Doctor Who Community Discord

In my ever-growing Doctor Who video and audio collection, I've gathered over fifteen hundred individual stories, and I'm attempting to (briefly) review them all in the order in which they might have happened according to the Doctor's own personal timeline. We'll see how far I get.

Today's Story: Peepshow, written by Guy Adams and directed by Ken Bentley

What is it?: This is the third story in Big Finish’s audio anthology, The Diary of River Song: Series Six.

Who's Who: The story stars Alex Kingston, with Clive Wood, Dan Starkey, Guy Adams, and Tim Treloar.

Doctor(s) and Companion(s): The Third Doctor (Jo Grant gets a mention)

Recurring Characters: River Song, Sontarans, Ogrons, Drashigs

Running Time: 00:48:48

One Minute Review: The Doctor and Jo aren't the only time travelers who happen to be visiting the world of Inter Minor. Unlike them, however, River Song actually intended to arrive there. She knows that the Doctor is about to decommission an illegal Miniscope, and she has plans for its battery, which is prized for its infinite longevity. To get her hands on it, she will first have to contend with a menagerie of monsters, including Sontaran soldiers, underfed Ogrons, and deadly Drashigs, with only a hapless human security guard for an ally.

The Doctor is barely in this story (and Jo is entirely absent, having apparently wandered off by the time River runs into him), but I had to include it both because it's fun to imagine River running around inside the Miniscope at the same time the Doctor and Jo find themselves trapped there, and because using her foreknowledge of events to steal its most valuable component sounds like something she would definitely do. There really isn't much to the plot of this story beyond the above synopsis, but it's entertaining throughout, and even though the Doctor's appearance is brief, the scene he and River share is quite moving.

I don't know if Alex Kingston is capable of giving a bad performance. She's certainly on top of her game in this audio, portraying River using all of her tricks to get herself and everyone else out of the Miniscope alive. Clive Wood is as amusing here as he was in "For the Glory of Urth," though his character couldn't be further from that story's Daddy Dominus, and Dan Starkey performs his usual shtick as the Sontarans.

Score: 4/5

Next Time: The Many Deaths of Jo Grant

I keep hearing that Iris's double-decker bus was seen in "Rose" ... Can anyone point out where it is? There are quite a few double-deckers in the episode, but I haven't been able to find hers.

Second - In the specials last year, Donna mentioned that she has an Auntie Iris. That's the first time I remember her dropping that fact. We know RTD worked on the novels and is a fan of the extended universe. Anyone else think that means Donna's Auntie is Iris Wildthyme?

What's this?: Each month in Doctor Who Magazine they have a column by Russell T Davies (formerly 'Letter from the Showrunner', before that 'Production Notes') - a column by someone involved in the production of Doctor Who, and normally in the form of either the showrunner writing pieces about writing Doctor Who or the showrunner answering reader-submitted questions. Because these pieces and questions have often been used as a source for blogs to write misleading stories, they started being typed up for /r/gallifrey.

Hey thanks for doing this! Now I don't have to buy it: Yes you do, otherwise you'll be missing out on: a preview of the 2024 Christmas Special 'Joy to the World'; a preview of the new version of 'The War Games' with the creators; a feature on Big Finish Christmas Specials; a look at a literary event in Bath and a convention in Cardiff; a feature on neurodivergent behaviour in Doctor Who; a history of Doctor Who Magazine Christmas issues; a deconstruction of "The Time of the Doctor"; part four of DWM's Fifteenth Doctor comic-strip "The Monster Makers"; reviews for all of this month's DVD/CD/Book releases and EVEN MORE.

It's available physically in shops and digitally via Pocketmags.com!

Want an archive of the previous Production Notes that have been posted on /r/gallifrey?: Follow this link.

I swear, I wait all year for this. I start planning this page on the first of January. So welcome, Faithful Reader, to my annual Doctor Who-themed 12 Days of Christmas for DWM. Buckle up, elves, here we go again!

Twelve eps-a-counting! The Bad Wolf team is working on 14 episodes in total. That's nine for Doctor Who and five for The War Between the Land and the Sea. But Christmas 2024 is ready, obviously, and so is Episode 1 of Season 2, introducing Belinda Chandra, signed off on Monday 13 October. (And if you want a Christmas guessing game, an acronym for its title is TRR.) Which leaves us 12 more episodes to go! Onwards!

Eleven times-a-threeing! A complicated way of saying 33. Because it's 33 years since I played Santa for Richard and Judy at the Granada TV Christmas party. This has nothing to do with Doctor Who, but come on, what a claim to fame. Ho ho ho.

Ten scenes-a-heading! The header for Sc 10 of next year's Episode 8 says INT. CUTAWAY, METAL DOOR 2. Oh but wait till you find out what's behind that metal door! Not to mention Doors 1 and 3. Scream!

Nine eras-a-remembering! A weapon from the Ninth Doctor's era in 2005 is about to make a terrifying return. I knew nothing about it until the writer handed in their magnificent script, and... pow! What a comeback!

Eight shows-a-glimpsing! Keep your fingers crossed, because plans can always change at the last minute, but there should be a teaser trailer for Season 2 dropping at some point over Christmas, with some amazing guest stars in there. We kept quiet about next year's actors while Season 1 was centre stage, or it would've looked confusing. Like, "Which season are they in?!" But the guest list kept on growing! With one star giving away significant clues, which no one picked up on. I can promise, there are wonderful names coming your way as the next season heats up. Here we go!

Seven words-a-listing! I like to give three words from an episode, but it's Christmas, let's go with seven words, from Episode 7. It contains: violets, owl, threshold, poppy, slip, Chinese and Persephone.

Six writers-a-writing! If you include the Christmas episode, then we have six writers at work on this next tranche of Doctor Who. And for one of those writers, on Season 2, this will be their very first TV script. (I just double-checked, and they told me, "For 13 years, I had been trying to make something but was turned down at each juncture.") For another writer, this is their first full-length script after one short film. I'm very proud of that. Proud of the writers, and proud of Bad Wolf, the BBC and Disney+ for opening the door. The fact is, to get your first credit on a great big high-octane worldwide streaming show is a colossal achievement. And it's good for the whole industry, getting new voices on screen. I've been advocating this for years - I exec'd two writers on their first-ever TV series in 2023 - and now Doctor Who 2024 is part of that movement. Plus, you get scripts from this ageing thin-blooded librettist too, you're stuck with me, babies!

Five gooo-ooold riiiings! Love that bit.

Four words-a-puzzling! Tables don't do that.

Three words-a-naming! One of next year's characters is a complex beast. Possibly the production team's favourite. And very quotable! The shorthand for this creation is RAD. We have shots labelled "RAD enters the room," "RAD meets the Doctor," "RAD is sad." What on earth does RAD mean?! Not long to wait...

Two old-hands-a-posing! You might already have seen a Radio Times pre-Christmas photo shoot, centring on an all-time BBC classic double act. From the home of Gavin & Stacey, Wallace & Gromit, Midwife & Baby, we bring you... Moff & RTD. Yes, on a cold October morning, they photographed the two of us, in a fireside setting, with a Christmas tree and presents and tinsel, looking like the grumpiest gay couple in the world. We look like a Hallmark movie in which my niece will fall in love with his nephew. Trust me, we don't want to do this! But it's publicity! We sat there muttering with fixed grins under the lights, trying to imagine the strapline. "Yet Another Turkey." "More Repeats at Christmas." "For the Love of God, Enough." But ultimately, we thought it's bound to be "Talking Turkey." I wonder! On sale soon.

And a fin missin' in the o-cean! Yes, a fin. The shoot for The War Between the Land and the Sea has taken us all over the place. I had the unique experience of waving the crew off from my flat in Cardiff Bay as they embarked on a ship for the high seas. But the location shoot abroad will be the stuff of many anecdotes to come. To anticipate that, let me tell you... a fin went missing. In a storm! We'd travelled to a place guaranteed sunny weather and calm seas, and in true Doctor Who tradition, the heavens opened. An actual electrical storm, on an already-tricky night shoot, so fierce that some bolts of lightning were captured on camera, that's rare! And it looks like great FX. I wasn't there, I was safe, back in the Bay, all warm and toasty, with Pete McTighe texting from a far-flung beach, "We've lost a fin!" Whose fin? What fin? Why fin? All that to come!

