Doctor Who – Planet of the Dead

[USUAL SPOILER WARNING]

I was looking forward to this the first of the four specials, but as there is such a small amount of new Who being broadcast this year I had made an extra special effort to avoid as many spoilers as I could. So I didn’t watch the trailers, read listings magazines, newspapers and restricted where I read and posted on various forums. So by the time the epsiode was broadcast I knew that it was set in the desert, having been filmed in Dubai, there was a bus which had been damaged on the way there and Michelle Ryan was guest starring. So there was lots I was going to discover.

The story began with Lady Christina de Souza stealing the cup of Athelstan from the international museum, supposedly in London (yes I did get excited at the mention of proper historical people, especially as they are slightly obscure). To escape the police she jumps on a red London bus, which just so happens to also have the Doctor on board. So obviously the bus gets sucked through a wormhole in space whilst being chased down a tunnel (which I recognised as I’ve driven it a few times!). The bus ends up on another planet, having been wrecked by the wormhole – a very clever bit of writing in the damage that was done to the bus in Dubai.

All the adventures set on the planet looked fabulous. The team had done a really good job finding the location in Dubai and dressing it to look very other worldly. You really couldn’t have done as well in Wales! And the creatures were fantastically realised and very scary.

The remainder story revolved around trying to get the bus back to Earth. The Doctor called his old friends at UNIT, who do their usual thing of shoot first, ask questions later (the Brigadier would be proud!) and this also introduced their new scientific adviser, played by Lee Evans. I had forgotten that I had read he was going to be in one of the specials, so it was a surprise when he appeared. But I thought he played the part of Malcolm well, with just the right amount of comedy and seriousness. And he had one of the best lines – naming a measurement ‘Bernard’ after Quatermass. I did enjoy the whole episode and Michelle Ryan’s character would have been good to keep as a longer term companion. But as a single, stand alone episode it worked that she came and went. I do miss the tension, cliffhangers and the build-up in these single specials as opposed to the series, but I suppose there is an arc to them which hasn’t perhaps hooked me enough yet.

And so at the end of the story the bus does return and the wormhole closed, and so the Earth is saved for another day. But not before a fellow bus passenger gives the Doctor a warning about the future …

But we’ll have to wait for the next special to find out what it all means.

A special episode of Doctor Who Confidential was broadcast yesterday to announce the actor who has been cast as the eleventh Doctor. Ever since David Tennant announced that he would be leaving the role after the specials there has been great speculation as to who would be cast as the Next Doctor (actually the speculation had begun way before then, but it began to intensify then). I’m not sure the announcement deserved a whole programme, but it was an excuse to look back at the old Doctors, and that’s never a bad thing.

So now everyone seems to be asking what I think of Matt Smith as the new Doctor. I’ll give the same reply to everyone – I’ll wait until I see what he does with the character on screen before I make any judgements. It’s what I’ve done with all the previous incarnations, even if I have had some misgivings when I’ve heard who’s been cast (Invariably it’s turned out well). What I can say is that from what I’ve seen of him in other television work he’s a good actor and I trust the decision of Steven Moffat and team that he is the right man for the Doctor.

My only tiny problem is how young he is – the actor playing the Doctor can’t possibly be younger than me!

Yesterday was the 45th Anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who. Not that you’d know that from the BBC, who did almost nothing to commemorate this momentous day (there was a mention of it before the broadcast of the latest Eighth Doctor story, The Zygon Who Fell To Earth, on Radio 7)

I’d been doing lots of celebrating myself though.

The week before I’d been along to the Sarah Jane Adventures signing at Borders in Oxford Street. This was a great treat for me, as I’d wanted to meet Elisabeth Sladenfor a very long time (I nearly had on two previous occasions). Obviously the series is aimed at children, so the event was too – there had been a competition for children to win the chance to attend an exclusive reading by Lis, which I managed to experience by standing near the roped-off area (although I couldn’t hear what was being read). I was so excited just to be there! The competition winners then had their items signed and were allowed to have photos taken with Lis and the two other stars from the show, Tommy Knight and Daniel Anthony. I joined the queue with the rest of the non-winners to wait my turn to meet them and get my DVD signed.

