A UNIVERSAL 'PEEPSHOW'!

Art by Lee Johnson from the Doctor Who - The Complete History partwork series.

Roll-up, roll-up. Come along and witness a Carnival of Monsters!

One of the most entertaining tales of the Jon Pertwee era and a delightful and certainly different entry within the show's then tenth season, packed with viewer-memorable scenes (from the monstrous puppet-operated Drashigs to the mammoth hand stealing the TARDIS; to the unlikely carnival duo of showman Vorg and his lovely assistant Shirna) Robert Holmes' Carnival of Monsters was also a clear favourite enjoyed by the show's star, relishing the concept and overall story, indulging in all kinds of improvised heroism, the odd bit of gadget-tinkering and fighting (Queensbury Rules, of course!). It's no surprise that respected producer/director Barry Letts selected the quirky and colourful CSO tale as part of the important first season of Doctor Who repeats on BBC 2 in Winter 1981  - The Five Faces of Doctor Who. Seeing it for the first time back then, and especially being a tale I knew very little about (with no real access to an episode guide), I loved the well-written Doctor/Jo relationship within the story, and thought the tale overall held up well for something made eleven years earlier...

HAPPY 58TH BIRTHDAY, 'DOCTOR WHO'!

We may not have had another excellent Special Edition from them in 1993's Thirtieth Anniversary year (Marvel Comics ultimately doing a great replacement job themselves), but at least the BBC's Radio Times magazine was able to capitalize on the show's superb Who-dom linked to the more-than-bonkers Doctor Who reunion fused with EastEnders 3D 'adventure' for the yearly Children in Need appeal: Dimensions in Time.

All of the Doctors looked great in this special individually posed but composited together cover image. What a shame, though, that the much talked about and now notorious The Dark Dimension celebratory adventure, primarily showcasing Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy's incarnations, never happened due to BBC internal and financial problems...

A FISHY BUSINESS!

Love 'em of hate 'em, there's no denying that the interestingly realized Fish People workers under the Atlantean seas as witnessed in the B-movie drama of the Second Doctor's early adventure, The Underwater Menace, have become historical icons for the series B/W era. The excellent Target novelisation from Nigel Robinson helped give the much-loathed 1966 tale more respect by the late eighties and has now become available on BBC Audiobooks (December 2nd, 2021), read with enthusiasm by the always delightful Anneke Wills.

Get it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-The-Underwater-Menace/dp/B098BM1893/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dr+who+the+underwater+menace&qid=1636986829&sr=8-2

OUT THIS WEEK: 'GALAXY 4'

Finally, William Hartnell's lost story animated adventures continue with the all-new release of Galaxy 4 from BBC STUDIOS this week, and the first animated full-length tale, too. Personally, I've always found G4 an overall underrated little gem, so look forward to seeing its lively B-movie sci-fi ideas potentially getting a re-evaluation from fandom. Fingers crossed for The Savages and The Daleks' Master Plan to follow into reality at some point...

KOOL TV site preview:

https://kooltvblog.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-female-factor-doctor-who-galaxy-4.html

Official BBC release details:

https://www.bbcstudios.com/news/bbc-studios-announce-doctor-who-galaxy-4-animation-due-for-release-on-15th-november-2021/

Get it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Galaxy-4-DVD/dp/B09FFPZY1C/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=galaxy+4&qid=1636807616&sr=8-1

WHEN CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS!

It's a life-long work, an obsession for the odd but perseverant Chief Caretaker of the Paradise Towers facility: to make its hallowed halls gleam and its reputation as a design wonder more legendary than ever. If only it weren't for the nosey Rezzies, the wall-scrawling, trouble-bringing gangs of colourful children, and the lacklustre cleaners supposedly under his command. Thankfully, deep in the basement he has special but decidedly disturbing help to overcome such obstacles! 

Actor/comedy icon Richard Briers may have been accused of going over the top with his performance in Stephen Wyatt's quiet gem for Season Twenty-Four in Paradise Towers, but it's certainly a fine addition to the pantheon of unusual villains who've opposed our Time Lord hero over the years...

NO HIDING PLACE?

Trapped in a Matrix now eerily controlled by the manipulative The Valeyard, The Doctor and the greedy philanthropist Glitz (played with cheeky relish by the late Tony Selby) seek refuge from an illusionary beach now shrouded in marsh gas. But help of the most unexpected kind is on the way....

From the The Trial of a Time Lord's final episode, a terrific image, well used on this Doctor Who Magazine cover from 1996, from a wrap-up which had lots of great unit location photography....

A PLETHORA OF TIME LORDS!

Urgently recalled home to Gallifrey by his fellow Time Lords, who are worried about an unknown force of building anti-matter at large in the cosmos, the Doctor soon realizes that the only way they see to neutralize the threat is for his own  life to be terminated post haste! Not a very pleasing prospect for our hero as he sits amongst the snobby elite in this great posed picture (featuring a noted cast of guest actors) for the enjoyable Twentieth Anniversary season opener, Arc of Infinity.

BEHOLD, KROLL!

Behind the scenes, producer Graham William and story editor Anthony Read asked long-time series 'safe pair of hands' writer Robert Holmes for a story featuring a very large central monster that could be affordably achieved on screen, and that's exactly what they got within the penultimate tale of the Key to Time adventure search:  The Power of Kroll, as the mighty titular beast emerges from the swamps of Delta Magna in all its mucky glory to satisfy its need for human and swampie inhabitants. But, as we and our heroes soon discover, there's much more to this unusual and immense creature than meets the eye...

It was an interesting four-parter idea, featuring an intriguing sci-fi spin by Holmes on British Colonialism that would be explored again later by the author with his next work, and the rather better The Caves of Androzani. There's some great filmed location work and a solid cast, but the overall cheapness of the studio filming rather spoils things, and such cheapness would also be noticed by the 1979 powers-that-be on the upper levels of BBC TV centre...

Cover art by Andrew Skilleter.

Terrance Dicks' workmanlike Target novel adaptation is now available on audiobook, from BBC BOOKS. Get it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Power-Kroll-Novelisation/dp/B094WD19KX/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2IGSZWBKCJHZ0&dchild=1&keywords=power+of+kroll+audiobook&qid=1635767171&sprefix=power+of+kroll+%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-1