Debating Doctor Who

It's just Alasdair on this one, offering an hour-plus worth of solo thoughts on something he's particularly qualified to discuss: how "The Power Of The Doctor" incorporates the classic series. As Allison and Alasdair won't both be available to record together until next month, the latter jumps on the mic for what turns out to be much longer than planned (but probably not longer than he honestly should have expected) to talk about Ace, Tegan, and, well, a few other aspects of the 13th Doctor's final story. While the full discussion of the story will wait until we can get both hosts on, it turned out that Alasdair had PLENTY of (spoiler-y) things to say on this particular topic that he felt honor-bound to share with you all...

We're back from one of our customary unexpected hiatuses because, well, frankly Russell T. Davies simply demanded it. But first, we talk about what we've been up to in 2022 (some lovely stuff, some distinctly less than lovely stuff) to explain just why the podcast was on hold for a bit, as well as our plans to talk about the 13th Doctor specials in the near future. But then we get into all the recent news, including Ncuti Gatwa's casting as the new Doctor, the announcement that David Tennant and Catherine Tate are returning, and the casting of Yasmin Finney as a character called Rose. To help manage people's varying degrees of spoiler aversion, we initially stick to just what has been officially announced, then discuss what's been spotted on the set, and finally talk about some of the rumors going around as to what it all means, so feel free to listen to all or only some of it if you want to avoid potential spoilers. We're just so happy to be back with you all, and so excited to be excited about Doctor Who!

We had plenty more to say about the finale, as it turns out there was A LOT going on in this one. Allison has some more praise for Jodie Whittaker's performance, while Alasdair reports on their rewatch of "The Wedding Of River Song" for what we're sure were good and useful reasons. Then we look closer at Diane, the Great Serpent, the Sontarans, the fate of Professor Jericho, and a bunch more!

After five weeks of being more or less on the same page about Flux, Alasdair and Allison are split on the finale. Alasdair dug it! Allison very much did not! We discuss how the episode really does seem to ignore the whole destruction of the universe thing, but then Alasdair submits... what if that's fine actually? We talk quite a bit about poor Karvanista and the offscreen genocide of his people, and then look at the episode's central conceit with the Doctor(s). We also look at the final scene between Yaz and the Doctor and wonder just what the show was playing at there. There's still plenty to discuss, so we'll be back soon with part two!

We're back and possibly even sillier than we were in our last discussion of this episode. We discuss what works -- the performances, mainly -- and what really doesn't about all the business with the Doctor and Tecteun. We look at this in comparison with "The Timeless Children", and we're not exactly thrilled to say that the earlier episode comes off looking better. We also generally examine past episodes that served to set up big finales, and see how this stacks up next to the likes of "The Stolen Earth" and "The End Of Time: Part One." We took a look at the costuming, and Allison made a reference to something on Fleabag that lost Alasdair completely. All in all, a fun use of an hour and change!

We keep not planning to make these two-part conversations, and then we hit the hour mark and realize we haven't even started talking about all the Barbara Flynn stuff (for the second time in two weeks!). In the meantime, we discuss a bunch of other parts of an episode we both enjoyed but also think is probably the least effective of the season. We spend a lot of time on just what exactly was going on with Yaz, Dan, and Jericho. We look at the Grand Serpent's path through UNIT history, and Alasdair does a quick lore check. We randomly talk about "Dinosaurs On A Spaceship" just as we're theoretically trying to wrap the episode up, and also discuss to what degree "Spyfall" is like early Legends Of Tomorrow. Can't lie, folks, we got a bit weird in this one.

We're back for more Angel chat! Topics this time around include how this episode stands up on a rewatch, Jamie Magnus Stone's generally excellent direction, Annabel Scholey and her wonderfully unselfish performance, just how awesome Segun Akinola's score is for this episode (even if we're not *really* the right people to be discussing music in-depth), Bel's side-story with guest star Blake Harrison, and what to make of the great-uncle of it all.

Yep, once again, we're making this a two-parter. We weren't sure heading in, as you can hear from Alasdair's uncertain intro, but by the hour mark it was pretty clear that, yeah, we have just about as much to say on this episode as we did "Once, Upon Time." So, in this first part of our discussion, we talk about Kevin McNally's beautiful performance as Professor Jericho, why this is such a good outing for the Weeping Angels as monsters, and a few issues that Alasdair has with the underlying story structure. That said, we're very much agreed this is a damn good episode, and we're very excited to talk more about it on the other side of the holiday...

