I agree with the praise for Skagra. His quiet, stoic confidence makes him intimidating and a refreshing change from this era's usually flamboyant rogue's gallery. He goes into full maniacal mode later of course but compared to Soldeed he's positively restrained.
It's brilliant that you're reacting to this story sequentially, as in at its intended position as the final story of Season 17. It's also great that you've got hold of the episodic version as presented on both the Season 17 Blu-ray boxset and on BBC iPlayer, where is now officially presented at the end of the same season, as mentioned above. It's history as a story is fascinating: cancelled due to strike action; adapted for both the written word and audio over the years, only a couple of those being official. Interestingly, the surviving footage was first seen - bar the punting on the Cam and an excerpt from another scene - on a 1992 VHS release, with Tom Baker providing in-vision linking narration. The partially animated version is now considered the definitive version, though.
That Gentleman is the College Porter. Every college in Oxford and Cambridge has one. It is indeed their job to greet people as they come and go, as well as 'guard' the college and assist people coming through.
"At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant." - The Novelisation of Shada.
There's a well known interview with Tom a couple of years earlier, where he talks about how The Doctor - at least back then - was not really an acting part. He's not interested in relationships, he can't suddenly become 'gratuitously violent' (although we see that's not necessarily the case!), he is 'not at all acquisitive'. So from the actor's perspective, he was constantly faced with finding distractions for the kids rather than playing out a linear journey for the character. The humour therefore becomes a big part of that. He did, after all, once suggest his companion might be a talking cabbage.
Someone has probably mentioned this already, but you may recognise Chris (Daniel Hill) as the man shouting "It's Harry Potter!" in Ministry of Magic in HP & the Deathly Hallows pt.1
"I was slightly concerned being that, you know, it's animated, it would not be a very slow-moving villain." 😂😂😂 Yes, it's not a true Classic Who monster if it moves too fast.
I'm really enjoying this. Half animated and half live action is probably not the ideal format, but they've done a good job, and it's a wonderful story. Good point about Chris and Clare and their scientific curiosity.
Chronotis essentially existing outside of time - in a kind of temporal anteroom - seems to be quite a metaphysical statement; on a par with the 12th Doctor's lecture about moments in time running concurrently rather than consecutively. And it makes me think actually that our hero, when describing the nature of time, should be markedly less panicked about things that have gone wrong; because out there somewhere other things are going right. It's like the discussions that emerge when an episode takes place at roughly the same time as a previous episode, such as 'The End of the World' and 'The Ark'.
I don’t know if anyone told you already but I only just heard that Richard Franklin, who played your favourite, Mike Yates, died on Christmas Day just gone. 😢
I would have loved it if Chris and Claire had become the new companions - kind of like a new Ian & Barbara. Romana could have stayed on as a Cambridge lecturer.
I would love to see you react to the UK sitcom Waiting For God. It stars Graham Crowden (the glorious Soldeed from Horns of Nimon) and Daniel Hill (Chris aka Bristol from Shada)
Not the obvious sit-com for a sci-fi/fantasy reaction channel to start covering (That would be either Red Dwarf or the TV version of Hitchhiker's), but one I do remember fondly, so I can't say I'd be opposed to it. Barely, but fondly.
@@Stephen-Fox Yes I wasn't sure if it is something Jess would do but really a great commentary on the last chapter of life and losing your independence. Diana (Stephanie Cole) and Harvey Baines (Daniel Hill) the yuppie type manager of the retirement home, often butt heads with fantastic comedy but it could also have pathos. Graham Crowden is hilarious as Tom Ballard. If Jess doesn't react to it for the channel it would be worth a watch at some point. But yes, just a suggestion
This is my 1st time experiencing this story this way. I don't have the season blu-ray and no access to the iBCC player, so I'm getting it in bits and pieces. I've read so many of Douglas Adams books I do feel like I'm seeing more of those things and not enough of this story in particular. The actor playing Skagra reminds me too much of Julian Glover, the Professor reminds me of The 2nd Doctor, I might enjoy this more if I knew less, lol!
