Kasterborous Classic TV: Exploring Doctor Who & Classic Sci-Fi
Regular podcast featuring unique and in-depth discussions covering Doctor Who and other classic TV and movies, usually in the sci-fi and sci-fantasy fields. Launched in 2007, we've lost count of how many episodes we've actually done. Special episodes include interviews with creatives, writers, actors, and notable commentators in the cult TV field. Your regular hosts are Christian Cawley, James McLean, and Brian Terranova.
Classic Doctor Who's Guest Stars – and Tom Baker Beyond the TARDIS
Classic Doctor Who featured an extraordinary range of guest actors, from familiar television faces to established stars of stage and screen. But how many were actually recognisable to audiences at the time?
In this edition of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova revisit some of the more intriguing casting choices of the classic series.
There's Dolores Gray, the American musical theatre star who appeared in Silver Nemesis, Don Henderson's memorable performance as Gavrok in Delta and the Bannermen, and Michael Gough, whose career extended far beyond his appearances in Doctor Who.
The...
Doctor Who's Disney+ problem — Can TARDIS Crew save its future?
Russell T Davies has been reflecting on Doctor Who's partnership with Disney+, raising questions about whether the programme was ever a natural fit for the streaming platform.
But while Doctor Who's international future remains uncertain, the BBC is preparing something rather different: TARDIS Crew, a new animated series for CBeebies aimed at introducing younger children to the Doctor's adventures.
Could the key to Doctor Who's survival be attracting a new generation of British children rather than chasing an international streaming audience?
In this edition of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and James McLean explore...
Doctor Who's Future: Who takes over, and what role will AI play?
Who will make Doctor Who next? And after the Disney+ experiment, could the programme be heading for its biggest reinvention since 2005?
In this edition of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the uncertain future of Doctor Who, from the BBC's search for a new production company to the controversy surrounding AI-generated Doctor Who.
We start with the BBC's search for a new production partner. With Jed Mercurio, World Productions, ITV Studios and STV Studios among the names being discussed, Christian and James consider what a change of production company could mean for the series...
Streaming, Doctor Who, and 1970s superheroes
Hello! Another Kasterborous chat for you this week with the full team of Christian Cawley, James McLean, and Brian Terranova.
This time, we're bringing together three conversations about television past and present — from the frustrations of streaming to Doctor Who edits and the decidedly different world of 1970s superheroes.
First, has streaming actually made it harder to discover good television? With programmes scattered across an ever-growing collection of services, we look at how finding something to watch has changed — and whether we've lost something from the days when you could simply stumble across a great prog...
From Blackadder to Red Dwarf: What makes British comedy different?
Why did radio drama and comedy remain such a strong part of British broadcasting — while largely disappearing from American radio?
In this edition of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova start with the very different audio traditions on either side of the Atlantic. Along the way, they encounter The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars on radio, Big Finish, and some almost-forgotten Doctor Who radio productions.
That leads to the peculiar British tradition of bringing television comedy to radio, including Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder.
But why did The Black Ad...
Doctor Who's future: new producers, no showrunner... and AI?
The BBC has formally begun looking for the production team that will take Doctor Who into its next era — and some of the details suggest the series could be made rather differently in future.
This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean examine the BBC's new Invitation to Tender for Doctor Who, including its emphasis on high-concept science fiction, distinctively British storytelling and episodic writers — and the intriguing suggestion that the programme may no longer follow the traditional showrunner model.
Does the tender represent a genuine fresh start for Doctor Who? What does the BBC's instruction not...
Who is the definitive Master? Doctor Who's greatest villain
The Master has been cheating death almost as long as the Doctor has been saving the universe — but can all those different incarnations actually be fitted into a coherent timeline?
Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova take a trip through the Master's complicated history, from Roger Delgado and the decaying Master to Anthony Ainley, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi, John Simm and Michelle Gomez.
Along the way, they revisit an old theory connecting the Master of the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie with The Deadly Assassin, examine Big Finish's rather more elaborate attempt to make sense of th...
Who wants Doctor Who — and what happens next?
What happens next to Doctor Who — and who might actually make it?
Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the latest speculation surrounding the programme's future, including Netflix's apparent lack of interest and Amazon's much more welcoming response to the prospect of getting involved.
Could Amazon do for Doctor Who what it once did for Ripper Street? Would moving further into the streaming world give the programme greater creative freedom, or would something important be lost along the way?
Then there's the small matter of Billie Piper.
With Mark Gatiss discussing the un...
