Author Archives: Swithun Dobson

About Swithun Dobson

Swithun has apparently been watching Doctor Who since he was 3 years old, although his conscious fandom only began in the mid 90s with the repeats on BBC2. He is critical of most stories but at heart he's a contrarian. In his solar system Classic Who is his home planet with its two moons, Big Finish and BBC/Virgin books, all of which orbit the great light of the original Prisoner; New Who in contrast is a barren rock orbiting a dying sun. What he likes is, according to him, somewhat rare: a tightly crafted, dramatic story in which an interesting idea is made flesh.

Points of Who #1: Your feedback and our new schedule

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Welcome to our first edition of Points of Who, our new regular slot for your feedback!

Up until now, we’ve been discussing your comments, tweets, emails and the like on a fairly ad-hoc basis. But we’ve decided to have a monthly slot dedicated to your questions, views and opinions.

In this episode, we discuss your reactions to The Wedding of River Song, plus where to find Doctor Who actors in horror movies (answer: practically everywhere!). We also welcome a new guest commentator Brandon to the show, and ask for your suggestions in naming P. G. Bell’s baby boy – his wife has already vetoed Stormaggedon!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:36 — 11.3MB)

We also announce our new regular schedule for the coming months with Doctor Who off the air…

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Doctor Who Commentary – 6.13 ‘The Wedding of River Song’

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Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow discuss ‘The Wedding of River Song’ , episode 13 of Doctor Who series 6. As the Doctor heads to his almost certain death, something has gone very wrong with time, thanks to a woman…

We discuss alternate realities, guns’n’eyepatches, Indiana Jones, the Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, time loops, the motives of the Silence, the legend of the Doctor, stepping back into the shadows, story arcs and more, plus we look forward to the Christmas special and beyond!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:12 — 36.7MB)

Doctor Who Commentary – 6.12 ‘Closing Time’

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Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow discuss ‘Closing Time’ , episode 12 of Doctor Who series six, which sees the return of both of Cybermen and James Corden in the latest tale from Gareth Roberts!

As the Doctor’s death approaches, he makes a social call on his old friend Craig Owens, but soon finds himself saving the world one last time. We discuss the Doctor’s parenting skills, Cardiff filming locations, sentimental endings, and much more, as well as responding to your feedback on The God Complex!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:29 — 30.5MB)

Doctor Who Commentary – 6.11 ‘The God Complex’

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Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow discuss ‘The God Complex’ , episode 11 of Doctor Who series six, penned by Being Human writer Toby Whithouse.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory face their nightmares in an infinite hotel, but has travelling with the Doctor finally become too dangerous? We discuss nightmares, blogger stereotypes, religion in Doctor Who, Rory’s lack of faith, the question of what the Doctor believes in, the departure of Amy and Rory Williams, and much more.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:33 — 28.7MB)

Torchwood Commentary & Series Review – Miracle Day 10 ‘The Blood Line’

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Caleb Woodbridge and Swithun Dobson discuss the finale of Torchwood: Miracle Day, The Blood Line. Has Miracle Day given Torchwood a new lease of life or reduced it to shambling corpse?

We discuss Holocaust parallels, dystopian futures, sympathy for the devil (or at least Oswald Danes), the clash between its high concept science fiction concept and its action-thriller format, and deliver our verdict on the series as a whole!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16:40 — 38.8MB)

Have you stuck with Torchwood through to the end? What did you think of the conclusion to Miracle Day? Do you want to see more from the Torchwood team, and if so, where should the show go next?

Doctor Who Commentary – 6.10 ‘The Girl Who Waited’

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Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow commentate on ‘The Girl Who Waited’ by Tom MacRae, the latest episode of Doctor Who!

With Amy Pond trapped in the Red Waterfall facility, can the Doctor and Rory rescue her before she is killed by kindness? Or will time catch up with her first?

We discuss time-travel conundrums, asking if knowing the conventions of the show’s format helps or hinders the drama. We dig deep into Amy and Rory’s relationship, praising Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill’s performances, plus spot the connections to The Mind Robber, City of Death and Amy’s Choice, keep score with Moffat Bingo and much more!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:24 — 26.4MB)