The Writers' Room

This month, it's into the void and to the center of the universe as Erik and Kyle discuss the two stories written by Steve Gallagher - "Warrior's Gate" and "Terminus." The later is usually written off as pantaloons, but the former is often hailed as some sort of existentialist masterpiece that never got its full due thanks to a crazed director. Do the boys think these notions hold true or are they...

This month, oh boy people, it's time Erik and Kyle talk about the man, the myth, the legend that is Douglas Adams, he who wrote for Monty Python and would go on to great fame writing  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy . For our purposes, of course, Adams wrote three stories for  Doctor Who , only two of which were ever finished and aired: "The Pirate Planet" and "City of Death," as well as the...

This month, Kyle and Erik dive into the work of Don Houghton, who only wrote two stories for  Doctor Who , but two that are among the best, and best-loved, stories in all of the Jon Pertwee era. Those, of course, are "Inferno" and "The Mind of Evil," one of which tops a lot of people's best stories list and one which has the Master in. After those Hartnell one-offs last month, the boys need to sin...

Oh boy, this sure wasn't a good idea. This month, in an effort to deal with the issue of one-off writers, Erik and Kyle ventured into four regularly-derided stories from the Hartnell era: "The Sensorites" by Peter R. Newman, "The Web Planet" by Bill Strutton, "Galaxy 4" by William Emms, and "The Ark" by Paul Erickson (and Lesley Scott, although she did nothing). Umm, that happened. Are they as bad...

This month, Erik and Kyle head all the way back to the very beginning to talk about the very first story ever, "An Unearthly Child" credited to writer Anthony Coburn. Is the serial just a good first episode followed by three boring cavemen episodes, or is it all a lot more connected than popular fan belief suggests? They look at the original unaired "pilot" as well to contrast where the show might...

This month, Kyle and Erik talk about one of the go-to utility writers during the 1960s and '70s, Louis Marks, who has a very impressive career outside of  Doctor Who and who wrote "Planet of Giants," "Day of the Daleks," "Planet of the Evil," and "The Masque of Mandragora" between 1964 and 1976. The fellas talk about the writer's uncanny ability to have a great first episode but an abysmal fourth...

It's a special in-between-episodes bonus for you all to enjoy! We were immensely thrilled and honored to be joined by writer and  Doctor Who aficionado Paul Cornell to discuss his favorite Classic Series writers and about the writing for the show in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. It's a lovely sixty minutes of conversation and if you listen to the end, you can find out how you could win two Paul Cornel...

This month in the room (that isn't really a room), Erik and Kyle discuss the work of two writers, mostly to get it all over with. First up, the three stories by director-and-producer-turned-writer Terence Dudley who inflicted "Four to Doomsday," "Black Orchid," and "The King's Demons" upon us all. This is followed by a quick discussion of Eric Pringle's sole contribution to the series, the two-par...

As a bit of a treat before our canonical episode next week, he's a discussion Erik had at Gallifrey One with his  Doctor Who Book Club co-host Sean Homrig and authors of the book  Who's 50 , Graeme Burk and Robert Smith?. They talk about writing and writers. It's a good time.

This month, the fellas are in the same room for once! It's Gallifrey One from Los Angeles and Erik and Kyle are in a hotel room to talk about the final three stories written by Robert Holmes during his spate as a script editor. Those are some of his most acclaimed outings, "The Deadly Assassin," "The Talons of Weng-Chiang," and "The Sun Makers." Are they in agreement regarding these big titles? Fi...

Erik and Kyle begin the new year (Happy Anniversary!) with the third overall part in their examination of the work of Doctor Who 's most prolific writer, Robert Holmes. Under the microscope for this episode are the first three stories he wrote after taking over the job of script editor, those being "The Ark in Space," "Pyramids of Mars," and "The Brain of Morbius." Each one was originally scripted...

It's been a whole year, everybody! Thanks for listening. For our final episode of 2013, we're going back to the William Hartnell era to take a look at two writers who gave us stories that are often considered, for lack of a better word, "bad." Whether or not they are, of course, is the question of importance for the ep. We've got Glyn Jones' sole writing contribution, "The Space Museum," hailed by...

