Shows
500 Year Diary: A Doctor Who PodcastDark Doubles (Horror of Fang Rock)Saturday 3 September 1977
Horror of Fang Rock
Terrance’s planned vampire story has been unexpectedly cancelled, and he has only a few weeks to come up with a replacement. Fortunately, he’s brilliant. Melvin Peña joins us to discuss Horror of Fang Rock.
Notes and links
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814–1873) was an Irish writer best known for his gothic stories, including the short story Carmilla (1872), which is a foundational vampire story, predating Bram Stoker’s Dracula by 25 years. It’s likely that Terrance Dicks named his vampire queen Camilla after Le Fanu’s char...
2025-12-071h 25500 Year Diary: A Doctor Who PodcastBoys’ Own Cliffhangers (The War Games)Saturday 19 April 1969
The War Games
This week, 500 Year Diary begins its six-week hagiography of Doctor Who writer, script editor and raconteur Terrance Dicks, with a discussion of his first on-screen script credit The War Games. Ten monster-free episodes culminating in a series-ruining revelation about the Doctor’s backstory — can Terrance make it work?
Notes and links
Nathan was born in Sydney on Sunday 27 April 1969. According to the invaluable BroaDWCast, that was the day of the first screening of The Wheel in Space Part 3 in Australia. (In Sydney, in fact. It was scre...
2025-11-231h 04
Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastWell, That’s All the Time We Have for Now (The Capaldi–Moffat Retrospective)The latest leg of our flight through entirety comes to a gentle landing this week, but before we all head off to collect our luggage, all seven of us take the opportunity to say goodbye to Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat in one last retrospective.
Notes and links
Thank you to those of you who sent us questions: Kate Orman, Doctor What and General Witchfinders.
In our discussion of Sleep No More, Brendan reaches for the name of Bethany Black’s love interest in the episode, but goes slightly astray. The name he’s af...
2025-01-011h 29Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastPlummeting Towards Sheffield (Twice upon a Time)This Christmas, we travel from a snowy wasteland in the recent past, to an alien battlefield on a distant planet, to a historical battlefield that has faded from human memory — only to discover that the real battlefield was the friends we made along the way. Or something. Time to say goodbye to Peter Capaldi in Twice upon a Time.
Notes and links
For the kids: Morecambe and Wise were an incredibly successful and famous British comedy duo throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s, and their Christmas specials were insanely popular — running from 1969 to 1977 on the BBC...
2024-12-2555 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastSafe for Now (The Doctor Falls)
I’m not trying to win. I’m not doing this because I want to beat someone, or because I hate someone, or because I want to blame someone. It’s not because it’s fun and God knows it’s not because it’s easy. It’s not even because it works, because it hardly ever does. I do what I do because it’s right! Because it’s decent! And above all, it’s kind. It’s just that. Just kind.
On a quiet farm on a distant spaceship, the Doctor makes his last stand. Because that’s what he...
2024-12-011h 05
The Conversation CabinetSir Peter Bottomley - Ex Father of the HouseJoin us for our first Interview Special as we open a new drawer of The Conversation Cabinet with Ex-Father of the House and Former MP of 49 years, Sir Peter Bottomley, where we receive an insight into the life as an MP.
2024-11-1527 min
Iain Dale All Talk287. Sir Peter BottomleyIain Dale interviews former Conservative MP and Father of the House of Commons Sir Peter Bottomley. They discuss his many years of service as an MP, doing battle with journalists and how politics has changed - and much more.
2024-11-0654 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastJust a Person (The Pilot)We’re back for the first episode of Peter Capaldi’s final year — a simple, well-told tale of Girl Meets Girl, Girl Becomes Puddle, Girl Loses Girl and, finally, Girl Goes off with Her Tutor on a Series of Adventures in Time and Space. Welcome aboard, Bill Potts. It’s The Pilot.
Notes and links
Friend from the Future was a promotional short designed to introduce Bill Potts, first broadcast during Match of the Day on 23 April 2016, nearly a year before this episode aired. You can see the entire short here.
Unsurprisingly, Nathan is wrong...
2024-09-151h 00
Realtime RootsBenni Hill - Creative Director at Bonsai Games on bootstrapping, building teams and creative directionBenni Hill is the Creative Director at Bonsai Collective developing Luna Abyss.Benni and I had similar trajectories into the games industry, founding our first studio together over 12 years ago (as of recording in 2024) so this discussion focuses on early trials and tribulations of making a game over 4 years without income, how Benni thinks about Creative Direction, and building a new team in Bonsai Collective.About Benni HillStudio: https://www.bonsai-collective.com/X: https://x.com/Benni_HillAbout Peter BottomleyStudio: www.whitepapergames.com
2024-08-011h 06
Business Unzipped PodcastE11: Politics unzipped: Father of the House speaksFather of the House of Parliament and Worthing's own MP Sir Peter Bottomley joins me to discuss his passion for the community and his plans for Worthing West. We discuss housing, education, women's rights and the importance of working together with other political parties for the greater good. Connect with Gem: Instagram: @BusinessUnzipped_Podcast YouTube: @gemmafletcher984Connect with Peter:Facebook: @SirPeterBottomleyOfficialWebsite: www.sirpeterbottomley.comEmail: Contact@sirpeterbottomley.com
2024-06-0823 min500 Year Diary: A Doctor Who PodcastWhere Kelsey Went (The Sarah Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane)Monday 1 January 2007
The Sarah Jane Adventures: Invasion of the Bane
We bring our first season to a close with the new beginning of Doctor Who’s most successful spinoff, in which a beloved TV heroine from our childhood was given one last chance (or twenty-seven last chances) to save the world.
Notes and links
Kelsey Hooper is played by fifteen-year-old Porsha Lawrence-Mavour, who had been in Stars in Their Eyes Kids at the age of nine. You can see her in action here.
Nathan mentions a couple of children’s TV...
2024-05-1952 min500 Year Diary: A Doctor Who PodcastEstablishment Drag (Terror of the Autons)Saturday 2 January 1971
Terror of the Autons
It feels like only a year ago that Doctor Who underwent a strange and cataclysmic soft reboot, and it looks like it’s happening again this week. Or is it?
Notes and links
Paul Cornell’s negative review of Terror of the Autons was originally published in DWB Issue 112, way back in April 1993. Here it is republished in the old Usenet forum rec.arts.drwho (or at least the version of it to be found on Google Groups right now).
Jeremy Bentham (yes, a re...
2024-04-281h 05500 Year Diary: A Doctor Who PodcastThe Pertwee I Have in My Head (Spearhead from Space)Saturday 3 January 1970
Spearhead from Space
In the first week of the 1970s, Doctor Who is back, with a new Doctor, a new alien threat, new companions and a new earthbound premise. So what makes it the same show?
Notes and links
Jon Pertwee’s Doctor is well known for regularly going into a coma to heal himself. He does that in this story, in The Dæmons, in Planet of the Daleks, in The Monster of Peladon and in Planet of the Spiders. (I’ve probably left some out.) This phenomenon is so...
2024-04-2154 min500 Year Diary: A Doctor Who PodcastEntering a New Phase (The Power of the Daleks)Saturday 5 November 1966
The Power of the Daleks
A big week for beginnings this week, with a new Doctor, a new origin story for the Daleks, and a whole new approach to defeating the bad guys. Oh, and a new podcast to discuss them all on. So let’s welcome Patrick Troughton to the studio floor, as we discuss The Power of the Daleks.
Notes and links
The most recent Blu-ray release of The Power of the Daleks was the Special Edition in 2020, which includes a compilation of all the surviving footage, in...
2024-04-141h 02Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastHe Finds a Way to Fix It (The Husbands of River Song)
No, you can’t. They’ve been there for millions of years, through storms and floods and wars and time. Nobody really understands where the music comes from. It’s probably something to do with the precise positions, the distance between both towers. Even the locals aren’t sure. All anyone will ever tell you is that when the wind stands fair and the night is perfect, when you least expect it but always when you need it the most… there is a Song.
This week, the Doctor and River live happily ever after, and Jack Shanahan joins us t...
2023-12-2549 min
Game Dev Unchained0336: Navigating the Storms of Indie Publishing with Pete BottomleySubscribe to Game Dev Unchained! Get access to subscriber-only episodes for a monthly subscription.
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gamedevunchained/subscribe
About this episode:
Dive into the fascinating world of game development with a returning guest Pete Bottomley, co-founder of White Paper Games, unravel the intricacies of crafting narrative-driven titles in the ever-evolving gaming industry. From the impacts of the pandemic on studio operations to the resurgence of single-player games, this episode offers a deep dive into the creative and operational shifts that are shaping the future of gaming. We discuss the delicate balance of bootstrapping versus seeking funding, th...
2023-11-281h 23Game Dev Unchained0336: Navigating the Storms of Indie Publishing with Pete BottomleySubscribe to Game Dev Unchained! Get access to subscriber-only episodes for a monthly subscription.
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gamedevunchained/subscribe
About this episode:
Dive into the fascinating world of game development with a returning guest Pete Bottomley, co-founder of White Paper Games, unravel the intricacies of crafting narrative-driven titles in the ever-evolving gaming industry. From the impacts of the pandemic on studio operations to the resurgence of single-player games, this episode offers a deep dive into the creative and operational shifts that are shaping the future of gaming. We discuss the delicate balance of bootstrapping versus seeking funding, th...
2023-11-281h 23
The Second Great and Bountiful Human EmpireThe Star BeastThis week, Nathan, Richard, Todd, James, Peter and Simon get on the phone just hours after watching The Star Beast, to talk about how great Sylvia Noble is, basically. And somehow, they fail to mention Nerys even once.
And here’s a link to Simon’s recent interview with Katy Manning.
2023-11-2632 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastOrange Babies (The Zygon Inversion)This week, we’re all enjoying bombing and threatening one another, until the Doctor comes along and delivers a long speech about New Cruel People, which starts making us feel bad about ourselves. And fair enough. It’s The Zygon Inversion.
Notes and links
The Decimas were tiny squeaky-voiced aliens, who looked like nothing so much as miniature Zygons; their leader was played by our very own Deep Roy. They appeared in the fifth episode of Blakes 7, Web, and so you can hear more about them in Maximum Power episode 5, Color-coded Anoraks.
Sonequa Mart...
2023-11-0554 min
Realtime RootsIan Forrester | Senior Firestarter at BBC R&D on creating tools for real-time industries to customise experiences to the audienceIan Forrester is the Senior Firestarter at BBC R&DIan specialises in open innovation and identifying new disruptive opportunities through open engagement and collaborations with start-ups, universities and early adopters.In this episode we talk about the R&D happening outside of the real-time industries on how they're approaching linear content. My conversations with Ian are always facinating, and although we go deep into subject areas, I'd open by making an ask of you. Try to listen to what Ian is saying about media view the current landscape and how potential advances i...
2023-11-041h 03Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastElectrified Pubic Merkins (The Zygon Invasion)This week, we’ve invited twenty million Zygons over for cocktails, and now we’re starting to feel self-conscious about cooking up all that salt-and-pepper squid. And so soon we’re involved in an international political thriller that takes us from Fake New Mexico all the way to Madeupistan. It’s The Zygon Invasion.
Notes and links
Sister Lamont from Terror of the Zygons was played by Lillias Walker, who died in August at the age of 93. I hope she knew how many small children she terrified. Bless her.
I thought I would probably...
2023-10-2955 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastScottish Reasons (Before the Flood)This week, a bone Vervoid joins in the fun as we travel back in time to Wales in 2015 pretending to be Scotland in 1980 pretending to be somewhere in the Soviet Union. And it’s hard to say which time paradox is the most annoying, the bootstrap one or the predestination one. Thank goodness Frazer Gregory is here to help us sort it all out — it’s Before the Flood.
Notes and links
Like Steven B in our episode on Flatline, Frazer uses the Christopher Nolan film The Prestige (2006) as a way of understanding what Toby Whitho...
2023-10-0855 min
Untitled Star Trek ProjectThe Changing Face of Evil (DS9)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Series 7, Episode 20.
First broadcast on Wednesday 28 April 1999. Stardate: Unknown (2375).
After the Breen attack Starfleet Headquarters on Earth, Ben Sisko (Alan Dale), fearing for the safety of his new wife Kasidy (Lisa Armytage), gets all of her upcoming missions cancelled, with predictable results. Elsewhere on the station, Ezri (Annie Jones) and Worf (Guy Pearce) bicker about her budding relationship to Julian (Peter O’Brien). On Bajor, Kai Winn (Vivean Gray) and her new lodger Anjohl (Ian Smith) are planning to unleash the pah-wraiths on an unsuspecting galaxy. Which puts into perspective the plans of...
2023-07-141h 11Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastNew Life Crisis (Series 8 Retrospective)Peter Capaldi’s Doctor might not be sure if he’s a good man, but can Nathan, Todd, Peter and Simon be sure if his first series is a good series? Let’s find out (while determining who to snog, marry and avoid on the way).
Notes and links
Thank you to Steven B for his question about the ratings during the Capaldi era.
Fans of tables of numbers (like Todd) will also enjoy the Doctor Who Guide’s ratings page, which has information on the ratings and audience appreciation data for every Doctor W...
2023-07-091h 18
Cross Question with Iain DaleInaya Folarin Iman, Jamie Driscoll, Sir Peter Bottomley & Oliver KammJoining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are broadcaster and free speech campaigner Inaya Folarin Iman, Labour's Mayor of North of Tyne Jamie Driscoll, Conservative MP and Father of the House Sir Peter Bottomley and journalist Oliver Kamm.
2023-05-0452 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastAnimosity and Horror (Into the Dalek)This week, we’re joined by Adam Richard, shrunk to a microscopic size, and sent on a mission consisting mostly of ruthless moral self-examination. Meanwhile, somewhere else completely, a romcom is taking place. It’s Into the Dalek.
