Doctor Who: The Tardis Tavern

Two things: (1) Mothers’ Day was just around the corner and (2) we haven’t talked about a Ninth Doctor story for quite a while.  So, without further ado, we present our discussion of Steven Moffat’s first story, “The Empty Child” and “The Doctor Dances”. If it wasn’t for this story, the program (love it or hate it) would not be where it is today…and we wouldn’t have had Torchwood, either!  But does this hardy two-parter stand the test of time after eight years?  Listen and find out!  Also, just a little bit of blather about “The Crimson Horror” from Sean. Find us on Facebook and send us groovy feedback to tardistavern@gmail.com.  Also feel free to follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.

It’s the best episode ever!  Sean has regenerated and turned into one of his other co-hosts!  This time, it’s “Battlefield”, with the Seventh Doctor, Ace, and the Brigadier times two. [This is the moment when the typist pontificates on the interesting aspects of the show, as few as they may bay.  However, on this particular occasion, the typist hasn’t heard or participated in the recording of said episode.  So enjoy anyways.  Not to sound like a bitch or anything.] Email us at tardistavern@gmail.com, “like” us on Facebook, follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern, Steve via @tardistaverntit (he never checks it), and Erik via @sjcaustenite.

There’s a pretty good chance all of you at home saw a pattern in our last couple episodes, so it should come as no surprise that Episode 83 is “The Five Doctors”, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who in 1983 (hey, and it’s Episode 83, see what we did there!). We’re joined by our longtime friend Josh “Lord” Zimon of The Memory Cheats and Mostly Harmless Cutaway to discuss this one, although he very nearly got caught up in a time eddy when we scooped him up from Boston. And, as usual, we touch a little bit on the latest installment of the current series, “Journey to the Centre [sic] of the TARDIS”. Check us out on Facebook (it’s more volatile than Gallifrey Base sometimes), send us email at tardistavern@gmail.com, follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern and follow Josh via @whomejz.

Where do you go after “The Two Doctors”?  Naturally, “The Three Doctors”!  We’re joined by Kyle Anderson of the podcasts Doctor Who: The Writer’s Room and WTF are You Watching? We discuss what was then the show’s ten-year anniversary story, back in the day when nerds were precluded from voice their rumors and anticipation on the internet. We also talk a little bit about the latest entry to the Doctor Who oeuvre, “Hide”.  Masterpiece or tangled senseless mess?  You just might be surprised what we think. Email us at tardistavern@gmail.com, “like” us on Facebook for a chance to win a free iPad (not!), follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern and Kyle via @functionalnerd.  You can follow Steve via @tardistaverntit, but Twitter is about to ban his account.

We’re churning episodes out like bug spray on boll weevils lately, and, as we promised, this time we have a discussion of “The Two Doctors”, Robert Holmes’ penultimate story.  Grab the carrot juice, play a merry tune on your recorder, and slip into some bright, tight-fitting boob gear, and join us as we travel to Spain. Plus there’s just a little bit of discussion about “The Rings of Akhaten” and “Cold War”! Email us at tardistavern@gmail.com, look us upon Facebook, and follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.

Burrowing a little further into the annals of the Fourth Doctor (a phrase we were looking for any excuse to use), we wander towards the end of his tenure, three years past the last time we saw him in “The Robots of Death” to “State of Decay”, in which he matches wits with a trio of ancient vampires amidst a crumbling society. We also explain why we don’t like reviewing Big Finish, and also touch a little – just a tiny little bit – on the latest two episodes, “The Bells of St. John” and “The Rings of Akhaten”. Send hate mail to tardistavern@gmail.com, hit us up on Facebook, and follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.

On the eve of the broadcast of “The Bells of St. John’s”, naturally we couldn’t resist not reviewing it.  Instead, we go back in time to September of 2011, which broad us such classics as “The Girl Who Waited”, “A Good Man Goes to War”, and the topic of this episode, the overlooked and often forgotten “Night Terrors”. Plus there’s gossip about the rumors circulating regarding the up and coming release of the JNT biography and the muckraking regarding Matt Smith’s leaving the show.  And feedback, don’t forget the feedback. On another night, we will continue to chat about the new series, but will still focus on reviews of older Doctor Who stories, so stay tuned in about a week’s time when we will release a short discussion of the first two episodes aired for Series 7B, and a longer discussion of a certain Fourth Doctor story from 1980. Email us stuff at tardistavern@gmail.com, catch us on Facebook, and follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.  Also, if you don’t blink you just might see Steve on Twitter via @

