We have a relaxed, ambling and entirely convivial conversation this week as JG and Kev are joined once more by Abby Denton to discuss the Sixth Doctor story Year Of The Pig. How does this bizarres story of a sapient pig holidaying in Europe stand up? Do the Sixth Doctor and Peri fit into this gentle tale of manners and, um, sort of time travel? And is there even the slightest chance of keeping the three reviewers actually on topic? Pour yourself a nice cup of tea, have room service send up a del...
Feb 18, 2020•1 hr
We wave a fond farewell to Charlie this week as she has her last outing with the Eighth Doctor in "The Girl Who Never Was" and has her second encounter with the Cybermen. But how do these Troughton-era Cybermen work on audio? Does the convoluted time-travel plot hold together? And is this a satisfying ending for Charley's journey throughout time and space? www.jgmcquarrie.scot
Feb 11, 2020•1 hr 1 min
It's time to meet not so much a living legend as an undead legend this week as we tackle "Son Of The Dragon" and travel back to meet the Count himself, Dracula! (you can insert a cheesy mwa-ha-ha laugh here if you so feel the urge) How does the real-live Vlad work as a fictional character meeting the Fifth Doctor? Will Erimem be able to work in this environment? And how does Peri - never far away from suffering at the hands of history - get on? Plus there's a discussion on the news that John Sim...
Feb 04, 2020•42 min
Emergency broadcast! Emergency broadcast! We set aside the play we were going to cover this week ("Son Of The Dragon") to instead cover the momentous events on television with the all singing, all dancing "Fugitive Of The Judoon". It's an episode that's got the whole Doctor Who world buzzing so we thought we'd jump on the bandwagon and give our own, marvellously informed, opinions as well! How do all the revelations land? Is this a real swing and a hit or does the story over-extend itself? And *...
Jan 28, 2020•1 hr 5 min
We travel back in time to the reign of Alexander the Great and to the reign of the Hartnell historical this week as we cover another entry in The Lost Stories rage with "Farewell Great Macedon". This is a sprawling, six-part adventure, so how do the rhythms and cadences of a Hartnell historical work on audio? Can the story sustain a run-time of over three hours? And with a limited cast can the Hartnell historical be successfully recreated, up to and including an interpretation of the man himself...
Jan 21, 2020•49 min
Happy New Year! For our return to the... not airwaves... podwaves maybe? Anyway, for our return we split our time between audio and video, discussing C'Rizz's departure in "Absolution" and returning to the world of the Thirteenth Doctor on television with the two-part "Spyfall". How does C'Rizz's departure work? Does the fallout from it between the Doctor and Charley seem credible? And on Spyfall has Chris Chibnall been able to correct some of the problems from last season? Just how is the Thirt...
Jan 14, 2020•1 hr 7 min
We have a bumper festive-sized episode this week as we give ourselves a little Christmas gift and cover two television stories from this time of year. From the Matt Smith era we cover "Christmas Carol" - a fan favourite, but how does it hold up? Can Dickens and Doctor Who meet successfully? And from the Jodie Whittaker era we come bang up to date with the New Year special "Resolution". How does the Thirteenth Doctor manage against the Daleks? Do we get good emotional pay-offs for the series long...
Dec 24, 2019•1 hr 21 min
We're off to explore the lives of Captain Jack in this, the second box set to find out what happens to the redoubtable Captain Harkness when the Doctor isn't around. Sort of. How do Jack and the Sixth Doctor (!) get on? Can the box-set find something interesting to do in the trenches of World War 1? And is Trinity Wells worth revisiting as a character?
Dec 17, 2019•56 min
For the first time we visit a new but important range as we cover the very first Companion Chronicles, Frostfire. How does the format stand up in comparison to the full-cast main range? Does the return of Maureen O'Brien's Vicki work? And can the story land its twisty tale of time travel?
Dec 10, 2019•52 min
We are with River for a second week as we cover the final two episodes in The Diary Of River Song Vol 4. How does the box set do when trying to manage a Melody Malone mystery? Can the Discordia be successfully wrapped up? And just how well do River and the Fourth Doctor get on? Plus we dip into our postbag to follow up on our Kill The Moon discussion, and we also talk about the Seventh Doctor's run of luck in the Main Range.
Dec 03, 2019•58 min
We're back with River again as we explore the first two episodes in the fourth volume of The Diary Of River Song. How does River fare against a planet with no time? How difficult is it to keep using the Vortex Manipulator to escape the bad guys? And do the time-bending travels all come together satisfactorily? Plus we dip into the mailbag to cover a couple of points around The Harvest and The Gathering
Nov 26, 2019•49 min
We're off to the world of the Needle with the Seventh Doctor and Mel this week as we delve into the murky world of "Red". How does the Doctor cope with a chip in his brain? How does Mel get on stuck in a class conflict? And what is Red anyway? Plus there's a discussion on the lack of a Christmas and New Year special for the first time since Doctor Who returned in 2005, and what it might mean for the programme.
Nov 19, 2019•48 min
We stray back into the world of video again this week as we tackle the divisive, controversial Peter Capaldi episode "Kill The Moon". Does the episode stand up now that a few years has passed since the original controversies? How does Clara fare? And does the moral message work?
Nov 12, 2019•1 hr
We're tackling the Fifth Doctor story "Circular Time" this week but we are not doing it alone - welcome Alasdair Wilkins back to the podcast! Alasdair is joining us to discuss the looping, circular nature of this story as we explore the relationship between the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa. Will the story be able to delve successfully into the fragile, muted nature of their friendship? Can it manage this while also doing a celebrity historical? And what part did Nyssa play in the 5th Doctor's regenera...
Nov 05, 2019•1 hr 38 min
We have a returning guest with us this week as Anthony Strand joins to discuss the Eighth Doctor story "Time Works". How will this strange tale of clocks and chronology stand up after so many of its ideas have become familiar? Will Charley and C'Rizz get anything worthwhile to do at all? And do all the clock references actually work or does it simply become annoying?
Oct 29, 2019•47 min
We cover the second half of the Reaping / Gathering two part linked stories with, um, The Gathering. How does Tegan and Janet Fielding do as they return to the Doctor Who fold for the first time since the 1980's? Can the story of low-key Cybermen find a satisfying conclusion? And do all the cross-story continuity links manage to land? Join us down under and let's find out!
Oct 22, 2019•54 min
We catch up with Peri and the Sixth Doctor this week and JG and Kev drop into Baltimore (allegedly: not that you'd be able to tell from the accents) to see what Peri's life was like prior to her ill-fated trip to Lanzarote. But things can never be that simple... How do the Cybermen work in what is, for them, a fairly small-scale outing? Just how far off the beaten track can any one accent wander? And will the Doctor and Peri's relationship be able to survive this encounter?
Oct 15, 2019•57 min
And now for something a little different - we leave the world of audio behind this week and take a listener's suggestion to cover two TV episodes instead, in this case the two episodes which re-launched the show back in 2005 "Rose" and "The End Of The World". How do the episodes stand up nearly fifteen years later? Do Eccleston and Piper nail it first time out? And how has Russell T Davies do on scripting duties to get the new show off to a start? Come leave audio behind for this week and join u...
Oct 08, 2019•1 hr 16 min
We reach a milestone this week - our 100th episode! And for this landmark we cover the second half of The Legacy Of Time, Big Finish's own celebration. Will the Sixth Doctor and Charley be able to recapture their magic together? How will the Fifth Doctor and the Doctor's daughter (in both senses) get on together? And can a satisfying conclusion be reached? Plus we discuss the box set in a broader sense, and announce what we'll be doing next week, which is something a little different...