I have to say the the staff at Borders were very lovely, keeping us informed of what was happening, how long we would have to wait and keeping us supplied with free activity sheets and wristbands. My only criticism would be that as I got towards the front of the queue (getting towards the end of the time allotted for the event) the staff told us we were now only allowed to have three items signed, which was reduced to one item just before I reached the front of the queue. As I only had one item to be signed, this didn’t bother me, but I think perhaps they should have applied a limit from the beginning (apart from for the competition winners). Oh, well. Also a note to add how very well behaved all the children were when waiting in the queue – I’m impressed with their patience.

I finally made it to the front of the queue and handed my DVD across to Daniel, along withthe sticky note we’d been given with our name on to help them know who to sign stuff to (Daniel and Tommy were fighting over these, to try and see who could collect the most ‘friends’!). Daniel said hello, and was very friendly, although I don’t think I managed to say much to him because next to sign was Lis, who also said hello. I was very awe-struck at just being there, but then she complimented me on the beret I was wearing and I just blethered a thank you (at least, that’s what I intended). My DVD was then passed to Tommy to sign. All three were very friendly and chatty and took plenty of time to talk to everyone as they were signing so that it didn’t feel rushed at all, and was well worth the wait. An extra treat then arrived in the shape of writer Gareth Roberts and former DWM editor Clayton Hickman.

Then we come to the anniversary itself.

On the day I was at the Memorabilia fair at the NECin Birmingham. There were various film, sport and games stands and people, but there was also a Doctor Who zone, filled withpeople from boththe new and classic series, along with various merchandise stands.

I arrived and got through the ticket queue just in time to go to the first Who talk. The panel was a good mix of old and new series people, with companions Anneke Wills (Polly), Frazer Hines (Jamie), Tracey Childs (Metella in Fires of Pompeii) and Ayesha Antoine (Dee Dee in Midnight). There was lots of chat about their various experiences of being in Doctor Who, as well as watching it.

Then there was time for a quick wander round before it was back to the stage area for another talk, this time with Torchwood’s Gareth David-Lloyd. He talked about Torchwood in general, how his character has grown from teaboy to dodging bullets (a phrase he used a few times about what Ianto is up to in series 3, so watch out for that), and how popular the series is in America. He also joked about the new Torchwood figures, and how he thought his figure should have been in the first wave released, rather than cybergirl who was only in one episode. He also spoke about being in Doctor who (Stolen Earth/Journey’s End) and the radio episode of Torchwood. After the talk there was an extra photo session put on, so I paid my money to get my picture taken with Gareth as the stand where he was signing said ‘no photos’.

In the afternoon there was another Doctor Who panel, this time with Colin Spaull (Revelation of the Daleks and Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel), Daniel King (The Unicorn and the Wasp), Paul Marc Davis (Utopia and The Trickster from SJA) and Anna Hope (New Earth/Gridlock). Again there was chat about their experiences of being in Doctor Who, and particularly from Anna Hope who had a long time being put in her mask to play a cat nun. There were also questions about where they would go if they had a time machine and who should be cast as the next Doctor.

After the talk there was just time to get photos with all of the guests (as well as those already mentioned, Katy Manning and Nicola Bryantwere there too). Everyone was very approachable and friendly and I even had a bit of a chat with some of them – I talked to Tracey Childsfor what seemed like ages about the golden era of Doctor Who with Tom Baker and Lalla Ward, as well as her appearance as Metellaand the Cambridge Latin Course ( and the dog, Cerberus, who should have been in it!). So I’ve been able to bring some lovely memories how with me from a fantastic celebratory day.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending an afternoon of Buster Keaton shorts at the Barbican in London. Now I wouldn’t say that I’m a huge fan of silent comedy, although the few films I have seen over recent years I have appreciated. So why did I choose to go? Well, it could have something to do with the fact that the afternoon was being introduced by Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor and was also to feature some clips from The Goodies showing how they had been influenced by Keaton. So C and I took seats on the front row, with a few Giddies and other forum folk scattered nearby, to see what the afternoon would bring.

I really enjoyed watching the films and was captivated not only by how funny they were, but also how clever Keaton and his film makers were – pushing the skills and techniques of a still fairly new art form. There were a few particular bits where I forgot to laugh as I was so in awe of the photographic skills, particularly in The Playhouse where Keaton was playing all the roles on screen. Graeme and Tim spoke between each film to explain various things and during one of these Graeme told of how this effect was done – by screening off each part of the film to film one character in the scene before winding the film back, moving the screen and filming the next one. All the more impressive when you think it was being done on hand cranked cameras!

