David Tennant On The Friday Night Project – March 2008

I don't usually do reviews for shows like this but this is a one off as it was quite a hilarious episode. I've been watching it again on YouTube.

Well The Friday Night Project is by far the funniest in terms of both a skit show and a chat show series. Since 2006, both Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins have taken over the reigns and elevated the series' popularity even more than usual. Not that the original hosts weren't
any good but Carr and Collins' have had a natural chemistry that makes this such an irresistible watch.

One of the many highlights of the previous seasons has been the relentless teasing of Big Brother contestants but because the sixth season of The Friday Night Project has started weeks before BB9, this series has had to improvise a little.

The opening episode with Elle McPherson was pleasant enough and like many shows like this, the enjoyment largely depends on who is guest hosting. Some guest hosts' work well, other fall flat and really excellent ones come back for seconds.

David Tennant is a good example of the third outcome. He wowed audiences last year when he presented the opening episode of the fourth season so pulling him in for episode 2 of Season Six seems a smart choice.

For Tennant, his stint came a week before Doctor Who came back to our screens so it was one of many shows in which he could plug the new season. Alan and Justin seemed to have fun about the idea of Catherine Tate perhaps playing her character Donna like her iconic swearing Nan and David did spill the already established spoiler that Season 4 would be a hot bed of companions. And with the uses of Dave Ross, maybe a certain Dalek creator is coming back also.

As for the guest hosting, Tennant managed to better himself even more. Dressed in a sleek and sexy suit, we had Tennant play out a group therapy session with Alan and Justin which descended with the three of them going into Asda and declaring their love for each other. Trying to keep a straight face during that bordered on the impossible.

It also helped that the comedy came in thick and fast. The lead singer of the Wombats came out with some comment about his mum that David, Alan and Justin all misconstrued for something else and both obesity in Scotland, a pregnant transsexual and Camilla's anatomy can under fire during the news section.

Other highlights include the "Who Knows The Most About The Guest Host" bit. With Freema Agyeman and Suzanne Shaw doing their best to help Alan and Justin, the host with the most did manage to electric shock his fellow hosts. Actually Freema was the only one who managed to escape being shocked and she did hesitate at one point.

However we did get a pure silly moment in this spoof with Carry On Who. Seriously it's times like times where innuendos can go a bit too far but the Cyberman's baby a little cutie and Tennant played it up for laughs better than last time. Also the questions moments from the audience saw a defence of genetalia and a lucky woman ruffling Tennant's hair.

The big highlight of the episode though was the prank bit. All the celebrities resort to an extreme prank to scare the living daylights out of some ordinary person. Sometimes this person happens to be a fan of the guest host, but in recent instalments it's just been random
strangers. Either way it's one of the best parts of the episode.

In this episode it was the best thing full stop. Given that Doctor Who has got an obsessive fan base, it was thought that the sight of David Tennant bound and gagged to a bed in his undies being kidnapped by an obsessive fan would be the perfect recipe for some unwitting estate agent. Gee, not much stereotyping there then.

Granted the agent in question fell for the trick set up by David and the guy's boss but imagine if he had left David Tennant bound and gagged to the bed? Well apparently one of his mates did. When you think about it, the spoof is the type of peril situation that would've
been common on the old Doctor Who.

Overall as episodes went, this one was clearly the most inventive and filthiest of the bunch. We've had plenty of great hosts and gross out moments but this one really did take things that bit further. Does this mean that we can get John Barrowman for a second time, now?

- Freema Agyeman mentioned something about French Fancies to escape
getting buzzed at one point.
- The strangest place David was asked for an autograph was in a shower
at a gym.
- The nurse in the spoof for Carry On Who had a rude name and three
breasts.
- We saw a clip from “Partners In Crime”.
- David looked horrified when Justin read out Doctor Who porn. Though
he did joke that the second one came from John Barrowman's blog.
- Suzanne Shaw once got mistaken for Hannah Spearitt.

Quote Of The Episode

David Tennant (bound/gagged to a bed to Barry): "This room here. In here please, hurry up. I'm in here. Please this fucking psychopath has had me here for two days. Please get me out of here. This fucking mental man, this fucking nutter has had me here for days and, and I've been fucking tied to this bed. He fucking kidnapped me in this house. Thank you for coming. Why are you here?"

Rating: 10 out of 10.

Into Space, Time And Beyond Imagination - Why I Love Doctor Who

Martha (re The Doctor): “His name is The Doctor. He has saved your lives so many times and you never even knew he was there. He never stops, he never strays, he never asks to be thanked. But I’ve seen him. I know him. I love him and I know what he can do” – Last Of The Time Lords.

It’s a mouthful but it’s certainly a nice way of describing the undeniable awesomeness of this particular show. I knew of the original series but it was something that bypassed me. Thanks to this series however I’ve amended that mistake and have been hunting for certain stories but when it comes to the new series of Doctor Who, I was hooked instantly. I didn’t need a few episodes or nagging from certain people because everything about the opening episode “Rose” pulled me in.

We had a strange man in a leather jacket and Northern accent with two heartbeats and the ability to travel through time and space in a police box and the sad knowledge that a Time War eradicated his species.

As for our gateway into this crazy environment we got a 19 year old in a dull shop job who was drifting through life looking for a reason to feel alive and a part of something important. In fairness that’s pretty easy to relate to, I’ve done a fair amount of drifting myself so in some ways I could relate to that myself. I think many people can, have and done, which is why for this series Rose works so well as a companion. She may not be the best companion in this series history but as gateways go, she played an essential part in the phenomenal second time success for this series.

In some ways it’s amazing that Doctor Who is a success the second time around. You’d think people wouldn’t have the time for a series with a less strenuous plot compared to the likes of Lost but sometimes the most simple of premises can be the most effective ones. Also much as I love the new Battlestar Galactica, it would be kind of a shame if it was the only other series that had success second time round. Russell T Davies more or less has said in some of his interviews that many people would jack in their lives for the opportunity to travel in time and space – I know I certainly would and as a hero, there’s something pretty unconventional about The Doctor. He’s not necessarily a lady killer (despite the fact we’ve seen him smooching Rose, Martha and Captain Jack) but this is a hero who has gone from looking like an elderly gentlemen like William Hartnell to more prettier (and nubile) specimens like Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant. He’s also opposed to violence and in nearly every episode; he’s even given his adversaries a chance to redeem themselves.

Of course many of them have been stupid to decline that generous offer and during moments of devastation, The Doctor can exact some pretty extreme judgements. In “The Runaway Bride” he slaughtered The Empress Of Racnoss’ kids and in “The Family Of Blood”, he gave the psychotic family their wish to live forever as long as they didn’t mind being trapped in every mirror and being used as scarecrows. Eccleston’s Doctor had angst; Tennant’s despite the charm could almost you sorry you were even born. He didn’t react too well when Harriet Jones tried to defend earth by nuking the Sycorax’s ship in “The Christmas Invasion” and in possibly a moment that makes The Doctor come across as being a bit of a dick, he tried to avoid Captain Jack by going to the end of the universe in “Utopia” (though going that far was more TARDIS involved). Plus he was pretty hot and cold with the brilliant Martha Jones in some episodes of Season Three.

Either way, he makes for a refreshing hero – noble in one sense but also capable like any hero of falling into the darkness. Some of the dark moments make this series as the series’ ability to blend humour and scares is what separates it from most UK TV.

It also helps that the production team are actual fans of the former series. Both Billie Piper and new cast member Catherine Tate may not have been avid viewers but the likes of Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson grew up with this series as did David Tennant and John Barrowman and from a crew perspective, a show like Doctor Who has to be one of the more intriguing jobs to be on.

Over here, it’s become every bit as tabloid fodder and scrutiny as likes of soaps and reality and often the clever plots and dialogue and powerhouse acting serve as a reminder of how futile those particular genres are now becoming. This is the closest to a detailed series over in terms of plotting, characterisation, internet fan base, DVD sales and heck, actual episode titles. It’s weird that many UK shows don’t do that with their dramas.

Unfortunately there is a flipside to all that scrutiny and that mainly means plots being largely revealed months before we actually see new episodes. We all knew when this series would return that influential villains such as the Daleks, Cybermen and The Master would be popping up and thanks to the likes of The Sun, we got perhaps too spoiled. Season Four looks set to bring back the Sontarans and the rumours of Dalek creator Davros returning have also surfaced.

We also knew in the first week of the series arrival that Christopher Eccleston was leaving and that David Tennant was replacing his as The Doctor. In June 2006, Billie Piper’s exit from the series as Rose Tyler was announced as was the arrival of Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones in the show’s third season.

Speaking of Freema Agyeman, the week of “Human Nature” being aired and after a fantastic interview with Jonathan Ross, The Sun told us she had been axed. To make things even nastier, they claimed it was on the ground of her character not working. Some lies are easy to catch out – Freema’s chemistry with David was perfect and Martha as a character. Granted people weren’t crazy about Martha having a crush on The Doctor but people didn’t hate her for it (I certainly didn’t) and after the transmission of “Last Of The Time Lords”, the actual truth was that Martha’s role would be reduced to five episodes which would suck if we weren’t going to be seeing her in three episodes in Torchwood’s second season so either way, in 2008, we’ll be getting a more mature Miss Jones both in the hub and in the TARDIS. For Freema, that’s a bit of a sweet gig.

Also it’s not like The Doctor will be riding solo for Season Four as Catherine Tate’s gobby Donna Noble will be the full companion for next year along with Martha for the latter half of the season.

Of course with so many rumours, there are a few that are false too – We aren’t meeting the Ice Warriors just yet, David Tennant’s not quitting and the series hasn’t been axed. A few specials in 2009 and a fifth full season in 2010 with Tennant more or less on board should kill that particular recurring.

