Doctor Who: 42 To Doomsday

Episode 118 - It's a pre-Christmas miracle!  That's right, Mark and Rob are back to fill your ears with our delightful bantering, now including returning guest Aron from Aron's Collectibles!   In the latest episode of our award winning, chart topping, Royal Commission inspiring podcast, we discuss all things Doctor Who, including where the show is at, the latest in Aron's endless search for missing episodes across our fair continent with news of another hoard! All this plus how the merchandising aspect of the show is going (hint:  the funeral director is on his way) and Rob's latest Candy Jar book (soon to be a Booker Award nominee, for sure!)    Thank you all for your patience while we find time to record each and every episode - we value your patience and appreciate all your comments.  Hopefully, the next episode isn't too far away and make sure you stay for the end, which is very happy, and extremely energetic!

2026 starts now and to help celebrate this we again offer reading of Rob's fiction piece titled Conspiracy written a quarter of a century ago that appeared in the Doctor Who Club of Victoria's fanzine Sonic Screwdriver and is is a story perfect for our times - the collision of power, ambition and manipulation! Not all of UNITs work is on the battlefield, and not all the threats it deals with come from beyond the stars.   Some are homegrown! When an ambitious new minister places UNIT within his sights, Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is forced to deal with this threat using his own, particular methods. A short story dealing with political machinations and the lengths men go to, Conspiracy is an exciting short story that shines a new light on one of Doctor Who's favourite characters and served as Rob's audition piece for the Lethbridge-Stewart range with Candy Jar books.   You can see all the titles Rob wrote for them here:  https://www.freewebstore.org/candy-jar-store/index.aspx?pageid=676603&chainID=72097&txtQuickSearch=robert+mammone

Episode 117 -It’s Christmas!  In the absence of an actual tv series, Mark, Rob, Dave and Richard return to put the ho ho ho back into your lives! We thrash out what makes a great cliffhanger in a fascinating and wide ranging discussion that will have you reaching for your blu ray collections! We then pore over the works of Gareth Roberts in a throwback to when Doctor Who books were actually readable!  Did Gareth improve over time or was he a legend from day one? And finally, despite threats of legal action and a possible death threat, the Fanwank of the Year awards return!  We pour our hearts (and not a little bile) into the fanwank of 2025, all leavened with our trademark humour and joshing good fun! Mark and I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas (even you heathens!) and we will be back soon with an New Year’s Eve special and more episodes in 2026!

Episode 116 - We are back talking Daleks but not the ones you were expecting! To celebrate the publication of The Evolution Of The Toy Dalek-Collecting Through The Ages we are joined by author Alex Storer and contributor (and fellow Victorian!) Mark Dunne who talk about how the Dalek toys evolved from the halcyon (and out of proportion) days of Dalekmania being manufactured by companies such as Louis Marx, Pailitoy, Severn Models, Dapol and bring us bang up to date with Character Options. They discuss how the book evolved from e-book to a physical tome, what new research they uncovered and how the recreation of key scenes used from the program were recreated on a model scale for the fantastic pictures found throughout! All this plus what was used to build out the Dalek army on the planet Spiridon and find out how a Palitoy Talking Dalek met its untimely end! Available to order from https://telos.co.uk/shop/doctor-who/evolution-pb/ and https://amzn.to/3FtbUQm  Alex's Blog: https://thelightdreams.wordpress.com/category/news/ Mark's YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/@TheDocMD74 

Suprise! To help ring in 2025 we present a slightly (okay, a lot!) self indulgent reading of Rob's fiction piece titled A Celebration that appeared in issue 100 of the Doctor Who Club of Victoria's fanzine Sonic Screwdriver where the various (canon) incarnations gather together at their favourite restaurant to celebrate the arrival of a certain special someone. But will the Guest of Honour turn up?! Wishing you all a very Happy New Year - 42 to Doomsday will return in 2025!

Episode 115 – It’s a miracle as the Four Wise Men (Rob, Mark, Dave and Richard) reunite to end the year on a high (?) note for our Ninth Annual Staff Christmas Party to discuss all things Doctor Who.   After acknowledging the state of the world in our opener, we down several G&T’s to get into the spirit(s) of the season and then take a sharp turn right and examine the Top 5 crimes the Doctor has committed.  Marvel as Richard gets all Jim Bakker with his selections viewed through a Biblical (Old Testament, baby!) lens.  The Target Book Club is back in a session as we dig deep into Cybermen story novelisations from the 60’s and 80’s. Are they 'excellent' or a load of old Mondas? The Fanwank of the Year Award is back!  Some of the ‘usual suspects’ make a return (cough Big Finish cough) but will the current production team and its organ the Cardiff Pravda escape unscathed? All this plus Richards ‘theory’ about Rogue, the hiring of intimacy co-ordinators and a letter from a listener! 42 to Doomsday will return (sporadically and whenever we get sign off from the men with the butterfly nets) in 2025!

Episode 114 - Lock up your mothers and pull out your favourite bottle of red as the Statler and Waldorf of Doctor Who podcasting return with a bang! In this episode we host Aron Challinger, noted merchandising maestro and all round (or is that oval) good egg to chew over the parlous state of Doctor Who merchandising and rue the missed opportunities. We then divert to take a massive whack at the deplorable latest series (is it 1 or 14?) of our favourite show.  Did expectations match reality? But fear not, we end on our trademark high! Programming note: This episode was recorded before the 15th Doctor / Ruby Doll set being announced and we couldnt be arsed going back to update it More information on Sylvester McCoy and Janet Fielding's upcoming Australian tour can be found at https://www.sirensofaudio.com/p/live-events.html  

Episode 113 - Our 'hiatus' is over and we provide a long awaited update on the 'hoarder' tapes with guests Aron Challinger and Professor Jason Bainbridge. They bring us bang up to date with what has been uncovered as well as the plan for cataloging and viewing the material. We also delve into the background of the individuals who recorded the material as well understanding the final fate of some of the tapes.  All this plus, who was Pluka a Duck?, our very own Space Pirates part 2 moment and the most important question...are Rob and Mark back in the podcasting saddle? Watch the videos at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBXoJO7qvgbo0Cj1nP_LJUw  Aron’s Collectables can be found at: Shop 3, 1 Main Street Blackburn Victoria Australia Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Arons-Collectables-103975918212052/  

Episode 112 - Press Play on (Video) Cassette (Part 2)   We conclude our look back on the Doctor Who VHS range via the fandoms' orifice that was DWB! Listen as the afterglow of the recovery of Tomb gives way to rancour and bile!  Marvel at how the titles of 30th anniversary year are leaked to the outrage of some.  We look at the classic stories that were overlooked and instead replaced with 'patchwork' titles selected to keep a former producer gainfully employed!   What missing episode of Doctor Who is the equivalent Schrödinger's Cat? Was Roger K Barrett any relation to the former lead singer of Pink Floyd? And find out which one of our listeners broke the embargo and got to watch Tomb of Cybermen 3 days before everyone else!!!   All this plus we 'celebrate' our 10th Anniversary by taking a small (and self-indulgent) stroll down memory lane to reminisce about the good old days.  All this, some special appearances from 'phantoms of the past!' and listen to the very end for some Tomb of the Cybermen radio goodness from 1992!! Katy Manning Live in Australia - https://www.sirensofaudio.com/p/katy-manning-live-in-australia-october.html Evolution of the Toy Dalek (and others!) - https://sevenzeronet.wordpress.com/ebooks/ Birds of Passage by Rob Mammone - https://tinyurl.com/2499trde  Aron's Collectibles - https://aronscollectables.com/        

Episode 111 - To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the home video release of Revenge of the Cybermen we stroll down memory lane and present to you an (extremely) potted history of the Doctor Who video range through the rabid eyes of fandom and its vehicle of choice DWB! In this first installment, we discuss how the range came into existence, the non canon covers, naughty edits, how many times particular titles were re-released and re-released yet gain and just like the Ashes chat about  how Australia won the 'best Tom Baker stories released in Australia before the UK' stakes. All that plus our Tomb of the Cybermen on VHS reminises and latest* news including Mark’s calm and measured response on the return of Mantovani Gold!  * Latest at the time of recording!