Review: Doctor Who - The Night of the Doctor (Minisode)

Unless you've been living in a cave on the planet Karn for the past day or so, you can't help but have been swept up in the hype over this very special minisode (hey, it's Matt Smith's term). If you haven't seen it yet, trust me, the hype is entirely justified as this is literally a seven minute chunk of Doctor Who history. If you don't trust me, see for yourself here:

A surprise appearance of a past Doctor! The Time War! A hitherto unseen regeneration! If these six minutes forty eight seconds contains all of that what in the name of Rassilon will the actual special contain? Well, that's a question for another day.

The best thing about this minisode is, of course, the fact that it stars Paul McGann, previously only seen onscreen for the 1996 TV Movie in which McGann gives a truly brilliant turn as a romantic, thoroughly hands-on (and lips-on, eh, know what I mean? Nudge nudge) version of the character who lives for the adventure. The Eighth Doctor is arguably the Doctor in his purest form, an alien with a love for humanity who can always be relied upon to save the day (no pun intended). So it is of course, fantastic to see him back but also incredibly sad to see perhaps the nicest, and most heroic incarnation of the Doctor forced to make the most difficult decision of his lives.

The switch around of the oh-so familiar set-up of Doctor Who - young brave woman swept off feet by the Doctor before being whisked off in the TARDIS - with Cass shunning the Doctor in disgust is simply heartbreaking, providing a fascinating insight into the effect the Time War had not just on the Doctor's race but the man himself. That he would refrain from partaking in the war for so long seems totally appropriate for his character, in particular, this incarnation. His ultimate decision to join the fight being due to the Sisterhood of Karn is also a nice touch, raising interesting questions and nodding back to fab Tom Baker story 'The Brain of Morbius'.

Another element of the episode worth a mention is the references to the Eighth Doctor's companions from the audio adventures produced by Big Finish, which finally creates a connection for at least one branch of Doctor Who spin-off media to the main series. My only gripe is that as Moffat had done that why couldn't he have had the Doctor mention, say, Fitz from the Eighth Doctor novels or Izzy from the glorious comics featuring this Doctor (she's still one of my favourite companions ever). It's a tiny nitpick but one small adjustment that would have truly brought all of Doctor Who together which would have added a little more icing on the cake. Although there is a hell of a lot of icing already. Maybe it would be one of those edible ball bearings on the cake instead. The Doctor does love ball bearings...

The scope and ambition of this short really shows that Steven Moffat is the perfect man to guide the show through its 50th year - he's the only writer with the sheer gall to liberally change massive parts of Doctor Who history. For one thing, does this affect the oft-argued '12 regeneration' rule? With the inclusion of the John Hurt 'War Doctor' (I personally prefer the term used by some fans prior to this episode - 'The Mayfly Doctor') it pushes Capaldi up to No.13 but does it also give the writers a legitimate excuse to continue on after him?
Whatever the answer to these questions, 'The Night of the Doctor' must be commended for being a seven-minute masterpiece of a web-only minisode that manages to significantly alter the course of Doctor Who. It certainly lays the groundwork for 'The Day of the Doctor', just a little over a week away. Now that we know who the John Hurt Doctor really is, we will surely find out what horrors he committed during the Last Great Time War. He is a Doctor, after all, but probably not the one we expected.

My Top Three Doctor Who Stories: The Doctor's Wife by Neil Gaiman

In the lead-up to Doctor Who's fiftieth birthday - it's only David Tennant days away, folks! - I'm penning a trilogy of posts concerning my three favourite Doctor Who stories ever. It's a tough choice, to boil down (debatably) 238 stories down to just three but, after much deliberation, I have made my choice. First up, we go to the scrapyard at the end of the universe to meet a very important woman to the Doctor, his soul mate, his significant other, you might say, his... well, his TARDIS.

It's quite hard to describe Doctor Who to someone who's never seen it before. The main character,you might say, is an alien. Oh, they reply, what kind of alien? Actually, he looks human. Who plays him? Hmm, several people. Okaaayy, well, where is it set? Oh, boy...

