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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 2, 2024 19:48:36 GMT
I started this marathon way back in November of 2022. Now the actual anniversary has come and gone and I'm still only halfway through... so let's just call this the 60+ marathon.
Anyways, my goal is to dip my toes into almost every aspect of the extended universe from tv, to books, to audio and everything in between for each doctor. Selecting stories mostly at random, I'll be covering for each Doctor one...
tv story minisode
- video game
full length audio short audio
novelization
book short story
comic
behind the scenes aspect
- related spin-off
and a fan work
I'm right now going through the Eighth Doctor era, but will be posting my previous reviews first until I'm caught up.
I'm currently debating on adding the 15th Doctor to the marathon... It will all depend on what is available once I get to that point. However, I'm just going to lump 14 in with 10 as they are essentially the same character.
I'm also planning on doing a bonus round at the end to cover miscellaneous stuff that that I couldn't get to previously or didn't fit into any category.
So that's pretty much it. I'll be posting the first review later tonight and hopefully will get to post one a day until I've caught up to where I am currently.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 3, 2024 5:21:19 GMT
Hartnell 1st Review
An Adventure in Space and Time - Biopic
Just in time for the 59th anniversary of the show, the randomizer has graced us with the Doctor Who biopic, An Adventure in Space and Time. Originally made for the 50th anniversary of the show, this dramatization of the series’s beginnings is simply the best thing to come out of the 50th celebration. Oh don’t get me wrong, Day of the Doctor, Night of the Doctor, and The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot are all fun, but none hold a candle to this movie.
The film tells two separate but connected stories. The first half is mainly dedicated to the actual creation of the show and Variety Lambert’s struggle to be taken seriously by the rest of the BBC. As the first female producer the studio has ever had, trying to get her first project off the ground, Variety faces a lot of push back from people within the studio in addition to the technical problems of making a sci-fi show on a shoestring budget.
I don’t think Variety Lambert gets enough credit within the Doctor Who fandom for just how important she was to the creation of our favorite series. She helped co-create the character of the Doctor, was instrumental in getting the show off the ground and preventing higher-ups from killing it too soon, and was the first and so far only female head producer for the series. She was decades before her time.
She’s the biggest reason I get so offend by modern male showrunners, like Moffat, trying to pretend they’re more progressive than the literal woman who created the very show they’re working on now!
No backhanded jokes about 60s sexism nor tokenistic casting will ever be more progressive than the real woman working her way through a male dominated field in the 1960s and blazing the way for later female producers. Stop it!
If you can’t tell, I’m very passionate about the subject matter of the first plot but the second arc is no less entertaining, and is perhaps the heart of the movie itself.
The second half of the film is about the lead actor, William Hartnell, struggling with his own personal insecurities as his growing illness makes it increasingly difficult for him to continue on playing the role that he loved so much and helped create.
While Variety’s story concerns the external conflict of the business politics of the entertainment industry and it’s institutionalized bigotry, Hartnell’s subplot is much more interpersonal. It’s about the need to be seen. To make an impact on the world and to have a community to share your experiences with. It’s the tragic realization that life constantly changes and that we all must face our own morality and personal limitations someday.
I can’t gush about this film enough. It’s perfectly cast, expertly shot, masterfully written, and it pulls at your heartstrings in all the right ways. This was a movie made with love, and it shows. Love for the show, a love for the history of the medium, and a love for the people who worked on it.
I highly, highly recommend giving it a watch if you haven't yet. Even if you’re not a Doctor Who fan it still worth your time simply because it’s a well crafted film in it’s own right.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 4, 2024 23:29:12 GMT
Hartnell 2nd Review Set in Stone - Short Story
I love Short Trips. Anthologies and short stories are perhaps my favorite expanded media to come out of Doctor Who.
Today’s story comes from Short Trips: The History of Christmas. As you may guess from the title the theme of the anthology collection is Christmas and it’s surrounding holidays. There’s actually quite a few such Yuletide themed anthologies within the franchise.
This particular outing involves the First Doctor, Barbara, and Ian landing in Scotland in 1950, shortly after Susan has left them. What starts off as an extended holiday, to give them time to move on from their loss, turns into a heist caper to steal the coronation stone on Christmas day.
