Talking Who To You: Recent Episodes
JG McQuarrie and Kev Koeser
Talking Who To You has (Big) finished, but Kev and JG have moved over to new podcast - Talking Trek To You. Join an expert and a noob as they explore the original series episode by episode, helped along with a guest of the week!
Website: talkingtrektoyou.podbean.com email address: talkingtrektoyou@gmail.com Twitter: @talktrekto you
We reach the final episode of Talking Who To You as JG and Kev reach the monumental "A Death In The Family". But for such a grand occasion a guest is required - and that would be Alasdair Wilkins of Debating Doctor Who, along for the final spin in the Big Finish TARDIS. Is the episode a fitting one to wrap the podcast up on? Does Evelyn get the departure she so richly deserves? And how does Ace and the 7th Doctor's story move on? No Recommendations this time, just a heartfelt thank you from JG and Kev to all our listeners who have been a long for the podcast ride. Thanks everyone!
It's the second-last episode of Talking Who To You, and our very last time to chat about Colin Baker with the Sixth Doctor / Evelyn story Assassins In The Limelight. And to help us see the Sixth Doctor on his way we have returning guest Abby Denton! Does this story act as a fitting final Colin Baker story to be covered? How does Leslie Phillips do returning to the series? And how well has the Sixth Doctor fared overall in audio? Plus in Recommendations we have a film, a stage production and - uniquely - an animal.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: https://www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We reach the final Fifth Doctor story with a reunion of his very first crew of Adric, Nyssa and Tegan and Kev and JG tackle Iterations Of I. Does the old crew recapture the magic of the Fifth Doctor's first season now that Matthew Waterhouse is back as Adric? Does the story work on its own terms? And is this a suitable wrap-up for the Fifth Doctor on audio? Plus in recommendations we have a movie and a book series.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We reach another milestone as the podcasts creeps towards its final episode, as this time we wave goodbye to both the Companion Chronicles range and the redoubtable Ms Perpigillium Brown. How does Peri's last adventure turn out? Can the play manage to balance comedy and drama successfully? And how does the meta humour work out? To answer these questions and more JG and Kev are joined by the equally redoubtable Tony Whitt from the Target Doctor Who Book Club Podcast to lend a hand. Well, ear. You know what we mean!
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: http://www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We reach both the final episode of the Eighth Doctor Adventures and the final time we will be talking about the Eighth Doctor on the podcast as "Lucie Miller" and "To The Death" are finally reached. Does Susan work as a dramatic character? Do Lucie's final episodes give her the send-off she deserved? And does the dramatic finale stand the test of time? All good questions, and along to help us answer them - also for the last time - is TWTY's good friend Anthony Strand.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
It's a visit from the Doctor's family and an outpost in the sun that holds our attention this episode as the Eighth Doctor Adventures continue with Relative Dimensions and Prisoner of The Sun. How does the Doctor reuniting with Susan go? What is the best way to trap the Doctor into doing what you want? And do these stories set up the two-part finale (hint: not really). Plus in Recommendations there's a musician's memoir and a TV show.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We tackle a functional two-parter this time out as we continue to move through the last season of the Eighth Doctor / Lucie Miller Adventures. What's happening on the little Martian moon of Deimos? How do the Ice Warriors work on audio? And is the Monk's return worth getting excited about? Plus we have a movie and a TV series in our Recommendations, and we pay a brief visit to the post bag.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We dive further into the final Eighth Doctor / Lucie Miller season with these two episodes (and, er, without Lucie Miller). How does all that Poe referencing work out in Nevermore? Is the Monk's return something to cheer about in the Book of Kells? And how does Tamzin fare as our companion du jour? Plus we have not one but two animation recommendations (one from Ireland, one from Japan) and a pop in to see how things are going over at the MCU.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We leave the world of audio adventures behind this time to explore the 13th Doctor's two most recent TV outings, the mini-season Flux and the New Year's Special, Eve Of The Daleks. Can Chris Chibnall pull off the audacious task of doing a fully linked story in Flux? How does Dan work out as a new companion? And can Eve Of The Daleks manage to make the Skarosians actually scary again while also making its time-loop conceit work? No Recommendations this week though - we're going long on this one!
twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We're back with the Eighth Doctor and Lucie Miller! Hurrah! This episode we're covering the first two stories in their final season, Death In Blackpool and Situation Vacant. How does Lucie's departure go? How do the potential replacements pan out? How Christmas-y is this alleged Christmas episode (and will either host remember to mention this fact?). Plus in Recommendations we have a movie musical and an Apple TV series.
twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We return to the world of the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex this time out with Project: Lazarus. Does this story improve on the last two outing for the Forge? How does our near-future setting work out? And how does Hex's departure go down? Plus in Recommendations we have an animated movie and a sort-of documentary.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We begin a new trilogy this episode with the first of three stories focussing on the Sixth Doctor and Jamie, City Of Spires. How will the Sixth Doctor get on with a Second Doctor-era companion? How does the historical setting work? And just HOW convincing are the Scottish accents? Plus we have Recommendations, featuring this week an animated series and zeitgeist TV show.
eMail: talkingwhotoyou@gmail.com Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
This episode we round out the Jamie trilogy with Legend Of The Cybermen, but we're not doing it alone as Anthony Strand makes a return visit to TWTY Heights to discuss the story. Does Legend Of The Cybermen work as a conclusion to the trilogy? How do the fates of Jamie and Zoe work out? And is it actually possible for Colin Baker to be any better? Plus in Recommendations we have a truly bizarre film from the 1920's and a discussion about the latest James Bond movie, No Time To Die.
Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We reach the middle of the Sixth Doctor / Jamie trilogy this episode with "The Wreck Of The Titan". Do things improve from the last story's OK-ish beginning? Does the story manage to land all its fictional characters? And does the audacious ending work? Plus in recommendations we have a podcast and a sitcom
We complete the Klein trilogy this episode with the concluding part, The Architects Of History. Can the final part of the trilogy live up to the quality of the first two? Does the ending provide suitable closure? And does the Seventh Doctor's character interrogation work? Plus we have a movie and a book in our Recommendations section.
email: talkingwhotoyou@gmail.com Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: www.jgmcquarrie.scot
We kick this episode off discussing the biggest news of all in the Doctor Who world - the return of Russel T Davies! Yes, he's back so it's the perfect time for us to natter on about it. And following that we dive into the second part of the Klein Trilogy, discussing both the second part - Survival Of The Fittest - and the prelude, Klein's Story. Does the middle part of the trilogy stand up? How do the Vrill come across as this episode's creatures? And does the shock ending work? Plus in Recommendations we have a sitcom and a (rather self-serving!) podcast.
eMail: talkingwhotoyou@gmail.com Twitter: @talkingwhotoyou JG's Writing: http://www.jgmcquarrie.scot Beatles Stuffology: http://www.beatlesstuffology.podbean.com/
This episode sees the kick-off of the incredibly well-regarded Klein trilogy with the first story of three "A Thousand Tiny Wings". Does the story live up to its reputation? Is Klein's return worth it? And how does the big ending work? Plus in Recommendations we have a book and two movies (and something of a rambling chat).
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It's the conclusion of Charley's departure this episode as we face the final departure of Big Finish's first original companion. How does the trilogoy of stories designed to set up her departure conclude? Does the story work outwith that departure? And is Charley's send-off the fitting conclusion she deserves? Plus in Recommendations we have a TV series and a poetry collection.
www.jgmcquarrie.scot talkingwhotoyou@gmail.com @talkingwhotoyou
We cover the second episode in.... ah but wait! Before that, there's news! Jodie Whittaker is leaving (as indeed is Chris Chibnall) so we kick off this episode with a discussion on Jodie's departure. After that we have the second in Charley's departure trilogy with the Draconian-focussed "Paper Cuts". How do the Draconians work on audio? Does this episode make a convincing bridge in the trilogy? And is the conclusion convincingly set up? Plus in Recommendations we have a novel and something rather more self-serving!
We kick off a trilogy of Sixth Doctor stories this time round with Patient Zero. But we're not alone! We have Abby Denton returning for another visit as we discuss Daleks, Charlie and Colin. How does this story hold up as a way of getting the trilogy off to a start? Does the plot actually make any sense? And can Charley cope with even more convoluted shenanigans? Plus there's our usual Recommendations section.
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Two more Companion Chronicles this episode as we visit Charley trapped in the Toymaker's shop - or is it? - and we close out the Sara Kingdom trilogy with Guardians of The Solar System. How does Charley get on facing up to a Hartnell-era villain? Does the Sara Kingdom trilogy get the conclusion it deserves? And how does Jean Marsh fair third time round. Plus we have our usual recommendations section.
