My Top Ten Doctor Who Stories of the Decade

10. The Husbands of River Song, this is one of my favourite Christmas stories being loud, fun with an added dollop of emotion thrown in. We've got the tying up of River Songs story line, the slow dawning for The Doctor that he has one final adventure with her and a good fun adventure that keeps escalating. This story has so much range and all aspects are handled perfectly.

9. It Takes You Away, an absolute bonkers story that starts off as Dog Soldiers and morphs into the Frog Princess. I love the mystery of this story, its cold, its dark and yet its all about love. This is the high point of Season 11 for me, the show hit its stride at the halfway mark and builds until this high point.

8. Under the Flood, oooh I love the vibe of this one - a ghost story in an odd location with a timey wimey aspect thrown in. I love these dark stories and to me the end of Peter Capaldis first season and start of his second is utterly my jam. Of course it has a brilliant WTF cliff hanger which made the wait to the next episode unbearable.

7. Vincent and the Doctor, this is the only story that I'd describe as a tough sit on first viewing. Everybody loves the final scene with Dr Black and Vincent, but for me the punch the air moment is earlier in the story. When they're about to leave Vincents home and Vincent can't leave is the moment where everyone who has dealt or had depression breathed a sigh of relief in that depression was being done properly.

6. The Witch's Apprentice, my favourite start to a season. Scene upon scene where I'm holding my breath, Davros at his best since Remembrance, A Doctor being hunted, Missy thrown into the pot just to add chaos and a real feel that the season is going to be bleak. A story where it doesn't feel like anyone wins - just survives.That scene with the young Davros may be my favourite in Who.

5. Day of the Doctor, the perfect anniversary story - its destined to become one of my most watched stories and its nearly there already.

4.Listen, the complete opposite of the previous story in this list. A quiet intimate story - possibly the most a-typical since the comeback. There is no plot which is wonderful, The Doctor gets an idea stuck in his head and follows it to see what happens - utter brilliance.

3. A Christmas Carol, my favourite Christmas story and its peak Matt Smith - I can't imagine any Doctor doing this story. The music, the casting, the tone and the twists are all virtually perfect. Already this is my most watched Christmas story.

2. Heaven Sent, one of the most important factors I have in compiling these lists is the impact the story had on first viewing. If this list was only based on that this story would be top. Peter Capaldis Doctor walking around a tower for an hour pursued by a monster. This is the Twelfth Doctor at his peak and sums up The Doctor, he will be the last person trying even if it takes a million years.

1. The Pandorica Bangs, Season 5 is my favourite season of this decade and the ending is majestic. The first episode looks like its building to a Hollywood blockbuster but them the final episode turns it on its head. So many moments, the stone Dalek, the converging of enemies, River trapped in the sun, the girl who waited. For me this is the perfect ending to a near perfect season.

My Brilliant Doctor Who Marathon

As I said in my crap marathon blog that I originally wanted to build up to the 50th anniversary by watching my least favourite story from each Doctor followed by the best. As usually happens life got in the way and I finished the first half a little later than expected. As a result in the build up to the new season and the 12th Doctors debut I'm doing the second half of the marathon and watching my favourite stories from the previous Doctors. I can tell you to expect surprises however read on to find out what happened...

The First Doctor

For the First Doctor I'm going for The Dalek Invasion of Earth, one of my first VHS's and will always have the feel of a momentous story for me. Big things happen, we're on Earth for the first time in the future, the Daleks are at their bombastic best and for the first time the TARDIS crew changes. All the time at the centre of the story William Hartnell is firmly at the centre of proceedings. He's declaring war on the Daleks, he's leading a prisoner revolt, he's closing in on the Dalek centre of operations and he's watching his granddaughter grow away from him and fall in love.

The story goes off kilter for an episode because William is off screen and during this time the show feels so uneven. This is a story where the show is changing, The Doctor is becoming more central and we see our first invasion of Earth - one which arguably was never bettered.

The Second Doctor

We move on a few years and experience our first regeneration and change of lead actor. Its easy to undersell how much of a shock was it not only that we had a different actor in Patrick Troughton playing The Doctor but also that he was playing him differently. I tend to think that the incoming Doctor needs to contrast the leaving incarnation and Troughton is the prime example; he's scruffy, he'll happily play the fool to make enemies underestimate him, he's a schemer, prefers to direct from the sidelines and a contrast from his first incarnation. I'd decided early on I'd like to represent the different mediums I'd experienced the show over the years and chose a story I'd only experienced via the Target novelisation. This era's story would be a missing story that I would watch via the sole remaining episode and the rest via the Reconstructions from telesnaps accompanies by audio, the story being Evil of the Daleks.

This story has everything, a twisty turny plot, multiple locations, multiple times, a cunning villain, a Doctor caught on the back foot and struggling to get to grips with events, a marvellous cast and a whose who of Who on the production team. Starting off in modern time Gatwick Airport the TARDIS is stolen setting the Doctor on a hunt to track it down. The story throws many a curve ball at the viewer and the team aren't afraid to drip feed the answers as we proceed through the seven episodes.

In many ways its an alarming story, one of the constants of the series is stolen and its touch and go over weather The Doctor will or can get it back. We see the regulars travel in time without the TARDIS, again its via the Daleks but its done in a different way this time. I especially like the curve ball of sending Waterfield from the 1800's to the modern day to set the trap for the Daleks. The first episode and a half is fine as The Doctor and Jamie follow the clues to Waterfields shop and amazingly being taken through time isn't even the cliffhanger.

I want to mention the cast, Frazer Hines is superb given that he carries a mid story episode, Geoffrey Colville packs everything he can into his limited time, Waterfield is such a tragic character, Maxtible is a wonderful cad and Troughton is in firm control having got a season under his belt. Of note are the Daleks themselves who were never more scheming than in the Troughton era.

The fate of the Daleks is so well played, The Doctor tricking them to their doom with a device is associated with a later incarnation but here its so shocking because as fans we tend to forget the Second Doctor had this streak in him - earlier in the story he alarms Jamie to the extend he threatens to leave him. There we have it, a Doctor and an era not as cosy as fandom tends to think it is.      

The Third Doctor

For the first time this blog we enter a new decade as we welcome in the 70's. Not only would we see a change in lead actor and the production team we get what is arguably the most drastic revamp of Doctor Who's formula of all time. As the Second Doctor exited so did the black and white era as the show moved to colour, as with the end of The War Games the incoming Doctor would spend most of his time exiled on earth - alien planets being expensive to create for colour TV. With this going on you may expect the show to lose a bit of dynamism, not so with the incoming Third Doctor being played by Jon Pertwee. Accompanied by his supporting cast of UNIT the Third Doctor would be the most dynamic thus far, an action man, man of science and a yearning urge to escape earth would see Pertwee create a dynamic characters as far away from the previous Doctors as possible.

For me theres only one story to represent the Pertwee era, way back when I was at school I noticed UK Gold were showing The Three Doctors. I asked a friend to tape it for me but instead of taping the daily episodes he decided to save time and tape the weekend omnibus which turned out to be a completely different episode. I went into this episode disappointed my friend had screwed up and taped the wrong episode, however the story he did tape completely blew me away and to this day remains a firm favourite of mine. That story was Inferno!

