Doctor Who: Watchers in the Fourth Dimension

After the last episode where we all let out many exasperated sighs, the Watchers now let out a great sigh of relief as we discuss The Visitation!! We have finally gotten the companion interaction we deserve, even with Adric remaining a complete waste of carbon.

Join us as we discuss our return back to basics: a simple, grounded story, check. An alien race set to take over Earth, check. And an android, though we’ve never had one so bedazzled before, check. We also get one of the best supporting characters to grace the small scr...

SILENCE!! while we dive into yet another story touching on our dislike for colonialism, but engaging us, however briefly, in our appreciation for fever dreams. That’s right, dear listeners, we’re discussing Kinda this week and hopefully you all have remembered that sleeping near windchimes by yourself can have dire consequences, such as snake tattoos and lipstick teeth.

Join us as we discuss Tegan’s initial relaxed demeanor (including her hair) before all the companions disappear from the plot, create new headcanon for why Hindle becomes completely unhinged, spend way too much time discussing what’s...

This episode, we tackle a story that has been in the bottom quartile in both DWM’s Mighty 200 and 50th Anniversary polls – it’s Four to Doomsday! But, what will the Watchers think? This one goes probably as well as you’d expect…

Join us as we discuss how this story is built like a Hartnell story, Adric turning into an incel, what the guts of the androids are made from, how Monarch is the most affable fascist dictator ever (even being reminiscent of Stephen Fry!), and Julie shows her ignorance of Greek city states (for shame...

This episode, we finally get ourselves started on the Fifth Doctor era as the Master returns (again) to taunt our new Doctor in Castrovalva… heh heh heh…

Join us as we discuss just how young Peter Davison was when this was made, whether or not Adric was a little TOO excited at being tied up in the Master’s web (or if it’s just the harness), Tegan’s need for “enormous thrust,” Bidmead’s myriad weaknesses, and how the Master THINKS that he’s a dom, but is clearly just a brat and all he wants is kisses...

This episode, we discuss Doctor Who’s very first attempt at a spin-off with the rather questionable K9 and Company: A Girl’s Best Friend! It was certainly a wild ride watching this one, with plenty of witches and honking along the way…

Join us as we discuss THAT theme tune, whether K9 and Sarah Jane are actually a good pairing, whether K9 is put to good use, Brendan being put in a dress, how Simon Pegg clearly saw this story at some point, and why there are apparently so many covens of witches in rural E...

As we’ve finally made it to the end of the Tom Baker era (a feat that has taken us close to two-and-a-half years!), we are once again joined by the 5th Watcher, R. Alan Siler, who guides us through our era-spanning retrospective for the longest-running (and arguably most popular) Doctor of all time!

Join us as we discuss the best stories to sum up each Producer during the era, whether RTD and Moffatt are right about non-contemporary/non-human companions (they’re not), whether Tom stayed too long, whether we’d want an eighth season with To...

Another season in the can! Season 18 done and dusted, and you know what that means… it’s time for our customary season retrospective, in which we take a look back at the entirety of the season with our blend of awards, metrics, and questions from our friends on social media. These are always a lot of fun for us to do, and we really hope that you enjoy listening to this as much as we did recording it!

Join us as we discuss how one of the new companions gets the best entrance ever through invol...

It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for… (were we ever going to start out this blurb with anything else!?) We finally reach the end of Tom Baker’s seven year tenure on the show with the Master embarking on a bonkers scheme that threatens the entire universe. But one question remains – is Logopolis actually any good!?

Join us as we discuss dressing for job that you want, why Tegan is magnificently annoying in the best way possible, how this story plays into the history of the podcast, the stupidity of some of the Do...

Back in N-Space, we find ourselves in the very odd (but apparently extremely harmonious) society of Traken, ruled over by an apparently all-powerful Keeper in The Keeper of Traken! All is not as it seems, as an old, kinda crispy enemy lurks in the background, ready to steal all of our bodies in his quest to keep living…

Join us as we discuss the clear influences of Shakespeare, how the Trakenites were able to procure weapons so quickly, the rampant use of ring tropes, how Adric calls the Doctor out on his nonsense, the issues wit...

It’s time to BRING THE WEIRD as we wrap up the E-Space trilogy with a white void, slavers, lion-man slaves (who used to be slavers), magic mirrors, and more questions than answers. Oh, and Adric spends most of the time flipping coins. It can only be Warriors’ Gate!

Join us as we discuss how the Tharils look at time (or how they think they’re better than everyone else), how K9 continues to be done dirty (even up to her last story), the return of the bad boss trope, whether Romana was put in danger...

It’s Doctor Who-does-Vampires as we encounter everyone’s favourite bloodsuckers in E-Space (well, everyone except Diana, who apparently thoroughly dislikes vampires!) Throw in some absolutely unnecessary Time Lord lore, and we have State of Decay.

