Doctor Who: The TARDIS Tavern

We've been doing this little podcast for just over two years, and it occurred to us suddenly that we've never had a Christmas episode.  Every other podcast seems to be cashing in on this holiday thing, so we figured we'd just jump in and join the fray.  Join us as we exchange gifts, drink egg nog, and talk about "The Feast of Steven," Doctor Who's first ever Christmas episode.  See you next year, kids.

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And so we've come to this.  The bottom of the bucket.  The last frontier.  Number 200 in Doctor Who Magazine's poll: "The Twin Dilemma."  Is it as bad as they say?  Can we sit through an hour and half of this without wanting to strangle those twins and make a couple of bookends?  Frankly, we're a little relieved to get these five episodes behind us and start reviewing some good stuff.  Like maybe "Fear Her."  Or perhaps even some Pertwee, right Steve?  Join us and Lord Zimon as we imbibe and discuss.

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Four down and one to go.  This time we discuss "Timelash," number 199 of Doctor Who Magazine's 2009 poll.  This time around we're joined by Matt of The Raggedy Podcast.  Did watching this hour and a half of fluffery incite us to hurl ourselves into the Timelash?  Or did we half-heartedly embrace it?  (See also: Episode 54, in which we talk "Underworld.")

Plus we have one cryptic bit of audio feedback from a loyal listener as well as an email suggesting good Doctor Who for the Halloween weekend...er, better late than never I suppose.

Join us on Facebook and send us feedback at tardistavern@gmail.  Also catch Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern, Steve via @tardistaverntit, and Matt via @androiddreamer!

After a brief cutaway to a discussion of Series Six, we're back to business again with our "Craptastics" series, in which we review the bottom five stories of Doctor Who Magazine's 2009 poll.

This time we discuss #498 in the poll, the infamous "Time and the Rani."  Joining us for the fun is Steven of Radio Free Skaro, who makes us feel like buffoons with his encyclopedic knowledge of the show (as if he needed help with that).  Is Mel redeemable in this one?  Does Kate O'Mara do good imitations?  Why does the Doctor play spoons on the Rani's breasts?  Will they ever have a "Time and the Rani" Lego set?  All these questions will be answered...and more, including some cryptic audio feedback from one of our favorite listeners.

Did you know that we only have 126 followers on Facebook?  You could be #127!  We also like receiving audio feedback at tardistavern@gmail.com.  Also, catch Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern and Steve via @tardistaverntit.  We really need to plug these things when we record, but frankly we're just too drunk to remember.

This episode we're taking a little detour from our "Craptastics" series to bring on Lord Zimon and discuss the recently-completed series six.  You've already heard us waflle on regarding "Let's Kill Hitler" and "Closing Time," but what did we think of the remainder of the Eleventh Doctor's adventures?  We cover them all, from "The Impossible Astronaut" to "The Wedding of River Song."

Whether you like series six or not, I'm sure there's one thing we can all agree on...aren't we glad the arc is over and we can get back to good old monster-of-the-week?

We encourage audio feedback to be sent to tardistavern@gmail.com.  Also, follow Sean on twitter via @tardistavern, Steve via @tardistaverntit, and Josh (a/k/a Lord Zimon) via @whomejz.  Catch up with us one Facebook, GetGlue, and your latest pub crawl.

We are both pleased and honored (or should I say "honoured"?) to be joined by our latest guest bartender, Paul Heath of The Pharos Project, our sister podcast from across the pond which also celebrates drunken fandom.

The topic this time is the serial "Underworld," ranked #197 in Doctor Who Magazine's "Mighty 200" poll.  Some of us can only remember the crappy CSO, while others have a special place for this story in the cockles of their warm little hearts.  Does this story truly deserve its reputation as one of the five worst stories of all time.  Time (and several jiggers of bubble gum vodka) will only tell.

We also poke a bit at the previous evening's contribution to the Eleventh Doctor's range, "Closing Time."  Fun little romp or waste of time twaddle?  Time (and a few cigarettes) will only tell.

Our email is tardistavern@gmail.com.  Follow Sean on Twitter via @tardistavern.  Follow Steve on Twitter via @tardistaverntit.  Follow Paul on Twitter via @kungfuyoda.  Be the 127th person to join us on Facebook (we're never going to beat The Omega Podcast at this rate) and check in on us at GetGlue, if you're into that sort of thing.

In 2009, much to the delight of, well, people like us, Doctor Who Magazine released "The Mighty 200," a listing of readers' ratings of the existing 200 stories, from "An Unearthly Child" through "Planet of the Dead."  The list rated the stories from best to worst.

We could talk about the latest Matt Smith story, but why do that when every other podcast is?  Instead, we're spending the next five episodes focusing on the five lowest rated stories in DWM's list.  We won't tell you which five they are in case you don't want to know, but we start from number 196 on the list and will work our way down to 200.

And so, without further ado, we discuss the much-maligned "Time-Flight," featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan, quite possibly the blandest, beigiest trio ever to travel in the TARDIS (yes, this is Sean writing this).  Does it deserve to be in the bottom five?  Spoiler: One of thinks so.  Oh yeah, there's also talk of "Let's Kill Hitler," two weeks after you've heard every one else's opinion of it.  You might be surprised what we think.

Let's make this part short: Tardistavern@gmail.com, Twitter via @tardistavern and @tardistaverntit.  Facebook, GetGlue, blah blah blah.

We are joined by Katrina and Chris from the excellent Radio Free Skaro for a fun discussion of the Ninth Doctor adventure "Dalek."  It's been a long time since The TARDIS Tavern ventured into Christopher Eccleston land (we did "The Long Game" a while back), so this was a particularly fun event for us, in addition to being joined by two friends who have made previous appearances as guest bartenders.

The scotch flows and the discussion gets heated.  Could David Tennant play the Doctor as well as Eccleston did in this story?  Does using American actors in a UK production underplay the performance of the actor?  And can you guess which of the four of us didn't really enjoy "Dalek" the way 90% of the fan community seems to?  All these questions shall be asked in Episode 51 of...The TARDIS Tavern!

Join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, blah blah blah.  @tardistavern, @tardistaverntit, tardistavern@gmail.com.  Just communicate with us and we'll send you pie.

Almost two years ago, on November 1, 2009, (back when there were only eight or so Doctor Who podcasts) we unleashed out first episode of The TARDIS Tavern onto an unwilling public.  Six months later, somebody actually started listening to us.

We would like to dedicate our 50th episode to every one of you who has ever downloaded and listened to one of our episodes, particularly those of you who have listened from the beginning or gone back and reviewed those that you missed.  We would also like to thank every one of our guest bartenders: David Hooie, Louis Trapani, Erik Stadnik, Liz Peloso, Josh Zimon, Eric Escamilla, Katrina Griffiths, Wes and Wendell Duellman, Adam and Alicia Pearson, John Branigan, Chris Burgess, and Marty Hooie.  Also, a very special "Huzzah!" to John "Cyber Testicle" Branigan for procurring the signed photo from Sylvester McCoy, who no doubt thinks we're an old gay couple celebrating our anniversary.

For your pleasure, we have wrangled together some lovely audio feedback and a very special commentary of a very special film that we know for a fact hasn't been done by Radio Free Skaro.  Also, we announce the names of our four "lucky" contest winners.

Don't forget to join us on Facebook, email us at tardistavern@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter via @tardistavern and @tardistaverntit.

Since we haven't visited the era of the First Doctor since our review of "The Gunfighters" some time ago, we return to digest and discuss "The Time Meddler" with our esteemed colleague Lord Zimon.

You may have noticed that next episode will be our 50th, so keep your ears peeled to learn how to win one of four fabulous prizes (some are less fabulous than others).  And keep sending us that audio feedback, folks!  (Insert subtle request for audio congratulations on our 50th episode here.)

Follow us on Facebook, email us at tardistavern@gmail.com, and follow us on Twitter too!  Catch Steve via @tardistaverntit, Sean via @tardistavern, and Josh via @whomejz.  Yay.