Doctor Who Target Book Club Podcast

Last time we asked the experts what they thought of Malcolm Hulke’s THE CAVE MONSTERS, and this time our regular panelists Alyson Fitch-Safreed and Dalton Hughes are joined (and hosted) by special guest panelist Jenny Ingersoll to give us their semi-novice opinion…and wow, are they ever different! Also, Jenny tells us what potholing really is – which is worth the entire episode, in our opinion. Hi...

Some writers are so good that they have other writers as fans, which is why Target novelist John Peel specifically requested to come on the show to talk about Malcolm Hulke and THE CAVE MONSTERS. (Y’know, those creatures the continuity geeks call “Silurians”?) We’re also joined by fellow podcaster Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg, host of DOCTOR OF THE DEAD, as we try to reproduce the energy we would have h...

Life in plastic? It’s fantastic! But you can’t brush their hair or undress them anywhere – their creation is your extermination! It’s a new era for the podcast, with new artwork by our lovely Ron Schiding, a new arrangement of our theme music by Tony Whitt, and a Terrance Dicks book that feels brand-new! Come join our regular panelists Alyson Fitch-Safreed and Dalton Hughes as they discuss Dicks l...

NOTE: A corrected version of this episode was uploaded at 1:30am CST on Monday, March 11. If you didn't like it the first time because of all those echoes, try it again, won't you? Thank you! It’s the end of the Troughton era, and the moment has been prepared for, with a special extra large panel to deal with the novelization of the extra long story THE WAR GAMES! (You were expecting a Dicks joke?...

Could there actually be some good things to say about this much maligned story from an early Robert Holmes and a late Terrance Dicks? It’s the lowest rated Target book on Goodreads, but surely there’s something good about it? Come join our panelists Alyson Fitch-Safreed and Dalton Hughes as they try to find the few digestible pieces of corn in this old turd – and they succeed! (Kind of.) Featuring...

A freak disruption in the T-Mat system has caused our audio this week to go all FUBAR! (Actually, it’s just a fault in our Discord server, but as you will soon hear, we do have a lot to be upset about.) Not exactly the best way to welcome our guest panelist, Skip Benninghouse from the FICTION PARADOX podcast, but there you go. You’ll be able to hear him just fine, by the way – it’s Tony Whitt and...

Not only are they beautifully designed, they’re tasty and add so much to a boring, average salad…oh, you meant KROTONS. Nope, useless. Good book, dumb monster. But as usual, our three-person panel (including Dalton Hughes and Alyson Fitch-Safreed) have a lot to say about it, and you may actually enjoy it as much as a salad brimming with tasty croutons (though somehow we doubt it). If you’d like to...

What do the Cybermen have in common with Mormon polygamists? If you never thought you’d ever be asking that question then you’ve got to listen to our discussion of Ian Marter’s novelization of THE INVASION! Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Dalton Hughes as they discuss Cybercontinuity, Marter’s penchant for gore, and how UNIT and MST3K exist in the same universe. As Isobel Watkins m...

Where WAS Moses when the lights went out, anyway? How did Jamie lose his face? Even more importantly, how does Jamie suddenly know how to pilot the TARDIS? All of these questions – well, two of them – will be fully answered in our Holiday episode discussing THE MIND ROBBER by Peter Ling. Our usual panelists Tony Whitt and Dalton Hughes are joined by a special guest, Stephen Fodor of the TOO MUCH S...

Just how dull can a kiss get? If it’s on the planet Dulcis, pretty damn dull – and even a bit of domination can’t spice things up. Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Dalton Hughes as they discuss the sadomasochistic stylings of Ian Marter in his novelization of THE DOMINATORS by Norman Ashby (spoiler alert: not a real person). Plus we welcome our new Patron, Jay Berry! If you’d like t...

We have our second live recording and first room party at the best DOCTOR WHO convention in the Midwest, Chicago TARDIS! You’ll hear applause, audience participation, and the interruption of the occasional over-served guest while our three-person discussion discusses Terrance Dicks’ novelization of THE WHEEL IN SPACE! Come join Tony Whitt, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Trey Korte as they discuss this...

EPISODE 41: FURY FROM THE DEEP It’s time for a bit of weeding, or for a hit of weed, depending on your individual tastes. Oh, and don’t forget the nori! If none of this makes any sense yet, then come join our three-person discussion panel, featuring Alyson Fitch-Safreed and Dalton Hughes, as we discuss Victor Pemberton’s novelization of FURY FROM THE DEEP. It still won’t make any sense, but you wo...

EPISODE FORTY-a: 2018 HALLOWEEN SPECIAL It’s finally Halloween, and time for our three-person discussion panel, featuring Alyson Fitch-Safreed and Dalton Hughes, to do something special – for our Halloween Special! Come listen, if you dare…or if you’re just really, really bored, of course. If you’d like to hear more of this sort of quality content, please come visit our Patreon page! It's at https...

