Break continues

Apologies! The break continues - I'll need to come back later. Apologies to my fans! I've read lots of books, so will add them here soon.

Coming soon

I promise to write more, but I am so busy in retirement. Watch this space! 

Doctor Who - Colin Baker era, part 2

As I said in my last blog on this matter (three years ago!): I have met Colin Baker and do feel sorry for him (and McCoy) sometimes, because they are often lambasted as the wreckers of Doctor Who (though I think the blame is really at the door of JNT, BBC politics, Coronation Street, and so much more). In fact, both Doctor's were really excellent and playing the part at the wrong time - people had simply stopped loving Doctor Who.

If like me, you could see Colin's potential, why don't you listen to some Big Finish audios. They have scripted him perfectly and Mr Baker is excellent as the Doctor. I've suggested some audios below which you can buy direct from Big Finish.

Anyway...here are my views of the second quarter of Colin Baker's television time as Doctor Number Six! Click on pictures below if you want to buy them and help the lovely charity called the Living by Giving Trust (see here), who will earn some money to support its work. 



Vengeance on Varos: I was never a massive fan of this story when it was first show on the television, and I could never understand the love of it. However, since getting a bit older and probably more cynical, I can now see very clearly what a masterpiece this story is. Interestingly enough, unfortunately I suspect this is where the world is heading right now - people are increasingly showing a lack of interest in human stories, but rather searching to do or see something exciting or stupid instead. Right now, many desperate people are trying to get across to the promised land of the "West", and no one is particularly interested. The two characters of Arak and Etta are disinterested in the life surrounding them, and simply care about what will happen next on the TV. Indeed one could argue that part of the reason for this is that they know no better - but we should know better.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the planet keep feeding the people full of propaganda, so that they don't worry about the reality. "Video nasties" are constantly shown to the populace to help in two ways: show that there is no point in trying to change the world; and secondly to show what happens to the scum who rebel against this perfect dystopia. I wonder if this is happening to us all now?

In the story, The Doctor shows the people what is wrong with the society, and he leaves them hopeful that the planet will finally enjoy happier times.

Vengeance on Varos is an excellent piece of work and I highly recommend it. At the time, it was perceived too violent (maybe so) for Doctor Who, but that's the whole point. None of this is right and is all rather shocking. The message is simple: let's not lose our humanity, or all is lost. 9/10



The Mark of the Rani: I've always loved this one, because it introduces The Rani. For the first time since the Delgado Master, a rebel Time Lord actually has a reason to be somewhere that does not involve the Doctor! The Master (as played by various people since Delgado, but here played by Anthony Ainley), has had no purpose since the Tom Baker era, but to kill the Doctor. This happens throughout the Peter Davison era and continues throughout the Colin Baker era. This wish to kill only stops in Doctor Who - Survival [DVD] - Sylvester McCoy's last full story, where The Master is simply trying to survive. So, that's my long-winded way of saying: The Rani is a breath of fresh air, because she just wants to take brain stuff out of people and head back to her planet!

It makes for a very fresh change and The Rani's bickering with The Master is also rather fun. The Doctor here is confident and strong (and the horrible coat disappears sometimes too). Peri also develops and she shows that she's more than just a companion when she helps the local people to sleep - thanks to her skills.

The best bit of it all is the design. Wow! The Rani's TARDIS is supreme and a beautiful design. If only the BBC had given them good money for every story and we wouldn't have ended up with Timelash (more of that on my next update).

All in all it's not a bad story. It is a little boring in parts (whoops), but is fresh and interesting in other ways. 6/10.

Big Finish

Most of Colin Baker's Doctor Who work with Big Finish is EXCELLENT. Have a look, here.

What a break!

Sometimes I look at another blog and see that it hasn't been updated for so long. If I've enjoyed reading it, that becomes quite annoying. However, I may been one of those people - though I have seen much worse - as ever I am not really sure anyone is reading my thoughts thoughts! C'est la vie!

