April 26, 2020

Episode 25 - Horror of Fang Rock

April 26, 2020/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO and the HORROR OF FANG ROCK

Off a remote rocky island a few miles off the Channel coast stands the New To Who lighthouses. There have always been tales of the three beasts of New To Who, but when the Tardis lands here with Leela and the Doctor, the force they must deal with is more sinister and deadly than the mythical beasts of the past.

It is 2020, the threat of coronavirus is common, and the formless, gelatinous mass from the future must use the New To Who lighthouses’ generators to recharge its system. Nothing can stop this Rutan scout in its search and experimentation on humans…

Theme by Our Colin (2017). Much love and thanks, Col! ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

You can now find New To Who on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, and PlayerFM.

NEW TO WHO WILL RETURN

April 28, 2019

New To Who: A Hinchcliffe and Holmes Retrospective

April 28, 2019/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO: A Hinchcliffe and Holmes Retrospective

New to Who sit down to talk with friends and fellow podcasters from all over the world about the perceived golden age of Doctor Who; the Hinchcliffe and Holmes era - but is it…?

Join Liz Myles and Paul Cornell from the Hammer House of Podcast, Nathan Bottomley from Flight Through Entirety, Jeremy Radick, Ben and David from Metebelis II, Christopher Burgess from Radio Free Skaro and Katrina Griffiths from Verity!, Erik Stadnik from Doctor Who (and now The Outer Limits) The Writers’ Room and The Real McCoy, and Dave Kitchen from The Doctor Who Show, as we discuss the pros and cons of a much-beloved but also at-times problematic era of Doctor Who.

Great thanks go to each of our guests for appearing on New To Who!

April 28, 2019

Episode 21 - The Ark In Space

April 28, 2019/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO and THE ARK IN SPACE

At a time in the far-off future, Earth has become uninhabitable. A selection of Humanity is placed, deep-frozen, in a fully-automated space station, to await the day of their return to Earth…

Thousands of years later, New To Who return. Col, Dan, and Steven find things going suspiciously wrong, and the station under attack from the giant WIRRN, deadly creatures who, in their lust for power, now threaten the future of the whole Human Race…

New To Who are back with a look at THE ARK IN SPACE, the first story proper of the vaunted Hinchcliffe and Holmes era of Classic Who (Seasons 12 to 14).

The story is written by Robert Holmes, rewriting John Lucarotti’s original script, while Philip Hinchcliffe takes the reins from Barry Letts as producer for the first time – at the ripe old age of 29! It boasts some beautiful set designs by Roger Murray-Leach complemented by gorgeous direction by Rodney Bennett and a haunting score from Australia’s own Dudley Simpson, while Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, and Ian Marter are wonderful as one of the all-time very best TARDIS teams.

With echoes of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick from 1968 and foreshadowing Ridley Scott’s Alien of 1979, THE ARK IN SPACE combines existential and body horror genres to tell the story of cryogenically frozen human colony that revives only to find themselves in the midst of an insectoid alien horror that feeds on their bodies and souls!

The cover of the original imprint of the 1976 Target novelisation for THE ARK IN SPACE is used with the kind permission of Chris Achilleos. The novelisation is written by Ian Marter himself, and the audiobook is ready by none other than Tom Baker.

Theme by Our Colin (2019). Much love and thanks, Col! ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

You can now find New To Who on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and PlayerFM.

NEW TO WHO WILL RETURN

January 27, 2019

New To Who: Interview with Christopher H Bidmead

January 27, 2019/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO meet CHRISTOPHER H BIDMEAD

It is with great pleasure that we give Our #SweetDorks an interview with the Script Editor of Doctor Who during the Season 18 and writer of Logopolis, Christopher H Bidmead.

Dan, Steven, and Col are joined by Christopher, who relates the story of how he became a writer, actor, and script editor of Doctor Who.

Over the course of our chat, we hear Christopher talk about what it was like to inherit the show from his predecessor, Douglas Adams, what it was like to work with Tom Baker, and what parts John Nathan-Turner and Barry Letts played in the shaping of the vision of Season 18, the last of the Fourth Doctor and the first of the 1980s.

