Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

There comes a time in the life of every podcast when they must do something they do not wish to do, but that they know they have to do and that time is now for Radio Free Skaro with the Torchwood Revisisted commentary for “Cyberwoman”, a baffling hodge-podge of robotics and puerile nonsense. Or are we overreacting? But before we subject you to this televisual atrocity, there’s Big Finish news, Hugo Awards finalist updates, and more! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Steve’s Doctor Who theme remix John Bishop clip from The Graham Norton Show The Ice Warriors vinyl release Doctor Who Moho animation test 2021 Hugo Awards finalists Big Finish The Fifth Doctor Adventures: The Lost Resort and Other Stories due September The Prisoner action figure kickstarter Helen McCrory died Felix Silla died Commentary: Cyberwoman

As the global pandemic abates (everywhere but Canada, currently in the throes of The Swarm 3.0) Doctor Who news is…somewhat sedate. But we do have news of a Canadian release date for the Season 24 Blu-ray, Dalek auctions, a Devil’s End comic book Kickstarter, and copious praise for the student-produced Mission to the Unknown from 2019! And as if that wasn’t enough to overload your sensorium, our Torchwood Revisited commentaries continue with “Ghost Machine”! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Season 24 Blu-Ray due August 3 in Canada Dalek Terror Record Store Day release Devil’s End comic book kickstarter Screen-used Dalek prop up for auction Mission to the Unknown remake wins a fictitious award Commentary: Ghost Machine

  The publicity blitz for the Christopher Eccleston tsunami of Big Finish work kicks into high gear this week and we’re here to give you all the Eccelstonian Updates along with talk of a Doctor Who atlas, a history of the VIrgin Publishing novels and a new unofficial Sarah Jane anthology! But we all know why you’re here, to hear our take on the exciting and not at all puerile Torchwood adventure “Day One”, where everything changes! Again! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Doctor Who Magazine 563 Big Finish Ninth Doctor Adventures, Volumes 3 & 4 Gizmodo interview of Christopher Eccleston Nerdist interview of Christopher Eccleston Big Finish unites the Fourth Doctor and Alan Turing The Who Adventures book by David J Howe Doctor Who Atlas due in September Sarah Jane Smith: Roving Reporter book Commentary: Day One

It’s a tsunami of audio drama as Big Finish throws many a soundscape at us, including some Tom Baker adventuring written by friend of the show Liz Myles (due out in 2022)! Plus a Ninth Doctor audio trailer for you Ecclestonians! Also Terrance Dicks is declared essential reading via the medium of books, UK Doctor Who: The Collection Blu-rays adopt standard packaging (whoo!). But we’re just avoiding the inevitable here, the start of our Torchwood Revisited commentaries, starting with Series One, Episode One: “Everything Changes”! It is the 21st century, after all. Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! San Diego Comic-Con Plans The Essential Terrance Dicks titles released UK Blu-Ray Classic Who reissues Fantom Season 8 Blu-Ray preview with Chris Chapman Upcoming Classic Who animated releases? Big Finish Ninth Doctor Adventures trailer Big Finish The God of Phantoms due August 2021 Big Finish Fourth Doctor Series 11 and 12 getting extra stories Big Finish Torchwood Madam I’m Commentary: Everything Change

Spring has sprung (or, for those in the Antipodes, fall has fallen), and there is a renewed sense of optimism in the world in general, and the Doctor Who world specifically. Why? Because Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill bring the Thasmin energy to a new Red Nose Day cameo, The Lonely Assassins is thrilling mobile game players the world over, and the Doc Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! 2020 The Movie: Comic Relief featuring Jodie Whittaker and Mandip Gill Fury from the Deep DVD released in North America The Lonely Assassins release trailer The Lonely Assassins orchestral theme recording Big Finish The Doomsday Contract released, Hitchhiker’s Guide trailer also released Peter Howell book “Radiophonic Times” due April 2021 Peter Howell’s new website Interview: Mark Ayres Season 8 Blu-Ray Season 24 Blu-Ray

Ever wonder if assassins feel job-related ennui? Now’s your chance to find out as we shine a spotlight on The Lonely Assassins, a new mobile Doctor Who game from Maze Theory where you help crusading scientist Petronella Osgood battle various baddies through your phone-related device. Game writer Gavin Collinson joins us for an interview about said mobile pew-pew-ing, and stay tuned on Twitter this week for a chance to win a prize pack for The Lonely Assassins! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Doctor Who & Casualty on Comic Relief Series 8 Steelbook Joy Wilkinson interview about novelizing The Witchfinders Mark Gatiss interview about novelizing The Crimson Horror Paul Vanezis and Peter Crocker talking about missing episodes in private hands Big Finish The War Doctor Begins due June Big Finish has Dodo join The First Doctor Adventures Volume 5, played by Lauren Cornelius Big Finish Torchwood, The Five People You Kill In Middlesbrough due June Big Finish box set sales for out of print CDs Doctor

