Do you ever look in the mirror and think, I’ve seen that face before?

Where do you start with “Deep Breath“? That’s the question isn’t it? The début of Mr Peter Capaldi as the famous Time Lord finally hit our screens on Saturday. Of course, for many out there the episode was already available thanks to Marcelo Camargo and his lackadaisical approach to keeping his copies of the episodes safe.

With a new Doctor comes a mix of emotions, ranging from excitement to  trepidation and sometimes even denial (fangirls and David Tennant/Matt Smith anyone?)
The main thing that always swirls around my head however is just happiness that the show is back. Aside from the 9 years between the Eighth Doctor and the Ninth Doctor, eight months is the longest we’ve had to endure a Doctor Who free television while waiting for the new Doctor to hit our screens since the show returned (unless of course your head canon counts Rowan Atkinson as the real Ninth Doctor).

When the episode started I’m sure that many people around the globe inhaled for the titular “Deep Breath”. With Capaldi’s first appearance in the episode I’m sure many people, as I did, exhaled with joy upon realising that The Doctor was here.

Without spoiling the episode for those who haven’t yet seen it (Why the hell have you not?) there are a few things I want to commend.

First of all there’s the seriousness that instantly comes from Capaldi. Even when he’s inserting the humourous tones he still exudes a serious vibe, of course that was expected.

Secondly there is the dynamic between Clara and The Doctor. Whilst I had no doubt about how well they would work together, there were doubts thrown about by others. Especially after the fantastic chemistry that Jenna and Matt had previously. For me, the restaurant scene with Capaldi and Jenna was the perfect example of how well these two will work together this season. I did feel a very strong “Four and Sarah Jane” vibe from them at certain points throughout the episode.

Thirdly, the man on the phone. It’s such an obvious thing to do to bridge the two regenerations but why it has never been done before now is the question. While it does sort of spoon feed the audience that “this is the same man” it was a wonderfully written scene.

Another side note is that it was great to see the husband of the late great Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) on screen in Doctor Who once more. For those of who missed it, Brain Miller portrayed the tramp that the Twelfth Doctor had a rather wonderful interaction with.

There is one thing that I’m not too sure on however and that’s the new title sequence and theme song. It’s too early to tell whether or not it’ll grow on me because I’ve always been the same with new arrangements of the theme. This version of the theme reminded me of the McCoy era, I wasn’t too keen on that version either so perhaps that’s why I don’t like this one.

The main thing is that Doctor Who has returned. After 241 days of waiting we have the new Doctor firmly on our screens. Roll on next week with the Daleks.

Ghosts of days gone by…..

Sometimes I do things without any reason and those things baffle me. For example, recently I’ve been listening to a lot of Alter Bridge, a band who, for all intents and purposes, I detested 5 years ago. Recently however I’ve been appreciating their music, now that I think about it, I’ve been changing my tastes in a lot of things recently. I suppose that part of getting older is changing your tastes and preferences. 15 years ago I was making my ears bleed and listening to the likes of Slipknot and Mudvayne, 10 years ago I had moved on to Drowning Pool and Saliva, 5 years ago I was all over Joshua Radin and City and Colour like a rash and today my playlist is about as long as an Adrien Brody Oscar speech.

The mere fact that I just used the Adrien Brody Oscar speech as a comparison to the length of something cements just how fast I’m ageing.

Recently my mortality has been playing on my mind quite a bit.  I don’t mean that in a macabre way but more in a “time has flown so quickly” way. I’m not even sure why but I’ve been sitting watching an old film or a wrestling event on the WWE Network and thinking “I was 12 when this was on” or “I was only 10 when I first saw this” then realising that such a long time has passed and yet it still all seems so fresh in my mind. Then I think that if I fast forward the same amount of time that has passed, I’ll be into my 40’s. I don’t really look forward to my 40’s and especially if it’s going to come as quickly as my late 20’s came.