Notes and links
Some of us are old enough to remember the constant television repeats of Fantastic Voyage (1966), in which a small submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size to remove a blood clot from the brain of a scientist who is defecting to the West. The glamorous catsuited assistant to the crew’s chief scient...
2023-04-2348 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastA Peter Capaldi–Shaped Time Tunnel (Deep Breath)After half a lifetime of waiting, the time has come for Peter Capaldi to finally take on the role he was born to play. But is twenty-first century Who ready for this spiky and unpredictable leading man and his sexy and unhinged mortal enemy? We’re about to find out — but first, let’s take a Deep Breath.
Notes and links
The new “bees in a theremin” theme music reminds Simon uncomfortably of the EP Doctor Who: Variations on a Theme, which was released in 1989 and contained four different versions of the Doctor Who theme: the Mood V...
2023-04-161h 05
London FuturistsChatGPT has woken up the House of Commons, with Tim Clement-JonesIn this episode, Tim Clement-Jones brings us up to date on the reactions by members of the UK's House of Commons to recent advances in the capabilities of AI systems, such as ChatGPT. He also looks ahead to larger changes, in the UK and elsewhere.Lord Clement-Jones CBE, or Tim, as he prefers to be known, has been a very successful lawyer, holding senior positions at ITV and Kingfisher among others, and later becoming London Managing Partner of law firm DLA Piper.He is better known as a politician. He became a life peer in 1998...
2023-03-0137 min
Realtime RootsMartin Bell | Writer / Director on his roots as a blockbuster film visualisation supervisor to creating solo animated films in real-timeOriginally from a Yorkshire mining community, Martin moved to London and became an animator over 15 years ago. Now a film visualisation supervisor, he has helped create huge action sequences for blockbuster franchises such as Jurassic World, Marvel, Fast & Furious, James Bond, and the DC Universe. His credits also include THE LITTLE MERMAID, ALADDIN, 1917, and THE WHEEL OF TIME. He has recently completed production on his fifth - and most ambitious - solo CGI animated film, PRAZINBURK RIDGE, a 10-minute long sports-slash-war drama created in Unreal Engine using cutting-edge virtual production techniques.About Martin Bell...
2023-01-1358 min
Realtime RootsRealtime Recap 2022 w/ Hasraf 'HaZ' DulullIn today's episode, we review the shifts realtime industries experienced in 2023. We talk about how processes changed across the year, the exciting new opportunities along with technology adoptions we've taken on throughout the year. About Haz DulullWebsite: https://hazimation.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazfilm/About Peter BottomleyWebsite: www.whitepapergames.comX: x.com/pete_bottomley
2022-12-291h 04
Realtime RootsMo Davoudian | CEO & Creative Director of Brain Zoo Studios on his roots in storytelling and creating new experiences using the latest technologyToday's guest is Mo Davoudian, CEO & Creative Director of Brain Zoo Studios. Mo Davoudian is an Emmy Award-winning Executive Creative Director and CEO of Los Angeles-based Brain Zoo Studios, where he has overseen projects with partners such as Warner Bros., Disney, Marvel, Activision, Electronic Arts, Mattel, Hasbro, Microsoft, Lego, Sony and more. He’s been producing real-time animated productions for over 20 years and recently created Marvel’s first real-time animated production on Guardians of the Galaxy: Black vortex Series. Mo's extensive realtime experience has also been on other titles such as Call of Duty...
2022-12-131h 03Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastPetering Out (The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot)After a whole week of anniversary celebrations on Flight Through Entirety, it’s time for us to acknowledge how ridiculous it all is, and who better to take charge of that than our very own Peter Davison, who lovingly chronicles his own utterly fictional attempts to shoehorn himself into the Anniversary Special in The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.
Watch the episode!
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot was a special feature on various DVD and Blu-ray releases of The Day of the Doctor, of course, but it’s still available to watch on the BBC website. So h...
2022-11-2737 min
Realtime RootsDan Pinchbeck | Creative Director of The Chinese Room on his roots in exploring the incredible and unique way you can tell stories and create worlds in gamesToday's guest is Dan Pinchbeck, a founder and Creative Director of The Chinese RoomThe studio started it's journey publishing survival horror mods before releasing Dear Esther in 2012 which published to critical acclaim.Since then, The Chinese Room have released Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Little Orpheus. In this discussion we talk about the creative process of working in video games alongside discussing the role of a creative director in a team that's gone from a handful of developers releasing walking sims, to a 120 person team working o...
2022-11-141h 01
Realtime RootsLina Halper | Principle Animation Engineer at NVIDIA on her roots in developing animation tools that have impacted some of the largest teams in the industryLina is a principle animation engineer at NVIDIA working on Omniverse, a real-time simulation and collaboration platform for 3D production pipelinesLina has over 20 years of experience from working on titles such as “Battlefield”, “Gears of War”, “Paragon”, and “Fortnite.” During her 12 years at Epic Games, she focused on motion and animations of characters. She led the Unreal Engine Animation System & Tools effort, developed the Facial Animation System (Pose Blending) and the ControlRig. She was also the tech lead for MetaHuman Creator and was also involved in many GDC special events which we chat about in this episode...
2022-11-0358 min
Realtime RootsTim Repa-Davies | Group General Council at SUMO Digital on his roots in law and legal areas to consider on a studio's journeyTim Repa-Davies is the General Counsel & CoSec at Sumo Digital Ltd which is part of the SumoGroup Ltd.He has an article series online called 'Contract Killers' which is definitely worth reading through. In today's talk, we break down a studio's journey into 3 sections: Years 1-4 - Shipping first projectsYears 5-7 - Creating a strategyYears 8-10 - Preparing for investment and long term projectsAbout Tim Repa-DaviesLinktree: https://linktr.ee/dontfeartherepaX: https://x.com/dontfeartherepaAbout Peter Bottomley
2022-10-171h 21
Realtime RootsHasraf 'HaZ' Dulull | Founder & Direction at Hazimation on his roots in real time cinematics and interactive experiences through the route of Hollywood scale productionsHaZ is the co-founder of production company HaZimation producing animated feature films, series and video games based on their propriety pipeline utilising Unreal Engine. Currently the company is in post-production of RIFT (animated feature film) as well as several video games and metaverse projects. In today's episode, we discuss the use of Unreal Engine as both a Pre-production & Post Production tool, creative team dynamics when working across a range of industries, how not overmanaging and letting the developers guide their work fosters the strongest collaborations and then later in the discussion, we talk about the tools Haz u...
2022-10-061h 13
Hrkn to .. Thought for the WeekThought for the Week: Tributes to the Queen“I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, 'Go out into the darkness , and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.'”- indeed, the guiding light for the servant leadership that she gave us throughout these past seventy years. Our Thought for this Week comprises the tributes given in the House of Commons on Friday 9 September, beginning with the Speaker, Sir Lindsay...
