Hey, Who fans and welcome to Episode 413.

I'm joined by a special co-host this week - Maria from the writing team! This week, we take a look at the buzz surrounding Ncuti Gatwa's comments about a potential third season of Doctor Who, which sparked controversy among fans along with the implications of Gatwa's remarks, examining how they were edited during a recent appearance on the Graham Norton Show and the BBC's subsequent response.

In other news, the spin-off series "The War Between the Land and the Sea" is set to finish filming by Christmas and Peter Capaldi feels like being The Doctor is way more fun than being himself.

We close out the episode with Maria sharing her personal journey as a Doctor Who fan, reflecting on her early experiences with the classic series and her admiration for Peter Capaldi's portrayal of the Doctor.

This is The Big Blue Box Podcast, hosted by Garry and Adam. We cover Doctor Who news, reviews, commentaries, general chat, plus our regular Round Table episodes with the full team.

All episodes are available for free on our website, alongside articles and reviews from the team.

Follow and join the conversation on X, Bluesky, Threads, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, or hop into our free Discord to chat Doctor Who with fellow fans.

Thank you for listening!

Thank you again for listening. For even more Doctor Who content, head over to our website and check out the blog, featuring articles from our writing team.

If you're listening in your podcast app of choice, then make sure you're following so you’re notified when new episodes drop.

Until the next episode, take care and... Aaaaaaaallons-y!

Garry: 00:00:19

Hey, hey, hey, who fans and welcome to the Big Blue Box podcast. My name's Garry.

Maria: 00:00:24

My name's Maria.

Garry: 00:00:25

And welcome to episode 413.

Maria: 00:00:28

Yay.

Garry: 00:00:47

Welcome back, everybody, to another week and another episode. This is 413 and it's another special with one of the writing team on as co host duties.

As our regular co host, Adam is off on travels around the globe and so I've drafted in these dudes. And this week it's return of it's the turn of Maria. You would know Maria from the monthly roundtable episodes she's on every month.

Always sound reasons and opinions and some very good insight into her, into her knowledge of classic who, modern who spin offs, the whole thing. And you've read her, no doubt you've read her reports of all the Doctor who events that she attends throughout the year in the UK.

And she attends a lot, let me tell you. She's out and about. So, yeah, we refer to Maria as our roving reporter. She's.

Maria: 00:01:44

I like that very much, actually, Garry.

Garry: 00:01:47

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's the one. That's because we don't get out to as many events as we would like to, as we used to do. Whereas Maria, she's like, do you know what?

I'm just going to take that as my job title. Big blue box roving reporter out and about doing a thing.

So, no doubt you've read lots of Maria's reviews and reports on all the events, but yes, it's Maria's turn. And how are you? How are you doing?

Maria: 00:02:08

I am so good, Garry. Yeah, I've been to a lot of events recently, so I feel very fortunate, actually.

I think since we did the last roundtable, I had the good fortune to be given a ticket for the happiness patrol, the second screening where we saw the version with all the enhanced effects. So I felt very lucky to actually go to that. It was a fantastic screening.

I mean, the screening kind of exceeded my expectations of what could have done to it. And I.

I think for, you know, for anyone that went to the event, I think it was, you know, it was so nice because they, they do what they, what they always do, which is kind of, they try and enhance what's already there. They don't kind of, they don't try and change it too much.

So, you know, they did a bit of tweaking, you know, added some special effects and, you know, just kind of gave it a good polish, really.

And it was, it was such a nice event and I felt very fortunate to go, you know, it was in the late afternoon, so there were a few empty seats because I think people had to go and get their trains and things like that. So I don't think people stayed right until the end.

And then after screening, all the guests were kind of in the main foyer and they were signing autographs like that. So, you know, it was a really nice event. And I haven't been down to the BFI for a while, so it was good fun.

Garry: 00:03:52

Oh, sounds great. Yeah. So you and I were at the opposite ends of the spectrum with that.

So I attended the first screening that they did where they had the little faux pas of the BBC not sending the correct video files across. So we ended up watching just the regular classic version of Happiness Patrol. And.

Which was great, you know, I think, because they interrupted it about five minutes in and said, there's been a bit of. A bit of a whoopsie moment. Not our fault, but the bee haven't sent over the right video files. It's not the remastered version you're about to watch.

This is the regular one. And we just shrugged the shoulders. We're like, cool, we'll still watch this. It's all good.

So I did that one and then you attended the one that's got the. All the updated new sort of visual enhancements and stuff.

Maria: 00:04:38

I think people will really like the new version.

You know, they've not gone over the top with it, but it's got some really nice effects and it kind of just does that world building, which is what I love.

You know, I've always loved it when Doctor who does alien Planet and, you know, sometimes they do it really well, and then other times, let's mention Inda, sometimes you can see the cables in the studio, but saying that it was. Yeah, I think they created a new version of it that kind of really kind of draws you in. And it's always good to see the candy man.

I mean, I never understood why people complained about the candy man. I mean, he is. There's.

His character is so waspish and clearly, you know, out of his mind, really, you know, because he's a psychopath, you know, so, you know, what's not to like? You've got. You've got all these kind of extreme characters in it.

I mean, you know, you've got Helena, who is, you know, doing some appalling things, you know, by, you know, killing half the population, you know, and kind of hiding it away. You've got, you know, you've got the happiness patrol, which all kind of sweet and light on the outside, you know, pink costumes.

I was wearing pink that day, actually. It wasn't, it wasn't deliberate, but it just happened to be that I wore pink that day.

So I kind of tried to blend in to, but, yeah, I mean, it's such a fascinating story.

I mean, I've always thought that script was really clever and, you know, when you said to me at the original screening that Graham Curry had, you know, had thought for years that people didn't like it and, you know, and that he went around kind of saying he was the one that, you know, wrote a really bad story that kind of choked me up.

So, you know, I'm, I'm really happy that, you know, that the story gets the recognition that it deserves, really, because it's, it's one of the, it's one of the, you know, best stories from that season, you know. So, yeah, I'm, you know, I was really pleased to go and see it. It's one of my favorite stories.

I don't play it that often, but it's one of the good ones.

Garry: 00:07:09

It certainly is. Yeah. And I can't wait for, for season 25 to drop the collection set because I know you pick these up now, don't you?

Now that you've had a Blu ray player for a couple of years, you've started to bag these.

Maria: 00:07:22

Yeah, I'm kind of an all in kind of person. If I decide I'm going to do something, then I have to get it all.

So I kind of, I went on the eBay journey, so I've picked up all the different seasons now. So I'm up to date with everything. I haven't opened everything, to be fair.

I've still got some that are still in the shrink wrap, but I'm kind of saving it. You know, I'm going to savour each season as it, you know, as it, as I open it up, I'm going to savor it and kind of play it.

But, yeah, I'm really looking forward to decent 25. I think that one I will probably open straight away, to be fair.

But I, yeah, I do, I do still have a whole load of them in shrink wrap because I paid an absolute fortune for them on eBay because obviously I didn't start from the very beginning. So, you know, I'm saving those for later on.

Garry: 00:08:17

Sounds good. Yeah. Season 25, be a cracker. And I think it's just under two weeks now. I think it's the end of October 27, 28th, something like that. It comes out.

Maria: 00:08:25

Yeah. So we've got that in two weeks. And then the Blake seven Blu ray that's coming out, so I'm going to treat myself to that as well.

So, you know, there's some really good stuff coming out now, you know, and I think.