More interestingly was the rumours of a big battle in the fourth season which would see The Doctor, Donna and Martha united with Rose, Mickey, Jackie, Pete, Captain Jack Harkness and Sarah Jane Smith against Davros. Well 2008 does represent the show’s 45th anniversary and excluding Tylers, it’s perhaps possible that there could be some truth behind this one. I did say possible!

So counting the upcoming Christmas special “Voyage Of The Damned”, how does the new compared to the old series? Well the effects are obviously better and the writing can be even more zeitgeist than before (especially episodes like “Blink” and the love of DVD Easter Eggs and such) but to me one thing that makes this series better than the old one is the structure. 14 episodes, with 3 two part stories (or in Season Three’s case two 2 part stories and a 3 parter for the finale) allows the stories and arcs to be more consistent and if you despise a particular villain like the Slitheen in “Aliens Of London”/“World War Three” or the Abzorbaloff in “Love And Monsters” you don’t have to put with them for too long.

As for the DVD’s, the show is glorious in that arena. Not only do you get commentaries for every single episode but some of them for Season Two were in-vision and there’s something very great about the condensed Doctor Who Confidential as well as video diaries on all three seasons box sets from Russell T. Davies, Mark Gatiss, David Tennant, Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman but the plethora of trailers, the Pudsey cutaway (Children In Need) scene, the 2006 Music and Monsters concert on the Season Three set as well as that brilliant interview with the gorgeous John Barrowman on the Season One set, this is a show built for DVD and not even the absences of TARDISODES or the cool 90 second trailers for Season Three fails to kill the buzz surrounding this show’s DVD treatment.

So far we’ve only dealt with two incarnations of The Doctor on this series. To say I prefer David Tennant’s Doctor is obvious but out of 42 episodes, he’s been in 30, affecting every televised season so far and the fact that this guy is every bit as much as a Doctor Who fan as I have become and millions of people way before me has helped. Eccleston’s Doctor was brilliant and it was a pity he only lasted a season because episodes like “The End Of The World” and “Dalek” showed his impressive range as an actor.

The companions have been more plentiful too. A great return from Sarah Jane Smith in Season Two’s “School Reunion” showed not only how brilliant she was as a companion to The Doctor but also the intrinsic flaws of being with The Doctor as well. For the first two seasons, Rose Tyler was in love with The Doctor and Billie Piper’s chemistry with both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant was electric but their relationship was never going to last as long. The hints in the latter episodes ushered her and The Doctor’s separation and by “Doomsday”, it was her being stuck in a parallel with on/off boyfriend Mickey, mother Jackie and an alternative version of her father Pete that would peek more interest that a battle between the Daleks and the Cybermen. Then again that episode had me balling like a baby so I can talk.

Of course two of my favourite companions have been pivotal. “The Empty Child”/“The Doctor Dances” debuted Captain Jack Harkness, a bisexual 51st Century conman/Time Agent who may or may not be the Face Of Boe but who has definitely had two years of his memory removed and currently runs a version of Torchwood. Jack is a cute little puzzle and easily the most sexualised of companions for this series and perhaps one of the most universally loved ones too. John Barrowman is not only hot to look but he’s made Jack into such a charming character, he even upstages The Doctor and like Tennant, Barrowman has chemistry with just about anyone he encounters. Plus Jack can be loyal judging by his willingness to die in battle with the Daleks in “The Parting Of The Ways” and also in his determination to help The Doctor and Martha with The Master in “Last Of The Time Lords”. But also Jack is loyal to his Torchwood team and even turned a chance to go back travelling in the TARDIS to help Gwen, Owen, Toshiko and Ianto deal with monsters in Cardiff. Let’s just hope his zesty, flirty humour also remains intact.

Then there’s Martha Jones - another gorgeous medical student played by relatively then unknown actress Freema Agyeman but a bit like Captain Jack, while The Doctor did care about Martha, a part of you felt she almost had to work extra hard for him to really notice her. She was willing to stay in an era where both her race and gender could be used to discriminate her in “Human Nature”/“The Family Of Blood” in order to protect The Doctor and she travelled through every part of the world as a fugitive in “Last Of The Time Lords” in order to stop The Master’s reign of terror. Plus her exit upon rewatching is dignified and poignant. She loves The Doctor, he does not feel quite the same and she recognises that and realises that things need to change. So she left to help her family recover with the solemn vow of returning.

The girl had me from the first five minutes of “Smith And Jones” and by the end of the season she instantly became one of my all time TV characters. Her return in Season Four with a mature outlook should be fun but it might the dynamic between her and Donna that could be more fascinating. Whether or not I will be enamoured with Donna Noble in Season Four remains to be seen but I have confidence that the writers will try and make me care about Donna as a character and if Catherine Tate can avoid going OTT, the chances of me liking could be good. This show works more effectively with The Doctor and two companions a lot of the time.

However every good show needs better villains and in terms of the original ones, creatures like the Gelth (“The Unquiet Dead”), Reapers (“Father’s Day”), Krillitaines (“School Reunion”), Clockwork Droids (“The Girl In The Fireplace”), The Ood (“The Impossible Planet”/“The Satan Pit”), Carrionites (“The Shakespeare Code), killer scarecrows (“Human Nature/“The Family Of Blood”) Weeping Angels (“Blink”) and the Toclafane (“The Sound Of Drums”/“Last Of The Time Lords”) are definitely effective and the treatments of the Daleks in the three seasons aired so far has been great. Okay so “Daleks In Manhattan”/ “Evolution Of The Daleks” deserved a stronger plot but their invasions/body counts in “Bad Wolf”/ “The Parting Of The Ways” and “Army Of Ghosts”/ “Doomsday” were thrilling as was the moral dilemma in “Dalek” when The Doctor’s emotions were used against him. The Cybermen so far have only appeared in Season Two’s “Rise Of The Cybermen”/ “The Age Of Steel” as well as “Army Of Ghosts”/ “Doomsday” and are still physically threatening but they need a bigger storyline in the future. As for The Master, well having two excellent actors in both Derek Jacobi and John Simm playing him and the homoerotic relationship with him and The Doctor fleshed out in “Utopia”, “The Sound Of Drums” and “Last Of The Time Lords” certainly made Season Three my favourite season. He’s still psychotic and even more ruthless in his attempts of victory and his for now death was incredibly sad.

Other former villains like the Autons and the Macra have only gotten an episode each such as “Rose” and “Gridlock” but with Season Four definitely returning the Sontarans and more than likely Davros as well, the ties between both the old and new series are nicely maintained. Overall this is pretty much the best thing on TV at the moment and here’s to many more glorious seasons to come.

Previous Eight (1963-1996)

First Doctor

Portrayed by William Hartnell
Tenure 1963–1966
First appearance An Unearthly Child
Last appearance The Tenth Planet (regular)
The Three Doctors (played by William Hartnell) The Five Doctors (played by Richard Hurndall)
Number of series 4
Appearances 29 stories (134 episodes)
Companions on television: Susan, Barbara, Ian, Vicki, Steven, Katarina, Sara, Dodo, Ben, Polly

The First of our Doctors but not necessarily my favourites (though it should be pointed out that there aren’t any I detest), Hartnell’s rather old Doctor was a cantankerous so and so with a young granddaughter in Susan and a bigger desire to get rid of the two teachers who more or less became a part of his first adventures. An Unearthly Child was a rather modest way of opening a series that would have a 40 plus year history but it was also a nice way of establishing the show’s concept about travelling and in Hartnell’s era we did see Cavemen, Marco Polo and King Richard and he was also the same Doctor that gave us both the Daleks (both on Skaro in The Daleks and invading London in The Dalek Invasion On Earth) and Cybermen, with the latter’s introduction in The Tenth Planet signalling Hartnell’s exit from the TARDIS. Plus one of the companions also died during his tenure as Time Lord. Doctor Number 1 did also pop up to help/antagonise his successors in both The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors as well.

Second Doctor

Portrayed by Patrick Troughton
Tenure 1966–1969
First appearance The Tenth Planet
Last appearance The War Games (regular)
The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors, The Two Doctors (guest star)
Number of series 3
Appearances 21 stories (119 episodes)
Companions on television: Ben, Polly, Jamie, Victoria, Zoe

Would you believe that he’s one of my favourites? A rather happy, manic guy with a penchant for a recorder, Troughton brought some more humour to the role than his predecessor upon his debut in The Tenth Planet and we also got two of the best companions in both genius Zoe and Highlander Jamie as well as epic moments involving the Daleks in The Power Of The Daleks and The Evil Of The Daleks and the Cybermen in both Tomb Of The Cybermen and The Invasion as well as a memorable confrontation with The Ice Warriors and the Macra as well. Like Hartnell, Troughton’s duration on the series would only be for three seasons and his exit in The War Games is memorable for the callous way the Time Lords erased both Jamie and Zoe’s memories and their own particular punishment of the Second Doctor himself. It also didn’t stop him from popping up in The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors where where he offered his help to Doctors Three, Five and Six. It’s also around his era that UNIT would pop up to occasionally help The Doctor as well.

