Kasterborous Classic TV: Exploring Doctor Who & Classic Sci-Fi

Missing episodes - it's something of a grokking topic for Doctor Who fans. One minute they're lost, the next they turn up. Indeed, even for the Kasterborous PodKast (with a "K") we recently unearthed lost material that we had intended to bring to you today... only for it to vanish from the K Towers Matrix Databanks when it came to editing. Fortunately, thanks to former Ugandan despot Idi Amin (unl...

Thanks to a leaked memo forcing the BBC's hand over the past couple of days, we're putting our scheduled show on hold to discuss the shock news of Matt Smith's departure from Doctor Who . That's right, the popular Eleventh Doctor is close to the end, even if it may not be at Trenzalore, and this week's hosts James McLean and Christian Cawley have plenty to muse over. To start off with, there's Mat...

It's a two-hander this week with James McLean providing company for Christian Cawley - and you, dear listener - as we look in-depth at a few important Doctor Who topics. First and foremost, we discuss The Crimson Horror . You should really have worked that out from the title of this week's podKast (with a "K"), of course. Following this, Christian makes a revelation - that he feels there is someth...

It's time for the Kasterborous podKast (with a "K") to turn its attention to Doctor Who 's triumphant return of the Ice Warriors in our Cold War review. Once again without Brian Terranova, this is another two-hander with James McLean and Christian Cawley mulling over the Mark Gatiss episode, discussing the casting and the monster redesign. But we're not going to simply talk about the new episode -...

Following news that Steven Moffat considers his time on Doctor Who to be closer to the end than the beginning, and that he - like Matt Smith - takes things one year at a time, could it be that we are approaching the end of an era? That's the angle for this week's Kasterborous podKast (with a "K") in which Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the current situation, with added recollection of c...

Hi there, Kasterborites! Welcome to this week's exciting podKast (with a "K") in which we cover everything from crappy PR statements that talk down to us to fielding questions for a coming chat with a Doctor Who scriptwriting prodigy... But don't let any of that disturb you from your baked beans and chips, your soap operas and your wooly jumpers. Instead, we'll leave you wishing that you too could...

Dear Kasterborite, it is March, Doctor Who is back within a matter of days, so to get you in the mood here is the latest Kasterborous podKast (with a "K")! The full team of Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova is on board this week to discuss a selection of topical and interesting subjects. If you're intrigued by the possibility of former companions turning up in the Doctor Who 50th...

Have you ever been embarrassed by being a Doctor Who fan? Is embarrassment a terminal plague upon your love of the series, or do you wear fandom on your sleeve, cosplaying at conventions and generally having a lot of fun with things? This strange collision of approaches - dressing up vs self loathing - is the main topic of discussion in this week's Kasterborous podKast (with a "K") in which we tal...

In our first podKast (with a "K") of 2013, Christian Cawley and James McLean recall the 2012 Christmas special The Snowmen , while looking forward to Series 7 and the 50th anniversary. In particular, you can hear them discussing Jenna-Louise Coleman as the new companion Clara, the Doctor's wonderful temporary home in the clouds and the interesting question of cross-species sexuality raised by the...

It's podKast time again, and with Christmas just under a week away James McLean and Christian Cawley opt to keep things light and seasonal... Covering topics such as Christmas habits (in which Christian recalls the wonderful BBC adaptation of The Box of Delights which starred Second Doctor Patrick Troughton) and our own favourite Doctor Who moments (on or off TV) of the past year - look out for me...

A little later than usual, it's time for the podKast! This week, Christian, James McLean and Brian Terranova discuss the horror that is.... Pip and Jane Baker! The husband-and-wife team had four sets of scripts on Doctor Who in the 1980s: Mark of the Rani, Terror of the Vervoids, The Ultimate Foe part 2 (both from the Trial of a Time Lord season) and Time and the Rani . Some of these adventures ar...

In this week's Kasterborous podKast (with a "K") James McLean and editor Christian Cawley chat about recent news developments concerning Russell T Davies, from Torchwood to Wizards vs Aliens and, of course, the Doctor Who graphic novel that wasn't. We also spend a few moments talking about the Rani and the cyclical abandoning of writers from previous eras throughout the show's history, something t...