pot-pour-ri \pō-pů-‘rē\ n [F pot pourri, lit. rotten pot] 1 : a jar of flower petals and spices used for scent  2 : a miscellaneous collection : MEDLEY No, this isn’t the flower show episode.  Rather, as promised, we give you a quick review of the video game Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock, some discussion about the upcoming second-half of Series Seven, and (we haven’t brought you one of these in a while) an interview with Daphne Ashbrook, star of the 1996 TV movie. Special thanks to our own roving reporter Andre Tessier for interviewing Ms. Ashbrook at this year’s Gallifrey convention.  (Or was it from last year?  We were too drunk to tell.) Send happy thoughts to tardistavern@gmail.com, “like” us on Facebook for free pie, and follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.

To give the impression that there is some rhyme to our reason, Episode 77 just needed to have a story aired in 1977, so there was a smorgasbord of Fourth Doctor and Leela yumminess to choose from.  We like mysteries and we like robots, so naturally we had to turn our sights onto “The Robots of Death”, that madcap little adventure that could be a cross between Alien and a Dick Tracy comic. There’s talk of Gallifrey past (I missed you, Steve!) and a hint of feedback (thank you, Dr. Phil!).  And plenty of scotch and vodka, although not mixed together. Shoot feedback to us at tardistavern@gmail.com, “like” us on Facebook (just search for “TARDIS Tavern”, I’m too lazy to copy and paste the link right now), and read Sean bitching on Twitter via @tardistavern.

There are two things we learned since recording this podcast.  The first is never to drink while listening or watching the subject matter that you’re going to review.  The second is that we have a soft spot for Big Finish.  We’ve had our stinkers (Red Dawn) and our triumphs (Peri and the Pescon Paradox), so we dipped our fingers into the audio vault once again and pulled out Big Finish’s most recent of its main line of stories, The Wrong Doctors. So with that join us as we jump a train to Pease Pottage and visit two Melanie Bushes, two Sixth Doctors (one in blue and the other in his traditional patchwork coat), dinosaurs, and singing septuagenarians.  If that sounds a little confusing, just imagine if you were drunk.  End of show music credit goes to Roland Olah and his "Dirty Who" mix.  If you enjoy this mix and want to hear more like it please visit whomix.trilete.net. We like when people like us on Facebook, send us email at tardistavern@gmail.com, or follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.  SEE YOU AT

Looks like we survived the end of the world after all. When you survive an ordeal like that, there’s nothing like a little dose of Patrick Troughton, so we decided to turn around and talk about what we originally intended: that mostly-missing story of the Second Doctor’s era, “The Web of Fear”. Although five of the six episodes were destroyed after someone at the BBC went on a bender and burned a couple dozen reels of old television, you can see the first episode in all its glory in the “Lost in Time” box set.  The remainder is available from BBC audio. Credit for the end of show music goes to HardWire for the Transdimensional_Mix_v2.  To download this mix and many many more like it please visit whomix.trilete.net. You can follow us on Facebook, send us hate mail at tardistavern@gmail.com, and follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern (Steve has a Twitter account too, but he hasn’t used it since March of 2012 so we won’t go there).  Oh look, rocks!

This time we take an interesting turn, with a review of “The Web of Fear”, featuring one of our favorites, Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor. Or do we?  We did, after all, record on December 21, 2012…are you still around to hear this? (Warning: Chicanery and spoilers abound!) Email us love letters to tardistavern@gmail.com, catch us on Facebook, or follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.  (Fun Fact: You can follow Steve via @tardistaverntit, but he hasn’t sent a tweet since March of 2012!)

We haven’t talked about Big Finish for a while now, so it was time to recruit Doctor Who podcasting’s foremost expert on Big Finish audio plays, John Brannigan of Cyber Testicle and Radio Rassilon fame, to drink and talk about Peri and the Piscon Paradox, an edition of Big Finish’s Companion Chronicles range by Nev Fountain and featuring – you guessed it! – Nicola Bryant as Peri. There’s some talk about the story, some talk about Nicola Bryant and our inability to revoke the restraining order, and a little bit of talk about the current series that might just make you put your thumb on your chin and go “Hmmm.” Insert the usual crap here.  Facebook.  Email.  Twitter via @tardistavern and @tardistaverntit, plus catch John via @digspinach (hehe, it rhymes with “Big Finish”).

