Doctor Who: The Metebelis 2

We meet the first real monster in this season of Doctor Who and no, we don't mean the slugs of doom, aka Mantraps. RTD catches us a little flat-footed with the surprising ending, but the subtle hints were there all along. With a wave of the hand, we excuse any plot holes and applaud what may be the best episode of Ncuti Gatwa's first series of Doctor Who. The opening music is the episode's soundtrack by Murray Gold and the closing music is "Slugs of Love" by Little Dragon. We recorded this episode on 3 June 2024.

Russell T Davies has written a new Doctor Who story that he describes as Welsh folk horror in which he packs in a lot to 45 minutes, including the obligatory Susan Twist, creepy pub denizens, and an homage to other ghostly stories. We were a little surprised to have a Doctor-lite episode in a season that is a mere eight episodes long. What caused the Doctor to vanish? Is the fairy circle in the shape of the TARDIS console? Did that mysterious space and time machine somehow create the circle and the time loop? The opening is from a Wales tourism advertisement, and the closing is from "Witchy Woman" by the Eagles. We recorded this episode on 28 May 2024.

With Moffat back writing for who and RTD as showrunner does it feel like 2005 all over again? Well, maybe? We discuss the latest Doctor Who episode, Boom, complete with the requisite fatherly love, casting surprises, LED scenery, returning vicars, twist speculation, and a dose of handwavium to resolve this tight, immersive bottle episode. Opening Music is "Skye Boat Song" performed by Martine Mussies. Closing music is from "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince and the Revolution. We recorded this episode on 20 May 2024.

Doctor Who, aka Ncuti Gatwa, is off in space and time with Ruby, his new traveling companion. So what does Russell T Davies have in store for a new generation of Who fans, and what do two old Who fan podcasters make of all of it? Opening Music is "My Dog Fred" by Murray Gold. Closing music is "Scream & Shout" by will.i.am and featuring Britney Spears. We recorded this episode on 13 May 2024.

Kicking off this pod, Ben recounts his visit to Gunnerysbury Museum to see "Set to Stun: Designing and Filming Sci-Fi in West London". Then we watch and discuss the two teaser trailers put out by the BBC in anticipation of Ncuti Gatwa's first season of Doctor Who with our usual spoiler-free rampant speculation, wild theories, spotting of the pre-title sequence clip, and more. Opening music is from "Bowie" by Flight of the Conchords and closing music is from David Bowie's demo of "Changes". We recorded this episode on 21 April 2024.

Ben is in England where he had the opportunity to visit the "Adventures in Time and Space - 60 Years of Doctor Who Art" exhibition at the Weston Museum in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. This impressive collection spans the show's history and features original art from novelisations, VHS covers, annuals, and other visual treasures, including works from Chris Achilléos, Andrew Skilleter, Roy Knipe, and Colin Howard. Ben has shared some pictures he took of the overall exhibit and artwork on his Instagram, including Knipe's "Death to the Daleks" Target cover and Achilléos' "Loch Ness Monster", "Kklak", and "Seeds of Doom" covers. Plus the portait of Ace from 'Silver Nemesis' done in the style of Thomas Gainsborough. In addition to being agog as a fan, Ben also shares his curatorial view of the exhibit's strengths and weaknesses. Opening and closing music is by Dudley Simpson from his score to The Android Invasion. We recorded this episode on 1 April 2024.

Ben checks in before heading back to the UK to give our listener and David the scoop on what happened this year at the GallifreyOne Convention. Opening music is "Dancing Across Space and Time" and closing music is "Nothing Is Forever", both composed by Segun Akinola. We recorded this episode on 10 March 2024.

Ben chats with Lena Barkin and Jess Jurkovic about the upcoming GallifreyOne convention this week in Los Angeles. Lena recently contributed to Adventures Across Space and Time: A Doctor Who Reader a chapter about fandom and Tumblr and will be presenting and signing autographs, plus celebrating Blake's 7. Jess wrapped up the second season of his Dudley Simpson is Doctor Who Project this past year and will be interviewing composers, including Segun Akinola and Dominic Glynn, on the main stage in Progam A. Opening music is "You Shall Not Disrupt Our Mission" and closing music is "We Have Everything We Need", both composed by Segun Akinola. We recorded this episode on 6 February 2024.

We wrap our mini-series looking at production design in Doctor Who with our own top-five design picks from stories broadcast from 2011 through to 2020. Listen in to hear which stories design work overseen by Michael Pickwoad, Arwel Wyn Jones, or Dafydd Shurmer will make out cut and why we picked them. Opening music is "Up the Shard" and closing music is "A Fly on a Painting", both composed by Murray Gold. We recorded this episode on 14 January 2024.

We discuss The Church on Ruby Road, Scuti Gatwa's first solo-starring story as the Doctor. It was great watching Doctor Who once again on Christmas Day and think it was a fun story with a strong case. We also like the science-fantasy direction that RTD appears to be taking with this first series and think Disney's input has been so far positive. Ben likes the Goblins and wonders if one might become a companion of the Doctor. David's is enjoying the delight and joy Davis appears to be having writing for the show once again. Opening music is the fifteenth Doctor's theme and closing music is the Goblin Song, both composed by Murray Gold. We recorded this episode on 29 December 2023.

