‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’/’The Timeless Children’

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

Here we are on the two-part season finale of Series 12 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’/’The Timeless Children’ by Chris Chibnall, where not only do we have another appearance of Patrick O’Kane as Ashad, the Lone Cyberman, from ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’, but we also have the debut of the Cyber Warriors – a new breed of Cybermen in ‘Doctor Who’. This story also features the return of Sacha Dhawan as the Master, who finally reveals the truth about the Timeless Child to Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor and how the Time Lords of Gallifrey lied to her all those years ago. Once again, the Timeless Child reveal has divided a lot of ‘Doctor Who’ fandom since it was introduced in 2020. Some are okay with it, others really loathe it. Where do I stand on this? Am I okay with the Timeless Child reveal? Does it affect my enjoyment of the Thirteenth Doctor era and the ‘Doctor Who’ TV series – both classic and new – in general? ‘Ascension of the Cybermen’/’The Timeless Children’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’

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

It’s time for another historical ‘Doctor Who’ adventure. This is ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’ by Maxine Alderton, where the Thirteenth Doctor TARDIS team go back in time to the year 1816 and they visit the titular Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva somewhere in Switzerland. Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz meet Lili Miller as Mary Shelley, along with Maxim Baldry (who was in ‘Mr. Bean’s Holiday’ in 2007 and recently in ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’) as Dr. John Polidori, Nadia Parkes as Claire Clairmont and Jacob Collins-Levy as Lord Byron. There’s also the return of the Cybermen – or in fact, it’s the debut of Patrick O’Kane as Ashad, the Lone Cyberman. This story is supposed to depict the ‘Doctor Who’ origins of how Mary Shelley became the author of ‘Frankenstein’ from her meeting with the Thirteenth Doctor TARDIS team and her encounter with the Lone Cyberman. But is this ‘Doctor Who’ episode very satisfying for me? Is there something about the episode that doesn’t work for me on a certain level? ‘The Haunting of Villa Diodati’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Can You Hear Me?’

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

In today’s instalment of the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon, we’re checking out the Series 12 episode called ‘Can You Hear Me?’ by Charlene James and Chris Chibnall. Charlene James is a new ‘Doctor Who’ writer at this point in the new TV series. Apparently, she’s the second black ‘Doctor Who’ writer to follow in the footsteps of Malorie Blackman, who co-wrote ‘Rosa’ in Series 11 with Chris Chibnall. In ‘Can You Hear Me?’, Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz are being stalked by a strange being called Zellin, who forces them to confront their worst fears and nightmares. This happens in 14th century Syria as well as modern-day Sheffield. The episode’s guest cast includes Ian Gelder as Zellin. Ian Gelder previously voiced the Remnants in ‘The Ghost Monument’ and he played Mr. Dekker in Series 3 of ‘Torchwood’ called ‘Children of Earth’. There are also special guest appearances of Sharon D. Clarke as Grace, Graham’s deceased wife and Bhavnisha Parmer as Sonya, Yaz’s sister. ‘Can You Hear Me?’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Praxeus’

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

Let’s begin the second half of Series 12 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series by checking out ‘Praxeus’ by Pete McTighe and Chris Chibnall. Pete McTighe contributed to ‘Doctor Who’ in Series 11 with the episode called ‘Kerblam!’. Is ‘Praxeus’ a step-up from ‘Kerblam!’ or do I think ‘Kerblam!’ is better than ‘Praxeus’? In the episode, Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz search across multiple countries, as they investigate strange phenomena, including birds acting strangely and a British astronaut called Adam Lang. The episode’s guest cast includes Warren Brown (who usually plays Sam Bishop in the new ‘U.N.I.T.’ audio series and the ‘Lady Christina’ audio series – both by Big Finish) as Jake Willis, and Matthew McNulty (who I’ve seen in Series 3 of the BBC TV series ‘The Musketeers’) as Adam Lang. Although entirely coincidental, ‘Praxeus’ has parallels to the Covid-19 virus, which was something that hadn’t come into full effect at the time of the episode’s transmission on BBC TV in February 2020. 😐 ‘Praxeus’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’

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

We’re halfway through Series 12 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series and today, we’re onto one of the most insane episodes ever made. It’s time for ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’ by Vinay Patel and Chris Chibnall. Yes, the Judoon are back in this ‘Doctor Who’ episode and are voiced by Nicholas Briggs! Vinay Patel previously contributed to Series 11 as a ‘Doctor Who’ writer with his episode ‘Demons of the Punjab’. In ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’, the Judoon visit modern-day Gloucester in search for a fugitive. Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz attempt to regulate the situation. This episode features the surprise return of John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness. There’s also the introduction of Jo Martin as Ruth Clayton, who turns out to be a previously unseen incarnation of the Doctor and is labelled ‘the Fugitive Doctor’. There’s Neil Stuke (who guest starred in the Big Finish audio drama ‘The Crooked Man’ with Tom Baker) as Lee Clayton and there’s Ritu Arya as Gat. So, how insane was this ‘Doctor Who’ episode when I first saw it on TV in 2020? ‘Fugitive of the Judoon’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

