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TARDIS Guide

Overview

Released

Saturday, September 2, 1995

Written by

Marc Platt

Directed by

Christopher Barry

Runtime

70 minutes

Location (Potential Spoilers!)

New World University

Synopsis

Retired commander of the United Nations' Intelligence Taskforce, and long-time associate of the mysterious time traveler the Doctor, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart faces the toughest battle of his military career when he is embroiled in a plot unwittingly set in motion by university chancellor Victoria Waterfield, herself a former companion of the Doctor, to take over the Earth by an evil alien entity called the Great Intelligence, aided by its ferocious robot Yeti cohorts. Can the Brigadier defeat this menace to the Earth without the Doctor's help?

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2 reviews

i ended up watching this on a rainy day wouldnt watch this on a sunny day


This review contains spoilers!

I came into this with extremely low expectations off the back of Wartime, but this second effort from Reeltime Productions is a great leap forward in terms of quality. More importantly it *feels* like Doctor Who and builds on characters we love with care. If you think about how uselessly Sarah-Jane, the Brigadier and Victoria Waterfield were used in Dimensions in Time - you can't even compare what they managed to achieve here.

Marc Platt and Christopher Barry lend a professional touch to the production. It’s exciting to see what the classic series would have looked like in 1995. Very different from the revival the world would discover the following year. The only thing that really dates Downtime (given that 90s clothes are back in fashion) is the alien fascination with "personal computers" and the "internet". Hilarious.

As a fan of The Abominable Snowman and The Web of Fear it is rewarding to see this long overdue sequel. The Yetis could look better, but sensibly most of the action is kept to the humans (possessed or otherwise) and the invisible Great Intelligence. The plot serves the characters well and the drama builds nicely. I'm not a huge fan of the "mysterious" black and white scenes, but they make sense. Kate Lethbridge-Stewart works a charm and getting a sense of how this down and out Brigadier is fairing is exciting. It feels both true to the character and like their pushing the envelope.

We are so lucky that fans worked so hard for us to have this gem, even if it is a bit rough around the edges.


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AVG. Rating23 members
2.96 / 5

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AVG. Rating7 votes
2.50 / 5

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Quotes

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PROFESSOR TRAVERS: I died fifteen years ago. Saw it in the times. "Professor Edward Travers, CBE. Silly old fool. No flowers, by request." But they still sent them. No one listens.

— Edward Travers, Downtime