Whovember - 2020 to 2023

Our last Whovember!  What a journey it’s been, looking across sixty years of this remarkable franchise, with bits and pieces from so many forms of media!  Let’s wrap up with another TV episode and a pair of boxsets from Big Finish…

Whovember - 2017 to 2020

Two days left, and three years apiece, we’ve in the home stretch!  We’re into the Chibnall years, and before I carry on, I will say that I like Jodie’s era overall, there’s plenty to love in here.  I can get the writing not being to everyone’s taste, but I won’t say it’s better or worse than parts of the Davies or Moffat eras, just different.  Besides, if you want to see bad Who writing, go watch the depths of Eric Saward’s time as script editor.  Anyway, besides the point, let’s get into these choices…

Whovember - 2013 to 2017

Another bumper crop for Whovember today to make up for lost time, four more years today, and three each Wednesday and Thursday, let’s jump right on in…

Whovember (delayed!) - 2009 to 2013

Sorry folks, got a bit behind; hit by a stinker of a cold Friday night (as did EVERYONE at work!), just about over it now (I can actually… think now).  Plus, what lucid time I did have was taken up by raving about The Star Beast (Wasn't it great?).  So, making up for lost time, the next few days, I’m going to cover four years in each of the remaining blog posts, which will take us up to 60 by the 30th.  So, let’s jump right in with…

Whovember 23: 2007 to 2009

Today’s the anniversary day!  A fine Wholiday for us all!  Not long now until an all new age begins...

We still have sixteen years to cover before we’re done, so let’s jump right into things; firstly, I am going to be taking one more little peak at the comic strip, followed by another range from Big Finish…

Whovember 22: 2005 to 2007

Into the Tennant Years now.  I should mention that though we have the TV series back on and regularly, I will still be having stuff from the various spin-offs on here too, as Big Finish and such didn’t just go “oh well, that’s Who covered, never mind, pack up lads” when the series started, they instead upped their game.  Plus, do you really need yet another analysis of Blink on the Internet?  So I thought I might focus on a few other things going on too, stuff that might be a bit overshadowed by TV Who, let’s do a little bit of redressing the balance.  So then, we’ll start with a Tennant episode, before moving onto a different season opener, broadcast not on BBC One, but on Radio 7 (what Radio 4 Extra used to be called).

Whovember 21: 2003 to 2005

So, here we are with the start of New Who!  A whole new era, bringing in a new generation of fans... and a lot of whining from older fans, naturally.  Yeah, no hobby is immune from old men yelling at clouds.  But anyway, let's look at this turning point, with one of the last truly great stories to come out of the Wilderness Years, followed by looking inside number nine...

Whovember 20: 2001 to 2003

We’re hitting the 40th anniversary today; both momentous in itself, but also for what happened during that year, when in the corridors of power at the Beeb, a great decision was made.  But before that, let's look at a story that, though only on audio, has profoundly influenced one of the series’ star monsters.

Whovember 19: 1999 to 2001

 Oooh, I’ve been looking forward to this one, as I now get to talk about Big Finish, yay!  Now they actually got started a few years earlier with their Bernice Summerfield ones, and they did their first fully licenced Who ones in 1999, here we’ll be looking at their first two full years of the main monthly range of audios.

Whovember 18: 1997 to 1999

This is exciting, as today we get to look at some actual televised Doctor Who from the era, and also it’s the first time in this list I’m going to be talking about a very influential strand of spin off media, the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip.  Again, I’m going to be talking in reverse order about these years, to allow for some spoiler space, so let’s dig into the first TV episode of Doctor Who by Steve Moffat…

Whovember 17: 1995 to 1997

Today we’re covering an interesting time in fandom, as these years include the TV Movie being broadcast.  I won’t be covering it in here, but I will be talking about plenty of Eighth Doctor stuff later on.  I’ll just say that the TV Movie’s biggest mistake was trying to have so much of the show’s “lore” in the plot, as Who has never been about that, and it makes the film a terrible place for a new viewer to start, something that should have been the main goal.  Still, there is a lot to like in there, and it did lead to an interesting new age of Who spin-off fiction; speaking of…

Whovember Part 16: 1993 to 1995

I’m going to do something a bit weird today, I’m actually going to talk about my Year 32 choice, then my year 31 choice.  Why?  Well, with Year 31, I’m picking one of my favourite New Adventures, but the problem with it as a story is that it’s really hard to talk about without having to reveal a bit of a spoiler, so by putting them the other way around, I can add in a bit SPOILER SPACE section for the book.  Right, after my usual case of making things too complicated for myself, let’s dig into my choices.

