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tin-dog@hotmail.co.uk The Tin Dog welcomes you to sit back and listen to his rants and ramblings about all that is best in modern SF and Television. Via the gift of the new fangled Podcast over the tinterweb. As you can probably guess Tin Dog mostly talks about Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jan…

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    4.6 from 93 ratings Listeners of Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast that love the show mention: big finish, torchwood, classic series, doctor who fans, doctor who podcasts, best doctor, new series, dog podcast, dw, old and new, doctors, star trek, keep up the excellent, love the new, sound effects, era, michael, short, related, lovely.


    Ivy Insights

    The Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast is an absolute gem for fans of Doctor Who. Hosted by Michael Gilroy-Sinclair, this podcast provides insightful and enjoyable reviews of Doctor Who TV episodes, Big Finish audio dramas, and other written materials. What sets this podcast apart from others is its brevity and lack of spoilers. Each episode is just the right length for a quick listen, making it perfect for those who want to get their Doctor Who fix without investing a lot of time.

    One of the best aspects of The Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast is Michael's deep knowledge and understanding of the show. Unlike many other podcasts that seem to lack an understanding of what Doctor Who is about or its rich history, Michael clearly has a passion for the series and its lore. His reviews are thoughtful and insightful, offering fresh perspectives on episodes that resonate with viewers. He manages to strike a balance between being informative and entertaining, creating a podcast that is both educational and enjoyable to listen to.

    Another standout aspect of this podcast is Michael's delivery. His soothing voice adds an extra layer of enjoyment as he discusses all things Doctor Who. Instead of being overly excitable or distracting, his mellow tone allows listeners to fully engage with his review without any jarring interruptions. It's refreshing to listen to someone who speaks with such reverence and humor about something they love.

    While there aren't many negatives to speak of when it comes to The Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast, some may argue that the podcast lacks the polish and professionalism found in other podcasts. However, this rawness adds to the charm and authenticity of the show. It feels like you're having a conversation with a friend rather than listening to something overly scripted or manufactured.

    In conclusion, The Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast is highly recommended for any fan of Doctor Who looking for an engaging and concise podcast. Michael's knowledgeable reviews provide valuable insight into the series while still being entertaining. Whether you're a fan of the TV show, Big Finish audio dramas, or other Doctor Who media, this podcast is a must-listen. With its short and to-the-point episodes, it's the perfect companion for any Doctor Who fan.



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    TDP 1462: For Your Consideration 22 Atlantis - The Lost Empire

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2026 57:48


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Tab Murphy. Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, it stars Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer, Don Novello, Phil Morris, Claudia Christian, Jacqueline Obradors, Florence Stanley, David Ogden Stiers, John Mahoney, Jim Varney, Corey Burton and Leonard Nimoy. Set in 1914, the film follows young linguist Milo Thatch, who gains possession of a sacred book, which he believes will guide him and a crew of mercenaries to the lost city of Atlantis. Development of the film began after production had finished on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Instead of another musical, directors Trousdale and Wise, producer Hahn, and screenwriter Murphy decided to do an adventure film inspired by the works of Jules Verne. Atlantis: The Lost Empire was notable for adopting the distinctive visual style of comic book artist Mike Mignola, one of the film's production designers. The film made greater use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any of Disney's previous traditionally animated features and remains one of the few to have been shot in anamorphic format. Linguist Marc Okrand constructed an Atlantean language specifically for use in the film. James Newton Howard provided the film's musical score. The film was released at a time when audience interest in animated films was shifting away from traditional animation toward films with full CGI. Atlantis: The Lost Empire premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 3, 2001, and went into its general release on June 15. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Budgeted at around $90–120 million, Atlantis grossed over $186 million worldwide, $84 million of which was earned in North America; its lackluster box office response was identified as a result of being released in competition with Shrek, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Fast and the Furious and Dr. Dolittle 2. As a result of the film's box office failure, Disney cancelled a planned spin-off animated television series, Team Atlantis; an underwater Disneyland attraction; and a volcanic Magic Kingdom attraction based on it. Atlantis was nominated for several awards, including seven Annie Awards, and won Best Sound Editing at the 2002 Golden Reel Awards. The film was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002, and on Blu-ray on June 11, 2013. Despite its initial reception, reception in later years became favorable and has given Atlantis a cult following[5] and reappraisal from critics as a mistreated classic, due in part to Mignola's unique artistic influence.[6][7] A direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return, was released in 2003. Plot In 1914 Washington, D.C., archaeo-linguist Milo Thatch obsesses over finding the legendary lost city of Atlantis, believed to have sunk thousands of years ago. His employers ridicule his theories, but he gains an unexpected ally in eccentric millionaire Preston B. Whitmore, a friend of Milo's deceased adventurer grandfather who also sought the city. Determined to honor his old friend's quest, Whitmore recruits Milo for an expedition to Atlantis, having recently uncovered the Shepherd's Journal, an ancient Atlantean manuscript that contains directions to the lost city. Aboard the submarine Ulysses, Milo meets his teammates: Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, Lieutenant Helga Sinclair, demolitions expert Vincenzo Santorini, geologist Gaetan "Mole" Molière, medical officer Joshua Sweet, mechanic Audrey Ramirez, radio operator Wilhelmina Packard, mess cook Jebidiah "Cookie" Farnsworth, and a platoon of mercenaries. Upon reaching a cave entrance leading to the lost city, the submarine is destroyed by a massive mechanical leviathan, killing most of the crew. Milo and the survivors escape in smaller craft, navigating through the cave to emerge among ancient ruins. Milo translates the journal, guiding the team through caves beneath a dormant volcano until they reach the worn remains of Atlantis. There, they are greeted by Princess Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, who, despite being around 8,500 years old, has the appearance of a young woman. She leads them to her father, King Kashekim, who orders them to leave. Learning that Milo can read their language—a skill lost to the Atlanteans over millennia—Kida asks for his help in uncovering their forgotten history and highly-advanced technology, without which the city has declined and resources have dwindled. Milo learns that Atlantis is powered by the Heart of Atlantis, a massive crystal that grants longevity and health to its citizens through the smaller crystals they carry. Rourke betrays Milo and the Atlanteans, revealing his true intention to steal the Heart for profit, despite knowing the Atlanteans will perish without it. He mortally wounds the King while seizing control and uncovers the crystal's hidden location beneath the city. Sensing the danger, the crystal merges with Kida, who is then captured by Rourke. He departs with the crystallized Kida and his mercenaries, except for Vincenzo, Molière, Sweet, Audrey, Packard, and Cookie, who refuse to take part in the Atlanteans' destruction. Before dying, the King reveals that Atlantis was devastated by a megatsunami after he attempted to weaponize the crystal's vast power. To protect the city, the crystal merged with a royal family member, Kida's mother. This created a protective dome over the city's inner district, shielding it from total destruction as Atlantis sank beneath the waves, but Kida's mother never returned. To prevent the crystal from ever merging with Kida, the King hid it, inadvertently accelerating Atlantis' decline. He warns Milo that Kida will be lost forever if she is not soon separated from the crystal and pleads with him to save her. Alongside his allies, Milo rallies the Atlanteans to reactivate their long-dormant flying machines. Together, they eliminate Rourke and his mercenaries in the volcano. Milo and the others fly the crystallized Kida back to Atlantis as the volcano erupts. Kida ascends into the air and awakens Stone Guardians, who erect a barrier that shields the city from the lava flow. With Atlantis saved, the crystal separates from Kida and remains suspended in the sky. Milo chooses to stay in Atlantis with Kida, having fallen in love with her. Before returning to the surface, Vincenzo, Molière, Sweet, Audrey, Packard, and Cookie each receive a small crystal and a share of treasure. The six reunite with Preston on the surface and agree to keep their adventure a secret to protect Atlantis. Preston opens a package from Milo containing his own crystal and a note thanking him. The newly crowned Queen Kida and Milo carve a stone effigy of her father to join those of past rulers floating beside the Heart of Atlantis, as the city stands restored to its former glory. Voice cast Production layout sketch of Milo and Kida. Milo's character design was based in part on sketches of the film's language consultant, Marc Okrand. Michael J. Fox as Milo James Thatch, a linguist and cartographer at the Smithsonian who was recruited to decipher The Shepherd's Journal while directing an expedition to Atlantis. James Garner as Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, the leader of the band of mercenaries for the Atlantean expedition. Cree Summer as Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, the Princess of Atlantis and Milo's love interest. Natalie Strom provided dialogue for Kida as a young child. Summer also voiced the unnamed Queen of Atlantis, Kida's mother and Kashekim's wife who was "chosen" by the Crystal during the sinking of the city. John Mahoney as Preston B. Whitmore, an eccentric millionaire who funds the expedition to Atlantis. Lloyd Bridges was originally cast and recorded as Whitmore, but he died before completing the film. Mahoney's zest and vigor led to Whitmore's personality being reworked for the film.[8] Claudia Christian as Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, Rourke's German-born second-in-command. Don Novello as Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, an Italian demolitions expert. Phil Morris as Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet, a medic of African-American and Arapaho descent. Jacqueline Obradors as Audrey Rocio Ramirez, a Puerto Rican mechanic and the youngest member of the expedition. Corey Burton as Gaetan "Mole" Molière, a French geologist who acts like a mole. Jim Varney as Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, a Western-style chuckwagon chef. Varney died in February 2000, before the production ended, and the film was dedicated to his memory. Steven Barr recorded supplemental dialogue for Cookie. Florence Stanley as Wilhelmina Bertha Packard: an elderly, sarcastic, chain-smoking radio operator who is also the expedition's photographer. Leonard Nimoy as Kashekim Nedakh, the King of Atlantis and Kida's father. David Ogden Stiers as Fenton Q. Harcourt, a board member of the Smithsonian Institution who dismisses Milo's belief in the existence of Atlantis. Production Development The production team visited New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to get a sense of the underground spaces depicted in the film. The idea for Atlantis: The Lost Empire was conceived in October 1996 when Don Hahn, Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, and Tab Murphy lunched at a Mexican restaurant in Burbank, California. Having recently completed The Hunchback of Notre Dame,[9] the producer, directors and screenwriter wanted to keep the Hunchback crew together for another film with an "Adventureland" setting rather than a "Fantasyland" setting.[10] Drawing inspiration from Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), they set out to make a film which would fully explore Atlantis (compared to the brief visit depicted in Verne's novel).[11] While primarily utilizing the Internet to research the mythology of Atlantis,[12] the filmmakers became interested in the clairvoyant readings of Edgar Cayce and decided to incorporate some of his ideas—notably that of a mother-crystal which provides power, healing, and longevity to the Atlanteans—into the story.[13] They also visited museums and old army installations to study the technology of the early 20th century (the film's time period), and traveled underground in New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to view the subterranean trails which would serve as a model for the approach to Atlantis in the film.[14] The filmmakers wanted to avoid the common depiction of Atlantis as "crumbled Greek columns underwater", said Wise.[15] "From the get-go, we were committed to designing it top to bottom. Let's get the architectural style, clothing, heritage, customs, how they would sleep, and how they would speak. So we brought people on board who would help us develop those ideas."[16] Art director David Goetz stated, "We looked at Mayan architecture, styles of ancient, unusual architecture from around the world, and the directors really liked the look of Southeast Asian architecture."[17] The team later took ideas from other architectural forms, including Cambodian, Indian, and Tibetan works.[18] Hahn added, "If you take and deconstruct architecture from around the world into one architectural vocabulary, that's what our Atlantis looks like."[19] The overall design and circular layout of Atlantis were also based on the writings of Plato,[18] and his quote "in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea"[20] was influential from the beginning of production.[9] The crew wore T-shirts which read "ATLANTIS—Fewer songs, more explosions" due to the film's plan as an action-adventure (unlike previous Disney animated features, which were musicals).[21] Language The Atlantean letter A, created by artist John Emerson. Kirk Wise noted that its design was a treasure map showing the path to the crystal, "The Heart of Atlantis". Main article: Atlantean language Marc Okrand, who developed the Klingon language for the Star Trek television and theatrical productions, was hired to devise the Atlantean language for Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Guided by the directors' initial concept for it to be a "mother-language", Okrand employed an Indo-European word stock with its own grammatical structure. He would change the words if they began to sound too much like an actual, spoken language.[16] John Emerson designed the written component, making hundreds of random sketches of individual letters from among which the directors chose the best to represent the Atlantean alphabet.[22][23] The written language was boustrophedon: designed to be read left-to-right on the first line, then right-to-left on the second, continuing in a zigzag pattern to simulate the flow of water.[24] The Atlantean [A] is a shape developed by John Emerson. It is a miniature map of the city of Atlantis (i.e., the outside of the swirl is the cave, the inside shape is the silhouette of the city, and the dot is the location of the crystal). It's a treasure map. — Kirk Wise, director[25] Writing Joss Whedon was the first writer to be involved with the film but soon left to work on other Disney projects. According to him, he "had not a shred" in the movie.[26] Tab Murphy completed the screenplay, stating that the time from initially discussing the story to producing a script that satisfied the film crew was "about three to four months".[27] The initial draft was 155 pages, much longer than a typical Disney film script (which usually runs 90 pages). When the first two acts were timed at 120 minutes, the directors cut characters and sequences and focused more on Milo. Murphy said that he created the centuries-old Shepherd's Journal because he needed a map for the characters to follow throughout their journey.[28] A revised version of the script eliminated the trials encountered by the explorers as they navigated the caves to Atlantis. This gave the film a faster pace because Atlantis is discovered earlier in the story.[29] The directors often described the Atlanteans using Egypt as an example. When Napoleon wandered into Egypt, the people had lost track of their once-great civilization. They were surrounded by artifacts of their former greatness but somehow unaware of what they meant. — Don Hahn, producer[30] The character of Milo J. Thatch was originally supposed to be a descendant of Edward Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard the pirate. The directors later related him to an explorer so he would discover his inner talent for exploration.[31] The character of Molière was originally intended to be "professorial" but Chris Ure, a story artist, changed the concept to that of a "horrible little burrowing creature with a wacky coat and strange headgear with extending eyeballs", said Wise.[32][33] Don Hahn pointed out that the absence of songs presented a challenge for a team accustomed to animating musicals, as action scenes alone would have to carry the film. Kirk Wise said it gave the team an opportunity for more on-screen character development: "We had more screen time available to do a scene like where Milo and the explorers are camping out and learning about one another's histories. An entire sequence is devoted to having dinner and going to bed. That is not typically something we would have the luxury of doing."[16] Hahn stated that the first animated sequence completed during production was the film's prologue. The original version featured a Viking war party using The Shepherd's Journal to find Atlantis and being swiftly dispatched by the Leviathan. Near the end of production, story supervisor John Sanford told the directors that he felt this prologue did not give viewers enough emotional involvement with the Atlanteans. Despite knowing that the Viking prologue was finished and it would cost additional time and money to alter the scene, the directors agreed with Sanford. Trousdale went home and completed the storyboards later that evening after visiting a strip club where he boarded the new sequence on a napkin.[34] The opening was replaced by a sequence depicting the destruction of Atlantis, which introduced the film from the perspective of the Atlanteans and Princess Kida.[35] The Viking prologue is included as an extra feature on the DVD release.[36] Casting Kirk Wise, one of the directors, said that they chose Michael J. Fox for the role of Milo because they felt he gave his characters his own personality and made them more believable on screen. Fox said that voice acting was much easier than his past experience with live action because he did not have to worry about what he looked like in front of a camera while delivering his lines.[37] The directors mentioned that Fox was also offered a role for Titan A.E.; he allowed his son to choose which film he would work on, and he chose Atlantis.[38] Viewers have noted similarities between Milo and the film's language consultant, Marc Okrand, who developed the Atlantean language used in the film. Okrand stated that Milo's supervising animator, John Pomeroy, sketched him, claiming not to know how a linguist looked or acted.[24] Kida's supervising animator, Randy Haycock, stated that her actress, Cree Summer, was very "intimidating" when he first met her; this influenced how he wanted Kida to look and act on screen when she meets Milo.[39] Wise chose James Garner for the role of Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke because of his previous experience with action films, especially war and Western films, and said the role "fits him like a glove". When asked if he would be interested in the role, Garner replied: "I'd do it in a heartbeat."[40] Producer Don Hahn was saddened that Jim Varney, the voice of Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, never saw the finished film before he died of lung cancer in February 2000, but mentioned that he was shown clips of his character's performance during his site sessions and said, "He loved it." Shawn Keller, supervising animator for Cookie, stated, "It was kind of a sad fact that [Varney] knew that he was not going to be able to see this film before he passed away. He did a bang-up job doing the voice work, knowing the fact that he was never gonna see his last performance." Steven Barr recorded supplemental dialogue for Cookie.[41] John Mahoney, who voiced Preston Whitmore, stated that doing voice work was "freeing" and allowed him to be "big" and "outrageous" with his character.[42] Dr. Joshua Sweet's supervising animator, Ron Husband, indicated that one of the challenges was animating Sweet in sync with Phil Morris' rapid line delivery while keeping him believable. Morris stated that this character was extreme, with "no middle ground"; he mentioned, "When he was happy, he was really happy, and when he's solemn, he's real solemn."[43] Claudia Christian described her character, Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, as "sensual" and "striking", and was relieved when she finally saw what her character looked like, joking, "I'd hate to, you know, go through all this and find out my character is a toad."[44] Jacqueline Obradors said her character, Audrey Rocio Ramirez, made her "feel like a little kid again" and she always hoped her sessions would last longer.[45] Florence Stanley felt that her character, Wilhelmina Bertha Packard, was very "cynical" and "secure": "She does her job, and when she is not busy, she does anything she wants."[46] Corey Burton mentioned that finding his performance as Gaetan "Mole" Molière was by allowing the character to "leap out" of him while making funny voices. To get into character during his recording sessions, he stated that he would "throw myself into the scene and feel like I'm in this make-believe world".[47] Kirk Wise and Russ Edmonds, supervising animator for Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, noted Vinny's actor Don Novello's unique ability to improvise dialogue while voicing the role. Edmonds recalled, "[Novello] would look at the sheet, and he would read the line that was written once, and he would never read it again! And we never used a written line, it was improvs, the whole movie."[48] Michael Cedeno, supervising animator for King Kashekim Nedakh, was astounded at Leonard Nimoy's voice talent in the role, stating that he had "so much rich character" in his performance. As he spoke his lines, Cedeno said the crew would sit there and watch Nimoy in astonishment.[49] Animation For comparison, the top image (panoramic view of Atlantis) is cropped to Disney's standard aspect ratio (1.66:1); the bottom image was seen in the film (2.35:1). At the peak of its production, 350 animators, artists and technicians were working on Atlantis[50] at all three Disney animation studios: Walt Disney Feature Animation (Burbank, California), Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida (Orlando), and Disney Animation France (Paris).[51] The film was one of the few Disney animated features produced and shot in 35mm anamorphic format. The directors felt that a widescreen image was crucial, as a nostalgic reference to old action-adventure films presented in the CinemaScope format (2.35:1), noting Raiders of the Lost Ark as an inspiration.[52] Because switching to the format would require animation desks and equipment designed for widescreen to be purchased, Disney executives were at first reluctant about the idea.[16] The production team found a simple solution by drawing within a smaller frame on the same paper and equipment used for standard aspect ratio (1.66:1) Disney-animated films.[52] Layout supervisor Ed Ghertner wrote a guide to the widescreen format for use by the layout artists and mentioned that one advantage of widescreen was that he could keep characters in scenes longer because of additional space to walk within the frame.[53] Wise drew further inspiration for the format from filmmakers David Lean and Akira Kurosawa.[16] The film's visual style was strongly based upon that of Mike Mignola, the comic book artist behind Hellboy. Mignola was one of four production designers (along with Matt Codd, Jim Martin, and Ricardo Delgado) hired by the Disney studio for the film. Accordingly, he provided style guides, preliminary character, and background designs, and story ideas.[54] "Mignola's graphic, the angular style was a key influence on the 'look' of the characters," stated Wise.[55] Mignola was surprised when first contacted by the studio to work on Atlantis.[56] His artistic influence on the film would later contribute to a cult following.[57] I remember watching a rough cut of the film and these characters have these big, square, weird hands. I said to the guy next to me, "Those are cool hands." And he says to me, "Yeah, they're your hands. We had a whole meeting about how to do your hands." It was so weird I couldn't wrap my brain around it. — Mike Mignola[56] The final pull-out shot of the movie, immediately before the end-title card, was described by the directors as the most difficult shot in the history of Disney animation. They said that the pull-out attempt on their prior film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, "struggled" and "lacked depth"; however, after making advances in the process of multiplaning, they tried the technique again in Atlantis. The shot begins with one 16-inch (40.6 cm) piece of paper showing a close-up of Milo and Kida. As the camera pulls away from them to reveal the newly restored Atlantis, it reaches the equivalent of an 18,000-inch (46,000 cm) piece of paper composed of many individual pieces of paper (24 inches [61 cm] or smaller). Each piece was carefully drawn and combined with animated vehicles simultaneously flying across the scene to make the viewer see a complete, integrated image.[58] Scale model of Ulysses submarine by Greg Aronowitz, used by digital animators as reference during production.[59] At the time of its release, Atlantis: The Lost Empire was notable for using more computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any other Disney traditionally animated feature. To increase productivity, the directors had the digital artists work with the traditional animators throughout the production. Several important scenes required heavy use of digital animation: the Leviathan, the Ulysses submarine and sub-pods, the Heart of Atlantis, and the Stone Giants.[60] During production, after Matt Codd and Jim Martin designed the Ulysses on paper, Greg Aronowitz was hired to build a scale model of the submarine, to be used as a reference for drawing the 3D Ulysses.[59] The final film included 362 digital-effects shots, and computer programs were used to seamlessly join the 2D and 3D artwork.[61] One scene that took advantage of this was the "sub-drop" scene, where the 3D Ulysses was dropped from its docking bay into the water. As the camera floated toward it, a 2D Milo was drawn to appear inside, tracking the camera. The crew noted that it was challenging to keep the audience from noticing the difference between the 2D and 3D drawings when they were merged.[62] The digital production also gave the directors a unique "virtual camera" for complicated shots within the film. With the ability to operate in the z-plane, this camera moved through a digital wire-frame set; the background and details were later hand-drawn over the wireframes. This was used in the opening flight scene through Atlantis and the submarine chase through the undersea cavern with the Leviathan in pursuit.[63] Music and sound Since the film would not feature any songs, the directors hired James Newton Howard to compose the score after they heard his music on Dinosaur. Approaching it as a live-action film, Howard decided to have different musical themes for the cultures of the surface world and Atlantis. In the case of Atlantis, Howard chose an Indonesian orchestral sound incorporating chimes, bells, and gongs. The directors told Howard that the film would have a number of key scenes without dialogue; the score would need to convey emotionally what the viewer was seeing on screen.[64] Gary Rydstrom and his team at Skywalker Sound were hired for the film's sound production.[65] Like Howard, Rydstrom employed different sounds for the two cultures. Focusing on the machine and mechanical sounds of the early industrial era for the explorers, he felt that the Atlanteans should have a "more organic" sound utilizing ceramics and pottery. The sound made by the Atlantean flying-fish vehicles posed a particular challenge. Rydstrom revealed that he was sitting at the side of a highway recording one day when a semi-truck drove by at high speed. When the recording was sped up on his computer, he felt it sounded very organic, and decided to use it in the film. Rydstrom created the harmonic chiming of the Heart of Atlantis by rubbing his finger along the edge of a champagne flute, the sound of sub-pods moving through the water with a water pick, while a ceramic pot from a garden store was used for the sounds of the movement of the Giant stone guardians.[66] Release Atlantis: The Lost Empire had its world premiere at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 3, 2001[67] and a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on June 8; a wider release followed on June 15.[4][61] At the premiere, Destination: Atlantis was on display, featuring behind-the-scenes props from the film and information on the legend of Atlantis with video games, displays, laser tag, and other attractions. The Aquarium of the Pacific also loaned a variety of fish for display within the attraction.[68] Promotion Atlantis was among Disney's first major attempts to utilize internet marketing. The film was promoted through Kellogg's, which created a website with mini-games and a movie-based video game give-away for UPC labels from specially marked packages of Atlantis breakfast cereal.[50] The film was one of Disney's first marketing attempts through mobile network operators, and allowed users to download games based on the film.[69] McDonald's (which had an exclusive licensing agreement on all Disney releases) promoted the film with Happy Meal toys, food packaging and in-store decor. The McDonald's advertising campaign involved television, radio, and print advertisements beginning on the film's release date.[70] Frito-Lay offered free admission tickets for the film on specially marked snack packages.[71] Home media Atlantis: The Lost Empire was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002.[72] During the first month of its home release, the film led in VHS sales and was third in VHS and DVD sales combined.[73] Sales and rentals of the VHS and DVD combined would eventually accumulate $157 million in revenue by mid-2003.[74] Both a single-disc DVD edition and a two-disc collector's edition (with bonus features) were released. The single-disc DVD gave the viewer the option of viewing the film either in its original theatrical 2.39:1 aspect ratio or a modified 1.33:1 ratio (utilizing pan and scan). Bonus features available on the DVD version included audio and visual commentary from the film team, a virtual tour of the CGI models, an Atlantean-language tutorial, an encyclopedia on the myth of Atlantis, and the deleted Viking prologue scene.[72] The two-disc collector's edition DVD contained all the single-disc features and a disc with supplemental material detailing all aspects of the film's production. The collector's-edition film could only be viewed in its original theatrical ratio, and also featured an optional DTS 5.1 track. Both DVD versions, however, contained a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and were THX certified.[72][75] Disney digitally remastered and released Atlantis on Blu-ray on June 11, 2013, bundled with its sequel Atlantis: Milo's Return.[76] Reception Box office Before the film's release, reporters speculated that it would have a difficult run due to competition from Shrek and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Regarding the market's shift from traditional animation and competition with CG-animated films, Kirk Wise said, "Any traditional animator, including myself, can't help but feel a twinge. I think it always comes down to story and character, and one form won't replace the other. Just like photography didn't replace painting. But maybe I'm blind to it."[61] Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted that CGI films (such as Shrek) were more likely to attract the teenage demographic typically not interested in animation, and called Atlantis a "marketing and creative gamble".[77] With a budget of $100 million,[3] the film opened at #2 on its debut weekend, behind Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, earning $20.3 million in 3,011 theaters.[78] During its second weekend, it would drop into fourth place behind the latter film, Dr. Dolittle 2 and The Fast and the Furious, making $13.2 million.[79] The film's international release began September 20 in Australia and other markets followed suit.[80] During its 25-week theatrical run, Atlantis: The Lost Empire grossed over $186 million worldwide ($84 million from the United States and Canada).[4] Responding to its disappointing box-office performance, Thomas Schumacher, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said, "It seemed like a good idea at the time to not do a sweet fairy tale, but we missed."[81] Critical response Atlantis: The Lost Empire received mixed reviews from critics,[82][83][84] many of whom criticized its story.[85] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 48% of 144 professional critics have given Atlantis: The Lost Empire a positive review; the average rating is 5.5/10. The site's consensus is: "Atlantis provides a fast-paced spectacle, but stints on such things as character development and a coherent plot".[86] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 29 reviews from critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[87] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[88] While critics had mixed reactions to the film in general, some praised it for its visuals, action-adventure elements, and attempt to appeal to an older audience. Roger Ebert gave Atlantis three-and-a-half stars out of four. He praised the animation's "clean bright visual look" and the "classic energy of the comic book style", crediting this to the work of Mike Mignola. Ebert gave particular praise to the story and the final battle scene and wrote, "The story of Atlantis is rousing in an old pulp science fiction sort of way, but the climactic scene transcends the rest, and stands by itself as one of the great animated action sequences."[89] In The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell gave high praise to the film, calling it "a monumental treat", and stated, "Atlantis is also one of the most eye-catching Disney cartoons since Uncle Walt institutionalized the four-fingered glove."[90] Internet film critic James Berardinelli wrote a positive review of the film, giving it three out of four stars. He wrote, "On the whole, Atlantis offers 90 minutes of solid entertainment, once again proving that while Disney may be clueless when it comes to producing good live-action movies, they are exactly the opposite when it comes to their animated division."[91] Wesley Morris of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote positively of the film's approach for an older audience: "But just beneath the surface, Atlantis brims with adult possibility."[92] Other critics felt that the film was mediocre in regards to its story and characters, and that it failed to deliver as a non-musical to Disney's traditional audience. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ rating, writing that the film had "gee-whiz formulaic character" and was "the essence of craft without dream".[93] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said the storyline and characterizations were "old-fashioned" and the film had the retrograde look of a Saturday-morning cartoon, but these deficiencies were offset by its "brisk action" and frantic pace.[94] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Disney pushes into all-talking, no-singing, no-dancing and, in the end, no-fun animated territory."[95] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon wrote of Disney's attempt to make the film for an adult audience, "The big problem with Disney's latest animated feature, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is that it doesn't seem geared to kids at all: It's so adult that it's massively boring."[96] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post panned the film, calling it a "new-fashioned but old-fangled hash" and wrote, "Ironically Disney had hoped to update its image with this mildly diverting adventure, yet the picture hasn't really broken away from the tried-and-true format spoofed in the far superior Shrek."[97] In 2015, Katharine Trendacosta at io9 reviewed the film and called it a "Beautiful Gem of a Movie That Deserved Better Than It Got" and said that the film deserves more love than it ended up getting.[6] Lindsay Teal considers "Atlantis" to be "a lost Disney classic". Describing the film as highly entertaining, she praises the writing and characterisation – in particular, Sweet, Helga and Kida.[7] In particular, much praise has been given to the character of Kida.[98] Summer has regarded the character of Kida as one of her favourite roles and even considers the character among the official Disney Princess line-up. Themes and interpretations Several critics and scholars have noted that Atlantis plays strongly on themes of anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism. M. Keith Booker, academic and author of studies about the implicit messages conveyed by media, views the character of Rourke as being motivated by "capitalist greed" when he pursues "his own financial gain" in spite of the knowledge that "his theft [of the crystal] will lead to the destruction of [Atlantis]".[99] Religion journalist Mark Pinsky, in his exploration of moral and spiritual themes in popular Disney films, says that "it is impossible to read the movie ... any other way" than as "a devastating, unrelenting attack on capitalism and American imperialism".[100] Max Messier of FilmCritic.com observes, "Disney even manages to lambast the capitalist lifestyle of the adventurers intent on uncovering the lost city. Damn the imperialists!"[101] According to Booker, the film also "delivers a rather segregationist moral" by concluding with the discovery of the Atlanteans kept secret from other surface-dwellers in order to maintain a separation between the two highly divergent cultures.[102] Others saw Atlantis as an interesting look at utopian philosophy of the sort found in classic works of science fiction by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.[103] Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water controversy When the film was released, some viewers noticed that Atlantis: The Lost Empire was similar to the 1990-91 anime Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, particularly in its character design, setting, and story.[104] The similarities, as noted by viewers in both Japan and America, were strong enough for its production company Gainax to be called to sue for plagiarism. According to Gainax member Yasuhiro Takeda, they only refrained from doing so because the decision belonged to parent companies NHK and Toho.[105] Another Gainax worker, Hiroyuki Yamaga, was quoted in an interview in 2000 as saying: "We actually tried to get NHK to pick a fight with Disney, but even the National Television Network of Japan didn't dare to mess with Disney and their lawyers. [...] We actually did say that but we wouldn't actually take them to court. We would be so terrified about what they would do to them in return that we wouldn't dare."[105] Although Disney never responded formally to those claims, co-director Kirk Wise posted on a Disney animation newsgroup in May 2001, "Never heard of Nadia till it was mentioned in this [newsgroup]. Long after we'd finished production, I might add." He claimed both Atlantis and Nadia were inspired, in part, by the 1870 Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.[106] However, speaking about the clarification, Lee Zion from Anime News Network wrote, "There are too many similarities not connected with 20,000 Leagues for the whole thing to be coincidence."[107] As such, the whole affair ultimately entered popular culture as a convincing case of plagiarism.[108][109][110] In 2018, Reuben Baron from Comic Book Resources added to Zion's comment stating, "Verne didn't specifically imagine magic crystal-based technology, something featured in both the Disney movie and the too similar anime. The Verne inspiration also doesn't explain the designs being suspiciously similar to Nadia's."[110] Critics also saw parallels with the 1986 film Laputa: Castle in the Sky from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli (which also featured magic crystals, and Atlantis directors Trousdale and Wise both acknowledged Miyazaki's works as a major influence on their own work)[104] and with the 1994 film Stargate as Milo's characteristics were said to resemble those of Daniel Jackson, the protagonist of Stargate and its spinoff television series Stargate SG-1 — which coincidentally launched its own spinoff, titled Stargate Atlantis; the plot of the 1994 film is also paralleled involving a group visiting an unknown world, a fictional language made for the other world's people, the main protagonist having apparent knowledge of the people's culture, falling in love with one of the female locals and electing to stay behind when the others return home.[111] Accolades Award Category Name Result 29th Annie Awards[112] Individual Achievement in Directing Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise Nominated Individual Achievement in Storyboarding Chris Ure Nominated Individual Achievement in Production Design David Goetz Nominated Individual Achievement in Effects Animation Marlon West Nominated Individual Achievement in Voice Acting – Female Florence Stanley Nominated Individual Achievement in Voice Acting – Male Leonard Nimoy Nominated Individual Achievement for Music Score James Newton Howard Nominated 2002 DVD Exclusive Awards[113] Original Retrospective Documentary Michael Pellerin Nominated 2002 Golden Reel Award[114] Best Sound Editing – Animated Feature Film Gary Rydstrom, Michael Silvers, Mary Helen Leasman, John K. Carr, Shannon Mills, Ken Fischer, David C. Hughes, and Susan Sanford Won Online Film Critics Society Awards 2001[115] Best Animated Feature Nominated 2002 Political Film Society[116] Democracy Nominated Human Rights Nominated Peace Nominated World Soundtrack Awards[117] Best Original Song for Film Diane Warren and James Newton Howard Nominated Young Artist Awards[118] Best Feature Family Film – Drama Walt Disney Feature Animation Nominated Related works Main article: Atlantis (franchise) Atlantis: The Lost Empire was meant to inspire an animated television series entitled Team Atlantis, which would have presented the further adventures of its characters. The series would have been akin to an animated steampunk version of The X-Files and feature a crossover with Gargoyles. However, because of the film's underperformance at the box office, the series was not produced.[119] On May 20, 2003, Disney released a direct-to-video sequel titled Atlantis: Milo's Return, consisting of three episodes planned for the aborted series.[120] Disneyland planned to revive its Submarine Voyage ride with an Atlantis: The Lost Empire theme with elements from the movie. These plans were canceled and the attraction was re-opened in 2007 as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, its theme based on the 2003 Pixar film Finding Nemo, which was far more successful commercially and critically.[121] In addition, after the Submarine Voyage's Magic Kingdom counterpart, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, closed down in 1994, four years before Disneyland's, there were proposals of a new attraction that would take its place, with one of them a volcano attraction inspired by that film's Vulcania location, being approved for the Magic Kingdom's Adventureland area. Around 1999, during development of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, it was decided that it would be themed to the movie, with it taking place in 1916, two years after the film's events. The ride would have focused on Preston Whitmore, a character from the film, seeking to make Atlantis existence public and offer expeditions to visitors in newly developed vehicles. However, due to mishaps, the vehicles would be forced to make a detour through the lava-filled caverns of the volcano. The attraction would have used a unique hybrid ride system, in which it would start as a standard coaster before the trains hook up to a suspended track midway through to fly through the caverns. The attraction would have been accessed by a new canyon path in between Pirates of the Caribbean and a re-routed Jungle Cruise that would have led to a Whitmore Enterprises base camp at the edge of the Walt Disney World Railroad path, with the mountain itself being built outside the berm. However, like the previous Submarine Voyage retheme, the ride was cancelled due to the film's disappointment in the box office.[122]

