Peter Hawkins
To coincide with a new era for Doctor Who we take a nostalgic look back at the glory days of the programme in a tribute to its unsigned heroes. Ever wondered what it’s like inside a Dalek? How, exactly, of you portray a Fish Person? What was it like recording Doctor Who during its 26 year run? And just how do you get to be a Doctor Who monster? Now you can find out as, for the very first time, we speak to the men and women who ensured we spend out Saturday nights behind the sofa. Their stories are funny, moving, unbelievable and sometimes tragic. Presented by the seventh Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, and containing unique film and newly discovered photographs, this all adds up to an entertaining trip down memory lane – go on treat yourself to a slice of nostalgia!
Wallace falls in love with wool-shop owner Wendolene, not suspecting that she (or rather, her dog) is at the head of a fiendish sheep-rustling plot. Gromit is set up and jailed, but his new-found sheepish friend is determined to give Wallace a helping hand in finding out the real truth.
Gromit finds himself being pushed out of his room and home by a new lodger who is actually a ruthless criminal (and a small penguin). The penguin is planning a robbery and needs to use Wallace and his mechanical remote controlled trousers to pull off the raid. However, Gromit is wise to the penguin and comes to the rescue.
Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese and this provides an excellent excuse for the animated duo to take their holiday on the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese. The moon is inhabited by a mechanical caretaker, who is not too happy about the two visitors from earth that nibble on the moon.
Penny Crayon is a children's television series that was produced for the BBC in the United Kingdom in 1989. It was first broadcast on BBC One from 14 September 1989 to 1 October 1990 and was made by Maddocks Animation, which had previously produced Jimbo and the Jet Set and The Family-Ness. Penny Crayon is a thirteen episode programme about the adventures of a mischievous schoolgirl who loves to draw. Using the magic crayons she always carries with her she brings everything she draws to life, usually creating a world of chaos for her and best friend Dennis until it's either rubbed out or washed away. Penny Crayon is voiced by comedian Su Pollard and Dennis is voiced by Peter Hawkins.
Jimbo and the Jet Set is a British animated cartoon series broadcast in the 1980s, featuring the adventures of the eponymous Jimbo, a talking aeroplane. Created by Maddocks Cartoon Productions, it originally ran for 25 episodes between 1985 and 1986. The premise of the cartoon is that Jimbo was originally intended to be a Jumbo Jet, but his designer could not tell the difference between inches and centimetres, resulting in his diminutive size. If Jimbo's designer switched the imperial measurements of the Boeing 747 for metric, the result would have been an aircraft with a fuselage length of 91 ft; this would make Jimbo roughly the length of an early-series Boeing 737. The television series features various talking airport-type ground vehicles: Tommy Tow-Truck, Claude Catering, Amanda Baggage, Phil the Fuel Truck, Sammy Steps and Harry Helicopter. Other plane characters appear from time to time, such as Old Timer, a Vickers Wellington bomber who gets into the story while flying to or from an airshow. The story is based at a fictional "London Airport", under the command of an irate controller who frequently ends episodes screaming "I want words with you, Jimbo!".
The Family-Ness is a British cartoon series produced in 1983. It was first broadcast on BBC One from 5 October 1984 to 5 April 1985, and it was created by Peter Maddocks of Maddocks Cartoon Productions. Maddocks later went on to produce Penny Crayon and Jimbo and the Jet Set in a similar style. Family-Ness was about the adventures of a family of Loch Ness Monsters and the MacTout family, particularly siblings Elspeth and Angus. The 'Nessies' could be called from the loch by the two children by means of their "thistle whistles". The series was followed with a large collection of merchandising including annuals, story books, character models and even a record. The single "You'll Never Find a Nessie in the Zoo" was written by Roger and Gavin Greenaway, but never made it into the Top 40.
SuperTed is a Welsh fictional anthropomorphic bear character created by Mike Young. Originally created by Young as a series of stories to help his son overcome his fear of the dark, SuperTed became a popular series of books and led to an animated series produced from 1982 to 1986.
Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk is a children's cartoon series produced by Bob Godfrey's Movie Emporium.
Paul Freeman (of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK fame) and Kate O'Mara plays a couple who can't have a baby, so they go to the doctor to have an artificial insemination...blackmail, dark secrets and drama ensue.
An animated film about the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who spearheaded numerous engineering marvels of the early 19th century - including the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western Railway, and the Great Eastern steamship (for 40 years the world's largest steamship). Various styles of animation are used to depict events in his colorful life.
The Second Doctor and Jamie arrive on what appears to be a space station called the "Wheel in Space" it's here that they meet Zoe Herriot a young parapsychology librarian, The Doctor hits his head concussing him leaving Jamie and Zoe to defend off the Cybermen from taking over "The Wheel in Space."
Aided by his two assistants Jamie and Victoria, the Doctor lands the TARDIS on Telos, last resting place of the infamous Cybermen. There he discovers a band of archaelogists on a secret expedition to unearth the reason for his old enemies' extinction. In the underground shadowy depths, they find the icy tomb. A whole army in hibernation. A threat to no one, if the temperature remains low. But if the traitor in their midst gets his way, things could really heat up.
The TARDIS arrives in 2070 on the Moon, where a weather control station under the command of a man named Hobson is in the grip of a plague epidemic — in reality the result of an alien poison planted by the Cybermen. Jamie is knocked unconscious and lapses into a delirium, leaving the Second Doctor, Ben, and Polly to fight off a massive Cyberman attack.
The Daleks draft the Second Doctor into distilling the Human Factor. Once implanted, it will make the Dalek race invincible. Jamie's faith in the Doctor is stretched to the limit as the Doctor appears to be collaborating with the Daleks. The Doctor has a few tricks up his sleeve, but then again so might the Daleks.
The Doctor's TARDIS lands at the Snowcap space tracking station in Antarctica in December 1986. A routine space mission starts going wrong. When the base personnel's suspicions are roused, the Doctor informs them that the space capsule is being affected by the gravitational pull of another planet — a tenth planet in the Solar system.
In the year 4000, the Daleks conspire to conquer the Solar System. Their scheme involves treachery at the highest levels and a weapon capable of destroying the very fabric of time. Only the Doctor and his friends can prevent catastrophe — and there is no guarantee they will escape with their lives...
Following the Doctor's regeneration into a new, younger body, the TARDIS lands at an Earth colony on the planet Vulcan in the far future. Mistaken for an official Earth Examiner, the Doctor discovers that a scientist called Lesterson is attempting to reactivate two inanimate, subservient Daleks found in a crashed space rocket. The colonists refuse to heed the Doctor's dire warnings that the Daleks are dangerous.
The travellers learn from the Time-Space Visualiser taken from the Moroks' museum that Daleks, equipped with their own time machine, are on their trail with orders to exterminate them. They flee in the TARDIS. The chase begins on the desert planet Aridius and takes in a number of stopping-off points, including a spooky haunted house which is actually a futuristic fun-fair attraction.
The TARDIS jumps a time track and the travellers arrive on the planet Xeros. There they discover their own future selves displayed as exhibits in a museum established as a monument to the galactic conquests of the warlike Morok invaders who now rule the planet. When time shifts back to normal, they realise that they must do everything they can to avert this potential future. Vicki helps the native Xerons obtain arms and revolt against the Moroks. The revolution succeeds and the travellers go on their way, confident that the future has been changed.
The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Susan, Barbara, and Ian to the planet Skaro where they meet two indigenous races — the Daleks, malicious mutant creatures encased in armoured travel machines, and the Thals, beautiful humanoids with pacifist principles. They convince the Thals of the need to fight for their own survival.
The TARDIS returns to London; however, it's the 22nd century. With bodies in the river, and quiet in the docklands, the city is a very different place. The Daleks have invaded and it's up to the Doctor to thwart them once again.
