Tag Archives: russell t. davies

Blu-ray Review Update – ‘The Church on Ruby Road’ (Doctor Who)

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

Last week, I received my Blu-ray copy of the ‘Doctor Who’ 2023 Christmas Special called ‘The Church on Ruby Road’, starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday. I’ve updated my review on the special by adding the details of what special features are contained on the DVD and Blu-ray releases of ‘The Church on Ruby Road’. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Church on Ruby Road’

– – – BRAND NEW REVIEW – – –

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

Today is the penultimate instalment of the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon on ‘Bradley’s Basement’ in 2023. I hope you’ve enjoyed checking out the marathon to celebrate 60 years of ‘Doctor Who’ as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing it this year. As we began with ‘An Unearthly Child’, the first TV story of the William Hartnell/First Doctor era, it’s only fair that we conclude with the first full-length TV adventure of the Ncuti Gatwa/Fifteenth Doctor era – ‘The Church of Ruby Road’ by Russell T. Davies. As well as being Ncuti Gatwa’s first full-length TV adventure as the Fifteenth Doctor, we’re introduced to Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, who becomes the Fifteenth Doctor’s new companion. This is also the first ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special since ‘Twice Upon a Time’ in 2017. With this being the 2023 Christmas Special, ‘The Church of Ruby Road’ also features Davina McCall as well as goblins and their Goblin King aboard a flying sailing ship in the sky. We’re also introduced to Michelle Greenidge as Carla Sunday, Ruby’s adoptive mother; Angela Wynter (of ‘EastEnders’ fame) as Cherry Sunday, Ruby’s adoptive grandmother; and Anita Dobson (also of ‘EastEnders’ fame) as Mrs. Flood. Apparently, Gemma Arrowsmith, who wrote the ‘Doctor Who’ audio story ‘The Flying Dutchman’, is in this Christmas Special as a character called Ruth Lyons. Did ‘The Church on Ruby Road’ impress me as a good comeback for the ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Specials in 2023? ‘The Church on Ruby Road’ can be checked out on BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Disney+ in other parts of the world. The story will be released on DVD and Blu-ray very soon in 2024. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Destination: Skaro’, ‘The Star Beast’, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ and ‘The Giggle’

– – – BRAND NEW REVIEWS – – –

Hello everyone! 🙂

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

This is probably what you’ve been looking forward to. 😀 Welcome to the David Tennant/Fourteenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ in the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon on ‘Bradley’s Basement’. This consists of the 60th anniversary specials that were shown on BBC TV in the UK and on Disney+ in other parts of the world from November to December 2023. There’s the mini-episode ‘Destination: Skaro’, which was shown on Children in Need night in November 2023, and there’s the three 60th anniversary specials themselves, including ‘The Star Beast’, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ and ‘The Giggle’. All the specials are by Russell T. Davies (with ‘The Star Beast’ being from a story by Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons), and they star David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. There are also special guest stars like Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker and Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble, Donna’s daughter. There was a lot of hype in the build-up to the 60th anniversary specials on TV. Afterwards, lots of ‘Doctor Who’ fans and audience members have found them satisfying. Where do I stand on this? Did the 60th anniversary specials of ‘Doctor Who’ by RTD fulfil my expectations? ‘Destination: Skaro’ can be checked out on BBC iPlayer or YouTube, and ‘The Star Beast’, ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ and ‘The Giggle’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer in the UK or on DVD, Blu-ray and Disney+ in other parts of the world. Continue reading

Quick TV Reviews – ‘Talking Doctor Who’ & ‘Doctor Who at 60: A Musical Celebration’

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

On the 1st of November 2023, before I went away for my weekend to attend the ‘Scarborough Comic Con’, I saw two items to celebrate 60 years of ‘Doctor Who’. These were originally shown on BBC Four, and I caught up with them on BBC iPlayer. I found these very nice celebrations to check out. 🙂 Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Day of the Doctor’

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

The time has come for ‘The Day of the Doctor’ by Steven Moffat – the 50th anniversary special of ‘Doctor Who’. This was shown on BBC TV on the 23rd of November 2013. It stars Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, Billie Piper as the Moment and John Hurt as the War Doctor. There are special guest stars like Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Osgood and Joanna Page as Queen Elizabeth I. The story also features the Daleks as well as the return of the Zygons, who previously appeared in their first TV story ‘Terror of the Zygons’. There are surprise guest cameos of Doctors and companions that a keen ‘Doctor Who’ fan would need to look out for. 😀 This is a ‘Doctor Who’ anniversary special that’s highly rated by the fans. Do I agree with that? Do I think that this is a better anniversary special than ‘The Five Doctors’, the 20th anniversary special? Does it cover everything that I want to celebrate about 50 years of my favourite TV show? Are there things that I like about ‘The Day of the Doctor’? 😀 ‘The Day of the Doctor’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

