Doctor Who: Gallifrey Public Radio

This week, we cheer the return of Rona Munro to write for Doctor Who in 'The Eaters of Light'. From Bill' penchant for making friends at the bottom of holes, to Nardole's storytelling (ahem) skills, to the Doctor as the babysitter/peacemaker, it's a historical romp that takes a number of notably poignant turns. Oh, and then there's the final minutes, teeing up next week. Honest confession? We almost forgot the rest of the episode even happened.

This week, we look to Mark Gatiss one more time, perhaps the last time, to tell a Whovian tale in "The Empress of Mars". In a set of circumstances wonderfully unique to this program, our Doctor takes Bill and Nardole to the red planet in 1881, only to find the British Royal Army already there, making short work of crossing a very powerful -- and irascible -- queen. We discuss the deflation of patriarchy, the true villains of the tale (hint: they aren't reptilian), the restored glory of the Ice Warrior species, and the return of a Pertwee-era character that closes a wholly entertaining continuity loop.

Putting the capstone on the series 10 trilogy, our TARDIS team directly contends with the Monks of Veritas in Toby Whithouse's story, "The Lie of the Land". After Bill's impulsive consent to allow these aliens to take over our world (and history) to an Orwellian nightmare of a result, the situation is intensified when the Doctor appears to be...well, indoctrinated.

This week, we look to the second component of Moffat's final trilogy, "The Pyramid At the End of the World". The Doctor is on to the Monks' deception, in some small part, but is thoroughly concerned by their abilities and predictive accuracy (given their Matrix-like simulations seen the week prior).

We hit the fulcrum of Series 10 with Moffat's organized-religion-and-virtual-reality mindbender, "Extremis". With the expected tilted ratio of questions raised to questions answered, we grapple with the newly discovered but highly formidable Monks of Veritas, Bill's increasing exasperation with the inability to balance adventure with a stable life, Nardole's apparent (albeit limited) bad-assery, and another fascinating wrinkle in the greatest frenemy relationship to ever emerge from the Prydonian chapter. No fewer than three rewatches were necessary to try and feel we were in any way prepared to unpack this complicated episode -- and darned if it's not just the start to a three-part story.

This week, we rub furiously at our eyes after a viewing of "Oxygen", the fifth episode of Series 10. Discussions are had over the respiratory systems of Time Lords, Moffat's new-found ability to kill at will, Bill going blue, and what Nardole's organic-to-bionic ratio really is. Bonus Segment: "Say Something Nice" -- we have to find at least three positive things to say about a randomly chosen episode that comes from the bottom 10% of major Whovian ranking polls. Pollyanna-ism, away!

This week, we creep slowly up the stairs to find out what's really going on in "Knock Knock". We discuss the somewhat narrow-sighted behavior of nearly every character in the episode to one degree or another, the interesting role (and behavioral) reversal that David Suchet has to give his character in the final moments, and a little hypothesizing about how much time has to pass in the Doctor and Bill's relationship before the TARDIS can be loaned out as a lorry service.

This week, we step back to 19th century London, and walk the surface of the Thames in "Thin Ice". As Sarah Dollard's sophomore contribution to the series, we delight in the continued chemistry between Capaldi and Mackie, find ourselves fascinated by a discussion over lives saved and taken, and scream in triumph one uncharacteristic but fantastic punch. But before we begin anything, let's just take a moment to remember Pete. We feel like we barely knew you.

This week, we share our emotions and reactions right out on the open to the Series 10 episode, "Smile". We discuss the enjoyable performances from Capaldi and Mackie, the strange little prelude that gives Nardole the brush-off (and raises the "Oath" question again), and look painfully hard at the future-human-colony-meets-misguided-artificial-intelligence storyline that follows.

Somewhere, in a comfortably lit corner office in Cardiff, Steven Moffat smiles wanly to himself, rolls up his sleeves, and crouches over a keyboard. Challenge accepted. This week, we celebrate an exceptional gift in the return of Doctor Who for Series 10, in "The Pilot".

This week, we look at all we know about the upcoming season, and lay out some of our wishes for the Series 10 episodes to come. These aren't the if-it-were-up-to-me or if-continuity-didn't-matter or other "pipe dream" wishes; these are realistic, achievable (at least in our estimation) goals for what could be presented in the next 12 episodes...and Christmas special. From character progression, to utilization of classic foes, to that (ahem) recent news about a certain evil Time Lord, we really hope some of these boxes get ticked by the close of the Moffat era.

This week, we relish the 1971 classic, "The Claws of Axos". Pertwee and Delgado are at their finest, the costumes and effects at their most questionable, and the story is aces. Pull up a bowl of psycho spaghetti, and dig in.

This week, we take stock of what we know, what we *think* we know, and what are still scandalous rumours, and lay the cards out for Doctor Who Series 10.

This week, joined by friends and GPR guests Julie, Tanu, and Raemani, we fill our glasses and provide a less-than-professional commentary to the 1996 Doctor Who "pilot" movie.

This week, we consider the many important developments that occur within the Pertwee story, "The Mind of Evil". UNIT is at the forefront, and we gain a fuller appreciation for Yates and Benton; the Doctor and the Master face off once again, with iconic performance from Delgado, and a deeper understanding of their know-thine-enemy relationship; and Jo Grant establishes herself as a valuable, adaptive, resourceful, and daresay indispensable companion to the Third Doctor. Suffice to say, we consider it encouraged, if not required Classic Who fare.