Movies – Well Eye Never

Doctor Who Review – The Movie (30th Anniversary Blu-ray)

My interest in Doctor Who has mainly been confined to the Modern era from the 2005 reboot onwards, as that was when I first got into it, and I’ve been gradually revisiting and reviewing those series in recent years. It looks like I now have quite a bit of time to complete those reviews too, given that the show is going on hiatus again.

However, I have very little experience of the Classic era. I was still in my childhood for most of the Wilderness Years, when the programme was off air between 1989 and 2005, so it wasn’t a big part of my life growing up.

I did of course become aware of the show, particularly via a couple of charity specials that were broadcast on TV in the 90s, because it is a British institution that is deeply embedded in popular culture. It’s impossible to live here in the UK and not know about it. But I was too young to care. It was just one of those many old programmes that the adults used to watch, and it had long gone. And since getting into the Modern era, I’ve only seen occasional stories from the old days, either in their original form or via modern re-edits.

During its 16-year absence, however, there was an attempt to bring the show back in 1996, via a feature-length American TV pilot simply known as Doctor Who: The Movie, featuring Paul McGann as the 8th Doctor. A lot of fans in the UK liked it, but there wasn’t enough interest in the States to resurrect the show fully.

So it completely passed me by at the time. But I did eventually see it many years later, on Netflix in December 2013, when it was available there alongside a tiny selection of Classic era episodes that I also watched. I had taken the opportunity to check out those stories because of the 50th anniversary of the show – which means my first experience of Paul McGann had actually been his Night Of The Doctor mini-episode the previous month, showing his regeneration into the War Doctor. And as it happens I’ve recently seen that story again, having just rewatched the 50th anniversary specials during May. He also later made a cameo in The Power Of The Doctor in 2022 that I enjoyed.

12½ years on from my one and only viewing, therefore, I have no clear recollection of the film or whether I liked it. So buying the new 30th anniversary Blu-ray is a bit of a gamble for me, but a fascinating one too, as it’s my first proper deep dive into any Doctor Who story before 2005. It feels like I’m watching the movie for the first time again, and all of the special features (apart from the trailer for this release) are completely new to me, as I’ve never owned any previous editions.

So join me as I experience the movie in all its remastered glory and explore all the bonus material. I’ve also put together a playlist of highlights, music tracks, interviews, convention appearances, etc that you can look through too. I hope you enjoy!

Queen Album Review – Flash Gordon

Following on from my recent review of Queen’s first album of the 1980s, The Game, their next release was something very different, providing their first ever soundtrack for the sci-fi movie Flash Gordon.

It only has a couple of songs and a bunch of instrumentals, and therefore wasn’t as successful as their normal studio albums. But it did peak at number 10 in the UK albums chart, for 1 week out of its total 9 in the top 40, which is respectable.

A photo of Freddie Mercury singing into a microphone, while wearing a white t-shirt with the word Flash in large red letters on it. The photo is from the booklet with the Flash Gordon album, with a yellow streak of lightning above him.

A photo of Brian May playing guitar from the booklet with the Flash Gordon album, with a yellow streak of lightning above him.

I do have the album in my collection for completeness, but I rarely listen to it, partly because it isn’t anywhere near as good as their other stuff, but also because I’ve never actually watched the film before – until now. Given my love of Queen I always knew I ought to see it one day, but I didn’t think I’d be very interested in it from the clips I’d seen.

And to be honest, having now viewed it properly for the purposes of this review, my assumption was correct. I appreciate it’s a cult classic that is basically the comic strip brought to life, and Queen’s music does give it a boost. And chances are it’s a case of “you had to be there”, as I wasn’t born when it was released, whereas a lot of fans grew up with it. But unlike other surreal, low-budget masterpieces like The Rocky Horror Picture Show that I love, this movie simply doesn’t grab me. It just feels very dated with a nonsensical plot, poor performances (except perhaps for Brian Blessed and Max von Sydow), cringeworthy dialogue and substandard special effects even for its time. For some people its flaws are a big part of its charm, meaning it’s so bad it’s good, but I just can’t get on board with it. It just feels like some strange fever dream! Still, I’m glad I gave it a go, so I have a better frame of reference at least.

So this post is just going to be a quick run-through of Queen’s music on the album, along with some live versions, remixes and covers, as I have nothing else to say about the film itself. And that means it’s going to be short compared to my other Queen reviews, but I hope you find it interesting nonetheless.