Here are some more books that I have recently read and HIGHLY recommend. Click on the links if you want to buy them. If you click on the link and purchase something a lovely charity called the Living by Giving Trust (see here) will earn some money to support its causes. :) I supported them recently, and though I've not been to any of their events, I have supported them as much as possible. This is one way I can do that.

First up: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot). I've read a few of Agatha Christie's classics and have now started from the beginning of Monsieur Poirot. I'll follow these through in the order that they are intended (according to Christie). This book was a good beginning, explaining how Captain Hastings knew Poirot, and how they first meet Inspector Japp. The story was excellent and kept taking us down a dead end. I highly recommend this excellent book.

Next, I always need facts: Who Governs Britain? This excellent book is part of the new Pelican books series of thinking books. I do enjoy the politics of the UK and this book shows all the intricate bits and pieces. What did I learn? That no one really runs this country - especially not the Prime Minister! Well worth a read. This man also writes very well and kept me interested throughout.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium Series) - everyone should read this book (and the next two too!). This author sadly died before he became famous. I loved this book so much, and it was full of excellent twists and turns. Some things I never ever expected. It's also very sinister and quite nasty is some parts. I think the novel is about the real world not being very nice - instead it's a tough place, but sometimes every one of us gets a chance to win something big. Read this novel, it's well worth every turn of a page. I am currently reading the second book and I am already hooked!

Finally, Sovereign: 3 (The Shardlake Series). I am not going to talk too much about this. These books are perfect and their historical details feel so real. You want the characters to do well and you feel part of their lives. The depiction of Henry VIII is wonderful too. The best bit? An excellent twist or two. Read ASAP!

Books, Books, Books and some recommendations! Ch 13

At least if I update this occassionally, I'll be able to provide a good list of books that I've read - and ones that you might be interested in reading too. I truly HIGHLY recommend them all. Click on the link to the books if you want to buy them. If you click on the link and purchase something a lovely charity called the Living by Giving Trust (see here) will earn some money to support its causes. :)

As well as Doctor Who books (see my last blog update), I also read lots of other fascinating books too. Here is one of the classic Science Fiction books by JG Ballard: High-Rise. This is a very scary, gripping and tense book about a tower block that becomes very insular and a tribal mentality begins. It's a book about how easy it is possible for society to collapse when there are no outside influences - neighbours with sizzling jealousy and eventual hatred. It's a fascinating view on what could happen if the "Survival of the Fittest" mentality becomes the first thought of a group of people.

Another book themed on how society can go wrong is Animal Farm: A Fairy Story (Penguin Modern Classics). It's a slightly different take on High-Rise. This time the animals overthrow the evil human farmer, and begin to live in an equal society. However, very quickly the pigs take on the leadership, and they revert back to human ways of thinking. The other animals become second-class citizens. Well worth the read and Orwell will keep you hooked throughout.

A final book for now and another science fiction book was The Reviver written by a new author called Seth Patrick. I don't want to say much about it, because I think people should read it first. It belongs at the top of the sci fi genre, as it was so so good. Buy it today. Please. You'll not regret it. Here are some more notes on it from the author themselves.

Books - Chapter 12

I am afraid that I have been very busy and been away from home too much. I ended up having to rehouse my cat because I was in LA so much. However, it has enabled me to read more and thus I'll start listing books here again. I love my blog and I would not want to see it wasted. I must have some fans as there are hits and visits on this blog.

Here are some more books that I have recently read and HIGHLY recommend. Click on the links if you want to buy them. If you click on the link and purchase something a lovely charity called the Living by Giving Trust (see here) will earn some money to support its causes. :) I supported them recently, and though I've not been to any of their events, I have supported them as much as possible. This is one way I can do that.

In my last blog (a year or so ago!), I talked about some of the Doctor Who books I was reading, especially as it was the 50th Anniversary. Here are some more books and Target books that I've read since. But first, what are Target books? Target are the people that published loads of novelisations for the stories on TV...and many are pretty good. :)

First up, I read Doctor Who and the Web of Fear, which is a really excellent tale. I read this before they had rediscovered most of the television episodes, and I am quite pleased I read it first. Normally you can read these books, and suspect that your mind is picturing the sets far better than they were on screen. However, this time, I rather think they were a lot better than even my imagination. It's all very eerie as a book and I highly recommend it. I am not sure why they have not reprinted this like so many others. If you click on above, you'll see a link to purchase it.

