Debating Doctor Who

We’re back, and our long-awaited Episode L featuring “Army Of Ghosts”/“Doomsday” and “The Angels Take Manhattan” will be here very soon! (Probably Tuesday. No promises though.) In the meantime, enjoy this short podlet in which we run through most of this year’s Oscar nominees. Neither of us saw The Revenant (kind of on principle, though Episode 4.1 of the Shutdown Fullcast has some very on-point analysis), Caroline saves her discussion of The Martian for her guest spot on the National Ave podcast, and we both just kind of take it as read that Mad Max: Fury Road is the greatest thing ever and should win all the awards, dammit, so we mostly turn our attention to the other five nominees: The Big Short, Bridge Of Spies, Brooklyn, Room, and Spotlight. Which one is our fave? Which ones did we find a little underwhelming? Why does Alasdair take unprovoked shot at The Imitation Game a full year after everyone’s probably forgotten it, which is kind of his point anyway? Listen in to find out!

We offer our long-awaited review of season nine, which turns into an increasingly byzantine series of comparisons between the various new Who seasons. Is season nine like half of season five? Like season two but with season four’s Doctor? Or maybe season six divided by season three? Who even knows! (Certainly not us.) We also offer a fond farewell to all the different Claras we’ve met – and we’re not even talking about the actual multiple incarnations of Clara on the show – mourn Doctor Who’s exit from Netflix, and have a fun round of Who Alumni Theater that ranges from CW superheroes to Shakespearean history. Oh, and there’s also a digression about the numbering system of the Super Bowl for just zero reason whatsoever.

With a decent chunk of our listenership snowed in by the big blizzard, we figure now – only a month or so after the movie’s release! – is the perfect time to put out our thoughts about the new Star Wars movie. Caroline and Alasdair both admit that Star Wars has never meant as much to them as Doctor Who. (This podcast isn’t Debating Star Wars, after all.) But they both have largely positive things to say about the movie as a fun action movie, even if both are a little more skeptical of the film’s reputation as a feminist blockbuster. As podlets go, this one is as long as some of our actual episodes, but don’t worry: We’ve got a good feeling about this.

Alasdair and Caroline jump on Skype to bring you their immediate reaction to the news that Steven Moffat will be departing Doctor Who after season 10. Broadchurch and Doctor Who writer Chris Chibnall has been announced as his replacement, so the hosts look back on Chibnall’s creative output, make some predictions for the future, and help you cope with the fact that there will be no newDoctor Who episodes for almost a year!

Alasdair and Caroline break down this year’s Doctor Who Christmas special, “The Husbands Of River Song.” River is back, but is she the same River we’ve come to know and love? Caroline has a lot of thoughts on the return of one of her favorite Doctor Who characters while Alasdair expands upon his A.V. Club review to point out this episode’s strengths and weaknesses.

We're back! Alasdair reports in from the United Kingdom, where he has finally found internet access for long enough to record a podcast. Also, he's got a crazy cold and spent most of this podcast coughing up a lung! (With the microphone strategically muted, so *hopefully* that's all edited out. But, uh, no absolute promises.) Anyway, Alasdair and Caroline finally have the season-ending discussion we've all been waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for, as they get into what works and what doesn't about "Hell Bent." They are agreed it's a fine finale, but maybe not quite up to the standard set by some of this season's episodes. All that plus the greatest spin-off pitch we've ever read and not one, not two, but three David Tennant Takes! It's all just in time for the holidays (and that Christmas special that's airing, you know, tomorrow night)!

This week, we give the Danielle Fan Email of the Week Award to the most eloquent, involved, and just generally downright locquacious missive we’ve yet received as one intrepid Scottish fan shares his feelings on “Heaven Sent.” We then get into some deep discussion about “Next Time” trailers, as Alasdair dredges up half-remembred fan controversies from 2005. Then we positively rave about “Heaven Sent,” but not before we sort out to our satisfaction precisely what happened in this remarkable episode. And yes: As far as we can work out, the Doctor ran the maze in his underwear at least once.

Your emails guide us through this week’s discussion, as we kick things off by considering what a male companion might mean for the show and the very real possibility that Steven Moffat is basing his creative decisions off what we say on this podcast. Also, Caroline offers some Who Alum Theater thoughts on the David Tennant-starring, Marvel-produced Netflix show Jessica Jones. Then we get into some serious discussion of the heartbreaking “Face The Raven,” reading emails both positive and … well, maybe not negative, exactly, but less than positive about this game-changing episode. But how do Caroline and Alasdair feel about this pivotal story? You know you’re going to need to listen to find out!

We kick things off by giving the Danielle Fan Email of the Week award to a listener whose email made Caroline cry (and Alasdair quite liked it too!), then read a pair of ridiculously insightful emails about how Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat are different without either necessarily being better. (Seriously: Great emails, everyone. Keep it up, please.) Then Caroline and Alasdair get into “Sleep No More,” an episode both feel is mostly just okay but sparks a lot of critical discussion about why it’s just so “meh.” Plus some more discussion about what Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are bringing to the show this season, how the Davies and Moffat Doctors are fundamentally different, and an impromptu discussing of Mark Gatiss episodes just in general.

