Examining The Doctor #59: An Unearthly Child Commentary
An Unearthly Child, the very FIRST episode of Doctor Who
Today, Doctor Who celebrates it’s 56th Anniversary! In honor of this landmark moment, we are linking the Doctor Who episode An Unearthly Child. You can listen along with our commentary from Examining The Doctor #59, which has Mark and Seth discussing the episode along with classic facts and jokes.
Don’t worry, just start the commentary first, and it will tell you when to start the TV episode. If you like what you hear, we have dozens more Doctor Who stories, both Classic and Modern (or “NewWho” to some fans), on our podcast Examining The Doctor.
It’s always a little emotional when a Doctor leaves, and Peter Capaldi’s departure was no different. The magic number of three seasons has passed, and we usher in Jodie Whittaker. But in a fun twist, we got the return of David Bradley as The First Doctor.
Both Star Wars and Doctor Who have their devoted fanbases. With Doctor Who, a TV fixture for 56 years (counting the 16 years between series runs), it has seen 13 lead actors and countless supporting actors in a constantly changing cast. Just about anybody who’s anybody in England has appeared in Doctor Who in some capacity.
Star Wars has been at the forefront of pop culture for over 40 years (counting the 16 years between the classic films and the prequels). At the very least, just about every actor associated with the galaxy far far away can find fans at a comic-con or sci-fi convention.
But what of those who have had roles in both Star Wars AND Doctor Who? Believe it or not, there are several names on that list. And some of them may really surprise you!
November 1963 – The first episode of Doctor Who aired, beginning the legacy of a sci-fi epic that is still going strong 56 years later.
However, many fans do not know that the first episode was not the one originally produced. The original version did not go well with producer Sydney Newman, so it was tweaked and refilmed into the version that was seen by 10 million viewers.
It is a sad day for fans of Doctor Who and science-fiction. Terrance Dicks, a prolific writer who wrote several TV stories and novels, passed away at the age of 84.
Dicks broke into TV by writing episodes of The Avengers (the BBC show, not the Marvel superheroes). For Doctor Who, he and friend Malcolm Hulke wrote The War Games in 1969, a 10-part finale (?!?!?) to Patrick Troughton’s run as The Doctor.
Other Doctor Who TV stories to Dicks’ credit include the Tom Baker stories The Brain Of Morbius and The Horror Of Fang Rock. And of course, the 20th Anniversary story The Five Doctors.
In addition to writing stories, Dicks served as script editor for Doctor Who under showrunner Barry Letts. He was also frequently chosen to adapt TV stories to novels for Target Books.
Big Finish celebrates 20 years of Doctor Who Stories
Big Finish is celebrating 20 years of original Doctor Who stories in the most “Doctor Whoish” way. Not only does The Legacy Of Time feature six (count ’em SIX) incarnations of the famous Time Lord, but it also has companions from both the old and new series. It’s a multi-generational mash-up that can only be done by Big Finish.
Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann all reprise their respective Doctors, while Tim Treloar replaces the late great Jon Pertwee. Some of the familar supporting characters include Ace, Leela, Jo Grant, Osgood, Kate Stewart, and of course River Song.
The six CD set (?!?!) is currently available, but is limited to 4,000 copies. An MP3 edition is available for immediate download. Both are available at Big Finish’s site.
Geekville Radio Presents Examining The Doctor: Shada
Examining the Doctor is back after two years, and we wanted to come back with a doozy of a show. This episode is devoted to the infamously incomplete story Shada from 1979. This was meant to be the final story for Season 17, but due to strikes and politics, production halted after a few days.
The BBC finally released a complete reconstructed version using animated sequences to fill the missing scenes. The result is a mashup of live action and animation that would only seem to fit in Doctor Who.
Join Mark and Seth as they bring their signature blend of knowledge and humor to arguably the most popular story to never get broadcast. Written by Douglas Adams, Shada stars Tom Baker as The Fourth Doctor, Lalla Ward as Romana, and Christopher Meade as the villainous Skagra
Doctor Who celebrated it’s 55th Anniversary this week! In honor of this landmark moment, here is a link to the very first Doctor Who episode, An Unearthly Child.
We’ve also linked our commentary track for the story, courtesy our podcast Examining The Doctor. Hosts Mark and Seth bring their signature blend of knowledge and humor to this all time classic story.
Don’t worry, just start the commentary first, and it will tell you when to start the TV episode. If you like what you hear, we have dozens more Doctor Who stories, both Classic and Modern (or “NewWho” to some fans), on our podcast Examining The Doctor.
In the latest chapter in the ongoing controversy for Guardians Of The Galaxy 3, the movie is reported to be on hold after Disney made the decision to not reinstate director James Gunn. Dave Bautista has stated that he isn’t sure he wants to return.
“They’re putting the movie off. It’s on hold indefinitely. To be honest with you, I don’t know if I want to work for Disney.”
2. Also part of the DC Movie Universe will be an as of yet untitled Joker/Harley movie that would further explore the relationship between Joker and Harley Quinn. Leto and Robbie would likely return for that film that has been described as “When Harry Met Sally On Benzedrine”.
Also on the docket, a possible Birds Of Prey movie. Margot Robbie has reportedly expressed desire to portray Harley in her own standalone film. Birds Of Prey has been a title for DC that involved an all-female cast in various incarnations over the years. Harley has been part of the group in the comics since her turn as a more anti-hero type character. Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs) is set to direct off a Christina Hodson (Bumblebee) story. It is yet to be announced whether the film will feature Leto as Joker.
The Muppets recently had their live show at the famous O2 Arena in London England. Among one of the many sketches was Pigs In Space, a regular segment on the old Muppet Show. On this particular sketch, the crew of The Swine Trek encounter a certain Time Lord. Hilarity ensues.
Yes, it’s The Tenth Doctor himself, David Tennant. But if that weren’t enough, the sketch also ran with Tennant’s real life father in-law Peter Davison… who also happened to be The Fifth Doctor.
Two sketches, two Doctors. And plenty of awesome!
It’s also worth mentioning that former Doctor Who companion Kylie Minogue also helped in one of the musical acts, the famous “Rainbow Connection”.
Everybody attending seemed to love the show. Hopefully it sees some sort of official release.
