Philip Madoc Movies

Mary McGuckian directs this bleak biopic about famed Manchester United soccer star George Best, who dumped his career down the drain with booze, brawling, and drugs. The film charts Best's (John Lynch) rise from Belfast, to fame, to dissipation. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A made-for-TV miniseries set during World War II, Monte Carlo features a Russian singer (Joan Collins) who works in the French city. She moonlights, however, as an Allied spy to retaliate against the Nazis who murdered her husband. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Zina (Domiziana Giordano) is the daughter of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. When her father is exiled, Zina heads to Berlin in hopes of leading a normal life. Tormented by nightmares, Zina turns to a psychiatrist (Ian McKellan) for aid. The doctor comes to the conclusion that Zina's nocturnal visions are portents for future horrors--specifically the rise of the Nazis. This thought-provoking British film ends with the symbolic death of the ideals set down by the "visionary" Leon Trotsky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "The Power of Kroll," the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm) are forced to deal not only with the superstitious natives of the swamp moon of Delta Magna, but also with a gun smuggler named Rohm Dutt, who has been attempting to foment violence that will benefit the owners of a despotic Methane refinery. Adding to the Doctor's headaches is the fact that he has yet been able to locate the all-important fifth segment of the Key to Time. Written by Robert Holmes, "The Power of Kroll, Episode 3" originally aired on January 6, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the four-part story "The Power of Kroll," the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Romana (Mary Tamm) trace the fifth segment of the Key to Time on the swamp moon of Delta Magna. Almost immediately, the two time travellers incur the wrath of the local Swampies, who worship a God called Kroll. In time-honored Doctor Who tradition, Kroll requires a human sacrifice -- and Romana is chosen for that honor. Written by Robert Holmes, "The Power of Kroll, Episode 2" originally aired on December 30, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "The Brain of Morbius," the Sisterhood of Karn are convinced that the Doctor (Tom Baker) intends to steal the precious elixir which keeps them alive. Thus, the Doctor is captured and sentenced to be burned at the stake -- something of a setback for mad doctor Solon (Philip Madoc), who intends to use the Doctor's body as the new home for the brain of infamous Time Lord criminal Morbius. Meanwhile, Sarah (Elisabeth Sladen) finds herself with the unusual responsibly of rescuing the Doctor, thereby reversing the usual procedure. Originally telecast on January 18, 1976, "The Brain of Morbius, Episode 3" was written by Terrance Dicks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Also titled The Price of Freedom, Operation Daybreak is a retelling of the terrible consequences attending the assassination of Nazi-occupation leader Richard Heydrich. When Heydrich puts all of Czechoslovakia under his thumb, a group of Czech expatriates parachute into their homeland to kill the man known as "The Hangman." They succeed, and in retaliation the Nazis wipe the tiny Czech village of Lidice off the map, killing its male residents and carting off its women and children to concentration camps. For the purposes of the plot, assassins Timothy Bottoms and Martin Shaw survive the massacre, albeit only briefly. The Heydrich/Lidice tragedy was previously dramatized in two wartime films, Hangmen Also Die (1943) and Hitler's Madman (1943). Operation Daybreak was adapted from Seven Men at Daybreak, a novel by Alan Burgess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the four-part story "The Brain of Morbius," mad doctor Solon (Philip Madoc) intends to transplant the brain of evil Time Lord criminal Morbius into the body of the Doctor (Tom Baker). To do this, Solon must enlist the aid of the Sisterhood, the mystic cult currently in charge of the devastated planet Karn. Meanwhile, the members of the Sisterhood become convinced that the Doctor intends to end their existence. Originally telecast on January 10, 1976, "The Brain of Morbius, Episode 2" was written by Terrance Dicks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a clever, gender-bending twist on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson tale, the research done by Dr. Henry Jekyll (Ralph Bates) in the field of artificially-induced human longevity involves experimentation with female hormones. When he partakes of his own formula and the inevitable Jekyll-into-Hyde transformation takes place, he changes into a ravishing female version of himself (famed "B"-movie siren Martine Beswick). Claiming to be Jekyll's sister, Ms. Hyde is lovely but lethal: she uses her alluring charms to seduce men then kills them and absconds with their bodies for use in further experiments. A much more interesting twist comes when Jekyll finds himself falling in love with the girl next door (Susan Brodrick), while simultaneously lusting after the girl's brother (Lewis Fiander) as Hyde. Although Brian Clemens' script manages to exploit this unique premise for shock value, the story fumbles where it counts, failing to fully explore the implicit questions of sexual identity which haunt Jekyll's psyche and burst to the surface when Hyde is on the prowl. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In the third episode of the four-part story "The Krotons," the crystalline title characters have been awakened from suspended animation by the combined intellects of the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury). Now expendable, the two time travelers are hunted down like animals, while Jamie (Frazer Hines) ends up the Krotons' prisoner. Meanwhile, the primitive Gonds, emerging from their mental bondage, plan a counterrattack against their Kroton masters. Written by Robert Holmes, "The Krotons, Episode 3" first aired on January 11, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A previously unknown planet is discovered within our solar system, orbiting on the far side of the sun exactly opposite the position of the Earth, and at precisely the same speed. The European space agency Eurosec, headed by Jason Webb (Patrick Wymark), whose solar probe made the discovery, decides to send a manned mission to investigate, teaming America's top astronaut Glenn Ross (Roy Thinnes) and British astro-physicist John Kane (Ian Hendry). Their voyage aboard the space vehicle Phoenix is supposed to take six weeks, but when the ship returns to orbit in only three weeks -- ending in a crash of their landing vehicle that kills Kane -- Eurosec can only conclude that Ross has engaged in some sort of sabotage. The astronaut is at a loss as to how they could have done a round-trip in just three weeks, until he makes a startling discovery -- that everything that he sees, from the layout of rooms and buildings to all of the writing around him, is reversed, left to right and right to left. It takes Ross, amid his confusion, to arrive at the only possible conclusion -- that he and Kane did, indeed, journey to the new planet, and that world is a duplicate of Earth (and visa versa) down to the last molecule, a perfect mirror-image; and that world dispatched its own mission, with its own Ross and Kane. He and Webb, and Eurosec, scarcely have time to absorb the implications of this discovery -- if true -- as they prepare for a return flight for Ross, despite enormous risks and some potentially very dangerous unknowns in getting him back to the Phoenix. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In the seventh episode of the ten-part story "The War Games," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Jamie (Frazer Hines), and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) are still trapped on an Earth-like planet where the world's most famous battles are being bloodily re-enacted. Eluding the minions of Alien Control, the Doctor and his companions are hunted from one "time zone" to the next. The chase comes to an abrupt end when the TARDIS crew is captured by one of the Doctor's oldest and most formidable enemies. Philip Madoc makes his first appearance as the War Lord. Written by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks, "The War Games, Episode 7" first aired on May 31, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the eighth episode of the ten-part story "The War Games," the Resistance's rescue efforts fail, and the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his companions remain in the clutches of the diabolical War Lord (Philip Madoc). At long last, the War Lord reveals the reason for the endless war games: He hopes to use the tactical lessons learned in past battles in order to create his own invincible, indestructible army. The Doctor could prevent the villain from carrying out his scheme -- but to do so would mean violating the ethics of his own species, the Time Lords. Written by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks, "The War Games, Episode 8" first aired on June 7, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide