Doctor Who: Tin Dog Podcast

The Top Rated Doctor Who Podcast. One fan, One mic and an opinion. What more does anyone need? Daleks, TARDIS, Cybermen, Sontarans, Ood, Classic Series. Home of Whostrology and the Big Finish Retrospective.

TDP 1368 TV #DoctorWho The Reality War 06/03/2025

TDP 1368 TV #DoctorWho The Reality War from tardi wiki was the eighth and final episode of Series 15 of Doctor Who. It premiered on 31 May 2025. The story featured the return of Omega in an active role as an antagonist for the first time since the Fifth Doctor story Arc of Infinity [+], now voiced by Nicholas Briggs, with this story revealing Omega's time spent trapped in the Under-Universe had physically altered and deformed him into a monstrous corpse like being. The story also shows the apparent fate of the bi-generated Rani at Omega's hands, while the Mrs Flood incarnation of the Rani escapes shortly after witnessing her successor's apparent demise. The Rani reveals how she survived the Spy Master's genocide of Gallifrey, and that the genetic explosion caused by the Spy Master had rendered any surviving Time Lords and Time Ladies completely sterile, which was why she enacted her plan to find Omega in order to save their race, though with the purpose of creating a new Gallifrey she could rule over. In addition, her ability to follow the Doctor throughout time and space is revealed to be accomplished by use of a Time Ring rather than a TARDIS. Steph de Whalley also returns as Anita Benn, where it's revealed she began working in the Time Hotel after Joy to the World [+] and had been looking for the Fifteenth Doctor, in doing so archive footage from The Wedding of River Song [+] and Day of the Daleks [+] respectfully would be used to have Anita see the Eleventh and Third Doctors when visiting the events of those stories, before archive footage of Rogue [+] is used when Anita finds an early version of the Fifteenth Doctor during the events of that story. Before departing, Anita would mention "the Boss" who was previously mentioned by Beep the Meep in The Star Beast [+]. In addition to the Doctor's previous incarnations appearing through archive footage, Jodie Whittaker makes a surprise appearance as the Thirteenth Doctor near the end of this story, marking her first appearance since The Power of the Doctor [+]. Most notably, this story was the final chronological appearance of Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, with the story ending with his regeneration, caused by him sacrificing his current incarnation in order to bring Poppy back into existence, the Doctor's regeneration in this story was also the first time since The Parting of the Ways [+] in 2005 that the Doctor had regenerated at the end of the current series; in the revived run of the series, starting from The End of Time [+] up to The Giggle [+], the Doctor would be seen regenerating in either Christmas or New Year's specials set in between numbered series. In a twist however, The Reality War and the Fifteenth Doctor's regeneration would end with Billie Piper, having previously portrayed Ninth and Tenth Doctor companion Rose Tyler, being introduced in the final moments of the story, and with her role being left uncredited. The Doctor - Ncuti Gatwa The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker Belinda Chandra - Varada Sethu Ruby Sunday - Millie Gibson The Rani - Archie Panjabi Mrs Flood - Anita Dobson Anita Benn - Steph de Whalley Winnie Petheridge - Sam Lawton Shirley Bingham - Ruth Madeley Carla Sunday - Michelle Greenidge Conrad Clark - Jonah Hauer-King Poppy - Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave Susan Triad - Susan Twist Christofer Ibrahim - Alexander Devrient The Vlinx - Aidan Cook Rose Noble - Yasmin Finney Melanie Bush - Bonnie Langford Cherry Sunday - Angela Wynter Voice of Omega / The Vlinx / Dalek - Nicholas Briggs Lakshmi Chandra - Nila Aalia And introducing Billie Piper Uncredited First Doctor - William Hartnell (archive footage) Second Doctor - Patrick Troughton (archive footage) Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker (archive footage) Fifth Doctor - Peter Davison (archive footage) Sixth Doctor - Colin Baker (archive footage) Seventh Doctor - Sylvester McCoy (archive footage) Guardian of the Edge - Paul McGann (archive footage) War Doctor - John Hurt (archive footage) Ninth Doctor - Christopher Eccleston (archive footage) Tenth Doctor / Fourteenth Doctor - David Tennant (archive footage) Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi (archive footage) Fugitive Doctor - Jo Martin (archive footage) Crew To be added... Worldbuilding Omega and the Rani The Doctor reveals that Omega is viewed as the Original Sin of the Time Lords who has discovered time travel. He was cast out from Gallifrey because he was insane. Omega has two hearts like all Time Lords. The Underverse is a world of legends, causing Omega to change into the Mad God Titan and become his own legend. After his escape, Omega wanted to become the God of Time and feast upon Time Lords. He also immediately recognises the Doctor. The Rani has her own Time Ring and Sonic Screwdriver. The Mrs. Flood Rani later escapes with the Time Ring. UNIT Susan Triad has build her own Zero Room at UNIT floor minus 10 to use as an escape pod. UNIT can also fight using Parallax Cannons. There are a few glitches in the new world: the border between Norway and Sweden has moved seven miles east. The colour teal is more blue and actor Ernest Borgnine is still alive. Belinda and her family Belinda mentions she has an uncle named Roo living in Kerala. Her mother's name is Lakshmi. She plays a concert in Manchester. Belinda wanted to see the planet Neptune and the Big Bang before departing from the Doctor. Belinda makes the Doctor an uncle to Poppy. She reveals she met Poppy's real father when she was 21 and is named Ritchie Akingbola, though they are separated. Ruby and her family Ruby mentions that during their time together, Conrad never revealed who his father is. Cherry reveals that she likes to play poker and that Joseph is the name of her late husband. The Doctor and the TARDIS The Fifteenth Doctor mentions he can turn the TARDIS into anything. The Doctor has never been to Kerala. He also reveals that in the year 60,000, there is a planet called New New Delhi. The Fifteenth Doctor can punch regeneration energy from his hands into the Time Vortex to alter reality. However this causes him to regenerate. He can still stall the regeneration itself for a short time. The Thirteenth Doctor is unaware of what bi-generation is. The Thirteenth Doctor mentions the TARDIS having "a third strand of phenotype markers that can turn a micro-spasm". Both Doctors hope that they will always wish they had more time before regenerating. The TARDIS remembers the Fugitive Doctor, revealing her on the TARDIS console screen between the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors. The Fifteenth Doctor is surprised to see the Thirteenth, joking that "normally the other guy shows up". References The Doctor gives The Upside Down from Stranger Things and Narnia as examples about the world hidden below, or "the Underverse". Notes Jodie Whittaker revealed that one of her regrets from her tenure was that she didn't get to interact with Peter Capaldi or David Tennant during the regeneration handovers, as their scenes were filmed separately. So getting to interact with Ncuti Gatwa during his own regeneration handover was special and a highlight of coming back for her cameo. A promotional image of the Doctor and Belinda dancing with a "Happy May Day" banner in the background was released for the episode, but no such scene exists in the final episode. Jodie Whittaker wore a wig for her cameo, as she had long brown hair at the time. Russell T Davies revealed that Jodie Whittaker's codename onset was "Petrol", because he might use it as a companion name in the future. This two-parter formed Block Five of Series 15. /episode/index/show/tindog/id/36829465

TDP 1367: Wish World #DoctorWho Review (sorry about the quality) 05/28/2025

TDP 1359: #DOCTORWHO REVIEW Hooklight Pt1 05/24/2025

TDP 1366: TV #DoctorWho The Interstellar song contest REVIEW #DisneyWho 05/20/2025

TDP 1366: TV #DoctorWho The Interstellar song contest REVIEW #DisneyWho Synopsis After two hijack the control gallery of the and eject the audience into space, and must race to stop them from broadcasting a to 3 trillion viewers. Plot In the year , steps out of cryogenic suspension and onto the stage as the begins in the space station, with the and exiting the at the same time in order to take a reading. As the reading finishes they turn to the stage, notice where they are, and unanimously decide that they're staying to watch the festivities. The opening ceremonies include commercials for the contest's sponsor . , also in the audience, watches the Doctor and Belinda from afar and is delighted to see that the Vindicator is primed, calling it "the final link". Meanwhile married couple and , having arrived late, bicker over their seats being taken by the Doctor and Belinda. A , , storms backstage and seizes control of the production booth along with another Hellion worker, . The pair detain everyone present and swap over the livestream to the recording of the dress rehearsal in order to keep the outside world from realising anything is wrong. However, the Doctor notices that Rylan (who missed the dress) is present on stage but not on the television feed, and begins fiddling with wiring near his seat. As the first song plays, Kid disengages the space station safety protocols and evacuates the air in the main area, sending the vast majority of the audience careening out into space, the Doctor and the TARDIS amongst them. Contestant and her associate are spared when Wynn surreptitiously seals their pod, and Belinda manages to hang on after being thrown against the ceiling of hers, but they are seemingly the only survivors. With the arena "purged", Kid initiates the final phase of his plan, bringing out a device that will generate a . However, since the is still intact, backstage director tries to persuade Wynn that they could still save everyone. Belinda exits the seats and meets up with Cora and Len, who explain to her that the station is in communication lockdown until the scheduled end of the show to prevent manipulation of the betting markets. There's no way for them to call for help. Len finds Hellion script in a nearby terminal and tells Belinda "people say" Hellions have fearsome psychic powers and practise cannibalism, prompting Cora to defend them. As the Doctor freezes in space, an image bursts into his mind: his granddaughter, . She tells him to go back, to find her. He comes to, grabbing a nearby and propelling himself back to the airlock where Mike and Gary let him in and revive him. The trio talk about how everyone is frozen but not dead, and the was increased by the Doctor, so theoretically everyone is still in range of the station. Scanning through a nearby terminal, the Doctor finds out that the hellions are uploading a delta wave to transmit with the song contest, potentially killing all three trillion viewers across the galaxy. Searching for a , they come across a museum dedicated to the song contest's history, complete with holographic . As Kid notices people interfering with the systems he attempts to contact them, speaking with the Doctor, Belinda's group managing to eavesdrop on their exchanges of threats. Cora sees Wynn in the background and reacts, prompting Len to inquire further. Cora confesses that she's a Hellion who cut her own horns off and says that their peaceful planet was destroyed by , makers of PoppyHoney. Kid intends to get revenge on every viewer of the Song Contest, as being complicit in the sponsoring Corporation's crimes. Cora convinces Len to help them stop Kid, but he blames her for lying to him throughout their songwriting partnership and says he will no longer work with her after this crisis is over. The Doctor appears on the bridge and dismantles the delta wave, distracting Kid with a hologram. He then, frustrated with the level of damage Kid wished to inflict on the galaxy - three trillion deaths, injured him repeatedly, using holograms to inflict pain, only stopping when Belinda and Cora entered the production booth. The Doctor puts Gary and Mike to work grabbing everyone suspended in the mavity field using hard light and then utilizing Rylan's cryochamber to safely revive them. As the majority of the attendees filter into the main chamber once more, Rylan explains that the contest is obviously null and void, but there's one contestant left that he wants everyone to hear - Cora. Cora tells everyone that she's a hellion, that the Corporation tried to bury her song and story, and sings for the galaxy. Applause echoes and the crowd is moved to tears. The Doctor and Belinda find the TARDIS in the museum, brought in by contest staff. In their conversation, they mention the earth, prompting the hologram Graham Norton to appear and mention that the earth was destroyed on for unknown reasons, everything used for the song contest were sifted from the wreckage. The pair run back into the TARDIS and with a fully primed Vindicator pilot the TARDIS directly back to when they left. As they do so, however, the chimes, and the TARDIS groans, an explosion rocking the TARDIS doors off their hinges. Mrs Flood is the last of the attendees to be brought back aboard the space station, and immediately is concerned as to whether the Doctor is still around. When she learns that he's gone, she begins to , her double brainstem having frozen, splitting into two, a . The new incarnation identifies herself as , acting dismissive of her earlier incarnation, while Mrs Flood begins to defer to her. Taking the readings of the Vindicator, the new Rani says that she'll bring the Doctor absolute terror, and marches off, her prior self in tow. Cast - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Drone Guards - , , , And as Introducing as Crew /episode/index/show/tindog/id/36637390