The X-Files, Star Wars and the problem with director's cuts
Chris Carter has returned to 2008's The X-Files: I Want to Believe and created a new director's cut — but unusually, his preferred version is shorter than the film we already had.
James McLean and Brian Terranova have watched the new cut and join Christian Cawley to discuss what's changed, including its renewed emphasis on horror, alterations to Mulder and Scully's relationship, and whether Carter has actually made I Want to Believe a better movie.
But that raises a bigger question: when should creators stop changing their own work?
From Chris Carter and The X...
Does Doctor Who need another fresh start?
What should Doctor Who do next? We look to its uncertain future — and back to the BBC's memorable Doctor Who Night in 1999.
Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova discuss Dean Devlin's recent comments about Doctor Who, the prospect of another David Tennant return, and whether the programme might benefit from something resembling the clean break it received in 2005.
Should a future producer embrace decades of continuity, or give new viewers an easier way in? Could Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor provide a bridge to another incarnation? And has Doctor Who become too reliant on its own pa...
Are we watching the same films and TV shows anymore?
What happens when the films and TV programmes we grew up with aren't quite the same things we remember?
This week, a mix of Doctor Who and Star Wars, with Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova beginning with some surprising discoveries about Luke Skywalker's decidedly ordinary trousers and Han Solo's blaster, changing lightsaber props, and the surprisingly problematic dimensions of the Millennium Falcon.
That leads us into the world of film and television restoration. What can modern transfers reveal that VHS and old television broadcasts concealed? And why might the Peter Cushing Doctor Who...
When does Doctor Who fan fiction become canon?
What actually counts as Doctor Who canon—and who gets to decide?
Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova head down the rabbit hole of Doctor Who fan productions, unofficial spin-offs and alternative continuities, beginning with Brian's experiences developing his own Orville fan production.
That leads us to Doctor Who projects such as Downtime, and The Stranger, where familiar actors and characters could appear in productions that existed somewhere between fan fiction and the television programme they were inspired by.
An additional "aftershow" section for subscribers: https://www.patreon.com/cw/kasterborous/membership
From Tracy Island to Wonky Donkey: remembering '90s children's TV
What can Tracy Island, Wonky Donkey and a TARDIS tell us about growing up with television in the 1990s?
Well, Christian Cawley is about to find out.
He chats with author Thom Gray about 100 Objects of '90s Children's TV, his celebration of a decade of CBBC, CITV, Saturday morning shows and programmes that have since slipped from memory, which is out now from Candy Bar Books.
Thom explains how the book came together, the challenges of researching children's television from the period, and his conversations with around 35 people who helped make it, in...
What Doctor Who should learn from Marvel and DC
This week’s podcast explores what the future might hold for Doctor Who—and whether the problems facing the BBC’s flagship series are really part of a much bigger shift across television and film.
Hosted by Christian Cawley and James McLean, the show discusses Sylvester McCoy’s surprise appearance in the Commonwealth Games trailer, what it tells us about the BBC’s continuing commitment to Doctor Who, and the implications of the programme’s move to open tender.
From there, the conversation broadens into Marvel fatigue, Netflix’s audience drop-offs, Spider-Noir, Chris Chibnall’s attempts to rein...
Doctor Who Series 2 isn't what you remember
This week, Christian Cawley, James McLean, and a returning Brian Terranova revisit Doctor Who Series Two (2006)!
Twenty years after Doctor Who Series Two first aired, we look back at the stories that established David Tennant as the Doctor and cemented the modern series as a television phenomenon.
From New Earth and Tooth and Claw to School Reunion, The Girl in the Fireplace and the return of the Cybermen, we revisit our original reactions, discuss how our opinions have changed over the years, and ask whether this celebrated run of episodes deserves its reputation.
...
From Transformers to the TARDIS: Lee Sullivan on drawing Doctor Who
Doctor Who artist Lee Sullivan joins Christian Cawley to look back on a career that has spanned Transformers, Marvel UK, Doctor Who Magazine, and some of the most memorable comic strips of the Seventh and Eighth Doctor eras.
Beginning with his childhood love of comics and Gerry Anderson, Lee explains how an ambition to become a comic strip artist eventually led him from British Aerospace to Marvel UK, where he cut his teeth drawing Transformers before unexpectedly becoming one of Doctor Who's defining artists.
The unedited interview is available on our Patreon.
The...
From cinemas to Steam: who really owns entertainment anymore?
