Who will make Doctor Who next? And after the Disney+ experiment, could the programme be heading for its biggest reinvention since 2005?

In this edition of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the uncertain future of Doctor Who, from the BBC's search for a new production company to the controversy surrounding AI-generated Doctor Who.

We start with the BBC's search for a new production partner. With Jed Mercurio, World Productions, ITV Studios and STV Studios among the names being discussed, Christian and James consider what a change of production company could mean for the series. Could Doctor Who move to Scotland? Would a smaller, more character-driven approach work better? And does the programme need to rediscover what made it successful in the first place?

Then, we move onto the AI comments from new BBC Director-General Matt Britton. They've led to concerns within the organization and beyond about the implications for actors, writers and the wider television industry. Is artificial intelligence a useful creative tool, or does it threaten the very people who make television worth watching?

In this episode

• Jed Mercurio and the companies interested in producing the next era.
• The possibility of ITV Studios or STV Studios taking over production.
• Whether Doctor Who needs a new creative direction as well as a new production company.
• The controversy surrounding AI-generated television and the BBC's response.

Join the conversation!

Hello! Another Kasterborous chat for you this week with the full team of Christian Cawley, James McLean, and Brian Terranova.

This time, we're bringing together three conversations about television past and present — from the frustrations of streaming to Doctor Who edits and the decidedly different world of 1970s superheroes.

First, has streaming actually made it harder to discover good television? With programmes scattered across an ever-growing collection of services, we look at how finding something to watch has changed — and whether we've lost something from the days when you could simply stumble across a great programme.

Then we turn to Doctor Who. If you could go back to the original material and make your own edit, what would you change? Which stories could benefit from a little judicious cutting, rearranging or reconsideration?

Finally, it's back to the 1970s and two very different attempts to bring Marvel superheroes to television: Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk. Long before the MCU established what audiences expect from live-action superheroes, television had its own ideas about how these characters should work.

Three conversations, one extended edition of Kasterborous.

In this edition:

• Has streaming killed the accidental discovery of great television?

• The problem with programmes being scattered across multiple services

• What would we re-edit in classic Doctor Who?

• Looking back at television with the benefit of hindsight

• The strange world of 1970s live-action Spider-Man

• Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno and The Incredible Hulk

• How superhero television changed long before the MCU

Why did radio drama and comedy remain such a strong part of British broadcasting — while largely disappearing from American radio?

In this edition of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova start with the very different audio traditions on either side of the Atlantic. Along the way, they encounter The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars on radio, Big Finish, and some almost-forgotten Doctor Who radio productions.

That leads to the peculiar British tradition of bringing television comedy to radio, including Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder.

But why did The Black Adder change so dramatically after its first series? Christian and Brian discuss the huge scale of Rowan Atkinson's original medieval comedy, the reduced budget that helped reshape the programme, the transformation of Blackadder and Baldrick, and whether moving comedy into the studio actually made it better.

There's also Red Dwarf, live studio audiences, Jeeves and Wooster, Not Going Out, Fawlty Towers, panel shows, and the question of why British and American sitcoms developed such different approaches to comedy.

In this episode:

• Why radio drama survived in Britain
• Doctor Who before Big Finish
• The British tradition of comedy on radio
• The Black Adder vs Blackadder II
• What happened when the budget disappeared
• Do sitcoms need a live audience?
• Red Dwarf: Back to Earth
• British vs American sitcoms
• When sitcoms start becoming dramas

The BBC has formally begun looking for the production team that will take Doctor Who into its next era — and some of the details suggest the series could be made rather differently in future.

This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean examine the BBC's new Invitation to Tender for Doctor Who, including its emphasis on high-concept science fiction, distinctively British storytelling and episodic writers — and the intriguing suggestion that the programme may no longer follow the traditional showrunner model.

Does the tender represent a genuine fresh start for Doctor Who? What does the BBC's instruction not to consult previous BBC Studios or Bad Wolf production teams tell us about its intentions? And with a new production unlikely to reach television until 2028 or 2029, what happens in the meantime?

That leads to something rather more controversial: Doctor Who Reboot, a fan project using generative AI to create an unofficial continuation of the series.

Christian and James discuss the results, the potential intellectual-property problem, and the much bigger question of whether using AI to recreate Doctor Who is fundamentally at odds with the programme itself.

After all, if the Doctor is a character who repeatedly champions human creativity, individuality and freedom over technological conformity, is AI-generated Doctor Who a particularly strange contradiction?

Plus: the Master's latest trick may have nothing on the Kasterborous YouTube channel finally passing 200 subscribers.

With Christian Cawley and James McLean.

The Master has been cheating death almost as long as the Doctor has been saving the universe — but can all those different incarnations actually be fitted into a coherent timeline?

Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova take a trip through the Master's complicated history, from Roger Delgado and the decaying Master to Anthony Ainley, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi, John Simm and Michelle Gomez.

Along the way, they revisit an old theory connecting the Master of the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie with The Deadly Assassin, examine Big Finish's rather more elaborate attempt to make sense of the Master's regenerations, and consider what Eric Roberts has brought to the role on audio.

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You can watch this week's episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUCImw-B1Cc
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But continuity is only half the story. Was Doctor Who robbed of a potentially definitive Master by giving Derek Jacobi so little screen time? How does his colder interpretation compare with Delgado's original? And did John Simm effectively get a second chance to play the Master when he returned opposite Peter Capaldi?

It's an attempt to untangle one of Doctor Who's most complicated characters — and work out what actually makes a great Master.

With Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova.

What happens next to Doctor Who — and who might actually make it?

Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the latest speculation surrounding the programme's future, including Netflix's apparent lack of interest and Amazon's much more welcoming response to the prospect of getting involved.

Could Amazon do for Doctor Who what it once did for Ripper Street? Would moving further into the streaming world give the programme greater creative freedom, or would something important be lost along the way?

Then there's the small matter of Billie Piper.

With Mark Gatiss discussing the unresolved ending to the most recent series, Christian and James consider whether a future production team really needs to explain what happened — or whether Doctor Who should simply move forward.

From Sherlock and Dallas to Blake's 7, Sapphire & Steel and the Seventh Doctor's final adventure, we look at the peculiar power of an unresolved ending — and wonder whether Doctor Who's controversial cliffhanger might actually be helping to keep the series alive in the public imagination.

With Christian Cawley and James McLean.

Chris Carter has returned to 2008's The X-Files: I Want to Believe and created a new director's cut — but unusually, his preferred version is shorter than the film we already had.

James McLean and Brian Terranova have watched the new cut and join Christian Cawley to discuss what's changed, including its renewed emphasis on horror, alterations to Mulder and Scully's relationship, and whether Carter has actually made I Want to Believe a better movie.

But that raises a bigger question: when should creators stop changing their own work?

From Chris Carter and The X-Files, the conversation moves to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, George Lucas and Star Wars, fan edits and the very idea of a definitive version.

Films and television are collaborative works involving writers, directors, actors, editors, composers, and producers. So when somebody returns decades later to create their preferred cut, whose work are they actually changing?

And does being the director necessarily give them the final word?

With Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova.

What should Doctor Who do next? We look to its uncertain future — and back to the BBC's memorable Doctor Who Night in 1999.

Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova discuss Dean Devlin's recent comments about Doctor Who, the prospect of another David Tennant return, and whether the programme might benefit from something resembling the clean break it received in 2005.

Should a future producer embrace decades of continuity, or give new viewers an easier way in? Could Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor provide a bridge to another incarnation? And has Doctor Who become too reliant on its own past?

Then we head back to 1999, when Doctor Who faced a very different uncertain future, to revisit BBC Two's Doctor Who Night.

Featuring Tom Baker, specially made sketches, documentaries and a showing of the 1996 TV movie, the evening arrived at a fascinating point in Doctor Who history: ten years after the original series ended and several years before its eventual return.

Was Doctor Who Night simply a nostalgic celebration — or, looking back, can we see the beginnings of the rehabilitation that eventually brought the Doctor back to Saturday-night television?

What happens when the films and TV programmes we grew up with aren't quite the same things we remember?

This week, a mix of Doctor Who and Star Wars, with Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova beginning with some surprising discoveries about Luke Skywalker's decidedly ordinary trousers and Han Solo's blaster, changing lightsaber props, and the surprisingly problematic dimensions of the Millennium Falcon.

That leads us into the world of film and television restoration. What can modern transfers reveal that VHS and old television broadcasts concealed? And why might the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies never make the jump to true 4K?

