https://whobackwhen.com/
A decent Doctor Who podcast is hard to come by. For me I have difficulties in liking the presenters or the format or simply how dismissive they can be at times. I have found two or three that I love (I'd like to put a shout out for Verity! and Lazy Doctor Who as well) but my absolute favourite in terms of content and amiability is Who Back When, which has an impressive back catalogue of content and I have yet to walk away from one episode feeling shortchanged. The guys and girls who contribute are very excited about what they talk about, and that is infectious and for the most part they come to the stories that they discuss with no previous knowledge or fan wisdom, which is just about the smartest thing they could have done. It means that the opinions are fresh and untainted, and often not at all what you might think. They will write up Inferno as above average but The Mutants as excellent.
The contributors are Leon, Drew, Marie, Jim, Nik, Rory, Jack and JD and the mix of contributors gets shaken up to keep things interesting. The one thing they all have in common is that they all love talking about Doctor Who and that love of critical appraisal comes over in spades. They might laugh at the gaudy fashions of the 1970s one minute whilst admiring the work that has gone into the dinosaur miniatures the next. I find the episodes are never entirely predictable but intelligent discussion resounds, and there are often laughs to be had as they poke their way around all corners of the Whoniverse.
The team have covered the classic series up to Underworld, the New Series up to Capaldi and many Big Finish efforts too. They have additional content, videos and a rating system that shows what they thought of each story at a glance. It is a hugely comprehensive website that has clearly been put together with a lot of love. One of my favourite elements is the Vindex - which pictorially links characters, companions, monsters and so on.
A quick word for Leon, who is clearly the mastermind behind this operation. Rarely will you hear a man who has such love for what he is doing and be so effortless in letting him drag you along in his wake. He's on every episode I have listened to and his masterful discussion of the stories he watches is impressive. The conversations rarely stray off topic (and if they do, it is discuss something even more interesting) and he has a great rapport with each other contributors. He goes by Ponken, which isn't confusing at all.
Who Back When had me at their ridiculously catchy ditty at the beginning of the episode. It is the perfect illustration that they don't take themselves too seriously, but that there is smart work happening here. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.
https://whobackwhen.com/
2 comments:
Hey, I'm trying to spread the fact I've managed to compile all of the Doctor Who Adventure games after they had been removed by the BBC. If you want to check them out: http://whareotiv.com/1xFK (Episodes 1-4)
http://whareotiv.com/1wmn (Gunpowder plot)
Hey, thanks for the recommendation! I have been listening to some of these and I enjoy them!
In turn if I might make one of my own -- I never listened to a Doctor Who podcast before finding these guys early this year. They are Watchers in the Fourth Dimension, and they are going through stories in order, too. They are almost finished the hartnell era now ("Celestial Toymaker" podcast just came up yesterday). The discussions are lively between the four hosts, and the humour is on point and not smug at all. I am really digging them and I think you might, too.
https://watchers4d.podbean.com/
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