Doctor Who - Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

A thrilling trip to the heart of the series.

Steve Thompson is getting better at writing for Doctor Who after his shaky debut with the rather underwhelming `Curse of the Black S spot`. For his second go he delivers something that acts as a sister story to last year’s `The Doctor’s Wife` in which the TARDIS was briefly incarnated as a person. That episode, one of the last seasons best, has echoed through the show since and now we get to see inside the ship in a different way. Arguably you might say this episode should have come first but it is nonetheless a scintillating trip into the heart of the ship and symbolically the series itself.

"It looks bigger on telly..."

Top of the Pops 78: 13/04/78

…as watched on BBC4 by Chris Arnsby

Originally broadcast 13/4/78

Tony Blackburn, “hello and welcome once again to Top Of The Pops, and straight away here's the brand new top thirty.”
Chart music: Bee Gees, Night Fever [14]

Child, When You Walk In To The Room [NEW]. The audience are waving scarves printed with the word CHILD. This performance has two big visual gimmicks.  First a weird split screen effect at one point to show the drummer and one of the guitarists. Second a camera on a crane at the side of the stage so the Child lead singer can croon into the lens in close-up while the rest of the band remain in shot behind. This odd angle also allows us to see the next stage along in the studio where Tony Blackburn is preparing for his next link. He's tapping his feet and absent-mindedly swinging his arms like the proverbial uncle at a wedding disco.

UFOwatch: Kill Straker!

written by Donald James

directed by Alan Perry

Following an encounter with a UFO while flying a shuttle from the Moon, Commander Foster and Captain Craig seem determined to despatch Commander Straker.

It’s surprising that it takes alien hypnotism to spur Foster into wanting to kill Straker as he has plenty of reasons anyway. In fact there are probably regular discussions by the gigantic coffee machine on Moonbase on just that topic.  Straker himself is so appalled by the idea that someone would wish him harm that it takes him most of the episode to link the duo’s behaviour with the alien encounter. The viewers of course are a step ahead courtesy of a mind bending miasma of coloured lights and deep voices that we see when the shuttle gets close to a UFO. Question is- do the aliens know Straker’s name or has their weapon honed in on already latent feelings buried in the minds of many SHADO operatives?

"And I need an axe in case anyone tries to kill me while I'm asleep..."

Peter and Alice

Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw, two great actors from different generations, verbally spar over the gap between childhood and adulthood in a new play at London’s Noel Coward Theatre. 

John Logan’s new play imagines what was said when the real life inspirations for two classic children’s characters met. In truth the rendezvous in the 1930s was fleeting but Logan extrapolates what sort of things they could have discussed given their similar circumstances. Of course you first have to accept that both would be able to articulate their lives so cleverly and there are times when the verbal sparring is just too intellectual to be anything other than something a playwright would create. Yet seeing two great actors at work is something to treasure even if the narrative can sometimes be over indulgent.

Broadchurch Episode 8

Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by James Strong


The killer is revealed…..

In the rush of speculation guessing who the guilty party will be, it is easy to lose sight of how such an event affects any community and it is to Broadchurch’s ultimate credit that Chris Chibnall manages to draw us back to that. By revealing the killer half way through this final episode he is then able to show us what it means for those in close proximity and the sort of uncomfortable closure these things inevitably bring. As we’ve come to expect matters unfurl at a stately pace and if you had already worked it out it doesn’t detract from the power of the finale.

"Is that the killer do you think?"  "No, it's a donkey."

Spoiler warning – plot details beyond this point.

Doctor Who: Hide

Sean Alexander reviews `Hide`

Four episodes into what we are obliged to refer as ‘Season 7b’ (or the 2013 series as DWM prefers) and finally there is a spark of quality.  So far we’ve been treading water this year. ‘The Bells of Saint John’ was a silly run around which just introduced the new plus-one (or, in this case, the third version of the same character).  ‘The Rules of Akhaten’ was worse: a basic re-tread of Season One’s ‘The End of the World’ with less heart and a frankly ridiculous trip on a space-bike that made scaling the Shard on a Triumph almost acceptable.  And ‘Cold War’ likewise only reminded one of Robert Shearman’s far superior ‘Dalek’.  If Season 7b was an album it would be a tired greatest hits released by a record company whose artist has long passed its sell-by date.

The Doctor is so busy he doesn't notice the old fashioned ghost behind him.

UFOwatch: E.S.P.

ESP
written by Alan Fennell
directed by Ken Turner

When a wayward UFO crash lands into the house of a psychic it brings unexpected problems for SHADO.

After a run of dull stories, `ESP` liven things up with the interesting premise of a man with ESP who can tell what people are going to say before they say it. Played by John Stratton with a nervousness that looks close to terrified John Croxley is not only haunted by his gift but then suffers when a UFO crashes into his house killing his wife. Perhaps stung into action by SHADO’s less than compassionate response he puts all he knows about the organisation into a screenplay delivered to the studio in a ploy to lure Straker and Freeman to their deaths.

Another terrified actor is informed he has a part in UFO.

Broadchurch Episode 7

written by Chris Chibnall
directed by James Strong

 
One step away from unveiling the killer, ITV’s gripping drama hints at a shocking alternative..

The episode focuses mostly on Susan and Nige, two characters who have been clashing throughout. We discover the apparent connection between then during a series of tense interrogations but we are never sure what is truth and what isn’t. Both of their stories veer between the two meaning it is difficult for the police to ascertain the facts. Yet what it all seems to lead to is a single line of dialogue that suggests something even more shocking is lurking in the wings…

Beware- Lots of spoilers in the review from herein

"Do you know who did it?" "No. Do you?" "Er, no."