TDP 1358: OCAS - PILOT REVIEW BIG FINISH ORIGINAL 05/17/2025

TDP 1365: TV #DoctorWho The Story and The Engine #DisneyWho Review 05/14/2025

TDP 1365: TV #DoctorWho The Story and The Engine #DisneyWho Review Synopsis When and land in for another reading, the Doctor goes to a to meet an old . There, he discovers a mysterious trapping the patrons, feeding with their stories. Plot sits in a chair, getting a haircut, and tells a story about the , his village saved by the mysterious man in the blue box. As he speaks, images splay out on the wall behind him, depicting his story to the men listening eagerly. As he finishes, they all look at a pair of lights on the wall in tense anticipation, relaxing when they switch from red to green. Omo tells the others not to worry, the Doctor always comes, and the light switches back to red, alarms blare, and the room shakes. insists that the take her home, and he suggests that they head to , , the communications hub of , and a place he loves - home of his favorite barbershop. Belinda expresses confusion at this - the can do his hair; but he explains that it's about community, about being himself, since it's the first time he's ever been a black man. Belinda understands and sends him off to enjoy himself in Lagos after he takes a reading. The Doctor winds his way through a market, greeting everyone as he passes, before he comes to his friend Omo's barbershop, , finding those assembled in the middle of a story. As the door closes behind him an alarm goes off in the TARDIS, alerting Belinda that something has gone wrong. The Doctor notices that everyone present is on missing posters outside, and he watches as the man's hair grows back. The light in the barbershop flashes to red, people scramble to decide who still has a story left, and someone sits down, telling the story of and a , of music and of time. As images flicker on the wall, the Doctor looks on in wonder, and asks how it works, begins testing by throwing out words from his travels. But it has to be a story, it has to be with a haircut. A new has taken over the shop, he came one day, and as if by magic the shop became his. A woman enters the barbershop, , bringing food, the door closes behind her, and an alarm in the TARDIS sounds again. The Doctor recognizes her, but can't place her. The light switches to red again, and the Doctor sits down, telling the most powerful story he knows, not of or , but of an ordinary life. Of Belinda Chandra doing her job, helping someone all night long, even on her grandmother's birthday, a simple gesture of thanks two weeks later. Abby watches a screen in another room, seeing it lighting up, noting that they're accelerating, as the story ends. The Barber is impressed with the power of his stories, and tells Abby when she comes out that they need to recalibrate . Omo asks if they can be let free now that the Doctor has come, his stories being effective, his hair having grown in the interim more than any of theirs. But Abby locks the door and the pair leave. The TARDIS sounds an alarm yet again, this time showing Belinda an image of the barbershop. The Doctor is furious that Omo betrayed him, is willing to trap him here, and refuses to listen as everyone tries to tell him not to open the door. He forces it open with his sonic screwdriver, finding a vacuum on the other side. A vacuum with only giant web and a large spider traversing it, the barbershop on the back of the spider. The Doctor closes the door with great effort, and the Barber emerges from the backroom, explaining that the shop is in Lagos and in outer space at the same time, only Abby and himself able to travel between. Outside, Belinda finds herself lost, but is pointed towards the shop by a , entering it, glad to see the Doctor. Reunited, the pair confront the Barber, calling him a coward who hides his face, having no real power. Rising to the taunt, the Barber names himself, calling himself , , , , , the god of stories. The pair burst out laughing - the Doctor has met Bastet, Sága, Dionysus, Anansi. He's partied with them, Anansi even tricked him to marry his daughter. This man isn't any of them. And so the man admits, he's the person who did their work for them. Wherever the gods went, he took their stories, cleaned them up, refined them, wrote them down, all for humans to repeat them, to keep the gods alive. Without him the gods would not exist. The web outside is his creation as well, the , a web that connects cultures and ideas. He was so successful that the gods abandoned him, and now he wants vengeance. The engine winds down, so much power drained from the Doctor opening the door. Abby criticizes him, and the Doctor recognizes her at last - Anansi's daughter, Abena. He's sorry that he was unable to help her, but he was a at the time, and had his own story. The light turns red, and the Barber insists the Doctor tell a story. The Doctor refuses, demanding to know what vengeance is being planned. The Barber relents - he plans to cut out the gods from memory when he reaches the center of the nexus, erasing them from existence. The Doctor is horrified, this will damage humanity, as it will harm their ability to tell stories, to pass down information, insisting that this is horrific. He refuses to sit down and speak, he won't let the spider go further. As the shop descends into chaos, everyone arguing, Abena proclaims that she will tell a story, and begins to braid the Doctor's hair. And she tells a story of plantation slaves transmitting information through the braids on their hair, maps to freedom for anyone who could escape, hidden in a place where the overseers would never check. As the battery stabilizes, the Doctor and Belinda run into the back room, finding themselves in a maze, a maze for which the Doctor has the map on his head. The pair come to a room full of artifacts from various cultures and the ship's engine, an engine that runs on stories, a heart inside a brain. The Barber enters the room behind them, having cut Abena off from the