A Hamster With a Blunt Penknife - a Doctor Who Commentary podcast

Joe & David; playing top trumps! What is the fear factor of Rachel Jensen, the Tollmaster, Morgaine, The Chief Clown, and Mrs Remmington? Back at The Sunmakers, we’re astonished at how funny and how adult this is. Voyerism, morally ambiguous rebels, and sick executions.

Joe & David; deep diving into social commentary plus musical numbers. Is Joe mad to compare this to Pixar movies? Why is John Leeson the most adorable man alive? The best ever Leela scenes? Why does David love the Collector?

Joe & David; running from the taxman! Why should you go to conventions? Why is this story underrated? Clever, bitingly satirical, witty and surprisingly dark…but has the money run out? Kim Woodbury, Tilda and many Gatherer Hade impressions feature.

Joe & David; discussing the spoilers statue of limitation. Is Joe exhausted or cock jokes? Why is this an unusual episode four? How universal are Doctor Who stories and what can you read into them? Can the story survive the dispatch of Adastra?

Joe & David; scared we might be written out at the end of episode three. What is Chekhov’s eggshell? Who are the camp Divas of Doctor Who? Is Karela Adastra’s mother? Are Tom Baker’s scenes with the Creature some of his Doctor’s best characterisation? All this and more dick jokes. Of course.

Is every story in this season compared to City of Death? What are the Creatures elephantine qualities? What works/doesn’t work about the Creatures realisation. We imagine the Creature versus Kroll! Myra Francis continues to make us hard.

Joe & David; gimp masks galore! Joe is over excited by David’s accent, and we’re both stunned at the marvellous production value. Adastra is FABULOUS, the script is witty, we’re confidently directed by Christopher Barry and and the wolfweeds are teabagging.

Joe & Daniel; bemused at how one the less considered stories of the era has one of the best last episodes. Action! Power pack depletion interpretative mime! Exploding Daleks! Big ideas! Stick around guys, you may want to watch this afterwards.

Joe & Daniel; talking about the 🐹 community. Is this the weakest Davros? Is this tense and exciting or flat and uninteresting? How do we find the logical impasse? We’re still awed by Grieve’s direction but less so by the extras’ death performances.

Joe & Daniel; Terry Nation debate! Was he any good? What were his best stories? Was Destiny a good way to go out? What is the best way to act alongside Daleks? How long is a Rel? Daniel has the answer. Appallingly, Nibbles expresses his dislike of the Williams era.

Joe & Daniel; comedically changing bodies! Season seventeen has begun and we’re astonished that it looks this good. Atmosphere and laughs, and Terry Nation cliches abound. ‘Oh look, rocks!’

Joe & Mark; who thinks up the best Doctor Who themed party? Do we suffer the part three lag here? Is 3-3-7 an appropriately dramatic climax? Does the audience know who the Master is? We’re pissed, and enjoying ourselves immensely.

Joe & Mark; it’s only beginning! Kassia is peak evil and sashays around Traken as if she owns the place and we’re absolutely in love with her. Trigger happy Nyssa? Who has the worse old woman in peril story?

Joe & Mark; and the invention of the new sex app on Traken, Melkr! Swipe left for ‘good’ and right for ‘evil.’ How will your hosts stay sober as the crudeness and Traken references abound! What the hell is the currency on Traken? Who are the space Famous Five?

Joe & Mark; & Traken themed cock(tails). The Traken drinking game starts here! Take a sip every time Traken, Melkur or Keeper are mentioned…or every time Joe makes a rude joke! Try and stay sober 😆😆😆

Pete & Joe; they wouldn’t be told! A genuine love for this story, nostalgic and rose-tinted but with a serious discussion of the beautiful production, fun dialogue and interaction. People hate this season, we don’t. Find out why.

Pete & Joe; having trouble in t'pit. Joe figured nobody would be beating down his door to complete this commentary but as ever Pete Lambert provides surprises and treats galore. Who is going to teach us awesome vocabulary? Are they the arch rivals of Chris Chibnall? The best Tome Lord interactions? The best production values of the 80s? You might come to hear us mock this...and we might just s...

Joe & Frazer & Si; nothing will ever be the same again! Is this interesting, continuity shattering genius or a load of rubbishy exposition? Stick around for last 20 minutes while we take a deep dive into discussing Doctor Who fandom.

Joe & Si & Frazer; ‘THEY KNOW!’ Huge love for a muscular Doctor Who episode that’s ‘kicking the can.’ Terrific music, suspense, action, performances and Cybermen. We adore Ashad, Jodie and even the shitty CyberDrones!

Joe & Jason; we are your servants! Is this the most satisfying episode six? What is the number one on Skaro? Is Dalek dialogue contradictory? Why is the Doctor so callous? Does Bragan have the best downfall of any villain?

Joe & Jason; conquer and destroy! We take a walk through ALL of the Doctor’s debuts…but we agree that Power is the best. Mr Chinn and Marcus Scarman face off! Stunning Dalek animation impresses. What is the best Dalek line?

Joe & Jason; What is Jason’s revolutionary way of watching Doctor Who? Christopher Barry is celebrated, and five minutes about the Tripods. The Daleks are at their devious best and it features one of the best ever cliffhangers.

Joe & Jason; we are your servants! What are the worst Doctor Who stories in terms of scientific accuracy? Who is the unsung hero of the show? Who is holiday this week? Who is exploiting the Daleks for what?

Joe & Jason; espionage on Vulcan! What was Jason’s first exposure to this story? Why is this Joe’s number one ‘I wish they would find this’? Who actually wrote this? Why is Janley such a great character? A cliffhanger of complete suspense!

Joe & Jason; the single most important Doctor Who story in the shows history. Taking liberties with animation? Is it a miracle that this exists in the first place. Is making the new Doctor so mysterious a deliberate creative choice? ‘It’s that damn bank clerk!’