Night Of The Living Geeks

While trying to repair K9, The Doctor and Romana find themselves in a time loop set up by an evil cactus named Meglos who has apparently inhabited the body of poor Nigel from Accounting and has a crazy plan to pretend to be the Doctor in order to steal a geometric shape of extreme power and, you know, rule the universe or some such craziness. Can the Doctor and Romana defeat Meglos, satisfy Brotadac’s lust for a nice coat, and prevent the destruction of Tigella? Well, grab that agave and strap in because…it…must…be…MEGLOS!!

Up to now, we hadn't done any stories from Season 18 shy of Logopolis and we were missing out! This time we look at The Leisure Hive and while it starts with a bit of a slow-burn murder mystery it soon cranks up the bonkers with some of the greatest cliffhangers we've ever seen, a completely WTF ending, and a race of aliens who die when they've lost all the blueberries from their heads! Get ready for some wild blue screen magic with The Leisure Hive!

WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT! WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT! This month our #RoadtoHellier pulls off to the side of the road to listen in to the Subspace Radio Network as we talk about the late Rev. Robert Short and his experiences channeling the Space Intelligence Korton! As wild as the story may seem, we do recognize that similar elements of Short's story (heh, short story...anyway!) appear in Hellier and in other experiences the Hellier team has had. So break out your copy of "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" and let's connect with Central Control!

Fourteen years ago today! Midnight premiered and gave us an episode that, at the time, we weren't all that impressed by. And now, in 2022, we revisit Midnight and are pleasantly surprised to say that we were totally wrong with our initial impressions back in 2008. Midnight is really good and, frankly, the paranoia and mob mentality hits a little stronger today than it probably did then.

We can’t properly navigate the #RoadtoHellier without taking a left at Exit 93 and looping our way into the underground. Deros, Teros, a quick pass through downtown Lemuria (be sure to check out the famous Rock Shop) to find ourselves in some serious liminal spaces. Whether Shaver was really whisked away to an underground wonderland where he became a hero and returned with a manifesto and evidence of an ancient mother language or whether it was the product of a mind wracked by grief, both possibilities cause us to wonder about the nature of liminal spaces (physical and non-physical) as well as what it means to have a paranormal experience. Buckle up and grab some road snacks because we're going deeper underground with the Shaver Mystery.

THE NIMON BE PRAISED! It's a new episode of Podcastica!! That's right, this time we get an absolute masterclass in overacting from Soldeed as he works to bring about the Second Skonnos Empire all while being absolutely played by the Nimon who are just looking for a new planet to invade. Add in some peak 4th Doctor, Romana during her professional horseriding outfit days, and minotaur creatures in some wicked KISS boots and you have yourself a recipe for an awesome bit of Doctor Who!

Wowwee wow wow! Friends, before we get into PLANET OF FIRE, we have a ton of Who News to discuss because in the last two weeks we've had the reveal of the 14th Doctor, news that Tennant and Tate are returning for something to coincide with the 60th, and maybe we have a new companion cast? Anyway, we cover all that and then get into the introduction of Peri, the departure of Turlough, and the merciful (to the audience) death of Kamelion all while The Master is try to solve a teensy problem he has! That's right! We nearly get a new benchmark for bonkers with Planet of Fire!

FOUR TO DOOMSDAY! If the story Kinda has been our standard for bonkers episodes for years, it only stands to reason that the episode right before it is pretty bonkers, too. Right?! Well, imagine our TARDIS team encountering a race of frog-esque people who can download your whole self into some circuitry, build an android replica of yourself, and put you to work on their massive ship...because their leader effectively wants to travel faster than light, sending himself back in time to meet...maybe himself?! Oh it's a wild ride with some interesting characterizations this time with Four to Doomsday!

MOTHMAN! He's become the poster child for weirdness these days, but as part of our #RoadToHellier series, we take a look at the massive flap in Point Pleasant, West Virginia between 1966 and 1967. It becomes our launching point for a greater discussion of what the phenomena might be and what the purpose could be for 13 months of panicked fervor in a small town in West Virginia. Along the way, each of our brains totally melt as we try to connect dots and reason out the story of Mothman!

