Gavin Winters
Ace letting slip a couple of racist comments to Shou Yuing when Morgaine gets into their heads is much more shocking now than at the time. Is that really what Ace subconsciously thinks? #DoctorWho
Overall this doesnât gel as well as Aaronovitchâs previous story, but still has a lot of great individual moments, and a surprisingly modern âtimey-wimeyâ element, with the references and hints of a future Doctor. No wonder Steven Moffat cites it as a favourite! #DoctorWho
Ghost Light: baffled just about everyone on first broadcast, but after years of rewatches and hearing various explanations, it all makes sense now. Once you get the basic idea of a scientist (Light) experimenting using a control sample and a test sample it all clicks. #DoctorWho
One thing I think canât be praised highly enough in this story is Mark Ayresâ music, which elevates the whole thing and makes every scene drip with atmosphere. It would be a far lesser production without it. #DoctorWho
After years of 1980s stories being lit like Blackpool illuminations, this has the opposite problem of being incredibly dim and murky in parts. You could say it adds to the ambience, but itâs *so* bloody dark it affects the quality of the video recording. #DoctorWho
Why wasnât another police officer sent to investigate Inspector McKenzieâs disappearance after he first came to the house two years earlier? Or does Josiah have a whole stack of them in a chest of drawers somewhere? #DoctorWho
I love the streak of black humour running through the story. From the Reverend âdevolvingâ into an ape to the Inspector ending up in the soup. âThe cream of Scotland Yard!â #DoctorWho
The obvious plot hole of course is why Light hasnât encountered the process of evolution anywhere else, and acts like itâs unique to Earth. Maybe heâs a Moffat-esque piece of malfunctioning technology. #DoctorWho
The Curse Of Fenric: this has long been a huge favourite of mine, and watching it again after a number of years itâs always a worry that something that fondly remembered wonât live up to expectations, but no, itâs still exceptionally good. All time top ten #DoctorWho
Who would have ever thought Nicholas Parsons would be so good in a role like this? Sometimes JNTâs âstunt castingâ really worked.
Sylvester also gives the best performance of his time in the role. Weâre light years away from the pratfalling of Time And The Rani. #DoctorWho
The psychic paper may speed things up and get around such things as introductions and passes, but itâs not as much fun as watching the Doctor quickly type up his own authorisation and sign it in Churchillâs handwriting. #DoctorWho
This scene remains embarrassingly clunky though. Least sexy seduction ever. đ #DoctorWho
Was anyone ever actually surprised that baby Audrey turns out to be Aceâs mother? #DoctorWho
Itâs still remarkable that in the twilight of the classic series, at a time when it was unloved and unwatched and seen as well past its prime, it was actually coming out with a run of gems like this, in a late burst of creativity. Well done Cartmel and co. đ«Ą #DoctorWho
Survival: so after 26 years, it all comes full circle as the Doctor brings his teenage companion back to contemporary London. And it really hits you watching this now how much it also foreshadows the 2005 revival, with its tower blocks and ordinary domestic life. #DoctorWho
Theyâd worked out by now how to do decent #DoctorWho on the available budget, by making everything mostly earthbound, but still managed to give us one last believable alien planet.
And the Cheetah People makeup is easily equal to the cat nuns from nearly two decades later.
On paper the return of the Ainley Master here could have been a bad idea, as heâs more associated with previous eras and more outlandish settings. Like bringing Sil or Sharaz Jek to Perivale. But he surprisingly works very well, giving one of his best performances. #DoctorWho
Look, a future Doctor left all this stuff here for him to land on, okay? Thatâs my headcanon and Iâm sticking with it. #DoctorWho
As if the feeling of this grasping towards what 21st century #DoctorWho would be wasnât strong enough⊠in the final moments Jackie bloody Tyler turns up (if you squint).
Damnit who opened a window and let all that dust fly into my eyes⊠at the same moment that someoneâs peeling onions under my nose⊠at the same moment Iâm suddenly struck with strong hayfever⊠đąđąđąđąđą #DoctorWho
What a season. What an era. What a TARDIS team.
