Classic Rewatch: The Mind Robber

Let us tell you a story. Once, in a far-off land, many, many years apart from the time we live now, three dear friends went on an adventure. This was not your usual storybook adventure, where brave souls battled fearsome monsters, rescuing…oh, wait, it sort of is that sort of adventure. Well, it definitely didn’t have traps and snares, puzzles of wit designed to test our heroes’ intellect as well as physical…hmm. It has that, too. Okay, it certainly wasn’t a journey […]

Classic Rewatch: The Dominators

All we wanted was a nice, peaceful island vacation; but then this drilling team shows up and ruins everything. Honestly, though, perhaps we should have expected it. After all, when a world goes to great lengths to establish themselves as completely non-violent, isn’t that just begging for an overtly violent race to come and, well…dominate them? This week, Haley and Jay continue our classic rewatch series and discuss the Second Doctor story, “The Dominators.” From obnoxious robot voices, to explosions, to extensive outerwear that […]

Classic Rewatch: The Web of Fear

There’s so much to love about the Troughton era in total, but as a result of the travesty that is the bemoaned “lost episodes”, we have limits to the amount of televised footage that we can truly enjoy in its full form, as it aired. At this point in our trip through the (nearly) complete classic Doctor Who stories, the episodes we spin up are like little 22-minute gifts. And I (Keir, hullo!) may be speaking for myself here, but this […]

Classic Rewatch: Tomb of the Cybermen

There are Doctor Who stories that you keep on a short list of those to recommend to the uninitiated or under-exposed, in hopes of winning them over to the fandom. Often these stories have a solid amount of explanation for newcomers, a solid plot and conflict to hold interest, and a degree of plausibility that will keep skeptics and critics at bay. There are also those installments of DW that are one’s personal favourites, for a myriad of reasons, that may […]

Classic Rewatch: The Ice Warriors

So it seems that Scooby, Shaggy, and the gang have found a mysterious shape embedded deep within a block of glacial ice. Velma’s and Fred’s insatiable curiosities are piqued, and simply have to know what…or who…is trapped within. Nothing to fear, though, of course. Whatever is in there, if it ever was a living thing, has to be long dead by now. Right? The plot may begin with a rather recognizable trope by modern standards, but with the Second Doctor adventure, […]

Classic Rewatch: Enemy of the World

Actors playing dual roles in a single production is nothing new to film or television, but sometimes there are performances that are so exemplary, we almost forget that the two identities stem from a single actor. This week, Jay and Haley ponder why Keir’s doppelgänger would kidnap him to Vermont, leaving them to witness Patrick Troughton pulling double duty in the recently rediscovered “Enemy of the World”. We talk about Troughton’s portrayal of Ramon Salamander and the incredibly convoluted story that brings us betrayal, double […]

Classic Rewatch: The War Machines

Technology is an amazing thing. To think that over the span of little more than 60 years, we’ve gone from “supercomputers” the size of an office building, to one that can fit in your skinny jeans’ pocket, is really incredible when you stop to think about it. Decades ago, the only really powerful processing machines were in the hands of either universities, or the military, and the first thing they thought to do was to harness their collective power by […]

Classic Rewatch: The Gunfighters

We’ve been waiting for this for some time, and not for the reasons you might think. This third season classic story, the first set in the United States, and the first of only a few attempts at a “western” theme, has had its share of maligns and put-downs. Well frankly, we think those yella-bellied nay-sayin’ so-and-sos are just doin’ it wrong. Viewed in the right light, it’s a perfectly enjoyable (and at times, outright comedic) romp, and as we discuss, […]

Classic Rewatch: The Ark

What is a person to do when confronted with the end of your planet? Build a giant spaceship, miniaturize your entire species, enslave an alien race, and begin a journey across space that will take millennia, of course. This week, we dematerialize in time to enjoy the WIlliam Hartnell-era Doctor Who story, “The Ark.” With (Spaceman) Steven Taylor and new companion Dodo along, they certainly get the attention of the Earth vessel’s crew when Dodo’s cold becomes an epidemic. But after all, there’s […]