Tuesday evening saw the National Film Theatre play host to a special showing of the forthcoming Sarah Jane Adventures story featuring special guest stars Katy Manning and Matt Smith, Death of the Doctor. I won't spoil the story for people, but suffice it to say it was very enjoyable and a veritable nostalgia-fest for us oldies who remember Jo Grant from our childhood!

It was followed by a Q&A with Elisabeth Sladen and Katy Manning, plus script editor Gary Russell, SJA writer Joseph Lidster and branding manager Edward Russell. Plenty of discussion about the series, not to mention the influence of Russell T Davies. At the end of the panel both Katy and Lis paid tribute to Barry Letts, who was responsible for the creation of both of their characters alongside Terrance Dicks (and Robert Holmes - who wrote both their first stories, they forgot that!).

A sample of photos, there are some more on Facebook!


Katy Manning and Elisabeth Sladen pay tribute to the late, great Barry Letts

For those who don't know, Doctor Who Live is a stage show based on the series, featuring a wide array of monsters that have featured in recent years, and wrapped up in a loose plot to bring them all together. Plus lots of music from the series!

It actually works rather well! Don't set your expectations too high, obviously, as it is aimed for children of course and has to work in a live environment, but the basic premise of using the concepts from the classic story Carnival of Monsters to present the monsters was a great idea.

Nigel Planer was great as the main protagonist, and Nick Briggs did a great job as Churchill, as well as the voices of several of the monsters of course. And the monsters did their thing, wandering through the audiences, too. Plus of course the Doctor himself, virtually.

Generally this came across very prom-like, and I think that's probably the main gripe in that it is way more expensive to see than the proms (even the most expensive tickets). So is it worth seeing? Well, if you enjoy the Who music and seeing the monsters then a definite yes!

A few photos here, there are many more on Facebook!


A little bit of audience participation!