The one way you can sum it up is about a man and his blue box, with the occasional stray, who go travelling around time and space. That broadly encapsulates every Doctor Who story under one (question-marked) umbrella. Every story, that is, apart from 'The Doctor's Wife'.

In this episode, acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman takes this core idea of Doctor Who and completely turns it on his head. What if the TARDIS wasn't a police box but a woman? Landing in a bubble universe outside our own, The TARDIS' internal matrix - it's soul - is ousted by the machine and put in the body of human woman. The episode involves a wonderful subplot with Amy and Rory trapped in a dangerous TARDIS (complete with CORRIDORS - trust me, corridors are exciting) but its core is the relationship between the constant companions, the Doctor and his TARDIS. What exactly are they to each other? Who owns who? Are they mother and son? Husband and wife? It's left suitably undefined but we see that they are perfectly matched for the other. The Doctor's loneliness as the last of the Time Lords is here temporarily lifted; until the eventual heartbreaking end. TARDISes aren't meant to live in human bodies... 

A great strength of this episode is its use of Doctor Who continuity that, rather than seeming superfluous and shoehorned in, adds another layer to the story. References go from The Doctor's leaving from Gallifrey (untouched in the series up that point but recently seen in 'The Name of the Doctor') to the Eleventh Doctor's first episode (in his calling the TARDIS 'sexy') and many others in between. Other stories have chucked this many references to earlier episodes in, making the whole feel like its desperately trying to please fans but merely ends up alienating most of the audience. Gaiman, on the other hand, handles the kisses to the past beautifully in a way that celebrates the legend of the show. The upcoming 'The Day of the Doctor' could do far worse than to take its lead from this story in how to commemorate Doctor Who's long and illustrious history.  

Away from the excellent script, Gaiman's words are brought to life by some tremendous acting. While Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are of course endearing as Amy and Rory they are secondary characters, although Darvill does get to do some frightening crazed Rory acting and Karen, the horror of believing that she's lost her husband (again). Also, a nod must be made to the talented Michael Sheen who lends his voice to House, the sentient asteroid that eats TARDISes. It's a shame you can't really hear its him but there's still a certain gleeful maliciousness to House that makes him a memorable villain. 

However, there are really two stars of this show. Suranne Jones as Idris gives a great turn in a very difficult role. All the backwards-words and predictions of the future the TARDIS babbles about could have fallen flat if delivered by a different actress but Jones pitches the role expertly, playing Idris as a quirky, mad woman - a perfect foil for Matt Smith's madman without a box. Speaking of which, Matt Smith, as ever, is tremendous. His distilled anger and hurt when he discovers that the Time Lords he hoped he would find are, in fact, dead is only trumped by the Doctor's breaking down into tears at the episode's close. When Matt Smith cries in a Doctor Who episode it is always sad. And, here, his acting and the sentiment of the scene arguably make this the most affecting moment of his era. 

A funny, touching fairy tale of a Doctor Who story, 'The Doctor's Wife' is a seminal adventure that is simultaneously strong enough as a piece to have its own identity as well as being a wholly celebratory affair of the entire story of Doctor Who. However you look at it, though, 'The Doctor's Wife' certainly deserves to go down as one of Doctor Who's stand-out stories.

The Month of the Doctor!

And here we are. After fifty years of humour, heart but above all adventure, Doctor Who this month reaches its half-centenary - and it looks like its going to celebrate it with a blast! There's programmes on BBC Three, Watch, Channel Five - far too much to list here but, rest assured, Doctor Who is taking over television. Let's see what we've got in store..

DOCTOR WHO AT 50

First of all, a few weeks ago, we were treated to a 60 second trailer encompassing the whole history of the series. Fans who were after footage from the special episode were ready to complain about getting a half-baked teaser, but no one was complaining after they saw it. A glorious, gorgeous feast for the eyes (of a Doctor Who fan, at least), it manages to excite and entertain without giving us a single tidbit of information about the special. But who cares when it's this good? Let's have another watch, shall we?