Join us as we discuss whether this would feel more natural with Dudley Simpson’s organic music over the synth, the merits and issues of Adric, whether Wil Wheaton and Matthew Waterhouse have ever met, how an old script can somehow feel like a rush-job, the amazing beards in this story, and whether or not Time Lords have a race me...

For our 2024 Holiday special, Julie’s taking over the show, and we’re joined by our favourite regular guest R. Alan Siler, as choose not do something seasonal, but to do something very much related to Doctor Who that we’ve really wanted to do for a while now… and so, we’re heading into the world of Douglas Adams, as we discuss the 1981 TV version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!

Join us as we learn about Julie’s bedtime, discuss the animation style, the comparison between this in different media, the unexpected simi...

We’re off into E-Space this episode, as we encounter a group of people who’ve come full circle in… uh… Full Circle! We are also introduced to our newest companion, Adric. What will the Watchers think of him!? Will it be love at first sight? (Let’s be honest… probably not. Everyone knows his reputation!)

Join us as we discuss unexpected semi-nudity (butts!), the mathematical nature of the Starliner’s society (and how they evolved to it), how Dungeons & Dragons keeps coming into this Season, the names of the Starliner dwellers, how the Deciders must have rehea...

Moving further into this brave new era of Doctor Who, Jacqueline Hill returns in nobody’s favourite story, Meglos! In addition to Barbara-but-not-actually-Barbara showing up, we also get a genocidal cactus. It’s an absolutely bonkers one, that's for sure…

Join us as we discuss balancing out your gut bacteria (lest you suffer from chronic hysteresis!), the colour-coding of society and how it impacts dry cleaning, somewhat decent CSO, styling like the Village People, the desire to understand more of the socio-religious background of the peoples in the story, and we ponder the disgustingness of sea cuc...

It’s all change as we kick off Season 18 with The Leisure Hive! New title sequence, new arrangement of the theme, new incidental music, and a new costume for the Doctor! Meanwhile, we welcome our new co-host Diana for her first regular episode with us. We couldn’t be more excited to talk about nuclear war and tachyonics…

Join us as we discuss how awful this story makes Brighton Beach look, the continued bad treatment of K9, what GOOD synth sounds like, whether you can defeat an Argolin by picking off their berries, long recaps and nee...

Anthony, Reilly, and Julie bring some exciting news about the future of the podcast!

We’re at the end of Season 17, and could we really get there without a Big Finish bonus episode!? This time around, we’re talking about The Romance of Crime, which was adapted from a Virgin New Adventures novel by RTD/Moffatt-era writer (and now cancelled) Gareth Roberts, and adapted by Big Finish legend John Dorney!

Join us as we discuss horrendous squish sounds, the conversion of the novel to audio and the absurd amount exposition and large cast that it comes with, the attempts at Noir, the pastiche of the Kray Twins, how all four...

Another season in the can, bringing the 1970s era of the show to a close. Of course, that means that it’s time for our customary season retrospective, where we’ll look back at the entirety of Season 17 with our usual blend of end-of-season awards, a look back at our scores and metric counts, and answer a few questions from our friends on our social media platforms. These are always a lot of fun to do, so don’t miss out!

Join us as we discuss whether the glee club in Shada was necessary or not, bu...

Welcome, once again, to our annual house of horror! As usual, we discuss two horror movies featuring the stars of television’s Doctor Who. This year, we kick off proceedings with Hammer Films’ The Vampire Lovers (featuring Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, and Kate O’Mara), before moving on to Amicus Production’s first anthology film, Dr Terror’s House of Horrors (featuring Peter Cushing, Roy Castle, and Michael Gough). This year, our good friend Diana Birney joins us for the ride!

Join us as we discuss classist lesbianism (dammit, Carmilla/Marcilla!), gratuitous nudity, the best place for b...

While The Horns of Nimon was officially the end of Season 17, efforts have been made over the years to complete the unfinished story that was meant to be the season finale – Shada. And we are discussing the “definitive” version of that story that released on the 2021 Blu Ray release, mixing live action with animation in an episodic format. Given that the production team had hoped that this story would make everyone forget The Horns of Nimon, we ask – is this story as great as its legendary reputation would have it?

Join us as we discuss the edits...

It’s time for us to discuss what was unexpectedly the season finale of Season 17. The last contributions to the show of Graham Williams, Douglas Adams, Dudley Simpson, and Anthony Read. It also has the reputation of being one of the worst Doctor Who stories of all time. It’s The Horns of Nimon. But will the Watchers find it to be as absolutely terrible as fandom would have it?

