The Doctor Who Podcast

As everyone comes down off their post-Gallifrey 23 buzz, the team at The Doctor Who Podcast embarks on a mini project – over the next two episodes we will be looking at the era of John Nathan-Turner, the longest serving producer of Doctor Who, and a figure that has been the subject of equal parts derision and praise ever since he took on the role in the early 1980s. In this episode Leeson and Tom look at how John Nathan-Turner came to take on the role of Producer, and his time on the show up to the end of the Peter Davison era. Ian and Michele also review the first half of the JNT Memoirs, a release from Big Finish (sadly no longer available) where John Nathan-Turner shares his candid memories of his time on the show.

This episode brings us to the conclusion of our week long preview and review of the behemoth that is the Gallifrey convention. In this episode Trevor shares his memories of attending Gallifrey 22. To those going to Gallifrey 23, enjoy, have a great time and don’t forget to let The Doctor Who Podcast [email protected]“>know about your experiences.

Continuing our short series of podcasts on our memories of Gallifrey 22, Michele steps up to the microphone this episode and talks about her experiences at the 2011 convention.    

If yesterday’s episode wasn’t enough to whet your appetite for the upcoming Gallifrey 23 convention, starting today for the next three days Michele, Trevor and James share their personal memories of attending Gallifrey 21 in 2010 and Gallifrey 22 in 2011. Not so much reviews, more a trip down memory lane as they try and capture in audio their feelings and experiences attending the convention. First up is James, who talks about his time at Gallifrey 21 and 22. Self indulgent?  Yes.  Personal?  Yes again.  Guilty as charged. Enjoy.

Trevor is joined by Michele and special guest Chip from the 2 Minute Timelord Podcast to preview the goings on at the biggest Doctor Who convention in the world, Gallifrey 23. With over 1800 attendees already confirmed for this event, it promises to be an exciting weekend for Doctor Who fans. The team go over the schedule and pick out their highlights.

Trevor, James and Tom congregate in the DWP campervan and discuss the vexing question of – Is Moffat delivering? Two years of Doctor Who under the reign of Steven Moffat has brought us some of the most interesting stories in modern Doctor Who. With that under his belt and the 50th anniversary season looming, the boys take a look at his time to answer this ultimate question.

Very exciting week here at the DWP Campervan as Trevor, Leeson and Ian kick back and review the new releases from the Big Finish range, Doctor Who audios featuring he of the long scarf and bags of confectionary, the fourth Doctor Tom Baker. We have waited a very long time for Mr Baker to appear in a Big Finish audio.  Just how did he fare? The lost stories Foe from the Future and Valley of Death are reviewed, along with the first story from the regular season of new fourth Doctor adventures, Destination Nerva.

James and Ian were lucky enough to spend the day at the Big Blue Box Convention, and were lucky enough to secure some excellent coverage of the event. One of the events at the convention was a screening of Cleaning Up, written by Simon Guerrier, who is heavily involved with the Big Finish range, and directed by Thomas Guerrier. James caught up with Simon and chatted with him about this new short film. Also in this episode are interviews with Tom Spilsbury, current editor of Doctor Who Magazine and Stephen Elsden, organiser of the Big Blue Box Convention. At the end of a hectic day, James and Ian had the opportunity to chat to none other than Louise Jameson, best known as playing Leela from 70s Doctor Who alongside Tom Baker.  She stars in Cleaning Up, and chatted to James about the film and her time on Doctor Who. A big thanks to the Guerrier Brothers and Stephen Elsden for making The Doctor Who Podcast so welcome on the day and for the opportunity to secure these fantastic interviews.

Big Finish is again the subject of another exciting podcast from the DWP Towers this week as we delve into the latest McCoy threesome of releases from this most magnificent company. Robophobia, The Doomsday Quatrain and House of Blue Fire has been obtained, listened to and disected.  Just what will Trev, Leeson and James make of them?

