The Myth Makers

I first read Donald Cotton's novelisation of this story many years ago and thought it was one of the funniest books I'd read. Now having listened to the soundtrack I'm adding it to my list of stories I wish were rediscovered. The cast sound like they're having a high old time with the script but the final episode sees a real change of pace once the horse makes its way into Troy and history takes its course. So if it's out there can someone send it back to the BBC?

Next story on the missing stories audio list is the epic The Daleks Master Plan. Now that one I am looking forward to hearing!

The Bog Warrior

This story was a nice idea, but one that didn't live up to its potential. With respect I think Cecelia Ahern should stick to chick-lit.

Marco Polo

Now that the DVD realises have come to an end I'm going back and listening to the stories I've never seen and possibly never will (why? Because the BBC in their wisdom wiped the tapes!). Fortunately, thanks to some enterprising fans, the audio of these stories exist.

We begin with the earliest example of these stories and the one most people would like rediscovered: Marco Polo. I have to admit I was quiet surprised at how well the story flowed and the performances are excellent, even if I wanted to smack Polo around for being so pig-ignorant. But it's easy to see why this is one of the stories people want rediscovered. Sadly it might be too late for that. But last years rediscovery of Enemy of the World and The Web of Fear proves anything's possible.

Series 7.1 Revisited

So have my views changed since I last watched the first part of series 7? No. Asylum of the Daleks and The Angels Take Manhattan are still classics, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and The Power of Three are great romps. And, sadly, A Town Called Mercy is still the dud one. And the ending of The Angels Take Manhattan is still devastating.

A Handfull of Stardust

The current crop of Time Trips comes to an end and they saved the best to last. Jake Arnott's Sixth Doctor tale was a joy to read (and one that was sadly over all too quickly). It's a shame Jake Arnott wasn't writing when Colin Baker was the Doctor because this would have made a great TV story. And it would have been a lot better than the crap Colin has to dead with!

I note that there's going to be two further Time Trips out later this year written by Ceclia Ahearn and Joanne Harris; two writers I would not normally picture writing Doctor Who. This will be interesting.

Scream of the Shalka

Way back in early 2003 it looked like this could have been the future of Doctor Who; an animated series available via the Internet (when most of us were still on dial-up!). But then the (finally!) came to it's senses and commissioned a new series for the telly. And the rest is history.

So Scream of the Shalka now stands as glimpse into what Doctor Who could have evolved into. I didn't watch it at the time, as watching it on dial-up was really painful. So this it the first time I'd seen it. My reaction? Mixed. It's a good story and I'd love to see it remade for the TV series. I think my biggest problem was Richard E. Grant as the Doctor. He just didn't gel for me, but he does get better towards the end. But I think recent history has shown he makes a better villain.

The disc also contains a documentary on the making of the story (and frankly it's a miracle it ever got made as all) and another one of the history of the BBC's website. Both are fascinating in their own way. But the first one contains a cautionary tale of Richard E. Grant objecting to a journalist being present during recording and the producer locking said journalist in a cupboard. Not a good idea at the best of time, but when the journalist in question is from Doctor Who Magazine... let's just say the resulting article was not very flattering! (especially when it's the one publication you don't want to get offside!).

Terror of the Zygons

    "You can't rule the world in hiding. You've got to come out on to the balcony sometimes and wave a tentacle."

They saved (one of) the best till last. Terror of the Zygons is classic Doctor Who at it's best. My bias towards Tom Baker aside, it's a great script, great direction (what else would you expect from Douglas Camfield?), a great cast and a memorable monster. What more could you want?

Standout on the extra features is the documentary about Doctor Who's greatest director Douglas Camfield. The stories Douglas directed have always been amongst the series best and it was fascinating to hear about his life especially from his son Jogs who speaks very warmly about his father.

And, special editions notwithstanding, that's it. The last of the regular DVD realises from the classic series. Until the next missing story it found at least!

Salt of the Earth

At last! A Time Trips story I actually enjoyed. Which is surprising considering it's a Pertwee story. But it was engaging and enjoyable.

The Green Death

           "You disappoint me, Doctor. I should have thought you'd have guessed. I am the BOSS. I'm all around you. Exactly. I am the computer."

Right, all together now... the one with the maggots!

In some way The Green Death is the beginning of the end of the Pertwee era. It's a good story with some good performances (notably the recently departed Jerome Willis) but it's Katy Manning's last story. And Jo gets one of the most emotional leaving scenes for any companion.

I dare anyone to watch that final shot and not feel a lump in the throat.

The other thing I enjoyed about this realise was the inclusion of Death of the Doctor from The Sarah Jane Adventures. Now this is the first time I'd seen a SJA episode and I really enjoyed it. It was wonderful to see Katy again as a much older but still the same Jo Grant. Watching her, Liz and Matt bounce off each other was wonderful. And the final lines where Sarah Jane says she sometimes sees what the Doctor's other companions do once they've returned to Earth was beautiful.

And in what (I think is) the final instalment of The Doctor Forever we hear the story of how Doctor Who came back in 2005 from the woman who made it happen; then Controller of Drama Jane Tranter. If it hadn't been for this woman and her belief in the series there's no way we'd be where we are today.

The Ice Warriors

Here's something you might not know; the name of the floor manager on this story was Snowy White! Rather appropriate for a story set in the ice!

First observation is the animation for the missing episodes two and three is the best I've seen yet. And this is probably the loudest Doctor Who story thanks to Peter Barkworth's constant shouting.