The conversation continues beyond Doctor Who this week as Christian Cawley and James McLean turn their attention to the changing world of film, gaming, and digital entertainment.
Starting with the prospects for DC Studios’ Supergirl and the current state of superhero cinema, the discussion broadens into the future of the cinema experience, the decline of physical media, and what it really means to own the films and games we pay for.
Along the way, they consider whether streaming has changed our relationship with entertainment forever, why Blu-rays and boxed games still have a place on th...
Remembering Justin Richards and Doctor Who's literary legacy
The Doctor Who world lost one of its most important creative voices with the passing of Justin Richards. This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean celebrate his remarkable contribution to the Whoniverse and discuss why his work mattered to generations of fans.
From the Virgin New Adventures to BBC Books, Big Finish audio dramas, comics, and countless reference works, Justin Richards helped define Doctor Who during the years it was off television—and continued shaping the franchise long after its return.
Christian and James both experienced the books when they were released, back when there wa...
The “ersatz” Doctor: Why fandoms are obsessed with deleting the past
Christian Cawley and James McLean address some recent show reviews and consider a growing trend in major fandoms: the desire to rewind the clock, and remove episodes, or movies, that don’t align.
Following a surprising Apple Podcasts review that labelled certain eras of Doctor Who as “ersatz,” they dive into the psychology of canon, the reality of “brand positivity,” and why big studios might actually consider wiping the slate clean.
This episode first aired on our Patreon. Support the Kasterborous Archive on Patreon, and unlock interviews and "lost" items from our old website.
Our top...
Confessions of a 90s fan: How we survived the Doctor Who wilderness years
In this episode of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and James McLean take a trip down memory lane to discuss the infamous "wilderness years" of Doctor Who.
Inspired by current industry headlines and the recent status of the series, they recall and reflects on how they—and the wider fandom—navigated the period following the show's 1989 cancellation.
Key topics this week
The "Cancellation" Conversation: We break down the current state of Doctor Who and explore whether rumors of cancellation are merely a strategic attempt to generate discourse or a genuine reflection of industry instability.
1...
From CSO to space stations: ranking the best and worst of classic Doctor Who effects
Christian, Brian, and James dive into the complex, hodgepodge world of special effects in Classic Doctor Who. From the creative ingenuity required to mask limited budgets to the philosophical debate between practical effects and modern CGI, the team explores what makes certain classic effects timeless while others fall short.
Key Discussion Points:
The Art of "Classic" FX: Discussion on why classic Doctor Who effects often feel more engaging than seamless modern CGI, specifically the audience's enjoyment in understanding the "how-to" behind the curtain.
Practical vs. CGI: Why practical effects, such as...
The end of an era: Russell T Davies out, no 2026 Christmas special, and a new future for Doctor Who
The TARDIS is changing hands—or at least, the keys might be. In a massive shake-up, the BBC has officially put Doctor Who out to tender, signaling a potential end to the current Russell T Davies era. While the show is far from cancelled, the search for a new production house to take the helm has sent shockwaves through the fandom.
Join Christian Cawley and James McLean as they break down the implications of this news. What does it mean for the future of the series? Could this open the door for a radical creative shift, or ar...
Stephen Wyatt returns to Paradise Towers in a brand-new comic project
This week on Kasterborous, Christian chats with Gareth Kavanagh about the latest Kickstarter from Cutaway Comics, Paradise Towers: Unalive the Multiverse.
Returning to the neon-soaked world of Doctor Who's classic 1987 story Paradise Towers, the new graphic novel continues the adventures of the Kangs, Rezzies, and Caretakers as a fresh threat emerges from across the multiverse. The project is written by Sean Mason and builds on Cutaway's previous Paradise Towers comics.
Visit the Paradise Towers: Unalive the Multiverse Kickstarter.
Christian and Gareth discuss:
Why Paradise Towers remains such a rich setting nearly 40 y...
Is Doctor Who actually cancelled?
You cannot have helped but notice that rumours are swirling about the future of Doctor Who, with tabloid reports suggesting that next year’s series and the 2026 Christmas special are facing cancellation. We dig into the reality behind these headlines, the struggle to find the next Time Lord, and why the current climate of “content saturation” is creating such an atmosphere of uncertainty.
Quick TL;DR -- we don’t buy the “no one wants to play the Doctor” schtick, and nor should you.
This chat does interrupt previously-scheduled chat about Mind Warp. We will be picking t...
Forget the forgettable: Revisiting The Mysterious Planet finale
Christian Cawley and James McLean reach the final episode of The Mysterious Planet — and by this point, the commentary itself may be more entertaining than the serial under discussion.
As the pair pick apart collapsing pacing, endless corridors, meaningless courtroom interruptions, and the baffling lack of anything recognisably “Earth-like” about Ravalox, the conversation expands into a broader discussion about Doctor Who itself: companion writing, Colin Baker’s wasted strengths, the failures of Trial of a Time Lord as a format, and whether the season could have worked better as a genuine deconstruction of the Doctor.
There’s no...
Trial by waffle: Revisiting The Mysterious Planet
Christian Cawley and James McLean continue their Trial of a Time Lord marathon with Episode 3 of The Mysterious Planet — and the cracks are beginning to show.
What starts as a nostalgic conversation about VHS tins, HMV trips, and the ritual of physical media quickly becomes a forensic dissection of pacing problems, intrusive courtroom scenes, and a strangely muted “it was Earth all along” reveal.
Along the way, the pair discuss Robert Holmes’ recycled story ideas, the abandoned "Yellow Fever and How to Cure It," unreliable narration in Trial of a Time Lord, and why the serial f...
Doctor Who, streaming fatigue, and the future of TV
Christian Cawley and James McLean return to discuss the increasingly uncertain future of television — starting with reports that AMC will become the US streaming home for classic-era Doctor Who.
Does the AMC deal mean Doctor Who is heading back toward an American co-production model? Or is this simply another distribution agreement being overanalysed by a fandom starved for news?
(We think it might be that one ^^...)
The conversation expands into a much broader discussion about the current state of television and streaming: collapsing audience attention spans, the “age of suffocation” caused by overwhelming amount...
Pilot pressure: Why the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie tried to do too much at once
In this episode, Christian Cawley, James McLean, and Brian Terranova reunite to look back at the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie. It was a night of high stakes, big budgets, and a transition that would define the "wilderness years" for a generation of fans.
This week:
* Brian Terranova Explains the PAL Problem: We welcome back the podcast’s original co-host to discuss his experience watching the movie’s US premiere on Fox and the "commercial break" mishaps that haunted his VHS recordings for years. Brian reveals why UK audiences have never actually heard Paul McGann’s real...
The Trial of a Time Lord fatigue sets in and it's only episode 2
We dive headlong into the second installment of The Mysterious Planet this week, only to find a struggle with the overarching structure of The Trial of a Time Lord.
From the pitfalls of 1980s "stunt casting" to the surprisingly accurate technological predictions of the mid-80s, we explore why this era of Doctor Who often feels like a struggle between a standalone story and a courtroom drama.
Our key talking points
The "Bland" Factor: Why The Mysterious Planet lacks a certain "humanity" compared to other "mid-tier" stories like Black Orchid or Paradise Towers. ...
The Mysterious Planet: IKEA courtrooms and the best model shot in classic Doctor Who
Christian Cawley and James McLean settle in for a long-overdue rewatch of The Trial of a Time Lord, the Sixth Doctor’s epic 14-part swan song. Things kick off in signature style with a false start on the wrong episode, followed by a deep dive into the high-budget model work and low-budget "starched doily" fashion of 1986...
This is the first part of our commentary/talking over The Mysterious Planet, with each subsequent installment coming to your podcast app over the next few weeks.
However, if you want the whole thing in one go, you'll find it...
The Doctor on trial: Was season 23 a meta-commentary too far?
This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean prepare for the journey they’ve avoided for over 500 episodes: the 14-part epic, The Trial of a Time Lord.
As the longest single serial since The Daleks' Master Plan, it was intended to save the show, but instead, it became a fascinating, frustrating mirror of Doctor Who’s real-world struggle for survival in 1986.
No shownotes as such this week, but look out for discussion of:
The binge-culture disconnect: We discuss the "memory of disappointment" surrounding the 14-week structure. Does a story this long work better in th...
The Daleks' Master Plan: Were we too harsh?
In this week's chat, Christian and James revisit their recent discussion about recovered episodes from missing Doctor Who serial The Daleks' Master Plan.
Was the initial reaction to viewing the episodes harsh?
Sourcing comments from the Facebook thread on the episode, we add some context, underline a few points, and possibly even concede a few things.
As stated at the time, Christian and James have different views on this, which makes it all the more interesting. Could The Daleks' Master Plan have been viewed differently if it had always existed in the hands of...
Is Silver Nemesis a masterpiece of 80s Doctor Who?
