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As we finish our time with Series 8, Jacob returns to “my old friend alienation,” Ciarán’s suspension of disbelief snaps unexpectedly, and the afterlife turns out to be very Mark Fisher. We wrap up our series-long discussions of abstracted thinking, the Doctor’s attitude towards soldiers and the rediscovery of wonder, and get into a bonus discussion of the complexity of multiple overlapping readings of art, as a treat. Join us in getting overwhelmed all over again by the volcano scene from ‘Dark Water’ and somehow ending up talking about ‘Hell Bent’ a lot, inevitably, and stick around for perhaps our most divergent rankings to date. Flatline: 0:47 In the Forest of the Night: 26:48 Dark Water/Death in Heaven: 39:07 Final thoughts and rankings: 1:18:46 Bluesky: @lotsplanetspod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Back with the Twelfth Doctor, we find plenty of superlatives to throw at ‘Listen,’ including comparing it to both a critically acclaimed horror film and an episode of Buffy (which is also critically acclaimed), not to mention finding the Master’s secret origin in it. That done, we spend almost no time on ‘Time Heist,’ find a surprising amount to say about ‘The Caretaker’ (including a scurrilous rumour that neither of us put any credence in), and a famously divisive episode proves… well, divisive. Plus the Gothic returns, as it always seems to do, funnily enough. Listen: 1:03 Time Heist: 33:24 The Caretaker: 42:32 Kill the Moon: 57:10 Mummy on the Orient Express: 1:15:43 Bluesky: @lotsplanetspod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

It’s our long-awaited return to our beloved Peter Capaldi, even if we do find him in particularly offputting mode (count how many times the word “abrasive” comes up in the first ten minutes). We ponder whether the early Capaldi era is too aesthetically tentative at times, Victorian London is finally done justice in ‘Deep Breath,’ and ‘The Caretaker’ unexpectedly emerges as the crucial episode of the entire series, for some reason. Postmodernism, utilitarianism, and utopianism are all put through the wringer of discussion – and that’s just in regard to one episode. The Twelfth Doctor: 01:47 Clara and Danny: 12:05 Deep Breath: 34:43 Into the Dalek: 1:06:05 Robot of Sherwood: 1:20:06 Bluesky: @lotsplanetspod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this episode, the Eternals have some distressing contemporary resonances, the Master is smoked paprika, and Terminus has an obvious reading that somehow neither of us have encountered before (do get in touch if you know a source that does it well). Ciarán somehow manages to get the words “moral ambiguity” and “Black Guardian” into the same sentence without breaking the English language, before Jacob exclusively reveals said Guardian’s side gig. We also talk quite substantially about the other two Davison seasons, possibly freeing ourselves of the obligation of actually covering them in the process. Very minor errata that occurred to me (Ciarán) in editing: it’s the Battle of Waterloo, not the First World War, that is said to have been won “on the playing fields of Eton” (quite the opposite is often said of WWI), while the Robert Browning poem mentioned as a source for The Five Doctors is “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” which I think I was mixing up with “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” by Lord Byron. Everything Jacob said is perfect, as always. Mawdryn Undead: 0:35 Terminus: 20:56 Enlightenment: 43:51 The King’s Demons: 1:02:32 The Five Doctors: 1:18:34 Rankings and Conclusions: 1:34:45 Bluesky: @lotsplanetspod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this episode, we finally confront the great schism of the podcast: Ciarán and Jacob’s respective takes on the Fifth Doctor. This cathartic outburst done, we settle into giving Eric Saward some credit for once (though not for long), lamenting the wasted potential of numerous actors and, naturally, some Black Guardian impressions. Come to find out why the Davison-era TARDIS team is “peak neoliberal,” stay for us being defeated utterly by Snakedance. [And yes, the Omega discussion was recorded well, well before ‘Wish World’/‘The Reality War;’ apparently we’re just very in tune with Russell The Davies, surprisingly.] The Fifth Doctor: 2:13 Tegan, Nyssa, Turlough: 22:56 Script Editor Eric Saward: 47:16 Producer John Nathan-Turner (again): 56:40 Arc of Infinity: 1:12:59 Snakedance: 1:29:33 Bluesky: @lotsplanetspod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

