Day 30 - Doctor Who Challenge

The Missing Story I Would Most Like to See Returned to the BBC Archive.

I would say The Moonbase except that from the episodes we have I fear it would be a disappointment.  I have held the Target novel in too high regard for too long.

The story I'd really love to watch would be The Daleks' Master Plan.  It seems as if it would be a better version of The Chase.  I enjoyed The Chase for all the cheesiness it was a fun watch.  My dad has told me of The Daleks' Master Plan from when he watched it.  His memories make me rue it's loss.

These things are always the ultimate classic until they get rediscovered.  Though my dad isn't that in awe of it I would like the chance to enjoy or be a little disappointed by it.  Even if it is a Steven story.  It has after all got Jean Marsh in it.

Day 29 - Doctor Who Challenge

Who I Think Could Be a Good Doctor (in the Future)

I seem to have more candidates for this one.  The problem is that the Doctor has always been getting younger.  With the extreme youth of Matt Smith have we reached the end if this trend?  I'm not going to rule out people who are older than the last few actors to have played the role.  Even though casting someone much older straight after Smith would feel weird.

My list of candidates would read:  James McAvoy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rufus Sewell, Paul Bettany, Ian Hart, Paterson Joseph, Damian Lewis, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch.  Cumberbatch would be perfect but I think he's already been cast too close to the role.  As well as not wanting the role.  I'll just enjoy his Sherlock instead.

I think my next choice would be the one that's been most speculated about, Paterson Joseph.  I like his slightly offbeat screen presence.  He was the best thing in the (unnecesssary) Survivors remake.  All serious stuff.  I loved him in Jekyll, slightly off from the norm.  His appearances were the highlight of Neverwhere for me, wacky.  He can do the spectrum and let's face it he's not exactly hard to look at.  I'm loving Matt Smith but can we have Paterson next please?

Day 28 - Doctor Who Challenge

Who I Think Would Have Been a Good Doctor (in the past).

Hmmm, not an easy one to call this.  You think immediately of your favourite actors then realise they are not suited!

Denholm Elliott would have been a good choice.  He had a likability and a cheeky charm that would have been great in the role.  He can command a screen but doesn't feel the need to be in command.  He's quite happy as a team player.  Yes, he's definitely my choice.

Here he is in one of my favourites of his

Day 27 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite Doctor Who Special

The thought of this made me groan.  I am not a fan of the 'specials' and usually find them anything but.  They always seem campy.  I'm not beloved of the Children in Need charity ones either.

The specials I've enjoyed most have been The Next Doctor which although daft in parts I mainly enjoyed watching.  The Waters of Mars was a step above all the other Tennant specials.  A Christmas Carol is probably my favourite Christmas Special.  It didn't sit perfectly with me but it was an enjoyable watch.

The winner is going to have to be The Five Doctors.  Childhood, nostalgic favourite that it is.

Day 26 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite Doctor Who Animation

This is going to be difficult.  Probably because I didn't know DW animation existed.

*Back from Google search* I'd forgotten Invasion.  I've seen that.  I loved the way it was done.  That is my favourite and I think watching the Tennant animations won't change that.  I do hope that over time we can reconstruct all the missing episodes this way.

A search on YouTube has produced some fan made reconstructions.  A lot of work has obviously gone into them.  Some I like but some I find a little jarring.  They're worth a look though.

Something else worth a look is Adam's 30 Day DW Challenge http://adammstone.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/the-30-day-doctor-who-challenge/

Day 25 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite Doctor Who Spin-Off

I haven't delved into spin-offs very much.  I never watched K-9 and Company or The Sarah Jane Adventures.  I think Doctor Who Confidential is a great idea but I rarely watch it any more.  I am someone who enjoys watching DW but I'm not so much into the facts and figures.  I like to keep an air of mystery about things too.  Having every detailed explained is brilliant for those who dig that but not for me.

If the Target novels were a spin-off they would win hands down.  However I'm not sure they are, I feel we're looking towards TV here.  That would mean I'd have to pick Torchwood.  I found the first two seasons a touch silly at times but there were some great episodes in there.  The third Children of Earth season blew me away.  It was brilliantly dark, well acted, it got all the Brit Sci-Fi ticks.  What I've seen of the latest series is worrying.  It can't taint series 3 though.