    united states america music american california canada learning new york city australia art earth hollywood disney internet los angeles washington voice japan french religion home heart sales german development western italian drawing north america greek african americans 3d indian journal mexican mcdonald focusing wise production scale washington post caribbean giant star trek falling in love notre dame new mexico dvd responding pacific pirates raiders pixar disneyland dinosaurs morris guided vhs critics considerations variety salon themes viking determined cgi atlantis napoleon plato shrek los angeles times seas x files booker puerto rican rotten tomatoes smithsonian 2d audiences indonesians aboard blu kellogg hellboy viewers lost ark tibetans mayan leviathan studio ghibli stargate leagues hahn garner michael j fox sanford burbank san francisco chronicle magic kingdom jungle cruise aquarium hayao miyazaki cg southeast asian entertainment weekly disney princesses sensing miyazaki cambodians roger ebert mahoney finding nemo happy meals layout ebert leonard nimoy jules verne edmonds akira kurosawa klingon moli gargoyles hunchback toho rourke smithsonian institution dolittle metacritic blackbeard thx nhk verne frito lay fantasyland whitmore edgar cayce adventureland packard atlanteans dts mike mignola upc james garner david lean blue water best original song stargate sg harcourt varney leagues under atlantis the lost empire jim varney indo european nimoy lara croft tomb raider james newton howard annie awards thomas schumacher jim martin john mahoney daniel jackson gainax stargate atlantis novello arapaho lloyd bridges mignola kida cinemascope wesley morris edward teach carlsbad caverns cree summer skywalker sound cinemascore claudia christian david ogden stiers walt disney feature animation anime news network don hahn phil morris comic book resources jeff jensen uncle walt corey burton twenty thousand leagues under laputa castle walt disney world railroad gary trousdale kirk wise submarine voyage best sound editing elvis mitchell el capitan theatre todd mccarthy marc okrand gary rydstrom owen gleiberman finding nemo submarine voyage stone giants dolby digital don novello vulcania kenneth turan ken fischer nadia the secret although disney katharine trendacosta james berardinelli
    TDP 1461: 15A. Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: The Ministry of Death REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2026 11:52


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in March 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 30 April 2026, and on general sale after this date. Summoned back to Earth by the Space-Time telegraph, the Doctor and Sarah Jane find themselves assisting their old friends at UNIT not once but twice. But exactly how willing will a Time Lord be to be stuck in a single place once more? 15.1 The Ministry of Death by Robert Valentine (4 parts) When the Brigadier uses the Space-Time Telegraph to summon the Doctor and Sarah Jane from their travels, they know it'll be for something unusual. But neither could expect something quite this strange. An electronics expert has died after being struck by lightning. But how could this possibly happen in his office? And that's only the first death they discover. A wild scheme is underway. A case of twisted science and revenge. That's about to hit closer to home than they could possibly anticipate. 15.2 The Inhuman Empire by Phil Mulryne (2 parts) Sarah is contacted by an old friend who knows her predilection for 'rum goings on', asking her to investigate unusual activities at the National Museum. Sarah agrees to look into it, with the Doctor tagging along - but they soon discover things are worse than they thought. Because the Museum is host to alien activity - very familiar aliens at that. And if they don't stop these relic hunters quickly, then humanity itself might not survive. Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart © Haisman & Lincoln and used under licence. With thanks to Hannah Haisman and Candy Jar Please note: the collector's edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,500 copies and will not be re-pressed. Recorded on: 23 and 27 October, 3,10, 16 and 30 November, and 14 December 2020 Recorded at: The Soundhouse and Remote Recoding Producer David Richardson said: "Now this is my era! I was 12 years old when the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry were flying out into the universe, and those years remain some of my most treasured Doctor Who memories. "How brilliant that, at last, 15 seasons into The Fourth Doctor Adventures, we can bring those characters back together again for new stories. This season has been sitting 'in the can' for a while now - we made it at the height of lockdown, and it proved the most joyous diversion from bleak times. Imaginative, brilliant escapism - just what Doctor Who should be." The Ministry of Death writer Robert Valentine added: "There is a certain magic to these lead characters of the Fourth Doctor, Sarah, Harry and the Brig. The Fourth Doctor is a far less clubbable personality than the Third Doctor was, and he's this chaotic force who wants to leave, and the Brig is a force of order who wants him to stay. "And stuck between them are Sarah and Harry, who are a very different couple of characters, who nevertheless get on extremely well. But Harry is a throwback to an earlier time, not unlike John Steed in The Avengers, and Sarah is a thoroughly contemporary woman who's bang up to date for the 1970s. Or is it the 1980s?" Actor Christopher Naylor described The Ministry of Death: "It has a real adventure serial feel to it. It moves at a good pace and it's very reminiscent of those early stories in Tom's tenure, like Robot. You can imagine those very brightly lit sets and the jeeps zooming all over the place and lots of colour separation overlay of actors and creatures getting bigger." Sadie Miller, who plays Sarah Jane Smith, agreed: "It's a really fun adventure. It reminds me of Roger Corman movies - that sort of creature feature element, which I absolutely adore, and a gothic spooky element to the sci-fi, with a mad scientist character, which I've always really enjoyed as a viewer and as a listener."

    TDP 1460: 5.3. Star Cops: Conflict: Prisoner and Escort REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 29, 2026 7:01


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Alice Okoro returns to the Moon having escorted a prisoner, Mitchell Kane, from a Mars waystation. He has confessed to committing a murder on the Red Planet, but Nathan suspects he isn't telling the whole truth. Is Kane the killer? If not, who is? And why would he admit to a murder he hasn't committed? The answer to those questions brings shocking consequences. Recorded on: 5-7 November 2024 Recorded at: The Soundhouse Writer Roland Moore said: "The Star Cops characters are so well drawn, originally by Chris Boucher and then from what script editor Andrew Smith and the rest of the team have done. They've been played so consistently over the years, so getting back into writing for them is quite easy. And, I had great fun with the two guest characters. Mitchell Kane is a man totally out of his depth, and it's fun to see him unravel - Homer Todiwala's portrayal of Mitchell was a joy to hear." Director Helen Goldwyn added: "Mitchell is quite a character, brilliantly played by Homer. He's a really interesting personality type, and it's great to see his evolution. Also joining us on this episode is the fabulous Hannah Bristow, who I had the pleasure of working with in a show the year before; I knew that she had such a distinctive voice and such a naturalistic style, so it was great to come across the role of Samantha and be able to offer that to Hannah." David Calder (Nathan Spring) Trevor Cooper (Inspector Colin Devis) Linda Newton (Chief Superintendent Pal Kenzy) Hannah Bristow (Samantha Curran) Lynsey Murrell (Inspector Alice Okoro) Philip Olivier (Inspector Paul Bailey) Homer Todiwala (Mitchell Kane)

    TDP 1459: #DoctorWho: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: 5 The Violet Hour REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2026 10:29


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in March 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 May 2026, and on general sale after this date. The Doctor and Yaz arrive in the East End of London, 1926. There's grief in the air: not only the years of war and sickness, but a more recent death. A strange message prompts them to investigate the murder of a medium. A young woman whose seances hide deeper secrets - and an unearthly power that threatens the entire city. Please note: the collector's edition CD is strictly limited to 1,500 copies Cover Art by Rafe Wallbank Director Ken Bentley Executive Producer Jason Haigh-ElleryNicholas Briggs Music by Joe Kraemer Producer Noga Flaishon Script Editor Matt Fitton Sound Design by Joe Kraemer Written by Rafaella Marcus Senior Producer John Ainsworth Product Format: 1-disc CD (jewel case) Number of Discs: 1 Duration: 71 minutes Physical Retail ISBN: 978-1-80240-627-6 Digital Retail ISBN: 978-1-80240-628-3 Production Code: BFPDW13TH05 Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor) Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan) Liv Andrusier (Esther) Joseph Arkley (Kidney / Cat-Caller) Anna Crichlow (Nellie / Waitress) Olivia Marcus (Miriam) David Robb (Maltravers / Ironmonger) Recorded on: 25 June 2025 Recorded at: Fitzrovia Post Interview - Jodie Whittaker answers listeners' questions Writer Rafaella Marcus said: "It's been a thrill to take the Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz to the world of music hall and seances, and bring them face to face with all the strange and murky things that occupy the underbelly of 1920s London. "Speaking to the dead is a dangerous and - quite literally - haunting business, and even more so in this era. I've loved writing Yaz and the Doctor's challenging, loyal, heartfelt dynamic as they investigate both a series of murders and their own losses - I hope listeners enjoy it as much as I did." Lead actor Jodie Whittaker said: "It's a really beautiful script, with ghostly elements explored in a very unique way, and so many different characters of different ages as well - people whose grief is through loss of a family, and young people who've lost someone instantly. And it touches on the Spanish flu, which, now we all know what it's like to live through a pandemic, feels incredibly relevant." Her co-star Mandip Gill added: "When I first read The Violet Hour, I was a bit scared because I'm actually scared of ghosts! But then I got quite excited because we've not touched on this before, and it's exciting to pop back to the East End in the 1920s." And, producer Noga Flaishon said: "Working with Rafaella Marcus was wonderful. I adore their work across theatre and audio, and they were amongst the first writers I pitched for this series. The plot is so suspenseful and spooky, and this was the first - and so far only - time I shed tears in the control room during a recording... the words ripped my heart out on this one."

