Jon Pertwee – The Bad Wilf Network

Big Finish review-The Return of Jo Jones

In “The Return of Jo Jones,” the Third Doctor is reunited with one of his closest companions. The first adventure takes place on the Isle of Wight, where Jo is summoned to deal with a series of menacing bird attacks that have upset the natural balance of things. This encounter marks a profound shift in Jo’s world, setting the stage for the emotional journey that unfolds throughout the collection.

The second story sees Jo embarking on her first space-time voyage in decades, accompanying the Doctor to the planet Viltris in the 49th Century. Here, long-simmering grievances threaten to erupt into open rebellion, providing a backdrop for Jo’s own struggles with the passage of time.

The final tale takes place on the troubled planet Mercator, where Jo delves into the underlying tensions of the local community, while the Doctor finds himself in grave danger. Each story serves as a mirror for Jo’s own personal growth and the skills she has developed over the years.

Matt Fitton’s “Supernature” is a standout entry, featuring a moving and bittersweet farewell to Stewart Bevan’s character. It also offers a dose of Hitchcockian suspense as Jo grapples with loss and grief.

Felicia Barker’s “The Conservitors” explores themes of power, risk, and resilience, showcasing Jo’s formidable strength of character.

Meanwhile, Lizzie Hopley’s “The Iron Shore” pays tribute to the work of producer Philip Hinchcliffe and horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, highlighting Jo’s empathy and the Doctor’s determination.

The cast of the Third Doctor Adventures is outstanding, with Katy Manning and Tim Treloar giving standout performances. Manning expertly conveys Jo’s pain, perseverance, and spirit, while Treloar continues to impress with his portrayal of Jon Pertwee’s Doctor. Together, they make for a powerful and emotionally resonant listening experience.

Additionally, the sound design is exceptional, creating a rich and immersive atmosphere that draws the listener into each story. From the eerie and unsettling sounds of the menacing birds on the Isle of Wight, to the futuristic and otherworldly sounds, the sound effects help to transport the listener to each unique setting. The use of music also adds to the emotional impact of the stories, with each piece expertly chosen to complement the mood and tone of the scene.

Overall, “The Return of Jo Jones” is a long-awaited and much-needed closure to one of Doctor Who’s most beloved characters. Here’s hoping that we get to hear more of Jo’s adventures with the Doctor before she returns home.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sean Pertwee reveals he was asked to be in Doctor Who

Since Doctor Who returned to our screens in 2005, we’ve seen the appearance of both of Patrick Troughton’s sons. Fans have often expressed their desire to have Sean Pertwee appear-in either a cameo or as the third Doctor.

In a recent interview with the radio times, Pertwee revealed that he was actually approached to appear in series 9. But due to his commitments with Gotham, he was unable to do so.

Here’s what he had to say:

“I’ve been asked before – I was asked actually last season. I couldn’t do it because of Gotham. I’d love to be in some capacity be involved, as an ode to my father and to Roger Delgado, who was my dad’s best friend, who was the Master.

It’d be an honour to be involved in something like that. You know, it’s a big thing! Doctor Who’s a massive thing in America now, and also they’re looking to the older Doctors, which I think is really kinda cool. They’re looking back as well, not just forward.”

Episode 50: Doctor Who-Colony in Space

Which, after nearly two years, your heroes reach episode 50!

After a report on the Torchwood: Miracle Day signing attended by Martyn and Paul from The Pharos Project, we take a look at the Doctor Who episode ‘Colony in space’. In this episode, we delve into the classic Doctor Who adventure “Colony in Space,” which originally aired in 1971. Starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor and Katy Manning as his companion Jo Grant, “Colony in Space” takes the TARDIS crew to a distant planet where human colonists are struggling to survive against a ruthless mining corporation and the native alien inhabitants.

We explore the conflict between the human colonists and the mining corporation, and how it reflects real-world issues of corporate greed and exploitation. We also examine the portrayal of the alien race, and how it challenges traditional science fiction stereotypes. We discuss the performances of Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning, and how they embody the Doctor and his companion in this adventure.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to Amazon Music, Podchaser, Player FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

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Review-Doctor Who: The BBC Radio Episodes

Here’s a beautiful box-set of BBC radio plays. So beautiful in fact, I almost didn’t open it.

It’s a collection of radio adventures; there are three different Doctors, the 3rd, 4th and 6th.

The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space

These are 3rd Doctor stories which feature Jon Pertwee, Elizabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney.

Neither story really works that well and they introduce an extremely annoying, new companion.

In N-Space we meet the Brigadier’s uncle, in an awful ghost tale.
The performances are strong, but the scripts aren’t that great. You can make bad audio out of a good script, but you can’t make good audio out of a bad script. It does, however, try to capture that era of Doctor Who, which even though it failed, was an interesting experiment and given the recent passing of Nicholas Courtney, it was great to hear him again

Doctor Who and the Pescatons

This is a fun little tale, which features the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane. The Doctor and Sarah are battling monsters, that are bringing panic, to the streets of London. This is less than an audio play and more of an audiobook, with Tom Baker narrating and Liz Sladen throwing in the odd comment. It’s a fun story, but I couldn’t help but feel that it would have suited Patrick Troughton’s 2nd Doctor better.

Exploration Earth

This is the real clunker in this box set. It features the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane investigating the start, of life on Earth, only to run into the Megaron Lord of Chaos. The performances feel a little “phoned in”.

Whatever Happened To… Susan?

This is a tongue-in-cheek tale of what Susan did after she left the TARDIS. Jane Asher takes over from Carol Anne Ford, as Susan and is talking to a documentary crew, about her life after leaving the TARDIS.

There is some laugh out loud moments here, including her tale about how The Doctor gets younger and younger with each regeneration and how companions fell in love with him.

It’s an amusing story that runs at about 30 minutes, but it completely contradicts continuity. If you’re willing to switch your brain off and just listen, then you’ll have an amazing time, if you get bogged down with continuity, you won’t enjoy it.
I couldn’t help but wish that it was a proper, serious audio drama, with Carol Anne Ford reprising the role of Susan and telling the tale. Done seriously, this could have been a brilliant audio drama

Slipback

Now, this was the first Doctor Who story made for radio and was broadcast during the show’s enforced hiatus, in 1985.
This was a very Douglas Adams story – I could imagine Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect in this. This isn’t a great story; the computer is annoying but likeable. The performances of Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant are quite good and you get a foreshadow of the chemistry that would later work so well on Big Finish.

It’s a good enough box set with a few decent tales, but also with a few poor episodes. I’d say this is one for true, die-hard Doctor Who fans. Viewers of the new series will get very little for money.

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Episode 03: The Three Doctors

In episode 3, we speak about ‘The Three Doctors’ but Skype traps Gerrod in a time eddy and Martyn has to go solo.

The Three Doctors is the first serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 30 December 1972 to 20 January 1973.

In the serial, the solar engineer Omega (Stephen Thorne), the creator of the experiments that allowed the Time Lords to travel in time, seeks revenge on the Time Lords after he was left for dead in a universe made of antimatter. The Time Lords recruit the time travelers the First Doctor (William Hartnell), the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), and the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) for help when Omega drains their civilisation’s power.

The serial opened the tenth anniversary year of the series and features the first three Doctors all appearing in the same serial. This makes it the first Doctor Who story in which an earlier incarnation of the Doctor returns to the show.