EDIT:  I totally forgot about my 'other favourite' Spin Off.  The Peter Cushing movies.  They definitely deserve a mention.  As a kid I hadn't seen the original stories they were taken from so they were fresh to me. Yeah Bernard Cribbins was annoying but there was Cushing!  Daleks!  Robomen! Earth in dire peril!  Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150AD was my favourite of the two.  It was funny when I did get to see the first two Dalek stories finally.  Took me a while to realise why I thought I already knew the stories.  I haven't seen these for years but I did buy the box set a few months ago.  Time to rip off that cellophane methinks.

Day 24 - Doctor Who Challenge

A Story that is a Guilty Pleasure

Hmm, I'm tempted to say The Five Doctors.  But then again I'm rebelliously not that guilty.  It made me a very happy bunny as a youngster.  I still enjoy it now despite the flaws people point out.  I'll have to go with one I haven't seen since transmission.  The Happiness Patrol, I just love the 'Kandyman' and I'm still amazed the Beeb got away with it!  I'd loved to have seen the Bassett's exec's faces when they saw it.  I'm well aware people think this is a terrible story and I'm looking forward to getting to this one in my current watching 'in order'.  Maybe then I'll be mortified about this post....

Day 23 - Doctor Who Challenge

The Story I Watch Most as Comfort Viewing

I'd say this has to be the same as my favourite story.  I'm going to have to go with Pyramids of Mars.  Again having had it on VHS for yonks helps here.  Second place would go to Tomb of the Cybermen.  I don't think I have much to add to my past propaganda for Pyramids so I'll leave you with one of my favourite bits of it.

Day 22 - Doctor Who Challenge

The Most Recent Doctor Who Story I've Watched

I'm currently watching The Mutants for the first time.  A Third Doctor, Jo Grant story.  It's nice because the Doctor and Jo actually get to travel off Earth.

The Doctor is sent to deliver a package, which can only be opened by the intended receiver.  This leads to lots of 'is this package yours' fun.  Obviously those in command want it opened whether it's been sent to them or not.  Those scenes are like a Space-Nazi Cinderella sketch.

The planet they arrive on is ruled by Overlords, dressed similarly to Nazi-era army officers.  On the planet below there are the downtrodden invaded race.  Also some Mutants, who are being killed off.  Maybe because there mutations are only attached to their clothing not their actual back.  There is a freedom fighter from the planet below and also a collaborator.  Later on everything's further mixed up by the appearance of massive insects who wiggle around a lot.  Then a Blofeld turns up.

It isn't the most priginal story ever but I'm enjoying it.  The characters are all ones we've seen a million times before.  I think I've guessed the ending but it'll nice seeing if I'm right.  I was a little disappointed to see parts of Full Circle weren' very original :-(

There's a new addition to the 30 Day Challengers.  It's on Confessions of a Neowhovian.  It's an interesting blog written by a newcomer to DW who's blogging her experiences of Classic Who.  A nice look at things for us oldies ;-)

I found her via her comments on Paul's Blog.

Day 21 - Doctor Who Challenge

The First Doctor Who Story I Watched 

I have absolutely no idea on this one.  It was a Peter Davison story but I don't know which one.  I was very young then!  So much for the 'your first Doctor is your favourite theory' there then (sorry Paul).  I don't dislike him, there's nothing really to dislike about him.  I just find him a little bland.  I did like two of his companions though, Teegan, Turlough and Peri.  Davison always comes across as a really nice bloke, as does his Doctor.

He had some pretty good stories.  From his tenure I enjoyed The Visitation, fun, sci-fi and history.  Black Orchid was interesting with nice period wear and only two epsiodes.  Earthshock really did give us a shock, a brave move.  Enlightenment was a great idea but an episode too long.  Warriors of the Deep I've always had a soft spot for, despite the Merkin Myrka.  The Awakening is a nice dark story.  Planet of Fire was good but a little too long.  I enjoy Davison stories he just doesn't stand out for me.

Day 20 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite/Least Favourite Non-Fiction Doctor Who Book

My Favourite

I'm going back to childhood here.  It has to be The Key to Time.  I pored over this for hour after hour as a youngster.  Though I have to admit I haven't read it for a long time.  It suited the fact hungry seeker of more DW I was then.  Doctor Who: The Companions also helped fill the gaps I was missing.

Least Favourite

This seems harsh.  I see all the good things about the book but it just doesn't interest me enough.  It's The Writer's Tale.  I think it's a wonderful resource for fans who want to know the nitty gritty of the new show.  I don't really care enough about RTD's era for this to pull me in.  For other writers out there I think it's a wonderful resource.  I'm not slagging this book off just saying it isn't for me.

