Episode List in Order

Note: This is a hiatus episode, part of the Wilderness Years series. Tom Baker Wearing a Sherlock Holmes Mask When Tom Baker signed on to play Sherlock Holmes in the BBC's 1982 adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles, the hosts expected...

Note: This is a hiatus episode, originally a Patreon Exclusive, airing on the main feed during the break between Classic and New Who. Love the podcast? Consider joining us on Patreon for early access to episodes, exclusive content, and the option to commission your own Doctor Who story. When Budget Constraints Force an Impossible Choice In 1974, the BBC wanted a stage play featuring Doctor Who. Terrence Dicks was brought in to write it. But immediately, a problem emerged: they had money for eith...

Note: This is a hiatus episode, originally a Patreon Exclusive, airing on the main feed during the break between Classic and New Who. Love the podcast? Consider joining us on Patreon for early access to episodes, exclusive content, and the option to commission your own Doctor Who story. A Producer's Frustration Becomes the First Professional Spinoff In 1988, Keith Barnfather—a producer known for his decades-long "Myth Makers" interview series—had an idea. He wanted to film a third Doctor/Sarah J...

Guest: JB Anderton of the Doctor Who Gives a F#! podcast joins John and Jim, as he does for every multi-Doctor story, to make sense of the un-make-sense-able. Note: This is a hiatus episode from our Wilderness Years coverage, released early on the Patreon feed and arriving on the main feed August 9th to celebrate Doctor Who Podcast Day. A warm welcome to everyone joining us for the occasion! Love the podcast? Consider joining us on Patreon for early access, exclusive episodes, and the option to ...

Note: This is a hiatus episode, originally a Patreon Exclusive, airing on the main feed during the break between Classic and New Who. Love the podcast? Consider joining us on Patreon for early access to episodes, exclusive content, and the option to commission your own Doctor Who story. A Strike Over a Clock Changes Doctor Who History The story of Shada begins not on screen, but in the chaos of 1970s British industrial action. A seemingly minor dispute over which union controlled the operation o...

Note: This is a hiatus episode, originally a Patreon Exclusive, airing on the main feed during the break between Classic and New Who. Join our Patreon to get early access to review episodes and weekly exclusive content like this. A Theme with Energy But No Clarity on Genre The episode opens with "Dancer Who," a drum and bass remix of the Doctor Who theme from an account called "Synth Theme Remixes." Despite nearly 13 years of existence and modest viewership, the track has undeniable energy and a...

Guest: British author Paul Ebbs—Big Finish writer and lifelong Who fan who watched every episode on broadcast from 1970 to 1989—joins John and Jim to close out Classic Doctor Who. Three and a Half Years, One Weekly Show, and Finally the End of the Road This is it. The final story of Classic Doctor Who. After three and a half years of weekly episodes covering every televised adventure in order, John and Jim reach the end of the line with Survival—Sylvester McCoy's swan song, Ace's coming-of-age, ...

Guest: The Darkest Hour(s) Before the Dawn The hosts are unified in their assessment: this is the darkest, most adult, most dramatically mature story of the entire series. It's not dark in tone alone—it's dark in theme, dark in implications, dark...

Guest: Felicity Kusinitz from joins John and Jim to discuss Season 26's most confusing story. A Script Too Big for Its Own Shoes Mark Platt submitted "Lungbarrow" to the show—a bold move for a writer with no professional credits beyond Doctor Who...

Guest: Artist Jerry Lange joins John and Jim to discuss Season 26's explosive premiere. Six Years Later: A Familiar Face in Uniform The Doctor intercepts a distress call from Earth and arrives to find military forces mobilizing around a lake in rural England. But the soldiers he encounters aren't the ragtag UNIT troops from decades past—they answer to a new Brigadier, Winifred Bambara, sharp and decisive in ways that immediately challenge the Doctor's expectations. Before he can fully process th...

John and Jim bid farewell to the Sixth Doctor with surprising revelations about changed opinions, why fandom got it wrong, companion dynamics, and Colin's enduring legacy as ambassador for a show that screwed him over. John's Shocking Confession: After going into the Colin Baker era expecting disaster based on fan reputation, John emerges with a stunning announcement about where Colin now ranks in his Doctor hierarchy. Discussion covers what changed his mind and why the arrogance that defined S...

The Story That Beats Coronation Street (But Divides the Hosts) Stephen Wyatt returns after Paradise Towers to deliver a circus-themed finale to Season 25. Expanded from three parts to four at John Nathan Turner's request, this story follows the Doctor and Ace arriving at the psychic circus on the planet Seganax—except Ace hates circuses, and the Doctor seems unusually fascinated by performance, danger, and magic. It wins over behind-the-sofa panelists and pulls the highest ratings of McCoy's ent...

[Special Release: This episode is being released simultaneously on the main feed and Patreon for immediacy.] BREAKING NEWS: The Future of Doctor Who Takes a Dramatic Turn Just hours before recording, the BBC made a major announcement that affects Doctor Who's direction for years to come. RTD and Bad Wolf are parting ways with the BBC. The Christmas special is canceled. New production arrangements are being sought. John and Jim process what this means for fandom, for the show's creative identity,...