Life passes far too quickly, I know that everyone says that at some point but until recently I’ve never really paid much attention to it. My daughter turned 5 a couple of weeks ago, I’m just astounded that so much time has passed. I remember sitting in the labour suite in shock and frozen to my seat overcome with emotion, it doesn’t seem like 5 years ago, it feels like 5 days ago.

I remember when I was younger, I always dreamt of the future. I always pondered over what it would be like and I couldn’t wait to get there. Now all those years that I dreamt of have passed. My 16th birthday, passed. My 18th birthday, passed. My 21st birthday, passed. My first holiday without parents, passed. My first relationship, passed (and many more have passed too). Now I don’t look to the future, I have a tendency to look to the past. I know that it’s a bad trait, I really shouldn’t. You can’t move forward if you’re stuck in the past but I think that you get to a certain age and you realise that in a couple of years you will be of the age where you start to guide the next generation. Just now I sit on the cusp of that stage of life. I’m out of the teenage years, I’m out of the early twenties madness and I’m not yet in the “must be sensible” thirties.

I suppose, and I hope I’m not the only person who feels like this, that when you get to this point in life you once again resort to the “Peter Pan” phase. Not wanting to get any older. It’s inevitable but part of you doesn’t want to keep on that ever quickening road to Mid-life.

Perhaps this is why I’ve been listening to a lot of Alter Bridge, as much as I hated them 5 years ago, they remind me of a time when I was slightly younger. I’ve also been listening to Lange quite often (yes I have very eclectic taste) and that takes me back to the summer of “Kevin and Perry Go Large”

Whatever the reason, all I know is that I’m not getting any younger and I also know that there was no real point to this blog entry. There is no special meaning or profound epiphany at the end of it. I’m not even going to go back over it to check for errors because the chances are that I’ll end up deleting the entire thing. I do have a habit of writing blogs and sitting for 30/45 minutes on them and then just deleting them. Maybe that’s why life feels like it’s passing so quickly? I spend so long wasting time and leaving empty handed…………….I change my mind, there was a profound epiphany….

One Less Gruff Billy Goat

The idea of fairy tales is one full of intrigue and mystique, almost all of us will have read a fairy tale at some point in our lives and without question every one of us knows of a fairy tale character. With the smallest amount of legerdemain the entire premise of a story can change, heroes can be either unlikely children or charming princes, villains can be witches or trolls. The possibilities within fairy tales are endless and the message is always one of hope.

The very first fairy tale that I can remember from my childhood was ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’. The premise is that three goats, discovering that where they live no longer has any grass for them to eat, set out to find new pastures so that they can become fat. However, their journey must take them across the river, where dwells a troll under a bridge. The first goat passes over the bridge but gets stopped by the troll who threatens to “gobble him up” (gobble him up is one of those lines that makes me laugh for no apparent reason) however the goat persuades the troll to wait for the second goat because he’s bigger and more of a meal so the troll lets him pass. The second goat comes along and the same thing happens as before and so then the third goat enters. I’ll stop it there, because I think that most people know how ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ ends, if you don’t then go and Google it.

Of course all fairy tales end with the standard “happily ever after” although recently I read “Arabian Nights” which is a collection of Asian fairy tales and they end with “they all lived happily until there came to them the One Who Destroys All Happiness” which I found odd yet poetic. ‘The One Who Destroys All Happiness’ meaning Death, the Grim Reaper as he’s also known. I was slightly taken aback at first, here were some fairy tales full of hope and suddenly they were cementing the fact that nobody lives “happily ever after” because death catches up to everyone.

The very first fairy tales are attributed to Aesop who lived in Ancient Greece around 620–564 BCE (slightly before our time I imagine). The power of fairy tales is so strong and so resilient that over two thousand years later some of Aesop’s’ tales are still being told to this day. I’m sure you will have heard of at least one of them, the main one that I can think of right now is ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’. That story became so popular that two hundred years after it was written it became one of Zeno’s paradoxes (Google them, extremely interesting and thought provoking, the Arrow paradox is my personal favourite)

The Brothers Grimm famously wrote some of the most celebrated fairy tales in our history. Two German brothers, who were academics and even lexicographers, crafted some of the worlds greatest imaginary and magical characters. Although The Brothers Grimm did centralise their fairy tales on more darker hues they still resonated through the years with so many different people, even psychologist who felt the need to analyse them.