outside, the Doctor disrupting the flow of power, slowing the spider down but not stopping it. The Barber insists that the Doctor has done nothing. So the Doctor suggests that they consider , who wrote a story in six words. The Doctor's six word story is "I'm born. I die. I'm born." And energy begins to flow into the engine, never-ending energy, as his past lives flicker across the screens. But the Doctor has disrupted the engine, it can't process the power. He tells the Barber that now it's his choice - he can save the people in the shop by opening the door. But the engine will disintegrate. The Barber unlocks the door and Omo, Adena and the rest out front escape. The Doctor sends Belinda back as he sits with the Barber, talking to him, convincing him that he still has more to live for. The pair escape the shop at the last moment as it collapses, the engine exploding, destroying the spider it rode on. Omo apologizes to the Doctor, and says that he should have protected the Doctor, they're part of the same community. The two make up. Omo gives the Barber his shop, saying that he's retiring, and gives him a name, his father's name, . Adétòkunbo steps back into the barbershop, now his. The Doctor and Belinda step back into the TARDIS, one step closer to home. Cast - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Crew , and with and by • by Music by • Assistant to - • performed by General production staff for the - - - - - - - - - - - - - , - , - Script department - - Camera and lighting department - , - - - , - - - - - - - - - - , , , Art department - , - , - - - - - - - - - - - - , - - , , , , , , - - - - - - - - - - , - - , , - , - , , , , , , , , , , , Costume department - - Make-up and prosthetics Movement - - - Casting - - General post-production staff - - - - - Special and visual effects - - - - - , - Sound - - - - Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources. Worldbuilding claims to be , , , , and . In return, the Doctor relates encounters he had with all of those deities: winning a bet against Anansi, having a drinking contest with Dionysus that caused a in , watching movies with Sága, and losing a game of to Bastet. The has a large collection of artefacts related to stories. The room of shelves includes a , several , a statue of , a life-sized statue of a bearded man, , a helmet, copies of , , and , and a statue of a . The area around the heart has a statue of a dancing goddess, a , a , a statue of an , a model , several , , and a . Notes The episode has a smooth transition from the "" into the , with the title sequence first appearing in the shop window, and then the camera slowly zooming closer until the image fills the frame and the window fades away. The title of the episode was revealed on official social media on . On , the prequel short story , also written by , was published on the . Some of the artwork from it was shown on the shop window in this episode when was telling his story of the Doctor. The story shares many themes and ideas with other work by Ellams. The 2017 play Barber Shop Chronicles prominently explored as places of friendship and culture. It featured many barber shops, including one in . A version of the story about and the was part of this play. The 2019 play The Half-God of Rainfall depicted a world in which the gods of all religions coexist as separate figures who interact and fight with each other. appeared, presented as the of stories. Ellams viewed the character as echoing the title character of this play, as both are newly-invented children of gods. The 2020 poetry book The Actual had a poem about the Yo-Yo Ma story, as well as a poem comparing rapping to time travel which mentions Doctor Who. The Yo-Yo Ma anecdote is based on the musician's trip to which was filmed for the 1993 documentary Distant Echoes: Yo-Yo Ma & the Kalahari Bushmen. For the UK debut on , the episode was first released as an audio description version only. The standard version of the episode was then released a few minutes later. Episode writer appears as a , marking the second time a person has written and acted in the same episode, following in [+]. as and as the were omitted from the advance credits. The anecdote of challenging him to write a story in six words appears to be referencing 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn.', a story misattributed to Hemingway. Myths to be added Filming locations to be added Ratings to be added Production errors If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to . to be added The Doctor uses the , as he previously did in : [+], : [+], : [+] and : [+]. 's cameo, for the first time, occurs in a flashback rather than the present, in the story the Doctor recounts about how Belinda saved a life. She's seen walking down the hallway just before Belinda meets the patient again and is given flowers. The Doctor recognises Abby from his encounter with when he was the , indicating he now has access to some of the memories that were erased by . Belinda sees an apparition of just before she reaches the barber shop. When she later tells the Doctor about seeing a little girl, he guesses it was due to stories from the Story Engine leaking out. When the Doctor overcharges the engine with his endless story, it is shown with clips of the from : [+], the in : [+], the in : [+], the in : [+], the in : [+], the in : [+] with audio from : [+], audio of the from : [+], the in : [+], the in : [+], the in : [+], the in : [+], , , and the in : [+] (saying the line heard earlier), the in : [+] and the in : [+]. Clips of the in : [+], the in : "" [+], the Twelfth Doctor in : [+] and a still of the Fifteenth Doctor in : [+] appear in the background of the following scene. in article: External links Official page on Footnotes @BBC (2025-03-22). . YouTube. Archived from on 2025-03-22. (2025-05-08). . . Archived from on 2025-05-08. Amanda-Rae Prescott (2025-05-10). . Den of Geek. Archived from on 2025-05-11. . BBC One. Archived from on 2025-04-30. /episode/index/show/tindog/id/36560660