Join us as we discuss the weakness of the kids (are they actually WEAKLING SCUM!?), the OTT portrayal of Soldeed, whether or not the Nimon were...

We’re tackling the war on drugs in a delightfully zany story by one half of the Bristol Boys – Nightmare of Eden! This one is filled with so many ideas that it can only be a Bob Baker script – spaceship crashes, insurance conversations, conservation efforts, and needlessly complex drug running schemes. While Season 17 may not quite be at the heights of Season 14 (the pinnacle, so far!), it sure is fun to talk about!

Join us as we discuss how hyperspace travel might work, the joys of insurance, the brilliance of Tryst, similarities to Carnival of Monster...

In this episode of the podcast, we demonstrate what utter masochists we are by subjecting ourselves to the absolute mess that is The Creature from the Pit. Oh boy. We’re just going to say it up front. We hated it. There you go. That’s the potted review, right here in the blurb. But to hear just how frustrated and annoyed we get at this story, go ahead and listen to the podcast episode. We promise that it’s quite an enjoyable show.

Join us as we discuss whether the story actively knows how stupid...

We’re off to Paris (don’t you think it has a bouquet?) for what is held up by many as the outstanding adventure of Season 17 – City of Death! Will we find it as endearing as the majority of fandom seems to (8th in DWM’s Mighty 200 poll and 5th in the 50th anniversary poll, don’tcha know)? Well, you’ll have to listen in to find out!

Join us as we discuss the clear step-up in both SFX and model work, the absolutely sparkling dialogue, whether Count Scarlioni is the best-dressed man in all of Doctor Who...

It’s a full house, as we are joined by both Alan Siler and Diana Birney to discuss the recent animation of The Celestial Toymaker. Will it be the best animation yet, or nothing more than psychedelic nightmare fuel?

Join us as we discuss the pros and cons of the controversial animation style, whether Dodo is the worst companion of all time, the racist under/overtones of the story, possible other animation styles for future missing episode animations, and whether this story might benefit from a full remake by David Lynch. Of course, we consider whe...

New Romana, who dis? It’s the return of everyone’s favourite hack writer, Terry Nation, as we kick off Season 17 with Destiny of the Daleks! We get multiple quarries, a ton of NationTropes™, a bunch of Douglas Adams-inserted humour, and some robots that are also icons of D-I-S-C-O!

Join us as we discuss the totally unexplained regeneration of Romana, the untapped potential of the Daleks as quiz show hosts, the clear Douglas Adams additions to the script, the questionable deaths of some of the extras, and whether the Daleks get enough time off from their j...

Having made our way through the entirety of Season 16 and completed the quest for the Key to Time, it’s time for us to look back on the entirety of the season. Of course, we do this through our usual blend of awards-style prizes, quantitative measures, and questions from our friends on social media. These season retrospectives are always a lot of fun, so we hope that you listening to this as much as we did recording it!

Join us as we discuss Paul Lavers’ unfortunate hot mic incident involving Nicole Kidman (yes, seriously!), the impor...

It’s time for our Season 16 Big Finish bonus episode! Join us as we encounter the Upper Class Twit of the Year, his “Aunt,” and a succession of poor women who’ve had their bodies stole in The Auntie Matter!

Join us as we discuss how good it would have been if Reggie had been played by Hugh Laurie, the charm of English place names, Romana’s judgemental tendencies, inter-class relationships, and just why Reggie is such an idiot (and if his repeated mind-wipes might be the cause)! Of course, we talk about Mary Tamm’s tragic illn...

We reach the end of the Key to Time saga, where the production team decided to put the finale in the hands of a “safe pair of hands” – Bob Baker & Dave Martin (wut?). Anyway, they give us a bonkers story where two planets are fighting a deadly nuclear war, a shadowy figure manipulates things from in between the two planets, there’s a rogue Time Lord who presents as a used car salesman (ummmm… oooookay!), and the final segment of the key is… a person? It’s time for us to talk about The Armageddon Factor!

Join us as we...

Big Methane, Swampies, the legendary Philip Madoc, and Brussell Sprout-looking Giant Squid-Gods? It’s that time Season 16 where things start to drop off a bit, as we get to The Power of Kroll! There’s some drama behind the scenes on this one – including actors being turned green for much longer than planned, and script writer Robert Holmes being a little petulant!

Join us as we discuss elaborate uniform designs for rig workers, colonialism (of course) and the revival of associated tired tropes that we have seen so many times before (hello companion sacrifice!), how the rog...

We’re off to the planet Tara, where we encounter a medieval society that has electric crossbows, electric swords, and androids. And may possibly be aware of alien life? It’s confusing. Anyway, there’s a dastardly plan afoot by the cunning Count Grendel to seize the throne and then…? Well, it’s not high stakes, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s The Androids of Tara!