Merry Christmas, folks! Nadolig Llawen!

Fin.

• 2 to 3: The Doctor went on to have his 6b adventures.
• 4 to 5: The Doctor became the Curator.
• 5 to 6: The Doctor became the Watcher.
• 6 to 7: The Doctor became Maxill
• 10 to 10: The creation of the Meta-Crisis Doctor.
• 10 to 11: The creation of the Valeyard

Anyone knows where to watch the new colorized version outside of the UK. There's no way of watching Tales of the Tardis, Classic or the new versions on any platform here.

What novels are obscure but add the most interesting details to the canon

Discussion thread for the BBC Two airing of the Doctor Who at the Proms 2024. It starts at 16:10.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026drr

If you wish to join us in live discussing and group watch, we're watching it together on the Discord.

This was previously broadcast on BBC Radio 3 live in August.

With the recent changes to The War Games (the War Chief as an early master, the changes to the Second Doctor’s regeneration scene etc.), and the recent Timeless Child lore and Fugitive Doctor revelations, it got me thinking if it’s simply time to abandon the idea of anything being canon in Doctor Who.

So, this is probably a stupid stupid thing, but I just find suspicious/weird that the woman in Agua Santina (the one that give the Doctor the spoon) keep telling the Doctor that he has a nice face? like... what does that mean? Idk, that woman is so weird to me, like, who is the man she is talking about? I know she forgot everything, but is still weird 😅

Also, I think she is the only mother without a child that we see in this season that was all about childrens without parents.

Anyway, I was just watching the episodes before the xmas special and find this kinda interesting, is probably nothing like I say; or something that could be something interesting but I don't think will be actually explore.

The Timeless Child was a child found by the portal to another universe with an apparently endless ability to regenerate. Who is this child and where did they come from?

The other universe? Maybe. But maybe that's a red herring.

Who do we know that seems to have been around for billions of years and doesn't appear to have the standard Time Lord 12-regeneration cap? Perhaps a founder of Gallifrey who never gave herself that cap?ie. Tecteun.

What if, rather than being destroyed when Swarm touched Tecteun she was instead cast back in time and de-aged to become the very child that she experimented on?

There's a nice symmetry to it, and Swarm was an agent of the embodiment of time itself, so that makes some sense.

What do you think?

EDIT: Some people seems to be misunderstanding this. The idea is not that the Timeless Child became Tecteun, it's that Tecteun became the Timeless Child (when she seemed to die in _Flux_). And this is not a loop, it's just Tecteun > Timeless Child > Doctor.

This is just a fun fan theory and if you disagree with it please drop a comment letting us know your concerns.

Just rewatched series 1-4 of NuWho, and thought I'd see how the writing compares to the specials. It doesn't lol. Russel has lost it in my opinion, his age shows in his writing, it might seem petty but even stuff like the toymaker saying "ghosting" I can just see russel behind the keyboard at 61. I think the worst part is, Ncuti's doctor has had much better writing in episodes not written by RTD, Boom and Rogue are both highlights. I think Rogue is probably the most entertaining episode with the most solid format, it also just feels modern, the tone is exactly what it should be for the era of tv we are in. I think BBC should just risk it and give it to someone new. (keep letting Moffatt do the odd cheeky ep tho hehe)

I feel like this keeps happening to the eighth doctor in the Big Finish audios, over and over. Or a companion. Is it just me or is this the biggest Big Finish trope?

Playing the Master’s theme from the new series was a great music choice regardless.

Discussion thread for the War Games in Colour, airing on BBC Four.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026ch7

Just for info :)

As title says ... seeing as JW never got a proper Christmas special (New Year's Day specials that try and incorporate fireworks as the main NYD iconography don't count), I am curious to see if anyone has any cool pitches that might specifically suit 13's characterisation/companion groups.

My first thought is maybe something involving Grace and an entity like the Trickster perhaps, who wants to use the heightened emotions of Christmas time to lure Graham or Ryan into making a bargain to bring her back, which then the Doctor and Yaz have to undo ... might be too dour for Christmas day, but also could carry a bittersweet sentiment (similar to Last Christmas) reflecting on coming to terms with loss and facing a first Christmas without a loved one.