Third Doctor

Portrayed by Jon Pertwee
Tenure 1970–1974
First appearance Spearhead from Space
Last appearance Planet of the Spiders (regular) The Five Doctors (guest star)
Number of series 5
Appearances 24 stories (128 episodes)
Companions UNIT, Liz, Jo, Sarah,

Another incredibly strong Doctor, Jon Pertwee’s era represented an impressive lot of firsts for the series as a whole. Aside from the fact his lasted five years as The Third Doctor (along with Bessie the dream car), his era also saw the debut of some of the series most impressive of villains with the Autons in Spearhead From Space, rogue Time Lord The Master (played by Roger Delgado) in Terror Of The Autons and the Sontarans in The Time Warrior. This was also the very era that debuted many pivotal and fan favourite companions into the mix as well come to think of it. Cool, calm and collected scientist Liz Shaw made for a welcome relief of the more screaming assistants we had in the past and it’s a pity that she departs after the seventh season. Jo Grant is by far the most important companion of the bunch and perhaps the first in which The Doctor really showed feelings for. Her departure in The Green Death even saw The Doctor unable to celebrate her engagement to Cliff Jones and she’s the only companion to have lasted three full seasons during the Pertwee era of the series. Then again sassy Uber-feminist and journalist Sarah Jane Smith would then go on to be one of the most enduring companion and a lot of that is down to Elisabeth Sladen’s magnificent performance as well Sarah’s abilities to show her cunning, notably during her debut in The Time Warrior. Also 34 years after her first appearance on the series has her own series called The Sarah Jane Adventures. UNIT also played a prominent role in the Third Doctor’s largely earthbound adventures. Both The Brigadier and Sergeant John Benton had been familiar with the audience from the Second Doctor but here both men formed a close friendship with The Doctor and were able to get him out of many a tight predicament. The most interesting member of the UNIT bunch however was Captain Mike Yates. Aside from the fact his debut episode Terror Of The Autons was the same episode to debut both Jo Grant and The Master, Mike Yates may have featured less than The Brig or Benton but he was given some pretty interesting character development (when he wasn’t getting kidnapped half the time). In The Green Death he succumbed to being hypnotised by the BOSS computer and even betrayed UNIT during Operation Golden Age during Invasion Of The Dinosaurs through a misguided attempt to help the world. That resulted him being forced to retire from UNIT. The writers did give the man some redemption in Planet Of The Spiders when he alerted The Doctor and Sarah Jane to the goings on of a creepy cult in the Meditation Centre he happened to be staying in. He might also be the first gay companion if certain rumours are to be believed as well. It’s also worth noting that from here on in the show went from black and white to colour and even had The Doctor involuntarily bound to Earth as punishment from the Time Lords. The show also celebrated itself tenth anniversary in The Three Doctors with exiled Time Lord Omega attempting to become corporeal by using The Doctor and the rivalry between him and The Master surfaced throughout several episodes such as The Mind Of Evil, The Daemons and The Sea Devils as well as our favourite deranged pepper pots wreaking havoc in the likes of Day Of The Daleks, Planet Of The Daleks and Death To The Daleks as well as the brilliant alternative reality episode Inferno before departing in Planet Of The Spiders. To me this was definitely the best era in the old series history. We got the best Doctor, Villains, Companions and a lot of these stories just stand up better than later versions of the Time Lord.

Fourth Doctor

Portrayed by Tom Baker
Tenure 1974–1981
First appearance Planet of the Spiders (Episode 4)
Last appearance Logopolis (regular)
The Five Doctors (archive footage)
Number of series 7
Appearances 41 stories (172 episodes)
Companions on television: Sarah, Harry, Leela, K-9 (Marks I and II), Romana(I and II) Adric, Tegan, Nyssa

Tom Baker was certainly a force to be reckoned with and regardless of on set antics, there’s no denying no matter how a particular story in his era was, his presence could be felt in outer space. For a lot of people, he is the Doctor and in the seven years since his first full story in Robot, Baker’s Doctor had both Sarah Jane and Harry for the first year and a half when the latter left in Terror Of The Zygons and the former was abandoned in The Hand Of Fear. The main villains of the series had some interesting outings but after the Daleks, Cybermen and The Master, another long lasting big bad emerged in Dalek creator, Davros. Every bit fuelled with hate as his creations Davros schemed against The Doctor/Sarah Jane/Harry in Genesis Of The Daleks (which is possibly the best story in the series’ history) and Destiny Of The Daleks. Our pepper pots also caused their fair amount of chaos in both these instalments and the Cybermen also re-emerged in Revenge Of The Cybermen. When Sarah Jane departed, Leela had been the next main girl before the sixteen season had The Doctor travelling with Time Lady Romana Mark 1 for the season’s 26 episodes/6 stories. Played by Mary Tamm, Romana was another companion written to intellectually equal The Doctor and her second incarnation played by Lalla Ward both encounter Davros in Destiny Of The Daleks and married Tom Baker in real life. Her tenure was also significant for the introduction of K9 and an unaired episode called Shada in which bits would be used for The Five Doctors. The Master who hadn’t been seen since 1973 would also return aged and decayed in The Keeper Of Traken and then rejuvenated and played by Anthony Ainley by the time of Logopolis. The Master’s latest form would look like that of one of The Doctor’s companions Nyssa’s father before The Doctor himself would regenerate in this particular story. By the last season in his tenure, The Doctor had three companions including the reserved Nyssa, unfairly loathed by some Adric and mouthy air stewardess Tegan Jovanka.

Fifth Doctor

Portrayed by Peter Davison
Tenure 1981–1984
First appearance Logopolis (Episode 4)
Last appearance The Caves of Androzani
Number of series 3 Appearances 20 stories (69 episodes)
Companions on television: Adric, Nyssa, Tegan, Turlough, Kamelion, Peri

By far the younger cast of the Doctors, Peter Davison was a strapping 29 year old when he bagged the role as Time Lord and his debut in Castrovalva had him in yet another one of The Master’s elaborate traps and their rivalry would certainly escalate in the 19th season’s convoluted finale Time-Flight which also saw a temporary departure for Tegan. Not that she could be missed as she appeared in the opening episode of the twentieth season Arc Of Infinity, which was also significant for the return of Omega. Maybe it’s me but there’s some rather unsatisfying about Omega’s return and some of the stories in Davison’s tenure aren’t quite as strong, despite him being a wonderful Doctor. A lot of the departures however are incredibly powerful such as Adric’s sacrifice against the Cybermen in the glorious Earthshock or Tegan’s realisation that’s it’s no longer travelling with The Doctor in Resurrection Of The Daleks, another episode that would see the return of Davros. Nyssa’s in Terminus is more downbeat and creepy school boy’s Turlough is okay enough. Another significant moments from the Fifth Doctor’s era includes the show’s twentieth anniversary special The Five Doctors which not only had the first five time incarnation of The Doctor together but it also was the only story to have the Daleks, Cybermen and The Master together as well as several returned companions like Susan, Jamie, Zoe, Sarah Jane. Other companions in this time included Kamelion and botanist Peri Brown, the show’s American companion whose debut in Planet Of Fire saw a fiery death for The Master and the show hit a dark moment in The Caves Of Androzani when The Doctor suffered one of his most violent regenerations. Post onscreen action, Davison has reprised the role of The Fifth Doctor for audio CD’s thanks to Big Finish and for the 2007 Children In Need scene called Time Crash, he will end up meeting David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor.

Sixth Doctor

Portrayed by Colin Baker
Tenure 1984–1986
First appearance The Caves of Androzani
Last appearance The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe
Time and the Rani (Replaced by Sylvester McCoy)
Number of series 3
Appearances 11 stories (31 episodes)
Companions on television: Peri Brown and Melanie Bush

Quite possibly my least favourite Doctor from the ten there has been on TV but nevertheless poor Colin Baker was a good example of doing the best he could with what he had. He wasn’t quite as awful as you’d think but sadly he came onto the show at a time when the people behind the show weren’t supporting it enough. He’s also been the only person cast as The Doctor who has played another role in the series, such as Maxil in Arc Of Infinity. The Twin Dilemma is a decent enough debut but the return of the Cybermen in Attack Of The Cybermen is easily one of his best stories from the series as well as the forced team up between The Master and rogue Time Lady The Rani in Mark Of The Rani, set during the Industrial Revolution. One of the things that bugged me is that Baker’s Doctor could often be too shouty or overly aggressive towards Peri. Granted Peri can be quite annoying but it’s still a shock to see him try to strangle her in The Twin Dilemma and while Timelash is one of the worst episodes in the show’s history, there’s another interesting Dalek/Davros confrontation in Revelation Of The Daleks as well as the meeting of the Second and Sixth Doctors against the Sontaran in The Two Doctors. Halfway throughout the series, Peri then left and The Doctor wound up with high screamer Melanie Bush with a very OTT performance and once again, The Doctor ended up facing trial in Baker’s last season. Thanks to the joys of Audio CD, Baker has gotten the opportunity to continue his role as The Doctor.

Seventh Doctor

Portrayed by Sylvester McCoy
Tenure 1987–1996
First appearance Time and the Rani
Last appearance Survival (regular) Doctor Who (guest star)
Number of series 3
Appearances 13 stories (43 episodes)
Companions on television: Mel and Ace

Heading into the last three years of the show, despite producers being interested in the series, it seemed the poor show had even less support, which is odd given how interesting a lot of the stories in the era really are to a point. Time And The Rani was a good way of introducing Sylvester McCoy as well having a return for Kate O’Mara’s bad girl Time Lady but the season’s finale Dragonfire ditched us of annoying Mel and debuted IMO the original series’ best companion to boot Ace. A volatile girl with an aptitude for explosives and out dated phrases, Ace’s dynamic with The Doctor is something that would definitely be influential to the likes of Rose, Captain Jack and Martha but here it’s more father/daughter than lovers and as a results, it’s perhaps more effective. Ace goes through personal journeys in the likes of Battlefield and The Curse Of Fenric and even has the pleasure of physically assaulting a Dalek in Remembrance Of The Daleks, which would be the last story for both them and Davros as well as meeting the Cybermen in their last tale, Silver Nemesis. In the series finale, Survival, Ace would then have an encounter with The Master as the series then wrapped up with The Doctor musing about work that had to be done. The show’s cancellation may have came out of nowhere but it didn’t kill McCoy doing Audio adventures like Peter Davison and Colin Baker.

