OCEAN WARRIORS!

Their eagerly awaited return in Warriors of the Deep wasn't quite the impressive feat we'd previously seen with the resurrected Cybermen two seasons earlier, inside a story not fully realized as the action adventure season opener to Peter Davison's final season that we'd all hoped it would be. Nonetheless, the Sea Devil warriors of the 1984 aquatic version of Earthshock looked very impressive in their Samurai get-up, especially as realized in this great eighties poster art by the accomplished Andrew Skilleter. Would the Sea Devils have had the kind of physical choreography resources, creature costume flexibility and filming time then that today's WHO series has now, then the underwater alien icons would surely have fared much better. Time they came back, I'd say...

IT'S NICE TO BE WANTED...

His popularity firmly cemented pretty much from the get-go, it's no surprise that Tom Baker was like the superstar version of the Pied Piper (in the most positive of ways) everywhere he went- attracting the wide-eyed enthusiasm, fascination, questions, humour and delight of children of all ages everywhere whenever and wherever he went, either whilst acting as the ultimate 'brand ambassador' for the series, or in this case taking a break from filming his role during The Android Invasion, in 1975.

THAT'S SOME STAYING POWER!

In his Black Hole based realm of Singularity, Time Lord legend Omega has become insane. His will power can create anything, but true freedom is unobtainable without destroying the race he spawned from. An intense portrayal from top voice artist/actor Stephen Thorne as Omega (whom I was sorry to hear recently passed away), from the classic Tenth Anniversary story, The Three Doctors.

HEROINE OF THE WORLD!

On a troubled future Earth plagued with murders, conspiracies and unnatural catastrophes, the heroic Astrid Ferrier (a character very much in the emancipated Pussy Galore/Emma Peel pop culture style of the time) continues to resist the power and ambition of the evil dictator Salamander, in the six-part action/adventure gem from the Troughton era: The Enemy of the World, which got a well deserved fan reevaluation with its complete return to the BBC Archives back in 2013.

This is unused Target cover art by Steve Kyte for Ian Marter's gritty 1981 adaptation of David Whitaker's James Bond-esque tale.

WARRIORS OF THE GODS!

The malignant High Priest Tlotoxl (an excellent performance from John Ringham) watches hungrily as his top warrior Ixta (Ian Cullen) attacks our hero Ian Chesterton, in this classic scene from the truly excellent fully historical, John Lucarotti written adventure from the show's impressive opening season: The Aztecs. I always love seeing colour images from the Hartnell era, and this story was one that was well chosen for that type of photography.

Episode clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqLIkbSZcH8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u7EZeNgqRs

INTO THE EYE OF THE VORTEX!

Into the vortex of all-new time and space adventures goes our familiar police shaped TARDIS, in this fun new title sequence of its early computer-generated time, designed by Oliver Elmes for the Seventh Doctor's era - 1987-89.

A STICKY SITUATION!

The newly regenerated sixth incarnation of The Doctor is anything less than subtle- in the early period of his new life he is argumentative, angry, outspoken, brash and egotistical beyond words. But even he can't stave off potential death from the blaster of a bird-like Jacondan, watched by fellow Time Lord Azmael, in this posed image from the partially good/partially cringe-worthy launcher for Colin Baker: The Twin Dilemma.

DVD trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXBp1UpDo_0

SUPERSONIC!

Sorry to anyone reading this, but you won't find any bashing of Peter Davison's opening season finale Time Flight on this site page. Personally, I enjoy it as a kind of Pertwee-esque-tribute/kind-of Earth-based adventure, one that sees our hero locking minds once more with The Master, whose plan to absorb the nucleus of an entire race into the power core of his TARDIS I actually find rather chilling. And I love all the shot-on-film Concorde/Heathrow airport-related location stuff - that craft once the true and majestic crown jewel of the airways during its unique era of skyborne existence. And there's nothing wrong with a good end of season mini-cliffhanger either, one which certainly kept mass audiences intrigued linked to the stranded Tegan. Stretching credibility and soap opera-ish? Who cares!

I was hoping that the BBC Restoration team would have added some all-new digital effects fixes to the story on its Blu-ray box set debut last year - replacing the Concorde stock footage with new material alongside some potential studio bound imagery fixes or cgi matte additions/replacements- the chance to give the whole of Season 19 on Blu-ray an impressive footing. Alas, it was not to be.

THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES!

Deep under the waters of Scotland's infamous Loch Ness, the intellect of the Zygon leader Broton plans its conquest of the human race. The Zygons, with their nightmarish foetal look from Jim Acheson, evoke pure terror and are surely one of the most interesting and most successfully designed creatures ever devised for WHO. It's no wonder the viewing figures were so strong back then, and that children really were hiding behind the sofa! This writer certainly was!