THE SCIENCE OF DOCTOR WHO

One of the great things about this month is that there are a number of programmes being broadcast about the show as well the special itself. One of these is  The Science of Doctor Who, hosted by Professor Brian Cox (who had a cameo in last year's 'The Power of Three'), which will look at real theories on time travel and other science fiction concepts raised in the show - for instance, whether you could really build a TARDIS!
Have a butcher's at the trailer below for more - featuring a guest spot from the Doctor himself...

AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME

Now here's the one fans are waiting for the most - some, I've heard, more than the special itself. Written by Mark Gatiss, An Adventure in Space and Time (based on the original sub-title for the series) is a one-off biopic focussing on the creation of Doctor Who and the people behind it. Brian Cox (nope, a different one this time) is Sydney Newman, the BBC head of drama who came up with the original concept as an educational children's series and Jessica Raine (Emma in Hide, earlier this year) plays Verity Lambert, Doctor Who's first producer who made the show the all-ages entertainment machine we all know and love. However, the star of the show is 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship''s David Bradley as William Hartnell, the first actor to take on television's greatest role. The whole thing sounds like a wonderful nostalgia fest (several scenes from early story are being recreated) as well as a dedication to the people we have to thank for making the show what it is. So far a trailer hasn't materialised but we do have these great retro posters!

THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR

And now for the big one; 'The Day of the Doctor', the feature-length special that will bring together Matt Smith's and David Tennant's beloved incarnations of the character alongside John Hurt's never-before-seen mystery Doctor. You can't help but know about it as the BBC has been plugging like mad - and rightly so. As you will have noticed in the trailer at the beginning of this post, an official hashtag has been created to get people talking about the show online - #SaveTheDay. And if that wasn't enough, recently, a cool spin-off website has been released in which sneak peaks of the special will be unlocked the more people tweet, facebook, tumblr ad infinitum about Doctor Who, using the hashtag. It's a nice idea and things are already starting to appear over the internet...

Like a trailer...?

Whoah, hold back. First, let's look at a few of the photos released so far...

Fab, aren't they? Thanks to these babies we now know that the rumour that Joanna Page (of Gavin and Stacey fame) was playing Queen Elizabeth I is indeed true (a character who was previously stated to have a fling with the Tenth Doctor...), there'll be a character wearing a Tom Baker scarf and... oh, just look at that, it's John Hurt in the TARDIS!

Not much, plot-wise, has been released as of yet but we do have this juicy synopsis:

The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him. 


Oh, and, of course, there's this...

I know! Three Doctors! The Time War! Rose! A Fez! I need to sit down. Oh, I am sitting down. Good.

Going by this trailer, 'The Day of the Doctor' looks set to be a grand spacey-wacey adventure set in a ton of locations and with quite a big budget it must be said, by the looks of things. You could easily mistake this trailer for a new Star Wars film or something. The most striking things for me were David Tennant and Matt Smith together - I didn't expect to be so excited to see Tennant back as the Doctor  - and the biggest question the trailer raises - how, why and what the hell is Rose doing in the Time War? Well, as she says, the Moment is coming... And I wouldn't miss it for the world.

A Warning on Halloween Night

A monochrome man, in a smart suit, emerges from behind the stage curtains and faces an unseen audience.

Dear readers. It has now reached All Hallows’ Eve and Gothic Creatures must come to an end. The writer of this blog has asked me to thank you for indulging his gimmicks and for reading his posts on the likes of the terrifying man made from dead tissue, a scientist with one hell of a dark side and the horrors to be found in space, where no one can hear you scream. But before we go, we have one last treat for you. A story to ensure your Halloween night does not go by without a fright. Take heed, ladies and gentlemen, boys and ghouls, for it is a story with a message for you all…

Do not read this post. Whatever you do leave this page, this website, the whole internet now. Go and read a book, go for a Halloween night-time stroll, start a game of Russian Roulette, anything is safer than reading this post.

It gets in through your eyes. Eyes that are glued to the screen. The more you read the stronger it will become.

I shouldn’t have started like that. Now you want to read on. Then I shall have to explain.

It began at the start of the month. I thought it was normal, at first. We all like to waste some time on the internet, after all. But this was not normal.

I did nothing but browse the internet, all day long. I had friends to go out and see, places to go, assignments to do for university but none of these things happened. Because it had taken hold of me.

