Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

The Third Guy had a first rate week, and he recounts to both Warren and Steven (and you, dear listeners) how he met Doctor Who scribe Steven Moffat, Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, superfan Ian Levine, and many many others in his ongoing adventures in the UK. We also have some bits of news and commentary, speculation about the upcoming Christmas special, and the usual tomfoolery and nonsense. All this and there isn't even anything Who related on the air...except us, of course.

The biggest news by far this week was the impending return of Billie Piper in Series Four, a development that has us scratching our heads and debating at great length as to its cosmic significance. That, and the usual yandering on about things Who (of which there was otherwise sparse pickings this week) signify yet another episode of Radio Free Skaro for your listening pleasure.

The 44th anniversary of Doctor Who was marked by two sad occasions with the passing Peter Haining, the author of Doctor Who: A Celebration (the bible of the show in our formative years), and Verity Lambert, the co-creator of the program. But it wasn't all doom and gloom, as we delved into how we celebrated the show's birthday, the conclusion of the first season of the Sarah Jane Adventures, and other bits and pieces. Enjoy!

Time Crash! Yes, the first meeting of Doctors old and new was of course on top of our list of things to talk about, but more or less everything else was Barrowman this and musical theatre that, along with our usual helpings of abuse and miscellany. Enjoy!

Yes, for only the second time in Radio Free Skaro history, two of the hosts of the show were in the same place at the same time, huddled around a single computer in Edmonton. Of course, with the inclusion of the Third Guy, we still used the invisible tethers of the Internet to connect to London, and those tethers eventually snapped, leaving him relaying his messages to us via telegraph and carrier pigeon for the final minutes of the show. But despite the technical difficulties of both this week and last, we pressed on, bringing you a bumper crop of news, sarcasm and a few selections from the Series 3 soundtrack for your listening pleasure.

Another grab-bag episode of diversions, insults and tomfoolery for the Radio Free Skaro crew, as Chris reports in from London on the various Who goings-on from the past week (the biggest being the return of Peter Davison for the Children in Need special in a few short weeks) and all three contribute their opinions and insights to all things Who. And plenty more besides, including insulting straight white males, somehow working stories of the making of SCTV in the mix, and generally shooting their mouths off. Enjoy!

What started as a grab bag of factoids and bon mots degenerated into repeated threats upon the Third Guy's person as we came to grips the full force of our jealousy at his new home of London, England. Along the way we discussed much news, reviewed the newest Sarah Jane Adventure, and tried to figure out if the rumours of Peter Davison donning his old costume and joining with David Tennant for the upcoming Children in Need special were in fact true, only to have the BBC confirm it mere moments after our podcast. Still, jaunty banter and death threats for all.

Our last commentary episode also marks a first, in that the Third Guy called in from London with tales of errant police boxes, playbills aplenty and dodgy internet connectivity. Oh yeah, and we commented on Last of the Time Lords, and were none too kind to it, sending it to bed without diner and making it think long and hard about what it had done.

Warren, Steven and Chris the Third Guy yandered on for a record-breaking 30 minutes before commenting on the Sound of Drums, the penultimate episode of Series Three and not a bad bit of adventure and mayhem besides. At the very least, it's better than Last of the Time Lords, coming up next week.

A high watermark for both the classic and new series, Utopia is an hour of top-rate Who, and the Three comment on it mightily, including some off-color joking about by Warren (Mr. Jacobi, the remark was meant as a joke, so please call off those lawyers, there's a good fellow.) Listen to us gush over Utopia...and oh yeah, a bit or two of news might get covered as well.

With a surfeit of news, the premiere of the Sarah Jane Adventures and Blink, one of the seasons best episodes, as the subject of our commentary, the Three Who Rule had plenty to shoot their mouths off about. And shoot they did, though not always on topic.

Despite Chris (the "Third Guy") being set upon by some sort of throat ailment, the RFS crew set forth and valiantly commentated on "The Family of Blood," the second part of Paul Cornell's season 3 magnum opus and a corking bit of Who into the bargain. We also miraculously rescued 14 minutes of news from the doldrums of between-season uneventfulness.

A truly momentous milestone, as we celebrate our 50th episode of Radio Free Skaro with...well, nothing really. Nothing, that is, except a corking bit of episode-ery known as "Human Nature," one of the highlights of Season 3. Join Warren, Steven, and Chris (otherwise known as the Third Guy) as they expostulate on the fine craftwork and Edwardian elegance of the first portion of Paul Cornell's masterwork.

Steven, Warren and the supremely jaunty Chris tackle 42, a madcap romp through a spaceship hurtling towards a dying sun, for this the 49th episode of Radio Free Skaro. We also tackle the recent announcement of a "gap year" for the series involving three specials in 2009, along with confirmation of the fourth and fifth series. And of course we ramble off-topic as usual about matters of great import.

The Third Guy returns as Chris Burgess joins us once again for our take on "The Lazurus Experiment", a Seaon 3 time-filler redeemed by cool scorpion effects and the fact that it came right after a disastrous Dalek two-parter. We went pretty far off-topic in this one, even breaching the shores of the dreaded Coronation Street (at length), but hopefully our jib-jabber will prove somewhat entertaining nonetheless.

The episode under fire in our commentary may be nothing to write home about, but this week's episode of Radio Free Skaro was indeed special in that it included Chris Burgess, our perennial silent partner and Fifth Beatle. Chris threw in his two bits on Evolution of the Daleks (three guesses as to how he felt about this snoozefest) and managed to inspire awe and fright in both Warren and Steven with his vast and sinister knowledge of all things Whovian.

Warren and Steven tear into what was definitely the lowlight of the season, Daleks in Manhattan, which had all the potential for greatness but failed to live up to its promise every step of the way. At least it gave us ample ammunition for slagging during our commentary, which we did with great relish and abandon. We also cover bits and pieces of news, including the as of yet unconfirmed (but oh so tasty) rumour that Ben Kingsley might play Davros in Season 4.

One of our favorites from Season Three goes under the microscope as Warren and Steven subject "Gridlock" to their witty, nay brilliant commentary. We also veered off into a few other topics off the top, including "Life on Mars" (which Warren is watching and quite enjoying, thank you very much) and the differences between the look of British and American TV. Fore more detail on that subject, check out the discussion on Metafilter, found here: http://ask.metafilter.com/63462/Why-do-British-television-programs-look-different-than-American-programs Next week, expect some venomous bile as we watch and comment upon "Daleks in Manhattan," one of the lowlights of the season.

Warren and Steven wax lyrical as they watch the Shakespeare Code...which came across as quite entertaining when it was the second episode of a new and exciting season of Doctor Who, but after an epic season comes off as a somewhat smaller tale of wordsmithery and witchcraft. No matter, as our intrepid pair use the time allotted to ramble on about things Who and otherwise. Hey nonny nonny!

With no new Who on the horizon for a good long while, we've decided to integrate our regular podcastian ramblings with some rather jaunty (and as usual, rabidly off-topic) commentary to go with each episode from Series 3, starting with this one, recorded during a viewing of "Smith and Jones." Now you can watch Doctor Who with our deep and meaningful musings about the goings-on on screen...at the same time! What an age we live in. Next up, jet packs and robot butlers.