Who's Who is the CSICON Network's very own show about Doctor Who! Publishing every other Wednesday, we discuss old episodes and serials as we discover the show.
This week on Who's Who, we get to Fear Her. Her, obviously, being the person who thought this script was a good idea, because this episode was absolutely dreadful.
Sometimes, low expectations yield the greatest results.
Here's one from the archives! ... kind of. Turns out this episode was lost along the way, but has now been uncovered and published! Enjoy!
There you have it, folks. One hundred and fifty episodes in the can. And what better set of episodes to discuss than .. THE SATAN PIT!
Don't you just hate it when you record a perfectly good episode of a podcast, edit it, and then go out for a walk with your dogs while it exports to MP3, only to return and foget all about it for the next five days? ... What, that's never happened to you? Oh. Well, it happened to me, hence this episode being released on a Sunday rather than a Wednesday. In other news, alternate reality stories continue to be "Oh, isn't that highly relevant person/thing/device quirky?" rather than "This universe is the same as the one we're from, except pig flatulence is now visible to the human eye... That is also the only difference." Why don't they ever end up in that universe? Or the universe that is the same as theirs because the differentiating point happens in the future? Or how about they travel to an alternate universe where cockroaches can hear infrared radiation .. and everything else is exactly the same? On that note, why don't they ever end up in a parallel universe where the Earth was never formed and, instead, the moon is inhabited by a super-intelligent race of goat-sharks? Statistically speaking, that should be just as likely as any other universe they end up in, so why do they always seem to end up in the ones where the differences are obvious and quirky, but not life-threatening or so massive that they can't blend in nicely?
With a title like The Girl in the Fireplace a "double-the title", we figured this episode could be about anything, so long as there was a girl in a fireplace at some point. What we found was that this episode was just about the best we've seen in a long long time. Show notes and links: "Doctor Who" The Girl in the Fireplace (TV Episode 2006) (imdb.com) Euros Lyn - IMDb (imdb.com) Sophia Myles - IMDb (imdb.com)
Every ten years or so, people go back to the schools they came from and reunite with their old classmates, hoping that they'll find everybody to be miserable and worthless so that they look better in comparison. This episode has nothing to do with that phenonmenon, but there is a reunion with an old friend, and it does happen at a school, so the title is technically correct, which we all know is the best kind of correct.
God is a wolf. A big powerful wolf. The wolf is powerful. The wolf is God... Or so we're led to believe. And are we amused? Heck to the yeah, we're amused!
New Doctor, New Earth, New Episode. Funny how these things work out.
New season, new Doctor. Time to see what this "Tennant" Guy is all about!
Now, it's not exactly clear how or why this happened, but a few minutes into the episode, Breki begins to sound like a Dalek. There is no reason to fear, however, since he has not changed species and has no interest in any Dalek-like activity, whether that be EX-TERM-I-NATE or OB-LIT-E-RATE. He doesn't even want you to EX-PLAIN. ... There's just something wrong with his audio. Better luck next time!
Oh, look, it's the Slitheen! Glad to see the writers have forgotten about the constant farting, because that was ... well, it was getting a little old, really.
It's a double-episode feature today, as Petter and Breki sit down to discuss that World War Two throwback horror spectacle that is The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances... Are you my mummy?
Sorry, everbody! Life just got in the way and we had to take longer off for the Christmas season than we expected. But here we are again, and what better place to go than ... well, our next episode in the series? Welcome to Father's Day. Show notes and links: Father's Day (Doctor Who) - Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) Father's Day (TV story) | Tardis (wikia.com)
Have you ever followed a TV series that you liked, and then they released an episode that was so groundbreakingly awesome that you just knew that whatever they followed it up with would be a disappointment? Yeah, last week's Dalek was that groundbreakingly awesome episode, and The Long Game ... well, to be honest, it wouldn't have been anything to write home about even without Dalek.
Sometimes, you find sympathy for the most unlikely of aliens. Show notes and links: A Lukewarm Defence of Fifty Shades of Grey (The Movie) (youtube.com) A Lukewarm Defence of Fifty Shades Part 2: Things Go Downhill Very Quickly (youtube.com)
This week on Who's Who, the lads tacke the so-called "farting aliens" episode. It's actually a lot better than those three words make it sound. And the Sletheen, whose homeworld is Raxacoricofallapatorius, are among the creepiest-looking aliens we've seen in quite some time.
