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

The Church on Ruby Road is reviewed in our latest Doctor Who podcast. Christian Cawley is conducting other activities this week, so James McLean is joined by "Magnus" to discuss the 2023 Doctor Who Christmas special. But who is Magnus, and will you ever find out? Probably not, but it's an interesting conundrum to consider as you listen to this chat... Shownotes Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road...

Admittedly later than planned, we're back for our review of the third Doctor Who 60th anniversary episode, The Giggle . Guest starring Neil Patrick Harris ( Doogie Howzer MD , How I Met Your Mother , etc.), the episode reintroduces Bonnie Langford as Melanie Bush and brings us our first look at the 15th Doctor Who, Ncuti Gatwa. Quite a bit of him, in fact. This week's show features Christian Cawle...

We're back with a discussion about the latest Doctor Who 60th anniversary episode, Wild Blue Yonder . Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss various elements of the story, how it came across and compared to the previous episode ( The Star Beast ), and spend a few minutes slagging off the Power of Three . Oh, and we're very pleased to tell you that this week, we were joined by our podKast foundi...

The first part of Doctor Who 's 60th anniversary has aired - but what did the Kasterborous team think of The Star Beast ? This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean are joined by Philip Bates, the driving force behind The Doctor Who Companion. We cover everything from steelworks in North London (!) to Miriam "Margoyles" with gender transitions and empty lofts along the way. Shownotes www.thedoct...

It's Doctor Who's 60th anniversary today, but how does the promotion and hype compare with other years? Christian Cawley and James McLean look back at 1998, 2003, and 2013 to contrast and discuss how things were very different in Doctor Who celebrations in landmark years gone by. Shownotes: Russell T Davies and David Tennant on The One Show Russell T Davies on Morning Live Amiga Addict and Pixel A...

John Kenneth Muir and James McLean's deep dive into Star Trek continues in our latest podcast. John Kenneth Muir and James McLean finish off their discussion on 57 years of Star Trek with a reflection on Star Trek's impact in the 21st Century... desperately, needfully, and irresponsibly seeking to conclude what the franchise means to them. If you missed the first part of this wide ranging, every-v...

What does the Whoniverse bring to Doctor Who? 60th anniversary celebratory wonder! We're here; it's November 2023, it is the month of Doctor Who 's 60th anniversary, and the BBC has gone all-out to provide celebratory media in all shapes and sizes. Central to all of this is The Whoniverse, the BBC iPlayer hub of Doctor Who episodes, documentaries, spin-offs, DVD extras, and more. In this week's Do...

Between May and September 2023, the "Hollywood double strike" - joint industrial action by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA - halted production of TV and movies (and some video games). The reason for this was generative AI - artificial intelligence that has been programmed to produce text, art, video, and audio material from text prompts.  Recorded during the strikes, this week's podcast...

James McLean and cult writer and critic John Kenneth Muir return with a new episode of the podcast that focuses on American cult film/television of the late 20th century (and beyond). In the first installment of a two-part chat, James and John discuss the biggest sci-fi phenomenon to come out of 1960s TV: Star Trek . (Yes, Doctor Who fans, you read that right. Sorry.) Get in touch If you subscribe...

As we've just been blessed with an amazing Doctor Wh o trailer for the 60th anniversary, Christian and James have got together to discuss what we saw. But it's not all about the Celestial Toymaker! Our existing podcast was due to go live yesterday, so we hurriedly recorded some extra material - found in the first 15 minutes of the episode - to discuss Neil Patrick Harris, Avengers UNIT HQ, Donna,...

James McLean and cult writer and critic John Kenneth Muir are back with a sixth episode of the podcast that focuses on American cult film/television of the late 20th century (and beyond). This time, John and James look forward, then look back, then look now at the crisis of infinite media that threatens to drown us all. Are we at the cusp of a brand new media crunchpoint? Get in touch If you subsc...

Doctor Who 's exploits in the video game world have often left fans and gamers cold.  Despite the success of other franchises (think Star Wars , Star Trek , Harry Potter , Jurassic Park , and many others) in the video game arena, Doctor Who 's main hits have been a pinball machine and an appearance in Lego: Dimensions .  And yet, Doctor Who has spawned an incredible 18 official, dedicated titles....