You are most welcome to the latest episode of the Doctor Who Podcast. Within this jam-packed podcast you will find an interview with writer Nev Fountain, he of Big Finish, Dead Ringers and Mervyn Stone Mysteries fame.  Trevor had a chat with him about all things comedy, Doctor Who and sofas. Michele and Ian review the Big Finish Companion Chronicle, Peri and the Piscon Paradox. We read through your feedback for the 2011 Christmas special. All this, and a major announcement that will shake the DWP to its very foundations.  A little.

A new year dawns (Happy New Year to all our listeners!), so it must be time for the DWP to dust off their crystal balls again and make some grandiose and probably totally incorrect predictions for what will be happening in the world of Doctor Who in 2012. We also rather foolishly review the predictions we made in Episode #59 about what was going to happen in 2011.  Hear where we went dramatically wrong!

The DWP Team review the Doctor Who special for Christmas 2011 – The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe.

As the first part of the world enters Xmas 2011 (that would be Kiritimati, fact fans), the DWP releases its Christmas episode for 2011. So many people to thank for their contributions to this years Christmas celebration. Leeson and Harry from the Radio Rassilon podcast for their song and contribution to the skit. Comedian and downright musical genius Ashley Frieze for his downright genius musical interlude. And of course Ian, Michele, Harry, Steven, John, Tin Dog and Leeson for their Christmas wishes. Enjoy this little slice of Christmas, DWP-style as you tuck into your turkey or pull your cracker. Merry Christmas from the extended DWP family.

With the season of gift giving upon us, the DWP Campervan turns its thoughts towards Christmas, and how Doctor Who has celebrated the season across its entire run. The DWP Team of Trevor, James and Tom welcome special guest Leeson from the Radio Rassilon podcast in discussing Doctor Who and its references to Christmas. From breaking the fourth wall in the Hartnell era to flying sharks in the Matt Smith era, its all there. Ian and Michelle also drop by with reviews on the Big Finish entries into the yuletide spirit.

This week on the podcast we review two of the lost Sylvester McCoy stories released from Big Finish – Animal and Earth Aid. We also have an interview with one of the stars from Earth Aid – Paterson Joseph – the Doctor who almost was.

A special episode from the Doctor Who Podcast this week to share the fantastic news that has just broken. Two episodes from classic Doctor Who have been discovered and returned by the BBC Archives. Galaxy Four, episode 3, part of William Hartnell’s third season, has been returned along with the second episode of a Patrick Troughton story, The Underwater Menace. Trevor and James talk about these discoveries and the background to how they were returned.

The Cybermen, classic monsters who terrorised the Doctor during the run of the original series, returned for the new series rejuvenated, revitalised and reinvented for a modern audience. The DWP Campervan plays host to the metal meanies this episode with Trevor, Tom and James discussing the rebirth of the Cybermen in the new series of Doctor Who. Ian and Michelle also review a Cybermen story from the Big Finish range.

In April this year a great loss occurred in the Doctor Who community with the death of Elisabeth Sladen, perhaps better known as Sarah Jane Smith, companion to the Third and Fourth Doctors. It was a loss so sudden, so unexpected, and revealed what a private person Elisabeth was. It is only now courtesy of her autobiography we are finding out more about this extraordinary woman. The DWP Team pay tribute to Lis by talking about her time on Doctor Who, her work in the Sarah Jane Adventures, her foray into the world of Big Finish and other spin off media. Spend some time with Sarah Jane this week.

What self respecting podcast doesn’t release an episode on November 23rd? Certainly not The Doctor Who Podcast! In this episode we have a chat about the rumours surrounding the Doctor Who movie. The Doctor Who convention in March 2012 comes under our piercing DWP gaze. We draw the Simon Guerrier competition which we started in episode #108. The Ark has recently been released on DVD, and Trevor and James take a look at what it has to offer.

This week was to have been our episode on the delightful Elisabeth Sladen, but unfortunately real life got in the way and James could not join us. We really wanted to do Lis justice and have all three of us in the campervan so we will postpone that episode for a very short while. So, in the meantime, with a lack of anything to say about one of Doctor Who’s favourite companions, Trev and Tom settle back and have a geek out. A what a wide ranging discussion it is – Voyage of the Damned, stunt casting, numeracy, Australian accents, accountancy and a whole lot of laughter. Also the announcement of our competition just in time for Christmas.

