Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

It was a sad week for genre fans, with the passing of Star Trek legend Leonard Nimoy into the starry night, and though it isn’t strictly Doctor Who, it was the opinion of this week’s RFS crew of Warren, Steven and Chip (Chris is on an Away Team mission) that it behooved them to pay tribute to a man who for many acted as our gateway into fandom. Doctor Who wasn’t without loss this week with the passing of Barry Newbery, one of the program’s most prolific designers and the man behind the beloved (by Warren) secondary TARDIS control room. But it wasn’t all sadness…there’s also Daleks! Let’s all get real close to those pesky pepperpots, with the help of the RFS regulars and guest commentator David Hooie of the “Hoo on Who” podcast as they venture forth….Into the Dalek!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Fighting off con crud, sleeplessness and the ever-present post Gallifrey One blues, the Three Who Rule were joined by fourth Beatle Chip of Two Minute Time Lord fame for the news, and by author and televisual scholar John Williams for a commentary of "Deep Breath", the first of our Series 8 commentaries that will hopefully enthrall and entertain you over the coming weeks! Truly an occasion for many numerals and capital letters in an episode write up.    Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

You’d think we’d have run out of amazing people to talk to at Gallifrey One, but lo! We are here to prove you wrong! Our guests include Rachel Talalay, the director of "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven", 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie writer and documentarian Matthew Jacobs, Doctor Who Legacy creators Susan and Lee Cummings (and stay tuned till the end of the podcast for a special promo code for the game, courtesy Doctor Who Legacy), and Athena Stamos, who was the model for Cinder in the the game. All this and a Gally roundtable of fans and friends to round out our 2015 coverage of the best convention in the world. Allons-y, in the name of everything!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Day Two of Gallifrey 2015, and Radio Free Skaro is on the ground with interviews with many and various Who luminaries, like Jason Connery ("Vengenace on Varos" and the 1980s series Robin of Sherwood), Restoration Team wizard Steve Roberts, who gives us an update on the status of "The Underwater Menace", Garrick Hagon (Ky from The Mutants and Biggs Darklighter from Star Wars), costumers extraordinaire Stephen Prescott and Bob Mitsch, and Paul Booth, the editor of Fan Phenomena: Doctor Who. Tomorrow….even more things related to Doctor Who, if you can believe it!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

It's Gally time! The Three Who Rule graced the main stage at Gallifrey One in Los Angeles for the fourth time in as many years with special guests Jamie Mathieson (writer of "Flatline" and "Mummy on the Orient Express"), Phil Ford (writer of "Into the Dalek", as well as "The Waters of Mars", and acres of Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures episodes), special effects wizard Danny Hargreaves, Sylvester McCoy era script editor Andrew Cartmel, and Doctor Who art director (and Sherlock production designer) Arwel Wyn Jones. All this and a moving tribute to the new series from Chip, the Two Minute Time Lord! Enjoy!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

It’s that time of year again, the annual genuflection by the RFS crew on the upcoming funfest that is Gallifrey One. Revel in the excitement of a new year of friends, costumes, hilarity, adult beverages, and the best convention in all the galaxy. Or, if you’re sick and tired of hearing about #gally1…your long nightmare is almost over. All this and real honest to goodness Doctor Who LEGO is on the way! What an age we live in. Next week, expect some voluminous output from Los Angeles, California, including our live show, Radio Free Skaro: Behind The Magic!    Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