Day 19 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite/Least Favourite Target Novelisation

My Favourite

This one's easy.  One of my favourite books as a kid was Doctor Who and the Cybermen.  It scared me and had Jamie in it, as well as Ben & Polly.  The Target Novels gave me my love of the second Doctor and these companions.  This story I read many times.  In my head there were no dubious sets or notquite right special effects.  It was perfectly pictured.  I love the way there's a sense of threat that builds over the first half of the book.  The scenes with Jamie alone in sick bay with the Cybermen are my favourite.  As a kid I was very
scared.

Others I've enjoyed have been Doctor Who and the Daemons, Terror of the Autons, The Three Doctors, The Loch Ness Monster, The Tenth Planet, Enemy of the World, Warrior's Gate, The Awakening and The Invasion.

The thing with these books is I read them at a young age.  I'm not too critical of what I read now, then there was none.  The ones I return to, that I can remember reading kind of get a free pass.  Ones that are new to me I'm a little harsher on.

I will always be glad that the novels were released as they gave me a full insight to Doctor Who's past that wasn't available anywhere else.  I'm also very grateful to Failsworth Library for stocking so many of them.

My Least Favourite

I'm probably biased but there aren't any of these books I really dislike.  I did recently read Doctor Who and the Android Invasion and was disappointed.  It lacked any sense of peril, didn't have any feeling in it.  So I'll put that one down.

Day 18 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite/Least Favourite Big Finish Audio Doctor Who Adventure

As I've said before...  I admire Big Finish for what they've done, in the lean years, in keeping the flame alive.  From what I hear  they're a very professional outfit that put out quality drama.  It's just that I struggle with audio drama/books.  I'm always surprised by how many original cast members they bring together.  I have a sneaky suspicion that working on a Big Finish production there is much fun to be had.

Here is their website  http://www.bigfinish.com/

They do much more than Doctor Who.  If you like audio drama/books I suggest you have a good look around their site.  There seems to be something for all tastes.  Sherlock Holmes,  Highlander,  Blake's 7,  Stargate,  Sapphire and Steel and much more.

Day 17 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Top 3 New Series Stories


Looking down the list there's more contenders for this category than I expected.  I must enjoy New Who more than I thought ;-)

Contenders that didn't quite make it are The Unquiet Dead, a nice spooky story early on in the new show's run.  The name Dickens is always going to pull in viewers too.  The Idiot's Lantern is one I loved, very spooky.  What it's trying to say about us and our addiction to the goggle box I don't know!  Amy's Choice was a clever, dark episode and I'm not sure I fully understand it's implications even now.  Toby Jones was always going to up the enjoyment here.  Vincent and the Doctor was made great by the casting of Tony Curran.  A performance not as good as his would have taken me right out of the tale and made it sniggerable.  Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead was deliciously dark and had the added bonus of making us afraid of our own shadows.  Not too sure about the ongoing tale it began and whether it will end in a satisfactory manner yet though.  I enjoyed Girl in the Fireplace but think it would have been better as a solo doctor story, the companions just distracted.

My three favourites are, have you guessed?

The Rebel Flesh/Almost People, this had so many homages without them making me squirm.  It took the age old doppelganger tale and gave it fresh legs.  It's also the story that rounded Rory out for me.

Human Nature/Family of Blood, I loved this.  The darkness, the setting, the cast.  Martha's performance.  Tennant was well suited to play the role he did here.  And yet another household object to be spooked by.

No surprises that The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances is my favourite.  It spooked me out at 29.  I bet kids were delightfully creeped out!  Richard Wilson gives us a great performance and the FX were used well, giving a sense of the story rather than being the highlight.  Captain Jack's still fresh here and a nice addition.

Day 16 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Top 3 Classic Series Stories

I can sense this one is going to hurt.  I'm going to have to omit stories I love....

After a quick look over the list to make sure I hadn't forgotten any I'm left with 17 contenders.  Two of which are definites.  Now to sift through the other 15.  I'm left with 3 possibles.

