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I mean, it’s not like absolutely everything is terrible right now, but certainly a lot of things are and we could all do with a break. As a result, here’s a list of Doctor Who stories – one chosen per Doctor – that I put on for comfort. Sometimes you need something familiar and well-worn to unwind with.

This list is very much subjective, some of it is down to which Doctor Who videos I could afford when I was 10. These stories work for me and it’s unlikely they will work completely for someone else. Also worth mentioning is that this list is incomplete; these are not the only stories I watch for comfort, and indeed sometimes that’s not the reason I watch these stories.

First Doctor: ‘The Aztecs’

‘The Aztecs’ is a great example of Doctor Who that can be both familiar, endearing and brutal. In this...

In a media landscape where it is possible for those with expendable income and a good internet connection to access pretty much any TV they want whenever they want, it’s a unique and interesting dilemma for an episode of television to be inaccessible to literally everyone on the planet. However, this is the reality with which Doctor Who fans must live, as 97 (of 253) of the series’ first episodes continue to be “missing,” a benevolent euphemism for “probably ironically lost to time.” While some of Classic Who‘s missing episodes have been found over the last few decades (and a handful may be held by private collectors), many of of them have not been, leaving 26 of the show’s early serials either incomplete or entirely missing.

Not all is lost. Audio tracks still exist for all of the missing episodes, along with production stills, “telesnaps,” and sometimes short clips from the 25-minute installments.

Pete Dillon-Trenchard Dec 25, 2017

We dig deep into the Doctor Who Christmas special, Twice Upon A Time...

One Doctor dying at Christmas is unfortunate, but two? That’s just cruel. They’re certainly going out on a high though, at least judging by the number of references and callbacks in the episode. It’s our longest one ever, so grab a mince pie, raid the spirits cupboard and join us for our traditional festive viewing notes.

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Spoilers Lie Ahead.

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We kick off proceedings with footage from William Hartnell’s final serial The Tenth Planet, which aired from 8-29th October 1966 and was also notable for the introduction of the Cybermen – specifically the ‘Mondasian’ variety last seen in Series 10 finale The Doctor Falls.

The...

From TorontoFilm.Net, Sneak Peek the animated six-part adventure "Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks", screening across Canada November 30, 2016, courtesy BBC Worldwide North America and Cineplex Events, in celebration of the story's 50th anniversary:

"...'The Power of the Daleks' is one of the most celebrated 'Doctor Who' adventures, and yet no complete film recordings are known to have survived. The master negatives for 'The Power of the Daleks' were destroyed in an archive purge in 1974. This brand new animation, being released 50 years after its original UK broadcast, is based on the program's audio recordings, surviving photographs, and film clips.

"The six-part adventure features the 'regeneration' – or as it was then called 'renewal' – of 'First Doctor', 'William Hartnell', into 'Second Doctor', 'Patrick Troughton', following the 'Time Lord' and his companions 'Polly' (Anneke Wills) and 'Ben' (Michael Craze) as they do battle with the 'Daleks' on the planet 'Vulcan'.

Pete Dillon-Trenchard Nov 7, 2016

A classic in every sense, The Power Of The Daleks is now available to buy in animated form. Here's our review...

Ever since The Web Of Fear and The Enemy Of The World were (mostly) recovered back in 2013, there’s been a renewed desire to see more from the Patrick Troughton era of Doctor Who. But with no further sign of goodies from Morris and his team (though we are assured the search is ongoing), it’s fallen to BBC Worldwide and a team led by director Charles Norton to bring us the next best thing – an animated version of Troughton’s debut story The Power Of The Daleks.

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Much of the fun of the story is in discovering its twists and turns for yourself, so we’ll skimp on plot details here...

Kayti Burt Oct 13, 2016

Americans have the chance to see some lost Patrick Troughton Doctor Who episodes on the big screen...

One of the more interesting (and sometimes heartbreaking) parts of being a Classic Doctor Who fan comes when you make it to the missing episodes, parts of or entire episodes that no longer exist. Every once in a while, someone will find some old Doctor Who reels in their attic or a BBC field office somewhere will stumble upon a missing episode, but, for the most part, these missing episodes have to be recreated in some way.

Previously, these recreations were mostly undertaken by fans, but, come November, we will be getting a BBC-commissioned animated recreation of Doctor Who's Power Of The Daleks, aka the very first episode starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. Now, we know that the episode will also be featured in American theaters for...

Lost Doctor Who episodes (and other TV) are sadly not an uncommon occurrence. In the early days of the 50-year-old sci-fi series, the BBC would air episodes and then record over them to save space or otherwise reuse the tapes. It hurts just typing that but thankfully some previously lost episodes have been made new again thanks to a lot of hard work and animation. Back in 2013, the BBC Worldwide announced master tapes of Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s were found in Nigeria, Africa. The episodes were sent there for local transmissions and tracked down with some effort. It was exciting news at the time but 97 stories were still missing or incomplete. This new animation features the six-part "The Power of the Daleks" story, which is still missing. "No complete film recordings of 'The Power of the Daleks' are known to have survived," the BBC explains of their most recent news,...