I doubt there's gonna be anything else kind of released on the Blu ray before Christmas, so, you know, it'd be really nice to have those two to kind of tide you over, really, until next year.

Garry: 00:08:52

You keep buying all these Blu rays. Yeah. Your family and friends gonna have nothing to buy you for Christmas or anything. Oh, what should we get Maria? Don't know. She's got everything.

Maria: 00:09:01

Oh, I'm. I'm sure I can find something on the Christmas list. I always can. Yeah.

Garry: 00:09:07

Yeah, sure. Cool. Well, I'm glad you're doing well. I'm glad you've got out to some events, as always, and you're looking forward to some Blu rays and whatnot.

It's all good in the world of doctor who. And thank you very much for. For taking the time to. To join me as well.

Maria: 00:09:22

Well, I feel honoured. I feel honored that I'm a co host. You know, I. I've upgraded, so I'm not too unhappy. And I, you know, and I'm sure Adam doesn't mind.

You know, I'm sure he's fine about it. So.

Garry: 00:09:37

He's cool? Yeah, the old bugger. He's fine.

Maria: 00:09:39

Yeah, he's fine.

Garry: 00:09:41

So we'll just do a run of the mill show and listener, thank you very much for joining us as well. We're going to do the usual news in a second.

We're going to land the Tardis, go through some news, and then we'll dive into a little bit of Maria's history with the show, like we did with Harry last week.

We'll find out her introduction into Doctor who and some stuff that she enjoys from the classic years, and then we'll finish on Maria's thoughts for, for the future. So before we get into all of that, though, dear listener, thank you very much for listening and tuning into 413.

And I hope you checked out last week's episode. That was a cracker 412 with Harry.

Go and listen to that if you haven't already, and make sure you are following or subscribing to the podcast in your fav podcast app of choice. If this is a. Especially if this is the first time or you're a recent listener to the. To the podcast, you've not subscribed yet.

That way you won't miss an episode when it lands every single Friday.

And we also do a monthly roundtable episode with Maria and the other writing members of the writing team, where we just sit around a virtual table and we just chat all things Doctor who, so you'll get that as well.

You can also listen over on the website, which is Bigblueboxpodcast dot co dot UK, and you can read all the reviews and articles and Maria's rundown, all the live events, everything. Can read all that stuff on the website as well, so go and check that out. You can also link off to the socials. We're on there as well.

And we chat Doctor who throughout the week to get involved on there. And lastly, we have a very cool free discord server. Again, there's a link on the website.

Hop in there and chat Doctor who with plenty of other cool Doctor who fans, are a friendly bunch in there. We will chat loads of stuff every day.

Every day I log into that server, there's always some chat going on about a classic story or a book or a piece of merch or upcoming series, and it's really active, so get involved over there. And also. Sorry. Lastly, very lastly, we mentioned Adam, the usual co host.

Don't remember to forget to remember to check out his YouTube channel, which is called the Geeks Handbag. Oh, you done it. Nice. Very nice. Go and check out Adam's stuff over on YouTube.

Loads of cool geekery stuff over there, mainly Doctor who, but just general geekery stuff and grab a drink and watch his stuff. And he's on the socials under the same name as well. Right, Maria, let's land the Tardis, shall we? And we'll. And we'll get into some news.

I'll do that again because I played the wrong clip. Let's land the Tardis, Maria, and let's get into some news.

First up is something that's been knocking around as headline news, I guess, over the last few days, the last week, which is on the Graham Norton show.

So for listeners who are not in the UK, there is a talk show here called the Graham Norton show, and I don't know, I don't watch it regularly enough, Maria. So I don't know if it's an ongoing thing that's on all the time or if it's a seasonal thing, I don't really know.

But the host is obviously a guy called Graham Norton and he has celebrity guests on there and they all just sit on a sofa. It's basically a sofa chat kind of show where it's a mix of whoever's on the show, they get to plug whatever latest thing they're doing on the show.

Plus, Graham sort of prods them a little bit and dives into a little bit about their personality and quirky, fun things that they're into and all that stuff. It's generally a decent laugh. It's not too bad. But shooty was on there recently.

This was the latest episode to go out, and he was obviously asked about Doctor who. How you getting on? How you getting on, dude, with this show that you're in called Doctor who. Tell us about it, what's going on?

And this is where it gets interesting. So originally, when they recorded the episode, shooty replied with the following. He said, it's all going.

to start filming next year in: 2025

So obviously, this is a bit of a. I'm obviously paraphrasing. He didn't say it word for word, but he basically said that.

Loved his time during the first two seasons because it's so up in the air. This is. This is why there's a bit of controversy, because Russell T.

Davis, the BBC Disney, nobody has said yet that there is going to even be a third season with shooty, a season 16, because the BBC have always said since they did this whole Disney thing, they'll see how it goes season by season.

And they've said publicly that they'll wait to see what season 15 does, how that's received, how well that does, before they make a decision to commission any further seasons of Doctor who. So shooty has then gone on, you know, national television and has said, you know, yep, it's all good. And we start filming next year.

So everyone's like, holy. Holy crap, you know, there is going to be a third season.

So then that's kind of snowballed the story into a bit of a, you know, a bunch of fandom, then turning on the BBC because their. Their opinion is rightly or wrongly.

Well, you keep telling us that you haven't made a decision yet on whether we're getting season 16, but yet here we have somebody involved in the show who's telling us that there is very much going to be a season 16 because they're going to be filming it at some point next year. So fast forward a little bit to when the episode actually gets aired. And they made a little edit to his reply.

So he no longer mentions anything about season 16 or season 16 starting to be, you know, getting the cameras rolling next year, anything like that at all. The quote that he now says on the program is, we finished the second season earlier this year.

We've got the Christmas episode coming out at Christmas and overall it's been amazing. And they've removed any reference that he's made to season 16. So this is really weird in a way. Now, the BBC have responded to this.

They've addressed this because, like I said, fandom has gone after them, have basically said, look what's going on? So they've said that, shoot, his response was edited not for the reason of censorship or trying to remove mentions of season 16.

They still stand by their view that they want to wait until season 15 has gone out before they let everyone know if there's going to be another one or not.

So they've said that they edited his answer to liven it up and it was not a sinister request from the BBC bosses to the people at the Graham Norton show to edit that quote, for the obvious reasons. So. And they also. The BBC goes on to say that they don't comment on speculation of any kind and blah, blah, blah.

So, Maria, this is a bit of a weird one, right? We have shooty that said something very, you know, naturally, you know, this wasn't something that I think was a publicity stunt in any way.

He's just said it from, you know, he's on a live tv show, gets asked the question and says a very natural answer of, yeah, yeah, it's all been great. And then the third one's coming, we're doing that, and blah, blah, blah. Then you has. Then we fast forward and his.

His reply has been edited and then the BBC felt like they had to address it and say, look, we didn't ask them to edit his response. That's down to the Graham Norton show. They just wanted to spice up his reply a little bit. So what are your thoughts on this, Maria?

It's made the headlines a little bit of a weird one.

Maria: 00:17:45

Oh, yeah. I mean, definitely. I kind of. I think initially, because I did watch it, I sat and watched it yesterday.

I don't really tune into Graham Norton, you know, not unless it's on in the background or, you know, if I'm doing something and then I'll obviously didn't watch it, but I watched it yesterday and I don't know how I feel about this thing about livening up Gatwa's answer. He was a bit. He did. He did seem a bit subdued, to be fair, in comparison to the other guests that were on there.

