A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast

John returns to the bookclub to discuss the much celebrated Blood Heat only to find that the memory cheats and fatalism is a little out of fashion...

Our epic commentary on The Invasion reaches its climax and our intimate study of James' diary does too. How will the Cybermen be defeated? And will James get the girl?

This mammoth commentary reaches its penultimate episode. Will Tobias Vaughn succeed with his evil plans? And more importantly, with James get his happily ever after with Sally?

Joe declares this one of the best episodes of Doctor Who of all time, and James cannot disagree. We start with Cybermen menacing our friends in the sewers and end with them invading London!

Armed with advance copies, Michael and I discuss Lux the episode and the Target novelisation. A bold, stylish and nuanced take on the story. SPOILERS!

The Cybermen are here...but just enough to bring them out of the cocoon. Jamie & Zoe go on a foolhardy expedition with Isobel, and Vaughn's plan is coming to fruition...

A thank you to the existing Patreons and information for anyone else who might be interested!

he longest Doctor Who story, a pandemic fought year, and an epic fight for reality against Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Swarm & Azure and the Doctor's past...

Glorious Hamster debutant Liam talks about his love for late Tennant, wonderful stories about meeting the A-List cast and extols the virtues of this underrated gem.

Our Great Stranger journey comes to an end with this feature length 'epic.' Just how much fun can two tired and slightly hysterical fans have watching the climax of this saga?

What happens when you take the SF out of The Stranger and turn it into an episode of The Bill featuring Caroline John & Nicholas Briggs? Will Colin have a happy ending with Miss Frump?

BBV is back on Hamster! And rounding off our six Stranger commentaries we start with The Terror Game! Saul & Egan are on the scene! Louise Jameson is running a nightclub! And is this The Stranger's true origin story?

Joe & Michael embark on their first short story collection together - with a book that allegedly has a collection of stories that take place before Doctor Who televised adventures. We examine that and then some...

Top ho! Off to season seventeen for Kieran and I! Upper crust bumbling fools, time portals, evil smells and possessed policemen! Plus a passionate conversation about the author, and the reaction against him.

Another joyous commentary comes to an end with a hugely dramatic, murderous climax. Peri is dead, the Time Lords are accused, Crozier sips his tea. Where do we go from here?

Things are hotting up in the caves between Peri and Ycarnos and a rebellion is waiting to be forged. This was a story that each of us have struggled with at some point...so why are we having so much fun with it?

Joe & Michael speak to James Goss about his Doctor Who books past and present and in particular his upcoming Target novelisation of Lux. Due to the spoilers within, the Lux Book Club will come out on the publication date.

There are many horrific and shocking things about this story; mostly in this episode and how it treats the Doctor and Peri. But none of those are more terrifying than Frazer's opening…

Si used to hate it and now he really likes it, Joe yo-yos about with it but currently LOVES it, Frazer has always been on the fence...what treasure can they dig out of this controversial story...

The most popular Doctor Who of all time? Doctor Number Ten comes under the microscope and we determine the best (or at least our favourite) 10th Doctor story! Allonsy!

What happens when a Scot and an Englishman watch, listen and read to the same story? A grand time is had by both! The most unique Target novel? The darkest?

The animation is back and somehow we're really happy about that! There is a brilliant action sequence that we can't see but the emergence of the Cybermen and Vaughn's plans are coming to fruition...no signs of this story running out of steam.

It's the end...but the moment has been prepared for. The eighth Doctor range comes to a close with a book that looks backwards to celebrate, forwards to the future and has a beautiful examination of the Doctor within...

The Cybermen haven't arrived yet but we couldn't care one jot when Kevin Stoney and Peter Halliday are there to make laugh and cry! Join James and I as we dive into Doctor Who Spy-Fi!

Joe's favourite episode of the season and Michael has lots to say about the fascinating content within. How were we tricked? What is the deal with Conrad? And just how did they make those monsters work?

Spy-Fi abounds! Will the Doctor and Jamie find Zoe & Isobel and save them from the clutches of Tobias Vaughn?