Doctor Who presents another puzzle. The series has always contained changing props, models, sets, and continuity, yet fans seem remarkably willing to accept them. More recent projects such as The War Games in Colour take things further, effectively creating alternative versions of familiar stories.

Then things get personal. James reveals that he edits songs he likes into what he considers their "correct" versions, leading to a discussion about fan edits, remixing, copyright and whether audiences have always customised the media they consume.

As CGI, AI and increasingly powerful editing tools become available to everyone, could personalised versions of films and television become commonplace? And if we can all "fix" the things we don't like, are we still watching the same thing?

What actually counts as Doctor Who canon—and who gets to decide? 

Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova head down the rabbit hole of Doctor Who fan productions, unofficial spin-offs and alternative continuities, beginning with Brian's experiences developing his own Orville fan production. 

That leads us to Doctor Who projects such as Downtime, and The Stranger, where familiar actors and characters could appear in productions that existed somewhere between fan fiction and the television programme they were inspired by. 

An additional "aftershow" section for subscribers: https://www.patreon.com/cw/kasterborous/membership

But things become even more complicated once officially licensed Doctor Who enters the equation. Does Big Finish "count?" What happens when established continuity contradicts something that was previously accepted? And is our obsession with arranging television, audio, comics and other media into a hierarchy of "canon" itself part of the problem? 

We also discuss different approaches to shared fictional universes, why people create fan films and fiction in the first place, and how working within an established universe can help develop creative skills. 

Finally, there's the curious case of Richard E. Grant: announced as the official Ninth Doctor for Scream of the Shalka—only for the return of Doctor Who to television to rewrite his place in the programme's history. So perhaps the real question isn't simply what counts as Doctor Who canon, but whether canon matters as much as we think it does. 

Shownotes

What can Tracy Island, Wonky Donkey and a TARDIS tell us about growing up with television in the 1990s? 

Well, Christian Cawley is about to find out. 

He chats with author Thom Gray about 100 Objects of '90s Children's TV, his celebration of a decade of CBBC, CITV, Saturday morning shows and programmes that have since slipped from memory, which is out now from Candy Bar Books.

Thom explains how the book came together, the challenges of researching children's television from the period, and his conversations with around 35 people who helped make it, including Pat Sharp, Anne Wood and Tony Robinson. 

We also delve into some of the 100 objects themselves, including Anthea Turner's famous Blue Peter Tracy Island, Wonky Donkey from SM:TV Live, the MicroSoap Rubik's Cube, and the TARDIS. Doctor Who might have been absent from television for most of the 1990s, but it wasn't entirely absent from children's TV. Thom explains how the TARDIS continued appearing elsewhere during the Wilderness Years, prompting a wider discussion about Doctor Who's curious place in the decade. 

Plus: forgotten programmes, VHS tapes, YouTube archaeology, and why '90s children's television is ripe for rediscovery. 

Links

This week’s podcast explores what the future might hold for Doctor Who—and whether the problems facing the BBC’s flagship series are really part of a much bigger shift across television and film.

Hosted by Christian Cawley and James McLean, the show discusses Sylvester McCoy’s surprise appearance in the Commonwealth Games trailer, what it tells us about the BBC’s continuing commitment to Doctor Who, and the implications of the programme’s move to open tender.

From there, the conversation broadens into Marvel fatigue, Netflix’s audience drop-offs, Spider-Noir, Chris Chibnall’s attempts to reinvent Doctor Who, and whether modern audiences still want long-running serialised storytelling—or something completely different.

Talking points:

• Sylvester McCoy and the Commonwealth Games trailer
• BBC Studios and Doctor Who’s future
• What happens after Bad Wolf?
• Why Marvel’s current strategy may no longer work
• Spider-Noir and character-first storytelling
• Reassessing Chris Chibnall’s era
• What Netflix’s viewing figures tell us
• Why Doctor Who may need a completely different release strategy

This week, Christian Cawley, James McLean, and a returning Brian Terranova revisit Doctor Who Series Two (2006)!

Twenty years after Doctor Who Series Two first aired, we look back at the stories that established David Tennant as the Doctor and cemented the modern series as a television phenomenon.

From New Earth and Tooth and Claw to School Reunion, The Girl in the Fireplace and the return of the Cybermen, we revisit our original reactions, discuss how our opinions have changed over the years, and ask whether this celebrated run of episodes deserves its reputation.

The conversation also broadens into a look at modern Doctor Who as a whole, from the Chibnall era to Russell T Davies' recent return, considering which stories have stood the test of time and how fandom's views continue to evolve.

In this episode

• Looking back at Doctor Who Series Two (2006)
• First impressions versus twenty years of hindsight
• New Earth and the strengths (and weaknesses) of the opening story
• Tooth and Claw and the evolving Doctor/Rose relationship
• Why School Reunion remains one of the defining stories of the era
• Revisiting The Girl in the Fireplace
• The Cybermen's return in Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel
• Which episodes have improved with age—and which haven't
• Flux, the Whittaker era and recent Doctor Who highlights

• Why every era of Doctor Who has both classics and disappointments

Doctor Who artist Lee Sullivan joins Christian Cawley to look back on a career that has spanned Transformers, Marvel UK, Doctor Who Magazine, and some of the most memorable comic strips of the Seventh and Eighth Doctor eras.

Beginning with his childhood love of comics and Gerry Anderson, Lee explains how an ambition to become a comic strip artist eventually led him from British Aerospace to Marvel UK, where he cut his teeth drawing Transformers before unexpectedly becoming one of Doctor Who's defining artists.

The unedited interview is available on our Patreon.

The conversation explores the creative process behind classic Doctor Who Magazine strips, the challenges of sequential storytelling, and the evolution of the comic throughout the Wilderness Years and beyond. 

Along the way, Lee discusses: 

• How Transformers became his first professional comic strip work. 
• Breaking into Marvel UK and working with editors including Richard Starkings. 
• Becoming a Doctor Who artist during the programme's 25th anniversary. 
• The enduring popularity of the Seventh Doctor comic strips. 
• Bringing the Eighth Doctor to life in comic form. 
• Storytelling techniques, page layouts and visual pacing. 
• Working on graphic novels, illustrations and Doctor Who publications beyond the comic strip. 
• Why Doctor Who has remained such a constant throughout his career. 

The conversation continues beyond Doctor Who this week as Christian Cawley and James McLean turn their attention to the changing world of film, gaming, and digital entertainment.

Starting with the prospects for DC Studios’ Supergirl and the current state of superhero cinema, the discussion broadens into the future of the cinema experience, the decline of physical media, and what it really means to own the films and games we pay for.

Along the way, they consider whether streaming has changed our relationship with entertainment forever, why Blu-rays and boxed games still have a place on the shelf, and whether services like Steam have fundamentally altered consumer expectations.

Also discussed:

• Is superhero fatigue really to blame for declining cinema audiences?

• DC Studios, Marvel Studios and the challenge of rebuilding franchises.

• Why some films still deserve to be seen on the big screen.

• The continuing appeal of Blu-ray and other physical media.

• Sony’s changing approach to physical PlayStation releases.

• Steam, digital ownership and the risks of an all-digital future.

• Evercade and the resurgence of physical retro gaming.

• Windows 11, ageing hardware and planned obsolescence.

The Doctor Who world lost one of its most important creative voices with the passing of Justin Richards. This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean celebrate his remarkable contribution to the Whoniverse and discuss why his work mattered to generations of fans.

From the Virgin New Adventures to BBC Books, Big Finish audio dramas, comics, and countless reference works, Justin Richards helped define Doctor Who during the years it was off television—and continued shaping the franchise long after its return.

Christian and James both experienced the books when they were released, back when there was no Doctor Who on TV. Pre-Big Finish, these titles were the only tangible Doctor Who stories beyond the comic strip and the short-lived TV Movie, and were vital to positioning Doctor Who as a serious brand. 

Along the way, the conversation explores favourite novels, the evolution of Doctor Who publishing, and the enduring importance of books in keeping the series alive between 1989 and 2005. 

Also in this episode: 

• Updates from the growing Kasterborous Archive on Patreon.

• A preview of an upcoming interview with Doctor Who artist Lee Sullivan.

• Our favourite Justin Richards novels and recommendations for new readers.

• The transition from Virgin Books to the BBC Books range.

• Justin Richards’ editorial influence on Doctor Who publishing.

• Why the Wilderness Years remain one of Doctor Who’s most creative periods.

Christian Cawley and James McLean address some recent show reviews and consider a growing trend in major fandoms: the desire to rewind the clock, and remove episodes, or movies, that don’t align.