I could not concentrate on anything else.  It kept drawing me back to it. I would spend hours reading celebrities’ coffee updates on Twitter, watching videos of cats on Youtube, even googling my name. I was its slave and I could not escape.

It is now Halloween, and I have still not escaped.

I have not left my desk chair for twenty-four hours. I don’t even know if I want to anymore. I have become lifeless, unthinking. It has got me but it doesn’t need to get you to. There’s still hope for you.

I know where it came from now. And it sickens me. But it means I can warn you. It is paramount you leave this site now, it is spreading like hellfire. You are worried now, I know. And I am sorry but I had to tell you. You need to know what to look for. You need to know what shape it takes. You must never go on the internet again, but I know what you’re like, you want to check your emails, tell everyone on Facebook that you’re having a bad day. I understand that. So please, and you really must, watch out for it. It looks like-

The Monochrome Man arrives back on stage and bows to the unseen audience

And that is, sadly, all we have time for. But rest assured, readers, that more posts will follow on this blog, do not worry about that. On your behalf, I will make sure that this blog’s proprietor does his utmost best to keep drawing you here. Because, on this terrible night of all nights, when your fellow men and women become monsters, and savage children scratch at your doors for sustenance, you need something to protect you from the dangers of the outside world. Have no fear, readers, I will keep you safe. As long as you keep your eyes glued to the screen.

Doctor Who's Greatest Moments: Part Three - The 80s

Taking a break from the gothicism for one day, we come to the third in the ongoing series of posts dedicated to Doctor Who's greatest moments. This month, it's the eighties.
After two decades of being one of the nation's most popular programmes, it was always going to be tough for Doctor Who to keep up the momentum so, to do so, the people behind the show made a sharp change of track. After, the larger-than-life Fourth Doctor cavorted about, saving the universe every Saturday teatime, the eighties saw the show develop a harder edge, with increasing violence and a growing streak of dark in the Doctor's character. Occasionally, it did stray to far - the most famous example being the newly-born Sixth Doctor's strangling of his companion! However, the soul of Doctor Who was still there and while there are moments of the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Doctors tenures that are perhaps misfires, it has more than its fair share of excellent parts, with the decade providing some of Doctor Who's best scenes.

10. 'It's the end... but the moment has been prepared for...' -Logopolis

As it still feels part of 70s Who but does fall into the 80s, the demise of the Fourth Doctor comes in at number 10. After saving the universe (see, told you) from collapsing in on itself - in the midst of halting a last-ditch chance of the Master's for universal conquest, the Doctor falls from a radio telescope and, surrounded by his friends, he dies. With the inclusion of the ethereal Watcher (a wraith-like spectre of the future Doctor), this is a strangely enigmatic and melancholy end for such a popular and lively incarnation of our hero.


9. The Time Lords on trial! - The Trial of a Time Lord

The Time Lords have captured the Doctor and put him on trial for his various 'crimes'. However, this is the Doctor - the brash, vocal Sixth Doctor - and he will not go down lightly. Discovering the full extent of the Time Lords' corruption from the Master, of all people, the Doctor lambasts his people for their villainy. 'Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen,' he says. 'They're all in the nursery compared to us. Ten thousand years of absolute power - that's what it takes to be really corrupt.' It's a strong scene on its own merits but also stands up as a great showcase for Colin Baker's often unfairly judged portrayal of the character. It works well because it plays to his strengths - his Doctor loves telling people off and here he gives the Time Lords a hell of a talking to.

8. 'His days like crazy paving.' - Dragonfire

The Seventh Doctor's first series is one still finding its feet, but in the overall uneven finale 'Dragonfire', there comes a moment of magic. At the end of another adventure, the Doctor's companion Mel decides to leave the TARDIS to go travelling with space Del-boy Sabalom Glitz. A sad, contemplative Doctor then talks about the difficulties of living life out-of-order like he does and asks her to remember 'the homeless traveller in his police box' when she's enjoying her life 'all in a neat pattern.' It's an unexpectedly touching scene very well-played by Sylvester McCoy with a twinkle in his eye. Casting the Doctor as a timeless wizard who sometimes laments his 'crazy paving' life, it's simply quintessential Doctor Who.