The fairy tale is an escape from reality, like most forms of entertainment. I do believe however that fairy tales give more power to the reader and open the imagination slightly more than any other form of literature and I’m saying that as an avid science-fiction fanatic. Whether it’s something written by Alexander Afanasyev or Hans Christian Andersen, fairy tales have the power to take you to a place where good almost always wins. The fairy tale is a door to the unknown world of endless possibilities where life feels good, Walt Disney realised that and that’s why he cashed in on so many popular fairy tales.

Nowadays people don’t write fairy tales, it’s somewhat a thing of the past which saddens me. My Dad used to make up fairy tales for me each night and they always made me so happy. They were tales of a young boy called Billy who lived in a house with a green roof. Billy went swimming with sharks and had magic powers, he loved ice cream and was my hero. My Dad doesn’t remember how any of those stories went and I was too young to retain the proper memories of them which is a crying shame because I would love to remember them in full.

The power of fairy tales will live on because they should live on. Albert Einstein once famously said “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” Can anyone really disprove that? Fairy tales are more than just true and not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. Every fairy tale has meaning and every single one is based on the same idea, the idea that peace and happiness can exist no matter what stands in your way.

“In a utilitarian age, of all other times, it is a matter of grave importance that fairy tales should be respected.” – Charles Dickens

The pondering coffee cup…

As I dropped the ground coffee beans from the silver spoon into the bottom of my “With all due respect, fuck off” mug this morning I stared out in to the ocean of passing children making their way to school. I saw a plethora of things walking past but the main thing I noticed were the smiles.

Was I ever that happy to go to school? Especially on a Monday morning?

It then occurred to me that those were just childrens natural smiles. A child hasn’t yet been corrupted by the wickedness and ungodly nature of the world. While they may be unhappy to go to school, they’re not unhappy with life.

That coffee was to try and awaken me from both a mental and physical slumber. For it was one of those mornings where I just couldn’t shake off  the fatigue, even after a lengthy sleep. I then discovered that I was not alone in this, so I refer you to my post from a few weeks ago where I described a Science Fiction plot which lulled the country into a fatigued state before aliens invaded. It is the imagination of one who is currently writing a novel that devised this theory. In my normal “reality” I simply put it down to either the moon cycle or the late night for the Superbowl.

I often wonder what my normal reality is. Is it the world that I’m currently living in, with my flat and my newly shaven head or is it the world that I create with magical trees and passages created by temporal physics? The truth is, I know that it’s the shaven head reality but that doesn’t prevent me from wishing that occasionally I could cross through the void and into the fictional reality that started in my head. If, like so many others, you subscribe to the “many worlds theory” then you may agree that my fictional reality does in fact exist in another dimension.

Of course I realise that everything I have just written makes me seem a little bit  unhinged. I however would argue that point, owing to the fact that I am perfectly aware of what exists and what doesn’t exist.

I know that at this moment and for most of this year, there exists a battle of wits for Scottish independence. In this battle, for many months, I refused to take a side. However as I posted previously I have now woken up and smelled the coffee in my “With all due respect, fuck off” mug. I will be voting ‘Yes’ and I will be doing so for a number of reasons.

If we become independent then we would officially be one of the world’s richest countries – ranked 6th in the OECD compared to the UK’s 16th place. There are  twenty four billion barrels of oil remaining in the North Sea, according to industry body Oil and Gas UK. That’s roughly around £1.5trillion in today’s prices – half as much in value as has been taken out.

The truth is that an independent Scotland would prosper. We would become a self sufficient nation. The above reason is but one of many reasons why we should be independent.

