Advertise on podcast: Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV

Who gets to count as fully human, and who decides? We discuss the hate economy, performed masculinity, debt as dominance, the social Internet, & whether television can change anything, across the final three episodes of Russell T Davies' suburban thriller Tip Toe (00:00:00) Intro & ranking the final three episodes (00:04:48) Straight-lad culture & George in between worlds (00:11:50) What straight culture can absorb (00:19:50) George's make-up photo (00:23:28) Marginalising women, transness as the breaking point (00:25:38) Could George have played it off? (00:29:04) Dehumanising Z (00:32:42) Fatherhood anxiety & smears (00:37:05) Episode 3's flashbacks & 'the insolence on your face' (00:39:45) Clive owed a better life; the Buzzcocks song (00:43:54) Sex and violence crossed wires; the taxi scene (00:47:01) 'A straight man could have written this' (00:50:14) Violence as performed fatherhood (00:53:45) Natalism & the trap of parenthood (00:57:00) The gay horizon vs Clive's repression (01:00:40) Denormalising the family; pulling up the ladder (01:03:38) Hierarchy, & queerness beyond sexuality (01:07:47) Canal Street as heaven; Clive's glimpse of the horizon (01:14:01) The purpose Clive could have found (01:17:50) The end title cards (01:22:40) The title cards' genesis (01:27:44) Episode 4's false ending (01:30:06) Saul as the only healthy one (01:36:30) Who gets a happy ending? (01:43:04) Two closeted lads & a twist about society (01:48:07) Clive's conspiracies (01:58:00) Steph, and the muddle on trans rights (02:07:00) Z and Steph on the same side? (02:12:10) Z, Flo, Sarah (02:17:25) From anti-phone to the hate economy (02:22:00) Porn & age verification (02:25:00) The hate economy dramatised (02:32:41) Melba's croissants & what they represent (02:40:15) Graeber's Debt, the £20, & the bow (02:47:00) Payment as dominance (02:50:01) The empty shoes, queer tragedy, 'no happy dramas' (02:53:12) Can TV change anything? (02:58:00) Books; 'what's being written is bollocks' (03:02:45) Physicality; online logic vs real life (03:07:07) The thrill of making someone afraid (03:11:05) Leo's fatal flaw (03:15:08) The lynching as a game that never stops (03:18:21) Could Mikey have defused it? (03:23:20) Clive as discourse: folk hero or villain? (03:27:16) Why Clive lied about the affair (03:30:08) The bathroom scene (03:35:08) Realism, & RTD leaving Doctor Who (03:41:00) Violence; appetite for a public execution (03:44:46) Direction & Peter Hoar (03:49:00) The music (03:58:10) How Clive was created (04:00:36) RTD in the future (04:08:05) Sign-off… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

How does Russell T Davies' suburban thriller Tip Toe miniseries reflect the 2020s? We discuss hierarchies of humanity, porous worlds, clashes of masculinity, technological frivolity, & much more as we dive into the first two episodes. (00:00:00) Appreciating the show (00:06:41) Leo: hamartia, hyperbole, rhetoric, glibness, banter (00:23:26) Clive: coldness, masculinity, homoeroticism, bravery (00:45:25) Saul & his audience; George & projection (00:53:01) The Leo & George texting sequence (01:09:26) Clive & Leo: cruelty, class, pity (01:22:33) Phones, masturbation montage (01:29:05) Music (01:34:16) Ex Curtis dinner party scene (01:41:19) Steph & 'gender critical friends' (01:52:59) In the middle, Palestine, frivolity, conspiracy (02:04:42) Phones, youth, culture, doomscrolling (02:23:01) Phones, cognition, insanity, form (02:36:30) Can TV help the world? (02:46:18) Violence & porousness between worlds (02:54:46) America, RTD2, inspirations, titles… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

Released in 2018, novelised in 2021 — what is the legacy of The Witchfinders? Where does it belong, both in an assessment of the era, and in series 11's structure? Where does it differ from the rest of the series? What does 'no more witch hunts' really mean? (00:00:00) Intro & initial thoughts (00:02:20) Series 11 ordering + leak (00:05:27) Story's engagement with gender (00:09:54) Music, visuals (00:14:19) Implants & penetration (00:16:34) Alan Cumming (00:17:34) Theme park history (00:21:12) Reclaiming witchiness (00:24:29) Is it a romp? (00:27:35) Bullying & Yaz parallels (00:31:04) 'Flat team structure' (00:32:32) Cut to black (00:34:19) Morax & sending baddies to prison (00:37:19) 'No more witch hunts' & changing history (00:40:25) James confrontation (00:43:47) The novelisation subtractions & additions (00:52:54) Novel opening & epilogue (00:57:06) Opinions on the novel ending + The Norns (01:09:20) What could have been + structural thoughts (01:15:56) Outro… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