Apparently the story is based off a real event. On Christmas Day, 1950, four college students stole the Stone of Scone, a Scottish relic that was used for royal coronations for centuries, from Westminster Abbey where the English had stolen it centuries before to use in their own coronations. They had planned to return the stone to Scotland but accidentally broke the stone in half during the theft. They had a stone mason fix it and left the stone in Arbroath Abbey, a church in Scotland, where the English authorities just picked it back up anyways.
Since then the real stone has been returned to Scotland and rests with the Scottish crown jewels, but the English royalty still gets to ‘borrow’ it whenever they want to, like for King Charles recent coronation. I wonder how well that arrangement will work out if Scotland votes to become an independent country again.
Anyways, back to the story. Barbara, Ian, and the Doctor replace the four students within the historical timeline of this retelling. However their reasons for doing so is less political and more extra-terrestrial. Turns out the stone is an intelligent alien space rock and they’re rescuing it.
What I really like about the short trips is that they don’t have to be these grand action packed adventures. Some are, but just as many are small character studies or world building exercises. This is a small, sweet story, where the most climatic, tension filled thing is a flat tire. Nothing is in danger of blowing up, no one dies, and the main conflict is whether or not Barbara and Ian want to continue traveling when they’re so close their own time; only 13 years too early.
It’s delightful. Utterly delightful, and I highly recommend it along with the rest of the anthology. Especially as Christmas nears.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 5, 2024 15:51:25 GMT
Hartnell 3rd Review
The Crusade - TV Story
I have very little to say about this story other than that it’s really, really good. I hold the First Doctor’s era in high esteem and The Crusade is one of the best stories in season two. It’s a shame half of it is missing.
For those wondering, two of the episodes are considered lost to time, so in order to watch the whole story I watched the Loose Canon reconstructions of the missing episodes.
The pacing here is superb with plenty of action and intrigue. The dialogue sparkles and the character work is sound.
Refreshingly both sides of the conflict are shown as heroic and flawed in kind with no clear good guy/bad guy except for two antagonists who are on opposite sides of the war.
If I have any complaint, and it’s very minor, I wish it was told to King Richard at some point that if he wants to end the war so badly that he could just pick up and leave. He’s the invader here after all.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 6, 2024 1:06:43 GMT
Hartnell 4th Review
The Empire of Glass - Novel
This is a novel of two halves. Half of it is very good, and the other half is not so good. But it’s by no means bad per-say.
Let’s start with the basic plot. The Doctor returns to the Tardis after being taken out of time by the Time Lords. Long time fans will recognize that this story takes place after the events of The Three Doctors, but that matters not. What’s important is that the Doctor returns with an invitation in his hand, with no memory of ever receiving it.
Said invitation lacks any sort of explanation but comes only with time coordinates for Venice in the year 1601 AD. The Doctor and his companions, Steven and Vicki, fear it’s a trap, but the Doctor wants to spring the trap and get to the bottom of this mystery. From there we have a wild romp through the late Italian renaissance with aliens, mistaken identities, and several historical figures.
Now let’s talk about what doesn’t work first. For starters, there are way too many plot threads going on. I wouldn’t say it’s unwieldy, it does all come together in the end, but it’s very convoluted.
As a side effect of this, the inclusion of so many important historical figures feels superfluous and forced. Yes they all have a function within the plot, but it’s nothing that couldn’t have been achieved with mostly original characters to begin with. Rather than enhance the story, they often distract instead, especially William Shakespeare’s ludicrous sub-plot.
Also, and this may just be a personal taste thing, but this really didn’t feel like a ‘missing adventure’. I don’t know what it is with Virgin Publishing and their Doctor Who books, but a lot of the stuff I’ve read from them are too try hard and edgy, and would feel very out of place within the show proper. This particular book isn’t the worst offender by far, but it does take you out of the story sometimes. Especially since this is trying to mimic an actual First Doctor story, albeit one that has more sci-fi/historical mash up than was usual for him.
Finally, the characterization for the Doctor and his companions felt uneven. I was told that this was originally meant to be a Third Doctor story and I think it shows. There are definitely times when it feels like the First Doctor is a later Doctor just wearing a First Doctor mask it seems.