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We're back with the Companion Chronicles again, with a first outing for Jago and Litefoot in The Mahogany Murders and a return to Sara Kingdom / The House in The Drowned World. Can Jago and Litefoot work in audio? Is the second part of the House trilogy as good as the first? And does this continue the run of strong Companion Chronicles? Plus in recommendations there's a music book and a CW TV show (and a little something extra from Kev!)
Longest! Episode! Ever! But that's entirely appropriate, as we venture into The Company of Friends with one of our friends, and a welcome return to Alasdair Wilkins of the Debating Doctor Who podcast. We have four short stories to cover here, each dealing with a non-TV companion, so how do the print-version companions fare in audio? Can the spirit of the books and comics be captured in performances? And do the short stories make for a satisfying overall release?
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It's the moment we've all been waiting for - the return of the Ninth Doctor and the mighty Christopher Eccleston! At last! How does Eccleston cope returning to the role? Do these episode provide an appropriately good story for his return? And how does the future look for the 9th Doctor? Plus there's a major announcement about the future of the podcast, and our usual Recommendations section, this week featuring a movie and a TV series.
We're back with Starfleet again as we check out the final three movies in The Original Series run. Is The Voyage Home as fun as everyone remembers? Does The Final Frontier really deserve is poor reputation? And is The Undiscovered Country a suitable wrap-up for this branch of the franchise? Plus a couple of quickie recommendations - a novel and, of all things, a browser
We're back in the Companion Chronicles range this time out, with two entries from early in Doctor Who's Chronology - The Transit of Venus, featuring Ian Chesterton and Resistance featuring Polly. How does Ian cope stuck on a sailing ship for weeks with just the Doctor? Can Polly - always an under-served companion - hold her own in a Companion Chronicle? And does the range maintain its high standards? Plus in Recommendations we have a TV show and a book.
We return to the world of the TARDIS this episode and finish of Paul McGann's second season with the last two stories of the run. How will Lucie get on with a giant caterpillar? Will the sigh return of an old Time Lord foe work out for the range? And how does the season overall come together. Plus, we have a trailer right at the beginning from our friends at the Doctor Who Target Book Club podcast, a recommendation as to where to find other Doctor Who podcasts online, and a non-Doctor Who podcast recommendation from JG and a couple of movies from Kev. Busy stuff, this week!
We leave the TARDIS behind this week to step aboard the Enterprise to explore the first three Star Trek movies, The Motion Picture, The Wrath Of Khan and The Search For Spock. Does the Motion Picture deserve its ponderously slow reputation? Is The Wrath Of Khan as good as everyone apparently thinks it is? And does the Search For Spock really begin the whole "odd movies bad" streak? Plus in Recommendations we have two TV shows and a 90's techo-movie.
As we near the end of the second season of the Eighth Doctor Adventures JG and Kev welcome back Anthony Strand to discuss two of the latter episodes. Will Grand Theft Cosmos be able to land its more comedic side? Can the Zygons be used for effective pathos long before their TV return? And do these two episodes lift the overall quality of this season? Plus there's three recommendations this week - a movie, a book and a vast, sprawling Director's Cut (whatever could that be alluding to?)
We remain with the Eighth Doctor and Lucy this episode as we explore - as much as is possible, which isn't a lot - Brave New Town and The Skull Of Sobek. Will there be something interesting to be found in a mysterious English village? Will the blue world of The Skull Of Sobek be captivating? Will Kev and JG manage to find more than twenty minutes' worth of things to say about two such unremarkable episodes? Fortunately there's plenty of time left over for recommendations, this week covering one live action and two animated movies.
We return to the world of the Eighth Doctor as the second Lucie Miller season kicks with with Dead London and Max Warp. Now Lucy's a regular of her own free will how does she fare in her second season? How do the time-zone shenanigans of Dead London work out? Can Max Warp land its Top Gear parody? (Hint: No) Plus we have our regular recommendations with a book from JG and a game from Kev, but which ones?
Time to return to the Main Range this episode with the Sixth Doctor and Charley as they encounter The Raincloud Man and also see a welcome return for DI Menzies. How does Menzies work with Charley along for the ride? Does the tail of high-stakes gambling at the casino work on audio? And just what IS that card game they play in the last episode? Plus we have our usual recommendations section - two TV shows this week - and we dip into the mailbag for a follow-up the Star Trek: Discovery recommendation, the show in general, and its approach to dealing with contemporary issues.
We're back to regular Doctor Who coverage this episode as we drop into the Companion Chronicles range to cover a Leela story with Empathy Games and a Sara Kingdom episode with Home Truths. How does Sara - one of the shortest-lived of all companions - work in audio and can she support a whole story? Is Leela able to carry a story pretty much by herself? And do these releases continue the quality expected of this range? Plus in recommendations we have a slightly less enthusiastic nod than normal from JG and a series of movies recommended by Kev.
It's a special episode this time as we lay aside Doctor Who for a week and instead embrace another franchise - the Alien Quadrology. That means we're covering the first four movies in the series. Do they still stand up as workable pieces of sci-fi? Just how influential have they managed to be? And through it all do the xenomorphs remain scary? Plus there's a pretty united front when it comes to Prometheus and Covenant but will it be positive or negative? And of course there's lots of random rambling and faint attempts to connect things to the world of Doctor Who. Welcome to our longest episode yet!
Welcome to a brand new year! To celebrate we're leaving the world of audio behind this week and covering two TV shows. Firstly, there's the inevitable festive special, Revolution Of The Daleks. How will things pick up with the Doctor in prison? Will Chris Chibnall find anything new to do with the Daleks? (hint: no) And do Graham and Ryan get a good send-off? Plus there's our usual recommendations - no tease this week, both Kev and JG want to talk about The Mandalorian.
This week return to the always-baffling world or Iris Wildthyme with the last two episodes of the second season and, just in time for the festive period, a Christmas special with The Claws Of Santa! Will Iris be able to seduce Santa away from Mrs Claus? How does Panda fare in all this? And how does the drama balance against the comedy? As always when we discuss Iris we have our regular guest host Abby Denton on board for the discussion as well, so throw on a tinsel-laiden hat and join the fun!
We're back with the metal Skarosian terrors this episode as the Sixth Doctor and Charlie encounter The Brotherhood Of The Daleks. Can yet more juice be squeezed out of the rind of the Daleks? How do the Thals fit in to all this? And how are the Doctor and Charlie getting on? Plus there's another rambling recommendations section with a book, an animated series and a lot of divergences from what we're meant to be talking about. Which is all part of the fun!
We return to the ever-varying world of Captain Jark Harness once more with the third volume of The Lives Of Captain Jack. This gives JG the opportunity to go off on a massive rant about what Doctor Who is good at and what this box set very specifically isn't, so that's a thing! How does the meeting between Jack and River go? Do Jackie and Jack still work together? And how does dropping in a Queen Vampire pan out? Plus there's recommendations, this week covering a computer game and an animated show.
We drop in on celebrations for Doctor Who's forty-fifth anniversary in this episode by covering, appropriately enough, Forty Five, an anthology release of four short stories. The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex get the duties but does this TARDIS crew work in a compressed format? Do all four stories manage to do a good job of celebrating such a milestone? And with four new-to-the-range authors writing the four stores, does this strategy pay off? Plus we have recommendations, this week a sitcom and a computer game.
It's Halloween so that means it's time for our now-annual spooky episode! That means we're covering The Haunting Of Thomas Brewster, which introduces Mr Brewster, and Perfect World, which sends him on his way. How does Brewster work as a character and short-term companion for the Doctor? Do the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa work in a Dickensian setting? And does Perfect World give a satisfying send-off to Brewster's brief tenure aboard the TARDIS? Plus there's our recommendations this week, one covering a very short animated show and one covering a very long live-action show. And there's a somewhat rambling conversation around the changing modes of television production and what it means for TV shows these days.
It's back to the main range with an episode full of daring highwaymen, love under the moonlight and a strange sense of what is and isn't fact in Jacqueline Raynor's The Doomwood Curse. Ah-har! How do Charley and the Sixth Doctor cope with this light-hearted story? Do the two characters continue to click together? And just how broad can a West Country aaaaaac-sent get, me luver? Plus we have a sitcom and a podcast in our regular non-Doctor Who recommendations.
We do something a little different this episode and instead of covering one story we cover four short stories which were appended on to Main Range releases. That means this week we are talking about Urgent Calls, Mission of The Vyrons, Spider Shadow and Urban Myths. Four short little bursts of Doctor Who, but do they work with such a compressed running time? How do full stories compare with two-handers? And is this a format to be revisited? Plus there's our recommendations - a book series and a movie this week, but which ones?