This month, we take a look at one of the heaviest hitters in Doctor Who  history, Terrance Dicks. While he didn't write all that much credited, he is responsible for a huge amount of what we know of as DW  mythology now. So, we're only doing a smattering of his work: "Robot," "Horror of Fang Rock," "State of Decay," and "The Five Doctors." A Bag of Dicks, if you will.

A little bit of a different thing this month, Erik and Kyle focus on one specific story, 1969's truly epic Troughton and black & white finale, "The War Games," written by Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke. We only scratch the surface on this really phenomenal story, looking at the political and social implications of war, the accordian-nature of the storytelling, the quiter moments that show the im...

This month, Erik and Kyle take a look at the ups and downs of the Troughton-Era writing duo of Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln, or "Norman Ashby" as they were once credit due to behind-the-scenes tumultuousness. The Great Intelligence and the Yeti make two Season Five appearances, "The Abominable Snowmen" and "The Web of Fear," one of which, according to the fellas, doesn't quite live up to the h...

The Tom Baker era's only three-and-out writer, this month we're taking a look at Chris Boucher, who wrote the memorable and enjoyable exercises in theme, "The Face of Evil," "The Robots of Death," and "Image of the Fendahl," all in 1977. Among the things discussed are abandoned plot threads, red herrings that aren't really very red, the power of the name, the attractiveness of guest cast, and why...

This month, Kyle and Erik take their first foray into the Sylvester McCoy era with two of the architects of the "Cartmel Masterplan," Ben Aaronovitch ("Remembrance of the Daleks" and "Battlefield") and Kevin Clarke ("Silver Nemesis"). Which of the stories makes the better 25th Anniversary story? We'll let you decide. But it's not "Silver Nemesis." Topics include heroism, myth, Nazis, alchemy, astr...

Autons and Drashigs and Sontarans, oh my! The second group of three stories by the great Robert Holmes has three of the Third Doctor's very best stories, "Terror of the Autons," "Carnival of Monsters," and "The Time Warrior." What will Erik and Kyle talk about when everything is great? A surprising amount, actually. How well does Bob write companions when they aren't Liz or Sarah Jane? We'll see. 

Robert Holmes wrote so dang many stories during the Classic Series (18 to be precise!) that we're going to need to go about it in shifts. This episode and the next one will be focusing on Holmes' pre-Script Editor work. Unfortunatley, that means for this episode we have to talk about "The Krotons," "The Space Pirates," and (thankfully) "Spearhead From Space." Oh, thank the maker for "Spearhead." T...

It's historicals a-go-go as Erik and Kyle discuss one of the most influential writers of early Doctor Who , Dennis Spooner. He wrote three stories, "The Reign of Terror," "The Romans," and "The Time Meddler," all during William Hartnell's first two seasons, and was a script editor in season two. He might be one of the most important writers in the history of the show, and the fellas will tell you...

This month, Erik and Kyle leave the glitzy sheen of the 1980s for the CSO-saturated '70s for four stories by the writing team of producer Barry Letts and Robert Sloman. Sloman and Letts, or "Sletts" as you'll soon be calling them, penned "The Daemons," "The Time Monster," "The Green Death," and "Planet of the Spiders." Place your bets now as to which one the fellas like the best. It's a heap of my...

This month, Erik and Kyle, doing a near-complete 180 from the kind of writing done by '80s script editor Eric Saward, are discussing the work of Christopher Bailey ("Kinda" and "Snakedance") and Barbara Clegg ("Enlightenment"). Lots of philopsophy, myth, and Wikipedia Buddhism gets bandied about as the conversation proceeds. It's a pretty rich tapestry; a whole episode could be gleaned from "Kinda...

It's finally here! The first episode has landed and Kyle and Erik have chosen to spend it speaking about the controversial, divisive writer from the 1980s, Eric Saward, who wrote five stories: "The Visitation," "Earthshock," "Resurrection of the Daleks," "Attack of the Cybermen," and "Revelation of the Daleks." How well does he write bad guys? What's his fascination with mercenaries? Who's to blam...

Ahoy and welcome! In this new monthly Doctor Who  podcast, Erik and Kyle will be discussing the various writers that have shaped and molded the series over the years by focusing specifically on writing style, story structures, and overall impact. It'll be a lot of fun! New episodes will drop on the 15th of the month. Hope to see you there!