Now Showing - DalekbusterScreen5's reviews

That was audacious and I can't help but wonder whether Davies wanted to do a "shock" regeneration when Christopher Eccleston left but the news got out.

Yeah, I would agree with that. As is common for me in relation to new series characters I tend to like the actor even if I hate the dialogue.

I'm sure I read somewhere that was the intention but I can't remember where. I'd love to see a shock regeneration happen, although I think it would be near-impossible to pull off without anybody leaking it out.

Freema Ageyman's the only case of that for me. I think Russell T Davies emphasised the unrequited love angle too much and it ended with Martha becoming too unlikeable.

I remember Christopher Eccleston being asked on a BBC interview whether he would be doing another series, and I think he basically gave away just through his reaction that things weren't in a good place. It was very unpleasant to see what looked like genuine enthusiasm on his part in his initial BBC Breakfast interview replaced by a coldness during promotion for the show he'd just made. Paul McGann was unlucky but maybe Christopher Eccleston had the worst deal in the long run.

The unrequited love thing was poorly handled but what really got me was when she joined Torchwood and became a totally different character. In The Doctor's Daughter when she says to Hath Peck "I'm Martha Jones – who the hell are you?" it was like she was possessed or something. Old Martha wouldn't have been so rude for a kick off.

I never saw those interviews but Christopher Eccleston always looks awkward when Doctor Who is brought up in them. The only exception is his interview with a kid with autism.


Yeah, she didn't feel right in The Doctor's Daughter at all. One of the things I found strange was how she automatically blamed the Doctor for shutting the TARDIS doors on her in the cliffhanger at the end of The Poison Sky. The Old Martha would have realised something was up, not think the Doctor had done it.

The Big Chill

Released in 1983, The Big Chill is an ensemble movie that launched the careers of Jeff Goldblum, Tom Bergener, Glenn Close and William Hurt. It's a great example of a comedy that doesn't need obvious jokes to be funny but can do it in a subtle and delicate manner.

The film centres around seven friends who reunite at a funeral: Sam Weber (Tom Bergener), Sarah Cooper (Glenn Close), Michael Gold (Jeff Goldblum), Nick Carlton (William Hurt), Harold Cooper (Kevin Kline), Meg Jones (Mary Kay Place) and Karen Bowens (JobBeth Williams). They decide to spend the weekend together along with their late friend Alex's girlfriend Chloe (Meg Tilly) and Karen's husband Richard (Don Galloway) in Sarah and Harold's house. Whilst this may seem an odd situation for a comedy, there are some great lines like 'I always thought masturbation was the ultimate act of self-absorption'. You get a lot of R-rated comedies (or rated 15, over where I live in the UK) that simply just add vulgar stuff in an attempt to be 'clever'. This isn't one. This is a comedy that doesn't realise it's being clever. The way it handles nine characters in total is genius; none of them feel shoehorned in and all have a moment to shine, from Richard's awkward take on Alex's death to Sam's hilarious attempt to leap into a car and land as he does in his popular TV show J.T. Lancer (of course, he fails).

I said this is an ensemble movie but honestly, it feels like The Jeff Goldblum Movie because he completely steals the show as Michael Gold. He is absolutely brilliant and has some of the best lines, including 'That's the great thing about the outdoors, it's one giant toilet.' and (about the reception after the funeral) 'Amazing tradition. They throw a great party for you on the one day they know you can't come.' This character could be the voice of many memes; when watching this film it's easy to see why he was later cast as Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park. Tom Bergener is funny too but never manages to beat the awesomeness of Goldblum.

The problem with this film is that it feels like it would be better suited to a sitcom than a movie. Each event in the film feels somewhat episodic and the pace can occasionally feel slow. There's no overarching narrative; it's literally just seven friends spending a weekend together after a funeral. You could easily see it as a six episode comedy series. In fact, i wouldn't be surprised if it's ever remade as one.

I also didn't feel like I knew enough about Chloe throughout the film. She does feel as though she has a reason to be there; she was Alex's girlfriend, after all. It's just that I'm not entirely sure what her personality is supposed to be. Chloe is a bit bland compared to the colourful characters around her; you kind of wonder why Alex was with her. A lot of it could be to do with the context as I'm sure if this comedy was written today, she would be a more rounded character with clearer personality quirks. In fact, it would probably focus around Chloe and her university friends reuniting over her boyfriend's death. After all, female-led movies are starting to emerge as of recent.

Overall, The Big Chill is a great ensemble comedy featuring a hilarious Jeff Goldblum as Michael Gold. Sometimes it does suffer from pacing issues that make it feel as though it would work better as a sitcom and Chloe doesn't feel as well-developed as the other characters but overall The Big Chill is a very funny comedy film that's well worth a watch.

