The Writers' Room

Hello everyone. So sorry for the extreme delay in release. We've had what can only be described as a truly hellish month of July. Erik has all the details for you in this episode, which, until we are actually able to record our proper Series 3 finale discussion, will be a previous Patreon exclusive episode where your two intrepid hosts debate the most important writers in classic  Doctor Who . Mor...

This month, in order to delay having to talk about a very bad two-parter, Kyle and Erik talk about "Utopia," an episode hailed by many as a modern masterpiece. But, 15 years later, does it still have that kind of impact? YANA! CHANTHO! JACK! MAAAAATHAAAAAAA!

This month sees Erik and Kyle discussing a much beloved two-parter from series 3, "Human Nature/The Family of Blood," which has a lot of David Tennant, but not very much Tenth Doctor. Hmm? What what?

This month, Kyle and Erik discuss two stories by writers who'd write a lot more later on. The first is Mark Gatiss and "The Idiot's Lantern" from series 2. The second is Chris Chibnall and "42" from series 3. Which one do we like better? 

This month, we continue our series 3 talk by looking at Helen Raynor's oft-derided two-parter, "Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks," which has some interesting elements. But enough? We'll see.

And here we are at Series 3 already! The "Oh hey, the Tenth Doctor isn't very nice" train continues with two early stories with new companion Martha Jones. We have "Smith and Jones" and "Gridlock," both from showrunner Russell T Davies.

Happy New Year, dear listener! As Kyle and Erik begin their 10th year of podcasting together, they finish (pretty much) Series 2 of updated  Doctor Who . It's the almost universally beloved "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday," which has a lot more to it than meets the eye. Ghosts, for one thing. Join our Patreon for bonus episodes, including our breakdown of Flux! Go to patreon.com/thewritersroom today.

Erik and Kyle round out their first calendar year covering the Russell T Davies era by talking about Series 2's big classic villain return: "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel." This story had a lot of heavy lifting to do, but does it succeed? Let's find out!

Erik and Kyle descend down into the cosmically and existentially horrific masterpiece that is "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit," as written by Matt Jones. Is this the best story we've looked at yet? Is it the scariest? Find out! Join our Patreon for bonus episodes every month. http://patreon.com/thewritersroom . 

This month, with some actual news about Russell T Davies, Erik and Kyle discuss two of his scripts from series 2. First up is Tooth and Claw, the one with Queen Victoria and the werewolves. Second is Love & Monsters, the one nobody likes but that is actually pretty good.

This month, Kyle and Erik dive headlong into  Doctor Who series two with a look at two episodes written by showrunners of other shows. "School Reunion" written by Toby Whithouse ( Being Human ) is a fan-favorite, giving the new series its first real taste of the classic with the return of Sarah Jane Smith. "Fear Her" written by Matthew Graham ( Life on Mars ) is the oft-derided also-ran of series...

And so it begins! Erik and Kyle have wrapped up Series 1 of updated  Doctor Who , and now they commence the saga of the Tenth Doctor. Where to start? Why with "The Christmas Invasion" and "New Earth," of course! But it's not all just fun and games. Already they can sense the darkness inherent to Doctor number 10...and Kyle's kind of not into it.

Way too fast. We're already bidding a very fond farewell to the Christopher Eccleston year of  Doctor Who by discussing his swansong, "Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways." It may be his last onscreen hurrah but it was only RTD's opening salvo. How'd he do for his first season as showrunner?

It's the penultimate month in our look at Series 1 of rebooted  Doctor Who , and we have two stories showrunner Russell T Davies wrote to fill time, but, one of them at least, has transcending its limitations to become something of a classic. And the other one is "The Long Game."

Erik and Kyle dip our toes in the pool of Steven Moffat with his addition to  Doctor Who series 1, "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances." You know, there's a lot to talk about in it. So, join us, won't you? Are you my mummy?

This month, Erik and Kyle are discussing the series 1 episode "Father's Day," an emotional experience for both of them. But before that, the 2003 web-exclusive animated serial "Scream of the Shalka," which was to be Doctor Who. Until it wasn't. Two Paul Cornell stories? Why yes!

This month, Erik and Kyle continue their jaunt into Series 1 of rebooted  Doctor Who with the first two stories not written by showrunner Russell T Davies. Those of course are Mark Gatiss' ode to Victorian ghost stories, "The Unquiet Dead," and Robert Shearman's indelible reintroduction of a classic villain, "Dalek." But do they hold up the way our heroes remember? Hmmm.

This month, Kyle and Erik revisit the "farting aliens" two-parter, "Aliens of London/World War III." While the humor doesn't age well, the fellas are surprised that the story is more interesting, the character drama much deeper, than memory said. And Mickey maybe isn't as big an idiot as we thought? WHAT?!

Doctor Who: The Writers' Room is back, baby! After two years away from the TARDIS, Erik and Kyle have returned to tackle  Doctor Who from 2005-2017. Much different than before, the fellas are going fairly chronological and what better place to start than showrunner Russell T Davies' first two episodes, "Rose" and "The End of the World?"

We did it! Yes, another season of The Writers' Room comes to a close, and it's a good one. Sapphire & Steel's final story, "Assignment Six," gives us a lot to chew on, and some really fascinating implications. We also talk about the show as a whole, and prepare you all for the return of Doctor Who: The Writers' Room!

This penultimate episode of The Writers' Room's look at  Sapphire & Steel is a bit different. Creator P.J. Hammond did not write Assignment 5, aka the one that's a murder mystery---and it shows. Instead, Kyle and Erik talk about what an  S&S serial looks like interpreted through the pen of former  Doctor Who scribes Don Houghton and Anthony Read. The answer: not as good.

We're nearing the ending of the year and we're also starting down the road to the end of  Sapphire & Steel . Assignment 4 affords Erik and Kyle opportunities to discuss poetry, spooky photography, the poetry of prose, and whether P.J. Hammond is a pessimist. Fun! 

Erik and Kyle take on Assignment 3 of  Sapphire & Steel , in which the elemental time menders contend with, not things from the past, but beings from the dystopian future. Is it as good as ghosty ancient things? Well, it does have the first appearance of Silver...and a creepy baby man monster things. Neat!

This month, Erik and Kyle are going into an old dilapidated railway station full of war ghosts and stuff for  Sapphire & Steel Assignment 2. We talk about the morality of fighting time ghosts, the sadness of war, and the pain of lost love. But, like, it's fun!

It's a new month, but it's also a new season! A very short new season, but a new season just the same. Erik and Kyle are looking at time fissures, ghost houses, and ambulatory alien element metal things. It's Sapphire & Steel! P.J. Hammond's landmark in weird sci-fi. We begin, sensibly, with Assignment 1.