Inferno closed Pertwee's first season (the 7th of the show) and the whole season was perhaps the most unique in Who. The show was edgy, the first serial shot on film followed by three huge sprawling seven parters that saw The Doctor alignened with a military organisation. The era would go fluffy the next season to cater for the general viewers but this season has an edge that has kept it as a fan favourite.

Watching the show things start off with a new character arriving at the site and being introduced, its odd that this character is Greg Sutton and not The Doctor. In fact The Doctor is one of the people who he's introduced to and welcomes him as if he's been working at the Inferno site for months. As we're introduced to the regulars and the effects of the slime seeping from the drilling pipes I tend to forget I'm watching a Doctor Who story, as the cliffhanger arrives and the music hits its a bit of a shock.

With the first episode of world building behind us we get a second episode of action. Theres a brilliantly shot scene of a conversation between The Doctor and The Brig outside and before long The Doctor gets an action scene chasing a Primord over a fuel tank gantry. The head of the project professor Stahlman gets infected and ejects the Doctor from the project, out of spite The Doctor steals a power source and really sets the story off in another direction as he ends the story dematerialising the TARDIS and sliding to a parallel dimension.

The next four episodes are brilliant as The Doctor explores this world and finds a right wing totalitarian version of Earth complete with versions of the other characters. Nicholas Courtney and Caroline John look like they're having a whale of a time playing alternate versions of their characters. Also I must say the guest cast all give a good show here and nobody feels like they are rehashing their performance from the earlier episodes. Some people may say these episodes are filler and don't count as its an "alternate Earth" but for me its played so straight it feels like it matters and therefore it does.

It genuinely feels like the death of this Earth has an effect on The Doctor, he's in shock for most of the final episode and these events would be referenced in future. The story ends with one of my favourite Doctor and Brig scenes as The Doctor is firmly put in his place after a bit of arrogant behaviour with Liz giggling in the background.    

The Third Doctor has arrived and he's brought a new era with him, I enjoy Jon Pertwee's performance and this story is one where he gets to show his range. He's a detective, man of action, dealing with the death of the Earth, arrogant and gets plenty of small character moments. Jon Pertwee played The Doctor as more of a leading man than most Doctors but paradoxically for me he was the most unique Doctor. There is more of an edge to him here than his later stories but for me season 7 is a snapshot in time to be treasured. Along with the regulars Nicholas Courntey, Liz Shaw, John Levene and others who would come along and join in the fun we see the start of an era that would go on to last the longest in the shows history (until the next one came along) and see the show in firm strong hands.  

The Fourth Doctor

Lets not beat around the bush, for a lot of people Tom Bakers Fourth Doctor is The Doctor. Coming out of nowhere after a powerfully successful era Tom Baker had an impact on the show that few can equal. His seven years on the show are full of fantastic stories, a production team that included many a series legend and so many brilliant characters. Anyone whose read this far has probably guessed the story I chose to represent Tom is either Talons of Weng Chiang, Genesis of the Daleks or City of Death but your wrong. Four stories in and I've noticed a theme emerging on this blog entry, each story has a personal memorable story around my first viewing. This particular story I read as a target from my local library and loved every page, the following Saturday my sister headed off into town and asked if I wanted anything. I gave her some money and said if she saw a copy of "Robots of Death" on VHS to get it for me, then a few short hours she came back with the very same copy that I'm watching all these years later for this blog.

I must also add that for years the console room in this story confused me as I didn't see any of the stories around this one with TARDIS scenes for a number of years. For those of you who thought the console room started changing with the TV Movie your wrong, it started in the Tom Baker era.

Just reading the production team for this story is a Whose Who of Who, produced by Phillip Hinchcliffe, script edited by Robert Holmes, directed by Michael Briant and written by Chris Boucher. Blimey any story with one of them on would be good but all four of them is astounding. The actors are on fine form with Tom Baker and Louise Jameson at their consistently high best - these years later I can see a bit of spikiness from Tom as he wasn't to crazy about Leela as a character, some lines are thrown at Louise with venom. Of the guest cast David Collings, Gregory de Polnay, Miles Fothergill, Pamela Salem and Russell Hunter are astounding. If anything this story is so good because everything in the production is at its best from the acting to the set design.

Every aspiring writer should be made to watch this as its an excellent piece of world building. Bar a few model shots we never leave the sand miner yet we find out so much about the crew and culture that no doubt anyone who watches this can reel off facts galore. Its a whodunit and the location of the sand miner is claustrophobic and full of danger as the crew gets killed off. The Doctor and Leela accidentally land as the murders start and of course they are suspected. There's so much else going on as well, Zilda's mysterious hatred of Uvanov, Pouls reasons for signing up to the crew, the sand miners actual mission and the mysterious presence of D84. 

As I watched this memories came flooding back, some of Toms one liners from this story I've been using for decades. Theres a scene with Toos shot from the robots point of view that is brilliant and her attitude to the robot makes the viewer actually feel sorry for the robot. The "I heard a cry" sequence is brilliant, D84 has some of the best dialogue a guest character was ever given. Russell Hunters Uvanov gives a powerful performance as the commander of the sand miner even though he is dwarfed by the rest of the cast - and overpowered easily in his only physical confrontation not with a robot.

All in all Toms firmly at the head of affairs, he's had a few years to perfect his performance and is able to be both sombre and comically off the cuff when required. I mentioned his memorable one liners but also of note are his description to Leela of Pouls condition and his dialogue with D84. For many this era is the height of Who and with Tom wandering the universe without a care saving every world he inadvertently lands on its easy to see why.    

The Fifth Doctor

I first came across this story in the Target novelisation without know its place in the series. Its up there with the best stories in Doctor Who and so unique. The show would try to recreate this story but not successfully - its a story where things go bad at the start and keep escalating out of control until its over and almost everyone involved has met a sticky end. Such a fantastic and brave story and I can only praise all involved. 

The Sixth Doctor

Moving on we find ourselves in the Sixth Doctor Era, an era which was short and chaotic. The Sixth Doctor for me was rather a blink and you'll miss him incarnation, I was about four or five when he turned up yet bar a few scenes I can remember nothing of the era at the time. Years later when I started getting the targets I could never find a Sixth Doctor story in the shops (due to there only being a few of them) and it wasn't until I got two of his stories on VHS in 1993 at the age of 13 that I finally got to properly experience him. One of those two stories makes up Sixy's entry into this blog and where most fans would go for Revelation of the Daleks my absolute favourite story from this era (and also one of my top personal favourites) is The Two Doctors. 

Wow, you wait for four era's for a Robert Holmes story to appear then two show up in a row... What makes this story work for me is there is no special reason to have the Doctors meet. Its just an incarnation getting into trouble and a later incarnation rolling up to the scene of the crime and deciding since theres no one else about I'd better save him. Patrick Troughton is firmly in what I called "doing a turn" mode, he gets some wonderful dialogue with the villains, some good moments with Colin and the scenes with Jamie automatically takes one back to the late 60's. On story level this is a more innocent Doctor in Eric Sawards cynical mid 80's Whoniverse, they are completely out of there depth until Sixy and Peri turn up. However its worth noting Jamie does actually save the day, its a good reminder of a previous era with the Second Doctor and Jamie firmly helping to raise the story.

Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor is firmly the star of the show here and its worth noting how early into his run he is (forget what we know in hindsight - this is his fifth story). We're finally getting to know Sixy, the first half of the story I find excellent as Sixy and Peri penetrate the space station trying to find out what happened. Robert Holmes is mining the past and taking from his own repertoire as the first half of this story is essentially what The Ark in Spain part one did for Tom. Sixy is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and outwit the ships computer to the extent he doesn't notice how terrified Peri is. I also like the fact that Sixy shows such fondness to Jamie. Jumping into the second episode Sixy's speech about gumblejacks and the end of the universe is one of my favourite moments of the show. When the action gets going in the second half of the story the story this is certainly a Doctor of action, however he's also aloof - he thinks nothing of sending Peri into the waiting hands of a pair of cannibals and Sontarans to cause a distraction. He also side steps the audience as well as the villains, when he gives away some false information to an overhearing Sontaran all these years later the fans aren't sure which bits he was lying about.

The guest cast are also strong with John Stratton being a right scene stealer and actually pairing up quite well with Troughton. Incidentally I can't help feeling Robert Homles is lucky that Pertwee was already aware of the Sontarans in The Time Warrior. Jacqueline Pearce gives a good turn as the lead villain however bar providing bodies and muscle the Sontarans don't do much. The rest are perfectly serviceable but don't do much as Holmes is having so much fun with the Androgums and Doctors.

I come away from this story thinking its paving a way for the Sixth Doctor era, Sixy comes out of this showing a slightly mellow side not previously seen however he's still aloof. I love the way the Second Doctor gets the best of him in that final scene. On another note it feel The Doctor going from a hunter fisherman to a vegetarian at the end of this story is also a change. We're getting to know this Doctor but there are still aspects under the surface we have yet to discover - and arguably on TV never would - however in my view we have a strong entry into the series and a story showing what Sixy could have been.

The Seventh Doctor

We arrive at the Seventh Doctor era, a rather special one for me as without it I wouldn't be a fan. Yes I'm old enough to vaguely remember Peter and Colin but it was with Sylvester that I started watching on a regular basis, got hooked as a seven year old and became a fan. I actually had a bit of trouble selecting what story to represent this era, Paradise Towers was the first story I watched all the way through, I've always had a soft spot for Silver Nemesis and theres something special about Curse of Fenric. However I opted to go for Remembrance of the Daleks. The only vaguely memorable viewing fact I have on this story is that its the first on this blog entry I saw on broadcast and it was the first ever DVD I bought.

Years later I'm able to appreciate an aspect of Who I was to young to at the time, mainly actor spotting. Years later its fun recognising the likes of Pamela Salem and Michael Sheard from other Who while also now being able to recognise Simon Williams from Upstairs Downstairs. Plus due to later work Joseph Marcell from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is also a big deal as that show was huge when I was a kid. Also pretty big for the story is our first proper look at Sylvester and Sophie Aldred in action and they don't disappoint.

A lot of people view this story as a reboot for the Seventh Doctor but for me its the character growing, yes he has a plan and starts to go a bit "dark doctor" but he's still bumbling around, walking into traps and not knowing there's two Dalek factions present. If you watch this and Dragonfire back to back the character growth is outstanding.

I have to mention THAT cliffhanger, the Daleks climb stairs to catch the Doctor, a classic moment for the series and so right that it was the cliffhanger for the opening episode of the 25 anniversary season. Plus as mentioned just now despite the planning its Ace that saves him. Ace herself goes through the ringer as she deals with the opinions of the 60's, Mikes betrayal and some rather good scenes with the Daleks.

The Daleks Nazi parallel is an pronounced as its been for some time, with Daleks not acknowledging the other factor as pure. The Dalek Emperor (aka you know) makes a good appearance and the Special Weapons Dalek is cool. As well as the location and time paying respect to the start of Who, I've always thought there's a bit of homage paid to the Pertwee era with Gilmores troops acting as a surrogate UNIT, in fact the Doctor spends most of the story trying to keep them out of trouble. Doctor Jensens exasperation at the events as they progress is a joy to watch.

Also the show is pointing to the future, the Doctor starts to become more mysterious, feels more dangerous and its more apparent that the show is going in a different direction. The Doctor may be a bumbler but its obvious he's had a plan going on from before the story started which we've rarely seen before. This is a perfect example of one of my favourite era's with Sylvester's season 24 performance melding with a darker performance which he would forever be associated.  

The Eighth Doctor

Human Resources is a Big Finish audio story and the finale of the first season of the Eighth Doctor range. Up till then it was one off stories in the style of the main range but at this point Paul McGanns Doctor was updated and we got stories in a similar vein to the current series. This was a story that tied up the plot of the season, had plenty of plot and showed that this incarnation of the Doctor could have carried a modern day series.      

The War Doctor

One of the most enduring moments of recent Who is that moment at the end of "The Name of the Doctor" where the Eleventh Doctor addresses this stranger with contempt and has a leaves John Hurt steps out of the shadows with an on screen caption identifying him as "The Doctor"... Wow, that was indeed one hell of a cliff hanger leaving us waiting to the 50th anniversary story "The Day of the Doctor."

I must say I'd have been happy if they'd have just given us a rehashed version of "The Five Doctors" but what we got was a lovely celebration that not only celebrated the present, relished in the past but also looked forward to the future. As opposed to the first two multi Doctor TV stories instead of getting less Doctors than advertised we actually get more, for me "The Night of the Doctor" is a prologue and therefore a part of this story, we get to see Peter Capaldi's eyebrows and we get a surprise cameo near the end from you know who. Its a shame Chris didn't want to appear but quite frankly its his loss.

This is firmly The War Doctors story, he's reached a breaking point in The Time War and can see only one way out. Where 10 and 11 are surprised to see each other, The Moment is giving him the chance to see how performing this act will affect who he becomes in the future. Its worth remembering before the fun multi Doctor stuff starts happening The War Doctor isn't expecting to survive. His initial frustrations with his future selves he sees how they combat the threat of the Zygons and sees his future is in safe hands. This is an amazing scene as Smith and Tennant take the centre stage Hurt watches, but look as his expression changes from shame to absolute joy as he realises what his future incarnations are doing.

He then returns to The Moment and prepares to end the time war, he is firmly of the belief that despite the shame of what he is about to do his future incarnations will become better Doctors than he can ever be. The future Doctors arrive so he doesn't have to do it alone, however the 11th Doctor changes his mind taking things to a lovely sequence showing all of the Doctors saving Gallifrey. We arrive at the end of the story for The War Doctor and instead of dooming two races to death he has helped save Gallifrey, he says his goodbyes to his future and leaves reveling in the moment as he knows he wont remember. Perhaps sadly we see the end of The War Doctor in action for the first time he regenerates, in one story this possibly villainous character with a secret has become a heroic incarnation of that character we all know and love which is how since this story aired I have remembered him.