Eighth Doctor

Portrayed by Paul McGann Tenure 1996
First appearance Doctor Who: The Enemy Within
Last appearance Doctor Who: The Enemy Within
Number of series None
Appearances 1 story (1 episode)
Companions on television: Grace

The shortest running of the Doctors with only the 1996 TV Movie as a credit, McGann’s adventure with doctor Grace against The Master (played by Eric Roberts) was the Beeb’s first attempt to resurrect the series and while it may have it’s flaws, it’s certainly not the worst thing I’ve seen. McGann was great but perhaps the most vulnerable of our Time Lords and his credibility is cemented due to an image of him in the Tenth Doctor episode Human Nature. We’ve also gotten more adventures for him via Big Finish and the wonderful world of comics.

The Lady Kills- Why I Love Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Giles: “Into each generation, a slayer is born. One girl, in all the world, a chosen one. One born with the ...”
Buffy: “… the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of evil, blah blah, I’ve heard it, okay?” – Welcome To The Hellmouth.

I would like to say that this was the biggest incredible scenario of the whole series (which it is though) but what is more incredible is the fact that one of the successful and influential series in our time is the second chance of a preposterously silly film back in 1992 starring Kirsten Swanson, a film so silly that it became a massive flop and something most critics didn’t bother remembering. Cut to March 1997 on the WB and I’ll bet all those memories of said silly film came flooding back. If I had seen the movie before tuning into the series, I certainly wouldn’t have been enthusiastic to have sat through this show. It might be good thing that I didn’t.

The concept is pretty simple – a bright and perky sixteen year old blonde girl named Buffy Summers discovers that her destiny is to slay all kinds of supernatural nasties in an attempt to protect the world while following orders from a group of disciplinarian men called watchers. Her watcher in LA being Merrick, her attempts of doing her slayer role forced her to burn down a gym and get a transfer to Sunnydale as her parents’ marriage collapse.

Damn this girl already has got it hard, so it’s a good job that you’ve got an actress as charismatic and dare I say it, convincing as Sarah Michelle Gellar taking on what is essentially a surprising. This may be fantasy aimed at teenagers but this is show in which the writing was strictly on an adult thinking while successfully giving off the message that teenagers can be flawed and engaging to watch. Again this series succeeded more than it failed.

While the first season of Buffy is easily my least favourite (don’t kill me), it is on the other hand, one of the best debut seasons to any series (Six Feet Under IMO will be remaining at Number 1 for the foreseeable future) and it’s opening episodes “Welcome To The Hellmouth” and “The Harvest” saw convention turned on it’s head in a big way. Instead of a pretty blonde girl in an abandoned school in the middle of the night being a prey for a randy jock, the poor said ending being her snack. That pretty blonde girl being Darla, who when you look back is incredibly influential in the a lot of the series’ vampire based mythology (Angelus, The Master, Spike, Drusilla).

Our main blonde butt kicker Buffy stemmed out of creator Joss Whedon’s love of horror and unabashed sympathy of the blonde girl always getting a grisly ending. Buffy would face a mess load of hardships in the seven TV years we got to know her but in the end she would always come out of top and as a dedicated viewer you would want her too as well. Gellar perfectly played and added lairs to a character that in the hands of inferior writing and casting would have suffered the same fate as the 1992 movie had suffered.

But Gellar was far from the only casting joy on this show. Nope, there was British actor Anthony Stewart as her trustworthy and slightly uptight watcher Rupert Giles (who was more or less Buffy’s surrogate father), Nicholas Brendan as goofy but kind hearted geek Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as the meek computer nerd/all mighty powerful Wicca Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as the delightfully bitchy Cordelia Chase and David Boreanaz as the dark and mysterious and tortured ensouled vampire Angel.

Throughout Season One I enjoyed learning about Angel’s dark past, Cordelia and her array of caustic putdown, the ongoing saga with The Master and of course, Buffy’s reluctant acceptance of Willow, Xander and Giles as her allies. Instead of being accessories and random people for Buffy to always save, they became part of the reason why she won many of her battle.

The one thing I always loved about Buffy though is the fact while in later years we lost Angel and Cordelia to a spin off for Buffy’s tortured lover and even Oz (werewolf/musician boyfriend of Willow’s for three years and all round nice guy), the show’s constant need to reinvent itself and stay fresh made it even more addictive. I loved Seasons One to Three. I loved the high school angst, the slow break ups and reboots Buffy went through with the Scoobies and her parents, I loved the study of her slayer calling, the introduction of the Watcher Council and darker side of being a slayer as wonderfully demonstrated through Faith but some odd reason, I love Seasons Four to Seven just a little bit.

Why? Probably because it was in those final four years of the series life that I felt the series was really taking risks. The writers went from having Willow into a mousey girl into the most powerful woman in the universe and how sensitively and realistically her relationships with both Tara and Kennedy showed the kind of authentically of same sex relationships that even now many shows consistently get wrong. I liked how Xander did his ample best to mature and be adult. In a lot of ways, him ditching Anya at the altar did show maturity as his fears of turning into his parents did get him to be honest with her. Hell even having Buffy self destruct every once in a while and the series’ history rewritten to justify the presence of sister Dawn had its pros. We may have needed to see Buffy become something of a mentor but it didn’t the series any harm either.

I also liked that this show could do an episode of pure silence (“Hush”), an intriguing and disturbing honest depiction of a personal death (“The Body”) and even a musical episode (“Once More, With Feeling”) with such relish and care. Like many people, I still having trouble understanding this series was constantly denied Emmy accolades. It more than deserved them.

I loved the diverse range of baddies we got too. While the first two seasons delighted us with fantastic vampires such as The Master, Darla, Spike, Drusilla and Angelus, remaining seasons thought more outside the box. Okay while The Initiative and Adam in Season Four along with the nerds, Warren, Andrew and Jonathan in Season Six weren’t as effective as oh say, The Mayor in Season Three, Uber-goddess Glory in Season Five or even The First Evil and Caleb in Season Seven, they still made for more interesting villains in comparison to a lot of other series though.

I got into the series back in 1999. When I was watching it at first, I was a casual viewer but by the time I had seen “Becoming Part 2”, casual fan became obsessive fan and boy, did I have many a person in my school take the piss out of me for being addicted to this series. Back then I didn’t care, now I care even less because this show was so freaking amazing, it’s almost inconceivable to me that anyone would not like it.

Sure there was some flaws and things that griped, mainly poor development for a character like Riley, Tara’s cruel death and the clumsy manner in the way the series tried to incorporate Andrew into the Scoobies and played down Spike’s attempted rape on Buffy but the fact that this show dared to take risks even when they didn’t do them much good is a testament that many other shows can’t brag. Sure during and since Buffy’s exit there has been plenty of shows vying for the Slayer’s mantle but look at the odds. Charmed is/was too monumentally stupid that even comparing to Buffy feels laughable, Alias nearly got there but the last few seasons lagged and Supernatural, although brilliant needs to up the ante so we really made of before it can properly be considered a genuine successor. The only show that has the same kind of feelings that Buffy did for me is the new Doctor Who.

I spent five years watching 144 episodes of sheer and undeniable joy. I spent five years forming an emotional bond to an extraordinary array of fictional and getting animated and engrossed (as well as occasionally creeped out and tearful) of their many, many dilemmas. Buffy was the first, it isn’t the last but it will be the most significant show to have that kind of an impact on me. By the time I saw “Chosen”, I was ready to let this series go, I wasn’t totally happy about it but at least I knew that this was a show that came into the world amazing people like myself and left doing the same thing. Again that is not something you say about many TV series. I want to thank Joss Whedon and everyone involved in this series for actually opening up my mind to what I can and should expect from a television show.

Sink Your Teeth Into This - Why I Love Angel

Lilah (to Wesley): “That’s the funny thing about black and white, you put them together and you get grey. And it doesn’t matter how much white you put back in, you’re still gonna get grey” – Habeas Corpses.

Spin offs can be a dodgy deal. In one they can be seen as a great expansion of an already franchise, another they are also seen as a creator who is spreading himself too thin. Joss Whedon had already shown epic talent within Buffy; surely good lightning can’t strike twice? Except it can it and pretty much.

I won’t lie to you – rating wise Angel did always lag behind Buffy and may not have been as critically acknowledged as it’s sister series but in terms of overall quality and performances, we got five years of mostly TV gold and despite at least four genuinely atrocious episodes in the mix of goodness, David Boreanaz proved that tearing his tortured hero away from Miss Summers would be one of the best things ever done for both shows.

Debuting on the now defunct WB back in October 1999, Angel had left Sunnydale upon the reasoning that his presence was preventing Buffy from growing and mainly decided to head to LA to be literally unrecognisable. Well if that tactic didn’t work for him when he was scowering for a rat meal, it would prove not to work again when the powers that be gave him his own visionary in the form of half-demon Doyle, who despite only making it to nine overall episodes, he had proved him enough of a favourite among viewers.

Together with Doyle and a snarky Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter much better here than she ever was on Buffy), we got Angel Investigations, the coolest vampire ran detective agency on Los Angeles where you can poltergeist attempt to drive you to suicide or your ex-wife’s fiancé determined to eat your brains. Or if you Doyle, you’ll sacrifice your life to save another clan, bestow your visions to Cordelia in the writers (successful) attempts of deepening a previously shallow woman and as Cordelia, you can spend five years experiencing everyone’s else’s pain, doing good but ultimately paying the price by being used as a vessel for evil and being denied to explore a relationship with a man you may or may not love.

And there’s a debate – did Angel and Cordelia really love each other? Over the course of five seasons, they graduated from tolerating each other, being best buddies to genuinely showing love and affection for each other. The very idea of Angel and Cordy in a romantic relationship didn’t sit well with most fans but to be honest I ended becoming more and more invested and intrigued by their relationship than I ever was with Angel and Buffy’s.

Even though she hardly featured on the show, Buffy and the memory of her and Angel’s love was still enough for Joss and company to never really consider officially hooking Angel up with anybody. Nina was more of a sex buddy than an actual girlfriend, Darla the woman who caused Angel his problems as well as the mother of his child and Cordy, the woman Angel may have wanted but would never have.