In addition to the Keaton films there was a short selection of clips from The Goodies, to demonstrate some of the influence they took from silent comedy. I’d like to say I know the clips used fairly well, but they took on a whole new dimension with the piano accompaniment of the amazing Neil Brand (who had been providing the live soundtrack for the afternoon – who knew you could recreate the sounds of gunshots and bells and all sorts of other things on a piano??!) I did also find myself watching the Keaton films and spotting bits that had been reused in The Goodies – it seems they weren’t so creative and innovative as I’d thought (only joking!)

After the films there was plenty of time for chatting in the bar, although not really about the films, as I know nothing – apart from what I’d learnt that afternoon. Graeme commented on how much easier it was to get to than Leafield. I’m not convinced – the Barbican is a maze of concrete, and the lanes of Oxfordshire are so much prettier. And I had a chat with Tim while I asked him to sign my The Zygon Who Fell To Earth CD about Zygons in their many forms [hmm .... that sounds slightly surreal, but it seemed perfectly normal at the time] and how he hadn’t heard the adventure yet. Then it was time for hugs all round before heading off home (having taken a slight diversion to Mornington Crescent!).

Continuing my week/month/year/lifetime [delete as you think appropriate] of Doctor Who obsession, yesterday I was fortunate enough to find myself in the Royal Albert Hall for the Doctor Who Prom. I was excited when I first heard that there was going to be a Doctor Who themed Prom as part of the BBC’s Prom season, so I applied for tickets and headed down to London early Sunday morning to take my seat in a packed arena.

The programme was a mix of music, mostly pieces from the series composed by the brilliant Murray Gold, but interspersed with some well known classical pieces which all seemed to fit the intergalactic theme; there was Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man to open the proceedings, along with Ride of the Valkyries (complete with the four horn players in horned helmets), Jupiter from Holst’s Planet Suite and Prokofiev’s Montagues and Capulets (those last two both always remind me of steam trains!).

The whole thing was introduced by Freema Agyeman, with help from Noel Clarke, Camille Coduri, an unexpected appearance from Catherine Tate (she wasn’t in the programme), and Julian Bleach complete in full Davros make-up. There were also regular appearances amongst the audience by Cybermen, Ood (who stood with arms raised at several points, in a circular building, echoing the episode), Judoon and Sontarans, which gave the younger ones something to watch while the orchestra was playing non-Who music (All the music from the series was accompanied by clips from the show, which I felt was a shame as it meant we didn’t get the close-ups of the orchestra on the screens at that point). And there was a wonderful moment when a Dalek appeared on stage to announce that they had travelled back in time to kidnap Henry Woodso that  “from now on the Proms will only play DALEK MUSIC”, which made me chuckle!

There was also the specially filmed scene, Music of the Spheres. In this the Doctor, with help from a Graske, found a portal in the Tardis which allowed him to speak directly to the Albert Hall. I have to give credit to both Russell T Davies writing and David Tennant’s performance in that they had the timing of the audience’s responses to a T. The scene was brought to life more by the appearance of the Graske on stage (armed with a waterpistol to terrorise the orchestra) and the Doctor’s composition being thrown through the ‘portal’ so sheets of music floated onto the stage to be grabbed and handed round by the orchestra. There was also a wonderful message about music being for everyone (not just orchestras and pop stars) and how you just need to listen to hear the music within you. All good fun, which seemed to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

But for most of the morning the music was from the series, by composer Murray Gold (conducted by Ben Foster), and it was this that I’d come to see performed. And it was beautifully performed – from the opening ooo’s of Melanie Pappenheim’s vocals to the closing crescendo of the theme tune, it was all superb. I appreciate this music when it is used in the show, but to experience it live was a hairs on the back of the neck moment (and a few teary ones). Highlights for me were the Doomsday music, the Dalek and Davros themes (with added Dalek on stage seemingly conducting the orchestra) and the stunningly beautiful Song of Freedom from this year’s series (the Ood episode and Journey’s End, which I’ve mentioned I loved then) which was made all the more special by the child sitting next to me, who can’t have been more than four, holding his Tardis-shaped programme and turning it round and round, as though in flight. That’s the magic of Doctor Who!

