Doctor Who: The Tardis Tavern

After a short hiatus, during which we focused our attention on...well, other stuff, we return with a fun-packed and booze-soaked discussion of "The Tomb of the Cybermen", also none as "The One That Was Found in a Church Basement".  There's hand-holding, computer mice, and racism.  In other words, just another evening at The TARDIS Tavern. You can email us stuff at tardistavern@gmail.com and join the fun on our Facebook page.  It's where all the cool kids hang out.

Sean and Steve are joined by Mike Erickson of DFW Whofest who serves up a helping of tea and shade talking about his personal experiences running cons.  SEE Peter Davison eat a whole bowl of queso!  HEAR Mark Strickson drunkenly slur his words!  SMELL Colin Baker in the sweltering Texas heat! Oh, and we may just have time in the end to talk about "Kill the Moon". (Spoilers: IT'S ABOUT ABORTION!) Send email that we'll probably read out loud to tardistavern@gmail.com and also check out our Facebook page, which is as burgeoning as a pubescent teen!

This episode Steve and Sean are joined by guest bartender Stephen Webb of The Coal Hill A/V Club podcast, who chose quote the morsel for them to suck on and ingest: "The Ultimate Foe", the final Sixth Doctor story. True, it's only two episodes long, but there is so so soooo much to talk about here.  Is "The Ultimate Foe" a cacophony of style and celebration?  Or is it just an old, dried-up piece of hard candy, dropped on the carpet and covered with hair and ants?  Listen in and find out? Email us stuff at tardistavern@gmail.com, check out out growing-more-popular-by-the-year Facebook page, and follow Sean on Twitter every other week via @tardistavern.  You can also follow Stephen Webb via @geeklectic.

Seeing that the time had lapsed on those temporary restraining orders, we ventured outside our homes once again and attended another convention, DFW Whofest 4 in Dallas.  This episode we talk about some of our experiences with friends as well as guests at the convention, followed by a recording of the "TARDIS Tavern Live" in which we were permitted to spend an hour with Mark Strickson (he's the one who played Turlough during the Fifth Doctor era) under close supervision of hotel security.  Listen in as we wax nostalgic about the highs and lows of the weekend! Feel free to email us at tardistavern@gmail.com, follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern, and join our popular Facebook page!

Do you ever get that feeling, as you're leaving the house to go to work, that you forgot something?  Maybe it's your car keys, or maybe it's your briefcase, or maybe it's the very thing that holds all of time and space together and is the key to all that is good and evil?  That's what the White Guardian must have felt just minutes before "The Ribos Operation" took place. Is "The Ribos Operation" another brilliant Robert Holmes triple act?  Or is it not even worth its weight in jethrik?  Listen in as we discuss! Want us to read your opinion?  Email us at tardistavern@gmail.com.  You can also join our Facebook group!

After thinking very, very hard and very, very long, we've decided to stay on tract and continue churning out episodes about Doctor Who rather than fulfill our shared lifetime fantasy of doing a Columbo podcast (turns out there's just too many of them out there). We decided to start fresh with the conclusion of what many fans (and the BBC) think of as a rotten time in the show's history: Series 26.  That's right, it's cats and boys in short shorts: "Survival".  Is this story the cat's pajamas?  Or does it belong in a litter box?  Listen and find out! Email us stuff at tardistavern@gmail.com, follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern, and subscribe to our Facebook page!

After eight years of doing a podcast, people email us or come up to us at conventions and ask, "Hey when are you going to do that one episode?"  And then we're like, "Which one?"  And they're like, "You know, that one!" Well, this is that episode. You can email Sean and Steve at tardistavern@gmail.com or look for their fabulous Facebook page.  Everyone who is anyone is there!

Way back in Episode 17, we covered "The Power of the Daleks" and proclaimed that this was the serial to find if there ever was one to be found.  Seven years later, it still hasn't been found, but the fine folks at the BBC Worldwide slaved over a hot desk for a very long time to animate all six episodes of Patrick Troughton's first story. That gave us the perfect opportunity to watch the story in its new incarnation, and decide whether animation is the gateway to a new era of Doctor Who or if we should just hold on to those CDs of "Marco Polo" and "The Savages" we've had for years.  So, without further ado, listen in as we discuss the merits of "The Power of the Daleks"! We're lonely and need feedback.  You can send it to tardistavern@gmail.com and also follow Sean on send him hate mail in 140 characters or less via @tardistavern.

There are those stories that are widely reviled like "The Twin Dilemma" and "Delta and the Bannermen".  Then there are those that exist on the underbelly, those whose creators will deny the existence of to this day, those that belong in the dustbin with "The Macra Terror". "The Time Monster" is one such story.  Rumor has it that any "Doctor Who" story with the word "time" is doomed to failure; "The Time Warrior" is one exception, while "The Time Monster" has a special place in the producers' file cabinet filed under W for "What Were We Thinking?"  Clearly, these are spoilers for what we think of the story, but sometimes the fun is just in poking fun, isn't it? Send us hate mail at tardistavern@gmail.com, follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern, and look for the podcast's Facebook page.

After recovering from our recent adventure with the Game Master, we're back to our usual hijinks with a look at the one Doctor Who story that is considered to have the best soundtrack ever: "The Leisure Hive", ironically named because the only hive to be seen in the story are the hairdos. Is this a masterpiece that signaled the beginning of the John Nathan-Turner era?  Or does the mere mention of it make Smurfberry Crunch fall from your head?  Listen in and find out! There was no feedback this episode, which makes us sad because we know you fuckers are downloading this shit.  Email us at tardistavern@gmail.com and maybe we'll send you a lifetime supply of chocolate.