I think the BBC Breakfast one is still on YouTube – you'll be surprised I think by the difference in attitude.

Yeah, being with the Doctor is usually supposed to "make people better" but in the case of Rose and Martha I don't think that happened.

Britain's Got Talent - Episode Two

There seemed to be a bit of a circus theme to the first segment of tonight's Britain's Got Talent. Admittedly this didn't apply to the rest of the show but for the first twenty minutes it certainly felt like it was going to be 'Britain's Got Circuses' as opposed to 'Britain's Got Talent'.

First was acrobat Roberto Carlos: one of those brilliant Britain's Got Talent moments where it seemed like the act was going to be rubbish (when Roberto dropped one of his balls - no, not like that) but surprisingly turned out to be pretty good. He was nothing on the next act though: trapeze artists Katy and Paul. Katy and Paul were magical and an extremely talented pair. Sadly, their act is one that seems to be often overlooked by the majority despite how much talent it inevitably must take to pull off something like that. The standout of the first act wasn't, however, a circus one but young ballet dancer Jack Higgins. Jack is remarkable, like a real life Billy Elliot: he even has the same backstory of being bullied because of his desire to dance. This is an act that the Queen would absolutely adore and it will be a travesty if he doesn't get through to the final, never mind the live shows.

The acts that always end up being my personal favourites are the unusual ones. By this I do not mean those are so hilariously bad that they end up on the live shows primarily for comedy value but the kind that are both talented and unique. There were two that fitted that description tonight; the first, Fair Play Crew, offered an unusual dance performance which came across like a mix of Twist & Pulse and Diversity. It was the second unique act that was the more interesting though. Another Kind of Blue were a light projection dance couple who incorporated their routine with an interactive background that covered the stage floor and the wall behind them. This was an extremely clever act where it actually feels like they become a part of the image and like shadow threatre troupe Attraction before them, I wouldn't be surprised if they win.

Another potential winner is Richard Jones, a magician who unlike Jamie Raven last year actually knows how to present a magic act. Richard was incredible, offering some mindblowing magic tricks that again, like Jamie Raven you can't buy off Amazon for a few quid. Somehow he managed to deliver an electric shock to Amanda Holden's forehead and turn David Walliam's Fanta into a can of tea. It would be nice to see a magician win for a change and especially worth it for magician Stephen Mulhern's reaction on the spinoff show Britain's Got More Talent. Richard is on par with the series' best one so far Darcy Oake, who criminally only came 5th in the final during his year.

Unfortunately, however, it wasn't Richard who got tonight's Golden Buzzer. That reward goes to 100 Voices of Gospel who gave a surprisingly lively performance which ended with them winning Alesha Dixon's Golden Buzzer. Usually these kind of acts are dull to watch; this one certainly wasn't and saw a textbook Britain's Got Talent moment where they pretended to be the same old boring choir and instead launch into something completely different. This choir is more like the end of a West End musical than anything else, with lots and lots of dancing alongside the singing. It will be interesting to see if how long the novelty lasts once it gets to the live shows; whether they will be able to maintain interest during their semi final performance or if their unique approach wears off is anybody's guess but depending on the line-up they certainly stand a good chance of being in the final.

I do wonder what would have happened though if an earlier act had succeeded in tricking David Walliams into using his Golden Buzzer?

Yes, you read that correctly. Somebody tried to make David Walliams press his Golden Buzzer. The man in question was Jim Everett, who claimed to be a 'magician' but his only 'magic trick' was to steal automatic entry into the semi finals. Thankfully this cheat didn't succeed but I do hope if he had his Golden Buzzer would have been automatically removed as it wouldn't have been fair when all the other acts will have worked hard to earn it. Why did the producers let this act through? Did they know that was his intention or did he trick them with an actual magic trick? If the former, the producers should be ashamed that they nearly destroyed the very show they produce.

Overall, this was another great show of the best talent contest on TV spoilt only by an idiotic 'magican' trying to trick his way onto the Britain's Got Talent semi finals.

Michael McIntyre's Big Show - Episode One

I'm a big fan of Michael McIntyre. I watch him whenever he's on TV, I've been to his arena shows and I never fail to find him funny. So when it was announced he had another TV show, I was happy. Michael McIntyre's Big Show is a series version of the one-off specials Easter Night At The Palladium and Michael McIntyre's Very Christmassy Christmas Show, both which were great but a little flawed.

