Defending 'Love & Monsters'

Ten years ago, James Wynne presented his ten

worst twenty-first century episodes on the Doctor

Who TV website. To my dismay, Love & Monsters

topped the list, with Wynne commenting that the

"Blue Peter contest winner was poor in every way

and felt more like a soap with an alien thrown in

just for comedy purposes. Not Doctor Who."

At the time I responded by admitting that the

adventure was marmite fare, fans either love it
or hate it.

In January 2012, Jonathan Morris' review of

Love & Monsters for issue 443 of DWM countered

comments made by Peter Kay in the Daily Mail

the previous November.

Britain's most successful stand-up comedian made
a guest appearance in the story after praising the programme's reboot in a letter to Russell T

Davies, but said that his episode was "regarded by fans as the worst

ever." Then in June 2016, the Radio Times published Huw Fullerton's

blog, The 13 Most Divisive Doctor Who Episodes, and Love & Monsters

again led the survey.

Originally shown fifteen years ago, this much maligned story is still

one of my favourites, and is actually far superior to the one that

followed it, Fear Her. Written by show-runner Davies and directed by

Dan Zeff (his only outing on the show), it featured a stellar cast in

Kay, Marc Warren, Shirley Henderson, Simon Greenall, Moya Brady,

Kathryn Drysdale, and Camille Coduri. And the music is perfect!

• the working title of Love & Monsters (the only story with an ampersand in the title) was I Love the Doctor, and it's French broadcast was retitled LINDA 
• the episode is notable as the programme's first 'doctor-lite' script, and was produced in the same block as The Satan Pit two-parter
• Elton Pope (Warren) witnesses alien incursions from earlier stories: an Auton attack, and the Slitheen and Sycorax ships over London
• Elton is a fan of Jeff Lynne and his Electric Light Orchestra, and three ELO songs are heard here
• the fan group LINDA (London Investigation 'N' Detective Agency) is later mentioned in Time Crash, but the acronym was first used on BBC1's Why Don't You? (1973-1995)
• Victor Kennedy (Kay) is in fact an 'Abzorbaloff' creature from the Slitheen twin planet of Clom
• uniquely, the episode referenced all four of Davies' series arcs - Bad Wolf [virus], Torchwood [files], [Mr] Saxon, and the lost planets
• the Hoix monster is also seen in Torchwood: Exit Wounds, and The Pandorica Opens
• Bella Emberg (Mrs. Croot) first made (uncredited) appearances in The  Silurians and The Time Warrior
• Elton paraphrases Stephen King: "salvation and damnation are the same thing" (from The Green Mile)
• this is the only Doctor Who adventure ever to allude to oral sex
• the DWM Mighty 200 Poll (September 2009) placed Love & Monsters at 153rd, whilst Fear Her proved to be the most unloved Tennant story and ranked just 192nd
• To date, the serial has been repeated fifteen times on BBC3, and regularly on W (including today)

Doctor Who: More Series 7 News

"What we know so far.. As filming begins on the upcoming series, here's a round-up of what to expect" writes Paul Jones in the Radio Times:

Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Steven Moffat turned up for their first day back at work in Cardiff today as filming got under way on the seventh season of Doctor Who. There's a lot we still don't know about the series, of course, but here are some things we do know, and some others we can make educated guesses about... 

Which writers will be involved?

Being Human creator Toby Whithouse will be writing an episode. He previously penned series two's School Reunion, series five’s The Vampires of Venice, and the eerie The God Complex from last year.

Chris Chibnall - who wrote series three story 42 and the Silurian two-parter (2010) - is also confirmed. 

Mark Gatiss's involvement remains unofficial but he says he'll be back to write for the new season. Steven Moffat’s Sherlock collaborator has been involved since the programme's revival, having written series one episode The Unquiet Dead, series two’s The Idiot's Lantern, series five's Victory of the Daleks, and last year's episode, Night Terrors.  

Having already been given the honour of resurrecting the redesigned Daleks - and as tight as he is with Moffat - we wouldn’t bet against Gatiss being involved in bringing back a 'classic' era monster again (see below).

Meanwhile, showrunner and lead writer Steven Moffat will, of course, be writing the last episode to feature Rory and Amy (see below).

Who'll be directing?

Saul Metzstein, whose previous credits include Micro Men – BBC4’s comedy drama about Clive Sinclair – is the first confirmed director, though NuWho alumnus Richard Clark (Gridlock, The Lazarus Experiment, The Doctor's Wife, and Night Terrors) has hinted on twitter that he’ll be back  this year too.

Amy and Rory’s departure

We know The Ponds are leaving partway through this series in a story Karen Gillan has called “the best ever” and a “damn good” exit and Steven Moffat has warned will be "heartbreaking". 

In terms of exactly when Rory and Amy will be off, Toby Whithouse said recently at the SFX Weekender sci-fi convention that his episode would be third in the series and would be “one of the final ones” to feature the pair.

And since Moffat and Whithouse both appear to be writing a Pond episode, it sounds like the couple's departure could be part of a story that spans more than one show (Harry Potter actor, Mark Williams is thought to be playing Rory's dad). 

Will River Song return?

