HLime

So, as you may have noticed (assuming anyone was reading this to begin with), there have been no reviews since June 2011. That’s not because we abandoned our mission. In fact, it was a combination of factors: My co-author found that he didn’t have time to blog as he had hoped. I held back because I did not want to get too far ahead (given our original objective of parallel reviews). However, it’s clear now that the original plan is unworkable, as my colleage simply lacks the time. I am more... Read Full Story

Lime, J, delivers the opinion; Mithradates, J., concurs only in the result: I take issue with my colleague’s apparent willingness to overlook the massive plot holes that rip Titanic-sized logic holes in the serial for me. I also take issue with his implicit conclusion that there is a resolution to these plot holes (“We don’t know how, or whether, these things interrelate, nor their true significance. [But t]he rest of the series is dedicates to tracing the web of clues…”). However, despite... Read Full Story

“Warning shot” Daleks Yes, the first foray to Skaro for the Doctor was where he met a kinder, gentler Dalek race. The cliffhanger scene of Episode 1 is the world’s first glimpse of a Dalek: we see only an arm-stalk and sucker point-of-view shot, closing in on a terrified Barbara, spreadeagled on a metal wall. For those of us from Who ‘s future, it’s a thrilling piece of history. And, it’s precious imagining what must have run through the minds of those children who’d never seen a Dalek... Read Full Story

The work of Wild Guru Larry . Found via Bad Astronomy . Read Full Story

Many of the early Dr. Who episodes were lost when the tapes containing them were wiped by the BBC (talk about your idiotic decisions!) Marco Polo is the first episode for which we have no video. This is actually rather surprising, as it was a “showcase” episode that aired in some 72 countries. That at least presents some hope of an old tape being found in Portugal or somewhere one of these days. Fortunately, an audio recording survives, as well as many period stills, meaning we can get a good... Read Full Story

My colleague has already penned his defense of Edge of Destruction , so I felt it incumbent upon me to take up the solemn duty of the prosecution. While he mentions several notable qualities of the episode, I feel there are several flaws that did not receive sufficient attention in his review. The first consists of the episode’s existence in the first place. When one has a new series, it is inopportune to have a “filler” episode as your third installment. The commentary to the episode... Read Full Story

A Trekkie born and raised like myself is used to calling each weekly installment of the series an “episode”. Traditionally, these are self-contained narratives, although two-part episodes are familiar to fans of the series, often spanning two separate seasons. With Dr. Who, however, things get a bit more complicated. An Unearthly Child , for example, aired over four separate dates. Now, following the Trek paradigm, we might call these “episodes”. My colleague adopted this in his first... Read Full Story

Hello again. We seem to have gotten out of order here — my colleague was reduced to such a state of torpor after watching The Daleks that he pleaded an inability to write on the topic. My reaction was much more positive, so I have taken it upon myself to set down a few words on the series. I will focus most of my discussion on the first two episodes, as they set the tone for the whole thing. What set The Daleks above An Unearthly Child for me was the keen air of foreboding that it... Read Full Story

Doctor Who is about two things: (1) a really cool time-traveler and his really cool time machine; and, (2) the stand-ins for the audience, or the Companions. Edge of Destruction , in two quirky episodes, gave us the Companions, as we know them today. Here’s how, and why you must watch Edge : 1. Small budgets do wonders for artistic creativity. The 7-parter The Daleks , featuring miniatures, metal-ish Dalek corridors, explosions, and several Daleks themselves, had gone over-budget. And the... Read Full Story

Howdy folks. I’m Lime’s erstwhile interlocutor. Like him, I grew up on the third, fourth and fifth Doctors. In effect, my exposure has been limited to what has shown on American TV. I have watched some of the newer episodes with Eccleston and Tennant, but don’t get BBC America. I never saw an episode with Patrick Troughton (unless you count The Five Doctors) until a couple of years ago; my first William Hartnell serial was late last year. So I’m going into this without a lot of background. I... Read Full Story