Freelance Writer, Author & Artist
60s 70s 80s TV/Music fan
63-89 Doctor Who babbler
Old manchild
Perpetual Outsider
Virgo
Most importantly, Proud Hubby & Daddy
Welcome to my Twitter page folks. Thanks a million for looking in!
I'm an author who has written 7 books to date which are..
A complete guide to The Generation Game - £2.99
5 x Doctor Who bumper guides - £1.80 each
Mungo The Musical Guinea Pig - £1.49 ……
50 years ago, Jon Pertwee said goodbye to
#DoctorWho
in the most moving regeneration of the lot.
No mawkish, overlong speeches. No pompous choirs. No overblown histrionics. Just great actors working wonders with sparkling dialogue.
Still brings tears to my eyes.
Happy 90th Birthday to the one and only 4th Doctor himself - Tom Baker - a bona-fide
#DoctorWho
legend and to countless 40 & 50 somethings like me, a childhood hero.
Rik Mayall brilliantly unleashes greedy, sociopathic Tory, Alan B'Stard, on the world on this New Statesman day in 1987.
Alas, there's not much to laugh about with today's real-life greedy, sociopathic Tories.
Only
#Blakes7
could wilfully thumb a nose at Christmas with the shocking finale of Blake on this day in 1981.
Tightly plotted, full of dark humour & a welcome return for Gareth Thomas, it's the perfect ending to a perfect series.
Rewatching some of those Classic Who documentaries is a real eye-opener.
Producers like Barry Letts & Philip Hinchcliffe are refreshingly unpretentious, ego-free & willing to acknowledge any mistakes made. No unprofessional digs at the fans. No pomposity.
I miss those days.
Iconic sci-fi TV show
#Blakes7
launches on this day in 1978 in defiantly bleak style with The Way Back.
If you're a
#DoctorWho
fan and have never seen this show, give it a try - you're in for a treat.
Just don't expect a happy ending.
"Til we meet again, Sarah."
See? That's how you do a moving leaving scene.
No overdone 29p greetings card dialogue.
No Murray Gold orchestras peeling onions.
No pompous choirs.
No close-ups of blubbing.
Simply 2 superb actors & a cracking script on this
#DoctorWho
day in 1976.
After the success of The Young Ones, Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson & Nigel Planer star in new Ben Elton comedy Filthy Rich & Catflap on this day in 1987.
It's easy to take The Tomb Of The Cybermen (on this
#DoctorWho
day in 1967) for granted these days, but I can still remember the giddy excitement of the news of the recovered episodes and experiencing the VHS for the first time in 1992.
Ghost Light (on this
#DoctorWho
day in 1989) was the last story to be recorded in the original run of the series.
Far from suggesting a show that's running out of steam, it's bursting at the seams with creativity, vision & drive.
Plus some great face pulling by The Doctor.
Prepare to shed a tear at the most moving regeneration scene on this
#DoctorWho
day in 1974. No flashy effects, no pompous choirs squawking, but its simple execution brings a tear to my eye every time.
On a happier note, it's 49 years since the arrival of the 4th Doctor!
Dear Zeddee 19 or whatever it is you call yourself.
Hope you and your 149 followers found your 'joke' about wishing Tom Baker dead rip-roaringly funny.
However, I'm sure his millions of fans would respond with this.
It's 41 years since
#DoctorWho
puts the shock into Earthshock by bumping off poor old Adric.
For those of you old enough (like me) to remember seeing it 1st time around, what are your memories?
Jon Pertwee's last TV appearance on this day in 1996, appearing on Surprise Surprise - still instantly the Doctor right till the end. The kid's reaction is a delight.
My eldest daughter, 8 years old, says that her favourite
#DoctorWho
is Tom Baker. She's currently hooked on The Ark In Space (repeated on this day in 1975).
Robin Of Sherwood arrives in the land of ITV on this day in 1984. Michael Praed stars in this fondly remembered version of the classic legend, the wonderfully ethereal Clannad score is the icing on the cake.
A trio of kids' TV legends star in a comedy tour through history on this day 50 years ago.