Tim Bradley’s Convention Memories and Reports – 2010-2023

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

To celebrate Sarah Sutton’s birthday today, I’ve put together a list of all the conventions I’ve attended over the years from 2010 to 2023, which includes ‘Doctor Who’ conventions, multi-purpose conventions and a ‘Star Trek’ convention. You can check out my ‘convention memories’ blog posts and my convention reports by clicking on the images below.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’

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

Here we are with an historical adventure in Series 12 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’ by Nina Metivier, who apparently was a script editor on two episodes of Series 11 in the new TV series, including ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ and ‘It Takes You Away’. In this ‘Doctor Who’ episode, the Thirteenth Doctor TARDIS team meet Goran Višnjić (who’s been in the ‘Elektra’ film with Jennifer Garner) as Nikola Tesla in 1903. Our heroes meet him on the train journey from Niagara Falls to New York, as they help him to escape from being kidnapped by the Skithra aliens (who seem to be like the Racnoss from ‘The Runaway Bride’). They’re led by Anjli Mohindra (who played Rani Chandra in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’) as the Skithra Queen. The episode also features Robert Glenister (who’s been in ‘The Caves of Androzani’ and the BBC sitcom TV series ‘Sink or Swim’ with Peter Davison as well as ‘The Aeronauts’) as Thomas Edison. ‘Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Orphan 55’

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

After the epic adventure in the two-part season opener that is ‘Spyfall’, it’s time for us to check out the second story in Series 12 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. Today, we’re checking out ‘Orphan 55’ by Ed Hime, who previously contributed ‘It Takes You Away’ in Series 11. In the episode, Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz are transported from the TARDIS to a tranquillity spa after winning a free holiday. However, the holiday resort turns out to be a barren ‘orphan’ planet overrun with mutated beings called Dregs. The episode’s guest cast includes Lauren Fraser as Kane; Gia Ré as Bella; James Buckley (of ‘The Inbetweeners’ fame) as Nevi; Lewin Lloyd as Sylas, Nevi’s son; Julia Foster as Vilma; Col Farrell as Benni, Vilma’s partner; Amy Booth-Steel as Hyph3n and Will Austen as Vorm. Do I think ‘Orphan 55’ top ups well in terms of Ed Hime’s efforts as a ‘Doctor Who’ writer? Is the episode better than ‘It Takes You Away’? Is it considered worthy enough to check out in Series 12 of the new TV series? ‘Orphan 55’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Spyfall’

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

It’s time for us to check out the first story of Series 12 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. This is a two-part story called ‘Spyfall’ by Chris Chibnall. ‘Part One’ of ‘Spyfall’ was shown on New Year’s Day in January 2020 and ‘Part Two’ was shown on the 5th of January. Our TARDIS heroes investigate a series of attacks on several secret agents on planet Earth. They involve a former agent and an alien threat. The story’s guest cast includes Sacha Dhawan (who played Waris Hussien in ‘An Adventure In Space and Time’ and has been in several Big Finish audios) as O, who turns out to be the evil Master. 😮 There’s Lenny Henry (who previously played the Doctor in a sketch on ‘The Lenny Henry Show’ and has regenerated into David Tennant for Comic Relief this year 😀 ) as Daniel Barton. And there’s Stephen Fry (who I’ve seen in ‘Jeeves & Wooster’ and ‘The Hobbit’ film trilogy) as C. There’s Yaz’s family, including Shobna Gulati as Najia, Yaz’s mum; Ravin J. Ganatra as Hakim, Yaz’s dad; and Bhavnisha Parmer as Sonya, Yaz’s sister. ‘Spyfall’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Resolution’

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

Technically, this should be part of Series 11 in the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, but it’s included in the Series 12 DVD and Blu-ray box sets. It’s time to check out the first New Year’s Day Special in the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era, and it’s the first time that ‘Doctor Who’ does a festive special that isn’t shown on Christmas Day, since this was shown in January 2019 instead of December 2018. It’s time for ‘Resolution’ by Chris Chibnall, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham O’Brien, Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair and Mandip Gill as Yasmin ‘Yaz’ Khan. This ‘Doctor Who’ New Year’s Day Special has special guest stars like Charlotte Ritchie (who’s been in ‘Call the Midwife’, recently in ‘Grantchester’ and is well-known for being in the sitcom TV series ‘Ghosts’) as Lin, Nikesh Patel (who’s been in ‘Artemis Fowl’) as Mitch and Daniel Adegboyega (who’s been in the 2021 ‘Tom & Jerry’ movie) as Aaron Sinclair, Ryan’s dad. There’s also the return of the Daleks (Well, one of them anyway – and is voiced by Nicholas Briggs) as Jodie Whittaker has her first confrontation with a metal pepper pot in the new TV series. ‘Resolution’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.