Doctor Who Unbound: Masters of War Review

Released in 2008, Eddie Robson's Big Finish play featured the Manchester-

born actor David Warner in his second appearance as the Doctor. His TV

work ranges from Z Cars to Ripper Street, whilst his Doctor Who debut at the

BBC was in the animated adventure, Dreamland then Cold War. In 1981,

he earned an Emmy Award for Masada. Warner's film work includes notable

roles in Tron, Time After Time, The Thirty Nine Steps, Titanic, and Mary

Poppins Returns - he even starred opposite Patrick Troughton in The

Omen (1976).

The premise of the Unbound stories basically offers a “what if?” scenario. In

this instance, what if the Doctor had never been UNIT’s scientific advisor?

In Sympathy for the Devil (2003) this alternate third Doctor was exiled

to Earth in 1997, not the 1970s of the Pertwee era. He found a world that had
endured three decades of alien encounters and incursions.
In this sequel, the Doctor and his companion Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
(Nicholas Courtney) arrive on Skaro during curfew, to find that the Thals are

ruled by the Daleks. Thal leader Gillen is played by Sarah Douglas (best known

as Ursa in the Superman films). As you’d expect, the Doctor vows to end the

Dalek occupation and sets out to capture a Dalek. Now reprogrammed to think

 that it’s their fabled creator Davros, the Dalek returns to the city and confronts

the Black Dalek. Two Dalek factions soon emerge and a civil war erupts just as

the alien Quatch land on Skaro with their Chief Technician - Davros (again

portrayed by Terry Molloy). The Daleks’ revered leader has returned to

 subjugate his creations for the Quatch empire. Naturally, the Daleks refuse to

be enslaved and are forced into an uneasy alliance with the Thals.

When the Doctor questions a Quatch prisoner using a truth-drug, it reveals

that it’s race manipulated the original Thal-Kaled conflict. Davros was crippled

in that war and this led to his drive to create the Daleks. Betrayed and seeking

revenge, Davros activates a secret device that he’s installed in the Quatch casings.

He sacrifices himself in the ensuing explosion and the Quatch are banished back

 to their pocket dimension.

As the Doctor prepares to leave Skaro, the Brigadier elects to stay and help the

Thals and Daleks in their peace process. This story could easily have been sub-titled Redemption of the Daleks.

Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks

 

This much-loved adventure featuring the debut of Davros, topped

the Doctor Who Magazine greatest story polls in 1998 and 2004,

and came third in 2003 and 2009. Genesis was also voted the best

story of the 1970's for DWM's The First 50 Years (2014), and was

placed third overall. The drama was reappraised yet again for the

publication's 60th anniversary poll, and was now runner-up to City

of Death, and third overall again.

It is the most repeated story of the classic run on British terrestrial

TV, shown again in 1975 (at Christmas), 1982, 1993, 1998, and

2000 (The Sea Devils has been re-shown four times).

The Target novelisation, penned by Terrance Dicks and published

 in 1976, had the largest print run - over 100,000 - of any of the

original series, and this six-part gem also inspired a play, The

Trial of Davros, staged only twice, in 1993 and 2005.

So do these facts reinforce the popularity and merits of Terry

Nation's  scripts? A tale now almost fifty years old still has much

to offer, and has been given a new lease of life. Genesis was shown

at BFI Southbank and selected American cinemas to mark the

release of Tom Baker's first season on Blu-ray.

BBC Records first issued the drama in an abridged sixty-minute

format on LP and tape in 1979, when Baker recorded new linking

narration.

BBC Audio then re-released Genesis (with Slipback) in 1988, and

again in 2001 (now paired with Exploration Earth). AudioGo's CD

variant (styled as a vinyl LP in 2011) was re-mastered by Doctor

Who composer Mark Ayres. Then in April 2016, Record Store

Day was marked with a brand new reissue of Genesis from

Demon Records, now pressed in blue vinyl.

Big Finish Productions recreated their own itration for The Lost

Stories strand. Daleks! Genesis of Terror featured Baker, Sadie

Miller (as Sarah), Christopher Naylor (Harry), and Terry

Molloy (Davros).

I fondly remember buying my first copy of Genesis on cassette

 from Boots, circa 1981, and listening to it on my new Walkman.

Good times!

Doctor Who Vs. Oliver Twist (1985)

Victorian literary classic Oliver Twist (also known as

The Parish Boy's Progress, and originally published

monthly in Bentley's Miscellany from 1837 to 1839) was only Charles Dickens' second novel.