Fresh off of the first half of Series Seven, we just couldn’t get enough of the Eleventh Doctor.  At the behest of our friend Erik from The Doctor Who Book Club Podcast, we watched and discussed “The Big Bang” and “The Pandorica Opens” with him.  For those of you that listen to the very best in Doctor Who podcasting, you may know that Sean and Steve appeared on A Mostly Harmless Cutaway with our other friends Eric and Josh when these episodes first aired.  Have our opinions changed after viewing it again.  Is Erik alone in thinking this two-parter is the bee’s knees? As usual, the cocktails flowed freely (at least for two of us, ahem) and we saw a mutual friend of the podcast, Erika (whom you may recall from our “Pertwee Extravaganza” not long ago), and asked her to join the fray.  The result is an hour and 47 minutes of insightful philosophical discussion on the story.  Also, we get really drunk.  Join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter via @tardistavern and @tardistaverntit.  Feel free to follow this

We’re back, we’re drunk, and we have opinions about the latest episodes.  Just when you thought it was safe to download another Doctor Who podcast, we’re here!  Listen to find out what we thought of “A Town Called Mercy”, “The Power of Three”, and “The Angels Take Manhattan”.  We like to keep things spoiler-free, but here’s a preview: the two of us only really agree on one of the three! So pour yourself a glass of wine, beer, scotch, vodka, or whatever and sit back and relax as we talk about stuff a whole month after every Doctor Who podcast has already covered. Send us hate mail at tardistavern@gmail.com, follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern, Steve via @tardistaverntit, and of course check out our growing community on Facebook! Special mention goes to Beyond The Epilogue for the end of show song Dr Who (Metal Theme).

We’re jumping on the Doctor Who podcast bandwagon and taking a peek at “Asylum of the Daleks” and “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship”.  Will the bile flow as usual towards the Moff and his masturbatory story arcs?  Or will we embrace the evil?  Will we enjoy what is clearly meant as this season’s “throw away” episode?  Listen and find out!  Free pie and punch await for the first ten listeners (in other words, all of you).  Send us feedback at tardistavern@gmail.com, follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern and Steve via @tardistaverntit.  Plus, hunt us down on Facebook…we want more followers than all the other Doctor Who podcasts combined! A special thanks goes to monkeyinaspasm for the end of show song “This Is Gallifrey”.  For more info on this mix please visit: http://whomix.windbubbles.net/remix/438

With Season (er...I mean SERIES) Seven just a couple weeks away, we thought it was time to put our collective heads together with David and Marty from Hoo on Who and talk about our predictions and hopes for the upcoming series. Seeing that most of the time all four of us tend to natter on about Classic Who, we thought that you, the good listeners, would like to hear what we think about the current series (aside from Sean's incessant bile regarding the Moff). And after that...Sean and Steve jump into Dave and Marty's TARDIS and travel to the titanium bunker for a very, very special crossover episode of Hoo on Who.  History is made as we're actually drunker on that podcast than our own! Facebook, tardistavern@gmail.com, blah blah blah.  But follow us on Twitter: Sean via @tardistavern, Steve via @tardistaverntit, David via @davidhooie , and Marty via @mhooie.

Steve has finally joined us from his (turns out) travels from not-so-far-abroad with tales of suspense and intrigue.  For the first time since we’d like to remember, it’s just the two of your usual humble hosts for this episode…and we all hope, of course, that Steve stays on for quite a while to come. Carrying on from Episode 65, in which we discussed “Kinda”, we’ve decided to let things run their natural course and review its sequel, “Snakedance”, featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan.  Did these reviewers fall under Martin Clunes’ devilish charm?  Has one of them been influenced a bit too much by the Mara?  Can we think of more useless waffling to make this introduction longer?  Listen and find out! Oh yeah, there’s also an interview…stay tuned for more! Catch us on Facebook, or follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern and Steve via @tardistaverntit (he never checks it, so leave him all the nasty remarks you like!).  Also, email us at tardistavern@gmail.com with compliments about the podcast and com