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

We're back with a new edition of Kasterborous, this time steering largely away from (or around) Doctor Who and looking more specifically at the use of time travel in television and popular Hollywood movies. So, Christian and James deliver you a video-exclusive, wide-ranging chat that takes in Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Back to the Future, Charmed, Once Upon a Time, Star Trek ( and spinoffs), Ashes...

There is a good chance that Doctor Who Series 15 will be remembered for many of the wrong reasons. But one great thing about it is that it gave us the chance to bring in a diverse collection of opinions and reactions. As you may have read, this week I am joined by: Philip Bates Gareth Kavanagh James Whittington Rick Lundeen ...and James McLean So, prepare for a tightly edited (!) collection of int...

James and Christian have just recorded an ad hoc conversation about recent events concerning Doctor Who . Prepare for a video discussion which looks at J. Michael Straczynski's possible interest in Doctor Who , the current lack of scheduling for The War Between the Land and the Sea , obligatory AI talk, and a look at how much UK and US subscribers are paying for Netflix, Prime, Disney+, et al, com...

During the run of Doctor Who Series 15, Christian Cawley and James McLean got together to discuss how the show was developing. This conversation took place against a backdrop of intense speculation about the future of the series, its star, and perhaps even its showrunner. Factor in the internal narrative -- dialogue from Mrs Flood -- and comments from Russell T Davies seeming to downplay the futur...

We're delighted to welcome back Philip Bates for this week's podcast. Recorded a few weeks before Series 15, Philip and Christian Cawley discuss his work on Companions: More Than Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants. Originally published back in 2013 as 50 Years of Doctor Who Assistants by Andy Frankham-Allen, Philip has contributed a huge swathe of new material to this new edition. After all, he'...

The Reality War is over, and  Doctor Who Series 15 has come to a close; we don't know what is going to happen next. But before we spend time ruminating over the mind-bending regeneration, James and Magnus are here to discuss The Reality War . Shownotes Doctor Who: The Reality War on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ . Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and ea...

This week's podcast welcomes John Kenneth Muir, a guest who has also joined us previously on the John and Jim's Excellent Adventure podcasts.  Naturally, he's here to discuss Wish World with James, the penultimate episode of Doctor Who Series 15/2/41, however you prefer to count it. Expect some interesting insights into both the episode and the potential survival of the series. As one listener on...

This week, it's James McLean and the enigmatic Magnus chewing the Time Lord fat (eww). They get deep into The Interstellar Song Contest , with James as a long-term viewer of Doctor Who and Magnus as a more recent arrival. Shownotes Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early on Pa...

Vworp Vworp and Cutaway Comics' Gareth Kavanagh joins James McLean in this week's Doctor Who podcast. They cover the latest episode of Doctor Who ( The Story and The Engine ), with some interesting insights... Shownotes Doctor Who: The Story and The Engine on BBC iPlayer and Disney Plus Cutaway Comics Patreon benefits Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early on P...

This week, James McLean is joined by Doctor Who Companion editor Philip Bates to discuss the latest episode, Lucky Day . They cover everything from twists and turns to the now-perennial question: will Doctor Who continue beyond this series? Patreon subscribers, will also be able to see this conversation, if preferred, in video format . Shownotes Doctor Who: Lucky Day on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ The...

Episode 3 of Doctor Who Series 15, The Well , has aired in the UK and worldwide on the Disney+ service, and is ripe for discussion. What impact has this episode has, and can James McLean discern it? This week, James is joined by James Whittington, a writer who worked with us back in the days of our old website. He also writes for the Legend TV channel, among other things, and has plenty of thought...

Doctor Who Series 15's second episode, Lux , is the subject of discussion this week. James McLean welcomes this week's guest, Rick Lundeen, for quite a deep and wide-ranging chat about the episode and Doctor Who 's current status. Rick is a writer and artist with quite a considerable body of work behind him. Among those include work with Christian Cawley on the Time Leech comic strip way back in 2...

James and Magnus discuss the first episode of Doctor Who S15, Robot Revolution , which introduces a new companion, Belinda Chandra, and ends with quite the cliffhanger. This is an in-depth discussion of the episode, covering everything from the visual style to the themes of coercive control and loss. Members of our free Patreon heard this episode first. Sign up at patreon.com/kasterborous for earl...

