As the attentive among you might know, former Doctor Who script editor Christopher H. Bidmead died in early August. His work as a computer journalist directly informed his contributions to the show, not just as its script editor but also writer of serials such as Logopolis and Castrovalva, and Frontios. This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean look back at Doctor Who's divisive Season 18. A new producer, an executive producer for the first time, a new script editor, and a lead actor on his way out of the door, it makes for interesting viewing, both as a show, and as a behind-the-scenes drama.  But central to all of that was Bidmead's new approach to the show, one that stripped back "The Tom Baker Show" and moved the adventures back into the realms of discovery and education.

Once upon a time, everyone knew who Steve McQueen was. These days, it's difficult to find a current Hollywood star, or musician, or comedian, that everyone knows. In this week's podcast, Christian Cawley and James McLean go beyond Doctor Who to discuss personalities and media, and how household names and popular genres have all but vanished, their successors splintering into niches and sub-cultures. Meanwhile, the Patreon-only section explores the phenomenon of disappearing media formats and their return as premium items. Shownotes Blankety Blank playlist Blankety Blank spoof Taskmaster S3 E1 Ted Lasso trailer Project X (Amiga) Project X Light Years trailer ZX Spectrum trailer for Ulysses 31 Christian's retro gaming site: www.gamingretro.co.uk Heil Honey I'm Home intro Fantastic Four (2025) trailer Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free, early, and with around 20 minutes more talking. Sign up to enjoy the same benefits.  Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out. Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.

This discussion looks at recent comments made at the Edinburgh Television Festival concerning the future of Doctor Who, with or without Disney+, and the streaming platform's changing output. Are cutbacks in drama affecting the BBC and Disney+ partnership concerning Doctor Who? Is this a major or minor bump in the road? And why has The War Between the Land and the Sea been put back until 2026? We look for some answers. For patrons, meanwhile, we have an exclusive chat about Sarah Jane Smith, following news of a new book dedicated to Lis Sladen's popular companion. Shownotes BBC states Doctor Who will return with or without Disney(Same link for The War Between the Land and the Sea) Just Sarah: More Than Fifty Years of a Doctor Who Companion Kasterborous Substack Get in touch  Enjoy the podcast? If you head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review, it will help us build our audience there. Any new reviews will be read out -- let us know you've left one. Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link to [email protected], and you’ll get a mention!

We're back with a new edition of Kasterborous, this time steering largely away from (or around) Doctor Who and looking more specifically at the use of time travel in television and popular Hollywood movies. So, Christian and James deliver you a video-exclusive, wide-ranging chat that takes in Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Back to the Future, Charmed, Once Upon a Time, Star Trek (and spinoffs), Ashes to Ashes, Primeval, Behold the Man, The Flash.... and The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang. This podcast went out first on Patreon, as a video, and longer, running to an additional 10 minutes. For full length and ad-free podcasts, we would love for you to join us on Patreon and support our weekly shows. We're already able to produce exclusive videos for Patreon, and plan to produce additional episodes! www.patreon.com/kasterborous Shownotes Julian McMahon dies The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang (sorry) Deep Cover (Amazon Prime) Christian's retro gaming projects Patreon Kasterborous Substack Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out. Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.

There is a good chance that Doctor Who Series 15 will be remembered for many of the wrong reasons. But one great thing about it is that it gave us the chance to bring in a diverse collection of opinions and reactions. As you may have read, this week I am joined by: Philip Bates Gareth Kavanagh James Whittington Rick Lundeen ...and James McLean So, prepare for a tightly edited (!) collection of interactions between 6 people who weren't even on the same call, let alone in the same room. Strangely, I think it works. It's a bit shorter than usual, but I think it nicely wraps things up. Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early. Sign up to enjoy the same benefits.  From the next episode of Kasterborous, we'll be back to ad-free, early, and complete on Patreon, with the full episode for Patrons and a shorter version of the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc. a few days later. Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out. Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.

James and Christian have just recorded an ad hoc conversation about recent events concerning Doctor Who. Prepare for a video discussion which looks at J. Michael Straczynski's possible interest in Doctor Who, the current lack of scheduling for The War Between the Land and the Sea, obligatory AI talk, and a look at how much UK and US subscribers are paying for Netflix, Prime, Disney+, et al, compared with other countries. Shownotes Babylon 5’s J Michael Straczynski Says He’d “Love Nothing More” Than Writing Doctor Who  The War Between the Land and the Sea  Gorilla AI advert Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early on Patreon — and with extra material.  Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out. Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.

During the run of Doctor Who Series 15, Christian Cawley and James McLean got together to discuss how the show was developing. This conversation took place against a backdrop of intense speculation about the future of the series, its star, and perhaps even its showrunner. Factor in the internal narrative -- dialogue from Mrs Flood -- and comments from Russell T Davies seeming to downplay the future of Doctor Who, and you have an interesting topic for discussion, namely: Were RTD, the BBC, and Disney+ engaged in one of the most audacious publicity campaigns for a TV show ever? Or was this a semi-conscious, modern day retread of the events surrounding Trial of a Time Lord in 1986? Find out what we think. Remember, this conversation went out in early May to our Patreon subscribers, so the voices on the end of your podcastmachine have no idea what happened in Episode 8... Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early. Sign up to enjoy the same benefits.  Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out. Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.

We're delighted to welcome back Philip Bates for this week's podcast. Recorded a few weeks before Series 15, Philip and Christian Cawley discuss his work on Companions: More Than Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants. Originally published back in 2013 as 50 Years of Doctor Who Assistants by Andy Frankham-Allen, Philip has contributed a huge swathe of new material to this new edition. After all, he's the editor of The Doctor Who Companion, so who better to work on the revision? The book has been out for a few months, but now is hitting shelves in bookshops around the UK, although you can also buy it direct from publisher Candy Jar Books, or from Amazon. Shownotes Companions: More Than Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants by Philip Bates & Andy Frankham-Allen The Doctor Who Companion Meanwhile, we're working on a podcast looking back at Doctor Who Series 8, with many of the contributors who popped up on a weekly basis with James. You'll get that first on Patreon! Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early. Sign up to enjoy the same benefits.  Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out.  Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.

Well, Doctor Who Series 15 has come to a close, and we don't know what is going to happen next. But before we spend time ruminating over the mind-bending regeneration, James and Magnus are here to discuss The Reality War. Shownotes Doctor Who: The Reality War on BBC iPlayer and Disney+. Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early. Sign up to enjoy the same benefits. Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out. Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.

This week's podcast welcomes John Kenneth Muir, a guest who has also joined us previously on the John and Jim's Excellent Adventure podcasts.  Naturally, he's here to discuss Wish World with James, the penultimate episode of Doctor Who Series 15/2/41, however you prefer to count it. Expect some interesting insights into both the episode and the potential survival of the series. As one listener on Patreon described it: "Such an intelligent discussion, avoiding the histrionics you might find elsewhere!" Shownotes Doctor Who: Wish World on BBC iPlayer and Disney+ John & Jim's Excellent Journey Patreon benefits  Supporters of the podcast on Patreon got this week’s show ad-free and early on Patreon — and with extra material. This week, there's a video of the chat, exclusively available on Patreon.  This audio version is a truncated edit of that conversation, but we’ll be bringing the cut portions to you in future.  Get in touch  Subscribe to our podcast? Then head to Apple Podcasts to leave a rating and review. Any new reviews will be read out.  Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or [email protected], and you’ll get a mention.