Following a surprising Apple Podcasts review that labelled certain eras of Doctor Who as “ersatz,” they dive into the psychology of canon, the reality of “brand positivity,” and why big studios might actually consider wiping the slate clean.

This episode first aired on our Patreon. Support the Kasterborous Archive on Patreon, and unlock interviews and "lost" items from our old website.

Our topics this week

• The “professional” fans: Christian reads out a selection of listener reviews, including a three-star critique that calls out the “modern abomination” of Doctor Who.

• Defining “ersatz” Who: Where do you draw the line? Is everything off-screen fake? We discuss the subjective nature of what “counts” as real Doctor Who.

• The Star Wars sequel trilogy erasure rumours: Addressing the recurring social media storm that Disney is planning to “delete” the Star Wars sequels. Is it a legitimate business move or just fan wish-fulfilment?

• Canon as an audience construct: James argues that while fans obsess over timelines, producers only care about IP utility. Does “canon” even exist to the people making the movies?

In this episode of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and James McLean take a trip down memory lane to discuss the infamous "wilderness years" of Doctor Who. 

Inspired by current industry headlines and the recent status of the series, they recall and reflects on how they—and the wider fandom—navigated the period following the show's 1989 cancellation. 

Key topics this week

• The "Cancellation" Conversation: We break down the current state of Doctor Who and explore whether rumors of cancellation are merely a strategic attempt to generate discourse or a genuine reflection of industry instability. 

• 1989 vs. Now: Comparing the experience of the late 80s with the modern era, and why it is so difficult for fans to determine the actual status of a production in today’s "post-truth" media landscape. 

• The 90s Wilderness Years: James and Christian recall how they stayed engaged with the show during the hiatus, focusing on the rise of the Virgin New Adventures novels, VHS releases, and the importance of specialist shops like Forbidden Planet. 

• Canonicity and Cash Cows: A deep dive into the 90s obsession with "official" canon and the changing perception of tie-in merchandise—from "crass commercial cash cows" to the more integrated, sophisticated marketing seen in modern franchise media. 

• The Power of Independent Media: We highlight the opportunities for creativity in the "digital wild west," referencing the work of people like Gareth Kavanagh and Cutaway Comics as a blueprint for how fans and creators can keep a franchise alive.

Mentions and links

• Substack: Follow our latest writing and discussions at gamingretro.substack.com.
• Cutaway Comics: Check out the excellent work being done by Gareth Kavanagh and the team at Cutaway Comics.

• Support our work in bringing lost and forgotten interviews and features from our old website to the Kasterborous Archive

Christian, Brian, and James dive into the complex, hodgepodge world of special effects in Classic Doctor Who. From the creative ingenuity required to mask limited budgets to the philosophical debate between practical effects and modern CGI, the team explores what makes certain classic effects timeless while others fall short.

Key Discussion Points:

• The Art of "Classic" FX: Discussion on why classic Doctor Who effects often feel more engaging than seamless modern CGI, specifically the audience's enjoyment in understanding the "how-to" behind the curtain.

• Practical vs. CGI: Why practical effects, such as elaborate alien suits, maintained a sense of reality through consistent lighting and physical interaction, whereas some modern CGI struggles with aging and believability.

• The "Rubber Nose" Trope: Examining the shift in alien design from elaborate, ambitious suits to the more common Star Trek: TNG-inspired humanoid-with-a-prosthetic approach, and whether this was due to budget constraints, audience expectations, or actor comfort.

• CSO (Chroma Key) Analysis: A deep dive into the use of CSO in Classic Doctor Who, highlighting the technical ambition of stories like Underworld—despite its flaws—and comparing it to the near-seamless work in Silver Nemesis.

• The Best and Worst Effects: We offer our thoughts on what are the best and worst special effects in classic Doctor Who. Let us know what you think, as we really only skimmed the surface in this episode.

• Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks, Silver Nemesis, The Five Doctors, Underworld, Revenge of the Cybermen, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Trial of a Time Lord.

• Blake’s 7: Discussion on the recent release with updated VFX.

• Star Trek: Comparisons between its alien designs and the riskier, more varied approach taken by Doctor Who.

• Random Acts of Hopkirk (Deceased): Tom Baker’s interaction with extensive green screen work.

The TARDIS is changing hands—or at least, the keys might be. In a massive shake-up, the BBC has officially put Doctor Who out to tender, signaling a potential end to the current Russell T Davies era. While the show is far from cancelled, the search for a new production house to take the helm has sent shockwaves through the fandom.

Join Christian Cawley and James McLean as they break down the implications of this news. What does it mean for the future of the series? Could this open the door for a radical creative shift, or are we looking at a period of uncertainty as the show prepares for its next phase?

We also weigh in on whether the festive hiatus is a temporary blip or a sign that the BBC’s priorities are shifting away from appointment viewing.

Tune in as we dissect the headlines and try to make sense of one of the biggest Doctor Who news stories of the year.

As ever, let us know what you think. 

This week on Kasterborous, Christian chats with Gareth Kavanagh about the latest Kickstarter from Cutaway Comics, Paradise Towers: Unalive the Multiverse.

Returning to the neon-soaked world of Doctor Who's classic 1987 story Paradise Towers, the new graphic novel continues the adventures of the Kangs, Rezzies, and Caretakers as a fresh threat emerges from across the multiverse. The project is written by Sean Mason and builds on Cutaway's previous Paradise Towers comics. 

Visit the Paradise Towers: Unalive the Multiverse Kickstarter.

Christian and Gareth discuss:

• Why Paradise Towers remains such a rich setting nearly 40 years after its television debut

• The development of Unalive the Multiverse
  
  

• Cutaway Comics' approach to expanding corners of the Doctor Who universe

• The continuing involvement of original Paradise Towers creator Stephen Wyatt

• Wyatt's first-ever comic strip, Scary Cat, created especially for this project

• The importance of creating opportunities for new comic creators

• The search for a brand-new artist to illustrate Wyatt's story, following Cutaway's tradition of helping emerging talent break into professional comics

Also in this episode

Links

• Paradise Towers: Unalive the Multiverse Kickstarter
  
  
• Cutaway Comics official website
  
  
• Kasterborous on Patreon
  
  

You cannot have helped but notice that rumours are swirling about the future of Doctor Who, with tabloid reports suggesting that next year’s series and the 2026 Christmas special are facing cancellation. We dig into the reality behind these headlines, the struggle to find the next Time Lord, and why the current climate of “content saturation” is creating such an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Quick TL;DR -- we don’t buy the “no one wants to play the Doctor” schtick, and nor should you.

This chat does interrupt previously-scheduled chat about Mind Warp. We will be picking this up soon, but wanted to catch up on the latest news.

Episode Highlights

• The comfort of the classics: Why we’re finding more affection for classic Doctor Who than the modern era. Is it nostalgia, or does the scarcity of the old episodes simply make them more precious?
• Panini stickers and the 1980s: A trip down memory lane. We discuss the joys of completing sticker albums—from Return of the Jedi to Transformers—and how they served as a vital, physical conduit to films in an era before on-demand viewing.
• Cutaway Comics and the Paradise Towers revival: We look at the new Unlive the Multiverse graphic novel and the exciting open artist competition for Scary Cat. Could this be the perfect time for a resurgence in spin-off material?
• Ncuti Gatwa on SNL UK: Thoughts on the recent Saturday Night Live monologue and why the current discourse surrounding Doctor Who feels like it’s being played for laughs.

• The cancellation rumours: Addressing the recent reports in The Sun and Radio Times. We break down why the “unnamed insider” narrative is often misleading and discuss the broader implications of the BBC’s current “uncertainty” era.

Links and resources

• Cutaway Comics: Explore their library and find out more about their current projects and artist opportunities.
• The Doctor Who Companion: Our favourite Doctor Who online magazine.
• Join the Kasterborous Archive: Our Patreon is a collection of lost, forgotten, overlooked, and unheard interviews, features, and curios from 20+ years of writing and talking about Doctor Who

Help us climb the charts!

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Christian Cawley and James McLean reach the final episode of The Mysterious Planet — and by this point, the commentary itself may be more entertaining than the serial under discussion. 

As the pair pick apart collapsing pacing, endless corridors, meaningless courtroom interruptions, and the baffling lack of anything recognisably “Earth-like” about Ravalox, the conversation expands into a broader discussion about Doctor Who itself: companion writing, Colin Baker’s wasted strengths, the failures of Trial of a Time Lord as a format, and whether the season could have worked better as a genuine deconstruction of the Doctor. 

