Doctor Who: Verity!

It's April Fools' Day, so we thought we'd bring you something a bit lighter than usual. Join Deb, Erika, Lynne, and Tansy as we discuss the totally-canonical (according to some) PR1ME computer ads Tom Baker and Lalla Ward did in the early 80s. Wait. I should be clearer--Tom and Lalla did these Australian commercials AS the Doctor and Romana. And they are a glorious thing to behold. If you haven't...

It's time to turn our companion-loving eyes toward the ones we can't actually see. Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Tansy as we talk about the companions who have missing episodes. Some are missing more eps than others. Does that affect how fandom feels about them? Does it affect how we feel about them? How do we like to consume the missing stories? And what are good places to start for someone who's nev...

For this week's Extra, we haven't watched anything. Instead, we've been reading! Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Tansy as we talk about the new(ish) line of Doctor Who comics from Titan Comics. We've all read the first five issues of the 10th and 11th Doctors' series, and some of us have read even farther. We discuss what it's like to see the Doctor in 2D form and, even more excitingly, we cover the...

That's right. We're pretty excited about this week's companion topic. Join Deb, Erika, Lynne, and Tansy as we talk about the most educated companions--the academics, the doctors, the scientists, and more. What is it about them that makes them appealing? Is there anything that can be off-putting to audiences? Does Romana count? The answer to that last one is debated hotly (but laughingly)! What do...

It's Extra!-time again. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Tansy as we get a little silly (and tangential...surprise, surprise) while talking about regenerations. What makes a "worthy" regeneration for the Doctor? Which ones make us uncomfortable? What would we like to see in the future? (Besides a better Skype connection...grr.) What would we like to see from the past? All this plus lots of giggles! W...

This week we focus on one companion--the winner of our Verity! companions poll! Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Lynne, as we talk about Ace! Our personal feelings about Ace as a companion are mixed, but we all agree (mostly) on her importance as a companion. It's pretty easy to draw a line between Ace and Rose, and we do just that! We also chat a lot about Ace: as compared to other women on screen at th...

Once again, we bring you a Gallifrey One-based Verity! that we recorded while in the same room! Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Liz as we giggle over convention fun and revel in the rare experience of recording face-to-face. This year's Gally saw many of the Verities on stage (interviewing!), on panels (being erudite and awesome!), and wandering the lobby and halls of the LAX Marriott (having a love...

Time to talk transitions! Join Deb, Erika, Lynne, and Tansy, as we discuss the companions who were there when the Doctor regenerated. How does a carryover companion help (or not help) the audience's reaction to a new Doctor? Which companions handled it well? Which freaked out? All this and plenty more this week! If you're a day-of downloader, four of us (Deb, Erika, Kat, and Liz) are on their way...

We're taking a quick break from our year of companions to provide you with a discussion (and explanation of) fanworks. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, Liz, and guests Anna Livingston (of A Teaspoon And An Open Mind), and Janita Burgess (of the Organization for Transformative Works), as we discuss what fanworks are, what they mean, how they've evolved, where to find them, and much more! Have you created...

Ok, it's finally time to talk about "proper" companions (whatever that means). Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Liz as we talk about the companions that started (and re-started) it all. We're focusing on Susan, Grace, and Rose--the ladies who ushered in each "era" of Doctor Who . We find more parallels than you might expect (certainly more than some of us expected!). What do you think of these "first...

That's right! We're back with another edition of In Defence Of! (And yes, now that I live in Canada, I've started spelling it with a "c". Sometimes.) Join Deb, Erika, Lynne, and Tansy as we try (oh golly do we try) to defend the topics and concepts our dear sweet CRUEL listeners have suggested. "Dimensions in Time"? The eyebrow agenda? The Dalek episodes with the pig people? And even more! This wa...

Our year of companions kicks off in delightful style! Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Tansy as we discuss those Doctor Who characters who were almost companions--those who were slated to become TARDIS travelers but never did, as well as those who we wish had stuck around. Deb accidentally invents a new word*. Kat is thoroughly predictable. Erika unabashedly cheats. And Tansy has a list! Which guest...