What would you have liked for Jodie's Christmas special?

The personality ends after regeneration, right? I just feel so sad, wondering if 10 ever gets to know what 11 was like.

Or /r/Gallifrey's NSQ-MMFPBTAA:TRQTDDTOTT for short. No more suggestions of things to be added? ;)

No question is too stupid to be asked here. Example questions could include "Where can I see the Christmas Special trailer?" or "Why did we not see the POV shot of Gallifrey? Did it really come back?".

Small questions/ideas for the mods are also encouraged! (To call upon the moderators in general, mention "mods" or "moderators". To call upon a specific moderator, name them.)

Please remember that future spoilers must be tagged.

Regular Posts Schedule

• Previous No Stupid Questions
• Latest Rewatch
• Latest What's Who With You
• Latest Free Talk Friday

What's this?: Each month in Doctor Who Magazine they have a column by Russell T Davies (formerly 'Letter from the Showrunner', before that 'Production Notes') - a column by someone involved in the production of Doctor Who, and normally in the form of either the showrunner writing pieces about writing Doctor Who or the showrunner answering reader-submitted questions. Because these pieces and questions have often been used as a source for blogs to write misleading stories, they started being typed up for /r/gallifrey.

Hey thanks for doing this! Now I don't have to buy it: Yes you do, otherwise you'll be missing out on: a massive 25 page interview with Philip Hinchcliffe, producer on Doctor Who from 1974-1977 on Pyramids of Mars, Genesis of the Daleks and much more; interviews with Steven Moffat, Russell T Davies, Chris Chibnall and Philip Segal on Hinchcliffe's work; a feature on the links between Blake's 7 and Doctor Who; an interview with Planet of the Spiders actor John Kane about that story; a deconstruction of "The Doctor's Daughter"; part three of DWM's Fifteenth Doctor comic-strip "The Monster Makers"; reviews for all of this month's DVD/CD/Book releases and EVEN MORE.

It's available physically in shops and digitally via Pocketmags.com!

Want an archive of the previous Production Notes that have been posted on /r/gallifrey?: Follow this link.

Come with me, Faithful Reader, to the north of England, for the wedding of our executive producer Phil Collinson and the wonderful Peter.

Okay, this page can be many things. Mostly I suspect, you're looking for dates and details and Proper Nouns, and a spoiler about the return of the Meddling Monk (oh damn). But Doctor Who is more than that. It's our lives and our loves and even our livelihoods, so sometimes we should mark that. Of course, much of that day is private and personal, but there's a huge Doctor Who slant to be found. We're fans, first and foremost! So pin on that buttonhole and walk this way, dear guest.

I first met Peter when Phil brought him to my own wedding day, back in 2012. My husband, Andrew, was very ill and taking lots of steroids. I posted a photo and a Doctor Who fan commented, "RTD has married a Sontaran."

But today, what to expect? Phil is much more of a dyed-in-the-wool Doctor Who fan than me - truly, when we were making The Daleks in Colour, he could practically pin a scene down to its day of recording in Lime Grove Studios. So I'm half-expecting him go the full Vicar of Dibley and turn up in a Dalek wedding dress. But no! Both grooms out-Doctor any Doctor in the most beautiful of suits.

And look! There's an actual Doctor! David Tennant, giving a reading, Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. And we might be wizened old hacks on the production team - me, Jane, Joel, Julie and her husband Julian (they met on the Doctor Who set when he was the sound recordist on Series 4, it's weddings galore!) but even we are thinking, "Oh my God, it's Doctor Who!" And Georgia's there too, married to the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors, daughter of the Fifth Doctor, Jenny in The Doctor's Daughter. Royalty!

And the readings aren't over. It turns out, when 42's Captain Kathryn McDonnell sacrificed herself by jumping out of an airlock from the SS Pentallian, she didn't die, she fell to Earth just outside Clitheroe, so Michelle Collins is here, reading a poem for the congregation.