Great thanks go to Christopher H Bidmead for appearing on New To Who!

January 27, 2019

Episode 20 - Logopolis

January 27, 2019/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO - LOGOPOLIS

In theory Dan and Steven should be able to change †heir appearance to blend in unobtrusively wherever they happen to materialise. In practice, however, because of a fault in the chameleon circuit, they always look like a police box - a minor inconvenience the they now hope to correct.

Fixing the mechanism involves a visit to Perth and a trip to the planet Logopolis - normally a quiet little place that keeps itself to itself.

But on this occasion the meddling presence of Col ensures the disruption of normality. And even Col is horrified by the threat of total chaos he unintentionally precipitates - until he finds a way to turn the imminent destruction of the universe to his own advantage...

New to Who concludes its trilogy of regeneration stories with this, the final story of the Fourth Doctor as played by the inimitable Tom Baker. It is also the introductory story featuring the first Australian companion, Tegan Jovanka played by the lovely Janet Fielding, who joins existing companion Adric (Matthew Waterhouse) and Nyssa (Sarah Sutton) who rejoins the cast in what will become known as the ‘crowded TARDIS’ in the following season.

LOGOPOLIS was written by the Season 18 script editor, Christopher H Bidmead, and is beautifully directed by the late, great Peter Grimwade, his second story as director for the programme. Peter Grimwade would go on to write three Fifth Doctor stories.

The cover of the original imprint of the 1982 Target novelisation for LOGOPOLIS is by Andrew Skilleter. The novelisation is written by Christopher H Bidmead, who also reads the audiobook, which is available from Audible.

Intro theme by Our Colin (2019), and outro music by Bridget (2019). Much love and thanks, Col and Bridget! ❤︎

If you enjoyed Bridget's music and would like to hear more, please check out her band Simone & Girlfunkle.

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

NEW TO WHO WILL RETURN

(One day. Yes, one day…)

September 30, 2018

Episode 16 - Genesis of the Daleks

September 30, 2018/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO AND THE GENESIS OF THE DALEKS

The Place: Scotland

Time: The day Verity!’s Liz Miles joined New To Who

After over fifty years of futile discussion between fans, Steven thinks this is the perfected form that carries Doctor Who into eternity - the dreaded GENESIS OF THE DALEKS. Without feeling, conscience or pity, Steven is joined as ever by Dan and this time by the wonderful Liz Myles to travel back through time in an effort to totally deconstruct this terrible menace of the future.

From Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor, GENESIS OF THE DALEKS is rightly lauded as one of the very best Doctor Who stories ever made.

Combining the great powers of script editor Robert Holmes, producer Philip Hinchcliffe, director David Maloney, and a script by inventor of the Daleks, Davros - err, Terry Nation, we also have one of the great TARDIS teams of all time in the form of travelling companions Sarah-Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, played resplendently by the late and wonderful Elizabeth Sladen and Ian Marter.

Fusing the still-heard echoes of World War II with aspects of moral philosophy and growing fears about scientific discoveries about the human genome, Genesis is a story of its time that remains as relevant today as it ever was.

The cover of the original imprint of the 1976 Target novelisation for GENESIS OF THE DALEKS is used with the kind permission of Chris Achilleos. The novelisation is written by Sir Terrance Dicks. The audiobook is read by Tom Baker.

Intro theme by Our Colin (2017). Much love and thanks, Col ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

NEXT MONTH: THE TENTH PLANET

July 01, 2018

Episode 13 - The Robots of Death

July 01, 2018/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO AND THE ROBOTS OF DEATH

On a desert planet the giant sandminer crawls through the howling sandstorms, harvesting the valuable minerals in the sand.

Inside it, Dan and Steven relax in luxury, while most of the work is done by the robots who serve them.

Then JR Southall arrives - and the mysterious deaths begin. First a suspect, then a hunted victim, JR must find the hidden killer - or join the other victims of The Robots of Death.