It’s a grab bag of broadcast and streaming and televisual chicanery this week as the Three Who Rule ruminate about the imminent debut of BBC First, a new channel in Canada from BBC Studios, the return of BBC Three in the UK, the Shame of CTV Sci-Fi and more, before handing over these musings to much smarter people, namely former Doctor Who magazine editor Tom Spilsbury and chair and associate professor of film and media arts professor at Southern Methodist University Derek Kompare as they examine where media is going and how Doctor Who plays into this chaotic new world. Please stand by! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! John Bishop initially turned down Doctor Who BBC First coming to Canada BBC Three returns to broadcast TV Season 8 Blu-Ray trailer Doctor Who Magazine 562 released The Target Book gets a paperback release Big Finish Ninth Doctor Adventures: Ravagers due May 2021 Big Finish Mind of the Hodiac by Russell T Davies due 2022 Big Finish Time Lord Victorious: Echoes of Extinction due April

Gallifrey One is back, and it’s about time! Yes, dates have been confirmed and the NFL has been defeated as Gallifrey One returns to the LAX Marriott on February 18-20, 2022, its traditional President’s Day weekend. Something to look forward to as the snow melts and the COVID vaccines flow. In the meantime, it’s the return of one of our favourite segments, where you, the listener, pick the topics! Yes, it’s Fluid You asked, we meandered! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Gallifrey One 2022 gets confirmed dates Final tweetalong will be Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords Big Finish Day 2021 will be virtual, 2022 planned to be in Derby Big Finish Third Doctor Adventures Volume 7 due May 2021 Big Finish Lone Centurion Volume 1 due April 2021 Peter Capaldi donated a script for charity

We took a break from the news last week to revel in Gallifrey One events of the past and to look forward to better times in the future, so this week we catch up with all the news we missed, including several Big Finish releases, new books, But let’s get to the heart of this thing, as Hunter S. Thompson once said, with our commentary for “Revolution of the Daleks” with Verity’s own Deb Stanish! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Jodie Whittaker reads a bedtime story for kids in Watford Fury from the Deep on BBC America New Doctor Who Build-A-Bear Lockdown Who “The Genuine Article” followup to Love & Monsters A Town Called Mercy tweetalong Deepfake tech used for missing Doctor Who episodes Hero Collector Revolution of the Daleks figurines Warriors of the Deep and Sontar-Ha! WhoTalk commentaries Southside Broadcasting Graeme Harper podcasts Big Finish The Doomsday Contract from a script by John Lloyd Big Finish Doctor Who: The Early Adventures Big Finish Torchwood Lease of Life Big Finish Lady Chri

In any other year, this would be our last transmission from the LAX Marriott and Gallifrey One, tired but happy after another year with our favorite convention and our favorite people. However in this time of COVID 19 such things are not possible (temporarily!) so we’ve done the next best thing and have Gally impresario Shaun Lyon here to discuss conventions past and future, how to deal with a global pandemic, and more! We also present the last of our Tales of Gallifrey One archive interview series with chats with Freema Agyeman (2013), Garrick Hagon (2015), Howard Burden (2017), and Jamie Childs & Wayne Yip (2019)! Guest: Shaun Lyon Gallifrey One

The Saturday at any Gallifrey One has traditionally been our busiest, gathering as many interviews as we could to flesh out our weekend release schedule. On this episode of Radio Free Skaro, we flash back to a particularly notable Saturday at the 2012 edition of Gallifrey One, where we interviewed William Russell, Waris Hussein, and Philip Segal, all in the course of an afternoon. We were so young and hungry back in those days!

Usually at this time of the week, at this time of the year, we would be kicking off Gallifrey One with a live show featuring a number of guests attending the convention that year. So this year, as part of our Tales of Gallifrey One series, we present a "greatest hits" selection from our various live shows of years past. Here is Peter Davison (2016), Philip Hinchcliffe (2013), Terrance Dicks (2014), Pete McTighe, Vinay Patel, and Joy Wilkinson (2020), Julian Glover (2016), Patricia Quinn (2016), and Chip Sudderth's Two-Minute Time Lord presentation from 2015. Enjoy!

Thus begins Tales of Gallifrey One, our look back at some of our favourite interviews from past editions of Gallifrey One! This episode features a chat with acclaimed Doctor Who director Graeme Harper from 2010, an interview with Doctor Who producer and production manager Tracie Simpson from 2011, and a conversation with legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop musician and sound effects genius Dick Mills, recorded in 2013.