Oct 01, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Kev and JG tackle the first half of the mammoth six-episode box-set that is The Legacy Of Time, which exists to celebrate 20 years of Big Finish. How will the Eighth Doctor get on with Benny AND River? Will the Counter-Measures Team be able to cope with the Seventh Doctor and Ace? And will Jo Grant really be sacrificed to save the world with the brand-new Third Doctor and the New UNIT team? Plus there's time to reflect on the sad passing of one of the most pivotal figures in all of Doctor Who, T...
Sep 24, 2019•49 min
We drop into the strange, surreal world of Memory Lane this week as the Doctor, C'Rizz and Charley get stuck in probably the oddest prison of the series. Can this winding, bizarre tale land all its baffling elements? Will the strangeness overwhelm the story elements? And will this difficult TARDIS crew work in such an odd environment? Plus we dip into the mailbox to take a recommendation for covering some non-audio stories.
Sep 17, 2019•54 min
We stray into the batty, insane world of Iris Wildthyme this week, and we do it with a guest! Abby Denton is back to give her opinion on all things Iris as we ramble about the first two Iris stories. Will Iris work well on audio starring in her own standalone adventures? Will Katy Manning be able to anchor both stories successfully? Is there any danger of these discussions actually remaining on point? Climb aboard the smaller-on-the-inside big red bus and let's find out! www.jgmcquarrie.scot
Sep 10, 2019•51 min
An apology - no episode this week due to technical problems on JG's side (the audio of the episode for The Settling was, regrettably, unuseable). Sorry everyone! We'll be back next week.
Sep 03, 2019•1 min
We're back with the Fourth Doctor this week, covering two episodes in the 4th Fourth Doctor range. Can Suburban Hell conjure up anything worthwhile from suburbia? Can a ghost story set in a nunnery make the use of Liz Shaw's mum seem worthwhile? And can the Fourth Doctor range finally move forward or will it remain moribund? www.jgmcquarrie.scot
Aug 27, 2019•44 min
We're exploring history - just about - this week as we step into the world of time slips, court intrigue and all manner of bawdy comedy with The Kingmaker. How will the 5th Doctor slot into this world? Will Erimem find it easier to cope with than Peri? And can Big Finish finally produce a comedy that, you know, actually manages to be funny?
Aug 20, 2019•1 hr 6 min
We're dealing with Other Lives this week as we pop in to see how the Eighth Doctor, Charley and C'Rizz are getting on. Turns out they've ended up in Victorian London, with all the complexities one might expect. How does someone of C'Rizz's unusual apperance fit into all that Victoriana? Can Charley find her way through while dealing with the Duke Of Wellington? And is the Doctor really just someone's amnesiac husband? www.jgmcquarrie.scot
Aug 06, 2019•59 min
We return to the fabulous world of River this week as we cover the final two episodes in the Volume Three box set. How does Peter Davison get on playing a character other than the 5th Doctor? Wll The episodes manage to come together as a cohesive whole? And just how many bad guys does the second story need? Plus there's a broader discussion of the River range. And, once again, apologies for the lateness of this episode - life not only finds a way, it finds a way to get in the way. www.jgmcquarri...
Jul 30, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Your producer and co-host humbly apologises for the lack of an episode this week.
Jul 16, 2019•31 sec
We return to the fabulous worlds of River Song this episode as we cover the first two stories in the third box set. Will River be able to keep her momentum going after two pretty successful box-sets? How will Big Finish intersect with Series 6 continuity? And will the Fifth Doctor be able to hold his own against the whirlwind that is River's life?
Jul 09, 2019•52 min
This week we cover the last story in the 10th Doctor Box Set Vol 3 with The Creeping Death, and for the first time pay a visit to The Lost Stories range by covering the poetically-titled The Fragile Yellow Arc Of Fragrance. Will the last 10th Doctor story manage to land its story of 50's fog-bound aliens? Will the lyrically imaginative Fragile Yellow Arc succeed in telling its story of love and loss? Plus there's wildly unfounded speculation as to who might return to Doctor Who via Big Finish, a...
Jul 02, 2019•54 min
