Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

To commemorate the 46th anniversary of the debut of Doctor Who, The Three Who Rule felt it only fitting to invite fellow podcasting super-giant Ken Deep of Doctor Who: Podshock onto the show to not only discuss the news and events of the past week in the world of Who, but to wax on about how they became fans of the show, why they are all still fans, and how they all manage to spend a fair amount of time each week talking about what we, and no doubt you, think is the greatest TV programme ever invented – Doctor Who. We hope you enjoy this unique celebration. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

After seven long months, Doctor Who returned to the airwaves in high style with “The Waters of Mars,” a toppoer of a story and one heck of a lead-in to the Doctor’s imminent demise and resurrection. The Three Who Rule were effusive in their praise of WoM, though somewhat less so when the conversation came to the latest episodes of the Sarah Jane Adventures, which Chris (also known as “Curmudge-or”) succinctly labeled as “poop”. The trio even discussed how Steven somehow managed to get onto UK radio last week and participate in a conference call with David Tennant. Intellectual banter and relentless name-dropping ahoy! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com

With just a week to go before the UK premiere of the next Doctor Who special, The Waters of Mars, RFS’s own Steven sat down with the co-writer of the special, Phil Ford, to talk about the episode in an exclusive, in-depth interview that also covered Phil’s work on The Sarah Jane Adventures and Dreamland. Before that, the Three Who Rule do their best to plow through what was a busy news week in the world of Who. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

We’re pleased as punch at Radio Free Skaro to tell you about an upcoming interview with The Waters of Mars co-writer Phil Ford. In the interview, which will feature in Episode 167 (to be released this weekend), Phil talks at great length about the upcoming The Waters of Mars, as well as discussing his role as head writer of The Sarah Jane Adventures and writing the upcoming animated serial Dreamland. Have a listen to the promo, and be sure to catch Radio Free Skaro #167 this weekend!

Warren is finally back from Japan and China so the Three Who Rule were once again united. Doctor Who spinoffs were the order of the day as The Sarah Jane Adventures featured the first signs of The Doctor since Easter and K9 got a preview on British TV but everything is trumped by the announcement of The Waters of Mars’ release date. The drought is soon over and we have but two weeks to wait for the gap year to wind down. Peter Moffatt is looked at in the miniscope, Dreamland will be getting a preview in short order and surprise surprise there’s DVD news and more all in this episode where we actually keep to time! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com

Warren is still trundling around Asia so in his absence the remaining Two Who Rule invited along Luke from The Minute Doctor Who Podcast to join in the frivolity. Some good news (Doctor Who confirmed for Christmas and a Children in Need Preview of Tennant's penultimate episode) was discussed as was some bad news (various bits of DVD-related disappointments) whilst opinions were split down the middle on the latest installment of The Sarah Jane Adventures (quite a tough thing to do with an odd number of participants). David Whitaker gets quite the workout in the miniscope, complete with a Vampire/Halloween tie-in, and Steven finally commits to an appearance on Luke's Doctor Who-based Mastermind quiz!

With Warren on holiday in Japan and China, Katrina joins the fray (see what we did there?) as the Radio Free Skaro gang discusses more about the Doctor Who Magazine ranking poll, a mass of DVD news as well as the premiere story of the new Sarah Jane Adventures series and more. Was Sarah Jane worthwhile viewing? Will Doctor Who fandom become collective paupers from the deluge of early 2010 DVD releases? Will Chris Clough get the tongue lashing so many think he deserves in this week's Miniscope? Delve into this week's gripping episode to find out!

The Doctor Who world lost one of its indisputable titans on October 9, 2009, when Barry Letts passed away at the age of 84. Letts was a director, writer, executive producer, and, most notably, producer of Doctor Who from 1970-1974. He was also one of the greatest ambassadors that the programme has ever known. In this episode, actor/comedian and noted fan and unofficial historian of Doctor Who, Toby Hadoke, was kind enough to join us to help us celebrate the legacy of the great Barry Letts. Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com.

A new logo, new location pics, and confirmation that the BBC is indeed going along with the madness of referring to Matt Smith's junior outing as the Doctor as Series 1. The Three Who Rule also engaged in a spirited discussion about the possibility of an international iPlayer, as well as devoted the ever-popular Miniscope to the work of David Maloney, one of Doctor Who's finest visualists and a gentleman director to spare. Allons-y! Check out the show notes at http://www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Rumours, rumours and more rumours were grist for the RFS mill this week, as the Three Who Rule speculated on a new, possibly leaked list of Season 5/1/31 writers (and confirmed one or two writers and directors along the way), watching Phil (friend of the show) Ford's reactions to watching Dreamland (very meta) and DVD speculation run amok. All this and a Fiona Cumming Miniscope. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

This week's Miniscope saw an appearance by Chris Boucher, best known not only for his scripts for Robots of Death, The Face of Evil and Image of the Fendahl, but also for writing for Blake's 7 (acting as script editor for the show from 1978 to 1981) and Star Cops and....his segment consisted of six minutes. The remaining time was filled with the trademarked digressionary banter known and tolerated by RFS fandom, ranging from a list of Gallifrey 2010's many exciting panels to the strange character known as Itchy Spider-man.