Yesterday I went to my first convention in a very long time. My last convention experience hadn’t been great, so it took something very special to entice me back into the world of cons. And what was promised at the London Film and Comic Con was indeed very special – all three Goodies together! That (together with a couple of other people I would like to see) persuaded me to buy a ticket and so on Saturday morning I arrived, with C, at Earls Court a bundle of excitement and anticipation.

First stop was the talks venue. I knew The Goodies were doing a talk first thing and so queued up to get in, spotting some Giddies on the way. It was rather confusing trying to find the seats, but soon we were all ready and waiting. But it started with a rather disappointing message – Graeme Garden wasn’t able to be there, which was sad. But the other two were there and were welcomed on stage. Most of the half hour was taken up by Robert Ross asking the guys questions about various aspects of The Goodies, which left only a few minutes at the end for questions from the audience.

After the talk ended we were milling around a bit, trying to decide what to do, when we noticed Tim was still at the front of the auditorium talking to Jenny (from GROK). We waved and wandered over to say hello. We all chatted for a little while before people for the next talk started to appear, so we all walked back across the hall with Tim, commenting on his escort of six young (ish!) females!

Most of the signing tables were across the back of the hall, and I was very pleased to spot that right next to the Goodies was Peter Davison (one of my favourite Doctors), so I was quite happy to spend time standing around that end of the hall. Although there was a moment of sadness when they took Graeme’s picture down from behind the desk where he would have been.

Most of the rest of the day was spent wandering round spotting people like John Hurt and Christopher Lloydwalking past, seeing who else was at the other signing tables (and telling C which episodes of Doctor Who some of them had been in!), and looking at the stalls. I was very impressed with myself for not buying anything, although I already have far more Doctor Who stuff than I could ever really need! And it was with fangirlish glee that I spotted the Tardis on display, with a new series Cyberman posing for photos and stomping around scaring small children. I was also quite impressed with the DeLorean from Back to the Future.

During the afternoon we spent ages waiting for the queue for Bill and Tim to go so that we could talk to them (there’s strict rules on not talking to guests if you’re not buying an autograph and there are other people who want to, and I didn’t want to break the rules!) As it had been Tim’s birthday a couple of days before I had made cakes (just an excuse really – I enjoy baking cakes!), which we shared. And Jenny had made a card, so it was a proper mini celebration.

The highlight of my day has to be meeting Peter Davison. I’d been keeping an eye on the queue to see him, debating whether or not I had the courage to meet him. I noticed the queue dropped to just a couple of people and took a deep breath and joined it, before I changed my mind. To quote Steven Moffat, “he was my Doctor” and to be able to meet him took me right back to being six again. Only he wasn’t on the telly, he was there, right in front of me, signing my DVD cover! The Doctor!! I didn’t really get to talk to him as I couldn’t actually speak, let alone string a coherent sentence together. Afterwards I struggled to put the cover back in the DVD case as my hands were still trembling so much! (Actually the real highlight might have been in the queue waiting to see him, oblivious to what was going on, when C pointed out that Tim was standing behind Peter’s desk, hands on hips, looking quite put out that I had gone to see someone else!)

A final wander round the hall to see if my photo was ready (it wasn’t) brought us back to the signing desks to find Bill and Tim had gone! But as we were walking past some of the stalls we noticed Tim walking towards us, so there was just time to ask for a quick hug (can’t not have a hug!). After which a random girl rushed up and asked Tim is she could have a hug too, then another asked the same thing – like moths to a flame! Then it was time for goodbyes before I went to collect my photo and head home, very tired.

Doctor Who – Journey’s End

So the Doctor bypasses a full regeneration by syphoning off the regenerative energy into his hand in the jar – what a surprise (we never saw that one coming, even with the big, unnecessary close-ups of said jar)!

More excitingly Sarah Jane is saved by dimension-jumping Micky and Jackie. armed with dalek blasting guns. Meanwhile back at Torchwood, Ianto and Gwen are saved by a time bubble defense system that Tosh created (while it’s nice continuity to name-check a past team member, I wonder if it confused some of the little kids who don’t watch the series?)

