The Eighties saw the broadcast of some of the finest Doctor Who stories ever, but unfortunately some of the poorest too (occasionally next to each other in transmission order). It was extremely inconsistent for the most part, settling down towards the end of its run as the Seventh Doctor era tried a few things that the show would be lauded for upon its return in 2005.
There was definitely something there, but the show had already been mortally wounded. Rather than being formally cancelled, Doctor Who was quietly abandoned before renewed interest around its 30th anniversary in 1993 saw an attempted anniversary special (‘The Dark Dimension’) and the Children in Need mini-episodes ‘Dimensions in Time’.
A frustrating end, then, to a frustrating decade, but occasionally the potential of the show was tapped to produce stunning images, performances and concepts that have stood the test of time. This is another best-of selection where we were spoiled for choice,...
There was definitely something there, but the show had already been mortally wounded. Rather than being formally cancelled, Doctor Who was quietly abandoned before renewed interest around its 30th anniversary in 1993 saw an attempted anniversary special (‘The Dark Dimension’) and the Children in Need mini-episodes ‘Dimensions in Time’.
A frustrating end, then, to a frustrating decade, but occasionally the potential of the show was tapped to produce stunning images, performances and concepts that have stood the test of time. This is another best-of selection where we were spoiled for choice,...
- 1/6/2023
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
In 2014, when Doctor Who Magazine asked its readers to rank the show’s first 50 years, out of 241 options, Season 24 stories ‘Time and the Rani’ came 239th, ‘Paradise Towers’ 230th, ‘Delta and the Bannermen’ 217th, with ‘Dragonfire’ thought best of in 215th place. This was largely a repeat of its 2009 poll, although then readers rated ‘Delta and the Bannermen’ above ‘Dragonfire’. Season 24 was also ranked bottom in a GQ article ranking every series of Doctor Who – a combination of words I never thought I’d write.
Season 24 of Doctor Who went into production just as its 23rd season, the 14-episode ‘The Trial of a Time-Lord’ was finishing up on TV. By late 1986, producer John Nathan-Turner was expecting to be moved onto another show and had lost both his script-editor and the show’s most prolific writer.
A surprised Nathan-Turner was given 13 months to hire a new script editor and produce 14 episodes...
Season 24 of Doctor Who went into production just as its 23rd season, the 14-episode ‘The Trial of a Time-Lord’ was finishing up on TV. By late 1986, producer John Nathan-Turner was expecting to be moved onto another show and had lost both his script-editor and the show’s most prolific writer.
A surprised Nathan-Turner was given 13 months to hire a new script editor and produce 14 episodes...
- 6/17/2021
- by Louisa Mellor
- Den of Geek
Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.
Former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel examines how the series was reinvented for a new generation… In an exclusive feature for Dwm, Andrew catches up with the writers he employed back in the late 1980s, when he was the script editor of Doctor Who. Stephen Wyatt, Malcolm Kohll and Ian Briggs reveal what it
The post Doctor Who Magazine 473 Remembers The Seventh Doctor appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
Former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel examines how the series was reinvented for a new generation… In an exclusive feature for Dwm, Andrew catches up with the writers he employed back in the late 1980s, when he was the script editor of Doctor Who. Stephen Wyatt, Malcolm Kohll and Ian Briggs reveal what it
The post Doctor Who Magazine 473 Remembers The Seventh Doctor appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.
- 4/30/2014
- by Christian Cawley
- Kasterborous.com
N Campion
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter.
This weekend 48 years ago, the people of Britain and the rest of the world were still coming to terms with the death of JFK when the BBC One announcer introduced a new kids show about an elderly man and his mysterious granddaughter. It was called Doctor Who and was only supposed to last for a few months but 48 years later Doctor Who is still going strong. We have been lucky enough to have interviewed many of the people who helped make the show great during the past five decades and you can read those interviews by clicking on the links below. Also, you probably have your own views about the best Doctor Who stories but you can click the video links below to see which stories we regard as the best of the Whoniverse.
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter.
This weekend 48 years ago, the people of Britain and the rest of the world were still coming to terms with the death of JFK when the BBC One announcer introduced a new kids show about an elderly man and his mysterious granddaughter. It was called Doctor Who and was only supposed to last for a few months but 48 years later Doctor Who is still going strong. We have been lucky enough to have interviewed many of the people who helped make the show great during the past five decades and you can read those interviews by clicking on the links below. Also, you probably have your own views about the best Doctor Who stories but you can click the video links below to see which stories we regard as the best of the Whoniverse.
- 11/18/2011
- by admin
British actors Julian Sands and Neil Dickson certainly found a startling way of building the trust needed between a director and his actor. Currently they are collaborating—Sands directing and Dickson starring—on the one-man "The Standard Bearer." The piece is a 50-minute monologue by Stephen Wyatt about a Shakespearean actor on tour in West Africa, but as Sands and Dickson say, its messages are universal.Julian Sands is widely recognized in the U.S. as a star of stage (playing Tony Blair in David Hare's "Stuff Happens" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles) and screens big ("A Room With a View," "Ocean's Thirteen") and small ("24," "Smallville"). He recently toured internationally with his one-man "A Celebration of Harold Pinter," directed by John Malkovich. Neil Dickson's career has spanned mediums and the pond. He starred in the cult "Biggles: Adventures in Time" and has appeared in such...