 7. In a Glass Dalek - Revelation of the Daleks

On the other end of the Who scale, we have one of the show's nastiest ever scenes. In the cellars of the corrupt Tranquil Repose facility on Necros, Natasha Stengos is searching for her father who is meant to be in cryogenic storage but she suspects has met a more sinister fate. And she's right - in a Dalek casing made of glass, she discovers what her father has become - a Dalek mutant. As Stengos battles his new Dalek nature, he pleads for his daughter to kill him to put him out of his misery.
One of the most extreme examples of how violent the series could be at this time, there's a convincing argument to be made that this does not belong in Doctor Who but it's this very reason that makes the moment so riveting. This version of the show was totally unpredictable with apparently even this level of horror up for grabs, which makes it all the more exciting to watch.

6. 'Every decision creates ripples...' - Remembrance of the Daleks

There's many excellent moments to pick from the fan-favourite corker 'Remembrance of the Daleks' - the first occasion of a Dalek hovering up the stairs, the return to the show's beginnings at the Totter's Lane Junkyard and Coal Hill School or the moment the Doctor tricks Davros into destroying Skaro (a significant event in the context of the Time War). However, amongst all this action there's a tiny gem of a scene where the Doctor takes a breather from dealing with a Dalek Civil War breaking out in London. Visiting a cafe, he talks to the man behind the till about the affect every decision has on the rest of the world, clearly feeling the weight of what he does on his shoulders. The soul-searching Doctor gets a simple, yet inspiring reply from the man: 'life's like that. Best thing is just to get on with it.'

5. The F(our) Doctors! - The Five Doctors

After travelling across the Death Zone on Gallifrey, facing a plethora of their greatest foes, Doctors One to Three and Five plus their respective companions meet in the Dark Tower to find the tomb of Rassilon together and foil the corrupt President Borusa's plans for immortality. Now, isn't that a thrilling sentence? There's something very special about Doctor Who anniversary celebrations - logic is thrown to the wind and everything becomes a big old party. Which is an apt description for this scene as the Doctors and companions greet each other like old friends at a social occasion. There's the Brigadier and Sarah Jane and - shock horror - the Master shows up at his most pantomimic to stop the fun. It's indulgent, of course, but on its birthday it's allowed to be. 'The Day of the Doctor', we are all waiting for you...


4. There's something about Ace - The Curse of Fenric

Classic Doctor Who rarely had companion-centric stories. The Doctor was clearly the lead. However, the Seventh Doctor's era was a partnership between the Doctor and his companion, Ace, with several episodes exploring her demons that she ran away from. This comes to a head in the penultimate story before the show's great hiatus when a long story arc (extremely unusual in the classic series) is tied up; and Ace's origins are revealed. She has been a pawn in a chess game of unanimous proportions...
In the days of the mystery of the Impossible Girl, this may seem like bread-and-butter Doctor Who but in 1989 this was groundbreaking stuff for the series. And proof of how the show was possibly more inventive than it had been in years, right before its plug was pulled.....

3. Adric's Death - Earthshock

The Cybermen have returned and they are at full-force. With them planning to crash a cargo ship into the Earth, the Doctor is out of options and must escape before it explodes. However, the Doctor's companion, Adric is still onboard - trying to halt the ship's destruction. He's close but a lone Cyberman destroys the controls. Unable to go back and save him, the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan are forced to watch as the ship explodes.
One of Doctor Who's most famous scenes, the death of Adric is a brilliantly unexpected moment and one that demonstrates an important reminder to the audience - the Doctor's world is not cosy and, occasionally, he can't save everyone, even his closest friends.

