Duggan is one of the all time great supporting characters, who kind of makes me wish he’d been a companion for a bit.
Or alternatively, if, say, Harry Sullivan had been written more like this and was constantly thumping people, to the Doctor’s annoyance. #DoctorWho
And of course it’s impossible not to speculate about the exact nature of the Count and Countess’s marriage…
I mean, unless that fake skin went over his entire body and was *very* realistic… 👀 #DoctorWho
“Time Lords have 90 lives!”
“How many have you got through so far?”
“Oh, about 130!”
*a young Chris Chibnall furiously scribbles notes* #DoctorWho
Congratulations to Graham Crowden for being the only actor in the seven-year run of the Fourth Doctor who manages to give a performance even more bonkers and over-the-top than Tom himself.
“MY DREEEEEAMS OF CONQUEST…!!” 😄 #DoctorWho
Chronotis is such a brilliant creation. Like an older, more befuddled Troughton.
Another for the long list of ‘Bring them back in the modern series!’ He can just have regenerated. #DoctorWho
Right, next up - the 1980s! Neon! Synth music! Rubik cubes! Flock-of-Seagulls haircuts!
(Yes, I know technically we reached the 80s during Horns Of Nimon but you know what I mean.) #DoctorWho
The move to colour in 1970 hit you like a slap in the face, but JNT’s 1980s makeover hits you like a ten ton truck.
But here comes Bidmead to drain all the joy and life and fun out of the show, and turn it into a Very Serious Programme, for Very Serious Fans. Sigh. 🙄 #DoctorWho
The highly stylised direction, with lots of extreme closeups, means at times it’s bloody difficult to know what the hell is going on.
The Foamasi cutting into the Hive from outside is muddled enough, but the cliffhanger across episodes 3/4 is utterly unfathomable. #DoctorWho
The Foamasi in their human skinsuit disguises (that mysteriously make them smaller and thinner) must have been an influence on RTD when he came up with the Slitheen.
Not to mention we have a villain who gets regressed to a baby… #DoctorWho
I think I agree with Lalla Ward, who said that her first season was aimed at everyone, but her second season narrowed its appeal to “14 year old boys who were into maths and science and computers”.
Real-life Adrics, basically! #DoctorWho
Meglos:
Space Babs! 😃
I hope there’s a Space Ian too, in case any other Tigellan tries to chat her up and he’s ready to punch their lights out. #DoctorWho
Meglos can create a time loop to trap a TARDIS, which is an amazing level of technology for a cactus.
That’s not a sentence I ever expected to write… 😐#DoctorWho
Not really a good idea to have the Doctor and Romana stuck in the TARDIS for the whole of part one.
In fact with the episodes being so short, with long recaps, and that repeated time loop clip… there must be only about an hour of footage across this whole story. #DoctorWho
Full Circle: the location filming in part one all looks very lavish and expensive, and with loads of extras it helps to make a convincing alien society.
And with a story full of original ideas, it’s very impressive to think this was written by an 18 year old. #DoctorWho
The text on the knackered old display screen in the rebels base looks like Ceefax. 😄
Plus it appears to give the date the Hydrax left Earth as 1998(!) Let’s just put that down to it being ancient and broken and the digits messing up. #DoctorWho
Zargo kills Tarak and Camilla *instantly* complains that his blood will now be stale because he’s dead.
He’s still warm love, have a nibble. 🧛♀️ #DoctorWho
I wish at some point we’d got to see more of this epic ancient battle between the Time Lords and the Vampires. It’s a great unexplored area of #DoctorWho mythology.
Another for the list of “Dear RTD. Please, please please…”
It’s an abrupt departure for Romana and K9, as more and more of the Fourth Doctor era gets chipped away by the new production team, leaving Tom as the last man standing.
With just Adric left as the sole companion at the end, it’s all starting to look a bit… Davison… #DoctorWho
The coda where the Master possesses him is great though. Its unusual enough for the action to take us back to a planet after the Doctor and co have left, and then this kicker.
If this were a modern movie, it would be a mid-credits scene to tease the next sequel. #DoctorWho
On a brighter note: Tegan! 😃
The first episode and a half is devoted to her intro, while the Doctor and Adric faff about measuring a police box.
Of the three recent companion additions, this is the only one that makes you think “Oh, a proper companion. At last!” #DoctorWho
“The Watcher!”
“He was the Doctor all the time…”
Er… okay… take us through your thought processes and logical deductions there Nyssa? Because we’d all really like to know… #DoctorWho
Overall season 18 remains a curious beast, an odd transitional year as JNT remoulds the show to suit himself. There’s lots of good material, but I just wish they hadn’t felt the need to cut so much of what made the show fun and accessible over the previous six years.
However the themes of death, decay and entropy, leading eventually to renewal and rebirth are worked through the season brilliantly. This probably has the most unique identity of any season of #DoctorWho, Classic or New.
Castrovalva: once more Bidmead gives us a story with great concepts but hampered by technobabble, with no attempt to give the companions natural sounding dialogue.
And just like Logopolis, we’re TARDIS-bound for almost two episodes before we get to the titular planet. #DoctorWho
Tom’s boots magically regenerate into shoes for Peter. Hmm, clothes that regenerate with the Doctor… what a crazy idea, eh?
And Tom’s scarf gets unravelled - heresy! Oh, but it’s just the burgundy version, so who cares? 😄 #DoctorWho
That’s a spin off series if there’s ever been one! The early Time Lords vs. the Great Vampires! Sign me up. The Wasting is such a great concept too.
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