And what a pity so few at the time, either in fandom or in the BBC, could appreciate what they had⊠#DoctorWho
As always in #DoctorWho, thereâs a never-ending cycle where a âdislikedâ era becomes more loved with the passage of time, as the kids who enjoyed it grow up and replace the grumpy adults who slagged it off. It happened before and itâll happen again.
Every Doc has their day. đ
#DoctorWho - The TV Movie: I enjoy this more every time I watch it. It was a bit of a mixed-feelings disappointment in 1996, not really what fans wanted or expected, but divorced from that level of expectation it can now be appreciated as a fun adventure in its own right.
McGann is excellent of course. Still the great lost Doctor. And Iâm glad Sylvester is there for the regeneration or else this could have been dismissed as a bit of non-canonical ephemera, on a par with the Cushing movies. #DoctorWho
The opening doesnât make much of a concession to new viewers, launching straight into an info-dump with references to Time Lords, Daleks, Skaro, the Master, regenerations⊠helpfully showing RTD what *not* to do!
And whatâs with the Daleks having Smurf voices? đ#DoctorWho
I always think Graceâs whole look and character was designed to echo Scully from The X-Files, which was massive at the time.
And elsewhere they lift from Classic Who - the two hearts X-ray and the new clothes scene are obviously taken from Spearhead From Space. #DoctorWho
How gullible is Chang Lee? When the clearly sinister and evil-looking guy with glowing eyes who dresses like the Terminator and manhandles you tries to say: â No, Iâm the good guy really!â #DoctorWho
I think at one point the Doctor says heâs âAlf Newman on his brotherâs sideâ or something⊠but I wasnât really listening, therefore we can ignore it and IT NEVER HAPPENED. #DoctorWho
Itâs impressive how, with little over an hour of screen time, Eric Roberts gives us one of the campest Masters ever.
No mean feat, given the competition! #DoctorWho
Night Of The Doctor: Iâm now cheating slightly by jumping ahead to this minisode but, well, you have to really, donât you?
What a brilliant surprise this was. I still remember scaring the shit out of the cat with the yell I let out when McGann appeared. đ #DoctorWho
Iâd forgotten just how short this is. It crams in a hell of a lot into under seven minutes, with another tantalising glimpse of how McGannâs Doctor might have been.
The dialogue is noticeably Moffat. You canât help but picture Matt saying the âbring me knittingâ line. #DoctorWho
The funny thing about the Big Finish companions getting namechecked is it means he forgot to mention any that were/will be created afterwards.
No mention of Grace either! đ #DoctorWho
The one minor quibble is the speed with which the Doctor abandons his policy of not getting involved in the war and wants to become a âwarriorâ, all over the death of one person. But the short runtime means there just isnât time for a long character arc. #DoctorWho
Rose: right, here we go into 21st century #DoctorWho. Honestly, going from 1989 to 1996, detouring to 2013 then back to 2005 has given me whiplash.đ”âđ«
This was a⊠well, âfantasticâ relaunch. Eccleston & Piper both brilliant. Wise to start with Rose as the audience POV character.
One very important point I have to make about this #DoctorWho episode isâŠ
**TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. PLEASE STAND BY**
âŠand Iâm sure youâll all agree with me on that. #DoctorWho
One curious âmistakeâ, if you can call it that, is the Autons still having wrist-guns, same as back in the 70s.
