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

'KKLAK!' ATTACK!

He started his final season fighting a future foe in Earth's past, now the Third Doctor must fight monsters from Earth's past arrived in present day London, as the Invasion of the Dinosaurs makes its mark in this legendary Chris Achilleos art for the classic Target Book adaptation of the story, as told by its original TV writer, Malcolm Hulke.

Despite the wonky Dinosuars created for the story, Invasion is up there amongst the Jon Pertwee era's best stories (one of the very first complete Who stories I remember watching as a child), and a great UNIT showcase. Producer Barry Letts' dream of a CGI fully updated version of the story hasn't come to fruition yet, but the opening three episodes were nonetheless updated for a potential  DVD release idea five or six years back, from the talented CGI people who would do such great work with The Time Warrior and Destiny of the Daleks, but ultimately shelved due to colourizing costs. Let's hope the idea of an update is resurrected and completed for Season 11's eventual collection release on Blu-ray.

THE CYBER INVASION BEGINS...

Images by Charles Carne, the husband of actress Sally Faulkner..

The traitorous and inhuman businessman Tobias Vaughn has unleashed his hidden sonic weapon against the world's population, knocking them out as the Cyberman's invasion begins, and a classis scene of the emotionless machine men emerging from the sewers, soon descending the stairs by St. Pauls Cathedral, begins...

Getting ready for filming.

Colour footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVhQBmDgER4

MAKING THE 'MYTH'!

'Beware Greeks bearing gifts', as they say... and the majestic wooden horse delivered to the majestic city of Troy certainly lived up to such important and ominous words. Terrific front sleeve art for the lost William Hartnell story The Myth Makers which recently got a well deserved soundtrack airing on LP (August 27th, 2021) from the regular team at Demon Records - a serious collectible for a serious Classic Who fan. 

If only this intriguing 1965 four-parter, so poorly under-represented with regards to visual materials, could be re-discovered somewhere out there...

Get it here:

https://www.doctorwho.tv/news/?article=the-myth-makers-vinyl-first-doctor-peter-purves-demon-records&fbclid=IwAR3qKa2eTvow-WTf1VukvnFvvfjrS25Goq1KCM-ajI2vf7-ttJzOgPZ2trs#_