There was a couple of Hollywood actresses that were on there. Miranda Hart was on there. Someone else? Oh, they had. And then they had Kevin Klein towards the end.

So, you know, he was quite subdued in comparison to some of those other actors.

So in some respects, I could understand that, you know, he wasn't saying very much, and I assume he was only on there really probably expecting to be asked about the. The show that he's doing at the National Theatre, the theatre production that he's in.

I mean, in regards to him kind of saying that, you know, that season 16 is going to be filmed next year, I'm assuming as an actor, as a jobbing actor, he would perhaps have some inside information. Maybe. Or maybe he's maybe, you know, in terms of forward planning, he probably wants to know what he's going to be doing next year.

So I don't know whether he's just let the cat out of the bag, you know, and just been, like you said, very natural and kind of revealed something that, you know, that maybe he's expecting to be doing.

It doesn't mean that what he's saying is necessarily actually going to occur, because I would imagine, you know, everything that Russell's been saying has been very cautious. You know, he's been very cautious about revealing future plans.

I mean, he obviously said that he'd written some of the scripts for the third series, but I can understand when they're saying that, you know, there's no decision that's going to be made after season two because I'm assuming, you know, the original plan was for Disney only to fund the two series.

So, you know, it could be that there's this thing, you know, around revealing information, you know, between two corporate organizations about what's happening. So, you know, I suppose in that respect, Russell's being very cautious about it and not wanting to reveal anything.

I mean, I don't know if he has just let the cat out of the bag or whether it's just what he's expecting.

In regards to the editing a bit, I would probably say, I mean, I don't know how long that show, how long they record for on the Graham Milton show, but I suppose it could be true that, you know, they could be editing it for time as well in order to fit for that, you know, an expected length of time, because I think it's around 50 minutes the show. So I don't know. It is a very bizarre one.

I think if Doctor who fans hadn't kind of gone into a frenzy about it, the BBC probably wouldn't have addressed it at all.

They would have just, you know, they would have just said it's a production decision and I'm assuming that there are directors and editors that make that kind of decision. Is there anything sinister in it? Hard to say, really.

I mean, I know that there's a lot of speculation about what's going to happen after series two fans being Doctor who fans being Doctor who fans. We want to know, we feel we've got that right to kind of ask those questions and get the answers. But maybe we've just got to wait and see.

It is an odd one. I think it might be a bit of a storm in a teacup, a little bit. I'm not sure.

Garry: 00:22:18

So your view is you don't think there's anything untoward going on from the BBC side?

You don't think that they've contacted Graham Norton and said, look, something along the lines of this is going to cause like, you know, some, some ripples here. If you guys put out that shoot is confirmed us, because we don't, we haven't confirmed anything. So would you mind pretty please editing that out?

You don't think that's happened? You think it's just, uh, Graham Norton have genuinely edited it for either time or to. Because it's hard to, it's hard for them to, uh, sorry.

It's hard for me to, to get my head around why they would need to spice up his reply in any way. Because if you really want to have a spicy reply, then you leave in the fact that he's confirmed season 16. That would be the most spicy.

Maria: 00:23:11

Yeah, you know, I suppose, yeah, I suppose. I mean, looking at what Tshooti actually said in the show, I mean, yeah, I suppose livening up his answer is probably.

I mean, there is a part of me that's a bit cynical about it. You know, maybe it was for a different reason.

And I think that's a stupid, maybe a stupid thing because I think shooty actually revealed some other stuff that I thought was a lot more spicy, you know, about some of the Atlantic, the go go dancer in. Where was it exactly? Glasgow. And, you know, some of the stuff he had to do in terms of the trip to America on the plane.

And I mean, I get a sense with Judy, you know, that he's actually not a very, you know, he kind of just says things. I don't, I still have this sense that there's a lack of maturity in his, in his character. He's not very guarded about anything.

I think he just flirts things out and it could just be he's blurted things out. I mean, would the BBC kind of ask the Graham Norton show to edit it? Possibly.

I mean, I, I'm trying to think if there's any other examples that I'm aware of where the BBC have done things like that. I mean, obviously, maybe if it was something political that they edited, I could understand it, but I don't know. It's a really strange one.

What do you think, Garry?

Garry: 00:24:42

It is a weird one.

Maria: 00:24:43

You think?

Garry: 00:24:45

Yeah.

I mean, just to, just to allude to something you mentioned there about having a cynical mind for it, I think I would say the BBC are very much have said, you know, what the beep are you guys doing? You know, there's no way that you can put out. It's weird because BB Doctor who is treated as a very different show to a lot of other shows.

I think there's so much.

There's so much to it in terms of the bureaucracy in the background and the red tape and all the contracts and licensing and all that stuff behind it. It just feels like, and I'm not saying that no other program has that, they obviously do.

But to know it just feels like Doctor who's this strange beast where nobody's allowed to even mean.

It's a bit like Star wars and a bit like, you know, when Game of if don't, if you remember when Game of Thrones was going out and we were kind of two seasons down and a few seasons left to go.

I didn't watch it actively then, but I remember seeing in the news that there were actors that had spilled the beans on certain things and they had their wrists slapped and they weren't allowed to say certain things and all the rest of it. So I think doctor who falls into that bucket where everyone's so guarded and everyone has to be so protected.

So when somebody like shooty goes on tv and has a little bit of, a little bit of a momentous, it's then I think all the, all the execs at the BBC and bad wolf and all the rest of it, they all jump into action. They're like, right, how do we. Because I guess there's two ways you can go with it, right?

You can either just let it go out as is, and then if fandom questions it, you can just say, well, you know, we're not sure where shooty has got that information from, but us as the corporation certainly have no plans to commission it yet until season fifteen's gone out. They can hold to that story or they can do what they've seemingly done, which is, look, just do us a favor. Do us a solid on this one. Yeah.

We can't have fandom going absolutely bizarre. But then the problem with that is like, it's like a double edged sword.

It's like you want to be, you want to be guarded about it and you want to be, you want to make sure that everything is kept in this close little bubble so that things don't get leaked and all the rest of it. But then, because it's Doctor who, all the fans are on lookout all the time.

Maria: 00:27:15

Yeah.

Garry: 00:27:16

So you would have had fans in the audience. You would have had people in the audience who were Doctor who fans who had heard his response being recorded live.

And so the cats already out the bag.

Maria: 00:27:26

It's.

Garry: 00:27:27

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So then the Bieber's like, you know, help us out here, Mister Graham.

Maria: 00:27:32

I get it.

Garry: 00:27:33

We can't have this going out. So I don't know. I think the cynical way in my head is like, yeah, the BBC have 100% got in contact and muted it.

Maria: 00:27:41

All right? So if I think about it a bit more, because obviously, you know, I don't know. I don't know. I'm not an insider. I haven't got an insider on the BBC.

I don't know if you remember when they went to San Diego Comic Con and there was the panel and I remember that. I think both shooty and Millie were very reticent about kind of releasing anything about what was happening in the future.

So, you know, if I go down the conspiracy route and I, and I let my brain kind of, you know, kind of get carried away, I could, I could possibly kind of take that point of view. I mean, the thing is, I I don't know. I mean, I was very surprised when I, when it all blew up in the press.

And I know a lot of people have been talking about it. It's very difficult to know. I mean, you could say if you went down the conspiracy route, that Russell T.

Davis is the, is the master puppeteer, then, you know, and nothing has, nothing can be released outside of that bad bubble. You know, they're not going to release anything until they are 100% sure what's happening going forward. So, yeah, it could be that as well.