There’s nostalgia for VHS culture, comparisons with The Daleks’ Master Plan, frustration over Peri’s lack of agency, and a surprisingly thoughtful debate about why some companions endure while others become little more than plot devices. 

By the end, the hosts are already bracing themselves for Mind Warp — and wondering if the real trial was the episodes they watched along the way.

Join the Kasterborous Archive and influence topics for future shows.

Help us climb the charts!

Not on Apple Podcasts?

Christian Cawley and James McLean continue their Trial of a Time Lord marathon with Episode 3 of The Mysterious Planet — and the cracks are beginning to show.

What starts as a nostalgic conversation about VHS tins, HMV trips, and the ritual of physical media quickly becomes a forensic dissection of pacing problems, intrusive courtroom scenes, and a strangely muted “it was Earth all along” reveal.

Along the way, the pair discuss Robert Holmes’ recycled story ideas, the abandoned "Yellow Fever and How to Cure It," unreliable narration in Trial of a Time Lord, and why the serial feels oddly disconnected from Earth despite its central twist.

There’s also sympathy for Colin Baker being awkwardly hoisted by a wobbling robot, comparisons to the Kandyman, and the growing suspicion that the courtroom framework may actually undermine the storytelling it was supposed to enhance.

Join the Kasterborous Archive and influence topics for future shows.

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Christian Cawley and James McLean return to discuss the increasingly uncertain future of television — starting with reports that AMC will become the US streaming home for classic-era Doctor Who.

Does the AMC deal mean Doctor Who is heading back toward an American co-production model? Or is this simply another distribution agreement being overanalysed by a fandom starved for news?

(We think it might be that one ^^...)

The conversation expands into a much broader discussion about the current state of television and streaming: collapsing audience attention spans, the “age of suffocation” caused by overwhelming amounts of content, and whether long-form prestige TV can even survive in a world dominated by YouTube, TikTok, gaming, and algorithm-driven viewing habits.

Along the way, Christian and James discuss:

• AMC acquiring US streaming rights to classic-era Doctor Who
  
  

• Whether Doctor Who could ever become an American production

• Why streaming has created an “age of suffocation” for TV audiences

• The Mandalorian movie and the collapse of “event television”

• Gaming, YouTube, and the battle for audience attention

• William Shatner, AI-generated artwork, and authenticity online

• Remembering Blake’s 7 actor Michael Keating

In this episode, Christian Cawley, James McLean, and Brian Terranova reunite to look back at the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie. It was a night of high stakes, big budgets, and a transition that would define the "wilderness years" for a generation of fans.

This week:

We dive headlong into the second installment of The Mysterious Planet this week, only to find a struggle with the overarching structure of The Trial of a Time Lord.

From the pitfalls of 1980s "stunt casting" to the surprisingly accurate technological predictions of the mid-80s, we explore why this era of Doctor Who often feels like a struggle between a standalone story and a courtroom drama.

Our key talking points

• The "Bland" Factor: Why The Mysterious Planet lacks a certain "humanity" compared to other "mid-tier" stories like Black Orchid or Paradise Towers.
• Stunt Casting vs. Character: We look at the appearances of Joan Sims and Brian Blessed, and whether their larger-than-life personas pull the audience out of the story.
• A Win for the Prop Department: We marvel at a service robot that looks suspiciously like a modern-day automated vacuum cleaner—is this 1980s Doctor Who's most accurate prediction of future tech?
• Scale and Sci-Fi Talk: Why "wanted in the six galaxies" feels like a hollow threat compared to the more grounded stakes of Star Wars or earlier eras of the show.
• Peri’s Perspective: A rare moment where Peri isn't being objectified or "claimed" as a future wife (at least until Mindwarp).

• The Mysterious Planet by Robert Holmes

• Mindwarp by Philip Martin

• Terror of the Vervoids by Pip and Jane Baker

• The Ultimate Foe by Robert Holmes (with Pip and Jane Baker)

Help us climb the charts!

Not on Apple Podcasts?

Christian Cawley and James McLean settle in for a long-overdue rewatch of The Trial of a Time Lord, the Sixth Doctor’s epic 14-part swan song. Things kick off in signature style with a false start on the wrong episode, followed by a deep dive into the high-budget model work and low-budget "starched doily" fashion of 1986...

This is the first part of our commentary/talking over The Mysterious Planet, with each subsequent installment coming to your podcast app over the next few weeks.

However, if you want the whole thing in one go, you'll find it on our Patreon, details below.

We'd love it if you watched along with us, via DVD, Blu-ray, or even BBC iPlayer. Just be sure not to hit "continue watching" or whatever if you've already enjoyed some classic Doctor Who lately...

Shownotes

• The Mysterious Planet by Robert Holmes

• Mindwarp by Philip Martin

• Terror of the Vervoids by Pip and Jane Baker

• The Ultimate Foe by Robert Holmes (with Pip and Jane Baker)

Your Patreon option

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This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean prepare for the journey they’ve avoided for over 500 episodes: the 14-part epic, The Trial of a Time Lord. 

As the longest single serial since The Daleks' Master Plan, it was intended to save the show, but instead, it became a fascinating, frustrating mirror of Doctor Who’s real-world struggle for survival in 1986.

No shownotes as such this week, but look out for discussion of:

• The binge-culture disconnect: We discuss the "memory of disappointment" surrounding the 14-week structure. Does a story this long work better in the era of streaming, or was the "trial" format fundamentally flawed from the start?

• The unlikable hero: James revisits his "pre-teen" struggle with Colin Baker’s Doctor. We look at the "clownish" costume, the bullish personality, and whether a simple wardrobe change could have saved his legacy (probably, yes).

• Interruptions in the matrix: Why the constant cutaways to the courtroom dampen the stakes of stories like Mindwarp and The Mysterious Planet.

• The "lost" season 23: Christian breaks down the original plans for the season—including The Nightmare Fair and Yellow Fever and How to Cure It—and how a behind-the-scenes "trial" at the BBC led to the version we eventually got.

• The Valeyard revelation: We talk about the "adult vagueness" of the show's dark mirror-Doctor and why the revelation of his true identity didn't quite land for a younger audience in the 80s.

• Missed opportunities: From the lack of past companions in a courtroom evidence-giving scenario (where was Jamie or Ian Chesterton?) to the "meta-danger" of putting the show on trial while it was actually under threat from BBC management.

• The Mysterious Planet by Robert Holmes

• Mindwarp by Philip Martin

• Terror of the Vervoids by Pip and Jane Baker

• The Ultimate Foe by Robert Holmes (with Pip and Jane Baker)

The Patreon option

Help us climb the charts!

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In this week's chat, Christian and James revisit their recent discussion about recovered episodes from missing Doctor Who serial The Daleks' Master Plan. 

Was the initial reaction to viewing the episodes harsh? 

Sourcing comments from the Facebook thread on the episode, we add some context, underline a few points, and possibly even concede a few things.

As stated at the time, Christian and James have different views on this, which makes it all the more interesting. Could The Daleks' Master Plan have been viewed differently if it had always existed in the hands of the BBC? Is the currency of scarcity something we need to understand better?

Enjoy the podcast now on video, pick it up in audio format via Spotify, or wait until Monday for the public release on all platforms.

Shownotes

• TIMELASH: Confessions of a Visual Effects Assistant

The Patreon option

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We're back for part 3 of our commentary of Silver Nemesis, the official Doctor Who 25th anniversary story from 1988. Starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, the serial has various versions and edits -- we watched the cut you can see on BBC iPlayer, and you're free to watch along with us.

This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean reach the rooftop showdown, where it’s the endgame for Lady Peinforte, the Fourth Reich, and a battalion of Cybermen who probably should have invested in better respiratory filters...

The Patreon option

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"It feels like a show which has kind of lost its spirit a bit... I could see in a different timeline where Doctor Who did not regenerate into Patrick Troughton, and this was the tired back end of a format." 

This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean dive into the recent recovery (and release on BBC iPlayer/YouTube) of two episodes from the legendary 1965 epic, The Daleks’ Master Plan. While the "discovery" of episodes 1 and 3 has sent shockwaves through the fandom, our hosts find themselves at odds over whether this "lost" footage is a masterpiece or a sign of a format running out of steam...

"The Nightmare Begins" and "Devil’s Planet" were found, restored, and released on Good Friday 2026 thanks to the efforts of Film is Fabulous. 

On the one hand, Christian is enthusiastic, and loved watching the episodes. On the other, James was intrigued from an artistic point of view, but felt that the recovered installments don't really add anything to The Daleks' Master Plan.

