The Writers' Room

A podcast focusing on classic sci-fi, horror, and other genre television series via the writers and stories they wrote. Nerdist's Kyle Anderson and The Real McCoy's Erik Stadnik are your hosts.

The Lodger & Closing Time 09/17/2024

The Lodger & Closing Time Comedy is a subjective thing. Some things you once found funny might not hold up a decade later, especially if the person who wrote them turned out to be a bigot and the primary guest star proving himself to be a twat. Anyway, unrelated, this month we're talking about The Lodger and Closing Time, both written by Gareth Roberts with special guest star James Corden. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/33094767

A Good Man Goes to War and Let's Kill Hitler 08/18/2024

A Good Man Goes to War and Let's Kill Hitler We reach the midpoint of Series 6, with the very weird pair of highly plot-relevant episodes, "A Good Man Goes to War" and "Let's Kill Hitler," both by Steven Moffat. What works, what doesn't, what is pure mess and what is great characterization? River Song, Melody Pond, Mels, and Lorna Bucket...what names! Don't Colonel Runaway too soon. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/32627947

The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People 07/15/2024

The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People This month, Kyle and Erik get contentious surrounding the Matthew Graham two-parter "The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People," which introduced the concept of Gangers into the series six silliness. One of your intrepid hosts thinks it's a very bad story and the other thinks it's pretty okay. Arguments aplenty! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/32129017

Neil Gaiman 06/18/2024

Neil Gaiman This month, Kyle and Erik discuss the two episodes written by acclaimed novelist/author/showrunner Neil Gaiman. Arguably the biggest guest writer ever to write for the series, Gaiman's stories---"The Doctor's Wife" from series 6 and "Nightmare in Silver" from series 7---have an interesting history, and a diametrically opposed fan reaction at the time. But are either warranted? Have they aged like wine or milk? /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/31797397

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon 05/17/2024

The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon Can Steven Moffat follow up a tremendous two-part finale, and a brilliant Christmas special, with a satisfying premiere? If you ask Kyle and Erik...sort of? It's time for Series 6, and that's a whole thing. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/31361622

The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang 05/11/2024

The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang Truly the culmination of the most ambitious series of Doctor Who yet, Kyle and Erik look at Steven Moffat's tremendous two-part finale, "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang." Might it be his crowing achievement, even with so many other episodes to love? /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/31241372

Amy's Choice & Vincent and the Doctor 03/16/2024

Amy's Choice & Vincent and the Doctor This here is the good stuff! This month Kyle and Erik discuss two series five episodes written by guest writers. "Amy's Choice" by Simon Nye and "Vincent and the Doctor" by Richard Curtis. An actual Oscar nominee writing for Doctor Who! Can you even believe it?! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/30396888

The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood 02/25/2024

The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood This month, Erik and Kyle go deep underground, some might even call it Hades itself, to discuss "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood," the two-part series five story from future showrunner Chris Chibnall. It brings back the Silurians and gives us a remix of Third Doctor story elements before falling on its face trying to do something interesting but failing miserably. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/30101208

Getting Whithoused #1 01/21/2024

Getting Whithoused #1 Happy New Year! This month, Erik and Kyle embark on the first of what they're calling "Getting Whithoused," which is looking at the stories written by Toby Whithouse in the Steven Moffat era. Up first, "The Vampires of Venice" from series 5 and "The God Complex" from series 6. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/29583808

The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone 12/18/2023

The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone Hello and happy December, friends. This month, Erik and Kyle are taking a trip to the crash of the Byzantium to discuss what is certainly in the running for best Smith-era Steven Moffat script, "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone." The Weeping Angels, River Song, the Crack, it's all here! And no beating around the bush, we pretty much love it. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/29137058

The Beast Below 11/15/2023

The Beast Below This month, Erik and Kyle continue the Moffat Years train with his second episode, and indeed the second Eleventh Doctor and Amy episode, "The Beast Below," an episode---to quote Kyle---with a better story than plot. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/28657508

The Eleventh Hour 10/14/2023

The Eleventh Hour After a few months of falderal and fiddle-dee-dee, it is finally time for Erik and Kyle to begin the proper journey into the Steven Moffat showrunner era. And boy howdy what a big one to start with. "The Eleveth Hour" may be Moffat's masterpiece, and a taste of things to come. We are EXCITED. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/28316069

Russell T Davies Years Wrap-Up 09/15/2023

Russell T Davies Years Wrap-Up Let's try this again! This month, Kyle and Erik say farewell (for now) to showrunner Russell T Davies. What did he bring to Doctor Who, what is his legacy? It's a lot, that's the short answer. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/28036767

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead 08/15/2023

Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/27756024

The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink 07/14/2023

The Girl in the Fireplace and Blink This month we begin a new season! The Moffat Years! As a prelude, we discuss Steven Moffat's scripts during the Russell T Davies years, specifically this time "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "Blink." Nothing too major here or anything. Timey Wimey begins here! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/27468216

Russell T Davies Top 11 06/18/2023

Russell T Davies Top 11 Well, friends, sometimes you lose episodes to tech crashes. It finally happened to us. So, you aren't getting a final discussion about the Russell T Davies (1) era of Doctor Who, you instead get us doing our top 11 RTD scripts. So, a draft rather than a discush. It happens. Enjoy! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/27188115