The penultimate story of the acclaimed Season 14, this is perhaps the strongest four-parter of the entire Hinchcliffe and Holmes era having placed at number 11 in the DWM 2014 readers' poll. It's a fast-paced story with an overriding Art Decor aesthetic, and an incredible array of classic series imagery including the eponymous Robots of Death in red-eyed killer mode (doing it thirty years before the Ood!).

Join Dan and Steven and special guest JR Southall for a story that showcases an imperious Tom Baker as the Doctor, and the wonderful Louise Jameson in only her second story as Leela of the Sevateem. You can hear more of JR on the Blue Box Podcast, which you can find on Facebook here, while JR is also on Twitter here.

The cover of the original imprint of the 1979 Target novelisation for THE ROBOTS OF DEATH is by John Geary. It is written by Terrance Dicks and is based on Chris Boucher's 1977 original script.

Intro theme by Our Colin (2017). Much love and thanks, Col ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

NEXT MONTH: VENGEANCE ON VAROS

February 25, 2018

Episode 9 - The Seeds of Doom

February 25, 2018/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO and THE SEEDS OF DOOM

In the desert wastes of sun-burnt Australia, a strange pod is unearthed, buried deep in the sands. Curiosity turns to alarm as the pod begins to grow - then horror when suddenly it cracks open and Dan and Steven shoot out, mercilessly seeking the nearest live victim...

In London, PAUL CORNELL is bewildered. Called in to fight this unknown horror, will he be in time to save Earth from the rapidly spreading tentacles of the KRYNOID, a giant man-eating monster from an alien world?

The last story of the acclaimed Season 13 of Doctor Who, THE SEEDS OF DOOM is a Gothic horror-inspired epic from the pen of the creator of the Zygons, the late Robert Stewart Banks. We again return to the Philip Hinchliffe and Robert Holmes era, and our director is the great Douglas Camfield. In short, it's an all-time classic Classic Who story!

Our thanks again to Chris Achilleos for his kind permission for the use of his original 1977 Target novelisation of THE SEEDS OF DOOM, written by Philip Hinchcliffe.

Intro theme by Our Colin (2017), and outro music by Bridget, as Pizza Pocket (2018).

If you enjoyed Bridget's music and would like to hear more, please check out her band Simone & Girlfunkle.

Special thanks again to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

August 20, 2017

Episode 5 - City of Death

August 20, 2017/ New To Who/ New To Who

"Who ordered the soup?"

Bridget joins Daniel, Colin, and Steven as they run through the streets and galleries of Paris in 1979, actually (more of a table wine, shall we say?) for CITY OF DEATH! Doctor Who's largest ever watching audience of 16 million people tuned in to watch this at the time, and none of them were wrong to do so.

Written by DOUGLAS ADAMS, at a time just before he became famous for his HITCHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series, this story is widely seen as one the greatest Classic Who stories of all time, consistently rating in the Top 10. Filled with moments of comedic genius, a frisson of fun, and a lot of love in a blend of crime caper and sci-fi genres, this is also the story that saw TOM BAKER and LALLA WARD fall in love and eventually get married (but, sadly, not for long). Cité de l'amour/la mort, indeed!

Special thanks to ANDY WALKER for his kind permission for the use of his painting for CITY OF DEATH, the Doctor Who Target novelisation that never was, and that was eventually novelised by JEREMY GOSS.

April 24, 2017

Episode 1 - Terror of the Zygons

April 24, 2017/ New To Who

"Set your TARDIS co-ordinates for confusion!"

In the first of our adventures proper through Time and Space, arguably the definitive Doctor and companion team land in Scotland, 1975 to join forces with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and U.N.I.T to overcome the shapeshifting Zygons!

A classic from the Hinchcliffe and Holmes 'gothic horror' period of Classic Who, it's TERROR OF THE ZYGONS.

With kind permission from and great thank to Mr Chris Achilleos for the use of his cover painting for the original imprint of the Doctor Who Target novelisation, THE LOCH NESS MONSTER by Terrance Dicks.