Cordelia as a love interest wasn’t the only purpose Charisma Carpenter served on the series and it’s a good job too! In the space of the 86 episodes she featured in, Cordy went from being vulnerable, ambitious for stardom, snarky, to being loveable, brave, kind, and surprisingly complex. Who would’ve thought that a ditzy cheerleader would become one of the strongest and most engaging characters on one of the best spin off series? So it’s pretty much a disappointment and a disservice to Charisma how Cordy was written as the all evil in Season Four and killed off in Season Five’s “You’re Welcome” (the show’s 100th episode).

The goodness sidekick wise didn’t end with Cordy though as the former priggish Wesley stumbled into LA mid way through the first season and developed from a pain in the backside to a genuinely troubled and often very sympathetic man, if very misguided. Yes, we’ve seen Wesley go through the hell of constant disparagement from his father (which nearly saw him bump of his dad in a way), being the butt of a few jokes, unenviably having to take Angel’s son away from him when duped by a fake prophecy which resulted in Wesley getting his throat slashed by Justine (The L Word’s Laurel Holloman), nearly suffocated by an almighty pissed off Angel, totally isolated from his friends.

Wesley then sleeps with Lilah, a woman he hates and when he finally gets the girl of his dreams, shy scientist Winifred “Fred” Burkle, she’s killed and transformed into the goddess Illyria. Even a pathetic demon named Cyrus Vail, delivers the final crushing blow to Wesley by killing him in the series finale, “Not Fade Away”. You can definitely say that Wesley suffered … a lot! Alexis Denisof – you rocked!

Our other Angel recruiters are interesting too as we have a renegade vampire killer named Charles Gunn, who evolves from nice looking muscle to Mister hot shot lawyer while briefly dating Fred, turning his back on his own gang (for good reason), staking his sister and taking the virginity of a mutant but as one of the most underused Angel characters, Gunn at least had something to do and J. August Richards looked hot in his lawyer suits during Season Five. Hey, I’m allowed to be a little a shallow!

Then there’s Lorne who played to perfection by Andy Hallett was a green skinned and benevolent Pylean with a passion for singing, sea breezes and a snarky comment even when the situation didn’t call for it. How I loved that character. He was a fantastic breath of fresh air and I enjoyed his little flirting with Angel from time to time (Lorne was like, so totally gay). It was a pity that in Season Five he didn’t get more to do and that his killing of Lindsey had diminished that perky spirit of his which I loved so much.

Aside from Cordelia, our only other regular female was Winifred “Fred” Burkle. A great find in Amy Acker, Fred was discovered in Pylea (Lorne’s home place – where humans are slaves and music doesn’t exist) and taken back where she became a regular fix from Season Three onwards. In her three years, she dated both Wesley and Gunn, made kooky contraption, said “Kyrumption” a good few times, almost killed the professor who sent her to Pylea and got taken over by a goddess named Illyria. Yes, Joss loved to ensure a “no happy” coupling on his show but although the Illyria plot worked a treat, I would’ve preferred had Fred not been bumped off so quickly after Cordelia.

Assistants, Angel also had to deal with biological family when a one stand from Darla resulted in a boy named Connor, who upon returning from a hell dimension, pretty much out of his way to oppose Angel in every way possible, whether it was burying down the bottom of the sea, sleeping with Cordelia or holding a store full of people hostage, Connor was one seriously traumatised kid. Upon first watching his antics in Season Four, I hated the guy but repeated viewing and Vincent Kartheiser’s has made me feel sympathetic for the poor lad. Angel gave Connor the ultimate peace by erasing his memories of the hell he had been subjected to. When Connor regained said memories, he finally saw that Angel loved him all along. Am I glad that Connor’s mom was Darla and not Buffy though.

Final main player who would ironically be a major role in Season Five was Spike. Unlike most people, I actually wasn’t looking forward to the addition of James Marsters to the series and it’s not because I harbour a hatred for Spike – I love the guy and his history with Angel but two years onwards, I still don’t understand why he was added to the show. History aside, I found most of Spike’s scenes pretty forced and many of his contributions to the series, unnecessary. You also have to bear in mind that Spike and Angel’s history with each other and Buffy gave the writers the idea of scripting the horrendously shit “The Girl In Question” (Worst! Episode! Ever!) and also both Gunn and Lorne relegated to the sidelines.

Just like Buffy, Angel’s main set of baddies were more triumphs than disasters. Wolfram and Hart proved to be an excellent foe for five straight up, even when the Angel crew collaborated with them, they still caused trouble. We got excellent and charismatic lawyers like Holland Manners, Lindsey McDonald, Marcus Hamilton and Lilah Morgan, who more than made up for useless non-entities like Linwood, Gavin and Eve. Both Darla and Drusilla caused all kinds of havoc in Seasons Two and Three and Holtz (an ancient vampire hunter/old foe of Angelus) made it his personal mission to destroy Angel and very nearly succeeded. There’s also The Beast, Angelus and Jasmine from Season Four and the last minute Circle of Black Thorn in Season Five all of whom made Angel and company’s life hell for five years.

Angel made have been prematurely axed and Season Five may not have ended the series in a ideal manner (blame the WB, not Joss Whedon) but it still made for absorbing, delicious and often very grey area television. Seriously if the upcoming Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood is anywhere as good as Angel was, then it will the second best TV spin-off I’ve encountered in years.

My Review of Doctor Who's: "The Movie"

Written by Matthew Jacobs
Directed by Geoffrey Sax

Grace: “I only have one life, can you remember that?”
The Doctor: “I’ll try.”

A couple of years before the 2005 series had seen The Doctor ride the ratings and public affection high once again, there had been a few attempts to bring the show back. One was the awful gimmick “Dimensions In Time” as well as “Curse Of Fatal Death” and “Scream Of The Shalka” (the former by Steven Moffat and the latter by Paul Cornell). However the only official canon was in fact the 1996 Movie and I can tell you, I actually quite enjoy it.

Seven years is arguably a long time for a show to be gone and perhaps a shorter time to try and bring it back but this movie does make a decent attempt of doing so. We might not know what happened to poor Ace or how The Master escaped Cheetah world but the opening with the latter getting wiped out by the Daleks is a good starting point.

A part of me is massively surprised that for the first 20 minutes, it’s the Seventh Doctor we’re dealing with. You’d think the movie would want to start with the Eighth and gradually explain or at least throw some hints about the regeneration process. It’s an audacious move on the writer’s part and perhaps a tad better for a newcomer who gets to delight in seeing an actual regeneration (which we got denied of in “Rose”).

The Seventh Doctor is set to take The Master’s remains back to Gallifrey upon his enemy’s final request but he’s smart enough to lock the box that contains the remains of his best enemy. Of course, The Master has always been a conniving so and so and it’s not rocket science that he decides to use this as an opportunity to escape and part of that plan has the TARDIS crash landing on earth.

Now The Doctor loves Earth quite a lot so he probably wasn’t expecting to have the TARDIS protect some kid named Chang Lee nor for the moment he opened the door did he expect to be shot multiple times by the same gang in pursuit of Chang Lee. Well the writers needed to speed up the regeneration and there’s some fun here in seeing The Doctor mortally wounded as The Master in a snake like formation slithers away to find a new body.

With The Doctor and The Master both on the verge of change, it’s the shaping of their companions that propels things along as well. On The Master’s side you’ve got a naïve boy in Chang Lee, who while not above gun violence, seems to be more manipulated by The Master’s lies of The Doctor being evil rather than anything. It’s also an unusual joy to see The Master with a companion even if Chang Lee is kind of annoying.

The Doctor on the other hand nearly has his regeneration process wrecked by medics when they put a probe inside him to see why his heart is racing so far. The hospital banter, in particular with discussion of Grace’s on-off relationship with Bryan comes across as being somewhat inane and the moment where both The Doctor and The Master (who swipes the body of ambulance driver Bruce and then kills Bruce’s wife) won’t win point for subtlety.

As Doctors go, Paul McGann is great. He’s on the right side of being both vulnerable and manic with excitement as memories of past events come flooding back. I also appreciate that The Doctor and Grace’s team up is pretty quick to. Yes following her into the parking lot and sounding like someone loose from a psych ward may not have the resonance of other Doctor/Companion moments but it more or less does the trick in its own way.

Grace is also a pretty good strength to this movie also. She may not be up there with either Sarah Jane, Martha or Ace but she’s instantly likeable and pretty efficient even if it does take her a while to actually believe The Doctor’s entire story. As for the multiple kisses these two exchange – I really couldn’t care less. It just didn’t bother me a lot.

The Master on the other hand is let down a bit by Eric Roberts. He’s not the worst actor in the world but compared to the likes of Roger Delgado or John Simm, you almost get the feeling that he’s phoning in his performance. He started off great with the moment in which he killed Bruce’s wife but when he actually captures The Doctor and uses a possessed Grace and Chang Lee to steal The Doctor’s remaining lives, the camp factor does kick into overdrive.

Perhaps The Master is pissed off for all those times The Doctor has bested his plans and I get that wanting to stay alive is important but there’s something not quite as satisfying with this general plot. The Eye Of Harmony is the cause of the problems with the TARDIS and the goal for The Master to survive but it feels as if it should’ve been more of a battle for The Doctor to defeat him. Even The Master winding up trapped in the Eye Of Harmony and Grace and Chang Lee being resurrected feels a bit too easy.

Still this movie was always going to have to be a bit self-contained in case it bombed and the ending with Chang Lee getting some of The Doctor’s stuff and Grace and The Doctor saying their goodbyes is satisfying enough. We’ve had stronger departures but I ended up liking Grace a hell of a lot more than I expected to. Daphne Ashbrook’s consistent performance ensured. It’s only sad that this is the only televised adventure with her and The Eighth Doctor. I wouldn’t have minded seeing some more.

