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Former Doctor Who star Peter Purves has complained that the modern version of the Disney+ show is "too sophisticated." Purves played companion Steven Taylor between 1965 and 1966.

Purves' character was a memorable part of the First Doctor era of Doctor Who, before much of the mythology behind The Doctor had been developed. For example, the concept of regeneration had not yet been introduced during Steven's travels with the First Doctor, nor had there been much exploration of the Time Lord race.

Peter Purves Shares His Complaints About Modern Doctor Who

According to BBC News, Purves shared his thoughts on the current version of Doctor Who while attending an unofficial exhibit for the show at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery. He called modern Who "far too sophisticated for [his] simple brain."

"We used to have stories that were very simple, you went from there to there, you had a cliffhanger at the end of an episode,...

The Master may not have been part of Doctor Who from the beginning, but portents of their arrival were present as early as the First Doctor's era. Blessed with many great monsters Doctor Who may be, but few of them can hold a candle to the Master. As an evil Time Lord and the Doctor's personal rival, the Master is arguably - Daleks be damned - Doctor Who's defining nemesis. In official terms, the Master, played by Roger Delgado, first appeared in 1971's "Terror of the Autons," facing off against Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor.

It is remarkable in hindsight how fully-formed the Master was during his debut episode. From the smarmy arrogance to his barely-concealed envy of the Doctor, Delgado immediately laid the foundations of a character that has since been portrayed by a number of different actors. From Anthony Ainley to Sacha Dhawan, all actors to play the...

The Master may have been introduced earlier than thought, possibly as the War Chief in "The War Games". The War Chief being a separate entity from the Master is supported by behind-the-scenes details and expanded media. The War Chief serves as a prototype for the Master, setting up a new era for Doctor Who with Unit and Time Lord villains.

It's long been theorized that the Doctor's arch-nemesis, the Master, caused the regeneration of the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), two years before his official debut in the Jon Pertwee era of Doctor Who. Although the best known of the Doctor's Time Lord foes, the Master was actually the third villainous Gallifreyan introduced to Doctor Who. The Meddling Monk (Peter Butterworth) appeared opposite William Hartnell's First Doctor in both "The Time Meddler" and "The Daleks' Master Plan", while Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor faced off against the War Chief (Edward Brayshaw...

The Toymaker is confirmed as the main villain for Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials, marking the character's return since 1966. The Toymaker is one of the few returning foes from the William Hartnell era, with most villains being historical characters or non-returnable aliens. There have been attempts to bring back the Meddling Monk in Doctor Who, but none have been successful so far; their return could bring a fresh dynamic to the show's Time Lord villains.

The return of the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) for Doctor Who's 2023 anniversary specials reveals some harsh truths about the William Hartnell era. It was confirmed by the BBC that the main villain in the 60th anniversary will be the Toymaker who makes their return in the series for the first time since his debut in 1966. Despite the serial being mostly missing, it's had a considerable impact on Doctor Who, giving its name to...

Doctor Who audio drama actor Rufus Hound rather creatively expresses his interest in reprising his role of the classic series villain The Meddling Monk. The character was the first Time Lord other than the Doctor to appear in the series, crossing paths with William Hartnell's First Doctor in 1965's "The Time Meddler." The Monk was portrayed by Peter Butterworth in "The Time Meddler" and "The Dalek's Master Plan," and has been voiced by Hound, Graeme Garden, and Game of Thrones' Gemma Whelan in Big Finish's audio dramas.

While Hound is set to reprise his role as the Monk in Big Finish's Doctor Who 60th anniversary adventure Once & Future, the actor now shares his hopes to reprise the role on television one day.

Just to let you and the fandom know, if anyone else ever gets to play The Monk on television before me, I will track them down and kill them.

After several appearances since Doctor Who returned in 2005, the Doctor's Time Lord nemesis the Master could be replaced by two other meddlesome time travelers from the show's history. Introduced in 1971's serial Terror of the Autons, the Master was devised by executive producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks as Moriarty to the Third Doctor's Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to Roger Delgado's iconic performance as the Master, and his interplay with Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee, the character became the best-known of the Doctor's Time Lord foes.

The Master wasn't the first of the Doctor's fellow Time Lords to go rogue, however, and both William Hartnell's First Doctor, and Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor faced off against their own Gallifreyan villains. Patrick Troughton's epic final serial The War Games - which also featured the Second Doctor's forced regeneration - forced the Doctor to seek assistance from his people...

BBC

Doctor Who has a fine tradition of casting excellent guest stars right from the start. The black and white years were graced by high calibre thespians such as Julian Glover in The Crusade and well known actors such as Peter Butterworth as the Meddling Monk and Bernard Bresslaw as Varga the Ice Warrior. The colour years were also graced by some classy guest artists. Who could forget Philip Madoc’s Solon in The Brain of Morbius or Tony Bentley’s sublime Harrison Chase in The Seeds of Doom? Even when the show was regarded to be on its last legs, it could boast talent such as Ian Hogg, Honor Blackman, Pamela Salem and Sheila Hancock.