TDP 1351: 1. Zygon Century: Infiltration Worlds of #DoctorWho REVIEW 05/10/2025

TDP 1364: TV #Doctorwho review Lucky Day 05/06/2025

TDP 1364: TV #Doctorwho review Lucky Day Lucky Day (Doctor Who) 3 languages Tools Appearance hide Text Small Standard Large Width Standard Wide Color (beta) Automatic Light Dark From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 316 – "Lucky Day" episode Promotional title-card Cast – – – Others Benjamin Chivers – Young Conrad Kirsty Hoiles – Moira Clark – Conrad Clark Gethin Alderman – The Shreek Kareem Alexander – Jordan Lang – Carla Sunday – Cherry Sunday – Louise Miller Madison Stock – Elsa Paddy Stafford – Sparky Blake Anderson – Jack Aoife Gaston – Michelle – Alfie Michael Woodford – Derek – Alexander Devrient – Colonel Christofer Ibrahim Tina Gray – Audrey – Shirley Bingham – – Herself – Himself – Herself Calypso Cragg – Influencer 2 James Craven – Influencer 3 Selorm Adonu – Influencer 1 Aidan Cook – The Vlinx – Voice of the Vlinx – Mrs Flood Production Directed by Written by Script editor David Cheung Produced by Vicki Delow Executive producer(s) Joel Collins Music by Series Running time 46 minutes First broadcast 3 May 2025 Chronology ← Preceded by "" Followed by → "" "Lucky Day" is the fourth episode of the of the series . It was written by , and was directed by . The episode was released on , , and on 3 May 2025. It features the return of companion (), who plays a leading role in the episode opposite Conrad Clark (), with both the () and (), the series' main leads, only appearing briefly. The episode focuses on Ruby, who begins a relationship with Conrad as she attempts to find her place in the world after leaving the Doctor. When it is revealed that Conrad wants to "expose" for their goals being "fake", Ruby and have to deal with the repercussions of Conrad's actions. The episode was devised by showrunner , with Davies enlisting McTighe to write the episode. He used the episode to explore Ruby and Kate's characters while also exploring the "the spread of online hatred" and its effects. The episode's monster, the Shreek, was based off of McTighe's childhood fears of dog-like creatures in the dark, with the creature being portrayed via costume and an animatronic head. Filming took place in November 2023 and it was with the . The episode received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted Gibson's performance, the twist regarding Conrad's true identity, and the episode's social commentary, but were more critical of underdeveloped plotlines in the episode, as well as the execution of Conrad as an antagonist. Plot [] and arrive on New Year's Day, 2007, and meet eight-year-old Conrad. Following this, Conrad investigates sightings of the Doctor and the , seeing a younger Doctor with his then-companion in 2024, where he is marked as prey by a creature called the Shreek. In 2025, after stopping travelling with the Doctor, Ruby gives Conrad about her encounters with extraterrestrial life an interview on his podcast. They start dating and she gives him an antidote to act against him being marked by the Shreek, which has been recently captured by . At a weekend away at Conrad's home village, Ruby fears she is in danger and tells Conrad she is suffering from following her experiences with the Doctor. Two Shreek appear in pursuit of Conrad, who admits he did not take the antidote. Ruby calls UNIT and their leader to the village. The Shreek are revealed to be fake, part of a setup orchestrated by Conrad, whose relationship with Ruby was a ploy, against UNIT. A scandal breaks and Conrad and his followers continue to perpetuate disinformation about the non-existence of aliens, discrediting UNIT. After Conrad publishes details of UNIT employees, Kate realises he has an insider in UNIT. The insider sneaks Conrad into the building. Alerted to his presence, Kate allows Conrad to reach the command floor, where he livestreams his intrusion. In order to expose Conrad's lies Kate releases the Shreek, which hunts Conrad. With the Shreek attacking him, Conrad admits on his livestream he has been lying about UNIT. Ruby stuns the Shreek, although it manages to injure Conrad's arm. Public sentiment turns in UNIT's favour, though Colonel Ibrahim tells Kate that she went too far by releasing the Shreek. Ruby decides to get away to overcome her trauma, and Kate offers her support when she is ready to talk. Conrad is imprisoned and the Doctor berates him for harming Ruby and his friends. Conrad asks the Doctor if he has yet met Belinda, who the Doctor has not, since that's his future. The Doctor tells Conrad that he will die in prison and be forgotten by history. However, after the Doctor leaves Conrad, Mrs Flood releases him. Production [] Development [] Showrunner wished to include an episode discussing the spread of "toxic, online hatred", and contacted writer to write the script. McTighe had previously written episodes under former showrunner . When writing the episode, he said that he wanted to take the opportunity to explore what happens to a after they leave , feeling that it had infrequently been done in the past. McTighe described the episode as a mix between , , and . He also compared one of the main settings to Devil's End from the 1971 serial and the fact that it was a Ruby-centric story to the 2024 episode "". Ruby was referred to as having following her time with the Doctor, which Davies wanted to portray in the episode. The episode also allowed McTighe to explore Kate's character further, with her willingness to go too far being something that McTighe stated would have further repercussions "beyond this episode, beyond this season, even beyond this show." McTighe developed the Shreek off the idea of a "four-legged, creeping animal", leaning into his childhood fears about dog-like creatures in the dark. He made its motivations simple, with a desire to hunt, to make a monster that could not be reasoned with and terrifying. Prior to this, the Shreek were first mentioned in Caged, a 2024 Doctor Who novel by . McTighe also included a number of to past episodes and . "Lucky Day" is a "Doctor-lite" episode, which Davies stated required them to find "inventive ways" to include the Doctor, one of which is a to a story set in the . The took place at on 7 November 2023. Casting [] The episode starred (left) and (right) as and Conrad Clark. returns as outgoing series regular and former companion . It is the first of two appearances that Gibson is set to make during the , as well as her first appearance since the 2024 Christmas special, "". In July 2024, at the Doctor Who panel, it was officially announced that had been cast in a role that would be involved in Ruby's character arc. Further details later revealed that Hauer-King would portray Conrad, a and