Tags: Bernard Cribbins, David Tennant, John-Simm, Regeneration, RTD, Stephen-Moffatt

Christmas Review #7 of 12

The Christmas reviews continue (despite the fact that all seems like months ago now) and, even though the dreaded flu struck me down over the holidays and forced the cancelation of plans for a big party to see in the New Year, it did give me the opportunity to curl up (with nothing stronger than a hot Ribena), huddled under a duvet and to enjoy the delights of Jools Holland’s Annual Hootenanny as the clock passed midnight. This really is a gem of a show, in which a cast of what

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Tags: David Tennant, Hootenanny, John-Simm, Jools-Holland, Kylie, Madness, Mika, New-Year, Seasick-Steve, Sir Paul McCartney

Problem Solving

A three-parter in new Doctor Who is unheard of, although the older fans among us may remember the occasional 6 x 25-minute stories of old that equate to much the same duration. The result is that “The Sound of Drums” sits a little uncomfortably between the opening shocks of “Utopia” and the almost inevitable thrills and spills of the finale this evening in “The Last Of The Time Lords”.  So, for an episode with neither a begining nor an end it is a little unusual but it still

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Tags: Doctor Who, Gallifrey, John-Simm, Russell-T-Davies, The-Master, The-Sound-of-Drums, Time-Lord

Sam’s Final Fling

It has the potential to be one of those finales that is talked about for years to come (at least around the hallowed halls of Fazzinchi Towers), like Blake’s 7 or Blackadder or Babylon 5 or The Office (or, for all the wrong reasons, Quantum Leap). Life on Mars will be remembered as a genre-breaking series that looked back at the seventies with a gritty realism and a realisation that it almost was like another planet. In Gene Hunt we had a fantastic character who, despite being a

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Tags: 1973, Finale, Gene-Hunt, John-Simm, Life-On-Mars, Period Drama, Philip-Glenister, Sam-Tyler

Where There’s Life

I am so glad that John Simm has found himself a role in the new Doctor Who (playing the mysterious Mr Saxon) because, while he has been fantastic in Life on Mars, it is easy to now forget some of his earlier memorable roles in The Lakes, State of Play and suchlike, so to take on what I assume will be such a different role should be great to see. The impending end of this groundbreaking series and the forthcoming role in one of the most popular shows on TV promises to be great for his

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Tags: BBC1, John-Simm, Life-On-Mars, Period Drama, Trumpton

Dirty, Harry 

I was a little disappointed to hear that season two of Life On Mars is to be the last, a mere 16 episodes doesn’t seem like quite enough to satisfy the palette when it comes to this unusual cop drama. If internet rumours are to be believed there may well be the opportunity to enjoy the US re-make (if “enjoy” is the right word) or even look forward the much suspected sequel/spin-off called Ashes To Ashes (to keep the Bowie theme alive) that will be set in the eighties. All this

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Tags: Ashes-To-Ashes, BBC1, BBC4, Gene-Hunt, John-Simm, Life-On-Mars, Period Drama, Philip-Glenister, Sam-Tyler, The-Sweeney