Radio Free Skaro #90 – Journey’s Meh
After last week’s mind-melting funfest, things could only go downhill…and they did! The Three Who Rule were unsparing in their criticism of a finale episode that had its moments but seriously underwhelmed. Still, that didn’t stop Warren, Steven and Chris from staying mostly on topic and ranting about what will be the last bit of new Who for quite some time. Next week, a Black Orchid commentary, take it or leave it!
Radio Free Skaro #89 – The Stolen Mirth
“The Stolen Earth,” the penultimate episode of Series 4, was a barnburning spectacular of fanwankian proportions, and the RFS crew did their level best to keep their geeky selves in check before effusively praising (or in the case of Chris, begrudgingly praising) a jam-packed episode full of danger, Davros, Daleks, derring-do, and other things starting with the letter “D”. Delightful!
Fans resurrect lost Doctor Who episodes
The BBC, in their infinite wisdom, decided sometimes in the late Sixties or early Seventies that they needed space for new shows in their tape library, and destroyed many of the original tapes containing Hartnell, Troughton, and even a few Pertwee stories. Despite the odd find each decade of a lost story molding away in some backwater, many of these classic Who tales are lost in the mists of time…until now.
It turns out many a fan recorded the audio from the shows as they were broadcast, so almost all the soundtracks have been preserved. But a cadre of fans spread across the globe are taking things a step further and animating the classic lost Doctor Who adventures to recreate the Doctor’s first adventures. The BBC did this officially with “The Invasion,” but as stated in the Guardian story, animating is a tremendous amount of work. Fans don’t care, though, they want their Who and they’re willing to put noses to the grindstone to get it.
Radio Free Skaro #88 – Third (Guy) Left
Chris absconded to Las Vegas this week for liquor, gambling, and other licentious pursuits, so it was left to the other two pillars of RFS to hold the fort, which they barely managed. The subject at hand? “Turn Left,’ which served as not only this season’s “Doctor Lite” episode but also as a fantastic return to the series for Billie Piper, not to mention a sterling performance by Catherine Tate. The usual digressions and drivel-making were of course present, but without our tall co-host’s derisive sneers and seething hate, it wasn’t quite the same.
Online fans: the vocal minority
There’s an interesting article up on Blogcritics.org about the visceral, often angry reactions from online fans towards their favorite TV shows. It’s mostly told from the point of view of players in the industry, but it does raise some interesting points as to just how much sway fans should have over the making of a show, and how a loud reaction doesn’t necessarily equate to anything more than a small number of vocal complainers.
Personally, I’m inclined to agree. I see a lot of fans who nitpick the living hell out of their favorite shows (something I’m not adverse to myself, given that I produce a podcast about Doctor Who) and while everyone’s free to voice their opinion, sometimes I wonder why people watch the show in the first place if it makes them so angry and bitter. Of course I’m only one member of the triple threat that is our podcast, and my co-hosts might have different opinions.
Radio Free Skaro #87 – Midnight Express
For once, the Three Who Rule were in total agreement that “Midnight,” the psychological thriller/Donna-lite episode of this season’s Doctor Who, was a fine bit of viewing. That left us with little else to do besides mock Who overseer Phil Collinson and engage in many a ridiculous digression, as per usual. Next week, Rose, dead Doctors, and atomic weaponry. Allons-y!
Radio Free Skaro #86 – Forest of the Dud?
Dissent in the ranks this week, as the Third Guy forsakes a life of marital bliss with Who scribe Stephen Moffat and rips “Forest of the Dead” a new one. Steven and Warren, on the other hand, were charmed and entertained by the concluding episode of the two-parter that began with last week’s “Silence in the Library,” and thus did vigorous debate and pointless digression occur for about an hour and change.
Radio Free Skaro #85 – Triumph of the Library
Silence in the Library marks not only the return of Doctor Who to TV screens after a week’s absence but also easily the best episode of the season thus far. The Three who Rule waxed lyrical on the many excellent aspects of this Moffat-penned tome, speculated madly on the mysteries and plot twists sure to be answered next week, and of course digressed and went on mind-melting tangents as per usual.
Davies out, Moffat in for Who
Steven Moffat has been named to replace Russell T. Davies as the show runner for Doctor Who. Never mind that this news came out 12 hours after we released our podcast (thanks for nothing, The Guardian), it’s tremendous news for the show and for Moffat himself. Series 4 has, in the opinion of the august RFS crew, been somewhat middling, and Moffat’s take on Who will at the very least be different from that of Russell T. Davies. RTD should be praised for bringing Doctor Who back in the first place and making it relevant to 21st century audiences besides, but it’s clear that he’s been running on fumes for the last little while. Hiring the man who penned “Blink”, recent winner of a BAFTA, isn’t a bad idea either. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until 2010 to see the fruits of the new team’s labours, as we’ll only have the three “gap year” specials to whet our nerdy appetites.
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Radio Free Skaro #84 – The Brain of Moffatius
Posted on May 26, 2008 by freyburg
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With the villainy of Eurovision erasing Doctor Who from England’s screens for the week, all we were left with was a corking trailer for the second half of Season Four and the wonderful news that Steven Moffat, ace writer and life partner of the Third Guy, will take over whip cracking duties from Russell T Davies come 2010. And, as threatened last week, we actually did a commentary for “The Brain of Morbius”, one of Tom Baker’s more violent excursions from the classic series. This is by far the longest RFS we’ve ever done, so let us know by telegraph, carrier pigeon or new-fangled electronic mail if we’ve jumped the shark or whether you’d like to hear more of our extended ramblings on the Classic Series (which, given the semi-hiatus next year, you surely will in one form or another.)