The Mutants - Preview

The Mutants was the penultimate story of Season 9.  It starred Jon Pertwee as the The Doctor alongside Katy Manning as Jo Grant.  

Whilst working on a super drive for Bessie in his laboratory at UNIT HQ, The Doctor and Jo witness a strange object appear in front of them.  The Doctor explains to Jo that this is a top priority assignment from the Time Lords and he cannot ignore it.  So for the 3rd time since his exile began The Doctor along with the TARDIS is allowed by the Time Lords to leave earth. 

The destination for the TARDIS is the 30th century, the planet Solos where the Earth Empire is contracting and plans are being made to decolonise the planet.

The intention of writers Bob Martin and Dave Baker along with Producer Barry Letts was for this story to have an anti-racist message to it.

We will be watching this story on Wednesday.  The bar opens 7:30pm GMT and we press play at 8:00pm GMT.  I hope to see you there.

Dr. Who and the Daleks Feature Film Preview

‘Dr. Who and the Daleks’ was the first of the two spin-off films released in the 1960’s. Essentially a higher budget and colour rehash of the original Dalek story, the film starred Peter Cushing as Dr Who, a human who has invented a time machine.

The film follows the basic plot of the original story with some minor changes, for example the brightly coloured Daleks and the inclusion of companions with slightly different personalities and backgrounds (Barbara is now one of Dr Who’s granddaughters and Ian her inept and bumbling boyfriend). The interior of the TARDIS also differs considerably from the main series.

The feature film was the first example of Doctor Who being filmed in widescreen before the 2005 revival. It also pre-dated the main series use of colour by several years as a result of its higher budget.

We will be watching ‘Dr Who and the Daleks’ on Saturday. The bar opens at 8.45pm GMT and we press play at 9.00pm GMT. Hope to see you there.

'The Happiness Patrol' Preview

‘The Happiness Patrol’ is a strange mix of political comment (the character of Helen A is a not so subtle parody of Margaret Thatcher, the UK’s prime minister when the story was first broadcast) and plain surrealism (the Kandyman certainly ranks high in the list of the Doctor’s more unconventional enemies). It was first broadcast in 1988, and starred Sylvester Mccoy and Sophie Aldred as the Doctor and Ace.

It was hardly the first time that Doctor Who had drawn parallels with real world political issues, with the ‘Monster of Peladon’ commenting on the Miner’s Strikes that took place during the 1970’s. However ‘The Happiness Patrol’ is known for having a particularly strong political message. Aside from the clear parallels with Margaret Thatcher mentioned above, the story has also been claimed by some as a metaphor for gay rights, with the TARDIS painted pink and the finale of the story involving Helen A’s husband leaving the planet with another man. The story also examines dictatorships.

The Kandyman

Some elements of the story maybe aren't as successful or well received as the political subtext. Channel 5 named the Kandyman’s appearance as “one of the fifty most shameful TV moments” in 2005. Clips from the story were also used during the 40^th anniversary celebrations to showcase Verity Lambert’s point that Doctor Who had gone into decline during the 1980’s. However, I don’t need Helen A to force me to be happy when watching this story, because I like it! Even if the Pipe People are a bit rubbish.  

We will be watching 'The Happiness Patrol' on Wednesday night. The bar opens at 7.30pm GMT and we press play at 8.00pm GMT. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

DWBarOZ Host a session!

Hello all!
The DWBarOZ needs someone to host 2 sessions next weeks Feb session and next months March session, if you could help out comment below and we will arrange something.

Bernard Horsfall Tribute Session Lock-In on Saturday Night

Bernard Horsfall 20th November 1930 to 29th January 2013

Bernard Horsfall who recently passed away aged 82 is being celebrated in a special tribute Lock-In session on Saturday night following the scheduled Bar session.

Bernard appeared in four Doctor Who stories, The Mind Robber, The War Games, Planet of the Daleks and The Deadly Assassin.

Both The Mind Robber and The War Games have been watched fairly recently.  So we would like the Doctor Who Bar fans to use the contact box below to tell us which of the two stories between The Deadly Assassin and Planet of the Daleks they would like to see.  You can also tweet the Bar using this hashtag #DWBarBH.

So join us Saturday Night after The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit for a tribute session to one of the finest actors ever to guest star in Doctor Who.