Vicki fares a little better, but is given little to do. However I do appreciate that the author is trying to give both her and Steven depth by exploring their respective traumas in a way that just couldn’t and wouldn’t be done on screen. However, Steven feels a little too abrasive… Yeah, I mean Steven was never the most enthusiastic companion, but I don’t remember him being this much a downer. I also don’t think the romance between him and Marlowe really worked. It feels like a scene is missing from their story, one where Steven actual recuperates Marlowe’s advances or something.
So for the good things… It’s well paced. The story trots along nicely and gives plenty of good details. The character’s who aren’t the mains are well realized. I like that the threat isn’t an alien invasion, but an attempt to sabotage an alien peace conference. I also like that the person who successfully negotiated the peace conference was a human priest who thought he had died and gone to heaven. That was the best twist, but most of the twists were well thought out.
There’s also illustrations!!
These are so rare in novels! Why? They’re a great thing to have.
However the best thing about this book is Brax.
For those who don’t know, Irving Braxiatel, known as Brax to his friends, is the Doctor’s brother. He’s also a rouge time lord, but unlike the Master or the Rani, he’s not really a villain. Nor is he always a good guy, but here he is trying to do the right thing and he easily charms his way into the reader’s hearts.
This is my first real encounter with the character, though I had heard of him before. He was named dropped in the Fourth Doctor story, City of Death. The only thing we knew about him was that he owned a massive library and museum. Turns out he’s kind of like the Collector from Marvel, but slightly less of a dick about it… slightly.
Anyways, the expanded universe has since took this one off mention and spun him into an important character who appears in books, audio plays, and even some spin-off cartoons!
Like I said, this is the first time I’ve come across the character, but I shall be rather pleased if he manages to show up again in the marathon. But who can say, it’s all up to the randomizer.
Oh and does anyone else think the random no-named Time Lord from Terror of the Autons is Brax too?
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Post by Alastair on Feb 6, 2024 19:21:20 GMT
What a wonderful, ambitious, utterly bonkers project! The scale of it, the risk factor where quality is not assured, and most vitally your engaging glass-half-full review style, all have me very eager to follow the journey.
Please do keep sharing these.
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Post by bonehead on Feb 6, 2024 19:23:28 GMT
What a wonderful, ambitious, utterly bonkers project! The scale of it, the risk factor where quality is not assured, and most vitally your engaging glass-half-full review style, all have me very eager to follow the journey. Please do keep sharing these. In full agreement with Alastair, I love pouring over these; looking forward to each and every instalment
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 6, 2024 20:07:03 GMT
What a wonderful, ambitious, utterly bonkers project! The scale of it, the risk factor where quality is not assured, and most vitally your engaging glass-half-full review style, all have me very eager to follow the journey. Please do keep sharing these. I wish I could say that I always have such a positive attitude when reviewing, but sadly not every entry in this marathon has been a hit. lol
But I do try to be at least fair when I am being critical.
But I'm glad people are enjoying these, and I'm glad y'all are offering feedback.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 6, 2024 20:14:41 GMT
What a wonderful, ambitious, utterly bonkers project! The scale of it, the risk factor where quality is not assured, and most vitally your engaging glass-half-full review style, all have me very eager to follow the journey. Please do keep sharing these. In full agreement with Alastair, I love pouring over these; looking forward to each and every instalment Fortunately you'll be spoiled for content for the first 8 Doctors at least. Reviews will absolutely slow down once I catch up to where I am currently.
I just don't want to spam the thread with all of the past reviews at once, so my goal is to try to get one up a day on average.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 7, 2024 3:25:14 GMT
Hartnell 5th ReviewThe Suffering - Full Length Audio Ah Big Finish, where would Doctor Who be without you? For those who don’t know, Big Finish is a company that specializes in producing radio plays… radio plays that are listened to on CDs and MP3s instead. With the resurgence of podcasts recently, radio plays have come back in vogue, but Big Finish was out there decades prior still plugging along. They primarily produce audios for old sci-fi and fantasy franchises, along with the occasional audiobook. However Doctor Who is their bread and butter. They helped keep the show alive during it’s 16 year long hiatus, and are still making new content for older eras of the show to this day. The Companion Chronicles are a ‘spin-off’ series that focuses on the Doctor’s past companions recounting previously untold tales of their travels. Unlike the ‘main-range’ with it’s full cast audios, CCs tend to only have one to three actors at a time. They’re paired back, more intimate affairs, but they tend to be longer than Short Trips, hence why I place them in the full audio category. Besides, for earlier Doctors they tend to be more abundant than full cast plays. But enough background, what is this particular audio play about?