Hi, we're Breki and Petter. You might remember us from a Doctor Who podcast we used to run right here on this very network. Well, here's the thing ... We're back, baby! Okay, so technically we were never really gone, we've just had terrible luck with planning and technology of late. Hope things'll be better from here on in.
It's the end of the world as we know it ... is not a song that features prominently in this episode of Doctor Who, but we do get some Britney Spears, so it's not all bad.
After a brief hiatus as they explored some other shows, Breki and Petter return to the one thing that they are good at - watching Doctor Who and talking about it. This time around, however, they've arrived at the first episode of "New Who", the episode named Rose. Show notes and links: Image - The Doctor gives the signal.jpg | Who Wiki (wikia.com) The people behind Doctor Who doesn't do Photoshop very well. Avenging with Jesus Art Print by breki (society6.com) Breki does Photoshop better, no matter what Petter says.
The final episode of a television series is a dramatic thing. Do we get a resolution to the stories that we've become so invested in? Do we finally learn the answers to the questions we've been asking over the years? Do we look back on the series as having been a satisfying trip from beginning to end? ... Or do we get a weird underground lair, the yourself-as-your-enemy allegory and a surprising over-use of Dem Bones ?
It's funny how true to the pattern things can be - a good episode of the series and a bad episode of the series, and somehow they always end up next to each other, paired up for us to cover simultaneously. Show notes and links: "The Prisoner" The Girl Who Was Death (TV Episode 1968) (imdb.com) "The Prisoner" Once Upon a Time (TV Episode 1968) (imdb.com) The Prisoner - behind the scenes (youtube.com) The documentary we will be watching together with _Fall Out_ for our next, and final, episode.
In words more befitting a review of Doctor Who than The Prisoner, this week we go back to the Wild West and take part in an adventure that eventually turns out to have scientifically advanced machinations behind it. Then - paranoia upon paranoia - as paranoid people do paranoid things to make the paranoid even paranoider.
Looks like I forgot to publish this one. Yeah, that's what happens when you're in crunch mode and every living minute goes to the code on the screen in front of you. You pass in and out of consciousness, the days begin to melt into each other and eventually you find out that you've forgotten to publish a podcast. Don't start developing, my children. Being a developer means never being happy with your code.
It's funny how one of the worst episodes and one of the best episodes of The Prisoner arrive the same week. But that's what they did. Still; it's not all bad. We learned a new phrase this week; "Don do rodo-roi."
A month can seem like such a short time when you're having fun - but when you're waiting for another podcast episode of Petter and Breki talking about The Prisoner - an entire month is just way too long to wait. But wait no more! The episode. It is here. Show notes and links: The Prisoner (TV Series 1967–1968) - Full Cast & Crew (imdb.com) Peter Brace - IMDb (imdb.com) This link has no title (imdb.com) John Castle - IMDb (imdb.com) The Prisoner - The General (youtube.com) Peter Bowles - IMDb (imdb.com) Annette Carell - IMDb (imdb.com) Katherine Kath - IMDb (imdb.com) Colin Gordon - IMDb (imdb.com)
Another Wednesday, another deep dive into The Prisoner. This week, we're looking at Checkmate and The Schizoid Man, two episodes where Number Six gets closer than ever to winning.. Show notes and links: Prisoner Convention Portmeirion Six of One McGoohan Home Page (portmeiricon.com)
In our second week of this mid-season extra mini-series, we tackle the next two episodes of The Prisoner, namely Dance of the Dead and Chimes of Big Ben. Deep philosophical discussions ensue.
On this very special episode of Who's Who, we're launching our mini-mini series, Who Is Number One?, a look at the good old television series The Prisoner. We'll be back to Doctor Who in just a few weeks, don't worry. Here's the episode order we'll be doing them in (Our current plan, at least): (This Episode) Arrival + Free For All Dance of the Dead + Chimes of Big Ben Checkmate + The Schizoid Man The General + A. B. and C. Many Happy Returns + It's Your Funeral. A Change of Mind + Do Not Forsake Me Oh My My Darling Living In Harmony + Hammer into Anvil The Girl Who was Death + Once Upon a Time Fall Out
It's been a wild journey, but we're finally done with the classic Doctor Who stories. Let's take a look back at what got us from there to here - and let's talk about what comes next.
