Doctor Who: Radio Free Skaro

Radio Free Skaro #84 – Click here to listen

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.)

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.

Radio Free Skaro #83 – Click here to listen

Another week of lackluster Who, this time set in 1920′s England, starring Agatha Christie…and resulting in a bit of inconsequential fluff that added up to an at best average viewing experience. The RFS crew, always ready to make lemonade out of crap, soldiered bravely on and veered so wildly off-topic that they might just have gone full circle and accidentally gone back on topic again. Digressions ahoy!

Ah, Brains. You were always the glue that holds the Thunderbirds together.

Radio Free Skaro #82 – Click here to listen

We never go into a new RFS wishing to slag the living hell out of the latest episode of what is, after all, our favorite program…but we were left with little choice after “The Doctor’s Daughter,” which had such potential but fell far short of the mark. Our anger was tempered by the usual news, diversions, and a shout out to our new friends at Tachyon TV….but ouch, here’s hoping for better fare from the BBC next week. Still, our balderdash is as engaging and filled with bon mots as ever.

We here at Radio Free Skaro are always happy to pimp another amusing Doctor Who podcast, but the pickings are rather slim. Surprisingly, nerds devoted to a whimsical British scifi program can be a humorless lot. Not so with Tachyon TV, a pack of sarcastic ne’er do wells from England who bring the funny in a big way, as well as running Behind the Sofa, an equally funny Who blog. What are you waiting for? Check it out!

Radio Free Skaro #81 – Click here to listen

Part two of the return of the Sontarans to the new series hits the critical eye of Steven, Warren, and Chris, and was found not quite up to snuff, though by no means a complete failure Through much banter and balderdash, your illustrious hosts addressed not only the Sontaran shenanigans in question but the upcoming episode featuring the Doctor’s daughter (!) as well as some pretty sparse offerings in the way of news.