Writer: Andy Lane
Director: Lisa Bowerman
Narrator: Susan (Carole Ann Ford)
Other Companions: Ian and Barbara
Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Series: 3.1
Summary: The First Doctor and companions meet the Captain Rostrum, who is navigating space by punching holes into the very fabric of space itself. The Doctor is fearful this will unleash monsters from other dimensions.
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Writer: Robert Holmes
Director: David Maloney
Producer: Peter Bryant
Season: 6, ep. 4 (19-22)
Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)
Summary: The Doctor and companions meet a race of humans called the Gond, who are enslaved by crystalline aliens called The Krotons.
Publisher: Titan Comics
Comic Type: Promotional
Summary: Road to the 13th Doctor is a 3-issue miniseries of stories featuring the 10th, 11th, and 12th Doctors. Each story is self-contained, and the stories featuring the 10th and 11th Doctors feature companions exclusive to Titan Comics. Only the 12th Doctor’s story features a companion from the actual show. This comic was published to coincide with the beginning of Jodie Whittaker’s run as the 13th Doctor.
Review: This comic is not what I was expecting, and I actually feel ripped off. I got this comic on Hoopla because I thought “OK, this way I can review something starring Jodie during 2019 since Series 12 won’t be starting until 2020.” But then I discovered that Jodie doesn’t even make a cameo. None of these stories have anything to do with series 11 or the show at all. They’re just stories featuring the Doctors that could’ve just been part of the comics Titan already did. My recommendation: don’t waste your money on this trade. I know there are good Doctor Who comics out there, but this isn’t one of them.
Overall: 2/10
Writer: Johnny Byrne
Director: John Black
Producer: John Nathan-Turner
Companions: Adric (Matthew Waterhouse), Nyssa (Sarah Sutton)
Season: 18, ep. 6 (21-24)
Summary: The Doctor and Adric travel to the planet Traken, a utopic world where evil beings have been kept in statues. The Doctor and Adric meet Tremas, a man who has the potential to become the head of the “keepers”, who are the elders of the planet. Adric suspects something, and befriends his daughter Nyssa to help. But no one suspects that an old enemy has returned: The Master, who is once again vying for immortality.
Every time we get a new Doctor, we almost always get a new title sequence and logo as well. This was an idea I had after Series 11’s new sequence was unveiled for “The Ghost Monument”, but I decided to wait until now and look back at all the logos and title sequences to see where I rank them. So, here they are from best to worst.
Sylvester McCoy Era (Seasons 24-26, First used: “Time and the Rani”)
The final logo of the Classic Period is just terrible. The theme music for the opening sequence is too high. It was actually the first logo to be in 3-D. My biggest problem is the angled “Doctor” part of the logo.
Colin Baker Era (Seasons 22-23, First used: “The Twin Dilemma”)
Colin Baker really got the short end of the stick and this logo is part of that. They didn’t even try! All they did was just bend the previous logo in the middle and turn it purple.
The TV Movie/Big Finish Logo (1996-2018, First used: The TV Movie)
If you include Big Finish’s usage of the logo, this is the longest-used logo. When it was used in the movie, it almost felt like the theme music was played backwards, with the middle eight section preceding what is usually the opening section. The logo is really just a recoloring of the Pertwee Era’s first logo. The theme song was eventually changed when Big Finish started recording audio dramas for Paul McGann, and it’s a pretty good adaptation of the traditional theme, different enough to be its own thing.
Peter Capaldi Era (Series 8-11, First used: “Deep Breath”)
I love that the title sequence was inspired by a fan’s design, but Murray Gold’s arrangement for the 12th Doctor has the same problem as McCoy’s theme–it’s too high. I do love those “angry eyebrows”.)
Christopher Eccleston Era/First David Tennant logo (Series 1-3, First used: “Rose”)
As someone who grew up seeing the Doctor’s face, I didn’t like this at first, but warmed up to it. I don’t like the oval surrounding the title.
William Hartnell Era (Seasons 1-4, First used: “An Unearthly Child”)
The first logo is fine for its time. I don’t mind how “low-tech” the early logos are. The “sound image” background kind of reminds me of smoke. It’s simple and gets the job done.
David Tennant Era Logo (Series 3 and 2008-2010 specials, First used: “The Christmas Invasion”)
This is similar to Eccleston’s logo, with one key difference: the letters are more squat, and the oval is brighter. It feels less confined than the Eccelston version was.
Jodie Whittaker Era (Series 11-, First used: “The Ghost Monument”)
The whispy nebula is a nice background, and I like the new theme. The animation for the logo’s spin at the end of the title sequence is a nice touch.
Jelly Babies and Reversed Polarities 