The first television adaptation of the story was shown

 on BBCtv in 1962, followed by this more faithful

version in 1985. Produced by Terrance Dicks for the

the corporation's Classic Serial strand (which ran reg-

ularly on Sunday afternoons for twenty years from

1975), the drama originally aired in late 1985. A

repeat run of the twelve-part saga began on U&Eden

(formerly UKTV's documentary channel) today - it

featured Ben Rodska as Oliver, Eric Porter (Fagin),

Terry Molloy, and a total of twenty-five Doctor Who

cast and crew connections:

• Brian [Parry] Badcoe (Magistrate) was Adam [Nigel Castle] in Invasion of the Dinosaurs
• June [Muriel] Brown (Mrs. Mann) was Lady Eleanor in The Time Warrior
• Donald [Yarrow] Eccles (Limbkins) was Krasis in The Time Monster
• Davyd Harries (White) was Shapp in The Armageddon Factor
• Nicholas McArdle (Master) was De Vries in The Stones of Blood
• Edward [Noel] Burnham (Grimwig) was professors Watkins and Kettlewell in The Invasion and Robot respectively
• Lysette [Anne Chodzko] Anthony (Rose/Agnes) voiced Clara Harris for Assassin in the Limelight (2008), Hazel Bright for Hothouse (2009), and Sophia for The Secret History (2015)
• Michael [John] Attwell (Bill Sikes) was Isbur in The Ice Warriors, and Bates in Attack of the Cybermen
• Godfrey James (Bumble) was Tarn in Underworld
• Gillian [Mary] Martell (Mrs Maylie) was Lily Gregson in K9 and Company
• Chrsitian Rodska (Barney) voiced Laan Carder for Faith Stealer (2004), and Reverand Small for AudioGo's The Dead Shoes (2011)
• Miriam Margolyes (Mrs Corney) provided the voice of Leaf Apple Glyn Slitheen Blathereen for The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Gift, and voiced Frau Tod for The Beast of Orlok (2009), and the Soothsayer for The Dying Breed (2025), then was cast in The Star Beast as the Meep
• Christopher [Denis] Driscoll (Crackit) was the Security Guard in The Idiot's Lantern
• Janet Henfrey (Martha) was Miss Hardaker in The Curse of Fenric, Mrs Pitt in Mummy on the Orient Express, and the Adjudicator in Sil and the Devil Seeds of Arodor - she then voiced Mrs Vanguard for The Spirit Trap (2010), Dr. Petherbridge for An Eye for Murder, Mrs Jefferies for The Concrete Cage, Woman for The Forgotten Village (all 2014), Dorothy for The Screaming Ceiling (2019), Sister Magdalene for Abbey of Heretics (2020), Verkuvia for The Day of the Comet (2021), and Narrata for Morbius 1 (2024)
• Mark Bassenger (Cabbie) made his TV debut as a Cyberman in The Five Doctors
• David McKail (Dr. Losberne) was Sergeant Kyle in The Talons of Weng Chiang
• [Terence] Dicken Ashworth (Sergeant) was Sezon in Timelash
• Harry Fielder (Big Man) was a Guard (in serials PP, ZZZ, 4L, 4P, 5A, 5F, 5Z), Crewman (SS, 4T), Vogan (4D), Assassin (4Q), Tigellan (5Q), and Krarg in Shada
• Leslie Schofield (Patterer) was Leroy in The War Games, and Calib in The Face of Evil
• Henry [Thomas] Stamper (Fang) was Anton in The Enemy of the World
• Alan Bennion (Magistrate) was Slaar in The Seeds of Death, Izlyr in The Curse of Peladon, and Azaxyr in The Monster of Peladon
• Charles Pemberton (Warden) was a titular alien in The Tomb of the Cybermen, and Alien Technician in The War Games
• production manager Nigel Taylor began his career as assistant director on The Stones of Blood
• script editor Brian Wright was Dassuk in The Ark
• incidential music was provided by Dudley [George] Simpson, composer on almost 300 episodes (from Planet of the Giants to The Horns of Nimon)

Doctor Who Vs. Bergerac, Series 4

Series creator and producer 
Robert Banks Stewart also 
provided a script for this season
 (which first aired from October
to December 1985), whilst 

Graeme Harper was assigned
to direct an instalment and Chris Boucher returned as script editor.