I will say Say Seska, Denis Carey who played the professor, had appeared in Blake,s Seven, and also Denis IMO reminded me of patrick Troughton in some ways and also I hope you can get to see and and react to Blake,s Seven if you have not already seen B7. I like your blue nail polish Seska it is lovely and also have fun watching and reacting to the rest of classic Dr Who.
I do say Seska this story is awesome in billions of ways, and Romans,s outfit is lovely and I think Chris Parsons seems awesome enough to be a companion to the Doctor.
Skagra's backstory - though barely touched upon - was intended to involve a schism in the Timelords, with a rival council of Cardinals on the planet Dronid. A reference to a time when two Pope's were elected: Urban VI by the Roman faction and Clement VII by the French faction, and sat in years opposite each other, each declaring the other to be an antipope. Skagra would be from a people who were profounded affected by this rival faction of Time Lords in Exile trying to set up their own civilisation. The Key Word here is intended, as this was obviously jettisoned before the episode was even filmed, but like many "Deleted" concepts, it survives in Faction Paradox, and the sight of the War in Heaven - a Time War that (now) never happened. Faction Paradox is a Book Only group of time traveling anarchist. Anti-Timelords who believe that cause and effect is a form of tyranny. Their existence is very meta, as to join the Faction, they are required to delete themselves from history by murdering their own ancestors so they were never born. Hilariously, his concept is taken to meta levels, they include among their also includes Kelsy Hooper (The deleted character from the Pilot Episode of the Sarah Jane adventures), and the Version of Amy Pond who now never existed, in the Two Streams Facility. (Amy's Choice). One of their home bases is Dronid: A meta commentry on this abandoned concept which never made it out of the writers room.
If I may ask Seska have you ever seen, Blake,s Seven one of the top ten billion sci-fi series which ran from 1978 to 1981 and if not do you think there is any chance you may view and react to Blake,s Seven in the future please.
I'd say Blake's 7 is in the top ten rather than top ten billion ! Number2 for me behind Classic Who. Positions 3 to 5 for me , UFO The Prisoner and Thriller (1973-76) created by Brian Clemens.
I sometimes wonder how often the invisible spaceship idea has been used. We know the Tardis is capable of doing this too (particularly when sneaking into the Oval Office), but was it not originally intended to be cloaked rather than camouflaged? My lore is very lax these days.
I love your reactions At first i even keep up with you, but now i am way ahead of you (i am on the 6th doctor and evelyn adventures) I wish you all good and good health Thank you very much for your Classic Who reactions
It's great you are doing the audio adventures as these are where the sixth doctor really shines. Especially with Evelyn who was a great companion for him.
There’s a new Classic Doctor Who minisode that aired today, hoping you can react to it. It was made to promote the season 15 classic blu-ray set and is well worth a watch & reaction before it is spoiled.
Hey sesskasays! It's driving me a little crazy by now, so i just want to get something out: You're the most beautiful girl i have ever seen in my life! Embarrassing, but i feel better now.🙈Greetings from northern Europe
I agree with the praise for Skagra. His quiet, stoic confidence makes him intimidating and a refreshing change from this era's usually flamboyant rogue's gallery. He goes into full maniacal mode later of course but compared to Soldeed he's positively restrained.
It's brilliant that you're reacting to this story sequentially, as in at its intended position as the final story of Season 17. It's also great that you've got hold of the episodic version as presented on both the Season 17 Blu-ray boxset and on BBC iPlayer, where is now officially presented at the end of the same season, as mentioned above.
It's history as a story is fascinating: cancelled due to strike action; adapted for both the written word and audio over the years, only a couple of those being official. Interestingly, the surviving footage was first seen - bar the punting on the Cam and an excerpt from another scene - on a 1992 VHS release, with Tom Baker providing in-vision linking narration. The partially animated version is now considered the definitive version, though.
