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Ep 9: Doctor Who - The Deadly Assassin

Release Date: 06/30/2017

Screen Testing

We’re joined by Jenna Charlton to discuss David Fincher’s critically-acclaimed Mark Zuckerberg biopic which straddles a very fine line between hero worship and cautionary tale. We talk about the pre-Facebook internet days of Angelfire and MySpace, how the movie mostly gets its tech correct for a change, and our real-life experiences with the privilege which the film displays. We get a bit serious in the middle as we unpack the overt misogynism on-display in the movie, discuss the impact of Facebook’s push into the editorial and advertising spaces, and look at what happens when content...

Ep 27: The Net

Screen Testing

It's time for another long-overdue dive into technology in 90s movies, as we go deep into the "not as bad as you heard it was" Sandra Bullock thriller, The Net. We investigate whether Jack Devlin has the skills required to be an international spy, whether the film merited the little-known sequel and TV series which it received, and whether Angela should be briefer in her emails when she's being pursued. As usual, there are tangents upon tangents, as we uncover the secret behind Neil's unwritten novel, Dan's time spent working at the bleeding edge of the early days of the internet, and the time...

Ep 26: Independence Day

Screen Testing

Trying to sync your episode with an immovable calendar date? Doing two recordings in one week? Suffering with kidney stones as well? It’s no problem for your favourite (perhaps) test-focused movie buffs, who are here to talk about a sci-fi classic which has an unmentionable sequel, despite the fact that Neil keeps mentioning it. Dan and Neil are your guides on a trip through that most traditional of holiday tales, featuring a weird mix of American bravado and hubris. The explosions are almost as large as the plot conveniences, as they set out to answer all of the most important questions: Is...

Ep 25: The Return!

Screen Testing

Where have the last two years gone? Neil and Dan reunite as they attempt to quantify the many things that have kept them away from their microphones, whilst also focusing on some of the bigger issues of today (virulent or otherwise). As well as the many subjects of births, deaths, marriages and bubbles, we attempt to put a positive spin on COVID, discuss the ever-evolving impact of Black Lives Matter on historical media, and there's a rundown of the mixed bag which is the current UK box office for 2020. Films and TV shows mentioned: Contagion Deep Blue Sea Brexit: The Uncivil War Doctor...

Ep 24: Sully

Screen Testing

We're back from a brief hiatus with - unbelievably - a film which actually deeply relates to testing! We're joined by Mark Tomlinson, who brings his own experiences of dealing with the National Transportation Safety Board, to discuss a film about a remarkable moment of true-life heroism, and the decisions that we make in the heat of the moment. The events of the movie give us a chance to get into in-depth discussions about the challenges of testing within regulated industries, developing risk mitigation strategies in life-critical environments, debugging/monitoring, and whether quality is a...

Ep 23: Speed

Screen Testing

Pop quiz, hotshot! You want to record a new podcast episode, but you also want a break from some of the darker plots that you've talked about recently. Plus, you're snowed-in at home. What do you do? Dan and Neil decide not to shoot the hostage, but to instead kick back with a discussion about Speed. In an episode recorded at the beginning of March (hence some timeline discrepancies and weird Oscar predictions), they find many parallels with Die Hard, and manage to work-in a surprising number of testing elements, including setting/reviewing acceptance criteria, pairing in the...

Ep 22: The Silence of The Lambs

Screen Testing

We return a little later than planned, as we discuss one of the greatest thrillers of our time, getting into discussions about psychology, interviewing, misogyny and gender politics, and appropriate occasions for purchasing FBI-themed cakes. We also salvage the best bits of our failed Oscars announcement episode, highlighting a few nominations that we hope will win big, and staking our reputations on a few predictions of our own. Miscellaneous Links: YouTube trailers for films and TV shows mentioned: Twitters: Emails:...

Ep 21: La La Land

Screen Testing

We begin 2018 with a discussion of Neil's favourite film of 2017, and a worrying early revelation about Dan's general problems with musicals. But we persevere, and discover not only a few musical gems in Dan's closet, but also a shared appreciation for some of the plot elements in La La Land. Things get a bit philosophical and introspective as we dig into how we motivate ourselves (and others) when we (or they) suffer setbacks, how we tell our own stories about the world around us, taking the opportunities that come your way, avoiding being paralysed by "what if", and a few of the many...

Ep 20: Best/Worst of 2017

Screen Testing

As the year draws to a conclusion, Neil and Dan give a rundown of their favourite movies of the past 12 months, and highlight a few festive turkeys. The show notes are deliberately brief to avoid spoilers, but if you want to see the films which we discussed in YouTube trailer format, there are some playlists linked below. References: Thanks everyone for listening to us this year, and we'll see you on January 12th as (joy of joys) it's finally time for LA LA LAND! Twitters: Emails: [email protected] Intro music: Outro music:

Ep 19: Home Alone / Die Hard

Screen Testing

In an episode recorded over the course of five hours, your hosts gather at Chez Neil for their own mini Christmas party, with a fine array of mince pies, cheeses and ales, as well as two of their favourite festive movies. The result? A fun and rambling journey which gets increasingly erratic as we continue. Both nursing sore throats and hangovers from previous nights' office parties, we nevertheless get to all of the important questions, such as why Hans Gruber owns a TARDIS on wheels, which of Macaulay Culkin's traps constitute appropriate force, whether the Nakatomi Corporation employees...

More Episodes

In our first venture into the world of Doctor Who, guest Andrew Morton adds to Dan's expertise (and Neil's ignorance) to unpack a Fourth Doctor story which has vibes of The Manchurian Candidate and The Matrix (with a bit of a whodunnit and a courtroom drama in the middle). Plus there are fisticuffs!

We take a reverential look at some of the series' tropes, including The Doctor's skill at hiding behind things, the speed at which cliffhangers are negated, stilted deathbed monologues and a villain's inability to finish off his enemy.

We also analyse The Master's ability to turn people into Action Man dolls, short-sighted writers creating continuity nightmares, wonder whether the Timelords would do well to invest in two-factor authentication, and make very early plans for Screen Testing's thirty-year anniversary episode.

Clips from The Deadly Assassin on YouTube (courtesy of BBC Worldwide):

Miscellaneous references:

Doctor Who episodes referenced (ordered by airdate):

An Unearthly Child (first story, 1963)
The Daleks (first Dalek story, 1963)
The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964)
The Chase (1965)
The Enemy of the World (1967)
The Web of Fear (1968)
The War Games (1969)
Spearhead from Space (1970)
Terror of the Autons (1971)
The Sea Devils (1972)
Frontier in Space (1973)
Planet of the Daleks (1973)
Genesis of the Daleks (1975)
The Brain of Morbius (1976)
The Seeds of Doom (1976)
The Hand of Fear (1976)
The Face of Evil (1977)
The Invasion of Time (1978)
Shada (unfinished due to strikes, 1980)
The Five Doctors (1983)
The Caves of Androzani (1984)
Revelation of the Daleks (1985)
The Trial of a Time Lord (1986)
The Mysterious Planet (1986)
Terror of the Vervoids (1986)
Time and the Rani (1987)
The Curse of Fenric (1989)
Doctor Who (TV movie, 1996)
The Stolen Earth (2008)
The Name of the Doctor (featuring The War Doctor, 2013)
The Day of the Doctor (50th anniversary episode, 2013)
World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls (season finale, 2017)

We'll be back in a fortnight with Christopher Chant, to discuss one of Neil's all-time favourite movies, WHIPLASH.

Twitters:
@TestingChef
@TheTestDoctor
@neilstudd

Emails:
[email protected]

Intro music: Doctor Who theme
Outro music: The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis

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