The Ninth Doctor

The comeback was very successful and launched the show to a new generation with a Doctor who was nursing the aftereffects of the Time War. This was the story where he started his recovery process - no one dies, Chris Eccleston at his best. 

The Tenth Doctor

We move onwards, but not by much as the Tenth Doctors era was destined to start on TV the same year as the Ninths. The big question was how would todays generation of casual viewers take to regeneration, the answer was well and speaking for myself David Tennant had me at "Barcelona!" The story that represents the Tenth Doctors era for this blog came early, after the Christmas special his first season got underway and after a handful of stories one May evening up popped "The Girl in the Fireplace" to blow the previous stories out of the water.

Watching this story back it strikes me that the Tenth Doctor is very 90's, his "geek chic" look is a decade out of date, theres a lot of style over substance and he's very retro. Since the comeback The Doctor has been painted as a tourist and thats more than evident in this story. We start things out with him having set the coordinates to random and giving Mickey his first TARDIS destination at random. This story feels like a two hander as this story is mainly about The Doctor and Reinette. As the Doctor strolls from room to room on this station he traverses her life from her youth to her end.

The performance of Tennant is outstanding, one issue I have with his Doctor is that we very rarely saw beneath the facade, its not that he lacks depth its that its so well hidden. At the start of the story he's firmly in "show off" mode, then his interest is genuinely piqued, his dander is truly up when he sees what the clockwork robots (who are beautiful by the way) are trying to kill Reinette and when she sees into him its a step beyond perhaps what the viewer is expecting. Sophia Myles is also a stand out performer on this episode, with Rose & Mickey pushed to the side shes the pseudo companion this week and her reactions to what is happening are truly remarkable giving one of the best one off performances of the show.

I truly enjoy coming back to this story as nine years on it still feels fresh, 18th century France to deep space in the future - it all draws the viewer in. Its like the shows saying "if you liked the first year wait until you see what else we can do." Its a story thats flexing the formats muscles, showing us we should expect the unexpected, The Doctor doesn't always have the answers and anything can happen. 

The Eleventh Doctor

We enter another new decade (its all gone a bit timey wimey) as the Eleventh Doctor played by Matt Smith arrives on the scene. I warmed to Matt instantly, I love the mixture of spikiness and awkwardness about him and firmly regard him as one of my firm favourites. Its a first so far this blog as for my favourite Eleventh Doctor story we head for Christmas and A Christmas Carol.

Featuring a sterling guest performance by Michael Gambon and surprisingly decent one from Katherine Jenkins this story is a joy from start to finish. Also worthy of note is director Toby Haynes in one of my favourite directorial performances in Who, I can watch the scene as Kazran watches his younger self on video with The Doctor fliting back and forth on an endless loop. Also what an entrance from The Doctor "Christmas Eve on a rooftop, I saw a chimney and my whole brain went what the hell!"

Watching it again I'm firmly of the believe that Who should be an hour for single episodes, this extra fifteen minutes changes everything. The rushing around is purely for fun - not to squeeze everything in before the show ends. I can't quite believe its only an hour, it feels longer and also it feels like a case of Who flexing itself to fit Dickens than bending Dickens to fit Who which rarely happens in the series.

Also very rare is the story isn't a part of an ongoing plot which is rare for post come back Who. Nothing is seeded, no mystery word is sneaked in plus also the regular companions are barely in it. The whole story feels like the entire production is having fun - even throwing in sharks to a Christmas story and Matt Smith would never act as big as he did here, a wonderful snapshot of an era that was to short in my opinion and one I look forward to returning to at future Christmases.

The Twelfth Doctor

I'm giving no particular story for the twelfth Doctor just an observation that in Peter Capaldi we saw a Doctor who couldn't accept that he was the Doctor and coming into the final story he couldn't deal with being anybody else. We find The Doctor felt like this oh so long ago and by examining the past we  do what we've done so many times we move on and into the future...

10 Things you didn't know about the Cybermen

In case you didn't know a new series of Doctor Who is soon to be appearing on our screens in April and this last week a trailer was finally dropped on us. Series 10 is to be the final outing of the 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi and Showrunner Steven Moffat and if that trailers anything to go by its going to be a belter.

As well as showing us tantalising glimpses of new elements for this series there were a few familiar elements too. One of those was an unfamiliar sighting of a Cybermen - don't worry your eyes did not deceive you it was a Cyberman, trust me I know these things. If you thought to yourself " I didn't know Cybermen could like that" don't worry readers here at WhatCulture we're here to help with 10 facts that you didn't know about Doctor Who's second most popular monster. So without further ado lets release the facts;

1. The First Cyberman Story Concluded With The Death of the First Doctor

Yes indeed readers, after three magnificent years at the controls of the TARDIS William Hartnell departed the show in 1966. In order to send him off on a high the production team put their collective heads together to come up with a brand new monster for The Doctor to face on his swan song.

Script editor Gerry Davis and scientific adviser Kit Pedler were inspired by cybernetics and would explore the concept before applying a science fiction twist. The result was the Cybermen gracing our screens for the very first time and the show finally striking lightning twice and gaining a monster like the Daleks that would reappear many times in the future.

Although the Cybermen themselves were not responsible for The Doctors first death this adventure took its toll on the Time Lord. This meant that the first era of Doctor Who ended with two milestones the first regeneration and the first appearance of the Cybermen.


2. The First Cybermen Design Was Not The Traditional Cybermen Design

Think Cybermen think blank metallic faces, however that's not the case with their appearance. A few elements such as the height, chest unit and head handles were present on the first outing - they were humongous but they were present but nothing else was. Instead of the silver steel viewers would become so familiar with the Cybermen had a distinct cloth helmet, rubber suit and silver painted boots.

But wait readers theres more, the iconic modulated voices were also still yet to come. While the iconic robotic sound was a few stories away the Cybermen in this story had a high campy staccato voice that sounded far more human than machine. However this more simplified Cybermen is perhaps more in keeping with the original concept these for the silver giants.

The much more well known design was just around the corner arriving in their second story and this design would not be revisited until 2017 and this coming series.


3. They Were The First Aliens On The Moon!

Yes indeed dear readers, nearly two years before Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'the Buzzmeister' Aldrin Doctor Who beat them to it. Lo and behold in 1967's 'The Moonbase' who did he find there plotting another attempt to take over the Earth? The newly designed Cybermen fresh with their silver plated faces and more stream lined style.

While the show would revisit the moon over the years this was the first occasion. An iconic aspect of the Cybermen is their iconic metallic march along with the cybernetic clanking which the New series has added in recent years. This story is the first time we saw this and that silent march across the lunar landscape would forever be embedded in the minds of viewers at the time.

Certainly other monster in Doctor Who would use the moon be it Ice Warriors, Spiders and even be revealed to be an egg but the Cybermen would be the first monsters to place their flag on the surface.


4. They Were The First Monsters To Be Fought by Unit

Readers may be aware of the current incarnation of Unit fronted by Kate Stewart and Osgood who have appeared with the Eleventh and Twelfth  Doctors but their history goes back a lot further. Back in 1968 colour TV was on the way and opposed to travelling alien worlds Doctor Who was experimenting with bring the aliens to Earth on a more regular basis. Hence the creation of Unit in their originally more military guise to assist the Doctor.

