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Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast
Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast
Author: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
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© Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
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There are many Doctor Who podcasts. Only one dares review the entire show... in entirely random order!
Join journalists Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor as they summarize stories in record time, play the Whomoji game, enter the History Corner, answer the Four Questions to Doomsday, and cower in fear before the almighty Randomizer.
New episode every Saturday!
Join journalists Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor as they summarize stories in record time, play the Whomoji game, enter the History Corner, answer the Four Questions to Doomsday, and cower in fear before the almighty Randomizer.
New episode every Saturday!
227 Episodes
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Scaroth, last of the Jagaroth, blew himself into twelve pieces at the dawn of time, and he's spent the 400 million years since nudging humanity toward the one invention that can put him back together. Funding it means selling the Mona Lisa. Seven times. City of Death is Douglas Adams rewriting a whole serial over one whiskey-fuelled weekend, Tom Baker and Lalla Ward falling in love on the streets of Paris, Julian Glover in a white suit being the most charming villain the show ever had, a detective who answers every question with a punch, and John Cleese admiring a police box. It's also the story Doctor Who fans hold up as the best thing the classic series ever made. So is it? Better than Blink? Better than everything? Or does a 46-year-old chase through the Louvre finally have some explaining to do?Give your own rating for City of Death on Spotify!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and become a True Companion for a bonus conversation every episode!Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes on City of Death.Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon.Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts.Timeline:Intro 00:00:00Previously… 00:02:37Whomoji Challenge 00:08:02Poll to Open 00:15:32Comment of the Week 00:17:47TL;DW 00:21:21Review: City of Death 00:27:19History Corner 01:02:47Four Questions to Doomsday 01:07:08What If the Evil Plot Had Succeeded? 01:09:48Where Is the Clara Splinter? 01:15:46Final Judgment 01:21:22Randomizer! 01:25:55Follow us on:TikTok: @pulltoopenInstagram: @pulltoopen63Facebook: @pulltoopen63X: @pulltoopen63Threads: @pulltoopen63Bluesky: @pulltoopenPlay Pull To Open BingoStory EssentialsSeason 17, Serial 2Story number: 104, per the Pull To Open CodexWriter: David Agnew (Douglas Adams and Graham Williams, from a story by David Fisher)Director: Michael HayesScript Editor: Douglas AdamsProducer: Graham WilliamsAired: 29 September–20 October 1979Pull To Open: City of DeathSeason 7Episode 24Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris TaylorMusic: Martin West/Thinking Fish©️AnyWho Media LLC 2026Doctor Who ©️BBC 1963
Classic Doctor Who went out not with a bang but with a cat. The Doctor takes Ace home to Perivale, where her old mates are being snatched off the street by a planet of Cheetah People, the Master is holding conversations with a cat, and the fate of two worlds comes down to a motorbike joust in a quarry. Survival is Rona Munro's three-part fable about primal violence versus self-control, and it might also be an off-Broadway production of Cats, in which Sylvester McCoy takes an undignified tumble, Anthony Ainley dons yellow contact lenses, and the Doctor delivers the "tea's getting cold" speech that closed 26 years of television. So is the last story of the original run a thoughtful send-off, a half-finished masterpiece, or an unintentional parody of itself?Give your own rating for Survival on Spotify!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes on Survival.Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon.Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts.Timeline:Intro 00:00:00Previously… 00:02:33Whomoji Challenge 00:07:52Poll to Open 00:11:56Comment of the Week 00:14:37TL;DW 00:19:03Review: Survival 00:24:27Four Questions to Doomsday 01:01:52What If the Evil Plot Had Succeeded? 01:09:17Where Is the Clara Splinter? 01:11:58Final Judgment 01:17:42Randomizer! 01:22:44Follow us on:TikTok: @pulltoopenInstagram: @pulltoopen63Facebook: @pulltoopen63X: @pulltoopen63Threads: @pulltoopen63Bluesky: @pulltoopenPlay Pull To Open BingoStory EssentialsSeason 26, Serial 4Story number: 158, per the Pull To Open CodexWriter: Rona MunroDirector: Alan WareingScript Editor: Andrew CartmelProducer: John Nathan-TurnerAired: 22 November–6 December 1989Pull To Open: SurvivalSeason 7Episode 23Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris TaylorMusic: Martin West/Thinking Fish©️AnyWho Media LLC 2026Doctor Who ©️BBC 1963