Everyone ends up in the dalek crucible – the Tardis is taken and Sarah, Micky and Jackie surrender. The Doctor, Rose and Jack go out to talk to the daleks. But Donna gets trapped in the Tardis, with its systems down, which is plunged into the fiery heart of the dalek ship. Do Donna and the Tardis perish? No, because there’s still power in that handy jar which, once Donna touches it, unfathomably grows into a whole extra Doctor (only he’s part human – only one heart – but let’s not start that one again) who can pilot the Tardis away in order to save the day.

Much plotting from the Doctor’s companions kills some time before they’re all brought to the dalek crucible to witness the destruction of the Universe. But they haven’t figured on the second Doctor and Donna who, at the last minute rush in to save the universe, destroy the daleks and return all of the missing planets, except Earth, back to where they belong. How? Well, it seems Donna got a bit of Time Lord brainpower when she touched the hand and became all clever.

The Universe saved, it’s just up to the Doctor to use the Tardis, with full compliment of six pilots, to tow the Earth back and return everyone to their rightful place. He takes Rose and Jackie back to the alternative universe (Micky had elected to stay in ours – he said there was nothing left for him in the other), back to Bad Wolf Bay to again say goodbye. Only this time he was physically leaving part of himself with Rose – the other Doctor, who needed her care and guidance (and love) while she would have a version of him who would grow old with her. All a very convenient and, hopefully, final end to that chapter of the Doctor’s adventures.

So the Doctor heads off again with Donna. Only he has to take her home. The transfer thing in her brain was killing her, so he has to wipe her mind of all trace of him before leaving her in the safe care of her family. There’s a lovely moment with Wilf, just before the Doctor leaves, where he says that he’ll keep watching the skys for the Doctor, on Donna’s behalf. The Doctor sets off alone, again.

There was such a lot going on in this episode, almost too much at times, with the Doctor, clone Doctor, seven companions (now that’s a crowded Tardis!), Davros, daleks and Luke and the Torchwood team on Earth. But there were some great moments – the banter between the Doctor and Davros was as good as it has ever been, a meeting of great minds, and echoed their first meeting in Genesis. There was also a wonderful reaction from Sarah Jane to seeing Davros again, and he recognised her too. Another highlight was the Tardis being piloted by everyone, pulling the Earth home, not just because it was a moment in which to see all the companions in the Tardis being happy, but there was some amazing music from Murray Gold to accompany it (it was based on the freedom Song of the Odd, which I had liked so much earlier in the series).

But the finest moment has to be Bernard Cribbins character Wilf and his watching the skys speech. It’s sad that we probably won’t see his character again. If ever someone deserved a flight in the Tardis …

Doctor Who – The Stolen Earth

[USUAL SPOILER ALERT]

So, did you get it? Bad Wolf meant the daleks are back! Just when you think they could never possibly return, there they are – again!

Having got the message from Rose, the Doctor rushes to check that the Earth is ok – it is, but while he is in the tardis while he is back in the Tardis checking things, it disappears. Now people can’t just go around stealing planets, so he goes to the Shadow Proclamation (who’ve been mentioned on and off from the beginning of the new series 4 years ago. Was it all building to this?) to find out what’s going on. They tell him that it isn’t just the Earth that’s gone, there are lots of lost planets; 27 if you include the ones taken out of time as well as space. There’s a lovely moment where the Doctor points out that some one tried to move the Earth once before … (a nice nod back to Dalek Invasion of Earth) The Doctor asks Donna if anything strange has been happening on Earth and she mentions the bees disappearing. It turns out this is important (told you it was) so the Doctor and Donna follow the trail left by the fleeing bees to find the Earth, only for the trail to run out at the Medusa Cascade.

Meanwhile on the moved Earth Torchwood, Martha and Sarah Jane try to figure out what’s going on , as does Rose, who’s appeared and is trying to find the Doctor. They all use their various resources to find out what’s going on – there’s something at the centre of all the plants, and ships are heading towards Earth. The message comes through from the ships – “Exterminate”. They all recognise it and know that there’s nothing they can do. Except Rose, who knows that Daleks can be defeated. She heads off to find Donna’s family, as wherever Donna is, that’s where the Doctor will be. Suddenly there’s something coming through on all their various computers. It’s Harriet Jones, former Prime Minister (yes, we know who you are) using a sub-wave network created by the mysterious Mr Copper Foundation. She gathers the forces of all the Doctor’s former companions to amplify Martha’s phone signal to the Doctor.

