TARDIS Tuesday: "The Cave of Skulls" [Review]

THE BASICS
Episode: Doctor Who, Season 01, Episode 002, Story 001 - Part 2 of 4
Title: "The Cave of Skulls"
Original Air Date: 30 November 1963
Run-time: 24:26

CAST:
Doctor:
First Doctor (William Hartnell)
Companions:
Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford)
Ian Chesterton (William Russell)
Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill)

[Image Source: The BBC]

REVIEW:

In last week's "TARDIS Tuesday", we focused on the very first episode of Doctor Who, "The Unearthly Child." In that episode we met school schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright who serves as the audience's surrogates in our first encounter with the enigmatic Doctor and his granddaughter, Susan Foreman. That episode was fairly slow-paced and served mostly to introduce us to the four main characters and to the TARDIS, the Doctor's mysterious time machine. The episode ended in a cliffhanger as the Doctor kidnaps the schoolteachers in an attempt to prevent them from going to the authorities.

Episode 2 is when everything starts to get interesting. We learn that the TARDIS disguises itself to match its surroundings. (Previous disguises include an ionic column and a sedan chair.) Unfortunately, this time around the ship does not change forms, establishing one of the most iconic elements of the show: a time-traveling police box. The cranky, old Doctor reveals a cunning side and acts as a protector to his companions. Also a running joke in the series finds its genesis in this episode when Ian says, "Well just open the doors, Doctor Foreman." To which the Doctor replies, "Eh, Doctor who? — what's he talking about?"

We also begin to see how low-budget the show really was. Seams between sections of background set pieces are visible—as if the fake horizon was not obviously-painted enough.  A lot of the action takes place in close quarters, so when the entire episode cast (extras and all) are in a scene, it gets very claustrophobic very fast, and is indicative of the small sound stage used for production.

Yet, at the same time, the story is itself is compelling, replete with allegory and subtext.

TARDIS Tuesday: "An Unearthly Child" [Review]

THE BASICS
Episode: Doctor Who, Season 01, Episode 001, Story 001 - Part 1 of 4
Title: "An Earthly Child"
Original Air Date: 23 November 1963
Run-time: 23:24

CAST:
Doctor:
First Doctor (William Hartnell)
Companions:
Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford)
Ian Chesterton (William Russell)
Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill)

REVIEW:

The uninitiated watching "An Unearthly Child" may find it disconcertingly hard to get used to at first. I know that each time I watch these classic episodes of Doctor Who, I still have to take the time to adjust to the stark differences between the fast-paced, big budget production of the revived series and its slower—sometimes cheesy—counterpart. Although both series are very story driven, the original show had to rely more heavily on the art of storytelling. The fact of the matter is that, even for it time, the classic series was ridiculously low-budget. It is a wonder that this Saturday children's educational show ever became the worldwide sci-fi sensation that it is today. This first episode is especially slow-paced and serves mainly as an introduction of the four main characters.

TARDIS Tuesday: Introduction

So how was your Doctor Who 50th Anniversary experience this past Saturday? I hope to it was everything you expected it to be and much more. It was like gasoline to the fire that is my passion for everything Doctor Who. 

Last week, I commemorated the Anniversary by dedicating a post everyday leading up to Saturday's premiere of "The Day of the Doctor." My review for that brilliant episode is forthcoming and I hope to have it out by the Blu-ray release later this year. For now, I DVR'ed the episode and I've been watching it over and over, basking in its awesomeness. I really want to do the episode justice so I am taking my time to gather my thoughts and to get my words right. 

But, with the 50th Anniversary episode behind us, we will be returning to our usual content and if you've been following for a while now, you've witness the evolution said content has taken over the years. Most recently, I've been trying to direct my post towards attractions and things-to-do in Georgia and the Metro Atlanta area. This helped satisfy the first part of my content-refocusing plan I laid out back in January. I'm still working on integrating more Pinterest and life-hack related posts, so stay tuned.

However, just because the 50th Anniversary is officially over, that doesn't mean the celebration has to end. The title of this blog is, after all, Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey Stuff.

At this time, I would like to introduce a new weekly segment I like to call "TARDIS Tuesday"!

Doctor Who: "The Day of the Doctor" Predictions

[Image Source: Radiotimes.com]

I really like Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat. His ingenious writing makes for great television. A lot of his stories are driven by things the Doctor sees in the corner of his eye or brushes against. Even a very attentive audience may miss these subtle details. Moffat is also the devil when it comes to stories about paradoxes and negated timelines.  I would love to one write like him one day.

So, since I apparently didn't learn my lesson from the last time I tried to make predictions about Doctor Who, here are my predictions for what we'll see in today's Doctor Who 50th Anniversary episode. 

Most of these are based off of trailers and the mini episode "The Night of the Doctor."

1. The episodes will star the Eleventh and Tenth Doctors. It will also feature John Hurt's War Doctor.
2. The story will be set between the Tenth Doctor episode "Wars of Mars" and "End of Time" in the Tenth Doctor's timeline. Base on the Children in Need teaser preview, this may be the oft reference adventure that led the Doctor marrying Queen Elisabeth I.
3. This episode is set shortly after the events of the series seven season finale "The Name of the Doctor" in the eleventh Doctor's timeline.
4. The story will involve the end of the Time War and how the War Doctor ended it. I don't think any of the classic Doctors will actually be in the episode. Although this doesn't mean that there won't be some CG magic like in "The Name of the Doctor."
5. I think, despite Christopher Eccleston stating he won't be in the episode, we will see the War Doctor regenerate into the ninth Doctor. There is also a good chance the War Doctor will be negated and we will see McGann's eighth in a redux of his regeneration in "The Night of the Doctor" I. Which he becomes Ecclesston's ninth.
6. We will see Billie Piper as Rose Tyler but this isn't the companion we know and love. Based on the glowing eyes we saw in the trailers and on her outfit, this might be Bad Wolf Rose who we saw in "Parting of the Ways." If we do see a regeneration sequence, I think this will be the precursor to the revived era series premiere episode  "Rose." I would not be surprised if we learn that ninth's meeting with Rose Tyler was not coincidental at all and follows immediately after the events of the 50th anniversary episode.

Well those are my predictions. In an hour or so we will she how close I came. Have fun, my dear Whovians. Happy anniversary!