‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Smugglers’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s time for Season 4 of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series! We’re also coming to the end of the First Doctor era, as we take a look at this four-part adventure called ‘The Smugglers’, starring William Hartnell in his penultimate appearance as the First Doctor. There’s also his new companions Anneke Wills as Polly and Michael Craze as Ben. In this story, the Doctor, Polly and Ben tackle some smugglers in the 17th century, once the TARDIS lands on a wild and remote stretch of the Cornish coast. The four-part story is currently missing from the BBC Archives, but ‘The Smugglers’ and ‘The Underwater Menace’ will receive the animation treatment soon later in the year. In the meantime, ‘The Smugglers’ can be enjoyed on audio CD or as a download from Audible.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – Season 3 Summary

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Season 3 of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series is a transitionary season for William Hartnell as the First Doctor. What he used to know about ‘Doctor Who’ in the previous seasons with Ian, Barbara and Susan is mostly absent, especially when Verity Lambert has left the producer role of the TV series.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The War Machines’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s time for the season finale in Season 3 of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. In this four-part story, William Hartnell as the First Doctor deals with the menace of the War Machines and its computer WOTAN at the Post Office Tower in 1966. ‘The War Machines’ also features the abrupt departure of Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet and it introduces the new companions Anneke Wills as Polly and Michael Craze as Ben. This adventure also features William Mervyn, who’s been in the BBC TV comedy series ‘All Gas and Gaiters’. 🙂 You can watch ‘The War Machines’ either on DVD or via Britbox.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Savages’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Today is time for the last ‘Doctor Who’ adventure in the TV series to feature Peter Purves as Steven Taylor – companion of William Hartnell as the First Doctor. In this four-part story, the TARDIS visits an alien planet in the far future where there are cave-dwelling primitives and a technologically advanced city. Will the Doctor and his friends solve the mystery about this planet? ‘The Savages’ can be enjoyed on audio CD or as a download from Audible.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Gunfighters’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s time for a Wild West adventure in ‘Doctor Who’, as William Hartnell as the First Doctor, Peter Purves as Steven and Jackie Lane as Dodo visit Tombstone, Arizona in 1881. This is where the gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place and where the Doctor and his friends get themselves caught in the crossfire. You can watch this four-part adventure either on DVD or on Britbox.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Celestial Toymaker’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

In this ‘Doctor Who’ adventure, William Hartnell as the First Doctor ends up playing games with Michael Gough (who would go on to play Alfred in the four original ‘Batman’ films from 1989 to 1997) as the Celestial Toymaker. Plus, the Doctor is invisible for most of this adventure. 😐 Peter Purves as Steven and Jackie Lane as Dodo also end up having to play games with the Toymaker. You can listen to ‘The Celestial Toymaker’ soundtrack on audio CD or Audible, and you can watch the fourth surviving episode of this four-part story in the ‘Lost In Time’ DVD collection.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Ark’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

It’s time for the first proper ‘Doctor Who’ adventure to feature Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet as a travelling companion in the TARDIS with William Hartnell as the First Doctor and Peter Purves as Steven. In this four-part story, the TARDIS ends up inside a ship that’s on its way to a planet called Refusis II. The Doctor, Steven and Dodo also meet the alien Monoids, who have single eyes in their mouths. Ugh!!! You can watch ‘The Ark’ either on DVD or via Britbox.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Eve’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

In today’s ‘Doctor Who’ adventure, William Hartnell as the First Doctor and Peter Purves as Steven visit Paris in 1572. This is ‘The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve’ and it’s quite a grim historical adventure. At the end of the story, we’re introduced to a new companion – Jackie Lane as Dodo Chaplet. This four-part story can be enjoyed on audio CD or as a download from Audible.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

This is a big one! It’s time to check out the epic 12-part ‘Doctor Who’ story called ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’, starring William Hartnell as the First Doctor and Peter Purves as Steven. You can listen to ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan’ soundtrack on audio CD or Audible, and you can watch the second, fifth and tenth surviving episodes of the story in the ‘Lost In Time’ DVD collection. The story also introduces us to Nicholas Courtney (before he became the Brigadier) as Bret Vyon, and Kevin Stoney (before he became Tobias Vaughn in ‘The Invasion’) as the villainous Mavic Chen. Adrienne Hill also appears as Katarina, following her debut in ‘The Myth Makers’. It also features the introduction of Jean Marsh as Sara Kindgom. The seventh episode is a Christmas episode, would you believe? 😀 And the eighth to tenth episodes also feature the return of Peter Butterworth as the Meddling Monk.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Myth Makers’

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Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

Today, we go back in time, as the third story in Season 3 of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series takes us to the city of Troy, where the Greeks and the Trojans are fighting each other. This is ‘The Myth Makers’, a four-part historical adventure. It features the departure of Maureen O’Brien as Vicki and it introduces a new companion in Adrienne Hill as Katarina. The story can be enjoyed on audio CD or as a download from Audible.