Big Blue Box Podcast – Episode 10
It’s been all about Series 8 and Deep Breath over the last couple of weeks, and rightly so. It’s so close now! I dive into some news for the new series, Tardis Talk is back with questions around a possible 10th Anniversary special next year, and this episode’s retrospective is Planet of Evil.
The News
As Series 8 is so close, it’s no surprise that the bulk of the news is around that. First up, the BBC have confirmed the transmission time for Deep Breath on Saturday, 23rd August as 7:50 pm here in the UK. It will air in the US at 8:15 pm.
There’s also the official synopsis for Deep Breath from the BBC: “When the Doctor arrives in Victorian London, he finds a dinosaur rampant in the Thames and a spate of deadly spontaneous combustions”. It’s sounding like an awesome episode already, and unlike previous fresh regeneration episodes, the Doctor has his hands full from the get-go.
Jenna Coleman has officially joined Twitter, and you can catch her latest updates at @Jenna_Coleman_
Elsewhere, there’s been an interesting casting call put out for someone to play Tom Baker in his early years, entitled The Letter. I’m assuming this is around Baker’s letter he sent to the BBC on a whim while working on a building site, which resulted in his appointment as The Doctor. This could be a great docudrama, so will keep you posted on any progress.
TARDIS Talk
I read a short interview snippet with Steven Moffat last week in which he said it’s very unlikely that there will be any kind of 10th Anniversary special or celebration, so that got me thinking whether there should be one or not. What do you think about this?
Retrospective – Planet of Evil
Going back to the classic era, I dive into Tom Baker’s 1975 story of a mysterious planet on the edge of the known universe, hiding a sinister monster. Some great Baker in this story and a good supporting cast to match. I give it a decent 7/10, but what would you have given it?
Thank you as always for stepping into the Tardis for episode 10, and look forward to chatting all things Who in episode 11. Until next time – Allons-y!
Planet of Evil is one my earliest memories of the show. I love the dark atmospheric jungle landscape. Creepy and intense. The jungle was a design masterpiece considering this is 1975. Tom and Liz are on fire and their chemistry is really shining through. Big shout out to Ewan Solon and Freddie Jaegar and of course Prentis Hancock. Dudleys incidental music plus those eerie sound effects really lock into the action. I feel this story is an overlooked gem mainly because it’s surrounded by other stellar classics like Terror of the Zygons and of course Pyramids of Mars. 9.5 for me. The half mark deducted because of the morestran ship looking more like a hoover
Thanks, Peter! Indeed, it is a good story, albeit sandwiched between two amazing stories which often overshadow it. I honestly haven’t seen it in ages, and I haven’t watched it from the recent blu ray collection box set, so I’ll get it back on the list of next Who to watch (currently doing a re-watch from the beginning and only at series 2 The Dalek Invasion of Earth so I’ll need to get it in before the natural watch order!).