Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

The penultimate episode of Series 8 is upon us, with Cybermen, the afterlife, and Missy, who is revealed as….well, you should certainly watch “Dark Water” (penned by Steven Moffat and directed by Rachel Talalay) before listening to the Three Who Rule expound upon the contents therein, or risk a mega-spoiler of cataclysmic magnitude. Have you watched? Good. Then enjoy our banter on the excellent direction, subtle performances, and the sometimes….excited reaction of certain segments of fandom when a beloved character takes a a sharp right turn into a different form. Next week, the finale, "Death in Heaven", and news from Long Island Who!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

"In the Forest Of The Night" already looks to be one of the most polarizing episodes of Series 8, and there's no shortage of opinion on this week's Radio Free Skaro to go around. Along with Steven and Warren, Nerdist wordsmith Kyle Anderson joined in (pinch-hitting for an unavailable Chris) to take a look at a story about...well, trees. Warren also interviewed Rachel Talalay, the director of both "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven", the penultimate and final episodes of the series, and her thoughts on Doctor Who, the differences between directing for UK and American television, and a whole host of other topics are here for you to enjoy. Plus stats, general annoyance about the lack of a 5" P-Cap action dollie, audio news, and all manner of jaunty amusement await you!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Doctor Who is often at its best when it mixes domesticity with the fantastical, and the Jamie Mathieson penned, Douglas Mackinnon directed “Flatline” was no exception, if the rapturous reception (spoilers) of the Three Who Rule for this week’s episode is anything to go by. Thrill to their enthusiasm! Enjoy their musings! Agree with them or else! All that passive-aggressive goodness and the usual stats, tat and flibbity flap awaits!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Trains! Space! A mummy! Jelly babies! Foxes! All things in writer Jamie Mathieson's “Mummy on the Orient Express,” this week’s episode of the obscure and not well regarded televisual program known as Doctor Who, and all subjects for debate for the Three Who Rule, who mulled all these elements plus rampant lying, Bechdel cabs, and much more! Also stats, comics books, Foxes' spoiler-y music video, and much more! Well actually, that’s really about it. But enjoy regardless!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

“Kill the Moon,” this week’s episode of Doctor Who, has proven to be one of the most divisive in recent memory, with fandom loving it or despising it but certainly not dismissing it. Was it the “game changer” showrunner Steven Moffat made it out to be? Has Peter Capaldi’s Doctor plumbed the dark depths of jerkery, and was he justified in doing so? So many questions for the Three Who Rule to muddle through and cogitate upon! And they do! Oh yes and there are some stats as well, but then you'd expect that, wouldn't you?   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

When we found out that Gareth Roberts was the scribe behind “The Caretaker,” we all expected a rompity-romp-romp, much like “The Lodger” and “Closing Time.” And while this story did have rompy moments, it was also funny, touching and filled with nice character touches that you’ll only find out about if you listen to our review. So do so! This weekend was also when Edmonton Expo descended on the Edmonton Expo Centre in sunny Edmonton, Alberta, and Steven was there to moderate a panel on Doctor Who and more specifically Series Eight with Erika Ensign, convention general manager Shane Turgeon, and Sara Ellen. Tune in to find out what these noble souls thought of P-Cap, J-Co, The Moff and everything else we’ve seen so far in Series Eight!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The beauty of Doctor Who is that it can be any story, anywhere and anywhen…and yet inexplicably there’s never really been a heist episode. Well, no longer! “Time Heist,” by writer Steve Thompson of “Curse of the Black Spot” and “Journey to the Center of the TARDIS" (ahem) fame. Did this story surpass his previous attempts? The reception by the Three Who Rule is mixed, to say the least. We also have an interview with writer and Peter Harness, the scribe behind “Kill the Moon.” And that’s what you call a podcast with things in it, so listen and enjoy!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

As showrunner for Doctor Who, Steven Moffat is mostly known for beginnings and endings of series, but this week the Moff brought us “Listen,” a standalone story that delves into beginnings, endings and fear itself. So, did Moffat overload the story with his personal tropes, take the show in an interesting direction, or…well, listen to the opinions of the Three Who Rule for their thoughts on the matter. There’s also tat, stats, Gallifrey One guest updates and more, including a diversion into some serious action dolly madness. Listen! Please.   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Robin Hood! Robots! Shenanigans! Etc! Things took a turn for the romp-y in “Robot of Sherwood,” the latest episode of Doctor Who, but what did the usually taciturn and P-Cap-ian Three Who Rule think? Eh? Listen as the three acerbic grouchwads expound upon the story in question and also reflect on stats and what a blight they are on human society. But that’s not all, not by a long chalk! We also have an interview with director Douglas MacKinnon, whose handiwork will be seen later this series in "Time Heist", "Flatline" and, next week, in "Listen”! So…do so!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The first proper P-Cap story, where he’s out of bed and sassing off to soldiers, Daleks and everyone in between, has arrived on our TV screens, tablets, laptops and eyeballs. You’d think after years of Dalek stories the well would be dry, but in fact….well, you’ll just have to listen to the Three Who Rule’s take on “Into the Dalek” to find out. Do they enjoy Capaldi’s surly and cerebral take on the Doctor? Is there such a thing as a “good” Dalek? Most importantly, is Missy the Master? The Rani? Romana? Dodo? No, because that would be stupid. As a bonus, listen to Steven and Chris thrill (and Warren cringe) with a surfeit of stats from last week’s airing of Deep Breath. Stats, you say? Yes. Yes we do.   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

