The Companion Exit Strategy

Traveling with the Doctor changes lives. History has shown us the many natures of such a change: lives that open to a new awareness and sense of purpose in a larger universe; lives that are reminded of the value and comforts of home; lives that end abruptly, or even tragically. As viewers, we may identify with certain companions over the seasons, and when the time comes that they leave the program, we might react positively or negatively to the way […]

Our 200 Episode Diary

From the early recordings of two American fans of Doctor Who ecstatic over the just-aired episode, to the live recordings at Whovian conventions joined by listeners from far and wide, the GPR studio has grown from an extracurricular activity to a critical part of our lives. (I’m speaking personally at the moment, here, but as you’ll hear in the cast, the sentiment is shared.) Five years and 200 installments later, we have made more friends than we can count within this […]

A Wise Person Once Said…

There once was a campaign in the United States for an investment broker, where the tagline read, “When <company> talks, everyone listens.” You may not have an iota of interest in the stock market, of course, but when the Doctor steps forward, takes a strengthening breath, and begins an oration, the viewing audience joins the supporting cast in rapt attention to what is about to be said. It may even be argued that within the past 3 series, the opportunities for […]

Let It Be Written

We are appreciators, enthusiasts, and fanatics of certain television programs due in no small part to the captivating nature of the stories they tell. They are the creators and builders of worlds, the artists that add color, detail, and depth to an audio-visual experience that captures our imaginations, stimulates our minds, and often touches our hearts. With over 250 televised stories within Doctor Who, how does each writer put their individual and unique mark upon the tale being told? Can a producer […]

Continuity Concerns

If you were to take on a writing prompt asking you to compose a five-line scene where two well-known literary characters address a mundane event like a car that won’t start, and then asked another writer to do the same, the odds are extremely high that very little of those brief compositions would bear any resemblance other than the components that adhered to the original guideline. Even within such a microcosmic scope, the number of variables that define a fictional story is so large, […]

An Alien In America

The Doctor has the means and the desire to see the countless wonders of the Universe, from the epicenter of the Big Bang, to the outermost edges. With virtually infinite possible destinations, he certainly spends a lot of time on Earth, doesn’t he? Perhaps that’s just because we’re only privy to those adventures that brush upon our short, planetary-bound lives. Focus the lens a little further, and many of those Terran travels are right within the United Kingdom — again, […]

A Day in the Gallifreyan Life

Ask the average Earthling on the street to describe an advanced alien civilization, and they might very well picture a strange world of odd colors, outlandish architecture, barely recognizable life forms, and cultural behaviors that we may have little hope of comprehending. Ask a Whovian the same, and you’ll likely touch on a number of those descriptors with some variance (perhaps a higher percentage of humanoid forms), but more or less in the same vein. Now, go a step further, and ask […]

The School That Time Forgot

Those heady days of youth, when everything was experienced, felt, lived and loved in the present moment, and there was not a care in the world — or at least, not of this Earth. Who can forget the conversations with friends in the courtyards, the glances cast towards our crushes in the hallways, the explosions and showers of glass and rubble as Daleks burst through the walls of the science lab? Ah, memories. This week, we look at the past, […]

The Year of the Woman?

Series Nine of Doctor Who was, in a word, groundbreaking. The broadcast format changed. The tone shifted dramatically (pun intended, of course). The stories grew in intensity and weight. The performances from both principal and supporting casts expanded exponentially. The series as a whole felt cohesive, focused, and full of the thrills, adventure, and emotion that marks a stellar season for the program. Over and above all these accolades, and in many ways directly feeding into them, was the rising […]