    TDP 1457: Doctor Who: The Third Doctor Adventures: The Imposters REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2026 11:09


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in February 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 March 2026, and on general sale after this date. The Doctor and the Brigadier are on the trail of stolen, advanced technology. Sarah Jane Smith is convinced an informant is leading her to a top-secret space tracking station. And Dr Elizabeth Shaw is wearing a metal helmet, covered in tin foil. It's a deadly puzzle, involving a precocious schoolgirl, a Saturday night all-in wrestling star and a high-ranking military officer. There's a plot to control the Earth's weather and somewhere in all this, there's a connection to the constellation of Centaurus. To defeat an enemy with no regard for human life, the Doctor must battle on all fronts, but not before a lethal encounter with the Venusian karate Downward K-klak! Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart © Haisman & Lincoln and used under licence. With thanks to Hannah Haisman and Candy Jar PLEASE NOTE: Due to very limited availability, this release can only be purchased on CD as part of a bundle This title was released in February 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 March 2026, and on general sale after this date. The Doctor and the Brigadier are on the trail of stolen, advanced technology. Sarah Jane Smith is convinced an informant is leading her to a top-secret space tracking station. And Dr Elizabeth Shaw is wearing a metal helmet, covered in tin foil. It's a deadly puzzle, involving a precocious schoolgirl, a Saturday night all-in wrestling star and a high-ranking military officer. There's a plot to control the Earth's weather and somewhere in all this, there's a connection to the constellation of Centaurus. To defeat an enemy with no regard for human life, the Doctor must battle on all fronts, but not before a lethal encounter with the Venusian karate Downward K-klak! Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart © Haisman & Lincoln and used under licence. With thanks to Hannah Haisman and Candy Jar **PLEASE NOTE: Due to very limited availability, this release can only be purchased on CD as part of a bundle**

    TDP 1458 Doctor Who NEWS and Chat

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2026 8:05


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496

    TDP 1456: REVIEW Vol 2. Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel: The Dimensions of Time

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2026 10:59


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in February 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 March 2026, and on general sale after this date. Captain Lewis Haworth, young hacker MB, dark web operative Cole Smith and marine biologist Clare MacGregor found themselves in a changed world, controlled by the sinister Rakervia. In a secret military base in Arizona, they reactivated the Time Tunnel and set out across history, on a mission to track down the lost scientists Tony Newman and Doug Phillips, and restore the world as it should be. 2.1 Families and Lies - June 28 1969, by Mark B Oliver Cole arrives, alone, in Greenwich Village, Manhattan on Saturday, 28th June 1969, the day before the Stonewall uprising. With Lewis and MB nowhere to be found, he forges new friendships, but they have their own troubles. Inside the Project Tic-Toc Control Room, Clare must persuade Elenya that reuniting her friends is in all their interests. 2.2 Divine Intervention - April 1429, by Lisa McMullin MB and Cole find themselves in 15th Century France, towards the end of the Hundred Years War. It's France versus England but MB and Cole will be lining up on the side of France - alongside the Maid of Orleans herself - Joan of Arc. Is she a witch, a heretic or a feminist revolutionary? 2.3 Rendezvous with Tomorrow - April 15th 1912, by Gary Hopkins MB and Cole follow in the footsteps of Doctors Newman and Phillips aboard the doomed passenger ship Titanic in the year 1912. It seems that, after all, history can be re-written. Clara MacGregor, meanwhile, discovers that the past can be read in different ways. Is it possible that the journey's end is in sight? **Please note: the collector's edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be repressed** Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel TM & © 2026 Legendary. All rights reserved. Used under license. Based on the original television series "The Time Tunnel" © Legendary and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Recorded on: 17-19 July and 14-16 August 2024 Recorded at: The Soundhouse Producer, director and script editor Gary Russell said: "The Time Tunnel is one of those great Sixties science-fiction shows that ended too soon and without resolution. Ever since I was six years old, I used to think, what happened to poor Doug and Tony? To finally have the opportunity to restart Project Tic-Toc's computer spools, flashing lights and boot up the Tunnel again - and along the way maybe finally get an answer to Doug and Tony's fate - was simply too good an opportunity to pass up on. "We've had so much support and encouragement too from Legendary and Synthesis - who look after the Irwin Allen properties with so much love and respect - and for that I'm really grateful. They gave us the chance to bring The Time Tunnel into the twenty-first century with a bang." On making her Big Finish debut, Sandra Dickinson said: "It's a part to die for! The woman I'm playing has a rich history of being a very good human being, a loving, caring person, and is a tough cookie, so it was really fun to play, and to use the New York accent, which has been in my mind for a long time. "The 1960s was an amazing time. It's so apt at the moment to be talking about the LGBTQ rights movement. It's really nice to hear how it all started off in New York. And my dear son-in-law, David Tennant, has been standing up for them, bless him! So it's a great one to have done." The first episode's writer Mark B Oliver said: "I did a lot of research into the Stonewall Uprising, and what I found most fascinating were the oral histories that people have recorded over the years. These are people that were there and experienced what exactly happened. And the common thread is that they agreed to disagree about the exact details!" The second episode is scripted by Lisa McMullin, who said: "I've had a real hankering for quite a while to tell a pure historical story, so this was such a treat. It was really enjoyable telling the story of Joan of Arc. I had loads of interest in her before, and I'm always fascinated by how religion can be a real comforter to people but is also used to justify so much horror." And, finale writer Gary Hopkins said: "At the time we were discussing what we might want to do with this episode, I was reading a fantastic book called The Darks and Bounds of a Failing World, all about the tragedy of the Titanic and the Edwardian era. So it all fell into place at just the right time. I'd grown up watching various representations of the Titanic through film and television, but I always wanted to go back to the factual origin."

    TDP 1455: Asterix – For Your Consideration 21

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2026 47:08


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Listen on YouTube We finally kick of the year with Luke's choice. This time we're looking at the Asterix comic albums. T-shirts can be found here – https://www.redbubble.com/people/ufocast Follow us on twitter @ufo_cast Like us on Facebook Review us on iTunes Email the show – ufocast@yahoo.com

    THE SOLO ADVENTURER - A New Project

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 2:44


    Its my birthday... thought id try something different... join me if you would like to...

    TDP 1454: 5.2. Star Cops: Conflict: Shadow of the Moonlight REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2026 8:16


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 The murder of movie star Striker Torrance brings the ISPF to the Moon's Rothchester-Remini hotel, where preparations are under way for the star-studded premiere of Shadow of the Moonlight, an action thriller where the lead characters are Star Cops. Nathan bonds with iconic star Coral Goldfinch, while the team uncover tragedy and dark secrets beneath the Hollywood veneer. Why is Coral's private security guard obstructing the investigation, and who is sending the star sinister messages? Director Helen Goldwyn said: "This episode brings together the technological and scientific side of the Star Cops world with the world of entertainment that is still going on down on planet Earth. It's really good fun to have those two worlds colliding. One of the best parts of this episode was getting to work with the fabulous Samantha Boffin as Coral Goldfinch, who delivers such a great, nuanced performance." Writer Mark Wright added: "I sent so many emails to Andrew Smith, our series script editor, begging to let me do a Star Cops, because I'm such a big fan of the original TV series. I was 15 when it started; I have very fond memories of running home for 8.30 on a Wednesday night to watch it. So, to work with Andy on the script, and to be in studio with three actors from the original series - who are just delightful and play off each other so well - it doesn't get better than that! "My original inspiration for this story was, there's always talk of the next Bond movie or Mission: Impossible that they'll film in space. I thought, with space technology and exploration expanding in the Star Cops universe, somebody would go and make a film in space. And there's a hotel on the moon where there's going to be a glitzy premiere because space tourism is becoming a big new thing now."

    TDP 1453 : REVIEW 4. Doctor Who: The War Doctor Rises: Cybergene

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 8:52


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in December 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 28 February 2026, and on general sale after this date. As the conflict between Gallifrey and Skaro rages, the Cybermen are gone from the universe. Until now. The War Doctor finds himself on a world ravaged by battle, where soldiers are kept alive by grimly familiar methods. As time is manipulated, the dead no longer stay dead, and a horrifying evolution begins... Seeking answers across multiple worlds, and in a long-dead Cyber-tomb, the Doctor uncovers the terrible truth. The ultimate Cyber-form is coming to join the Time War. Episode 1: Crucible Episode 2: Firebreak Episode 3: Sepulchre THIS TITLE IS NOW OUT OF PRINT ON CD Jonathon Carley (The War Doctor) Rachel Atkins (Vargeth) Nicholas Briggs (The Cybermen) Mitra Djalili (Nesta) Wayne Forester (Jellik / Cardew) Clive Hayward (Vokol) Harriet Kershaw (Tyrus) Nicholas Khan (Davius) Glen McCready (Captain Rorval) Shogo Miyakita (Orgreave) Tracy Wiles (Ensign Zolan) Recorded on: 24-26 March 2025 Recorded at: The Soundhouse Producer David Richardson said: "The Cybermen enter the Time War. And more than that... every kind of Cybermen enters the Time War. Mondasian. Telosian. Whatever their heritage, these half man, half machines will change the stakes in the battle between the Time Lords and the Daleks. But who will this third party favour?" Writer Jonathan Morris added: "[Script editor] Matt Fitton asked me if I wanted to do a War Doctor story, and I replied going, please can I do the Cybermen? What happened to the Cybermen during the Time War? "I've never done a Cyberman story in twenty-odd years of working for Big Finish. Every now and then I've dropped little hints that I'd like to, but this time it's finally happened. All these ideas I've had over the last twenty years about cool things I could do with the Cybermen, I've put into this story." Lead actor Jonathan Carley said: "When I first took on the War Doctor, I thought, 'We know a lot about what the Daleks and Time Lords are up to, but what about the Cybermen, the other big cheese in the Doctor Who world?' I don't think they've ever been done in this era before. "This one was sold to me with the opening line of 'every Cyberman ever'. I was in, I was raring to go, and it has not disappointed - it's totally delivered on that, and a few original Cybermen in between." His co-star Mitra Djalili added: "I absolutely love it. I like a strong female lead and I'm very fortunate to be playing one. When I was a child watching Doctor Who, I never would have thought in a million years that later on down the line I'd be involved. And it's absolutely wonderful. "I relate to Nesta quite well. I wonder how much of a coincidence it is when I'm offered parts like this, because she's quite brittle, she's quite sarcastic, she doesn't suffer fools gladly. She has the courage of her convictions, but she also does have a soft centre."

    TDP 1452: 4.4. #DoctorWho: The Ninth Doctor and Rose Adventures: Cloud Eight

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2026 9:12


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in February 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 30 April 2026, and on general sale after this date. The Doctor and Rose travel to the 47th century, Earth's 'Second Dark Age', but when they arrive in the floating box city of High High Wycombe, it's more like a paradise. The residents live an existence of endless leisure, and at night sleep a blissful, dreamless sleep. But cracks soon begin to show on its perfect, polished surface, and something terrible is brewing in the mind of teenage Elsa - something ancient and hungry - something that sounds like a nightmare. THIS TITLE IS NOW SOLD OUT ON CD Recorded on: 9 and 11 December 2024 Recorded at: Fitzrovia Post Writer Stewart Pringle said: "For me, Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper will always be the faces of the new series. They brought it back so brilliantly. They're just the most incredible performers. So to have them back together for a set of stories and get to contribute to that, it's just a total dream. "It was a great joy to be doing the first off-world story for this new run. The End of the World is still one of my very favourite Doctor Who stories. So Cloud Eight was our chance to do a bit of that, stepping out onto another world - although this is a world very close to Earth in some ways, it also feels quite distant and quite sinister." The episode's other writer Lauren Mooney further explained the inspiration behind Cloud Eight: "I'm really interested in the relationship between work and sense of self. There's something fascinating about the paradise of a world without work, which was the starting germ of an idea about a future in which nobody has to work, but everybody's minds are colonised by data storage. "We are all in a world where our attention is being clamoured for, and it's easy to outsource our thinking and our creativity. And it's tempting to do that, and not to think for ourselves or create for ourselves. And so this story is about the perils of doing that, because we need those things!" Producer Matt Fitton said: "After sticking very closely to the Powell Estate for the first few stories, we wanted to widen the TARDIS net and have the Doctor and Rose head off a little way away. "Stewart Pringle and Lauren Mooney have written some great Ninth Doctor stories in the past, and I really enjoy all their writing. They can make things that are disturbing and very characterful and very human and very emotional as well. All of those ingredients fit well with the era of the Ninth Doctor and Rose! "So in Cloud Eight, we pay a visit to High High Wycombe, which is apparently a kind of a utopian paradise where people don't need to work anymore. People have endless leisure time and everything seems to be going swimmingly. But as ever in Doctor Who, there is beneath the surface a price being paid for all of this…" This is an adventure that gets the Doctor particularly riled up, as lead actor Christopher Eccleston commented: "I took this story as a warning to myself, really. The anger that the Doctor feels, I thought, was really exciting and prescient. He's able to both celebrate and berate humanity, but within, when he berates it, he's going, 'Please do not allow yourself to be controlled. Do not give yourselves up to being mechanised.'"

    TDP 1451: #Torchwood 98 Everyone's Dead on Floor 3

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2026 8:17


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in January 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 March 2026, and on general sale after this date. 1954, an ordinary morning at Matthews and Small, until the screaming starts. Racing upstairs, they find everyone's dead on floor three. What was the mysterious firm upstairs? Can the prompt arrival of an investigator from Torchwood find a traitor? Please note: the collector's edition CDs have now sold out Recorded on: 18 July 2025 Recorded at: The Soundhouse Lead actor Samuel Barnett, who has played Norton Folgate in many audio adventures since 2016, said: "This is set in the 1950s, which is Norton's real time period, rather than any of the time-travelling type stuff that he does. He is trying to stop a time bomb going off in a building. But he's been a very naughty boy! As usual with Norton, is he good? Is he bad? We love that he's slightly bad, but we ultimately want him to be good." Samuel Barnett (Norton Folgate) Julian Bleach (Robert Matthews) Aruhan Galieva (Angela Carr) Cassius Hackforth (Timothy Small) Alistair Toovey (William Ledbury)

    TDP 1450: 5.1 #StarCops: Conflict Suspicion and Sabotage REVIEW #Bigfinish

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2026 7:25


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 TDP_1450_5 1 Star Cops: Conflict Suspicion and Sabotage It's the near future, and mankind has expanded its presence in space. Maintaining law and order beyond Earth is the responsibility of the International Space Police Force, known colloquially as the Star Cops. Their leader is Commander Nathan Spring. With Earth's vital mineral resources running low, and worldwide suspicion over the true purpose of a mission to mine the asteroid belt, international tensions are running high. A series of suspected sabotage incidents at the Moon's south pole, and an attempted assassination on Earth, threaten to provoke tensions to the point of war. Can the officers of the International Space Police Force avert an escalating catastrophe? Recorded on: 5-7 November 2024 Recorded at: The Soundhouse Producer Emma Haigh said: "I'm always thrilled to see a new Star Cops script arrive in my inbox and these new stories brought just as much excitement as ever. "In these six fresh stories, the Star Cops are tested to their limits, both physically and mentally, with huge professional and personal conflicts, against the backdrop of a global crisis. Andrew Smith and our team of writers – Roland Moore, Mark Wright and Georgia Cook – take us on a journey for which it's worth flying to the moon and back." Writer and script editor Andrew Smith said: "The scale of Star Cops: Conflict is easily bigger than any set of stories we've told before. World peace is in the balance, international tensions are reaching boiling point, and the cause of those tensions is rooted in space. The Star Cops' actions have greater consequences than ever before. "The writers who have worked with me on this have once more delivered exceptional episodes, and it's been a particular treat to have Big Finish veteran Mark Wright - a huge Star Cops fan, it turns out! - join us for the first time. "It has again been a joy to see and hear our regulars from the original TV show back together. David, Linda and Trevor have such happy memories and affection for the series. And this time around, we have a love interest for one of them. But will it last? Relationships aren't easy for a Star Cop... "The starting point for this series was the issue of the shortage of minerals in the future, which is a genuine threat that is being looked at technologically at the moment. The asteroid belt is a potential solution to that, with the mineral-rich asteroids out there, but if this led to a world conflict, it'd be the first one where space is a real battleground. "This episode is very much about setting things up for the five episodes that follow, which are more or less standalone episodes, but with a continuing thread of the world tensions that are always there in the background." Linda Newton, who plays Pal Kenzy, added: "I really enjoy these episodes. The stakes are very high, higher than they've ever been, and that's clear from the first episode. And Kenzy, who is normally very impenetrable emotionally, does let her guard down and become involved with someone - like many an Australian girl, she falls for his English charms! That someone is Howard Lesser, a new character played by Ben Miles, star of Andor and Coupling. Miles said: "Howard is quite a mysterious character. He runs an ice collection station on the moon, and seems to be having trouble with a neighbouring station, so calls our fabulous Star Cop Kenzy up to have a look at it. There seems to be something from the off between Kenzy and Howard, and he insists on taking her for a little tour in his moon rover! Written by Andrew Smith Senior Producer John Ainsworth Cover Art by Rafe Wallbank Director Helen Goldwyn Executive Producer Jason Haigh-ElleryNicholas Briggs Music by Howard Carter Producer Emma Haigh Script Editor Roland Moore Sound Design by Steve Foxon Based on the format created by Chris Boucher Product Format: 0-digital download Duration: 63 minutes Physical Retail ISBN: n/a Digital Retail ISBN: 978-1-80240-792-1 Production Code: BFPSCOPS08CON01 David Calder (Nathan Spring) Trevor Cooper (Inspector Colin Devis) Linda Newton (Chief Superintendent Pal Kenzy) Jessica Martin (Alexandra Myers / Leader) Ben Miles (Howard Lesser) Lynsey Murrell (Inspector Alice Okoro) Philip Olivier (Inspector Paul Bailey)

    TDP 1449: #DoctorWho 13th Doctor RIDE OR DIE

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2026 9:01


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in January 2026. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 March 2026, and on general sale after this date. The Doctor and Yaz have been sent a list of coordinates, each one pointing to a location in time and space where people are disappearing - but why? The trail leads to a war-torn world, where conscripted humans battle the terrifying Banshee. Can the Doctor end this conflict before she loses her best friend? Please note: the collector's edition CDs have now sold out. Recorded on: 25 and 27 June 2025 Recorded at: Fitzrovia Post Writer Rochana Patel said: "The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures really are incredibly special. This TARDIS team still feel fresh from their TV adventures, which means we can do modern and relevant storytelling, in a way that wouldn't sit quite right in other ranges. "As such, I threw absolutely everything I could into Ride or Die, to make it feel like a hard-edged, contemporary, science-fiction drama. There's no cosiness or nostalgia here, and as a result, this one certainly isn't your average episode! Plus, in the background, there's an even bigger story arc starting to unfold..." Mandip Gill said: "Yaz meets an old friend, Megan, and there's history there. Megan had a crush on Yaz which Yaz wasn't sure about. So, when Megan brings it up, it makes her think about what it is that she feels about the Doctor. She's stopped in her tracks by somebody from back home reminding her that this might not go on forever, and that she needs to stay in touch with reality." Jodie Whittaker added: "I thought this was an amazing story. It feels very timely. The discussion of profits of war and violence is a very important theme at the moment. What's fascinating about the Doctor is that they never give up hope, they're always there to guide humans to make the right choices. And I really love that about the Thirteenth Doctor, particularly how she always has so much energy even when she's hitting herself against a wall continually!" Jodie Whittaker (The Doctor) Mandip Gill (Yasmin Khan) Maddison Bulleyment (The Tourist) Jason Forbes (Prospero) Giulia Innocenti (Banshees) Ako Mitchell (Sergeant Johnson) Lauren O'Leary (Megan Miller) Harry Ryan (Corporal Chapman) Cover Art by Rafe Wallbank Director Ken Bentley Executive Producer Jason Haigh-ElleryNicholas Briggs Music by Joe Kraemer Producer Noga Flaishon Script Editor Matt Fitton Sound Design by Joe Kraemer Written by Rochana Patel Senior Producer John Ainsworth Product Format: 1-disc CD (jewel case) Number of Discs: 1 Duration: 70 minutes Physical Retail ISBN: 978-1-80240-625-2 Digital Retail ISBN: 978-1-80240-626-9 Production Code: BFPDW13TH04

    TDP 1448: Blakes 7 Afterlife from @bigfinish REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2026 12:54


