'The Stones of Blood' Preview

‘The Stones of Blood’ was the third story from Doctor Who’s 16^th season – commonly known as the ‘Key to Time’ season due to it’s plot arc which involved the Doctor (Tom Baker) and companion Romana (Mary Tamm) searching the universe for fragments of an all powerful key.

It also happened to be Doctor Who’s 100^th story, and was intended to feature a scene in which K9 sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to the Doctor. However this scene was vetoed by producer Graham Williams who regarded the idea as to self indulgent. However, Baker did order a cake, which was eaten by the cast and crew.   

The story has been described as “Hammeresque” – indeed it features a variety of horror movie style scenes. One scene was cut from the VHS release of the story due to concerns about its presentation of adults consumed by terror. However this scene was reinstated for the DVD release of the story. Another memorable scene features two campers being killed by the Ogri – huge sentient slabs of stone.

We will be watching ‘The Stones of Blood’ on Wednesday. Hope to see you there. 

New Series Session's in the Doctor Who Bar!

Join the Doctor Who Bar for the New Series of Doctor Who!

We believe in letting the fans watch the original showing of the show on Saturday in peace.  However the Bar is introducing a new session, as from Friday the 5th of April when BBC3 shows the repeat showing of the first episode, The Bell's of Saint John you can now join in with our new session and tweet against the repeat transmission.  Air your views and tell us what you liked or didn't like about the story!

So join my good friend @Whoooligan who will be returning to host the first of our New Series session's as Doctor Who also returns to television in the lead up to the shows memorable Fiftieth Anniversary.  The session will open at 7pm and BBC3 will air the episode at 7.15pm BST.  So please join us in the Doctor Who Bar everyone.  

The Key To Time/The Ribos Operation Preview

When Graham Williams applied to be the producer of Doctor Who in 1976 as part of his application he proposed the Key To Time story arc, which would encompass an entire season of Doctor Who.

A story arc in itself would be nothing new for Doctor Who as Season 8 was a Master storyline arc ending in his capture at the end of The Dæmons.  Also some of Tom Baker's 1st season (Season 12) involved the ongoing plot of the space station Nerva.

The Key to Time was aired from September 1978 - February 1979.

The season is set up at the beginning of The Ribos Operation where The White Guardian summons The Doctor who has just finished building K9 MK II, we (the viewers) having seen The Doctor dragging a box saying K9 MK II on it into the console room at the conclusion of The Invasion of Time, having left the original K9 on Gallifrey with Leela when she chose to stay there, again at the conclusion of that story.

The White Guardian explains that a powerful artefact called The Key To Time has been split in to 6 pieces as it is far to powerful for any one being to possess and has been dispersed throughout time and space.  However a time is approaching rapidly where The White Guardian needs to restore the equilibrium of the universe and he needs The Doctor to recover it.

The task will be made all the more difficult as the pieces are disguised and could be anything.  The Doctor will have a tracer device to help locate the pieces.  He has also been given a new assistant to help him on his task a Time Lady called Romanadvoratrelundar.

The Bar will be watching the entire Key to Time season on Wednesdays starting this Wednesday (13th March).  The Bar will open at 7:30pm GMT and we will press play at 8pm GMT.

I do hope you can join me.

'The Invasion of Time' Preview

‘The Invasion of Time’ was the final story of Doctor Who’s 15^th season. It starred Tom Baker as the Doctor, and marked the final appearance of Louise Jameson as Leela.

The initial setup of the story is an intriguing one. The Doctor appears to be working against Leela and spends much of the early story concealing his motives from her. This Doctor is willing to sell out to an unseen voice in return for “complete control over the Timelords”. It’s a bold move that immediately draws the viewer into the plot.

The story features a return to Gallifrey, the planet of bickering old men. This time it’s under attack from the Vardans, but are they merely a figurehead for a much more dangerous enemy?

With the alien invasion suppressed after a lot of running around, the Doctor is ready to leave. However, to everyone’s surprise, Leela has suddenly fallen madly in love with Commander Andred. Precisely why is anyone’s guess. I reckon it’s the flashy cape. I can't imagine it lasts very long between them.

We will be watching ‘The Invasion of Time’ on Wednesday. The bar opens at 7.30pm and we press play at 8.00pm. Hope to see you there. 

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.

Fiftieth Anniversary Poll: Patrick Troughton

At the beginning of every month there will be an individual Fiftieth Anniversary Poll dedicated to each Doctor which the Doctor Who Bar will run over the course of the anniversary year. We would like you guys and gals on Twitter, Google Plus or Facebook to tweet us your favourite Doctor Who stories.

This Poll is the Patrick Troughton one and the most popular stories will go on the Poll for this Saturday. You will then have another week to vote for which story wins and get's watched on the following Saturday. If you are tweeting us please use the special hashtag #DWBarPT. You can also use the comment box attached to this article to nominate any stories you would like to see on the Patrick Troughton Poll, which will go up on the Doctor Who Bar site on Saturday 2nd February 2013.

So please get in touch everyone as the Bar continues it's celebrations for the Fiftieth Anniversary of Doctor Who.

Please note that only 2|Entertain BBC Worldwide DVD's are eligible to vote for, thank you.

Arc of Infinity Preview

‘Arc of Infinity’ opened Doctor Who’s 20^th season. It starred Peter Davison as the Doctor, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and reintroduced Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka after her departure from the TARDIS crew in the previous story.

Season 20 coincided with the programme’s 20^th anniversary and each story featured a villain that had previously appeared in the series. In the case of ‘Arc of Infinity’, legendary Timelord Omega reappeared, having been absent from the show since its 10^th anniversary special.

‘Arc of Infinity’ takes place in Amsterdam, the second time that Doctor Who had been filmed abroad. This lead to an awkward encounter for Janet Fielding when she was mistaken for someone in quite a different profession as a result of her outfit.

Colin Baker also makes an appearance as Commander Maxil when he shoots Peter Davison. This is clear evidence that Colin Baker really wanted the part. Colin Baker would reprise the role of Commander Maxil for an uncredited cameo appearance in Big Finish’s Gallifrey spin off series.

Perhaps some aspects of the story don’t work so well (The Ergon certainly is a “less successful attempt at psychosynthesis” and probably not likely to return for the 50th) but the majority of the story works well.

The idea of adversaries returning for an anniversary year is a good one, it’s a shame that the 50^th anniversary run of stories doesn’t seem (as of the date of this post) don’t seem so spectacular.

We will be watching ‘Arc of Infinity’ on Wednesday. The bar opens at 7.30pm GMT and we press play at 8.00pm GMT. Hope to see you there.

Doctor Who Returns in March

Doctor Who returns to BBC One screens during the Easter weekend on Saturday, 30 March, 2013.

The Doctor is back in an adventure written by the show’s lead writer and executive producer, Steven Moffat. The episode which is the first in a run of eight will be directed by Colm McCarthy whose previous credits include Hustle, Spooks and Endeavour.

Later adventures in the series run include episode contributions written by Mark Gatiss (Victory of the Daleks, Night Terrors) and acclaimed author Neil Gaiman.

Steven Moffat has promised that in terms of Doctor Who, 2013 will be a ‘tremendous’ year for the programme. However there is already uproar amongst the fans due to a leaked promotional card from BBC Worldwide which purports that the Anniversary will be marked by one sixty minute episode.

So just how will the BBC mark the anniversary?  Well until a proper statement comes from a reliable source, I suggest everyone disregards the content of the promotional card.

We'll have to wait and see.