The Doctor Who Show

Blood, Booze & the Doctor

In today's episode we look at the 1994 Virgin New Adventure, Blood Harvest.

Dekker is a private eye, an honest one. But when Al Capone hires him to investigate a new joint called "Doc's", he knows this is one job he can't refuse. And just why are the Doctor and Ace selling illegal booze in a town full of murderous gangsters?

Meanwhile, Bernice has been abandoned on a vampire-infested planet outside normal space. There she meets a mysterious stranger called Romanadvoratrelundar — and discovers an ancient and malevolent power, linking 1929 Chicago with a lair of immortal evil.

The consequences of this story are inextricably linked to events in the Doctor's past.

Before that, we kick things off with the usual mix of news and short topics. Then, after the Blood Harvest chat, we open the mailbag for a ton of feedback from our listeners on a number of topics.

Enjoy, dear listener.

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Don’t Read the Comments #7: James Valentine

Don't Read the Comments is an irregular podcast on our feed where we ignore the show’s title and actually read online comments relating to something going on in the world of Doctor Who.

Today, something a little different. With the passing of radio broadcaster James Valentine, who Rob crossed paths with early in his Doctor Who fandom in a rather significant way, and who many Australian Doctor Who fans will know if they were watching the Sylvester McCoy era on first broadcast, he talks unscripted about James' passing... and reads some comments.

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Blood Harvest (Novel Synopsis)

This episode offers a 10-minute full synopsis of the 1994 Virgin Books Doctor Who novel, Blood Harvest.

Since the book is now over 30 years old, we know many listeners may not have read it recently — or perhaps ever.

If you don’t want to feel left out of our Blood Harvest discussion on Sunday’s monthly show, this episode is the perfect way to refresh your memory or get up to speed beforehand.

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Top Fantasy Prequels (The List Makers)

A simple idea this month - what Doctor Who stories deserve a prequel?

If you've got 20m to spare, we'd love you to tune in.

What would your picks be? Why not write in and let us know?

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Torchwood: Children of Earth

This month, we’re finally watching Children of Earth, the bleak Torchwood event series from 2009 that drags the team into a chilling five-day crisis involving an alien demand, government conspiracies, and moral choices that get darker by the hour. It’s a story that trades camp sci-fi adventure for psychological terror, where every decision has a cost and the line between right and wrong has disappeared.

Before that, we kick things off with the usual mix of news and short topics. Then, after the Children of Earth chat, we open the mailbag for a ton of feedback from our listeners on a number of topics.

Enjoy, dear listener.

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Bluesky: @thedwshow.net
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Gin & TARDIS #11 – Warriors of the Deep (Special Edition)

Join Dave from the Doctor Who Show, Rob and Mark from 42 to Doomsday, and Richard from Spacefall: A Blakes 7 Podcast, after knocking back a few gin and tonics at Dave’s place and watching the brand-new special edition of Warriors of the Deep.

Warriors of the Deep is the first story of the 21st season of Doctor Who, which was broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 5 to 13 January 1984.

In the story, two human power blocs, along with members of the Silurians and Sea Devils (the original rulers of the Earth), battle for control over the nuclear missiles on an undersea military colony on Earth in 2084.

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Top Deceased Convention Panellists (The List Makers)

Back in November 2025 we discussed which living Doctor Who people we’d most like to see on a convention panel. Tonight the flipside of that list has landed on our desks to discuss.

For the 60th outing of THE LIST MAKERS, we examine which deceased Doctor Who people we wish were still around to appear in a convention-style format.

What would your picks be? Why not write in and let us know?

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Ancient Hunger (State of Decay)

This month, we’re sinking our teeth into State of Decay, the gothic Fourth Doctor adventure from 1980 that drops the TARDIS crew into a crumbling medieval world with vampires, ancient Time Lord history, and a castle that looks like it’s auditioning for a Hammer film.

