Power of 3

Who was surprised this week with the reveal of the latest in Character Options' action figure range of exclusive Vortex figures? We speak to Al Dewar about the creation of the Meep and the Fourteenth Doctor (without coat!). And Al also reveals the limited edition variant that never was, and a couple of potential Fifteenth Doctor variants for the future!

BBC Three recently broadcast a ninth episode of Doctor Who Confidentially Unleashed Work Experience, celebrating 20 years of Doctor Who being produced in Wales. Dave, Steevie and Kenny give their thoughts on the episode, and also air their thoughts on the proposed new Doctor Who cartoon series for CBeebies. And we want drawings from our listeners about what Dave and Steevie will look like in their future space clothes. Send your pictures to theearth2podcast@gmail.com and Peter will pass them on!

The Sixth Doctor is back - and he's up against one of his oldest foes. Killing Ground, by Steve Lyons, features the Doctor with his new travelling companion Grant Markham, as they encounter the Cybermen. Steve joins us for a discussion about the book, and how he featured a new monster for the BBC Books range, months before it had been published. Plus, we have two readings, complete with authentic Revenge of the Cybermen-style voices!

Logopolis - the final adventure of the Fourth Doctor - is put under the microscope in the latest release from the Black Archive. We speak to Jonathan Hay about writing this examination of Christopher H Bidmead's first Doctor Who script. Find out more and order a copy from publishers Obverse Books at https://obversebooks.co.uk/product/76-logopolis/

Are you afraid of things that go bump in the night? Those mysterious sounds you hear after midnight? Then get ready to join the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa, as they encounter Fear of the Dark. We speak to author Trevor Baxendale about his popular novel.

And that's it - the era of another Doctor is over and done with. Ncuti Gatwa - Doctor no more! John, Steevie and Dave gather to share their thoughts on the Doctor Who season finale, with Wish World and The Reality War. Stand by for joy at the return of Jodie Whittaker, shock at the regeneration, and speculation ahoy as to how they thought the story was originally going to end, and piece together their evidence.

We head into a mini-era of Fourth Doctor PDAs, as we feature the first of four novels written for the range by Chris Boucher. Former range editor Steve Cole joins us as we discuss this novel, featuring the Doctor and Leela. And we could only find ONE quote from the late author, alluding to this book!

Well, who saw that twist coming at the end of last Saturday's episode of Doctor Who? We didn't! The Rani is trying to resurrect Omega, the co-founder of Time Lord society. In this episode, which we only decided to create at virtually the last minute, we look at the Big Finish story Omega, released as part of the Villains Trilogy in 2003, marking the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who. We're joined by special guests, producer Gary Russell, writer Nev Fountain, actor Conrad Westmaas and musician Russell Stone, who tell the story of how this adventure came to be. You can order Omega for just £3.99 in download form, from https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-omega-213

Remember when the Eleventh Doctor faced his old foes, the Ice Warrior, for the first time? We're not talking about an encounter on a submarine in Cold War, we're talking about the novel The Silent Stars Go By! We speak to author Dan Abnett about putting the Doctor, Amy and Rory against the maurauding Martians. Courtesy of BBC Audiobooks, we have two clips from the reading of the story by Michael Maloney, recently rereleased on The Eleventh Doctor Novels, volume 4. It's available now.

Today's episode title might sound like an anime, but Lucky Story Song Contest is our look at the latest three Doctor Who episodes. What do Dave, Steevie, John and Kenny think of Lucky Day, The Story and the Engine and The Interstellar Song Contest? It gets quite sweary later, but don't worry, it's all been bleeped. This episode has a subtitle of: "Hartnell with some Vaseline."

5, 4, 3, 2, 1... The Power of 3 is go! Simon Messingham joins Dave and Kenny to discuss his Second Doctor Missing Adventure The Indestructible Man. They talk Gerry Anderson's pupper shows, Quatermass and a hell of a lot more. Plus, we have readings from the author and Alistair Lock, bringing the book to life!

Daleks, conquer and destroy! Daleks, conquer and destroy! (Or, Daleks conquer shops with toys) There's a fascinating new book out from Telos Publishing, looking at the Evolution of the Toy Dalek. We're joined by writer Alex Storer, who tells us how this publication came about. Find out more and order at www.telos.co.uk

The Interstellar Song Contest is on its way to our TV screens, for Juno Dawson's first TV Doctor Who credit. But, we've turned back the clock to 2018 and spoke to Juno about her first Who story - the Thirteenth Doctor novel The Good Doctor. Juno talks about her love of the show and how she got into Doctor Who - in an interview recorded just days before it was announced what was coming to our screens.

Malcolm Hulke is someone who fandom has been talking about once again after the release of the Season 7 blu-ray. Looking for Mac put him in focus, and now, a biography of the writer and co-creator of the Time Lords has been release. Michael Herbert has put finger to keyboard to craft The Writing and Politics of Malcolm Hulke, and we speak to him about it.

