Tuesday, February 26, 2019

THAT OTHER 'HIGHLANDER'!


It's not exactly the warm Scottish welcome that the Doctor and his companions Ben and Polly had hoped to find, but then again they have just landed in the midst of the bloody aftermath of the infamous Culloden battle! Thankfully, young Highlander Jamie McCrimmon will soon discover a new life and sense of adventure beyond his once meagre existence, to become one of the series most popular companions.

Will the missing classic The Highlanders ever return to the BBC Archives?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgst2g4UdTw

Friday, February 22, 2019

HATCHING PLANS...


Far out on Kembel- one of the most dangerous and inhospitable of worlds, the Daleks and their intergalactic allies thirst for power and control of the galaxy, hatching a despicable plan that must be thwarted at all costs. Will lone human Space Security Agent Marc Cory succeed in his Mission to the Unknown?

Great art that originally appeared in Doctor Who - The Complete History partwork series. Though it's unlikely the lost 1965 episode will ever be discovered/returned again due to its unique singular prequel nature, it's truly great to see a BBC/Nation estate sanctioned UCLAN filmed reconstruction underway in the UK, with future official release potential! Well done to the incredible and dedicated young team behind this superior effort.

More on the exciting UCLAN project:

https://doctorwhowatch.com/2019/02/20/doctor-who-mission-unknown-remake/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e06CyPXNOy8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwoFDmm-r-A

The refilmed Mission to the Unknown. Image: BBC STUDIOS/UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE,

4/10/19 UPDATE:
Great news, as the episode will now be airing officially on the BBC's Doctor Who Youtube channel from October 9th, 2019.

http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2019/10/mission-to-unknown-reconstruction.html

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vk6wtVigew

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

KING OF THE KITCHEN!


When it comes to the fine art of intergalactic cuisine in that out of the way corner of the galaxy mysteriously known as the Third Zone, no one compares to Shockeye of the Quawncing Grig. And if there is anyone who even remotely dares to compete or criticize, they surely won't last long to boast, soon ending up as a gourmet meal themselves!

Long before the culinary whims of Hannibal Lecter, respected actor John Stratton gave one of his finest performances as the food obsessed alien cook and intergalactic cannibal Shockeye- a truly spirited, creepily effective and loathsome performance which many regular general show viewers were clearly disgusted by back in 1985. He was clearly one of Robert Holmes most shocking and well-crafted characters, in the underrated story that was The Two Doctors, a three-part adventure critically hampered by rather pedestrian direction and whose sometimes macabre black humour was deliberately scapegoat singled out as a later reason for the show's 'resting' for eighteen months.

Sunday, February 17, 2019

STRANGE INVADER!



Dissecting a dead alien creature like the space-faring Wirrn is never going to be an easy job, as the Doctor and plucky Sarah Jane Smith discover in this posed publicity image from the absolute classic that deservedly set Tom Baker on the path to Superstardom, The Ark in Space.


Wednesday, February 13, 2019

THE DALEKS ARE BACK! (AGAIN!)


Their war cry of 'Exterminate' had been off our screens for three years, but in 1988 it was time for the souped-up Daleks to return and take on Sylvester McCoy's Seventh incarnation, as well as his formidable companion Ace, as the kick-starter to the show's exciting 25th Anniversary - a great way to get the series noticed again in the British press.

And a terrific tale Remembrance of the Daleks turned out to be - right from the opening episode the quality content for the McCoy era had improved in leaps and bounds! - courtesy of writer Ben Aaronovitch, an epic four-parter tailor-made for a darker-edged and more character strengthened Doctor.

Sunday, February 10, 2019

REGENERATION EQUALS DEATH!


Though unable to save the reckless Adric from death, the Fifth Doctor was later prepared to sacrifice his life and remaining regenerations to save his human friends Tegan and Nyssa, as seen during the conclusion to the satisfying little time travel tale of the underrated Season Twenty: Mawdryn Undead.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

NOT SO 'HI-DE-HI'!


Getting crabs on holiday, literally, as the Doctor discovers the ultimate infestation linked to a seemingly oh-so-happy holiday resort. It can only be the Patrick Troughton lost gem The Macra Terror, available in animated form from BBC DVD this March 2019. And I can't wait to see it.

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2019-03-14/a-long-lost-doctor-who-chiller-is-coming-back-after-52-years/
Super art from Lee Johnson that originally appeared in the epic Doctor Who - The Complete History publication.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Macra-Terror-Blu-Ray/dp/B07L1DSNC9/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1550847448&sr=8-1&keywords=the+macra+terror

UPDATE(March 2019): Release preview:
https://kooltvblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/clawing-surface-doctor-who-macra-terror.html

Sunday, February 3, 2019

BEACH HEROICS!


There's no time to enjoy the seaside for our hero as he navigates a minefield to escape both the newly arrived Sea Devil and The Master's hypnotised forces, in a classic moment from The Sea Devils.