So how does his new series stand up to scrutiny? Well, pretty well. Like his other TV shows, it's a mixed bag. The format still needs some work because whilst they have improved it a lot by increasing Michael McIntyre's screen time, he's still not on it enough. He needs to be on the entire time. When you watch a Michael McIntyre show, you don't want to see Tinie Tempah you want to see Michael McIntyre. The show should be more like Saturday Night Takeaway by having Michael McIntyre join in with the guests. Still, it's nice to see them include more games alongside the brilliant send-to-all. One game where a mother had to instruct her kids where to find certain items her house was a lot of fun to watch.

It was a shame with last night's episode that Michael McIntyre's material wasn't as strong as it usually is. Don't get me wrong, he was still funny but his jokes weren't up to his usual standard. Michael McIntyre was at his best last night when interacting with audience; one hilarious moment saw a complete coincidence occur where Michael discovered the 'Unexpected Star' (a feature where each week they surprise an average member of the public by telling them they're going to be performing on the show) Natasha's childhood friend from school was in the audience. This launched into a brilliant routine about a Welsh school sharing the same name as the town it is situated in. I think it's impressive how these comedians manage to improvise jokes on the spot based on what happens live; it must take some skill to be able to adapt or introduce new material that hasn't been practiced before in front of a live audience.

As for the Unexpected Star, Natasha was the real star of the show. She was introduced as a hair dresser whose dream it was to be a singer and performed a brilliant duet alongside West End star Michael Ball. Natasha had a beautiful singing voice and if she isn't scouted by X Factor or Voice producers after her performance here then something is drastically wrong with the world. She deserves to have huge success; Natasha held her own alongside a world-famous West End singer and only appeared nervous at the beginning. Some reports claim she nearly fainted but if she did, it must have been edited out as nothing happened here.

Overall, the first episode of Michael McIntyre's Big Show was a bit mixed. Michael McIntyre's material wasn't as strong as usual and there still isn't enough of him throughout the show but his improvised comedy with members of the audience and Natasha's performance were true TV highlights.

The Sontaran Experiment

Acting as a break between the two Nerva Beacon stories The Ark In Space and Revenge of the Cybermen, The Sontaran Experiment is another one of those odd classic series stories like The Edge of Destruction that form only two episodes rather than at least four. This two parter is the very definition of 'filler'. It feels as though it's just there for the sake of being there.

The Sontaran Experiment follows Sontaran Field Major Styre experimenting on a bunch of astronauts who were brought to a deserted Earth by a fake distress call. The story is badly paced throughout and very dull to watch (something I hate saying about a story from my favourite show). The Sontaran in question doesn't even appear until the end of episode one and even then he never feels like much of a presence or threat to any of the characters. There's not enough story to fit 45 minutes; if anything, it would have been better as a single 25 minute episode as that's all there's enough plot for. At least The Edge of Destruction (which I rated ) had more story to it. This one's like it was cobbled together because they suddenly realised they needed two episodes between the previous and next four parter.

The Sontarans are usually great villains but here Field Major Styre feels as though he's only there as a cheap option as they already had the costume made from The Time Warrior. The Sonataran presence really isn't justified; it could be any monster there and it wouldn't make much difference. The only neat thing about Field Major Styre being the antagonist is how it links in to Sarah Jane's first appearance meaning there is history between the companion and the alien race. That's one thing another monster wouldn't have provided.

Speaking of Sarah Jane, Elisabeth Sladen is brilliant and it really shows why she's still arguably the most iconic Doctor Who companion after K-9. In fact, if there's any saving grace for this serial it's the cast. All are on top form, from Tom Baker as the Doctor to Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan. They nearly make it feel like you haven't wasted time watching this serial. It's a shame director Rodney Bennett lets them down however with his poor direction. Everything feels a little amateur and due to the positioning of the actors by Rodney every shot feels bland. There is nothing engaging about the directing in this serial and with a weak story it really could have benefitted from some great direction.

Overall, The Sontaran Experiment is a dull 45 minute story with poor direction, a bad pace and a pointless use of a Sontaran villain with Field Major Styre. It does, however, contain great performances from the TARDIS crew of the time Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and Ian Marter.

I haven't seen it for a few years but I wonder whether it's the pace you mean or the feeling of quiet isolation? The planet is (supposedly) deserted and the Doctor, Harry and Sarah are only there to check the transmat but I like that impression of them being totally alone on Earth. I think all the stuff with the astronauts is good and the scenes with Styre experimenting on people are well done and unpleasant. It's a great location as well I think, with all the rocks. The only really poor thing is Styre's robot — in fact wouldn't it have been great if this had been the Dominators and the Quarks instead? There were some brilliant robots in the Sixties.