We're back with the Eleventh Doctor, as we look at another adventure originally published in the 2-in-1 series. We've already featured Web in Space!, so today we put the other book in Sightseeing In Space under the spotlight. Author Steve Lyons joins us to discuss it, and we have a specially recorded reading from the book too.

Doctor Who's back on our screens, and in traditional Power of 3 style, we're looking at three stories. We've reunited Dave, Steevie, John and Kenny, who talk their way through each of these adventures for the Fifteenth Doctor and his new pal Belinda. But one of the team is a bit grumpy about things - and it's not who you might expect, as we discuss The Robot Revolution, Lux and The Well...

We make a welcome return to Virgin Publishing for our latest Doctor Who Book Club release. Today's novel make purr-fect sense, as we speak to Gary Russell about his Second Doctor Missing Adventure, Invasion of the Cat-People. And if it ever gets an audio adaptation, Gary did the casting for it back in 1995 when the book was published! Jude Law's going to be so easy to get...

We were amazed by it at Christmas, and now, we can boggle at it on blu-ray. Yes, The War Games in colour has been given its physical release, and we can rejoice with six extra minutes of material being added too! Joining us are editor Benjamin Cook, and lead colourist Rich Tipple, to discuss things we couldn't discuss back in episode 321, and what we can expect in the extras.

We're back with the First Doctor in an exciting adventure in time and space. We joined him, Ian, Barbara and Susan as they travel back to America at the time of the Salem witch trials. Dave and Kenny discuss the book, with author Steve Lyons joining in to reveal how the book came to be - and was rejected TWICE by Virgin!

We sadly learned that another member of the Doctor Who family had passed away at the weekend. Jean Marsh - better known to fans as Princess Joanna, Morgaine and perhaps best of all as Sara Kingdom - died at the age of 90. In tribute Kenny and Dave discuss their memories of Jean, and are joined by Simon Guerrier, who wrote five of the six main stories to feature Sara. And courtesy of our friend James Hadwen-Bennett, we present Jean speaking at the Invasion convention in 2003, when she was interviewed by J Jeremy Bentham. James also shares his memories of Jean's panel. Jean Marsh - 1934-2025.

We're back in the realm of the Twelfth Doctor today, as we join him in print. Mike Tucker is back to talk about his second novel featuring Peter Capaldi's incarnation, Diamond Dogs, which takes the Doctor and Bill into the future. We also feature two original readings from the book by Steevie Day, with no official release from BBC Audiobooks - to date.

Remember when 30 Years in the TARDIS was the most exciting thing in the world? We do! Today, we're joined by Kevin Jon Davies to discuss his new book 42 - The Wildly Improbably Ideas of Douglas Adams, a look at the unpublished works of the former Doctor Who script editor and writer Douglas Adams. We also discuss Kevin's legendary Doctor Who documentary. Kevin is coming to Scotland, to discuss the book in Dunfermline, courtesy of Chris Cassell. Find out more here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/42-an-evening-with-kevin-jon-davies-tickets-1296326751209

We travel back to 2013 for a novel that was released early in the 50th anniversary year. Shroud of Sorrow is today's book being put under the microscope, and Kenny is joined by Chris Hawton, from the All-New Adventures of the Doctor Who Book Club to discuss it this tale of Kennedy's assassination - and clowns from outer space. Sadly, author Tommy Donbavand passed away in 2019, but courtesy of some of our podcast friends, we're able to bring his words together in the one place. We also have the full text of his interview with Doctor Who Magazine, courtesy of writer David Darlington. Links: All-New Adventures of the Doctor Who Book Club https://andwbcp.libsyn.com/ The Doctor Who Podcast with Tommy Donbavand https://thedoctorwhopodcast.com/2013/11/09/the-doctor-who-podcast-writers-special-2-tommy-donbavand-and-simon-guerrier/ Tommy Donbavand talks Doctor Who with Alex Fitch https://archive.org/details/BookListDoctorWhoNovels

We conclude our celebratory week of 20 years of 21st century Doctor Who, with a special episode. Dave and Kenny put on the DVD of Rose, that first episode, broadcast on 27 March 2005, and share their thoughts on it. Did they enjoy Russell T Davies's original Doctor Who reboot as much as they did first time around? Turn on, tune in - and watchalong if you like!

We mark the triumphant return of Doctor Who to our televisions screens in this week's book club. Dave and Kenny have re-read the first of the New Series Adventures published by the BBC, The Clockwise Man, by Justin Richards. They share their thoughts on it, plus have comments from Justin at the time of the launch of these books.

