Just in time for Halloween Kevin and JG cover a duo of spooky stories this week, Project Twlight and Project Lazarus. And we have two Doctors for the price of one as both Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy show up. But how will these two Doctors get on? What's Evelyn's big secret? And how do these stories do when it comes to integrating the supernatural into Doctor Who? Plus there's time for more mail, with a discussion of the David Warner Doctor and what his recurring presence might mean.
Oct 30, 2018•1 hr 4 min
We flit back to the era of the Sixth Doctor this week with The Wormery, the play that brings Katy Manning's Iris Wildthyme to the Main Range. How does the former companion manage when faced with Iris's irascible, irrepressible side? Just how well can Colin Baker (and Colin Baker's Doctor) cope with this one-woman whirlwind of innuendo and alcohol? And does the "worm" bit of The Wormery make even the slightest sense? Climb aboard a big red London bus that's just ever-so-slightly smaller on the in...
Oct 23, 2018•49 min
After visiting the 13th Doctor last week we return to the 8th this week and the Divergent Universe arc with the punishingly average The Twilight Kingdom. Just how excited can Kevin and JG get about a bunch of caves? How many interchangeable characters will they find it possible to care about? Plus, since there's simply no way to get three-quarters of an hour out of this play, there's time for a discussion of Big Finish at large, focussing on how things are going now and what's working and what's...
Oct 16, 2018•47 min
Taking a break from the world of audio, JG and Kevin dive in to the brand new 13th Doctor and discuss her very first TV episode, The Woman Who Fell To Earth. Just how does the 13th Doctor do in her first outing? And with a new show-runner, writer, star, and composer does this still feel like Doctor Who of old? And what of the new companions? Plus there's time to pop into the mailbag for a discussion of Phillip Martin, and JG witters on for far too long (again!) about the omnishambles that is The...
Oct 09, 2018•1 hr 7 min
Be happy. Happy people love podcasts. Podcast loving people get more podcasts. Enjoy visiting Light City, with its memories and structures. Have you been here before? Have the Doctor, Charley and C'Rizz? What is going on within the city? Will any of it make sense? Remember - questions are forbidden.
Oct 02, 2018•57 min
After the experimental, challenging nature of last week's episode we come to the second stab at doing something interesting with the Divergent Universe arc, The Creed Of The Kromon. This episode sees new companion C'rizz join the Doctor and Charley on their travels, so how does he work out in his first appearance? Does the more traditional structure of this play work with the more radical concept of the Divergent Universe? And will our intrepid reviewers be able to stay awake dicussing this stor...
Sep 25, 2018•48 min
Episode 54 - Scherzo by JG McQuarrie and Kev Koeser
Sep 18, 2018•54 min
We remain with the First Doctor this week and pay a visit to 19th century Japan, and embrace the pure historical that is "The Barbarian And The Samurai". Can we visit such a location without automatically falling into cliche and predictable cultural beats? Will the fact that Barbara is actually a historian have any bearing on the story? Is this any better than the last ho-hum Hartnell-era historical "The Great White Hurricane"? Plus there's time to visit the mailbag and discuss Churchill's place...
Sep 11, 2018•49 min
We go back to the 1960's this week with the second First Doctor Box Set, with Kevin and JG this week covering "The Invention Of Death". Will this episode do a better job of capturing the 1st Doctor era than the last one? How does the gamble of such a weird setting work? And now that we're more familiar with them, do the characters seem more genuine this time out? Join our intrepid reviewers as they venture to a planet that's just not QUITE like any other in Doctor Who...
Sep 04, 2018•52 min
We're back! The summer hiatus has come to an end so we're celebrating by covering Big Finish's own celebratory story, The Light At The End. Is is better than the last celebratory story covered here, Zagreus? (and perhaps more relevantly, could it possibly be worse?) Will THIS turn out to be the play that successfully squeezes in all eight Doctors for something other than a fiasco? Join JG and Kevin as they get back into the swing of things. And there's a few eMails to cover as well, so welcome b...
