Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV

Love predetermination, feedback loops, characters across different actors & ages, relationships as art, Moffat themes, book differences, time travel rules, stagings & implications, & more are discussed in this review of the third episode of The Time Traveler's Wife. (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:09) Characters at different ages (00:10:29) 11 and 16 year old Clare (00:15:39) Rose Leslie playi...

We discuss the first Doctor Who story from Russell T Davies, looking at the development of his style, what’s changed between 80s TV and today, a ‘draft renaissance’, writing for TV vs audio, Doctor Who before 2005, RTD’s second reign, writer repetition/iteration, family focus, & more! (00:00:00) Introduction + where did RTD’s first Doctor Who story come from? (00:17:44) Releasing drafts + arch...

Pros & cons of time travel, multi-Henry 'specials', Moffat story structure, senses of self, dual storylines, child fantasies, whether we're different people as we age, & the show's overall plan are discussed in this review of the second episode of The Time Traveler's Wife. (00:00:00) Introductions & perspectives (00:04:55) Clare in the TV show (00:11:59) Dual storylines (00:16:11) Time...

Timey-wimey romance, Steven Moffat's influences, romantic ideals, forming yourself around another person, fated love, genre & gender, Doctor Who linkages, structural gimmickry, heightened dialogue & more gets discussed in this review of the first episode of The Time Traveler's Wife. (00:00:00) Introduction, & what it's about (00:06:27) Why is Moffat adapting this? (00:09:02) Time trave...

David Tennant is back…but just what does that mean? We discuss Tennant and Catherine Tate’s return, and Russell T Davies’ casting of a new Rose. We talk exorcising the past, leak literacy, fanservice friction, character stasis, the interaction of Chibnall’s outgoing centenary and RTD’s opening anniversary, universe contraction and expansion, new costumes, and who is driving Doctor Who. The first h...

We discuss the opening move of Russell T Davies' second era as showrunner, the casting of Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Beside the star himself, we talk about the telos of the show, the way castings get announced, the way fandom processes castings, the messages and meanings of this casting, optics and intent, and our hopes and fears for this era to come. (00:00:00) Introduction & first thoughts (...

Companionzoning, violence & moral standards, scene compartmentalisation, Thasmin, spectacles of pacifism, companion contempt, repetition, historical attitudes, & more! (00:00:00) Intro & favourite dialogue (00:04:23) Runtime (00:06:42) Topics to get into (00:08:09) Repetition, sacrifice, passivity (00:13:48) Violence and pacifism, humour and expectations (00:18:55) Dan and the motions,...

Thasmin, intent, improvisation, late in the game storytelling, time loops in and out of the show, entitlement, inspirational speeches, fandom narratives, shipping, & more! (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:08) What we liked (00:13:43) Improv, the trailer, comedy, repetition (00:19:43) Time loops, the episode’s premise (00:32:01) Nick, exes, entitlement (00:44:07) Jack, Jeff, & Karl (00:48:57) 13’s p...

Spooky Christmas mysteries, comedy meeting horror, class & labour, emotional paradoxes, evolution of Doctor Who, writer instincts, aural imagery, narrative traps, genre expectations, magic time brainwashing, & more! (00:00:00) Intro (00:04:40) McGann’s acting + the 8th Doctor & Charley (00:10:55) Comparisons to other Doctor Who stories (00:17:43) Visualising the story (00:22:36) Edith...

Chibnall comments, character arcs, emotional storytelling, maximalist Who, can-kicking, deflection discourse, tautological morality, fandom perspectives, incuriosity, 13 & Yaz, avoidance, serialisation, & more! (00:00:00) Intro, & what we liked (00:09:23) Purist Chibnall, was the finale a surprise? (00:10:51) Chibnall’s comments on Flux, & emotional arcs (00:23:05) What was the sto...

Moral infection, 2018 nostalgia, UNIT & fanservice, phone-watching, multiverses & mythology, timeless motherhood, coherence & contractions, rhythm & legacy, and more! (00:00:00) Intro, & what we liked (00:04:00) The role of Aswok (00:07:06) Explaining the episode (00:14:16) Complicated plots, incoherence, contractions (00:22:33) Connections, rhythm, structure, pacing, serialisa...

Temporal menace, disparate apocalypses, Angelification, conceptual threats, tonal control, mindfulness amongst serialisation, cliffhangers, exposition, & more! (00:00:00) Intro, & what we liked (00:04:21) The runtime, & the village plot (00:07:22) Claire in the Flux premiere (00:10:09) Angel concepts, Angel cops (00:16:47) Angel setpieces (00:18:54) Space village, conceptual threats (0...

Appeals to possibility, imaginative concepts, shadow shows, the nature of serialisation, validities of fan judgements, space laws, why episodes get compared, preferred versions of history, tensions, projections, producer comments & more! (00:00:00) Intro, & what we liked (00:05:13) Overexplanations (00:07:51) Chibnall & Strevens comments (00:12:23) Character vignettes, & an imagina...

Ritualistic beats, Swarm's physicality, educational writing, a sense of fun, timey-wimey storytelling, Chibnall's framing of Mary Seacole & Russia, Lungbarrow, Marvel, & more! (00:00:00) Intro & what we liked (00:04:47) Swarm & time going weird (00:15:05) Ritualistic beats & Sontaran saying something (00:26:42) Fun, fam, Dan, RTD (00:31:08) The spooky house, Lungbarrow, Marvel...

Strange new structures, new production logistics, the 'too early to judge' argument, accents, stakes, Liverpool, meta foreknowledge, new companion dynamics, & more! (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:04) What we liked (00:05:32) Structure of the episode (00:12:24) Segments of the episode (00:22:19) Exciting or deflating? (00:30:18) Production logistics (00:40:26) ‘It’s too early to judge’ (00:48:59) Acce...

David Tennant's 2021 series of Doctor Who comes to a close. We look at retroactive characterisation, the draw of the past, season structures, the role of cover art, event storytelling, resolution repetition, character continuity, physicality, promotion, & much more. (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:36) General thoughts on Dalek Universe 3 (00:09:31) Prequel storytelling & ‘Big Finish gaps’ (00:17:4...

Did Series 12 of Doctor Who disrespect Steven Moffat's era? Two opposing sides battle this question out in a Doctor Who Debate! (00:00) Intro (01:00) Tomtit: Argument #1 (07:27) Neo: Argument #1 (12:44) Tomtit: Argument #2 (18:55) Neo: Argument #2 (24:24) Tomtit: Conclusion (32:28) Neo: Conclusion (40:15) Debrief… Continue reading →

David Tennant's new series of Doctor Who — before the Time War, on audio, and releasing three episodes at a time — continues. We look at the middle stretch of the series in depth, talking twists and secrecy, companion chemistry, body horror on audio, android identity, bubble dimensions, 'fanbrain', self selection, alien bears, vanity and sacrifice, the Time War as a meta scar across the show, &#38...

A new series of Doctor Who with David Tennant? Before the Time War? On audio? We discuss this new series in depth, looking at colliding the 10th Doctor with 1960s Doctor Who, characterisation potential, twist marketing, season structures, questions of related content, approachability, storytelling influences & motivations, & much more. (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:58) David Tennant seasons (00:...

The unproduced 6th episode, self-denial, generational legacies, the nature of forgiveness, loveless households, the logic of shame, moralism, procrastination, and binge-watching are discussed in this podcast about the fifth episode, the finale, of It’s a Sin, Russell T Davies’ drama about HIV in 1980s England. (00:00:00)​ Intro & opening thoughts (00:03:49)​ Ritchie’s speech about boys (00:08:...

Daleks, ballet, protests, blinkered history, psychoseuxality, Thatcher, release valves, PSA campaigns, schools, silence, and Stephen Fry...all these and more are discussed in this podcast about the fourth episode of It's a Sin, Russell T Davies' drama about HIV in 1980s England.… Continue reading →

Karmic forces, pandemic narratives, the sexuality casting controversy, temporal exceptionalism, empathy, irony, and finely-honed tragedy are discussed in this podcast about the third episode of It’s a Sin, Russell T Davies’ drama about HIV in 1980s England.… Continue reading →

Constant conspiracies, symbolic mugs, Jill’s characterisation, breaking reality, the distance of decades, & dangerous intelligence are discussed in this podcast about the second episode of It’s a Sin, Russell T Davies’ drama about HIV in 1980s England.… Continue reading →

1980s authenticity, existential epidemic horror, autobiographical Russell T Davies, celebratory testaments, dramatic ironies, Murray Gold music, & human oddities are discussed in this podcast about the first episode of It’s a Sin, Russell T Davies’ drama about HIV in 1980s England.… Continue reading →

Dalek depth, police parallels, Yaz yearning, troublesome timeliness, beanies, Barrowman, yes, there's an awful lot to discuss in this podcast about Revolution of the Daleks, the 2021 Doctor Who New Year's Day special.… Continue reading →