When you're a Doctor Who fan, you're going to be a completist in some way. You'll want every Target novelisation, BBC Video, blu-ray, action figure, New Adventures, whatever it maybe. This week, the Radio Times released six different covers to mark 20 years of New Who, featuring the 21st century Doctors. Dave and Kenny both wanted particular covers, so we join them pounding the streets of Glasgow at night on their quest. Will they succeed? Tune in and listen! The Quest is the Quest!

We're putting The Story of Martha under the microscope today. This was an unusual release at the time from BBC Books, as it was an anthology, with a framing device written by Dan Abnett. David Roden, Steve Lockley and Paul Lewis, Robert Shearman and Simon Jowett write the stories presented. Featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones, we today speak to Dan, Steve, Paul and Simon about their work on this book.

As we mark 20 years since the return of Doctor Who, we turn the clock back to those early glory days. We're delighted to be joined by Dave Turbitt - another Glaswegian, no less - who worked on approvals on Doctor Who at the end of the Davie Tennant era, until Matt Smith's second season. Get ready for the first of a two-part interview discussing Dave's role, and he talks us through a hypothetical example of how the approvals process worked.

369: The Savages by Kenny Smith

Peter Capaldi is back - not as the Doctor, but for the release of his second album, Sweet Illusions. He's been doing some publicity for the album, and the Power of 3 has been granted permission to use 15 minutes of an interview he gave to Paul Trainer of GlasgowWorld, about the release. Paul - a friend of our Kenny's for some 30 years - joins us for a conversation about the interview, meeting Peter and generally fanboying it up over the Twelfth Doctor actor. If you want to watch the full conversation between Peter and Paul, which runs to 35 minutes, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxsrb7vqa4w You can read the interview here: https://www.glasgowworld.com/whats-on/music/interview-peter-capaldi-simple-minds-glasgow-1980s-5010169

Jeff Cummins is a legend in not just the world of Doctor Who art, but in music too. Jeff today tells us about his incredible career, which has seen him paint iconic covers for Target books like The Horror of Fang Rock and The Talons of Weng-Chiang, as well as The Three Doctors reprint, to New Adventures, and working for a certain Mr Paul McCartney. His new book The Invisible Artist - Outside the Box is available to pre-order from https://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/outsidethebox.html

Today's book club adventure takes us into the era of Sylvester McCoy. We take a look at the BBC's first Seventh Doctor story in the Past Doctor Adventures range, where he and Ace encounter the Cybermen and Nazis. But in World War 2. Not in Windsor. We're joined by co-author Mike Tucker and Steve Cole - at the same time! - to discuss this novel.

We return to our classic Doctors in sequence today, after last week's jump back to tie in with Season 7 on blu-ray. Today, we're looking at a Sixth Doctor novel that should never have existed, until another author was held up and couldn't make his deadline. Steve Cole joins us to explain how Justin Richards approached him to write The Shadow in the Glass, and how they worked together to create one of the greatest books in the Past Doctor Adventures range.

With Season 7 having arrived on blu-ray this week, we're bringing you a bonus episode with another Auton attack. We're delighted to be joined by the fantastic Mike Tucker, who tells us all about his latest work, a story for BBC Audiobooks. Are you ready to enter the House of Plastic?

The concluding part of our preview of the Season 7 blu-ray set is here! Today, we're joined by our old pals Richard Bignell, Chris Chapman and Toby Hadoke, to discuss their work on the PDFs, documentaries and Behind the Sofa, amongst other things. Richard reveals some fascinating insights, and it might be worth checking out our 122nd episode too, The Lost World, which has inspired some of the PDF content!

Season 7 on blu-ray is so close, you can almost feel its fire... We bring you the first of two episodes looking at the creation of this highly-anticipated released, featuring the first four stories of the Third Doctor's era. Peter Crocker joins us to go into depth about restoring the visuals for this release, his biggest challenge to date, while producer Simon Guerrier teases details about new documentary Terror of the Suburbs.

The Daleks are back to face the First Doctor! We're looking at new BBC Aubiobook, Agent of the Daleks, which is performed by Maureen O'Brien. We speak to writer Steve Lyons about this release, which is available to purchase from today, 6 March 2025, from all good retailers. And probably a few average ones as well! You can find out more here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/464135/doctor-who-agent-of-the-daleks-by-lyons-steve/9781529940640

With Season 7 being released on blu-ray today, we're heading back to the days of Jon Pertwee's first season as the Doctor. Here, we have him facing UNIT's Russian counterparts, the CIA, the alien Waro, and a host of other problems. And the Brigadier even gets to go off and have his own mini-adventure too! We speak with co-writer Martin Day about The Devil Goblins From Neptune, which launched the BBC's Past Doctor Adventures range of books.

We continue to count our way up through the Doctors on our Book Club episodes, as we reach the fifth incarnation today. The acclaimed horror writer Mark Morris joins us once again, as he talks about his second Doctor Who novel. As ever, we have a couple of readings, plus contemporary reviews and what readers think on Goodreads.