Philip Bates is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

All the way in 1984, an independent VHS company, Reeltime Pictures began releasing interviews with some of the people who made Doctor Who. It began with Michael Wisher, who appeared in various serials but is most notable as Davros in Genesis of the Daleks, and the range further expanded to include stars like Michael Craze, Sylvester McCoy,...

The post Myth Makers: Tom Baker & Anthony Ainley on DVD appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

By Howard Hughes

(The following review is of the UK release of the film on Region 2 format.)

In Roy Ward Baker’s 1960s comedy-drama Two Left Feet, Michael Crawford plays Alan Crabbe, a clumsy and unlucky-in-love 19-year-old who begins dating ‘Eileen, the Teacup Queen’, a waitress at his local cafe. She lives in Camden Town and there are rumours that she’s married, but that doesn’t seem to alter her behavior. Alan and Eileen travel into London’s ‘Floride Club’, where the Storyville Jazzmen play trad for the groovers and shakers. Eileen turns out to be a ‘right little madam’, who is really just stringing Alan along. She’s the kind of girl who only dates to get into places and then starts chatting to randoms once inside. She takes up with ruffian Ronnie, while Alan meets a nice girl, Beth Crowley. But Eileen holds a strange hold over...

The author of the "Outlander" series of books, Diana Gabaldon, has never been shy about the fact that her character Jamie Fraser was inspired by an old episode of "Doctor Who."

The character she took a liking to in particular was second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) companion Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines). She had been looking for a time and place to set her book and when McCrimmon, from 18th century Scotland, made his first appearance on the show in a kilt, it stuck with Gabaldon.

"I thought that was kind of fetching, and I was still thinking about this the next day in church," Gabaldon explained at the TCA winter press tour.

She borrowed the name Jamie from the character and Fraser from the actor to pay tribute to her inspiration, and the rest is history. Who is Jamie McCrimmon, though?

Many modern "Doctor Who" fans might not know much about the show's early history.

Christian Cawley is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

The BBC has released details for the forthcoming classic Doctor Who DVD release, The Moonbase, which features the first return (and redesign) of the Cybermen! Set to arrive on DVD in early 2014, the disc will ship with two missing episodes reanimated. Sorry, omnirumour-fiends. Starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor, Michael Craze, Anneke Wills and

The post BBC Announces The Moonbase DVD Contents and Final Cover Art appeared first on Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews.

Ben Jackson

Portrayed by: Michael Craze

Doctor(s): First Doctor, Second Doctor

Tenure: 9 stories (36 episodes), from The War Machines (June, 1966) to The Faceless Ones (May, 1967)

Background: Ben is a Cockney sailor set to ship out with the Royal Navy when he meets Polly and, later that night, the Doctor at a club. Ben is a contemporary young man, designed to pair with Polly and follow on from Ian and Steven as the Male Action Hero of the series, given the First Doctor’s advanced age and failing health.

Family/Friends: We know little about Ben’s friends or family, but he grows quite close with Polly and the two are eventually married after leaving the Tardis.

Personality: Ben is a brave and somewhat impetuous young man. He’s a dutiful soldier and handy in a fight, but he’s not the most inventive or creative of Companions. A skeptic,...

Do you fear getting into a situation where your TV-loving partner/friend/relative asks, 'When's show X coming back?' and you're forced to admit you don't know, and as a result they disown you, leaving you a hollow shell of a person?

Well don't you worry, precious flower, because we at Tube Talk are here to bestow you with knowledge and help you avoid tragic telly faux-pas. This week we've got scoop on True Detective, Revenge and more...

I don't think I have ever been more excited for a TV show than True Detective - please tell me it has been picked up by a UK network?

It has! As part of its five-year deal securing all new HBO programming, Sky Atlantic will air True Detective in February 2014... mere weeks after its Us premiere on January 12.

We're chuffed, because Tony Barret is right to be excited - the eight-part series,...

Huzzah! After much media brooding and betting about the identity of the new Doctor Who companion, actress Jenna-Louise Coleman was announced at a press call last Wednesday.

The speculation had been gathering at pace of late, with a few whispers of Sophia Myles somehow coming back to Who after playing Madame du Pompadour six-odd years ago. Possibly this was some sneaky red herring paper trail left by Steven Moffat who urged his Twitter followers to follow La Myles, while a forthcoming interview in Doctor Who Magazine could have also been a clue. But no – quite how Sophia will be involved in the next series (at the time of writing this) is a mystery, so apologies if early next week she's announced as the next incarnation of The Rani.

What else? Waterloo Road, a programme that I dip into about once in a blue moon. It's an odd one in that...

Two missing black-and-white episodes of Doctor Who have been found in the private collection of a TV engineer who bought them at a school fete in the 1980s.

The BBC had erased the original copies at a time when videotape was expensive and archiving was not a routine procedure.

One episode, broadcast in 1965, is called Airlock and is the third in a four-part story called Galaxy 4.

It features William Hartnell as the first Doctor, with companions Steven Taylor (played by Peter Purves, later a Blue Peter presenter) and Vicki (Maureen O'Brien), and marks the only appearance of a race of robots called the Chumblies, as can be seen in the image above.

The other episode is the second part of The Underwater Menace, from 1967. It starred Patrick Troughton as the second incarnation of the Doctor, who was trying to stop a mad scientist draining the ocean to raise Atlantis. His...