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Did Blake's death really mean the end of the fight against the evil forces of the Federation? Was the vulnerable thief Vila killed – or just wounded? What happened to the computer Orac? Would the scheming Servalan regain her old powerbase? And what of Avon himself, the unbeatable, unpredictable paranoid who had ended it all? Afterlife is Tony Attwood's brilliant continuation of the Blake's 7 story. ecorded on: May 2025 Recorded at: Home Studio Producer Peter Anghelides said: "When we released the audiobook of Paul Darrow's prequel novel Avon: A Terrible Aspect, we knew we wanted to do the same with Tony Attwood's Afterlife, because it's the other original novel from the time of the TV series that bookends the whole of Blake's 7. ""The book was first published by Target Books in 1984 – appropriately enough, a year that's long associated in literature with a dystopian world ruled over by a dictatorial leader. Four decades later, we are revisiting that world of a faceless bureaucracy cruelly directed by an uncaring supreme commander. "Following directly on from the explosive TV finale, Afterlife reveals not only the consequences for our heroes from Scorpio, but also what happened to the character most significantly absent from that story – Servalan herself. Now fans can hear these startling events brilliantly read by the familiar voice of Alistair Lock in this brand-new reading." Alistair Lock said: "This is like a wide-screen version of Blake's 7. Avon, Vila and Servalan are such iconic characters, and I've relished being able to bring them to life in this audio recording of Tony Attwood's novel. ""I've had great fun acting in audios for Big Finish set during the original stories, so it's a bit of a treat now to work on an audiobook that is set after the events of the TV series." At over seven hours long, the Big Finish audio production is a splendid tour de force by Alistair Lock, who gives each character their own voice, with passable impersonations of Avon's nasal sneer and, of course Orac's irascible tones, familiar from Lock's previous Big Finish audios... Mark Plastow's cover art has captured Avon's wary, thoughtful, appraising expression, which is so much a part of his character. It sets the tone for the whole story. Horizon (blakes7online.com)

    TDP 1447: Stranger Things Season Five REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2026 17:31


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stranger Things Season 5 Promotional poster Showrunners Matt Duffer Ross Duffer Starring Winona Ryder David Harbour Millie Bobby Brown Finn Wolfhard Gaten Matarazzo Caleb McLaughlin Noah Schnapp Sadie Sink Natalia Dyer Charlie Heaton Joe Keery Maya Hawke Brett Gelman Priah Ferguson Linda Hamilton Cara Buono Jamie Campbell Bower Nell Fisher No. of episodes 8 Release Original network Netflix Original release November 26 – December 31, 2025 Season chronology ← Previous Season 4 List of episodes The fifth and final season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 5, was released on the streaming service Netflix in two volumes and the finale. The first set of four episodes was released on November 26, 2025, the second set of three episodes was released on December 25, and the finale was released on December 31. It was produced by the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. The season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Linda Hamilton, Cara Buono, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Nell Fisher. Joe Chrest, Sherman Augustus, Alex Breaux, Jake Connelly, Amybeth McNulty, Randy Havens, and Linnea Berthelsen appear in recurring roles. The season received positive reviews from critics. Premise Set in November 1987, a year and seven months after the events of the fourth season, the group seeks to find and kill Vecna following the opening of rifts throughout Hawkins. Their mission becomes complicated when the military establishes a quarantine in town and begins hunting Eleven. As the anniversary of Will Byers' disappearance approaches, the group must unite for a final battle against the forces of the Upside Down. Cast and characters Main article: List of Stranger Things characters Main Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers Birdy as young Joyce David Harbour as Jim Hopper Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven / Jane Hopper Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler Max Rackenberg as young Mike Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair Noah Schnapp as Will Byers Luke Kokotek as 12-year-old Will Miles Marthaller as kindergarten-age Will Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers Graham Harvey as young Jonathan Joe Keery as Steve Harrington Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley Brett Gelman as Murray Bauman Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay[1] Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel / Vecna / One / Mr. Whatsit Raphael Luce as teenage Henry Maksime Blatt as young Henry Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler[a] Also starring Sherman Augustus as Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan[2] Emanuel Borria as Sergeant Luis Ramirez Alex Breaux as Lt. Robert Akers Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler[3] Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow Amybeth McNulty as Vickie Dunne Randy Havens as Scott Clarke Linnea Berthelsen as Kali Prasad / Eight Recurring Calista Craig as Mary Hope Hynes Love as Miss Harris Eden Stephens as Debbie Miller Gianlucca Gazzo as Glenn Carson Minniear as Thomas Anthony B. Jenkins as Joshua Birdie Borria as Rebecca Alyse Elna Lewis as Wendy Guest Clayton Royal Johnson as Andy[4] Hunter Romanillos as Chance[4] Chantell D. Christopher as Doris Caroline Elle Abrams as Tina Turnbow Gray Hawks as Mr. Turnbow Kelly Collins Lintz as Mrs. Turnbow Aiden Armstrong as Danny Harrington Kyle Riggs as Private Chapman Callaway Corrick as Ashley Klein Frederick Koehler as a scientist Karen Ceesay as Sue Sinclair Catherine Curtin as Claudia Henderson Arnell Powell as Charles Sinclair Sydney Bullock as Stacey Tilly Morris as Sara Hopper

    TDP 1446: Stranger Things Season FOUR review

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2026 14:16


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stranger Things Season 4 Promotional poster Showrunner Matt Duffer Ross Duffer Starring Winona Ryder David Harbour Millie Bobby Brown Finn Wolfhard Gaten Matarazzo Caleb McLaughlin Noah Schnapp Sadie Sink Natalia Dyer Charlie Heaton Joe Keery Maya Hawke Brett Gelman Priah Ferguson Matthew Modine Paul Reiser No. of episodes 9 Release Original network Netflix Original release May 27 – July 1, 2022 Season chronology ← Previous Season 3 Next → Season 5 List of episodes The fourth season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things, marketed as Stranger Things 4, was released worldwide on the streaming service Netflix in two volumes. The first set of seven episodes was released on May 27, 2022, and the second set of two episodes was released on July 1. The season was produced by the show's creators, the Duffer Brothers, along with Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Iain Paterson, and Curtis Gwinn. The season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Matthew Modine and Paul Reiser. Jamie Campbell Bower, Cara Buono, Joseph Quinn, Eduardo Franco, Mason Dye, Sherman Augustus, Tom Wlaschiha, and Nikola Đuričko appear in recurring roles. The season received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, visuals, action sequences, realistic themes, soundtrack, emotional weight, and the darker, more mature tone, though some criticized the lengthier episode runtimes. The first volume of the season received 13 nominations for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning five; the second volume received five nominations for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.[1][2] Premise Set in March 1986, eight months after the events of the third season, the fourth season is split between three different plotlines. The first plotline takes place in Hawkins, Indiana, where a series of mysterious teenage murders begin haunting the town. Eddie Munson, leader of the Hellfire Club, Hawkins High School's Dungeons & Dragons group, becomes a prime suspect in the murders after senior cheerleading captain Chrissy Cunningham dies in his trailer, so Dustin Henderson, Lucas and Erica Sinclair, Max Mayfield, Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler, and Robin Buckley begin investigating to clear Eddie's name. While other classmates, lead by Jason Carver, hunt Eddie. The group discovers that the true perpetrator is a powerful being who resides in the Upside Down, whom they dub "Vecna" after a Dungeons & Dragons character. The second plotline involves Mike Wheeler visiting Eleven, Will Byers, and Jonathan Byers at their new home in Lenora Hills, California. Due to the events in Hawkins and the imminent danger to her friends, Eleven, after being arrested for assaulting her bully, goes with Dr. Sam Owens to a secret facility in the Nevada desert to regain her powers, an operation titled the Nina Project, where she is reunited with Dr. Martin Brenner and forced to confront her past in Hawkins National Laboratory with the aid of an isolation tank. While the U.S. Military, lead by Lt. Colonel Jack Sullivan, is simultaneously searching for Eleven, Mike, Will, Jonathan, and their new friend Argyle attempt to reach Eleven before she regains her powers. The third plotline follows Joyce Byers and Murray Bauman as they venture to Russia upon learning that Jim Hopper may still be alive. Meanwhile, Hopper is held in a Soviet prison camp in Kamchatka, where he and the other inmates, including Dmitri Antonov, are forced to battle a Demogorgon that the Russians have captured.

    TDP 1434: Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures: Hooklight 2 REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2026 7:51


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 There is a light that must never be lit... The TARDIS team are scattered throughout Morning. The Doctor is trapped in the past, Tegan is lost on the edge of the system, and Nyssa wrestles with the most terrible of forces. Only Adric remains to finish this quest, yet the young Alzarian will find himself sorely challenged. Can they all reach the Dark Forge in time? Who will be lost along the way? For there is another who works in the shadows. Someone who once made a terrible mistake and will stop at nothing to put things right. The Doctor is following the plan of the Oracle, someone who knows him all too well and may try to oppose him... **Please note: the collector's edition CD boxset is strictly limited to 1,500 copies**

    TDP 1444: Stranger Things Season Three REVIEW Late to the party...

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2026 25:18


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Stranger Things Season 3 is set in the summer of 1985, focusing on the new Starcourt Mall in Hawkins, which becomes a hub for teens but hides a secret Soviet plot to reopen a gate to the Upside Down, with the Mind Flayer returning to possess townspeople, leading to massive battles, character shifts like Billy's transformation, Steve and Robin's new partnership, and ultimately Hopper's apparent sacrifice and the Byers family's departure with Eleven.

    TDP 1445: #DocttorWho 8th Doctor DARE YOU

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2026 10:06


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in December 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 28 February 2026, and on general sale after this date. Something or someone is playing truth or dare with the people on the Powell Estate. And it's dangerous to play games with a Time Lord. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can REALLY hurt you. **THIS TITLE IS NOW OUT OF PRINT ON CD**

    TDP 1443: Stranger Things Season Two REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2026 13:36


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Stranger Things Season 2 (Fall 1984) deepens the mystery of the Upside Down, focusing on Will Byers being haunted and possessed by a massive shadow entity, the Mind Flayer, which uses him as a spy to spread its influence in Hawkins through underground tunnels, while Eleven discovers her past and reunites with friends, and the gang faces new threats like Demodogs, leading to a fight to close the gate and save Will and the town. New characters, including the pragmatic Max Mayfield, join the crew, and storylines explore the aftermath of Season 1, including Barb's legacy and Hopper's secret with Eleven. Key Plot Points: Will's Possession: Will suffers from terrifying visions of the Mind Flayer after a tentacle attaches to him, becoming a puppet for the monster's hive mind. The Mind Flayer's Plan: The shadow monster tries to expand the Upside Down into their world, creating tunnels beneath Hawkins. Eleven's Journey: El lives hidden with Hopper but eventually leaves to find her mother and learns about her origins, returning to help her friends. New Threats: The group encounters Demodogs (Demogorgon pups), and Dustin adopts a creature he names Dart, a pollywog from the Upside Down. New Faces: Max Mayfield (Max) arrives as a new student, challenging the group dynamic, while Joyce dates Bob Newby. Justice for Barb: Nancy and Jonathan team up with conspiracy theorist Murray Bauman to expose the truth about Barb's death.

