Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

Radio Free Skaro's own Steven had the pleasure of interviewing Telos Publishing superstar David J Howe at Gallifrey 2009, in a discussion ranging from his reference works (most of which Steven owns) to his extensive knowledge of Doctor Who merchandise.

And with that, the craziest weekend in the history of Radio Free Skaro came to a close with an enervated Three Who Rule slumped around a microphone in their disheveled hotel room. They ran down their highlights (almost everything) and low lights (almost nothing) before jetting off to their respective patches of ground they call home, ready to come back to Gallifrey 21 next year and do it all again. Ah, the memories.

In the third of our (fictitious) award winning podcast pub chats with Doctor Who luminaries, Phil Ford (Sarah Jane Adventures head writer and writer of the next Doctor Who gap year special, "Return of the Bandrils") and Toby Hadoke (writer/performer of "Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf" and the revelation of the entire convention) dropped by for nigh on an hour and a half to talk about their experiences at the convention, their involvement in the Doctor Who universe, and offer general insight into what makes the show so great. During the chat, Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones from Torchwood) invited everyone (well, Phil) out to drinks somewhere else, and Phil did his damnedest to avoid giving away plot details for the next gap year special.

The Three Who Rule continued their blitzkrieg coverage of Gallifrey 2009 with not only a wicked hangover (Warren), jet lag (Chris) and a smug sense of clean living self-satisfaction (Chris), but also a sterling interview with one Rob Shearman, the scribe behind award-winning Big Finish titles such as “Chimes at Midnight,” “Holy Terror,” and “Jubilee,” which was later adapted into “Dalek,” the return of everyone’s favorite mean-tempered pepper pots to the new series. Also joining us was Jason Haigh-Ellery, head honcho of the Big Finish audios who was kind enough to supply us all with sweet, sweet, alcohol. Enjoy!

Later on the Saturday at Gallifrey, Toby Hadoke, hours before going on stage for the North American debut of his hit one-man show Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf, sat down with Warren to have a chat about the play and his love of the show in general. (Again, here's the audio, with the video version to come later) :Direct download: RFShadokeinterview.mp3

We at Radio Free Skaro are pretty excited about this : an exclusive interview with Phil Collinson! Phil was nice enough to sit down a chat with Warren. Check out the audio from it here (the video will be posted later!) :

For the first time in recorded history, in an event sure to be recorded in the annals of time across all universes parallel and otherwise, the RFS crew met in person at Gallifrey 2009 in Los Angeles, and thus was a podcast birthed from the loins of the Airport Marriott. And as a special bonus, John Williams and Neil Perryman of Tachyon TV joined in on the fun and regaled us with tales of Torchwood dodginess, Tomorrow People memories, and the utter strangeness of Sapphire and Steel.

In the last episode before the Three Who Rule arrive in Los Angeles and dispense their own particular brand of Canadian havoc, the news was sparse but the banter broad, ranging from Al Waxman's storied career all the way to....well, the shenanigans to come at Gallifrey 2009.

This week saw a surfeit of news for the Three Who Rule to chew over, and masticate they did as they analyzed, cogitated...and digressed into discussions of Matt Houston, black and white action figures, the questionable acting talents of one Derek Jacobi, and a beast named Pedantor.

The Three Who Rule had barely any news to discuss this week, but that didn't stop them from talking about the upcoming Gallifrey convention in LA, mysterious destroyed buses in Dubai, and (of all things) 80's Lee Majors vehicle "The Fall Guy." You have been warned.

The Three Who Rule plunged forward as usual into the exciting world of Doctor Who news and other related shenanigans, but took time to examine the gloriousness that was The Prisoner, the late Patrick McGoohan's psychedelic masterpiece. Be seeing you!