More or less, yes.
Steven, Vicki, and the Doctor land in Britain in 1912 during the height of the Suffragette movement. In a quarry they find the bones of a physic alien that can possess women. It’s goal? To destroy all men.
Not just mankind, but anyone male specifically. Basically the alien is a radfem, who becomes worse than the very thing it supposedly hates most, as it subjugates people and forces them to fight against their will.
It’s not a very subtle message, and it conveniently ignores the existence of trans people who would throw a monkey wrench into the idea of an alien who feeds off of ‘female energy’, as if such a thing could even exist. However, I did enjoy this outing more than the previous Steven and Vicki adventure I read last week.
For starters, the inclusion of the original actors does heighten the material. I won’t lie, books have their place, but they can’t recreate the chemistry of two real live people interacting. Steven and Vicki have a fun sibling dynamic that was lost in The Empire of Glass, but shines here front and center as they retell the story together.
Another thing in the audio’s favor is that it’s smaller scale. It feels like something that could have feasibly happened in the show proper, even if the approach is different because of the medium. It’s also more focused thematically speaking, as well.
I also enjoyed the humor and the insights into how classism and sexism intersects. How women themselves can uphold systems of oppression against them if they feel it will protect their own power, and how men can be important allies too. I also enjoyed the critique on what types of political protests are most effective or not. While the message isn’t subtle, it does have layers.
Honestly I would have enjoyed these aspects of the story more, but they are mostly only focused on in the second half of the story, which also features a lot of exposition dumps. They’re important info dumps as they explain the main villain’s goals and motivations, and being an audio there’s no other way to get that information across, but still it’s a bit uneven pacing wise.
Overall though, this has been one of the more enjoyable stories so far. It’s no Crusade and I liked Set in Stone more, but it was a fun romp itself.
Perhaps when I’m done with the first doctor’s era, I may go back and do like a ranking of the stories for him that I’ve covered so far.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 8, 2024 13:06:06 GMT
Hartnell 6th Review The Myth Makers - Fan Animation
So back in the 70s and 80s, before home video, the BBC junked a lot of older Doctor Who episodes of from the 60s. Since then fans have been trying to recreate these missing episodes through a variety of means. Today’s entry is by Who Recons.
It’s a 3D animated recon of the first doctor story The Myth Makers. I’m not sure what program the animator used but it would appear they used a video game as the base. There’s a lot of pre-programmed idle animations and a lots of reused assets. Which is very clever. A very economical way for an individual to make full length animations on their own. It makes me wonder, with increased quality in gaming animation over the years, if you could remake these episodes using something like Sims 4 to create even more expressive animations.
As for the story itself, the Myth Makers tends to rank pretty low on my favorite Hartnell list, but it’s by no means bad. The Doctor and his companions get caught up in the final days of the Trojan war. Interestingly enough, the bad guys win this one. The Greeks are shown as the clear aggressors in the conflict; greedy, violent, and self serving, while the Trojans are for the most part much nicer, except for Cassandra, but she has valid reasons to be unpleasant.
However, despite how much Vicki comes to care for and sympathies with the Trojans she can’t do anything to save them. Not only because history must be maintained but because she would place Steven and the Doctor in danger if she did. And of course one wonders how much of her guilt in not being able to help effected her decision to stay.
But the really notable thing in terms of this marathon is that it’s also the first appearance of Katarina! We'll somehow manage to fit all of the first doctors companions in here. I promise.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 8, 2024 23:55:20 GMT
Hartnell 7th Review
The Storyteller - Minisode
Charming. Utterly Charming.
Sure it’s a glorified trailer with mostly clips from the old show and badly edited in CGI, but look! It’s Vicki!