For me, this has nothing to do with the Scotland/England divide. Anyone who looks at this as a battle of the nations, should have their right to vote revoked. This is about the future of our country and not about past relationships.

As I stood there this morning staring at the waves of children making their way to school, I wondered what they’re being taught about the referendum. I realise that they are too young to vote but this concerns their future just as much, if not more, than ourselves.

On 6 May 1999 there was an election to decide on a Scottish Parliament. When I was at school, we were taught nothing about that. It was mentioned very briefly but we were never really taught about what it meant. I just hope that with something as huge as the referendum, the schools are educating their pupils accordingly.

On another, semi related note. While I was doing my research, I discovered that there are approximately 1036800 cans of Irn-Bru sold per day. I find that extremely impressive. Irn-Bru is a wonderful drink and even though I have refrained from drinking any carbonated juices for the last 7 weeks, it still holds a place in my heart.

Before I take my leave for today, I urge any of you who haven’t yet watched it to sit down and watch The Musketeers on BBC One. It is so refreshing to see a portrayal of The Three Musketeers which isn’t overly camp and high on comedy. The original novel by Dumas was never written that way and so I’ve never understood why that’s how it was portrayed in film. However BBC have nailed it in my opinion. While it may not be Doctor Who, it is most definitely worth a watch.

Time to starve it out….

I have made the concious decision to give up nicotine. After so many years and so many failed attempts to quit I have decided that it’s now or never. If that part of my mind that calls itself “will power” decides to fail me on this then I won’t try and give up again.

Giving up comes down to two reasons, the first being health. I’m not what you would call the fittest person alive nor am I the least fittest but I have every desire to become healthier.

The second reason is money, I sat earlier today and tallied up how much I spend in a year on tobacco products including lighters etc. and it nearly made my heart escape through my anal passage. I could be spending that money on much better things and things that are actually needed.

As I embark on this journey I realise that the next two weeks will be the toughest, I’ve never made it past the two week stage and so that’s my first goal. If I can make it to there then I will feel more confident about staying nicotine free.

I looked at my options to help me quit and I decided on cold turkey. Why? I believe that if I still have any nicotine going into my system then I’ll just want more, it’s my mentality. If I go cold turkey and completely starve myself of it then I’m less likely to want it after a few days. I know that doesn’t work for everyone but it’s how my mind works with everything else so I’m hoping it’s the same for this.

I have no doubt that over the coming two weeks I shall be a jack in the box of moods and agitation and so there will most likely be some extreme posts on here. Writing for me is a way to release some tension and I have a bad feeling that my nicotineless body will have a lot of tension over the next few days. I may be that agitated that even Doctor Who won’t settle me down.

I’ve been training recently for this feat. Little over a month ago I gave up my second addiction – Irn Bru. Ever since I can remember I have been addicted to the orange goodness that is Irn Bru. I could drink anywhere up to two bottles per day every day. I’m now 32 days clean.

Who knows whether I’ll succeed or not, I’m determined that I will and I have a good feeling this time. Only time will tell…..

Grab a damn dictionary.

So we have now reached 2014 and 2013 is now over. I have to say that I’m rather indifferent to the whole “year change”

At the end of every year I witness people proclaiming that “next year will be better” and “next year will be different” and while that may be true for many, I don’t buy into it. The only thing I look forward to each year is new Doctor Who, Falling Skies and Comics.

This year I did make one resolution, a first for me in a good number of years. I gave up making resolutions years ago because I always break them within a matter of days. I used to make all the usual ones i.e “I’ll stop smoking” or “I’ll go to the gym more” and that kind of nonsense. This year I decided it was time to make a resolution again, more so for the people around me. I have a reputation of being slightly grumpy at times, and I’m not afraid to tell people when they annoy me. So this year I thought I would make the resolution to refrain from being as grumpy and more so I would refrain from telling people just how much they irritate me.