You know, I I'm just, uh, you know, it'll be interesting to know whether, you know, Stutti's had a telling off about this and, you know, whether somebody's had a word in his ear and kind of said, you know, tshuti, you need to be a bit more careful about what you're saying, you know, because he doesn't. He does seem really unguarded, you know, in some of the things that he says. It just comes out with things. And I.

I've kind of noticed that in interviews he's not, you know, and I think. I think that's where he kind of got into trouble at the beginning of series one.

Because I don't know if you remember, he talked about how gammas and people should go and touch grass. You know, it was very unguarded. He kind of just opened his mouth and it all came out. And I think, yeah, I think there could be something in his.

In his character around that, you know, that maybe he. He is. You know, he may be needed to be reined in, maybe by the. By, you know, the people, his boss, his boss and the people that he works for.

I don't know.

Garry: 00:29:58

Yeah, there is a. There is a third option to this as well, and which is. Which sort of taps into the even more of the cynical side of your brain, which is, um.

That this was done on purpose. Because, let's be honest, you know, a lot of.

A lot of studios and production studios, it normally happens with films rather than tv, but sometimes they will purposefully make it look like there's been a bit of a hiccup or something's leaked. And in actual fact, it's been done on purpose to generate buzz around this.

Because, let's face it now that season 14 has long, you know, been and gone, and between the end of that and the next thing we're going to get, which is the Christmas special, and this is something also that Adam and I have spoken about in the last couple of months, and is that there's literally nothing happening with Doctor who right now. The only thing that's happening is the live show that you guys went to with Paul McGann, stuff of Legend, the usual big finish stuff. And that's it.

Like, there's. There's no news, there's no announcements, there's no trailers. Literally nothing.

And that will continue for the next month and a half ish until we get into December, where we're likely to get some sort of quick, you know, teaser for the Christmas special at some point. So there's that third option as well that Russell has.

Because I would imagine that people like shooty and Millie Gibson and, you know, anyone else involved in the show, whenever they go on do media, whether it's Graham Norton show or radio, whatever it might be, they'll obviously be briefed on that stuff. Right.

Because their agent will say, look, I've got you this slot on whatever show it is, but because you're in doctor who, there's going to be things that you can't talk about. So here are the things that are absolutely 100% off limits. You can't talk about this, this, this blah, blah, blah.

So I would imagine that if they did, if this was the third option, somebody like Russell or somebody would have said, look, you know, don't worry, you won't get a telling off, but it wouldn't be the worst thing if you, if you made a little, a little comment about season 16, don't worry, you won't be told off. We'll take the flak for it, but it will generate a load of buzz within fandom.

And then all of a sudden, you've got the whole world talking about Doctor who again. So there's a third one. Who knows?

Maria: 00:32:21

I don't know. I think, I think that that's an outside bet, that third version, third option. I think, yeah, I think so.

Garry: 00:32:30

Yeah. But it has happened, though.

It has happened with other producers and directors and people in the show where something's been leaked or supposedly, quote, unquote, accidentally said in an interview, and then it's turned out years later when that person's been interviewed, they're like, oh, yeah, I was told to say that. Or they knew full well that that was going to leak and they wanted it to happen to generate unofficial buzz. Who knows?

But, um, yeah, that's a bit of a James Bond villain. Well, option, that one. But who knows?

Maria: 00:32:57

You say that, I mean, okay, thinking about it a bit more, like, I need a bit of time to process these things. It could actually be a ploy to kind of push Disneyland, I suppose.

You know, if they're saying maybe, oh, yeah, we're going to go forward with a third series, it could be a ploy.

It's a kind of get, either get a commitment from Disney that they're going to commit to a third series or to let them know that, you know, there are other options, other companies that maybe might be interested in doing the show. So if, if they were going along that devious route, and I, I don't, I don't think, I don't think shoots.

Is that clever to kind of do the third option. Be honest. If I'm honest about it, he's not. No, I don't think he would, but. Okay, let's assume that he did go down that route.

That could be something that could be used as leverage, I suppose, if we're going to go into the whole, the BBC is really fighting for the show and they want it to continue because I know when, I know when I go on to a lot of podcasts and things like that, you know, there is a lot of discussion about how long the show is going to continue for in its format. And obviously, the rate, you know, the ratings for the last series weren't great. So, you know, I think it's speculation, isn't it?

We don't know, but it could, if you were thinking about it, it could be something to use as leverage.

You know, put the rumor out that, you know, there's going to be a third series, you know, Disney are kind of, their ears are pricking up, you know, what's going on? Who have the BBC got in mind, you know, if they really love the show? Because I know they.

I know there was, there was an article at the, about the edit, Edinburgh Fringe, because I think there were some execs there from Disney, and they were kind of saying what a great bit doctor who was, you know, in their, you know, with their streaming and everything and, you know, because they don't have anything, I suppose, Sci-Fi in that, you know, in that genre. So, you know, it could be. It could just be the word. It could just be just talk. It's that talk, you know, it's talking things up.

There's a word for it, but I can't think what it is. You know, it's.

Garry: 00:35:25

I know what you mean.

Maria: 00:35:25

It's that, it's that talk around the show. It's the noise around the show, you know, to kind of generate something to happen.

Garry: 00:35:35

Yeah, I read you. Yeah. So there's a few things that could have. We'll never know, of course. We'll never know, you know, exactly what the reason for that.

It just depends on what your view is on, on that stuff.

It could be just a very innocent edit from the Graham Norton show, end of story, and a lot of fandom, and everyone's looking, you know, way too much into it than it actually is.

Or it could be a request from the Beeba because they did want to censor it a little bit due to the fact that they don't want to get tongues wagon too much and be held to something that they have no intention or at the moment, you know. You know what I mean? It's like, you know, it could be one or two or a few things we'll never know. But it's an interesting story.

Maria: 00:36:14

There is a fourth option. There is a fourth option, Garry.

Garry: 00:36:18

Oh, God.

Maria: 00:36:19

It could be the Graham Norton show need a bit of publicity. That could be. They've done this on purpose because Graham Norton's show has been on the tv for so long now.

You know, Graham, you know, he kind of loves Doctor who. He takes the Mickey out of it, you know, but it could be a bit of publicity for him. It's not a bad thing either.

Garry: 00:36:41

No, you're right. There could be. There's numerous options on the table with this one. We'll let you listener decide, actually, let us know what you think.

Hop in the discord or hop onto Twitter, whatever threads. Let us know what you think. You can find us at Big Bluebox, pcast on Twitter or at Bigbucks podcast on Threads or Facebook, whatever you want.

Let us know your thoughts on this one, because it is a, it is a weird, a weird story.

And I think, you know, we could probably run away with this one and come up with maybe two or three more options that are a bit more or even more sinister than those ones. Who knows? But it's definitely a weird one.

And moving on to the next story, which is moving away from stuff that's unconfirmed and is or isn't being filmed or whatever, we've got some solid dates on stuff that is being done soon and going to be finished. So this comes from an interview that Russell T.

Davis did for the latest edition of Doctor who magazine, which has been surfaced online [email protected] and this is his confirmation that the spin off show the, the war between the land and the sea that will finish filming principal photography will be done by Christmas. And there was no mincing of words with that one. It's going to be done just before Christmas, he said.

So in the latest edition of BookTube magazine, he says that in the office this show is generally shortened to TWBA, which makes me think it stands for Torchwood Birmingham, which is quite funny. He says, we're in the third week of filming, which is very exciting.

