Animation – it’s not just for adults any more! If the most internationally famous Czech animator is still that macabre Surrealist Jan Švankmajer, then Second Run have been doing their best to present global audiences with a more rounded picture of the country’s animated output. They’ve reissued several films by Karel […]
Graham Williamson
Senior Contributor
Doctor Who A-Z #129: The Five Doctors (1983)
When I’ve told fellow Doctor Who fans that the next story I’m reviewing is The Five Doctors, there’s generally been a knowing laugh. Not, to be clear, a mocking laugh – nothing like the “ha ha, you poor sod” response I got when it was The Underwater Menace. No, it’s […]
Doctor Who A-Z #128: The King’s Demons (1983)
You could argue that The King’s Demons is the last ordinary story of the classic series. Over the course of the ’80s, as the show becomes a bizarrely early victim of the streaming-era curse of shortened seasons with no filler episodes, the middle ground of Doctor Who falls away; everything […]
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969): Richard Attenborough’s radical roots
The late 1960s were a golden age for radical, anti-authoritarian Leftist cinema, and no wonder when you look at the stature of the directors making such films: Jean-Luc Godard, Costa-Gavras, Glauber Rocha, Richard Attenborough. Wait – Richard Attenborough? Sir Richard Attenborough? Sir Richard Santa Claus Attenborough, Oscar darling of the […]
Doctor Who A-Z #127: Enlightenment (1983)
By the end of Peter Davison’s second season there is an unbridgeable gap between what the show does well and what the production team and the fans both want it to do. What it does well – and what it’s been doing a lot of recently – is produce cerebral […]
Doctor Who A-Z #126: Terminus (1983)
Terminus is, at the very least, trying to do some distinctive things – and if you think that’s an unpromising introduction to a review, well, you’re right, but let’s take stock of the positive things first. It’s the middle story in a linked run of three adventures, which isn’t unprecedented […]
Doctor Who A-Z #125: Mawdryn Undead (1983)
Following on from Snakedance‘s exploration of the Fifth Doctor’s character and particular brand of heroism, here’s another road not wholly taken. The problem the Fifth Doctor keeps running into isn’t that Peter Davison is a bad actor – he may be second only to Patrick Troughton as the most technically […]
Doctor Who A-Z #124: Snakedance
Christopher Bailey, making his return here after writing the best story of the preceding season, is one of the most singular talents to write for Doctor Who. Before we start gushing about his genius, then, it’s probably worthwhile to note that he’s been extremely fortunate with his collaborators. His scripts […]
Doctor Who A-Z #123: Arc of Infinity (1983)
Season Twenty is an odd one in Peter Davison’s run. There isn’t a story like The Caves of Androzani or Earthshock which fans at the time rallied around; the best script by a mile is Christopher Bailey’s Snakedance, and Bailey’s vision of Doctor Who was simply too personal and strange […]
Outside the Blue Box: Tip Toe (2026)
The following article contains spoilers for Tip Toe. You’re not wrong, I chose an interesting time to write an article about Russell T Davies. The man who, in 2005, brought Doctor Who back to life might have turned out to be, in 2025, the man who killed it off again. […]