We discuss The Giggle, the closing chapter of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials. High marks for Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker who nearly stole every scene he was in until the arrival of Ncuti Gatwa as the bi-generated Doctor. But, thumbs down on the Vlinx, and thought Mr. Smith, Mel Bush, or even BOSS would have been a better narrative choice. We're cautiously optimistic about the future, but we wonder if Disney is stealthily aiming for a total reboot of Doctor Who in a similar way that they created an alternate continuity for Star Wars to give the current creative team a clean slate (and to make it easier to market), and thus Garwa's Who is to be series/season 1. Opening music is composed by Murray Gold from The Giggle soundtrack, and the closing music is an excerpt from "Two of Us" by The Beatles. We recorded this episode on 11 December 2023.

We discuss Wild Blue Yonder, the middle story of the 60th anniversary specials of Doctor Who and share our thoughts on Russell T Davies latest adventure for the Doctor and Donna Noble. Ben relays Paul Scoones' suggestion that the ship's captain may have been a nod to the Equinans, from "The Wreckers!", a 1975 Who story in The TV Comic. David notes that with the inclusion of Flux and other pieces of the Chibnall canon, RTD is removing the Bobby Ewing retcon, as Ben puts it, that the last 13 years were all a dream. This podcast concludes with a lively discussion of The U.S. Air Force Song, which was featured not only in this story's title, but also referenced musically. Opening music is "Silver Caravan" composed by Tim Clark and closing music is "The U.S. Air Force Song" also known as "Off We Go". We recorded this episode on 5 December 2023.

We discuss The Star Beast, the 60th anniversary special of Doctor Who and share our thoughts on Russell T Davies' retelling and updating of this classic weely comic serial from 1980. Opening and closing music is from this episode's incidental music composed by Murray Gold. We recorded this episode on 27 November 2023.

Our discussion of set design continues with a conversation about the designs overseen by Edward Thomas, who was Production Designer for most of Series 1 through Series 5 of Doctor Who. How television was made changed in significant ways since the McCoy Doctor and Ace left our screens. With the debut of 'new Who', an executive level position, the art department head, oversaw the appearance of all physical elements in the programme. When things accidently clicked in the classic era was when television magic was made. Now the overall vision of how the episode would look would be centrally controlled by one man, Edward Thomas, so design in 21st century Who should always click, right? We talk about this change and what each of us see as his five best designed stories. Opening music is "Sycorax Encounter" and closing music is "Pandorica", both composed by Murray Gold. We recorded this episode on 5 November 2023.

We engage in a counterfactual discussion, speculating about what would have happened to Doctor Who if Russell T Davies had not been charged with bringing back the series to BBC1 in late 2003. We discuss what was happening with Who in 2003 — "The Scream of the Shalka" — and wonder what would have happened next. Would Who have returned to BBC1 later in the decade? Who would have been showrunner if not RTD? Or, would the programme have died a slow death as its fandom aged and slowly faded from memory? Opening music is "O'Carolan's Farewell" performed by Derek Bell and used in the opening of Death Comes to Time. Closing music is the Shoestring theme, composed by George Fenton. We recorded this episode on 8 October 2023.

We first chat about the 60th anniversary trailer and then continue on with our discussion of top sets and their designers with a look at 1980s Doctor Who. What share which stories make our respective top five lists and why, and then explore why we overlap in selections in this decade than in any prior era of the show. Opening music is from "The Warriors of the Deep" soundtrack, composed by Jonathan Gibbs. Closing music is "Hungry Like the Wolf," the 182 hit single from Duran Duran. We recorded this episode on 25 September 2023.

We wrap up our conversation about the Doctor Who Magazine readership story rankings with our assessment of how the Tennant, Smith, Capaldi, and Whittaker stories lined up. We comment on how fandom seems to be coalescing upon a consensus of what is the best (and worse) of the modern Doctors Who's stories. There are a few stories that we feel should be higher (and lower), but generally the order seems pretty spot on. Opening music is "I am the Doctor," composed by Murray Gold and closing music is "Thirteen," composed by Segun Akinola. We recorded this episode on 3 September 2023.

We talk about "Ncuti Gatwa on Doctor Who", the August/September 2023 RollingStone UK article. We try to tease out what sort of Doctor will Gatwa be and chat about what we hope his time in the TARDIS will be like. Opening and closing music is excerpts from the 1966 song of The Kinks, "Dedicated Follower of Fashion", written by Ray Davies. We recorded this episode on 17 July 2023.

The Metebelis Two's lazy summer look at Doctor Who sets and their designers continues into the 1970s with a top five discussion. What five sets will David choose, and will that throw Ben off his carefully balanced selections spread between designers and Doctors Who? Why are multi-level sets so great? Why is, like monsters, the color of sets green more often than not? What about other colors? And, what years actually make up the 1970s? All this and more, as Ben and David pick their top 5 sets and designers of the 1970s. Opening music is from The Sun Makers soundtrack and closing music is from the Genesis of the Daleks soundtrack, both scores composed by Dudley Simpson. We recorded this episode on 9 July 2023.

Ben and David continue their look at the Doctor Who monthly rankings by discussing the results of the 1980s Doctors, plus the Chris Eccleston stories. We theorize to why there is so little movement in the rankings over the years and lament the voting preferences of the DWM readership. The music for this episode is from The Mark of the Rani, composed by Jonathan Gibbs of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. We recorded this episode on 2 July 2023.