A repeat run of the nine-part series concluded on U&Drama today, and

again featured John Nettles (as Jim Bergerac), Sean Arnold, Terence Alexander, Jolyon Baker, Louise Jameson, Mark Strickson, Ian Marter, Terry Molloy, and a total of

thirty-six Doctor Who cast and crew connections:

• John [Richard] Rolfe (Manager) and Jerome [Barry] Willis (Imison) both starred in The Green Death, as Fell and [Jocelyn] Stevens
• Eileen Helsby (Housekeeper) was Venussa in The Ark
• Gareth Milne (Caulfield) and Ian McCulloch (Mitchell) both appeared in Warriors of the Deep, as Nilson and stunt double - Milne was also George Cranleigh in Black Orchid, and Mortuary Attendant in Vengeance on Varos
• Bernard [Joseph] Archard (Dr. Rogers) was Bragen in The Power of the Daleks, and Marcus Scarman in Pyramids of Mars
• Gilbert Wynne (Customs Man) was Thara in The Krotons
• Arthur [James] Blake (Beavis) was Hrhoonda in (episode 2 of) The Web Planet
• Jon [Sleeman] Croft (Fisherman) was Tom Girton in The Daemons
• Hubert [Thomas Morgan] Rees (Barton) was the Chief Engineer in Fury from the Deep, Captain Ransom in The War Games, and John Stevenson in The Seeds of Doom 
• Malcolm Tierney (Dudley) was Dolland in Terror of the Vervoids
• John [Henry] Ringham (Editor) was Tlotoxl in The Aztecs, Josiah Blake in The Smugglers, and Robert Ashe in Colony in Space
• John Abbott (Bruce) was Vince Hawkins in Horror of Fang Rock
• Beryl [Elizabeth] Reid (Miss Broome) and Clare Clifford (Interviewer) both starred in Earthshock, as Captain Briggs and Professor Kyle 
• Lois Baxter (Marie) was Lamia in The Androids of Tara
• Martin Fisk (Tony) was Vargos in The Leisure Hive
• Bill Weston (Causebrook/Greg) was a Militiaman in The Smugglers
• Elizabeth [Jean] Spriggs [born Williams] (Mary Lou) was Tabby in Paradise Towers
• John [Freeman] Baker (Butler) was a Time Lord in Colony in Space (1), Meditator in Planet of the Spiders (1), and Ralph in The Visitation (1)
• Duncan Preston (Paul) voiced the titular alien in the Doctor Who and Crayola sketch for Victoria Wood as Seen on TV
• Arthur Cox (Carpenter) was Cully in The Dominators, then Henderson in The Eleventh Hour
• Michelle [Daniella] Collins (Trace) was Captain Kath McDonnell in 42, and voiced Winnie Tyler for Big Finish's Damaged Goods (2015)
• Andrew Burt (McKennan) was Valgard in Terminus
• Jonathan Stratt (Monty) was the Taxi Driver in Partners in Crime
• Ivor Roberts (Fouchet) was Mogran in Genesis of the Daleks
• [John] Maurice Roeves (Vaccarro) was Stotz in The Caves of Androzani
• Petra Markham (Suzie) was Safiya in The Crusade (3)
• Andrew McCulloch (Tim) co-wrote Meglos
• Dennis Edwards (du Bois) was a Centurion in The Romans (1), and Lord Gomer in The Invasion of Time
• Terrence [Edward] Hardiman (Ripley) was Hawthorne in The Beast Below, then voiced Sitric Silkbeard for The Book of Kells (2010), Reverend Dobbs for AudioGo's The Broken Crown (2011), Lord Richard for The Fall of the House of Pollard (2014), Hepworth Stackhouse for The English Way of Death (2015), and Rassilon for Time War 2 (2019)
• Ian McNeice (Fowler) portrayed Winston Churchill in The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks, The Pandorica Opens and The Wedding of River Song then reprised for Big Finish's The Churchill Years, Their Finest Hour (2018), Subterfuge and Operation: Hellfire (both 2020) - he also voiced Zeus for Immortal Beloved (2007), and Reginald Harcourt for Renaissance Man (2012)
• Shane Ritchie (Bodyguard) voiced Drax for Connections (2022)
• Ken Trew was also costume designer on Terror of the Autons, Snakedance, The Mysterious Planet, Time and the Rani, Remembrance of the Daleks, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric, Survival and Dimensions in Time
• Linda McInnes was make-up designer on Attack of the Cybermen too
• Margot Hayhoe was also production manager on Logopolis, Castrovalva and Snakedance following work as AFM on The War Machines, Fury from the Deep and The Ambassadors of Death
• Rosalind Ebbutt was also costume designer on Black Orchid and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy