Doctor Who: The Metebelis 2

It's the summer lull! So what better time to persuade their respective better halfs to sit down with them to watch the 1965 movie adaptation of the first Dalek adventure known by all as Dr. Who and the Daleks, starring Peter Cushing as the inventor, Dr. Who. Along with his granddaughters Susie Who, played by Roberta Tovey, and Barbara Who, played by Jennie Linden. They are joined by Barbara's boyfriend, Ian Chesterton played by Roy Castle. Ben remembers how his 8-year-old self was unsettled by seeing the host of Record Breakers on the BBC playing Ian. He also watching this not-Who movie made his boyhood self seethe with rage. Meanwhile, David wonders what the movie would have been like if Bill Hartnell and the other original members of time team reprised their roles and how he would have reworked the script for the big screen. Opening music is the theme to Dr. Who and the Daleks, composed by Malcolm Lockyer. Closing music is the 1961 45" single, "A Lonesome Cup of Coffee", sung by Roy Castle and featuring Wal

Father's Day! To mark our sixth anniversary of podcasting, we discuss fathers in Doctor Who. We talk about the fathers in the show who made the most memorable appearances for us. We ask what is the role of dads in Who throughout the show's history? Can Davros be considered as a father and was he a good dad? We briefly note that some fathers on screen acted alongside their children from time-to-time in Who. And, weigh in whether or not the plans for the McGann Doctor to search the universe for his father, Ulysses, was a lost opportunity, or not. So all things dad in this episode of the Metebelis Two. Opening music is from the Father's Day score, composed by Murray Gold. Closing music is from the 1968 single from The Zombies, "Time of the Season". We recorded this episode on 19 June 2022.

Eighteen months have passed since Revolution of the Daleks was first broadcast. Has Ben's opinion of it changed over time? Having just watch the story for the first time, David could relate with the Doctor when she felt "mostly angry" about the Timeless Children. We say hello again to Jack Robertson and say our goodbyes to Ryan and Graham. Mostly we just ask each other, why does Chris Chibnall keeps telling us how great things are instead of actually showing us? Opening music is "367 Minutes" and closing music is "Something Revolutionary" both composed by Segun Akinola. We recorded this episode on 5 June 2022.

The floodgates of Doctor Who recording news were opened with the casting announcement of Jasmin Finney as Rose mk 2 and the return of David Tennant as the Doctor and Katherine Tate as Donna. We speculate about what changes RTD has in store for the viewers and lament the end of the Whittaker era and the overall lack of buzz during the Chibnall era. Opening music is "Hanging on the Tablaphone" and closing music is "All The Strange, Strange Creatures" both composed by Murray Gold. We recorded this episode on 17 May 2022.

Fresh off Beltane, we discuss stories with the occult in Doctor Who. After a brief background of the folk horror in British cinema, we dive into The Dæmons and other stories looking for common themes and tropes that are used in Who. Opening and closing music is of the Morris dancers from The Dæmons soundtrack. We recorded this episode on 8 May 2022.

Our reaction to Ncuti Gatwa being cast by Russell T Davies as the next Doctor Who. Opening music is "I Can Change" by Ezra Furman. Closing music is Segun Akinola's arrangement of the Doctor Who Theme. We recorded this episode on 8 May 2022.

Returning monsters are a hallmark of Doctor Who from Sea Devils to Daleks, we look at the second act of popular monsters of the classic era. We talk about which monster return worked and how to villains and monsters intersect. And, speculate on some missed opportunies of monsters that had one-and-done outtings. Opening music is "We're Doing a Sequel" from the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted. Closing music is "The Master's Plan" composed by Malcolm Clarke from soundtrack of The Sea Devils. We recorded this episode on 24 April 2022.

Ben, having recently installed an art exhibit at Balmoral Castle, has been pondering the great impact that Scotland and the Scots have made on Doctor Who. David was surprised to learn that the Brigadier wasn't always Scottish and it was director Douglas Camfield that gave Col. Lethbridge his hyphenated surname Stewart. Jamie McCrimmon, Amy Pond, and three Doctors Who from Scotland, plus one showrunner, Scotland is ever-present in the TARDIS. Opening and closing music is from Terror of the Zygons, composed by Geoffrey Burgon. We recorded this episode on 2 April 2022.

Yeti menacing the London underground — one of the most iconic images of Doctor Who in the 1960s; and we discuss The Web of Fear in this podcast. Ben recalls how the Target cover by Chris Achilleos for The Abominable Snowmen with its yeti with a hint of fang helped confuse him when he first saw the mark 2 version. David fell in love with this story after hearing the narrated soundtrack and dreams about being a yeti cosplayer at Doctor Who conventions. We touch upon the missing episode 3 and how the fan animation made by Adam Bullock helped bridge the gap in 2013 and what to make of the new 3d motion-capture animation. Opening music is "Palpitations", composed by J. Scott and, closing music is "Music For Strings, Percussion, and Celesta, SZ 106 - 3. Adagio", composed by Béla Bartók and performed by RIAS Symphony Orchestra, directed by Ferenc Fricsay. We recorded this episode on 13 March 2022.