Also in “Doctor Who: The Movie”

Annoying that we not only didn’t get to actually see the Daleks kill The Master but the voices didn’t even sound Dalek like.

The Doctor: “Here it comes.”
Chang Lee: “Hold on there, old man. Chang Lee will help you.”

The Frankenstein moment between The Doctor and The Master was the not subtle thing I meant earlier on. Pete was watching the movie during the regenerations.

Wife: “What would you like me to call you then?”
The Master: “Master will do fine.”

Grace: “Somehow I don’t think the Second Coming happens.”
Pete: “What you think he’s gonna go to a better hospital?”

Both The Master and The Doctor mentioned they’ve snogged Marie Curie. Well it wouldn’t be the first time either of them have invaded the other’s turf. Both of them also kissed Grace for different reasons.

Grace: “No sorry, the dead stay dead. You can’t turn back time.”
The Doctor: “Yes you can.”

The Doctor: “I am The Doctor.”
Grace: “Good, now do that again.”

The Doctor showed both Grace and Chang Lee the future as well as Gallifrey. This is also one of the few times in which he’s mentioned his father.

The Doctor: “That’s very witty Grace. At least Freud would’ve taken me seriously.”
Grace: “He’d have hung up his pipe if he had met you.”

Props go to the makeup team for the gorgeous icy blue makeup and black eyes when Grace was possessed. Daphne Ashbrook looked rather hot during those scenes.

Chang Lee: “You’re a funny guy.”
The Master: “I’m glad one of us is amused.”

The Doctor: “But time to change.”
The Master: “I always dress for the occasion.”

Standout music: Puccini’s “Madam Butterfly”, despite being massively distracting.

Grace: “I’m gonna miss you.”
The Doctor: “How can you miss me? I’m the guy with two hearts. I’m easy to find.”

There was a dedication to Jon Pertwee at the end of this movie but it doesn’t seem to be on the DVD.

For something that was supposedly so bad, I actually found “The Movie” really enjoyable. Yes it was kind of Americanised and Eric Roberts made for a bad Master but everything else was pretty fun, even the mansion like TARDIS upon repeated viewing. Still anything is better than “Dimension In Time”, right?

Rating: 7 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x08: "Episode 16"

Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Annie: “Tell me what’s hurting you?”
Sam: “I can’t.”
Annie: “You’re gonna leave us, aren’t you?”
Sam: “I was always gonna leave you.”

And here it is the final episode in Sam’s two year (TV wise, not actual chronology) tenure in 1973. Frank Morgan set everything in motion last week and with Sam hearing voices that he could be coming outside of his coma very soon, he’s only too eager to do his part to get out of there.

There was no misunderstanding in Morgan’s need to nail Gene. Sam learns pretty quickly that Morgan wants Gene out of the police force and used as an example to usher in modern policing. Not only that but Sam is also a little too happy to help along which later adds some validity to Ray’s Judas comparison.

From the moment they clapped eyes on each other, Sam and Gene have tired of the other’s policing methods. With Sam it’s now gotten to the point where he can no longer tolerate it and Gene’s latest act of rash behaviour only has him too willing to spy on his colleagues for Morgan.

In some ways Gene did have this coming. Despite being repeatedly warned by Sam that his methods (in spite of their results) are too extreme, Gene has no qualms in using some torture along with Ray in order to get Sykes to spill a name on a planned train robbery. This is of course, after Gene’s previous act of recklessness caused the death of another informant.

Sam tries reasoning with Gene only for Gene to ignore him for the umpteenth time and with the likes of Ray always complaining about Sam, it does feel like Sam doesn’t have anyone to point out that he’s right. Chris never stands up to back Sam and even Annie doesn’t try and warn Gene off his plan to nail cop killer Leslie Johns.

Frank on the other hand seemingly represents everything Sam aspires in the police force. Sam wants to be a world where the police aren’t treated with contempt by the public and do genuinely help uphold the law instead of abusing it. It’s also not a shock that in 2006, the name Frank Morgan also means a surgeon who can operate on Sam’s tumour and bring him home.

In 1973 the Frank there is also promising to bring Sam home there as well and that’s enough to make Sam turn traitor. Watching the scenes where he’s uncovering information on Gene’s recklessness still cause a divide. By right, people like Gene shouldn’t be in the police force but at the same time, even I have to admit that Gene does want to do the right and get results regardless of the brutal approach he takes to accomplishing it.

Another thing on Sam’s mind is Annie. He’s been lusting for her for quite some time and they share enough intimate scenes to get tongues wagging. Annie’s clearly so in love with Sam that her refusal to spend one night with him must be her way of dealing with the idea that she could lose him forever.

Annie even begs Sam at different points in this episode not to leave. At first Sam is insistent that he can’t stay but the more the episode progresses, you can see that he’s wavering. He did tell her repeatedly that she was one of the few things about 1973 that he didn’t hate after all.

However the sting in the tail comes when Sam is confronted with some grim information from Morgan. With Sam’s work not being so complete, it’s then a shock to the system when Morgan tells Sam that his real name is Williams and that Ruth and Vic were never his parents.

John Simm was always gonna up his game in the last episode of the series but the series where Sam begins to realise that he really might in 1973 sees him pull in a tremendous performance. Sam’s total despair of thinking that he might have amnesia instead of being in a coma is riveting.

There’s even a wonderful scene where Nelson tells him the difference between knowing and feeling when a person is alive. Sam has acted like he’s been stuck in a dream world but it’s also one where he’s felt very alive in as well in spite of his protestations.

Of course knowing that he’s been betraying everyone all along makes for an awkward confrontation. Although it’s typical of Ray, who’s never accepted Sam anyway to lose his temper, both Chris and Annie had more powerful reactions. Both of them looked up to Sam in different ways and it’s easy to sympathise with them.

As for the train robbery itself, it’s amazing how quickly things can turn life threatening. Sam had a vision (thanks to the Test Card Girl) that Gene, Ray, Chris and Annie were going to be casualties and when it became apparent that Morgan had every intention to let them, Sam finally realised that he had been played big time.

The funny thing is that it was this moment when Sam finally woke up from his coma. Frank had just about managed to save him and Sam talked openly about what he was dreaming all that time. The scene with his mum was the most powerful. As soon as she told him that he always kept his promises, I knew exactly what Sam was going to do next.

Maybe it’s depression, post traumatic or even clarity but whatever the case may be, Sam thought that 1973 was a better time period to live in than 2006. As his colleagues droned on about improving the police force, Sam went to a roof and threw himself off and saved Chris, Annie, Gene and Ray from being murdered.

Would I have done the same thing if I had experienced what Sam did in that period of time? I don’t know if I can answer that question but I get the allure to a degree. By coming back, Sam redeemed himself in everyone eye’s (even Ray) and better still, after sixteen episodes of relentless teasing, Sam also finally got Annie.

Also in “Episode 16”

The Hyde that was alluded to so much in the series was the ward in which Sam was at while in hospital.

Frank (re Gene): “He’s out of control. He’s like a cancer. The sooner we cut him out.”
Sam: “The sooner I can go home.”

Gene’s comment about Sam wanting to read an article in Jugs reminded me of the fact that there are actually articles in straight men’s magazines.

Frank (to Ruth): “Let’s hope he’s strong enough.”
Sam: “I’m strong enough, Mr Morgan. You cut that cancer out.”

Sam: “It has to be done.”
Test Card Girl: “But it’s a very messy job, Sam. Are you strong enough?”

The actress Judi Jones who played the older Ruth Tyler has a very similar sounding voice to Joanne Froggatt who played the younger Ruth in Season One.

Ray: “Doddle, Guv. It’s not Hamlet.”
Sam: “It’s a good job because Hamlet is a tragedy.”
Ray: “Trust you to know that, poof.”

Frank: “You have amnesia, Sam.”
Sam: “I’m in a coma, Frank.”

M.A.R.S. in this episode stood for Metropolitan Accountability And Reconciliation Strategy.

Sam: “I need more time. I can’t think.”
Frank: “You can’t uphold the law by breaking it. It’s what you always said.”

Nelson: “I can see a darkness in you, Sam.”
Sam: “Oh you can see into me, Nelson? Well, go on then. Tell me, am I mad? Is this real, cause I want to know the truth?”

The Ruth and Vic that Sam saw gravestones died in 1862 and 1870 respectively whereas the “Sam Tyler” died in 1881.

Sam: “I’m trying to save your lives here. I am not your bloody enemy.”
Ray: “Cut the crap. You’ve been our enemy since day one.”

Annie (to Sam, after slapping him): “It hurts, doesn’t it? That’s because it’s real.”

There was a nice bit of continuity here with the roof. In Season One Sam threatened to jump to return home and now he actually jumped to return here.

Sam: “You can call me a traitor all you want, Guv but I’m the only one who can get us out of the shit you created. Morgan!”
Gene: “Looks like lover boy isn’t coming.”

Frank (to Sam in 2006): “It’s amazing I got you back at all. Quite an achievement.”

Okay to further prove that I watch way too much Doctor Who but I did keep thinking of John Simm as The Master when Sam was all suited up. Then again, he did take on that role not long after this episode actually aired.

Sam (to Ruth): “I went to some place, Mum and I woke up everyday in that place and I told myself I was alive and I was, in some ways more than I’ve ever been.”

Standout music: Well there was the repeated use of David Bowie’s “Life On Mars” and “Changes” but I also think “Decision/Indecision” by Atomic Rooster, “I Hope I Don’t Fall In Love With You” by Tom Waits and the score music were also noteworthy.

Sam: “Tell me.”
Annie: “Tell you what, Sam?”
Sam: “Tell me what I should do, Annie.”
Annie: “Stay. Here. Forever.”