Originally popping up in 'The Invasion' this lengthy story would see Patrick Troughtons Doctor investigating the company 'International Electromatics' only to discover it was a front for the Cybermen. The silver giants would enter the story late breathing more life turning this story from one of international corporate subterfuge to one of invasion.

Again an iconic story, Unit and the Cybermens appearance here would set the template for the majority of stories from the first half of the 1970's and see the show enter its second decade.


5. They Didn't Appear As The Villains During The Jon Pertwee Era

Now this one is a bit of a shocker that even long time fans of the show are unaware of. We've already established that the Cybermen arrived right at the end of the First Doctor era, they turned up multiple time during the Second Doctor era but they failed entirely to turn up and terrorise the Third Doctor during Jon Pertwees era. The Third Doctor spent most of his time trapped on Earth and as the Cybermen had already attempted to take on the present day and Unit in the previous era the production team didn't use them.

They do appear in this era - in a blink and you miss them cameo but the silver giants wouldn't reappear until Tom Baker reared his head.

The Third Doctor would finally get to take on the Cybermen in a sequence during 'The Five Doctors' that was so memorable a generation would forever associate the silver haired Doctor with arch silver nemesis.


6. Gold

Weaknesses, everyone has them! Daleks have staircases, Angels you look and Sontarans can be taken out with a blow to the back of the neck but how do you take down a Cybermen? During their early years The Doctor had used a wide variety of tactics to take them out including gravity, radar and nail varnish remover - yes you did read that last one correctly! In the mid 1970's the production team decided it was finally time to give the Cybermen a weakness and what did they choose?

Gold! Not the chart topping hit from Spandau Ballet the glittery yellow metal favoured by jewellers everywhere. This would manifest itself in a number of ways from arrows, gold dust clogging up their breathing apparatus and nearly being wiped out with the wonderfully named glitter gun.

This is something that has largely been ignored since the show came back in 2005. However if they Cybermen get to big for their boots expect to see Peter Capaldi heading for the nearest Harvey Nichols to stock up on ammo.


7. Word Of Mouth

As we've already covered the Cybermen are one of Doctor Who's longest running villains but there were periods of the show where they didn't appear. The really good thing about writing a race or a character off is that you get to bring them back. Hell, virtually every other cliffhanger from 'Lost' involves a character reappearing.

However in 1983 the production team did what many people think would be impossible today - they brought them back without the fans or the viewers finding out in advance!

How was this done? Studio observation galleries were closed, Cybermen were confined to the studio where they could be kept a secret, their name was taken off the title and even a Radio Times cover was turned down. The first time the Great British public found out the Cybermen were back was when they popped up at the climax of episode one.

And what was the end result? Everyone was talking about it! Fans, school kids, parents the papers! By going with no publicity the show had generated the most publicity it had in years.


8. Spare Parts

Ask 100 Doctor Who fan to name their ten favourite stories and you will no doubt get 100 different lists. One story that will no doubt pop up a lot is Genesis of the Daleks where the show tackled the origin of the Daleks. After watching it you may get the idea to dig out the story where we get the Cyberman origin, don't bother looking for it as you wont find it.

Bizarre as it may seem the Doctor Who never tackled the origin of the Cybermen. The first time we got a glimpse into their origin was during the 'wilderness' years when the show was off the air. The audio company Big Finish, released the story 'Spare Parts' which saw the Fifth Doctor witness the birth of the Cybermen.

This story would go on to become so well regarded that when Russell T Davies decided to bring them back he set 'The Rise of the Cybermen' in an alternate universe so 'Spare Parts' would still stand as an origin story.


9. You've Got Me Feeling Emotions

One of the key features about the Cybermen is that technology has done away with emotion. However to the eagle eyed observer this isn't often the case, from their early appearances to most recent emotions have often been on display.

Season 8 saw a number of characters being cyber converted including companion Clara's love interest Danny Pink. Not only did he retain his humanity he showed a range of emotions including love and shock, he also uses his army skills to command the Cyber army.

During Season 2 during David Tennants era on the show the Cybermen would convert members of Torchwood including Yvonne Hartman. One of the most memorable moments from this story is the post conversion Hartman crying through her emotionless face.

During the classic run of the show the Cybermen were at their most emotional when facing Tom Bakers Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker was able to antagonise them as easily as a schoolboy and set the tone for future confrontations where the Cybermen would show a distinct touch of smugness when confronting The Doctor.


10. They Killed Adric

As we touched on earlier 1983's Earthshock saw the triumphant return of the Cybermen with a shock return as the surprise villains. However the producer of the time John Nathan-Turner, wanted the story to have more of impact. How did he choose to do this? By killing off Adric, a companion whose time of the show crossed over from the Fourth to the Fifth Doctor.

Again like the reappearance of the Cybermen this was kept under wraps and nobody knew about it until broadcast. The production team were so determined to keep it a secret they even hired the actor - Matthew Waterhouse for the next story where he appeared as a hologram. The viewers of the time were being treated to shocks right left and centre, a companion hadn't been killed since the 1960's.

Repercussions of this would be carried over into the next story and into future seasons as Doctor Who looked to cast off its cosy image and carry on into the 1980's with a more gritty feeling. But for the Cybermen the death of Adric would be the moment that catapulted them back into the public consciousness.
correspond.

Doctor Who: Smile

The tenth series of Doctor Who continues apace as this weeks second episode rolled around. This weeks second episode saw something of a tradition in "Nu-Who" as Bill like recent new companions before her enjoyed her first TARDIS trip into the future.

As always the choice of location tells us something about where The Doctor is at psychologically, his choice of location is that of a colony world where the last vestige of humankind are looking to set up home after abandoning Earth. The key aspect of interest here looks to be the aspect of hope after some kind of disaster. A rather fun and low key episode sees Peter Capaldi being very Doctorish and being something of a tour guide to Pearl Mackies Bill. Its something of note that this is the most traditional we have ever seen Peter Capaldi's Doctor.

The episode is rather fun being mostly the regulars and the very cute Emojibots, again the show continues the tradition of taking the normal aspects of everyday life and putting a spin on them. After last weeks visually dark episode this week is very bright with the colony and Emojibots being as white as a Doctor Who set from the 1980's. Things get more interesting as the episode continues as the plot develops but its a tad uninvolving as this is a story more about horror than plot and it makes the mistake of showing its cards in the pre title sequence.

Away from the main part of the story there looks to be some tidbits on offer regarding this seasons arc. Reference is made to the vault seen last episode and The Doctor making an oath not to go roaming off planet. Of particular interest is Matt Lucas brief appearance this week as Nardole where its rather unclear if he is The Doctors butler or jailer.

To sum up a very nice fun little episode, however now we're two episodes into the season I would like to see things move up a gear.

TV Corner - Doctor Who Season 8 Review

As the clock reaches half past November another season of Doctor Who has gone by and its time for this viewer to cast a critical eye over this years offerings. Its certainly been an engrossing year, I for one have certainly found it dynamic but ladies and gentle readers lets dive in and see if I thought it was any good...