2. Saving Peri - The Caves of Androzani

At the opposite end of his life, at the conclusion of the stonkingly strong 'Caves Of Androzani' (voted fan's favourite ever story in a poll a few years ago), the Doctor and Peri are both dying from Spectrox Toxaemia. With his last ounce of strength, the Doctor battles the caves of Androzani to get the antidote - but there's only enough for one...
Haunted by Adric's death, he is determined to not let one more person die. And so the Doctor gives the antidote to Peri, someone he doesn't know all that well - having only met in the previous adventure. The poison finally gets the better of him and, in a fevered dream of his companions (and the Master), the Doctor dies. Not saving the world or the universe but sacrificing himself to save one single life, this is simply how every Doctor should regenerate.  His final word, by the way, is 'Adric...'

1. 'Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.' - Survival

At the end of the Seventh Doctor's third series, the Doctor and Ace walk off after another adventure. Over the top, we hear the Doctor give a final speech:
'There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream: people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace, we've got work to do.'
These were the last words of the show's original run.
Now, hear me out. I do not mean the best thing about an entire decade of Doctor Who is when it ended. Its the bittersweet promise of more adventures to come, that we will not see, that makes the moment so affecting. Despite the series being cancelled, this is Doctor Who telling the world that it can be taken off screen but it will never end. The Doctor and his companion will always rattle around time and space in the TARDIS. And, one day, the TARDIS might materialise on your television screens once more.

The Films of Frankenstein

It's alive! I've been working hard in my laboratory and have forged new life from an old feature - Monthly Mini-Reviews, remember them? - for this special gothic-themed series of blog posts. And what celebration of the gothic is complete without a mention of the mighty Frankenstein! Mary Shelley's genius novel about a scientist who creates a man from the dead has captured imaginations for centuries, with the ideas revisited in endless novels, television shows and even stage plays. However, the most famous of these is arguably the  various film adaptations of the story that have sparked into life across the decades. As it would take a whole encyclopaedia to look at every film on the subject, below are four of my favourites. Behold, if you are brave enough, the films of Frankenstein!


Frankenstein (1931)

The undoubtedly most iconic of all Frankenstein adaptations is James Whale's early horror film, primarily known for Boris Karloff's legendary portrayal of the lumbering, flat-headed creature. Without speaking a word of dialogue, and in such grotesque prosthetics, Karloff certainly does an excellent job of showing the creature's innocence and anger. Colin Clive also plays the determined Dr Frankenstein (for some reason, renamed Henry here) well, being believably unhinged enough to undertake his experiments. Despite running for little over an hour, however, it does feels a little stilted in places; although that is more a fault of the Hollywood of the time still grappling with talkies. On the other hand, it has elements that were not only shocking for its time but push the boundaries even now. Not many films made over seventy years ago can say that.

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

First things first, Bride of Frankenstein is a rare example of a sequel bettering the original. Everything from the first film is upped; the gothic, the wry humour and, perhaps most importantly, the characterisation of Karloff's monster, in particular his loneliness and desire for companionship. The key to its success is the assured direction by Whale who, amongst the horror and the thrills, injects a sense of fun to proceedings. Also worth noting are the terrific score - particularly the haunting, twinkling theme for the Bride herself - and the unsung hero of the film, the campy, malevolent Dr Pretorius, the man who 'commissions' a bride for the monster. Simply a must-see film of its genre.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Mel Brooks' thoroughly hilarious spoof of the 1930s films is definitely the funniest incarnation of Frankenstein you'll come across. The ever-endearing Gene Wilder stars as Frederick Frankenstein (it's pronounced Fronkensteen), a descendant of the original mad scientist who is dismissive of his 'famous cuckoo' grandfather. However, a death in the family ends in his returning to Castle Frankenstein. Will he live up to his namesake and create a monster? Answer; yes.
Nearly every joke works (with some sequences so effective, you won't be able to watch the original films without thinking of it) and Wilder has strong support from Marty Feldman as a fourth-wall breaking Igor. It's best scene will have you  laughing every time you hear Putting on the Ritz....

Frankenweenie (2012)

Based on his 1984 short film, Frankenweenie sees Tim Burton tackle a quirky all-ages version of Shelley's immortal tale. After his beloved dog, Sparky (geddit?) dies, schoolboy scientist Victor Frankenstein does the unthinkable and endeavours to bring the dog back to life - with much mayhem ensuing. As a lover of the Universal Frankenstein films (elements of them appear in many of his own works), it's perfect territory for the director to work in and it really does feel classic Burton. Sure, we've seen a lot of the motifs before in his features (not to mention in the original short film itself) but its a charming stop-motion film - totally in black and white - that not only alludes to its Frankenstein film forebears but becomes a celebration of the entire monster movie genre itself. Frankenweenie proves that even after so many versions, the Frankenstein legend has not been done to death - there's still a lot more life in it yet.

