Relative Digressions: Recent Episodes
Relative Digressions
A voyage of discovery and rediscovery through classic Doctor Who. Wrenna and Felicia compare notes from respective first-time and long-standing perspectives, finding new angles on old stories. Episodes on the 1st and 15th of each month.
Flick and Wrenna return from redaction to offer their thoughts on Doctor Who: Redacted and the current Moment in Who, including their thoughts on the growing trans representation across the show.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
The Ultimate Foe casts Flick and Wrenna through a funhouse mirror of reality to question the nature of the Doctor... But what's new? It's time to pass judgment on the Trial of a Time Lord.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
N.B. This episode has been released 'as live' with minimal editting.
We reconvene with Jonn in the wake of the RTD bombshell to re-examine our prior assumptions, evaluate our feelings on the news, and once more make some ill-advised speculation about the future.
Jonn's twitter: https://twitter.com/JonnElledge Jonn's book: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-almanac-of-not-quite-everything/jonn-elledge//9781472276476
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
N.B. This episode has been released 'as live' with minimal editting.
Recorded less than 24 hours before the announcement of Russell T Davies' return to Doctor Who, Flick and Wrenna are joined by writer and journalist Jonn Elledge to discuss the show's past and future, the throughline of 1985 and 2021. We revisit notions of fandom from a third perspective, look back on the classic era, the revived era that has been, and the revived era to come. And then we get thoroughly pre-empted by the BBC press office.
Jonn's twitter: https://twitter.com/JonnElledge And his new book, with approx. eight (8) Doctor Who jokes: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-almanac-of-not-quite-everything/jonn-elledge//9781472276476
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Flick and Wrenna consider the ultimate defense of Doctor Who, a future yet to come. Layers of reflection, modernity and prediction win the jury, whilst knotty questions of time and reality razzle-dazzle the prosecution. Meanwhile, some humorously shaped vegetables are charged with obscenity.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
REUPLOAD: We caught a mixing issue with the gain on this one. It should now be fixed.
Flick and Wrenna have caught up with the present in the Trial of Trial of a Time Lord. Violence and nastiness is the charge, but is it justified? And just how wise is it to address the topic by recreating it? Is it satire or simply a regression to the foibles of the previous season? Does Sil have to be quite so unpleasant? Meanwhile, Brian Blessed gives us something to shout about.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
In 1985, Michael Grade attempted to cancel Doctor Who. He failed. A year later, the show returned with a response in the form of an entire season of Doctor Who. One of the most controversial and storied periods in the show's history, it can't be fully understood by looking at any individual episode. So in the first of a four part monthlong marathan, Flick and Wrenna put Trial of a Time Lord, in its entirety, back on trial. But first, they have to revisit the original trial: The Hiatus of 1985.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Flick and Wrenna discuss spectacle and events, Doctor-Companion relationships, the good and bad of the Cybermen, and the producership of JNT, before Flick upsets all of fandom with her bad opinions on Earthshock.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
The time has come for Flick and Wrenna to return to Gallifrey and talk of many things, including talking cabbages and Time Lord presidents, and the Alice in Wonderland oddity that is Episode Three of the Deadly Assassin.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Flick and Wrenna look to the lost future of 90s Who, the changing of the guard at UNIT, and the Man, the Myth, the Legend of the Doctor. Also, Flick works through some stuff around Ace.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Gameshow Music by Colin Thomson Sound Effects by Luffy @ freesound.org
Flick and Wrenna admire the terileptil aesthetic and delve back into history. Or do they? With historical takes so hot they might start a fire, it's time to discuss the Visitation.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Gameshow Music by Colin Thomson Audience effects by unchaz, shades and sandyrb @ freesound.org Sound effects by Mixkit
It might be one of Pertwee's shortest stories, but Flick and Wrenna find more to say than ever before about Terror of the Autons. From the period concerns of Letts, Dicks and Holmes to UNIT, Jo, Mike, the Nestene... And, of course, the Master.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
We're back in the Hartnell era, tackling a story that changed Who history by asserting that Who can't change history, and so created a precedent that shaped everything thereafter. But how much does the Aztecs change history itself?
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Flick and Wrenna tackle eight part military spy-fi thriller epic the Invasion, and there's so much ground to cover. Lost episodes, animation, the dawning of the UNIT era, cybermen on the streets of London and the never-more-arch villain Tobias Vaughn. How much pod could Packer pack if Packer could pack pods? It couldn't be more packed than this!