We're back as promised to continue our discussion of our an episode we dug the first time around and dug even harder on the rewatch. We discuss some more about just why this episode is such a breath of fresh air, then start discussing specific things we love about it, starting with Barbara Flynn's mysterious woman. We also discuss the Weeping Angels and their role here ahead of their big return tomorrow, plus look even more closely at the Doctor and Yaz's relationship and just how mean the Doctor is to Yaz in this episode. We finish up with a brief look toward the future with some 14th Doctor casting rumors, and we catch up on some news about next year's specials that are at least a month old but we totally missed back in October. (And honestly, pretty sure I speculated on whether the two sides of the regeneration scene would be filmed separately, like they did with Eccleston and Tennant, and it turns out that Jodie Whittaker confirmed that as such on The Graham Norton Show. Oh and apparently that's how she did it when she regenerated from Capaldi anyway. So, uh, yeah, no points for research this week, but hey, the episode discussion is fun...)

We had so much to say about this one that we couldn't fit it into a single episode! So here's what turned out to be the first part of our discussion of this frankly stunning episode. We talk about how this feels ambitious in a way even this era's best stories generally haven't. We look at how Flux is progressing Yaz and the Doctor's relationship at long last. We marvel at all the several great performances, and we talk about the big surprise guest star. (No, not Barbara Flynn. To Alasdair's great chagrin, we ran out of time to talk about her. But hey, part two incoming Saturday!)

Friend of the show Kate Kulzick stops by to help Alasdair offer our long-awaited (hopefully, otherwise they're just late) thoughts on the second chapter of Flux. We discuss how well the episode dusts off the Sontarans for their first significant non-Strax appearance since 2008. We consider what the Crimean War setting lends to the episode. Kate shares her worries about Yaz's eventual fate, and we remain charmed by Dan, with or without his implausibly young parents...

Hi friends! Sorry we haven't had a chance to get you an episode on "War of the Sontarans", even though it's a week later and, uh, slightly after the next episode aired in the UK. As Alasdair hops on briefly to explain, we had some scheduling issues this week, but a full episode on "War of the Sontarans" with guest cohost Kate Kulzick will be here soon, and then we'll endeavor to get back on schedule. Thanks for your understanding!

We give our thoughts on the first episode of "Flux" -- sorry, sorry, the first *chapter* -- and, honestly? We kinda dug it. Allison opens with discussion of a character Alasdair wasn't entirely expecting. We go surprisingly long on the internal logic of the episode's goofy sci-fi thing. Alasdair pledges their allegiance to the walking embodiment of Liverpool (also known as Dan) and uses the word "vibes" a lot. We struggle to remember the name of that one series 12 episode. But mostly, we're liking how this is going... even if we're still nervous.

We talk about the upcoming premiere of series 13, which Allison is very upset to hear is starting with an episode called "The Halloween Apocalypse." We get into what we're hoping for from this six-episode season, which honestly turns into a therapy session for our frustrations with the Chris Chibnall era. Also, unexpectedly, a defense of the relative merits of "Fear Her." Join us next week for our reactions to the premiere -- whatever our issues with the past two seasons, we still find ourselves cautiously excited...

Fire up the emergency podcast klaxons, because we've got some absolutely wild news to talk about! Russell T. Davies is coming back as showrunner on Doctor Who, and we give our thoughts on just what that means. Like... what, if anything, might he bring back from previous eras, including his own? Should we read into the BBC emphasizing that he's back for the show's 60th anniversary year? Do we have to go watch "Years & Years" now? And just how ridiculous can we get by deep-diving the latest (and earliest) betting odds on who RTD might cast as the Doctor? Also... with not a hint of irony, just how exciting is it going to be when the first *bad* Davies episode airs? Friends, we're pumped.

We're back from yet another of our trademark hiatuses to discuss the recent news about the show's future. Series 13 is set to be the last for both Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall -- though, as we discuss, nobody has said anything yet about Mandip Gill, who we can only assume is going to take over Doctor and showrunner duties going forward. We look at what the news that the upcoming series is a single, six-part story might mean, and why we're alternately very worried and maybe just the slightest bit optimistic? Lot of reading the Broadchurch tea leaves here, folks. We then look ahead in general terms to who the 14th Doctor might be, by which we mean Allison is looking at the betting odds again. Kris Marshall's publicist, if you're listening, we're doing our bit to keep his name in the running.

Alasdair and Allison take a look at a very eventful New Year's special, as we see big returns, big departures, and a tease of a big new addition. All that and, oh, right, the Daleks! We both enjoyed this one a lot, especially for various character moments that made us think maybe, just maybe, Chris Chibnall has figured out what he wants to do with these characters. We revel in Captain Jack's big return, and wonder whether maybe a little bit of Torchwood was exactly what this incarnation of Doctor Who needed. All that plus Alasdair reads one of the most wonderfully ridiculous TARDIS Wiki pages, for reasons that honestly escape us.

We're back for our third live show of 2020! Here's the recording of our Crowdcast hangout with a couple dozen of our lovely listeners, in which we field all manner of intriguing questions, including: What is the best episode of series 8, and why is it "Mummy On The Orient Express"? (Taken verbatim, that one.) *Did* Clara meet the Doctor's pre-Hartnell selves in "The Name Of The Doctor", what with the whole Timeless Child thing and whatnot. Would we want to see an animated version of Doctor Who? And what would we pitch as the Doctor Who story we would most like to see? Come along for the ride with Allison, Alasdair, and a whole bunch of friends in the chat!

Reminder: We have a live show this Saturday, December 12, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern! Go to https://www.crowdcast.io/e/ddw-live to sign up or just join us on the day. As for today, here's the first installment of a new occasional series in which Alasdair and a rotating team of cohosts look at works that Doctor Who luminaries (Whominaries?) worked on before the new series. Kev Koeser of the great podcast Talking Who To You joins Alasdair to discuss the Russell T. Davies-written, David Tennant-starring 2005 miniseries "Casanova", which very much feels like a dress rehearsal for what they would create with the 10th Doctor. Alasdair and Kev run through the highs and lows of the miniseries, which is generally a wonderfully enjoyable romp -- with a *great* performance from the legend Peter O'Toole -- but does have some really bad elements. Speaking of: There's some discussion of potentially transphobic content in the miniseries at around the 56:30 mark, so audience members sensitive to that topic should scrub ahead to around 1:04:00.

There's just so much news to talk about! Enough to lure Allison back on for another episode during what is increasingly inaccurately being called a "hiatus", even! We break down the newly released trailer for the upcoming special, "Revolution Of The Daleks", and for some reason the newly revealed guest cast launches Alasdair on tangents about Law & Order: UK and the Mystery Science Theater 3000 entry Time Chasers. (Surprising amount of Law & Order: UK talk in this episode, honestly.) Then we get into some casting news about the upcoming series, followed by a general meditation on Jodie Whittaker's future on the show and what she might do after Doctor Who. And remember, we have a live show on December 12 at 6:30 Eastern/5:30 Central -- go to www.crowdcast.io/e/ddw-live to register!

Fire up the news klaxons, we've got a big return to discuss! Doctor Who turned 57 on Monday, and it was kind enough to get us a birthday present: a tiny teaser for the upcoming festive special, "Revolution Of The Daleks", revealing that Captain Jack will once again be back. We somehow manage to spin forty minutes of discussion out of this, including what kind of continuity we expect, just how rare it is for someone to come back in such a featured role after so much time away (counting this as a continuation of his "Fugitive Of The Judoon" appearance, that is), and what this might hint at about the overall story.

The world got busy around us once again, but Doctor Who is coming back, which means Debating Doctor Who must as well. Except, in both cases, we're improvising through the circumstances around us. For us, that means Allison is taking a little break through the holidays, meaning Rorypalooza must wait until the new year. But! We'll still both be doing a live show on Saturday, December 12 at 6:30 Eastern/5:30 Central. And Alasdair is going to enlist friends old and new to start exploring some potentially foundational works by new Doctor Who's most important creative voices, starting with Russell T. Davies and David Tennant's miniseries Casanova. Oh, right, and we talk about how series 13 has begun filming, how COVID-19 has affected production, and just who exactly is going to star in it alongside Jodie Whittaker...

