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. 

Fiftieth Anniversary Poll: William Hartnell

At the beginning of every month from now on 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 very first Poll is the William Hartnell one and the most popular stories will go on the Poll for next 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 #DWBarWH.

You can also use the comment box attached to this article to nominate any stories you would like to see on the William Hartnell Poll, which will go up on the Doctor Who Bar site on Saturday 5th January.  

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

'The Mind Robber' Preview

‘The Mind Robber’ is an unconventional story. First broadcast in 1968, it follows directly on from the previous serial ‘The Dominators’ and opens with a flood of lava rapidly approaching the TARDIS. The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and companions Jamie and Zoe (Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury) are forced to dematerialise and take the TARDIS “out of reality” in order to escape the flood of what appears to be melting cheese.

After landing ‘nowhere’ – an everlasting expanse of white – the crew are lured out by visions of home, where they face a group of robots.  Despite the Doctor managing to get everyone back into the TARDIS, he is unable to stop it exploding, the outer shell shattering and the console spinning off into the distance.

From then on the story takes place in “The Land of Fiction” which is ruled over by The Master (but not that one). Battling irritating children and robot toy soldiers, the Doctor and his companions struggle not to become a work of fiction – as this will mean that they are trapped forever.

Frazer Hines caught chicken box during filming of this serial, which meant that he was replaced by Hamish Wilson in episode two (explained by having the Doctor rearrange an image of Jamie’s face incorrectly). The previous story had originally been conceived as a six parter, but had been reduced to five parts, meaning that the ‘leftover’ part of the story became the first episode of the previously four part ‘The Mind Robber’.

We will be watching ‘The Mind Robber’ on Saturday the 29^th. The Bar opens at 9.45pm GMT and we press play at 10.00pm GMT. Hope to see you there.

'The Next Doctor' Preview

‘The Next Doctor’ is a massively misleading title, but that doesn’t mean the story isn’t a good one. Broadcast on Christmas Day 2008, it attracted 13.1 million viewers. It starred David Tennant as the Doctor, accompanied by David Morrisey as Jackson Lake (or possibly the Doctor) and Velile Tshabalala as Rosita Farisi.

Ok, it’s a bit silly (particularly the two Doctors getting pulled around on the rope by the Cybershade) but that can be forgiven, it is a Christmas special after all. It’s not all fun and games however, with some quite emotional moments throughout. The child actors working in the Cyber factory all seem to be straight out of Oliver Twist, but again, it would be stupid to pick holes in a story designed to be so Christmassy.
 

Miss Hartigan makes a good villain, and the Cybermen are as threatening as ever, even if the Cyberking is a bit of a dodgy CGI representation. David Morrisey makes a likeable Doctor (spinoff series anyone?)

All in all, ‘The Next Doctor’ is a good story with an interesting plot line and some nice character moments and comedy elements.

Fiftieth Anniversary Poll

We are bringing back the Poll next year briefly because 2013 is Doctor Who's Fiftieth Anniversary.

At the beginning of every month there will be an individual Fiftieth Anniversary Poll dedicated to each Doctor which will run over the course of the year.

We would like you guys and gals on Twitter or Facebook to tweet us your favourite stories belonging to each Doctor and the most popular will go on the Poll.  You will then have a week to vote for which story wins and get's watched on the Saturday.

The first Saturday of every month will be the Fiftieth Anniversary Poll.  The first Poll the William Hartnell one is Saturday 5th January.

So join us to celebrate the Anniversary over the course of the year.