All the Doctor had to do was close the bloody TARDIS door. Instead, a sparkler from space hitches a ride to Renaissance Italy, recruits an astrologer, and sets out to stop humanity from ever getting too smart for its own good. The Masque of Mandragora looks like lavish BBC Shakespeare, sounds like a thesis on science vs. superstition, and somehow gives us skin-tight tights, cultists doing the Hokey Pokey and Tom Baker waving around a giant salami. Join us as we ask whether this gorgeous Hinchcliffe-era extravaganza is actually great Doctor Who — or just so gloriously camp that resistance is futile.Give your own rating for The Masque of Mandragora on Spotify!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes on The Masque of Mandragora.Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon.Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts.Timeline:Intro 00:00:00Previously… 00:02:38Whomoji Challenge 00:07:29Poll to Open 00:12:30Comment of the Week 00:14:27TL;DW 00:20:36Review: The Masque of Mandragora 00:23:15History Corner 00:54:42Four Questions to Doomsday 01:00:30What If the Evil Plot Had Succeeded? 01:03:14Where Is the Clara Splinter? 01:07:27Final Judgment 01:13:02Randomizer! 01:20:22Follow us on:TikTok: @pulltoopenInstagram: @pulltoopen63Facebook: @pulltoopen63X: @pulltoopen63Threads: @pulltoopen63Bluesky: @pulltoopenPlay Pull To Open BingoStory EssentialsSeason 14, Serial 1Story number: 85, per the Pull To Open CodexWriter: Louis MarksDirector: Rodney BennettScript Editor: Robert HolmesProducer: Philip HinchcliffeAired: 4–25 September 1976Pull To Open: The Masque of MandragoraSeason 7Episode 22Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris TaylorMusic: Martin West/Thinking Fish©️AnyWho Media LLC 2026Doctor Who ©️BBC 1963
Some Doctor Who stories become legends because everyone has seen them. The Tomb of the Cybermen became one partly because, for decades, hardly anyone could. So when the long-lost Troughton classic finally busted out of cold storage, could the real thing possibly live up to the myth? Well… mostly. Patrick Troughton is at the height of his powers, the Cybermen have rarely sounded weirder or looked more iconic, and one quiet conversation with Victoria may be among the Second Doctor’s finest moments. Unfortunately, the tomb also contains some things better left buried: logic holes, 1960s sexism, and the deeply uncomfortable treatment of Toberman. Join us as we awaken the Cyber Controller, discover the Cybermen were apparently Banksy all along, and ask the most dangerous question on Telos: does this Doctor Who legend actually deserve its reputation?Give your own rating for The Tomb of the Cybermen on Spotify!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes.Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon.Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts.Timeline:Intro 00:00:00Previously… 00:02:11Whomoji Challenge 00:10:17Poll to Open 00:15:59Comment of the Week 00:18:53TL;DW 00:27:05Review: The Tomb of the Cybermen 00:29:30Four Questions to Doomsday 01:15:40What If the Evil Plot Had Succeeded? 01:18:50Where Is the Clara Splinter? 01:23:35Final Judgment 01:26:23Randomizer! 01:32:51Follow us on:TikTok: @pulltoopenInstagram: @pulltoopen63Facebook: @pulltoopen63X: @pulltoopen63Threads: @pulltoopen63Bluesky: @pulltoopenPlay Pull To Open BingoStory EssentialsSeason 5, Serial 1 — Episodes 1–4Story number: 36, per the Pull To Open CodexWriters: Kit Pedler and Gerry DavisDirector: Morris BarryScript Editor: Victor PembertonProducer: Peter BryantAired: 2–23 September 1967Pull To Open: The Tomb of the CybermenSeason 7Episode 21Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris TaylorMusic: Martin West/Thinking Fish©️AnyWho Media LLC 2026Doctor Who ©️BBC 1963
Nikola Tesla invented our world. So why does Doctor Who keep trying to give him credit for WiFi? Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror has everything a great historical needs on paper: one of history’s weirdest geniuses, Thomas Edison as his foil, a terrific Goran Višnjić performance, and alien scavengers who could have been the cosmic extension of the Edison-Tesla rivalry. Instead, the sparks never quite make the jump. Join us as we investigate fan service without a payoff, a suspiciously Racnoss-y queen, Wardenclyffe science that probably never would have worked, Edison’s alleged elephant snuff film, Tesla’s belief in female supremacy, and the Douglas Adams-level idea hiding inside an episode that never quite realizes it. Alternating current? More like alternating quality.Give your own rating for Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror on Spotify!Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes on Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror.Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon.Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts.Timeline:Intro 00:00:00Previously… 00:02:31Whomoji Challenge 00:08:36Poll to Open 00:14:13TL;DW 00:18:58Review: Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror 00:20:28History Corner 00:44:53Four Questions to Doomsday 00:55:49What If the Evil Plot Had Succeeded? 01:00:56Where Is the Clara Splinter? 01:06:42Final Judgment 01:11:56Randomizer! 01:17:40Follow us on:TikTok: @pulltoopenInstagram: @pulltoopen63Facebook: @pulltoopen63X: @pulltoopen63Threads: @pulltoopen63Bluesky: @pulltoopenPlay Pull To Open BingoStory EssentialsSeries 12, Episode 4Story number: 292, per the Pull To Open CodexWriter: Nina MetivierDirector: Nida ManzoorScript Editor: Sheena BucktowonsingProducer: Nikki WilsonExecutive Producers: Chris Chibnall, Matt StrevensAired: 19 January 2020Pull To Open: Nikola Tesla's Night of TerrorSeason 7Episode 20Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris TaylorMusic: Martin West/Thinking Fish©️AnyWho Media LLC 2026Doctor Who ©️BBC 1963