The Marketing Deparment didn’t have to go that hard. They could have given us an ordinary trailer and folks still would have bought the dvd, but they did and it was wonderful!
It’s so nice to see Vicki get a confirmed happy ending. Her exit from the Tardis was frothed with uncertainty, but it’s wonderful to know that she was ultimately happy with her choice.
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Post by number13 on Feb 9, 2024 10:59:36 GMT
Hartnell 7th Review
The Storyteller - Minisode
Charming. Utterly Charming.
Sure it’s a glorified trailer with mostly clips from the old show and badly edited in CGI, but look! It’s Vicki!
The Marketing Deparment didn’t have to go that hard. They could have given us an ordinary trailer and folks still would have bought the dvd, but they did and it was wonderful!
It’s so nice to see Vicki get a confirmed happy ending. Her exit from the Tardis was frothed with uncertainty, but it’s wonderful to know that she was ultimately happy with her choice.
I loved it too. In his very alternative novelisation of 'The Myth Makers', Donald Cotton does something vaguely along the same general lines (no spoilers!) to reassure us that all went well with Vicki and her new life in Carthage.
I'd highly recommend the novelisation btw, it's basically the same story but told in a unique and I think very funny way from the perspective of Homer (yes, him and no he wasn't in the TV version!) with loads of anachronistic jokes and references all the way up to the culture of the 1980s when it was written. Even better, the audiobook of the novelisation performed by Stephen Thorne is excellent.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 9, 2024 13:18:12 GMT
Hartnell 8th Review
Dalek Annual 1966: The Dalek Outer Space Book - Spin-off
So of course the most popular spin-off from the early days of the franchise is the Doctor’s greatest villain ever, The Daleks. During the early 60s Great Britain was swept up in “Dalekmania” and the creator of the menacing pepper-pots, Terry Nation, tried repeatedly to give the Daleks their own spin-off series.
Over the years there has been movies, plays, audios, comics, novels and even a failed tv series all featuring the Daleks with only the most tenuous connections to the parent show. Which is kind of the reason why any spin-off with them is so shorted lived. Being monstrous space Nazis, you can’t turn them into the protagonists of anything. In order for the Daleks to function narratively you have to have a hero to oppose them, and without the Doctor you’re left floundering for that hero.
But try, Mr. Nation, did. Today’s outing is the third issue of the Dalek annuals. In terms of science fiction and fantasy media, annuals are anthology collections featuring comics, short stories, games, and activities. Usually they receive one publication a year, hence the name, ‘annuals’, but I have seen other franchises take the same concept and do bi-annual, bi-monthly, or even monthly publications.
Dalek annuals obviously focus on Daleks as the unifying theme of their anthologies, but not every story published within the book features them. The Dalek Outer Space Book is focused on the time period of The Dalek Master Plan and so you get three categories of stories: random one offs of humans counteracting Dalek plots, the adventures of the Sara Kingdom and the Space Security Service, and random sci-fi stories that have nothing to do with either Daleks or Doctor Who but supposedly takes place the same universe/timeline.
There are eight comics, five short stories, about five games and/or activities of varying quality. The most interesting stories are either the more bonkers, out there variety (like the thief who steals a prototype time machine, the guy who invents a sleeping pill that makes one young, or the Daleks using diamonds to kill people) or the ones featuring Sara Kingdom and her fight against the Daleks before she ever joined up with the Doctor.
I wasn’t expecting any companions to show up in the book and seeing Sara again was a real treat. With her inclusion that means we’ve managed to feature nearly every First Doctor companion save for Ben and Polly. I also enjoy how it fleshed out her backstory more and why she’s so motivated to make the ultimate sacrifice in The Dalek Master Plan. She’s literally made her whole career out of trying to defeat them once and for all.
All in all, The Dalek Outer Space Book is a fun diversion but I can also see why the Dalek annuals didn’t last for but a few years. The vast majority of the stories are painfully mediocre and it’s only the occasional truly ridiculous fare or the intermittent presence of Sara Kingdom that elevates the experience.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 10, 2024 4:31:00 GMT
Hartnell 9th Review
Cadet Sweets' Cards: Doctor Who and the Daleks - Miscellaneous
(So I decided to go ahead and work in the bonus miscellaneous stuff since I'm re-posting everything anyways.)