After a dusty couple of weeks battling Sutekh, the Hand of Sutekh, and mysterious fez-clad villains, Warren returned to North American soil from Egypt a little dusty but still full of verve for all things Who. Of course, now that the new Doctor has been announced, along with the airing of the Next Doctor, there was little in the way of real news to discuss, so the Three Who Rule made do with fawning over the impossibly cute Character Options figures due later this year, along with digressions into the works of Clint Eastwood and Tombstone, Kurt Russell's mustachioed magnum opus.

While Warren battles gun-wielding, fez-wearing servants of Sutekh, Steven and Chris discuss the big news of the announcement of David Tennant's replacement in Who's eponymous role. The Two of the Three compare the nascent Mr. Smith's ascension with the oncoming of past Doctors of yore and ultimately conclude it's far too early to know what to expect from this whippersnapper. The discussion by way of commentary of Ghost Light also occurs as the remaining hosts take on the much-overlooked Season 26 story, no doubt to the delight of the erstwhile McCoy-bashing Mr. Frey.

With Warren in Egypt seeking to be the plaything of Sutekh, it was left to Chris and Steven to hash out their opinions of the recent Doctor Who Christmas special "The Next Doctor". As if an RFS episode without Warren wasn't weird enough, both Chris and Steven were actually in the same room to record this week's installment. The resulting proximity meant that the duo stayed remarkably on topic, but still managed to find time to comment on Survivors, Coronation Street and Canada's chances at the World Junior hockey tournament. Behold!

The Three Who Rule were all back on terra firma (ie. North America) this week, and the usual Who-ish banter of course centred around the imminent showing of "The Next Doctor", due December 25th on UK TVs and computers worldwide. But that didn't stop the jaunty (and in the case of Chris, jet-lagged) japemeisters from venturing forth on the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (conclusion: crap), along with an altogether too long talk about the merits of various Star Trek series, before sauntering back to the matter at hand. Next week, Chris and Steven are left to their own devices, as Warren wanders to Egypt to battle Sutekh and save 1980 from Armageddon, seen through the TARDIS doors as terrible model photography and CSO.

For the first time in a long time, the Three Who Rule went sans commentary and digressed, postulated, and even went off topic (twice!) in the middle of a sentence. The hygiene of certain Sex in the City characters, Steve Coogan, Big Finish audios, and oh yes, the latest Doctor Who news headlines were hashed over, giggled at, and finally shunted aside as your gallant crew went completely off the rails. Hoo-ray!

And so it's come to this. At long last the RFS crew reaches "Journey's End," the final episode of Series Four, and a story that nicely sums up Who scribe Gareth Roberts term of "anticipointment." So much potential, frittered away in a fruitless wasting of the Rose story arc and Benny Hill-esque dispatchment of the Daleks. Still, Julian Bleach's Davros and the sad fate of Donna Noble rescued the episode from the Trash-Bin of Utter Contempt (next door neighbour to the Gun of Spite) and gave our three heroes much gristle to chew over, spit out, and look at askance.

More thrilling commentary, this time for the "Stolen Earth," clearly the best roller coaster ride of Series 4, if not of the entire run of the new series. It's all downhill from here though, as "Journey's End" is coming up next, and we all know how that turned out. Still, witticisms and nerdy banter ahead!

The Three Who Rule were efficacious in their praise for Turn Left, a tour de force performance from Catherine Tate and the best part of Rose's rather presumptuous arrival into Series 4. Of course, a good episode means we spend most of our time rapt in wonder and not actually commentating, but we made a special effort to lay down some bon mot as we enjoyed things being on Donna's back, Doctors dying and mirrors sending people sideways through time.Oh yes, and happy 45th birthday, Doctor Who.

"Midnight," Series Four's "Donna-lite" episode, got a solid round of "well dones" from the Three Who Rule, due to some fine acting and gold old-fashioned claustrophobic writing, harkening back to the old days of silver jumpsuits and very limited sets. We also covered what little there was to say about the two minute teaser for "The Next Doctor," airing this Christmas in England and very shortly thereafter on computers across the globe. Allons-y!