During the London Riots earlier in the year, our very ownJames tried to find a quiet table and sit down with Simon Guerrier, a name that you might not all be familiar with but one that has been cropping up in the world of Doctor Who for many years now. Simon has written for Big Finish for the Fifth and Seventh Doctors. Contributed stories to the Short Trips range. He has written original novels for the First and Tenth Doctors. Written comic strips. Made Bernice Summerfield come to life in the printed word. And produced some of the most fondly remembered documentaries which have featured on the 2Entertain range of classic series DVD releases. In fact pretty much the only thing he HASN’T done is written for the new series. Though that can’t be far away. James had a fascinating chat with Simon, a man who has had such a submliminal effect on our enjoyment of Doctor Who. You might not know who he is, but after this interview, you will.

Time to delve into the wonderful universe of Big Finish at the Doctor Who Podcast. The latest fifth Doctor trilogy of Heroes of Sontar, Kiss of Death and Rat Trap make their way across the DWP Campervan kitchen bench for us to slice, dice and boil down to its constituent parts. We also announce another competition in which you can win some major prizes. We meant to announce this competition last week, but um, forgot. Sorry about that.

This episode is all about the reviews, as the DWP Campervan rips off the shrinkwrap from a couple of Doctor Who DVDs and Big Finish audios. On the DVD front, Day of the Daleks and Paradise Towers are reviewed by Trevor, Tom and James. And making their first appearance inside the DWP Campervan, DWP forum moderators Ian and Michelle review the Big Finish audio Find and Replace.

It has been a while since we have done one of these things, but The Doctor Who Podcast quiz is back! Tom is quizmaster to a nervous Trevor and James, who are being assaulted under the barrage of ten exquisitely chosen questions courtesy, in part, from our wonderful listeners.

The DWP like nothing better than a good ‘ole geek out – a chance to let our hair down, sit back with a warm, or indeed cold beverage, and talk about whatever pops into our heads. And that is exactly what we do in this episode. Unburdened by the shackles of BBC programming, Trevor and Tom geek out about a whole manner of things, far too lengthy to list here. We also play an interview that ourJames had with writer Tom McRae, writer of the two part Cybermen story Rise of the Cybermen and Age of Steel. He also wrote The Girl Who Waited from this current season. A truly bursting at the seams episode for your enjoyment!

Season 6 is over, the Doctor lives and Amy and Rory are reunited with their daughter and live happily ever after.  What now? We have received a lot of feedback for the last few stories of Series 6 which we just haven’t had the chance to play on the show. In this episode we attempt to rectify that. We present to you a double length episode with feedback, spirited discussions, arguments, outlandish theories, explanations and a whole lot of laughter. The Doctor Who Podcast – the podcast with the best set of teeth

They say good things come to those who wait, and we thank you for waiting patiently for this latest episode of what is simply the finest Doctor Who podcast in existence. In this episode all three hosts review the season finale – The Wedding of River Song. We also have a bit of a chat about the recent axing of Doctor Who Confidential. Get your feedback about Series 6 in now, we want to know what you thought of it!

Closing Time brings us to the penultimate episode for Seres 6 of Doctor Who, and it falls to Trevor and Tom to discuss and share their thoughts on this story. Not content with talking about the episode, they ended up talking about all manner of things other than the story itself! Rest assured there are no spoilers for non-screened episodes, so please enjoy!

WithJames and Tom abandoning Trevor this week some extra special help was called upon to review The God Complex. Chip from the Two Minute Timelord podcast answered the call to action and joins Trevor in the campervan for the review. We also play your feedback from the last couple of stories.

With a title like The Girl Who Waited, it wasn’t hard to figure out who this episode would focus on. Doctor Who presents us with another standalone episode, which Trevor, James and Tom share their thoughts on this week. We also announce details of an exciting competition!