Extreme close ups of character faces. Entirely invisible threats; 'we don't see'. What's the story behind this very odd piece of television? Why does it stand out so much in terms of style and aesthetics? What standards did it set for the era? What does it say about the companions? (00:00:00) Intro + episode's significance (00:04:40) Uncomfortable closeups (00:07:47) Directorial style of long takes (00:09:48) Impressive locations + strange edits (00:14:03) Answering questions nobody asked (00:15:48) We can't see; intangible dangers (00:22:06) Avoidant storytelling, baffling stakes (00:27:21) Didactic premise (00:32:21) Focus on Ryan (00:36:34) Balancing companions with guest cast (00:42:15) Maturity of Yaz and Ryan (00:46:07) Aesthetics of violence (00:50:14) Timeless rags, TARDIS theme, set reveal (00:56:18) Pining for the early days of the era (00:59:40) Self-defeating thesis (01:01:37) Stray thoughts + outro… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

How did the Chibnall Era's premiere position itself amidst other TV? Rules, tone, arcs, spectacle, grief, change...the Thirteenth Doctor's first episode is nothing if not worthy of discussion. We dive in, looking back on how it all began. (00:00:00) Revisiting + what we like now (00:06:28) Losing our attention (00:09:19) The new companions + their arcs (00:19:52) Incomplete premiere (00:23:46) Chibnall confusion + tonal cynicism (00:29:50) Handling an ensemble (00:34:29) Idolising the Doctor (00:37:04) 13 as enforcer of rules (00:47:46) Darker vs family-friendly heroes (00:53:34) Kids' TV and curiosity (00:57:10) Aspiring to be like other shows (01:03:50) Spectacle vs substance (01:07:39) Budget & fighting what you are (01:11:44) The crimes of Tim + a major death (01:15:21) Fridging (01:17:30) Other ideas for how to handle grief (01:23:14) The music + 13's theme (01:31:00) Elements of previous Doctor premieres (01:37:33) Theme of change (01:40:03) Favourite lines (01:42:36) Retrospective thoughts + vindication… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

Science and magic, cultism and archaeology, digital Gothic, illusions of fidelity, horror, Holmes, and Hinchcliffe...what makes Pyramids of Mars persist, over fifty years later? We dive into this Tom Baker classic, along with its many revisitations. (00:00:00) First experiences with the story (00:05:42) Season 13 (00:08:30) Nice moments (00:10:59) Design of the mummies (00:14:34) Daytime shoots and tone (00:16:44) Reinventing the historical format (00:21:20) Egyptology and Orientalism in the story (00:27:15) Ibrahim (00:30:45) Episode Four's tonal shift (00:40:03) Resonance of the ending + emotional moments (00:47:30) Laurence's rationality (00:53:00) Terrance Dicks' characterisation of the Fourth Doctor (01:02:46) Alternate future scene (01:09:32) Holistic storytelling of the Holmes and Hinchcliffe era (01:18:05) Portrayal of Sarah Jane (01:23:38) Gabriel Woolf's performance as Sutekh (01:29:38) Visuals of Sutekh (01:33:16) Greifer's grain: the unusual writing situation (01:45:16) Holmes' writing (01:51:35) Novelisation differences: ancient aliens (01:57:25) Novelisation differences: prologue and epilogue (02:09:33) 2024 Tales of the TARDIS: editing and music changes (02:21:50) 2024 Tales of the TARDIS: VFX and story changes (02:26:13) 2024 Tales of the TARDIS: Fifteenth Doctor wraparound scenes (02:33:31) Dudley Simpson's score (02:38:43) Rationalism and anti-imperialism (02:44:08) 2025 AI Pyramids blu-ray release (02:52:32) Archaeology and AI restoration (02:56:45) Inverting science vs magic (03:03:16) Digital Gothic (03:07:23) Break points of restoration and editorialisation … Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