The floodgates have opened. There's Tracy Ann Oberman, or Tracy Ann Cyberman as we still call her. Louise Page! Designer of the Tenth Doctor's costume, "I've been on Grantchester for eight years now, I'm on my fourth vicar!"

And bow down, Donna Noble is in the house. Catherine Tate in all her glory! We all came up the night before and had a mini-convention in the hotel bar. Ah, the stories that will never be told!

As the evening expands, more faces. A truly marvellous moment as different eras cross and Ed Thomas, designer from 2005-2010, arrives to meet, for the first time, Phil Sims, designer of today's TARDIS. Hugs! I wonder what they talk about. Roundels, no doubt. Then two hands clasp around my neck like a mummy's strangulation - Des Hughes! Line producer on Doctor Who for Series 7 and an old mucker of mine going all the way back to The Second Coming in 2003.

Hannah and Bob are here, from way back on Series 1. "We had the first Doctor Who baby!" Pete McTighe has driven up with Joel. Ceres! Jennie! Danny! Robyn! Murray Gold and his beautiful family. Tim Hodges, who's up for a BAFTA for editing Wild Blue Yonder; to think, he was a runner for us, way back in 2005. Our beloved Tracie Simpson is in one corner, "And then the bus arrived in Dubai and got destroyed!" And there's Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue - old hands at this, because when Phil took Peter away to a posh hotel to propose to him, Steven and Sue were staying there too!

It's so busy and excited and fun, I miss people. The next day, I'm told that Jenna Russell was there - the floor manager from The Parting of the Ways, so brutally exterminated by the Daleks, "The bullets don't work!" - but I missed her! And Tracey Childs, too, Metella from Pompeii. But I'm there for a big hug with Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, otherwise known as my lovely friend, Annette Badland. Dame Bad, I call her.

It's a mad, happy, bubbling crush. People are dancing and hooting and feasting. One wedding cake is a tower of pork pies. Yes, a tower of pork pies. And if you gave it an eyestalk and drew on some bumps with a Sharpie, it could look like a Dalek, although maybe I'm stretching it now.

It's far more than Doctor Who, of course. Barbara Knox is at the bar. My two sisters are hooting with Tim Vincent and Coronation Street scriptwriters. And far more importantly, there are family and friends, mates and mums, exes and oh-I-wish (hello Chad), three wonderful nephews and one very tiny aunt. Then all the Doctor Who people decide to have a photo. It's a lovely, Overlook Hotel-style snap of happy, smiling faces... except for me. Because I took 20 minutes to go to my room and answer emails about The War Between. "I think we could move General Pierce to the Control Room for Sc.1/61." Damn it!

But that doesn't matter. Because earlier in the day, in the speeches - the lovely, funny, heartfelt speeches - Phil paid tribute to my late husband. The wheel turned and a circle was closed. As Phil said, in that moment, Andrew was with us.

Then we danced and hopped and laughed into the night, Doctors, companions, writers, designers, cast and crew, united by this show on one of the happiest days of our lives.

Congratulations, Phil & Peter.

We love you.

Hi this is my first post on this subreddit and how would Doctor Who episodes Water of Mars, end of times have changed if lady Christina Desouza have been accepted as a companion after the planet of the dead episode?

So Following the Logic of the Show

If he See's it, hears about it in past tense, read about it, etc it is set in stone and had happened

if he doesn't see it, can avoid it, can find a loophole or loop around or bend some timey whimeyness on it then he can void it

so let's take Voyage of the Damned for an example

the man in the Purple Suit, he see's him fall but looks away before he hits the bottom and just moves on rushing along with the adventure, so at the end of the Story he could of just hopped in the Tardis, appeared at the bottom of the lava pit thing, tipped it up aiming for the Swimming Pool and had the man land in there

then for his wife, he see's her jump off and then looks away before she hits the bottom before being sassed off by the rich man and moving on, he could again go to just after his past self looked away at the bottom of the pit, tipped the Tardis up and caught her in the Pool now with her Husband

or Bannakaffalatta, let him do the EMP, have his parts taken, finish the adventure, go and find the exact parts he needs, go back but wait for everyone to leave the room but before the adventure ends, take Bannakaffalatta, fix with him with said parts and drop him off

the only person he wouldn't be able to save is Astrid as when she falls off not only does he look but he watches her hit the bottom and burn instead of just looking away, he due to the Rules of Time COULD NOT save her.

that's what I've seemed to gather from the big time explanations and episodes from Series 1-Season 1 (Classic it's own case lol) hope you've enjoyed the read.