We wrap up our trilogy of Clara episodes with a look at some stories from her final season aboard the TARDIS. We examine what "Under The Lake"/"Before The Flood" has to say about her willingness to do what needs to be done to save the day, and then how "Face The Raven" reveals just how dangerous acting like the Doctor can be. Also, we briefly reconsider "Sleep No More", and even Alasdair admits they've met their match on this one. We also talk generally about why this is probably our favorite season of new Doctor Who, and how essential Clara's character arc is to that. Next time, join us for Rory... well, just listen to the end for what silly name we give to our Rory special.

Our deep dive into all things Clara Oswald somehow gets even deeper in the second edition, as we look at no less than four of the episodes from series eight. That's a third of the entire season! We look at her re-beginnings in "Deep Breath", then Alasdair mounts a spirited defense of "In The Forest Of The Night", much to Allison's patient bemusement, and then we wrap up by taking another looking at the finale, "Dark Water"/"Death In Heaven." Honestly this whole season just seems to get better and better the more we look back on it... and we do A LOT of looking back on it this time around.

Our long-awaited (by us, anyway) deep dive into Clara Oswald begins! We take a look at a pair of stories from Series 7B, when Clara was more a mystery than a character and the 11th Doctor was kind of... is awful too strong a word? In "Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS," at least, 'awful' doesn't feel unjustified, as he's on his very worst behavior there. But anyway, we take a look at that and "The Rings Of Akhaten" to see what we can find in Clara's early days. There's a leaf, we can say that much. Also an all-time great costume. We're sure there are other things as well. Nah, we kid, there's some good stuff in these episodes... kinda. Credit for the bit at the very end of the episode goes to OdinNorse7 on YouTube.

We get back (after an unexpected but at this point probably not surprising delay) to our regularly scheduled programming with a look at a pair of Danny Pink stories, "Listen" and "The Caretaker." The former still stands as one hell of an episode, with plenty to say about all sorts of things, Danny very much included. The latter... well, it's not very good. And honestly, that's probably the most charitable way we can put it, considering we have way worse to say in the episode proper. Plus toward the end we get into a debate about the morality of the military and being a soldier that neither of us had prepared for at all, and so has more than its fair share of hedging and stammering, yet still we'd say is considerably better thought through than the Doctor's hatred of soldiers in that episode. Anyway, the real point is that Samuel Anderson is nothing short of incredible, and we're lucky to have had him on the show. Next time, join us for the long-awaited beginning of our Clarastravaganza/Clarathon with "The Rings Of Akhaten" and "Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS."

We'll be back soon with our regularly scheduled look at companion showcase episodes -- Danny Pink is next! -- but first, we wanted to take an episode to remember a legend of film and television. Diana Rigg died last week at 82, so we revisit her absolute delight of a performance as Mrs. Gillyflower in "The Crimson Horror." Sure, the rest of the episode isn't all that great, but! It's Diana Rigg having a complete blast as the villain, acting alongside her daughter Rachel Stirling, who is the other great part of this episode. A worthy showcase for them both, we'd say.

First thing's first: Allison has a book out! It's called "How TV Can Make You Smarter", available now at Bookshop.org and elsewhere! Plus she has a special offer for our listeners who get the book! As for the episode, well, before we return to the Capaldi era with our Danny Pink episode next week -- a prelude of sorts to the much-anticipated Clarastravaganza/Clarathon -- we take a wee break to open the mailbag. We talk some more about the specifics of Jodie Whittaker's performance, kick around a brilliant listener idea for the Jo Martin Doctor, and go on a merry digression about Steven Moffat's Jekyll, which Alasdair loves arguably a bit too much. (Nah, it's the correct amount.)

Going to be honest with you, friends: We really didn't expect being able to fill an entire hour with nothing but Nardole discussion. We... we apparently aren't familiar with our own show as we should be, because yeah, we talked at length about how Nardole grew from his initial performance, and how "Extremis" is, leaving aside all its other virtues, a tremendous showcase for all that Matt Lucas brings to the role. Also, some upcoming episode announcements at the start for what we're doing next week, and then just how much time we'll be devoting to one Clara Oswald. (Spoiler: Quite a bit!)