Before that, we kick things off with the usual mix of news and short topics. Then, after the State of Decay chat, we open the mailbag for a ton of feedback from our listeners on a number of topics.

Enjoy, dear listener.

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Top Military Stories (The List Makers)

For the 59th episode of THE LIST MAKERS, we discuss our top military stories from Doctor Who. These are the stories where soldiers, strategy, command structures, and the ethics of conflict collide with the Doctor’s worldview, sometimes reinforcing it, sometimes challenging it outright.

What would your picks be? Why not write in and let us know?

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Open Mic (Ask Us Anything 2026)

Year 11 of the podcast begins with an episode shaped almost entirely by you.

We opened things up and invited listeners to ask us anything, and the response was brilliant. Doctor Who, genre TV, movies, music, what we do in real life — it’s all in here, as we work our way through your questions and let the conversation go where it wants to.

There’s a quick run through the news up top, a big listener mailbag on the back end, and plenty of tangents along the way. We love our listeners, and this episode is very much for you.

That’s January wrapped for another year — hope you enjoy it.

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Dirty Utopia (Deep Space Nine)

This episode of Alternate Galaxies heads to Deep Space Nine, the Star Trek series that broke the mould, and maybe still divides fans more than any other.

Dave has lived with DS9 for decades, knows its arcs, its politics, its slow burns and big payoffs. Rob is coming in cold(ish), watching it properly for the first time in the past few months and seeing it all with fresh eyes. Quite a contrast!

The guys dig into what DS9 was trying to do, how it evolved over seven seasons, the shift from episodic comfort food to long-form storytelling not just on DS9 but on 90s TV overall, and whether its darker tone and moral greys actually pay off. 

Along the way they talk characters, war, religion, politics, Ferengi episodes, and all the ways this show remains the black sheep of the Star Trek canon.

Join them as they look at one of sci-fi TV’s most ambitious series.

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Top Nostalgic Stories (The List Makers)

For the 58th episode of THE LIST MAKERS, we discuss our top nostalgic stories from Doctor Who. These are the stories which resonate alongside our personal history with the show and thus push all the right nostalgia buttons for us.

What would your picks be? Why not write in and let us know?

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The Long Goodbye (Stranger Things)

After nearly a decade in the Upside Down, Stranger Things is finally complete and on this episode of Alternate Galaxies, we sit down to take in the whole saga, from the very start to the closing moments of the final episode. 

With the full story now on the table, we look at how the show evolved, what it was building toward (if it even knew itself), and how it holds together when viewed as one complete narrative rather than 9 years of waiting on a story that lasted 4 years in-universe.

We talk characters, themes, tonal shifts, nostalgia overload, ageing kids, big swings, weird choices, and whether the ending actually earned it. 

An affectionate but honest look at one of the defining genre TV shows of the last decade, now that we finally know how it all ends.

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The Unicorn and the Wasp / Time Heist

Well, here we are dear listener, at the end of 2025 - and the end of our 10th journey around the sun as a podcast.

In more recent years we've done something light and fluffy for the holidays, so tonight we continue that tradition and look at two 'fun' episodes from Nu Who - The Unicorn and the Wasp, and Time Heist.

The Unicorn and the Wasp is the seventh episode of the fourth series, which was aired on BBC One on 17 May 2008.

Time Heist is the fifth episode of the eighth series, which aired on BBC One on 20 September 2014.

Before then, all the usual news and short topics you’ve come to expect and, after the episode reviews we have listener feedback and what we’ve been watching this past month. Enjoy!

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Top Classic Seasons (The List Makers)

For the 57th episode of THE LIST MAKERS, we discuss our top classic seasons of Doctor Who. Incredible that it took us 57 episodes to reach this point but hey, better late than never! Frankly we've been having too much fun along the way to get to some of these more 'low hanging fruit' topics but, thanks to a listener suggestion for the Hat of Rassilon, we're finally doing it!

What would your picks be? Why not write in and let us know?

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