    TDP 1442: Stranger Things Season One

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 5, 2026 15:12


    https://bbvproductions.co.uk/products/Faction-Paradox-The-Confession-of-Brother-Signet-AUDIO-DOWNLOAD-p389922366 The first season of the American science fiction horror drama television series Stranger Things premiered worldwide on the streaming service Netflix on July 15, 2016. The series was created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. This season stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, and Matthew Modine, with Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, and Shannon Purser in recurring roles. The first season of Stranger Things received critical acclaim, in particular for its originality, homages to the 1980s, characterization, tone, visuals, and performances (particularly those of Ryder, Harbour, Wolfhard, Brown, Heaton and Modine). Premise The first season begins on November 6, 1983, in a small town called Hawkins. Researchers at Hawkins National Laboratory open a rift to the "Upside Down," an alternate dimension that reflects the real world. A monstrous humanoid creature escapes and abducts a boy named Will Byers and a teenage girl. Will's mother, Joyce, and the town's police chief, Jim Hopper, search for Will. At the same time, a young psychokinetic girl who goes by the name "Eleven" escapes from the laboratory and assists Will's friends, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, and Lucas Sinclair, in their efforts to find Will.[1] Cast and characters See also: List of Stranger Things characters Main cast Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers[2] David Harbour as Jim Hopper[2] Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler[3] Millie Bobby Brown[3] as Eleven ("El") Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson[3] Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair[3] Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler[3] Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers[3][4][5] Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler[6] Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner[7] Recurring Noah Schnapp as Will Byers Joe Keery as Steve Harrington Shannon Purser as Barbara "Barb" Holland[8] Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers[9] Rob Morgan as Officer Powell John Paul Reynolds as Officer Callahan Randy Havens as Scott Clarke Catherine Dyer as Connie Frazier Aimee Mullins as Terry Ives[10] Amy Seimetz as Becky Ives Peyton Wich as Troy[11] Tony Vaughn as Principal Coleman Charles Lawlor as Mr. Melvald Tinsley and Anniston Price as Holly Wheeler Cade Jones as James Chester Rushing as Tommy H. Chelsea Talmadge as Carol Glennellen Anderson as Nicole Cynthia Barrett as Marsha Holland Jerri Tubbs as Diane Hopper Elle Graham as Sara Hopper Chris Sullivan as Benny Hammond Tobias Jelinek as lead agent Robert Walker-Branchaud as repairman agent Susan Shalhoub Larkin as Florence ("Flo") Episodes See also: List of Stranger Things episodes No. overall No. in season Title Directed by Written by Original release date 1 1 "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 On November 6, 1983, in Hawkins, Indiana, a scientist is attacked by an unseen creature at a U.S. government laboratory. 12-year-old Will Byers encounters the creature and mysteriously vanishes while cycling home from a Dungeons & Dragons session with his friends Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson and Lucas Sinclair. The following day, Will's single mother Joyce Byers reports his disappearance to the police chief Jim Hopper, who starts a search but assures Joyce that almost all missing children are quickly found. The lab's director, Dr. Martin Brenner, investigates an organic substance oozing from the lab's basement, claiming that "the girl" cannot have gone far. A nervous young girl wearing a hospital gown wanders into a local diner. The owner, Benny, finds a tattoo of "011" on her arm and learns that her name is Eleven. Brenner, monitoring the phone lines, sends agents to the diner after Benny calls social services. The agents kill Benny, but Eleven manages to escape using telekinetic abilities. Joyce's phone short circuits after receiving a mysterious phone call that she believes is from Will. While searching for Will in the woods, Mike, Dustin, and Lucas come across Eleven. 2 2 "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street" The Duffer Brothers The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 The boys bring Eleven to Mike's house, where they disagree on what to do. Mike formulates a plan for Eleven to pretend to be a runaway and seek help from his mother, Karen. Eleven refuses, however, revealing that "bad men" are after her. Will's brother Jonathan visits his estranged father Lonnie in Indianapolis to search for Will, but Lonnie rebuffs him. Hopper's search party discovers a scrap of hospital gown near the lab. After recognizing Will in a photograph and demonstrating her telekinesis, Eleven convinces the boys to trust her, as they believe she can find Will. Using the Dungeons & Dragons board, Eleven indicates that Will is on the "Upside Down" side of the board and is being hunted by the "Demogorgon" (the creature). Mike's sister Nancy and her friend Barbara 'Barb' Holland go to a party with Nancy's boyfriend Steve Harrington. Searching for Will near Steve's house, Jonathan secretly photographs the party. Joyce receives another call from Will, hears music playing from his stereo, and sees a creature coming through the wall. Left alone by the swimming pool, Barb is attacked by the Demogorgon and vanishes. 3 3 "Chapter Three: Holly, Jolly" Shawn Levy Jessica Mecklenburg July 15, 2016 Barb awakens in the Upside Down: a decaying, overgrown alternate dimension. She attempts to escape but is attacked by the Demogorgon. Joyce believes Will is communicating through pulses in light bulbs. Hopper visits Hawkins Lab, and the staff permits him to view doctored security footage from the night Will vanished, leading Hopper to investigate Brenner and discover his involvement with Project MKUltra and that a woman named Terry Ives alleged years earlier that Brenner took her daughter. Eleven recalls Brenner, whom she calls "Papa," punishing her for refusing to hurt a cat telekinetically. Steve destroys Jonathan's camera after discovering the photos from the party. Nancy later recovers a photo of Barb, simultaneously realizing that Barb is missing. Returning to Steve's house to investigate, Nancy finds Barb's untouched Volkswagen and encounters the Demogorgon but manages to escape. Joyce paints an alphabetic board on her wall with Christmas lights, allowing Will to sign to her that he is "RIGHT HERE" and that she needs to "RUN" as the Demogorgon comes through the wall. Believing Eleven knows where Will is, the boys ask her to lead them to him. Eleven leads them, to their frustration, to Will's house. From there they follow emergency vehicles to a nearby quarry just as Will's body is recovered from the water. 4 4 "Chapter Four: The Body" Shawn Levy Justin Doble July 15, 2016 Joyce refuses to believe that the body found at the quarry is Will's. Mike feels betrayed by Eleven until she proves that Will is still alive, channeling his voice through Mike's walkie-talkie. The boys theorize that Eleven could use a ham radio at their school to communicate with Will. Nancy notices a figure behind Barb in Jonathan's photo, which Jonathan realizes matches his mother's description of the Demogorgon. Nancy tells the police about Barb's disappearance. She later fights with Steve, who only cares about not getting in trouble with his father. Hopper has suspicions regarding the authenticity of the body found in the quarry when he learns that the usual coroner was sent home. Hopper confronts the state trooper who found it and beats him until he admits he was ordered to lie. The boys sneak Eleven into their school to use the radio, while Joyce hears Will's voice through her living room wall. Tearing away the wallpaper, she sees him. Eleven uses the radio to channel Will talking to his mother. Hopper goes to the morgue and finds that the body is a fake, and, suspecting that Brenner is responsible, breaks into the lab. 5 5 "Chapter Five: The Flea and the Acrobat" The Duffer Brothers Alison Tatlock July 15, 2016 Hopper searches the lab before being knocked out by the lab's guards. The boys ask their science teacher, Mr. Clarke, if it would be possible to travel between alternate dimensions, to which he answers that there could be a theoretical "gate" between dimensions. Hopper awakens at his house and finds a hidden microphone, realizing that Joyce was right the whole time. The boys follow their compasses, searching for a gate that could disrupt the Earth's electromagnetic field. Eleven recalls memories of being placed in a sensory-deprivation tank to telepathically eavesdrop on a man speaking Russian; while listening, she came across the Demogorgon. Fearing another encounter with the Demogorgon, Eleven redirects the compasses. Lucas misinterprets this as an act of betrayal, leading Mike and Lucas to fight and Eleven to telekinetically fling Lucas away from Mike. While Dustin and Mike tend to the unconscious Lucas, Eleven runs off. Nancy and Jonathan formulate a plan to kill the Demogorgon. While searching in the woods, they come across a small gate to the Upside Down. Nancy crawls through it but inadvertently draws the Demogorgon's attention. Jonathan unsuccessfully tries to look for Nancy, as the gate to the Upside Down begins to close. 6 6 "Chapter Six: The Monster" The Duffer Brothers Jessie Nickson-Lopez July 15, 2016 Jonathan pulls Nancy back through the gate. That night, Nancy is afraid to be alone and asks Jonathan to stay in her bedroom. Steve, attempting to reconcile with Nancy, sees them together through her bedroom window and assumes they are dating. Joyce and Hopper track down Terry Ives, who is catatonic and tended by her sister Becky. Becky explains that Terry was a Project MKUltra participant while unknowingly pregnant and that Terry believes Brenner kidnapped her daughter Jane at birth due to her supposed telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Nancy and Jonathan stockpile weapons to kill the Demogorgon, theorizing that it is attracted by blood. Steve is brutally beaten up in a fistfight with Jonathan after he insults Will and calls Nancy a slut. Jonathan is arrested and held at the police station for beating up Steve and inadvertently punching one of the responding officers in the face. Eleven walks into a grocery store and shoplifts several boxes of Eggo waffles. Searching for Eleven, Mike and Dustin are ambushed by two bullies but are rescued by her, as she uses her powers to break one bully's arm after he attempts to kill Mike. Eleven collapses and recalls being asked by Brenner to contact the Demogorgon and, in her terror, inadvertently opening the gate. She tearfully admits to Mike that she is responsible for allowing the Demogorgon to enter this dimension. Lucas sees agents, who have tracked down Eleven, preparing to ambush Mike's house. 7 7 "Chapter Seven: The Bathtub" The Duffer Brothers Justin Doble July 15, 2016 Lucas warns Mike that agents are searching for Eleven. Mike, Dustin, and Eleven flee the house. Eleven telekinetically flips one of the vans that block their path as the kids escape. Lucas reconciles with Mike and Eleven, and the kids hide in the junkyard. Nancy and Jonathan reveal their knowledge of the Demogorgon to Joyce and Hopper. Hopper also learns that Eleven is with the kids. The group contacts the kids, and everyone meets at the Byers' house. Joyce and Hopper realize that Eleven is Jane Ives. The group asks Eleven to search for Will and Barb telepathically, but her earlier feats have weakened her. They break into the middle school and build a makeshift sensory deprivation tank to amplify Eleven's powers. After telepathically entering the Upside Down again, Eleven finds Barb dead and Will alive, hiding in the Upside Down version of his backyard fort. Realizing that the gate is in the basement of the lab, Hopper and Joyce break into the lab and are apprehended by security guards. Nancy and Jonathan sneak into the police station to retrieve the weapons they purchased previously, planning to lure and kill the Demogorgon. In the Upside Down, the Demogorgon breaks into Will's fort. 8 8 "Chapter Eight: The Upside Down" The Duffer Brothers Story by : Paul Dichter Teleplay by : The Duffer Brothers July 15, 2016 Hopper, haunted by the death of his daughter Sara from cancer years earlier, gives up Eleven's location to Brenner, who in exchange allows Hopper and Joyce to enter the Upside Down to rescue Will. Nancy and Jonathan cut their hands to attract the Demogorgon at the Byers' house. Steve, intending to apologize to Jonathan about their fight, arrives just as the Demogorgon appears. Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan fight the Demogorgon and light it on fire, forcing it to retreat to the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Eleven and the boys hide in the middle school when Brenner and his agents arrive to kidnap Eleven; she kills most of them before collapsing from exhaustion. As Brenner and his remaining agents pin Eleven and the boys down, the Demogorgon appears, attracted by the dead agents' blood, and attacks Brenner and the remaining agents as the boys escape with Eleven. Hopper and Joyce enter the Upside Down's version of the Hawkins library, where they encounter several corpses of the Demogorgon's victims, including Barb, and find Will unconscious with a tendril down his throat. Hopper revives him using CPR after removing the tendril. The Demogorgon corners the kids, but Eleven recovers from her exhaustion and disintegrates it, causing them both to disappear. Will recovers in the hospital, reuniting with his family and friends. One month later, it is Christmas and Nancy is back together with Steve, and both are friends with Jonathan. Will coughs up a slug-like creature and has a vision of the Upside Down, but hides this from his family. Production Development Ross (left) and Matt Duffer, the creators of the series Stranger Things was created by Matt and Ross Duffer, known professionally as the Duffer Brothers.[12] The two had completed writing and producing their 2015 film Hidden, which they had tried to emulate the style of M. Night Shyamalan, however, due to changes at Warner Bros., its distributor, the film did not see a wide release and the Duffers were unsure of their future.[13] To their surprise, television producer Donald De Line approached them, impressed with Hidden's script, and offered them the opportunity to work on episodes of Wayward Pines alongside Shyamalan. The brothers were mentored by Shyamalan during the episode's production so that when they finished, they felt they were ready to produce their own television series.[14] The Duffer Brothers prepared a script that would essentially be similar to the series' actual pilot episode, along with a 20-page pitch book to help shop the series around for a network.[15] They pitched the story to a number of cable networks, all of which rejected the script on the basis that they felt a plot centered around children as leading characters would not work, asking them to make it a children's show or to drop the children and focus on Hopper's investigation in the paranormal.[14] In early 2015, Dan Cohen, the VP of 21 Laps Entertainment, brought the script to his colleague Shawn Levy. They subsequently invited The Duffer Brothers to their office and purchased the rights for the series, giving full authorship of it to the brothers. After reading the pilot, the streaming service Netflix purchased the whole season for an undisclosed amount;[16] the show was subsequently announced for a planned 2016 release by Netflix in early April 2015.[17] The Duffer Brothers stated that at the time they had pitched to Netflix, the service had already been recognized for its original programming, such as House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, with well-recognized producers behind them, and were ready to start giving upcoming producers like them a chance.[15] The brothers started to write out the series and brought Levy and Cohen in as executive producers to start casting and filming.[18] The series was originally known as Montauk, as the setting of the script was in Montauk, New York and nearby Long Beach locations.[17][19] The brothers had chosen Montauk as it had further Spielberg ties with the film Jaws, where Montauk was used for the fictional setting of Amity Island.[20] After deciding to change the narrative of the series to take place in the fictional town of Hawkins instead, the brothers felt they could now do things to the town, such as placing it under quarantine, that they really could not envision with a real location.[20] With the change in location, they had to come up with a new title for the series under the direction from Netflix's Ted Sarandos so that they could start marketing it to the public. The brothers started by using a copy of Stephen King's Firestarter novel to consider the title's font and appearance and came up with a long list of potential alternatives. Stranger Things came about as it sounded similar to another King novel, Needful Things, though Matt noted they still had a "lot of heated arguments" over this final title.[21] Writing The idea of Stranger Things started with how the brothers felt they could take the concept of the 2013 film Prisoners, detailing the moral struggles a father goes through when his daughter is kidnapped, and expand it out over eight or so hours in a serialized television approach. As they focused on the missing child aspect of the story, they wanted to introduce the idea of "childlike sensibilities" they could offer and toyed around with the idea of a monster that could consume humans. The brothers thought the combination of these things "was the best thing ever". To introduce this monster into the narrative, they considered "bizarre experiments we had read about taking place in the Cold War" such as Project MKUltra, which gave a way to ground the monster's existence in science rather than something spiritual. This also helped them to decide on using 1983 as the time period, as it was a year before the film Red Dawn came out, which focused on Cold War paranoia.[14] Subsequently, they were able to use all their own personal inspirations from the 1980s, the decade they were born, as elements of the series,[14][22] crafting it in the realm of science fiction and horror.[23] The Duffer Brothers have cited as influence for the show (among others): Stephen King novels; films produced by Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas and Guillermo del Toro; films such as Alien and Stand by Me; Japanese anime such as Akira and Elfen Lied; and video games such as Silent Hill and The Last of Us.[21][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] With Netflix as the platform, The Duffer Brothers were not limited to a typical 22-episode format, opting for the eight-episode approach. They had been concerned that a 22-episode season on broadcast television would be difficult to "tell a cinematic story" with that many episodes. Eight episodes allowed them to give time to characterization in addition to narrative development; if they had less time available, they would have had to remain committed to telling a horror film as soon as the monster was introduced and abandon the characterization.[15] Within the eight episodes, the brothers aimed to make the first season "feel like a big movie" with all the major plot lines completed so that "the audience feels satisfied", but left enough unresolved to indicate "there's a bigger mythology, and there's a lot of dangling threads at the end", something that could be explored in further seasons if Netflix opted to create more.[32] While explaining their intentions for the show, the Duffers adamantly stated their intentions to not explain the mythology in the show so they could leave a mystery and lot for the audience to speculate over their lack of understanding by the season finale, which they accepted but asked to be explained about at the very least, which they found like a really good exercise as they spent quite a bit of time with their writers' room figuring out exactly what the Upside Down would actually consist for, writing a 20-page mythology document whose details wouldn't be clarified for the audience until the show's fifth and final season.[33] Regarding writing for the children characters of the series, The Duffer Brothers considered themselves as outcasts from other students while in high school and thus found it easy to write for Mike Wheeler and his friends, and particularly for Barbara "Barb" Holland.[21] Joyce Byers was fashioned after Richard Dreyfuss's character Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as she appears "absolutely bonkers" to everyone else as she tries to find her son Will Byers.[34] Other characters, such as Billy in the second season, have more villainous attributes that are not necessarily obvious from the onset; Matt explained that they took further inspiration from Stephen King for these characters, as King "always has really great human villains" that may be more malicious than the supernatural evil.[35] Casting The Duffers cast David Harbour as Sheriff Hopper believing this was his opportunity to play a lead character in a work. In June 2015, it was announced that Winona Ryder and David Harbour had joined the series as Joyce and as the unnamed chief of police, respectively.[2] The brothers' casting director Carmen Cuba had suggested Ryder for the role of Joyce, which the two were immediately drawn to because of her prominence in 1980s films.[14] Levy believed Ryder could "wretch up the emotional urgency and yet find layers and nuance and different sides of [Joyce]". Ryder praised that the show's multiple storylines required her to act for Joyce as "she's out of her mind, but she's actually kind of onto something", and that the producers had faith she could pull off the difficult role.[36] Upon being offered the role, Ryder felt intrigued at being given the pilot's script due to know knowing what streaming was and finding it "terrifying", with her sole condition to the Duffers for accepting the role being that, if a Beetlejuice sequel ever materialized as she and Tim Burton had been discussing since 2000, they had to let her take a break to shoot it, a condition the Duffers agreed and ultimately proved to work out when Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was greenlighted years later.[37] The Duffer Brothers had been interested in Harbour before, who until Stranger Things primarily had smaller roles as villainous characters, and they felt that he had been "waiting too long for this opportunity" to play a lead, while Harbour himself was thrilled by the script and the chance to play "a broken, flawed, anti-hero character".[21][38] Additional casting followed two months later with Finn Wolfhard as Mike, Millie Bobby Brown in an undisclosed role, Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair, Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler, and Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers]].[3] In September 2015, Cara Buono joined the cast as Karen Wheeler,[6] followed by Matthew Modine as Martin Brenner a month later.[7] Additional cast who recur for the first season include Noah Schnapp as Will,[3][5] Shannon Purser as Barbara "Barb" Holland,[8] Joe Keery as Steve Harrington,[39][5] and Ross Partridge as Lonnie Byers,[9] among others. Actors auditioning for the children's roles read lines from Stand By Me.[14] The Duffer Brothers estimated they went through about a thousand different child actors for the roles. They noted that Wolfhard was already "a movie buff" of the films from the 1980s period and easily filled the role, while they found Matarazzo's audition to be much more authentic than most of the other audition tapes, and selected him after a single viewing of his audition tape.[15] As casting was started immediately after Netflix greenlit the show, and prior to the scripts being fully completed, this allowed some of the actors' takes on the roles to reflect into the script. The casting of the young actors for Will and his friends had been done just after the first script was completed, and subsequent scripts incorporated aspects from these actors.[32] The brothers said Modine provided significant input on the character of Dr. Brenner, whom they had not really fleshed out before as they considered him the hardest character to write for given his limited appearances within the narrative.[34] Filming The brothers had desired to film the series around the Long Island area to match the initial Montauk concept. However, with filming scheduled to take place in November 2015, it was difficult to shoot in Long Island in the cold weather, and the production started scouting locations in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area. The brothers, who grew up in North Carolina, found many places that reminded them of their own childhoods in that area, and felt the area would work well with the narrative shift to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.[20] The filming of the first season began on September 25, 2015, and was extensively done in Atlanta, Georgia, with The Duffer Brothers and Levy handling the direction of individual episodes.[40] Jackson served as the basis of the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.[41][42] Other shooting locations included the Georgia Mental Health Institute as the Hawkins National Laboratory site, Bellwood Quarry, Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge, Georgia, for the middle and high school scenes,[43] Emory University's Continuing Education Department, the former city hall in Douglasville, Georgia, Georgia International Horse Park, the probate court in Butts County, Georgia, Old East Point Library and East Point First Baptist Church in East Point, Georgia, Fayetteville, Georgia, Stone Mountain Park, Palmetto, Georgia, and Winston, Georgia.[44] Set work was done at Screen Gem Studios in Atlanta.[44] The series was filmed with a Red Dragon digital camera.[34] Filming for the first season concluded in early 2016.[41] While filming, the brothers tried to capture shots that could be seen as homages to many of the 1980s references they recalled. Their goal was not necessarily to fill the work with these references, but instead to make the series seem to the viewer like a 1980s film.[21] They spent little time reviewing those works and instead went by memory. Matt further recognized that some of their filming homages were not purposely done but were found to be very comparable, as highlighted by a fan-made video comparing the show to several 1980s works side by side.[14][45] Matt commented on the video that "Some were deliberate and some were subconscious."[14] The brothers recognized that many of the iconic scenes from these 1980s films, such as with Poltergeist, was about "taking a very ordinary object that people deal with every day, their television set, and imbuing it with something otherworldly", leading to the idea of using the Christmas light strings for Will to communicate with Joyce.[21] The brothers attributed much of the 1980s feel to set and costume designers and the soundtrack composers that helped to recreate the era for them.[14] Lynda Reiss, the head of props, had about a $220,000 budget, similar to most films, to acquire artifacts of the 1980s, using eBay and searching through flea markets and estate sales around the Atlanta area. The bulk of the props were original items from the 1980s with only a few pieces, such as the Dungeons & Dragons books made as replicas.[46] Visual effects To create the aged effect for the series, a film grain was added over the footage, which was captured by scanning in film stock from the 1980s.[34] The Duffers wanted to scare the audience, but not to necessarily make the show violent or gory, following in line with how the 1980s Amblin Entertainment films drove the creation of the PG-13 movie rating. It was "much more about mood and atmosphere and suspense and dread than they are about gore", though they were not afraid to push into more scary elements, particularly towards the end of the first season.[34] The brothers had wanted to avoid any computer-generated effects for the monster and other parts of the series and stay with practical effects. However, the six-month filming time left them little time to plan out and test practical effects rigs for some of the shots. They went with a middle ground of using constructed props including one for the monster whenever they could, but for other shots, such as when the monster bursts through a wall, they opted to use digital effects. Post-production on the first season was completed the week before it was released on Netflix.[14] The title sequence uses closeups of the letters in the Stranger Things title with a red tint against a black background as they slide into place within the title. The sequence was created by the studio Imaginary Forces, formerly part of R/GA, led by creative director Michelle Doughtey.[47] Levy introduced the studio to The Duffer Brothers, who explained their vision of the 1980s-inspired show, which helped the studio to fix the concept the producers wanted. Later, but prior to filming, the producers sent Imaginary Forces the pilot script, the synth-heavy background music for the titles, as well as the various book covers from King and other authors that they had used to establish the title and imagery, and were looking for a similar approach for the show's titles, primarily using a typographical sequence. They took inspiration from several title sequences of works from the 1980s that were previously designed by Richard Greenberg under R/GA, such as Altered States and The Dead Zone. They also got input from Dan Perri, who worked on the title credits of several 1980s films. Various iterations included having letters vanish, to reflect the "missing" theme of the show, and having letters cast shadows on others, alluding to the mysteries, before settling into the sliding letters. The studio began working on the title sequence before filming and took about a month off during the filming process to let the producers get immersed in the show and come back with more input. Initially, they had been working with various fonts for the title and used close-ups of the best features of these fonts, but near the end the producers wanted to work with ITC Benguiat, requiring them to rework those shots. The final sequence is fully computer-generated, but they took inspiration from testing some practical effects, such as using Kodalith masks as would have been done in the 1980s, to develop the appropriate filters for the rendering software. The individual episode title cards used a "fly-through" approach, similar to the film Bullitt, which the producers had suggested to the studio.[48] Music Main articles: Music of Stranger Things and Stranger Things (soundtrack) The Stranger Things original soundtrack was composed by Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon of the electronic band Survive.[49] It makes extensive use of synthesizers in homage to 1980s artists and film composers including Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Goblin, John Carpenter, Giorgio Moroder, and Fabio Frizzi.[50] According to Stein and Dixon, The Duffer Brothers had been fans of Survive's music, and used their song "Dirge" for the mock trailer that was used to sell the show to Netflix.[49][51] Once the show was green-lit, the Duffers contacted Survive around July 2015 to ask if they were still doing music; the two provided the production team with dozens of songs from their band's past to gain their interest, helping to land them the role.[49] Once aboard, the two worked with producers to select some of their older music to rework for the show, while developing new music, principally with character motifs.[51] The two had been hired before the casting process, so their motif demos were used and played over the actors' audition tapes, aiding in the casting selection.[51][52] The show's theme is based on an unused work Stein composed much earlier that ended up in the library of work they shared with the production staff, who thought that with some reworking would be good for the opening credits.[49] The first season's original soundtrack, consisting of 75 songs from Dixon and Stein split across two volumes, was released by Lakeshore Records. Digital release and streaming options were released on August 10 and 19, 2016 for the two volumes, respectively, while retail versions were available on September 16 and 23, 2016.[53][54] In addition to original music, Stranger Things features period music from artists including The Clash, Toto, New Order, The Bangles, Foreigner, Echo and the Bunnymen, Peter Gabriel and Corey Hart, as well as excerpts from Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter and Vangelis.[54][55] In particular, The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" was specifically picked to play at pivotal moments of the story, such as when Will is trying to communicate with Joyce from the Upside Down.[54] Music supervisor Nora Felder felt the song "furthered the story" and called it an additional, unseen, main character of the season.[56]

    christmas music american new york netflix earth stand digital japanese russian left north carolina hidden indiana original survive run alien stranger things searching indianapolis stephen king clash holland papa ebay researchers warner bros dungeons and dragons prisoners cold war eleven long island echo actors steven spielberg visual jaws pg upside down clarke stein toro tim burton john carpenter george lucas dixon spielberg hawkins long beach levy volkswagen beetlejuice m night shyamalan house of cards poltergeist toto cpr filming emory university silent hill goblin akira wes craven fearing close encounters foreigner orange is the new black fayetteville hopper subsequently peter gabriel new order robert zemeckis tearing winona ryder brenner firestarter harbour david harbour stand by me millie bobby brown dead zone third kind red dragon byers richard dreyfuss red dawn montauk vangelis bangles altered states shawn levy giorgio moroder heaton palmetto bullitt tangerine dream r ga finn wolfhard jean michel jarre bunnymen matthew modine duffer brothers should i stay stockbridge should i go dirge eggo joe keery demogorgon project mkultra noah schnapp ted sarandos wayward pines dan cohen amblin entertainment michael stein needful things amity island rob morgan caleb mclaughlin matarazzo amy seimetz corey hart douglasville gaten matarazzo east point will byers natalia dyer steve harrington charlie heaton elfen lied mike wheeler kyle dixon fabio frizzi modine jim hopper duffers richard greenberg ross duffer stone mountain park wolfhard joyce byers lakeshore records roy neary shannon purser nancy wheeler imaginary forces stranger things season one matt duffer chapter one the vanishing sheriff hopper jane ives
    TDP 1441: For Your Consideration 20 WARGAMES

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2026 69:53


    Listen on YouTube it's the Christmas Special! Luke and Michael share a love for the 1983 film starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. T-shirts can be found here – https://www.redbubble.com/people/ufocast Follow us on twitter @ufo_cast Like us on Facebook Review us on iTunes Email the show – ufocast@yahoo.com

    TDP 1433: #DoctorWho: The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Causeway

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 28, 2025 9:50


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in November 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 December 2025, and on general sale after this date. Exploring with best friends Audacity and Charley, the Doctor delights in showing them the wonders of the universe. But something dogs their footsteps... Lost Amongst the Stars by Rochana Patel The Doctor wants to find a challenge for Charley and Audacity. All of time and space awaits, with wonders beyond their wildest dreams and darkest nightmares, but are they truly ready to venture further out amongst the stars? The Time You Never Had Parts 1-2 by Tim Foley The yesterday of opulence Tomorrow soft and ironclad Beyond the merry Oculus: The time you never had. **Please note: the collector's edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,500 copies**

    TDP 1440: The War Between the Land and the Sea Episode Five

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2025 16:42


    https://bbvproductions.co.uk/products/Faction-Paradox-The-Confession-of-Brother-Signet-AUDIO-DOWNLOAD-p389922366 The War Between the Land and the Sea is a British science fiction television miniseries. The series was created by Russell T Davies for BBC One and Disney+ as part of the Doctor Who franchise, known as the Whoniverse. Starring Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the series features UNIT in their attempt to prevent a global war caused by the return of the Sea Devils, now known as "Homo Aqua". Jemma Redgrave, Colin McFarlane, Alexander Devrient and Ruth Madeley reprise their respective roles from Doctor Who and its franchised series. The series was first reported on in July 2024, and filmed from August to December 2024 across Wales, Cardiff and Spain. Of the five episodes, the premiere and finale were written by Davies, with the other three by Pete McTighe. The War Between the Land and the Sea premiered on BBC One on 7 December 2025 with its first two episodes, and is scheduled to be released on Disney+ in 2026. The series has received generally positive reviews from critics for its performances (particularly Redgrave's) and its similarities to Torchwood. Premise UNIT must take action to prevent a global war once an ancient species, the Homo aqua, comes out from the sea, revealing itself to humanity.[1] Cast Main Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a low-level UNIT transportation arranger who is unexpectedly appointed as humanity's ambassador. Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, the Ambassador of the Homo Aqua. Recurring Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the commander-in-chief of UNIT. Redgrave reprises her role from Doctor Who. Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce, a high-ranking American UNIT officer. McFarlane reprises his role from Torchwood: Children of Earth. Alexander Devrient as Col. Christofer Ibrahim, a senior UNIT officer who is part of Kate's personal staff. Devrient reprises his role from Doctor Who. Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham, UNIT's fifty-sixth scientific advisor and part of Kate's personal staff. Madeley reprises her role from Doctor Who. Adrian Lukis as Jonathan Hynes, a politician initially appointed as humanity's ambassador. Vincent Franklin as Harry Shaw, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Steward Alexander as General Oscar Gunsberg, a high-ranking American general acting as the US envoy and a key ally of Shaw. Barbara Probst as General Dominique Dussolier, a high-ranking French general acting as the French envoy and a key ally of Shaw. Patrick Baladi as Sir Keith Spears, a key ally and donor of Shaw. Francesca Corney as Sgt. Hana Chakri, a UNIT soldier assigned to protect Barclay. Ann Akinjirin as Barbara Pierre-Dupont, Barclay's estranged spouse. Cat Gannon as Kirby Pierre-Dupont, Barclay and Barbara's teenage daughter. Lachele Carl as Trinity Wells, an American news reporter. Wells reprises her role from Doctor Who. Samuel Oatley as Tide, a Homo Aqua who succeeds Salt as ambassador. Guest Mei Mac as Min Tso, a member of UNIT. Waleed Hammad as Col. Tariq Hashim, a UNIT field officer. Hannah Donaldson as Captain Louise Mackie, a UNIT company officer. William Gaminara as Ted Campbell, an ambassador selected to represent his nation. Episodes No. Title Directed by Written by Original release date UK viewers (millions) [2] 1 "Homo Aqua" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 7 December 2025 4.31 Transport clerk Barclay Pierre-Dupont is contacted by UNIT after the discovery and killing of a Homo Aqua by fishermen. The creature that had been discovered at sea is recaptured by its own kind, killing two UNIT soldiers in the process. UNIT immediately initiate first contact between the two species. Both agree to a treaty of peace, and the Homo Aqua simultaneously reveal their presence to humanity worldwide, desiring to speak to all humans. A meeting is set up in London and several members of the Homo Aqua are seen for the first time. They introduce their humanoid ambassador, Salt, who requests that Barclay serves as the human ambassador. Barclay agrees. 2 "Plastic Apocalypse" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 7 December 2025 3.56 Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the commander-in-chief of UNIT, agrees to work with Barclay to carry out diplomatic negotiations with Homo Aqua, who wish for worldwide pollution to cease. Barclay's estranged family is brought into UNIT custody for safety while UNIT scientists examine eggs breed by the Homo Aqua that had been affected by pollution. At the next meeting, Salt requests water from the River Thames for Barclay to drink. Due to the water's contamination, Barclay refuses and, against UNIT instruction, chooses to acknowledges humanity's mistakes instead. Humanity presents a plan to reduce pollution within forty years, which Salt disagrees with. In response, a storm releases all the plastic from the world's waters back onto land. When world leaders challenge Salt, Barclay agrees to meet with the Homo Aqua under the Atlantic Ocean in the Romanche Gap. 3 "The Deep" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD A UNIT team, consisting of Barclay, General Austin Pierce, Min Tso, Captain Louise Mackey, and diplomatic representatives Ravi Singh and Ted Campbell, are assembled for the underwater meeting; Campbell brings a globe as a gift for Salt. During their submarine descent, Kate meets at Downing Street with Prime Minister Harry Shaw and General Oscar Gunsberg with tensions rising over who owns the world's water. A new war plan named "Severance" is prepared without the knowledge of UNIT. Under the water, the submarine team exit into an environment created for them by the Sea Devils. UNIT colonel Cristofer Ibrahim is assassinated while with Kate on the surface, by an unknown assailant. Once the submarine team are stood in front of the Homo Aqua assembly, Campbell presents the globe as a gift, only to reveal that he is a mole and the globe is a concealed bomb which he detonates. 4 "The Witch of the Waterfall" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD The entire submarine crew, with the exception of Barclay, are killed by the detonation. As Salt safely returns Barclay to land, a deepfake video of her is shown to the public, threatening any human who enters the water. Salt is captured by UNIT, until Barclay rescues her, both immediately becoming fugitives. Shaw is pressured into moving forward with Severance, spearheaded by Gunsberg. Meanwhile, Kate meets Salt's successor, Tide, who informs Downing Street that Salt is considered a traitor for saving a human and is subject to execution. Salt and Barclay go on the run from both UNIT and Severance while Kate struggles to cope with the death of Ibrahim. Barclay contacts his wife Barbara and requests they rendezvous with a vehicle on Lambeth Bridge, with a plan to meet an ally in North Wales and attempt contact with Kate. They are ambushed by UNIT and Severance operatives. When it is revealed that the video of Salt is a deepfake, Kate orders UNIT to fire at Severance just as Salt releases a vocal high-pitched shriek, giving her time to escape into the Thames. In retaliation, Tide threatens to use rust to end humanity. 5 "The End of the War" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 21 December 2025 TBD Disagreements continue to occur over the melting ice. Kate hallucinates Colonel Ibrahim. She requests her therapist for an increase of her prescription for paroxetine, but is threatened with being signed off. Kate bribes her in response. Barclay is medically assessed and begins secret nightly visits to Herne Bay, calling for Salt in the sea. Kate presses Prime Minister Shaw for information about the word 'severance', who denies having any knowledge of it. After blocking a signal disruptor used to prevent Salt contacting Barclay, they finally meet. Salt tells Barclay to use the word 'accord', which has ancient meaning. Barclay informs Kate and they plan to disguise the message throughout the oceans. Dead Sea Devils begin to show up at shores and at the surface of lakes, rivers and oceans throughout the world. Kate deduces that this is Severance. At Downing Street it is revealed that the virus is engineered to only affect nine out of every ten Sea Devils. The Sea Devils surrender and inform humanity that they have won the war, but to be wary of water in the future. Kate drives Barclay to the sea, who finds Salt there. Salt gives Barclay gills, and they swim away together. A man drops a plastic bottle, who after refusing to pick it up, Kate threatens with a gun. Production Development In July 2024, Deadline Hollywood reported a new Doctor Who spin-off titled The War Between the Land and the Sea was set to begin filming in September.[3] Russell T Davies confirmed later that month at San Diego Comic Con that production would begin in August.[4] Produced by Bad Wolf and BBC Studios, Davies served as executive producer along with Pete McTighe, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.[5][6] Edoardo Ferretti took on the role of television producer with pre-production underway by July 2024.[7] Casting Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw lead the series with Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient reprising their roles from Doctor Who as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Colonel Ibrahim, respectively.[1][8] Tovey and Mbatha-Raw previously played Alonso Frame and Tish Jones in Doctor Who.[9] Ruth Madeley also returns from Doctor Who, playing Shirley Anne Bingham. Colin McFarlane reprises his role as General Austin Pierce, a character first introduced and last seen fifteen years prior in the third series of Torchwood, another Doctor Who spin-off.[10] Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Vincent Franklin, Francesca Corney and Mei Mac were announced as additional cast members in October 2024.[11] Writing The five-part series was written by Davies and Pete McTighe.[12] According to McTighe, Davies had already devised the series' concept and scripted its first episode prior to writing the 60th anniversary specials of Doctor Who,[13] which marked the beginning of his second tenure on the series as writer and showrunner. After McTighe delivered the first draft of "Lucky Day", his episode of the fifteenth series of Doctor Who (and third for the show as a whole), Davies asked him to collaborate on the remainder of the spin-off in 2023.[13] The two split writing duties across the programme, with Davies writing the finale in addition to his existing opening script, and McTighe the second, third and fourth episodes; Davies initially stated he had co-written the fourth with McTighe,[14] but was subsequently not co-credited in the episode itself.[15] Following filming wrapping on series 15 of Doctor Who, the first read-through for all five episodes occurred on 19 August 2024.[7] Filming Some filming took place internationally, including on Mallorca.[16] All episodes were produced in one block, compared to the two to three blocks that would usually be used for five episodes.[17] Location shooting began on 29 August 2024 in Barry and Atlantic Wharf, both in south Wales. Filming continued into September in various locations across Wales, including at the Welsh Government Building, City Arms pub, Hodge House, and Merthyr Mawr. In October, the series was spotted filming at Cardiff City Hall and National Museum Cardiff. November filming occurred