February & March 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope your year’s been going well so far, and you’re enjoying the Easter weekend. For me, the first few months of 2026 have been a transition period, as I’ve been making the switch from my support worker role to a new zero-hours contract as an accessibility tester, so I can focus more on caring for my mother and looking after my own wellbeing. You can find out more about all of that in my latest Carer & Career Update post.

Because of that, along with the often cold and wet weather, I haven’t done many interesting things in London since my January Favourites. I’ve been out for a few walks, got a haircut and done some shopping when the weather allows, but that’s it – until very recently, when I saw my first theatre show of the year with a friend of mine, which was a much-needed bit of light relief.

So in this post I’ll be talking about my theatre visit, which involved a touch tour and audio description, as well as the variety of entertainment I’ve been enjoying at home. None of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual, and I hope you find it interesting!

The Sweeney – 50th Anniversary Review

Five decades on from its initial broadcast, The Sweeney remains one of the all-time classic cop shows, with one of the greatest theme tunes as well (by Harry South). Back in the 1970s, it was notable for its gritty realism, action sequences and violence, and for shining a light on the imperfections within the police force, from innocent mistakes and failed investigations to casual rule-breaking and outright corruption. British police dramas had largely shied away from the more illicit and brutal aspects of the job until then, but this tackled them head-on, so it really stood out.

Created by Ian Kennedy Martin, it starred the magnificent John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan alongside the equally brilliant Dennis Waterman as Detective Sergeant George Carter, with Garfield Morgan as their boss Frank Haskins, all of whom are sadly no longer with us. Their characters worked for the Flying Squad – known in Cockney rhyming slang as Sweeney Todd, hence the show’s title – and were normal, vulnerable human beings with their own problems like the rest of us, rather than flawless superhero crime-solvers. They didn’t always get the results they wanted, and when they did it wasn’t always in a tidy or strictly legal manner. So they were relatable to the audience in many ways, even if they were stronger and more courageous than most of us. And in amongst all of the drama they had occasional moments of humour too, as in a dark job like that you need moments of light relief.

There was an impressive roster of guest stars as well, with a lot of current or future big names from stage and screen popping up in many of the episodes, giving the show even more gravitas and credibility. It’s a further testament to the quality of the writing that many of them were tempted to get involved in the first place. It was a real mark of pride to have The Sweeney on one’s CV.

At long last the show has now been remastered and released in its entirety on Blu-ray, with 50th anniversary editions having gone on sale between June 2025 and February 2026 for Series 1, 2, 3 & 4, all of which I’ve bought to replace my old DVDs (so nothing here is gifted or sponsored). It’s been the perfect excuse for me to revisit the show, having not watched it for quite a while. So here are my brief reviews of all the episodes and extras from the box sets, and I hope you enjoy!

Christmas 2025 Favourites – Part 2

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a wonderful time this festive season. Or if it’s been a difficult period, or even a tough year overall, then I hope 2026 works out better for you.

My mother and I are certainly hoping it will be more positive after everything we’ve been through in the last 12 months. I’ve written a lot about being a carer for her, and recently brought our story up to date by reflecting on the year and the considerable progress we’ve made. We did have a lovely, relaxing, over-indulgent Christmas, I’m pleased to say, so that’s put us in the right frame of mind for the year ahead. The future of my job is very uncertain, granted, but whatever happens with that I’ll be alright. So fingers crossed things continue to go well for us.

I previously posted about the things I enjoyed during the advent period leading up to Christmas, so now it’s time to catch up with all the other entertainment that’s been keeping me occupied since then. So let’s jump straight into it, and I hope you enjoy!

June 2025 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re all doing well. Those of you who saw last month’s roundup will know that I’m going through a difficult patch at the moment because of my mother’s health. We have started to get a bit of help, in terms of medical assistance and reaching out to support services, all of which takes time, and I will explain more in due course. Suffice to say for now that going totally blind has naturally had a big impact on her mental health and sleep, and by extension has affected my wellbeing as her carer. We are ok, but certain aspects are quite difficult to deal with

As a result, I’m not making videos to go with these posts for the time being, as it’s just not practical right now and I want to make things easier for myself. It also means I’m not doing as much out and about as usual, as my caring role is dominating my time much more than it used to – and I am therefore starting to explore the support that’s available for carers.