In the end of time, the doctor says "the time lords are returning." Does that mean he knew they weren't dead all along? If so, why did he still call himself the last of the time lords. Also, how come the time lords aren't dead? I know that the war doctor didn't actually kill them on the 50 anniversary episode, but by season 4 we don't know that, and that isn't the explanation given. Is this something that you know by watching classic? I'm only on the second doctor.

I swore we would've seen Susan/Carole Ann Ford and/or Gallifrey in the Christmas Special (I'm assuming Gallifrey comes back after events in Empire of Death) but the fact that I haven't seen a leak yet I doubt they were able to keep it that much of secret in 2024. Again I would LOVE to be wrong and have one or both in the special. Time will tell

#BIG FINISH PODCAST NOTES /MISC. DOCTOR WHO NEWS ROUNDUP

So comes the end of the year. The weather outside is frightful (it’s so fucking humid). But to those of you reading, have a very happy Christmas to all of you at home. And in important Doctor Who news: Here’s the recipe for a ham and cheese toastie.

PODCAST NEWS:

NON-BIG FINISH PODCAST DOCTOR WHO NEWS:

• A Christmas Card from Mr Colchester has been released and is available for free. Indulge yourself with Paul Clayton’s sultry voice.

• Details have been announced for the next Dark Gallifrey trilogy. Featuring Missy and the Seventh Doctor!, written by Rochana Patel.

• Cast and trailer has been released for Classic Doctors, New Monsters Vol. 5.

• Chris Chapman is writing 6 audios two of them are for Doctors he’s not written for before.

BBC AUDIO/BOOKS/MEDIA NEWS:

• Finally announced is ‘The Collection Season 7’!.

ANYTHING ELSE

Sales: Big Finish Christmas Sale; Slippery bois: Timeslip Sale..

Fifteen Minute Drama Tease: -

Interview/Production Interviews -

Randomoid Selectotron: BUCKUP: -

What BF CD’s are OOP: -

Big Finish Release Schedule:

• The Fourth Doctor Adventures - The Curse of Time - 28.12.2024
• Paul Spragg Short Trip - War Stories - 29.12.2024
• The Eighth Doctor Adventures - The Stuff of Legends LIVE - 30.12.2024
• The Audio Novels - The Lord of Misrule - 31.12.2024 - 5.01.2025

What Big Finish I was listening too today:

Random Tangents No tangents because there’s no podcast. But I saw this post and it really made me laugh, let me know if any readers are also one of my great mates.

I've only very recently gotten into Doctor Who, after having always heard about it my entire life. I've watched Christopher Eccleston through to Matt Smith's runs, and have just finished the first season of Peter Capaldi. I'm interested in watching some of the classic stories, so I was wondering what some recommendations would be. I've heard that Tom Baker is apparently a good classic doctor, so maybe some of his, though I don't really mind who it is, as long as the stories are good.

Edit: Wow ok, I did not expect this many people to answer this so, massive Thank You to everyone for all your recommendations, I will definitely be spending these next few weeks checking out all of those stories.

I am a huge fan of the Twelfth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor. I wanted comic recommendations for them.

Myself and two others regularly meet up for Doctor Who night, where all three of us will each pick an episode to watch back-to-back-to-back.

Recently we picked Midnight, Listen and Can you Hear Me? around Halloween, which formed a nice coincidence as all three somewhat explore fear and the unknown and made an almost anthology of their own.

Since then we've tried to do pick interesting trilogies that give us new orders to watch things in, for example focusing on one enemy or one theme.

Does anyone have any suggestions that follow this pattern? Obviously some are more obvious than others (like following the cult of Skaro episodes in order). A fun one I thought of was Shakespeare Code > Day of the Doctor > Zygons Two-Parter, where Queen Elizabeth is the link between all three.