The nearly there's would be The Daleks, I love this story.  The Thals, Skaro, the metal city all combine to give us a new villain in a great environment.  Dalek Invasion of Earth, I love the threat to Earth, the doublcrossing and the madness of the Dalek's plan.  The Horror of Fang Rock, a Gothic tale, the characters trapped in a lighthouse, a sci-fi twist and Tom Baker, excellent stuff.  The Five Doctors, for all its many faults this is a memory of my childhood I'm very fond of and still enjoy.  The Sea Devils, Iconic imagery, The Master and UNIT.  The Time Meddler, a look at other Time Lords and one with a mischievous streak.  The Sontaran Experiment, a nice snappy tale and my favourite Sontaran story by a whisker.  The Mark of the Rani, don't laugh, I haven't seen this since it aired but remember being glued to the screen.  I loved the setting and the spookiness.The Invasion, earth under peril, more iconic imagery and Troughton.  Terror of the Zygons, I loved all the characters in this and wondering who was real and who wasn't.  Though the Skarasen didn't work too well on screen I love it when DW 'explains' things.  The War Machines, my favourite London Skyline feature and a sinister computer villain.  I can forgive it the realisation of the actual War Machines.  Full Circle, I loved this story as a kid.  The prejudice led exclusions and how it actually turned Full Circle.  Not too subtle but it worked.

Now the two that missed it by a whisker.  The Stones of Blood, another gothicy, dark tale with a sci-fi angle. It also has Romana I, she left too soon.  The Daemons, I'm becoming a bit predictable here aren't I?  I can't help it if my two favourite genres are spooky and sci-fi!  Doctor Who mixes the two better than anyone else.  The Daemons gave us Bok, a White Witch and the Master as a vicar.  It also enforced my belief that barrows, tunuli, etc are dangerous places.

Drumroll please.  My three favourites are Genesis of the Daleks, a great story leading up to the scenes that everyone remembers.  It has Time Lord fiddling, something I always liked.  It's a story with my favourite Doctor as well as Harry and Sarah Jane.  The scenes of war torn Skaro spook me out. Normally origin stories told after something is ingrained in our minds fall very flat.  This one doesn't.  It gives us a believable tale, told well.  Do these uniforms remind you of anything?

Tomb of the Cybermen, I've mentioned this before in the challenge.  I love it through its faults. Troughton, Hines, Cybermats and 'that scene'.  It feels deliciously dark too.

Pyramids of Mars is probably my all-time favourite.  Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane.  Egyptian mummies roaming rural England, a madman who owns a country pile.  Mr Bronson!!!  The question you have to ask where one tells the truth and the other lies.  This is one of the first VHS tapes of DW I bought as a youngster.  That probably helped seal it as my favourite but I stand by it's one of the best.

Day 15 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite/Least Favourite Recurring Character


My Favourite Recurring Character


I suppose Wifred Mott would garner a lot of votes here.  I've never been a fan of Bernard Cribbins but I do think this is by far the best I've seen him on screen.  he's far from a favourite of mine though.  Wilfred is the best of the New Who companion's family members by far.  I am not a fan of the 'family' characters so none of those make the cut.


I loved the Meddling Monk character but as I am not lucky enough to have seen his appearance in Dalek's Masterplan I feel he isn't recurring enough.  I like the Rani, female villains are lacking, but she hasn't been given the right stories, yet....  I liked the disruption captain Jack brought in his early appearances but he's just a touch too Lord Flashheart.


Mike Yates and Sergeant Benton are special.  I have a fondness for them.  They may give you a clue to where I'm ultimately headed...   It's a no-brainer for me really.  The obvious favourite of mine is Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.  A nice settling presence.  Sometimes written well, sometimes not.  My fondness makes me forgive his pompousness and his over-eager trigger finger.  I sympathis a lot for him having to deal with the Third Doctor's superior attitude.  It's nice when the Brig' appears.  He's a Doctor Who stalwart :-)

My Least Favourite Recurring Character

This is a no-contest piece.  Alpha f'ing Centauri.  Squeak off you annoying delegate.

Day 14 - Doctor Who Challenge

The Best/Worst Cliffhanger Endings

The Best Cliffhanger Ending

For me there's only one real contender for the best and that's the end of The Tenth Planet. It ushers in a whole new concept and leaves the audience wondering for a week.  With no sodding preview to spoil it!  Only for Cole Hawlings to appear ;-) Though I was very worried throughout The Stones of Blood.  The lovely Romana was left hanging at the end of every episode. I still wish we'd had more Mary Tamm :-(

The Worst Cliffhanger Ending

I'll have to agree with something I read on a forum once, here.  Every Dalek appearance at the end of episode one.  Where the fact that Dalek was in the title made it very unsurprising.  The one below was a goodie though.  people didn't know what the Daleks were when it was shown.