But the best thing is the impressive design for the Ice Warrior's costume, aided by Bernard Bresslaw's performance as the leader Varga. No wonder they became one of the memorable monsters of this era.

The Moonbase

           "There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything we believe in. They must be fought."

With the exception of the above quote I regret I can find little to like about The Moonbase. There are some other good lines, the film sequences set on the moon are well directed, the redesign of the Cybermen, the first story where Troughton settles down the becomes the Doctor we love. But other than that it's a mess. The real low point has to be when a tea tray is used to plug a hole in the base's structure. And this was a story written by a qualified scientist?

The animation used to recreate the missing first and third episodes is a bit hit and miss too, but at least the story is now complete in some form, even is it isn't that great.

The Tenth Planet

"What did you say, my boy? It's all over? That's what you said... but it isn't at all. It's far from being all over..."

The interesting thing on this DVD release is not The Tenth Planet itself. It's the three minutes of footage from an interview with William Hartnell for a BBC regional news programme; the only filmed interview with Hartnell known to exist. It's a fascinating portrait.

But what of The Tenth Planet itself? It's one of the most historical stories from this era being the first appearance of the Cybermen and the first regeneration. It starts out strongly enough but then goes all wonky due to Hartnell coming down ill prior to the recording of episode 3. But I still wish episode 4 could be rediscovered just so this story can finally be complete. Until then we have the animated version of that episode to complete the story. And compared to what footage does exist it's a pretty good reconstruction.

It doesn't see the First Doctor bow out in a blaze of glory or is the strongest story of the era. But it's still worth a look for historical value.

Keeping Up with the Joneses

This one started promisingly. But by the end it was a muddled mess.

Into the Nowhere

Sorry but I didn't enjoy this. I think it's another example of someone who may be a good writer in other genres, but that doesn't make them a Doctor Who writer.

The 50th Anniversary Collection

Bugger! They didn't include the music from City of Death in this collection. That stuffed up my plans to recreate the classic series medley in iTunes.

Aside from that oversight, this is a good collection of the many composers and style that have featured in Doctor Who's long history with some surprises (Paddy Kingsland's score for Mawdryn Undead win the award for the most bonkers score in the shows history). Plus I now have every variation of the theme music in existence.

Adventures with the Wife in Space

Neil loves Sue and Sue loves Neil. But there's a problem; Neil loves Doctor Who too. I'm sure this is a common problem with a lot of marriages (it's certainly been one with mine!), but what happens when Neil attempts to bring his two loves together? First it was a blog, now it's a book.

Adventures with the Wife in Space was a delight to read, especially getting the observations of someone who is definitely not a fan (and along the way you get to find out how Neil offended Colin Baker and Sue John Levine!). I've been trying to get my better half to read it, but so far she's not taken the opportunity.

And now Neil and Sue are on their next quest. To watch in order all of Blakes 7!

Robert Holmes: A Life in Words

Robert Holmes is a writer who looms large in Doctor Who history. He's the writer who created the Autons and the Sontarans, named Gallifrey, created Time Lord culture as we know it and legislated the 12 regenerations rule. He wrote the first stories to feature Sarah Jane Smith, The Master and Jo Grant. He's the writer the likes of Russell T. Davies, Steven Moffat and Gareth Roberts aspire to be. He was script editor for series 12 to 15, agreeably the shows Golden Era. In terms of stories written for the series he's the one with the biggest hit parade: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, The Time Warrior, The Ark in Space, Pyramids of Mars, The Deadly Assassin, The Talons of Weng-Chiang, The Sunmakers and The Caves of Androzani. He was the writer who was good enough for highbrow drama like The Wednesday Play, but instead chose to writer for genre TV like Doctor Who, a fact fan should, and are, thankful for.

If you're hoping that this is going to be another JN-T style biography,you're in for a disappointment. It mainly focus' on Holmes' TV career with very little information about his personal life (but for a guy who was an ex-policeman, he didn't write a lot of police shows). It also contains some of Holmes' original story lines for Spearhead from Space and The Time Warrior amongst other projects. It's also clear that a lot of his colleagues held him in high esteem.

I didn't come away from this thinking I knew Robert Holmes better as a person. But I came away with an even greater respect for him as a writer.

Eleven Doctors, Eleven Stories

Maybe it would have been better is I'd read these as they were individually published rather than waiting for them to be published in one volume because reading them all one hit just emphasises what a mixed bag they are. The best of the bunch was Philip Reeve's Fourth Doctor story which felt like it would fit easily into the tail end of Season 15 and Neil Gaiman's Eleventh Doctor story which felt like an episode from Matt's first series. The worst was Eoin Colfer's First Doctor story which felt just totally wrong. Marjorie Blackman's Seventh Doctor story was interesting, posing the question of what would the universe be like if the Daleks were a force for good. And Marcus Sedgwick's Third Doctor story is worth a look too.

The Vault

I was very exited when it was announced that this book was going to be published and it do not disappoint. Lavishly illustrated and full of surprises. Doctor Who is, possibly along with Star Trek, one of the few TV series who's production history is extensively documented. But just when I think I know everything, I find out something that surprises me. Early in the narrative Marcus Hearn casually mentioned that David Whittaker (Doctor Who's first script editor) and Terry Nation (the writer who created the Daleks) once had an argument so heated it ended in a fistfight! I never knew that! Sadly he doesn't document what the fight was over though but maybe one day we'll find out (and it's such an un-BBC way of resolving artistic differences!).

Equal with Richard Marson's biography of John Nathan-Turner of being the best book published in the anniversary year.