The shoot will go on until just before Christmas, and it's a mammoth task, all wrangled by one director, Dylan Holmes Williams. He goes on to say that I wrote episodes one and five. Pete McTighe wrote episodes two and three.

And then episode four is by both of us shooting a mini series as one block brings its own challenges. Normally, five episodes would be broken down into two or three blocks, filmed roughly in order. But with this one, it's just one big block.

So an actor could appear for the first time in the very last scene of the very last episode. And he says, indeed, someone has done that, but we could then need to shoot them tomorrow doing something else.

He says, equally, someone could be needed in episode one, scene one, but maybe they won't shoot until December. Logistics galore, all the rest of it. So I won't read the whole thing.

But he's basically saying that the production side of things for this spin off is very.

A bit of a logistical nightmare, because, as he said, the beauty of shooting the regular show, Doctor who, and I would imagine most other tv shows, is that in terms of schedules and to maximize on energy levels and production and costs and everything, you can break things up nicely into blocks. So you can have shooting block one through two, whatever.

And then when you've filmed all your blocks, that's when you go into editing mode and you start putting it all together. What he's saying with this is that we can't do that because of whatever reason, time constraints, money, whatever.

So they're having to film the entire six episodes all together in one block. So it makes, you know, getting actors in and out of their scenes in chronological order. A bit of. A bit of a thing.

So we all spoke about this on the roundtable. Was it last month or the month before? We all spoke about our thoughts on this spin off.

And if we're looking forward to it and all that kind of stuff, I think we're a little bit. All of us were a little bit lukewarm on the premise of this show and all that stuff.

But I have to say now that we've got a bit of momentum on this one, it kind of takes the focus away from Doctor who a little bit, and we can focus on maybe getting some set picks between now and December, seeing what's going on a bit more in depth. So, Maria, good shout on this one. At least we have something confirmed that's being done.

Maria: 00:40:49

You know, it's good to know that, you know, there is something else coming.

I mean, sometimes there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of information that comes out about things that, you know coming up, but it's good to know that this is going to be finished soon. I mean, they're probably going to have a massive editing job once it's all finished. I mean, they're basically filming 5 hours of material.

I suppose that's quite a lot over the few weeks that they've got. So I'm looking forward to Pete McTeague's episodes because I really want to see how different they are to Russell t. Davis episode.

You know, I'll be intrigued to kind of see what happens in that. I mean, I know that Russell's doing the last episode, so, yeah, I mean, it'll be interesting to see what happens with it. I'm still a bit lukewarm.

I know. I'm still not that excited about it, but I, you know, it's a new spin off. So let's see.

Maybe when, like you said, when a few pictures come out, you know, we'll be more excited.

I really want to see what the monsters look like and if they kind of kept them classic or whether there's, you know, whether they look very different.

Garry: 00:42:14

I think they will be. I think they'll be classic.

Maria: 00:42:16

I hope so.

Garry: 00:42:16

Yeah, I think so. That they're likely to look exactly the same as they did in the Jodie Whittaker story. The curse of the Sea Devils. Is that what it was called?

Maria: 00:42:26

Yeah, I think it was, yeah.

Garry: 00:42:30

Yeah. I think they'll look exactly the same as what they did in that.

So they'll probably reuse a lot of the visual effects assets from that and all the rest of it. So they'll probably have that classic feel to it.

I can't imagine them redesigning or messing with that design too much because, um, you know, you can't upset fandom. You can't do anything. You can't go too knocks with these things.

Maria: 00:42:53

You know, that's what, that, that's what happens when you've got so much history. You know, sometimes you have to, you have to stay true to the classics. I mean, they tried, they tried doing it with the Daleks, didn't they?

Tried creating those multicolored Daleks. I can't remember what they were called now, you know, those big, bulkier ones that were in the bright colors in the Matt Smith episode.

And people hated them, you know, because they weren't, they weren't the traditional Daleks. And, you know, it's, I think the sea devils are probably, you know, not a lot of people will probably remember them.

You know, it will be the fans that will remember them. But, you know, I think, I think it would be nice if they kept them the same. You know, I can't imagine.

I can't imagine that they would evolve that much, to be honest. Um, yeah.

Garry: 00:43:45

Yeah, no, I agree with you.

There's a lot of history that needs to be adhered to and I think they've tried to do, um, they've tried to mess with designs for stuff over the years, especially with Daleks and, you know, with the older, you know, the shiny plastic, different colored Daleks from the Matt Smith era and.

Maria: 00:44:03

Yeah.

Garry: 00:44:04

Changing up Davros a little bit.

And, you know, when that short came out for children in need with David Tennant's latest Doctor and Davros was no longer in a wheelchair and just went ballistic about that, remember?

Maria: 00:44:16

So that is a sore.

Garry: 00:44:18

This is the sort of thing.

Maria: 00:44:19

Yeah, I know.

Garry: 00:44:20

Yeah, yeah. This is the sort of thing that they have to be wary of, though, when you start messing around with.

With these things that have been in the show for so many decades. It's, um. It's. It's. It's eggshell ground. Right. It's, um. You gotta be careful with that. So fortunately, they.

They haven't messed with that design too much.

Maria: 00:44:40

It. Yeah, looks pretty. I'm really pleased that they've kind of just kept things with it. Very simple with the Dalek.

Garry: 00:44:48

Hmm, indeedy. Yes. So that was Russell talking to the Radio Times. Just short and sweet, that story.

Just letting us know that something at least is in full swing at bad Wolf, which is the spin off show. So that's going to be filming apparently is going to be wrapped as long as there are no delays by just before Crimbo.

And then we think that that spin off is going to land at some point next year, likely to be after season 15 drops of the main show. This will probably be later on in the year. Next year. We think it might be the following year, but that's an estimated guess.

So we'll let you know what happens with all that stuff. And then the last story, talking of the Radio Times, we've got someone else who were involved, who was involved with Doctor who.

He was involved in it a little bit. Yeah, his name's. His name pops up every now and then.

He only had a small part in the show, but Peter Capaldi was interviewed by the Radio Times recently because he's been doing some big stuff since he left Doctor who. Not only has he continued his tv work, but he's also dipped his toe in the water with some. Some pretty big film stuff since he left Doctor who.

He was in the. The Suicide Squad movie that was like a weird sort of remake slash, sequel Slash thing that was out a few years back.

He played a character that was a massive film to star in. And then he's also in this new Amazon prime series, the Devil's Hour, which is going out at the moment on Amazon prime.

So he's kind of doing the rounds a little bit from a media perspective, to promote that show, and that's a big show as well. So he's done some, some big stuff.

But as always, anyone that's involved with Doctor who, it doesn't matter if you've left the show last month or 25 years ago, you will always be asked about Doctor who. That's just par for the course. And they were asking him about, about his time as the doctor, and he went on to say that.

He says, it was an incredible experience. Suddenly you're in the middle of this fantastical world surrounded by people who love Doctor who.

He says, I was watching Tom Baker talking about something, and he said that when he was Doctor who, he would do tons and tons of publicity and stuff, because being Doctor who was much more fun than being Tom Baker, and I would say the same, probably being Doctor who is much more fun than being me. He goes on to say that certainly you're in a privileged position because you receive the affection for that character.

It's a character, it's not me, and it's a delightful place to be. It would be a hard part to sustain, I think, forever. But you do see the best of people, which is lovely.

So a really nice little snippet in this interview.