    TDP 1432: Torchwood 97 Flawless Man

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2025 9:08


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in November 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 January 2026, and on general sale after this date. Martin Binns is dead. He leaves behind a pile of video tapes and a warning on the walls of his flat: "He Is Coming". Andy's boss is keen to write the death off, but Andy's been around Torchwood too long to let it go. The tapes contain the rushes of an unfinished horror film. Hidden in it is a forgotten crime and a terrible warning. He. Is. Coming. Please note: the collector's edition CDs are strictly limited to 1,000 copies each and will not be re-pressed.

    TDP 1439: The War Between the Land and the Sea Episode Four

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2025 14:55


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 The War Between the Land and the Sea is a British science fiction television miniseries. The series was created by Russell T Davies for BBC One and Disney+ as part of the Doctor Who franchise, known as the Whoniverse. Starring Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the series features UNIT in their attempt to prevent a global war caused by the return of the Sea Devils, also named "Homo Aqua". Jemma Redgrave, Colin McFarlane, Alexander Devrient and Ruth Madeley reprise their respective roles from Doctor Who and its franchised series. The series was first reported on in July 2024, and filmed from August to December 2024 across Wales, Cardiff and Spain. Of the five episodes, the premiere and finale were written by Davies, with the other three by Pete McTighe. The War Between the Land and the Sea premiered on BBC One on 7 December 2025 with its first two episodes, and is scheduled to be released on Disney+ in 2026. The series has received generally positive reviews from critics for its performances (particularly Redgrave's) and its similarities to Torchwood. Premise UNIT must take action to prevent a global war once an ancient species, the Homo aqua, comes out from the sea, revealing itself to humanity.[1] Cast Main Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a low-level member of UNIT, a transportation arranger, who is unexpectedly appointed as Ambassador by Salt Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, the Ambassador of the Sea Devils Recurring Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the commander-in-chief of UNIT, who reprises her role from Doctor Who. Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce, a high-ranking American UNIT officer, who reprises his role from Torchwood: Children of Earth. Alexander Devrient as Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, a senior UNIT officer, part of Kate's personal staff, who reprises his role from Doctor Who. Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham, UNIT's fifty-sixth scientific advisor, part of Kate's personal staff, who reprises her role from Doctor Who. Adrian Lukis as Jonathan Hynes, a politician initially appointed as humanity's ambassador Vincent Franklin as Harry Shaw, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Francesca Corney as Sergeant Hana Chakri, a UNIT soldier assigned to protect Barclay Ann Akinjirin as Barbara Pierre-Dupont, Barclay's estranged spouse Cat Gannon as Kirby Pierre-Dupont, Barclay and Barbara's teenage child Guest Mei Mac as Min Tso, member of UNIT Waleed Hammad as Colonel Tariq Hashim, a UNIT field officer Hannah Donaldson as Captain Louise Mackie, a UNIT company officer William Gaminara as Ted Campbell, an ambassador selected to represent his nation Lachele Carl as Trinity Wells, a news reporter, who reprises her role from Doctor Who. Episodes No. Title [2] Directed by [3] Written by [4] Original release date [5] UK viewers (millions) [6] 1 "Homo Aqua" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 7 December 2025 TBD 2 "Plastic Apocalypse" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 7 December 2025 TBD 3 "The Deep" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 4 "The Witch of the Waterfall" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 5 "The End of the War" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 21 December 2025 TBD

    TDP 1438: The War Between the Land and the Sea Episode Three

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2025 9:45


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 The War Between the Land and the Sea is a British science fiction television miniseries created by Russell T Davies for BBC One and Disney+ as part of the Doctor Who franchise. Starring Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave and Colin McFarlane, the series features UNIT in their attempt to prevent a global war caused by the return of the Sea Devils, now called "Homo Aqua". The War Between the Land and the Sea was filmed from August to December 2024. It consists of five episodes and premiered on BBC One on 7 December 2025, and is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in 2026. Premise UNIT must take action to prevent a global war once an ancient species, the Homo aqua, comes out from the sea, revealing itself to humanity.[1] Cast Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a low-level member of UNIT, a transportation arranger, who is unexpectedly appointed as Ambassador by Salt Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, the Ambassador of the Sea Devils Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the commander-in-chief of UNIT Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce, a high-ranking American UNIT officer Alexander Devrient as Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, a senior UNIT officer, part of Kate's personal staff Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham, UNIT's fifty-sixth scientific advisor, part of Kate's personal staff Adrian Lukis as Jonathan Hynes, a politician initially appointed as humanity's ambassador Vincent Franklin as Harry Shaw, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Francesca Corney as Sergeant Hana Chakri, a UNIT soldier assigned to protect Barclay Mei Mac as Min Tso Waleed Hammad as Colonel Tariq Hashim, a UNIT field officer Hannah Donaldson as Captain Louise Mackie, a UNIT company officer Ann Akinjirin as Barbara Pierre-Dupont, Barclay's estranged spouse[2] Cat Gannon as Kirby Pierre-Dupont, Barclay and Barbara's teenage child[3] William Gaminara as Ted Campbell, an ambassador selected to represent his nation Episodes No. Episode [2] Directed by [4] Written by [5] Original release date [6] UK viewers (millions) 1 "Homo Aqua" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 7 December 2025 TBD 2 "Plastic Apocalypse" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 7 December 2025 TBD 3 "The Deep" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 4 "The Witch of the Waterfall" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 5 "The End of the War" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 21 December 2025 TBD Production Development In July 2024, Deadline Hollywood reported a new Doctor Who spin-off titled The War Between the Land and the Sea was set to begin filming in September.[7] Russell T Davies confirmed later that month at San Diego Comic Con that production would begin in August.[8] Produced by Bad Wolf and BBC Studios, Davies is an executive producer along with Pete McTighe, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.[4][9] Edoardo Ferretti took on the role of television producer with pre-production underway by July 2024.[10] Casting Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw lead the series with Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient reprising their roles from Doctor Who as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Colonel Ibrahim, respectively.[1][11] Tovey and Mbatha-Raw previously played Alonso Frame and Tish Jones in Doctor Who.[12] Ruth Madeley also returns from Doctor Who, playing Shirley Anne Bingham. Colin McFarlane reprises his role as General Austin Pierce, a character first introduced and last seen fifteen years prior in the third series of Torchwood, another Doctor Who spin-off.[13] Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Vincent Franklin, Francesca Corney and Mei Mac were announced as additional cast members in October 2024.[14] Writing The five-part series was written by Davies and Pete McTighe.[15] Davies is the current showrunner of Doctor Who while McTighe also previously wrote for the parent series.[16] The two split writing duties across the programme, with Davies writing the premiere and finale episodes, McTighe writing the second and third episodes, and the two co-writing episode four together.[5] The first read-through for all five episodes occurred on 19 August 2024.[10] The series sees the return of the Sea Devils.[1] Filming Some filming took place internationally, including on Mallorca.[17] All episodes were produced in one block, compared to the two to three blocks that would usually be used for five episodes.[5] Location shooting began on 29 August 2024 in Barry and Atlantic Wharf, both in south Wales. Filming continued into September in various locations across Wales, including at the Welsh Government Building, City Arms pub, Hodge House, and Merthyr Mawr. In October, the series was spotted filming at Cardiff City Hall and National Museum Cardiff. November filming occurred at Town Bridge in Newport, Wales.[17] Filming concluded on 10 December 2024.[18] Music On 30 May 2025, it was announced that Lorne Balfe had been hired as the show's composer.[19] A soundtrack album of Lorne Balfe's score was released digitally 5 December 2025. The first track from the album, "Barclay's Theme", was released as a digital single 28 November 2025 and a cover of "'Heroes'" by Alison Goldfrapp and Balfe was released as a single 12 December 2025 by Goldfrapp's label A.G. Records.[20] A CD edition will be released 30 January 2026.[21] The War Between the Land and the Sea Soundtrack album by Lorne Balfe Released 5 December 2025 (digital) 30 January 2026 (CD) Genre Soundtrack Length 51:19 Label Silva Screen Singles from The War Between the Land and the Sea "Barclay's Theme" Released: 28 November 2025 "'Heroes'" Released: 12 December 2025 All tracks are written by Lorne Balfe, except where noted. No. Title Length 1. "Barclay's Theme" 3:30 2. "Aqua" 4:31 3. "The Mistake" 2:20 4. "Mission Launch" 3:40 5. "Into the Unknown" 2:43 6. "All over the World" 2:31 7. "Negotiations" 1:23 8. "Welcome our Guests" 4:21 9. "Weight of the World" 1:30 10. "Descending" 2:24 11. "Aqua Den" 2:51 12. "Prisoner of War" 3:04 13. "Lawless" 2:27 14. "Calling for Her" 2:45 15. "Survivor" 3:06 16. "Terrified of You" 2:52 17. "'Heroes'" (David Bowie, Brian Eno, performed by Alison Goldfrapp & Balfe) 5:21 Total length: 51:19

    TDP 1431: Doctor Who: The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Wicked! REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2025 12:21


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in October 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 30 November 2025, and on general sale after this date. The Doctor has a new friend. Ace has just joined the TARDIS, and is a long, long way from home. Hunting treasure, solving snow-covered mysteries and meeting heroes of legend, a partnership is formed. The Doctor starts to see his protégée's potential - while Ace thinks their adventures are nothing less than 'wicked'... Backwards and in Heels by Alison Winter The Doctor has offered young Ace a lift home from Iceworld, promising the scenic route home to Perivale. But when they are diverted to 1920s Soho on what appears to be shady business, Ace wonders if she's making the right choices, let alone in the right order. The Price of Snow by Katharine Armitage Ski resort Val du Cam Belle is 'the place to be' for the 1% of the near future. But the Doctor and Ace discover sinister shadows beneath the surface of this winter wonderland. The sun is too hot, the shade is too dark and nothing is quite what it seems... The Ingenious Gentlemen by Alan Ronald Fiction and reality collide when a mad man with a box and a mad man with a horse encounter an ancient evil in 15th century Spain. But the adventurer-and-companion setup is a little too familiar to Ace, and she begins to question if she is anything more than a Sancho to the Doctor's Quixote. BACK IN STOCK!

    TDP 1437: The War Between the Land and the Sea Episode Two REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2025 13:44


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 The War Between the Land and the Sea Promotional logo used on social media channels Genre Drama Science fiction Created by Russell T Davies Showrunner Russell T Davies Written by Russell T Davies Pete McTighe Directed by Dylan Holmes Williams Starring Russell Tovey Gugu Mbatha-Raw Jemma Redgrave Colin McFarlane Composer Lorne Balfe Country of origin United Kingdom Original language English No. of series 1 No. of episodes 2 Production Executive producers Joel Collins Pete McTighe Russell T Davies Julie Gardner Jane Tranter Producer Edoardo Ferretti Running time 43–53 minutes Production companies Bad Wolf BBC Studios Original release Network BBC One Disney+ Release 7 December 2025 – present Related Doctor Who The War Between the Land and the Sea is a British science fiction television miniseries created by Russell T Davies for BBC One and Disney+ as part of the Doctor Who franchise. Starring Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave and Colin McFarlane, the series features UNIT in their attempt to prevent a global war caused by the return of the Sea Devils, now called "Homo Aqua". The War Between the Land and the Sea was filmed from August to December 2024. It consists of five episodes and premiered on BBC One on 7 December 2025, and is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in 2026. Premise UNIT must take action to prevent a global war once an ancient species, the Homo aqua, comes out from the sea, revealing itself to humanity.[1] Cast Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a low-level member of UNIT, a transportation arranger, who is unexpectedly appointed as Ambassador by Salt. Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, the Ambassador of the Sea Devils Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the commander-in-chief of UNIT Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce, a high-ranking American UNIT officer Alexander Devrient as Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, a senior UNIT officer, part of Kate's personal staff Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham, UNIT's fifty-sixth scientific advisor, part of Kate's personal staff Adrian Lukis as Jonathan Hynes, a politician initially appointed as humanity's ambassador Vincent Franklin as Harry Shaw, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Francesca Corney as Sergeant Hana Chakri, a UNIT soldier assigned to protect Barclay Mei Mac as Min Tso Waleed Hammad as Colonel Tariq Hashim, a UNIT field officer Hannah Donaldson as Captain Louise Mackie, a UNIT company officer Ann Akinjirin as Barbara Pierre-Dupont, Barclay's estranged spouse[2] Cat Gannon as Kirby Pierre-Dupont, Barclay and Barbara's teenaged non-binary child[3][better source needed] Episodes No. Episode [2] Directed by [4] Written by [5] Original release date [6] UK viewers (millions) 1 "Homo Aqua" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 7 December 2025 TBD 2 "Plastic Apocalypse" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 7 December 2025 TBD 3 "The Deep" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 4 "The Witch of the Waterfall" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies and Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 5 "The End of the War" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 21 December 2025 TBD Production Development In July 2024, Deadline Hollywood reported a new Doctor Who spin-off titled The War Between the Land and the Sea was set to begin filming in September.[7] Russell T Davies confirmed later that month at San Diego Comic Con that production would begin in August.[8] Produced by Bad Wolf and BBC Studios, Davies is an executive producer along with Pete McTighe, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.[4][9] Edoardo Ferretti took on the role of television producer with pre-production underway by July 2024.[10] Casting Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw lead the series with Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient reprising their roles from Doctor Who as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Colonel Ibrahim, respectively.[1][11] Tovey and Mbatha-Raw previously played Alonso Frame and Tish Jones in Doctor Who.[12] Ruth Madeley also returns from Doctor Who, playing Shirley Anne Bingham. Colin McFarlane reprises his role as General Austin Pierce, a character first introduced and last seen fifteen years prior in the third series of Torchwood, another Doctor Who spin-off.[13] Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Vincent Franklin, Francesca Corney and Mei Mac were announced as additional cast members in October 2024.[14] Writing The five-part series was written by Davies and Pete McTighe.[15] Davies is the current showrunner of Doctor Who while McTighe also previously wrote for the parent series.[16] The two split writing duties across the programme, with Davies writing the premiere and finale episodes, McTighe writing the second and third episodes, and the two co-writing episode four together.[5] The first read-through for all five episodes occurred on 19 August 2024.[10] The series sees the return of the Sea Devils.[1] Filming Some filming took place internationally, including on Mallorca.[17] All episodes were produced in one block, compared to the two to three blocks that would usually be used for five episodes.[5] Location shooting began on 29 August 2024 in Barry and Atlantic Wharf, both in south Wales. Filming continued into September in various locations across Wales, including at the Welsh Government Building, City Arms pub, Hodge House, and Merthyr Mawr. In October, the series was spotted filming at Cardiff City Hall and National Museum Cardiff. November filming occurred at Town Bridge in Newport, Wales.[17] Filming concluded on 10 December 2024.[18] Music On 30 May 2025, it was announced that Lorne Balfe had been hired as the show's composer.[19] The War Between the Land and the Sea Soundtrack album by Lorne Balfe Released 5 December 2025 (digital) 30 January 2026 (CD) Genre Soundtrack Label Silva Screen Singles from The War Between the Land and the Sea "Barclay's Theme" Released: 28 November 2025 "'Heroes'" Released: 12 December 2025 A soundtrack album of Lorne Balfe's score was released digitally 5 December 2025. The first track from the album, "Barclay's Theme", was released as a digital single 28 November 2025 and a cover of "'Heroes'" by Alison Goldfrapp and Balfe will also be released as a single 12 December 2025.[20] A CD edition will be released 30 January 2026.[21] All tracks are written by Lorne Balfe, except where noted. No. Title Length 1. "Barclay's Theme" 2. "Aqua" 3. "The Mistake" 4. "Mission Launch" 5. "Into the Unknown" 6. "All over the World" 7. "Negotiations" 8. "Welcome our Guests" 9. "Weight of the World" 10. "Descending" 11. "Aqua Den" 12. "Prisoner of War" 13. "Lawless" 14. "Calling for Her" 15. "Survivor" 16. "Terrified of You" 17. "'Heroes'" (David Bowie, Brian Eno, performed by Alison Goldfrapp & Balfe) Release Broadcast The series premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 7 December 2025, and will stream on Disney+ internationally in 2026.[6]

