Night Of The Living Geeks

Well, folks, we made it. Three months worth of looking at and exploring the Hellier documentary and the case surrounding it has brought us here. This month, we look at the last half of Season 2: from The Altar through Night of Pan. If things had been weird before, they ramp up even more as we get blue star-ry eyed because things keep falling in our path. Join us, please, as we dive down the rabbit hole again and find the vast cave system underneath.

We're back, friends! Thanks for waiting that extra week! Totally appreciated. This time around we look at Asylum of the Daleks in which Amy & Rory are on the rocks, The Doctor is somehow both the predator of the Daleks & their temporary savior, and we meet Oswin who's currently working on her own series for Food Network, but it's not going so well. How long are you supposed to "stir" those "eggs" again? And will no one think of the milk!? We also talk about the trailer (finally!) for The Power of the Doctor as well as the super exciting Gallifrey One news!

This month we reach the halfway point in our three-part look at the Hellier case (so far!). In the first half of the second season, we grapple with a less linear storytelling technique as we follow the team through the research and experiences they had between wrapping filming on season one and actually releasing season one! If you thought they were just sitting back and relaxing, you'd be wrong! We also dive pretty heavily on some insane cipher hits that really drive home the bizarre reality of all this. By the way, there's a better Secret Cipher link in the show notes, so be sure to check that out!

LONDON 1984! Apparently a bleak hellscape in which the Daleks have a team of mercenary human clones (with helmets we're surprised didn't become a marketing opportunity) working to unearth Davros while also infiltrating various areas of human culture. See, there's a lot happening in Resurrection of the Daleks, but instead of anything getting resurrected, lots (and lots) of characters get gunned down...often for no reason. This is an unusual Doctor Who story if only for that fact, but it's one we'd have to review eventually!

Well, this time we finally can mark Season 18 off our checklist (because we reviewed Logopolis a while ago...go check it out) with The Keeper of Traken! If reviewing almost a whole season in one stretch has shown us anything, it's that this season was fraught with issues. But they still put out some good stories (and ultimately gave Tom a satisfying send off). The Keeper of Traken had to not only further the season, but also introduce what would become a new companion and also reintroduce The Master. There are some stumbles, but they mostly stick the landing.

Our fellow weirdos, we have arrived!! And a day early, too! After months of preparation and laying out much of the background information needed to comprehend events, we're finally starting our review of Hellier! In this first part (of three) we look at the first five parts (so, all of Season 1). We dive into the aspects of the case that resonated most with us, dig a little deeper in some instances, and just enjoy the absolutely high strangeness of it all! Welcome, at long last, to Hellier!

This time we round out the E-Space Trilogy and nearly all of Season 18 with Warrior's Gate! While we're not over the moon about this particular story, there are definitely reasons why this one suffered a bit during production. We can see where they were headed, but they don't quite get there. Plus, we really wish Romana & K9 got more of a goodbye than they did. As always, however, we try to find the best parts and this time we have to admit that Adric has a pretty impressive move! What was it? You've got to listen to find out!

State of Decay may seem like another chance for the BBC to pull out its Shakespearean era costumes and give them some exercise, but the story (a Terrence Dicks classic) has a rich tapestry behind it that not only expands Gallifreyan lore, but also gives justification for the tropey vampire acting in this story! I mean, a race of ancient giant vampires vs. the Time Lords...like how has Big Finish not done a boxset on this yet? Anyway, we loved State of Decay (despite the many production challenges it had) and we think you will, too!

Our #RoadToHellier has reached it's last stop before we get to town! This month, we're looking at the various methods of communication that you'll see employed in the documentary, plus a little extra we just find interesting. From the Estes Method to the God Helmet to the Frank's Box and back again, we're exploring the hows and some of the whys behind reaching out and connecting with the Phenomena.

Well, they can't all be stellar, but we always try to find the elements we like best in a Doctor Who story. That's the case with the opener to the E-Space Trilogy, Full Circle! Not only are we introduced to Adric, but we meet his brother (who definitely has some Oasis vibes), we peruse some binders, and we kind of wonder what tastes so odd in this fruit! Someone find the pilot and strap in because it's time to talk about Full Circle!