The End of Time 05/15/2023

The End of Time It's here. It's finally here. Kyle and Erik's discussion of the RTD tenure (first one) comes to an end with sigh "The End of Time." Both parts. They're doing it. Here we go. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/26849031

Planet of the Dead and The Waters of Mars 04/15/2023

Planet of the Dead and The Waters of Mars And so begins the gap year specials in earnest. Kyle and Erik are very nearly at the end of the Tennant and RTD (1) years. This month, it's "Planet of the Dead" and "The Waters of Mars." One of these won a Hugo for being one of the best pieces of sci-fi of the modern age. The other, did not. Care to guess which one's which? /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/26551794

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End 03/14/2023

The Stolen Earth/Journey's End We are indeed approaching the end of some journey! Kyle and Erik take a look at the Series 4 finale two-parter "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End," in which Russell T Davies tried to bring back nearly everyone from his entire era, plus Davros. Lot going on, shame about the bad stuff. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/26229978

Midnight and Turn Left 02/15/2023

Midnight and Turn Left This month is a big one, folks! We're in the home stretch of the RTD1 era, talking about two of the writers' best episodes. "Midnight," series 4's companion-lite episode, and "Turn Left," the Doctor-lite episode that aired the following week. Both showcase Davies' trademark cynicism and have their own kinds of terrors. Neither are feel-good, but we sure like 'em! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/25917984

10th Anniversary Mailbag Bonus Episode! 01/31/2023

10th Anniversary Mailbag Bonus Episode! Folks! It's a b-b-b-b-b-b-BONUS-s-s-s-s-s-s episode! To celebrate 10 years, Erik and Kyle are giving you, the free listener, access to our Patreon bonus mailbag episode. Listeners wrote in questions about our opinions, hopes, hypothetical ideas, and more all pertaining to our favorite show, Doctor Who. Please enjoy! If you'd like to join our Patreon and get more episodes like this, head to and pledge $1 or $3 to get all the goodies. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/25785969

The Lazarus Experiment and The Doctor's Daughter 01/15/2023

The Lazarus Experiment and The Doctor's Daughter Can you believe it, folks? This episode marks the 10th anniversary of Doctor Who: The Writers Room. What a long strange trip as has been for Kyle and Erik. So many episodes, so many laughs, so many writers covered. And to commemorate 10 years, the fellas are...talking about bad Doctor Who. That's right, the two episodes written by accomplished playwright Stephen Greenhorn, "The Lazarus Experiment" and "The Doctor's Daughter." They really ought to have planned this better. Oh well. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/25610583

Voyage of the Damned/The Next Doctor 12/15/2022

Voyage of the Damned/The Next Doctor Hello and happy holidays, friends! As Erik and Kyle wrap up their TENTH YEAR of podcasting, they look at David Tennant's last two proper Christmas specials. It's "Voyage of the Damned" from 2007 and "The Next Doctor" from 2008. Both of them written by Russell T Davies, our old pal. Enjoy, be safe, and help us celebrate our 10th anniversary by sending questions for a Q&A episode to [email protected]. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/25339401

The Shakespeare Code and The Unicorn and the Wasp 11/15/2022

The Shakespeare Code and The Unicorn and the Wasp /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/25011204

The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky 10/14/2022

The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky Who had Kyle and Erik liking the season four Sontaran two-parter in their betting pool? Well surprises are part of life for Doctor Who fans. Yes, friends, our heroes beam about "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky," so strap in. Oh, but Americans don't say "clever," so there's that. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/24693696

The Fires of Pompeii and Planet of the Ood 09/16/2022

The Fires of Pompeii and Planet of the Ood Our journey into the Donna Noble era of Doctor Who gets cooking with her first two proper trips in the TARDIS. First we have a favorite, "The Fires of Pompeii," written by James Moran, and then we have "Planet of the Ood" written by Keith Temple. Moral decisions and fixed points in time! Fun, fun, fun. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/24391998

The Runaway Bride and Partners in Crime 09/01/2022

The Runaway Bride and Partners in Crime Hello, Donna! Yes, this month we're discussing the first two episodes featuring Donna Noble, "The Runaway Bride" and "Partners in Crime." How does Russell T Davies turn a one-off comedy guest star into the most beloved companion in the entire modern series? It's quite the feat! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/24205842

The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords 08/14/2022

The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords Faith and begorah! We're back with a new episode. Thank you all for your patience. Finally, we can discuss the two episodes that finish off Doctor Who series 3, "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords," which weeeeeeee have thoughts about, let's say that. Next up: Donna! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/24050316

Hey, We're Still Here 08/07/2022

Hey, We're Still Here Hello everyone. So sorry for the extreme delay in release. We've had what can only be described as a truly hellish month of July. Erik has all the details for you in this episode, which, until we are actually able to record our proper Series 3 finale discussion, will be a previous Patreon exclusive episode where your two intrepid hosts debate the most important writers in classic Doctor Who. More to come soon, and thanks for your patience. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/23983350

Utopia 06/14/2022

Utopia This month, in order to delay having to talk about a very bad two-parter, Kyle and Erik talk about "Utopia," an episode hailed by many as a modern masterpiece. But, 15 years later, does it still have that kind of impact? YANA! CHANTHO! JACK! MAAAAATHAAAAAAA! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/23431247

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