Deep Breath

If I have to pick one word to describe this episode it would be awkward, not only the episode it fits the Doctor too. After the traumatic regeneration of the Christmas story he still hasn't recovered yet, which is wonderful as we get a story with a bonkers Doctor whose personality hasn't settled down yet. A really good aspect I like of this is for the first part of the story he's still talking as if he's his previous self - certainly now that 12's got a season under his belt yelling at a dinosaur calling her sexy is clearly not him. On top of that among the supporting cast is the Paternoster gang more commonly associated with the 11th Doctor. In short theres a lot of 11 Doctor trappings in this story to keep the casual viewer comfortable as we embark on the adventures of the current Doctor, rather akin to how Tom Bakers start was wrapped up in a UNIT story feeling like it could have fit anywhere in Jon Pertwees reign.

When Peter Capaldi gets going we see him in short bursts, he falls asleep, wonders off and disappears at various stages when he's in full flow pulling the viewer in and wanting to see more of this new Doctor I'd probably blame the English. This Doctor is wonderfully awkward as is his interactions with Clara and everyone else, its noticeable that the most Doctorish Capaldi gets is when he's finally facing a villain. As an episode its quite an odd one, I've gotten the thought into my head that given the title it echoes taking a deep breath after some kind of traumatic event given the stop start nature of the story. There's a lot going on here, the after effects of the regeneration, the spontaneous combustion mystery, Clara getting to know this new Doctor and the Paternoster gang. As a villain the cyborgs are an interesting take and update on the clockwork robots and its understandable we're not getting an original villain as the main focus on this story is the regeneration. 

As an episode I think its a juicy start to the season, personally I think visually it looks like there's been a change of style. As I said its a little bit stop start and the direction is also much of the same and for a rather intimate story it did make me feel somewhat uninvolved. My personal rating of this story is that its rather a nice little gentle start with an odd surprise in Missy and an unexpected cameo from Matt.

Into the Dalek

I know it sounds daft saying this but I think this episode is one that will be able to fit anywhere into Capaldi's era. Already in his second story Peter feels like he's on top of his game and has nailed the character, I actually found it a little disconcerting how dynamic his performance is after standing awkwardly while getting hugged at the end of the previous episode. He's able to pilot the TARDIS to the point he can materialise around someone and he's facing off against one of his biggest enemies. A world a way from the previous episode, as is the direction which is strange as its the same director. Visually its very blue and it works with the Dalek and in this scifi environment, from memory I think its a colour the series hasn't really embraced and helps differentiate this story from other Dalek episodes. Talking about Rusty, in his action shots this may be the best the Daleks have been shot on camera since Joe Ahearne back in 2005.
We get the introduction of Danny this episode as well as seeing Clara at Coal Hill School, it also gives us our first look at the Doctor picking her up for a trip which we'd see a lot of this season. Another good aspect of this story is the rebel crew of the Aristotle, Zawe Ashton is fantastic and I really wish we'd have seen more of Michael Smiley who I find very watchable.
Summing up this is a very strong and pivotal story with a good hook of being shrunk and going inside the Dalek. The Doctor is on his game throughout the story so the end when he's taken aback about Rusty seeing so much hate in him is a rather unexpected swerve - Capaldi looks so sweet in that final scene with Clara. Really good and strong stuff stuff however the format of the show slightly reigns the glory of this episode in, I think it should have been a two part story, theres a bit of rushing near the end and there are so many directions to take the story concept that the story doesn't venture into.

Robot of Sherwood

Every so often theres a story that comes along for a Doctor where the stories fun, the cast & crew are having a ball and the viewers are having a ball - the tradition that is the good old romp. Pick a Doctor and I'll reel a off a romp - Hartnell has The Myth Makers, Pertwee has The Time Warrior, Davison has The Visitation to name a few. You've got a returning writer who can pen a yarn, a star a few stories in two guest stars Ben Miller and Tom Riley, lets do Robin Hood! We get what it says on the tin, a good fun romp, some good scenes the cast throw themselves into, a good little story and some highly quotable lines. 

Listen

We've had a romp and now we go for another Doctor Who tradition, the atypical story that really puts proof to the mantra you can do anything in Doctor Who. Some other examples of this are The Mind Robber, Warriors Gate, Fathers Day & Vincent and The Doctor. The kind of story which is one giant curve ball and leaves the viewer constantly stating "I wasn't expect THAT!" If I was the sort of person who rated things out of 10 this episode would be just a string of tens. That shot of Peter sat on the TARDIS meditating before opening his eyes is fantastic - the money shot of the advertising campaign. Its another strong directorial performance, Douglas Mackinnon I take my hat off to you. 

All through the episode I never took my eyes off the screen once, I was glued through the scenes and surprises. I love the bedroom scene with Danny, those not into the horror genre may not enjoy it so much but I really dig these scenes that start off as one thing but turn up the tension and become something else. There were so many twists and turns in this story, the date being interrupted by someone in a space suit, the last room at the end of the universe, an unexpected trip to Gallifrey and things that go bump under the bed. I truly think this story was something special.

Time Heist

I'm in two minds over this story, on one hand we have a good little caper going on and the other a disappointment. Theres good stuff going on here but to me this is the classic example of an episode that is ruined by the format. I like it but it should have been given more room to breathe, we're thrown in at the deep end which is nice but after that its rush rush rush as they try to cram the plot and set pieces into 45 minutes. Keeley Hawes is good value with a nice little twist to her role, the rest of cast are good, a nice little swerve at the end and being thrown in at the start with no knowledge of whats going on is a fantastic move. A good little story but could have been so much better.

The Caretaker

This is a rather charming cute little story, the Skovox is a fun bit of fluff but the main meat of this story is The Doctor, Clara and Danny. Theres no way of beating around the bush, I lost interest in Danny at this point he becomes a complete buzz kill and starts killing every scene he's in. Danny discovers Clara's double life and its not done in an interesting or dramatic way to keep me watching. I lost interest in the episode, found myself glancing at the clock. There's a lot of cute scenes with The Doctor passing as a caretaker but there isn't really enough of this. There's no beating about this bush I don't want these stories from Gareth Roberts - I want the Gareth Roberts who wrote An English Way of Death, The Once Doctor, The Plotters and The Shakespeare Code not the one who does banter/filler episodes. There's good stuff here but its not a story I really care for.

Kill the Moon

Rather like the previous story I have to declare I find the central moral set piece of this story uninteresting, however I still think its a cracking episode. The school girl is quite fun and Hermione Norris adds tons of weight to her role. This episode is at its best early in the story when its trying to do a Hinchcliffe the Hinchcliffe era and scare the kids. Proper good stuff here as they explore the colony, its loses itself in the moral set piece but the verve of the story is enough to pull things along. I think the end is at best clunky, The Doctor has form of this sort of thing and as Clara was spliced along his time line she should be aware of this. All in all good but not great and a decent stab at tackling horror.

