Watching

 Last night I watched the new cleaned up version of the Beatles Let it Be documovie - it was great to finally see it cleaned up, thanks to Peter Jackson, and it is of vast historical importance, but it really is miserable, though compelling, viewing for a Beatle fan. 

Also last night I enjoyed  the latest episode of Dr Who -  73 yards written by Russell T. Davies, was an excellent formula breaking episode of the new Disneyfied Doctor Who. The new Doc was hardly in the episode and instead companion, Millie Gibson as Ruby, carried the episode. It was all creepy folk horror and it really was a touch of genius to film an episode which was largely doctorless. Though this may not have been by design but rather because of necessity.  Although the fourth episode aired, this was the first episode of the current season to be filmed, and Ncuti was not available for much of the filming. Still, the result was a truly memorable episode.

Fifty Years in Time and Space 10 - The BBC Docudrama

To be broadcast on BBC TV Nov 23rd 2013

Fifty Years in Time and Space 3: The Tenth Planet DVD review

The Tenth Planet was the last story to feature William Hartnell and the first to use the concept of regeneration in order to replace the lead actor. Unfortunately episode four is one of the missing episodes, although the BBC do have the actual regeneration scene intact in their archives. The way the BBC have gotten around this for this DVD issue is to present remastered versions of the first three episodes, and to recreate the fourth episode, using the audio from the actual episode, by animating the action. They've done this for several other stories with missing episodes and this time the animation is superb and the Cybermen actually come across much better in the animated episode than they do in the actual surviving episodes.

Unfortunately this is not the send off that William Hartnell deserved - he is barely present in the story. He spends most of the first two episodes sitting around and doing nothing other than uttering the odd line and he is not even present in the third episode - apparently Hartnell and producer, Innes Lloyd had clashed several times and the producer decided to replace the lead actor, effectively sacking Hartnell. The actor phoned in sick and refused to come to work, likely thinking this would sabotage the show, but the production carried on without him.

'I didn't leave the show willingly,' Hartnell wrote in answer to a letter from fan, Ian K McLachlan.

Of course conventional wisdom is that Hartnell was forced to finish due to ill health and yet he went back into theatre work immediately afterwards.

OK the plot - set in the then far off world of 1986 the Cybermen attack the International Space Command in Geneva. The dastardly Cybermen have a plan to drain the power from Earth in order to save their own planet, Mondas, but of course they fail and their own planet boils away into space. A problem with the story is the Doctor's regeneration is hardly explained and happens too quickly at the climax but then of course the limitations in the way the story was show is likely down to the fact that Hartnell wouldn't play ball and by all accounts the shoot was a chore for all concerned.

Animated regeneration

Now whilst The Tenth Planet may not be Who at its very best, it is an essential DVD release. For one thing the animated episode is brilliant and worth purchase alone but the most interesting part is the wealth of extra features including several documentaries, as well as a frank commentary. There are also clips from Blue Peter and PDF files of historic Radio Times listings. Mind you all of the BBC's classic series DVD's are pretty much essential.

Fifty Years in Time and Space 2: Regenerations

Brain Rimmer compiled this great video showing all of the regenerations of Doctor Who right up the current Doc - check out his You Tube page HERE for more Doctor Who related material.

Fifty Years in Time and Space 1: The lord of time

Back then the world was black and white but it was about to get a whole lot more colourful when one evening in November 1963 the BBC aired a new TV series entitled Doctor Who. The show largely created by Canadian Sidney Newman was intended to be educational and using the premise of an old man travelling around in a time machine it was intended to explore scientific ideas and great historical moments in a fun and entertaining way. Back then there were no time lords and no one in the production was thinking any further than the William Hartnell (the first Doctor) series. Indeed if anyone had suggested this show would still be running fifty years later with another actor, the eleventh in the title role then it is a safe bet that the men in the white coats would have been sent for.

Fifty years later though and the show is still going as strong as ever, even more so with the current Doctor Who often winning both industry and viewer awards. There are a hugely popular series of audio dramas released by Big Finish which continue the adventures of the old Doctors, there are hordes of paperback and hardcovers telling all new original adventures and of course there are the comic books, lunch boxes, toys and rather cool bed spreads.

So jump on board the Archive's TARDIS as we offer a series of posts leading up to the anniversary celebrations that will look at every era of the much loved TV series and cultural phenomenon.

Doctor Who continuity has never been exact; often it’s been nonsensical. There have been at least three explanations given for the destruction of Atlantis, several incomparable origin stories for the DALEKS and the lead character, the Doctor himself, has been presented so inconsistently over the years that anyone attempted to created a definitive continuity guide is doomed to failure. The show’s been running on and off for fifty years now, and not only on TV but in novels, comics and audio plays. So this series of articles celebrating FIFTY YEARS OF WHO is not intended to be any kind of definitive guide, if there is such a guide then I’m not the man to write it. However this series of articles should provide a good grounding to the world of the BBC show.

Next year a new actor will step into the role and I think this is the most exciting casting of the lead actor since Christopher Eccleston. Fifty five year old Peter Capaldi's casting as been met with universal praise and should see the series heading into far darker, much more interesting territory. And you know what...once again I'm excited by the prospect of new Doctor Who.

RIP Ray Cusick: DALEK Co-creator

Whilst it was Terry Nation who created the DALEKS for the BBC show, Doctor Who, it was Ray Cusick who came up with the iconic design. Mr Cusick died peacefully in his sleep last Thursday.

As Cusick was a BBC employee at the time he designed the Daleks, he was on a salary and not paid royalties. Given the large revenue generated by merchandise featuring Cusick's Dalek design, some feel that he should have been paid a royalty (as was script writer Terry Nation, who created the concept of the Daleks but not their design or appearance), but this was not in the terms of his contract. When Cusick left Doctor Who in 1966, unhappy with the lack of recognition he had received for his work on the series, the show's producer and head designer did arrange for the BBC to recognise his contribution with an ex-gratia payment of around GBP ₤100 (around ₤80 after tax) and a gold Blue Peter badge.

YESTERDAY'S PAPERS - BEANO ORIGINAL AD

DOCTOR WHO/WEETABIX PROMOTION

The old AD's are often as entertaining as the comic books themselves.

ANOTHER BEANO SALES DRIVE

Another sales push

Ice Lollies were pushed on kids inside their favourite comics

And not to be outdone by their rivals, Lyons Lollies cleverly included a free game with their AD.

EAT THE LOLLY WHILE PLAYING THE GAME

And if kids were still lusting after a sugar hit, Trebor sweets had the answer, oh and another free game.

Wow! Look at those prizes! I have the sudden urge for a Trebor Mint

And who should pop up but good old Charley Atlas with his promise of non-steroid produced muscles.

Atlas got everywhere

From the Doctor Who Xmas special 2008

A friend tagged me on this pic on Facebook earlier - it comes from the last Doctor Who Christmas special. We are all off to a jolly old Victorian funeral and that's me second from the end, obscured by the Dr Crippin lookalike in front of me.

At the very head of the cortege is my very good friend AB - otherwise known as the Beast of Bath. Lock up your daughters and household pets when this guy's about.

It was a good day, though and that fake snow really is cold.