Former Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel (1987-1989) joins us this week to chat about a new project, reviving the "Cartmel Masterplan" - Doctor Who Fan Fiction Illustrated! With Hans Christian Vang as his partner for this exciting new crowdsourcing proposal, Andrew is onboard to further the legendary "Cartmel Masterplan" - the term given to the restoration of mystery and mystique that typifi...

This week's podKast (with a "K") takes a slightly different flavour as Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss Doctor Who non-fiction, specifically reference books. Armed with a copy of Lance Parkin's A History and Paul Scoones' The Comic Strip Companion: 1964-1979 , your hosts spend time simply delving in at random and discussing the results! This makes for a wide-ranging conversation, enhanced...

We've been talking about doing this podKast for literally months, but thanks to the end of Series 7 we've finally got around to dedicating a podKast to arguably Doctor Who 's most divisive producer, John Nathan-Turner! Starting with his first series in charge and making reference to his success as a production unit manager, we look at how Doctor Who changed during his stewardship, how the BBC chan...

We're taking you out of the madness of waiting for the next episode of Doctor Who with this as Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss Doctor Who comic strips! With special guest Gareth Kavanagh (Vworp Vworp! magazine) on hand to offer an alternate opinion on all things Doctor Who Magazine, IDW and even a few words about Paul Scoones' The Comic Strip Companion 1964-1979, we discuss classic Eight...

Christian Cawley, Brian Terranova and James McLean discuss a selection of Doctor Who-related subjects! Starting off with James' review of The Crash of the Elysium , we also cover the recent San Diego Comic-Con appearances of the series' key personnel as well as mulling over what sort of questions we would ask our favourite stars in such a situation. There is also plenty of time to discuss the new...

It's that time of week again, Kasterborites, where James McLean, Christian Cawley and Brian Terranova pluck one of the many subjects of Doctor Who and offer their thoughts about it. This time around, we're dedicating an entire podKast (with a "K") to the legendary, oft-overlooked yet hugely important Ninth Doctor, as played by the statuesque Christopher Eccleston. From "Run!" to "Before I go..." w...

You lucky people! Not content with gushing over Season 7 in last week's podKast, this time around Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the wonder that is UNIT, that Dad's Army -esque band of brothers operating out of an ever-moving HQ, combating alien attacks with or without the help of the Doctor. From The Web of Fear through to Planet of the Dead , we (mostly) avoid the UNIT dating issues b...

In honour of the late Caroline John, this Doctor Who podcast focuses almost completely (with a quick mention of Daleks and asylums) on Season 7, the make-or-break series from 1970 starring Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, John as Dr Liz Shaw and Nick Courtney as the legendary Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. This week, it's just James McLean and Christian Cawley, but don't let the absence of regular...

What happens when to all intents and purposes, it seems that a Doctor Who costume is just wrong? This week's Kasterborous podKast (with a "K") turns its attention to the matter of the Doctor's sartorial elegance (or in some cases, lack of...) There isn't a single incarnation of the friendly Time Lord who hasn't raised eyebrows with his choice of attire. While some choices have been great, others h...

Running from July 1st at the Fab Cafe in Manchester is a stage adaptation of Robots of Death , the classic 1977 Doctor Who serial written by Chris Boucher. Behind the production is Gareth Kavanagh, and he makes a special appearance on this week's podKast (with a K) to discuss that and other shows with a Doctor Who theme that are lined up for the summer. We'll have full confirmed details later this...

Chewing the fat on what has been taking place in the Doctor Who world lately are Brian Terranova, James McLean and Christian Cawley, who despite their obvious, unrivalled professionalism on the podKast haven't received a Bafta lately (or, indeed, at all). Fear not, however, at least one of them has been in the same room as two of the subjects of this week's podKast with a K - Steven "The Grand Mof...

We're a little earlier with this week's podKast - which is just as well as we're talking about some pretty topical stuff, namely the questions over the scheduling of Doctor Who Series 7, the coming BAFTA special achievement award for Steven Moffat and Kasterborous' own review marathon in which we cover every serial from An Unearthly Child/100,000 BC to Survival . We reckon the issue over schedulin...

Doctor Who scriptwriter Tom MacRae joins us this week to talk about the Crash of the Elysium, the live action immersive experience that is transferring to Ipswich next month as part of the 2012 Olympic celebrations. In order to contextualize this, James McLean, Brian Terranova and Christian Cawley start off by discussing the various Doctor Who events and attractions since 2005 and how they have gr...