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

Joe & John; they could be crawling with germs! Doctor Who = panto/Pixar? Dirty jokes in Doctor Who? How do you ensure promise and delivery? Is this the perfect ‘introduce a kid to Doctor Who’ story? How do you structure in a huge plot twist as how much do you labour the explanation?

Joe & John; nothing serious, nothing political. We discuss ambition, experimental effects work, horror movies, ambiguous plot explanations, Robert Holmes’ Dhal-sequel humour & political leanings influencing work. Occasionally discuss we discuss the story.

Joe & John; more intelligent than whelks! How much should a writer use their expectations against them? What’s the difference between a twist and a surprise? What is the best & worst kind of cliffhanger? How much do you need to suspend your disbelief? More writerly smarts abound. Enjoy.

Joe & John; 99 skidoo! Occasionally we talk about Carnival, but we also cover the works of Robert Holmes, Big Finish stories, recasting, Oscar winners, character actors, why Doctor Who has to be funny, and who scores best in that respect. A fascinating man, and an engaging conversation.

Pete & Joe & BENNI! This is it folks. The best Doctor Who episode of all time. Despicable Dregs, dysfunctional families, fabulous Furries, annoying OAPs, a brilliant Doctor, plots for each companion, a moral message, tragedy, horror, drama, comedy, and very rude jokes! ‘That doesn’t sound like my Benni...’

Joe & Pete; swingers in Morton Harwood! Sinister covens, countless phone calls, everyone dunnit, honking wards, plummeting plant sales, terrifying tractors and hateful Hecate! ‘Oh Doctor, you didn’t forget...’.

Joe & Lucy; following Doctor Who’s safety advice following a nuclear power station exploding. Exploding jeeps, spaghetti horrors, an unreliable Doctor, hunks aplenty, peak Jo Grant hysteria snd a temporal arc. Oh Lucy, it seems we are some sort of galactic yo-yos!

Joe & Lucy; which is it to be Brigadier? The right Doctor for the right time? Favourite Brig moments, intrusive music, the truth about Kent landscape, a sardonic, frustrated Master, a knackered TARDIS and a new scientific advisor. ‘Stick tape on the windows, that sort of thing.’

Joe & Lucy; ❤️s Adric, Mike Yates, Turlough and the Master. Lamenting human greed, dramatic expediency, realistic direction vs insane writing, nuclear Armageddon incoming, and hideous duvet creatures! Axos! Axonite! It’s all the same thing!

Joe & Lucy; destruct, destruct, destruct! Overdone Chinns, rubber chicken spaceships, a prickly Doctor, sexy soldiers, insane spaceship interiors, digestible tramps and woolly Axon Man. We don’t need mind altering drugs watching this!

Joe & Colin; releasing ourselves from the misguided maxims that you nurture can we be free! Ronald McDonald at rave, the Doctor hamming it up, Pip’n’Jane lexicographical education, Sidney Carton heroics (?), and a megabyte modem!

Joe & Colin; with evidence that may halt this Trial immediately. If you hate the Trial, look elsewhere! We’re hugely enamoured with the twists, the atmosphere, the guests actors, the magnificent Colin Baker and an arc before they were done throwing out incredible surprises. Now we’re getting at the dirt!

Joe & Mark; where people know how to enjoy themselves! We talk extensively about coming out as Doctor Who fans. We’re troubled by the scene in the Forum, but are blissfully in love with the final confrontation. We both want a proper Kandy Man sequel. Happiness will Prevail!

Joe & Mark; we can’t do anything without our list now, can we? An obscene amount of love for the Kandyman, an intoxicating mixture of light and dark, why Helen A is more competent than Boris Johnson & gorgeous, fruity, very quotable dialogue.

Joe & Mark; have a nice death! Mark is a podcast host so we share mutual questions. A tooled up hen party, theme tune tales, the joy of humanoid villains, Ace and her female companions, a love of Sylvester McCoy and a fabulous way to die.

Joe & Nathan; where love has never been known for its rationality. Real 50s tunes, Joe gets horny, the Doctor has a gorgeous entourage, there’s a spectacularly silly and funny climax and a touching, thoughtful and uplifting coda. Here’s to the future!

Joe & Nathan; not the Happy Hearts Holiday Club from Bolton. Delta, the template for NuWho? We discuss the series’ greatest romances. We’re bewitched by Keff, the sunshine, the airiness and the action. Love is the answer.

Joe & Nathan; being kind, lending dresses. A tremendously fun, frolicking, irreverent adventure in one of Nathan’s favourite periods of the show. Dodd, dresses, waltzing, musical numbers, unrequited love and a sweet, sweet Doctor. It’s a love story.

Joe & David; we are beautiful, are we not? We identify the location of the title sequence. Huge love, admiration, talk tales and trivia about the glamorous superstar Dolores Grey! We surely do, honey, we surely do!

Joe & David; they were invisible! Dreadful impressions of incredible acting, character options ideas, Top Trump card tales, disco Cybermen, convention tales, ‘what are you, social workers?’, a Lady Peinforte porno?, and we discuss the best way of watching Silver Nemesis.

Joe & David; riding the back of time in Silver Nemesis; the Musical. Hot Nazis, trajectory’s decaying, the Doctor/companion dream team, destiny beckons!, an autograph seance, a fez, guilty pleasures, name dropping, awkward transitions, and a discussion about companions screaming.

Joe & Mr Jeff; awkward after a kiss at New Years. A fabulous fresh take on the Daleks, epic visuals, a Doctor to love, a blisteringly good score, Chekhov’s microwave, masterful character work and an ending the offers great hope for the future. What’s not to love?

Joe & Si; and the red hot Dino action with music from The Chase! Or should that be Je t’aime? Conspirators finally brought to justice and a moral message. What is the real secret of UNIT dating? Si delivers the ultimate punishment to people who STILL don’t like this story.

Joe & Si; Going Underground! Ep5 padding or is it the best character work of the story? Tight denim, a special John Levene commentary, the tea mans comeuppance, Martin Jarvis’ reading, traitors unveiled and soldiers smoking fags! Joe sings, but you can skip that bit.

Joe & Si; hunting conspirators! Mop versus Pterodactyl, left wing fascists, over the top space cars, Allo’ Allo’ quotes, we’re going Underground, serious wall wobbling, and more raaaw-ring 🦖 Jeremy Corbyn features, and Si swears 😳