Aug 28, 2018•56 min
This week, instead of covering a regular story, we have something quite different. Rob Shearman, writer of so many classics as well as the person who brought back the Daleks for the 21st Century, joins us in conversation. We discuss the early days of Big Finish, cover the audio stories he's best-known for, and chat about how "Dalek" came about. Plus we cover Jodie Whittaker's casting (that's kind of inevitable at this stage) and how Rob feels about the possibility of returning to Doctor Who. It'...
Jul 03, 2018•1 hr 17 min
For the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who, Big Finish decided it might be a good idea to get absolutely every actor from the TV show who's ever appeared in a Big Finish play to take part in their sprawling, nearly four-hour long epic, Zagreus. Tasked with fitting in a wealth of Doctor Who actors, resolving the plot points from Neverland, and providing a satisfactory story in its own right, how does Zagreus fare? Is there a pleasure to all this self-indulgence or do things become bloated and overbur...
Jun 26, 2018•59 min
We deal with the third and final episode of the "villains" trilogy this week as Kevin and JG come face-to-face with Master. Who is John Smith, and how does this story function as a dark inversion of Human Nature? Can Joseph Lidster redeem himself after the abject failure of The Rapture? And with Geoffrey Beevers returning to the role of the title character how does he cope trying to redefine how we see the Master? Plus there's time for a visit to the mailbag to discuss cliffhangers.
Jun 19, 2018•57 min
We have the second in the "villains" trilogy this week as JG and Kevin encounter Davros. As a thorough interrogation of who and what Davros is does this story live up to the standards set by its predecessor and really get inside Davros? How does Terry Molloy fare returning to the role? And is the episode able to pull off its social and political critiques while still delivering a compelling drama? Slip inside your Dalekanium shell, pop on your headphones, terrorise all life in the galaxy, pour a...
Jun 12, 2018•1 hr 1 min
It's the first of the "villains" trilogy this week as Kevin and JG come up against Omega, and the first of four stories designed by Big Finish to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary back in the heady days of 2003. Can Omega, never the deepest of characters in Doctor Who's history, stand up to this kind of character interrogation? Does the play work as a 40th celebration? And does Omega manage to be better than the character's last outing in Arc of Infinity? (spoilers: yes)
Jun 05, 2018•47 min
We return to the world of the Fourth Doctor and the first Romana this week, as JG and Kevin tackle the two-release stories of The Sands Of Life and War Against The Laan. With two very notable guest stars, in the shape of Hayley Atwell and David Warner, how do these heavyweights do in a Big Finish play? Are the Doctor and Romana up to an unusual Earth invasion story liek this, and just why are the Laan on Earth at all? Plus there's time to dive in to the mail bag, discussing the possibility of wh...
May 29, 2018•49 min
It's a second go-around for the 3rd Doctor this week, as Earth is left behind in favour of some classic Pertwee space opera. But will the box set be able to do a better job in space than they managed under the waves last week? How will Mike's first trip in the TARDIS go for the UNIT solder? And just how good IS Jo at impersonating a security officer from the future? It's time to slip forward a few hundred years in time and find out!
May 22, 2018•49 min
It's the dawn of a new era this week, as JG and Kevin encounter the 3rd Doctor for the first time, in his new, re-cast incarnation starring Tim Treloar. How does the newcomer compare to Jon Pertwee? And we have a couple of old hands around in the shape of Mike Yates and Jo Grant - how do they make the transition to audio? It's time to head beneath the waves and see if this is a worthy return for the 3rd Doctor, or whether this sinks without trace...
May 15, 2018•54 min
To cover the second story in a row full of structural experimentation, Kevin and JG are joined by a guest host, Tony Whitt of the podcast The Doctor Who Target Book Club. Can Tony shed some light on the looped, Escheresque structure of Flip-Flop? How do JG and Kevin feel this compares to last week's attempts at structural oddities in Creatures Of Beauty? Will any of the three of them be able to escape the Mobeus loop of the play or will they be compelled to discuss Flop Flop... forever?
May 08, 2018•52 min
It's all about structure this week as Kevin and JG come up against Nicholas Briggs's Creatures Of Beauty. There's an exploration of how the unique structure of this play works in terms of character and plot, and whether Briggs is able to land the narrative pyrotechnics he indulges in here. And just how good a choice are the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa for this sort of unconventional story? It's time to find out!
May 01, 2018•54 min
One of the all-time classics comes under analysis this week, as Kevin and JG cover Rob Shearman's Jubilee. Not only is it a long-acknowledged classic of the range but it's also only the second Big Finish story to directly influence the TV series, being adapted into the episode "Dalek". Can any story live up to Jubilee's reputation? How does Colin Baker cope with such a heavyweight and metatextual story? And how does Evelyn fit into all this? Plus we visit the mailbag once more, and discuss River...
Apr 24, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Time for a swashbuckling historical this week as JG and Kevin step back in time to France and the court of King Louis with the Fifth Doctor, Peri and Erimem. How does Erimem's first trip in time go for someone from so far back in history? Will any of this mean anything to her? And we have Nicola Bryant in a dual role as Peri and Queen Anne - just how does she do having to deliver on not one but two characters? Strap on your sword and let's find out! All for one and... yes, well, maybe not.
Apr 17, 2018•42 min
Kevin and JG are joined by returning guest host Anthony Strand this week to discuss Doctor Who And The Pirates. A-har! Will the play be a tale of bountiful adventures on the high seas, or will it be wrecked upon the shores of over-ambition? Just how can a story cope with a third episode that's almost entirely musical? Just how great IS Colin Baker's singing voice? Is it possible to fit in any more rhetorical questions into this episode summary? The answers to all this and more lie within, so gra...
Apr 10, 2018•57 min
We return to the world of River Song this week with the final two episodes in her first box set, The Diary Of River Song. How will these two episodes fare after the first two, and will we get a stronger outing for River this time round? And can the box set stick the landing over a four-episode story arc? Plus there's a visit to the mail bag, with a discussion on worst Big Finish stories and a (far from welcome) return to The Rapture
Apr 03, 2018•1 hr 9 min
For the first time in the podcast, Kevin and JG step away from the Doctor and instead embrace the wonderful worlds of River Song, as they cover the first two episodes in The Diary Of River Song Volume One. How will River translate from TV to audio? Will Alex Kingston be able to bring the character to life in audio with the same vivaciousness she managed on TV? And what difference will it make now the character isn't just being written by Steven Moffat? The answers to all these questions and more...
Mar 27, 2018•1 hr 2 min
We travel back in time to the heady days of 1997 this week, as JG and Kevin get to deal with the Seventh Doctor / Ace story The Rapture. We visit Ibiza at the height of its cultural significance, with dancing, drugs, sex, and evil alien brothers (the last of which may not be entirely historically accurate). Will it be pure bliss, or will there be a terrible fall from grace after the last two knock-outs?
Mar 20, 2018•53 min
It's one of the all-time classics of the range this week, as Kevin and JG dive into Marc Platt's Spare Parts. Does the story deserve its reputation as the very pinnacle of what Big Finish can achieve? Can any story possibly live up to the reputation this one has? And can the original horror of the Cybermen be successfully captured on audio? Failure to listen will result in instant conversion....
Mar 13, 2018•54 min
Sentient language? Sure, that's a thing! Be prepared for some serious oddness as JG and Kevin this week cover the Sixth Doctor and Peri story ...ish. Will the idea of sentient language turn out to be a good one? And how do the Sixth Doctor and Peri work together in the first audio play featuring the pairing that this podcast have covered? And we dip into the mailbox again for a comment on Time Of The Daleks, and a quick guide on where to start with Doctor Who novels.
Mar 06, 2018•55 min
Kevin and JG this week return to the adventures of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa, as we explore Primeval and the deep past of Traken. Can Primeval invoke the same baroque feel as The Keeper Of Traken? And will this prove to be a more successful outing that the pair's last (covered) story in Winter For The Adept? Plus there's a dip into the mailbag, as Kevin and JG are asked whether environment has ever affected the appreciation of a story.
Feb 27, 2018•55 min
It's back in time to ancient Egypt for JG and Kevin this week as we cover Eye Of The Scorpion. This time the Fifth Doctor and Peri are joined by a new companion, would-be Pharaoh Ermimem. But how will the Egyptian queen fit in with this TARDIS team? And how come this is the first Peri story we've covered since the podcast began? The answers to these and more questions await!
Feb 20, 2018•48 min