I think the interview is reasonably long because he goes on to talk about other stuff that he's done and then a lot more detail about the other shows that he did and stuff.

But, yeah, this is an interesting little quote, Maria, because he's saying that, like Tom Baker, he's saying that the role and the character of the Doctor is way more fun than, you know, the actual, you know, actor slash person playing the role, which is kind of weird. But first of all, I don't think we've spoken about this too much on the roundtable episodes, but are you a Capaldi fan? Are you a fan of his era?

Maria: 00:48:21

Yeah, no, I'm definitely a fan of Peter Capaldi. I I thought he wasn't always best served by the stories that he had, but as an actor, I mean, he was amazing.

He was kind of like, he was kind of up there. You know, he, he brought his own unique style and, you know, I'm really happy that, you know, he loved the affection that he got.

You know, you took Doctor who in the spirit that it's meant to be taken. He had a lot of respect for the part, I think, you know, he was a fan himself. We know he was a fan of doctor who, so.

And I think being a fan of doctor who, you understand the role, maybe a bit better, you know, because you've watched the show, you understand it. And I, you know, and I love the fact that, you know, he, he considered it a privilege.

And I think, you know, I think it's, I think it's like what I kind of said about, you know, the people that look after the show, that run the show, you know, they're custodians for the show. The show itself is, you know, it's a wonderful kind of confection of Sci-Fi and, you know, and, you know, it's just an adventure show.

And, you know, and I think Peter Capaldi, you know, he took it in the spirit that it was meant to be taken. He took the role seriously. You know, he tried to find his own doctor.

And I think, I think the pity was that, you know, he didn't probably find it straight away. You know, he went, he had different styles through every season and, you know, obviously, you know, people, people will like that or they won't.

But I was, I've always been a fan. I think he's one of my favorite doctors.

And I think because I, because of what he brought to the role, you know, maybe also being an older actor, he brought a wealth of experience. And, you know, he hasn't got that naivety of some of the younger actors that have been in the role.

I mean, saying that Matt Smith was fantastic as well. He just kind of got it, you know, straight away as well.

And, you know, for Peter, you know, I'm, you know, he obviously had a learning process to kind of find the character.

But, you know, he, he's always been fantastic with the fans because I know when I've been to London film the Comic Con, you know, he was, you know, he was so patient with the hues of people that went to see him.

I mean, I remember when I went that time and he was obviously taking, he was having photographs of people and you will wait for ages, but he was just so nice. And, you know, I felt it was a privilege to meet him as well.

So, you know, I'm, you know, I think he's, yeah, I'm a fan of his and, you know, I can't say anything more than that, really. You know, he's one of my favorite doctors of the new era. He's probably near the top. Yeah, he's really, he is cool. Yeah, he is definitely, you know.

Garry: 00:51:36

Yeah. And what's cool about Peter is that, as we all know, he's a lifelong fan.

A bit like David Tennant, watched, watched classic who loads when he was younger and there was that nice little thing, wasn't there, where he wrote into the doctor who fan club or magazine, I think it was, or something like that. It got put in a column on the newspaper and they showed it. Remember that live episode they did where they announced the new Doctor?

Maria: 00:52:03

Yeah.

Garry: 00:52:04

And it was Capaldi know, and they, they showed it on there and that was really lovely.

So you could tell that somebody had already lived in the world of Doctor who for decades before getting that, that part and just knew that everything inside out, pretty much.

So I think when you have somebody like that, not to say that somebody coming into it fresh, you had never seen any episode before, wouldn't be any good. But you just have, like, this kind of undead, almost a subconscious understanding of everything.

So when you're, the way I see an advantage to it is that if you're reading a script, for example, and you're doing, like, the read through and you've got all the actors and the writers and producers, everybody, and you're just reading through the script, if you're referencing things from classic Doctor who or whatever, you've already got that level of understanding in your head. So, yeah, you, you don't need to concern yourself with somebody explaining all of that stuff to you because you've already got it.

You've, you already know exactly what's going on.

Like, if in a script, if somebody mentions Rasselon or Davros or, you know, whatever it might be or something that happened in the five doctors or something like that, you don't need to sit there and somebody say, right, peter, the reason why we've mentioned this is because back in the day, blah, blah, blah and blah, blah, blah, he's like, okay, I think I get it. He doesn't need to do that. He's like, right, you mentioned that. Cool, I'm on board.

Maria: 00:53:30

He's got a term of reference for it and.

Garry: 00:53:32

Exactly.

Maria: 00:53:33

And, you know, and I, and I think, you know, I think coming into it with that, with that kind of knowledge actually helps you in the role. You know, providing the writing is good as well.

I mean, this is where maybe Jodie, maybe, you know, didn't, maybe she didn't quite understand the role of the doctor initially because I don't think she'd ever watched it before. And I don't think, I don't think Judith's watched it either.

So, you know, I think if you come in and you have an, I don't know about Chris Feckleston, I think maybe he was aware of it.

But I think it gives you a grounding, you know, when you're coming into the role, it's about finding your own character, but you've got that grounding already.

You know, if I've never watched Shakespeare, and then you ask me to play a part in a play, like, I don't know, Macbeth or Hamlet or something, you know, where is my term of reference going to come from? So, yeah, I think that's interesting.

And the other thing that I thought was interesting where he said that it's a lot more fun to play the doctor than it is to be himself. And I think. I think Tom Baker very much kind of, he's always said he played himself in that role. So, you know, that's really interesting.

You're either playing, you're either going to use your own personality and feed that into the character or you're hiding as a completely different person in the role. So it's a really interesting dynamic as to how the actor's going to play the role. For Peter, it's obviously a character.

So he's obviously created a character that's completely different to him.

Whereas I think with Tom, I think he was quite honest when he said, you know, he was, he was the doctor, you know, it was very much his own personality went into that role. So, yeah, it's interesting, isn't it?

Garry: 00:55:31

Yeah. And there's probably a few reasons and maybe every actor has got a different view on that, but it's probably got.

It's probably a double whammy of a bit like us as the viewer.

There's a bit of escapism, you know, if you're, if you're the actor that's playing the doctor for a good few, you know, a chunk of the year, good few months, you're, you're in a whole other world, you know, with these fantastic stories and everything going on, and that must be very cool as an actor.

And then secondly, as Peter Capaldi alluded to in this interview, it's, um, for the most part, at least, you know, you've got some really, really lovely fans that, you know, always happy to see you and smiley faces and they want pics with you and everything. So that's really cool as well. So I can imagine it's. Those two things for an actor would be.

Would make them think actually, it's really fun and really cool to be the doctor when it's just me, you know, it's.

Maria: 00:56:30

Yeah, I think.

I think as a fan as well, it's quite, quite nice to know that the actor that's in the main role actually appreciates you, you as a fan as well because I think it is a, it's a two way relationship because as fans, we're very invested in the show and the stories, but we also invest in the merchandise and buying all the stuff around it as well.

So I think it's quite nice when your main character, your actor, actually acknowledges the fans, you know, because I don't think, you know, I think fandom, all of fandom has it more extreme, I would say.

But I, you know, I think as fans, you know, all we want to do is we want to love the show, we want to appreciate the show, we want to love it, we want to enjoy the stories. I don't think we necessarily go into the show thinking, you know, I want to see a bad, I don't think I ever do.

But, you know, and then I'm disappointed if it is, if it is a story that I don't like or an episode that I haven't enjoyed.