Quick Official Trailer Thoughts – ‘The Star Beast’/’Wild Blue Yonder’/’The Giggle’ (Doctor Who)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

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

Yes, I’ve seen the latest official trailer for the upcoming ‘Doctor Who’ 60th anniversary specials, due to be shown in November 2023. I saw the trailer whilst attending the ‘Regenerations 2023’ convention in September. If you’ve not seen the new trailer yet, check out the YouTube video below. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The End of Time’

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

And here we are on the final ‘Doctor Who’ TV adventure starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. This is a two-part story called ‘The End of Time’ by Russell T. Davies, with ‘Part One’ originally shown on Christmas Day in 2009 and ‘Part Two’ originally shown on New Year’s Day in 2010. In this two-parter, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor reunites with Bernard Cribbins as Wilfred Mott, as they team up to tackle the return of John Simm as the evil Master. This special adventure also features special guest star Timothy Dalton as Rassilon, the Lord President of the Time Lords of Gallifrey. There’s also Catherine Tate as Donna Noble and Jacqueline King as Sylvia Noble. There are special guest stars like June Whitfield as Minnie Hooper, David Harewood as Joshua Naismith, Tracy Ifeacher as Abigail Naismith, Sinéad Keenan as Addams and Lawry Lewin as Rossiter. There are also special guest cameos of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, Jessica Hynes as Verity Newman, Thomas Knight as Luke Smith and Russell Tovey as Midshipman Alonso Frame in the story. ‘The End of Time’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Waters of Mars’

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

We’re on the penultimate story of the David Tennant/Tenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’ and it’s the third of the 2008-2010 Specials in the new TV series. It’s time for ‘The Waters of Mars’ by Russell T. Davies and Phil Ford. This autumn special was shown on the 15th of November 2009. Joining David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor is special guest star Lindsay Duncan as Captain Adelaide Brooke. In the special, the Doctor visits the planet Mars in the year 2059. He ends up at Bowie Base One where the crew led by Adelaide are soon attacked by alien water called the Flood. This is a proper full-on water-zombie adventure that ends on a rather tragic note for David Tennant’s Doctor, who’s on his way for his song to end. The cast also includes Peter O’Brien as Ed Gold, Aleksander Mikic as Yuri Kerenski, Gemma Chan as Mia Bennett, Sharon Duncan Brewster as Maggie Cain, Chook Sibtain as Tarak Ital, Alan Ruscoe as Andy Stone, Cosima Shaw as Steffie Ehrlich and Michael Goldsmith as Roman Groom. And of course, there’s Gadget the robot. 😀 ‘The Waters of Mars’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘Planet of the Dead’

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

Let’s check out the second of the 2008-2010 Specials of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. This is also the first Easter Special ever made in the new TV series. It also serves as the 200th story in ‘Doctor Who’, featuring a London double-decker bus affectionately called the Mighty 200 as well as featuring Tritovores and alien stingrays. 😀 It’s time for ‘Planet of the Dead’ by Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts, which was shown on BBC TV on Easter Saturday (11th of April 2009). The special introduces Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina de Souza, who would go on to appear in her own spin-off audio series by Big Finish. There’s also the return of Noma Dumezweni as U.N.I.T. Captain Erisa Magambo and comedian Lee Evans as U.N.I.T. scientific advisor Malcolm Taylor. There’s Adam James as D.I. McMillan, Victoria Alcock as Angela Whitaker, David Ames as Nathan, Daniel Kaluuya as Barclay, Ellen Thomas as Carmen and Reginald Tsiboe as Lou. ‘Planet of the Dead’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading

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

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

Here we are on the last set of ‘Doctor Who’ stories featuring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, which are the 2008 to 2010 Specials in the new TV series. Today, we’re starting off on ‘The Next Doctor’, the 2008 Christmas Special by Russell T. Davies. This is a ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Special that features the return of the Cybermen, who were last seen in ‘Doomsday’, and the story is set in Victorian London in the year 1851. There’s the introduction of David Morrisey (I’ve seen him in 1998’s BBC TV production of ‘Our Mutual Friend’) who claims to be a new incarnation of the Doctor. There are also special guest stars like Dervla Kirwan as the villainous Miss Hartigan and Velile Tshabalala as Rosita, the David Morrisey Doctor’s companion. Will the Tenth Doctor uncover the mystery about David Morrisey’s Doctor and how the Cybermen are involved? ‘The Next Doctor’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer. Continue reading