WELCOME!

OK, so here's the scoop. Every day, while I'm at home, and no company is over, I watch an episode of "Doctor Who" during lunch and/or supper. I decided in 2003 that starting on November 23, 2003, the 40th anniversary of the first-ever broadcast of Doctor Who on the BBC, I would begin from the very first episode and watch each episode in order. (Before the marathon began, I didn't just watch Doctor Who, I would watch all sorts of other things, like DVDs with director's commentary tracks, various British comedies, and all sorts of other stuff.) Unfortunately, some episodes no longer exist as far as we know, so I have decided to skip the audio-only episodes. It was a tough decision, but I just could not see myself just sitting there, listening to a CD while eating.

As an adjunct (fancy word, eh?) to the viewing, I decided to run a blog where I would post various thoughts and ruminations about each episode. Sort of a Time-Team-Of-One for you Doctor Who Magazine readers. Yeah, I know, it's February, and I started back in November. So I started the blog late, so sue me. Anyway, as a beginning, here's a quick rundown of what I've watched so far...

An Unearthly Child -- I'll hold with the common wisdom on this story, which is... Great first episode, shame about the caveman episodes. OK, so it's not as cut and dried as that. The prehistoric episodes aren't that terrible, but they don't hold up well over the 40 years since this aired. Oh, well. It does have an odd moment where the Doctor may or may not be about to kill a caveman in order to facilitate their escape to the TARDIS.

The Daleks -- 7 episodes of classic Terry Nation. Rather slow-moving, with plenty of padding, but some interesting ideas in there. The cliffhanger to Episode 1 is a classic, revealing nothing of the legendary creatures on their first appearance except their sucker arm. Cool.

The Edge of Destruction -- I used to think I really liked this story. Don't know why. It's OK, but rather pointless. The first sign of the TARDIS having sentience, I believe.

The Keys of Marinus -- A servicable enough quest story. The Voord are just ridiculous, though. And the Doctor takes a vacation for an episode, one of the first instances (I think) of a regular being written out of an episode so the actor could go on holiday. I did think the uniforms for the city in the last two episodes (with the trial and all) were pretty nifty.

The Aztecs -- The marathon's first DVD. And first Vid-FIREd episode. Man, this looks great! Incredibly well-written story by John Lucarotti. Autloc is a truly sympathetic character. And the Doctor's "romance" with Cameca is charming to behold. Lovely touch that the Doctor take her memento to him with her.

The Sensorites -- Hadn't seen this one in a long time. Didn't miss much. The first part in the spaceship is OK. The guy who went sorta crazy reminded me too much of Clay Aiken. When they go to the Sensorites' planet... yawn city. Extremely cliched and boring plotting and dialogue. The Sensorites are just stupid.

The Reign of Terror -- Had never seen this one, due to its incompleteness. Episodes 4 and 5 are missing. Still, what we do have is quite entertaining. Ian looks cool in period costume. Nice to see Barbara in a dress, too, that's rare. The Doctor has fun bullying a jailer. Decently done.

Planet of Giants -- They're small! And R. K. Maroon from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is in it! And they shrunk what used to be Episode 3 and Episode 4 into an economy-sized Episode 3. Good thing, too. Got kinda boring. The oversized props were pretty well done, considering it was 1964 on a shoestring BBC budget!

The Dalek Invasion of Earth -- DVD and VidFire again. These look fantastic. Rollicking adventure story. Good use of location work, the Daleks in deserted London are cool. And the first regular cast member to depart, Susan is left behind by her grandfather. He knows what's best for her.

The Rescue -- Cute little Vicki joins the cast. Koquillion/Bennet is ludicrous. Quick 2-parter, thank goodness.

The Romans -- The first story done mainly for comedy. And quite well-done, too. Nero is a hoot, even if he is over-the-top. Very enjoyable romp.

The Web Planet -- I have never liked this story, and I still don't. Why did this have to be 6 episodes long?? Boring boring boring. The Menoptera and their mode of speaking and moving are irritating in the extreme. I admire the audacity they had in thinking they could pull this off, but it just doesn't work on a BBC budget. Yawn.

The Crusade -- Only Episodes 2 and 4 exist, Episode 2 having been located in 1999. They got William Russell to fill in the missing bits in character as Ian when they released this on video. The two remaining episodes are another fantastic example of how Doctor Who could really do great historical adventures. Julian Glover as King Richard is fiery and fantastic. Court intrigue and knights and Saracens. Good stuff, wish the other 2 episodes were around.

The Space Museum -- Another interesting first episode let down by a boring run-around follow-up. Funny to see Jeremy Bulloch looking really young. Did I tell you I met him? Oh, yes, I met good ol' Boba Fett a few years ago in Atlanta during Dragon*Con...

The Chase -- And speaking of run-arounds... or is that runs-around? Anyway, the Daleks chase the Doctor. Lots of quick arrivals and departures, not much of a plot, and a big explosive confrontation between the Daleks and the Mechanoids at the end. Very sad to see Ian and Barbara leave, they're two of my all-time favorite companions. You could always rely on them to give great performances, no matter how good or crap the story was. Sweet final scenes with them back on Earth. I shall miss them, too. But we seem to have picked up a new traveller, an astronaut named Steven Taylor.

The Time Meddler -- A fun story, with the first-ever appearance of another of the Doctor's race, the Meddling Monk. Wonderful funny performance by Peter Butterworth as the Monk, without being over-the-top. I was constantly reminded of Patrick Troughton whenever I watched the Monk, same sort of facial moves and gestures and such. Very reminiscent of Pat. William Hartnell seems to have fun in this one, too, especially facing off against the Monk.

The Daleks' Master Plan -- Only Episodes 5 and 10 remain of this 12-part epic. Episode 5 is rather boring. Episode 10 is OK, set in Ancient Egypt and featuring our old friend the Meddling Monk. Can't trust that fellow. Kevin Stoney as Mavic Chen is grandly evil. A good foil for the Daleks, even if they are supposedly working together.

The Ark -- The Monoids are a bit lame, aren't they? Interesting concept, two episodes set on the Ark, then two more episodes set on the same Ark but 700 years later. It would be OK if it weren't for the lousy performances of the Monoids. And the cheesy skirts on the men. Nice to see the first appearance of guest star Michael Sheard in Episode 2. He'll be back. Oh, and I met Michael Sheard, too, at ChicagoTARDIS...

And so, we're caught up. If I'm lucky, I'll remember to update this every episode. Next up, the only surviving episode of The Celestial Toymaker.