I mean, there's a sense of disappointment about that, you know, and I think, I think as the main person that carries the show, I think it's quite important to acknowledge, you know, that this show has got a huge fan base. It's been going for over 60 years. So, you know, it's fan base this quite well, I would say. I would say it's big.

You know, I think a lot of people, it's in the public consciousness, though.

It's, you know, it's quite nice that he actually acknowledges that the fans, you know, that the fans are, you know, enthusiastic, you know, that they're, that they're welcoming and I think, you know, it's a two way thing.

You know, I think this is what I was saying earlier about, you know, how some of the noise that was around series one kind of, you know, obviously got fans backs up, you know, and maybe, maybe made us not able to support the show as much as we would want to.

Whereas if the actor is kind of positively, you know, acknowledging who we are, you know, because we're an important part of the show, I mean, if the show didn't have any fans, it wouldn't basically be on tv, you know? So, yeah, I'm really pleased, you know, I mean, he's always been a fantastic ambassador for the show.

I think, you know, I don't think I've ever heard him say a bad word about the show. I mean, maybe, you know, he hasn't said anything, obviously, publicly, privately. I know, I don't know if there's a different story. But, um.

Garry: 00:59:15

No, agreed. Yeah. He's always been, um.

He's always been, I think, the only actor, really, that's ever gone off on one or had any bad words to say about, um, the show or the BBC or whatever is probably Colin Baker. But then he had every right to be.

Maria: 00:59:34

Yeah, you know, a bit.

Garry: 00:59:35

A bit. A bit pissed at the BBC and whatnot. And then probably Eccleston. He's made it very public about his.

The deterioration of his friendship with Russell T Davis and the other producers on the show and how, you know, there was just a bit of a. Yeah, a bit of bad blood there. So I think other than that, most of. Not all of the actors have always been very complimentary about stuff and.

But, but Pete has always been one of those guys that you never ever see him roll his eyes at any questions.

Maria: 01:00:13

Yeah.

Garry: 01:00:13

Or have that look on his face like, oh, here we go. I'm being asked about. About Doctor who and not the other actors, you know, do that often. But you often find that, like we mentioned earlier when.

When we've mentioned loads of times that when you're on, you're being interviewed by something and it doesn't matter. Like I said, if you left Doctor who recently or decades ago, you'll always be asked about it just because it's one of those shows.

And so you often have actors who. Not necessarily they mind, but they've just got that look on their face like, ah, we're back to. We're back to Doctor who again, are we?

And, you know, it's normally. It's normally a combination of. They just know that the same old questions are coming at them and.

Or they know that someone's after a bit of gossip about something that's going down in the show that, you know, they don't want to, they don't really want to get into. So had this look on their face like, oh, here we go. But Peters, I've never, ever seen Peter be like that.

Like when he's been on tv interviews, when you heard him on the radio, he's just always had this and I think he was quite choked up and emotional. Right. It's very one of the last interviews that he did right at the end of his era or just after he'd left, I think it was with.

It was on BBC Radio Two, I think, with Joe Wiley. I think it was that show. He got really teary, you know, she was saying, you know, it's fandom's gonna miss you.

It's been great having you as a doctor, and he didn't really have much to say. He was just like, yeah, it's been wonderful. It's been great. And he said, I really appreciate everybody. And even the BBC, they've been great.

And he got really choked and, yeah, so I think he's just a lifelong.

What we were saying earlier, it really helps, I think, if you're a true fan of the show before you're an actor in the show, you know, I think that really, that really does.

Maria: 01:02:11

I mean, I'd love to see him come back. Maybe just one off, one off, um, appearance, you know, maybe, um, the power of the doctor would have been a good opportunity for him to come back.

But obviously, I think he said, he said he, he, you know, he obviously doesn't want to come back, and that's fair enough. But I think it would have been nice just to kind of invite him or maybe ask him.

Garry: 01:02:35

Yeah, it would be cool. And, yeah, I mean, we've. I think we have that with a few people.

You know, like last week, Harry and I, the headline story that we spoke about last week was Carol Anne Ford alluding a little bit to, she's never been asked to come back. And if she was to be asked, she would. She would, she would probably say yes, but she'd be emotional about it and all the rest of it.

So I think there's a few people, you know, that are overdue.

Maria: 01:02:59

Yeah.

Garry: 01:03:00

You know, a bit of a comedy.

Maria: 01:03:00

I mean, with Carol Ann, I think, you know, there is a, there is a time limit on how long you might be with us. So, you know, I mean, I don't know if I said this to you, but I remember I did tweet Russell T.

Davis at one point, and I said, because I'd been to capital and I'd asked Carol, obviously, she's probably been asked thousands of times, you know, would you come back to live? And she said, oh, definitely. Yeah, I would if I was asked. So I then tweeted Russell, and I said, you know, please, can you kind of make it happen?

But then thinking about it, because he brought back, because he had that Susan twist character, I thought to myself, God, I hope my tweet didn't influence him in kind of thinking of Susan character and bringing it back, because it was kind of, I felt quite bad. I thought, oh, no, I hope I didn't do anything wrong. But now I'd like him to bring. I would like him to bring back Carol Anne.

I mean, I think there's definitely more mileage in the story. Of Susan. I mean, I know big.

I know, I know big finish have kind of expanded her story quite a lot, but I still think there's mileage in it and I think there's a. What? There's a wasted opportunity there, you know. I mean, she would have been fantastic with Prapaldi, actually.

I think, you know, the granddaughter grandfather. I think that that would have been quite a good pairing if they could have made it happen, but I don't know.

Garry: 01:04:28

Yeah, we'll see. So there's Peter Capaldi still obviously being asked about doctor who and clearly has no problem talking about his time on the show and stuff.

So, yeah, one day it would be amazing to get him back and doing something with the show, but that is all the news, really, that's kicking around in the world of Doctor who. Not much else going on. There's a few little nuggets of stuff here and there, but nothing newsworthy. So we'll.

We'll might save that for another episode. But those are the sort of headlines if, like, it is very quiet out there, to be honest with you.

Like we were saying earlier around this whole Graham Norton thing, and one of the cynical potential reasons for this whole thing with shooty is to generate some chatter in fandom and some buzz and stuff, because it is quite quiet, but that is all the news. So, Maria, I want to finish up on a few questions, because over the next few weeks, we've already had Harry on. You're on now.

I'll do the same with the other guys in the writing team. I'd love for our listenership to get to know you guys a wee bit better. So saying questions are going to be fired. Over to you.

So this one's always obvious, but what was your first introduction to Doctor who and roughly when was that?

Maria: 01:05:49

Oh, gosh. Um. See, I remember as a young. As a young girl, I was aware of Tom Baker. This is late Tom Baker. Um, I. I think.

I don't know why, but I'm sure that there were, at some point, repeat of Doctor who on tv. I know they don't.

I know they didn't happen that often when I was growing up, but I'm sure there was a couple of summons where they were showing Doctor who and they were showing Tom Baker. So I know I was aware of him from kind of being quite young. I'm not going to say. I'm not going to say how old I was, but I was quite young.

But I suppose my first probably clear memory is probably around destiny of Dalek, which has got Lala ward in it and Tom Baker. That, for some reason, I don't know why, that kind of fits really clearly in my head, but I don't know if it's the first story that I.

I saw, but I definitely remember the pink coat that Romana was wearing because I did actually then go and cosplay it as well. Cause I bought my own version. But I definitely remember her, I think, in the role.