    TDP 1436: The War Between the Land and the Sea EPIOSDE ONE

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2025 8:07


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 from wiki The War Between the Land and the Sea is a British science fiction television miniseries created by Russell T Davies for BBC One and Disney+ as part of the Doctor Who franchise. Starring Russell Tovey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jemma Redgrave and Colin McFarlane, the series features UNIT in their attempt to prevent a global war caused by the return of the Sea Devils, now called "Homo Aqua". The War Between the Land and the Sea was filmed from August to December 2024. It consists of five episodes and premiered on BBC One on 7 December 2025, and is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ in 2026. Premise UNIT must take action to prevent a global war once an ancient species, the Homo aqua, comes out from the sea, revealing itself to humanity.[1] Cast Russell Tovey as Barclay Pierre-Dupont, a low-level member of UNIT, a transportation arranger, who is unexpectedly appointed as Ambassador by Salt. Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt, the Ambassador of the Sea Devils Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, the commander-in-chief of UNIT Colin McFarlane as General Austin Pierce, a high-ranking American UNIT officer Alexander Devrient as Colonel Christofer Ibrahim, a senior UNIT officer, part of Kate's personal staff Ruth Madeley as Shirley Anne Bingham, UNIT's fifty-sixth scientific advisor, part of Kate's personal staff Adrian Lukis as Jonathan Hynes, a politician initially appointed as humanity's ambassador Vincent Franklin as Harry Shaw, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Francesca Corney as Sergeant Hana Chakri, a UNIT soldier assigned to protect Barclay Mei Mac as Min Tso Waleed Hammad as Colonel Tariq Hashim, a UNIT field officer Hannah Donaldson as Captain Louise Mackie, a UNIT company officer Ann Akinjirin as Barbara Pierre-Dupont, Barclay's estranged spouse[2] Cat Gannon as Kirby Pierre-Dupont, Barclay and Barbara's teenaged non-binary child[3][better source needed] Episodes No. Episode [2] Directed by [4] Written by [5] Original release date [6] UK viewers (millions) 1 "Homo Aqua" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 7 December 2025 2.82 2 "Plastic Apocalypse" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 7 December 2025 2.05 3 "The Deep" Dylan Holmes Williams Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 4 "The Witch of the Waterfall" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies and Pete McTighe 14 December 2025 TBD 5 "The End of the War" Dylan Holmes Williams Russell T Davies 21 December 2025 TBD Production Development In July 2024, Deadline Hollywood reported a new Doctor Who spin-off titled The War Between the Land and the Sea was set to begin filming in September.[7] Russell T Davies confirmed later that month at San Diego Comic Con that production would begin in August.[8] Produced by Bad Wolf and BBC Studios, Davies is an executive producer along with Pete McTighe, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner, and Jane Tranter.[4][9] Edoardo Ferretti took on the role of television producer with pre-production underway by July 2024.[10] Casting Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw lead the series with Jemma Redgrave and Alexander Devrient reprising their roles from Doctor Who as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Colonel Ibrahim, respectively.[1][11] Tovey and Mbatha-Raw previously played Alonso Frame and Tish Jones in Doctor Who.[12] Ruth Madeley also returns from Doctor Who, playing Shirley Anne Bingham. Colin McFarlane reprises his role as General Austin Pierce, a character first introduced and last seen fifteen years prior in the third series of Torchwood, another Doctor Who spin-off.[13] Adrian Lukis, Patrick Baladi, Vincent Franklin, Francesca Corney and Mei Mac were announced as additional cast members in October 2024.[14] Writing The five-part series was written by Davies and Pete McTighe.[15] Davies is the current showrunner of Doctor Who while McTighe also previously wrote for the parent series.[16] The two split writing duties across the programme, with Davies writing the premiere and finale episodes, McTighe writing the second and third episodes, and the two co-writing episode four together.[5] The first read-through for all five episodes occurred on 19 August 2024.[10] The series sees the return of the Sea Devils.[1] Filming Some filming took place internationally, including on Mallorca.[17] All episodes were produced in one block, compared to the two to three blocks that would usually be used for five episodes.[5] Location shooting began on 29 August 2024 in Barry and Atlantic Wharf, both in south Wales. Filming continued into September in various locations across Wales, including at the Welsh Government Building, City Arms pub, Hodge House, and Merthyr Mawr. In October, the series was spotted filming at Cardiff City Hall and National Museum Cardiff. November filming occurred at Town Bridge in Newport, Wales.[17] Filming concluded on 10 December 2024.[18] Music On 30 May 2025, it was announced that Lorne Balfe had been hired as the show's composer.[19] The War Between the Land and the Sea Soundtrack album by Lorne Balfe Released 5 December 2025 (Digital) 30 January 2026 (CD) Genre Soundtrack Label Silva Screen Singles from The War Between the Land and the Sea "Barclay's Theme" Released: 28 November 2025 "'Heroes'" Released: 12 December 2025 A soundtrack album of Lorne Balfe's score was released digitally 5 December 2025. The first track from the album, "Barclay's Theme", was released as a digital single 28 November 2025 and a cover of "'Heroes'" by Alison Goldfrapp and Balfe will also be released as a single 12 December 2025.[20] A CD edition will be released 30 January 2026.[21] All tracks are written by Lorne Balfe, except where noted. No. Title Length 1. "Barclay's Theme" 2. "Aqua" 3. "The Mistake" 4. "Mission Launch" 5. "Into the Unknown" 6. "All over the World" 7. "Negotiations" 8. "Welcome our Guests" 9. "Weight of the World" 10. "Descending" 11. "Aqua Den" 12. "Prisoner of War" 13. "Lawless" 14. "Calling for Her" 15. "Survivor" 16. "Terrified of You" 17. "'Heroes'" (David Bowie, Brian Eno, performed by Alison Goldfrapp & Balfe) Release Broadcast The series premiered on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 7 December 2025, and will stream on Disney+ internationally in 2026.[6] Critical reception Ed Power of The Independent criticised the inclusion of UNIT as a primary presence in the show, saying that "it's always been a rule of thumb that the more UNIT in an episode, the more boring the results". Power remarked that this was the case for The War Between the Land and the Sea and awarded 2 out of 5 stars.[22] Writing for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan gave 3 out of 5, feeling that the spin-off was "an opportunity wasted", comparing it in an inferior light to Russell T Davies' previous show, Years and Years.[23] Several outlets praised the performance of returning actress Jemma Redgrave, including Radio Times, SciFi Pulse and The London Standard.[24][25][26] Isobel Lewis, writing for The i Paper, compared the show to Torchwood, highlighting the use of profanity. Lewis praised Davies' "willingness" to "not simply feed fans the same stories over and over", noting how the finales featuring Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor often "struggled to stick the landing".[27]

    TDP 1435: For Your Consideration episode 19 - MAX HEADROOM

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2025 65:53


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    TDP 1430: 2. V UK: Occupation review

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2025 10:51


    The Visitors are now in command of the UK - but the resistance is growing, and determined to find out the real reason for the Visitors' arrival. Part 1 It is now January, three months since the Visitors' arrival. Elwyn, a black marketeer, has been profiting from the shortages, while his brother Brenin, a doctor, has been recruited to the resistance. Part 2 February, and the resistance have discovered what the Visitors are doing with all the people transported at night from Eleanor's chemical plant. They set out to get footage - as a romance between Visitor Willy and burger van owner Harmony blossoms. Part 3 It's now March. Mike is determined to get into the Visitor mothership, but to do that he needs the help of collaborator Eleanor. Meanwhile Robin has realised she is pregnant with a Visitor's child and has some difficult choices to make. **Please note: the collector's edition CD is strictly limited to 1,000 copies.** V © 2025 Kenneth Johnson Productions Inc. All rights reserved. Used under licence. Based on the original television mini-series "V".

    TDP 1441: For Your Consideration 20 WARGAMES

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2025 69:17


    Listen on YouTube it's the Christmas Special! Luke and Michael share a love for the 1983 film starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. T-shirts can be found here – https://www.redbubble.com/people/ufocast Follow us on twitter @ufo_cast Like us on Facebook Review us on iTunes Email the show – ufocast@yahoo.com The studio had the Galaxian (1979) and Galaga (1981) arcade machines delivered to Matthew Broderick's home. He practiced for two months to prepare for the arcade scene. According to John Badham, the jeep trying to crash through the gate at NORAD and turning over was an actual accident. The jeep was supposed to continue through the gate. They added the scene of the characters running from the jeep and down the tunnel, and used the botched jeep stunt. The NORAD command center built for the movie cost $1 million, making it the most expensive set ever constructed at the time. The producers were not allowed into the actual NORAD command center, so they had to imagine what it was like. In the DVD commentary, director John Badham notes that the actual NORAD command center isn't nearly as elaborate as the one in the movie, calling the set "NORAD's wet dream of itself." There were several nuclear launch close calls that influenced writers Lasker and Parkes to create the scenario of WarGames, including an incident at NORAD on November 9, 1979 when information on a training simulation tape concerning soviet sub launches was accidentally fed into the warning system and for six minutes the American military complex went into high alert. Only after no soviet missiles were detected by the PAVE PAWS early warning radar system did the U.S. stand down. Training simulations were accordingly moved off site of NORAD after this incident. In the movie, one of the scenarios fed to NORAD operators by Joshua is an influx of encroaching soviet missile subs. The WOPR, as seen in the movie, was made of wood and painted with a metal-finish paint. As the crew filmed the displays of the WOPR, Special Effects Supervisor Michael L. Fink sat inside and entered information into an Apple II computer that drove the countdown display.

    TDP 1429: #DoctorWho Lost Stories 9.2. Doctor Who: Alixion REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2025 9:47


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 link to story https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-alixion-3173 Checking into a luxury health spa for a little rest and recreation, the Doctor and Ace find themselves at the mercy of a malign entity that craves the conquest of time and space. Exploiting their memories and regrets, the queen of the hive, which hides behind the polished walls of the spa, forces them to confront their deepest fears as she steals the Doctor's life force to spread her powers across the universe. **Please note: the collector's edition double CD is strictly limited to 1,750 copies**

    TDP 1428: 1.3. Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: Lionesses in Winter REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2025 11:02


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in November 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 January 2026, and on general sale after this date. England, 1183 - The court of Henry II. The Doctor and Yaz gatecrash a right royal - if terrifyingly dysfunctional - family Christmas as Henry's estranged wife Eleanor returns to spend Yuletide with the fam. The Doctor and Yaz uncover an imposter amongst them, but who are they really? And what do they want?

    TDP 1399: Classic #DoctorWho Quiz Number 5 2nd Doctor

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2025 10:05


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 another QUIZ

    TDP 1407: The Ulysees31 Odyssey episode seven Mutiny on board

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2025 6:48


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    TDP 1398: #Doctorwho Doctor Who: Halloween: Sea Smoke and Other Stories REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2025 14:09


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Dare you step into the shadows? Terror awaits across time and space. Silent assassins, primordial evils and horrors that defy imagination – the Doctor's universe has never been more terrifying. 1. Sea Smoke by Jonathan Sims - A First Doctor and Dodo adventure The First Doctor and Dodo arrive on the Scottish isle of Ulfsay during the height of the 19th-century boom in kelp burning. They quickly realise something is wrong as the smoke from the latest batch of 'kelp' begins to cause horrific transformations on the island. 2. Party Favours by Georgia Cook - A Kate Stewart and Osgood adventure All Bev wants to do is host her yearly Halloween party and heal her fractured relationship with her girlfriend, Annika. Unfortunately, her reclusive upstairs neighbours have been invited to the festivities, and all they want to do is feast. 3. Bramble King by Noga Flaishon - An Eighth Doctor and Audacity adventure The Doctor and Audacity encounter a strange vision which leads them to Walpurgis-9, a cargo ship drifting powerless through space. In their attempt to assist the ship's crew, they become entangled in their secrets and encounter the malevolent entity known as 'The Bramble King'. 4. Merlin's Trap by Hannah Kennedy - A Twelfth Doctor adventure When Lainey leads an expedition into the ancient Merlin's Cave System, the group is warned by Merlin's ghostly voice to explore no further. As Lainey and her team push deeper into the mysterious cave, they encounter things far beyond their comprehension, including Merlin himself. **THIS TITLE IS NOW OUT OF STOCK ON CD**

    TDP 1397: Random thoughts on recent #DoctorWho news

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2025 13:37


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    TDP 1396: For your Consideration Thunderbirds

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2025 57:50


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Listen on YouTube It's Luke's choice this month and to celebrate 60 years since its first broadcast we're looking at Thunderbirds. The episodes in focus are Move and You're Dead and The Imposters. T-shirts can be found here – https://www.redbubble.com/people/ufocast Follow us on twitter @ufo_cast Like us on Facebook Review us on iTunes Email the show – ufocast@yahoo.com

    TDP 1395: 4.2. Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures: The Last Days of the Powell Estate REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2025 8:01


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 This title was released in October 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 December 2025, and on general sale after this date. South London, 2036. The Doctor and Rose team up with an urban explorer to investigate the case of Mr Fingers, an invisible killer haunting an abandoned corner of the city. If you feel a hand on your shoulder: don't look around... THIS TITLE IS NOW OUT OF PRINT ON CD Recorded on: 5 and 9 December 2024 Recorded at: The Soundhouse and Fitzrovia Post Writer Timothy X Atack said: "I've got a book called Abandoned Places and it's a photographer who travels the world and finds hotels that are slowly rotting away or islands that used to be inhabited but have been left to the elements. These amazing photographs were an inspiration for what might happen with an urban explorer, in more of an influencer space, and from that a frisson with the Doctor and with Rose started to build up in a very natural way. "And I have this deep love of Doctor Who's more eldritch, Lovecraftian villains, especially when you end up not really knowing any more about them at the end than at the beginning. Sometimes you just want something that hates, and that's what Mr Fingers is. He despises life." Director Helen Goldwyn added: "We're seeing different incarnations of the Powell Estate, this familiar setting from the TV series, and exploring more of what that community might look and feel like. Here, we get to see the future version of the estate, which is a very bleak, dystopian vision. It's a really cleverly constructed script where you get that picture of the modern flat and the destroyed flat - it creates such a vivid visual image in your mind as you're listening." Christopher Eccleston said: "I come from an estate like the Powell Estate. Not quite as concreted, but very much like it. And in my childhood, especially in summer, it was quite a magical, mystical place. "I like it when Doctor Who fastens on our folklore and it investigates it. It's often the simplest things like, are you my mummy, or just being tapped on the shoulder... The Doctor's obviously frightened of Mr Fingers!" And Billie Piper reminisced on the now-iconic setting: "It was always one of my favourite locations, being on the Powell Estate. We did so much of the early days there that it holds a special place in my heart, and it was weird filming on a living and working estate - we started to feel like residents!" Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor) Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) Harki Bhambra (Ellis Coates) Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) Dan Starkey (Mr Fingers) Mandi Symonds (Brainy Betty) Cover Art by Soundsmyth Creative Director Helen Goldwyn Executive Producer Jason Haigh-ElleryNicholas Briggs Music by Howard Carter Producer Matt Fitton Script Editor Matt Fitton Sound Design by Iain Meadows Written by Timothy X Atack Senior Producer John Ainsworth

    TDP 1394: #DoctorWho: The Third Doctor Adventures: Operation Vengeance REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2025 8:06


      review   This title was released in October 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 30 November 2025, and on general sale after this date. The Doctor makes an unexpected return trip to the planet Konzomia, this time with Sarah Jane Smith. The traumas of his previous visit, with Jo Grant, are apparently long forgotten.  Except that they are not... Can a long-defeated danger be rearing up again? And will the plight of a young British soldier, retreating to Dunkirk in 1940, be the catalyst for the unravelling of history?  The Doctor, Sarah and the Brigadier must embark upon a mission of mercy, with Jo Grant at its very heart. **Please note: the collector's edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,500 copies** Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart © Haisman & Lincoln and used under licence. With thanks to Hannah Haisman and Candy Jar Cover Art by Director Executive Producer Music by Producer Script Editor Sound Design by Written by Senior Producer   Product Format: 3-disc CD (jewel case in slipcover) Number of Discs: 3 Duration: 220 minutes Physical Retail ISBN: 978-1-80240-590-3 Digital Retail ISBN: 978-1-80240-591-0 Production Code: BFPDWDR0308    (The Doctor)  (Sarah Jane Smith)  (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart)  (Primod Zarrum / Beatrice / Corporal Hughes)  (Raelchun)  (Secretary Lemk)  (Empress Arahea / Ship)  (Terry Grant)  (Private Hawkins / Bates)  (Marianne)  (Jo Jones (Jo Grant))  (SS Sergeant Karl Müller/General Guderian)  (Bill) (Sergeant Croft)    

    TDP 1393: Classic #DoctorWho Quiz Number 5 The 5th Doctor

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 23, 2025 11:46


      more reviews soon

    TDP 1392: Classic #DoctorWho Quiz Number 4 4th Doctor

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2025 11:59


      Classic DoctorWho Quiz Number 4 4th Doctor

    TDP 1391: For Your Consideration 17 Gods and Monster

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2025 53:32


      Gods and Monsters is a 1998  film written and directed by , based on 's 1995 novel . The film stars , , , , and . Its plot is a partly fictionalized account of the last days of the life of film director  (McKellen), known for directing  (1931) and  (1935). A veteran of , the aged Whale develops a complicated relationship with his gardener, Clayton Boone (Fraser), a fictitious character originally created by Bram for the source novel. An international co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, Gods and Monsters is produced by , , and Mark R. Harris;  served as executive producer. As well as featuring reconstructions of the production of the Bride of Frankenstein, the film's title is derived from a scene in Bride of Frankenstein, in which the character  toasts , "To a new world of gods and monsters!" Gods and Monsters was nominated for three , including  for McKellen and  for Redgrave, and won for . Despite receiving positive reviews, the film was a . It was later adapted as a play of the same name which premiered in London at the  in February 2015. Plot In the 1950s, , the director of  and , has retired. Whale lives with his long-time housemaid, Hanna, who loyally cares for him but disapproves of his . He has suffered a series of  that have left him fragile and tormented by memories: growing up as a poor outcast, his tragic  service, and the filming of Bride of Frankenstein. Whale slips into his past and indulges in his fantasies, reminiscing about gay pool parties and sexually teasing an embarrassed, starstruck fan. He battles , and at times contemplates , as he realizes his life, his attractiveness, and his health are slipping away. Whale befriends his young, handsome gardener, Clayton Boone, and the two begin a sometimes uneasy friendship as Boone poses for Whale's sketches. The two men bond while discussing their lives and dealing with Whale's spells of disorientation and weakness from the strokes. Boone, impressed with Whale's fame, watches Bride of Frankenstein on television as his friends mock the movie, his friendship with Whale, and Whale's intentions. Boone assures Whale that he is straight and receives Whale's assurance that there is no sexual interest, but Boone storms out when Whale graphically discusses his sexual history. Boone later returns with the agreement that no such "locker room" discussions occur again. Boone is invited to escort Whale to a party hosted by  for . There, a photo op has been arranged for Whale with "his Monsters":  and  from "ancient" movie fame. This event exacerbates Whale's depression. A sudden rainstorm becomes an excuse to leave. Back at Whale's home, Boone needs a dry change of clothes. Whale can only find a sweater, so Boone wears a towel wrapped around his waist. Whale decides to try to sketch Boone one more time. After some minutes, he shows his sketches to Boone, disclosing that he has lost his ability to draw. After Boone drops his towel to pose nude, Whale makes him wear a  and then uses the opportunity to make a sexual advance on Boone, kissing his shoulder and neck, and forcefully reaches for his genitals. An enraged Boone fights off Whale, who confesses that this had been his plan and begs Boone to kill him to relieve him of his suffering. Boone refuses, puts Whale to bed, then sleeps downstairs. The next morning, Hanna is alarmed when she cannot find Whale, prompting a search by Boone and Hanna. Boone finds Whale floating dead in the pool as a distraught Hanna runs out, clutching a . Boone and Hanna agree that he should disappear from the scene to avoid a scandal. A decade later, Boone and his son, Michael, watch Bride of Frankenstein on television. Michael is skeptical of his father's claim that he knew Whale, but Boone produces a sketch of the Frankenstein monster drawn by Whale, and signed, "To Clayton. Friend?". Boone later walks down a street at night in the rain, miming the movements of Frankenstein's monster. Cast  as   as young James Whale Kent George as 25-year-old James Whale  as Clayton Boone  as Hanna  as Betty  as   as Harry  as Dwight  as Edmund Kay  as   as   as   as  Cornelia Hayes O'Herlihy as   as Sarah Whale Amir Aboulela as  Marlon Braccia as Starlet   as Michael Boone  as  (uncredited) Reception Gods and Monsters received positive reviews from critics, with McKellen's, Fraser's and Redgrave's performances singled out for particular praise.  called it "not a complicated film, but warm and clever". The film has a 96% rating on , based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical consensus states: "Gods and Monsters is a spellbinding, confusing piece of semi-fiction, featuring fine performances; McKellen leads the way, but Redgrave and Fraser don't lag far behind." On , the film has a score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Accolades Award Category Recipient(s) Result Nominated Nominated Won  