2022-09-0959 min
Realtime RootsAdam O'donnell | Senior Lighting Technical Director at Industrial Light & Magic on his roots in lighting and look dev at Industrial Light & MagicAdam is a senior lighting technical director & Lighting Lead at Industrial Light & MagicHis work includes shot lighting and look dev across projects such as Transformers, Star Wars, Jurassic Park & Aladdin.Throughout our discussion we chat about how Adam thinks about real-time technology from a film, visual effects and lighting perspective.We talk about the tools and software he uses on a daily basis and also how he approached his career in becoming a lighting technical director. Later in the discussion, we chat about lighting principles and the mentoring he does both...
2022-09-0458 min
Realtime RootsSteve Lee | Level Designer [Irrational Games, Arkane Studios, Half Mermaid] on his Roots in approaching level design through a holistic lensSteve is a level and game designer most noticeably known for his work on Dishonored 2, Bioshock Infinite, Alba & more recently Tactical Breach Wizards. Steve has spent most the last 15 years in the games industry as a level designer and has spoken about his work in various places including his 2017 GDC talk titled "An Approach to Holistic Level Design" which I'd highly recommend digging into.Steve also has a YouTube channel where he teaches level and game design principles that he believes every designer should know.About Steve LeeWebsite: http://d...
2022-08-2337 min
Realtime RootsJamie Smith | Principal Game Designer at People Can Fly on working on AAA games whilst fostering a collaborative team cultureJamie Smith is a Principal Game Designer at Sumo Digital with over 12 years of games industry experience.His experience has led him to work on Driver: San Francisco, The Crew, Tom Clancy’s The Division, FIFA, Hood Outlaws and more recetnly Call of Duty: Vanguard as a Campaign Systems DesignerJamie has judged multiple BAFTA games awards along with having experience as a Senior Lecturer in Games Design at Teeside and through all this experience, Jamie articulates his thoughts about Game Design in a really insightful way. In this episode, we discuss game de...
2022-08-151h 05
Realtime RootsDes Gayle | Studio Executive Production at Radical Forge on his roots in founding an omni-channel development studio with a focus on story, quality and accessibilityDes is the founder and CEO of Altered Gene, a remote games studio currently working on two unannounced titles for PC. Des has over 24 years experience starting in the games industry 1998 and has since won 2 Develop Awards and a BAFTA award. Des is also the GamesAid vice-chair, a board member UKIE and a founding member of POC in Play.We discuss omni-channel games and experiences and what current shifts the games industry is making. We tackle everything from process in storytelling down to financing and funding the projects. About Des GayleWebsite...
2022-08-021h 04
Realtime RootsDan Da Rocha | Co-founder & Studio Head at Jaw Drop Games on his roots in starting companies, shipping critically acclaimed titles and being acquiredToday I'm speaking to Dan Da Rocha, a game creator who made QUBE, recently re-envisioned for its 10 year anniversary release.Dan has worked in the industry for over 12 years and has been named on the Forbes under 30 in 2019 as well as being an avid industry speaker whilst growing a strong network of collaborators. Dan currently runs Jaw Drop Games and has 2 projects being developed; Deathground, a dinosaur survival-horror game, and Gun Jam, a rhythm FPS game. Jaw Drop has over 40 team members and Dan talks us through his career of high highs and...
2022-06-2450 min
Realtime RootsHannah Watts | Principle Environment Artist at Crop Circle Games on her roots in senior mentorship & the various forms her work and tools take depending on the realtime mediumsHannah's work has ranged from AAA production at Ubisoft reflections to smaller, independent titles at Coatsink with many side projects and team collaborations along the journey. In this discussion, we talk about her approach to seniority and how Hannah's developed her approach to feedback over the years. We dive into what she looks for in studios and elements of company culture she believes all teams should have.Throughout her time in industry she's transitioned across multiple 3D roles and constantly looks to improve her techniques and processes whether it be through the latest...
2022-06-1353 min
The Open PodcastsQualifying for The Open with Peter Finch - Part 3 feat. Steven Bottomley and John SingletonYouTube star and PGA Professional Peter Finch joins The Open Podcasts for a third and final special episode on Open Qualifying, as he embarks on a journey to discover more about Qualifying and the stories it has to offer, ahead of his own attempt to make it to St Andrews for The 150th Open. In Part 3, Pete talks to Steven Bottomley, who featured in Tales of The Open, about his 1995 heroics at St Andrews, as the pair look over some of Steven's shots from the final day. Producer Chris Lewis then catches up later on with John S...
2022-06-071h 05
Realtime RootsPeter Harries | Senior Game Designer on his roots transitioning between independent and AAA game productions and his role as a senior designerToday I speak to Peter Harries, a senior Game Designer on Wardogs at Bulkhead.Peter is credited on 8 game titles across his 10 career in the games industry. Peter's roles have seen him starting in a AAA game development environment before transitioning to smaller, independent games and then back up to AAA projects before coming to Bulkhead who are a 100 person independent developer in the UK. We discuss the role of a senior designer as Peter reflects on skills he's developed over the years and how you can approach mentoring and communicating your ideas...
2022-05-3158 min
Realtime RootsJared Thompson | North West Cyber Resilience Centre on thinking about keeping your studios secure in a digital environmentWe're doing something slightly different today and chatting about real-time tools.Digital security is an important topic that I wanted to dig into for my own knowledge which I also hope benefits a lot of other creative studios who maybe don't have it on their list of priorities due to pending milestones and deadlines.We tried to keep the information concise and succinct to give you as much information as we could, but please also consider listening in chunks. You don't have to do everything at once, but even doing the steps 1 at...
2022-05-061h 05
Realtime RootsJon McKellan | Founder of No Code on his roots in growing and sustaining an award winning company working on new IPThis week I spoke to Jon McKellan - the founder, writer & director at No Code. No Code are best known for Observation & Stories Untold and Jon's background among other projects was the UI / VHS / DLC guy on Alien Isolation.He's a BAFTA award winning developer & No Code have been awarded one of the best places to work awards twice over among many others. We discuss No Code's trajectory from mobile games startup into the weirder, more narrative driven content they're now known for. No code are a scrappy, measure twice cut...
2022-04-131h 03
Realtime RootsRyan Garry | Founder of Unlimited Motion on his roots in virtual productionToday I'm chatting to Ryan Garry, the founder of Unlimited Motion. Ryan works on a wide range of projects including performance capture, virtual production, 3D scanning & visual effects. Recently his work has been featured on the BBC show Strictley Come Dancing where he presented virtual dancers in real-time to dance alongside a real performance, live on national television with millions of viewers. We also explore what new capture techniques and approaching to creating interactive experiences. Ryan then breaks down the new technologies and interesting projects on the horizon.We discuss some...
2022-04-0750 min
Realtime RootsBarry Meade | Co-founder & Director at Fireproof Games on his roots in putting players firstBarry Meade is a Co-founder & Director at Fireproof Games. In an industry where we can sometimes fall into the trap of believing the more followers and likes you get are the key to your projects success, Barry simplifies it down to key perspective: Great games are made my great teams. That's it.From starting as an art outsourcing company for the first 4 years and almost going out of business in the first year, Barry alongside the rest of his founding team have built Fireproof games into a company of over 20 people. ...