Cabbages And Kings stars Johnny Ball, Julie Stevens & Derek Griffiths.
CS Lewis' The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe gets the classic Sunday night evening drama treatment at the BBC on this day in 1988.
Blimey, those kids must now be pushing 50.
Cheers to K9 & Company which never got beyond a pilot on this day in 1981, despite the bravura efforts of Elisabeth Sladen & John Leeson.
Great theme tune!
Robin Of Sherwood arrives in the land of ITV on this day in 1984. Michael Praed stars in this fondly remembered version of the classic legend, the wonderfully ethereal Clannad score is the icing on the cake.
So long Billy on this
#DoctorWho
day in 1966.
No overlong speeches, no blubbing, no orchestra/pompous choir making an infernal din.
Just one great big mystery.
Dear Twitter big cheeses.
If you really have to put Tom Baker in the trending sidebar, please can you add 'Not Dead'? My dodgy ticker skipped about 10 beats just now.
Ta very muchly.
John B
After an incredible six years, two months and three weeks, it's the end (but the moment has been prepared for) for Tom Baker's legendary
#DoctorWho
OTD in 1981.
The Android Invasion may not be the greatest Doctor Who story ever told, but the banter, interplay and mutual respect/affection between Tom Baker & Elisabeth Sladen is at its peak here.
"Interfere? Of course we should interfere. Always do what you're best at, that's what I say. Now, come on!
#DoctorWho
Nightmare Of Eden (OTD in 1979) may have Muppet Mandrels but it's bursting at the seams with wit, courtesy of Bob Baker's script plus Tom & Lalla on top form.
Way back when, on one sunny Saturday in April 1983, I bought my very 1st
#DoctorWho
Target paperback, Horror Of Fang Rock.
But what about you, folks? What was your 1st Doctor Who book that you bought, and do you still own it?
#DoctorWho
has always been a moral show with its battle of good v evil.
But unlike today's sledgehammer tactics, Nightmare Of Eden Part 4 (OTD in 1979) used a simple coldly whispered "Go away" to make the point.
Top acting. Top scripting. A guaranteed recipe for success.
The gripping final part of Horror Of Fang Rock on this
#DoctorWho
day in 1977.
In which Everybody Dies - without any NuWho fairy dust to bring the likes of Vince, Adelaide or Skinsale back to life.
Textbook example of minimal budget but a tightly plotted, scary, brilliant story.
So to balance the comments made about Tom Baker, let's celebrate his brilliant 7-year stint as The Doctor.
Post your favourite Tom moment in
#DoctorWho
and why with the hashtag
#TomBakerRulesOK
Sadly Peter Day, who designed the visual effects for a number of the very best Doctor Who stories of the Troughton, Pertwee and T Baker era, and who was one of the very first members of the BBC VFX Department, has died aged 95.
More details here:
"It's the end..."
Farewell to a genuine legend on this
#DoctorWho
day in 1981. But what say you, faithful peeps? What are your memories/thoughts of the 4th Doctor's final bow in Part 4 of Logopolis?
#DoctorWho
kids today. Pah. They have it so easy with every episode available at the press of a button.
Old farts like me had to make do with the odd chance repeat season like on this day in 1982 with Doctor Who & The Monsters - which kicked off with The Curse Of Peladon.
And let's not forget Peter Capaldi, who has his very own interview in The Guardian today:
"It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice."
Terry & June debuts on this day in 1979.
You can level a million criticisms at this type of genteel comedy but I have a soft spot for this. Scott & Whitfield are both ace, there are some funny moments & the theme tune is an unforgettable earworm.
Elisabeth Sladen... Sarah Jane Smith... The Sontarans... The iconic tunnel/diamond logo title sequence...
It's a busy day for
#DoctorWho
on this day 50 years ago as Season 11 launches Jon Pertwee's final season with The Time Warrior.
John's
#DoctorWho
VHS Journey Thread Part 1
11th September 1987: Pyramids Of Mars
Belated 13th birthday present. Dad hires a VCR from work, and I get to see my very 1st Who video. To say I'm impressed is an understatement. I watched it so many times the tape squeaked like a mouse