However, I did manage to go to the theatre a couple of times with friends early in the month, which I was really grateful for, as I needed to confide in them about what’s been going on, and the shows were great escapism, especially because of the touch tours and audio description.

So I’ve got those shows to tell you about, as well as some bits and pieces I’ve been watching at home, and none of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual. So let’s get on with it, and I hope you enjoy!

Back To The Future Trilogy Review

This week marks 40 years since the time-travelling classic Back To The Future was released on July 3, 1985. So it’s been the perfect excuse for me to watch the trilogy again recently, starring Michael J. Fox as young Marty McFly, alongside Christopher Lloyd as the eccentric Doc Brown with his DeLorean time machine. Created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, with impressive special effects for the time by Industrial Light & Magic, beautiful scores by Alan Silvestri, and great songs by the likes of Huey Lewis & The News and ZZ Top, the films are all very entertaining and still hold up really well today.

A couple of years ago I saw the musical, which was fun apart from missing out on the touch tour, and I rewatched the first film online back then to refresh my memory. But I haven’t seen the other 2 instalments since my youth and didn’t really remember them after all this time. So I’ve revisited them all at last by watching the trilogy on Blu-ray, which I bought a while ago but ended up setting aside for this big anniversary to go through it all. All of the films have been remastered of course, so they all look and sound really good.

This therefore marks the first time in decades I’ve seen all three films, and the first time ever that I’ve watched any of the bonus material. And it’s been a lot of fun. So I hope you enjoy this little run-through of it all as my tribute to this timeless trilogy.

Back cover of the Blu-ray for Back To The Future - The Ultimate Trilogy, showing four small screenshots from the films and an extensive list of special features.

April 2025 Favourites

Hey there, hope you had a wonderful Easter and a lovely April in general. This has been my busiest month for a while, as there’s lots to mention in terms of outings, including social events, a musical and a concert, along with TV shows and films I’ve been watching at home.

The concert I went to was a PR invite for me to review, but otherwise nothing is sponsored to appear here, and in any case all opinions are my own as usual. So let’s jump straight into April’s post and video roundup, and I hope you enjoy!

February 2025 Favourites

Hello again. After a nice quiet January, this has been a slightly busier month for me, as I paid a visit to Kew Gardens to see their Orchid Festival, and I went to the cinema with a couple of friends. The latter in turn led to me watching a few more animated films at home, which has been a bit of a theme recently given my previous reviews of Wallace & Gromit and other Aardman productions, although this time they’re Disney films. So there are a few bits and pieces to mention in this month’s post and video, none of which is sponsored or gifted as usual, and I hope you enjoy!

Disney Reviews – The Lion King & Aladdin

For several years now, Disney have been remaking and adapting some of their old animated films with live action or photorealistic animation for modern audiences. Beginning with The Jungle Book, there were a small number of these remakes produced between 1994 and 2010, but since 2014 it’s become a regular occurrence, with one or two films released every year. And there are at least 8 more in the pipeline.

Until recently I hadn’t seen any of those remakes (nor the original films either in some cases), because I just haven’t been interested in checking them out, and I’m perfectly happy with the classic movies I’m familiar with. The one exception was Beauty & The Beast that I saw in 2017, and that was only because I was taking part in a trial of an audio description app that happened to be using that film.

However, this month I decided to do an old vs new comparison of two of my all-time favourite Disney movies that I did watch in my childhood – The Lion King and Aladdin – both of which had remakes released in 2019.

This came about because I recently visited the cinema with a couple of friends to see the Mufasa prequel to the modern Lion King. So it made sense to watch the original Lion King again and compare it with the remake that I’ve never seen before. That meant I had to reactivate my Disney+ subscription for a month, so while I was there I thought I would check out Aladdin as well. And in both cases I discovered that Disney+ has extra features and even the direct-to-video sequels of the original films. So I figured I may as well look through all of that stuff.

As a result I then ended up buying the original films and their video sequels on Blu-ray and DVD, because having rewatched them after all these years I still find them enjoyable, especially the originals. I haven’t got the editions with the most extra features on them, partly because they’re not widely available now but also because I don’t need them anyway. I just went for the editions that were easiest to get hold of and I’m perfectly happy with those. And I’m not interested in owning the remakes, because while they’re interesting to see once out of curiosity, they simply aren’t as good or necessary.

So with all that said, here are my reviews of the films, along with their sequels and extras, and I hope you enjoy!

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