The Doctor Who Show

Wild Blue Yonder (HOT TAKE!)

We're back for a hot take on the second of three Doctor Who 60th Anniversary specials.

In today’s episode, WILD BLUE YONDER. 

We’ve just seen it; what are our initial, raw, unvarnished thoughts?

Tune in, drop out, and contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net

The Star Beast (HOT TAKE!)

Doctor Who has returned, which means our Hot Takes series has returned, too.

In today's episode, THE STAR BEAST. 

We've just seen it; what are our initial, raw, unvarnished thoughts?

Tune in, drop out, and contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net

 

Doctor Who @ 60 : Our Lives - And Yours - With The Show

It's the 23rd of November, 2023 and Doctor Who is 60!

Rather than drop this episode on the weekend - which would be its normal monthly slot - we've brought it forward a few days to celebrate the anniversary. Plus, we'll be putting out a hot take episode this weekend anyway, when we take a look at the first of three 60th anniversary specials - THE STAR BEAST.

In today's episode we have a quick discussion about three of the bigger issues leading into the anniversary, including the retconning of Davros, a colourised version of The Daleks, and the Tales of the TARDIS series of releases.

But then it's onto Doctor Who itself. Why did we get into it? How did we fall into fandom? What happened during the Wilderness Years? What about the show's return? And what does the future hold? Along the way we also read, and play, comments from our listeners, who also tell us their own stories about the show.

We hope you enjoy the stories herein. Happy birthday to Who!

Tune in, drop out, and contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net

Top Behind The Scenes People

It's November, 2023. It's the 60th anniversary month for Doctor Who. Can you feel it? In today’s episode, in a moment of complete serendipity following last month's pick from Turlough's Hat of Rassilon, we look at the top behind the scenes people who have made Doctor Who what it is over the past 60 years. Who would YOU pick for your top five? Why not let us know?

Contact us any time: hello@theDWshow.net

Season 8 - 1971

We threw a vote out there on X for which season would like us to discuss on the next episode, from a list of four options. The results were:

Season 8 (Pertwee) 37.1%
Season 12 (Baker) 31.1%
Series 9 (Capaldi) 18.9%
Series 4 (Tennant) 12.9%

So here we are, tonight, to discuss Season 8, comprising:

Terror of the Autons
The Mind of Evil
The Claws of Axos
Colony In Space
The Daemons

Before then, of course, we also talk some recent Doctor Who news, including the battle for An Unearthly Child to join the rest of Doctor Who on iPlayer in the UK, and Dave's thoughts after seeing Katy Manning at the recent Sirens of Audio event in his hometown, Melbourne.

Tune in, drop out, and contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net

Ahsoka - Season 1

Ahsoka episodes dropped on Disney+ between August 22 and October 3, 2023.

As Star Wars fans, we're always happy to talk about the franchise here on our (highly) irregular episodes of ALTERNATE GALAXIES. See our back catalogue for more.

So what did we make of Ahsoka? Tune in, find out.

Episode 1: ‘Master and Apprentice’
Episode 2: ‘Toil and Trouble’
Episode 3: ‘Time to Fly’
Episode 4: ‘Fallen Jedi’
Episode 5: ‘Shadow Warrior’
Episode 6: ‘Far, Far Away’
Episode 7: ‘Dreams and Madness’
Episode 8: ‘The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord’

Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano
Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla
Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn
Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll
Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati
Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth
David Tennant voices Huyang
Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger
Evan Whitten as Jacen Syndulla
Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma
Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO

Hope you enjoy the episode! Contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net

Top Overrated Stories

As we sit here on the edge of the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who, there's an awful lot of TV stories out there. Some of them quite underrated... some of them regarded commensurate to their quality... and some of them are incredibly overrated. In today's episode, we look at the latter. What have been the most overrated stories in Doctor Who's long and storied history? Come at us!

Contact us any time: hello@theDWshow.net

Violence in Doctor Who

*Dedicated to our friend and listener, David Harmsworth*

In today's episode we discuss violence in Doctor Who, from the original three decades of the show, through to the modern era. Has Doctor Who always been a violent series? Are some eras more violent than others?

Before then, we have an Apple Podcasts review, some news, and short topics. After the feature on violence we have our usual listener emails, and what else we've been consuming in the world of entertainment.  Strap in!

You can follow us on X @theDWshow or write to us about anything you like at: hello@theDWshow.net

Fantasy production teams

Doctor Who has had a lot of talented production staff over the past 60 years - and most of them never worked together.

In this List Makers, sent in by listener 'Blue Box' Bill McCann from the USA, we make our fantasy lists of which production staff we would have loved to see paired together.

Are you surprised by any of our choices? Agree with them? Why not let us know YOUR top production pairings?

