Wednesday 23 December 2015

Dr Who Wednesday #5


Painting

Davros and the 18th Doctor for scale only...
I've not done much painting lately, but in order to get my brush in for the Analogue Painting Challenge I decided to do one of Ainsty Castings' splendid TARDIS consoles.  I think it came out quite well.

Google provided me with a dazzling amount of detail on the TARDIS control room(s).  It turns out that this configuration dates to the Fifth Doctor.  Just as well that I don't care about such things!

My plans for the Painting Challenge have a distinct Dr Who flavour.  So if you want to wallow around in Nostalgia* with Cybermen and Ice Warriors, stay tuned.  However I am distraught to say that I can't find my Jon Pertwee figure.  Alack, aloo!

*Other Challengers will get my drift...

Viewing

I have of course watched the end of the latest series.  I thought it came to a quite satisfactory end.*  The thought of Clara and Me whizzing around in their own TARDIS appeals - and it gave us a splendid homage to the original Control Room set, with the console in lime green and magnolia, looking like something from a 1950s nuclear power station!

*After all, the Doctor got rid of those ridiculous sonic sunglasses!


All-in-all my thoughts on the series that has just ended are positive.  High-lights to me were the use of Davros and all sorts of Dalek types in their two-parter and the reintroduction of Osgood.  The low-point was the Ashildr/Me arc - I just didn't warm to the character at all.

And we need more of Missy!

I'm not too sanguine about the Christmas special though - they've had a distressing tendency towards whimsy recently.  I'll let you know what I think next week.

I've also watched a couple of Tom Baker serials - 'Planet of Evil' and the 'The Android Invasion'.

The former was pretty ropy, but had some interesting design of the planet's jungle.  The inspiration for the monster was obviously 'Forbidden Planet'.

'Android Invasion' also steals from classic movies (in its case 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' - and I'm sure the bit about an astronaut being persuaded to lead an alien attack was done before).  It gets a bad going-over from on-line reviewers, but I quite enjoyed it - but's that always the case with episodes I watch and then realise I remember from my childhood!

It's a relatively rare Fourth Doctor/UNIT episode.  The absence of the Brigadier is palatable, and apparently it was the last appearance of Sgt Benson - both of which are a shame and, to my mind mark the end of UNIT's effectiveness.  Lis Sladen can do no wrong as Sarah Jane Smith of course.

And Finally...

A shout out for fellow blogger James Holloway.  Many of you will be familiar with his blogs, The Gonzo History Project and Gonzo History: Gaming Edition.  He has recently started a podcast in which he and a friend discuss episodes of Dr Who.  It can be heard here.  I recommend it.

6 comments:

  1. Good old UNIT.

    I always thought the caves of Androzani would make a decent wargame.

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  2. I cannot stand Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, I stopped watching the series after the first couple of episodes. The stories are awful now. I here this from a lot of ex fans. I love the old 70's repeats they have on the Horror Channel here in the UK.
    Si

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  3. That's a splendid looking console and can't wait to see your nostalgia round now.

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  4. I quite agree on Missy. She is delightful. I noticed that the Professor What line is currently missing from the Ainsty website. Anyone know why?
    Pace Simon Jones, my jury is still out on Capaldi. He had a tough act to follow and not every Doctor has appealed to me, but I can't say he bothers me inordinately.

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  5. I have only seen half of the Christopher Ecclestone Dr Who episodes and none of the rest of the new ones. I used to be a big Who fan (I was a member of the Oxford University Dr Who society and we used to have a dinner for all the Dr Who actors once a year)but can't seem to get into the new ones. Not helped by that fact that I have a lot of the new series on DVD but my daughter has pinched them.

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