The Cadet Sweets' Cards are consider by most historians to be the first official Doctor Who merchandise ever sold. Cadet Sweets made candy cigarettes and inside each pack came a trading card. These fifty Doctor Who themed collector cards, when read in order, created an ongoing story. Or two stories really....
It starts off on Marinus with the Voords fighting the Daleks. They then call for an uneasy truce when the Daleks discover that the Voord are planning on invading Earth, and they join forces to find a rare mushroom that's supposed to give you physic powers. The Doctor, oh sorry, "Dr. Who" sneaks aboard the Voord ship to sabotage their plans.
Long story, short, the Doctor teams up with the Chief Voord and together they double cross the Daleks by tricking them into eating poisonous mushrooms instead. It's a thin plot but nothing too egregious; it's the second half that gets real weird.
In the second part of the story a lone Dalek allows himself to be captured by Earth forces in order to seek an audience with "Dr. Who". Turns out the Emperor Dalek wants the Doctor's help in defeating a super computer they've built that has gained sentience and is attempting to destroy Sarko. The Doctor agrees to help, but only because a planet blowing up might damage other planets in it's blast radius.
This super computer controls a super nuke and is, for some reason, programed to shoot anything on site that comes near it, including Daleks... even though the Daleks would have no reason to program something that would kill other Daleks.... Even dumber, the Doctor can walk through the lasers without getting hurt because the lasers are built to only harm Daleks... even though Daleks are the ones who built the lasers... What?
Oh and the whole thing ends with the Doctor having a celebratory dinner with his most hated enemies, and him mentioning that he's half human on his mother's side or something.
You'll also notice that each card comes with illustrations. The artist does a decent enough job at portraying aliens, monsters, landscapes, and spacecrafts, but at no point does the Doctor ever actually look like Hartnell.
The Tardis and various companions are also mysteriously absent. Making this story hard to place within any timeline. Consulting the Tardis Wiki it's suggested that any First Doctor solo stories might take place after the Five Doctors which, according to expanded media, took place shortly after The Dalek Master Plan. The reasoning being that the rose garden seen at the beginning of the special is at some sort of wellness retreat/memorial and Steven is off getting therapy.
I guess that's as good of an explanation as any, hence why I chose to review this story after the Dalek Annual featuring Sara Kingdom.
In conclusion, the Cadet Sweets Cards are an amusing, if bizarre, bit of Who history that doesn't quite fit with the wider lore. But then neither does most of the show proper, so really, what's the harm?
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 10, 2024 13:30:32 GMT
Hartnell 10th Review Challenge of the Piper - ComicThe Doctor and his two grandchildren, John and Gillian, are on a quest to rescue the children of Hamlin from the Pied Piper. A seemingly magical being who has trapped everyone within a magical realm, and it’s up to the Doctor to outsmart him with science and his bag full of modern equipment. This was cute. I haven’t looked into the old tv comics much, but each time I have they’ve been delightful. Doctor Who’s spin off media seems more willing to skirt the line between science fiction and fantasy, which I appreciate. I also like what I’ve seen of John and Gillian. I find it ironic that some people will bend over backwards trying to make the Fugitive Doctor a pre-Hartnell incarnation despite the obvious potholes surrounding that theory, yet absolutely refuse to acknowledge the Doctor’s other grandchildren as canon. I mean come on, it’s not like their existence is any less plausible than the Timeless Child arc. Anyways, minor quibbles about continuity aside, the Pied Piper does come back during an episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures that explains his powers. Where’s he’s played by Bradely Walsh, who would later go on to play the Doctor’s companion Gram as well.
See, everything comes full circle.
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Post by bonehead on Feb 10, 2024 13:51:49 GMT
How I wish that these early TV Comic strips could be collected together in a series of omnibus books. They're very of their time, but as you say bethhigdon , absolutely delightful. This was one of the last strips to be drawn by original artist Neville Main. Doctor Who was soon promoted to colour and drawn, even more endearingly, by Bill Mevin, where amongst other things, The Doctor met Santa Claus.