Whovember 15: 1991 to 1993

We’re covering Who’s Thirtieth Anniversary year this time, which means we’re past the halfway mark!  Let’s jump on into another New Adventure, and then tune in to Radio 2…

Whovember 14: 1989 to 1991

 A major turning point, we are into The Wilderness Years, so as such, I think it appropriate to set my stall out early…

Thanks Randy.  Now then, let’s look at the tail end of Classic Who, and an early gem from where the franchise went next…

Whovember Part 13: 1987 to 1989

We’re coming to the end of Classic Who, there’s only one more small bit to cover after today before the end of the series, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, let’s look at today’s choices.

Whovember Part 12: 1985 to 1987

We’re finally past my birthday, from this point on it’s Who from the time when I existed on this Earth.  So today I’m looking at the best story of the Trial of a Time Lord season, and then the dawn of the final era for classic Who.

Whovember Part 11: 1983 to 1985

Today we have the end of the Davison days, and the start of the Colin Baker era.  I have to say, for those throwing a somewhat unwarranted amount of spite on the Chibnall and Whittaker years, you have no idea what a show in crisis looks like, as the Saward era I would mark as Who’s low point.  But I get ahead of myself, and trying to stay positive, so let’s begin with what’s easily the highwater mark of the season, and quite possibly eighties Who...

Whovember Part 10: 1981 to 1983

We’re in the era of the pleasant, open faced one, Peter Davison, today, with tales of snakes and the solar winds...

Whovember Part 9: 1979 to 1981

We’re into the 80s with Tom’s last season!  For today’s choices, start by putting on your headphones for the full effect, and then turn down the lights for the most gothic Who ever got…

Whovember Part 8: 1977 to 1979

Hey everybody, Doctor’s orders, time for your Whovember medicine.  We are now past the halfway mark for Classic Who, into the latter half of the Graham Williams era, and this would be the time that a certain Hoopy Frood by the name of Douglas Adams would come on board (after pitching to the show a lot of times before).  Let’s dive right into the search for the Key to Time…

Whovember Part 7: 1975 to 1977

 For today’s Whovember, I’m actually picking two serials that are pretty close to each other in the running order, two from Season 14, as the dates just allow it.  The era with Philip Hinchcliffe as producer and Robert Holmes as script editor is one hell of a high watermark for the show, an era of true consistency of vision and boundless imagination, and I’ll be highlighting two of their top serials today…

Whovember Part 6: 1973 to 1975

In today's Whovember, we are taking a look at the end of the Pertwee era, and the beginning of the Tom Baker years, which also features some more famous firsts...

Whovember Part 5: 1971 to 1973

Today in Whovember, it's still the Pertwee years, with two memorable stories; one that featured monsters that have stuck in public imagination for many years, and one that became the template for how the show would handle anniversaries...

Whovember Part 4: 1969 to 1971

Time for another installment of Whovember, and this time we're into the Pertwee years.  You know, in an odd way, Pertwee was my Doctor, partially down to how his stuff got a few repeats in the 90s, partially for a lot of his stories coming out on VHS then, and for the way he actually did a whole bunch of weird appearances in character ... and boy do I mean weird.  Here's one for a game show the BBC did called Happy Families, which I see as them trying for their answer to Gladiators, and missing by a mile, partially down to the guest score keepers being saddled with an absolute lead balloon of a catchphrase.  Pertwee even did a pair of radio serials then with Elizabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney, ones that I am hmming and haaaing about going back to, as one was pretty fun, but the other went somewhere I really think Who shouldn't really go.  But enough of that, time for my choices.

Whovember Part 3: 1967 to 1969

 Welcome back to Whovember, where this time, we're taking a look at the last of Doctor Who's black & white years...

Whovember Part 2: 1965 to 1967

Welcome back to Whovember, my journey through sixty years of Doctor Who in thirty days.  Today we're looking at a major turning point in the show's history, and I share a bit about my Whovian origin story...