We're back, and after a perfectly normal intro that is completely like all the others we've done, we get into discussing Bill Potts in a pair of episodes the proved very Bill-centric indeed. So, well done us. First up is "Thin Ice", one of our favorite entries from series 10. Will it still stand up? Oh hell yes, give or take one moment we have mixed feelings about. Which, somewhat shockingly, ends up being our updated take on "The Lie Of The Land", which we didn't care much for first time around but found a lot to like on this rewatch. And, my goodness, is it good to spend time with Bill again...

We're a simple podcast, folks: If Big Finish announces that Christopher Eccleston is coming back to record a bunch of new audios as the Ninth Doctor, we're dropping everything several hours later to record an emergency podcast. We talk about our general, off-the-charts levels of excitement, wonder a little bit about what the stories might be like, and just generally praise Christopher Eccleston both as an actor and as a person.

We finish our look at the companions of the Chibnall era with a look at a pair of episodes that show some unexpected sides to our friend Graham. The use of "our friend" there lets you know we're not hiding our biases that as Graham fans, but we see him tested in consecutive episodes to finish off series 11: "It Takes You Away" and "The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos." We loved the former and had little use for the latter the first time we talked about them, but how have things changed? And is there an actual, honest-to-goodness character arc to pull out of all this? Listen to find out, then join us next time for a look at also our friend -- seriously, Pearl Mackie sent Alasdair a birthday message and everything -- Bill Potts, with "Thin Ice" and "The Lie Of The Land." (Yep, Alasdair chose the second one. Yep, still trolling.)

We're going to level with you, friends: "Resolution" is the best Ryan episode. If you want to hear about what an episode that does right by Ryan looks like, go back and give that one a listen. But do check this out too, as we take a look at two series 11 episodes that feature Ryan prominently: "The Woman Who Fell To Earth" and "Rosa." For the first, we reflect on just how galling it is that the show sacrificed Grace for the sake of other characters' development, and then for "Rosa" we wrestle with the fact that a lot of this episode doesn't stand up that well to a repeat viewing, especially in light of recent events. We also spend some time on why it's important to own it when we're wrong, drop some quick thoughts on "The Tsuranga Conundrum" and "Orphan 55" -- those two episodes we all love to remember -- and struggle through a mountain of technical difficulties, none of which should make this less fun to listen to, thankfully, just more time-consuming to edit.

We kick off a new recurring feature in which we devote an episode to a particular companion and what stories are their best. After some preliminary discussion of what, technically, even is a companion, we get to the main topic of discussion this week, namely Yaz. That's right, we started with about as tricky a companion as we could, given how unevenly she's been developed. Also given the fact that she's, well, a cop, which is a creative decision that wasn't great at the time it was first made and looks even worse in the context of the past couple months. We address all that, and we also look at stories that put a spotlight on her, including the still baffling "Can You Hear Me?" and the low-key really good "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror." But the main attraction here is "Demons of the Punjab," which at least one co-host is prepared to declare the best of the Chibnall era.

We kinda felt like the world didn't especially need two nerds rambling about Doctor Who the past few weeks, but now, well, the world still probably doesn't need it, but we missed doing this too much to stay away forever. Alasdair tells Allison about the latest Big Finish New Series stuff, which eventually segues into us discussing various British public figures -- J.K. Rowling chief among them -- revealing themselves as transphobes. We tried to keep it light, but 2020 isn't doing us any favors. Also, fair warning: We swear a decent amount in discussing said transphobes. Nothing too bad, but if you or any younger listeners you know would rather not hear people being called pieces of [redacted] several times, or just generally stick with lighter topics, might want to skip ahead from about 38:00 to 53:00.

We finally did it! We've talked about every new series Doctor Who episode! After a couple cameos (or maybe that's Cameos) to open the episode, Alasdair and Allison discuss the 13th Doctor's New Year's Day clash with a lone Dalek. We felt deeply meh about this episode when it first aired back in 2019, but coming back to it now? Dang, we actually kind of love it. We discuss how this might be the best story Chris Chibnall has written during his tenure as showrunner, and how it feels different from really anything in either series 11 or series 12. We were so pleasantly surprised by this one, folks. Better late than never, we guess.