Whooverville 3 recently took place on Saturday 3rd September 2011 and The Doctor Who Podcast was there! As where a lot of other podcasts, as part of the Doctor Who Podcast Alliance representation at the event. OurJames, along with Michael from the Tin Dog Podcast and Luke from the Minute Doctor Who Podcast were lucky enough to interview 80s Who Girl herself, Nicola Bryant. Enjoy this very interesting interview with the Doctor Who companion who travelled alongside not one, but two Doctors.  

After checking the front door to make it was locked, leaving a light on and having the phone handy we settled down to watch Night Terrors, a creepy entry into the Season 6 lineup. All three DWP hosts are in the campervan this week – Trevor, James and Tom.  Hear what they have to say about this story.

Possibly the most misleading title in the history of Doctor Who (right up there with The Doctor’s Daughter, The Doctor’s Wife and The Happiness Patrol) Let’s Kill Hitler marks the return of Doctor Who to our screens for the second time in 2011. James and Tom review this most interesting episode. We also draw the winner of our competition from Episode 95. Your feedback, as always, is welcome.  Send it through to [email protected]“>[email protected].

Trevor and James are in prediction mode this episode and we take a look at the rumour, speculation and tasty titbits about the return of Doctor Who this coming weekend. Warning to all listeners – we discuss what we have learnt about Series 6B, some is fact, some is rumour.  But if you don’t want to be spoiled then we suggest you join us next week. Torchwood episode 5 and 6 are reviewed. We also draw the winner of our recent Paradise Towers DVD competition.

A quick glance at the Wikipedia entry for Joe Lidster will show that he knows his Doctor Who and related spinoffs. He has written for Big Finish, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as the Bernice Summerfield ranges. When he isn’t writing for them he is producing short stories on, you guessed it, Doctor Who. This incredibly talented and busy man sat down with ourJames recently to talk all things Doctor Who. I am sure you will find this a fascinating interview.

Our second episode for this week concludes the DWPs look at our favourite Doctor Who stories from each era of the show. This episode starts with the umbrella carrying, question mark wearing 7th Doctor Sylvester McCoy, and finishes of course with the stetson sporting, custard loving 11th Doctor, Matt Smith. We also review the latest episode of new Torchwood, episode 4.

In response to requests from many of our listeners the DWP presents the first part of our two-part nostalgia trip through the DWP hosts favourite Doctor Who stories. Trevor, Tom and James will sort through each era of Doctor Who and pick out some of their personal favourites. This episode we cover the first six Doctors. Watch out later in the week for the conclusion to our stroll down memory lane. We also review the next episode of Torchwood, episode 3 of the current season. Featured in this episode is a great song called “The Mind of Evil” from Billy Davies aka The White Robot, an awesome DWP listener in New York.

On the review front for this episode Trevor and James look at two classic era DVD releases from 2Entertain – The Awakening and Frontios.  These oft neglected stories from Peter Davison’s final season as the Doctor have been given the DVD treatment and are ready to be appreciated by a whole new generation of fans. We also take a look at the second episode from the new series of Torchwood, Miracle Day – Rendition. Also in the show this week are some nice bits of audio feedback we have received recently.  Keep them coming, we love it.

The exclusives just keep coming at The Doctor Who Podcast – this week we are proud to present to you an interview out Tom had with former Doctor Who script editor, Andrew Cartmel. We also have an exclusive track from the new album by Alex Day, Still Got Legs. You might remember we interviewed Alex in Episode #38. He is back with a new album of wonderful Doctor Who parody songs. We hope you enjoy the taster we present in this episode for you.

James and Trevor are in review mode this week as they tackle a recent box set from those bods at 2Entertain. The Mara Tales set, comprising the stories Kinda and Snakedance from the Peter Davison era have been released in a shiny cardboard case. James has already laid his cards on the table numerous times in professing his love for these two snakey stories, but what does Trev think? We also take time to review the first episode from the new series of Torchwood. Also included is a bit of left over rambling from a recent recording session – all to do with some thoughts on Series 6. We also draw the winner of one of our recent competitions.