2022-03-231h 03
Realtime RootsJoe Brammer | Studio Head of Bulkhead on his roots in growing a 100 person team and the challenges faced with leadershipJoe Brammer is the Studio Head of Bulkhead, a game development studio with projects such as Wardogs, Promod, Battalion 1944 and The Turing Test under their belts. A lot of us can relate to the moment you have to step into a new role as a team grows, in Joe's case, this was a leadership position from being a 5 person startup and the trial by fire that came with it. Joe's candid nature and openness about the development at Bulkhead whilst growing a team that's over 100 people is inspiring to listen to.We dive...
2022-03-161h 01
Realtime RootsRachael Rose | Producer at Bithell Games on her roots in handling production from large scale projects to small teamsRachael Rose a producer at Bithell Games where she works on titles such as the solitaire conspiracy & Archsmith.Rachael's roots are in production but go even further back to studying architecture for 7 years before making the leap into the games industry.Although she's mostly produced titles in the video game industry, we identify the comparison with other real-time industries where Rachael worked at Cubic Motion on multiple commercial titles.In this episode, how to balance multiple projects at once, working your way from QA to production, tools and tips Rachael uses to manage...
2022-03-091h 12
Realtime RootsJohn Tearle | CEO of Flix Interactive on his roots in growing a 100 person team with a focus on leadership and collaborationJohn Tearle is the co-founder and CEO of Flix Interactive. John's grow a team from founding to over 100 people. Flix have supported the release of some large AAA titles such as Sea of Theaves, Zombie Army 4, Crackdown 3, Worms Rumble & more recently the first person shooter, Hell Let Loose. John thinks a lot about his team and how he can best support them. In this conversation we discuss how to support career development and maintain a strong team, trust and respect within a team along with a lot of discussion around finance, funding, how 'no' can...
2022-03-021h 12
Realtime RootsJonathan Burroughs | Co-founder of Variable State on his roots in taking a leap to create original narrative driven gamesToday’s guest is Jonathan Burroughs, a co-founder of Variable State.I really enjoyed this conversation, Variable State are a peer of ours in the games industry and create narrative driven experiences heavy with great animation and strong voice acting.We open with talking about what the video game industry looked like in 2014 with the emergence of walking sims and transition into discussing the impact of long development cycles when you’re a small team.We then dive into how Variable State thinks about having a voice and confidence in the work they crea...
2022-02-231h 19
Realtime RootsAndrew Crawshaw | Founder of Thunk'd games on his roots in crafting evening-sized gamesToday’s guest is Andrew Crawshaw, the found of Thunk’d. Thunk’d design evening sized games and this was a great opportunity to pick Andrew’s brains about the processes he has in place when designing these shorter, more narrative driven titles. With his 20 year history in the games industry, he's shipped titles at The Chinese Room such as Dear Esther, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. Andrew’s recent release under Thunkd’d is called The Magnificent Truffle pigs We dive into many aspects of game development...
2022-02-1654 min
Realtime RootsGemma Foster | Operations Director of Dlala on her roots in creating operating infrastructure in a growing teamIn this week's episode, we deep dive into all things money and operations with Gemma Foster, the operations director at Dlala studios.It's a very practical podcast with a lot of great process tips about how to operate a growing team whilst keeping track of costs.We touch upon how to approach legal and other contractual situations that can arise when you’re small and have limited budgets. Towards the end, we also chat through the difficulties Dlala went through in surviving the loss of a $3million Disney deal. If you ha...
2022-02-081h 08
Realtime RootsAj Grand-Scrutton | CEO of Dlala on his roots in building & growing a studio working on licensed IP#1 Aj Grand-Scrutton - CEO of Dlala on his roots in building & growing a studio working on licensed IPAj has a wealth of knowledge about running a business in the creative industries. Alongside his team, he's grown Dlala studios to more than 25 people who work with large entertainment companies around the world to create video games. In this episode, Aj chats through the trials and challenges of starting a team independently and provides practical tips on how to overcome stressful situations that can arise.About DlalaWebsite: https...
2022-01-311h 12
IfG EventsWhat do we want from our MPs?What does it mean to be a member of parliament? What do people expect from their elected representatives? And how much have these expectations changed in recent years?The row about MPs’ second jobs has triggered a discussion about what MPs are for and what their priorities should be. From representing constituents and dealing with casework to scrutinising government and improving legislation, MPs have many responsibilities.So how should an MP divide his or her time? How has this changed over recent years? Should MPs be taking on extra paid work outside parliament? And what do c...
2021-12-071h 00
Institute for GovernmentWhat do we want from our MPs?What does it mean to be a member of parliament? What do people expect from their elected representatives? And how much have these expectations changed in recent years?
The row about MPs’ second jobs has triggered a discussion about what MPs are for and what their priorities should be. From representing constituents and dealing with casework to scrutinising government and improving legislation, MPs have many responsibilities.
So how should an MP divide his or her time? How has this changed over recent years? Should MPs be taking on extra paid work outside parliament? And what do constituents ultimately want from th...
2021-11-301h 00
Politics of SoundPolitics of Sound #33 Season 1 Highlights Compilation Pt. 3To mark the end of the first season of the Politics of Sound podcast, Iain Carnegie presents the third of four special episodes looking back at the highlights, both spoken and musical, of the last two years.In this third part, which features the shows recorded during the last six months of 2020, Iain speaks to Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley, Liberal Democrat MP and former candidate for party leader, Layla Moran, Conservative MP Conor Burns, Times Radio Presenter Calum MacDonald, Former Democratic State...
2021-11-0133 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastGeneric Potato Person (The Almost People)This week, Nathan, Peter, Richard and Simon rise up against their more viscous oppressors, launching blistering attacks on their shot composition, plot conveniences and crimes against good taste. Because, in a very real sense, we are all The Almost People.
Notes and links
Once again, Richard refers to Walter Benjamin’s 1935 essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, which we linked to last week. He also mentions a response to Benjamin by American philosopher Susan Buck-Morss, a book called The Dialectics of Seeing (1989).
Picks of the week
Si...
2021-10-171h 00
Iain Dale - The Whole ShowEnergy prices to rise, debate about whether MPs should be paid more and Amanda Prowse and her son Josiah speak about depressionEnergy prices will rise, Sir Peter Bottomley suggests MPs should be paid more and Amanda Prowse and her son Josiah speak about depression
2021-10-072h 16Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastDon’t Kill the Lizard Lady (The Hungry Earth)This week we’re joined by Erik Stadnik for a whole day of taping cameras to things while we wait for something — oh, okay, the Silurians — to emerge from The Hungry Earth.
Notes and links
Nathan incorrectly says that the Silurians in Doctor Who and the Silurians were voiced by Peter Hawkins (which was a good guess), but — delightfully — they were actually voiced by Peter Halliday (Packer!).
The novelisation of Doctor Who and the Silurians was re-released in 2011, and is still fairly easy to get hold of. Very highly recommended. It’s called Doctor Who a...
