This Week in Time Travel

One week out from Gallifrey One, it’s time to take stock of what we saw at the family reunion. We bid farewell to an iconic carpet and take one last look at a convention every Doctor Who fan should experience at least once. We catch up with Jody Houser and Rachael Stott for more about their Thirteenth Doctor comic, and then we wrap things up with an important announcement. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Rachael Stott and Jody Houser.

There’s no better guide to the worlds of Big Finish productions of Doctor Who and other great properties than a former skeptic about audio drama. We welcome Radio Free Skaro’s Warren Frey as we take a criminally overdue deep dive into Doctor Who for the ears instead of the eyes. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Warren Frey.

We beg your indulgence, but this podcast is 100% about Alyssa, Chip, and Rachel geeking out about the upcoming Gallifrey One convention. If you don’t have a ticket, well, we regret that it’s sold out and encourage you to come back next week for our Big Finish episode. Coming to Gally? We’ll preview some of our panels, give advice for newcomers, and relax our broadcast standards for one very important F-bomb. Sorry, canon-obsessed fanboys: “It’s never f—-ing Susan!” Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Rachel Donner.

Shannon Dohar, friend of TWiTT, co-host of the Deeper Cuts album review podcast, and frequent Reality Bomb contributor, flexes her musical muscles and discusses with us Segun Akinola’s music from Episode 1 to the New Year’s Special. What makes him the right composer for today’s Doctor Who, and how hard was it to make the transition from 10 seasons of Murray Gold? Regenerations can be challenging—but this new soundscape is worthy of celebration…. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Shannon Dohar.

A bite-sized episode revisits academic fandom with a look at the dedicated programming track at this year’s Gallifrey One convention. Organizers Joy Piedmont and Paul Booth take us through what it means to look at Doctor Who through a scholarly lens. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Joy Piedmont and Paul Booth.

The TV series may be over for now, but we can still see Team TARDIS in action! We’re three issues into Jody Houser’s and Rachael Stott’s Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor from Titan Comics. Chip and Alyssa dive in to this delightful and faithful adaptation while catching up with the news of the week and arguing over whether Chip can will a meme into existence. (Alyssa: “It would have to be a better meme.”) Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

Yup, it was the Daleks all right. If we consider this the proper end of Series 11, then it absolutely ended with a bang. Jodie Whittaker’s first standoff with the pepper pots is properly epic, but Alyssa and Chip wrestle with some of the lingering issues with the season… Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

That’s a wrap for 2018, This Week in Time Travel, and Series 11! Rachel Donner and Riley Silverman join us to sort out the brilliant and the tragic, the groundbreaking and the played-too-safe. Find out where we stand and what we’re looking forward to in Series 12, and tune in again when we return for the New Year’s special! Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Rachel Donner and Riley Silverman.

Bang, whimper, or something in between? Did you guess right about, “I know that voice”? (You probably did.) Which characters got to tie off a satisfying arc, and which characters have yet to launch one? Alyssa and Chip tackle the good and the meh about “The Battle of Rask—”…hang on, “The Battle of Barsoom—”…wait, that’s not right… Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

One froggy universe, two grieving husbands, one mystery woodland menace, a kajillion moths, and one question from Alyssa: who’s allowed to be selfish in grief? Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

Zombies? Check. Sci-fi prison? Check. Historical figure? Check. Prestige casting? Check. Commentary on the human condition, drawing analogies to our current crisis of confidence in ourselves and our tendency to blame and persecute the other in response? Check. Houdini reference? Check. “The Witchfinders” tried to cover all the bases. Let’s see if it succeeded. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

Happy Thanksgiving! Alyssa and Chip had some extra time to consider “Kerblam!”—whether it didn’t have enough of a point of view or too many, whether the first 40 minutes made up for the last few, and whether it might have gone over better in the U.S. if Amazon hadn’t been especially juggernauty in the last few weeks. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

Thanks to travel schedules and Alyssa’s exhaustion after helping to Save Democracy As We Know It, we had a few extra days to consider “Demons of the Punjab”: whether it got the balance of SF and family drama right, how it treated history compared to “Rosa,” and how (and whether) our grandparents’ stories get told. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

The Doctor's curiosity gets the best of her, and she finds herself and her friends in a disaster movie against, well, basically, Stitch without Lilo. Rachel Donner joins me for a quick trip on a Red Cross spaceship while Alyssa's on assignment. Join us for a discussion on the merits of, well, plotting, where the Doctor's newly developed empathy comes from, and more casting and directorial celebrations. Stick around for the end, if you like, for a plea for Americans to go to the polls Tuesday and a SPECIAL MUSICAL GUEST: Delta Rae and their women's empowerment anthem, "Hands Dirty." (Provided by permission of the band.) Chip Sudderth and Rachel Donner.

It’s eight-legs vs. two-legs again, but unlike 1974’s Planet of the Spiders these arachno-invaders are simply the very confused coincidental by-product of a business empire led by someone who’s TOTALLY NOT TRUMP. NO SIR. Alyssa and Chip discuss whether (1) the plot holds up, (2) Yaz plays on Alyssa’s team, (3) Grace’s appearance opens wounds for Graham AND viewers, and (4) we know now just who the Doctor is. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

This was the episode that we held our breath for. Could British writers do justice to the woman who inspired the Montgomery bus boycotts, and fairly reflect the movement for civil rights? Spoiler alert: we think the answer is a resounding yes. We delve into why this historical story reminiscent of early ’60s Doctor Who spoke so clearly to us, and was very much the kind of Doctor Who story we all needed on Oct. 21, 2018. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

In addition to the world’s fastest news buffet, we journey to the Planet of Desolation in search of the Doctor’s ride. Has Jodie Whittaker fully inhabited the role? Are Yaz, Graham and Ryan gelling as a TARDIS team? Can you do a sight gag in a podcast? Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

The Thirteenth Doctor is finally here, and (absent one rather concerning story beat) her timely debut was exactly what Alyssa and Chip were hungry for. “This new nose is SO reliable.” “Danger of death. Do not climb.” “Every day’s a learning day!” Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.

It’s the eve of new Doctor Who and we couldn’t be more ready. Titan Comics is celebrating with a virtual giveaway of $300 worth of comics, including Paul Cornell’s last (he means it this time) work on Doctor Who. We talk to Paul, go over the news of the week, and compare notes on what it’s like to leave and return to Doctor Who fandom. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Rachel Donner, Paul Cornell and Shannon Sudderth.

It wasn’t a new idea, but it took a long time for the powers that be to take it seriously. Alyssa traverses the twists and turns that brought the notion of a female Doctor to reality. Chip reflects on the best thing about being a Doctor Who fan, and the best TIME to be one. Plus the news, in the penultimate week before Jodie Whittaker takes the stage. Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke.