April 26, 2020

Episode 25 - Horror of Fang Rock

April 26, 2020/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO and the HORROR OF FANG ROCK

Off a remote rocky island a few miles off the Channel coast stands the New To Who lighthouses. There have always been tales of the three beasts of New To Who, but when the Tardis lands here with Leela and the Doctor, the force they must deal with is more sinister and deadly than the mythical beasts of the past.

It is 2020, the threat of coronavirus is common, and the formless, gelatinous mass from the future must use the New To Who lighthouses’ generators to recharge its system. Nothing can stop this Rutan scout in its search and experimentation on humans…

Theme by Our Colin (2017). Much love and thanks, Col! ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

You can now find New To Who on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, and PlayerFM.

NEW TO WHO WILL RETURN

April 28, 2019

Episode 21 - The Ark In Space

April 28, 2019/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO and THE ARK IN SPACE

At a time in the far-off future, Earth has become uninhabitable. A selection of Humanity is placed, deep-frozen, in a fully-automated space station, to await the day of their return to Earth…

Thousands of years later, New To Who return. Col, Dan, and Steven find things going suspiciously wrong, and the station under attack from the giant WIRRN, deadly creatures who, in their lust for power, now threaten the future of the whole Human Race…

New To Who are back with a look at THE ARK IN SPACE, the first story proper of the vaunted Hinchcliffe and Holmes era of Classic Who (Seasons 12 to 14).

The story is written by Robert Holmes, rewriting John Lucarotti’s original script, while Philip Hinchcliffe takes the reins from Barry Letts as producer for the first time – at the ripe old age of 29! It boasts some beautiful set designs by Roger Murray-Leach complemented by gorgeous direction by Rodney Bennett and a haunting score from Australia’s own Dudley Simpson, while Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen, and Ian Marter are wonderful as one of the all-time very best TARDIS teams.

With echoes of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick from 1968 and foreshadowing Ridley Scott’s Alien of 1979, THE ARK IN SPACE combines existential and body horror genres to tell the story of cryogenically frozen human colony that revives only to find themselves in the midst of an insectoid alien horror that feeds on their bodies and souls!

The cover of the original imprint of the 1976 Target novelisation for THE ARK IN SPACE is used with the kind permission of Chris Achilleos. The novelisation is written by Ian Marter himself, and the audiobook is ready by none other than Tom Baker.

Theme by Our Colin (2019). Much love and thanks, Col! ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

You can now find New To Who on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and PlayerFM.

NEW TO WHO WILL RETURN

September 30, 2018

Episode 16 - Genesis of the Daleks

September 30, 2018/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO AND THE GENESIS OF THE DALEKS

The Place: Scotland

Time: The day Verity!’s Liz Miles joined New To Who

After over fifty years of futile discussion between fans, Steven thinks this is the perfected form that carries Doctor Who into eternity - the dreaded GENESIS OF THE DALEKS. Without feeling, conscience or pity, Steven is joined as ever by Dan and this time by the wonderful Liz Myles to travel back through time in an effort to totally deconstruct this terrible menace of the future.

From Tom Baker’s first season as the Doctor, GENESIS OF THE DALEKS is rightly lauded as one of the very best Doctor Who stories ever made.

Combining the great powers of script editor Robert Holmes, producer Philip Hinchcliffe, director David Maloney, and a script by inventor of the Daleks, Davros - err, Terry Nation, we also have one of the great TARDIS teams of all time in the form of travelling companions Sarah-Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan, played resplendently by the late and wonderful Elizabeth Sladen and Ian Marter.

Fusing the still-heard echoes of World War II with aspects of moral philosophy and growing fears about scientific discoveries about the human genome, Genesis is a story of its time that remains as relevant today as it ever was.

The cover of the original imprint of the 1976 Target novelisation for GENESIS OF THE DALEKS is used with the kind permission of Chris Achilleos. The novelisation is written by Sir Terrance Dicks. The audiobook is read by Tom Baker.

Intro theme by Our Colin (2017). Much love and thanks, Col ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

NEXT MONTH: THE TENTH PLANET

July 01, 2018

Episode 13 - The Robots of Death

July 01, 2018/ New To Who

NEW TO WHO AND THE ROBOTS OF DEATH

On a desert planet the giant sandminer crawls through the howling sandstorms, harvesting the valuable minerals in the sand.

Inside it, Dan and Steven relax in luxury, while most of the work is done by the robots who serve them.

Then JR Southall arrives - and the mysterious deaths begin. First a suspect, then a hunted victim, JR must find the hidden killer - or join the other victims of The Robots of Death.

The penultimate story of the acclaimed Season 14, this is perhaps the strongest four-parter of the entire Hinchcliffe and Holmes era having placed at number 11 in the DWM 2014 readers' poll. It's a fast-paced story with an overriding Art Decor aesthetic, and an incredible array of classic series imagery including the eponymous Robots of Death in red-eyed killer mode (doing it thirty years before the Ood!).

Join Dan and Steven and special guest JR Southall for a story that showcases an imperious Tom Baker as the Doctor, and the wonderful Louise Jameson in only her second story as Leela of the Sevateem. You can hear more of JR on the Blue Box Podcast, which you can find on Facebook here, while JR is also on Twitter here.

The cover of the original imprint of the 1979 Target novelisation for THE ROBOTS OF DEATH is by John Geary. It is written by Terrance Dicks and is based on Chris Boucher's 1977 original script.

Intro theme by Our Colin (2017). Much love and thanks, Col ❤︎

Special thanks to Sarah Tout at Voice Box Media Training.

NEXT MONTH: VENGEANCE ON VAROS

August 20, 2017

Episode 5 - City of Death

August 20, 2017/ New To Who/ New To Who

"Who ordered the soup?"

Bridget joins Daniel, Colin, and Steven as they run through the streets and galleries of Paris in 1979, actually (more of a table wine, shall we say?) for CITY OF DEATH! Doctor Who's largest ever watching audience of 16 million people tuned in to watch this at the time, and none of them were wrong to do so.

Written by DOUGLAS ADAMS, at a time just before he became famous for his HITCHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series, this story is widely seen as one the greatest Classic Who stories of all time, consistently rating in the Top 10. Filled with moments of comedic genius, a frisson of fun, and a lot of love in a blend of crime caper and sci-fi genres, this is also the story that saw TOM BAKER and LALLA WARD fall in love and eventually get married (but, sadly, not for long). Cité de l'amour/la mort, indeed!

Special thanks to ANDY WALKER for his kind permission for the use of his painting for CITY OF DEATH, the Doctor Who Target novelisation that never was, and that was eventually novelised by JEREMY GOSS.