2021-05-0246 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastSpatial Relationships (Flesh and Stone)This week, Nathan, James, Peter and Simon are all huddling terrified in a dark forest, waiting for the image of an angel to materialise and kill us all — but not before we finish our discussion of Flesh and Stone.
Notes and links
Peter mentions writing for Doctor Who Magazine, in particular “The First Fifty Years Poll”, published in Issue 474, July 2014. You can find the results helpfully listed here.
Simon and Peter have a shared history with Remember Me, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in which Beverly is horrified to find that h...
2021-04-1154 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastImplacable and Completely Incomprehensible (The Time of Angels)This week, we spend 45 minutes climbing a staircase in search of 2007’s most celebrated Doctor Who monster. Peter’s dreaming about the Aplan, James is wishing he hadn’t worn these heels, Nathan is wondering if he left the mortars in the nave or the vestry, and Simon is admiring the low lighting and the sombre vaulted ceilings. It turns out our dreams no longer need us, so this must be The Time of Angels.
Notes and links
Peter suggests that River might not be popular among Doctor Who fans who are “very gun”. To find out w...
2021-04-0459 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastTechnical Virtuosity (The RTD Retrospective)This week, we answer the most important questions about the latest leg of our flight — the Russell T Davies Era. What happened to Nerys during the Year of Hell? Which monsters would we most like to party with? Who is the best guest character, and why is it Ida Scott? And, finally, is this the best era in the show’s history?
Notes and links
Thank you to Pete Lambert, Steven Alexander, Bob Gilbey, Joe Ford, Simon Hart and Nathan Bottomley for supplying us with questions to answer on Twitter, and to Colin Neal for his...
2021-01-081h 32Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastA Great Release of Tension (The End of Time, Part Two)This week, we’ve hastily convened an emergency meeting in our darkest conference room: Todd’s itching to try out his new glove, Nathan has some serious objections to make, James is here mostly for the exposition and Peter is hunched over the desk doing his best Dalek Caan impersonation. It’s the end of the David Tennant era — The End of Time, Part Two.
Notes and links
For the last time ever, the best source for background information about the development of this script is Russell T Davies’s The Writer’s Tale, particularly Chapters 23...
2021-01-011h 02
BondfingerA Touch of Brimstone
– I’ve come here to appeal to you, Mister Cartney.
– You certainly do that!
This month, we all don our flattest Regency trousers and head underground for an evening of wrestling, wassailing and wenching to support the admirable cause of bringing down the British Government. And Peter Wyngarde is here too, looking as devilishly handsome as ever. It’s Part 2 of our Diana Rigg marathon: the 1966 Avengers episode A Touch of Brimstone.
See the episode
Of course, Series 4 of The Avengers is also available in a lavish Blu-ray box set. Which is how we wa...
2020-10-311h 06Politics of SoundPolitics of Sound #16 Sir Peter Bottomley, Conservative PartyIn this July edition of the Politics of Sound, Iain Carnegie invites the longest-serving Member of Parliament and Father of the House of Commons, Sir Peter Bottomley to pay his own visit to the Politics of Sound virtual Record Shop to select his three all-time favourite albums. Sir Peter emerges with an inspired and eclectic selection by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann, Dave Brubeck and Cecil Armstrong Gibbs and offers his fascinating insight into a life devoted to public service, his reasons for joining the...
2020-07-011h 01Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastDalek Caan Saves the Day (Series 4 Retrospective)This week, we look back on Series 4 and consider some of the unanswered questions from the last thirteen weeks of Flight Through Entirety. Is Series 4 the best ever series of New Who? Sylvia Noble: threat or menace? What is the best story of the season, and why is it Midnight? And, as always, who or what should we snog, marry and avoid?
Notes and links
James mentions Donna’s solo return to the world of Doctor Who in the Big Finish box set Kidnapped!, which also stars Jacqueline King. Big Finish has also released an ad...
2020-06-141h 16Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastWhy He Wins (Journey’s End)This week, all four of us gather in the Console Room to tow the podcast home after a particularly trying week. It’s time for our journey to end, in — er — Journey’s End.
Notes and links
Perennial FTE punching bag Dodo Chaplet contracts syphilis — or at least an alien sex virus — in Daniel O’Mahony’s Virgin Missing Adventure The Man in the Velvet Mask.
During the Doctor’s year off in 2009, the 456 arrive on Earth to kidnap millions of children and are thwarted by Torchwood, without the assistance of Martha or Mickey. Despite th...
2020-06-071h 05Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastMr Smith’s Fanfare Is Diegetic (The Stolen Earth)This week, Nathan, James, Todd and Peter sit in our separate homes, longing for an invasion where the aliens order us all to congregate in the street together. Which is what happens, of course, in The Stolen Earth.
Notes and links
We’ve mentioned this over and over again, but for an account of how this season and its finale came to be, there’s no better place to go than Russell T Davies and Ben Cook’s The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter. It’s illustrated with cartoons by RTD himself, including his original c...
2020-05-3157 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastOur New Brigadier (Forest of the Dead)This week, we’re joined again by rockstar Doctor Who blogger Johnny Spandrell, for just under an hour of conversation and fruitless dieting in a VR environment. It’s the start — and the end — of a beautiful friendship, in Forest of the Dead.
Notes and links
Richard mentions the fact that Donna arrives at the virtual sanatorium in a Judeo-Christian ambulance. Other kinds of ambulance are also available.
Carole Lombard and Clark Gable do a number of films together, but their big romcom is called No Man of Her Own (1932).
Just by sheer...
2020-05-1055 minBondfingerThe Arrow of God
– Well, well. The Saint, no less. I know a great deal about you.
– I’m flattered.
– Don’t be. I follow your exploits with extreme distaste. That article about you in The Times last Sunday was the most nauseating thing I’ve seen in print.
– Tried reading your own columns?
This month, our tribute to Honor Blackman continues as we revisit the earliest days of Rogertainment with the seventh episode of The Saint — The Arrow of God. A gossip columnist and blackmailer has been murdered, but who is the perpetrator? Richard, with his history of embezzlement...
2020-05-0258 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastLowbrow–Highbrow (The Unicorn and the Wasp)This week, Peter’s having a quiet drink, Brendan’s spending a suspicious amount of time in the toilet, Max has gone for a walk in the woods with Sacha Dhawan, and Nathan is looking at dirty postcards and reminiscing about the days when he still used to get out of this chair. Plus, Agatha Christie’s here for cocktails. So be sure to watch out for The Unicorn and the Wasp.
Notes and links
Nathan has dim memories of three Agatha Christie miniseries, adapted for TV by Sarah Phelps, who is writing a second series...
2020-04-2652 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastThis Soldier, This Soldier, This Soldier, This Soldier (The Poison Sky)This week, Nathan is crushing on that nice Colonel, James is crushing on a cloned replica of himself, and Peter is crushing on that nice young man who runs the local startup cult academy. And all the time, Adam Richard is roaming this suburban street with an axe, looking for cars to attack. It’s the end of the world, as usual: it’s The Poison Sky.
