The Cloister Room

Tom and Louis have reached the end of their wanderings at last. But there's still time to discuss one more episode of Doctor Who. And some other stuff. “Fluidscape” by Kevin MacLeod licensed under CC BY 3.0 The Cloister Room is over, but watch this space in 2016.

On the penultimate episode of The Cloister Room, Tom and Louis leave the TARDIS to journey to a galaxy far, far away. There are spoilers.

With Series Nine behind them, Tom and Louis journey to the land of fiction, where topics of discussion include the Doctor's fictionality, face blindness, and people that are horses.

Tom and Louis visit scenic Gallifrey and have a nice bowl of soup. Topic include memory wipes, immortality, and whether this is or isn't the best series of Doctor Who ever.

Trapped in their own bespoke torture castle, Tom and Louis must confess their shocking opinions about Peter Capaldi's new one-man show. Topics include skull ecology, confession dial procedure, and of course, hybrids.

On a hidden street Tom and Louis must discuss the latest episode of Doctor Who, or they may be forced to face the raven...

This audio was recovered from the computers of Tom Dickinson and Louis Mitas after they discussed Sleep No More.

Tom and Louis stand in a room in the Black Archive, their hands poised over buttons on opposing Osgood boxes. What will it be? Truth, or Consequences? Who is a human and who is a Zygon? All will (perhaps) be revealed!

Tom and Louis are back for another episode of The Cloister Room. But are they both truly who they seem to be? Or could either one of them be a Zygon in disguise? Or does it even really matter, in the end? All of this and more will be revealed in the latest episode of The Cloister Room, discussing The Zygon Invasion!

  Louis and Tom venture to regency England for an encounter with the mysterious highwayman known as the Knightmare. Topics of discussion include Mire-pattern baldness, the Lion King, and the color mauve.  

Tom and Louis have their long-awaited encounter with the mysterious Girl Who Died. But who is she? The Rani? Susan? Romana? Or something far stranger? Topics of discussion include the Doctor's face, iPhones, and eel habitats.

Journey with Tom and Louis back Before the Flood. Topics of discussion include secret workplace romance, the Fisher King's pseudo-death protocols, and the Doctor's vlog. All this plus missing episodes, Big Finish, and more! more! more!

Tom and Louis journey Under the Lake (well, *into* the lake, at any rate), for a discussion of the latest adventure with the Doctor and Clara. Topics of discussion include candy, cliffhangers, and Class.

That witch is familiar, isn't she? Tom and Louis talk about the conclusion of the Doctor's adventure on Skaro, and topics of discussion include how to write a good title, Kaledizing Davros, and Dalek strategy.

It's back! Doctor Who is back on our screens! Tom and Louis discuss the long-awaited premiere of series nine, and weigh in on the Doctor, Missy, Clara, and all the surprise reveals and whatnot. Also discussed is the theatrical screening of Dark Water/Death in Heaven. There's so much going on we forget to even mention Jenna Coleman's officially confirmed departure from Doctor Who! Oops! All this, and stay to the end for a (moderately) important announcement.

Tom and Louis revisit an old premise, discussing both the iconic Hartnell story The Dalek Invasion of Earth and its cinematic adaptation starring Peter Cushing. Topics of discussion include Bernard Cribbins, the allure of the post-apocalyptic, and just what exactly the Daleks wanted to do with Earth.

Tom and Louis chart a course for one of Big Finish's most celebrated release, the chilling Chimes of Midnight. Topics of discussion include classic automobiles of the United Kingdom, companion-driven story arcs, Doctor Who's ulitmate get-out-of-death-free card, and… well, a lot of stuff about pudding.

This week, Tom and Louis pick up the funnybooks and talk about the first ten issues of the Tenth Doctor series from Titan Comics. Topics of discussion include the literary theory of comics, and David Tennant's face.

Tom and Louis journey into the pages of Paul Cornell's novel Human Nature, featuring the Seventh Doctor and Bernice Summerfield! Along the way, comparisons to the televised adaptation with David Tennant ensue. There is much talk of pears.  

Tom and Louis journey to Satellite Five to experience the Ninth Doctor's final stand, but are they just looking at the past through Rose colored glasses? 

After a week's rest, Tom and Louis are back to discuss the Seventh Doctor and Ace's adventure in a Nazi POW camp–Colditz! Topics of discussion include Klein's golden age, lasers, and how David Tennant's face is like a chicken parm sandwich.

Once again a day late (we're not making a habit of it, we swear), Tom and Louis journey back into the archives of Big Finish to discuss the Fifth Doctor audio the Kingmaker, in all its historical hilarity. Topics of discussion include Shakespeare discontinuity, misdirection with the Master, and the Fourth Doctor's Big Finish pseudo-debut.

A day late but by no means a dollar short, this bumper edition of The Cloister Room features discussions of two different stories, bookending the Key to Time season--The Ribos Operation and The Armageddon Factor! If that turns out to be just slightly less than enough for you, how about a discussion of the new trailer for Series Nine of Doctor Who? Or how about a completely unrelated tangent about Animorphs? What are you waiting for? This thing is like an hour and a half long!

Tom and Louis take a side step into the world of animation for a discussion of the 2003 webcast, Scream of the Shalka, starring Richard E. Grant as the Doctor! Topics of discussion include animation budgets, robot roommates, and the new series that never was.