That Gentleman is the College Porter. Every college in Oxford and Cambridge has one. It is indeed their job to greet people as they come and go, as well as 'guard' the college and assist people coming through.
He always reminds me about Porterhouse Blue ;-)
"At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant."
- The Novelisation of Shada.
Typical Adams
He uses gods existence/non existence as a plot in a few stories.
There's a well known interview with Tom a couple of years earlier, where he talks about how The Doctor - at least back then - was not really an acting part. He's not interested in relationships, he can't suddenly become 'gratuitously violent' (although we see that's not necessarily the case!), he is 'not at all acquisitive'. So from the actor's perspective, he was constantly faced with finding distractions for the kids rather than playing out a linear journey for the character. The humour therefore becomes a big part of that. He did, after all, once suggest his companion might be a talking cabbage.
I can also hear a similarity to Judi Dench in the voice of the ship. I believe it's actually Shirley Dixon who's doing the voice.
Someone has probably mentioned this already, but you may recognise Chris (Daniel Hill) as the man shouting "It's Harry Potter!" in Ministry of Magic in HP & the Deathly Hallows pt.1
This is the last 6-part story of the entire Classic Who.
"I was slightly concerned being that, you know, it's animated, it would not be a very slow-moving villain." 😂😂😂 Yes, it's not a true Classic Who monster if it moves too fast.
I'm really enjoying this. Half animated and half live action is probably not the ideal format, but they've done a good job, and it's a wonderful story.
Good point about Chris and Clare and their scientific curiosity.
I also thought the ship sounded like Judi Dench XD. Shirley Dixon is the voice, I only know her from the Bridget Jones movies.
Chronotis essentially existing outside of time - in a kind of temporal anteroom - seems to be quite a metaphysical statement; on a par with the 12th Doctor's lecture about moments in time running concurrently rather than consecutively. And it makes me think actually that our hero, when describing the nature of time, should be markedly less panicked about things that have gone wrong; because out there somewhere other things are going right. It's like the discussions that emerge when an episode takes place at roughly the same time as a previous episode, such as 'The End of the World' and 'The Ark'.
The ship is voiced by the actress Shirley Dixon, who kinda looks a wee bit like Judy Dench.
I don’t know if anyone told you already but I only just heard that Richard Franklin, who played your favourite, Mike Yates, died on Christmas Day just gone. 😢
The principal villain in this story Skagra is well awesome in billions of ways
I would have loved it if Chris and Claire had become the new companions - kind of like a new Ian & Barbara. Romana could have stayed on as a Cambridge lecturer.
What might have been... unfortunately, JN-T had other ideas...
I would love to see you react to the UK sitcom Waiting For God. It stars Graham Crowden (the glorious Soldeed from Horns of Nimon) and Daniel Hill (Chris aka Bristol from Shada)
Not the obvious sit-com for a sci-fi/fantasy reaction channel to start covering (That would be either Red Dwarf or the TV version of Hitchhiker's), but one I do remember fondly, so I can't say I'd be opposed to it. Barely, but fondly.
@@Stephen-Fox Yes I wasn't sure if it is something Jess would do but really a great commentary on the last chapter of life and losing your independence. Diana (Stephanie Cole) and Harvey Baines (Daniel Hill) the yuppie type manager of the retirement home, often butt heads with fantastic comedy but it could also have pathos. Graham Crowden is hilarious as Tom Ballard. If Jess doesn't react to it for the channel it would be worth a watch at some point. But yes, just a suggestion
This is my 1st time experiencing this story this way. I don't have the season blu-ray and no access to the iBCC player, so I'm getting it in bits and pieces. I've read so many of Douglas Adams books I do feel like I'm seeing more of those things and not enough of this story in particular. The actor playing Skagra reminds me too much of Julian Glover, the Professor reminds me of The 2nd Doctor, I might enjoy this more if I knew less, lol!