We're back for another live show, and we might even have a surprise visit from the podcast's best friend. Which is to say, we totally do! The Captain Jack of the podcast is on hand, in the form of the great Kate Kulzick. She pops by for a spell to help discuss how the different showrunners approach the lives of the companions, and why one thing the Chibnall era has going for it is how real the companions' situations feel relative to, well, definitely the Moffat era companions. But what of the RTD companions? Then Allison and Alasdair discuss whether the Master could, in fact, be the Timeless Child, which leads to one hell of a lore dump about the Master. Then Alasdair cracks a listener riddle, and we offer a whole bunch of recommendations of other shows and movies featuring Doctors, companions, and more!

That's right, we're doing another live show! It's 1 p.m. Eastern this Saturday, May 9, and it will be at https://www.crowdcast.io/e/ddw-liveshow. We hope you'll come join us for it! After sharing those details, Alasdair does some more solo riffing about something that's been on their mind recently, which is performances by actors who played the Doctor that show hints of the Time Lord to come. There are some general thoughts about David Tennant's work on Blackpool and Casanova, the time Rufus Hound kinda sorta spoiled Peter Capaldi's casting as the Doctor, and where one might look for hints of the War Doctor in John Hurt's legendary filmography. More to come on this, probably!

Announcement! We have a live show this Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern! We hope you'll come join us! As for what we have this week, yep, we *finally* got round to this episode. Only took us three and a half years! But first, we read a little excerpt from Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat interviewing each other in Doctor Who Magazine, and pay a little tribute to Davies's brilliance in reimagining the show back in 2005. Then, we launch into our discussion of the 12th Doctor's penultimate Christmas special. We generally like this one a lot, though we do look at some pretty basic ways the story doesn't do right by its sole female character, which, yeah, that sounds familiar. Beyond that, we find a lot to praise, especially in the plotting and the performances and the general warm feelings it elicits. You'll be shocked--shocked!--to hear we say a lot of really nice things about Peter Capaldi. Some things never change...

No two ways about it: This is one of our loosest, silliest episodes in a while. We start out with some vaguely structured discussion of some Doctor Who current events, but pretty soon we go into an extended discussion of David Tennant's work on DuckTales, and more specifically his work with the rest of the cast in singing the DuckTales theme song. (Look it up on YouTube if you haven't seen it, it's a real delight.) We talk about David Tennant for long enough in this one I'm declaring this an impromptu appreciation week for him, even if we don't actually have much to say about the 10th Doctor in all this! We also take an old but excellent email about watching the show with a child, which leads to us sharing the very specific nightmare fuel of our youth, among other things. Also! Next week, it's finally happening: We're talking "The Return Of Doctor Mysterio"!

We start by discussing the latest Doctor Who: Lockdown production, a moving epilogue to The Sarah Jane Adventures and tribute to Elisabeth Sladen, who died nine years ago today. Then we tackle a pair of emails from listeners. First up, do the Cybermen work as monsters without a mouthpiece, and why does it always seem to be the Master these days? Then, we take another look at that infamous bit from "Spyfall: Part Two".

We went live on Crowdcast for this one, with 30 of our listeners there live to chat and ask questions. We start by looking at the various little goodies that have come out as part of the Doctor Who: Lockdown! series, including the just-released video message with Arthur Darvill as Rory. We then take some questions from the audience, including which Doctor Who stories are the most comforting and then a big discussion about something we've been kind of sidelong alluding to for a while: The 11th Doctor became increasingly problematic (yeah, yeah, kind of an empty word, but bear with us) over the course of his run. We try to define what we actually mean by that and dig into what we think went wrong with the character. All our friends in the audience helped a lot with a bunch of trenchant insights! This was just generally a total blast to do, and we look forward to seeing you all again for another one of these soon...