The Doctor picks up the signal and gets to Earth. But while celebrating seeing everyone again, he also finds Davros who’s been rescued from the Time War by Dalek Caan (who’d gone mad in the process and is now foretelling the future). The Doctor lands and everyone rushes to him – Donna points out Rose and they run towards each other, only for the Doctor to get shot by a lone dalek. Donna, Rose and Jack get him in to the Tardis where he starts to regenerate – Donna is confused, Rose is just about to loose the man she loves, again. What a great cliffhanger. But more importantly, what’s going to happen to Sarah Jane and Ianto? They’re about to get exterminated!!

There were some lovely, funny moments, as there always are from Russell T Davies – Harriet Jones  greeting the daleks, only for them to respond with the same “we know who you are” as everyone else. Mr Smith’s fanfare, which annoys everyone (even Sarah Jane, it seems). And there was some great banter between Sarah Jane and Jack when they were all gathered, with him flirting (as usual) and her saying she avoids Torchwood, “too many guns” with a nod towards Luke.

And my tip for next week? Watch the hand …

Doctor Who – Turn Left

[USUAL SPOILER ALERT]

After last week’s episode where the Doctor was without Donna, this week’s focused on Donna.

The story took the staple sci-fi idea of a parallel world created by someone making a different decision. Donna in the ‘present’ time is persuaded by a fortune teller on another planet to go back and change her decision to take the job at HC Clements, turning right instead of left, and so not meet the Doctor. This has catastrophic effects in the alternative reality which is created – the Doctor dies facing the Racnoss (because Donna isn’t there to save him), and both the Torchwood team and Sarah Jane Smith are killed trying to save the world in his place. The Titanic crashes on London, America is paralysed by the massacre of its population by the Adipose, Atmos devices kill large parts of the rest of the world. Then the stars start to disappear …

All the time Donna keeps meeting a blond girl (who we know is Rose Tyler, but who never tells Donna her name) who appears and disappears randomly. She explains that Donna is important, just as important as the Doctor, and that she must go back and change her decision and turn left instead of right to save him. Rose and the remainder of UNIT have harnessed some of the Tardis’s power to time travel, but also use it to show Donna that this world is a false creation – she has this beetle on her back (various people have been able to see this – even the soothsayer in Pompeii said “there’s something on your back”, but was this referring to these alternative future events?). Donna agrees to go back and change things, even though Rose has told her she’s going to die.

Although it was a rather complex episode, with a very bleak Doctor-less future, I really enjoyed it. It not only highlighted the importance of the Doctor in this world, but also tied in the spin offs of both Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures to the same world. The re-introduction of Rose was very carefully done, so that she didn’t dominate the story (as it was very much Donna’s story), but she was crucial to it. And it seemed to set up the potential for a very exciting two part finale.

And the final outcome of all this alternate reality? Rose whispered two words to Donna to tell the Doctor. At the very end of the episode those two words were everywhere – Bad Wolf. And we know what that means …

Doctor Who – Midnight

[WARNING ABOUT SPOILERS AND STUFF]

If ever anyone had any doubts about Russell T Davies’ writing for Doctor Who (and I didn’t, but I know people who did), then this episode should dispel all of those doubts and more and place him up there with the best. It was a real character driven episode with the Doctor and seven other passengers trapped on a shuttle (he’d left Donna at the Pleasure Palace). There’s something outside, or is it inside Mrs Silvestry? But the real scariness wasn’t the thing outside, or in, but the real human fear and the savagery with which that fear can manifest itself. The way the other passengers turned on one another was far more frightening than statues that move when you don’t look at them, or killer swarms in the shadows. These were people you could meet anywhere, and so could just as easily turn on you.

I suspected it was going to be a good episode from the cast – Lesley Sharp and Lindsey Coulson are both great actors and bring great realism to any parts they play. Also I was more than a little excited about the inclusion of David Troughton in the cast. Not only is he a very great actor, but he has more Classic Series connections than you can shake a stick at.

Also huge praise must be given to the sound team for this episode. It wasn’t until watching the Confidential episode that I appreciated how much work they had had to do to make the dialogue perfectly in sync. But it was well worth the effort. I know I was watching the episode thinking how good an audio adventure it would make.

[just a note to say that I'm posting this late as I've been without internet for a week!]