I am proud to say that two days in to the year 2014 my resolution attempt has so far lasted……..not very long at all. In fact, it lasted all of thirty minutes from the time I woke up yesterday morning.

Why?

Illiteracy, that’s why. Now don’t get me wrong I in no way proclaim to be the most grammatically correct or literate person in the world. There have been a few aberrations on my behalf over the years when I have written something.

What I do proclaim is that I have a basic grasp of the English language. Something which I was under the illusion that most people had a grasp on.

I’m pretty certain that most of you will have come across some of the illiterate people in your lifetime. It seems that now, with the rise of social media and texting, they are increasing in numbers.

At some point in your casual exploration I have little doubt that you will come across the people who do not understand the difference between the word “of” and the word “have” this in particular is a pet hate.

For example what should be a simple sentence such as:
“We should have taken the motorway”

suddenly becomes:
“We should of taken the motorway”

Now, can anyone explain to me exactly how that second sentence makes sense?

There are numerous other examples. Recently I have noticed a substantial rise in the amount of people who seem unable to spell the words “sense” or “angel” instead these words become “sence” and “angle”

Now I don’t know about you, but if I had an angle atop my Christmas tree, I don’t think it would have the same feel to it as an angel.

To sum up what I’m getting at……..I suck at New Years resolutions.

It only took 17 years……

First off I would like to say that if you haven’t yet watched “The Night Of The Doctor” then it is not advisable to read any further.

In 1996 when the end credits rolled on “Doctor Who – The Movie” I was thoroughly looking forward to some more “McGannigans” (it’s what I like to call the Eighth Doctors shenanigans) and at the time I was blissfully unaware that Fox hadn’t picked up on the show and so we wouldn’t get any further episodes featuring McGann. When I found out, I was suitably sad. I thought that Pauls talent was phenomenal and even with a weak script and some massive continuity shakers, he still managed to produce an excellent portrayal of the Doctor.

Fast forward a few years to 2003 and the news broke “Doctor Who to Return”. I along with so many life long fans broke into tears of joy, our favourite show was returning. The question now was “will McGann come back?”

I think we all know the answer to that. At the time it was such a blow to those of us who wanted to see more of the Eighth Doctor on our screens. Sure , at that point we already had a couple of Big Finish audios but no actual screen time. In retrospective I think it was the right move. RTD had to bring in a name that would get some recognition from non-fans at the time and Eccleston was the perfect choice.

I think we all thought at that point that we wouldn’t get to see the Eighth Doctor on screen in a new adventure again. Fast forward 8 years and that feeling remained and if anything it had grown stronger, with the constant denials from Paul himself, we all thought that our only adventures with number Eight would be through Big Finish.

How wrong were we? Today we got the Night of the Doctor starring none other than Paul McGann. I literally jumped through the air and couldn’t stop smiling. The Eight Doctor was back and above all, we got some closure. We finally got our regeneration scene.

In a way I’m still to excited to be typing this and it probably won’t make a lot of sense. The Sisterhood of Karn was enough to excite me when I saw the photo yesterday (not seen since the 70’s and Brain of Morbius) but having McGann back was just too great for words.

The 50th Anniversary celebrations have officially kicked off!

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So many episodes.

This year I set myself the challenge of watching every available episode of Doctor Who including the reconstructions of missing episodes. I first had the idea back in February and decided that I wanted to be finished by November 23rd, in time for the 50th Anniversary episode. A total of 701 episodes resulting in many many hours in front of the television with some Irn-Bru and the occasional baked potato.

My first experience of Doctor Who was when I was a tiny little boy no more than 4 or 5, I was visiting my Nana and Papa and I think if I remember correctly it was my Papas idea to watch it. As clear as day I still remember that VHS case coming out and within a couple of minutes the titles for Sylvester McCoys “Curse of Fenric” flying across the screen. Men in a raft opened the show, the mist rolling across the water as they made their way into a cave at the side of the ocean, what was this I was watching? Moments later, she appeared, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in the form of Sophie Aldred. 5 years old and I knew I wanted her as my girlfriend. From that moment on I was hooked. I watched as much as I could when I could, from VHS recordings straight from the television that my Papa had in abundance and shop bought VHS’s from John Menzies (who remembers that shop?)

