Articles by:

Ian McArdell

‘Doctor Who and the Planet of the Daleks’ audiobook review

Terry Nation’s script for the ‘Planet of the Daleks’ was a slice of traditional Doctor Who even in the early 1970s.

Reliant on many of his favourite elements such as inhospitable plant life, biological weapons and people hiding in Dalek casings, it acts as a sequel to his original Dalek tale and has been accused of being little more than a rewrite. We prefer to see it as a homage to those early days of black and white adventure serials.

Posted Filed under
sixth doctor

‘Doctor Who’: ‘Trouble in Paradise’ (‘Destiny of the Doctor’ 6) audiobook review

June’s entry in Doctor Who‘s Destiny of the Doctor series brings us to the Sixth Doctor and ‘Trouble in Paradise’ sees the Time Lord’s most colourful incarnation given a mission by the Eleventh; to collect something called an ‘omni-paradox’ and store its energy for later use. He is also after a coat and seems to regard the Sixth’s outfit as the height of sartorial elegance.

Posted Filed under

‘Doctor Who and the Curse of Peladon’ audiobook review

Hailing from the middle of Jon Pertwee’s tenure, ‘The Curse of Peladon’ was the first of his Doctor’s two visits to the feudal planet. In a plot running entirely contrary to Star Trek’s prime directive, alien delegates are visiting amounts to little more than an Iron Age society, assessing its suitability for membership to the Galactic Federation.

Posted Filed under
fifth doctor

‘Doctor Who’: ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ (‘Destiny of the Doctor’ 5) audiobook review

The fifth tale in this anniversary sequence of stories, ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, is quite definitely grounded in Peter Davison’s first series with the Doctor again failing arrive at Heathrow Airport in favour of answering the summons of an old friend. In fact, there are enough in-story continuity references to site the tale firmly between ‘Kinda’ and ‘Earthshock’.

Posted Filed under

‘Peter Cushing: A Life in Film’ book review

For many CultBox readers, Peter Cushing is instantly recognisable for a number of roles. For many he was Star Wars villain Grand Moff Tarkin, the ruthless Imperial Commander running the Death Star in the original movie who appeared to be Darth Vader’s boss. Like Sir Alec Guinness, he lent the film an air of credibility amid the laser bolts, droids and spiritual mumbo-jumbo.

Posted Filed under