We return to the world of Iris Wildthyme and the second box set of episodes, which can only mean one thing - Abby Denton is joining us again! Yes, Abby's hear to discuss the first two stories in the box set as we ride the red bus once more. How does Iris cope with a marriage and an evil radio station? How does she fare stranded in the 70's (?) and tangled up in Wonderland? Plus we have recommendations from Abby, JG and Kev this week, and three very different recommendations they are too.
We start off a little differently this week by discussing the return of the mighty Christopher Eccleston to the world of Doctor Who and what we might want from his grand return to the role. Then we get into the discussion proper - How does Victoria work out in one of her rare Big Finish appearances? Does the First Doctor era translate well to the Companion Chronicles' way of doing things? And as always we finish with our recommendations, featuring this week a TV show and something else from Big Finish. But what?
We round of the first Eighth Doctor / Lucie Miller season with the two-parter Human Resources this week. Can the season successfully land its big conclusion? How does Lucie Miller come out after a whole season? And do the Cybermen really work here. Plus there's more recommendations from Kev and JG, this week a book and a TV series - but which ones?
We take in two very different locations with our two episodes this week as we visit the Martian moon of Phobos and a time-looped mansion on Earth. What are the creatures that lurk in the heart of the moon on Phobos? What is the time loop for in No More Lies? And how do these episodes fare in keeping up the quality of the first Lucie Miller series? Plus we dip into our post bag and there's more recommendations from Kev and JG
We remain with the Eighth Doctor and Lucie as we cover the third and fourth episodes in the Eighth Doctor Adventures. How does the Doctor manage against a true horror like 70's music? How do he and Lucie cope against immoral reincarnating gods? And do these two episodes see a rise or fall in quality from the two-part season opener? Plus we introduce (big drumroll plllleease!) a New Section as Kev and JG give their non-Doctor Who media recommendations. We have a TV show and a book this time out, but what will they turn out to be?
We start a brand new era this episode as we begin with the first two episodes in the newly (well, newly for 2007) relaunched Eighth Doctor range and get to meet Lucie Miller for the first time. How does the Eighth Doctor get on with his enforced travelling companion? Do the Daleks provide a suitably interesting launch story for new new range? And how much potential does this have going forward?
We encounter something different this time out - a brand new companion for the Fourth Doctor! How does Tom Baker's Doctor cope with having a policewoman travelling with him? Can she manage to cope in both a traditional cop setup and on a far-distant planet filled with carniverous Drashigs?
We take a second look at the Companion Chronicles this time out, covering two releases that invoke the spirit of the Third and Fourth Doctor eras. Can Nicholas Courtney bring the Pertwee era back to life and tell an interesting story? Can Louise Jameson and Leela do the same for the Tom Baker era? And how do these two releases compare with each other?
We turn to a companion with a box set all of her very own as we cover the first Donna box-set, Kidnapped. Can Donna sustain a whole box-set by herself? How does she cope without the Doctor to guide her? And does the idea of a Donna box-set come together as a coherent story? Plus we dip into the mailbox for a quick discussion of 100 and a couple of recommendations.
We turn to a companion with a box set all of her very own as we cover the first Donna box-set, Kidnapped. Can Donna sustain a whole box-set by herself? How does she cope without the Doctor to guide her? And does the idea of a Donna box-set come together as a coherent story? Plus we dip into the mailbox for a quick discussion of 100 and a couple of recommendations.
We complete the fifth River box set along with our guest Alasdair Wilkins as we cover the final two stories in the box-set, featuring the Eric Roberts (!) and Derek Jacobi (!!) versions of the Master. After almost a quarter of a century, how does Eric Roberts fare in bringing the "Bruce" version back to life? Can the Jacobi version successfully work with River apart from his own ongoing series? And does the box set come to a successful conclusion?
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We're back flicking through the pages of River Song's diary this week as Kev and JG tackle her fifth outing for Big Finish. But we're not doing it alone, as we have a returning guest star materialising the shape of Alasdair Wilkins! With this being an all-Master outing, how will the redoubtable River get on when she encounters the force of chaos that is Missy? Can she cope with the decayed Beevers version of the character? And perhaps most importantly of all, just how fabulous will she be?
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https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/debating-doctor-who/id898944714
This week we return to the visual medium and take an overview of the recently-completed Season Twelve. How does this season compare to the less-than-stellar Season Eleven? Does the season manage to course-corrent the flaws of Chibnall's first outing as showrunner? And just how many revelations can one season bear the weight of?
Time for some policework this week as JG and Kev take on "The Condemned", the first story to feature Charley and the Sixth Doctor. How do the two get on in the contemporary setting of Manchester? Do the two characters work well together? And how do policemen and sentient apartment blocks come together? Plus we dip into the mailbox to discuss recommendations, and we have an announcement about the future of the show.
We reach a pinnacle in this episode as we cover "100", the story written to celebrate the 100th Main Range story. And for such a big occasion Kev and JG are joined again by Anthony Strand to discuss this four-stories-in-one release. How do the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn cope anchoring such a big celebration? Do all four stories turn out well? And given that three of the four writers conclude their Big Finish careers here, do they go out on a high?
It's time for a departure among the Ruritanian gloom of Peldadon as we return to a familiar setting in this week's play, "The Bride Of Peladon". How does the Fifth Doctor cope in a setting previously the preserve of the Third? How does Erimem's departure go? And is this the right place to re-introduce the idea of an Osirian threat? Plus we discuss Erimem's place in Big Finish, how she's worked as a character and how successful she's been.
We dive into a new range this week as for the first time we cover two stories in the Companion Chronicles range, "Bluetooth" and "Mother Russia". How does the rarely-featured Liz Shaw work in a Companion Chronicle? Is Caroline John able to return to the role and evoke the 3rd Doctor's era? And how about Steven and (even more rarely encountered) Dodo? Can they survive the Russian winter intact AND deal with an alien invader and Napoleon? Plus we dip into the mailbag to take a recommendation for something to review outside of Big Finish.
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We have a relaxed, ambling and entirely convivial conversation this week as JG and Kev are joined once more by Abby Denton to discuss the Sixth Doctor story Year Of The Pig. How does this bizarres story of a sapient pig holidaying in Europe stand up? Do the Sixth Doctor and Peri fit into this gentle tale of manners and, um, sort of time travel? And is there even the slightest chance of keeping the three reviewers actually on topic? Pour yourself a nice cup of tea, have room service send up a delightful concoction of comestibles, relax and find out...
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We wave a fond farewell to Charlie this week as she has her last outing with the Eighth Doctor in "The Girl Who Never Was" and has her second encounter with the Cybermen. But how do these Troughton-era Cybermen work on audio? Does the convoluted time-travel plot hold together? And is this a satisfying ending for Charley's journey throughout time and space?
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It's time to meet not so much a living legend as an undead legend this week as we tackle "Son Of The Dragon" and travel back to meet the Count himself, Dracula! (you can insert a cheesy mwa-ha-ha laugh here if you so feel the urge) How does the real-live Vlad work as a fictional character meeting the Fifth Doctor? Will Erimem be able to work in this environment? And how does Peri - never far away from suffering at the hands of history - get on? Plus there's a discussion on the news that John Simm is returning to the role of the Master for Big Finish.
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Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! We set aside the play we were going to cover this week ("Son Of The Dragon") to instead cover the momentous events on television with the all singing, all dancing "Fugitive Of The Judoon". It's an episode that's got the whole Doctor Who world buzzing so we thought we'd jump on the bandwagon and give our own, marvellously informed, opinions as well! How do all the revelations land? Is this a real swing and a hit or does the story over-extend itself? And checks notes yes, it says here "how do the two doctors get along?" Excellent, well that should give us something to get our teeth into! Plus we cast a quick but knowledgable eye over the other two episodes of the season. But come on - you know what we're here for! Come be here for it too with us!
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We travel back in time to the reign of Alexander the Great and to the reign of the Hartnell historical this week as we cover another entry in The Lost Stories rage with "Farewell Great Macedon". This is a sprawling, six-part adventure, so how do the rhythms and cadences of a Hartnell historical work on audio? Can the story sustain a run-time of over three hours? And with a limited cast can the Hartnell historical be successfully recreated, up to and including an interpretation of the man himself?
Happy New Year! For our return to the... not airwaves... podwaves maybe? Anyway, for our return we split our time between audio and video, discussing C'Rizz's departure in "Absolution" and returning to the world of the Thirteenth Doctor on television with the two-part "Spyfall". How does C'Rizz's departure work? Does the fallout from it between the Doctor and Charley seem credible? And on Spyfall has Chris Chibnall been able to correct some of the problems from last season? Just how is the Thirteenth Doctor doing? Plus of course we discuss THAT reveal...
