Though every actor who has ever been lucky enough to portray the Doctor on-screen has put their own iconic spin on the character, it’s arguable that Tom Baker – at least for a certain generation – was a name inseparable from the role, and even perhaps the show as a […]
Doctor Who
Doctor Who (2025) The Story and the Engine: Brilliant Low-Key Idea, Pompous Execution
Inua Ellams makes his Doctor Who writing debut with The Story and The Engine, an episode with a tone and setting unlike any Doctor Who episode I’ve ever seen. Typically the show never sets foot outside of either Europe or the USA for a whole episode, though there are some […]
Doctor Who (2025) Lucky Day: An Average Start That Reveals A Sublime and Timely Message (SPOILERS)
Ncuti Gatwa’s second series is so far following a very similar blueprint to his first. This is something I discussed the other week, but both series started with a silly sci-fi opener, a 20th-century period romp, and a tense space-based thriller. 73 Yards, probably the most acclaimed episode of last […]
Doctor Who (2025): The Well – A Fantastic Return To Tight, Taut Horror
This new Disney+ era of the show has had a less unanimously positive reception than Russell T Davies was perhaps hoping for, but fans have always seemed really happy whenever this era delves into horror. The eerie and freakish Wild Blue Yonder, the most purely horror-focused episode until this one, […]
Doctor Who (2025): Lux – A Visual Marvel Backed Up By Fun Script (SPOILERS)
In the days leading up to Series 15, it struck me that Russell has structured this series in a very similar way to the last one. The Robot Revolution is a bright and silly family-friendly introduction like Space Babies, next week’s Episode 3 looks set to be a dark and […]
Doctor Who (2025): The Robot Revolution – A Rambunctious Start With A Unique Spin (SPOILERS)
It’s been strange seeing the Doctor Who fandom, a fandom that was so divided and downhearted during the Chris Chibnall era and therefore ecstatic when Russell T Davies and Disney+ got involved, go back to the exact same mood after last year’s series finale. A rewatch of Empire of Death […]
Doctor Who A-Z #69: The Green Death (1973)
Classic seasons of Doctor Who aren’t designed as a holistic experience like the new seasons are, but as far back as the Troughton era there’s been a sense that a season finale should offer something big. Quite what that bigness involves changes over time. The Troughton finales still mostly register […]
Doctor Who A-Z #68: Planet of the Daleks (1973)
Planet of the Daleks is the penultimate story – Invasion of the Dinosaurs is the last – to have material missing from the archives, specifically the colour negative of episode three. A colourised version has been made, but I watched a version where this one episode was in black and […]
Doctor Who A-Z #67: Frontier in Space (1973)
I think I love the flour the most. The apparent hijacking of a human ship by alien mercenaries, the one that kick-starts this story and nearly causes a war between solar systems, isn’t a raid on a ship carrying space marines or photon torpedoes or anything like that. It’s an […]
Doctor Who A-Z #66: Carnival of Monsters (1973)
Carnival of Monsters seems to be the Third Doctor story that people who don’t like the Third Doctor’s era as a whole can get behind. There’s a very obvious reason for this, and like all very obvious reasons it isn’t quite right. Fans will tell you that its distinctive quality […]