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

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

How fitting that on the 8th of May – my birthday as well as a Bank Holiday – we look at another one of my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ stories from the Fourth Doctor era as well as the actual finale to Season 17 of the classic TV series. This is ‘Shada’, a six-part adventure by Douglas Adams, featuring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana and K-9, voiced by David Brierley. This story was never shown on TV in 1979, but thankfully it has been completed with animation and was released in 2017. You can check out the feature-length 2017 film version of ‘Shada’ on DVD, Blu-ray and Britbox and you can check out the exclusive six-part 2021 version of the story on Blu-ray.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Pirate Planet’

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

We come to one of my favourite stories in ‘The Key to Time’ season (Season 16) of the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series. This is ‘The Pirate Planet’, a four-part adventure by Douglas Adams, who is well-known for being the author of ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. This story stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Mary Tamm as Romana, and K-9, voiced by John Leeson. The TARDIS trio end up on the planet Zanak, as they try to locate the second segment of the Key to Time and they come up against Bruce Purchase as the Pirate Captain. This story inspired me to create the atmosphere for my ‘Fifth Doctor’ adventure called ‘The Space Hotel’. 😀 ‘The Pirate Planet’ can be checked out on DVD and Britbox.

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

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

The fourth story of Season 15 of classic ‘Doctor Who’, and it’s ‘The Sun Makers’, a four-part adventure by Robert Holmes, starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Louise Jameson as Leela and K-9, voiced by John Leeson. In this story, our TARDIS heroes visit the planet Pluto in the far future, where the human population is being taxed to death. This story also features Michael Keating, well-known for playing Vila Restal in ‘Blake’s 7’. ‘The Sun Makers’ can be checked out on DVD and Britbox.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Face of Evil’

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In this story of Season 14 in the classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, we’re introduced to a new companion – Louise Jameson as Leela. It’s time for ‘The Face of Evil’, a four-part adventure by Chris Boucher. The story has Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor meeting Leela on a jungle planet and they solve the mystery of the Evil One called Xoanon (who looks like Tom Baker) and the threat to the tribes of the Sevateem and the Tesh. ‘The Face of Evil’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and Britbox.

Season 22 of ‘Doctor Who’ with Colin Baker on Blu-ray #5

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

We come now to what I consider to be the weakest story in Season 22 of ‘Doctor Who’ called ‘Timelash’. It’s been nice to revisit this ‘Doctor Who’ story in the Season 22 Blu-ray box set, featuring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri. They’re joined by Paul Darrow (of ‘Blake’s 7’ fame) as the villainous Tekker and the TARDIS duo also confront the monstrous Borad, played by Robert Ashby.

Season 17 of ‘Doctor Who’ with Tom Baker on Blu-ray #6

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

And we’ve come to the end of Season 17 of ‘Doctor Who’ on Blu-ray with Tom Baker. To finish off, we’re taking a look at the lost story called ‘Shada’, which was meant to be the season finale to Season 17, but was cancelled due to strike action happening in 1979. My review on the original ‘Shada’ is based on the 2021 ‘definitive version’ of the story in the Season 17 Blu-ray box set. I’ve combined both my reviews on the 1992 VHS version and the 2017 movie version of the ‘Shada’ story for this review.

Season 14 of ‘Doctor Who’ with Tom Baker on Blu-ray #4

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

Season 14 of ‘Doctor Who’ with Tom Baker on Blu-ray time again and today we take a look at the debut of Louise Jameson as Leela. The Doctor meets Leela on the jungle planet of the Sevateem and she at first believes him to be ‘the Evil One’. The Doctor has to right the wrong that he made with Xoanon!

Christmas DVD Box Set Review – ‘Blake’s 7’ (Series 1)

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

At last! I have seen the sci-fi TV show that many people have talked about but I’d never seen before until now! It’s the cult TV show made in the late 1970s/early 1980s alongside ‘Doctor Who’ – ‘Blake’s 7’! I had Series 1 of ‘Blake’s 7’ on DVD as the surprise Christmas present from my parents!

The Rani, the Master, Sontarans, Androgums, the Borad, Davros and the Daleks with the Sixth Doctor

 

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

Today I’ve posted four new DVD reviews on four ‘Doctor Who’ stories! They star Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor and Nicola Bryant as Peri Brown.

‘Beneath the Surface’ – ‘Doctor Who’ reviews

     

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

Check out my reviews on the ‘Doctor Who’ stories featuring the Silurians, the Sea Devils and the Myrka. These stories come from the classic series and the new series in the 1970s, the 1980s and the 2010s. There’s also a review by me on one of the ‘Doctor Who’ Silurian stories produced by Big Finish.