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We have a bumper festive-sized episode this week as we give ourselves a little Christmas gift and cover two television stories from this time of year. From the Matt Smith era we cover "Christmas Carol" - a fan favourite, but how does it hold up? Can Dickens and Doctor Who meet successfully? And from the Jodie Whittaker era we come bang up to date with the New Year special "Resolution". How does the Thirteenth Doctor manage against the Daleks? Do we get good emotional pay-offs for the series long arcs? Come and join us in some festive fun and find out!
We're off to explore the lives of Captain Jack in this, the second box set to find out what happens to the redoubtable Captain Harkness when the Doctor isn't around. Sort of. How do Jack and the Sixth Doctor (!) get on? Can the box-set find something interesting to do in the trenches of World War 1? And is Trinity Wells worth revisiting as a character?
For the first time we visit a new but important range as we cover the very first Companion Chronicles, Frostfire. How does the format stand up in comparison to the full-cast main range? Does the return of Maureen O'Brien's Vicki work? And can the story land its twisty tale of time travel?
We are with River for a second week as we cover the final two episodes in The Diary Of River Song Vol 4. How does the box set do when trying to manage a Melody Malone mystery? Can the Discordia be successfully wrapped up? And just how well do River and the Fourth Doctor get on? Plus we dip into our postbag to follow up on our Kill The Moon discussion, and we also talk about the Seventh Doctor's run of luck in the Main Range.
We're back with River again as we explore the first two episodes in the fourth volume of The Diary Of River Song. How does River fare against a planet with no time? How difficult is it to keep using the Vortex Manipulator to escape the bad guys? And do the time-bending travels all come together satisfactorily? Plus we dip into the mailbag to cover a couple of points around The Harvest and The Gathering
We're off to the world of the Needle with the Seventh Doctor and Mel this week as we delve into the murky world of "Red". How does the Doctor cope with a chip in his brain? How does Mel get on stuck in a class conflict? And what is Red anyway? Plus there's a discussion on the lack of a Christmas and New Year special for the first time since Doctor Who returned in 2005, and what it might mean for the programme.
We stray back into the world of video again this week as we tackle the divisive, controversial Peter Capaldi episode "Kill The Moon". Does the episode stand up now that a few years has passed since the original controversies? How does Clara fare? And does the moral message work?
We're tackling the Fifth Doctor story "Circular Time" this week but we are not doing it alone - welcome Alasdair Wilkins back to the podcast! Alasdair is joining us to discuss the looping, circular nature of this story as we explore the relationship between the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa. Will the story be able to delve successfully into the fragile, muted nature of their friendship? Can it manage this while also doing a celebrity historical? And what part did Nyssa play in the 5th Doctor's regeneration? Join Alasdair, Kev and JG for their longest discussion yet!
We have a returning guest with us this week as Anthony Strand joins to discuss the Eighth Doctor story "Time Works". How will this strange tale of clocks and chronology stand up after so many of its ideas have become familiar? Will Charley and C'Rizz get anything worthwhile to do at all? And do all the clock references actually work or does it simply become annoying?
We cover the second half of the Reaping / Gathering two part linked stories with, um, The Gathering. How does Tegan and Janet Fielding do as they return to the Doctor Who fold for the first time since the 1980's? Can the story of low-key Cybermen find a satisfying conclusion? And do all the cross-story continuity links manage to land? Join us down under and let's find out!
We catch up with Peri and the Sixth Doctor this week and JG and Kev drop into Baltimore (allegedly: not that you'd be able to tell from the accents) to see what Peri's life was like prior to her ill-fated trip to Lanzarote. But things can never be that simple... How do the Cybermen work in what is, for them, a fairly small-scale outing? Just how far off the beaten track can any one accent wander? And will the Doctor and Peri's relationship be able to survive this encounter?
And now for something a little different - we leave the world of audio behind this week and take a listener's suggestion to cover two TV episodes instead, in this case the two episodes which re-launched the show back in 2005 "Rose" and "The End Of The World". How do the episodes stand up nearly fifteen years later? Do Eccleston and Piper nail it first time out? And how has Russell T Davies do on scripting duties to get the new show off to a start? Come leave audio behind for this week and join us in a televisual spectacular!
We reach a milestone this week - our 100th episode! And for this landmark we cover the second half of The Legacy Of Time, Big Finish's own celebration. Will the Sixth Doctor and Charley be able to recapture their magic together? How will the Fifth Doctor and the Doctor's daughter (in both senses) get on together? And can a satisfying conclusion be reached? Plus we discuss the box set in a broader sense, and announce what we'll be doing next week, which is something a little different...
Kev and JG tackle the first half of the mammoth six-episode box-set that is The Legacy Of Time, which exists to celebrate 20 years of Big Finish. How will the Eighth Doctor get on with Benny AND River? Will the Counter-Measures Team be able to cope with the Seventh Doctor and Ace? And will Jo Grant really be sacrificed to save the world with the brand-new Third Doctor and the New UNIT team? Plus there's time to reflect on the sad passing of one of the most pivotal figures in all of Doctor Who, Terrance Dicks.
We drop into the strange, surreal world of Memory Lane this week as the Doctor, C'Rizz and Charley get stuck in probably the oddest prison of the series. Can this winding, bizarre tale land all its baffling elements? Will the strangeness overwhelm the story elements? And will this difficult TARDIS crew work in such an odd environment? Plus we dip into the mailbox to take a recommendation for covering some non-audio stories.
We stray into the batty, insane world of Iris Wildthyme this week, and we do it with a guest! Abby Denton is back to give her opinion on all things Iris as we ramble about the first two Iris stories. Will Iris work well on audio starring in her own standalone adventures? Will Katy Manning be able to anchor both stories successfully? Is there any danger of these discussions actually remaining on point? Climb aboard the smaller-on-the-inside big red bus and let's find out!
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An apology - no episode this week due to technical problems on JG's side (the audio of the episode for The Settling was, regrettably, unuseable). Sorry everyone! We'll be back next week.
We're back with the Fourth Doctor this week, covering two episodes in the 4th Fourth Doctor range. Can Suburban Hell conjure up anything worthwhile from suburbia? Can a ghost story set in a nunnery make the use of Liz Shaw's mum seem worthwhile? And can the Fourth Doctor range finally move forward or will it remain moribund?
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We're exploring history - just about - this week as we step into the world of time slips, court intrigue and all manner of bawdy comedy with The Kingmaker. How will the 5th Doctor slot into this world? Will Erimem find it easier to cope with than Peri? And can Big Finish finally produce a comedy that, you know, actually manages to be funny?
We're dealing with Other Lives this week as we pop in to see how the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C'Rizz are getting on. Turns out they've ended up in Victorian London, with all the complexities one might expect. How does someone of C'Rizz's unusual apperance fit into all that Victoriana? Can Charley find her way through while dealing with the Duke Of Wellington? And is the Doctor really just someone's amnesiac husband?
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We return to the fabulous world of River this week as we cover the final two episodes in the Volume Three box set. How does Peter Davison get on playing a character other than the 5th Doctor? Wll The episodes manage to come together as a cohesive whole? And just how many bad guys does the second story need? Plus there's a broader discussion of the River range. And, once again, apologies for the lateness of this episode - life not only finds a way, it finds a way to get in the way.
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We return to the fabulous worlds of River Song this episode as we cover the first two stories in the third box set. Will River be able to keep her momentum going after two pretty successful box-sets? How will Big Finish intersect with Series 6 continuity? And will the Fifth Doctor be able to hold his own against the whirlwind that is River's life?
This week we cover the last story in the 10th Doctor Box Set Vol 3 with The Creeping Death, and for the first time pay a visit to The Lost Stories range by covering the poetically-titled The Fragile Yellow Arc Of Fragrance. Will the last 10th Doctor story manage to land its story of 50's fog-bound aliens? Will the lyrically imaginative Fragile Yellow Arc succeed in telling its story of love and loss? Plus there's wildly unfounded speculation as to who might return to Doctor Who via Big Finish, and we dip into the post-bag to come up with some recommendations for the Seventh Doctor
This week we're back with the 10th Doctor as we explore the first two stories in the third volume of the 10th Doctor box set. How do the 10th Doctor and Donna work in a haunted house story? Does Wilf, brought so vividly to life by Bernard Cribbens, work as well here as he did on TV? Are the Judoon a success on audio? Is that old magic there between Tennant and Tate? So many questions - step back into the Davies era with us as we find out!
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This week we're back with Captain Jack in the final two stories from the first Lives Of Captain Jack box set. How will Alonso Frame fare after his big set-up with Jack at the end of, um, "The End Of Time"? And just what DID happen to Jack during those mysterious two years of memories that he's missing? And will John Barrowman be able to nail Captain Jack (pun very much intended) in audio as well as he did on screen? Plus there's time to dip into the mail bag to discuss a couple of previous episodes and take a recommendation.