How does Steven Moffat’s ‘interview’ with an ‘AI’ play into technological themes explored across his work? We dive into humanity, tailored expectations, retreats into fictionalisation, emotional validity, recursion, as more, as we discuss ‘AI’ and digital ghosts. (00:00:00) Attitudes to ‘AI’ (00:12:18) Origins of the podcast, role of faith (00:23:58) Moffat's AI themes, digital ghosts vs. faulty tech (00:30:43) The indifference of autocomplete (00:39:50) Why Moffat was so impressed (00:46:50) Biases towards the ‘interviewer’ (00:51:46) The dream protecting itself (00:59:20) Aren't we all chatbots in the end? (01:09:57) LLMs vs. human (and dog) conversations (01:14:50) The habituation cycle (01:21:05) The low bar for ‘AI’ creations (01:30:05) Endless franchise content, worsening quality (01:39:57) Closing thoughts … Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

It all comes tumbling down. Finality. Normativity. Literalism. How did Ncuti Gatwa’s last episode reconfigure the past and future of the show? (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:03) What we liked (00:24:25) Two-series arc (00:28:48) Thirteen looming over Fifteen (00:35:08) Susan and three-series arcs (00:37:04) Regeneration timing (00:43:14) Omega, twists, the past (00:50:33) Ranis, bigeneration, Classic Who, sterility (00:59:13) Belinda and Poppy (01:16:11) Anita and doors (01:22:39) May the 24th; finale density (01:28:43) Curious musical moments (01:33:50) Petrol, Pantheon, future possibilities (01:39:56) Promise of the 60th; cluttering and decluttering (01:49:31) Paternity and Poppy (01:53:08) Billie Piper’s Doctor, ‘RTD3’, Marvel (02:05:36) Vindicator big gun moment; Ncuti leaving (02:14:42) Default Belinda; child’s version of Doctor Who (02:21:40) Addendum: Disney deal dead, finale reshoots (02:30:03) Why a three-series arc; Susan in RTD2 (02:37:51) Reality War script, emotional truth, children (02:44:06) Renewal, finality, fairness (02:59:18) Reality War ponderings; The War Between musings (03:04:01) Addendum addendum: finale aftereffects (03:10:50) Vestiges of RTD2 (03:13:47) Our reactions to the finale (03:27:07) Where to from here … Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

Character-lite episodes. Penultimate suspense. Companion characterisation. Gods and science. Was this episode worthy of a wish? (00:00:00) What we liked (00:12:49) Doubts, plot, storytelling, villainy (00:19:50) Omega, gods, science, mythic register (00:25:42) Belinda companionship, garbling, drama confusion, Nursedoc (00:33:50) Ruby in 2025 S2, S1-S2 links (00:42:30) Conrad, wish baby, Flood hugs, political commentary, encampment (00:53:19) Non-politics, generational differences (01:03:49) Production design, aesthetics, Belinda screaming (01:13:50) The Ranis (01:23:35) Episode structure, Chibnall era comparisons, Omega reveal (01:32:01) Poppy, family, adoption, motherhood, wishes, Vindicator, sci-fi power (01:39:30) Ncuti's wishes, season 2 development (01:47:35) Visual storytelling (01:56:28) Ending countdown, contrived suspense, Harry Potter, doubt (02:00:37) Too early to judge, Belinda's doubts… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

'The kind of episode you should never do a sequel to'. Continuing mining, drama avoidance, gun storytelling, script development…was The Well a diamond in the rough, or a worthy sequel? (00:00:00) The episode's identity (00:04:15) Contrasts with Midnight (00:13:56) The entity's physical form and methods (00:21:48) Aliss and the entity's escape (00:27:33) Misremembered throwback to RTD1 (00:34:53) Avoidance of Belinda drama (00:40:19) Militaristic stories with a sonic mouse (00:44:52) How the script came to be (00:50:29) Being "classic" Doctor Who (00:57:50) Visual and musical moments (01:03:44) Warriors of the Deep (01:09:52) Metatextuality (01:15:14) Flood, signing on screen, sign off … Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

New storytelling, ghostwriter mythos, dialogue density, clipshow climaxes, different approaches to gods...how does The Story & the Engine do Doctor Who differently? (00:00:00) New writer, Dot and Bubble comparisons, Doctor outside Doctoring (00:08:42) Hose, tie-in short story, Omo, commercialised storytelling (00:11:17) Haircuts, barbershop, African setting, density of ideas (00:18:13) Dialogue focus, place in Doctor Who, continuity, Doctor returns (00:27:47) Storytelling, Belinda, Gods, science (00:38:55) Generational trauma, reproducing exploitation, Omo betrayal (00:45:18) The Barber villain, 'ghostwriter', web, villain forgiveness (00:53:57) Pacing, 'hurt people hurt people', companion dialogue, Ncuti performance (01:01:29) Captain Poppy, clipshow climax, life stories, fan responses… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