While trying to repair K9, The Doctor and Romana find themselves in a time loop set up by an evil cactus named Meglos who has apparently inhabited the body of poor Nigel from Accounting and has a crazy plan to pretend to be the Doctor in order to steal a geometric shape of extreme power and, you know, rule the universe or some such craziness. Can the Doctor and Romana defeat Meglos, satisfy Brotadac’s lust for a nice coat, and prevent the destruction of Tigella? Well, grab that agave and strap in because…it…must…be…MEGLOS!!

Up to now, we hadn't done any stories from Season 18 shy of Logopolis and we were missing out! This time we look at The Leisure Hive and while it starts with a bit of a slow-burn murder mystery it soon cranks up the bonkers with some of the greatest cliffhangers we've ever seen, a completely WTF ending, and a race of aliens who die when they've lost all the blueberries from their heads! Get ready for some wild blue screen magic with The Leisure Hive!

WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT! WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT! This month our #RoadtoHellier pulls off to the side of the road to listen in to the Subspace Radio Network as we talk about the late Rev. Robert Short and his experiences channeling the Space Intelligence Korton! As wild as the story may seem, we do recognize that similar elements of Short's story (heh, short story...anyway!) appear in Hellier and in other experiences the Hellier team has had. So break out your copy of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and let's connect with Central Control!

Fourteen years ago today! Midnight premiered and gave us an episode that, at the time, we weren't all that impressed by. And now, in 2022, we revisit Midnight and are pleasantly surprised to say that we were totally wrong with our initial impressions back in 2008. Midnight is really good and, frankly, the paranoia and mob mentality hits a little stronger today than it probably did then.

We can’t properly navigate the #RoadtoHellier without taking a left at Exit 93 and looping our way into the underground. Deros, Teros, a quick pass through downtown Lemuria (be sure to check out the famous Rock Shop) to find ourselves in some serious liminal spaces. Whether Shaver was really whisked away to an underground wonderland where he became a hero and returned with a manifesto and evidence of an ancient mother language or whether it was the product of a mind wracked by grief, both possibilities cause us to wonder about the nature of liminal spaces (physical and non-physical) as well as what it means to have a paranormal experience. Buckle up and grab some road snacks because we're going deeper underground with the Shaver Mystery.

THE NIMON BE PRAISED! It's a new episode of Podcastica!! That's right, this time we get an absolute masterclass in overacting from Soldeed as he works to bring about the Second Skonnos Empire all while being absolutely played by the Nimon who are just looking for a new planet to invade. Add in some peak 4th Doctor, Romana during her professional horseriding outfit days, and minotaur creatures in some wicked KISS boots and you have yourself a recipe for an awesome bit of Doctor Who!

Wowwee wow wow! Friends, before we get into PLANET OF FIRE, we have a ton of Who News to discuss because in the last two weeks we've had the reveal of the 14th Doctor, news that Tennant and Tate are returning for something to coincide with the 60th, and maybe we have a new companion cast? Anyway, we cover all that and then get into the introduction of Peri, the departure of Turlough, and the merciful (to the audience) death of Kamelion all while The Master is try to solve a teensy problem he has! That's right! We nearly get a new benchmark for bonkers with Planet of Fire!

FOUR TO DOOMSDAY! If the story Kinda has been our standard for bonkers episodes for years, it only stands to reason that the episode right before it is pretty bonkers, too. Right?! Well, imagine our TARDIS team encountering a race of frog-esque people who can download your whole self into some circuitry, build an android replica of yourself, and put you to work on their massive ship...because their leader effectively wants to travel faster than light, sending himself back in time to meet...maybe himself?! Oh it's a wild ride with some interesting characterizations this time with Four to Doomsday!

MOTHMAN! He's become the poster child for weirdness these days, but as part of our #RoadToHellier series, we take a look at the massive flap in Point Pleasant, West Virginia between 1966 and 1967. It becomes our launching point for a greater discussion of what the phenomena might be and what the purpose could be for 13 months of panicked fervor in a small town in West Virginia. Along the way, each of our brains totally melt as we try to connect dots and reason out the story of Mothman!

Legend of the Sea Devils has now come and gone like the Easter candy we probably had too much of over the weekend! But like that candy, did we get hopped up on the sugar of the Easter special or did we eventually crash afterward and wonder what the heck we were thinking? This story is a bit of a mixed bag for us. There's lots we liked, there's some we definitely didn't. So join us as we sort stuff out and also talk about that trailer for Jodie's final episode!