Such great memories. Thanks for reminding me of them. And yes - John and Gillian (who were gradually aged during their time on the TARDIS, which I thought was a nice touch) are canon!
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 10, 2024 14:32:45 GMT
How I wish that these early TV Comic strips could be collected together in a series of omnibus books. They're very of their time, but as you say bethhigdon , absolutely delightful. This was one of the last strips to be drawn by original artist Neville Main. Doctor Who was soon promoted to colour and drawn, even more endearingly, by Bill Mevin, where amongst other things, The Doctor met Santa Claus.
Such great memories. Thanks for reminding me of them. And yes - John and Gillian (who were gradually aged during their time on the TARDIS, which I thought was a nice touch) are canon!
I haven't read many, but I have noticed them aging. They're clearly just kids when they first join Hartnell and by the end, the Second Doctor drops them off at university.
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Post by bethhigdon on Feb 11, 2024 20:42:23 GMT
Hartnell 11th Review
O Tannenbaum - Short Audio
Big Finish’s Short Trips are basically audio versions of the anthology series of the same name. One episode adventures recounted by a single narrator. Sometimes in first person perspective, like a shorter companion chronicle, and sometimes told in third person instead. There’s always only one narrator, and some audio production, but the series is more like an audiobook than a full cast play. However, unlike the novel collections, these stories are often sold individually rather than as a connected anthology.
Steven and the Doctor land inside a pine forest on Christmas day, where the only sign of civilization is a lone cottage in the middle of the wood. There they find a little girl and her ill grandfather. The girl’s father is missing.... and there’s something wrong with the trees...
Yes, we have yet another Christmas themed short story, and no I did not plan it that way. Just believe me when I say this is a common reoccurring theme in Doctor Who.
We also have another Steven focused adventure, only this time he and Doctor are traveling alone. This takes place between that brief period where Vicki has left the TARDIS but Dodo hasn’t joined them yet.
Peter Purves reprises his role as Steven, telling the story in first person, and plays the part beautifully as always. I do enjoy the insights into what Christmas growing up was like for him, as he’s from the far future. It contrasts nicely against the very rustic early 20th century setting. There’s no exact date to the story, but the only technology shown is a gramophone, so that gives one a vague idea.
Speaking of the gramophone, the sound design is excellent and incorporates the title song into the scene seamlessly, setting up a nice atmosphere. And indeed, atmospheric is the best word to describe this tale. The plot and it’s resolution, (the trees are spoiled teenaged aliens and just need a good lecture from the Doctor to convenience them to stop kidnapping people), is rather silly, but the story doesn’t break immersion because of it’s confidence in itself and its presentation.
I give this tale a solid recommendation of, ‘Good’.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
Likes: 5,677
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Post by shutupbanks on Feb 11, 2024 22:19:56 GMT
Hartnell 7th Review
The Storyteller - Minisode
Charming. Utterly Charming.
Sure it’s a glorified trailer with mostly clips from the old show and badly edited in CGI, but look! It’s Vicki!
The Marketing Deparment didn’t have to go that hard. They could have given us an ordinary trailer and folks still would have bought the dvd, but they did and it was wonderful!
It’s so nice to see Vicki get a confirmed happy ending. Her exit from the Tardis was frothed with uncertainty, but it’s wonderful to know that she was ultimately happy with her choice.
I loved it too. In his very alternative novelisation of 'The Myth Makers', Donald Cotton does something vaguely along the same general lines (no spoilers!) to reassure us that all went well with Vicki and her new life in Carthage.
I'd highly recommend the novelisation btw, it's basically the same story but told in a unique and I think very funny way from the perspective of Homer (yes, him and no he wasn't in the TV version!) with loads of anachronistic jokes and references all the way up to the culture of the 1980s when it was written. Even better, the audiobook of the novelisation performed by Stephen Thorne is excellent.
I was having a Shakespeare binge during the early parts of my Target reread (slowed down at the moment because of the new school year, alas) and I had the happy accident of reading The Myth Makers right alongside Troilus And Cressida, which also features a lot of anachronisms, described by Ben Johnson as “…unskilfully filled… with Roman names.” I’m thinking that Mr Cotton made his choices deliberately as well.
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