Since its revival, NuWho has managed to garner an even more impressive roster of talent. From Derek Jacobi’s one off Master, Hugh Bonneville’s pirate captain, Dougray Scott’s professor and Sarah Parish’s unforgettable Racnoss Queen,...

Feature Alex Westthorp 28 Mar 2014 - 07:00

In a new series, Alex talks us through the film roles of the actors who've played the Doctor. First up, William Hartnell and Jon Pertwee...

We know them best as the twelve very different incarnations of the Doctor. But all the actors who've been the star of Doctor Who, being such good all-rounders in the first place, have also had film careers. Admittedly, some CVs are more impressive than others, but this retrospective attempts to pick out some of the many worthwhile films which have starred, featured or seen a fleeting cameo by the actors who would become (or had been) the Doctor.

William Hartnell was, above all else, a film star. He is by far the most prolific film actor of the main twelve to play the Time Lord. With over 70 films to his name, summarising Hartnell's film career is difficult at best.

This year, The Great Escape celebrates its golden anniversary. To honor the 50th anniversary of that film’s release, we’ve compiled 50 interesting facts about the film, actors, the true story, the novel and more, and we’re giving two lucky North American readers the chance to win the anniversary blu-ray of the film.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are proud to announce that The Great Escape will arrive on Blu-ray for the first time on May 7, 2013. Based on a true story, The Great Escape is “a motion picture that entertains, captivates, thrills and stirs” (Variety). In 1943, the Germans opened a maximum-security prison-of-war camp, designed to hold even the craftiest escape artists. By doing so, they unwittingly assembled the finest escape team in military history – brilliantly portrayed by Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn – who worked on what became the largest prison breakout ever attempted.

British actor Tyler Butterworth has paid tribute to his actress mother Janet Brown following her death on Friday.

The 87-year-old star, known for her impersonations of former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, passed away in her sleep at a nursing home in Hove, south east England, following a short illness.

Brown is survived by Butterworth, her son by late Carry On star Peter Butterworth, and he has now spoken out in his grief to remember his beloved mum.

He tells Britain's Daily Mirror, "I'll miss her terribly. She was a devoted mother, and a devoted grandmother - my son will miss her terribly, too. But we are terribly lucky to be left with all these incredible memories of her. She was wonderful to be around and she worked incredibly hard.

"I remember how she used to say that people responded to her in a different way as soon as she put on her Thatcher wig - it was strangely empowering. Occasionally people would heckle when she played Thatcher, but she joked that being in character gave her an uncanny ability to shoot people down with a razor-sharp comeback. She loved playing Mrs T.

"She will always be remembered for Mrs Thatcher, but I will always remember her from earlier when we travelled with her as she worked summer seasons at resorts and pantomime at Christmas. It was tremendous fun and we had a wonderful time."...

British comedy actress Janet Brown has died at the age of 87.

The veteran star, known for her impersonations of former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, passed away in her sleep at a nursing home in Hove, south east England. Her death comes following a short illness, according to her agent Susan Angel.

Brown began her career in the 1930s, but it wasn't until the 1970s that she really found fame, showing off her impersonation skills during appearances on The Mike Yarwood Show.

Her Thatcher spoof was so good, she was cast as the leading politician in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only in 1981.

She later starred in British TV dramas such as Midsomer Murders, Casualty and Hotel Babylon.

Brown, who was married to late Carry On star Peter Butterworth, is survived by their actor son Tyler Butterworth.

Are you bored of the same old TV shows? Tired of the mainstream? Then check out this round-up of alternative movies and series showing on UK television tonight…

8.00pm Haunted (The Horror Channel)

Following the abduction of his son, Frank Taylor (Lost’s Matthew Fox) is sent to investigate another case of child abduction and is seriously injured whilst trying to apprehend the suspect. On recovering, he discovers that he can receive messages from kindly spirits, but the malevolent presence of the dead suspect plagues him. Season One, episode 1.

9.00pm Carry On Screaming (ITV3)

The Carry On team’s foray into the world of horror films remains one of their finest send-ups, with loving references to a slew of classic horror films combined with the usual mix of excruciating puns. Albert Potter (Jim Dale) is necking with his girlfriend Doris Mann (Angela Douglas) when she is mysteriously abducted, the latest...

What was first discounted as a rumor has gained heft and may actually be a reality. Actor Patrick Stewart may well be beaming aboard the Tardis for the next season of Doctor Who.

According to a report in the UK’s Daily Star, Stewart has reportedly been offered the role of the Meddling Monk, a Time Lord once featured on the series. Apparently the BBC has offered him the role and are willing to wait for Stewart's schedule to clear so it may happen for one of the 2009 specials or the new season beginning in 2010.

British fans have been treated to David Tennant, the current Doctor, and Stewart, formerly known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, performing Hamlet together. The two have become fast friends and Stewart is an avowed fan of the series.

The Monk was introduced as someone who encountered the first Doctor, back in the early 1960s. As portrayed by Peter Butterworth,...