Quite a packed episode this week, a mixture of reviews and some cracking interviews, bringing to a close the second of our special Big Finish related episodes. James and Trevor review the first two stories from Big Finish’s range of 7th Doctor “lost” stories – Thin Ice and Crime of the Century. These two stories were to kickstart the proposed Season 27 in 1990, before the axe of cancellation fell on the series and the entire season was abandoned. Now Big Finish have lovingly created these scripts in audio format so all Doctor Who fans can hear what might have been if Doctor Who continued in its televised form into the 1990s. Find out what the boys make of the first two offerings from this very special series of releases from Big Finish. We also have interviews with Sophie Aldred, who played Ace alongside the Seventh Doctor, and also in these new Big Finish audios. Also on the interviewing roster is Beth Chalmers, who plays the new companion Raine Creevey.

Quite a packed little episode this week, the first of two over the coming weeks that focus on Big Finish. James is alone in the campervan this episode where he reviews one of the latest trilogies from Big Finish, The Crimes of Thomas Brewster, The Feast of Axos and Industrial Revolution. Also included in this episode are interviews with Mr Axon himself, Bernard Holley and Big Finish writer Johnny Morris.

A jam-packed show this week asJames comes back to the campervan, having brought back from his holiday a lovely little painted shell from the seaside. James shares his thoughts on the Doctor Who Experience with his co-host from the Dad’s Army Podcast, Oliver Crocker. Just what will you, ah, experience at the Doctor Who Experience? We also review a book by author Alwyn W Turner, The Man Who Invented the Daleks. As the title cunningly says, it is a book about the life and times of Terry Nation, who contributed to Doctor Who and a wealth of other British genre shows. We also have some copies of the book to give away in our most fiendish competition yet! Thanks go to Ross from the Creeping with Armstrong podcast for donating an additional prize as well.

Tom is all alone in the campervan this week so he dug into the mailbag to see what you have been sending our way regarding Series 6 Doctor Who. And you have been very busy! Thanks so much for all your thoughts and comments. Tom attempts to make a sizeable hole in the mountain of envelopes and emails as we listen to what our listeners thought of the second year of Matt Smith and Co.

Well, the good man has gone off to war (or has he), and has left the DWP Campervan at a sligthly loose end about just what to do for the next few months until he returns. Luckily Chip from the Two Minute Timelord Podcast has some ideas on what we can occupy ourselves with, and in this episode he gets together with our Tom to provide some much needed analysis to what we have seen so far this year. Join Chip and Tom for some fascinating insights and theories on just what this is all about.

Well, the time has finally come, our review of a Good Man Goes to War (aka The Only New Doctor Who You Will Be Getting For A While Thankyou Very Much) Trevor, James and Trevor share their thoughts on this episode, which as is par for the course these days, some questions get answered and some don’t.

The DWP Campervan is alive with dopplegangers this week as the combined mental powers of twinJames‘s, Trevs and Toms pass their opinion on The Rebel Flesh.

So it’s time to see what the fans thought of the latest two offerings from Series 6 – Curse of the Black Spot and The Doctor’s Wife. But it was a task that was too difficult for the DWP to tackle soJames got together with Steven from the Radio Free Skaro podcast to see if they could work it out. As well as the usual scintilating banter about ratings and AI levels, we listen to and read out your feedback as well! Get stuck in!

Roll up roll up, what is my bid for this lovely bit of merchandise? The Doctor’s wife – only 52.7 trillion miles on her, and doesn’t she look good? Looks like she just stepped out of the showroom! See over there, the Doctor Who Podcast review team ready to cast their appraisal over this fine offering today! Have a listen to what they have to say, then come back and place a bid for this once in a lifetime opportunity!

James was lucky enough to speak with Tom Spilsbury, current editor of Doctor Who Magazine recently. James covered Tom’s time with the magazine, and also discusses the recent controversy of spoilergate which has rocketed through the Doctor Who online community. Join James in what is a fascinating chat with the man who holds the reigns of what many regard as the bible of Doctor Who information. There is also a competition in which you can win a very special prize indeed!