Hello, my name is Chris. I am a writer and comedian but most importantly - I am a nerd reborn!
OK fine, I admit - I never stopped being one but, things is... I've spent the last ten or so years pretty much keeping it to myself.
And I kind of just want to geek out again - so no more!
Now there'll be no shutting me up and here you'll find me geeking out in many different forms including various lengthy marathons through things I love, reactions to certain nuggets of nerdy news, reviews of things I'm itching to talk about plus lots of other stuff sprinkled about such as clips from gigs I've done or sketches I've filmed.
lol a word in your shell like ear if you do not mind i think liz shaw should of been at the top of the list ..why? i think she is better over time as the doctors assistant than some of the other over time they got on better ..SO THATS YOU TOLD lol
The plan was to start a new marathon each year (around June) and eventually go through Red Dwarf, MCU and Star Wars but not entirely sure when or which one will be next!
I have been following this series with fervour and interest. The only James Bond media I have experienced is Golden Eye for N64. I am excited to see how that game fits in this trans-media storytelling and review. Also, Chris, thanks for your determination and commitment to this and the Doctor Who series. You are creating constant and high-quality reviews.
Very kind, thanks Danny. The videogames will obviously be a way off just now but I'm planning to do a video for each novel and each bit of performed media and then overview videos covering in-between comics and games. However, some of them are totemic (GoldenEye video game being a good example) so those ones may get videos of their own. I'm not sure yet!
It is a product of the time. Done live, no idea what the character would become. You could see Lorre doing the carpet beater scene so good if they could do it though.
This is not one of my favourite stories. Every time the phrase "TomTit" is uttered takes me out of the story and I find it quite jarring. However I would agree with your comments on the Dr's tale of the hermit. It's delivery by Pertwee is excellent and I don't think could be bettered by any of the actors who preceeded/followed him in the role.
It’s a really great story in paper, and is actually full of great moments and imagery. However it’s clearly struggling to fill the runtime, so they padded it out with a lot of silliness.
It’s a really great story in paper, and is actually full of great moments and imagery. However it’s clearly struggling to fill the runtime, so they padded it out with a lot of silliness.
I avoided The Time Monster For years. Then watched episode 1 and couldn't go any further. Many years later I decided to watch it and was surprised it wasn't as bad as I expected it too be. It's not great but one I would watch again.
you can not be 'too hard' on yates. having sat through this when first broadcast... it was fun. in the context of the time - there was a lot of silly, trippy, weird, experimental, and 'cool' stuff making it to screen, it was not just not out of place, it was decent stuff, esp when aimed at 'the youth.' cynical 21st century self consciously adult critique needs to sit down and shush tbh. if you want terrible, I present season 12 opener The Robot. see you there...
This is a good example of how Doctor Who can do campy well. Not like in the current series. Campy is fine but the actors need to take it serious. It is never poking you in the ribs saying get it wink wink.
I didn't even know this was a hated episode until you said so tbh. My biggest issue about the episode is the Doctor acting like he had never been to Atlantis before. I actually ranked this within my top 10 favourite Third Doctor stories
I also like The Time Monster, I must admit! Regarding Yates, Chris, do you think that the issue is more with the character as written or Richard Franklin's portrayal? If the latter, imagine a parallel universe where Ian Marter was cast instead, though then a season further down the line would have been a bit different. Swings and roundabouts.
Obviously, this can't have been intended at the time, but it's an interesting coincidence that Pertwee tells the story about the hermit in this one where King Dalios is played by George Cormack...
I just remember this one being mad but fun. Didn’t know the fans didn’t like it. But then I’m also a fan of The Underwater Menace, Timelash and the twin dilemma Don’t like underworld though
I'm honestly indifferent to Mike Yates, but I will absolutely fight you over the wine bottle! Seriously, back in the mid-1970s, my local public television station, WGBH, was the first in the US to carry "Doctor Who," and they started with "Doctor Who and the Silurians," so Pertwee has always been my standard for what makes the Doctor the Doctor, and the wine bottle is something I've remembered, not just fondly, but with adoration for all those decades. But, here's the thing for me: in that original run, the last "Who" story I saw was "The Time Monster" -- up to the point where the Chronovore devours the Doctor before Jo's horrified eyes. Then I lost access to "Who" for literally years. It hadn't registered for me how silly the creature itself looked, just that the Doctor had been snatched from the very console room of the TARDIS by a monster, stranding his human companion with no way back! And it was decades later, after the series triumphant 2005 return, that it occurred to me that I could find "The Time Monster" online and download it, and finally learn how the story came out. I remembered it from what I'd seen, as a rough-and-tumble UNIT story with the Master and "Action by Havoc," and the wonderful moment with the wine bottle. So I burned the story to DVD and brought it to a long-time friend's place to watch it. And seeing Chronos appear looking like something out of a Junior High School play was a little cringe-inducing... but then we arrive in an Atlantis overflowing with well-mucled, long-haired, oiled-up, shirtless men in louncloths and heavy eye makeup, and it suddenly feels like a "Doctor Who" story filmed in the middle of a community theater production of "Caligula," and the simple act of watching the show -- never mind with a friend with whom I'd talked about my decades of unrelieved suspense -- unbearably embarrassing. But I do still enjoy the UNIT sections, and I'm incapable of failing to enjoy Jon and Katy and Roger, and the wine bottle never fails to delight me.