This week we step in to a new range of box sets and cover the first two episodes in The Lives Of Captain Jack Vol1. How does Jack translate to the audio environment when he is front and centre of his own series? Do Torchwood comparisons get us anywhere? And just what happens when two of the horniest characters in Doctor Who meet up?
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We're back! After our short break we return with two great things - The Council Of Nicea as our episode, and a returning guest star in the form of Anthony Strand. How will the 5th Doctor cope in a pure historical? Will Peri be able to cope in a time much closer to Erimem's than her own? And how will the play deal with such a conflicting character like Constantine (no, not the Hellblazer one, though that would be interesting...). Come join our discussion as we return for Talking Who To You's third season(we're not promising a regeneration at the far end of it though)!
We're time out of joint this week - this discussion was recorded (and announced) a couple of weeks ago but we set it aside to come bang up to date with Missy and The Eighth of March. However, we'd never forget the 4th Doctor, so stepping out of the space/time vortex we this week cover two stories from Tom Baker's third Big Finish Season. With the Eminance becoming a recurring villain will their sort-of debut live up to their repeated returns? And how surreal will things get as we encounter The Abandoned?
Note: Next we will be covering Terror Firma, which was announced at the end of The Eighth Of March. Sorry for the confusing timeline, everyone!
This week we plunge ourselves into a dark tale of Gothic horror, isolation and time travel with the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex as we take a nap and experience Night Thoughts. What terrors lurk on a remote Scottish island? What's been lurking at the heart of the experiments here? And will the Doctor be able to make the ultimate necessary sacrifice and kill in cold blood? We discuss all this and more in an astonishingly good play... which will also be our last for a little while, as we announce a hiatus. Don't worry - we'll be back! But there will be a pause before the next episode.
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This week we're joining the Fifth Doctor and Turlough - unusual pairing, that - as they venture into Moscow, and to the very ends of the universe itself, in Singularity. How much can be made of the unusual Moscow setting? What other end-of-the-universe story does this remind everyone of now, even though this came first? And given how unusual the pairing is, how do the Fifth Doctor and Turlough fare? Dig out a big wooly hat, brace for temporal paradox and let's find out!
This week we get two companions for the price of one as we meet this Sixth Doctor and Mel and Evelyn all wrapped up in one story. How does this fare as a sequel to Thicker Than Water? How's Evelyn been doing since she stopped travelling with the Doctor? And just what happens when Evelyn and Mel meet?
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We finally get to return to the normal universe this week with the Eighth Doctor, C'rizz and Charley as they pop back into normal space... and immediately encounter Davros and the Daleks. What are the chances of THAT happening? Anyway, Earth has been invaded and Davros is out for... what? How will the only encounter between the Eighth Doctor and Davros in Big Finish history go? Wil C'rizz work any better as a character in this universe than he did in the Divergent Universe? And what is Davros's big plan this time out? Plus we return to the mailbag to discuss Caerdroia and the Missy box-set.
For the 8th March 2019 - International Womens Day - Big Finish released a special box set celebrating the women of the Doctor Who universe, written by four (mostly) new writers and that's what we're covering this week. And we have a special guest star to debate the episodes with us in the form of Abby Denton, returning to the podcast after her last visit. Will the strikingly unusual character pairing of River and Leela work out together? Does the conceit of the box set work with four very different sets of characters? And how do the new writers fare when it comes to embracing the unique requirements of both Doctor Who and Big Finish? It's time to come bang up to date with Big Finish and find out!
This week we come bang up to date with the world of Big Finish and cover all four episode of the Missy Box Set. There's some sharply divided opinions this week, and we kick of with a discussion around the Master/Missy in general before getting stuck in. How will Missy move from screen to audio? Will Michelle Gomez be able to recapture Missy's crackerjack (CRACKERJACK!) energy in the audio medium? And does the box set do enough to justify its own existence? Grab a brolly, hum a jaunty tune and let's find out!
It's a return trip to the newly-recasted First Doctor crew as Kev and JG cover the second story in the third box set, The Tick Tock World. With a sideways-in-time premise rather different from last week's pure historical will this story prove to be a bit more lively and interesting? Who is Carol-Ann Ford playing this time out and how does her performance line up with the new crew? And how does a lesbian romance line up with a 60's approach to Doctor Who? Plus there's time for an overview of the three First Doctor box sets and how they've developed, and whether this is an experiment that's been successful.
We return to the First Doctor this week with the third volume starring David Bradley as Kev and JG cover the pure historical The Phoenicians by old hand Marc Platt. Does this manage to improve on the problems of the last pure historical? How will the setting influence the characters? And what influence will the time travellers have on history this time? Plus we have time to visit the mailbag with some more thoughts on The Juggernauts and how Mel's character develops in Big Finish.
Welcome back listeners, and what a lovely day it is today as you join us in a discussion of Live 34. The debate will be between regulars Kev and JG as they get to grips with a structurally unique piece of Big Finish! That debate coming up soon - how does the structure work, how do these characters fit in, and do the politics land? All this and more, coming up right up after these messages!
We're heading back to the 18th century this week as JG and Kev get trapped in Catch-1782 with the Sixth Doctor and Mel. How will the time travel paradox at the heart of the episode hold up to scrutiny? Will there be any consequences? And just how will the Doctor get Mel back to the 21st Century. Also: Why the 21st Century since that isn't when Mel comes from? At least some of these questions might well be answered this week!
This week we have a sharp division between Kev and JG as we cover The Game - one of our intrepid reviewers absolutely hates this one, but who will it be? Can a story of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa caught up in uber-violent sport work out? And with old-timer William Russell stepping into a role that isn't Ian, how does he fare? Plus there's time to visit the mailbag with some more discussions of what the Divergent Universe is, how the stories might have worked in a different order and some Big Finish recommendations.
We have a returning guest this week in the shape of Tony Whitt from the Doctor Who Target Book Club podcast, and he's here to discuss The Juggernauts with JG and Kev. How will the return of the Mechanoids work out? How do they get along with Davros? And is Mel able to carry so much of the emotional content of this play? Plus there's time to dip into the mailbox as the three discuss the always controversial subject of recasting roles when an actor has passed away.
After what feels like a long haul, Kev and JG finally reach the way out of the Divergent Universe arc with the final play in the sequence, The Next Life. Will this provide a satisfactory resolution to the previous seven stories? Can one play manage to drag together all the disparate elements which have been introduced? And just how many endings can one play possibly have? Plus there's a dip into the mailbox to discuss a few more elements of The Harvest.
It's nearly over! Yes, we reach the second-last story of the Divergent Universe arc this week with Caerdroia. With the Doctor split into three parts, how will the conceit of a three-doctor one-doctor work? Does the surrealism land? And will it be Kev or JG that ends up being Tigger? Plus there's a heartfelt cry for Lloyd Rose to return to Doctor Who and writing, so put on your best Alice In Wonderland shoes and step into Caerdroia!
After last week's epic episode we return to the Divergent Universe (don't worry, we're nearly through it!) with The Last, re-uniting us with the Eighth Doctor, Charlie and C'Rizz. This time we're in a post-nuclear apocalypse and trying to figure out the secret of the planet Bortresoye. What's going on deep in the survival bunker? What dark secret does Excelsior harbour? Is there anyone left that still cares about the Divergent Universe? These and other questions shall be answered! Plus we dip back into the mail bag with some suggestions for future episodes to cover, as well as the always-appreciated flattery. Keep 'em coming everyone!
Welcome to this week's bumper-length episode! For this edition Kev and JG cover the Unbound range for the first time, and dive into the alternative 3rd Doctor with Sympathy For The Devil. Is David Warner up to carrying the mantle of Jon Pertwee? How is continuity used? And does the Brigadier work in this setting? And for the rest of the podcast there's an in-depth (read: long and rambling) discussion on Season 11 now that the New Year's Special has aired. JG and Kevin give their thoughts on the special and the season as well as giving each individual episode its due, plus hopes for the future when Season 12 rolls around. How did Jodie fare? Is the lower tone of this season successful? How many ways can It Takes You Away be praised? Why not dive in and find out!
New Year! New Episode! Returning guest star! Welcome in 2019 with Kevin, JG and returning guest Anthony Strand as they pick over another entry in the Divergent Universe arc, this time covering Faith Stealer. Is this a story that has anything to say about religion? How is the old Divergent Universe concept holding up? Will Anthony's warm memories from the first time he listened to this story hold up on a re-listen? Start the new year as you mean to go on - exploring the worlds of Big Finish with JG and Kevin!