Notes and links
Adam’s TV show Outland (2012) screened on ABC-TV and told the story of five queer science-fiction fans thrown together after the breakup of their local fan gr...
2020-04-1254 min
Jodie into Terror: A Doctor Who FlashcastPraxeusThis week, Peter is off to Peru to cockblock two travel vloggers, Brendan and Nathan fly to Hong Kong to reunite two estranged lovers, and Todd heads to Madagascar to drag some poor guy out of the water for some reason. And we’re all wearing plastic face masks, of course, so that we don’t come down with Praxeus.
Brendan’s rather moist take on this episode can be found, as always, on his YouTube Channel.
2020-02-0524 minJodie into Terror: A Doctor Who FlashcastSpyfall, Part OneThis week, the stakes are high as Nathan, James, Brendan, Peter and Todd don their tuxes, spy on a sinister tech billionaire, fight deadly glowing aliens, and get a big surprise… It’s Spyfall, Part One.
Over on Flight Through Entirety, we’ve just reached the end of Series 3 of the New Series, and there are a couple of Christmas presents under the tree as well with Time Crash and our commentary on Voyage of the Damned. We’ll be back before too long with our coverage of Series 4.
Here’s where you can find Brendan’s Se...
2020-01-0322 min
The Nolan ShowBoris Johnson does a deal and is accused of humiliating the DUP and betraying Unionism"He is a unionist through and through" - that was Nigel Dodd's assessment of Boris Johnson just two weeks ago. The Prime Minister was given a hero's welcome at a DUP drinks reception at the Tory party conference. Nigel Dodds went on to tell the Newsletter that Mr Johnson had sent out a "very strong message of solidarity in terms of the unionist position across the United Kingdom". But yesterday the love in came to an end. So where did it all go wrong? And what will this new Brexit deal mean for Northern Ireland if it gets through the...
2019-10-1839 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastA Long Tradition of Doctor Who Monsters That in Some Way Resemble Human Genitalia (Evolution of the Daleks)This week, we discuss human nature, animatronic willies, easily avoidable deaths, and the ethics of cooking pork. Which is probably all just a way of distracting ourselves from the Evolution of the Daleks.
Notes and links
The script for this episode is clever enough to borrow from David Whitaker, the Doctor Who script editor who wrote the cleverest Dalek stories from the 1960s. To find out more about him, have a listen to our episode on Evil of the Daleks, which is Episode 13: Airwick Gatport.
James identifies one of the influences on this...
2019-10-1341 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastThat’s Not Even a Proper Commentary (The Runaway Bride)It’s Christmas in July and an apocalyptically hot day in London. Still, Nathan, James, Todd and Peter have been cordially invited to attend the wedding of that guy off EastEnders and the incomparable Catherine Tate. Things don’t go quite according to plan. It’s The Runaway Bride.
Follow us
Nathan is on Twitter as @nathanbottomley, James is @ohjamessellwood, Todd is @toddbeilby, and Peter still can’t be persuaded to open a Twitter account. Very wise. The Flight Through Entirety theme was arranged by Cameron Lam, and the strings performance was by Jane Aubourg. You can...
2019-07-281h 05Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastSome Vicars (The Satan Pit)In this week’s earnest Radio National podcast episode, Nathan, Peter and Todd discuss religion, the concept of Satan, the nature of human evil, and a proposed Marxist reading of the plight of the Ood. Plus, an episode of a children’s science fiction series called The Satan Pit.
Notes and links
We mention a lot of tropes from the Hinchcliffe Era of Doctor Who, and so to brush up on this, you will probably want to listen to New to Who’s recent Hinchcliffe overview.
Further Hinchcliffe tropes are discussed in our episod...
2019-05-1250 minJodie into Terror: A Doctor Who FlashcastThe Battle of Ranskoor Av KolosThis week, Nathan, Peter, Brendan, Todd and James trek across a hostile alien planet in search of a satisfactory climax — to the season. But do they reach it? It’s Episode 10 of Series 11 – The Battle of Rats Ate My Crayolas!
Over on Flight Through Entirety we’ve finally, after many millennia, reached Enlightenment in our series of classic series commentaries. That will be available this coming Sunday.
2018-12-1122 minJodie into Terror: A Doctor Who FlashcastDemons of the PunjabThis week, Nathan and James are joined by the formidable Peter Griffiths to discuss the rather beautiful and very worthy Episode 6 of Series of 11 of Doctor Who – Demons of the Punjab.
Also, whilst you’re here, why not check out the latest episode of our big brother podcast – Flight through Entirety – where we’re just about to come face-to-face with the big Bad Wolf.
2018-11-1319 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastGoing One-on-one (Boom Town)This week, Nathan, Todd and Peter relax in a café just by Cardiff Bay and reminisce about that one time we had to run away naked from a scary guy with massive tusks. And we also find time to chat about Boom Town.
Notes and Links
We get so absorbed in our discussion of the story, that we basically forget to discuss tropes and Terileptils and German Expressionism. So no links this week.
Oh, okay, here’s The AV Club’s take on Boom Town, written in 2014.
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Natha...
2018-11-0449 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastEat a Kronkburger (The Long Game)This week, Todd is fiddling with the central heating, Nathan is stuck among the rafters roaring incoherently, and friend-of-the-podcast Peter Griffiths is using the wrong verbs and kissing complete strangers. Welcome to the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire — it’s The Long Game.
Notes and links
According to Dr Elizabeth Sandifer, Davies did submit a version of The Long Game to the Doctor Who production office, only to have it rejected by Script Editor Andrew Cartmel. So there you go.
Fans of the way this story is directed will also enjoy the vide...
2018-10-0742 min
Danny DorlingSocial Inequality in the UK: challenges for policymakersPresentation by Danny Dorling to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Social Science and Policy chaired by Peter Bottomley, Attlee Suite Portcullis House, July 3rd 2018
2018-07-0319 minBondfingerCasino Royale (2006)
– Vodka martini.
– Shaken or stirred?
– Do I look like I give a damn?
Hello, and welcome back to Bondfinger, the only James Bond commentary podcast consisting entirely of commentaries on various versions of Casino Royale.
This month, it’s Daniel Craig’s first outing as Jimmy Bond. Accompanied by sidekick Clarence Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and love interest Eva Green (Ursula Andress), the American agent must defeat dangerous card shark Die Ziffer (Peter Lorre) in a psychedelic game of old maid that will take Jimmy to the very edges of sanity and beyond.
See th...
2018-04-142h 28Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastBitter and Painful (Delta and the Bannermen)It’s 1950s night at Flight Through Entirety, which means putting on bobby socks, combing Brylcreem through our remaining hair (if any), and leaving our copies of The Doctor Who Monster Book at home. It’s Delta and the Bannermen.
Er, just remind me. What day is it again?
As a valued listener of FTE, it is your democratic right to inflict a particular Peter Davison story on us, which we can inflict, in turn, upon your fellow listeners.
To cast your vote in our Peter Davison commentary poll, just go to the show...