Sylvester McCoy was my introduction to the series and when I discovered Patrick Troughton my little fanboy heart fell in love. I’ve not stopped watching since that first VHS. Then for the first time in 1996 I got to watch a brand new Doctor Who with the rest of the world. Paul McGann was bringing the Doctor back and I was elated. I remember sitting in front of the television, legs crossed, eyes fixated as my hand dipped in and out of a giant bag of crisps. Doctor Who was back and who knew maybe it would stay? I hoped it would, like so many others I loved this show. Alas it didn’t come back and once again it disappeared into the void. I think that it was around this time that I started reading some of the novels, personally I don’t think I would have been given them had it been known what was contained in some of the writing. Some of the graphic nature contained in those novels definitely wasn’t suitable for anyone under the age of 18 but I didn’t care it was a Doctor Who fix for me, the Doctor was still going on adventures and I still knew about them.

In 2005 when the show came back I was like a giddy schoolgirl. I waited and waited, when the episode “Rose” leaked online a couple of weeks before hand I resisted, I wanted to enjoy it with everyone else as much as I was tempted I managed to refrain. By the time the end credits rolled on the 26th of March 2005 I was over the moon. Christopher Eccleston was ‘fantastic’ and even Billie Piper had won me over. The new TARDIS interior? Wow I was impressed, even the Autons were back. I had just witnessed the most triumphant return I had ever seen.

This year, 701 episodes, a good few Big Finish audios and a couple of novels and I think it’s safe to say I’ve had my fair share of Doctor Who in 2013 and I can’t get enough. I just finished watching “Inferno” which now leaves me one more serial to watch and I’ve watched every episode in the space of ten months. I decided I would watch the Curse of Fenric last, after all it was my first and I’m a romantic at heart.

In 15 days I along with the rest of the world will sit in front of a screen and watch the Day of the Doctor, the 50th Anniversary episode and I am so looking forward to it. On top of that the BBC is throwing a ton of shows at us in the next two weeks to celebrate and I’m just happy that I can continue my Doctor Who fix.

Doctor Who – Top Ten Episodes

Choosing your top ten Doctor Who stories is a pretty tough job, with 239 television stories to choose from it gets rather difficult. Choosing number 10 is always easy, it’s always that episode that you know should be in your top ten but you don’t love it that much and choosing your number 1 is easy because that’s just your all time favourite story. Choosing numbers 9  through 2 is quite another story. The other problem you face is that there’s ten to choose and currently 11 Doctors which ultimately means you’re going to leave at least one Doctor out (unless you choose a multi-Doctor story, but lets be honest are any of them top ten worthy?) It’s a difficult task and one which should not be taken lightly, after all a top ten list on the internet is set in stone. Once I choose this top ten, it will be a reference point for anyone wanting to quiz me on my favourite Doctor Who episodes.

I did debate with myself whether or not to choose any Big Finish stories in this list and decided that I should probably leave that for another list so as not to confuse people who’ve never heard a BF story, the same goes for novels. So without further ado, here is my top ten Doctor Who Stories.

 

TEN – The Doctors Wife

I really really wish I could put this higher up my list, it has Neil Gaiman writing it and he is by far my favourite author. Not to mention we get a new enemy and someone who, for a while, you truly believed could put an end to the TARDIS. Matt Smith utters one of his best lines as the Doctor when House tells him that he’s “killed hundreds of Time Lords”  Matts line? “Fear me, I’ve killed them all” it doesn’t matter how many times I watch it, that line still gives me a chill. All in all a very deserving number ten.