Sam: “If you injured somebody in this car, it’s technically a criminal offence.”
Gene: “Oh shut up, you noncey arsed fairy boy.”

Chronology: It’s about August 1973/2006. Sam’s been in a coma for at least five to six months give or take.

As a series finale go, I was undecided about this episode. A lot of people voiced disappointment and I allowed that to cloud my judgement when I originally watched the episode but when I sat down reviewing this series, I found myself enjoying it more than when I originally watched the episodes. It was the same for this but as last ever episodes go, I found it satisfying. Also now that I’ve completed Life On Mars, that means I can get round to reviewing Ashes To Ashes now.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x07: "Episode 15"

Written by Mark Greig
Directed by S.J. Clarkson

Gene: “The last thing I remember is taking a swing for you in the pub. Look, I know it looks bad.”
Sam: “Well, that’s the understatement of the century. You may remember threatening the victim’s life … in front of a dozen or so witnesses … at the courthouse.”

Instead of a case of “who done it”, this episode is more a case of “how do we prove he didn’t do it” when it comes to Gene. For a man who loves enforcing the law, it’s gotta be tough for someone like Gene to be on the other side of it for once. Still, it always did seem inevitable.

Gene’s policing methods have always been questionable at best and this week during court, he decided to do the right thing by giving evidence against boxing manager Terry Haslam. Come on, it had to have been obvious at the start that him and Gene had some sort of an arrangement that Gene decided to back out of.

Even worse is that Terry gets away with beating the living daylights out of his prized boxer Davie Mackay and Gene doesn’t react to this well. Nope, he hurls abuse at Terry in court and then decides to hurl a brick through his window while completely. Then Sam makes the error of leaving Gene to go find his gun alone.

I know Gene can be extremely annoying at times but Sam really should’ve gone with him during that point. A dream then pointed out that Sam would be called and Gene is then found next to a dead Terry. That automatically makes him a murder suspect and even worse for him is the fact that he doesn’t remember anything.

I won’t pretend that I thought Gene killed Terry. It’s less of a belief in the character and more of a realisation of a plot but it just felt like Gene didn’t kill the man. Sam believed that as well due to the trust he has in Gene but bringing in Hyde man Frank Morgan meant that some doubt could be instilled.

While Ray, Chris and Annie all seemed to believe that Gene was innocent, Frank didn’t think he was. I quite like Frank as a character but as soon as Hyde was mentioned, I immediately assumed that we’d finally get some progress on that dangling little mystery. Sam must’ve too given that he tried his hand at file snooping.

Frank did make a good impression on Sam. He wanted a thorough investigation, actually took an interest in Sam’s belief in Gene’s innocence (despite thinking the contrary) and as far as I’m concerned if Ray takes an active dislike in someone, it’s usually a good sign of that person being reasonably alright in my book.

Of course Ray’s problem was the progressive thing and the fact that Frank had no problem for reprimanding him and Chris for being reckless. Ray also came across as a major dick with the aggressive manner he took with Sam in Railway Arms. Ray can hate Sam all he wants but acting like it was his fault for Gene’s predicament was pathetic.

Annie also had some issues with Frank but thankfully she was less petty and at least her issue was valid. Given how brilliant she’s been in solving cases, you can’t blame her for being slightly annoyed that she would then have to teach Road Safety to kids. Still there’s an amusing little scene between her and Sam.

As the episode progressed it did seem like evidence was stacking up against Gene. It wasn’t too shocking that he was taking more backhanders and the fact that he had a confrontation with Pete Wilkes also made him look bad. Then again trying to evade police custody also played its part but with Ray and Chris being exceptionally dense, more power to Gene for his escape methods.

There are some really defining moments in the episode. Ray and Chris were Gene’s biggest defenders and as much as Ray irritates the crap out of me, I have to respect his loyalty. I could also easily see how that even he and Chris would then begin to doubt Gene’s innocence, although Annie conveyed the doubt a lot more effectively.

The best part of this episode however was Gene’s need for Sam to bail him out. He wanted Sam to lead the investigation and acted hurt when it was his brief that got him bail. He also then turned to Sam to help prove his innocence and the two of them went to hilarious methods to snare crime scene photos.

Sam and Gene alone retracing the latter’s steps also made for some good moments. I knew when Gene started going on about TVs while in Haslam’s house; there’d be a point to. Sam also came up trumps by realising that Terry had been killed hours before the time Morgan believed him to be dead.

Another interesting note is how quietly this got resolved. Gene figured out that Davie had the motive to kill Terry and opportunity to frame him. Better still was Gene’s sympathetic reaction when Davie admitted the truth. A man frames Gene and not a mark, whereas Sam has been repeatedly punched, insulted and locked in the boot of a car for answering Gene back.

The best bit is that with Gene officially free from jail time, he gets his own back by giving all of his colleague one hell of a lecture. Of course while they might feel guilty with themselves, Gene then goes and throws a big party. As office parties, this one looked like a lot of fun, minus Chris making a bit of a tit out of himself.

As for Sam and Annie, I really thought they might have actually kissed in this episode. It looked so painfully near and then Frank interrupts them at exactly the wrong moment. I suppose with the next episode being the last, the writers will also resolve that dangling plot as well.

The Hyde stuff meanwhile comes back to Sam when Morgan reveals himself to be a spy for them. What exactly do Hyde want Sam in the position and why did Frank want to see Gene in prison? He sounded disappointed when Gene managed to prove his innocence and even more determined to nail him.

Also in “Episode 15”

The court had a “Without Justice, Courage Is Weak” sign outside. Gene got to find his own justice but once again alluded to backhanders being weak.

Terry (re Davie): “I made him, I broke him. He’s not the first and he won’t be the last.”
Gene: “I’m gonna bloody kill you.”

At one point in this episode, Gene had to dress up as the Road Safety squirrel. Sam didn’t waste a moment comparing him to a rat.

Sam: “You need my help?”
Gene: “Just be the picky pain in the arse you normally are and I shall be fine.”

Colin: “It’s a pleasure doing business with you. You know where to find me.”
Sam: “Yeah, the nearest sewer.”
Gene: “He got me out.”

I think stinky Colin might have had a little crush on Gene. His singing however was a monstrous moment in the episode.

Ray (re Gene):“That’s his wife.”
Chris: “She’s put weight on.”
Ray: “She carries it well though.”

Annie (to Sam, re Gene): “Then he did it. He crossed a line and he killed a man. You always said that Gene didn’t know when to stop.”

I noticed that both Sam and Frank were wearing purple, a regal colour and also something that identifies them as different from the other police in this episode.

Sam: “What made you change your mind?”
Gene: “A rare attack of doing the right thing.”

Gene: “You seriously think I’m capable of murder?”
Sam: “It doesn’t matter what I think.”

Standout music: “Virginia Plain” by Roxy Music and “Done Me Wrong Alright” by The Sweet.

Sam: “Could you?”
Annie: “Well if you haven’t got trust, what do you have?”

Chronology: July 17th 1973, specified by Frank in the episode.

An absolutely brilliant penultimate episode for the series, made more interesting with the appearance of Frank Morgan from Hyde. Gene’s story was predictable but it’s build up and resolution never slacked and it was nice to see the moments between him and Sam of friendship.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x06: "Episode 14"

Written by Guy Jenkin
Directed by Andrew Gunn

Gene: “What the bloody hell are you playing at?”
Sam: “A bit of good cop, bad cop.”
Gene: “No, no, no, no, no, you’re more like absolutely gorgeous cop.”

Oh that while that exchange might be a delightful little bit of HoYay to satisfy the slash bunnies out there, this is another episode where Sam and Gene come into conflict with each other. It’s also one that adds a bit of race issues along with the rise in heroin to boot.

With Maya suddenly preying on Sam’s mind, this is something of a topical episode. Without sounding like a horrible person but I’ve almost forgotten Maya seeing as we’ve experienced Sam’s family issues, the Hyde conspiracy and his growing closeness towards Annie.

This episode somewhat brings Maya back like a thunderbolt. Prior to being stuck in 1973 it did look like working together was having a negative effect on their relationship as a whole. Sam going after Maya was part of the parcel that has his in his current predicament.

Readdressing their relationship is an interesting touch. Sam can hear her wanting to let him go and naturally enough he doesn’t react to such news well. Instead he freaks out during the airing of a Bollywood movie and even startles one of the main characters from her sleep at one point.

Still you could argue that even if Sam hadn’t gone back in time, he and Maya would’ve drifted away. Listening to Maya abandon Sam at his bedside in 2006 makes her come across as cold and while it’s not Sam’s fault for his current predicament, I can’t entirely find fault Maya’s decision to leave him. I’m saying she’s right either but I can understand where she’s coming from to an extent.

The interesting part of this episode is that Sam spends a good part of the episode determined to keep his 2006 girlfriend only to later accept that she needs to move on. In fact he even tries to move on himself by making it explicitly clear to Annie that he’s available. By letting Maya go, it’s becoming apparent that Sam is beginning to lose his desire to go back home as well.

I suppose this was inevitable. He spent so much time protesting and trying to wake himself up to the point where it got tedious. Even though his relationships with everyone else are stormy at best, I can see why the lure of Annie might enough to make him reconsider leaving so quickly. She is after all quite brilliant and has really come into her own over the last couple of episodes as a character.

The best part of the episode is Sam getting to meet Maya’s mother. In 2006 Layla isn’t the most approving of potential mother in laws but in 1973, not only is she a person Sam needs to care for but someone he can be a little more honest. She also brings up the issue of unconditional love following her interracial relationship with suspected drug dealer Deepak.

Layla doesn’t do herself favours by helping Deepak with his books and initially trying to protect his brother Ravi but she is a sympathetically written character and for once, Gene’s intolerant attitudes even made me want to beat the living daylights out of him. Unsurprisingly enough, Gene isn’t particularly receptive to the idea of interracial relationships.

