Welcome to the Time Space Visualiser reviews!

Welcome to my episode-by-episode reviews of Doctor Who's classic series, from 1963 to 1989. This project took a whopping 5 years and 4 months, from start to finish, and was a rollercoaster ride. I enjoyed it. But no, I'm not moving on to the new series (in case you're wondering!).

If you're looking for a particular story or episode, you can use the Search tool on the right, the A-Z list in the right-hand column further down, or click 'Read More' below for links to individual Doctors.

And thank you - so much - for reading. I hope you enjoy!

~ Steve, July 2022

Doctor Who Decades: The 1980s

Every time Doctor Who reaches the end of a decade, it seems to be an automatic point of change and renewal for the series. However, in this case there was no change or renewal, just a full-stop. Here's the third in a trilogy of blogs looking back over a decade of Doctor Who.

The 1980s

I reached the end of the 1970s in December 2020, when the world was in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK we were initially under the impression we'd be able to spend Christmas with our families, but as the infections worsened, this leeway was reduced to just one day. It was a sad and frustrating time in world history, but if everything else was falling apart around me, there was one shaft of light that kept me going through it all - Doctor Who!

Here I am, 18 months later, and I've reached the end of the 1980s, and the end of Classic Who. It didn't take me as long to review the 1980s because I simply had more time to do it in, although family issues did interfere quite stressfully along the way. There were times - notably towards the end of the Davison era - when I considered packing it all in. My blog would have ended with part 4 of Planet of Fire, and its 'unfinishedness' would frustrate millions of readers for generations to come. Well, a couple perhaps. For minutes!

Survival Part Three

The one where it all ends...

While being the end of an era, Survival part 3 is also something of a transitionary episode. As well as neatly reflecting elements from both parts 1 and 2, and how they dangerously merge together, it also serves as a pathway to the future. When Doctor Who began in 1963, it was set in contemporary London. When the classic series finished in 1989, it was also set in contemporary London. Perfect symmetry. And when the series returned in 2005, where was it set? Yes that's right, in contemporary London. Shoreditch, Perivale and Kennington (the probable location of Rose's Powell Estate) are bound together across the decades by the creative forces behind three different iterations of Doctor Who. The same, but different. London would seem to be the Doctor's "home".

At the start of the episode we see Ace lose her fight to hold on to herself, and run off with her new "sister", Karra the Cheetah person. I'm not crystal clear on why Ace and Karra share this bond, unless it's something to do with Karra hypnotising or bewitching Ace when she helps her at the waterside. It's obvious that Karra sees something in Ace which is different to any other Earth girl brought as prey to the planet. Later on we see the feline Karra revert to her original human self, suggesting that maybe, just perhaps, Karra had the hots for Ace, and her latent sexuality was brought to the fore. "I'm your sister. You're like me. You will be..." Karra tells Ace in one scene.

Survival Part Two

The one where Ace is bewitched by an alien planet...

It's great how the white flash at the end of the opening credits merges perfectly into the effect of the Doctor and Paterson being transported to the Cheetah planet. I'm glad director Alan Wareing thought to do that, because if he hadn't, the lost potential would have bugged me until my dying day!

The Doctor and his narrow-minded new pal are herded towards a tent, the Cheetah people constantly growling and snarling along the way. As much as I quite admire the Cheetah costumes and make-up, dubbing sound effects of real-life big cats on top of these cuddly creatures just does not work, and only accentuates the fact they are not big, vicious, carnivorous monsters, just people in leopard-print suits!

Survival Part One

The one where Ace goes back to Perivale to see her mates...

This is it. The final story of the classic series run, ironically yet appropriately entitled Survival. Nobody knew it when they made it, but they certainly knew there would be no Season 27 by the time Survival was broadcast. Blame Philip Segal, because if he hadn't made that fateful telephone call to the BBC on July 12th, 1989, things might have carried on as normal, and I'd be reviewing Ice Time, Earth Aid, Crime of the Century and Illegal Alien too.

But it didn't pan out that way, and instead this surreal suburban thriller is how classic Doctor Who bowed out. Fittingly, it left by telling a story set in contemporary London, just as it began 26 years before. From Shoreditch to Perivale, via Skaro, Peladon and Gallifrey!