 

NINE – The Time Warrior

The introduction of Sarah Jane Smith to the TARDIS. I could really just leave it like that couldn’t I? Truth is that there’s so much more to this story than just the debut of Sarah Jane, there’s also the introduction of the Sontarans in one of the best reveals of the classic series.  The end of part one sees Linx take of his helmet and turn to the camera revealing a hideous alien who was just terrifying. I remember watching that on VHS when I was younger and being terrified and to this day it still hold that little bit of terror for me. Jon Pertwee at his best.

 

EIGHT – An Unearthly Child/100,000 B.C

Where it all began. 1963 introduced the greatest television show in history to the world and it all started here. Totters Lane, a policeman, a grumpy old man, a teenage girl and two teachers. I rarely see this in a top ten list and I can understand why, it’s in black and white and the production values are extremely low but I love it. I can definitely count it amongst my most watched Doctor Who episodes ever. Back then we had a completely different show, there were no Time Lords, no Gallifrey no mythology. Everything was just brand new and exciting, nobody had any idea that 50 years later we would still be watching this show and that it would have such an incredible history to it. The plot for this serial is genius, I love it. It’s always a tie between this and The Aztecs when I want to watch some good old Hartnell.

 

SEVEN – The Ultimate Foe

A controversial one I know, how many people would put a story from Trial of a Time Lord on their top ten? Well I just did! Why? It’s easy, overall TOAT was poorly written and wasn’t strong at all no matter how you look at it. Aside from this being Robert Holmes final script which sadly he passed away half way through writing, I really think that this gave Colin Baker a fairly decent final story, although nobody knew at the time that it would be his last. When people think of Colin Baker it’s fair to say he gets a lot of flack but ultimately it was more the writing of his stories that made his run so miserable. In my opinion  this was as good as it got with the Sixth Doctor. Let the abuse begin for where I’ve ranked it but for me it nailed it. The revelation of who the Valeyard is, the return of the Master, the creepiness of being inside the Matrix, some of the paradoxical stuff we were thrown. It has all the makings of a classic and for me it just is.

 

SIX – The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances

Moffat haters calm down. I think we can all agree that this was the pinnacle of Christopher Eccleston’s series. It took us to the second world war, introduced Captain Jack, had some truly terrifying moments with those damn gas masks and “Are you my mummy” still creeps me the hell out.  This is an story about the consequences of peoples choices and I thought it was perfectly written and the acting just nailed it for me. This was when Christopher Eccleston became the Doctor in my eyes.

 

FIVE – Human Nature/Family of Blood

“Here Russell, what do you want me to do with my episodes?” – “Erm, how about you turn the Doctor human?” – “Won’t that piss of the fans?” – “Do it so he’s only a pretend human”
That’s sort of how I imagine the conversation going between Russell T. Davies and Paul Cornell when planning Series 3. Of course Paul Cornell had written the 1995 novel “Human Nature” which the story was adapted from so I know the conversation didn’t go like that, but it’s nice to imagine. Weird that for me, I think that David Tennants best story as the Doctor is the story where he’s not actually playing the Doctor. I could have put Blink in here and truthfully I love Blink but it’s just not one of my top ten. Human Nature and Family of Blood just nail it for the tenth Doctor, scary ass Scarecrows, the girl and the balloon is something from the nightmare of a child and Baines is one creepy little man. A great resolution as well and one that sort of sticks a tiny lump in the back of your throat.

 

FOUR – The Caves of Androzani

A man in a gimp suit and Peter Davisons swan song. It’s both heart wrenching and slight funny at the same time. Sharaz Jek just cracks me up every time I see him but when you delve into the story he’s a very complex character. When I first saw him I thought this was going to be it, this is going to be the man that kills the Fifth, he’ll do something truly evil and kill him…………..if you haven’t seen it yet I won’t spoil it. There is a great scene ( I think anyway) with Peri and Jek. It’s often rated as one of the top Doctor Who stories and who would disagree with that? It’s just a shame that Peter Davison’s run wasn’t more like this because then it would truly have been brilliant.

