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 Rings of Akhaten and Hide 06/22/2025

The Rings of Akhaten and Hide This month, Kyle and Erik look at the two stories written for Doctor Who by Luther creator Neil Cross. Those are, as commissioned, the Nigel Kneale-inspired "Hide" and the many other things-inspired "The Rings of Akhaten." One of those stories was immediately derided upon release while the other was generally considered good. Will that still be true 12 years later? Let's find out! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/37104990

The Snowmen & The Bells of Saint John 05/15/2025

The Snowmen & The Bells of Saint John Erik and Kyle return to their old pal Steven Moffat for a pair of stories smack in the middle of the muddy series 7B, "The Snowmen" the only mid-series Christmas special, and "The Bells of Saint John" which officially introduced Clara Oswald Prime. Do these stories work? Do we like them? Why is Clara the best and people need to accept it? /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/36582090

The Curse of the Black Spot/Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS 04/15/2025

The Curse of the Black Spot/Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS Every once in a while Erik and Kyle have to talk about exceedingly boring episodes of Doctor Who. That time is now as our heroes look at the two scripts credited solely to Stephen Thompson, aka the guy who wrote stuff for Steven Moffat when he was too busy. Those episodes are "The Curse of the Black Spot" and "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS," two episodes that legally exist. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/36137495

Victory of the Daleks and Night Terrors 03/16/2025

Victory of the Daleks and Night Terrors Like it or not, it's impossible to talk about the Steven Moffat years without discussing the single most ubiquitous other writer of the era, Moffat's longtime collaborator and co-creator of Sherlock, Mark Gatiss. In the first of many episodes about Gatiss' Who output, Kyle and Erik discuss "Victory of the Daleks" and "Night Terrors," one of which might even be better than you think. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/35713800

The Angels Take Manhattan 02/16/2025

The Angels Take Manhattan It's finally time to say goodbye to the Ponds...mostly. Despite a few straggler episodes we have yet to discuss, this month's podcast is all about the farewell story for Amy and Rory, "The Angels Take Manhattan." How does Steven Moffat bid his era's first companions adieu? Are we happy with it? Why are the Angels in it? Did River Song really write a whole book about herself? Weird. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/35303485

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship/The Power of Three 01/20/2025

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship/The Power of Three This month, Kyle and Erik have good news and bad news. The bad news is we have to talk about "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" and "The Power of Three." The good news is we won't have to talk about a Chris Chibnall script for like five more years. Anyway, these two episodes certainly aren't the worst things ever, and in many ways they set the stage for what Chibnall would do during his time as showrunner, for good or ill. One thing we can say for these stories is that they're imperfect, to put it mildly. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/34926350

Update on LA Fire Situation 01/15/2025

Update on LA Fire Situation Hi folks, just a quick update. Kyle who lives in LA has thankfully not had to evacuate due to the fires still raging and have ruined people's lives. But, because it was a fluid situation, it meant we weren't able to record when we had planned. So this month's episode will be a few days late. In the meantime, we're donating our entire Patreon for the month to the LA Food Bank and we encourage anyone who can to do the same. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/34869220

A Very Moffat Christmas part 1 12/15/2024

A Very Moffat Christmas part 1 The year that was 2024 has wound down and instead of wallowing in misery, Kyle and Erik are talking about some Doctor Who Christmas episodes! Specifically the first two penned by showrunner Steven Moffat. Those are, of course, "A Christmas Carol" from 2010 and "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" from 2011. It's very much a story of greatness and lameness in equal measure. One is one of Moffat's best ever scripts, and one...isn't. Also! We're launching a Discord in 2025! Listen to the episode to find out how you can join the community. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/34335645

Asylum of the Daleks 11/24/2024

Asylum of the Daleks This month, Kyle and Erik get into the beginning of the end of the Amy and Rory years and the end of the beginning (kind of) of the _____ Oswald years. That's right, it's the scary, surprising, and super good "Asylum of the Daleks," possibly the best Moffat episode we've talked about in months. /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/34129446

The Girl Who Waited and The Wedding of River Song 10/15/2024

The Girl Who Waited and The Wedding of River Song What a weird pair of episodes to talk about together, eh? To wrap up (most of) our discussion of series 6, we're delving into "The Girl Who Waited" by Tom McRae and "The Wedding of River Song" by none other than Steven Q. Moffat. On to series 7, eh?! /episode/index/show/dwtwr/id/33475227

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

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