This week on the podcast, it’s another edition of our Doctor Who trivia game show Trivia, Mr. Fibuli, with special guests Benji Clifford and Nick Briggs of the Benji and Nick Show! Also, we’ve got news about more Big Finish releases, John Bishop begins shooting his scenes for Series 13 of Doctor Who, and also the full and complete (and 100% accurate) history of British television. Also, keep watching the skies this week for some Gallifrey One-related content as we look forward to what would have been the greatest weekend of the year… Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Boom Town tweetalong Dinosaurs on a Spaceship tweetalong Love and Monsters tweetalong Doctor Who Magazine 561 The Lonely Assassins launches March 19 Big Finish Gallifrey: Time War 4 due this month Big Finish UNIT Nemesis Volume 1 due November 2021 Big Finish The Lone Centurion Volume 1 due April 2021 Big Finish Torchwood: Gooseberry due April 2021 Directed by Douglas Camfield revised edition Fury from the Deep DVD US release date March

It’s been a very quiet week for Doctor Who news, but that won’t stop us from waffling on about KSPS Doctor Who broadcast schedules of yesteryear, Babylon 5 upgrades and other such ephemera! Mere distraction though for part three of our Rachel Talalay Miniscope, where we look at World Enough and Time, the Doctor Falls and Twice Upon a Time! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Season 24 Blu-Ray available for preorder in Canada Big Finish Dalek Universe 1 due April 2021 Big Finish Dalek Universe 2 due July 2021 Big Finish Dalek Universe 3 due October 2021 Toby Hadoke’s obituary of Philip Martin in The Guardian Miniscope: Rachel Talalay World Enough and Time The Doctor Falls Twice Upon a Time

For the next three weeks, we are presenting some archive content in the leadup to our three-part Miniscope on the works of director Rachel Talalay. Rachel has been a friend to us here at RFS, appearing no fewer than six times, and we thought it was worth re-releasing our interviews and commentaries with her over the years as a lead-in to our conversations about her work on Doctor Who. Here is our final interview with Rachel Talalay (so far) on the podcast. This one was released across two episodes of Radio Free Skaro, 608 and 609, in the runup to the 2017 Christmas special “Twice Upon a Time”, where Warren visits the home of Rachel Talalay again to talk about that, as well as the two-part finale to Series 10. Join us on January 31 for the third and final part of our Miniscope on director Rachel Talalay, where we look at “World Enough and Time”, “The Doctor Falls”, and “Twice Upon a Time".

It’s an auspicious week in world history as a titan ascends to his rightful place…that’s right, Tom Baker is 87 years old and we are better for it. There’s also official news of a Doctor Who Season 24 Bluray as part of The Collection series with VAM aplenty, a Missy comic from Titan Comics, Big Finish’s “Return of the Cybermen” and and and…the second part of our Rachel Talalay miniscope featuring her work on Heaven Sent and Hell Bent! Links: Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon! Tom Baker turned 87 School Reunion tweetalong Season 24 Blu-Ray set announced Season 24 Blu-Ray set trailer Season 24 Blu-Ray set clean artwork Season 8 Blu-Ray set due June 1 in Canada Doctor Who Chronicles 1965 Missy comic series begins in April Andrew Cartmel’s Script Doctor reprint Big Finish Return of the Cybermen trailer Big Finish to produce 1985 Russell T Davies spec script Big Finish Sixth Doctor Adventures: The Eleven due September 2021 Miniscope: Rachel Talalay Heaven Sent Hell Bent Heaven Sent previsualizations

For the next three weeks, we are presenting some archive content in the leadup to our three-part Miniscope on the works of director Rachel Talalay. Rachel has been a friend to us here at RFS, appearing no fewer than six times, and we thought it was worth re-releasing our interviews and commentaries with her over the years as a lead-in to our conversations about her work on Doctor Who. Back in the spring of 2016, Rachel Talalay joined us to participate in director’s commentaries for both “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent” on Radio Free Skaro episodes 533 and 534. Here now is the commentary for “Hell Bent”. And join us on January 24 for Part Two of our Miniscope on director Rachel Talalay when we look at “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent”.

For the next three weeks, we are presenting some archive content in the leadup to our three-part Miniscope on the works of director Rachel Talalay. Rachel has been a friend to us here at RFS, appearing no fewer than six times, and we thought it was worth re-releasing our interviews and commentaries with her over the years as a lead-in to our conversations about her work on Doctor Who. Back in the spring of 2016, Rachel Talalay joined us to participate in director’s commentaries for both “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent” on Radio Free Skaro episodes 533 and 534. Here now is the commentary for “Heaven Sent”. Stay tuned later in the week for the re-release of our commentary for “Hell Bent”.

For the next three weeks, we are presenting some archive content in the leadup to our three-part Miniscope on the works of director Rachel Talalay. Rachel has been a friend to us here at RFS, appearing no fewer than six times, and we thought it was worth re-releasing our interviews and commentaries with her over the years as a lead-in to our conversations about her work on Doctor Who. From episode #507 of Radio Free Skaro (released December 2015), Warren visits the home of Rachel Talalay in Vancouver for an extended discussion about the making of “Heaven Sent” and “Hell Bent”. Stay tuned later in the week for the re-release of our commentary for “Heaven Sent”, recorded with Rachel Talalay in 2016.