The Monster of Peladon

If you know us well, you know that even when assessing the most lopsided and poorly executed story from Doctor Who, be it the new or classic era, we’re going to strain at our harnesses to remain positive, and find commendable aspects of the script, the production, the performances. Headed into this week, a number of you expected us to have to get a well-balanced meal and a good nap in first, in order to do the same with our second materialization on the fledgling Federation planet of Peladon.

Sorry to disappoint you, but we didn’t have to work THAT hard. We rather like a lot of this story. In fact, some of us were really looking forward to it.

Podcasting colleague Alyssa of ‘This Week in Time Travel’ joins us to rewatch the penultimate Third Doctor Story, complete with mining revots, ghostly Aggadors, and our favourite hermaphroditic cephalopod. We revel in the glory of badger wigs, discuss Elisabeth Sladen’s ability to forge an iconic scene out of a lesser script, and wonder if Michael Cera is somehow the love child of shady scientist Eckersley. (There. Now you can’t un-see it. You’re welcome.)

EXTRA: We put a perfectly nice person in front of the squad, and subject Alyssa to a session of “Five Rounds, Rapid”.

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