Join us as we talk about the Doctor’s reluctance to actually be involved in this adventure, the Taran Wood Beast’s need for a hug, the underappreciati...

Oh wow! It’s the 100th Doctor Who serial! For those who don’t know, that’s The Stones of Blood – a story featuring more women that we’ve seen in a long time (including possibly the greatest batty old lady that we’ve seen to date!), a return to the gothic setting before pivoting to a space courtroom drama, and magnificent stone monoliths made out of polystyrene. What more could you possibly want in a story!?

Join us as we discuss ALL the ladies, David Fisher’s ability to write to sparkling dialogue, whether this story is m...

Bafflegab! We’re off to Calufrax (or is it Xanak?) in search of the second segment of the Key to Time, where a cybernetic old pirate and a decaying old Queen are busy declaring new golden ages of prosperity and destroying other planets. That’s right, we’re discussing Douglas Adams’ first contribution to Doctor Who with The Pirate Planet!

Join us as we discuss Douglas Adams’ outstanding dialogue and ability to build big plot concepts, the coming of the 80s fashion, metalhead guards, ominously pleasant psychics, and robot battles! Of course, we just have to imagine...

The Watchers universe became so out-of-balance during the turbulent times of Season 15 that the White Guardian has summoned us all and instructed us to find the Key to Time so that we may bring balance back to fandom! That can only mean one thing: we’re kicking off Season 16’s Key to Time saga with The Ribos Operation!

Join us as we discuss our new companion(!), Holmesian double-acts, the smart use of the Shrivenzale, the touching relationship between the Graff and Shollack, and the original plan to have Garron be Australian. We also get into a lit...

It’s our customary season retrospective, as we take a look back at Season 15. If you’ve been following the podcast as we’ve talked through each story, you’ll know that we’ve fully embraced our controversial era: disliking the stories that fandom loves, and loving the stories that the fandom hates – but how will they all stand-up to our usual blend of awards, metrics, and questions from our followers?

Join us as we talk about why Underworld is the best story of the season, which character Anthony desperately wants to punch, plenty about the horny pra...

It’s time for our seasonal Big Finish bonus episode! Join us as we discuss The Fate of Krelos and Return to Mondas – four episodes featuring the Fourth Doctor, Leela, the Second Doctor, Jamie, and the Cybermen!

Join us as we talk about the dream of a Leela/Jamie team-up (and the disappointment of it not happening), the transformation of the Cybermen into the Borg, how fantastic Frazer Hines is, the strange emotional impact of K9 (the poor little guy!), how to properly make British-style fish & chips, and the usual amazing soundscapes that Big Finish are r...

Gallifrey, Vardans, AND Sontarans!? What is this madness!? Well, The Invasion of Time, apparently. Join us, the Watchers in the Fourth Dimension (of Rassilon) as we pick apart the Doctor’s latest return to his ancestral homeland for run-ins with high-ranking Time Lords, the introduction of exciting Time Ladies, and goodbyes to two beloved companions.

Join us as we talk about continuity errors, Tom Baker’s out-of-control ego, enormous amounts of jelly babies, mistreatment of K9, the Doctor’s enormous hypocrisy around time loops, the overuse of “DOC-TORRRR!” and the prospect of Borusa being played by Kenneth...

Questionable physics, enormous amounts of CSO, and shamelessly riffing on Greek mythology in a way that hasn’t been done since Season 9? Yeah, it can only be Underworld – widely touted as the worst story of the Tom Baker era. But is it really as bad as its reputation suggests, or will the Watchers find plenty to forgive? We ARE in our controversial era, so ANYTHING is possible!

Join us as we discuss budget sofas, surprisingly good model work and costumes, more changes to Time Lord society, the spurious use of office supplies, invoking the spirit of Vi...

Are you an outgoing script editor? Do you have a grievance against a government agency? Is it specifically the tax authority? Well, why not write an entire serial of a kids’ show about the unfair burden of taxes? It’s a sure-fire winner, right?!? Right!?!? Even if not, it’s what happened for us to get The Sun Makers. Good job, Robert Holmes. Thankfully, your three favourite members of Watchers in the Fourth Dimension are here to dissect it for you!

Join us as we discuss the unfair burden of taxes (surprise, surprise), the Doctor being a...

We continue our journey through all of Doctor Who, as we discuss the third serial of Season 15: Image of the Fendahl. Received fan wisdom has this as being one of the better stories of the season… however, we’re in our controversial era this season – will we find gothic Who’s final story be a worthy last hurrah, or will we find it to be as limp as a salt-covered leech? Listen in to find out!

Join us as we discuss Benedict Cumberbatch’s Mum, Big Finish’s inevitable “Leaky the Dog” series (featuring Jackie Tyler), the slopp...