I found it boring on first watch (which is crazy) but on my most recent watch I actually really enjoy it. It’s just bonkers and I think it’s a brilliant ride :)
I think this script has all the strengths and weaknesses of the other Sloman/Letts scrips - great ideas, great scenes, good stuff for the regulars to do, absolutely dire plotting and all over the place narratively. Some of this stuff is very clever and funny, some is very self-indulgent, some is torturous! Planet of the Spiders is probably the apotheosis of these stories, a very frustrating watch because of how it doesn't seem to understand what its strengths are - but more on that when we reach it!
Nice summation. I've been doing my version- Dr Rrr's guide to the Whoniverse for a while and started doing an over view of each series over 2 years ago, though mine are mostly whole series, rather than individual. Anyway great job, give mine a like if you watch any!
As I’ve mentioned in Claws of Axos I have major problems with the Bristol Boys writing and this colonial tale was outdated in 1972. The Mutants is one of the worst stories ever and not a lot to like except the leads, the quality of the Mutts and the location filming. The two main “villains” the Marshal and Varen - you could recycle them they are so cardboard and paper thin characters. The incidental music makes The Sea Devils sound like a well loved classic symphony. Sorry Tristan given a choice I would sooner listen to the Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon first or the sound of nails scratching down a blackboard. I believe this is the story that introduces a wall design pattern on Skybase that is used again and again up to the end of the decade. So thats proper reuse and recycling in one story.
For me most of Jon Pertwee’s stories are very watchable for different reasons. I like The Mutants in spite of some of it weak points. Interesting that you love Time Monster too I feel much the same about that too.
I think this story is pretty dang good for three and a half episodes. It really grinds to a halt near the end of episode 4 and treads water for almost two whole episodes. Lots of good ideas but not a lot of great execution. The leads are at least excellent and Soondergard is a great character
lol my turn (cheeky bugger alart)) you do realize john pertwee was singing the theme do the doctor who theme tune) but i think he made them up as he went along
yeah a lot of it was hit and mis for me but no the doctor should not of used a gun it just felt forced i had a feeling john was thinking the same thing during that scene
ive not known you long but this is what i think as a kid you loved this story but seeing it from the eyes of an adult you view it in a different way but yes i know you still like this story but a little less now? am i right? oh this is how i feel about this story
That Frog 🐸 born bastard Don Houghton was no good as a Dr. Who writer that's why he was sacked after just two stories. Writers like Don Houghton were only good with Soap Operas like Take The High Road he created.
Has one of my favorite lines that people often miss. Mathis "Surround yourself with human beings my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles"
This is still quite subtle, never explicitly stating the inspiration for its allegory. Modern populist TV rarely respects the audience enough to let them think for themselves.
I actually enjoyed The Mutants even after hearing how bad it was. I first encountered it was the Target Novel I loaned from the library and enjoyed it. Finally saw it on Dvd and thought it was a good story - not the best but has some great ideas until that ending oh dear god how the villain was killed - so embarrassing. Apart from that I still enjoyed it. I like the 3rd Doctor's snotty attitude and sarcasm - i think the 3rd Doctor started to dislike humanity slightly. Also how his hair gets bigger and whiter with each season 🤣
Yeah I think you nailed it. The first time I watched The Mutants I wrote it off as a long slog and honestly tuned out. But I rewatched it maybe 6 months ago and was astonished at how fresh the ideas are. The twist about them going through metamorphosis is really great and conceptually it's the kind of revelation that the Third Doctor is uniquely fit for. Much like his advocacy for the Silurians, trying to convince an unyielding establishment that they're simply wrong about something. It really reminds me of Full Circle from Season 18, which is done a bit better. And you're right, the Doctor/Jo partnership is absolutely the blueprint going forward. I don't know if she's my favorite companion, but I'd be hard pressed to name a better Tardis crew other than Seven and Ace.