So it's come to this. Dec 3, 2013 - that's when we released the first episode of this show... And today, April 28th, 2018, we're releasing the final episode ... of Season one. Because we've just finished the Doctor Who TV movie and are done with "classic" Doctor Who ! It's been an amazing journey, folks, and we have lots more to come, so stay tuned! Show notes and links: Doctor Who (TV Movie 1996) (imdb.com)
So; it's come to this. After starting the show all the way back in December of 2013, we never thought we'd get this far - but here we are... At the very end of the series. And boy, oh boy, was this a disappointment. Don't get me wrong; there have been some great things along the way, and most of the final couple of seasons were really good! ... But then it ends on this ... thing. This ... Survival; the Serial of Suck ...
It's the penultimate serial. It's the last serial with a non-Master villain. It's the last time we get to see the Doctor and Ace solving a viking-related mystery. So many lasts.
It's the third from the last serial in classic Who, and we're really beginning to feel the panic. What will our lives look like after we run out of show? What will we do with our lives? It will be so ... so empty. Show notes and links: "Doctor Who" Ghost Light: Part One (TV Episode 1989) (imdb.com) "Doctor Who" Ghost Light: Part Two (TV Episode 1989) (imdb.com) "Doctor Who" Ghost Light: Part Three (TV Episode 1989) (imdb.com)
You know, the anagram for this serial's name is "It fell at bed", which is alot more amusing and entertaining than anything that happens in this serial ... unfortunately.
While this episode might not be the greatest show in the galaxy, it's definitely way up there. There's all kinds of goodness here, even a rap by none other than your host, Breki! A must-listen.
As far as nemesises ... nemesees... namesisses... Neemeesees ... Enemies .. go. You'd really want one made of silver. It's a malleable metal and has a relatively low melting point, so the enemy has a lot of weak points for you to attack. ... Which is a pretty good description of how we feel about this episode, too. Show notes and links: "Doctor Who" Silver Nemesis: Part One (TV Episode 1988) (imdb.com)
On one level, this is another silly episode of Doctor Who, featuring a mode of execution that involves drowning people in candy syrup and a villain who is literally made of Basset Allsorts. On another level, this is a triumphant standpoint against Thatcherism and the anti-gay laws being passed in the United Kingdom. On a third level, this serial is a meditation on the being - or not being - of happiness as a state in and of itself, restricted in a sense by not knowing alternate states... This serial is, perhaps, both of these things. And so much more. Don't be put off by the cover when you read this book. Show notes and links: The Happiness Patrol - Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Happiness Patrol (bbc.co.uk) The Happiness Patrol: Doctor Who classic episode #16 | Television & radio (theguardian.com) Doctor Who S25 E2 "The Happiness Patrol" / Recap (tvtropes.org)
Remember the Daleks? No? Well; The Doctor does. He even has a long and exposition:y scene in the second episode that's all about the Daleks and his history with them. What follows is then another two and a half episodes of greatness. Really. This was a really good serial.
In an episode with no real dragons and very little fire to speak of, we're left wondering if it's truly as ace as they say it is. Maybe ... Just maybe ... It's a little bitt naff? Show notes and links: "Doctor Who" Dragonfire: Part One (TV Episode 1987) (imdb.com) Patricia Quinn - IMDb (imdb.com) Mel Bush Page: Head Games (tetrap.com) BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - Dragonfire (bbc.co.uk)
In this week's episode, we meet Delta, who is being chased by some dude and his Bannermen. Together with the Doctor and Mel, they take a bus to the late 50s, where her egg hatches and she has a green baby who grows up to be a less green baby that is able to make two different kinds of sounds. Eventually, the man who has the bannermen sets a trap on the Tardis that he manages to walk into himself. The end. Show notes and links: Delta and the Bannermen (TV story) | Tardis (wikia.com)
Aaah, it's an idyllic vacation spot, the Paradise Towers. Come see the robotic cleaners, the high tech accomodations and the pool on the top floor! ... Or at least, that's how it would have sounded a while back. Now, you'll be lucky to get out of there alive! Show notes and links: Paradise Towers - Wikipedia (wikipedia.org) "Doctor Who" Paradise Towers: Part One (TV Episode 1987) (imdb.com) “Paradise Towers” (avclub.com) PARADISE TOWERS – Adventures with the Wife in Space (wifeinspace.com) Paradise Towers written by Stephen Wyatt and directed by Nicholas Mallett (docohobigfinish.blogspot.se) Paradise Towers (TV story) | Tardis (wikia.com)