Happy 2015 everyone! With a new year comes a new theme for Verity!, and this year's theme is companions! Join Deb, Erika, and Lynne as we talk about what we're planning and why we think the companions are important. We also touch on how we're totally going rogue and shaking up the Episode/Extra structure. We're gonna be wild and crazy this year! Be sure to check out the listener poll and let us kn...

Happy holidays one and all! This week it's an oversized celebration, as we have all six Verities onboard for this ep! Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, Liz, Lynne, and Tansy as we celebrate the season by talking about the last new Doctor Who episode we'll have for a while. It's mostly Christmas cheer all up in here, so if you're looking for a good rant, you're (mostly) in the wrong place. We talk Capaldi,...

This week sees the last entry in our year of villains. Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Lynne as we chat about one of the most interesting villains of them all. Who could it be? Why, it's the Doctor himself! There are more than a few times our beloved "hero" does things that are far less-than-heroic. We talk about a number of examples, why they are (or aren't) really villainous, and even slide into a con...

The year is almost over, but there's still time to finish out our year of villains in style! Join Deb, Erika, Lynne, and Tansy as we talk about the times when the TARDIS has crossed over to the dark side--or seemed to. Or at least acted a little tetchy. Okay, so we realize "villain" is a bit of a strong word, but there were certainly times the TARDIS was antagonistic. And we cover a lot of example...

The moment you've been waiting for (if your name is Liz, anyway) has arrived! Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Liz as we do the second of our listener-voted commentaries. This time we take a trip to the inconsistently convincing old west with 1966's "The Gunfighters". So queue up your DVD (or Hulu+), hit play when we do, and then pop into the comments below and tell us what you think! ^E Related link...

For the second year running, the kind folks at Chicago TARDIS let us do our thing in front of a live audience of Doctor Who fans. Such fun! Join Erika, Liz, and Lynne as we chat about the con and then talk about topics suggested by the audience! Apologies for the possibly-incomplete show notes this time around. I was on stage and didn't take my usual copious notes. If we mention something there's...

Now that new Doctor Who is done for a while, it's time to bring back the Extras! And we're kicking them off in style--with an interview! Deb chatted with Nicola Bryant at LI Who, and she had some interesting things to say, both about Big Finish, and about being a female actor through the years. Before the interview itself, join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Tansy as we talk about Peri's evolution throughou...

Now that it's all over, we look back at Series 8 as a whole. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, Liz, and Tansy as we discuss the characters and themes that made series 8 what it was. We didn't love everything, and (of course) we didn't all love the same things. But we (again, of course) find plenty to chew over after this, one of the most challenging series of Doctor Who to date. What did you think of S8?...

And with that, it's over--for another six weeks, anyway. Series 8 has come to a close, and its final episode has rather a lot to chew over. Join Deb, Erika, and Katrina as we delve into some of those elements: Missy/The Master, Clara as the Doctor, the evolution of lying, the self-realization of the Doctor... There are so many elements, however, that some of them will be left for next week, when w...

The season finale has finally arrived! Or part one of it has, anyway. It's safe to say that most of the Verities are preeeeety excited about it. Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Tansy as we  enthusiastically flail and squee and jabber about all there is to love and speculate about "Dark Water". There's a lot to chew on here. There's also a bit of a Skype lag, which causes some simultaneous talking, but t...

Welcome to what's probably the least enthusiastic episode of Verity! this series. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Tansy as we mull over what we thought of this episode. While there are no real strong feelings about the story, we're unanimous in our appreciation of the direction of Sheree Folkson. If nothing else, this was a gorgeous episode! And of course, we make time for some more examination of t...

Welcome to a squeeful episode of Verity! We loved this episode, and we're not afraid to show it! Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Tansy as we pick this one apart--in a(n almost entirely) good way! Liz manages to come up with some complaints, but they're almost all laughably minor. Mostly we spend time talking about Clara and the Doctor. And what could be better, really? What did you think of "Flatline"?...

Finally! An episode that's less-than-controversial! Well...for the most part. We Verities can find controversy just about anywhere. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Liz as we muse over all there is to love about this story. Of course, I did mention controversy...though this time it's minor and mostly revolves around the flirting (or lack thereof, depending whom you agree with)--but that argument will...