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Flick and Wrenna begin a new voyage through Who history with a trip to the Leisure Hive of Argolis. JNT begins shaping his vision, Christopher Bidmead introduces some hard science, Flick can't stop thinking about Slitheen, and everyone is betraying everyone else. Can Classic Who be too fast paced?
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
A look back at the first year of the podcast, with some digressions that didn't make the cut...
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Music: It's not Over 'Til the Bossa Nova by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Flick and Wrenna celebrate a seasonal special for the classic era, the changing landscape of specials in modern Who, and the era-appropriate Christmasses that might have been. So spend a fourth-wall breaking, tradition-making Christmas (with a dalek), then ring in the new year by writing about how bad it was, just like they did in 1965! Have a merry time whatever you celebrate, and we'll return freshly regenerated in 2021!
Special thanks to Andrew Pixley for providing the 1965 BBC Audience Reaction Survey for the Feast of Steven.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Carol of the Bells by Jason Shaw@audionautix.com, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Flick and Wrenna celebrate the anniversary of Doctor Who with a trip to the Death Zone, a look back to the past, and a discussion of just why Doctor Who deserves celebrating.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Are Flick and Wrenna discussing the Mind Robber, or am I just writing that they are...? Is this a psychedelic fantasy, or a horror story in disguise?
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Flick and Wrenna are very glad to have watched the Happiness Patrol. They present a joyous deep dive into the psychology of the Seventh Doctor, an ecstatic assessment of a different kind of political Who, and beatific reflection on the true spirit of Doctor Who. We hope you're happy...
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Thrown back to the origin of core Who mythos, Flick and Wrenna tackle the crossed wires of fandom and memory. The Doctor isn't incapable of genocide, the kaled aren't nazis, and Genesis of the Daleks... Might not be that good? In this hour long special episode, your hosts mean to subvert everything Genesis has become, but do they have the right?
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
A glimpse at the making of Episode #6, covering Genesis of the Daleks.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Under the haunting gaze of the Malus, Flick and Wrenna tackle genre fiction, theme park history (both literal and figurative) and folk horror.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
A short preview of Episode #5, which covers The Awakening.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Thrown into the Timelash, Flick and Wrenna tackle what it means to be 'bad' Doctor Who, whilst Paul Darrow shows them a better world.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
A short preview of Episode #4, which focuses on Timelash.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Orbiting Solos, we answer the perennial question 'Since when has Doctor Who been so political?'
Voices of people of colour in the Who fandom:
@BlackTARDIS is a prolific, informed, community building Twitter account. They've also put together a Twitter list of Whovians of Colour (https://twitter.com/i/lists/1073169143635992576).
Time and Relative Blackness in Space is a podcast by Robyn Jordan, Bayana Davis, and Constance Gibbs. It's part of the wider Black Girls Create group (blackgirlscreate.org), which describes itself as an intersectional hub for Black creators and critical fandom.
Joy Piedmont (@InquiringJoy) is the producer of realitybombpodcast.com and cohost of fiveyearsrapid.libsyn.com .
Tai Gooden (@taigooden) is an editor and writer at Nerdist, which many of you are surely tapped into.
Woke Doctor Who (wokedoctorwho.com) by Toya and Eugenia is 'A podcast about race and representation in Doctor Who with an asian lady from DC and a black lady from Baltimore'.
This is a tiny tiny fragment of people of colour creating a space for discussion from their experiences in Doctor Who fandom, let alone any broader community.
Please remember, protests might not be headline news any more, but racism hasn't gone away. Continue to support creators of colour, to make space for people of colour in fandom, and carry that through into the rest of your lives too.
If you can, please donate to BLM: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019
Apologies for some rough edges in sound and format: this is one of three pilot episodes!
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Travelling through the wilderness years with Master the Friendly Ghost, and tackling the canon controversy of THAT line.
Apologies for some rough edges in sound and format: this is one of three pilot episodes!
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Flick and Wrenna go back to 1066, meet the first other member of the Doctor's people, and change the course of the Matt Smith era.
Apologies for some rough edges in sound and format: this is one of three pilot episodes!
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
A short preview of Episode #3, which focuses on The Mutants.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
A short preview of Episode #2, which focuses on the TV Movie.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
A short preview of Episode 1, which focuses on The Time Meddler.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
In this short trailer for Relative Digressions, Felicia and Wrenna introduce the show with a general comparison of "Classic" and "New" Who.
Released under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)