It’s Halloween month, and what’s Halloween without a little fear? Come join our three-person discussion panel, featuring Alyson Fitch-Safreed and Dalton Hughes, as we get back to Dicks and discuss his novelization of THE WEB OF FEAR. Now with 100% more Lethbridge-Stewart! If you’d like to hear more of this sort of quality content, please come visit our Patreon page! It's at https://www.patreon.com...

Could Ian Marter’s book be the worst novelization we’ve read so far? By “we,’ we mean our unprecedented two-person discussion “panel,” featuring Dalton Hughes – now with one-third less pretension! And, as it turns out, one-third less script in the book… If you’d like to hear more of this sort of quality content, please come visit our Patreon page! It's at https://www.patreon.com/DWTargetBC. If you...

EPISODE THIRTY-EIGHT: THE ICE WARRIORS Hayles? Hayles! The gang’s all here! And by “gang,” we mean our three-person discussion panel, featuring Alyson Fitch-Safreed and Dalton Hughes, ready to discuss one of only two novelizations the late Brian Hayles did, THE ICE WARRIORS. Get out your parkas, ‘cuz it’s about to get chilly! If you’d like to hear more of this sort of quality content, please come...

What does one panelist call “the best Dicks we’ve had so far”? Why, THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMEN, of course! Come see why our four-person discussion panel, featuring Alyson Fitch-Safreed, Dalton Hughes, and classic panelist Danny Celedon consider this book the pick of the Dicks! If you’d like to hear more of this sort of quality content, please come visit our Patreon page! It's at https://www.patreon.co...

What’s the best Target novelization to feature a sinister plot that makes no sense, cyberbugs that aren’t named after bugs, and people that are named after clothing? Why, TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN by Gerry Davis, of course! Come see what our four-person discussion panel, featuring Jenny Ingersoll, Alyson Fitch-Safreed, and Dalton Hughes, thinks of this classic book despite all of its unavoidable crazin...

To follow up on our discussion of EVIL OF THE DALEKS, we interview author John Peel about this book, talk about his later DOCTOR WHO works, find out about the unusual OUTER LIMITS books he wrote for kids, and ask the question that everyone has about WAR OF THE DALEKS: why, exactly? The answers may shock you! (Or they may not surprise you at all. Listen and find out!) If you’d like to hear more of...

How did we get to Jamie/Kemel slash fiction, FINDING NEMO, and SWEENEY TODD? It’s pretty easy when you have three gay men discussing EVIL OF THE DALEKS! Our diabolical panel this week includes Dalton Hughes and special guest Trey Korte discussing what makes a companion a companion, why Jamie is suddenly awesome, and why we still love John Peel. If you’d like to hear more of this sort of quality co...

MAD MEN, it’s not. Instead, we have a book about kids getting miniaturized snf kidnapped out of airplanes – and not a Mile High Club in sight. Yes, we mean THE FACELESS ONES, written by the prolific author whose name we love to knock, Terrance Dicks. Our not-so-miniature panel this week includes Alyson Fitch-Safreed, Dalton Hughes, and special guest Trey Korte! (Apologies for the sound quality of...

Break out the Rid Shampoo – we’re going to be talking giant crabs! Actually, the crabs we’re discussing in THE MACRA TERROR are far more annoying, and their relationship with humans makes far less sense. We complete our Pride Month episodes with an especially prideful panel, including Jenny Ingersoll, Dalton Hughes, and special guest Trey Korte! (Please note: the sound quality on this one is varia...

We kick off Pride Month with an all-gay panel discussing whether THE CYBERMEN is a homophobic book. (The answer? Anything can be anything if you want it hard enough?) Come join Tony Whitt and co-panelists Dalton Hughes and Danny Celedon to find out whether the Cybermen really are meant to be a bunch of emotionally unavailable yet hunky men in fetish wear…oh. If you’d like to hear more of this sort...

Happy Memorial Day! It’s 92 f**kin’ degrees here in Chicago, so we’re celebrating the holiday by staying indoors and playing trivia against the man who created DOCTOR WHO trivia himself, Nigel Robinson! (That’s actually just the last few minutes of the show – we first ask him lots of questions that you’ve always wanted to ask but never could because he doesn’t know you. So there. Nyah.) If you’d l...

Atlantis (Version 1.0), a city without refrigerators…and a possible slap for Polly?! This week we debate possible sexism and definite lack of plot (albeit not the fault of the author this time) in Nigel Robinson’s novelization of THE UNDERWATER MENACE! Come join host Tony Whitt and a panel comprised of not one but two novice fans, our usual fish o’ the sea Alyson Fitch-Safreed and our fill-in Fish...