Ruby's boyfriend. and also make brief appearances as the of and his companion, , respectively. who plays Alfie previously held the role of the Castellan in "" (1983). reprised her role as newsreader Trinity Wells. appears as herself, a Welsh presenter on interviewing Conrad. The remainder of the guest cast includes , , , , Alexander Devrient, and , as well as in a voice role. Filming and production design [] The primary Shreek costume was constructed using molds and , with the final molds eventually being injected with and painted. The Shreek uses an animatronic head. The Shreek costumes used in the episode by Conrad's friends were designed as derivative versions of the primary Shreek costume. The design team at Millenium FX had a designer look at the primary Shreek costume once and then construct the derivative version from memory to reflect the costumes' in-universe construction. The team had to make the costumes look convincing while also looking like "rubber costumes", which proved a challenge. The Shreek performers are unable to see inside the mask, requiring outside direction for the actors to know where they need to go. The inclusion of in the scene where Conrad explores the abandoned department store featuring the Shreek was a result of McTighe wanting to include a callback to the first episode of Doctor Who's revived era, "" (2005), which featured living mannequins called . Pame Downe designed Ruby's outfits with dark blue and green colors, which Gibson felt were "more mature colors". One of her outfits included a pinstripe suit and pants that Gibson said was reminiscent of one of 's previous outfits in the series. Filming occurred in the Welsh village of (pictured). "Lucky Day" is directed by . The episode was placed in the second production block of the fifteenth series with the first episode, "", and followed recording of "Joy to the World" in the block immediately preceding. The two episodes in this block were filmed concurrently by utilizing a . for the episode began on 14 November 2023. Gibson and Hauer-King were spotted filming scenes together two days later. was done in on 24 November. The production team made use of for the aforementioned abandoned department store scene, which was similarly used as a filming location in "Rose". For the scenes set in the village, the town of , was used with recording taking place from 27–29 November. Two-thirds of the budget allocated to the six-week filming block was used during those three days, three hours of which were spent shooting three takes with a helicopter. Broadcast and reception [] Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating B- 10/10 7/10 Broadcast [] "Lucky Day" was released on at 8 a.m. (BST) in the United Kingdom and on in the United States at 12 a.m. on 3 May 2025. A broadcast of the episode followed at 7:10 p.m. BST. also handled international distribution of the episode. Ratings [] The episode recorded overnight broadcast ratings of 1.5 million, a decline on the previous episodes and setting a new record low after Lux's 1.58 million. Critical reception [] Robert Anderson, writing for , praised the episode's writing, the performance of Gibson, and the usage of Conrad as an antagonist, though stated that the episode, at times could feel "hollow" and that Ruby's character arc was not as well executed as it could have been. Daniel Cooper, writing for , similarly highlighted the twist about Conrad's identity, McTighe's writing, and the episode's social commentary, but felt Conrad's backstory utilizing "the trope that survivors of abuse perpetuate that cycle of abuse" was overused. Adi Tantimedh, writing for , praised the episode, highlighting the twist involving Conrad and the episode's social commentary. Stefan Mohammed, writing for , found several of the episode's plot points underdeveloped, stating that Ruby's character arc was undermined by her strong home life and that Conrad embodying all aspects of the social issues being discussed made him feel overcomplicated with unclear motivations. Despite this, he found Gibson's performance compelling, and highlighted the episode's usage of Kate. Vicky Jessop, writing for the , positively highlighted the episode, though felt Conrad's execution as an antagonist was weak, and that the consequences of his actions were not explored well enough. Isobel Lewis, writing for , stated the episode had consistency issues not present in the rest of the series; she also found it to retread similar ground to previous series episode "", to which she negatively compared "Lucky Day". References [] ^ (Behind the scenes featurette). 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025 – via . Eddy, Cheryl (27 January 2025). . . Retrieved 26 April 2025. Gledhill, Lisa (24 April 2025). Quinn, Jason (ed.). "Preview - Lucky Day". . No. 616. . pp. 12–14. . BBC Mdia Centre. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^ Powell, Steffan (presenter); Aiken, Jonathon (director) (3 May 2025). . . Series 15. Episode 4. . and . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Salmon, Will (3 May 2025). . . . Retrieved 4 May 2025. Tantimedh, Adi (2 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Mitovich, Matt Webb (1 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Rowan, Iona (30 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Famurewa, Jimi (1 April 2025). . . from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. Mitovich, Matt Webb (2 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 March 2025. Hibbs, James (28 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Petski, Denise (3 May 2025). . . Griffin, Louise (30 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. (writer), (director), Delow, Vicky (producer) (3 May 2025). . . Series 15. Episode 4. . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Tantimedh, Adi (30 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Griffin, Louise (3 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. . TVZoneUK. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. Rowan, Iona (29 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. Mellor, Louisa (24 March 2025). . . from the original on 7 April 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^ Quinn, Jason, ed. (November 2023). "Issue 596". . No. 596. . p. 4. Quinn, Jason, ed. (January 2024a). "Issue 598". . No. 598. . p. 12. ^ Quinn, Jason, ed. (February 2024). "Issue 601". . No. 601. . p. 10. Craig, David (16 November 2023). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^ Lewis, Isobel (3 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^ Tantimedh, Adi (3 May 2025). . . from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^ Jessop, Vicky (3 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. /episode/index/show/tindog/id/36454385