We kick off the podcast this week with an epic mail roundup of listener responses to our “Day Of The Doctor” podcast, as Caroline continues to try her darnedest to keep the discussion focused on the 10th Doctor’s hair. We then take a deep dive on the morality of “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion,” with Alasdair admitted he both wants Peter Harness to be the new showrunner and wants him to never write another episode, because it’s just too much trouble. We agree this is a great, ambitious story that’s messy in the way Doctor Who probably ought to be, but what precisely is this two-parter trying to say? All that and some more general praise for how great Peter Capaldi has been this year.

An epic 50th anniversary special demands an epic podcast, as Caroline and Alasdair obliterate the two-hour barrier (without even taking a break!) debating “The Day Of The Doctor.” But first, we read a couple emails, give some quick thoughts on the first half of the current Zygon two-parter, and discuss how the 12th Doctor has really come into his own this year, and it’s probably all down to Peter Capaldi growing his hair out. As for “The Day Of The Doctor,” Caroline has some contrarian takes on this largely beloved special, and she and Alasdair discuss how 75 minutes as masterfully executed and endlessly entertaining as this can still have some really misconceived elements. We agree everything with Queen Elizabeth I is … not great, but what about John Hurt’s War Doctor and the return of Gallifrey? And will anyone remember that, hey, Billie Piper is in this thing?

Our attempt to keep these podcasts shorter and more manageable totally fails as we come so, so close to the two-hour mark. But fear not, for it’s all in a good cause! We’ve got our latest Danielle Fan Email of the Week Award winner dropping some serious rare books knowledge, a very special round of Who Alum theater looking at David Tennant’s latest projects, and some general Big Finish talk. We then go long on “The Woman Who Lived,” which is really great, but maybe not the greatest of all time? Oh, you better believe we’re doing some nitpicking this week! Plus, a random digression into some of the show’s more notable directors, as Alasdair punches up his five favorite directors more or less on the fly. Yeah, this week is a journey.

Caroline is back! And she regales us with stories of her recent trip to New York, while Alasdair details his recent stay with a Who-loving family in San Francisco. Then we read maybe our favorite fan email ever (and when you hear the last line, you’ll instantly agree), kick around the question of what would happen if a Doctor or companion just didn’t work at all, and talk the latest Star Wars trailer. Then: “The Girl Who Died,” guest starring Game Of Thrones’s own Maisie Williams! Alasdair is on record as almost aggressively loving this episode, but how does Caroline feel? As the 12th (and 7th) Doctor so eloquently put it: Time will tell. It always does.

Friend of the show Kate Kulzick fills in as cohost this week as she and Alasdair break down the latest two-parter, "Under The Lake" / "Before The Flood." But first, we award the Danielle Fan Email of the Week award to listener Caroline S. (no, wait, that’s too obvious, let’s say a Ms. Siede), whose question is so good that (a) we’ll probably invite her on the show next week and (b) Kate and Alasdair take like 25 minutes to answer it, despite it just being, "What’s your favorite and least favorite 12th Doctor story?" Also, the team discusses the newly announced Doctor Who spinoff and the news of John Hurt-starring War Doctor audios, which Alasdair feels people aren’t sufficiently irrationally exuberant about.

It’s Caroline’s birthday … and she’s not here! But here’s a little present for you all, as Alasdair shares a recent live episode of the podcast at the DSI Comedy Theater in Chapel Hill, N.C. It’s a deeply silly bit of fun as Alasdair and two Who-loving improvisers discuss the show, including a worrying amount of discussion of the 1996 TV movie. We’ll be back soon as a special guest co-host joins Alasdair to chat about “Under The Lake” and “Before The Flood.”

We’re back (again)! Busy schedules and crashing computers kept us away, but here we are to give our thoughts on the opening two-parter of the new season. (Spoiler alert: We liked it!) (Double spoiler alert: We *really* liked Michelle Gomez and Julian Bleach!) Also our thoughts on the comings and goings of the Doctor’s friends, as Jenna Coleman announces her departure and River Song returns at Christmas.

We get back into the swing of things with a news wrap up: We discuss all the Doctor Who-related happenings at San Diego Comic Con, share our thoughts on the new trailer, look ahead to season nine, and chat about some major developments in the world of Big Finish Audiobooks.

We’re sorry, we’re so, so sorry that we’ve been away for so long. But we’re finally back, chatting about what we did on our podcast vacation.

We’re back with a very special episode we recorded IN THE SAME ROOM when Alasdair came to visit Chicago. Even better, friend of the show Kate Kulzick makes her triumphant return to Debating Doctor Who! We chat about Clara’s arc in season 8, the possibility of River Song’s return, and our favorite one-off characters and concepts. Then in our second half, we make a last minute adjustment to our plans (we’ll discuss “The Bells Of St. John” and the Sontaran two-parter next week) to take a look at the RTD bonanza that is “Stolen Earth” / "Journey’s End." Kate, Alasdair, and Caroline examine the good, the bad, and the very bad of this epic two-parter.

We read one of our all-time favorite listener emails, chat about some Doctor Who news (Missy is back!), and reintroduce Who Alumni Theater to discuss a terrible rom-com and a ridiculous sci-fi space opera. Then in our second half, we discuss two episodes that ostensibly want to explore science, "The Lazarus Experiment" and "The Rebel Flesh" / "The Almost People." We quite liked one and rather disliked the other.