Steven Moffat hinted very strongly at the press conference for the 2011 Christmas special that River Song would be back, and we know he loves writing the character. Further hints from Alex Kingston, plus the fact there remain several points on River’s timeline we’ve not yet seen, and that her mum is about to make her departure, make it likely River will put in an appearance.

Which monsters will be back?

Producer Marcus Wilson told DWM that two monsters from the original run would be back in series seven. On the one hand, you might think it’s about time to see the revamped Daleks return; on the other, Steven Moffat said only last year that he intended to give them a rest for while. So “classic” could well mean something or someone we haven’t seen since Doctor Who was rebooted… (Gatiss' script is rumoured to feature the Ice Warriors).

When will the series start and how long will it be?

An autumn start is predicted – after all, we’d expect to see some episodes before the next Christmas special – but a gap in transmission seems likely and we may well see less than half of the series in 2012, especially since 2013 is the big year for the show – its 50th anniversary – so it’s likely to be packed full of Doctor Who.

In January, Steven Moffat told Radio Times the series would feature “at least 14 episodes”. Assuming that takes the Christmas special into account, it could mean another 13 parts, or it could mean more, including, perhaps, an Easter special…

Is this Matt Smith's last series?

Speaking at this year’s National Television Awards, Matt left us in a bit of confusion, on one hand suggesting an approaching exit - "The truth is that I've got another year left... I've got a year of Who and I'll take it from there…” - on the other, saying: “I'm here for the future, I love making the show. I have no plans to leave.”

But it's not the first hint Matt's dropped that he'll be departing sooner rather than later, we know he has one eye on Hollywood, and surely the 50th anniversary needs a regeneration - so our money's on this being his last full series...

The Origins of Sarah Jane Smith

The latest DWM (issue 443) reviews the new Invasion of the Dinosaurs DVD release. The production notes for part five contains the "biggest bombshell in the history of Doctor Who facts, providing us with the ultimate Holy Grail.. the name of the actress originally cast as Sarah Jane Smith!" However, reviewer Neil Harris doesn't identify the actress ultimately replaced by Elizabeth Sladen.

The Radio Times has the honour of naming this enigmatic woman after almost forty years. Their website last week revealed that April Walker, a veteran of 1970's comedy shows, was cast by Barry Letts, and she actually worked on The Time Warrior rehearsals. William Gallagher writes: "allegedly the pairing of [Jon] Pertwee's Doctor and Walker's Sarah Jane didn't work: she was tall and obviously strong character, along the lines of  Liz Shaw. It's believed that Pertwee was unhappy with the decision but Letts recast the role. Walker was reportedly paid for.. the rest of that series.. [and] Sladen always refused" to name her predecessor.

The brilliant mocked-up Frank Bellamy-style Radio Times cover above was produced by artists Jason Fletcher and Westley Smith for the third issue of Richard Bignell's respected fanzine, Nothing at the End of the Lane. You can find more Doctor Who inspired artwork at deviantart.com, and read Walker's IMDB profile.

Defending Love & Monsters, Again!

In the current issue of DWM (443), writer Jonathan Morris examines Love & Monsters for it's regular The Fact of Fiction feature.

The article counters a recent NuWho news story: "Last November, in an interview with the Daily Express, Peter Kay said that his only real regret in his career was his appearance in Doctor Who." Comedy actor Kay added however that he "loved making it.. but when I saw it, I thought, Oh my God, I'm a big green lizard running around Cardiff. Is that it?" He also said that although "it's nice to have been in [the programme, but Love & Monsters].. is regarded by fans as the worst episode ever."

But Kay is mistaken, and I must concur with Morris - the serial must be defended. In the magazine's Season Survey for 2006, Fear Her was voted the least popular adventure, and their Mighty 200 poll of 2009 ranked Love & Monsters at 153rd - Fear Her polled 192nd!

Despite it's 'marmite' reputation, this Russell T Davies story has much to commend it, and my support for Love & Monsters began in earnest last June - see my first post here, for it's many merits.

Fifty Years of a Time Lord

Doctor Who websites and forums are rife with speculation about the programme's forthcoming Fiftieth Anniversary, still almost two years away. The Radio Times website today published an interview (from The Scotsman) with Steven Moffat. The showrunner discusses the rumoured Hollywood reboot of Doctor Who, his eventual departure, and naturally, the anniversary special - read his comments here.

The latest edition of the SFX Collection, The Fanzine, asks writers and fans how the BBC should celebrate the show's half-century, whilst the current issue of DWM debates the pros-and-cons of re-casting past Doctors. The majority of Whovians seem to favour a traditional, multi-Doctor story, but personally, I thinks that Paul McGann deserves another television outing. Obviously, all other ten incarnations would feature in my adventure, but purely in flashback sequences. The story would open like this:

"An older and weary Eighth Doctor flees the ruined Capitol - the sound of death fills the air.

 The Doctor has fought the last battle. The Time War is finally at an end. The Daleks have been wiped from existence, but at the ultimate cost - the Doctor has sacrificed his own race. There are no victors, only one survivor. Gallifrey and Skaro, and countless other worlds and civilisations are dead.

As the Doctor lies dying in the last TARDIS in the universe, he reflects on all his past lives. We see snatches of his memories.."