To be fair it is the same actor, and the mask's different – and less convincing I think – only because Kevin Lindsay had a heart condition. The season is something of an exercise in cost-cutting anyway, given the reuse of the Nerva set for two stories, which was a shrewd move and might have even pointed Philip Hinchcliffe in the direction he went in, i.e. work out what to do, then find out if we can do it before committing the money. I'm pretty sure Barry Letts was responsible for actually planning the season out, so Hinchcliffe's period in total control only started with Terror of the Zygons.

Nope. The entire story felt poorly paced to me, especially when they only had 45 minutes to work with.


It is also something the new series can be criticised for now and again. Sometimes you can really tell if a story is told primarily to reuse an already existing costume so they don't have to create a new one.

Not having seen it for so long it's hard to discuss it with a clear perspective – if I had the enthusiasm I'd watch it again but at the moment it's not there.

Yeah, that did happen a few times didn't it.

Particularly with the Ood. They seem to be the one to go to if the story requires a large gathering of monsters (although having said that, they didn't appear in The Pandorica Opens).

Yeah, but a great monster and well worth reusing (I like the way Doctor Who fans say "the monsters" as a term of affection, really – is it the only series where that happens?). I say the Ood are great, but I've only seen them in The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit and the odd times they were in David Tennant's last few stories. I remember thinking: amazing faces, but the body is clearly just a bloke dressed in black. At least the Sensorites, which apparently were the inspiration, had extra things such as the circular feet to get away from that obvious flaw.

I think the Ood are always more interesting when they are possessed by an outside force. In fact, it would be great to see an episode that's a battle between two powerful beings fighting for control over the Ood. Imagine never being able to know if they're being possessed by good or bad forces, only that they are possessed.

Was the Ood in The Doctor's Wife possessed? He had green eyes rather than the red that the Beast-possessed ones had in their first story. You'd have to ditch the glowing eye thing for that to work.

He was possessed by House.

So I gather.

The War Games

The War Games saw two milestones for Doctor Who. The first is that it's the longest Doctor Who story to date (unless you count Trial of a Time Lord as one story) told in a whopping 10 episodes. The second is that it's the first mention of the name of the Doctor's species and their first appearance onscreen as the Time Lords (a Time Lord had been seen in The Time Meddler as the Meddling Monk but he was never referred to as such).

What makes this serial remarkable however is that over 10 episodes the story never drags. The War Games sees the Doctor taking on the War Chief (Edward Brayshaw), who has taken many historical armies including the Romans and World War 1 fighters out of time and thrown them into simulated versions of the wars they fought. This story feels like it's at exactly the right length and is a suitably epic finale for Patrick Troughton's Doctor. It's a story that echoes elements of the Moffat Era with all these various armies from Earth's history together. You could easily imagine Steven Moffat doing this.

The War Chief is also a great villain superbly played by Edward Brayshaw. It's a shame he never returned to the series as he is brilliant and could easily have become an iconic character to rival the Master. There is even a popular fan theory that he is a past incarnation of the Master and this would make a lot of sense as he shares a lot of the same qualities.

What makes this serial a true classic however are the last two episodes with the Time Lords. There is really no surprise that the Time Lords became such a recognisable alien species from the show. There's a nice element of ambiguity about them that directly mirrors the Doctor's own and you never quite where their moral compass with fall. This is more evident with new series Time Lords but it is arguably still noticeable here given their non-interference policy perhaps leading to the Earth undefended by the Doctor if they didn't decide to let him protect at least Earth. You could easily see the Time Lords allowing Earth to be invaded by the Autons and Nestene Consciousness but equally they interfered with the War Chief's plans. That's what's great about the Time Lords: you never know if they are allies or enemies.

Of course, you can't do a review of any regeneration story without mentioning the Doctor bowing out. Patrick Troughton is absolutely amazing here as his Doctor and is extremely believable at portraying his incarnation in a position where for once the evil cannot be 'fought' with him and his companions alone. You truly believe this is a desperate time for the Doctor where he has no other option but to call in his own people and his speech about his so-called 'interference' to the Time Lords is heartwarming and echoes an earlier one from The Moonbase. This is arguably among the strongest acting and writing the classic series ever saw.

Overall, the War Games is an epic 200 minute regeneration story for the 2nd Doctor and one that was a giant milestone for the show.

It drags less than The Space Pirates – what a chore that is.

He is good and he is clearly a prototype Master character, but Philip Madoc as the War Lord is in a totally different league. That's one of the best performances I've ever seen in the classic or new series.