You are not alone! 
@ChrisStokes (or anyone else who might know), do we know if the Happiness Patrol special edition with updated FX will be presented to view episodically (as is my preference, and as with the Day of the Daleks SE) or just as an omnibus? I’m really keen to see what they’ve done with the story but vastly prefer episodic viewing.
It’s episodic, with each episode running a few minutes longer than the broadcast version
This is a joyful thing to read. EXACTLY what I have been hoping for!
Cheers Chris. You have put a smile on my face.
I’ve recently bought the Doctor Who am I blu-ray, so going to rewatch The Movie first.
I have that on DVD but still haven’t watched it (the doc, not the TV Movie). Must get around to it.
I feel genuinely sorry for Matthew Jacobs. He had to juggle and please execs with little real understanding of or proper investment (beyond the financial) in the series. I feel he was given an almost impossible task. I know the TVM gets a lot of stick, but there’s much in it that I like (and I feel that’s largely down to him).
I’ve always enjoyed the Movie - it was so exciting when it was first broadcast.
Me too. I remember watching it on first broadcast. That excitement that Doctor Who was BACK! McGann was great, the TARDIS looked fantastic. I was strapped in and ready to go for a new series… but then we had to wait another NINE LONG YEARS!
I loved the TV Movie. Paul McGann was instantly a great Doctor - often it takes time for a new incumbent to settle in, but not here. His relationship with Grace was terrific too - two doctors for the price of one.
I still enjoy Eric Roberts as the Master. His performance is almost the antithesis of all the others, but it really works with him as a kind of Prince of Darkness, each syllable dripping with evil intent. And of course, he can turn on the camp too!
The production values were like nothing we’d seen at the time; it looked expensive!
The theme music is too orchestral for my liking, though, and that ending, all the business referencing alarm clocks: it just doesn’t make any sense. Does it? It’s all fast-moving and frenetic so when watched for the first time, doesn’t matter as much as it might. But the lack of logic niggles, and that’s a shame.
Terrific fun though.
5 minutes longer each I think
Broadcast was 25 mins and the update is 30 mins per ep
Watched the blu-ray “Doctor Who am I”.
I hadn’t read the blurb carefully enough and thought it was going to be more of a range of interviews looking back at The Movie. It was actually predominantly a video diary by the writer, Matthew Jacobs, as he attends Doctor Who conventions etc which includes him meeting cast members.
I started the film thinking “don’t bite the hand that feeds”, but ended with a sense of a man who was already fragile, and thought he had the opportunity of his life only to experience a strong backlash.
I haven’t seen much of Daphne Ashbrook before; she comes across as the loveliest woman.
TORCHWOOD 1.3: Ghost Machine
Had a hankering to watch Torchwood again and have recently rewatched eps 1 and 2 with my son, so this was a good opportunity to settle down and watch the next episode.
After a strong opener and a very wobbly second episode, Ghost Machine was a very solid effort I felt. I’ve always enjoyed this and was not disappointed with today’s rewatch. There are some awkward moments, but overall the epsiode has many lovely touches. Gwen’s first ‘ghost’ vision was particularly well done and I loved the domestic setting once she tracks down the boy (now an old man) still living happily in Cardiff. Likewise, Owen’s vision of the scen under the bridge is skin crawling (as it should be) and nicely set up a sense of dread that permeated the rest of the episode. Gareth Thomas was superb as Ed Morgan, and really got a chance to showcase what a great actor he was. Since Blake’s 7 never got the crossover with DW that had been touted, it’s nice to see Thomas in a Doctor Who adjacent series.
Not a ground breaking episode, to be sure, but a most enjoyable watch.
Not a patch on the very glorious “Ghost Mission” that I listened to earlier, however. Now that was amazing!
I just finished mindwarp. My emotions can now be best summarized by ‘what the hell’
I would say I can’t imagine watching Day One with my family, but I listened to Love Rat and Orr with my mum so…
My reactions to Mindwarp were pretty much the same as @Jae. Mind Blower might have been a more accurate title. But it’s colourful, loud, with some good effects and performances.
I still think that, considering Doctor Who had recently been taken off-air for 18 months for being (among other things) too violent and scary for children, Peri’s apparent fate remains utterly shocking and upsetting and an either very brave or very foolhardy decision from the production team. The show was on fragile ground, and the popular Peri is killed, and then turned into a screeching, glaring monster (a good subject for the What Maketh A Monster thread) who is then gunned down by warrior king Ycarnos (and dealt one final insult by Sil😱).
I loved the scene at the time, and love it now. A story about boddy horror is at the heart of this runaround, and by wrenching The Doctor away from saving Peri, showed the Time Lords at their cruelest. Shocking, powerful television!
Incidentally, why isn’t Nabil Shaban featuring in more Big Finish? I know he has certain political views - maybe that’s the reason.
His voice would transfer so well into audio.
Oh, are they problematic?
I know he’s known for his political activism and campaigning, usually challenging peoples’ views on disablement. I wouldn’t think that would exclude him from Big Finish - indeed, I would hope not - but I can’t think of any other reason. Perhaps Philip Martin holds the rights to the character of Sil, and after his death, that has proven difficult to negotiate.
Speculation, of course!
But as certain classic Who monsters are getting the box-set treatment, something involving The Mentors would be great. Perhaps Old Sixie could feature in one of them.
He’s in two releases - Mission to Magnus and Antidote to Oblivion.
Perhaps? Perhaps?! PERHAPS?!?!?!