Whovember Part 1: 1963 to 1965

 Welcome to my blog and Whovember!  What is Whovember?  Well, as this month marks Doctor Who's 60th anniversary, it seems right to celebrate it in style, with a whole month of posts about it.  But what to write about?  Well, I was toying with a few ideas, including some top ten lists, but social media gave me the idea (despite the efforts of certain emerald mine inheritors, it can still do some good).  There has been a trend to do posts of favourite things from each of the show's years, leading up to the anniversary date of the 23rd.  So then I realised; 60 years, 30 days in November, why not do that here?  Each day I will look back at two years from Who's history, and pick out something from each to talk about. It could be a particular story, a moment in the show itself, an event in the history of the show, a character, anything goes.

Now not all of these will necessarily be my favourite things per se, but they will all be things I think are worth talking about, memories about the show that I treasure and would like to share with you all, to help you understand a bit about why this daft old thing means so much to me.  Also, I will almost certainly cheat a little bit, more use the thing that happened on that date to go off on some other tangent, but what the hell, it’s my list, my Who celebration, I’ll do it how I like. Finally, as I said, this is my list, it's likely to be very different to yours so if your favourite Who things aren't on here, don't worry, it's just my opinion.  So, firing up the TARDIS wiki to check all these dates (each year will go from November 23rd one year to November 22nd the next), let’s begin!

October Horror Movie Challenge 2023

Cue the music! :Turn down your lights where available:

Spoopy and Creppy Season approaches once more folks!  Yep, I’m going to be delving into the murky depths of the horror genre again, as part of the thing from the old IMDb message boards that just, Won’t, DIE; the October Horror Movie Challenge.  Same procedure as every year; if you want to play along at home, you simply have to watch at least 31 horror movies across the 31 days of October, over than half of which (so 16 or more) must be ones you are seeing for the first time.

2023 Movie Half Term Report

Decided it's about time I did this again; a half-term report for the films I've seen this year!  This is a quick top ten of the best new films I saw in UK cinemas this year so far, as I think it will be interesting to see which of these end up in my final top ten of the year, how will my feelings on them change by then, and to reflect that a lot has happened in 2023 so far.  Now keep in mind, this is based on UK release dates, a few of these technically aren't 2023 films, but I am counting it as new to British screens as of January 1st.  I set that rule now because if I didn't, I'd be faffing about what did or didn't count so much, I'd never get the article done.  So with that in mind...

The Morlocks Will Be Right - Too Much Johnson

Yeah, going political on here again, it's been a while, but you have to admit, the last few days have certainly been proof that "A week is a long time in politics". (Whilst I started writing this, Nicola Sturgeon got arrested!  I wish the news would slow down a bit more these days.)  So, now I am no longer one constituency over from The Johnson's, and not because I moved further away.  I know he is going to stick around in some way for a while, he is the proverbial Turd That Will Not Flush, but I am going to enjoy this little moment.  Now I am not going to do a full autopsy on his time as an MP and as PM, not enough time and far wiser souls than I have done so.  Instead, what I want to discuss is the thing that really gets me about the whole sorry saga of Partygate; the fact that it was all for nothing.

I always play this song when a truly terrible person has their downfall... well, one of their downfalls.

Lessons Not Learned - The Horror Hiatus of the 1930s

It's long past overdue, but I think now's the time for another instalment in my Zero Punctuation inspired looks at notable disasters, mess ups, and embarrassments from the history of motion pictures, to see what could have been learned from these... and what decidedly wasn't.  This time, it's not a film itself we're looking at, it's something that happened to almost an entire genre.  Over the years, the horror film has had its ups and downs, including some dry spells; I know for a fact that a few fans in particular do not look at the Nineties terribly kindly at all, bar perhaps Scream.  I don't think that's fair; for a start there were at least horror films being made then, unlike the time we're going to discuss, when after defining what a monster movie was, Hollywood straight up gave up on them for a while..

This is the story of how the above film was the triumphant return for the whole genre!

Just One More Thing: This is What You Want, This is What You Get...

I'd like to tell you a little story about me and a guy called Richard Stanley.  Many years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and the most Boris Johnson had fucked up so far was the buses, I was attending the SCI-FI-LONDON film festival at the Apollo Cinema in Regent's Street.  I had picked on a whim a showing of a 1990 film called Hardware, not knowing a whole lot about it, and after the film started late due to the guest who was going to introduce it, 2000AD's Kevin O'Neill, turning up late (whole other matter), I was really impressed.  That began a fascination with the writer/director Richard Stanley, which led me to a lot of fascinating titles… and a later crushing disappointment.