It's the 25th anniversary of Doctor Who, and for the occasion the BBC has assembled Nazis, Cybermen, time-traveling aristocrats, and a mysterious statue made of something that shouldn't exist. Add a comet, multiple centuries, and the Doctor's increasingly cryptic hints about his own past, and you've got an episode that John and Jim can't quite agree on. Production Under Pressure John Nathan Turner wanted this as the season opener for maximum impact, but the Summer Olympics threw everything into...

The whiplash is immediate and brutal. After the triumph of "Remembrance of the Daleks," this three-part story lands like a thud. Jim gives another harsh —an unprecedented score that suggests something fundamentally broken beneath the surface. Despite strong performances from McCoy and Aldred, the story struggles with disconnected thematic elements, confused production design, and a narrative that never quite coheres. The Setup That Doesn't Work Terra Alpha: an Earth colony where mandatory happi...

Jim experiences a breakthrough moment that surprises everyone—after struggling through Season 24, "Remembrance of the Daleks" finally answers the question: who is the Seventh Doctor? Special guest Alan J. Porter joins to celebrate this landmark story as the 25th Anniversary season begins with what may be one of the finest Dalek stories ever produced. What Changed? Everything came together—writing, acting, production values, and most critically, McCoy's characterization. The switch has been thro...

John and Jim tackle the first official Doctor Who radio drama - a six-part Eric Saward production that aired during the 18-month hiatus between Seasons 22 and 23. This marks a rare occasion where John experiences a Doctor Who story for the very first time alongside the review. Production Background: John shares fascinating details about how "Slipback" came to exist - written and produced in just four months as the BBC scrambled to placate fans during the controversial hiatus. The story aired as...

Jim and John tackle the Season 24 finale and the show's 150th story, featuring Bonnie Langford's abrupt departure, Sophie Aldred's introduction as Ace, the return of Sabalom Glitz, and one of the most infamous cliffhangers in Doctor Who history. Jim struggles to find redeeming qualities in a season he considers possibly the worst in Classic Who, while production issues and budget constraints become increasingly evident. The 150th Story Milestone: Written by Ian Briggs (who will later write fan-f...

Jim and John find common ground after their Paradise Towers divide, both celebrating the three-part structure as potentially perfect for Doctor Who storytelling. The story features 1950s nostalgia, holiday camp hijinks, and Stubby Kaye from Guys and Dolls. The Relief Factor: After Paradise Towers' evisceration, John feared the worst. Jim's verdict: "It's no Paradise Towers" (thankfully). Discussion of whether you can go lower than a 1 rating and what "having a nice time" means for Doctor Who ev...

Jim and John experience their most polarizing disagreement since the Colin Baker era as Paradise Towers splits them into opposing camps—Jim delivering a devastating 1 out of 15 ("a Billy") while John counters with an enthusiastic 14 out of 15, declaring it his favorite story of Season 24 and a formative influence on his understanding of world building as a young writer. The Ratings Chasm: Final scores: Jim 1, John 14, averaging to 7.5—perfectly appropriate for a story that divides straight down...

John and Jim witness Sylvester McCoy's entrance as the Seventh Doctor with sharply divided first impressions, a regeneration Jim wasn't expecting to see, Kate O'Mara's scene-stealing Mel impression, and listener mail exploding with passionate defenses, dire warnings, and Shag's triumphant return. The Regeneration Confusion: The opening delivers McCoy in a wig tumbling around the TARDIS console, but does blunt force trauma from turbulence really count as a dignified send-off for the most maligne...

SPECIAL PATREON EXCLUSIVE THE OPENING: "Peter, Peter, please forgive me..." A countdown begins the most diplomatic disagreement in podcast history. BELATED BIRTHDAY & TIMING: John's birthday just passed! Next story is Attack of the Cybermen (aired January 5, 1986) - "the year I turned 18!" THE DREAD: John: "I'm filled with a little dread to talk about this with you, Jim, because I know where you stand." Jim: "Listen, we've made too much of it. Every fan has doctors they like and doctors they don...

John and Jim conclude Colin Baker's tumultuous era with a two-part finale born from tragedy, scrambled rewrites, and production chaos - resulting in wildly divergent reactions from the hosts and fandom's most controversial regeneration-that-never-was. The Production Nightmare: John details Robert Holmes passing while writing Part 1, Eric Saward writing Part 2 from Holmes' notes but refusing to release it when JNT rejected his cliffhanger ending (the Doctor and Valeyard falling into an abyss), P...

John and Jim examine the third Trial of a Time Lord story featuring the Doctor's bold defense strategy: presenting evidence from his own future, complete with a new companion who somehow makes Perry instantly forgettable. The Gutsy Introduction: The hosts examine the unprecedented decision to introduce Mel (Bonnie Langford) not at the beginning of her travels but as if she's already been with the Doctor for ages. Discussion covers the instant chemistry between Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford, Me...