I would recommend the 'Shada' novelisation by Gareth Roberts. I couldn't put that book down ! Very funny. I love this story.
Shirley Dixon was the voice of The Ship. She and Dame Judi are about the dame age. Miss Dixon is from Manchester. Dame Judi is from York.
I will say Say Seska, Denis Carey who played the professor, had appeared in Blake,s Seven, and also Denis IMO reminded me of patrick Troughton in some ways and also I hope you can get to see and and react to Blake,s Seven if you have not already seen B7. I like your blue nail polish Seska it is lovely and also have fun watching and reacting to the rest of classic Dr Who.
I do say Seska this story is awesome in billions of ways, and Romans,s outfit is lovely and I think Chris Parsons seems awesome enough to be a companion to the Doctor.
Skagra's backstory - though barely touched upon - was intended to involve a schism in the Timelords, with a rival council of Cardinals on the planet Dronid. A reference to a time when two Pope's were elected: Urban VI by the Roman faction and Clement VII by the French faction, and sat in years opposite each other, each declaring the other to be an antipope.
Skagra would be from a people who were profounded affected by this rival faction of Time Lords in Exile trying to set up their own civilisation.
The Key Word here is intended, as this was obviously jettisoned before the episode was even filmed, but like many "Deleted" concepts, it survives in Faction Paradox, and the sight of the War in Heaven - a Time War that (now) never happened.
Faction Paradox is a Book Only group of time traveling anarchist. Anti-Timelords who believe that cause and effect is a form of tyranny. Their existence is very meta, as to join the Faction, they are required to delete themselves from history by murdering their own ancestors so they were never born.
Hilariously, his concept is taken to meta levels, they include among their also includes Kelsy Hooper (The deleted character from the Pilot Episode of the Sarah Jane adventures), and the Version of Amy Pond who now never existed, in the Two Streams Facility. (Amy's Choice). One of their home bases is Dronid: A meta commentry on this abandoned concept which never made it out of the writers room.
If I may ask Seska have you ever seen, Blake,s Seven one of the top ten billion sci-fi series which ran from 1978 to 1981 and if not do you think there is any chance you may view and react to Blake,s Seven in the future please.
I'd say Blake's 7 is in the top ten rather than top ten billion ! Number2 for me behind Classic Who. Positions 3 to 5 for me , UFO The Prisoner and Thriller (1973-76) created by Brian Clemens.
And so we come to the end of Series 17. I will be interested in seeing your reaction to Series 18. I think you'll be impressed...
I sometimes wonder how often the invisible spaceship idea has been used. We know the Tardis is capable of doing this too (particularly when sneaking into the Oval Office), but was it not originally intended to be cloaked rather than camouflaged? My lore is very lax these days.
I love your reactions
At first i even keep up with you, but now i am way ahead of you (i am on the 6th doctor and evelyn adventures)
I wish you all good and good health
Thank you very much for your Classic Who reactions
It's great you are doing the audio adventures as these are where the sixth doctor really shines. Especially with Evelyn who was a great companion for him.
There’s a new Classic Doctor Who minisode that aired today, hoping you can react to it. It was made to promote the season 15 classic blu-ray set and is well worth a watch & reaction before it is spoiled.
This does seem like your kind of story. Lots of K9, fabulous outfits and "shenanigans".
Forget Skagra's outfit being fabulous...... you're nails were fabulous 😅
@sesskasays - When you are looking for your next reaction show. Please, please please do BBC Spooks (mi5) it's amazing and I know you will love it.
Is the bowler hat guy Ronnie Corbett?
I think it's Gerald Campion. If it is, he played Billy Bunter of Greyfriars School in a 1950s tv adaptation of the books by Frank Richards.
Hey sesskasays! It's driving me a little crazy by now, so i just want to get something out: You're the most beautiful girl i have ever seen in my life! Embarrassing, but i feel better now.🙈Greetings from northern Europe
U look soo soooooooo good in curly hair btw , keep them curly and i can i get your insta?