Day 13 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite/Least Favourite Black & White Story

Ha!  We've got one here I can answer :-)

My Favourite Black & White Story

Now there's a lot of contenders here.  Both of the Dalek stories that I'd seen as Cushing films are good.  Especially Invasion of Earth.  Scenes of England in times of sci-fi crisis always grab me.  I loved The Chase, even it's terribly corny parts.  The War machines gets a thumbs up for the same reasons as Dalek Invasion of Earth.  Plus, it has the Post Office Tower, oh yes!  The Aztecs was a great story.  It gave us different aspects to nearly all the TARDIS crew except Susan really.  The Time Meddler was excellent.  Even though Steven was bloody irritating in it..  There's nowhere near enough Troughton around but my favourite on screen adventures would have to be The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Invasion.  Once again London's suffering.

Now the hard part, choosing just one of the above....  I think I'm going to have to go with Tomb of the Cybermen.  Yes it's aged somewhat and would never be made as it is nowadays.  I look past that though.  It has my favourite recurring monsters.  Portrayed very scarily and with the wonderfully spooky 'breaking out' scene.  Don't forget the Cybermats!  I saw this long afer it has been discovered and the fuss around it dismissed as hype.  It still grabbed me though and is one of the few stories I actually own on DVD.

My Least Favourite Black & White Story

This is a little harder.  There are plenty of stories that are sub-par in a few places but my fondness for the series makes me feel cruel sticking one up here for ridicule.  I have just watched The Ark and it felt a bit wrong in a few places.  I liked the idea of the story but feel it lacks a little in the telling.  Plus it has two of my least favourite companions.  Steven and Dodo.  They got it the black mark that got it here, blame them!

Day 12 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite/Least Favourite Composer

I have never really noticed the music in Doctor Who.  Let alone the composition of it.  Once again this challenge is hindered by my lack of observation as I tramp through DW.  Maybe credit should be given 'cos the musical accompaniment is that good I don't notice it?

Well I'll just leave you eith this video of the first time I ever noticed the music on screen in anything.  And what a way to bring it to my attention.

But before I leave, just to let you know someone else has joined the DW Challenge.  The Frankly Mr Shankly Blog, which can be found here. 

Day 11 - Doctor Who Challenge

My Favourite/Least Favourite Opening Titles

Now this one required research.  Luckily I found this handy site.  I'm not sure if I have a favourite exactly.  I love the theme tune in most of it's forms.  The adding of too many extra bits as it goes along I could probably do without.

The original is still pretty great.  It sounds creepy and mysterious but quite upbeat and I love the light effect at the beginning.

The first Pertwee one added the necessary colour but couldn't better the original for me.

I like the lights at the beginning of the 2nd Pertwee version.  Puts some sense of travelling into it.

Yeah the Time Tunnel effects for Baker were good and stuck in my mind.  But that's probably due to what I had on VHS as a kid.  I like that one but I'm beginning to think none of them are exactly exciting me.  Has the theme, in all it's forms, become background noise because I'm so used to it.  Hearing any of them makes me smile in anticipation but not because it's a particular theme but because of what will follow.

Now we get to 1980 and this is where it starts getting a little iffy for me.  This must have beenthe first theme I heard but I don't like the level of the dn, dn, dn bits.  They're a little too loud.  Mind you it's always been the swishes and the wooo-oo bits that are my favourite (God, I really need to get out more!)

Colin Baker's time seemed to make it generally more flashy.  Doesn't really bother me either way.

McCoy's theme was yet more modern.  With CGI! apparently.  It remonds me a little of the DS9 credits, don't shout it just popped into my head.  As it goes on it just doesn't feel like DW to me.  (With statements like that maybe I am a real DW fan after all.)

Yeah you guessed it I don't like the 1996 one.  they tried to take it don the Star Trek/Wars route and that just isn't for me.

2005 gave us back our show.  The titles seem to herald what is to come.  It's what we know but different and much more hectically rapid.

Right now we're travelling through a stormy time tunnel into a fiery one.  Is that telling us something?

So, I'm surprised to say I'll take the original as my favourite.  With Least favourite going to the TV movie alongside a special mention for the McCoy version.

Here is a YouTube video of all the themes.  Go on, what better way could you think of to spend  the next 8 minutes?