UNIT politics, grifting, didactic Doctor, conspiracy confusion, youth movements, valuing the ordinary, conventional heroism...who is Lucky Day's audience, and what is it saying to them? (00:00:00) Refreshing episode (00:06:23) Overdosing on doccy who, UNIT critiques to come (00:14:11) Episode structure, conspiracy confusion (00:23:13) Grifting, psychoanalysis vs ideology (00:30:05) UNIT politics (00:44:50) Kate, moralising violence, justifying secrecy (00:56:21) Didactic Doctor speech to Conrad, ordinary & extraordinary (01:05:37) Think Tank, conventional protector heroism (01:12:30) Family, housemates, Belinda, Flood, Missy (01:28:09) Youth movements, mundanity, rationalisation (01:35:21) Awkward climax, Brigadier, romance Conrad, readings (01:44:13) Closing thoughts… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

Torture, honey, morality, physicality, camp, regression, edginess… there’s lots to discuss in Juno Dawson’s Eurovision episode of the 2025 season of Doctor Who. (00:00:00) Thoughts, plot, Die Hard (00:06:19) Belinda, character interiority (00:11:34) ‘Wonderful’ cool Doctor, sidelining morality drama, gendered characterisation (00:21:21) Eurovision context & politics (00:35:27) Honey, Hellia, sponsorship, ideology (00:46:49) Fifteen characterisation, novelty vs regression, ‘scary’ Doctor (00:58:51) Torture scene, neutralising drama, The Good Doctor (01:08:05) Imagery & physicality in the torture scene, icy heart (01:22:16) Cora’s song, resistance, Andor (01:30:11) Camp, writing Belinda & the Doctor, RTD stasis (01:41:35) The music (01:57:46) Susan Foreman, brink of death, Anita Dobson (02:09:30) Technobabble, side characters (02:19:34) The Ranis (02:28:38) Another bigeneration, another Delta Wave (02:37:08) Spectacle, horns, protector, the Doctor’s rage, Nursedoc shipping (02:45:53) Leak Zone: villains, future, casting, telos… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

Pantheon rules, companion dynamics, rhymes with the past, fandom commentary, liminal nights, aesthetic choices, dodgy lyrics — we discuss all that, & more, in covering Lux, Russell T Davies' second episode of the 2025 season of Doctor Who. (00:00:00) Similarities to Devil's Chord (00:07:30) Rules of the Pantheon genre (00:14:12) Belinda and 15's changed dynamic (00:22:03) Choices of music (00:28:21) The fans sequence (00:35:34) What audience? War Between tangent (00:41:18) Visuals and details we appreciated (00:46:25) Belinda's nursing expertise (00:48:55) Handling of racism (00:53:21) Liminal, marginal, Scooby Doo camp (00:57:38) "Planned leaks" delusions (01:02:13) Issues with Pantheon & vibes storytelling (01:12:15) Dodgy lyricism (01:13:50) Mr Pye, PoV for the Target novel (01:20:15) Performances of the two leads (01:24:31) Spoons arc & outro … Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/

The #GetBelindaHome arc, companion dynamics, new aesthetics, mechanical pathos, and the looming future of the show — we discuss that, and much more, in covering The Robot Revolution, Russell T Davies' 2025 Doctor Who Season 2 premiere. (00:00:00) Intro & initial thoughts (00:02:29) Belinda & her dynamic with 15 (00:12:47) #GetBelindaHome ‘arc’ (00:22:37) Belinda's character arc in the episode (00:27:32) Time fracture contrivances (00:33:55) The unreasonably cool visuals (00:39:02) Handling of themes (00:47:49) Bizarrely convoluted plot (00:51:21) Belinda's mature response to the Doctor (00:58:47) 15 being told off; implications of Mundy (01:04:55) Sasha-55, mechanical pathos (01:13:17) X-ray blanket; Sutekh noise (01:16:58) The spectre haunting Who (01:31:21) Leak zone begins: Season 2 leaks timeline (01:40:30) Leaks: Episode 3 (01:43:56) Leaks: Mrs Flood (01:48:27) Leaks: Eps 3, 5, 2, 6 (01:52:00) Leaks: Finale antagonist (02:04:06) Leaks: Ending surprises (02:12:21) Leaks: Critique of the idea (02:19:32) Leaks: Aftermath, spinoffs (02:23:40) Outro… Continue reading → Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://whocaresdw.wordpress.com/