Doctor Who Terminus (1983) part 1

It's a mad old tale is Terminus and one that probably only a hardened Doctor Who fan is going sit through.

The story set on the titular Terminus, a space station where they send all the victims of the incurable Lazars disease and ends with the big bang that created the universe.

Somewhere in amongst all of that there's a giant humanoid space dog called The Garm (which I like for all the wrong reasons), Nyssa, The Doctor's assistant strips down to her underwear (which I like for all the right reasons) and then there are these pair of space pirates.

That's right, the thigh slapping, "it's behind you" kind of pirates.  Dangerous like a disco is dangerous.


Steve

Doctor Who The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit (2006)

A rather lovely little number this, inspired by NASA’s orange space shuttle suits with helmets built upon and around this...

which is a SCOTT safety Helmet. 

The story is set way in the future on Sanctuary Base 6, a space base on the surface of a planet which is somewhat impossibly orbiting a black hole.  It’s a cracking two parter with plenty of suspense and spooks to go round and well worth checking out if you haven’t had the pleasure yet.

A revamp of this suit appears the following year in the episode; 42 and the actual suit seen here and borrowed by The Doctor in these episodes turns up again a whole three years later when the Timelord goes a visiting Mars intent on a little stroll.

It's all been blogged so go check it out.


Steve

Doctor Who The Waters of Mars (2009) part 2

The Waters of Mars sees the return of the Sanctuary Base 6 space suit borrowed by The Doctor some three years earlier in the 2006 two part story; The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. 

It’s probably a budgeting issue that made them reuse the suit from a previous story but it does add a nice touch of continuity as we never actually see the Doctor give it back at the end of The Satan Pit.

This casual thieving of costumes might also explain why the TARDIS has need for such a capacious wardrobe.  So raise your hand if you've ever borrowed something that didn't belong to you and sort of forgot to give it back.

Guilty it seems but then that's how he acquired the TARDIS so he's been at it from the start.

Steve

Doctor Who 42 (2007)

I’m always a little disappointed by Chris Chibnall’s scripts which has nothing whatsoever to do with space suits but I felt  the need to say that by way of saying something, anything about this episode of Doctor Who.

At its heart it probably has the nub of a good idea but in its execution it’s functional at its best.  Maybe it’s because he lurks in the shadow of much cleverer writers and stories but Chibnall’s efforts always seem to be missing that little spark of originality and very rarely surprise or confound... which is a prerequisite of any good Doctor Who episode I always thought.

Anyway... space suits.  This one looks similar to those seen in The Satan Pit, which I like to think links the two stories to a shared universe but in truth is just a custom rebuild upon the original in order to save costs.

Nothing wrong with it really....  It does the job.
Oops! There I go talking about Mr Chibnall's scripts again.


Steve

Doctor Who The Waters of Mars (2009) - part 1

This is the space suit seen in the first few minutes of the 2009 Doctor Who special; The Waters of Mars.  It’s glimpsed only briefly and worn by Bowie Base crew member; Yuri Kerenski .  Set in the year 2059 this represents cutting edge technology for Earth’s first Martian pioneers.

Its alright this and a good effort for something that's only on the screen for a short scene.  I'm sort of surprised we haven't seen this again in a future episode.


Steve

Doctor Who The Invisible Enemy (1977)

The Invisible Enemy is the story of a sentient space virus that takes over the crew of the Titan shuttle.  The same virus also infects The Doctor’s brain and a cloned version, along with one of the lovely Leela, has to be miniaturised and sent in to root the nucleus out.

It’s all a bit of a homage to the 1966 film; Fantastic Voyage but it is perhaps most fondly remembered for being the story that first introduced K9, The Doctor’s much loved robot dog.  Or disliked for exactly the same reason depending on how you feel about the metal mutt.

Thinking about spacesuits in Doctor Who, I had forgotten about this one but once remembered I have to say that what we see on screen is rather splendid and actually looks like they’ve had a few quid spent on them. 

It also looks like elements of this suit were used again in the Blake’s 7 episode; Voices of the Past a couple of years later.  There's a blog post so go check it out.

Crackin stuff.


Steve

Doctor Who Nightmare of Eden (1979)

The Nightmare of Eden is another sci-fi romp for Tom Baker in the guise of the 4^th incarnation of The Doctor.  I was 11 when I first saw this and I still remember it quite well from that single viewing.  I remember the two spaceships that get merged together, the monstrous Mandrels that roam the ships corridors and even the twist ending about the source of the drug Vraxoin.

What I don’t recall though are these two space-chaps, suited up on the cheap with silver jump-suits and a couple of motor-bike helmets.

Classic Who on a classic Who budget.  Lovely!

Steve