Inmate at the Asylum of the Daleks!!

After a long hiatus, the Doctor, the Daleks and I are back! Sorry it's taken me so long to blog but it's been a busy summer. I've been bouncing between classic episodes and new ones.

As we approach the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who next year, the final DVDs of the existing classic episodes are being released. Over the summer, some real classics came out.

 Patrick Troughton's 2nd Doctor has the most episodes missing from the back catalog so any release of his is so precious. While the Krotons has never been ranked as a fan favorite, it does show the 2nd Doctor, Jamie and Zoe and classic form. It's a delight to watch them play off each other as they fight the Croutons!

 Death to the Daleks is the final complete classic Dalek episode to be released and the 3rd last of the 3rd Doctor (Ambassadors of Death and the Mind of Evil are forthcoming). I have such fond memories of this story from my childhood and all these years later, it still holds up. It's so bittersweet to see Liz Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith with Jon Pertwee's 3rd Doctor. Although they are no longer with us, their work and their memories will live with us forever. This episode also marks the last appearance of the Daleks without Davros in the classic series, and I think they're jolly good in it.

The latest classic release completes the Sylvester McCoy era. I don't think The Greatest Show in the Galaxy was broadcast on my local PBS station, so I didn't see it until it was released on VHS in the mid to late 90's. Season 25 had it's ups and downs with the great Remembrance of the Daleks and Silver Nemesis, while the more off beat Happiness Patrol and Greatest Show were not favorites. I wish they has made this a 3 episode story and made Silver Nemesis a 4 part story. While it is classic 7th Doctor/Ace, the story wanders and the cast are all over the place. But it does leave the viewer with an impression of the Doctor that will take us through to the end of the classic series.

Which brings us to tonight's premiere of Series 7 or Season 33 or Year 3! It's been over 8 months since last we saw the 11th Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe. It's been two years since we had a proper Dalek story and this seems to bring them back in full force. After their annual appearance during the RTD era, they've been very scarce under the Grand Moff.

Amazingly, this is only the 4th times in the shows almost 50 year history that the Daleks have kicked off a new season (Day of the Daleks, Destiny of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks and now Asylum of the Daleks). This episode also kicks off the final 5 episodes of Amy and Rory. While I've enjoyed the Pond's time in the TARDIS, I think their departure is past due. I'm looking forward to the new girl who is scheduled to debut in this year's Christmas special. It's simply a great time to be a Doctor Who fan. :)

Special Weapons Dalek- FIRE!!