Mummy on the Orient Express

Right from the opening seconds of this episode I knew it was going to be a good one, a creepy mummy slowly walking towards an elderly lady who is the only one who can see it - IN SPACE! Whats not to like The Doctor is lured onto the train by Gus to investigate and its a crash bang wallop 45 minutes as The Doctor attempts to solve the problem and save everyone. I must mention Frank Skinner as he's utterly wonderful as Perkins, also of note is David Bamber whose also good value. As well as the mummy, Gus the computer system is also a good villain (He knows the Doctors phone number!), sounding all pompously middle management then calmly killing the cooks to make his point - this is the sort of character that reminds me of Robert Holmes. There are a few twists like when most of the crew are revealed to be holograms and a lovely few scenes with The Doctor and Clara tucked away at the end. Really really good stuff from all involved and a cracking story.

Flatline

As an episode it didn't really click with me, theres some fun stuff like The Doctor getting stuck in the TARDIS and Clara having to handle things outside but I feel like I'm watching a first draft. Christopher Fairbank is wasted and the guest characters are awful - truly awful. At the end the survivors are having an emotional moment including a train driver who only turned up five minutes before the end. The Boneless are at time wonderfully scary and at other times vaguely hotchpotch looking not quite all there. In short decent but it feels rushed.

In the Forest of the Night

A quiet little story tucked in near the end of the season before the crash bang wallop finale. I like this one, as a story its what I like to refer as a "short trip" one of those quick stories that if novelised would come out at the length of a short story. Again its shot very well, in particular Maebh running through the forest and I was glued to the screen throughout. Its rather atypical and as a result I found myself more drawn in wondering where things were going than usual. Once it settles down it does feel a tad twee however it remains enjoyable. The kids are quite good value and most of them get characters, Capaldi is on fine form throughout. I mentioned earlier that I lost interest in Danny earlier but here he's down right annoying. All in all a nice little diversion before the end and it actually does better than quite a few stories from seasons past tucked in before the end.

Dark Heaven

As is traditional in Doctor Who fandom when we get a two part story we glue the titles together for a joint title and I'm going with Dark Heaven. I've mentioned previously that a few stories were let down by to much rushing and not having room to breathe, here we have a perfect example of why two parters rock. The first episode is mainly swerve balls being thrown at the audience - a regular is killed off before the titles! The volcano scene is brilliant as is The Doctors reaction at the end. When the TARDIS lands in St Paul's Cathedral I genuinely thought they'd landed in the after life. Missy pretending to be a robot is fantastic - just before she reveals her identity I was convinced she was Susan the one you abandoned. Danny plot line in this story is quite moving and Sam Anderson actually gives his best performances here. All in all the first part is surprise after surprise and even if you didn't avoid spoilers there must have been some that took you by surprise. The end of the first episode with The Doctor surrounded by The Master and the Cybermen is brilliant - ST PAUL'S certainly pressed my buttons.

I don't think the second part is as strong as the first, we get rather a cheap swerve as Clara declares she's The Doctor and suddenly gets an appearance in the title but we know its bollocks. Michelle Gomez comes into her own in this episode her interpretation of The Master as a bat shit crazy Mary Poppins on acid is brilliant. I'm already preferring her to the previous incarnation. UNIT put in an appearance but to be honest bar the set piece of the plane being ripped apart and Osgood's death it feels like their scenes are treading water and killing time. 

I'm not to crazy about the Cybermen to be honest, I don't think they are a monster that the series has got to grips with post 2005. There is however a brilliant scene as they come to life in the graves as Clara walks through the graveyard. Also I'm in two minds about the Brigadiers appearance, whilst it was lovely he saved Kate and got a salute I don't really like the idea of Lethbridge-Stewart (or any other dead companion like Jamie) going through hell in the Nethersphere as The Master tries to get them to delete their emotions.

Oh but the ending is bittersweet as The Doctor believes The Masters final lie, Capaldi is brilliant - I love that he opened the doors to see with his own eyes instead of using the scanner. Its a sad ending as both The Doctor and Clara part ways each trying to bluff each other that they've moved on but a fantastic ending as The Doctors life takes an unexpected turn.

As a general overview I really enjoyed this season (as you'll have learnt from above I am a notoriously hard marker) and I think this is the best season in recent years. The majority of the last two seasons have included stories which improved on a re-watch when this seasons felt more dynamic and made an instant impression. Peter Capaldi with a season now under his belt has shown to be an impressive Doctor, he's as different from Matt as Matt was from David. I enjoy the spikier more awkward Doctors and look forward to The Christmas special. We had a number of high quality quest stars this year with Frank Skinner, Hermione Norris and Michelle Gomez impressing. I hope to see more of Michelle Gomez as I don't believe The Masters dead one bit. Bar the odd story I wasn't to keen on the writers have put a good shift in this year but the stars of the production team have been the directors with Rachel Talalay for the finale, Ben Weatley for Into the Dalek and Paul Wilmshurst for his two episodes being the most impressive.

Plaudits to all around and I can't wait for Christmas!

Clara Oswald "You're one of my hobbies"

Ladies and gentle readers I can't speak for you but I've been enjoying the recent series of Doctor Who, enjoying it very much. However I've been taken aback by the casualness of Clara about travelling in the TARDIS and her wish to carry on her life and her 9-5 career while travelling in time. I asked myself "is this normal?" Well lets have a look:

The first line up of companions included school teachers (at Coal Hill School) Barbara and Ian. They started travelling with The Doctor by accident and the narrative of the first two years was The Doctor trying to get them home. The TARDIS in the early years of the show was unsteerable so this took longer than modern day viewers expected. As well as wanting to get home rather than lark about in time a lot of their stories involved them trying to get back to "the ship" to escape their current predicament. Also in one notable case they we're actually kept out of the TARDIS and blackmailed to search for the Keys of Marinus when they had planned on leaving in episode one. So straight away that's two companions who never cared for travelling and wanted to get home asap.

For a few years the companions would by and large enjoy their time in the TARDIS however a number of modern day companions Dodo, Ben and Polly would take advantage of the TARDIS arriving back in the modern day to say their goodbyes to The Doctor and depart.

We now wonder into a unique area in this category as during Jon Pertwees time we actually have UNIT and arguably a full guest cast who played characters whose job it was to be companions. Liz would leave due to wanting to go back to her career in Cambridge and Jo would leave her job with The Doctor when she fell in love. For these two (and arguably The Brig who is only off duty during later appearances) being a companion was an actual job which fitted into their lives.

Sarah would continue her career as an investigative journalist when travelling with the Doctor and Harry had a bit of fun (albeit he didn't know what he was getting into) but firmly departed to continue his life and work when Tom Baker arrived back in the modern day.

Tegan would eventually throw herself into travelling with The Doctor but remember the ongoing story of season 19 is The Doctor trying to get her to Heathrow for her first day at work.

Where things really take a turn is with Rose, The Doctor is now firmly able to control the TARDIS and as a result she's able to travel in time and keep in close contact with her family and friends. As would Martha and Donna.

Things turn a tad more homely when we get to Amy and Rory, akin to the Third Doctor companions they are able to travel, continue their lives, their careers and get married while travelling.