After months of waiting, feverish panic, speculation, madness, leaked scripts, world tours and other such lunacy, the first episode of Doctor Who, Series 8, titled “Deep Breath”, is upon us. You know what that means? Stats! So, so many stats. And, to a lesser extent, the opinions of Steven, Warren and Chris regarding Peter Capaldi’s debut episode and right-turn portrayal of everyone’s favourite Time Lord. Of course there was other news to ruminate upon, but…who are we kidding here, you want the “Deep Breath” goodness. And you shall have it! Tally-ho!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Only one week to go until the premiere of Series 8, or as Warren (and no-one else) terms it, 8mageddon, and there’s news of trailers, radio trailers, misguided Tom Baker biopics, Doctor Who world tours and more. But more importantly, Friend of the Show, all around fine gent and writer of some renown Phil Ford returns to talk about “Into the Dalek,” his contribution to Series 8 due to grace our screens in just a couple of weeks, but also about the Deep Breath premiere in Cardiff and just how wonderful Peter Capaldi really is, both on and off camera. And if you’ve ever wanted to know what ringtones the Three Who Rule have on our phones, well….you’re welcome.   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

Newsmageddon continues! With only two weeks to go before the premiere of Deep Breath across the planet, the Doctor Who hype machine is in full swing, from the world tour making it’s way through the UK before heading overseas to early reviews of the premiere episode (all spoiler-free, of course.) Online content, the Moff saying stuff that may or may not be true and so….much…more. But that’s not all! We also have the final Miniscope of the year, this time profiling BBC Radiophonic Workshop composer Jonathan Gibbs with the help of eminent smart music lady Emily Kausalik from the Doctor Who: Time Signatures podcast! Huzzah!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

"Morgus! You stinking offal! Look at me!"   Yes, a day long anticipated by the Three Who Rule Has finally arrived as they were privileged to tackle the all-time classic The Caves of Androzani as a commentary. While they had long feared such a task would devolve into silent slack jawed amazement, they did their damnedest to inform and entertain to the standard being played out on screen. There's also morsels of news regarding cinema screenings and other such frippery, but c'mon! Caves! Yeah!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

With San Diego Comic Con’s annual media megashow winding down, Radio Free Skaro brought in a Special Report from Nerdist editor and all around fine fellow Kyle Anderson as our man on the scene to let us know about the Big! Who! News! almost live from the source. Well, it turns out there hasn’t been very much news to speak of Who-wise, with the BBC likely focusing their energies on launching their world tour, and….showing us a new 15 second trailer. And……showing the premiere in cinemas worldwide! Holy cats! Despite the dearth of SDCC news, rest assured our list is chockablock full of items of interest, and as if that weren’t enough, we also have the last Fluid Links for quite some time! Madness!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

With San Diego Comic Con looming, roving Radio Free Skaro reporter Warren Frey took it upon himself to interview Andrew James, the editor of the new Doctor Who range at Titan Comics. James spilled the beans on SDCC plans, a Doctor Who Day promotion across the U.S. and the U.K. and much more, but first…a massive (one could even say Titan-ic) amount of news. From the leak of Deep Breath (or a somewhat unfinished version of it, anyway) to action dolly news, Big Finish updates and more, the Three Who Rule were overwhelmed by an avalanche of information. And all this without an official Doctor Who panel at Comic Con! Madness. Pure madness.   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

It was a week of great tumult in the world of Doctor Who, with the leaking of the first five scripts for Series 8 taking the internet by storm and sending Whovians into spasms of joy, guilt, fear and loathing. Though the scripts have presumably spread far and wide, Who-dom has heeded the call of #keepmespoilerfree and as of release of this episode, no major spoilage is happening in the more reputable corners of the internet.    While lest you think #8gate was the only thing happening in Who this week, rest assured there was movement in the realms of comics, Classic Who (with Retro TV bringing back our old friend on August 4th, starting with “An Unearthly Child”) and shoddily made, possibly foreign but certainly amusing “versions” of Doctor Who from Japan and….well, wherever the hell Beedeer is from.    All this, and an interview with 80’s music maestro Roger Limb in the Miniscope! Listen! WE COMMAND IT!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

It was an exciting week in the world of Doctor Who, with a new teaser, with news of the return of the Cybermen, the addition of the esteemed Frank Cottrell Boyce to the writers team (plus another female director, Sheree Folkson, joining the production team), and a premiere screening taking place in Cardiff. Once all the new shiny is talked about, though, the Three Who Rule dip back in time to commentate over the third part of the Key to Time season, 1978's "The Stones of Blood"! Ogri, sausage sandwiches, well tamed crows, location videotape, Megara - all sorts of things to enjoy!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

The Series 8 news is slowly building as we hurtle towards August 23rd, the just-announced debut date for Peter Capaldi (aka P-Cap), the 12th (13th?) Doctor in a feature-length adventure called "Deep Breath". But mixed with excitement is disappointment for some fans, as there will be no San Diego Comic Con panel this year...which makes sense given Doctor Who is to be gallivanting around the globe shortly on a world tour of seven different cities on five continents. But all this is mere preparation for the return of Fluid Links, where we answer your questions about Doctor Who, nonsense, and Doctor Who nonsense! Which questions did we pick? Listen and find out!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com

With no Chris this week, Steven and Warren enlisted the help of erstwhile scribe, podcaster and gentleman japesman Kyle Anderson of the Nerdist, Doctor Who: The Writer's Room, WTF Are You Watching, and Awesomely Bad Movies fame. Much fun was had as news of comics, schedules, and action dollies (oh so many dollies) was discussed with great gusto. And as a bonus, we also have an interview with Stephen Gallagher, writer of 1980s Doctor Who stories "Warriors' Gate" and "Terminus"! Ever had questions about time-jumping lions? You bet you do, and they’re about to get answered!   Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com