This Friday April 5th On #TardisTweets "Robot"

The newly regenerated Doctor is sent to the infirmary and to the care of Lieutenant Harry Sullivan.   The Doctor seems a bit out of it since he regenerated after battling the Spiders of Metabillis 3 and while he is recuperating Sarah Jane asks The Brigadier for a pass to Think Tank.  Think Tank is a place where scientists are working on new inventions to help out the human race.   Sarah Jane has her suspicions about Think Tank and wants to poke around and see if she can find something out.

  

Meanwhile plans and components to make a disintegrator gun have been getting stolen.  The thing is no one knows who is stealing the components but whoever it maybe is really big and heavy as during its escape it left quite the footprint in the ground.   While snooping around Think Tank Sarah Jane slips on what could be oil on the floor.  She gets thinking about the robotics that was explained to her and decides to take a side trip to see Professor Kettlewell.  He explains to Sarah that the Robot he was working on was dismantled and is not still in operation.  Sarah Jane then returns to Think Tank and there she is confronted by a Robot. In fact the one Robot that has been responsible for all the robberies and doing it all for the Scientific Reform Society.

  

The Scientific Reform Society wants to take over the world and shape it in their image.  Not only did the Robot steal the plans for the disintegrator gun but the launch codes for the three major powers nuclear missiles.  So it’s up to the new Doctor and the Brigadier to stop the Robot and the Scientific Reform Society from launching the nukes and taking over the world.

Join us Friday April 5th at 7:15 Pm EDT US/ 00:15 UK and we press play 15 minutes later.

This Friday March 29th On #TARDISTweets The Robots of Death

Join us on Good Friday the Friday before Doctor Who returns to our screens with one of the best stories from Tom Bakers era of Doctor Who.  The Robots of Death is a really excellent story about Robots being programmed to kill humans.  The story takes place on a sand miner that has no way of getting off and if the power is shut off the ship will sink.  The Doctor and Leela must find Taren Capel and prevent the Robots from killing every one. This story is written by Chris Boucher and stars Tom Baker and Louise Jameson.

So join us this Friday March 29 at 7:15 PM EDT US and 11:15 PM UK and we will press play 15 minutes later.

TardisTweets This Week The Edge of Destruction and The Green Death

This week we go back to the 1st season of Doctor Who with the William Hartnell Classic The Edge of Destruction.  This story is unique as it is so far the only story to take place in the TARDIS.  Something has gone wrong with the TARDIS and in its own way is trying tell the passengers about it.  It is a tale of mystery and mistrust and a classic. So join us on Friday at 7:15 PM EDT US/ 11:15 PM UK.

This Sunday is St. Patricks Day and what a good reason to go green and watch Jon Pertwee's The Green Death.  This story is symbolic as being the last story that Katy Manning played Jo Grant until her return in Death of The Doctor on The Sarah Jane Adventures.  So join us as we go green and watch some killer maggots on Sunday at 2:45 PM EDT US/ 6:45PM UK.

Tardis Tweets This Week Tooth & Claw and Battlefield

This Week we have two stories that deal with British monarchs in a way.  On Friday (7:15 PM ET US / 00:15 UK) we have the David Tennant story Tooth and Claw as The 10th Doctor and Rose try and save Queen Victoria from a group of assassin monks and their secret weapon a werewolf.   It's up to The Doctor and a really silly and annoying Rose to save the Queen as they try and get her say her signature saying we are not amused.

On Sunday (2:45 PM ET US/ 7:45 PM UK )  it's the Sylvester McCoy story from season 26 Battlefield.  The legend of King Arthur is alive and well in present day England as The Doctor who is recognized as Merlin by Mordred. In this story The Doctor and Ace are joined by the Brigadier who is played for the last time in Doctor Who by Nicholas Courtney. 

Doctor Who The Visitation

This Friday we hark back to Peter Davison's first season with The Visitation.  A story that takes place during the plague in England among other things.  While trying to get Tegan back home the TARDIS drops our travelers 300 years to early.  While there they discover that there is something alien going on.  It seems a ship carrying Terileptils has crashed landed on Earth.  Seizing their chance to use the villagers fear against them they disguise their robot as death.  Soon the Doctor discovers that the Terileptils are going to use a poison to be carried by rats to kill everyone on Earth so the Terileptils can take it over.

The Visitation has a historical point to it.  For in this story The Doctor's sonic screwdriver is destroyed and never seen again in the Classic Series. John Nathan-Turner thought it was a gimic and a crutch for the writers to use and decided to get rid of it. So they wrote it out of the show by having the Terileptils destroy it. It would not be scene again until the new series when the 9th Doctor uses it in Rose.

The Visitation isn't a bad story as it is a pretty decent monster story.  If it had a fault it would be the fact that there were to many characters.  One of the many pitfalls of the 5th Doctor era is his many companions at one time.  Someone would be left out but in The Visitation this is handled pretty well as everyone has ample things to do.