With Gallifrey One looming ever closer, the Three Who Rule looked far and wide for news, and found very little, other than the discovery of a lost Desert Island Discs from 1965 starring none other than one William Hartnell, and of course the long-awaited release of Seasons of War, the unofficial War Doctor Anthology in support of the Cauldwell Chirldren’s charity helping UK kids with autism. But all this was mere preamble to Color Separation Overlay, a new pilot project from Lindsey Mayers, and featuring Dennis Slade, Izis Mollinedo and our own Steven to talk about race and representation in Doctor Who. Put on your thinking caps and enjoy!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Gallifrey One! Mere weeks from now the noble RFS crew will take the stage in Los Angeles to deliver Radio Free Skaro: Behind the Magic, and here in this very podcast we announce our lineup! Who are they? Listen and find out! You’ll also hear a drabble of news, but more importantly, we also have a fun interview panel from Chicago TARDIS with Annette Badland, Noel Clarke, and Camille Coduri! Can you stand the excitement? Are we capable of asking things in a non-hyperbolic manner? The answer to both questions is surely no!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

As the countdown to Gallifrey One ramps up, so too do new guest announcements, including Torchwood alumni Naoko Mori (Tosh) and McCoy era script editor Andrew Cartmel! In other news, riots and other carnage were avoided after Netflix renewed their rights to Doctor Who and a host of other BBC properties which were due to expire at the beginning of February. After the civil unrest and damage caused by the recent Oscar snub of the LEGO movie, we should all be relieved that everything worked out. But lo, there are also interviews from Chicago TARDIS in this episode of Radio Free Skaro, and they are thus: Mat Irvine, Doctor Who special effects whiz from the 1970s and 1980s, and a panel featuring Annette Badland of Aliens of London and Boom Town fame, Sonita Henry from The Time of the Doctor and Ellie and Joseph Darcey-Alden, the young wards of Victorian Clara Oswald in the Snowmen!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

To the excitement of all and sundry, or at least the 3,500 people attending Gallifrey One in under a month’s time, it was recently announced that John Barrowman, Captain Jack Harkness himself, will be gracing the LAX Marriott for his first ever appearance at North America’s leading Doctor Who convention. The news of Barrowman’s visit to the City of Angels churned the Three Who Rule to a totally hetero, manly and strapping lather and only the titanic dullness of of statistics could cool them down. But hark! There was yet more excitement, as Camille Coduri’s interview with Steven onstage at Chicago TARDIS features in this week’s episode! Anecdotes, tales and japery await!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Fancy a return to Alzarius? We did, so we contacted classic Doctor Who and Big Finish writer Andrew Smith about “Mistfall,” his upcoming Big Finish audio play which sends the Fifth Doctor, Turlough, Nyssa and Tegan back to E-Space. Andrew also joins us to look at the news of the week, including stats, plush Tennants, and a possible controversy concerning Netflix! Toby Hadoke also makes a special appearance to reflect with Steven on the life and times of Bernard Kay, the accomplished actor who appeared in The Daleks, the Crusade, The Faceless Ones and Colony in Space, and who sadly passed away this week. Enjoy, and look forward to next week, where we continue our Chicago TARDIS interviews with the fantastic Camille Coduri!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Mind games, face huggers and tangerines...that's what passes for Christmastime when the Doctor gets involved. Sarcastic elves, a sassy Santa, and questionably CG reindeer round out Doctor Who's dip into surreality on this latest Xmas special, "Last Christmas", from the pen of Steven Moffat and directed by Paul Wilmshurst. So what did the Three Who Rule, brains slowed by turkey and Tofurky, think of P-Cap's first foray into Yuletide adventure? Down some egg nog, tear yourself away from erudite political discussion with the relatives, and have a listen!    Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Happy Holidays to our beloved listeners across the world! And thank you to our supporters on Patreon who have pushed us over the $80/episode mark in our ongoing Patreon fundraising campaign. To celebrate both of these wonderful occasions, we look back in time to provide a commentary on another blessed event in the history of Doctor Who - the 1993 charity special "Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time"! Listen to the Three Who Rule regale you with insights and whimsy about this infamous "celebration" of Doctor Who's 30th anniversary, as well as reflect on how Doctor Who was looked upon at that time by the BBC and the general public and how Dimensions in Time might have represented the best possible celebration that could be mustered. And all of this is thanks to you, Patreon subscribers! Thanks. This is all down to you. Enjoy!   Watch Dimensions in Time along with us!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQCeMIQpFBc   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com  