It's the second half of the second River box set this week! That means Kevin and JG contemplate World Enough and Time before getting stuck in The Eye Of The Storm. How will River manage alongside Colin Baker's bombastic Sixth Doctor? How will she deal with the manipulative Seventh? And does any of this story come together? Plus we dip into the mailbag to cover more parts of Arrangements For War and there's a humble apology from JG for variable EDITing!
We're putting the Doctor to one side this week - kind of - and instead returning to flip through the pages of The Diary of River Song as JG and Kevin cover the first two episodes of the second box set. How will River manage when she comes up against the great master-manipulator that is the Seventh Doctor? Will the high-stakes space opera of The Unknown prove to be more or less effective than the small family drama of 5-29? And will JG and Kevin ever manage to stop praising Alex Kingston? Dig out your sonic trowel, put your most fabulous foot forward, and let's find out!
Guest star time! This week Kev and JG are joined by Abby Denton to discuss the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn adventure Medicinal Purposes. Travelling back to JG's home city of Edinburgh, how will they get tangled up in the Burke and Hare murders? How will Abby find this pairing as she drops in for the first time on the podcast? And how will, let's be polite, "veteran" guest star Leslie Phillips square up in a Doctor Who story? Put down those knives, stop listening through that stethoscope and let's find out!
It's the Seventh Doctor and Ace who are in the spotlight this week as JG and Kev visit a spooky hospital in London to cover The Harvest. And we also have the introduction of a new Big Finish companion in the shape of Hex. How will Ace and Hex get along? Will he prove to be a useful addition to the TARDIS team? And what's going on in this near-future hospital anyway? Strap yourself to a gurney and prepare for the sharp knife of criticism to slice through the body of the script! (analogy possibly taken too far and/or not far enough. Listen to the episode anyway!)
It's time to, um, arrange some war in this week's episode Arrangements For War! Following on from the events of Project Lazarus, how has the Doctor and Evelyn's relationship been altered? Can there ever be an understanding between these two deeply wounded characters again? And with a month to spare before a big invasion, what and how (and who!) is Evelyn going to do with her time while she recovers? It's time to see what happens before the dog-monsters invade and how it affects the characters we've come to love.
We risk out very sanity this week as we find ourselves plunged into the chaotic world of The Jester when the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem come up against The Axis of Insanity. It's been a long time since we covered a Peter Davison story, so how does it feel to return to the Fifth Doctor and this TARDIS crew? Can Big Finish manage to land the surreal aspects of this story? And is there any reason to hope the Axis might return? And, prompted by a listener eMail, we spend the last third of the episode discussing Season 11 of the TV show to check in on how things are going with the Chibnall era. Are things living up to the potential of the series? How are the new Doctor and new companions parsing out? And what hopes to JG and Kevin have for the future?
Failing to return to the Main Range after last week's Companions Special thanks to a faulty solenoid on the console we instead dive into another two stores from the Fourth Doctor. Covering two stories from the third season this week, Kevin and JG discover the threat posed by a super-sized Sontaran and drop in on the latest doubtless-sensible plan from the Master. Will super-sizing a Sontaran make them even more of a threat? Will the Master manage to do anything even remotely logical? Plus there's time for more thoughts on The Wormery and Iris Wildthyme in our mailbag section as well.
This week JG and Kev take a break from reviewing the regular releases and instead turn their gaze on to one of the most cruical aspects of Doctor Who - the companions. In a wide-ranging discussion they cover both the Big Finish original companions and the TV companions who have made it over to audio (yes, that's basically all of them). Plus there's time to give JG and Kev's top five companions! Who will they be? What medium will the come from? And is anyone going to pick Adric? The only way to find out is to listen!
Just in time for Halloween Kevin and JG cover a duo of spooky stories this week, Project Twlight and Project Lazarus. And we have two Doctors for the price of one as both Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy show up. But how will these two Doctors get on? What's Evelyn's big secret? And how do these stories do when it comes to integrating the supernatural into Doctor Who? Plus there's time for more mail, with a discussion of the David Warner Doctor and what his recurring presence might mean.
We flit back to the era of the Sixth Doctor this week with The Wormery, the play that brings Katy Manning's Iris Wildthyme to the Main Range. How does the former companion manage when faced with Iris's irascible, irrepressible side? Just how well can Colin Baker (and Colin Baker's Doctor) cope with this one-woman whirlwind of innuendo and alcohol? And does the "worm" bit of The Wormery make even the slightest sense? Climb aboard a big red London bus that's just ever-so-slightly smaller on the inside and find out!
After visiting the 13th Doctor last week we return to the 8th this week and the Divergent Universe arc with the punishingly average The Twilight Kingdom. Just how excited can Kevin and JG get about a bunch of caves? How many interchangeable characters will they find it possible to care about? Plus, since there's simply no way to get three-quarters of an hour out of this play, there's time for a discussion of Big Finish at large, focussing on how things are going now and what's working and what's not. There's also a discussion of the writers Big Finish use, and whether they are now simply producing too much material, plus a notional and not-altogheter-convincing attempt to link it back to this week's episode. Yes, why not listen to two people struggling to find anything remotely interesting to say about this play!
Taking a break from the world of audio, JG and Kevin dive in to the brand new 13th Doctor and discuss her very first TV episode, The Woman Who Fell To Earth. Just how does the 13th Doctor do in her first outing? And with a new show-runner, writer, star, and composer does this still feel like Doctor Who of old? And what of the new companions? Plus there's time to pop into the mailbag for a discussion of Phillip Martin, and JG witters on for far too long (again!) about the omnishambles that is The Trial Of A Time Lord. Come join us as we step into a bold new era!
Be happy. Happy people love podcasts. Podcast loving people get more podcasts. Enjoy visiting Light City, with its memories and structures. Have you been here before? Have the Doctor, Charley and C'Rizz? What is going on within the city? Will any of it make sense? Remember - questions are forbidden.
After the experimental, challenging nature of last week's episode we come to the second stab at doing something interesting with the Divergent Universe arc, The Creed Of The Kromon. This episode sees new companion C'rizz join the Doctor and Charley on their travels, so how does he work out in his first appearance? Does the more traditional structure of this play work with the more radical concept of the Divergent Universe? And will our intrepid reviewers be able to stay awake dicussing this story? (don't worry, there isn't ten minutes of gentle snoring as they run out of things to say.) Why not listen and find out!
We remain with the First Doctor this week and pay a visit to 19th century Japan, and embrace the pure historical that is "The Barbarian And The Samurai". Can we visit such a location without automatically falling into cliche and predictable cultural beats? Will the fact that Barbara is actually a historian have any bearing on the story? Is this any better than the last ho-hum Hartnell-era historical "The Great White Hurricane"? Plus there's time to visit the mailbag and discuss Churchill's place in Doctor Who, and whether including him was even a remotely good idea (NOT including him in 19th century Japan, to be clear).
We go back to the 1960's this week with the second First Doctor Box Set, with Kevin and JG this week covering "The Invention Of Death". Will this episode do a better job of capturing the 1st Doctor era than the last one? How does the gamble of such a weird setting work? And now that we're more familiar with them, do the characters seem more genuine this time out? Join our intrepid reviewers as they venture to a planet that's just not QUITE like any other in Doctor Who...
We're back! The summer hiatus has come to an end so we're celebrating by covering Big Finish's own celebratory story, The Light At The End. Is is better than the last celebratory story covered here, Zagreus? (and perhaps more relevantly, could it possibly be worse?) Will THIS turn out to be the play that successfully squeezes in all eight Doctors for something other than a fiasco? Join JG and Kevin as they get back into the swing of things. And there's a few eMails to cover as well, so welcome back and let's talk Who!
This week, instead of covering a regular story, we have something quite different. Rob Shearman, writer of so many classics as well as the person who brought back the Daleks for the 21st Century, joins us in conversation. We discuss the early days of Big Finish, cover the audio stories he's best-known for, and chat about how "Dalek" came about. Plus we cover Jodie Whittaker's casting (that's kind of inevitable at this stage) and how Rob feels about the possibility of returning to Doctor Who. It's a fascinating, in-depth discussion, and gives a terrific insight to Big FInish from one of its best writers. And right at the end, because we know you care about us, there's an announcement about the future...
For the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, Big Finish decided it might be a good idea to get absolutely every actor from the TV show who's ever appeared in a Big Finish play to take part in their sprawling, nearly four-hour long epic, Zagreus. Tasked with fitting in a wealth of Doctor Who actors, resolving the plot points from Neverland, and providing a satisfactory story in its own right, how does Zagreus fare? Is there a pleasure to all this self-indulgence or do things become bloated and overburdened? And just where is the Doctor off to next? Join JG and Kevin as they wade into the depths of Gallifrayan lore to see what lurks there. Plus there's a visit to the post bag to discuss some more aspects of Davros.