Second, I read Doctor Who-The Macra Terror, which is another interesting story, because we will never see it on DVD again (so far!). Unfortunately this time, I suspect the Macra were really terrible, but the book means you don't have any special effects worries - which is a good thing. It's quite a creepy little story and one that had me hooked for most of the time. Weird and wonderful.

Now, I moved on to Doctor Who: The Wheel of Ice which is a completely new adventure for the Second Doctor. It feels like the black and white era (that I remember watching as a kid) and feels like one of Pat Troughton's stories. Wonderful. I got a bit lost sometimes, but all in all worth the paper it was typed on. Highly recommended.

And, then I moved back to Target, and read Doctor Who: Dragonfire by Ian Briggs. I quite liked this, though again the book makes the snow and cliff tops sound real (watch the episode, the fake snow is embarrassing). It's a much more interesting novelisation than the book below, and there were lots of extra bits not in the TV episodes that helped the plot make much more sense. This was a McCoy era story.

My final book for now (I promise to write this more regularly!), was Doctor Who-The Mysterious Planet. This is a Terrance Dicks novelisation of a Colin Baker story. I quite liked this story on TV, though many did not, and Dicks simply writes a novelisation of the scripts. It was OK, but I think he could have tried to provide a bit more detail to the whole thing. I must dig out the other books of this season, and see if they were better (or worse!!). The problem was the premise is a bit boring (Doctor on trial), and Dicks doesn't try to make it more interesting. Perhaps he wasn't allowed to, especially as he later wrote a novel (The Eight Doctors (Dr. Who Series)) that tried to sort out some of the issues with the 14 part series. All in all I gave it 6/10.

Books, Books (Chapter 11)

Here are some more books that I have recently read and HIGHLY recommend. Click on the links if you want to buy them. If you click on the link and purchase something a lovely charity called the Living by Giving Trust (see here) will earn some money to support its causes. :) I supported them recently, and though I've not been to any of their events, I have supported them as much as possible. This is one way I can do that.

I am a Doctor Who fan, especially a Hartnell fan (first doctor). It's also the 50th anniversary this year, so in amongst other books, I've decided to read some of the old Target novelisations (novels of the TV episodes). A lot of these are hard to find these days, but I highly recommend people try. :-)

First up is Doctor Who-Marco Polo. It's a really good read, especially as I don't think I watched it back in 1964. I also find the soundtracks quite hard to follow, so I am now experimenting by reading these Target novels first, and then listening to the CD. This method works very well, so I'll keep doing it this way - The Crusaders is next. The novel itself is very simple to follow, but this is not a bad thing at all. I also suspect that the description of the landscape and journey look much better in my mind than they did in the TV episodes! It's a good adventure story, and well worth a read. 8/10. 

Next up, I read Doctor Who and the Crusaders. The novel itself is very well written (though in an old style) and has some excellent illustrations too. I read the 2011 version, which has an excellent introduction and an excellent conclusion - fitting it perfectly in to the time of its initial publication (i.e. the 1960s). The story is so very good, and like Marco Polo probably describes amazing landscapes that would not have looked so good on screen - though unlike Marco Polo, I could (if I wanted) go and look at episodes 1 and 3. 9/10

Finally, I've read Doctor Who - The Myth Makers The novel itself is very well written and done so in the first person as Homer. This sometimes makes it quite difficult for Cotton to follow the actual plot of his script, but it is still a very good way of telling the story. This also distinguishes the novelisation from others and that is very much a good thing. The book came out in the 1980's, when a lot of Target novelisations had already come out - so a change in style is a good idea. Cotton is obviously a classicist too - because he knows his Trojan war history - and even explains why Homer was supposedly blind; and thus why he writes about a Cyclops in the Odyssey. All in all a good tale. Well worth buying a second hand copy from somewhere. 8/10

More to come...