So, it's a discussion about the importance of these finds, and a look at the poor characterization -- in the script -- for one of the show's most interesting early characters, Katarina. Even if the episodes are "bland television" to some, how much does the recovery of characters like Katarina and Bret Vyon (Nicholas Courtney's first appearance) matter to Doctor Who's history?

The Patreon option

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In this commentary, Christian Cawley and James McLean dive into the heart of Silver Nemesis, and give some thought to Elizabethan sorceress Lady Peinforte and her loyal murderer Richard. Oh, and Argentinian Nazi refugees, Cybermen, and a couple of youths with a bizarre dislike for social workers.

Elsewhere in this episode, that "Jazz" interlude between Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred which remains one of the most natural, relaxed moments in the show’s history.

Line up your DVD or BBC iPlayer (optional) and hit "play!"

The Patreon option

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In this week’s episode, Christian Cawley and James McLean dive deep into Doctor Who's "official" 25th-anniversary silver jubilee story, Silver Nemesis. From the slightly oversized Cybermen to the curious presence of Dolores Gray, we talk all the way through the oft-derided 1988 adventure and explore what makes it fascinating -- if not somewhat polarizing.

This podcast looks at the first episode of Silver Nemesis, with the rest of the serial coming up over the next few weeks.

The Patreon option

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The recent recovery of two missing episodes of Doctor Who from The Daleks' Master Plan should be a moment of celebration — but it also raises an uncomfortable question: how many more are still out there?

In this Patreon-exclusive video, Christian Cawley and James McLean dig into the latest discovery, donated via Film Is Fabulous!, and the ongoing work to restore and preserve missing television. But our conversation quickly turns to the more complicated side of the story — the long history of private collectors holding onto lost material. What the mindset keeps culturally significant footage out of public view?

Why do people keep these recordings hidden? And what would it take for them to come forward?

The discussion explores the legacy of figures like Philip Morris and Ian Levine, the often fraught relationship between fandom and preservation, and the strange ways history is shaped by those who control access to it. We also discuss the passing of well-regarded actor Tom Georgeson, who had appeared in two Doctor Who serials, and died last week at 88 years old.

We also go beyond Doctor Who to consider how classic television is restored and presented today — from controversial cropping choices to changing expectations around picture quality — and how audiences engage differently with media across generations.

The Patreon option

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Christian Cawley and James McLean conclude their commentary discussion of the classic Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death, focusing on Episodes Three and Four of the 1977 story. 

With the mystery aboard the sandminer tightening, the discussion explores how the final two episodes bring together the serial’s many strands. We've got the paranoia among the crew, growing suspicion surrounding the robots, and the increasingly complex motivations of those on board.

Remember, this was written for children!

Christian and James look at how writer Chris Boucher structures the closing chapters of the story as both a science-fiction thriller and a classic murder mystery, and why the solution still holds up decades later. They also query how much input the script editor, Robert Holmes, had.

Along the way, the conversation touches on the serial’s memorable robot designs, its distinctive world-building, and the production choices that give The Robots of Death its enduring reputation as one of the most stylish and atmospheric adventures from the classic era of Doctor Who.

Why wait for your next fix of Kasterborous?

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Two long-missing episodes of Doctor Who have been recovered — and they come from one of the most famous lost stories in the programme’s history, The Daleks’ Master Plan.

“The Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet” have been found, restored, and will be released through BBC iPlayer at Easter.

• Lost Doctor Who episodes found (BBC Leicester)

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In this commentary-style episode, Christian Cawley and James McLean revisit the classic Doctor Who story The Robots of Death. This is the first of a two-part podcast, covering the serials first two episodes.

We compare the experience of watching classic Doctor Who episodically versus the omnibus VHS edits that hit rental stores in the 1980s. Those different formats affect pacing, cliffhangers, and the rhythm of a story, and The Robots of Death is no different.

It might look amazing, but there is much more to The Robots of Death. Writer Chris Boucher blends science fiction with the traditions of classic detective fiction, and we look at the impressive world-building behind the sandminer setting, the story’s layered social tensions, and why The Robots of Death feels larger than its four episodes suggest. Could the story even work without the Doctor at all?

Christian and James also discuss the performances and character dynamics that make the story memorable, from Tom Baker’s more serious Fourth Doctor to Louise Jameson’s "savage" Leela, whose unique relationship with the Doctor offers a different companion dynamic from the more familiar eras of the show. 

Why wait for your next fix of Kasterborous?

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This week’s Kasterborous opens on sad news, as Christian Cawley and James McLean reflect on the passing of Red Dwarf co-creator Rob Grant. 

You probably know that the writing partnership between Grant and Doug Naylor pre-existed Red Dwarf, and while it certainly helped to define Britain’s most enduring sci-fi comedy, obviously there was a split. So we consider the curious parallel timelines created by split novels and later revivals, and explore Grant’s legacy — and what his absence might mean for the future of the franchise. 

Let's not forget, Grant was working on a new Red Dwarf book with co-writer Andrew Marshall, Titan, set for release this July.

Along the way, we recall our own first encounters with Red Dwarf.

From there, the conversation returns to familiar territory with a deep dive into Doctor Who’s famously unfinished story Shada. An interesting archival research and visual-effects analysis on Substack prompted us to examine both the model and SFX work that wasn't completed, and why the Douglas Adams script continues to fascinate fans decades later.

The episode wraps up with a look at creativity and longevity through filmmaker Adrian Munsey’s upcoming Spymasters documentary series for Sky Arts, and William Shatner's upcoming heavy metal album (yes, you read that right).

Links:

• Red Dwarf: Titan by Rob Grant and Andrew Marshall
• Shada model work feature by Jonathan Helm
• TV Movie article
• Adrian Munsey's Spymasters trailer (and our previous chat with Adrian)
• William Shatner heavy metal album announcement
  
  

Why wait for your next fix of Kasterborous?

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It's a bumper edition of the podcast this week, as Christian Cawley and James McLean attempt to squeeze in not just discussion of the upcoming 4K release of the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie and share a short chat between Brian Terranova and Paul McGann, to give you an idea of the sort of thing you can hear in the Kasterborous Archive.

Shownotes

• Doctor Who TV Movie 4K/UHD Blu-ray on Amazon
• Kasterborous Archive on Patreon

Why wait for your next fix of the show?

Help us climb the charts

Not on Apple Podcasts?

Why wait for your next fix of the show?

Recent comments from Mark Gatiss and Peter Capaldi (made separately) concerning Doctor Who's current status are the focus of our conversation this week.

Christian Cawley and James McLean cover a number of points, with everything from the dying requirement for basic screen language (such as a documentary where two people greet each other at a door before a more in-depth interaction) to whether Steven Berkoff should have had more time on-screen in The Power of Three.

Come on, we all know the answer to that one.

This is a big hour-long chat, so hold onto your loins, gird your hats, and mix your metaphors. Oh, and listen out for mention of the first of Brian Terranova's Doctor Who interview collection, now available on our Patreon.

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

This week's podcast is Patreon first as ever, with no ads! Christian Cawley chats with Brian Terranova, and then with James McLean, about the early years of Kasterborous. 

Among other things, we cover how we started it, the tools we used early on, and how we overcame Brian's departure...

Shownotes

• Why did we start the podKast with a K?
• The first podKast
• SPLINK
• First podcast with James in 2011

• John Peel (author)
• Simon Fisher-Becker
• Ian McNeice
• Sylvester McCoy
• Matt Smith
• Caroline Skinner
• Karen Gillan
• Yee Jee Tso
• Paul McGann
• Terrance Dicks
• Emma Campbell-Jones
• Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Deborah Watling
• Terry Molloy
• Daphne Ashbrook

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Christian Cawley and James McLean take a break from 500ish to discuss the news that Blake's 7 could be heading for a reboot after the IP was picked up by Multitude Productions.

As James is a big Blake's 7 admirer and has also worked on an eventually uncompleted project based on the show, it seemed a good opportunity to discuss what might be needed to make a Blake's 7 reboot work...

Shownotes

• Blake's 7 IP acquisition announcement
• Is the Life on Mars sequel Lazarus now happening?

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

We tend to avoid introspection on the podcast, but for the next few weeks, Christian Cawley, James McLean, and, we're pleased to say, Brian Terranova will be bringing you a series of discussions and recollections to commemorate (other words have been suggested) our 500th edition -- whenever it may or may not have happened.

As we lost count some time ago, it's difficult to pinpoint when the 500th episode was (or will be). This is the background to "500ish" which will be a series of episodes of the podcast that look at how we started it, how it evolved, how podcasting itself has changed since we started in 2007, and also looks at many of the other things we did beyond the confines of the old Kasterborous website.