Our intrepid heroes are visited once again by Josh Zimon (of the Doctor Who: The High Council podcast), but the merriment is cut short when he tears away his disguise to reveal that he is none other...than the Game Master!  [Insert thunder here.] Hey, send us email!  Write us at tardistavern@gmail.com and look for the podcast's Facebook page.  It's the hottest thing this side of Gallifrey!

Ah, the 1940's.  The War.  The fashions.  The big band music.  And the water zombies.  Will the Doctor and Ace be able to play their next move in the so-called "Cartmel Master Plan", or will Fenric reign supreme? Spoiler: The Doctor and Ace defeat Fenric.  But is the voyage there yet another cheesy jaunt in the Seventh Doctor's era, or is this the masterpiece that some fans say it is?  Listen in as we discuss it. If you email us, we will send you an Amazon gift card (some restrictions apply).  If you email us audio feedback, we'll play it!  Send it to tardistavern@gmail.com.  Also, look for us on Facebook and follow Sean as he sends drunk tweets at 3:00 a.m. via @tardistavern.

After shitting all over Steven Moffat, we're back!  And we want to cleanse our palette with a classic Who story from the Davison era, "Mawdryn Undead".  There's exposed brains, time travel, disgusting bodies, Tegan, Nyssa, a guy with a crow on his head, and a traitorous redhead who talks to his hand.  Joining us is Phil from the Braving Babylon 5 podcast, who graciously stayed up into the wee hours in England to put up with our drunk asses. In the name of all that is evil, give it a listen and find out if it goes down as smoothly as an undead alien gliding through a recreational spaceship, or if it's as ridiculous as mistaking any old charred corpse for Peter Davison.  Spoiler: opinions differ!  Tempers flare!  Garbo laughs! Have an issue with us?  Go fuck yourself, then email us at tardistavern@gmail.com.  You can also follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern and Phil via @bravingB5.

After exploring the depths of "The Underwater Menace", our heroes jump ahead to the current era of Doctor Who to talk about Steve once coined "a generic Capaldi two-parter".  That's right, it's "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven", the dramatic conclusion to one of the most beloved series of the program ever! Why isn't Dr. Chang Chinese?  What's so dreadful about St. Paul's Cathedral?  Is Peter Capaldi sexier with the big hair or the short hair?  All these questions and more might be answered in our latest episode! Email us hate mail at tardistavern@gmail.com and look for us on Facebook, at which our popularity is growing bigger than Chinese Olympic swimmer Ning Zetao.

Time has, for the most part, come to the end of the DVD range of Doctor Who.  And it ended, some would say, not with a bang but with a whimper...with the recently found missing episode of "The Underwater" menace, the BBC was quick to capitalize on their new find by quickly releasing the story on DVD.  Is this the new "Enemy of the World"?  Or should "The Underwater Menace" be tossed into the Time Lash? Listen in as we discuss preposterous fish people, sonic mining, the trouble with triple companions, and what may be one of our favorite villains of all time. Send wonderful feedback to tardistavern@gmail.com so that we can read it out loud on the show, and be sure to look for our Facebook page.  Also, keep on leaving those positive reviews on iTunes!

We've made it to 150 episodes!  To celebrate, we present you with a "very special episode" of The TARDIS Tavern, in which we pull back the curtain to reveal some the magic behind the scenes and what makes our happy little podcast tick. Also, we both discuss our favorite story in each Doctor's era, irregardless of whether we've officially talked about it on the podcast or not.  Enjoy and have a slice of birthday cake on us! Send hate mail to tardistavern@gmail.com and leave nice feedback for us on iTunes.  Once we get 100 positive reviews, we'll do naked wrestling for our 200th episode.

What do you get when have a class struggle between the bearded environmentalists, a greedy corporation, a hologram lizard, the Third Doctor, and Jo?  You get "Colony in Space" a would-be epic six-parter from the Pertwee era.  Is this a standout story?  Or is it worthy of the name we gave it in the title of this episode?  Listen in and find out! Send us hate mail at tardistavern@gmail.com, look for our popular page on Facebook, and follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.

WE'RE BAAAACK!  And we're joined by our nemesis from the nether regions, the Game Master.  Will we answer the questions correctly and escape with our lives, or will the Game Master reign triumphant and collect our souls?  Listen in and find out! Send email to tardistavern@gmail.com and be sure to hunt us down on Facebook, where we have 66% more fun than other Doctor Who podcasts with less than half the calories!

Our heroes focus again on the classic series, this time with a short visit to the "Key to Time" series with "The Pirate Planet", featuring the Fourth Doctor and Romana I.  Is this a Douglas Adams masterpiece?  Or just another trumped up swashbuckler?  Listen and find out! In the meantime, your brave hosts through space and time find themselves in a very familiar bar...although it's probably not the one you're thinking of.... Send love letters to tardistavern@gmail.com, "like" us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter via @tardistavern.

Putting things back on track, our heroes find themselves immersed in the world of politics.  To distract themselves, they go back to the topic they planned on discussing when we last met them: "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead", written by Steven Moffat and featuring the Tenth Doctor and Donna.  And, since they really enjoy celebrating Christmas in February, they also dip their little piggies into "The Husbands of River Song". Also, news and stuff that was probably covered more thoroughly by other podcasts weeks ago. We like email and feedback, so send it to us at tardistavern@gmail.com.  Also look for us on Facebook.  All the kids are doing it.