Silver Nemesis is a story we've featured a lot on the Power of 3 over the last few months. We've talked to its writer Kevin Clarke, Cyberleader David Banks, and discussed some of the new features to accompany it. Now, we speak with James Cooray Smith, who's written a Black Archive entry on it, giving insightful analysis of what we got to see in Doctor Who's 25th anniversary story. You can order a copy of it here - https://obversebooks.co.uk/product/75-silver-nemesis/

Our Book Club Mondays welcome back the always delightful Christopher Bulis. Fifty years ago, Tom Baker's first season was airing, so we drop into the events of season 12, to join the Doctor, Sarah and Harry on their adventures. We discuss A Device of Death with Chris, who performs several readings from his 1996 novel, one of the last Missing Adventures from Virgin.

We're back with Character Options's Al Dewar, as we turn back the clock to some previous releases. Today, we're putting series five under the microscope, as we discuss the various figure releases from Matt Smith's first season as the Doctor. Find out about the TARDIS console room, and the flight control TARDIS too!

We're going back to the seventies for today's Power of 3 book club. We board the number 22 bus to Putney Common, and join Iris Wildthyme and her friend Tom, as they encounter an exiled traveller in time and space, known only as 'the Doctor'. The Doctor, with his friend Jo, along with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Captain Yates and Sergeant Benton must defend the Earth from the Master... Author Paul Magrs joins us to discuss this adventure with a difference.

The Power of 3 has hit the road once again. Dave and Kenny made the trip down the M74/M6 to Manchester, for John Nathan-Turner Day, which was held at the Anthony Burgess Institute. They discuss Me and Him and Who, Stephen Wyatt's play about JNT and his partner Gary Downie, and speak with producer Gareth Kavanagh about it, as well as Stephen, actor Richard Unwin who plays JNT, and JNT's biographer Richard Marson. We also get the thoughts of Blue Peter's 42nd presenter Abby Cook - a Doctor Who fan, who just happens to come from Scotland!

Our book club release today take a look at the Second Doctor adventure Combat Rock. Author Mickey Lewis joins us to discuss his work on this novel, which features cannibalism and other adult themes. This episode contains darker content which may not be suitable for younger listeners. And in a complete coincidence of timing, Mickey also appears in Doctor Who Magazine issue 613, discussing his work as a monster actor!

He's back - again! Character Options's Al Dewar returns to the Power of 3 to discuss action figures once more. Al replies to more of your questions, giving honest answers, with some yeses, nos, and maybes. New Adventures Seventh Doctor? Baines? The Flood? Twelfth Doctor in a waistcoat? Mel? Kate Stewart? TARDIS consoles? We answer these, and much more!

After a look at some new series books on the Power of 3 book club, we return to the First Doctor's era. Today, we are joined by Simon Guerrier to discuss his novel The Time Travellers, which features the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara. We've a couple of readings from the novel by James Hadwen-Bennett (his full fan-made reading without sound design is available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzNtNqZdyNC_bDfKUtrttnsDY09ne4gUg). We even have the later William Russell reading a section too! (With thanks to Alan McWhan)

There's no hiding the fact that John Nathan-Turner is one of the most controversial figures in the history of Doctor Who. As the show's producer from 1980-1989, he cast three Doctors, a host of companions, and became a fixture at conventions on both sides of the Atlantic. However, Richard Marson's biography revealed a darker side to John and his partner Gary Downie, as JNT suffered from an alcohol addiction in later life, when he struggled to find work. This struggle features in a play, Me and Him and Who, written by Stephen Wyatt - author of Paradise Towers and The Greatest Show in the Galaxy - which is being performed next week. Dave and Kenny discuss John and his legacy, and are joined by Stephen to talk about the John and Gary he knew. Find out more at https://www.fatsoma.com/e/7jir2f8n/me-and-him-and-who

Our book club listening takes us into the era of the Thirteenth Doctor, for just the third time. We've previously featured David Solomons's novels, which were aimed at younger readers, so this is our first dip into the run of three BBC Books. We speak to Steve Cole about writing Combat Magicks, and returning to the post of project editor on the Doctor Who novels.

We welcome back Al Dewar for another of our semi-regular podcast series, Ask Al. This is where we give Al your questions about the Character Options action figures, without him knowing them in advance, and you get his full responses. We've still got lots of questions here, so we'll be using them next time! (Today's guest theme... What if Tomita did a Doctor Who Theme, by George C Music)

We're back looking at the novels of the Twelfth Doctor era. Today, Deep Time goes under the microscope, as we speak with author Trevor Baxendale. We also feature two clips from the official BBC audiobook release, read by Dan Starkey. As ever, we feature the contemporary DWM review, and what reviewers on Goodreads have said about it too...