NOTE: This episode was recorded before the most recent charges against Huw Edwards were publicly released, and it’s likely that our tone in discussing him would have been less light-hearted had it been recorded a few weeks later. I [Ciarán] don’t see this as inherently a bad thing, as it’s in keeping with the very lightweight nature of ‘Fear Her,’ but it is somewhat less than timely, and deserves an explanation. Peter Kay’s accent causes Ciarán some consternation, Kel the council worker warms our hearts, and the Daleks are too much for Jacob’s elderly ears. We talk queerness in both broad and specific senses, the broad treatment of race in ‘Fear Her,’ and Jacob’s running critique of imperialism throughout the series comes to a head (sort of). Which 1980s band has Ciarán decided that he is “the Elton of,” and what are the Keir Starmer and Chris Chibnall Zones? All will be revealed… Love and Monsters: 0:37 Fear Her: 29:22 Army of Ghosts/Doomsday: 46:50 Final thoughts and rankings: 1:11:44 Next time…: 1:28:11 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Clockwork robots attack the Enlightenment, Cybermen attack every conceivable concept, and Mark Gatiss somewhat confusedly attacks the concept of empire and the post-war state. Join us as we talk Ricky’s Newsround gang, people being sucked off by the TV (I said what I said) and Sutekh stuck at the bottom of a crater. Also, Tat Wood (of About Time) is referenced so often that he might as well be credited as a co-host. The Girl in the Fireplace: 0:32 Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel: 19:26 The Idiot’s Lantern: 38:47 The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit: 1:02:15 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The time has come for us to face down David Tennant once more, presumably in some kind of overwrought shouty showdown. We go from cat nuns to werewolf-worshipping kung fu monks, thus confirming (yet again) that Catholics are inherently evil and sexy, and Alfred Tennyson proves surprisingly relevant. Jacob reveals secrets of his childhood, Ciarán reveals secrets of the English education system, and New Earth proves to house very few secrets indeed. Listen out for “one of the more slanderous comments [Ciarán] will ever make on this podcast.” The Tenth Doctor: 4:02 Rose (and supporting cast): 17:44 New Earth: 25:46 Tooth and Claw: 41:55 School Reunion: 59:05 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In the second part of our look at Tom Baker’s final season, we wax (appropriately) lyrical about Warrior’s Gate, muse on the poor observation skills of the people of Traken, and mourn Aunty Vanessa (because someone has to). Jacob has issues with Traken as a moral fable, Ciarán ponders whether the Keeper is more Arthur Scargill or Ian Paisley, and we come to a distressing realisation about the inhabitants of Logopolis. Warrior’s Gate: 0:35 The Keeper of Traken: 28:29 Logopolis: 46:00 Conclusions and rankings: 1:17:58 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

After a long absence in E-space, we’ve returned to talk Tom Baker’s climactic final season, featuring the uses of science and knowledge, the collapse of the post-war consensus, and, unfortunately, Adric. Jacob suggests some fun new torture methods for the CIA, Ciarán is unimpressed by the name ‘Dexeter,’ and we want our vampires as hammy as possible. Keep an ear out for Jacob’s fortuitous prediction of ‘73 Yards’ (this was recorded just over a week before that episode aired). The Fourth Doctor: 01:43 Companions: 09:36 Script Editor Christopher Bidmead: 16:54 Producer John Nathan-Turner: 23:48 The Leisure Hive: 34:26 Meglos: 48:57 Full Circle: 57:35 State of Decay: 1:19:35 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

With the dawn of the RTD2 era now in sight, we bid our final farewells to Chris Chibnall’s tenure on the show. Ciarán gets worked up about Sea Devils, Branwell just can’t wait for the Slithenaissance, and Jacob is lost for words more than once. We share our top 3 and bottom 3 episodes of the era, and discuss what the legacy of this era is likely to be. Our Top 3: 0:55 Our Bottom 3: 29:22 Legacy: 59:00 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

As we endure the long wait between the end of the Chibnall era and the advent of RTD2, we cast an eye backwards over the last 5 years. What went well? What went wrong? Has Branwell recovered from ‘The Witchfinders’ yet? Join us as we talk the good and bad of diverse representation, the vagaries of the Timeless Child plotline, and whatever was (or, more pertinently, wasn't) going on between the Doctor and Yaz, in what is, for some reason, our most X-rated episode to date. The Positives: 5.06 The Key Problems: 18.49 The Thirteenth Doctor: 1.06.35 Companions and Recurring Characters: 1.23.01 (in the order: Ryan, Graham, Dan, Yaz, the Master, the Fugitive Doctor) This episode is dedicated to Andrew Ellard. Ciarán's article on the politics of the Chibnall era (from January 2021): https://headstuff.org/entertainment/film/television/the-chibnall-centrism-of-doctor-who-politics-on-tv/ Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

After a long break to recover from the overwhelming impact of ‘Heaven Sent’/‘Hell Bent,’ we’re back to talk all things historicals. How have different types of historicals worked over the course of the series? What works and what doesn’t? And what kinds of settings would we like to see explored? Featuring a lengthy discussion of the return of RTD (this was recorded a while ago…), a David Mitchell(s) tangent, and a fully worked out treatment for a prospective historical episode from Bethan. Call us, Bad Wolf Productions… Sci-fi historicals: 16.32 Pure historicals: 30.40 Celebrity historicals (featuring ‘Vincent and the Doctor’ discourse): 41.24 Exemplars of historicals: 59.32 Historical settings we’d like to see: 1.30.55 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ciarán breaks down the “sacrificial companion,” Bethan discusses the Hybrid as a meditation on the usefulness of storytelling, and Jacob finds all human life in ‘Heaven Sent.’ Join us as we talk alien refugee camps and legal authority, struggle to find enough superlatives for ‘Heaven Sent,’ and have our longest single-episode discussion to date on ‘Hell Bent.’ Farewell, Series 9, we will miss you immensely. ‘Face the Raven:’ 00.44 ‘Heaven Sent:’ 42.52 ‘Hell Bent:’ 1.13.29 Rankings and round-up: 2.01.01 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Bethan takes a stand on behalf of Vikings, Jacob wants more Civil War action, and Ciarán is here to pinch your benefits. Join us as we ponder Sam Swift’s odds of living beyond the next week, the simultaneously complex and simple ethics of the Zygon two-parter, and where ‘Sleep No More’ fits on the Mark Gatiss “fine” scale. ‘The Girl Who Died:’ 00.37 ‘The Woman Who Lived:’ 26.18 ‘The Zygon Invasion’/‘The Zygon Inversion:’ 52.06 ‘Sleep No More:’ 1.35.59 Twitter: @LotsPlanetsPod Email: [email protected] Theme Music: "Special Spotlight" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/