    TDP 1390: Alien Earth from #Disney #FX REVIEW

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2025 18:01


        Alien: Earth is an American   television series created by . It is the first television series in the  and is set two years before the events of the 1979 film . The series stars , , , , , , and  in main roles. Development for the series was reported to have begun in early 2019, with  attached to executive produce for . It had started pre-production by April 2023, with Chandler cast in the lead role the following month, and further casting taking place from July to November that year. After principal photography was delayed due to the , production began in July 2023 but was halted in August due to the . Filming resumed in April 2024 and ended in July that year. Alien: Earth premiered on  and FX on Hulu in the United States and on  internationally on August 12, 2025. Premise The opening of the first episode introduces the premise of the series as involving three separate destinies for the immortality of mankind. These are: Cybernetically enhanced humans:  Artificially intelligent beings:  (Synths) Synthetic beings with downloaded human consciousness:  When the space vessel Maginot crash-lands on Earth, a young hybrid woman and a group of tactical soldiers make a discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's biggest threat. Cast and characters Main , , , and  play Wendy, Joe Hermit, Boy Kavalier, and Kirsh respectively.  as Wendy, the first hybrid (a person who has their human consciousness transferred into a  body) and leader of the "Lost Boys" (a group of six hybrid prototypes created from terminally ill children by the Prodigy Corporation). Formerly known as Marcy Hermit, she was renamed Wendy after becoming a hybrid.  as Joe Hermit, a  for the Prodigy Corporation , and Wendy's human brother  as Dame Sylvia, an employee of the Prodigy Corporation and Arthur Sylvia's wife  as Boy Kavalier, the CEO of the Prodigy Corporation and the world's youngest trillionaire  as Morrow, the USCSS Maginot's  (human with some synthetic parts) chief security officer  as Slightly, a hybrid and member of the "Lost Boys". Formerly known as Aarush Singh, he was renamed Slightly by the Prodigy Corporation.  as Curly, a hybrid and member of the "Lost Boys"  as Nibs, a hybrid and member of the "Lost Boys". Formerly known as Rose Ellis.  as Smee, a hybrid and member of the "Lost Boys"  as Arthur Sylvia, a scientist and Dame Sylvia's husband Diêm Camille as Siberian, a Prodigy Corporation Security Service soldier  as Rashidi, a Prodigy Corporation Security Service soldier  as Atom Eins, a senior synthetic employee of the Prodigy Corporation  as Kirsh, Prodigy Corporation's  chief scientist, who serves as a mentor to the Lost Boys. Recurring  as Yutani, the CEO of the   as Tootles / Isaac, a hybrid and member of the "Lost Boys". He rejects his assigned name of Tootles by the Prodigy Corporation and renames himself after . Guest  as Zoya Zaveri, the executive officer and later acting captain aboard the USCSS Maginot   as Hoyt, a Prodigy Corporation Security Service soldier on the  team with Joe  as Anant, a Prodigy Corporation Security Service soldier on the search and rescue team with Joe Dean Alexandrou as Bergerfeld, a Prodigy Corporation Security Service soldier on the search and rescue team with Joe Amir Boutrous as Rahim, a medical officer aboard the USCSS Maginot   as Chibuzo, a science officer aboard the USCSS Maginot   as Shmuel, an engineer aboard the USCSS Maginot  Jamie Bisping as Malachite, an engineer's apprentice aboard the USCSS Maginot  Andy Yu as Teng, the navigator aboard the USCSS Maginot  Max Rinehart as Bronski, a science officer aboard the USCSS Maginot   as Petrovich, the chief engineer aboard the USCSS Maginot  Tom Moya as Clem, a junior security officer aboard the USCSS Maginot  Victoria Masoma as Sullivan, a crew member aboard the USCSS Maginot  Tanapol Chuksrida as Dinsdale, the captain of the USCSS Maginot  Episodes This section's plot summaries may be . Please  by removing unnecessary details and making them more concise. (September 2025) () " Noah Hawley August 12, 2025 0.589 In 2120, five companies control Earth and the colonized , including the recently founded Prodigy Corporation. The USCSS Maginot , a Weyland-Yutani deep space research vessel, approaches Earth after a 65-year expedition to obtain extra-terrestrial specimens, among them . On Earth, at Prodigy's Neverland research island, a terminally ill child named Marcy becomes the first hybrid, having her consciousness transferred to an adult synthetic, and renames herself Wendy. Adjusting to her new body with the assistance of synthetic mentor Kirsh, Wendy oversees several other children who undergo the procedure. A malfunction compromises the Maginot's navigation, placing it on a collision course with Earth. Some specimens escape, and a grown  kills most of the crew. It crashes into a tower in the Prodigy city of New , where Wendy's human brother Joe Hermit works as a medic and corporate soldier. CEO Boy Kavalier asserts the Maginot's contents now belong to Prodigy, and deploys Kirsh and the hybrids on Wendy's request to assist with search and rescue to test the hybrids capabilities. Security officer Morrow, who survived the crash in a reinforced , moves to protect the cargo and detains two Prodigy soldiers, who are killed by a -like specimen. Wendy remarks to Kirsh that she wants to save her brother from death. 2 "" Noah Hawley August 12, 2025 0.380 Boy Kavalier tells Dame Sylvia, that he formed the Hybrid project to allow humanity to compete with , and has granted Wendy additional abilities as he wishes to create a person smarter than him. Kavalier declines Weyland-Yutani's request to secure the Maginot's proprietary contents, warning any incursion on Prodigy's territory will be considered a hostile act. Joe is chased by a Xenomorph and separated from his colleagues. The Xenomorph tracks Joe to the higher floors of the tower, killing another soldier and massacring an apartment of wealthy residents who did not evacuate. Joe is saved by Morrow, who  Joe and the Xenomorph, but the Xenomorph regains consciousness and escapes after killing numerous other soldiers, sparing Morrow. Arriving in New Siam, Hybrids Tootles, Smee, Nibs, and Curly encounter other extraterrestrial specimens. Wendy locates Joe along with Slightly but Joe does not recognize Wendy. Slightly reveals Wendy's true identity to a shocked Joe who believed Wendy/Marcy had died. The three encounter several Xenomorph eggs and are ordered by Kirsh to contain them until a  team arrives. Joe is dragged away by the Xenomorph, and Wendy chases after it. 3 "" Dana Gonzales Noah Hawley and  August 19, 2025 0.441 Nibs questions Curly about why the hybrids are all named after  characters and why Marcy gets to be Wendy. Kavalier orders the specimens be brought to Neverland Island for study, despite objections from Kirsh and Dame Sylvia. Morrow finds Smee and Slightly guarding the Xenomorph eggs and interrogates them, suspicious of their childlike behavior. Morrow downloads all the data from the Maginot and erases the data from the source. Kirsh confronts Morrow and Morrow plants a device on Slightly's neck before escaping. Meanwhile, Wendy and Joe fight the Xenomorph with a , and Wendy kills the Xenomorph, although both sustain serious injuries. Returning to the island, Joe undergoes surgery and the Arthur and Dame tend to Wendy. Having escaped into New Siam, Morrow calls Ms. Yutani, and insists on retrieving the specimens despite being ordered to return home. Curly confronts Kavalier about his favoritism towards Wendy, asserting herself to be the best hybrid. Morrow contacts Slightly via the embedded device, convincing Slightly to be Morrow's friend. Kirsh, Tootles, and Curly dissect a facehugger and introduce its larva to Joe's damaged lung, removed during surgery. Wendy awakens, seemingly intercepting signals from the Xenomorph eggs which cause pain. Wendy ultimately collapses in the laboratory containing the eggs. 4 "" Ugla Hauksdóttir Noah Hawley and Bobak Esfarjani August 26, 2025 0.393 When Wendy wakes up, Arthur adjusts her hearing so Wendy can hear the Xenomorph eggs without experiencing pain, and Wendy discovers she can speak the Xenomorphs' language in a frequency audible to humans. Kirsh and Tootles test Trypanohyncha Ocellus (an octopus-like creature) on a sheep, and it implants itself in the sheep's brain via its eye socket. Tootles names himself as Issac. Kumi Morrow pressures Slightly into revealing his real name, Aarush Singh, and he is from India, as a sign of trust, and asks Slightly to steal a Xenomorph egg. Nibs, claiming to be pregnant, becomes violent after Dame Sylvia tries to interrogate her about the rescue mission, and is unknowingly put under house arrest. Joe, jaded after seeing how Wendy is treated as an experiment, attempts to quit and leave. However, Atom Eins tells Joe that if he does, Joe will be sent a large bill for his new lung and never see Wendy again. Slightly contacts Morrow to tell him that he cannot steal an egg, but the latter reveals he used Slightly's real name to track down his family, and uses them as blackmail. Morrow instructs Slightly to take a human near the eggs so they can be infected by a facehugger. It is revealed that Kirsh had been eavesdropping on Morrow and Slightly's conversations. Later, Wendy observes the Xenomorph-infected lung as the newborn Xenomorph bursts out, and Wendy placates it by communicating. 5 "" Noah Hawley Noah Hawley September 2, 2025 0.361 A flashback shows the events that occurred on the Maginot before it reached Earth. Junior security officer Clem wakes Morrow from cryo-sleep and tells him that a fire has led to two facehuggers escaping containment, which latched onto Captain Dinsdale and Science Officer Bronski. Dinsdale dies from the facehugger's acid blood when medical officer Rahim attempts to cut its tail. After being told by engineer Shmuel that the ship's navigational systems were also damaged in the fire, Morrow concludes that someone has sabotaged the ship. Executive officer Zaveri assumes command of the ship, but Morrow threatens to relieve her if she does not prioritize the creatures above the crew. Bronski is placed in cryo-sleep to prevent the gestation of the Xenomorph, but this fails. In science officer Chibuzo's lab, one leech specimen manages to open its test tube from the inside, and lays its larvae in her water bottle. Witnessing this, the Ocellus also escapes afterwards. Apprentice engineer Malachite drinks the water, and the larvae kill him internally; Chibuzo and Rahim are killed by their defensive toxic gas when trying to extract them. Navigator Teng is killed by the now full-grown Xenomorph. Chief engineer Petrovich is revealed to be behind the sabotage, having been promised a hybrid body by Kavalier if the ship crashes in Prodigy territory. Petrovich kills Clem and is in turn killed by Morrow, who retreats to the control room and seals himself in. Zaveri is killed by the Xenomorph outside the door. With everyone dead, Morrow locks himself in the panic room and awaits the crash. Back in the present, Morrow meets with Yutani, offering to retrieve the specimens by force and kill Kavalier. 6 "" Ugla Hauksdóttir Noah Hawley and Lisa Long September 9, 2025 0.478 As the Xenomorph grows, Wendy works on communicating with it. Nibs undergoes testing, prompting Atom Eins to demand her memory be reset to before the Maginot's crash. Dame reluctantly accepts, but Arthur refuses, and is fired under threat of execution if he is not gone by the end of the day. Wendy, disturbed by Nibs' behavior afterwards, learns she was reprogrammed. Meanwhile, Kavalier meets with Yutani over the ship's return and outwits her, securing 20 billion in damages while keeping the specimens for 6 weeks due to quarantine. Kirsh asks Tootles to feed and water the specimens while he is away. However, the Ocellus surprises him into accidentally locking himself in the same cage as two fly-like creatures, who kill him with acid and feed on his body. Slightly tries to lure Joe to the alien eggs, but he declines due to reassignment. Joe later visits a packing Arthur, who covertly deactivates Wendy's tracking device and gives Joe a boat code to allow them to escape. Noticing Tootles is disconnected, he goes to the lab accompanied by Slightly, who opens the cage of the Xenomorph eggs and locks him in, allowing a facehugger to latch onto Arthur. Kirsh watches this through security cameras, but does not tell Kavalier. Slightly hides along with Arthur's body in an air vent as the flies leave their cell. 7 "" Dana Gonzales Noah Hawley and Maria Melnik September 16, 2025 0.385 Smee discovers Slightly hiding an incapacitated Arthur, and the latter convinces him to help deliver Arthur to Morrow on the beach. Security re-secures the lab specimens. Wendy is disgusted by Kavalier's attitude to Tootles' death, and convinces Nibs to join her and Joe in escaping the island. On her way out, Wendy hacks the lab system, releasing the grown , which rampages and escapes into the forest. Kirsh finds Slightly and Smee carrying Arthur's body, but helps them take a faster route to the beach. Outside, Arthur awakes after the  dies. Shortly after, a newborn Xenomorph bursts from his chest and escapes. The hybrids take the corpse to the beach, where Morrow's Yutani team meets them. Having failed to bring him the newborn, Morrow takes them captive. After Kirsh shows him the Ocellus caused the lab accident, Kavalier becomes fascinated with the creature's intelligence, and wants to place it into a human host. Outside, Wendy, Joe, and Nibs are held at gunpoint by Yutani forces, but Wendy calls the Xenomorph which kills them. She comforts it, sparing them. Morrow's team enter the facility, but they are taken captive by Kirsh, who has also captured the newborn Xenomorph. Wendy, Joe, and Nibs reach the boat, but they are intercepted by Neverland security. Nibs, frustrated, brutally kills a soldier, prompting Joe to incapacitate her. A shocked Wendy scolds Joe, as the Xenomorph watches in the distance. 8 "" Dana Gonzales Noah Hawley &  September 23, 2025 0.469 The hybrids have been imprisoned in one cell, with Joe and Morrow in another. Wendy uses her abilities to block the facility's cameras and communications. She struggles with Joe's decision to shoot Nibs, believing he chose to ally himself with humans instead of her, but ultimately unlocks his cell. Kavalier approaches the hybrids and reveals that at six years old, he built his own synthetic which he used to kill his abusive father. Wendy unlocks their cell, Nibs kills Kavalier's bodyguard, and Kavalier flees. Morrow attacks Kirsh in the lab; Kirsh is badly damaged, but ultimately chokes Morrow unconscious. Smee and Slightly arrive in the lab and they take both Kirsh and Morrow, while Nibs captures Dame. Meanwhile, Atom lures Joe to Kavalier's room and locks him in with the Ocellus. Wendy arrives to save him and fights Atom, who reveals himself as a synthetic, allowing Wendy to control his motor functions. The Ocellus escapes to the beach, where it possesses Arthur's corpse. With the help of the older Xenomorph, Wendy and Joe capture Kavalier and lock him in a cell with Kirsh, Atom, Dame, and Morrow. As Yutani and her team approach the island, Wendy, with both Xenomorphs nearby, declares, "Now, we rule." Production Development In February 2019,  reported that two  television series were in development, one animated –  – and one live-action, from  for the network . In December 2020, as part of Disney's Investor Day presentation, the latter television series project was officially announced to be in development for the network, with  as showrunner and Scott as executive producer, being set on Earth in the near future. On February 17, 2022,  revealed that the series is a  taking place before the events of  (1979). Hawley himself confirmed that the series would be tied more into the style and mythology of the original 1979 film rather than the prequel films  (2012), and  (2017). In April 2023, chairman of , , stated that the series was in active pre-production. According to  president Gina Balian, the scale of the production of Alien: Earth was much bigger than that of the 2024 FX series , whose budget has been reported as $250 million. Casting In May 2023,  was cast in the lead role, followed by , , , and  in July.  and  would be among those added to the cast in November 2023. Filming  was scheduled to begin in March 2022, but was delayed due to the . Production on the series began on July 19, 2023, in . Filming (without the American cast including Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant, and David Rysdahl) was allowed to occur during the  due to the series' British cast working under an  contract. In late August, the production was halted due to the strike with most of the first episode completed. Filming resumed in April 2024, and wrapped in mid-July. , Bella Gonzales and  serve as cinematographers. Music The score for the series was composed by . The soundtrack was released on  on August 12, 2025. It will get a vinyl release in December 2025 on Mutant. The episodes end on famous ,  and  songs because Hawley decided to highlight the  endings by "mak[ing] an arena show, something that feels bigger than a small theater", featuring tracks by , , , , , , , ,  and . The soundtrack from the fifth episode "In Space, No One…" was released as a stand-alone album on September 2, 2025. Release Promotion Alien: Earth's promotion included immersive experiences such as The Wreckage, which was displayed at the  and , and The Hunt, an activation staged in major cities worldwide.  also partnered with several companies for promotional tie-ins, offering limited-time meals and beverages through food and hotel chains, as well as exclusive merchandise. Release The first episode of Alien: Earth was screened early at the series' panel at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 25. The series premiered on  and  with its first two episodes on August 12, followed by weekly releases of the remaining six episodes. Internationally, Alien: Earth was made available to stream on . Reception Viewership The Walt Disney Company announced that the first episode of Alien: Earth garnered 9.2 million views worldwide within its first six days of streaming. This total was calculated by dividing the total hours watched by the episode's runtime, reflecting viewership on , , and . Analytics company , which gathers viewership data from certain  and content providers, reported that Alien: Earth was watched by 1.8 million U.S. households during its live-plus-five-day period. Boomer households (ages 65–74) over-indexed in viewership by 8% compared to other demographic groups. , which records streaming viewership on some U.S. television screens, reported that Alien: Earth was watched for 464 million minutes between August 11–17, ranking as the seventh-most-streamed original series. In the following week, from August 18–24, it recorded 337 million minutes of watch time, making it the ninth-most-streamed original series that week. Alien: Earth was later streamed for 326 million minutes from August 25–31, making it the tenth-most-streamed original series of the week. Critical response On the  website , 93% of 189 critics' reviews are positive, with a critics consensus of: "Stylistically bold and scary as hell, Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth transplants the Xenomorph mythos into the television medium with its cinematic grandeur intact while staking out a unique identity of its own." , which uses a , assigned a score of 85 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". James Dyer of  gave the first season five out of five stars, praising its exploration of "the nature of consciousness, mortality, [and] humanity", concluding that "Hawley's series is a rare prequel that serves to enrich its source material, breathing new life into a once-tired franchise". For , Brian Tallerico wrote, "'s work on  feels like a logical comparison, and that's the quality tier on which this show resides as well. ... [Hawley] delivers an 8-episode first season that somehow marries the philosophical depth that fans of  admired with the intense action and bone-chilling imagery of 's ." Angie Han of  described it as a "heady, sprawling, occasionally unwieldy but eventually thrilling epic about personhood, hubris, and of course, the primal pleasure of watching people get absolutely rocked by space monsters", noting its production design and "new beasts with their own deliciously horrible ways of killing". Not all reviews were positive. Dominic Baez of  criticized the show's pace and uneven story, writing, "Its examination of identity ... is less insightful than it wants to be, buckling under the weight of its own unanswered questions. And far too often it feels like two separate plots stitched together, a  of existentialism and aliens ripping people apart."  of  called the feeling of the show "tedious" and wrote that it "struggles to resolve the tension between replicating the core Alien appeal and building a broader narrative suited for long-form television," at the same time questioning if Hawley is fit for the genre versus his previous  stylings. , who portrayed  in the original movies, praised the series, noting how it expands the franchise's scope and calling it "much more profound than just an Alien movie." Future According to series creator Noah Hawley, work has not yet begun on a second season, but conversations are ongoing. He is ready to begin immediately if Disney decides to renew the show. Hawley expects a renewal decision to be made "soon" after the airing of the season finale on September 23, 2025, once its viewership can be evaluated. In another interview, Hawley said that he hopes to have a decision "in the next couple of months."    

    TDP 1389: Classic DoctorWho Quiz Number 3 - The Sixth Doctor 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2025 11:51


        The Sixth Doctor

    TDP 1386: 1. Sky: Before the Chaos REVIEW from @Bigfinish

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2025 13:29


    https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 REVIEW First broadcast in 1975, ITV children's series Sky followed a time-travelling alien boy with solid blue eyes and psychic powers, who found himself on Earth in the wrong period of history. Fifty years later, Sky has been reborn. But why now? And what does Sky want with the old man living in the sheltered accommodation who used to fight to save planet Earth from destroying itself... Apotheose Two teenagers, the executive of Youngwell Corporation, a discredited journalist and an old man in a nursing home are brought together when a mysterious voice calls from within an ancient burial mound in the heart of Stanton Cheyney. The crows are flying, the public are chanting, and something malevolent is about to make itself known... Deitropism Sky is reunited with old friends and is now a TV superstar. A spy has infiltrated Youngwell Corporation and Jack Diver is trying to uncover secrets. Someone has a secret wrapped inside their genes and someone else is going to discover that the trees are not quite what they seem... Calyx As the survivors of mankind struggle to live beneath the biomass of plant life that literally envelops the planet, cutting off the sunlight and the air, an old enemy of Sky’s finally manifests, determined to make things worse. As the hunt for the Juganet becomes more and more desperate, Bex Briggs discovers that one should never stand still for too long in this terrifying new world order... Sky created by Bob Baker & Dave Martin © 1975 Recorded on: 15-17 January 2025 Recorded at: The Soundhouse Video: Behind the scenes at Sky Writer, director and co-producer Gary Russell said: "There's a golden decade of kids' TV between 1972 and 1982, much of it produced by HTV and Patrick Dromgoole, often written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin. One of those gems was Sky, a show that displayed an intelligence and sophistication that many other ITV companies tried to emulate, but rarely did. "The ultimate outsider, Sky was neither good nor evil, neither a hero nor a villain. The same goes for the other characters around him: Arby, Goodchild, the Briggs family – there are marvellous moral ambiguities about all of them. "I love the original; it was a show I had grown up on and seen a thousand times, because I've got it on a nice shiny disc. Jason Haigh-Ellery turned around to me one day and said, 'Look, we've got the rights from Bob Baker to do a new version of Sky.' I think he could see the passion and fervour and begging in my eyes. He said, 'Do you want to do it?', and I said yes, because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I'd been thinking since 1975 about what you could do with this show, so I was very keen to sit down and get on with it. "Jason said to me, 'Do you want to do a remake?', and I said 'No, I want to do a sequel.' I wanted to pick the story up 50 years later, and therefore I knew that the only character I needed to bring back – other than Sky, obviously – was Arby. The idea of Arby, the hero of the original, being this broken old man sitting in a nursing home somewhere – I thought, that’s your good launch pad. It's about a redemption for him." "To be asked to find out what happened next, and the effect Sky's parting gift to Arby might have on a human, was too good an offer to say no to. I love these characters passionately and it's a joy to be able to tell these latest chapters in their lives – the first audio serial I've ever written for Big Finish." His co-producer Dominic G. Martin added: "The tale of Sky is an absolute belter of a story! I was born long after it aired, and despite growing up on a lot of classic TV, I only learned about Sky from Gary Russell. Hearing that Bob Baker and Dave Martin were the original serial's writers made me instantly excited to get involved. "It's a such a fascinating concept that you could pull off in any era with all its mysteries and dynamic characters. The whole cast was magnificent in the recordings – they were such a delight to work with, and I would love to think that the new series is not only a loving tribute to the work of Baker and Martin, but also builds on that grand story that they set up back in the 1970s, while keeping it accessible for a whole new generation to get immersed in." Lead actor Cloud Quinn takes over the role played by Marc Harrison in the original TV series. He said: "Sky definitely piqued my interest. I watched a little on YouTube and I read the novel of the original 1970 series, and I just loved the imagination of it. "It felt very challenging for children, but in a good way, opening their horizons to the big issues of the day around space flight and nuclear power and continuous industrialisation, and what that meant for the natural world – obviously that remains very, very relevant today. Edwin Flay, who plays Arby Vennor, added: "The audio revival is very well crafted in that you don’t need to have seen the original, but it grows from it, it feeds on it, and it brings all of the concerns very much up to date. The way our two characters have evolved from the original series and the journeys they’ve been on in the interim give it a lot of its meat for me, certainly. "In the original series, Arby Vennor was young, vibrant, and kind – a very straightforward, uncomplicated character – and now his experience has left him a broken shell. Exploring that, as he finds his drive and his sense of self again, has been a pleasure." Cloud Quinn (Sky) Edwin Flay (Arby Vennor) Caitlyn Galvin (Gabby Evans) Rachel Handshaw (Rhea Holmes) Jessica Hayles (Bex Briggs) Sanjay Lago (Krish Nadar) Dominic Martin (Reporter) Fiona McClure (Nurse / Brenda Simms) Samuel Morgan-Davies (Kyle Brannock) Tara Ward (Miss Cornell) Conrad Westmaas (Jack Diver)

    TDP 1388: Classic #DoctorWho Quiz Number 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2025 12:22


      enjoy Quiz number 2     

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