The quest to find the Key to Time kicks off with a bang, offering up one of the more under-rated classics of Tom Baker's run as the Doctor and the entire classic series run, "The Ribos Operation."

"Ribos" is a template for what the rest of the Key stories should have been, but many were found lacking, in that the quest for the first segment actually ( Read more... )

In a lot of ways the Stones of Blood is a crossroads.

It's a crossroads for the Key to Time season because it's the third story in the saga -- one that must continue to find new ways to spin the same story, namely that the main source of drama is the Doctor and Romana's quest to find the hidden segment of the Key to Time. It's also a crossroads for ( Read more... )

There are some Doctor Who stories that have been elevated to legend status. It's usually those stories that the fans have less access to than others, whether it be due to the fact the story is missing from the BBC Archives or that the story has not yet been written down in a novelized form.

The Pirate Planet is one of those stories.

Written by the ( Read more... )

It's hard to know exactly what to make of season fifteen's "The Invasion of Time."   On the one hand, it was definite ammo for John Nathan-Turner's crusade to do away with six-part stories, calling them little more than a two-parter tacked onto a four-parter.   On the other hand, you've got a story that is like the younger, less talented step-son ( Read more... )

In any other season, "Face of Evil" would be in the running for the best story of the season.

But placed in the heart of season fourteen, surrounded on two sides by classic stories, "Face of Evil" can and does get easily overlooked by fans (this one included) when it comes to naming off the classics of Hinchcliffe/Holmes era.

Watching it again, for ( Read more... )

I have to wonder what it must have been like in 1976 to tune in when "The Deadly Assassin" first aired.  Up until now, our only glimpses of Gallifrey had been of a couple of all-powerful guys who seemed to wield a whole lot of power.  Well, that and the weird Steed-wannabe from "Terror of the Autons."

But while we'd had a scene or two here and there ( Read more... )

"The Hand of Fear" is one of those stories that's fondly remembered for a lot of the isolated bits and pieces of the story.  It's Doctor Who in one of its most self-deprecating moments until the horror that is the late Graham Williams years--the story starts out with the TARDIS materializing in a rock quarry that is actually a working rock quarry ( Read more... )

To a lot of fans, season fourteen is the pinnacle of greatness for Doctor Who.

It's certainly the season of the Robert Hinchcliffe/Robert Holmes era where the series is running like a well-oiled machine and each story shows a confidence in itself.   The storytelling is assured, the production values are high and Tom Baker is at heights of acting ( Read more... )

It's summertime and with most of the show I watch either in re-run or on hiatus, I find myself with a bit of time to re-visit some old friends. For some reason, this summer I've decided to re-visit the early days of Star Trek: The Next Generation (it is the 20th anniversary of the show later this year) and the Tom Baker run of Doctor Who.

I have ( Read more... )