Stars On Pushbikes No.14

As I was flicking through the latest BBC cash in restoration of "Shada" to grace the shelves, I was admiring the pleasingly tall Victoria Burgoyne and wondering whether there were any photos of her astride a bicycle?

 

 

Of course, it would have been better if she were flashing her shapely legs astride something a bit more elaborate...

 

 

God bless the internet, that's what I say!

Escape To Danger No.14

A subdued birthday this year, here in the Security Kitchen. A poorly in-law has caused Ms Monoid to return home for a few days, leaving me in loco parentis. Nothing to report until various test results come back, which is a situation I remember well.

 

So, what better way is there to spend your birthday evening than contemplating a story that never was?

 

It seems a long time since I last viewed the extant fragments of "Shada", and I'm getting perilously close to fond remembrance. I will continue to resist such temptation by recalling that Douglas Adams didn't think that much of it either, but that didn't stop him from pilfering chunks of it when he thought no one would notice...

 

Another one of Lalla Ward in a boat, there. I do have quite a soft spot for Romana II, her being my earliest remembered companion. And I am still delighted at the way Lalla can switch her character between stuck-up pain-in-the-arse and genuinely likeable without pulling funny faces, like Mary Tamm was prone to do.

It wasn't until recently that I realised just how big a presence Christopher Neame was on 1970s television. He'll always be Johnny Alucard to me, though...

Oh, I've mentioned this one before, haven't I? Look here to save me from going over all that again...

You often see this one with Denis Carey cropped out, but I'm leaving him in because I rather like him.

 

Back in the day, I used to think that was "The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey" that they were reading there. It obviously isn't, but it must be something fairly pretentious if Tom is showing an interest.

 

And to conclude this special edition here's Denis Carey again, this time with a football glued to his head.

 

 

Look, it was either this or "The Curse of Peladon". Some bloody birthday this has turned out to be...

Publicity Shots from Hell No.31

Once in a while I present a photograph in this feature, and have a little grumble that I really should know more about it, but can't quite for the life of me recall what it is.

Similarly, a recent conversation with probably the only person who reads this page reminded me of pre-VHS days, when it was often possible to come across an unlabelled photo in DWM and not to be able to place it at all.

This one independently puzzled us both for many years, it seems. But since it is a shot from a story that was never transmitted on TV, I suppose we can be excused for our youthful naivety.

Personally, it wasn't until the October 1983 publication of Doctor Who Monthly 81 (The Magazine of Time and Space) that I began to get a clue as to the photograph's provenance.

I still wasn't totally convinced, though.

And before you get all cocky, let's remember that DWM covers were never the most reliable guides to the series and its stars. Randomly jump forward a mere 18 months, and here's how issue 99 advertised its wares...

Blimey, Mary Tamm looks a bit off-colour, doesn't she?