Shownotes

• Christian's time-shifted Substack journal project, Ten Years Gone
  
  

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss The War Between the Land and the Sea, the Doctor Who spin-off serial that aired over Christmas 2025.

Our 499th podcast has a lot to cover. The five episodes are addressed as a whole, along with the ramifications beyond the series (Disney, RTD, Doctor Who itself) and what went wrong.

But remember: you only get the full length show on Patreon, where it is also early, ad-free, and often with video.

Shownotes

• The War Between the Land and the Sea on BBC iPlayer

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Taking in The War Between the Land and the Sea and a new Doctor Who cartoon, Christian Cawley delivers the latest Doctor Who news of significance, and offers his top recommendations for quality TV viewing this Christmas.

Shownotes

• The War Between the Land and the Sea overnights:
  • episodes 1 and 2
  • episodes 3 and 4
• Blue Zoo to produce Doctor Who animation for CBeebies
• Christmas recommendations:
  • Man vs Baby
  • All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special on Channel 5 (Christmas Eve)
  • Original All Creatures Great and Small 1990 Christmas special on BBC Four (December 27th)
  • Beyond Paradise Christmas special BBC 1 (December 21st)
  • Midsomer Murders on Acorn TV (US only)
  • Morecambe and Wise on BBC Two Christmas Day
  • Monty Python And Now for Something Complete Different also BBC Two, early hours of Boxing Day
  • Sky Arts Boxing Day: Elvis Presley night, movies and documentaries

  • Double Indemnity BBC 2 on Dec 28th 

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Shownotes

• The War Between the Land and the Sea
• Just Sarah
• Doctor Who Stars in Ads

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Shownotes

• Vintage BBC Christmas trailers
• Woolworths 1981 Christmas ad (ft Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie, Anita Harris, et al)
• Teletext VHS recovery

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Shownotes

• William Shatner in Airplane 2
• Free Enterprise trailer
• What will Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor Who legacy be?

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Shownotes

• Tom Baker receives MBE
• The Sea Devils gets 90 minute edit for TV
• The War Between the Land and the Sea launch Date
  • Etymology of homo
• Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill launch Pondcast
• Sophie Aldred in Doctor Who-themed short for Children in Need

Shownotes

• The Rest is Entertainment on "The Future of Doctor Who"
• Disney sources on Doctor Who's ditching
• Bonnie Langford talks Reality War reshoots
  
  

Shownotes

• Doctor Who Confirmed to Return in 2026, But Has Been Dropped by Disney+
• The Future of Doctor Who, 2026 And Beyond: What We Know and What We Don’t Know
• Bad Wolf
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+
• The Infinity Doctors by Lance Parkin
• K-9 TV show
  
  

Shownotes

• Rob Shearman express Doctor Who frustration
• Jane Tranter: Rob Shearman comments "rude"
• Existence of more Doctor Who missing episodes confirmed
• Sora 2 AI explained
  
  

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

• Jon Culshaw is playing Twelfth Doctor for Big Finish
  
  
• New Star Wars movie, Star Wars: Starfighter
  
  
• BBC Chronicles of Narnia Blu-ray edition announced
  
  
  • Chronicles of Narnia pre-order on Amazon
    
    
• Thunderbirds - FAB at 60
  
  
  • Thunderbirds 60th anniversary screening
    
    
• Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein gets 4K remaster edition
  
  
  • Frankenstein 4K on Amazon
    
    

This week, we examine Christopher H Bidmead's impact on Doctor Who, following the death of the former Doctor Who script editor in early August. 

His work as a computer journalist directly informed his contributions to the show, not just as its script editor but also writer of serials such as Logopolis and Castrovalva, and Frontios.

This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean look back at Doctor Who's divisive Season 18. A new producer, an executive producer for the first time, a new script editor, and a lead actor on his way out of the door, it makes for interesting viewing, both as a show, and as a behind-the-scenes drama. 

But central to all of that was Bidmead's new approach to the show, one that stripped back "The Tom Baker Show" and moved the adventures back into the realms of discovery and education.

Shownotes

• Blankety Blank playlist
  
  
  • Blankety Blank spoof
    
    
• Taskmaster S3 E1
  
  
• Ted Lasso trailer
  
  
• Project X (Amiga)
  
  
  • Project X Light Years trailer
    
    
• ZX Spectrum trailer for Ulysses 31
  
  
  • Christian's retro gaming site: www.gamingretro.co.uk
    
    
• Heil Honey I'm Home intro
  
  
• Fantastic Four (2025) trailer
  
  

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Shownotes

• BBC states Doctor Who will return with or without Disney
  • (Same link for The War Between the Land and the Sea)
• Just Sarah: More Than Fifty Years of a Doctor Who Companion
• Kasterborous Substack
  
  

Get in touch 

Shownotes

• Julian McMahon dies
• The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (sorry)
• Deep Cover (Amazon Prime)
• Christian's retro gaming projects Patreon
• Kasterborous Substack
  
  

Get in touch 

• Philip Bates
  
  
• Gareth Kavanagh
  
  
• James Whittington
  
  
• Rick Lundeen
  
  
• ...and James McLean
  
  

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Shownotes

• Babylon 5’s J Michael Straczynski Says He’d “Love Nothing More” Than Writing Doctor Who 
• The War Between the Land and the Sea 
• Gorilla AI advert
  
  

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Shownotes

• Companions: More Than Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants by Philip Bates & Andy Frankham-Allen
• The Doctor Who Companion
  
  

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

The Reality War is over, and Doctor Who Series 15 has come to a close; we don't know what is going to happen next.

But before we spend time ruminating over the mind-bending regeneration, James and Magnus are here to discuss The Reality War.

Shownotes

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: Wish World on BBC iPlayer and Disney+
• John & Jim's Excellent Journey

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: The Interstellar Song Contest on BBC iPlayer and Disney+

Patreon benefits 

Get in touch 

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: The Story and The Engine on BBC iPlayer and Disney Plus
• Cutaway Comics

Patreon benefits

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: Lucky Day on BBC iPlayer and Disney+
• The Doctor Who Companion

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: The Well on BBC iPlayer (UK) and Disney+ (Worldwide)
• Legend TV
• James Whittington on X: @jamesywhitt

Patreon benefits

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: Lux - BBC iPlayer, Disney+
  • Rick Lundeen art
  • The Swede

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Doctor Who Robot Revolution on BBC iPlayer

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Russell T Davies chats to Newsround
  • Last week's episode: Is Doctor Who's time running out?
• Doctor Who modern episodes ranked
• Doctor Who Companion turns 9

Get in touch

Bonus content in the Patreon edition

Shownotes

• Russell T Davies chats at Doctor Who S15 launch
• Missing Believed Wiped podcast
  • Beatles Anthology reissue
• Pre-EMI Beatles demo turns up in the USA
• The Quatermass Experiment: The Making of TV's First Sci-Fi Classic
• Scramble: Battle of Britain "Lens On" documentary

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Wonderland: Science Fiction in the Atomic Age
• Trailer
  
  

Get in touch

Patreon edition

• Aliens
• Thomas the Tank Engine
• Adolescence

Get in touch

What is the Podcasthon?

• Podcasthon
• Eon/MGM/Amazon news
• Brosnan on return
• The Rock (Connery/Cage)
• Ripper Street
• Star Trek Discovery
• Our favourite Bond movies
• Who on Earth is Tom Baker?
• How to play GoldenEye 007 in 2025
• James Bond RPG book
• James Bond graphic novels
• Mission Impossible
  • 1960s series
  • 1980s series
  • Tom Cruise series

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Ncuti Gatwa, Disney, and Russell T Davies rumours podcast
• AI's role in the search (and recreation) of lost Doctor Who episodes
• The Box of Delights RPG
• The Box of Delights features on BBC podcast
• Fighting Fantasy gamebooks reissued with Kickstarter campaign
• Catan Masterpiece Series Kickstarter
• 1938 BBC broadcast picked up in New York
• Lost episode of Top of the Pops from 1976
• Avengers Escapades
• Lost Talking Heads session tapes found
• Film Is Fabulous "Cultural Significance"

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Just Trying To Help (Full Comedy Special)

• Do Gooders on Radio 4

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Sun reports Ncuti Gatwa has quit Doctor Who, Disney possibly cancelling deal
• BBC issues response to Ncuti Gatwa/Disney/RTD rumours
• Telegraph report on the story, with quotes from "insiders" (paywalled)
• Why you should watch Life on Mars
• We discuss Doctor Who and the Communist with author Michael Herbert

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Tom Baker (finally) gets CBE
• Doctor Who In Memoriam 2024
  • David A McIntee (Wikipedia)
• Doctor Who AI Missing Episodes sample (also used as our featured image)
• Marvel's new Fantastic 4 using AI art for promo poster?