What conclusion does this bring me to? Well looking objectively a number of companions over the years wanted to continue on with their lives and were unable to because of The Doctor being unable to steer the TARDIS. Once we get to a more steerable TARDIS the companions who don't want to dedicate 100% of their time to The Doctor are able to strike up a time travel / life balance. Clara is by and large the companion whose balance has had the most of her life in it but rather than making her unique theres a case for saying this is the logical evolution of a companion and perhaps we'll see a further swing in this direction with future companions.

TV Preview: The Doctor Who Season Opener

Its another blog exclusive this week as I've managed to get my hands on a preview copy of Peter Capaldi's first full appearance as The Doctor as The Twelveteenth Doctors era begins.

Weird shit is happening big time in this episode, Who fans have long become accustomed to the production team going on about a bold new direction for the show for decades. Occasionally we have had huge changes  but by and large the production team rarely change a winning format. Brace yourselves ladies and gentle readers as this time The Moff has thrown the format threw a shredder and come up with something maybe not bolder but more expected.

Things get off to an unexpected start, The Doctor who seems to be suffering from post regenerative trauma decides to take Clara to 1960's Glasgow for an all day piss up as he feels it will take more than tea to get over this regeneration.

We get what can best be described as the deepest most thought provoking monologue from The Doctor since William Hartnells monologue about losing companions. Peter Capaldi slurs his way through extended scenes as he attempted to out drink Big Harry Trowbridge. The most striking change from the recent past is when a drunk tries to attract Clara attention through some uncomfortable means Capaldi greets him with a Glasgow Kiss and the one liner "No hanky-panky on my watch."

After returning to the TARDIS an inebriated Doctor decides to take the TARDIS to 00's Great Britain so he can give David Cameron and Nick Clegg a good shouting at.

I don't want to give to much away but I'll certainly say theres more swearing in the Downing Street scenes than the Aliens of London two parter scenes. Keep your eyes peeled for an original use of the sonic screw driver in these scenes.

After the action things settle down for the rest of the episode which is mostly taken up by what promises to be an ongoing feature in this season "nap time with The Doctor."

We end the episode with The Doctor telling Clara that when he was younger this place was full of giant size pepper pots and telling her everything that her generation has done wrong. We end with The Doctor turning to the camera and telling the viewer not to worry because he's going to beat up some Dalek's and Cybermen next week.

All things considered this is a rather unexpected direction for the show to take but in this bloggers opinion first episodes aren't the best way to judge an era. Lets enjoy the rest of the season and see what happens...

12th Knight and Nostalgia Isn't What It Used To Be

Unless you've been living under a sound proof rock you can't have failed to notice the hoopla coming out of the BBC during the last few days as they built up and announced the latest tenant to take up residency in the TARDIS none other than Peter Capaldi. For those not familiar with him he's best known for playing Malcolm Tucker  off of The Thick of It. Which is a firm favourite with this blogger and highly recommend it if your looking for a series to work your way through. A look through his CV will reveal he's been in more things than that though, he's what I'd call a proper jobbing actor who appears to have been around forever and has been in virtually everything over the years.

Of note is the fact Peter will be the first oscar winner to play The Doctor although truth be known I'm more impressed by the fact we have another actor playing the Doctor that appeared in Minder. I fully enjoyed having a snoop of his wiki page and remembering the things I'd seen him in that I'd forgotten which included The Comic Strip Presents..., Prime Suspect, Neverwhere, Sea of Souls, My Family, Peep Show and Waking the Dead. Statisticians will be pleased to know that Peter also keeps up the tradition of all the Scottish Doctors having appeared in Rab C. Nesbitt. I haven't been this excited by the announcement of a new Doctor since Chris Eccleston got the gig. I'm really optimistic about where the show can go and what Peter can do with the part so its a hearty welcome to the show from this blogger and I hope you'll have loads of fun.

I don't know about you but this "New Doctor" malarky doesn't half make me feel old. Being a fan of the show I've gone through it a few times although no where near as much as the fans who've been around since the show started. When I was a kid my doctor was Peter Davison and it was during his time I had my first experience of regeneration and as a toddler I didn't have a clue what was going on. In short my first experience of regeneration was the story "The Five Doctors" during which most of the previous Doctors rocked up for an anniversary story. I was surrounded by adults saying "Oh he's aged" "I'd forgot he was Doctor Who" "That not the real him" and "where's the mad one with the scarf" in short I didn't have a clue what was going on but then again I was three. I can distinctly remember an uncle trying to explain it to me and every time Peter Davison appeared me yelling "there he is, there's the doctor!" It was like the world had gone mad and I was the only one who had noticed.

I still hadn't got my head around the concept when Colin Baker turned up on the scene. I can remember thinking that as viewers we weren't meant to notice (which admittedly sounds daft in hindsight) and that I was in on some kind of secret because I noticed. When Sylvester McCoy stepped aboard the TARDIS I had clocked on although I wouldn't fully understand the off screen aspect of this change until later, plus say what you want about season 24 but at least it provided a proper explanation of regeneration in the dialogue.

Sadly at this point the TV show would come to an end, it had been on borrowed time for a few years after an hiatus but after three Doctor's in a short time I soon found myself without a Doctor and without a TV show to go along with him. During this time I discovered previous Doctor's through the Target Novelisation's in libraries, there was an early 90's repeat season and I started getting VHS's - as well as acquiring a collection of Targets. By the time news of the show making a comeback in 1996 surfaced I was a full on fan with experience of all the Doctors. This was my first time experience of the build up to "who the new Doctor would be" during the earlier changeovers they kind of "just happened" but there was a lot of buzz around this with names such as David Hasselhoff being mentioned. Paul McGann would eventually get the part and prove to be a good choice in a shaky production but sadly a series didn't materialise.

Fed on a diet of the series continuing since McCoys time in book form and later audio's I remained cautiously optimistic that it would return. In 2003 the news broke that it would be coming back and it would be under the helm of Captain Russell Tiberius Davies. I found out early that he would be played as a soldier but it was an infuriating few months before we would find out who it was, I was hoping for a name like Alan Davies or Ian McShane but was pleased when Chris Eccleston who like Capaldi is someone who I'd put in the category "proper jobbing actor whose done the rounds." He was a strange one was Chris as no sooner had he done the media publicity circuit as the series was about to start it announced he was off. I wasn't really fussed or paying attention to the media over who would be next as there seemed to be a general acceptance in fandom that David Tennant would be next and he was.

A few years went by and Tennant proved to be successful then after a strange period where it was announced we'd have a string of specials in 2009 it was announced that not only was Tennant leaving but so were the heads of the production team. There were a shedfull of names banded about for the Eleventh Doctor including the usual suspects and some newer names. The BBC announced that The Doctor would be revealed on a TV special and speculation sky rocketed in the weeks leading up to the unveiling. A largely successfull unveiling saw releative unknown Matt Smith unveiled with him having blown away new Executive Producer Steven Moffat at the auditions. Being a youthful Doctor this brings us neatly back to where my regeneration journey began with Peter Davison. Blimey that ain't half a lot of regenerations, knowing my luck I'll probably get another one for Christmas...