I think she was probably the first companion that I remember clearly. But then there was a period where I kind of. I kind of stopped watching, I think, because I didn't watch a lot of season 18 originally.

hink it was around. Oh, yeah,: 1980

And I remember I was sitting in the kitchen and I just came across Doctor who. I'm sure it was on BBC Two for some reason, and they were showing some of the old repetes. And I think I saw at that point the three doctors. I think.

I'm pretty sure it was three doctors. And then they had. Because I remember they showed legopoly. And I think it was around that time that I found Doctor who magazine.

It was in a newsagent near me and I just happened to pick up the magazine as I was watching the five faces of Doctor who. I hadn't watched all of the stories. I think I missed the black and white one, possibly. I think it was the colour one that I saw.

But I think that was when my obsession with Doctor who properly started, because I. As I say, I'd always been aware of Tom Baker. He seemed to be in the role for a very, very long time.

And that scar, the curls, the smile, you know, he was a very. Was a very visible figure at that time. I seem to remember he was. He was around and there was a lot of.

There was a lot of, you know, there was a lot of publicity around Tom Baker, I think maybe because. Been in the role for quite a long time.

But I think actually watching that series, the five faces of Doctor who, when I actually became a fan, because I watched Logopolis, I saw the regeneration, I saw Peter Davidson coming in. And I think that was when my obsession started, because that was when I met my favourite team, which was Teagan.

Garry: 01:09:20

Oh, Tegan.

Maria: 01:09:21

And I do. For some reason, I was at that right. I was at the right age where I kind of. I kind of got what was going on with Doctor Pooh. It was.

It wasn't it wasn't: 1970

And that that was when my obsession kind of started. I mean, I, you know, as a. As a young fan, you know, that was a female. There wasn't really a lot of other fans that I knew around me.

So, you know, it was my kind of solitary kind of obsession for a few years, you know, and then obviously I sat and I watched the other doctors that came in afterwards, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, you know. So that was. That was kind of my era, I think the eighties, the early eighties onwards, you know, that was when I was kind of really into the show.

You know, I devoured Doctor who magazine. You know, that was the only source of information, I think, that there was around about the show. I mean, there wasn't really very much.

I mean, there was always the radio Times.

And I remember I cut out lots of articles about doctor who because they'd always feature it on the back page of the radio Times, you know, what was coming up, the show. So I've got lots of clippings and cuttings from that time that I've kind of kept. And it was just a little snippet of what was coming up on the show.

But Doctor Hugh magazine at that point was kind of probably the most important source of information, really, for the show. For me, anyway.

Garry: 01:11:06

So your early sort of foot in the door, if you like, to Doctor who was sort of being aware of the show, but then you've properly dived in once Davison's lot came on the scene and that whole Tardis team.

Maria: 01:11:25

Yeah.

Garry: 01:11:25

Fully on board with those guys. Oh, cool.

Maria: 01:11:28

it. It came. It came into the: 1980

It was called. It was kind of a fresh brew. And I think, you know, I'll give John Nathan Turner is due. You know, he.

I think season 19, which was probably the first season that I watched all the way through, was actually a fantastic season. You know, it's one. It's one of the great. I think it's one of the great seasons of the eighties, you know, the early eighties.

It's kind of so different to what, you know, what was before, really.

Garry: 01:12:08

Yeah, yeah, no, I get that. And what's your favorite episode?

Maria: 01:12:13

I know you asked me this the other day and I'm reluctant to say only one. It's really hard.

Garry: 01:12:22

Okay, I'll narrow it down a bit for you. What's your favorite episode from your favorite TARDIS team then from that Davison erade.

Maria: 01:12:29

I've always stared that. It was Earth shock.

Garry: 01:12:33

Earth shock, yeah. But it always. Have you changed your mind? Oh, hello.

Maria: 01:12:38

But I think, I don't know, thinking about it, the visitation is pretty good as well, to be fair.

Garry: 01:12:46

That is a good one.

Maria: 01:12:48

I think there's so many good stories, it's really hard for me to pick one. But yeah, if you had a pin me down and say, which Peter Davidson stories do I like? It's probably Earth shock.

But then there's a lot of Tom Baker that I love as well. So, you know, I'm, I'm reluctant to only pick one of his. There's so many good ones.

I did think it used to be robots of death, but I'm thinking now it's actually horror fan rock.

Garry: 01:13:18

Oh, wow. Okay. Two very different stories.

Maria: 01:13:20

They are very different, aren't they?

But I think it just depends so much on the writing with doctor who, you know, if you've got an engaging story that kind of draws you in, you know, you can forgive, you can forgive the lack of money sometimes on the production because the story draws you in.

You know, and I'm, and, you know, and I don't like this thing that they was talking about recently about, you know, if they didn't have the Disney money, they, they could go back and recreate something like horror fang rock. And I'm thinking, well, what would be wrong with that?

You know, there are so many good stories that came out of not having a lot of money because it meant they had to, they had to use their imagination and, you know, get by on so little. So, you know, I love classic who. It's my comfort zone. It's some, it's somewhere I always go back to.

And probably more than new who actually, I don't, I haven't actually watched a lot of new who recently at all. You know, it's always classic who that kind of draws me back.

And I, and I think I was thinking about this because I knew I was going to come on the podcast and I, the reason I think I go back classic who is because I know who the Doctor is in classic who.

You know, he's a Time Lord from Gallifrey that goes on adventures and you don't, you don't get any deviation on that, really, throughout any of the stories that you watch.

You know, he's always there on the side of the underdog, trying to help, trying to solve a problem, you know, and, you know, and I think that's why I go back to classic who so much. There's so much good stuff in classic Doctor who, not to say that there isn't in Yoo who, but it's very different new who and plastic who.

Garry: 01:15:14

Wow.

So some bombshell answers there from Maria on her classic introduction into Doctor who and her classic, she's very much a classic who fan, essentially, is Maria. So some great answers there. And I knew that she would pick up. She's been such a fan of Earthshock for a while.

So also interesting, throwing the horror of fang Rock in there. Two very, very different stories, but Maria had to leave us. That's gonna do it. I'm gonna wrap the episode there. Thank you very much for listening.

That is episode 413. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for listening to another episode and another week of the Big Blue Box podcast. That was 413.

And thank you so much to my co host for this week. That was Maria. She's one of the writers here at the Big Blue box.

And it's always great to have those guys on, whether we're doing the round tables or they're on as co host duty, wherever it might be. Those guys are such, they're such a cool bunch of people and they know Doctor who inside out.

So having Maria on is so great to have her insight into the news and to dive into a little bit about her history into doctor who, etc. So thank you very much, Maria, for joining me and taking on co host duties.

Next week I'll be drafting on the next member of the Big Blue Box writing team. So stick around to find out who that is going to be for next week. And you can do that by just keep an eye on the socials.

We're on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram threads, all that stuff. You can find links to those on the website, which is Bigblueboxpodcast dot co dot UK.

And you can also listen to this episode and all the other episodes on there as well. Make sure that you are following or subscribing to the actual podcast in your preferred podcast app or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

That way you won't miss an episode when it goes out every single Friday.

And then, as I mentioned, we also do a monthly roundtable episode where we, we get most of the writing team, if not all of them, around a virtual table, and we all sit and chat Doctor who. So make sure you're following to get those and don't forget to remember to check out my usual co host channel. It's the geeks handbag over on YouTube.

Go and check out Adam stuff. And he's on the socials under the same name. That's the geeks handbag. Until next time, my name's been Garry. And remember.