Get in touch

Shownotes

• New ZX Spectrum
  • Christian's retro site at www.gamingretro.co.uk
• Century 21 Films wins rights to some Network DVD extras and the Filmed in Supermarionation documentary
• Robin of Sherwood 1987 annual reissued
• Star Trek Discovery deleted
  • We discuss Star Trek Discovery episode 1
• Missing Believed Wiped: 
  • Songs of Praise from 1979
    • Not the Nine o'Clock News "Songs of Praise" sketch
  • John Craven's Newsround from 28/10/1982
  • Open University production of St Joan (starring Angela Pleasance) from August 1977
• Lost David Bowie session tapes found, but cannot be played
• Becoming Led Zeppelin trailer
• Alien RPG Evolved Edition heads to Kickstarter
• Blake's 7 Magazine

Get in touch

Shownotes

• UK Christmas TV Listings Archive

Get in touch

Shownotes

• The Time Team Unearthed: The Doctor Who Art of Adrian Salmon
  
  

Shownotes

• Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
• The Time Team Unearthed Kickstarter
• Doctor Who Christmas special trailer
• Star Trek Adventures - second edition
• Mega City Comics closes
• Film Is Fabulous/De Montfort announcement on Maurice Haynes collection
• Apple announces Fleetwood Mac movie documentary
• Becoming Led Zeppelin trailer released online

• Richard E Grant advertises Vauxhall Astra, 1987

Get in touch

• The Box Of Delights: 40th Anniversary Edition
  
  
• The Box Of Delights novel by John Masefield (Quentin Blake artwork, 2014) 
  
  
  • Lions edition (1984)
    
    
• The Box of Delights soundtrack
  
  
• Opening the Box of Delights (Dr Philip Errington)
  
  

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: The War Games in Colour
• Andor season 2
• 765874 Unification (William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy CGI production) 
  • Interview with William Shatner
• Red Dwarf interview with Tom Salinsky

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Paddington Bear vintage teddies sales ROCKET following release of new movie 
• Becoming Led Zeppelin release date leaked
• Half-Life 2 20th anniversary documentary
  • Atari 50 collection
  • Tetris Forever
• Victorian voices recorded on photogram
• Fawlty Towers "Gourmet Night" car thrashing location
• Film is Fabulous recap

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Fans vote for the top 20 Midsomer Murders episodes
• The internet's most mysterious song
• Nobody’s House: The Curse of Jack Treadful
  • When we chatted to Candy Jar and Hannah Haisman
• RPG book Kickstarter
  • Discworld Kickstarter
• Missing Family Fortunes episode uncovered

Get in touch

Shownotes

• The Terminator (Amazon)
• Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Amazon)
• Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Amazon)
• Terminator Dark Fate (Disney+)
• Alien (Disney+)
• Aliens (Disney+)
• Alien 3 (Disney+)
• RoboCop (Amazon Video)
• RoboCop: Rogue City (Steam/PC)
• Red Dwarf interview with Tom Salinsky

• 1980s Yorkie advert

Get in touch

Shownotes

• https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gods-and-monsters-phase-2-drax-iris-losko#/
  
  
• Virtually Parkinson: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/oct/26/michael-parkinson-virtually-ai-replica-chatshow + https://podnews.net/press-release/virtually-parkinson
  
  
• Talking Pictures TV podcast https://www.facebook.com/groups/3415891318452697 (perhaps cut this from show)
  
  
• Muppets: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5336406018/posts/10162405187376019/?__cft__[0]=AZWR3Wip_n7RmYNxMzJIWiTXXNZj3kP1dc2pfLC14CyJhQu4LcwaoH9n2bBgOch9cula8vieCopLPItx2v9aladIrRndMEADURYzK9kHB5PI37nuu8AZ0OPxucGq1jDL-s-WMhJOREJ4o4xLO5NbesVncojXO5ilqT_uxjITC9wZw59ZiSZqd73Zuw2gJ8bVQBs&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
  
  
• Sherlock Holmes: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5336406018/posts/10162387933701019/  + https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjwdx3nw3xqo
  
  
• Sylveste: https://www.facebook.com/groups/5336406018/?multi_permalinks=10162411016056019&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen
  
  
• Film is Fabulous! GFM: https://www.facebook.com/61551615437721/posts/122160094118053847/?rdid=4sq7vRCUtABVuD1c + https://filmisfabulous.org.uk/help-restore-a-missing-episode/
  
  
• Blackpool Film Convention: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02YRBiS1gochLfmJYw1gGmeENwb96HGpSejW78xSfs2nop512f6XMVE3iyQKTRU33vl&id=61551615437721
  
  
• The Adventures of Sir Lancelot commentary: https://www.kasterborous.co.uk/435-remembering-william-russell-the-adventures-of-sir-lancelot-commentary/
  
  
• Led Zeppelin: https://ledzepnews.com/2024/10/25/becoming-led-zeppelin-will-be-released-in-may/
  
  

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Shownotes

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Shownotes

• Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters trailer
  • Deadline report on the documentary's distribution
  • Deep Fusion Films
• Opening the Box of Delights new edition contents shared on Facebook (group membership required)
• Sid Sutton Collection/Adventures in Type and Space Special Edition announcement and website listing
• The Likely Lads 60th Anniversary Collection details and Amazon page
  • Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais on Sitcom Geeks
• The Wombles DVD collection announcement
• Alien Romulus coming out on VHS
• Over 100 unseen Led Zeppelin photos report and Flickr
• Is Thor: Ragnarok still Marvel's best movie? 

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Shownotes

• What's happening with Doctor Who series 16?
• Beatles 64 documentary produced by Martin Scorsese in November
  • Beatles 1964 album collection reissues (UK versions)
• Missing Thunderbirds episode edit discovered
  • Anderson Audio Adventures
  • David Graham tribute from Jamie Anderson
• Lost 1965 episode of BBC Play School found
• Fred Dineage: 60 Years in TV
• Wallace & Gromit: The Collection (4K)
• Review of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

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Shownotes

• Missing Believed Wiped Facebook Group
• A Man Called Harry Brent on the Classic British Telly YouTube channel
• Audio-only episodes of Not Only But Also from 1966 and 1970 on the Audio Only YouTube channel
• The Gadget Monkey on YouTube
• Def Leppard's Hysteria: The Graphic Novel
• Neil & Martin's Bon Voyage (upcoming roadtrip show with Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey)
• RetroGamerBase newsletter

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Shownotes

• The Box of Delights 40th Anniversary Blu-ray
• Douglas Adams: Explaining the World Kickstarter
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld RPG: Adventures in Ankh-Morpork Kickstarter
• Terminator 40th Anniversary 4K getting a Limited Steelbook Edition
• ALIEN RPG – Second Edition and Rapture Protocol Kickstarter
• Sherlock Holmes Crimes for Christmas crowdfunder on Backerkit
• Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band: Still Barking 17CD/3DVD boxset
• BBC Sound Effects Archive now has over 33,000 free samples (MusicTech)

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Shownotes

• VworpCon
  
  
• Tardisbuilders.com
  
  
• The DNA of Doctor Who: The Philip Hinchcliffe Years
  
  

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Shownotes

• Podcast: Previewing VworpCon (2018)
  
  
• Podcast: Tom MacRae tells us about The Crash of the Elysium (2012)
  
  
• Podcast: James McLean attends The Crash of the Elysium (2012)
  
  
• Recommendations:
  
  
  • A Dalek Awakens
    
    
  • RoboCop: Rogue City (videogame)
    
    
  • Shogun (Disney+)

Get in touch

Shownotes

• House of the Dragon (Now TV)
  • Matt Smith's career since Doctor Who
• Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
• The Hobbit
  • The Hobbit video game
  • The Boggit spoof video game
• An Unearthly Child is still offline... again
• Holy Flying Circus

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Shownotes

Get in touch

• Doctor Who Series 14 on BBC iPlayer
• Doctor Who Series 14 on Disney+

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Shownotes

• Doctor Who Series 14 on BBC iPlayer
• Doctor Who Series 14 on Disney+

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Shownotes

• Back Go Figure! on Indiegogo
• VworpCon 2018 preview podcast

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Get in touch

Shownotes

• The Adventures of Sir Lancelot, episode 1, on YouTube

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Shownotes

Get in touch

Shownotes

• Doctor Who Series 14 on BBC iPlayer
• Doctor Who Series 14 on Disney+

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Shownotes

• The Phantom Menace 25th Annniversary screenings
• The Phantom Menace 4K vs 35mm
• Masters of the Universe: Revolution