We're back for part 3 of our commentary of Silver Nemesis, the official Doctor Who 25th anniversary story from 1988. Starring Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, the serial has various versions and edits -- we watched the cut you can see on BBC iPlayer, and you're free to watch along with us.
This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean reach the rooftop showdown, where it’s the endgame for Lady Peinforte, the Fourth Reich, and a battalion of Cybermen who probably should have invested in better respiratory filters...
The Patreon option
Patreon listeners get th...
The Daleks’ Master Plan: Is this Doctor Who’s most disappointing discovery?
"It feels like a show which has kind of lost its spirit a bit... I could see in a different timeline where Doctor Who did not regenerate into Patrick Troughton, and this was the tired back end of a format."
This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean dive into the recent recovery (and release on BBC iPlayer/YouTube) of two episodes from the legendary 1965 epic, The Daleks’ Master Plan. While the "discovery" of episodes 1 and 3 has sent shockwaves through the fandom, our hosts find themselves at odds over whether this "lost" footage is a masterpiece or a sig...
Silver Nemesis: The Doctor Who blockbuster that never was
In this commentary, Christian Cawley and James McLean dive into the heart of Silver Nemesis, and give some thought to Elizabethan sorceress Lady Peinforte and her loyal murderer Richard. Oh, and Argentinian Nazi refugees, Cybermen, and a couple of youths with a bizarre dislike for social workers.
Elsewhere in this episode, that "Jazz" interlude between Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred which remains one of the most natural, relaxed moments in the show’s history.
Line up your DVD or BBC iPlayer (optional) and hit "play!"
The Patreon option
Patreon listeners ge...
The Nazis, the witch, and the Cybermen: Is Silver Nemesis Doctor Who’s weirdest anniversary?
In this week’s episode, Christian Cawley and James McLean dive deep into Doctor Who's "official" 25th-anniversary silver jubilee story, Silver Nemesis. From the slightly oversized Cybermen to the curious presence of Dolores Gray, we talk all the way through the oft-derided 1988 adventure and explore what makes it fascinating -- if not somewhat polarizing.
This podcast looks at the first episode of Silver Nemesis, with the rest of the serial coming up over the next few weeks.
The Patreon option
Patreon listeners get the full three episode commentary in one go, and yo...
Doctor Who missing episodes: The fallout, the fans, and the frustration
The recent recovery of two missing episodes of Doctor Who from The Daleks' Master Plan should be a moment of celebration — but it also raises an uncomfortable question: how many more are still out there?
In this Patreon-exclusive video, Christian Cawley and James McLean dig into the latest discovery, donated via Film Is Fabulous!, and the ongoing work to restore and preserve missing television. But our conversation quickly turns to the more complicated side of the story — the long history of private collectors holding onto lost material. What the mindset keeps culturally significant footage out of public view...
The Robots of Death: Solving the Sandminer Murders
Christian Cawley and James McLean conclude their commentary discussion of the classic Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death, focusing on Episodes Three and Four of the 1977 story.
With the mystery aboard the sandminer tightening, the discussion explores how the final two episodes bring together the serial’s many strands. We've got the paranoia among the crew, growing suspicion surrounding the robots, and the increasingly complex motivations of those on board.
Remember, this was written for children!
Christian and James look at how writer Chris Boucher structures the closing chapters of the story as...
Doctor Who missing episodes: Two Daleks’ Master Plan episodes found
Two long-missing episodes of Doctor Who have been recovered — and they come from one of the most famous lost stories in the programme’s history, The Daleks’ Master Plan.
“The Nightmare Begins” and “Devil’s Planet” have been found, restored, and will be released through BBC iPlayer at Easter.
Lost Doctor Who episodes found (BBC Leicester)
In this episode, Christian Cawley is joined by fanzine publisher Gareth Kavanagh (Cutaway Comics, Vworp Vworp!), to discuss the discovery of two episodes from the epic 1965 Dalek adventure, a serial that remains one of the most significant gaps in the Doctor Who...
Doctor Who’s most perfect murder mystery? The Robots of Death rewatch
In this commentary-style episode, Christian Cawley and James McLean revisit the classic Doctor Who story The Robots of Death. This is the first of a two-part podcast, covering the serials first two episodes.
We compare the experience of watching classic Doctor Who episodically versus the omnibus VHS edits that hit rental stores in the 1980s. Those different formats affect pacing, cliffhangers, and the rhythm of a story, and The Robots of Death is no different.
It might look amazing, but there is much more to The Robots of Death. Writer Chris Boucher blends science fiction...