With the Doctor Who Magazine release of the ming-mongiest list of favorite Doctor Who episodes in the past 11 years (when a nuWho-less but also ming-mongy list sparked debate amongst the faithful), the Three Who Rule were like starving, nerdy dogs drawn to raw meat. Weighing in on their own picks and what they felt was wrong-headed and frankly evil placement of some of their favorite episodes, they also made time to speculate on the scheduling of Dreamland, the Waters of Mars and to roundly chastise Richard Curtis for not getting his Doctor Who air dates right. And oh yes, a Miniscope featuring Pennant Roberts also made an appearance, flood-lit and underbudgeted. Hoo...ray.

With news sorely lacking, the Three Who Rule were momentarily relieved to hide in the welcome shelter of a commentary, in this case the third and fourth instalments of "Arc of Infinity", a maudlin yarn notable more for IKEA furniture infesting Gallifrey than for an interesting story. But their welcome was short lived, as Cracklor once again besieged Warren and his computer more or less opted for suicide....much like Omega, as his Rice Krispie wounds boiled into nothingness. Poignancy ahead, dear listeners. Sheer poignancy.

The Whooverville Doctor Who convention that took place in September at Derby featured a notable podcasting panel featuring representatives from no less than eight (8) different Doctor Who podcasts. Eager to elbow their way into a party to which they were never invited, Radio Free Skaro is proud to present this panel to you for your listening enjoyment. Very big thanks to Adam Purcell of Staggering Stories for providing the audio. Oh, and happy 100th episode, Tin Dog. Appearing at the Whooverville Podcast Panel were: - Tony Gallichan from The Flashing Blade Podcast - Michael Gilroy from Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast - Karen Dunn and Adam Purcell from Staggering Stories Podcast - Marty Perrett from DWO Whocast - Dave Cooper from The Cultdom Chronicles - James Naughton from Doctor Who: Podshock - Nat Titman from Bridging The Rift - Luke Harrison from The Minute Doctor Who Podcast

The classic series commentary makes a not-so-triumphant return to the Radio Free Skaro fold as we merge the Miniscope with the oldtime-filling standby. With Johnny Byrne as our subject we plod through the week's weak news with discussion of lowlights such as Warriors of the Deep and our commentary of the first half of Arc of Infinity. There should have been another way, indeed! Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com. (NOTE: This is the fixed version of this episode.)

The Three Who Rule were in fine fettle this week, if fettle is judged by ability to digress and avoid the topic at hand. Through discussion that veered into subjects as strange as podcestuous panels in Derby, the horror of a rebroadcast of Dimensions in Time and the continued demonstration of Warren’s complete lack of a short-term memory, the trio ambled towards the Miniscope and Douglas Adams’ short but memorable tenure as Doctor Who script editor. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

In an episode of threes, the Three Who Rule discuss the first of three filler Doctor Who clip shows (Doctor Who: Greatest Moments), Series Three of the Sarah Jane Adventures, upcoming DVD releases featuring Doctor No. 3, Jon Pertwee, and last but not least, the third and final installment of the Miniscope segment featuring Robert Holmes. Next week's Miniscope topic was also determined via the Randomizer...but you'll have to listen to the show to find out who it is! (Hint: it's not Pennant Roberts.) Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

Many a broadcasting intrigue formed the backbone of Whoish news this week, from BBC America's machinations to...BBC Wordwide's transgressions. The Three Who Rule also engaged in Socratic debate over the claims of Rona Munro, the scribe behind Survival, that romance in nuWho constitutes lazy writing. All that and another exciting Miniscope (part two of three) examining the glory years of one Robert Holmes as he ascended to script writer and Doctor Who demigod. Check out the show notes at www.radiofreeskaro.com.

The Three Who Rule covered the gamut of Whoish happenings this week, from the shocking revelation that Meglos will return for David Tennant's finale (unconfirmed) to Ian Levine's rather tenuous grasp on the the fundamental underpinnings of the internet (hint: don't fear the link.) And amongst this madness was revealed the Miniscope, a new weekly feature examining a writer, producer or other behind the scenes chieftain whose drive and talent brought us the Classic Who episodes we love so dearly. Up first is Robert Holmes, or at the very least his contribution to the ouvres of Mr. Troughton and Mr. Pertwee. Enjoy, dear listeners.

The Three Who Rule come off last week's plethora of news with but a handful of offerings this time around. Turning lemons into lemonade they parry and thrust their way through another hearty podcast for your aural pleasure. From the return of Spoilor to thoughts on the return of Tom Baker to the role of The Doctor, grab your foil and join the fray.