We deal with the third and final episode of the "villains" trilogy this week as Kevin and JG come face-to-face with Master. Who is John Smith, and how does this story function as a dark inversion of Human Nature? Can Joseph Lidster redeem himself after the abject failure of The Rapture? And with Geoffrey Beevers returning to the role of the title character how does he cope trying to redefine how we see the Master? Plus there's time for a visit to the mailbag to discuss cliffhangers.
We have the second in the "villains" trilogy this week as JG and Kevin encounter Davros. As a thorough interrogation of who and what Davros is does this story live up to the standards set by its predecessor and really get inside Davros? How does Terry Molloy fare returning to the role? And is the episode able to pull off its social and political critiques while still delivering a compelling drama? Slip inside your Dalekanium shell, pop on your headphones, terrorise all life in the galaxy, pour a drink, and let's find out!
It's the first of the "villains" trilogy this week as Kevin and JG come up against Omega, and the first of four stories designed by Big Finish to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary back in the heady days of 2003. Can Omega, never the deepest of characters in Doctor Who's history, stand up to this kind of character interrogation? Does the play work as a 40th celebration? And does Omega manage to be better than the character's last outing in Arc of Infinity? (spoilers: yes)
We return to the world of the Fourth Doctor and the first Romana this week, as JG and Kevin tackle the two-release stories of The Sands Of Life and War Against The Laan. With two very notable guest stars, in the shape of Hayley Atwell and David Warner, how do these heavyweights do in a Big Finish play? Are the Doctor and Romana up to an unusual Earth invasion story liek this, and just why are the Laan on Earth at all? Plus there's time to dive in to the mail bag, discussing the possibility of whether the Third Doctor could do with a new companion as well as debating how the two existing ones fared.
It's a second go-around for the 3rd Doctor this week, as Earth is left behind in favour of some classic Pertwee space opera. But will the box set be able to do a better job in space than they managed under the waves last week? How will Mike's first trip in the TARDIS go for the UNIT solder? And just how good IS Jo at impersonating a security officer from the future? It's time to slip forward a few hundred years in time and find out!
It's the dawn of a new era this week, as JG and Kevin encounter the 3rd Doctor for the first time, in his new, re-cast incarnation starring Tim Treloar. How does the newcomer compare to Jon Pertwee? And we have a couple of old hands around in the shape of Mike Yates and Jo Grant - how do they make the transition to audio? It's time to head beneath the waves and see if this is a worthy return for the 3rd Doctor, or whether this sinks without trace...
To cover the second story in a row full of structural experimentation, Kevin and JG are joined by a guest host, Tony Whitt of the podcast The Doctor Who Target Book Club. Can Tony shed some light on the looped, Escheresque structure of Flip-Flop? How do JG and Kevin feel this compares to last week's attempts at structural oddities in Creatures Of Beauty? Will any of the three of them be able to escape the Mobeus loop of the play or will they be compelled to discuss Flop Flop... forever?
It's all about structure this week as Kevin and JG come up against Nicholas Briggs's Creatures Of Beauty. There's an exploration of how the unique structure of this play works in terms of character and plot, and whether Briggs is able to land the narrative pyrotechnics he indulges in here. And just how good a choice are the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa for this sort of unconventional story? It's time to find out!
One of the all-time classics comes under analysis this week, as Kevin and JG cover Rob Shearman's Jubilee. Not only is it a long-acknowledged classic of the range but it's also only the second Big Finish story to directly influence the TV series, being adapted into the episode "Dalek". Can any story live up to Jubilee's reputation? How does Colin Baker cope with such a heavyweight and metatextual story? And how does Evelyn fit into all this? Plus we visit the mailbag once more, and discuss River Song's position as a feminist icon.
Time for a swashbuckling historical this week as JG and Kevin step back in time to France and the court of King Louis with the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem. How does Erimem's first trip in time go for someone from so far back in history? Will any of this mean anything to her? And we have Nicola Bryant in a dual role as Peri and Queen Anne - just how does she do having to deliver on not one but two characters? Strap on your sword and let's find out! All for one and... yes, well, maybe not.
Kevin and JG are joined by returning guest host Anthony Strand this week to discuss Doctor Who And The Pirates. A-har! Will the play be a tale of bountiful adventures on the high seas, or will it be wrecked upon the shores of over-ambition? Just how can a story cope with a third episode that's almost entirely musical? Just how great IS Colin Baker's singing voice? Is it possible to fit in any more rhetorical questions into this episode summary? The answers to all this and more lie within, so grab a tot of rum, splice the mainbrace and... all hands, brace for Pirates! (Penzance not featured)
We return to the world of River Song this week with the final two episodes in her first box set, The Diary Of River Song. How will these two episodes fare after the first two, and will we get a stronger outing for River this time round? And can the box set stick the landing over a four-episode story arc? Plus there's a visit to the mail bag, with a discussion on worst Big Finish stories and a (far from welcome) return to The Rapture
For the first time in the podcast, Kevin and JG step away from the Doctor and instead embrace the wonderful worlds of River Song, as they cover the first two episodes in The Diary Of River Song Volume One. How will River translate from TV to audio? Will Alex Kingston be able to bring the character to life in audio with the same vivaciousness she managed on TV? And what difference will it make now the character isn't just being written by Steven Moffat? The answers to all these questions and more lie before you!
We travel back in time to the heady days of 1997 this week, as JG and Kevin get to deal with the Seventh Doctor / Ace story The Rapture. We visit Ibiza at the height of its cultural significance, with dancing, drugs, sex, and evil alien brothers (the last of which may not be entirely historically accurate). Will it be pure bliss, or will there be a terrible fall from grace after the last two knock-outs?
It's one of the all-time classics of the range this week, as Kevin and JG dive into Marc Platt's Spare Parts. Does the story deserve its reputation as the very pinnacle of what Big Finish can achieve? Can any story possibly live up to the reputation this one has? And can the original horror of the Cybermen be successfully captured on audio? Failure to listen will result in instant conversion....
Sentient language? Sure, that's a thing! Be prepared for some serious oddness as JG and Kevin this week cover the Sixth Doctor and Peri story ...ish. Will the idea of sentient language turn out to be a good one? And how do the Sixth Doctor and Peri work together in the first audio play featuring the pairing that this podcast have covered? And we dip into the mailbox again for a comment on Time Of The Daleks, and a quick guide on where to start with Doctor Who novels.
Kevin and JG this week return to the adventures of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa, as we explore Primeval and the deep past of Traken. Can Primeval invoke the same baroque feel as The Keeper Of Traken? And will this prove to be a more successful outing that the pair's last (covered) story in Winter For The Adept? Plus there's a dip into the mailbag, as Kevin and JG are asked whether environment has ever affected the appreciation of a story.
It's back in time to ancient Egypt for JG and Kevin this week as we cover Eye Of The Scorpion. This time the Fifth Doctor and Peri are joined by a new companion, would-be Pharaoh Ermimem. But how will the Egyptian queen fit in with this TARDIS team? And how come this is the first Peri story we've covered since the podcast began? The answers to these and more questions await!
This week it's the second story in the 1st Doctor Box Set that Kevin and JG are covering, as they encounter The Great White Hurricane. How will this new version of the very first TARDIS team cope with a straight historical? And will New York in the 19th century prove to be a worthwhile setting? Plus there's a discussion around why "Talking Who To You" is out of step with the general critical consensus regarding recent box sets, we dip into the mailbox for a couple of letters, and as if that wasn't enough we also let listeners know what stories are going to becoming up over the next few months. Phew!
This week we have something entirely new to both the podcast and Big Finish, as JG and Kevin explore the adventures of the First Doctor in The Destination Wars. This is Big Finish's debut box set for the First Doctor, featuring an entirely recast TARDIS team from the very earliest era of the show. But will this box set be able to recreate the era successfully? How do the new cast do? And just how well do the Master and the First Doctor work together? Plus there's time to dive into the mailbag, with a discussion of Gareth Roberts and his contribution to Doctor Who, as well as future stories to be covered.
We reach the finale of the second Paul McGann season this week, as Kevin and JG tackle Neverland, the sprawling epic that brings the Charley arc to a head. But how does the epic mix with the Eighth Doctor and is it a good match for McGann's interpretation? And in revisiting Gallifrey do Big Finish manage to find a way of squaring the circle and manage to produce a Gallifrey story that's actually interesting? Plus there's a discussion of the politics underlying Neverland's assumptions, and a much-anticipated return for Romana to the Main Range.