 

THREE – The Enemy of the World

Oh how I leaped for joy last month, when the BBC announced that they had found and were about to release The Enemy of the World. My excitement level went through the roof, my heart started racing and my palms were sweating. I had heard the audio tracks and saw the one episode that was remaining but I had been waiting years for this. It immediately goes in at number three because it’s Patrick Troughton at his best. A dual role and a fantastic performance as both Salamander and The Doctor. Patrick Troughton is my Doctor and finally getting to see this work of art was like all my Christmases coming at once.

 

TWO – The Deadly Assassin

You give me anything that adds to Time Lord mythology and I’ll just lap it up. If you’re looking for a story that really bulks up on that mythology then you can’t do any better than The Deadly Assassin. The Master, The Matrix, a dead President, regeneration limit and more. This episode truly added to the essence of Doctor Who. It’s Goth feel was fairly typical of the stories we were getting back in the days of good old Tom Baker and it was just fantastic.

ONE – City of Death

My all time favourite Doctor Who serial. It never moves from this top spot and many contenders have tried to knock it off. Romana II is my ultimate companion, if I could have any companion round for a Sunday roast it would be her. I just wish that I had gotten to see Romana II and Troughton together. Alas Romana did her travelling with Tom Baker and this story is just the best I’ve seen. Appearances from John Cleese and a tremendous cast ensemble. A perfectly written story with a good few twists and turn thrown in. Some great cliffhangers, some amazing one liners and the Jagaroth! The Jagaroth are amazing and I wish that somehow they would come back into the modern day series. Scaroth just blows me away and the ending is nicely suited. Duggan! Duggan is the single greatest character ever written for this show that wasn’t a companion, he loves to hit things and he’s just hilarious. City of Death is my number one and it deserves it without a shadow of a doubt.

 

So there it is, my top ten Doctor Who stories. Sadly Sylv and McGann didn’t make it into the top ten and it’s not because I didn’t want them there because I love them both. It’s just that McGann only had one on screen story and lets face it, it wasn’t great (his acting was spot on but the story itself wasn’t) and Sylv just didn’t have a story for me that sits in the top ten. Remembrance of the Daleks just sits outside at number 11. Not long now until Day of the Doctor and perhaps, just maybe it will take one of these top ten spots.

He is……

Sometimes I like to write short stories, sometimes they’re pointless and other times they just don’t make any sense. This one was one that I just sort of put together when trying to exercise my brain. It’s a short about Doctor Who. If you read my “About Me” page you’ll realise that DW holds a special place in my life.

“He never looked back, he never stopped and he never blinked. Time couldn’t catch up with him because he simply strolled through it. Of course he remembered but remembering and looking back were two different things. When the time came – just as it always does – he slowed down, just briefly, just for the shortest moment.

In every solar system, in every galaxy, in every corner possible, there was blood. Dark blood dripping from the hands of one man. If he stopped for just a minute, it would drip and drip and drip, eventually he would drown in the blood on his hands.

A warrior, a goblin, a trickster, a storm, all who he never intended to be but all who he inevitably became.

From the junkyard to the Valeyard, a Grandfather to a son in law. The longest of lives and the largest of hearts wrapped in the smallest of boxes that was bigger than thought.

The warrior, the teachers, the journalist, the shop assistant, the man in the kilt. They all came and they all left, each taking a part of him. Evolving and moving and running and dancing and crying and watching and fighting and saving and shouting and being alive, so alive.

This man was not a man, he was a hero. A hero to many and an enemy of more. The healer, the wise man, the old man, the young man, the new man, the new men! Always changing but staying the same.

The corner stone of the universe and the centre of hope. Joy and happiness and love and loss – so much loss. So much lost but so much saved. He has seen it, he has walked in the eternal light he has created stars and watched lights flicker out.

His story can’t come in a book, his story can’t be placed in chronologies, his story is for everyone to see. Every star, every planet, every solar system has been touched by him.

He is the one that always comes, the one that always runs, the one who can make time stand still and scares the monsters away.

He is the Doctor.”