Contact us any time: hello@theDWshow.net

The Fires of Vulcan

Dave's away this month, so Rob recruits super-sub Dwayne Bunney from the Sirens of Audio podcast for a suitably Big Finish themed episode, this time talking about the classic, The Fires of Vulcan - the twelfth story in Big Finish's monthly range, released in September 2000. It was written by Steve Lyons and features Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush.

Before then, the guys also talk some recent Doctor Who news, including Big Chief Studios going out of business; the surprise animation of the Underwater Menace; a possible return to Doctor Who for Steven Moffat; and the 60th anniversary celebrations at Big Finish - the 'Once and Future' range of stories. Lots to talk about!

Tune in, drop out, and contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net

Top 1960s Stories

The 1960s era of Doctor Who is one that fascinates and entertains both of us - to the degree that William Hartnell is Dave's favourite Doctor. In this episode of THE LIST MAKERS, we sit down to discuss what our top stories of the 1960s are. Are you surprised by any of our choices? Agree with them? Why not let us know YOUR top 1960s stories?

Contact us any time: hello@theDWshow.net

Stories that could only come from their era

In past episodes of the podcast we've considered various TARDIS teams being placed into stories from other eras of Doctor Who and how they would fare. In this episode, we turn that concept on its head somewhat and each come to the table with a Doctor Who story from each era that we think could ONLY be of its era and not be made in a different era with a different team.

Before then, we also talk some recent Doctor Who news, including Ncuti Gatwa confirming he will complete at least two series of the show; Season 20 comes to Blu-ray; Target novelisations of the 60th anniversary stories; and Mark Gatiss comments on how he would play the Doctor.

Tune in, drop out, and contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net

Our top ’almost’ companions in Doctor Who

A new month means a new LIST MAKERS episode!

This time, we discuss 'almost' companions in Doctor Who. Characters whom we think would have made good companions or, in some cases, were designed to be companions, then the production changed course.

If you’ve never heard a List Makers episode before, these are 20m chats based around making a Doctor Who related list and discussing similarities, differences, and whatever else comes up during the chat!

Suggestions for future lists to be drawn from The Hat of Rassilon are always welcome; get in touch via any of the methods mentioned below!

Twitter, Facebook or email us old-school style at hello@thedwshow.net

INTERVIEW: Pull To Open: 1962–1963: The Inside Story of How the BBC Created and Launched Doctor Who

With a new non-fiction Doctor Who book on the horizon, this time looking at the creation of Doctor Who back in 1963, Rob sits down for the third time in the life of the podcast with friend of the show and the book's author, Paul Hayes.

Pull To Open: 1962–1963: The Inside Story of How the BBC Created and Launched Doctor Who is available from Ten Acre Films on July 24, 2023.

= = =

‘Fresh and compelling… As definitive an account of those early years as I have read’ Toby Hadoke

When Doctor Who began on Saturday November 23 1963, few could have guessed that it marked the start of perhaps the most extraordinary story in the history of BBC television drama. But there had already been another story, equally extraordinary yet unseen, leading up to the transmission of that opening episode – the creation of the series itself.

Pull to Open explores the behind-the-scenes saga of Doctor Who in 1963, when a chain of events at the BBC brought together a disparate group to launch what would become one of British TV’s best-loved and most successful programmes. It’s the story of why these events happened; the BBC creative culture into which Doctor Who was born; how television drama was made in the early 1960s; and an insight into the people who started this epic journey.

Drawing from the BBC’s written archives and new interviews with some of those who were there, including Doctor Who’s first director Waris Hussein and original co-star Carole Ann Ford, Pull to Open is a detailed and comprehensive account of the programme’s path to the screen. Immerse yourself in the world of BBC Television in 1963 and discover how a series which was almost cancelled before a single episode was shown survived to cement its place in the popular culture of a nation.

Foreword by Toby Hadoke

Mark Gatiss

From time to time, the Doctor Who Show devotes an episode to a series writer. A great chance to talk about numerous diverse episodes, sometimes from totally different eras of the show, only related by the name on the script.

In today's episode... Mark Gatiss. Possibly the most 'Marmite' of all Doctor Who writers, especially in the modern era. Fans tend to love and hate Gatiss' stories... but strangely can never agree which stories are meant to go in which column!

Stories covered in this episode include:

The Unquiet Dead
The Idiot’s Lantern
Victory of the Daleks
Night Terrors
Cold War
The Crimson Horror
Robot of Sherwood
Sleep No More
The Empress of Mars

Plus a number of 'extras' including Gatiss' New Adventure novels, Nightshade, and St. Anthony's Fire, and the 50th anniversary special, An Adventure in Space and Time.

Before then we also talk some recent Doctor Who news, including new cast members for the upcoming Ncuti Gatwa era; Davo's wife has written a book; and are there some missing episodes materialising from the ether in time for the 60th?

Tune in, drop out, and contact us anytime, hello@theDWshow.net