• X-Men '97

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• Candy Jar Books
• The Celestial Toy Maker Blu-ray trailer

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Shownotes

• Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road

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Shownotes

• Doctor Who: The Giggle
• Last of the Summer Wine: Getting Sam Home
• Black Orchid Part 1, Part 2
• The amazing Doctor Who anime fan creation

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Get in touch

Shownotes

• www.thedoctorwhocompanion.com
• The Star Beast on BBC iPlayer
• Doctor Who in Green Hill Zone
• 14th Doctor The Star Beast comic cover mockup

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• Russell T Davies and David Tennant on The One Show
• Russell T Davies on Morning Live
• Amiga Addict and Pixel Addict
• Destiny of the Doctors trailer
  • GoldenEye 007 playthrough
  • Lego Dimensions Doctor Who
  • Fallout 4 Doctor Who mod
  • The Kasterborous Magazine Doctor Who video games special
• Doom's Day
• Doctor Who books released in 2013
• Paul McGann to star in a Doctor Who show on Disney+?
• My 70s TV Childhood Podcast

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Get in touch

Shownotes

• The Whoniverse
• Target Novelisations of 60 anniversary Doctor Who episodes
• Vworp Vworp #6
• Children of the Circus
• First Dalek serial to get special colourised feature edition
• Tales of the TARDIS video bookends launched
• Doctor Who 1980 theme tune
• Doctor Who 2023 theme tune
• Missing Doctor Who audios on BBC Sounds
• Doctor Who's return to Saturday nights confirmed

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Shownotes

• AI generated movie trailers
• How the Hollywood strike is about AI
• SAG-AFTRA statement on AI and digital doubles
• What if the RoboCop movies had smooth stop-motion animation?

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Get in touch

Shownotes

• New Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Trailer
• Doctor Who 60th Anniversary photos
• Why Did Russell T Davies return to Doctor Who?

• The Second Doctor Regenerates (fan produced)

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Get in touch

Shownotes

• Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock was delisted on Steam in 2017 - here's the SteamDB page
• David Bailey's Big Finish page (and as David Bryher)
• Doctor Who: Web in Space

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Shownotes

• The House Between
• John Kenneth Muir

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Shownotes

• Midsomer Murders: Written in Blood
  • Written in Blood by Caroline Graham
• RIP Network on Air
• Timeline of social generations
• Codename Loop
• A Bit of Fry & Laurie: Countdown
• Going for Gold
• The Mary Whitehouse Swearing Experience

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• New TARDIS interior leaked [images pulled following copyright claim]
• Doctor Who Christmas Specials reinstated by RTD
• Uncanny Doctor Who AI art
• Andor intro, 1975-style
• Tom Baker in George and the Dragon (1968)

• Millie Gibson is the new Doctor Who companion
• Radio Times poll
• Vworp Vworp #5 cover revealed
  • Nelvana Doctor Who cartoon feature hint in VV5

• Disney+ to Distribute Doctor Who
• Cutaway Comics
• Vworp Vworp
• Pat Mills NFT controversy
• Christian Cawley's cooked breakfast NFT
• Ladhood
• House of the Dragon
• Andor

• Our Power of the Doctor discussion on Facebook
• David Tennant is the Doctor?!
• Disney+ to distribute Doctor Who outside of UK and Ireland
• BBC accused of "dishonesty" over Durdle Door shoot

• Our review of The Zygon Inversion
• The Time of the Doctor reviewed
• Twice Upon a Time

Shownotes

• Who Is the Definitive Doctor Who?
• Sophie Aldred as Ace
• Did Tom Hanks Almost Play the Doctor?
• Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder Moves to Edinburgh
• David Tennant Is Not the Next Doctor

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Shownotes

• Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine in Deadpool 3
• Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great & Small
• Pierce Brosnan's 10 Essential Fashion Items

• Goldeneye 007 video game re-released on Nintendo Switch and Xbox

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• Composer Segun Akinola to Leave Doctor Who
• Christopher Eccleston Has Recorded "Something Special" for 60th Anniversary
• Doctor Who to Stream on Disney+?
• Chris Chibnall Won't Return to Doctor Who
• Evolution of Chris Chibnall's Doctor Who podcasts
  • 42
  • The Hungry Earth
  • Cold Blood

• Neil Patrick Harris Films Doctor Who
  • More Neil Patrick Harris
  • The TARDIS in Bristol
  • David Tennant and Neil Patrick Harris in Bristol
• The TARDIS on Teesside trailer
• The Haunted Generation #7
  • The Haunted Generation is No.1 on Mixcloud
• Season 22 boxset PDF listing

Shownotes

• Ncuti Gatwa cast as the Doctor
• David Tennant and Catherine Tate return to Doctor Who
• Tennant's new sonic
• Verity Lambert blue plaque re-unveiled
• Are Doctor Who's missing episodes being held to ransom in the Middle East?
• Brian Terranova's sonic screwdriver history eBooks

Shownotes

• Matt Smith in Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon
• Matt Smith cut from The Rise of Skywalker
• First of the Summer Wine
• Star Wars: Jedi Fallen order

Shownotes

• RTD Era Sonic Screwdrivers guide
• Classic Series Sonic Screwdrivers guide
• Build Your Own TARDIS Console – the Pertwee Years
• Doctor Who Anime

• Legend of the Sea Devils trailer
• Doctor Who anime
• Comments on our last podcast at Doctor Who Companion
• Peter Davison protesting David Tennant's popularity
• Peter Davison recording for Big Finish in cricket whites
• How to Organize a Doctor Who Convention (with Gareth Kavanagh)

Shownotes

• Kasterborous chats to Graeme Harper
• Jodie Whittaker is the 13th Doctor Who

• Cutaway Comics
• Gaming Retro UK
• Fusion Retro Books

• The Mirror claims Hugh Grant is the new Doctor Who
• The Doctor Who Companion discusses Hugh Grant and "MCU-style" re-imagining of the show

• Life on Mars Series 1 Episode 1 on BBC iPlayer
• Life on Mars on DVD/Blu-ray

• Matthew Graham talks about bringing back Sam Tyler
• Signal

Shownotes

• Phil Collinson returns to Doctor Who
• What happened to the Doctor Who website?
• Henry Woolf 1930-2021

• Doctor Who Series 5 Episode 9: Cold Blood on BBC iPlayer
• Blood Heat by Jim Mortimore
• The Ancestor Cell by Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole
• John Simm and Philip Glenister on Instagram

• Doctor Who Series 5 Episode 8: The Hungry Earth on BBC iPlayer

Shownotes

• Doctor Who Series 3 Episode 7: 42 on BBC iPlayer
• Chris Chibnall on IMDb

• Doctor Who: Eve of the Daleks
• Worzel Gummidge (starring Mackenzie Crook)
• Ashes to Ashes Series 1
• Star Trek Continues
• Jon Culshaw on the Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas

• Sylvester McCoy in The Munsters
• Your Facebook reactions
• The Glitterball trailer (featuring Midsomer Murders' and The Armageddon Factor's Barry Jackson)
• The Energy Pirate thread on Twitter

• Facebook chat on Survivors of the Flux
• Tory MP comments on Doctor Who and "lack of male role models"
• The Sarah Jane Adventures

• Village of the Angels reaction on Facebook
• The Doctor Who Companion comments policy reminder

• Your comments on our Facebook page

• Paul Cornell on Twitter
• Doctor Who Flux overnights so far
• Stones of Blood's Megara - or sparklers?
• Classic Doctor Who and Wallace & Gromit writer Bob Baker dies

• Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins
• Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality
  • Doctor Who VR Game: The Edge of Time
• Doctor Who: Fluxx card game
• Vworp Vworp #4
  • Vworp Vworp #3 review
• Doctor Who Betting Odds
• Sony Pictures Television acquires Bad Wolf Productions
• Peter Grimwade says "thank you"
• John Fitton catalogue
• Amiga Addict magazine

• Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall Announce Departure from Doctor Who
• Twitter Reaction to Doctor Who Departures
• Could J. Michael Straczynski Be Doctor Who Showrunner? (Spoiler: Probably not)
• Kasterborous polls followers on Twitter
• Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality
• Read reviews of RTD-era Doctor Who in Ultimate Regeneration