Worse than that is that Gene’s intolerance even usurps the crap we’re used to coming from Ray’s mouth. Sam was a better man than me because I think I would’ve throttled Gene if he had made cracks about anyone I was seeing that he made about Maya. Still the fact that Sam admitted to dating an Asian woman gave him and Layla something bond over.

The part that wasn’t really shocking in all of it was the reveal of Layla being Maya’s mother. It didn’t feel contrived either and I did like that one point she told Sam to lay off the touchy feely stuff. However with the likes of the NF firebombing her house, the big fear Sam had was that she would abort Maya.

Luckily for Sam, Layla chose to keep her unborn daughter and the last scene between the two of them was just lovely. I had to laugh at Sam planning Maya’s future, mainly for the surprised reaction it generated from Layla. Even Sam can get a little carried away with himself from time to time.

As for the drug plot, really wasn’t the most interesting one of the bunch. Gene’s refusal to consider that it could’ve been racially motivated was annoying but hardly a shock. Sam was in the right to push but Layla’s comments about the police not caring were too true.

Toolbox turning out to be responsible wasn’t a big shock either. Both him and his wife Big Bird looked dodgy enough and they certainly know how to brandish their own torture techniques. At one point a bound and gagged Sam nearly got roasted with an iron save for a power cut and even Ravi was about to have a world of pain inflicted.

The usually idiotic Chris was the fella who saved the day by shooting Big Bird. Gene spent a good portion of this episode reminding Sam that Chris was gloriously thick yet it was Chris’ quick shooting that saved Gene from becoming a corpse. I think it’s safe to say there’s hope for Chris yet.

Another interesting aspect of the episode was Gene revealing more about his family. Although he tested my patience with this episode, I felt for him when he was explaining about his junkie brother. Would it take much of a shrink to realise that his less than warm childhood is part of the reason why he’s so inhuman at times. Even Gene realises that the man he used to be is long gone.

Also in “Episode 14”

It’s been a few episodes since we’ve had development on both the Test Card Girl and Hyde, though it looks something on the latter is finally coming up.

Sam: “You know Starsky And Hutch have a lot to answer for.”
Gene: “Who?”

Layla told Sam at one point in the episode that Deepak cherished the brilliance of British music.

Sam: “Whichever strange place you find yourself in make that your home.”
Layla: “Are you really a copper?”

Annie: “Why are you so angry?”
Sam (re Layla): “She lied.”
Annie: “That’s what we do to people, Sam. Haven’t you noticed?”

Ravi had business in places such as Kampala, Istanbul and Turkey.

Sam (re Maya): “We got a bit of that. Worst thing was her Mum. She wanted her to marry a doctor.”
Layla: “Don’t we all want that?”

Sam (to Gene, re Ravi): “Have you got any sense of humanity left because in spite of everything, no-one deserves to have their brother’s death rubbed in their faces?”

We also found out in this episode that Gene’s father was abusive and that his grandmother had a stroke.

Skinhead: “What are you doing? You’re one of us.”
Sam: “What, a dyslexic moron like you?”

Gene (to Sam): “You throw another hammer in my hand and I swear I’ll smash someone’s face and it might be yours, Tyler.”

Who were the people that knocked out Sam and Annie and why did they leave him behind? Wouldn’t it have been easier to stash him somewhere?

Layla: “Are you talking to my baby? Anyone would think she’s yours.”
Sam: “No.”

Standout music: It has to be Elton John’s “Rocket Man” given how brilliantly used it was here.

Definitely one of the series strongest episodes to boot, this polemic tale succeeded in showing that not everything is as it seems. Sam’s time is drawing to a close both for him and for viewers but at least we’re getting memorable moments as we approach it.

Rating: 9 out of 10.

My Review of Life On Mars 2x05: "Episode 13"

Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by Andrew Gunn

Annie: “I’ll get cracking.”
Sam: “Remember God is in the details.”

For a guy as methodical as Sam, coming out with a statement such as “God is in the details” may be a bit too on the nose. He’s done nothing but try to introduce modern policing in 1973 since his arrival and this is the week where someone really takes it seriously.

The episode opens up on a rather insane note with Simon Lamb barging into the station and threatening to hang himself. The day in which Sam’s compassionate side might have been an asset is the same day he’s more into abusing Gene to notice Simon’s suicide attempt.

So what would inspire some random bloke to go into the cop shop and do himself in? For Simon, it’s the simple fact that his wife Bea and his daughter Stella have been kidnapped by a man who wants Graham Bathurst to be released. Sam of course is unfamiliar about who Graham is so it’s up to everyone else to fill in the blanks for a change.

With the previous episode we had the death of a woman and this one sees the resurrection of Charley Witham’s death. From the start Gene explains to Sam that she was only fourteen and was killed by her boyfriend Graham who was three years older than her. Gene seemed determined that Graham was his man.

In fact Gene even went as far as to promise Charley’s parents at the time to nail her killer. He chose a 48 hour period in order to achieve this aim and through various flashbacks and different points of view we see how Gene came to believing that Graham was Charley’s killer.

This episode showed an emotional side to Gene. He was clearly distressed when Charley’s parents showed them a home video of the girl and at one point he even snapped at Ray. Given that Ray is a general idiot that Gene seldom reins in; it’s brilliant to see Gene lose his temper with him.

The interviewing process with Graham was also intense. From Gene’s perspective, Graham was already guilty and the lad did very little to convince Gene that he might be innocent. In fact a few brutal moments got Gene his result but given that someone out there believed that Graham wasn’t guilty, perhaps Gene was wrong.

The only real suspects in a kidnapping had to be Graham’s family. Given that Graham’s mother came across as a mouthy pain in the arse, Gene’s little comedown about Graham did illicit many laughs from me. I suppose in another way you had to feel sorry for her too but damn, she was annoying to watch.

Equally annoying was Graham’s Cousin Mitch who Sam and Gene later arrested. It was obvious that he would be a false lead and given that he was more concerned with the navy catching him than his cousin in prison, Mitch didn’t have to suffer too much from Sam and Gene’s interrogation.

Gene’s point of view isn’t the only thing that ignited some interest. On the least focused side you did have Chris interviewing a bunch of school girls. Chris is always a bit of a div but even the younger sets are able to make an eejit of him. However on the plus we did find out that it was Stella who told Chris about Charley being involved with Graham. That little nugget certainly helped with things.

Annie however had the most pivotal of point of views. She remembered the stress of nailing a killer for Charley and the recklessness that it might have caused with filing and statements. For once Sam’s influence came across in a positive light when she was able to start jogging back.

Even better was that one point she even stood up to Gene. We know that Annie isn’t that much of a wallflower but there is some joy in seeing her challenge Gene and not lose her recent status within the station. Gene must’ve known that she had a point because her investigating lead to the real kidnapper.

I guess I should’ve seen that it was Don who took both Stella and Bea hostage. He clearly blamed the police for not taking too long to get Charley’s killer and even blamed Simon for her death. Annie was lucky that Gene and company arrived or else she would’ve been killed by Don.

With Annie being the one that saved the day, some further progress seemed to be made with her and Sam. In flashbacks we got to see her wanting to ask Sam out on a date and when he ended up trying to do it, she halted him. It’s quite nice to see less tension between them in this episode compared to others we’ve had.

As for Sam, this episode was certainly a strange one. He starts acting like he’s on the way out earlier on this episode and comes close to fainting. Midway through when he does, it’s Phyllis who discovers that he’s been drugged up. This also played into his current medical condition back in 2006 as well.

However while it was interesting to see Sam become a spectator and hope that Gene, Chris and Annie solved the case, it’s him who realises that Simon was responsible for Charley’s death. Simon did make it obvious with his outbursts at the station over the radio and it’s great that despite the lack of emphasis, he still was unable to evade justice thanks to Sam’s quick thinking.

Also in “Episode 13”

I loved the start of the episode with the puppet Sam and Gene beating a nonce. Thankfully it was only brief as it could’ve been naff if it was too long.

Sam: “Chris, what the bloody hell are you doing there?”
Chris: “I’m working boss.”

Annie is a fan of Roxy Music and luckily for her, Sam seems to be one too. I thought it was neat that she wasn’t suspicious when he later suggested the concert.

Gene (to Chris): “Right add this. Your son, Mrs Bathurst is a cold hearted killer and if there’s a hell he’s going there to be poked up the arse with fiery sticks, forever and forever amen.”

Sam: “Tell me about Charley Witham.”
Gene: “She’s what every copper dreads – a dead child. Parents looking to you for answers.”

Annie remembered that Graham was less aggressive with his grandmother and was confused by Gene’s sense of humour during interrogation.

Gene (re Annie): “You’ve got a babysitter son. Do let her know if you need burping.”
Graham: “I might even need breastfeeding.”

Mitch: “Up my arse, copper.”
Gene: “Do you want me to take a look?”

Sam and Gene were pretty much on the same page with the way they treated Mitch. Sam was quite hostile with the bloke as well.

Simon: “Why can’t I do this? If I confess they can let them go. Wouldn’t you happily go to prison to save the ones you love?”
Sam: “It doesn’t work that way.”

Ray (re Gene): “Blimey Cartwright, the next time why don’t you go the whole hog and pull a gun on him.”
Chris: “That was out of order, Annie.”

Standout music: “Just Like You” by Roxy Music and “10538” by E.L.O.

Annie: “No more visions?”
Sam: “No, they’re all gone now. I feel good.”
Annie: “Good.”

Chronology: Not much has been really specified in the longest time, except that we know it’s 1973.

Easily one of the more inventive episodes of the season, it’s great to see the series jazz up the format a little with taking Sam out of the fray and the nice use of flashbacks. Plus it’s good that the Hyde stuff resurfaced once again.

Rating: 8 out of 10.