Legend of the Sea Devils has now come and gone like the Easter candy we probably had too much of over the weekend! But like that candy, did we get hopped up on the sugar of the Easter special or did we eventually crash afterward and wonder what the heck we were thinking? This story is a bit of a mixed bag for us. There's lots we liked, there's some we definitely didn't. So join us as we sort stuff out and also talk about that trailer for Jodie's final episode!

ELDRAD MUST LIVE! Yes, this week we take a look at Sarah Jane's final story, The Hand of Fear. The Doctor and Sarah Jane find themselves in the middle of a quarry (not surprising) during an explosion (fairly surprising) that dislodges part of an ancient silicon-based lifeform (definitely surprising) that’s been buried in there for millions of years. Turns out this Thing impersonator from the Addams Family is called Eldrad. Eldrad likes long walks up to nuclear power stations, possessing humans to do its bidding, absorbing radiation over a nice dinner, and apparently trying to get revenge on its own people!

On the evening of November 2nd 1966, Woodrow Derenberger was driving home from his job selling stereos and repairing sewing machines when he was passed by and then stopped by a UFO. The person who stepped forth from that craft communicated telepathically and introduced himself as “Cold”. What proceeded to happen from that point forward is one of the strangest UFO flaps in the history of the phenomena. When Indrid Cold met Woody Derenberger is one of the biggest crossroads on our #RoadToHellier that we had to pull off the highway, put the van in park, and immerse ourselves in the very integral tale that kicked off the Year of the Garuda.

EPISODE 250, PEOPLE! Who'd have ever thought we'd make it this far! This time around we watch The Krotons (which were designed to replace the Daleks as the Doctor's main enemy...you'll see why that didn't work out). The Doctor, Zoe, and Jamie land on a rather stinky planet. Mainly, that’s because of the sulfur content, but it’s also stinky because for over a thousand years the locals have been ruled over by The Krotons! See, the Krotons have a machine that, well, it needs brains! Kinda weird, we agree, but our TARDIS team shows up just in time to be part of an uprising amongst the locals that doesn’t quite go the way you’d expect. After a bit of a chemistry lesson, The Krotons are defeated and dissolved like the crystalline candy they sort of look like!

With thanks (as always) to Mike Solko, we have our post-Gally review recommendation! 1963: Fanfare for The Common Men! An entire audio drama created from a small reference to a fictional band during the First Doctor's era! It's a solid story and one littered with Beatles references (and one glorious conspiracy theory) for those of you who love to look for those things.

Yes, friends, we have been talking about reviewing The Web of Fear since before Gallifrey One this year, we were going to talk about it during our Gally coverage, but stars aligned such that we're finally now getting to it. And that's for the best because it's a story that deserves our full attention. We have the return of Professor Travers and the Yeti, we have the introduction of Col. Lethbridge-Stewart (who was almost played by someone else!), and we have our marvelous TARDIS team. What more could we ask for? Well, to have episode three returned from private hands, that's for sure!

This month our #RoadtoHellier officially kicks off with a look at the Men in Black! These shadowy visitors have been around seemingly as long as the modern era of UFOlogy (perhaps longer, by some accounts)! But who are they? Government agents out to discredit witnesses? A secret government operating outside our own? Could they be, as Keel suggests, occupants of the UFOs themselves?! Join us this month as we explore tales of the Men in Black and being paving the way to talking about Hellier later this year!

Hello and Greetings once again from Gallifrey One! Join John and Taylor as they recap their Day 2 at the 32nd Annual event. They talk about ANIMATION DOMINATION, The Game of Rassilon, and much more!

We. Are. HERE! Join John and Taylor as they recap their Day Zero and Day Ones of Gallifrey One!

Podcastica's Animation Domination block continues with the First Doctor adventure Galaxy 4! While the story in and of itself doesn't exactly grip us--Taylor in fact calls this the least scary Doctor Who story ever--we are certainly entertained by the Chumblies, are impressed by a female-dominated cast (if only fewer of them were villains), and we find a sure-fire way to make this story more fun for everyone at parties!

The Loveland Frogman! Yes, folks, strange things were definitely afoot in 1955! The same year that brought us the Kelly-Hopkinsville goblins also brought us somewhat similar series of encounters in Loveland, Ohio (right next to the Little Miami River, no less). What was the Frogman? Was he really all that froggy? Why was he seen again in 1972 and during a sweet Pokemon Go sesh in 2016? We investigate all that and more this month as we discuss the Loveland Frogman!