Tom and Louis have put a stop to their random wanderings. Invigorated by a new sense of directional purpose, and harangued by an artificially intelligent piece of junk mail, they journey to the Psychic Circus to discuss the Sylvester McCoy classic, The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. Topics of discussion include evil kites, fruit vending best practices, and just how psychic that circus really is, anyway.

Randomly, Tom and Louis wind up on the fanciest of mining crafts, for a discussion of the Fourth Doctor classic, The Robots of Death! Topics of discussion include hallucinogens, growing up with robots, and rich assholes.

Random chance brings Tom and Louis to the Celestial Toymaker's terrifying toyroom, where random chance is basically the only thing that's going on. Topics of discussion include George and Margaret, Dodo's loved ones, the curse of the Trilogic game, and racism.  

Random wandering brings Tom and Louis to the point just before they began podcasting together--the two-part finale of the 2010 series, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang! Topics include the mysterious voice that says "Silence Will Fall," the Jim Carrey version of the Doctor, and the Sontaran's fashionable carrying accessories.

Tom and Louis randomly arrive in the vast HD deserts of Dubai for a discussion of the David Tennant Easter-avaganza, Planet of the Dead. We won't give away what they thought of the story but let's just say the explicit tag was quickly earned. Topics of discussion also include Dalek pets and getaway drivers.

Tom and Louis find their way through random wandering to the mysterious planet Ravalox for a discussion of The Mysterious Planet. Topics of discussion include double acts, the Doctor's presidency, and the ideal placement of audiovisual equipment in Gallifreyan courtrooms.

In their random wanderings, Tom and Louis are brought to the Power of Kroll, for a discussion of green body paint, CSO, ethical treatment of Swampies, and the career of Robert Holmes.

Tom and Louis continue their random journeys through the classic series with this discussion of the Jon Pertwee classic--Frontier in Space! After already having watched the second leg of this mega-epic, Planet of the Daleks. Topics include architecture, lady presidents, and the mind probe.

After an hiatus in the early months of 2015, Tom and Louis return to The Cloister Room! From here on out, new episodes will be posted weekly. This week we continue our random journey through Doctor Who by discussing The King's Demons! Topics of discussion include musical kings and Adric's ghost.

This week Tom and Louis discuss the Shakespeare Code! Topics of discussion include the Harry Potter dating controversy, and the genius of the audience member.

It's Christmas time! Well, okay, it's not. But at any rate it's time to listen to Tom and Louis discuss their reaction to the episode of Doctor Who that aired when it WAS Christmas time. Topics include dream crab family life and a certain special Christmas song. And it's not by Wham!

It's almost Christmas and Santa Claus is coming to town, but surely it's not too late for us to finally release our episode on Death in Heaven? Topics of discussion include Cyberkid, LI Who 2, and personal pronouns.

Part one of the two-part finale is here! Tom and Louis discuss Missy's big reveal, the latest development on Danny, and lots, lots more.

As Series Eight hurtles toward its conclusion, Tom and Louis confer over the third-to-last episode. Topics of discussion include zoo management and the Doctor's brother.

Series Eight rolls on and Tom and Louis roll on accordingly. In this, their discussion of flatline, topics include iPad bezels and evil geniuses.

Another week, another new episode! Tom and Louis discuss Mummy on the Orient Express. Tom derails the discussion with spoilers for the Big Finish audio "The Boy That Time Forgot" (so, y'know, look out for that), and Louis has Train Beefs.  

Series Eight of Doctor Who continues with a trip to the moon. We talk about the Doctor's DVD collection, the US Presidency, and... well, the abortion thing. We talk about that.

Halfway through the season! Tom and Louis discuss the latest episode, The Caretaker. Topics of discussion include the dietary habits of sand piranhas and the use of cherry bombs.  

Another week, another new episode of Doctor Who! We truly are spoiled. Tom and Louis take some time out to discuss whether the heist is sufficiently heisty.   

It's the Cloister Room's one hundredth episode and Tom and Louis have one heck of an episode to discuss--Capaldi's latest adventure, "Listen." Topics of discussion include the ups and downs of future spacesuit fashion, and an important public service announcement for your health.

Another week, another new episode! Louis and Tom talk about the Doctor's journey to Sherwood Forest. Topics of discussion include cuts and edits, swords and spoons.  

Louis and Tom discuss Capaldi's second big outing, and his first showdown against the Daleks.  Topics of discussion include the two halves of fiction, tea in heaven, and soldiers.

Louis and Tom set their random wanderings aside--Doctor Who is back on television! Obviously, this episode is about Capaldi's first outing as the new Dr. Who.

It's the eve of Peter Capaldi's first big outing as the Doctor, but who cares about that? Random selection has brought Tom and Louis to an idyllic village in the country where the Rani is up to no good. Topics of discussion include barren philosophies and wild endeavours.  

Random selection brings Tom and Louis to a spaceship, and also France. The origins of the Moffat era are uncovered, and the trials and tribulations of future spam filtering are discussed.

The whims of the randomizer bring Tom and Louis to one of 2013's recently rediscovered gems: The Enemy of the World. Louis has some less than entirely kind words about Fedorin, while Tom praises Salamander's efficient use of space.