Lively Doctor Who podcast commentaries, plus reviews and discussions of science fiction and fantasy in books, TV, films and more!

Brian Blessed Q&A – SFX Weekender 2012

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“The greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure…”

The loudest man in sci-fi (or any other genre, for that matter) was guest of honour at last week’s SFX Weekender in North Wales. P.G. Bell was there to record the action and we’re very pleased to bring you Brian’s complete Q&A session, conducted on Saturday 4th February, in front of a capacity crowd.

Brian explained his passion for science fiction, outlined his plans to bump off old friend Patrick Stewart and revealed why he calls Her Majesty the Queen “Knuckles”.

Most importantly, he publicly announced two very important projects for the first time – one in the realm of science fiction, the other based firmly in science fact. Seriously, this is pretty big.

He also uses some rather salty language at times, so be prepared!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:24 — 40.7MB)

If that’s not enough for you, stay tuned for our full review of the SFX Weekender experience, including a gallery of this year’s cosplay event and interviews with the participants. PLUS! Full Q&As with Sylvester McCoy, Eve Myles and Colin Baker! Coming soon to Impossible Podcasts!

Points of Who #3: Doctor Who, Sherlock, The Hunger Games

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In the third episode of Points of Who, we take a wide-ranging discussion of the latest news about Doctor Who and the wider worlds of science fiction and fantasy:

Caleb and Swithun discuss:

  • (from 1 min) The recovery of missing episodes of Doctor Who from Galaxy 4 and The Underwater Menace: celebration or disappointment?
  • (from 19 min) How should the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who be marked by the BBC, by fans, and by us as a podcast?

Sarah and Caleb discuss:

  • (from 29 min) The Sherlock finale, The Reichenbach Fall, including just how did Sherlock survive that fall?
  • (from 39 min) The Hunger Games trailer – how will the film compare to the book?
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:41 — 23.7MB)

Video Game Review – ‘Doctor Who: Worlds in Time’

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For such a diverse show, Doctor Who has always stuggled when it comes to video games. Could Worlds in Time be the one to buck the trend? Olivia Cottrell takes her virtual TARDIS for a spin…

Pity the Doctor Who fan who also happens to be a video game geek. While the Doctor might initially seem a perfect fit for the video game world – his universe of strange aliens, dramatic stories and quirky characters is already one with a touch of the virtual about it – the franchise’s attempts to cross into video games have so far been decidedly lacklustre. While perfectly decent for free titles, a clunky control system and broken AI meant that the recent range of downloadable 3D Adventure Games were frequently frustrating experiences.  As someone who considers herself both a video games nerd (I’ve spent too many hours shouting at dragons over the past month to successfully argue otherwise) and a Doctor Who fan, I was ready for something more satisfying.

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Doctor Who Commentary – 5.01 ‘The Eleventh Hour’

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Remember all those commentaries we never got round to in Series 5? Well, here they come!

The team take advantage of Doctor Who’s extended leave of absence to fill in some of the gaps in their back catalogue, starting with Matt Smith’s debut adventure. Click below to find out what Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson, Sarah Burrow and P.G. Bell make of the newly regenerated series. Does the shadow of Russell T. Davies still loom large? How does Amy keep up her mortgage repayments on a kiss-o-gram’s salary? And when will the show ever get round to a Groundhog Day episode?

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:17:37 — 71.1MB)

Book Review – ‘The Whisper Jar’ – Carole Lanham

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Some secrets are kept in jars – others, in books.

It’s book review time again, so join P.G. Bell and Olivia Cottrell as they tackle a collection of short fantasy tales from acclaimed author Carole Lanham. In The Whisper Jar, you will encounter a Blood Digger who bonds two children irrevocably together; a young woman who learns of her destiny through the random selection of a Bible verse; and a boy whose life begins to reflect the stories he reads…

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:38 — 12.5MB)

Sherlock – Review and Discussion

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There’s more to Moffat than Doctor Who but is Sherlock really the series that “puts the ‘sexy’ in sexist?”

As the second series of Moffat’s award winning adaptation draws to a close, Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow, Olivia Cottrell and James Willets put their heads together to examine the latest run of episodes. They also share their thoughts on the sexism furore and Moffat’s response, how the series fares against other adaptations (Robert Downey Jr, take a bow) and the show’s unique visual style.

This was our first attempt at recording an all-Skype discussion, so the sound quality does vary in places, but shouldn’t be too distracting.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:58 — 48.5MB)