After recording 199 podcasts together, do Ben and David know each other well enough to correctly pick which stories are on one another's top ten list of Doctor Who stories? Let's hope so! Opening music is is "Strangers When We Meet" by The Smithereens and closing music is from "Space Time Music, part 1" composed by Wilfred Josephs. We recorded this episode on 27 February 2022.

Ben is joined this episode by two very special guests, Lena Barkin and Jess Jurkovic, in the middle of the hustle and bustle of LobbyCon during the waning hours of 32nd Gallifrey One! Everyone is in a jovial mood and celebrating with friends the conclusion of another great Doctor Who convention. The video of her pitch for the 60th anniversary special can be viewed on Vimeo. Opening music is from The Claws of Axos and closing music is from "The Carnival of Monsters" composed by Dudley Simpson. We recorded this episode on 20 February 2022.

Ben reports in live from Day 2 of the 32nd Gallifrey One convention in the City of Weeping Angels. Ben talks about the Kaffeeklatsch with Matthew Sweet, the British broadcaster and journalist, Big Finish news, what and when to expect with The Abominable Snowmen animation, seeing Jo Martin, Mandeep Gill, and Sacha Dhawan in a crowded Hall A, and how "fried" is the flavour of the food trunks this year at the convention. Opening music is from The Claws of Axos and closing music is from The Two Doctors incidental music composed by Peter Howell. We recorded this episode on 19 February 2022.

Ben reports in live from Day 1 of the 32nd Gallifrey One convention in sunny Los Angeles, California. Ben talks about meeting Michael Jayston, hearing Sacha Dhawan, the Blu-Ray panel, cosplay, and more! Opening music is from The Claws of Axos and closing music is by Blink-182. We recorded this episode on 18 February 2022.

We are joined this podcast by Lena Barkin and Jess Jurkovic for our Gallifrey One pre-panel! We chat about the whole con experience from meeting people, being on panels, cosplay, the dealers' room, our hopes and expectations, and more! Opening music is from "Jet Airliner" by the Steve Miller Band and closing music is an alternative take of "Day Tripper" by The Beatles. We recorded this episode on 6 February 2022.

We turn our focus to The Power of the Daleks - special edition and marvel upon its many improvements, some obvious and others more subtle. Then we discuss the news that BBC America is ending funding for future animations and the Conservative government under Boris Johnson is freezing, and then ending funding for the BBC. The podcast's music was composed by Tristram Cary for The Daleks, and used also for Power's soundtrack. We recorded this episode on 16 January 2022.

The recent animation watch continues with a discussion of Galaxy 4, the first Hartnell story animated since the end of the DVD range. David is impressed by the planet set design and the near-perfect likeness of Vicki in her animated form, and enjoys the Hartnell line mishaps with the script. Ben questions the switch from lace-up boots to go-go boots, which opens the door to other interesting decisions made producing this animation. This episode's music is "Marche" from Les Structures Sonorés used as incidental music in Galaxy 4. We recorded this episode on 9 January 2022.

We discuss The Evil of the Daleks recently released as an animated recreation or reinterpretation of the 1967 story starring Patrick Troughton. Ben is intrigued by the decisions the production team made that diverge from the original presentation and likens the animation project to the restoration of damaged art. David wonders if Whitaker's script could be tighter with fewer characters. Along the way we, discover Rutans disguised as Christmas puddings, ponder why Maxtible has a dungeon and traps and a Turkish wrestler on staff, and the lost story of the great Dalek-Chumbley war. Opening music is Jack Trombley's "Mexican Beat" and closing music is the Dalek's entrance music composed by Dudley Simpson, both pieces are from The Evil of the Daleks soundtrack. We recorded this episode on 30 December 2021.

For a brief five or so years, the BBC broadcast an omnibus version of Doctor Who in the middle of the Christmas week holiday, usually on 27 December. We talk about how Barry Letts got this viewing tradition underway and ruminate on why by the time Graham Williams became producer that the omnibus specials had ceased to be. We then discuss the relevance of omnibus repeats for audiences in the 21st century in a television landscape dominated by streaming and in-home video. Opening music is from The Sea Devils, composed by Malcolm Clarke. Closing music is from Genesis of the Daleks, composed by Dudley Simpson and recreated by Benji Clifford. We recorded this episode on 23 December 2021.

We talk about the use of big monsters across the history of Doctor Who. Does enlarging the monster up its threat level, make it more scary, or just make it seem ridiculous? Does one size of monster work better than others? Does one size fit all? Opening music is Dudley Simpson's (Giant) Robot theme. Closing music is Murray Gold's "Monster Bossa". We recorded this episode on 20 June 2021.

We hold an informal meeting of the Doctor Who's writer room to pitch new story ideas with underrated monsters for the Whittaker Doctor to face in series 13. Which monsters get green lit and which ones are put back on the shelf? Opening music is "The Bell Plants" composed by Peter Howell from Meglos. Closing music begins with "The Axons Approach" composed by Dudley Simpson with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and ends with Jodie Whittaker singing Coldplay's "Yellow" from the BBC Children in Need album, Got It Covered. We recorded this episode on 13 June 2021.