Join James McLean and cult writer and critic John Kenneth Muir for the fifth in what has become a highly irregular series of podcasts focusing on American cult film/television of the late twentieth century (and occasionally, or sometimes quite frequently, other stuff).  This episode considers the role of the audio drama drawing upon John's own experiences in producing his own, The House Between ....

In a wide-ranging chat Christian Cawley and James McLean consider the impact of the closure of Network on Air, why we love to collect TV and movie stuff, and try and work out what quiz show Going for Gold was all about. Shownotes Some useful links to get you through the podcast. Midsomer Murders: Written in Blood Written in Blood by Caroline Graham RIP Network on Air Timeline of social generations...

Doctor Who is off-air, so what the heck are we going to talk about? And what happens when two middle aged white guys realise they're not necessarily saying anything new about the show they've been watching since 1980ish?

It's nearly 2023, so we thought: why don't we do something different with our Doctor Who podcast? The result is our "review of the year" in which Christian Cawley and James McLean look back at 2022, picking the most topical stories for a series of 12 months that are among the strangest in Doctor Who 's 59 years. Shownotes Some links to help you better understand this week’s podcast. January: Eve o...

As we head into a winter with no seasonal Doctor Who episode, there is good news: Russell T Davies has confirmed that Doctor Who Christmas specials will be back! We also look at some uncanny Doctor Who art created by artificial intelligence (AI). Meanwhile, the new TARDIS interior has been leaked! Then pulled! But we saw them, and we'll give you an idea of how it looks. (We recorded this show befo...

We're back with a new podcast as we look at Millie Gibson's casting as the new Doctor Who companion and take a look at the new Vworp Vworissue 5 cover.  Consider this a short and sweet "latest news" update before we deliver some seasonal Doctor Who podcast goodies over the next few weeks. Shownotes Millie Gibson is the new Doctor Who companion Radio Times poll Vworp Vworp #5 cover revealed Nelvana...

Disney+ will be distributing Doctor Who in territories beyond the UK and Ireland from 2023. Host Christian Cawley mulls over this news, along with speculating on just who is starring in the three specials in 2023 - surely they can't all feature David Tennant...? The main part of this week's podcast is the second half of Christian Cawley's chat with Gareth Kavanagh, covering everything from Vworp V...

It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for. If the recent "regeneration" trailer told us anything, it's that The Power of the Doctor would be jam-packed with subtle references to the show's great history. Conceived and scheduled to coincide with the BBC's centenary, the 90 minote special also marked the end of Jodie Whittaker's time as the Doctor, and Chris Chibnall's turn as showrunner. C...

Many fans of the series admire the various Doctor Who speeches. From the original Doctor bidding farewell to Susan in The Dalek Invasion of Earth to Jodie Whittaker's memorable statement of intent in The Woman Who Fell to Earth , speeches are a vital component of the main character. But it isn't only the Doctor Who throws memorable speeches out - his companions are prone to monologues, too. In thi...

We're just one week away from The Power of the Doctor in which Jodie Whittaker's Doctor leaves our screens and Chris Chibnall's time as Doctor Who showrunner comes to an end. However you feel about this, it cannot be denied that it has been an interesting few years. With this in mind, and with a look at the episode's first trailer (which includes a look at Sophie Aldred and Janet Fielding returnin...

As The Power of the Doctor rumbles ever closer, we take a look at a new publicity photo of Sophie Aldred as Ace, complete with baseball bat and bomber jacket! Along with a brief chat about recent news, our Doctor Who podcast also takes a look at your reactions to our last show. Your thoughts on which actor might be considered the "definitive" Doctor Who are quite interesting... Shownotes Who Is th...

Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, David Tennant, Matt Smith... hell, any of them could be considered the definitive Doctor Who. In a world where particular actors are inextricably linked to characters by audiences - Sean Connery as Bond, Christopher Lee as Dracula, Christopher Reeve as Superman - we explore why this happens, and how it affects Doctor Who . Inspired by the return of Hugh Jackman to the role...

Some Doctor Who casting is inexplicable. You might call it bizarre, bonkers, barmy, or stunt casting.  In this podcast, Christian Cawley and James McLean consider the history of Doctor Who's guest casting ups and downs, highs and lows, covering names such as (but not limited to) Barbara Windsor, John Cleese, Simon Pegg, Ken Dodd, Richard Briers, Stubby Kaye, and that woman in Silver Nemesis who no...