A lot of the Doctor Who stories starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor were destroyed by the BBC in the 1970s, surviving only in audio taped by fans, photographs taken on set and a few clips that were preserved by happenstance. One of the most grievous losses is the very first Troughton story, The Power of the Daleks, originally shown in ( Read more... )

Right, that's it decided: I very much prefer the audios with linking narration to the fan reconstructions of "lost" Doctor Who episodes. Especially (though not only) if Peter Purves is doing them. The Savages is a real little gem of a story, even if it does have one of the most amusing lines in the whole of Doctor Who. The incidental music is ( Read more... )

( Salman Rushdie and Doctor Who )

Two more classic Doctor Who series watched/listened to recently, the first featuring the First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki having a holiday during the reign of the emperor Nero, and the second plunging the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe into a well-intentioned attempt to do high Space Opera. All four episodes of The Romans are still available; ( Read more... )

( why I am writing this now )

Actually, before I get into my own listening/viewing, go and read wwhyte's commentary on the last Sixth Doctor story, The Ultimate Foe. Confirms me in my resolve not to bother watching any more stories from that period than I already have ( Read more... )

Over the last few weeks, an episode here and an episode there, I've been watching the first ever appearance of the Doctor's ultimate foes, first broadcast in 1963-1964 in seven episodes. Great fun. I had of course read David Whitaker's novelisation, roughtly 25 years ago. A few things that sprang to mind ( Read more... )