Joe, Luke, Andrew & Jon face the most brutal fight in the Doctor's fight, a conflict so terrifying he has to form an alliance with Cybermen, Sontarans and Draconians and become a dictator! Issalon Kwai!

In one of my favourite first episodes of a commentary ever, James reveals the true heartbreak and trauma of his fifteen year old romance and we head into Spy-Fi territory with the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe...

Joe, Dylan & Luke come to the end of their boggy voyage with an action packed conclusion. Blood is flying, oil rigs are being sat on and Tom Baker is gagging at a giant squid!

Want to join a fun and engaging community of Doctor Who fans? Early episodes? Exclusive content? Press play!

The wibbly lines on the scanner are barely moving, but Kroll is extended his sloppy wet tentacles and munching on everyone he can! As Tom Baker says 'Ohhhhhh yes!'

In his podcast debut, John talks about an ambitious, action packed and nostalgic book by esteemed SF author Alistair Reynolds. We're shocked at how much it feels like the Pertwee era, and how much it innovates.

Joe, Luke, Daniel & Michael We face goblins, boogeymen, Maestro, Villenguard, loneliness, racism, shitty bird people & Sutekh! But who will reign supreme?

One of the most important original Doctor Who books gets more consideration. How many influences and sources can superbrain Paul Quinn pull out of a hat? How Lynchian is Miles trying to be?

Dylan is back to gossipmongering ways, scandalously! Luke is channelling his inner Tom Baker (oh yes!)! Joe is in a ratings tizzy! And there's nothing left but slags!

Luke is obsessed with dragging us to the bog, Dylan is obsessed with the Doctor's coat and Joe is obsessed with throbbing wet tentacles! What could possibly go wrong?

History is about to imparted, but from which perspective, and does it matter how we consider the subject? A dense, dramatic, informative book that has somehow fallen under the radar thanks to the big hitters around it. Anthony from Too Broad and Too Deep is here to redress that...

Five travellers, trapped on Earth and without a means of escape, face Autons, Silurians, Ambassadors & Primords! But who will reign supreme in this popular season?

Father and son come together for a cross generational battle of opinions...but who is a lover and who is a hater of this well regarded episode?

Contention abounds over God-like Doctors and just how much Paul Cornell wrote this teleplay but we can all decide that this is a staggering good production and worthy of its lofty reputation.

Two incredibly smart men tackle one of the most popular NuWho stories; with their trademark wit, observations and this time through the lens of an adaptation from page to screen.

We explore how responsibly Doctor Who can take on the Nazis, discuss this rushed but popular book and name our top three favourite Doctor Who book shock twists. Needless to say, SPOILERS.

In which we face giant wasps (I mean wasps that are giant!), shadows (Hey! Who turned out the lights?), the anonymous Midnight monster, alternative realities and Davros threatening the destruction of REALITY ITSELF!

Joe & Michael head to Paradise Towers for a stay in its gleaming pools, squares and towers! Welcomed by contentious caretakers, kindly residents and sweet girl gangs. And a world class sauna in the basement...

Join Joe, Luke, Jon & Andrew as we say goodbye to Ace from the New Adventures, discuss her characters success (or otherwise) and pick our bottom three NA covers...

God tier Doctor Who - and we're not mad. James & Michael have always loved this book and have enticed Joe to join them in happily declaring this one of the best Doctor Who books. Hyperbole? Press play and find out...

Join Joe, Daniel, Lucy, Jo & Elliot as they face robot wielding Nazi's, big bugs, sadistic Sontarans, Daleks & Cybermen! Who will be victorious?

Joe is joined by brilliant new bookclubber Anthony to discuss one of the creepiest, slyest, most hallucinatory Doctor Who books. Lloyd Rose stepped into the EDAs and shook things up...

No more Meg! But plenty of death! A bus queue mown down! Will Joe & David survive their experience with the asshole of Death?

Meg under fire! Barney attacked! Ransome dribbling coffee! That shot or Channing through the door! The stunning double Scobie cliffhanger! This story has it all.

A podcast as lively, as smart, as silly, as scattershot and as barking as the book they are talking about! Allow me to introduce Kieran from Patreon as he embarks on a Paul Magrs classic...