The Visitation is a favorite of mine, well, being a 5th Doctor story I am biased about that as most of you know Peter Davison is my favorite Doctor.  I just like the whole story basically and how they tie in historical events within the story.  Plus how could you not like Richard Mace who I think steals the show.  I believe he would have made an interesting companion for the 5th Doctor.

So join us Friday the 15th of February at 7:15PM EST US/00:15 UK for the Peter Davison story The Visitation.

Enter the Master

It was a dark and stormy night, or at least it should have been, when the Timelords broke the news to the Doctor that another renegade Timelord was coming to earth.  That Timelord was the Master.



Played by Roger Delgado, the Master would go on to haunt Pertwee's Doctor for the entire season, and numerous serials to come.  But it all started with Terror of the Autons.  But unlike the highly popular Spearhead from Space that aired a year prior, the Autons in this story take back seat to the newest super villain who would haunt the Doctor through the remains of the original series, and into the revived series.

 

Just as Pertwee was my first Doctor, Delgado was my first Master.  As such, all other actors who came after paled in comparison to Delgado's general sense of malicious superiority.  The Master provided a perfect foil to Pertwee's Doctor.



But as we walk of Terror of the Autons, we also need to point out another major character who entered the series with this story.  For this was Jo Grant's entry story.  A strong contrast to the highly scientific Liz Shaw from season 7, Jo provided the Doctor an outlet to explain what was going on, while also providing the human element that the third Doctor frequently chose to criticize.

 

In the end, this was the start of the golden era of the UNIT story.  With 5 out of 6 serials for the season featuring the reoccurring cast of the Doctor, Jo, the Brigadier, Benton, Yates and the Master, the interaction between these actors made the charactors family for the viewers.



So join us this Friday for the classic Pertwee story, Terror of the Autons.  TARDIS doors open at 7:15PM EST, 00:15 BST, and we press play at 7:30 PM EST, 00:30 BST.  Join us, but be careful which chair you set in . . .

Goodbye 10 - The End of Time

Whenever an actor decides to leave the role of The Doctor there is lots of fanfare, sadness and excitement.  In fact it becomes an event in itself as everyone is anxious to see what makes The Doctor regenerate and what the new guy would be like in the few minutes we get to see of the new Doctor.  Well David Tennants departure was no exception as The End of Time was one of those farewells that ended up being quite epic.

Well where to start.  The End of Time gives us the return of The Master as he was resurrected from his ring and in a witch craft type ceremony.  We had The Doctor being warned of this return while visiting the Oodsphere and watching a vision from one of the Ood high priests but that all pales in comparison to the return of Gallifrey and the Timelords and of Rassilon himself.   Plus there is the reveal of who knocks 4 times and the biggest farewell tour in Doctor Who’s history.

The End of Time paired The Doctor with Donna’s grandfather Wilf.  I liked this pairing as the two shared a lot of heartwarming moments together.  It makes me wish that the two of them had a longer time together to have a few adventures. I’m sure it would have been something.  John Simm returns as the Master and gives us another crazy performance.  I always preferred the more serious Master portrayals and kind of wished RTD allowed John Simm to act more serious as The Master instead of writing him the way he did.

The End of Time gave us the return of the Timelords and they were led by none other than former James Bond Timothy Dalton.   It appears the whole plot that was hatched in The Masters head was a part of Rassilons plan to return Gallifrey from the time loop they were prisoned in.  The problem is Gallifrey would be returning right where Earth is and take it over thus destroying it.  But it was in fact The Master that foils Rassilons plans in the long run sending Rassilon and the Timelords back into the abyss of the Time Loop.

At times The End of Time comes across as a complex story that has possibly too much going on.  Lots of sub plots going on that it is easy to forget what is going on.  But the main thing is the end of the 10th Doctor’s era.  The story is a nice ending to a Doctor who is pretty popular and giving him this epic story was a nice and fitting send off.  You almost feel sorry for him after he saves the day and he thinks he has made it until he hears Wilf knocking those dreaded four knocks.  But in true Doctor form and after a Hamletesque performance The Doctor sacrifices himself to save his friend.  After all it was what you would expect from The Doctor.  Whether it be a whole planet or one person you knew The Doctor would risk it all for Wilf.

The End of Time has one of the longest and heartfelt goodbyes in the shows history.  I for one liked seeing The Doctor saying farewell to his friends that joined him on his travels.  Plus you also got a sense that they knew he was saying goodbye and that’s what made it even more touching and sad. The End of Time is a fitting farewell to the 10th Doctor and well an even grander entrance for the 11th Doctor.

So join us this Friday as we say goodbye to the 10th Doctor in The End of Time. The Tardis Doors will open at 7:15 PM EST USA and 00:15 UK.