We return to Paul McGann's second season as the Eighth Doctor this week, and his first encounter with the pepperpots in Time Of The Daleks. With a story that embraces Daleks, Shakespeare, future history, rebellions and time paradoxes there's certainly plenty going on, but will this end up being overstuffed and excessive or action-packed and relentless? JG and Kevin dive in to see just what's going on in the penultimate episode of this season - come along for the ride!
This week we have the last two episodes from the second 10th Doctor Box set, as Kevin and JG cover The Sword Of The Chevalier and Cold Vengeance. The former sees a trip to Regency England, and the latter sees the 10th Doctor encountering the Ice Warriors for the first time. But will Regency England prove to be all pomp and circumstance and no substance? And will the Ice Warriors be able to warm their hearts or will this story leave them out in the cold? (Ok, no more temperature-based puns, I promise)
The Tenth Doctor returns! This week JG and Kevin cover the first episode of the new Tenth Doctor Box Set Volume 2, Infamy of the Zaross. This also features a first, with the return of Rose and Billie Piper. But will David Tennant and Billie Piper be able to recapture that old magic? Plus there's a discussion of the final Peter Capaldi episode, Twice Upon A Time. Just how was the Twelfth Doctor's final hour? And just how good was the return of the First Doctor?
Returning to the world of the Eighth Doctor, Kevin and JG this week look at Embrace The Darkness. Can the Eighth Doctor range manage to make it three decent stories in a row? Or will the darkness be left tragically unembraced? Plus there's time for a couple of letters from the mailbag, with a further discussion on Chimes of Midnight and some more recommendations beyond Big Finish.
This week, in celebration of the Christmas Special Twice Upon A Time, JG and Kevin explore not audio but instead video, and delve into the legacy of the Hartnell era on television. Starting with An Unearthly Child and finishing with The Tenth Planet, they explore what made the Hartnell era such a triumph, while also covering a couple of less-commonly discussed stories. But which ones? And there's also time for a few Big Finish recommendations as well, and a discussion about how Big Finish have been able to bring this era of the show back to life.
Staying with the Eighth Doctor and Charley, Kevin and JG follow up last week's classic with Seasons Of Fear, a tale of temporal paradoxes and an unexpected returning monster. But can the Eighth Doctor range produce two strong stories in a row? And how do the temporal shenanigans compare to more recent television attempts to do something similar?
Both a classic episode and a guest star! This week JG and Kevin welcome Anthony Strand on-board to discuss one of the unalloyed classics of the range, The Chimes Of Midnight. Discussing class, gender, roles, time travel and paradoxes, all three get stuck into one of the best-regarded of all Big Finish stories. But will Chimes Of Midnight live up to its critical praise? And will it prove to be a suitably spooky Christmas adventure?
Geek out time #2! Kevin and JG take a second break from their regular format to discuss audio dramas outside of Doctor Who. Covering other Big Finish ranges and dramas produced elsewhere, Kevin and JG explore a number of different ways that audio survives as a medium in the 21st century and put forward a few suggestions to help listeners find their way into other ranges and plays.
JG and Kevin this week travel to the cold, confined world of Colditz and explore this Seventh Doctor and Ace release set during the final year of World War II. This is a story that combines history, science fiction, character and tension, but will JG and Kevin discover a play worthy of the mighty castle? And will our plucky reviewers find something worthy lurking in its walls, or will they too fall into a temporal paradox?
Returning to the Eighth Doctor this week, Kevin and JG cover the first story of Paul McGann's second season with Invaders From Mars. How will his Doctor and Charley fit in to 30's New York? And as a more comedic take on Doctor Who, will any of the jokes here actually land? Plus more mailbag chat with a couple of letteres commenting on some previously-covered stories and issue, as well as a discussion around line head Nicholas Briggs.
This week we have a returning guest star in the shape of Alasdair Wilkins from the podcast Debating Doctor Who. He'll be joining JG and Kevin to discuss Loups-Garoux, a rare Fifth Doctor and Turlough outing feature werewolves, future Brazil and centuries-long power struggles. But will the episode successfully fuse werewolf legends with Doctor Who? And how well is Doctor Who suited to this kind of crossover?
Kevin and JG explore a whole new era of Doctor Who this week as Big Finish produce their first Main Range story set during the otherwise-print-only time of the Virgin NA's. There's much to debate here, including New Ace, an almost-never-seen-again TARDIS crew, and a wealth of provocative material. But will Shadow Of The Scoruge accurately recapture the print era of the show? And will Kevin and JG find Bernice a worthy addition to the roster of Seventh Doctor companions?
Jumping forward in Doctor but back in release schedule, JG and Kevin leave the Fourth Doctor behind this week and tackle the Seventh Doctor story The Fires Of Vulcan, also featuring one of the least well-regarded companions of all time, Mel. Big Finish have a reputation for being able to work miracles on unpopular parts of the show, but will they be able to redeem a character like Mel? And will Bonnie Langford rise to the occasion? Plus we have more mailbag chat to round out the episode.
For the first time, Kevin and JG tackle Tom Baker's mighty Fourth Doctor and Mary Tamm's Romana, with two separate stories, the puntastically-titled The Auntie Matter, and the Victorian-set The Justice Of Jalxar. But will the 20's setting of The Auntie Matter prove more successful than fog-bound Victorian London? And will the return of Jago and Litefoot dazzle downloaders with delightful dramatic delectation or dastardly dismissible disasters?
We're back with the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn this week in Bloodtide, which also sees the first audio appearance of the Silurians. But will JG and Kevin discover something which expands on this popular race, or will it be a question of more of the same?
We have a second visit to the world of the Sixth Doctor and Evelyn this week as Kevin and JG tackle The Spectre of Lanyon Moor. And we have the only audio meeting between the Sixth Doctor and the Brigaider! What's not to love? A surprising amount, as it turns out...
Geek out time! Taking a break from their regular format, this week JG and Kevin look back over the episodes already covered, and discuss Big Finish and what they've managed to achieve over the company's history. And after that, there's a more general discussion about Doctor Who and what JG and Kevin both love about the series, in both original and new flavours (so basically it's just a chance to fully geek out).
Kevin and JG return to the early days of Big Finish this week and tackle The Marian Conspiracy, which is notable for two reasons. Firstly it's the debut audio from stalwart Jacqueline Rayner, and secondly it's the first story for fan-favourite Sixth Doctor companion Evelyn Smythe. But will Evelyn live up to the hype? And just how do Big Finish fare with the first historical since Black Orchid back in 1982 (and/or The Highlanders in 1966, feel free to take your pick...)?
JG and Kevin complete the Tenth Doctor box set this week by covering the last episode of the set, Death And The Queen, and discover an astonishingly strong slice of Doctor Who. But will this episode prove to be the highlight of Volume One? And can they talk about a 55 minute episode for 45 minutes?
The Tenth Doctor! Mailbag! It's all going on this week as Kevin and JG take a huge leap forward in time and revist the recent Tenth Doctor Box Set Volume One. They're dealing with the first two episodes of the three-episode set (the third will be covered on its own next week), as well as responding to a couple of eMails the show has received.
Guest star time! This week JG and Kevin welcome Alasdair Wilkins of the podcast "Debating Doctor Who" onboard to cover an early Big Finish classic. But will the three of them find out if this story's reputation is deserved? What we really want to know is - will they all end up hailing the Great Talking Bird?
This week, we have a story starring the 5th Doctor and Nyssa. Kevin and JG battle through winter storms, telepathic schoolgirls and arguably the least interesting script to date. Can they actually manage to fill forty-five minutes this week, or will former script-editor Andrew Cartmel's first Big Finish story defeat them?
Stepping away from the 8th Doctor and Charley, JG and Kevin this week cover the first Seventh Doctor and Ace story, The Fearmonger, and discover a lost gem. Delving into character, politics, script and production, an early Big Finish classic is rediscovered.
It's time to descend into hell, as Kevin and JG face off against "Minuet In Hell", the final of the first four 8th Doctor stories. But will they discover something truly diabolical, or devilishly good? (Spoilers: it's the first one)
A first - JG and Kevin disagree over a story! But who thinks The Stones Of Venice is a worthwhile story and who thinks it's very much not? There's only one way to find out...
This week Kevin and JG discuss the Saward-esque "Sword Of Orion" and how it all too accurately recaptures the days of the mid-80's, while giving the 8th Doctor his first chance to face off against the Cybermen.
Welcome to the very first episode of Talking Who To You, a podcast dedicated to the Big Finish adventures of Doctor Who. The show starts by starting - with the very first episode of Paul McGann's run as the Eighth Doctor. Can he live up to the standards of his predecessors? And what of new companion Charley? Join JG and Kevin as they debate this keystone episode for McGann's interpretation of the role.