THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN

Counter Plot We enjoy – if enjoy is the right word – a brief respite from the recons with an episode that actually exists in the archives. Whoopee-****ing-do. Of all the episodes that survive from this story, why did it have to be this one? Sue: I’m not sure if the guy playing Chen is…

THE DALEKS’ MASTER PLAN

The Nightmare Begins Do I come clean and tell Sue that we’re about to start a 12-part epic, or do I postpone the inevitable and pretend it’s a two-parter? The second option will only get me so far (and a cushion in the face), so I’ve decided to take the approach that’s been endorsed by…

THE MYTH MAKERS

The Myth Makers I’m going to shake up the blog’s format for this particular instalment. Instead of writing up my notes episodically, I’m going to tackle it as a single entry. The reason for this is simple, The Myth Makers passed the ultimate test and we watched it in one go. Sue insisted. The first…

MISSION TO THE UNKNOWN

Mission to the Unknown More than 10 minutes pass before Sue asks the obvious question. Sue: Where the hell is the Doctor? Me: He isn’t in this one. Sue: Has he gone on holiday again? Where to this time? Me: Everyone has gone on holiday this week. Sue: What? They can’t do that! I don’t…

GALAXY 4

Four Hundred Dawns My friend John Williams has kindly furnished me with all the recons I need to get us through the next few months, but his Loose Canon reconstruction of ‘Galaxy Snore’ leaves a lot to be desired. It looks like it’s been sourced from a 10th-generation VHS tape, with picture distortion, hissy sound…

THE TIME MEDDLER

The Watcher Sue likes it when the Doctor pines for his ex-companions, and she finds his anxiety about being left alone understandable and strangely humanising. Sue: If he could just tone down the bloody, “Hmm hmm hmms”, he’d actually be okay. When Steven staggers into the console room instead of a Dalek, which Sue thought…

THE CHASE

The Executioners The Chase begins with a lengthy TARDIS scene which warms the cockles of Sue’s heart. Sue: I like this a lot. Everyone’s chilling out. It’s a relaxing Sunday afternoon on the TARDIS, and the kid is moaning to the grown-ups because she’s bored. The gag about Ian’s book of monsters being too far-fetched…

THE SPACE MUSEUM

The Space Museum As I slip the DVD into our PS3, I sigh. Loudly. Sue: That doesn’t sound very promising. Me: Sorry. Ignore me. I don’t want to prejudice you in any way. Sue: You already have. Give it to me straight: how long and how bad? Me: It’s short. Four parts. The first part…

THE CRUSADE

The Lion We had to watch this episode twice. I’d love to tell you Sue adored it so much we decided to wallow in its glorious splendour again, but the sad truth is we had to re-watch it for an array of complicated reasons which I will bore you with now. First of all, our…

THE WEB PLANET

The Web Planet Sue: Is the print damaged? It looks awful. Couldn’t they clean this one up? Me: They have cleaned it up. Sue: So why does it look like shit? Me: Because they smeared a tub of Vaseline over the camera lens. Sue: Vaseline? Are you joking? Me: Fraid not. In fact, there’s a…