‘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 – ‘Kerblam!’

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

It’s time for my favourite episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series as well as the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era. Today, we’re checking out ‘Kerblam!’ by Pete McTighe, starring Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz. Remember, “if you want it, Kerblam it!” 😀 This is an episode where the Thirteenth Doctor and her gang visit the delivery company called Kerblam in the far future. They investigate why a package sent to the Doctor in her TARDIS contained a message requesting for help. It turns out the company has some missing human employees and the automated workforce – the Kerblam men – are behaving oddly. 😐 The guest cast includes Julie Hesmondhalgh (of ‘Coronation Street’ fame) as Judy Maddox, Lee Mack (of ‘Not Going Out’ fame) as Dan Cooper, Callum Dixon as Jarva Slade, Claudie Jessia as Kira Arlo, Leo Flanagan as Charlie Duffy, and Matthew Gravelle as the voice of Kerblam. So, what is it about this ‘Doctor Who’ episode that makes me happy to see it every time I watch it? ‘Kerblam!’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’

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

Let’s check out the fifth episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’ by Chris Chibnall. In the episode, Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz are brought aboard the medical ship called the Tsuranga where they recover from their injuries after being in close proximity to a sonic mine that detonated on an alien junkyard planet. They soon end up dealing with a dangerous alien creature called the Pting – which could be ‘Doctor Who’s equivalent of Stitch from Disney‘s ‘Lilo and Stitch’). The Pting becomes a threat to the Tsuranga ship and those transported aboard it. The episode’s guest cast includes Brett Goldstein as Astos, Lois Chimimba (who worked with Jodie Whittaker in ‘Trust Me’ in 2017) as Mabli, Suzanne Packer as Eve Cicero, Ben Bailey-Smith as Durkas Cicero, and Jack Shalloo (who later did the 2018 Christmas Special of ‘Call the Midwife’) as Yoss. Upon transmission via BBC TV, this episode was met with mixed reception from critics. Do I adhere to those views? 😐 ‘The Tsuranga Conundrum’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

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

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

Today’s instalment in the ‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon has us delve into more of our human history. It’s the third episode in Series 11 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series called ‘Rosa’ by Malorie Blackman (who also wrote the Puffin e-short story ‘The Ripple Effect’) and Chris Chibnall. ‘Rosa’ has Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor, Bradley Walsh as Graham, Tosin Cole as Ryan and Mandip Gill as Yaz visiting Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, where they meet Vinette Robinson as Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks becomes a significant person in the American civil rights movement during the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Vinette Robinson has been in ‘Doctor Who’ before, as she was in the new TV series episode ’42’. She’s also been in the ‘Sherlock’ TV series and later in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’. There’s also Trevor White (who I’ve heard recently in the ‘Demon Quest’ audio story ‘Starfall’) as James Blake, and there’s Joshua Bowman as Krasko, a time-travelling criminal who wants to stop Rosa Parks’ influence in the American civil rights movement. ‘Rosa’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’

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

And welcome to the Jodie Whittaker/Thirteenth Doctor era of ‘Doctor Who’! 🙂 It’s Chris Chibnall’s turn to be showrunner of ‘Doctor Who’ from 2018 to 2022. He brings in his era of the show by having the main character be played by a woman. This era has divided fan opinion, but is this an era I regard highly compared to others? Let’s start off by checking out the first episode of Series 11 of the new TV series called ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ by Chris Chibnall. Following on from the end of ‘Twice Upon a Time’, Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor crash-lands to Earth and meets up with Bradley Walsh as Graham O’Brien, Tosin Cole as Ryan Sinclair and Mandip Gill as Yasmin ‘Yaz’ Khan. The episode also features Sharon D. Clarke as Grace, Graham’s wife and Ryan’s gran; Samuel Oatley as the alien Stenza warrior called Tzim-Sha (or as the Doctor calls him ‘Tim Shaw’); and there’s Johnny Dixon as Karl. This ‘Doctor Who’ episode received a rating of 10.96 million viewers as well as positive reviews from critics. Does it still hold up well after all these years? ‘The Woman Who Fell to Earth’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

‘Doctor Who’ 60th Anniversary Marathon – ‘World Enough and Time’/’The Doctor Falls’

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

We come now to the two-part season finale in Series 10 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, Pearl Mackie as Bill and Matt Lucas as Nardole. This is ‘World Enough and Time’/’The Doctor Falls’ by Steven Moffat. This two-part adventure has Michelle Gomez as Missy actively involved in the season finale for a change, and there’s the return of John Simm as the Master, who was last seen in ‘The End of Time’ with David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. There’s also the return of the Mondasian Cybermen, who made their debut in ‘The Tenth Planet’ with William Hartnell as the First Doctor, and they’ve been in the Big Finish audio story ‘Spare Parts’ with Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. Clearly, ‘World Enough and Time’/’The Doctor Falls’ is supposed to be a dramatic and emotional finale to Series 10, especially considering what happens to our three main heroes: the Twelfth Doctor, Bill and Nardole. Do I think this two-part story is worthy enough to be considered a dramatic and emotional finale in Series 10 of the new TV series? ‘World Enough and Time’/’The Doctor Falls’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

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

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

We’re on the second episode of Series 10 of the new ‘Doctor Who’ TV series today. It’s time for us to check out ‘Smile’ by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, starring Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Pearl Mackie as Bill. Matt Lucas as Nardole briefly appears at the beginning of the episode. In ‘Smile’, the Twelfth Doctor and Bill visit an off-world Earth colony in the far future. There are robots called the Emojibots that give the Doctor and Bill badges, which record their emotions to the Vardy – nanobots that are meant to maintain the colony. Our heroes discover that are series of deaths are caused when negative emotions are reported to the Vardy via the emojis on people’s badges. Can the Doctor and Bill solve the mystery as well as save the colony’s inhabitants? The guest cast includes Mina Anwar (who’s been in ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’) as Goodthing, Ralf Little (who I’ve seen in ‘Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?!’ and he plays Michael in WF92’s ‘Fifth Doctor’ series of ‘Doctor Who’ stories 😀 ) as Steadfast, and there’s Kiran Shah (who’s been scale doubles in ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films) as one of the Emojibots. ‘Smile’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.

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

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

It’s time for us to check out Peter Capaldi’s third and final season as the Twelfth Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’ – Series 10 of the new TV series. In the first episode called ‘The Pilot’ by Steven Moffat, the Twelfth Doctor is joined by a new companion – Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts, who happens to be an openly gay character. There’s also Matt Lucas as Nardole, who helps the Doctor to protect a vault under St. Luke’s University in Bristol. This is Nardole’s third ‘Doctor Who’ TV appearance since being in ‘The Husbands of River Song’ and ‘The Return of Doctor Mysterio’. Apparently, the Doctor has been living the life of a university professor and Nardole has been his assistant at the university for 70 years. Throughout the episode, Bill finds herself falling for a girl – Stephanie Hyam as Heather – who turns out to be an alien water puddle. 😀 There’s also a brief appearance of the Daleks and the Movellans from ‘Destiny of the Daleks’ in the episode. Is ‘The Pilot’ a worthwhile introduction to Bill Potts as a new ‘Doctor Who’ companion? Is this a very good opening episode to Peter Capaldi’s third season as the Doctor? ‘The Pilot’ can be checked out on DVD, Blu-ray and BBC iPlayer.