With mere days to not only "Doctor Who: Last Christmas” but also our review of said Xmas special and even more thrillingly, our Patreon-inspired (and cringe-inducing) commentary for the infamous 1993 Children in Need special “Dimensions in Time,” the Three Who Rule ably tackled the last Fluid Links segment of the year! Questions, inquiries, posers and puzzlers abound as this Series 8 focused Q&A takes centre stage for this pre-holiday bit of RFS shenanigans. Also news, dolly derision, comic book neatness and a cool teaser for a War Doctor short film coming next year! Whee!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Last Christmas, which is dominating both our thoughts and the promotional efforts of the BBC Publicity department. Maybe that’s why most of our news is focused on that upcoming holiday where they show a new Doctor Who story and some other, largely irrelevant events rides its coattails. Plus there’s news of a Doctor Who theme park, which is greeted by the confusion and derision only three middle aged nerds with no concept of what the kids today are into could muster. All that questionable content, and an interview from Chicago TARDIS with the voice of the Daleks, Cybermen and countless other creatures, Nick Briggs, who is also one of the main creative forces behind Big Finish! What are you waiting for?   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

With the Three Who Rule firmly back in place and order restored to the galaxy, there was great rejoicing and much waffling about next to nothing, not to mention the controversial and wrong headed use of the terms “P-Cap”, “J-Co,” and “S-Claw.” in reference to the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas Special "Last Christmas". But wait! The main feature is an interview with Mickey Smith himself, Noel Clarke, by our very own Steven recorded live on stage at Chicago TARDIS. And and and….nerd rage from Warren about the highly important matter of the 3.75 inch dolly. Blasphemy!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The annual tradition of US Thanksgiving (as we Canadians call it) brings about another yearly custom - Chicago TARDIS! This year's edition has been quite wonderful, bringing together most of the main cast of Series 1 of the new series to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Doctor Who returning to our screens. Our own Steven had the honour of interviewing several of these notable folks onstage, and on this podcast we bring you a chat with none other than Rose Tyler herself, Billie Piper! Also, Erika and Lynne from Verity! drop by to give their thoughts on the convention. Enjoy!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

For the first time ever (we defy you to prove us wrong, RFS pedants, DEFY YOU) Radio Free Skaro is coming out on November 23rd, better known this year as the 51st anniversary of Doctor Who, our favorite program. And while there's no new Who to discuss until Christmas, we have assembled a crack team of nerds in the form of Gallifrey One impresario Shaun Lyon, podcast gadfly Felicity Brown and Chip Sudderth, the Two Minute Time Lord to share their thoughts on Series Eight. What are you waiting for? Get listenin'! And Happy Doctor Who Day!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

And so begins the Dark Times, otherwise known as waiting a month and a bit after the end of Series 8 for the Doctor Who Christmas Special. In the meantime, the Three Who Rule tackled stats, poured one out for sci-fi TV legend Glen A. Larson, and most importantly, devoted the bulk of the episode to your Series 8 related questions with the return of Fluid Links! Burning inquiries, inquiring questions, questionable burning and more! Next week, a Series 8 roundtable with Shaun Lyon, Felicity Brown, and Chip Sudderth!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

And with that, Series 8 of Doctor Who is over! After a radical turn towards darkness and drama it all came together with “Death in Heaven,” the final episode of the series and the P-Capstone on the 12th Doctor’s inaugural year. From the machinations of Missy (AKA The Master) to the glorious fake-out of Jenna Coleman as the Doctor in the opening titles all the way to…well, there’s some Cyber-shenanigans which the Three Who Rule cover in great detail. And as a bonus, we have an Long Island Who report from The Memory Cheats and Doctor Who: Mostly Harmless Cutaway co-host (and all around fine gent) Josh Zimon!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com