But these arenât specially made Autons, as far as we know. Theyâre regular shop dummies animated by the Nestene signal. So⊠whereâd the guns come from? #DoctorWho
The clear, defining approach of RTDâs relaunch was âmake EVERYTHING understandable and accessible to the broadest possible audienceâ, so you get the Doctor attempting to defeat the Nestenes with âanti-plasticâ. Thatâs it, thatâs all you need. No technobabble gubbins! #DoctorWho
The End Of The World: RTDâs knack of coming up with complex-sounding yet memorable alien names is the equal of how Robert Holmes would fill in world-building background details. Both make it look so easy. #DoctorWho
And his own world-building is proceeding gradually. No info-dumps here, just a slow reveal of the new mythology of everything thatâs happened to the Doctor since he was last on our screens. Clear and accessible to fans and non-fans alike. #DoctorWho
The use of Soft Cell and Britney Spears on the soundtrack was a real slap round the chops to us old-schoolers. No stronger indication that this was a whole new style for #DoctorWho! đ
I really like the effort they went to with the font seen in this episode. At first glance it looks unfathomable and alien, then you realise you can read it. Subtly suggesting that the TARDIS is translating for the audience too. #DoctorWho
Cassandra is such a uniquely RTD creation. I couldnât imagine any other showrunner having invented her. #DoctorWho
The Unquiet Dead: this completes the initial past/present/future trilogy, showing the seriesâ potential.
But I like how, this early into trying to show all of space and time, they went âah, screw itâ and set an episode in Cardiff, with Welsh actors and Welsh accents.đ#DoctorWho
The Doctorâs directions to Rose about where to go in the TARDIS, including âpast the binsâ was another quick eye-opening moment that made me very aware of the new style and had me thinking âWell⊠JNT wouldnât have had him say that!â #DoctorWho
Rose literally setting foot in the past illustrated by the footstep in the snow is a great touch, as is the snowflakes falling from the TARDIS when it dematerialises at the end. #DoctorWho
They seemed to be trying to establish a spooky character trait in these early episodes of the Doctor quietly and mysteriously entering a scene (like popping up in a doorway) without anyone noticing until he speaks, which gets dropped later on. #DoctorWho
As enjoyable as this is, the unfortunate and unintentional message of âdonât trust refugees, theyâll come in and try to take over!â just gets more and more noticeable every time you watch it. Really should have been spotted at script stage. #DoctorWho
It only took 42 years, but finally a supporting character, Charles Dickens, asks the very sensible question about how exactly is it âgoodbyeâ when the Doctor and companion walk into a wooden box to leave at the end of an adventure.
Why did no one ask that before?? #DoctorWho
Aliens Of London / World War Three: our first proper full-on alien invasion story of the revival, and they take full advantage of the bigger budget and better production values to really flesh it out and show the worldâs realistic reaction to such an event. #DoctorWho
I always think that RTD having the Slitheen farting was a case of, in those early days of figuring out how to make #DoctorWho popular again, throwing *everything* at the show to try to make it appeal to kids. But it probably wasnât necessary as everything else worked well enough.
Jackie slapping the Doctor is still very funny. As was Mickey being unable to get a date for a year because everyone thought heâd murdered Rose. đ #DoctorWho
One thing thatâs suddenly very noticeable on this rewatch: the audio around the Powell Estate. Always full of sounds of people and families chatting, shouting, dogs barking etc. Gives it a real atmosphere of an actual place. Subsequent eras never bothered doing that. #DoctorWho
The tension and buildup of the âalienâ on the loose⊠followed by the reveal of the space pig, is hilarious. I donât think anyone at the time was expecting that! #DoctorWho
Hello Trinity Wells!
And UNIT! Proper âUnited Nationsâ UNIT too, none of yer âUnifiedâ gubbins! #DoctorWho
Iâd like to think that the actual security on a submarine with missiles is a bit stronger than something that can be hacked by one guy using a universal password that then allows him to blow up Downing Street⊠đŹ #DoctorWho
Dalek: now this is a textbook example of how you bring back an old enemy and make them powerful and relevant again for modern audiences.
You can tell they took delight in subverting all the tired old criticisms about sink plungers, stairs, etc, one by one. #DoctorWho
I was so glad to see Rob Shearman (on Confidential, I think) saying how he wanted to bring back *the Daleks*, not any of those silly CGI spider-Dalek things weâd seen suggested through the 90s. It just had to be the original design. Otherwise whatâs the point? #DoctorWho