This week's podcast was supposed to be Christian chatting with the Doctor Who Companion's Philip Bates about Doctor Who Series 15... and then Newsround published a brief chat with Russell T Davies. Suddenly, we had to talk about the possibility that Doctor Who Series 15 might be the last, certainly as far as the current production setup is concerned, and maybe longer term, too. So, the episode kic...

In this week's podcast, Christian and James discuss Russell T Davies recent remarks concerning Doctor Who 's future.  After that, the podcast continues with Christian highlighting a few interesting things he's come across recently, including a Beatles demo reel, a new Quatermass book from Toby Hadoke, and a Battle of Britain documentary tied to the promotion of a new combat flight simulator. Bonus...

Adrian Munsey , the director and writer of the Sky Arts series Wonderland: Science Fiction in the Atomic Age joined James McLean to explore his four-part documentary. We previously shared the raw video version of this chat. Here is the audio podcast, for more convenient listening. The series starts on April 3, 2025 on Sky Arts, and runs for four weeks. Further details can be found on Kasterborous...

This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean mull over the impact of the single take shot in new Netflix drama Adolescence . Single takes, also known as one-shots and continuous shots, have appeared in many movies and TV shows, from Marvel's Daredevil to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope to Orson Welles' Touch of Evil , and many other besides. It has been technically difficult to achieve, especially for Bri...

Hello! This is our brand new podcast, which not only talks about James Bond, but also supports Podcasthon. James McLean and Christian Cawley reconvene this week to discuss the events surrounding Amazon's purchase of Eon , and the resulting rumours. While we unsurprisingly dwell on the tempting notion of Pierce Brosnan returning as an older James Bond, there is also time to discuss the world of Bon...

This week, Christian Cawley looks at some new Box of Delights material, a Fighting Fantasy books Kickstarter, a rediscovered Top of the Pops episode, and a new book about The Avengers (not the lycra superheroes). Did you know, all our podcasts launch earlier on Patreon? Join us free at www.patreon.com/kasterborous , where you’ll also find podcasts with extra material!  Shownotes Ncuti Gatwa, Disne...

This week, Christian chats with comedian Garrett Millerick about his standup show, Just Trying to Help , which is available to watch on YouTube now, and is recommended. The thrust of the conversation is about our relationships with people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg (and to a lesser extent Richard Branson...) and how they influence the modern world. While it might be a slight diver...

Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the recent media reports that Ncuti Gatwa has quit Doctor Who. This is the full-length discussion, which also features exchanges on accusations of "wokery" across the show's recent storylines, Disney's involvement, and how the BBC still doesn't seem to know who the show's audience is. Let us know what you think about all of this. Shownotes Sun reports Ncut...

Welcome to a new edition of the famously non-award-winning podcast, now in its 18th year of critical acclaim-free production! This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean are here to talk about Doctor Who topics: Tom Baker's OBE, the passing of David A McIntee, and the activities of generative AI creators.  Is it a good idea to create missing episodes of Doctor Who with generative AI? Does it have...

We're back! It has been a few weeks, but 2025 is in full swing, so it makes sense to get the podcast up and running again. This week Christian covers a bunch of stuff, from Star Trek Discovery being ejected from continuity to a new Alien RPG. Oh, and a look at those David Bowie tapes from the Young Americans era. It's all in the latest edition of Kasterborous, the podcast that explores the biggest...

This week, to celebrate the arrival of The Big Man, James McLean and Christian Cawley cast their minds back to years passed. Once upon a time, a key element of Christmas was to circle shows in the TV listings guides, claiming a stake on the family television to watch key televisual experiences. What has happened to this ritual? Who even cares about communal Christmas family viewing in 2024? And wh...

This week, James and Christian are joined by Gareth Kavanagh and Adrian Salmon to discuss a new Kickstarter, The Time Team Unearthed. Showcasing the Doctor Who Art of Adrian Salmon from the pages of Doctor Who Magazine's original monthly Time Team feature, the project breached its target within hours of going live. Stretch goals are available, and Gareth and Adrian explain why you should support t...