- 11/3/2011
- by help@backstage.com (Dany Margolies)
- backstage.com
The tempestuous relationship between Raymond Chandler and Alfred Hitchcock during the making of Strangers on a Train was wonderfully portrayed
Even in its opening moments, you knew Afternoon Play: Strangers on a Film (Radio 4) was going to be a treat. It began with grand, suspenseful music and then slipped straight into a monologue that instantly convinced.
Patrick Stewart, as Raymond Chandler, spoke in a gloomy, disappointed drawl. "By 1950," he began, "I had nearly pulled myself free of the primordial slime that is Hollywood." He bemoaned his ailments, "all of which were settling nicely into becoming chronic conditions", and poured himself the first of many drinks. The play's story, written by Stephen Wyatt, was about when Chandler worked with Alfred Hitchcock (Clive Swift) on the thriller Strangers on a Train.
It was beautifully poised writing and playing. At every level, the men clashed: artistically, temperamentally; even the way they spoke. Chandler...
Even in its opening moments, you knew Afternoon Play: Strangers on a Film (Radio 4) was going to be a treat. It began with grand, suspenseful music and then slipped straight into a monologue that instantly convinced.
Patrick Stewart, as Raymond Chandler, spoke in a gloomy, disappointed drawl. "By 1950," he began, "I had nearly pulled myself free of the primordial slime that is Hollywood." He bemoaned his ailments, "all of which were settling nicely into becoming chronic conditions", and poured himself the first of many drinks. The play's story, written by Stephen Wyatt, was about when Chandler worked with Alfred Hitchcock (Clive Swift) on the thriller Strangers on a Train.
It was beautifully poised writing and playing. At every level, the men clashed: artistically, temperamentally; even the way they spoke. Chandler...
- 9/29/2011
- by Elisabeth Mahoney
- The Guardian - Film News
Torchwood co.BBC
Click here to friend us on Facebook or click here to follow our new Twitter page.
Fans on the best British TV shows will be swiping the plastic in July as a whole array of top notch drama hits the high street. To coincide with Starz’s broadcast of Torchwood: Miracle Day, the BBC DVD of the entire UK series will be available in North America as of 19 July. It will set you back a cool $120 unless you live in Canada in which case you will have to stump of $140 worth of the local green stuff. Staying with the sci-fi theme, two classic Doctor Who stories The Gunfighters and The Awakening are being released on 12 July. Fans of Best British TV will recall that Doctor Who writer Stephen Wyatt tipped us off about the summer release of his story Paradise Towers several months ago. The BBC have...
Click here to friend us on Facebook or click here to follow our new Twitter page.
Fans on the best British TV shows will be swiping the plastic in July as a whole array of top notch drama hits the high street. To coincide with Starz’s broadcast of Torchwood: Miracle Day, the BBC DVD of the entire UK series will be available in North America as of 19 July. It will set you back a cool $120 unless you live in Canada in which case you will have to stump of $140 worth of the local green stuff. Staying with the sci-fi theme, two classic Doctor Who stories The Gunfighters and The Awakening are being released on 12 July. Fans of Best British TV will recall that Doctor Who writer Stephen Wyatt tipped us off about the summer release of his story Paradise Towers several months ago. The BBC have...
- 7/1/2011
- by admin
You're just asking for trouble if you call a programme The Greatest Show In The Galaxy. Those who don't get the joke will just end up sneering and pointing at the telly wondering how on Earth a horde of evil clowns and obvious stereotypes can constitute the stuff of legends.
Interestingly, The Greatest Show In The Galaxy isn't that highly regarded by the fans either. It's not languishing in the company of Time And The Rani just yet, but it doesn't figure among the fans when they're asked to choose the greatest Doctor Who story of all time. Even the DVD release hasn't surfaced yet.
For my money though, Greatest Show is not only one of the best of the McCoy years, it's also one of the best Who stories period.
The Greatest Show In The Galaxy originally closed Doctor Who's anniversary season in late 1988/early 1989, and just for one brief moment,...
Interestingly, The Greatest Show In The Galaxy isn't that highly regarded by the fans either. It's not languishing in the company of Time And The Rani just yet, but it doesn't figure among the fans when they're asked to choose the greatest Doctor Who story of all time. Even the DVD release hasn't surfaced yet.
For my money though, Greatest Show is not only one of the best of the McCoy years, it's also one of the best Who stories period.
The Greatest Show In The Galaxy originally closed Doctor Who's anniversary season in late 1988/early 1989, and just for one brief moment,...
- 4/1/2011
- Shadowlocked
With the dingy quarry of Lakertya now a tiny speck in the sky, season 24 changes tack and adopts more of a fun-time, holiday feel. Remember when you were a kid and you were on your summer holidays? You'd ask to go on fun days out – holidays, camping trips, amusement arcades etc... Well break out the oversized sombreros and gaudy orange swimming arm bands, since the next three stories are about to take you on a holiday-themed mystery tour. Holiday camps. Intergalactic shopping malls and Star Wars cafés. And Mel's now requesting to go to the best swimming pool in the galaxy at Paradise Towers.
It's easy to criticise season 24, which is normally filed under “Eccentric At Best” - but the one thing that it has got going for it is that the stories have a new-found pizazz about them. There's a certain new lease of life about the tales, which...
It's easy to criticise season 24, which is normally filed under “Eccentric At Best” - but the one thing that it has got going for it is that the stories have a new-found pizazz about them. There's a certain new lease of life about the tales, which...
- 3/16/2011
- Shadowlocked
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.