2017-07-0950 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastTerrified of Tinsel (Time and the Rani)Richard makes a triumphant return to the podcast just in time for the start of the Sylvester McCoy era. And the Rani’s back too, cosplaying as Brendan for some reason. It’s Time and the Rani.
So free will is not an illusion after all
Every time we turn around it’s election season, and here at Flight Through Entirety, things are no different. This time we want you to vote for a Peter Davison story for our upcoming commentary podcast, scheduled for release after we finish Season 25.
Voting in the FTE Peter...
2017-06-251h 01Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastMaterial That Was Worthy of Him (The Peter Davison Retrospective)
For some people, small, beautiful events are what life is all about!
Another era reaches its end, and somewhere, someone’s favourite television show is cancelled again. Perhaps Peter Davison’s years on the programme weren’t its heyday, but all four of us have found a new appreciation of his portrayal of the Doctor. Thanks, Peter. Time to say goodbye.
Notes and links
We have been unable to substantiate Brendan’s claim about Janet’s knickerlessness in Frontios Part 1, but brave souls wishing to assist us might try starting at timecode 23:10.
Big Fini...
2017-01-151h 13Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastNot Allowed to Watch That One (Frontios)Patron of the podcast, Christopher Hamilton Bidmead, returns for a victory lap in what might be the best story of Pete’s final season. Raid at the ready, chums, it’s time to defend the last of humanity against an onslaught of fibreglass woodlice, in Frontios.
Buy the story!
Frontios was released on DVD in 2011. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
Notes and links
In this story, Jeff Rawle plays Plantagenet, the colony’s young and inexperienced leader. Rawle is mostly famous for his role as George in the terrifically clever Channel 4 comedy Drop t...
2016-12-0446 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastCrushed with Disappointment (City of Death)This week, Brendan, Richard and Nathan tackle City of Death, by Douglas Adams and Graham Williams. How many superlatives can fit in a single 40-minute podcast episode?
Buy the story!
City of Death was released on DVD in 2005. Seriously, if you don’t have a copy, just buy it. At once. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
Notes and links
We’ve uploaded some photos from Brendan’s Facebook album Toys on Tour, which is the best place to go to see a plastic Tom Baker crawling up the gate to the Galerie Denise...
2016-01-2541 minFlight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastSand in Your Parrinium (The Time Warrior, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Death to the Daleks)So, we’ve changed the desktop theme, and we’re ready to start on the delightful Jon Pertwee’s final year on Doctor Who, as we discuss the first three stories of Season 11: The Time Warrior, Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Death to the Daleks. Oh, beshrew me, but I grow fond of this fellow!
Buy the stories!
The Time Warrior was released on DVD in 2007/2008, including an option to watch a version of the story with acceptable special effects. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
Invasion of the Dinosaurs, sadly, has no such option. It was...
2015-05-191h 49Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastTurducken (The Ambassadors of Death, Inferno)As our flight through the first season of post–Doctor Who Doctor Who comes to a close, Brendan, Richard and Nathan discuss The Ambassadors of Death and fan-favourite Inferno. Hold on tight: there’s never been a bore like this one!
Buy the stories!
The Ambassadors of Death was released on DVD in 2012. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
Inferno has had two DVD releases: the original in 2006, and a Special Edition in 2013. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
The Ambassadors…of DEATH!
We’ve mentioned The Ipcress File (1965) before as an inspiration for Doct...
2015-02-011h 25Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastJill Curzon–Inspired Wallpaper (Dr Who and the Daleks, Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD)And we’re back, now on the big screen in glorious Technicolor! This week, Brendan Who, Nathan Who and Richard Who discuss the two 1960s Peter Cushing films, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Come with us into that strange new world. We cannot guarantee your safety. But I can promise you unimagined cakes!
Buy the films!
You can get lovely remastered Blu-ray versions of both films. Dr. Who and the Daleks (Amazon US) (Amazon UK) and Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK).
Dr. Who an...
2014-10-111h 21Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastTropes Tropes Tropes Tropes Tropes (The Gunfighters, The Savages, The War Machines)We’ve finally reached the end of our flight through Doctor Who’s third season. It’s been a long and controversial journey, but happily it ends with The Gunfighters, The Savages and The War Machines. So have one on the house. It isn’t every day we get the over–twenties in this place. (Oh wait, it is.)
Buy the stories!
The Gunfighters exists in its entirety, and it’s unmissable. If you haven’t seen it yet, you must buy it at once. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK) (In the UK and Australia, it was inexplicab...
2014-09-131h 14Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastSomeone Lost Their Beagle (The Massacre, The Ark, The Celestial Toymaker)Our endless flight through Doctor Who’s third season chokes, stalls and crashes into The Massacre, The Ark and The Celestial Toymaker. And Nathan’s not at all happy. (Let’s put a cork on that, Nathan!)
These are three controversial stories, and we’d like to know what you think. Do you hate The Massacre, or do you love it as much as all right-thinking Doctor Who commentators? Is The Ark racist? Is The Celestial Toymaker appalling or merely terrible?
Please let us know what you think by leaving a comment on our website or on ou...
2014-09-071h 13Flight Through Entirety: A Doctor Who PodcastNipples, Dear Listener (Galaxy 4, Mission to the Unknown, The Myth Makers)Hold your breath, everyone! Brendan, Richard and Nathan besiege, invade and finally burn down the first three stories of Doctor Who’s highly controversial third season: Galaxy Four, Mission to the Unknown and The Myth Makers. Dusty Springfield wigs at the ready, girls!
Buy the stories!
Well, of the nine episodes we discuss this week, only one is known to exist. You can see episode 2 of Galaxy Four, Air Lock, as part of a reconstructed version of the entire story on The Aztecs: Special Edition DVD. (Amazon US) (Amazon UK)
Galaxy Four audio, na...
2014-08-1259 min
Front Row WeeklyFR: Tracey Emin; Deep Purple; Rene BurriFront Row launches the Cultural Exchange project: Tracey Emin discusses her favourite painting - Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid. Nick Park, creator of Wallace & Gromit, invites Mark Lawson to his new ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Hermione Lee assesses the new National Theatre production of Othello. Baroness Virginia Bottomley and Sir Peter Bottomley review The Politician's Husband. Photographer René Burri reflects on some of his most iconic images taken through the years. Ian Gillan and Ian Paice, of the band Deep Purple, discuss their new album Now What?!
2013-04-261h 00
Front Row: Archive 2013New Le Carré reviewed; The Politician's Husband; In the FogWith Mark Lawson.David Tennant and Emily Watson star in a new three part TV drama, The Politician's Husband. Written by Paula Milne, it centres on the family life, and career prospects of husband and wife MPs. As his fortunes wane, hers rise, with considerable repercussions. Baroness Virginia and Sir Peter Bottomley discuss whether it's a realistic depiction of a power couple.More from the Cultural Exchange project, in which 75 leading creative minds share their passion for a book, film, poem, piece of music or other work of art. Tonight actor Adrian Lester contributes Bob...
2013-04-2528 min