Doctor Who at 50: Missing Episodes Found!

To the joy of Doctor Who fans across the universe, after months and months of gossip, it was last night confirmed that the BBC has recovered nine episodes of the series that were thought forever lost! Classic story 'The Enemy of the World' is now complete  while fan-favourite 'The Web of Fear' is now only one episode short thanks to the haul - the largest find of lost episodes for three decades. These new old Whos were finally revealed at midnight on Thursday at a special event in London, attended by Second Doctor companions Frazer Hines (Jamie) and Deborah Watling (Victoria). Due to the BBC norm at the time to destroy tapes of already broadcast television programmes, there have been over a hundred episodes missing from fan's shelves - and hearts - for years, with one showing up now and again. Now, however, the figure is down to 97. Only double figures!
'Every single avenue seemed to have been exhausted,' said Who writer Mark Gatiss to the BBC. 'Every now and then something turns up - but to have two virtually complete stories out of the blue is absolutely incredible.'

The episodes were found by archivist, Phillip Morris, who found them gathering dust in a Nigerian TV station. 

But, enough about the technicalities, what we really care about is the stories themselves. Let's have a look at what we've been missing...

ENEMY OF THE WORLD  by David Whittaker

This 1967/8 adventure is an intriguing one, being very different from the 'base-under-siege' and monster-heavy stories typical of its time. Hoping to enjoy  a holiday in mid-21st century Australia, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria become embroiled in the machinations of megalomaniac Salamander who dreams of world domination - and is an  exact double of the Doctor! With an exploding helicopter, a hovercraft and gun-toting henchman, it sounds like a James Bond film rather than a 60s Who, plus it will also be fascinating to see the talented Troughton in a dual role, especially playing a villain for himself to come up against. 

As the episodes have already gone up on Itunes some fans got their hands on them as fast as they could. Here's what Who  writer Chris Chibnall thought...

Wow. “Enemy of the World” episode 1 is a joy. Troughton’s Doctor an ever-shifting revelation. Terrific fast paced thriller.
— Chris Chibnall (@ChrisChibnall) October 10, 2013

THE WEB OF FEAR by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln

If you'd asked Doctor Who fans earlier in the year which of the missing stories they would most want back, many would have said this tale which sees the Doctor's old enemies, the robotic Yeti controlled by the Great Intelligence, attack the London Underground. 'It's the quintessential Doctor Who story,' Mark Gatiss called it. 'It has the return of the Abominable Snowmen in an iconic location.'

It also featured the first appearance of beloved character Brigadier (here, Colonel) Lethbridge-Stewart who was a regular on the show during the Third Doctor's UNIT years, making guest appearances throughout the series, and once in spin-off show The Sarah Jane Adventures, until his death in 2009.

Eagle-eyed readers will note that the aforementioned Mr G. Intelligence reappeared as the main enemy of the latest series of the show, played by Richard E Grant. Out of all the perhaps more famous classic Who villains, Mr  Moffat could have brought back it seemed an unusual choice - unless... unless Moffat... knew about this haul? Hmm...

Fan and Radio Times writer tweeted this on the story:

I am in a state of bliss. Just watched ep 4 of The Web of Fear. I can't quite believe it. Just as great as I'd hoped. Dear Nick Courtney
— Patrick Mulkern (@PatrickMulkern) October 10, 2013

The stories are now available from Itunes for £9.99 while they're apparently soon to be released on DVD.

This really is incredible news for the show and - being very spookily well-timed - it adds immensely to the fun of the 50th anniversary bash. And,Who knows, it suggests that, somewhere out there, are more missing episodes waiting to be found. What definitely is for sure though is that this is a fantastic year to be a fan of the show. And it's far from over yet...