Remembrance of the Daleks - 17 November 2008

Jasmine Breaks, who spoke the immortal line, "You were born to serve the Daleks"

We went back but not too far this week. The Doctor #7 and Ace adventure takes us back to where it all started in 1963 - Coal Hill School and 76 Totter's Lane. The Doctor has left something there and is going back for it.

The Hand of Omega.

Jacob Klein and I were joined by David Register for a good time. The characterization of the Doctor by Sylvester McCoy is one of my favorites, as he is both silly and zany while at the same time being dark and mysterious. Ace meets a handsome guy, but looks can be deceiving. Both Jacob and David got to see an earlier version of Davros as well. And how can you go wrong with a cosmically charged aluminium baseball bat as a weapon?

Hooray for Jasmine Breaks, who not only uttered the line above, but also while playing hopscotch, said eerily, "5-6-7-8, it's the Doctor at the gate."

Dragonfire 10 November 2008

Dragonfire team: Ace, the Doctor, Sabalom Glitz and Mel

It was time to dip back into DW history a bit. Jacob was curious about other Doctors, and so we decided to have a look at Sylvester McCoy, Doctor #7. Of course, with Sylvester comes one of the most dynamic figures in that era, Sophie Aldred in the role of Ace.

Ace was a street kind from Thatcher-era UK who was doing an explosive experiment and was carried away by a time storm. She ended up in the other end of the universe in a place called Iceworld. Ace is there as a waitress (she was working in a fast food restaurant back on Earth) but longs to get away and see the universe.

Ace, Mel and the Doctor meet the sinister Kane, a super-cold being that can live only a low temperatures and is being held prisoner on Iceworld. Sabalom Glitz, a returning figure from the days of Doctor #6 is also there. There is a treasure, a dragon, a mystery and a secret plot. Of course. The planet also seems to be preoccupied by questions of metaphysical philosophy. What a strange combination of elements!

It was good. I love this episode, except for the occasional failed physical humor, but it all fits together well.

The Enemy Within 3 November 2008

Back home from South Amrica and I am ready fo Doctor Who Theater! This week we decided to change up the mood and watch a very important episode -- the one where Fox actually makes Doctor Who, where it occurs on American television, where Paul McGann becomes the Doctor, where it is the most videotaped program of the year, but it still fails to spark a new series contract. Paul McGann did a great job, but Fox wasn't buying. Instead they went with Sliders, a program that went nowhere.

It came at a great time for Doctor Who Theater back in the mid-1990s when it aired. People were very excited, and with the theme playing and the TARDIS whirling down the time vortex toward me in the opening, it was one of he happiest moments for me in that decade. It was warm weather, and when a clock chimed nine in the show the main church clock across the street from me chimed nine at the same moment -- really uncanny. I remember Cleopatra screaming and people gasping when it played.

Jacob and I took it a bit differently this time, but it was way fun nevertheless. It has some of the best lines from Doctor Who history as well as some of the worst ("Great, I finally find the right guy and he's from another planet"). We get our first real Doctor Who kiss, paving the way for future kisses that will not upset us quite as much. Paul McGann's Doctor became a mainstay in a huge number of books published after this program aired. In those books he grew and developed and became one of my true favorites.

This episode kept the DW love alive until it could burst back into existence in 2004. That is what is important about it. We celebrated that, for sure.

Sontaran Strategem - Poison Sky 27 October 2008

It was a nice group this evening. I think they were feeling a little sympathetic as it was the night before my birthday, but I was glad to have extra visitors to Doctor Who Theater this evening. We had David Register, Nicole Colston, Jacob Klein, Sam Natale, Alli Hamlin and Tom Dionesotes. They enjoyed and commented a lot, so that got us all in the spirit.

We watched the two-parter from the 2008 season, and it was good fun and good viewing. My AVI file broke down at the climax, but I found another copy, with them crying out to see what took place. I like that. They want to know the result even though it is obvious that the Doctor will win.

It was great to be home, and Doctor Who Theater at home is even better than Doctor Who Theater on the road in South America.

The Time Monster October 20 2008

I am here in Santiago, Chile and it is Monday night. But, I have brought Doctor Who Theater on the road. I brought one of my favorite classic episodes with John Pertwee as Doctor #3 and Roger Delgado as the Master. Roger is great in this episode.

While a bit long it is a really great story. I love it when the direction of the story changes completely in the middle when the action changes from England to ancient Atlantis. I think Atlantis is destroyed several times in several different ways in the Doctor Who universe.

I was by myself in the hotel room but I still talked back to the picture and made traditional comments, especially when the Master's TARDIS was clearly made of styrofoam or some other light material.

Doctor Who Theater cannot be stopped as it goes global.

Dalek 13 October 2008

Having finished watching the most recent season last week, we decided to pick something that neither Jacob nor his friend Andy had seen, and that took us back to the first series of the latest installments, complete with Rose and Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor.

It is a really good episode, and discloses things about the Doctor that do not really get resolved until the end of the last season -- like his violent urges and the way Rose tries to calm him down and stop him from using that big gun. It is true, he is a better Doctor today because of what Rose has taught him.

This night was a difficult one, because as many of you know I also love two other thin gs that begin with the letter D, those are debate and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers faced a tough national league championship game at the same time as Doctor Who Theater, but in a defining choice I went for the Doctor.

Next week I will be in Chile on Monday night and I will just watch something on my own in my hotel room, probably. Or with friends. Doctor Who is always better with friends.

Turn Left, Stolen Earth, Journey's End 6 October 2008

Davros is back, and watch out, he has a reality bomb!

We had worked our way through the library two-parter and had seen Midnight, so it really was time to see TURN LEFT, the awesome counterfactual what might have been story about if Donna and the Doctor had not met, if she had turned right instead of left one day while driving.

Jacob Klein, Nicole Colston and Sam Young had dropped in to see it. TURN LEFT had a big effect on them and after It was over they just sat there. The dvd player in my Mac Mini just went ahead after a few minutes and started to play STOLEN EARTH. I paused it and asked if people were really into it, and they said yes. So, forward we went.

The two-parter that ends the most recent season is one of the most amazing Doctor Who stories ever, and I remember how difficult it was to wait a week for the conclusion, not knowing which companion would die, whether the Doctor would regenerate and a whole lot more.

The Doctor takes a real hammering in this story, especially from Davros, who accuses him of turning his friends into weapons and being the greatest destroyer ever. Rose is back and that is great, and the whole crew gets together -- Torchwood posse, Sarah Jane's crew and everyone else except Rose's father. They all have a part to play.

What happens to Donna is sad, but at least I like it when the Doctor tell's Donna's mother that she should treat her with some respect.

I am now compiling Sarah Jane Adventures from this new season, so perhaps we will watch that next time. But, for sure, this was a real fun Doctor Who Theater and the end of an awesome season.