyone else I missed, I did make a list) for you kind words and no responding before.

My stepson spent most of the summer having a succession of mental crises (I did, to be fair, mentally implore him to at…[Read more]

@wolfweed

I just wonder if it’s meant to be a metaphor for something specific and if so, what?

Given that this was written in the period when the various European Empires were collapsing – the British one being closest to home and most frequently in the news of the day – I did wonder if the definite ‘Roman Empire’ vibe was deliberate. (Rather t…[Read more]

@wolfweed—

Yeah, saw that. Almost impossible to get hold of, I reckon. Though it may show up at collectors fairs and what have you. No indication of what this ‘signature collection’ might be though. I’d be very disappointed if it was just a collection of signatures, for example…

@Wolfweed So if I read that right, they’re doing “Shada” the same way they did the Second Doctor’s “Power of the Daleks” almost?

I’m actually mixed on this.  I’m glad it’s going to be finished.  And I’ll definitely check it out and add it to my collection.  But, at the same time, I have Big Finish’s version, with the Eighth Doctor.  And I rea…[Read more]

@wolfweed —

Cheers for that, especially the designs. I really like Cusick’s work, not least because it points to a time in the BBC’s history when it had whole armies of these guys who seemed to look upon what would now be considered jobs as High Creatives from a kind of National Service-inflected just-a-job technician point of view. I think it’d…[Read more]

@wolfweed—

seconded thumbs-up for the colour pics…

@bluesqueakpip—

So that’s why Billy was so uptight about the glass breakage. He was fearing it was going to come out of their wages….

And what is it about the Brains of Morphoton that is reminding me of Blakey from On The Buses?

@wolfweed

Weirdly, Babs kills the Morphotons by not breaking their jars

Not weird. I bet those jars came from the BBC Props department and they wanted them back. Unbroken.

It’s possible to play ‘spot the BBC Props goblet’ with BBC historicals between the 1960’s and 1970’s. Apparently all historical periods, from Elizabethan England to…[Read more]

@thane15 Kerning is the term printers gave to the spaces between letters. It’s a bit of an art, based on what letters are placed next to each other. I think the main problem in “SEA OF DEATH” is the slope of the A next to the T in DEATH. Both letters take up the same space. A graphic designer, these days, would reduce the space taken up by the T…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@Craig

there is also the sexism in the script (or in the Doctor), which made me wince.

Yes, there were a few moments of serious wincing. Like the ‘we’re fine, because Ian is still free, so he’ll rescue us.’ At which point Barbara points out that Ian got captured before she did. Looking at Barbara’s characterisation, she’s making an incredible…[Read more]

@Wolfweed as well as the great fluff, which I laughed out loud at, there is also the sexism in the script (or in the Doctor), which made me wince.

There’s at least twice when the Doctor walks up to Barbara and Ian, who are standing together, and says something like “What do you think of this Chesterton?” Barbara had already been established as a…[Read more]

@wolfweed: Thank you. I’m going to miss this man so much. *sniff*

Missy

Little bit confused. The article @wolfweed links to states that Dr Who Experience has only been running in Cardiff for five years but over ten years ago now I took the boys to a Dr Who exhibition in Cardiff which I assumed was the Dr Who Experience. building was not the same as I recall though. I have photos of K.9 and the obligatory fridge magnet…[Read more]