The Doctor (Troughton) finds himself in 18th Century Scotland in the midst of the Battle of Culloden in this week’s trip in the TARDIS. The Highlanders, the last, purely historical story to be featured in the series was written by Elwyn Jones and Gerry Davis. This four-parter aired from 17 December 1966 through to…
Tag: the doctor
Doctor Who (Patrick Troughton) – The Power of the Daleks
Patrick Troughton’s first adventure brings back the Doctor’s most notorious villains, the Daleks in this six part story that was written by David Whitaker and originally aired from 5 November to 10 December, 1966. Ben (Michael Craze) and Polly (Anneke Wills) are a little dubious if this new person is actually the Doctor. He looks and…
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The Tenth Planet
Hartnell’s swan song as the Doctor introduces another recurring menace to his universe, the Cybermen! Written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis, this four-part story aired from 8 October to 29 October 1966. The Doctor with Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze) in tow, land the TARDIS in Antarctica in the year 1986….
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The Smugglers
Season Four of Doctor Who starts with what I found to be the most uninteresting story to have spilled out of the TARDIS. Written by Brian Hayles, this story ran from 10 September to 1 October, 1966. Maybe it would be better if it existed in some other format than a reconstruction, using production…
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The War Machines
Season 3 of Doctor Who draws to a close with this four-part story. Before the internet, before Skynet, The Doctor (Hartnell) faced a computer threat in late 60s London. It also sees some changes in Companions. The story aired in four parts, from 25 June to 16 July, 1966 and was written by Ian Stuart…
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The Savages
The Doctor (Hartnell) says goodbye to yet another companion, in this week’s adventure. This was also the story that began the tradition of eschewing individual episode titles, and simply referring to them as one, two, etc. The Savages was written by Ian Stuart Black, and aired from 28 May 1966 to 18 June, 1966….
The Strain Set Visit
Tonight, Gullermo del Toro presents a new vision in terror as the series premiere of The Strain launches a new kind of vampire. Back in March, I was invited to the set to have a look at what goes on behind the scenes and along with some fellow media types (a number of whom…
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The Gunfighters
The Doctor (Hartnell), Stephen (Peter Purves) and Dodo (Jackie Lane) find themselves in the Wild West, specifically the O.K. Corral when the TARDIS next lands in this tale written by Donald Cotton. Filled with a sense of fun, and a really bad recurring song, this story aired in 4 parts, A Holiday for the…
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The Celestial Toymaker
Michael Gough menaces the Doctor (Hartnell) in this week’s story! Written by Brian Hayles and airing in 4 parts, The Celestial Toyroom, The Hall of Dolls, The Dancing Floor, and the Final Test, from 2 April to 23 April, 1966, this story was originally planned to be Hartnell’s exit as the Doctor. The TARDIS…
Doctor Who (William Hartnell) – The Ark
This week, the TARDIS travels far into the future, and happily, I didn’t have to watch a reconstruction of it! This time all of the episodes survived, and it was a fun tale. The Ark was originally aired from 5 March to 26 March 1966, and was written by Paul Erickson and Lesley Scott. Over…
The Mind Reels 