Yes, we're going to attempt a live episode this Saturday! It's at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time and will be hosted at https://www.crowdcast.io/e/debating-doctor-who-live -- checkout the link for some early signup information. We'll be discussing whatever we want, honestly, but our theoretical topic is all the little goodies showrunners past and present have been putting out for Doctor Who: Lockdown! And then, even though it's just Alasdair, we have somehow have a full 30 minutes of episode devoted to that most auspicious of occasions: The 10th anniversary of "The Beast Below." Alasdair dives into a bunch of thoughts as to why the second adventures for new series Doctors always visit the future, and what is meaningful and applicable about the 11th Doctor and Amy's adventure to our present moment.

Last time, we never really got into a proper discussion of a pretty key aspect of "The Timeless Children": Namely, the whole timeless child thing. Well, this episode is nothing but a big discussion of just what that revelation means, what it says, and what it ought to say. We didn't expect to have as much to say about this as we ended up saying! Plus we have some quick thoughts about all the little goodies showrunners past and present are making as part of Doctor Who: Lockdown! Also, next week we're going to do a live episode for folks to join us as we record -- look out for a mini episode sometime in the coming days to announce when and (virtually) where it's happening.

So, yeah... it's been a few weeks, huh? Better late than never, we hope, as Alasdair and Allison finally get round to discussing the most recent season finale. We didn't love this one, and we try to get into some detail about why... so much so that after an hour and 45 minutes of discussion we still hadn't really gotten into the, you know, Timeless Child stuff. Lore will just have to wait for next time, but for now we've got an episode to discuss, darn it! Also, Sacha Dhawan, if you're listening: First of all, hello. Second of all, you're going to like what we have to say here. Let's get into it.

You know, it's kinda funny: We liked this episode quite a bit overall, but also we had a lot to say about what didn't work. The middle bit, mostly. Also, the guest characters were pretty thin. And hey, what do you think is going on with Brendan? Or the Cybermen, for that matter? We honestly have no idea, and *that* is the main reason that, for all its faults, we come away pretty satisfied with this one.

It's a big historical episode with Romantics galore and Cybermen aplenty... well, one Cyberman, but trust us, he's a lot. This episode was frequently all Allison could ever possibly want, and Alasdair generally liked it a lot too. Well, except one bit. There's a very low-key kinda rant coming about one key moment. So yes, there's some debating in this episode, in our annual reminder of what, you know, the podcast is actually called, but mostly we're here to admire Jodie Whittaker's terrific work and marvel at just how much Lord Byron is Lord Byron in this.

The final 20 or so minutes of today's episode are devoted to an introspective, still somehow Doctor Who-related commentary on gender identity from Alasdair, who recently updated their pronouns to publicly acknowledge that either "he" or "they" are correct. While this segment is also available on the full episode, if anyone wants to hear Alasdair's thoughts in a more standalone sort of way, we wanted to share this part separately. So here's one person offering their perspective on gender, how it exists in society, and how Doctor Who helped them think about it more personally. (Sidebar: I, Alasdair, write all these show notes, and this is the first time I've used "they" to refer to myself. It's a trip, not going to lie!)

Content Warning: This episode discusses topics around self-harm and suicidal ideation in the context of this week's story. For those sensitive to those topics, we recommend skipping the section from 1:04:45 to 1:19:45. In today's epic-length episode, we look at "Can You Hear Me?" in all its strange, often wonderful glory. We look at how the story explores the inner lives of all the companions, and just how much fun this is for anyone keeping track of Doctor Who's myriad immortals. (Alasdair waves hello.) We also devote the final portion of the show to something more personal, as Alasdair discusses his--or, as of last week, also their--gender identity and how Doctor Who was so meaningful to the questions they are starting to ask. (Note: For those just interested in that discussion, we're also putting it out as a separate minisode.)

We meet back up to discuss "Praxeus"... by first talking some more about "Fugitive Of The Judoon", and how it reminds us of "Utopia." You know, the way one does. Anyway, we do spend a lot of time discussing how "Praxeus" is a solid episode with some significant shortcomings. We look at how the show is still figuring out how to divide its attentions between lots of different characters. We explain why this is a stronger environmental message than similar material in "Orphan 55", and just generally how Doctor Who can't help but reference itself. Also, what *is* going on with Yaz? 

You know it's a big episode when we post a new episode mere hours after the premiere. And, yeah, this was a big one. A really big one. One so big that the return of a beloved character after nearly a decade barely rates a mention. That big. Look, no time to waste on preamble. Let's just get to it.