Solace and Succour (Mission to the Unknown)

Saturday 9 October 1965. Mission to the Unknown. In an isolated episode on a distant, inhospitable planet, the Daleks are fomenting an intergalactic conspiracy to overthrow the Solar System. And for arcane budgetary reasons, the Doctor isn’t there to stop them.

Saturday 22 May 1965. The Chase. This week, Adam Richard and Kevin Burnard join us for a picaresque and shoddily made romp through time and space, with Daleks, followed by a devastating emotional farewell.

Saturday 21 November 1964. The Dalek Invasion of Earth. This week, it’s our annual trip to post-apocalyptic 22nd-century London to see how David, Tyler and Jenny are getting on. Turns out, probably better than we let on last time.

Saturday 11 April 1964. The Keys of Marinus. Terry Nation has left the Daleks at home this week, but he’s still bristling with so many ideas that the TARDIS crew rush through no less than five mini-stories in six weeks, proving that while the sea-bathing on the planet Marinus is basically lethal, there’s still a lot there to keep the tourists occupied.

Saturday 21 December 1963. The Daleks. Doctor Who has barely even started when the writer of Episode Five shows up and decides to take the show in a whole different direction. That writer was Terry Nation, and that episode, or possibly the one after that, will change the world forever.

Friday 10 July 2009. Torchwood: Children of Earth: Day Five. It’s the end of the week, and although some kids and a whole building full of public servants are dead, we all learn that even the ones who walk away from Omelas discover that the real Omelas was inside them all along.

Thursday 9 July 2009. Torchwood: Children of Earth: Day Four. Tonight, John Frobisher’s relationship with the 456 turns from sour to ugly, while Captain Jack Harkness’s day starts with humiliation and ends in death. In contrast, the British PM and his advisors are being uncharacteristically dynamic and productive, which doesn’t bode well for anyone really.

Wednesday 8 July 2009. Torchwood: Children of Earth: Day Three. Tonight, Jack finally works out why everyone wants to kill him (and it’s not the reason you might expect), while mere miles away the 456 arrive in Thames House and immediately run up an upsettingly large cleaning bill. Adam Richard and Kevin Burnard join us to discuss Day Three.

Tuesday 7 July 2009. Torchwood: Children of Earth: Day Two. The 456 said they’d drop round some time this evening, so while they wait, Simon and Nathan chat with Johnny Spandrell and Melvin Peña about villains, childlessness, the Home Office onboarding process, how great Eve Myles is, and whether Torchwood really is appropriate viewing for grownups.

Monday 6 July 2009. Torchwood: Children of Earth: Day One. After 44 years, the 456 are coming back, but before they get here there’s a fair amount of setting up to do. First, remind us how scary and weird children are; second, introduce us to a troupe of amazing new actors; and third, blow up the entire show. Should be fun.