TDP 1354 : 14A. Doctor Who: The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 14: The Hellwood Inheritance 05/03/2025

TDP 1363: TV #DoctorWho The Well #DisneyWho Doctor Who Review 04/30/2025

TDP 1353: REVIEW 93. Torchwood: Rictus from #Bigfinish worlds of #Doctorwho 04/26/2025

TDP 1362: #DoctorWho #DisneyWho TV Doctor Who Review Lux 04/22/2025

TDP 1362: #DoctorWho #DisneyWho TV Doctor Who Review Lux From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 314 – "Lux" episode Promotional title-card Cast – – Others – Newsreader Cassius Hackforth – Tommy Lee Ryan Speakman – Husband – Reginald Pye – Mr Ring-a-Ding – Sunshine Sally Lewis Cornay – Logan Cheever Lucy Thackeray – Renée Lowenstein Jane Hancock – Helen Pye William Meredith – Policeman Samir Arrian – Hassan Chowdry Bronté Barbé – Lizzie Abel Steph Lacey – Robyn Gossage – Mrs Flood Production Directed by Written by Script editor David Cheung Produced by Chris May Executive producer(s) Russell T Davies Joel Collins Music by Series Running time 43 minutes First broadcast 19 April 2025 Chronology ← Preceded by "" Followed by → "" "Lux" is the second episode of the of the series . It was written by , the Doctor Who showrunner, from a concept first developed over two decades prior, and directed by . In the episode, the () and his , , land in 1952 , while trying to make their way back to 2025. After doing so, they discover a mysterious where fifteen people have disappeared. The pair stay to investigate and ultimately confront an animated God, Lux (voiced by ), who traps them in film. "Lux" is unusual for the programme in that it features a mixed live-action and animated format. Filming for the episode took place in and at in January 2024. Some voice-over work took place internationally in in June. Animation and other work continued later into the year, with some tasks still being completed as late as September. The episode includes references to , and to its own . It was released on , , and on 19 April 2025. Reception to the episode was positive, with critics praising its use of animation in a live-action setting. A novelisation written by is set to be released in July 2025. Plot [] Unable to return to 24 May 2025, the lands in 1952 , where the Doctor and find a cinema that is chained shut. At a diner, they speak to the mother of one of fifteen people who disappeared from the cinema, which continues to play movies at night. Although is still enforced, the waiter allows them to stay. Inside the cinema, the pair discover a living cartoon, Mr Ring-a-Ding, the embodiment of Lux Imperator, God of Light, is responsible. The projectionist, Reginald Pye, plays films for Lux, who uses his power to recreate Pye's dead wife. Lux has trapped the missing people in a film reel. He similarly traps the Doctor and Belinda, and turns them into cartoon characters, until they regain their usual forms. They flee to another false reality, where a racist cop challenges them. They escape through a television watched by . Though delighted to meet the Doctor they reveal that their world is the fake one, and encourage him to return and defeat Lux, even though they will then cease to exist. Back in the cinema, the Doctor heals his injured hand using residual energy. Lux steals the energy to create a solid body. Belinda attempts to burn film reels to cause an explosion, but encouraged by his wife, Pye sacrifices himself. The explosion exposes the cinema to sunlight causing Lux to expand infinitely until he becomes one with the universe. The missing people return. As the Doctor and Belinda leave, Mrs Flood encourages the bystanders to watch the TARDIS dematerialise, claiming this "show" is a "limited run" that ends on 24 May. The Doctor's fans critique the episode, realising that they still exist. Production [] Development and production design [] "Lux" was written by . He had wanted to do an episode that included a living cartoon for a long time, but was unable to do one until now for funding reasons. He also revealed that he had considered variants of such an episode, including one two decades prior that would have featured a hologram rather than a legitimate animation as a result of the budgetary constraints. The story also contains mentions of segregation and racism in which Davies said he added to address issues in present-day society. It was also used as a subversion to the Doctor usually situating themselves as the main authority figure. While including such themes, he didn't want it to be the dominant subject. Among these are the NYPD officer saying the cinema is a space "reserved for " and prejudicely assuming that Belinda is . Other motifs present explore grief, hope, friendship, and sadness. references to and the character were included. Additionally, Davies has continued a recent trend of . Also unusual for the show, the episode featured a . Costume designer Pam Downe created the Doctor's and Belinda's outfits using the of blue and yellow. Sethu's dress was inspired by a similar one worn by Anita () and designed by in the of . Meanwhile, Gatwa's blue suit was influenced by American musical artists of the 1950s. These hues were intended to further contrast with the red interior of the cinema by ultimately using all three . Downe ultimately wanted to successfully convey movement during the episodes action scenes. As such, three different were considered for Sethu to wear and her dress had multiple . The concept of Mr. Ring-a-Ding was inspired by animations from . Ian Spendloff worked as a creative designer for the episode, and was the designer of Mr. Ring-a-Ding. Davies compared the concept of Mr. Ring-a-Ding to from the 1930s. Spendloff drafted thirty different sketches that were considered before finally settling on the one used in the episode. Each one featured variations in noses, hair, and other elements. Mr. Ring-a-Ding was ultimately given a pig-like nose and blue skin to reflect characteristics of cartoon characters from the time period, with Davies wanting the character to look vaguely human but not be immediately identifiable as something else. to were also present in the episode because Davies recalled his enjoyment of cartoons while writing it, which made him consider people who loved the programme. Within the episode, the fans wore Doctor Who apparel (including a scarf, another a "Telos" sweatshirt) and declared "" (2008) as their favourite episode. One of them also mentioned the impending cancellation of the show. They then point out the "obviousness" of the episode's , and made references to . The show's BBC ident appears on the screen of their television. Although they say they are too inconsequential to be given surnames, all three characters—Hassan Chowdry, Lizzie Abel and Robyn Gossage—are fully named in the credits. The concept of Doctor Who existing within had previously been briefly explored in (1988) and other expanded media. Following this instance, such an idea was considered quasi-. This scene raised suspicion that Davies had potentially been planting online himself regarding upcoming episodes as well as rumours that the series would enter into another hiatus. When the fact that the episode was written and filmed well before the leaks began appearing was considered, it was compared to the . Casting [] The episode stars as the of and as his , . voices the antagonist, Mr. Ring-a-Ding. It marks Cumming's second appearance in the show after his role as King in the 2018 episode "". Davies said that he and the production team had considered whether it was too soon to cast Cumming again and that had it been a live action role, he likely would not have been. Mr. Ring-a-Ding is the "God of Light" and part of the "Pantheon of Gods" that Davies has been developing since "" (2023). stars as Reginald Pye, the theatre's projectionist and Lewis Cornay plays a diner worker who helps the Doctor and Belinda investigate the disappearances. also makes a brief appearance as recurring character Mrs. Flood. The trio of fans were portrayed by Samir Arrian, Bronte Barbe, and Steph Lacey. Filming and post-production [] Exterior shots for the theater were filmed at Pavilion. The wooden ramp can be seen at the bottom of the photo. The story was filmed in the series' third production block, along with the following episode, "". It was directed by and recorded in late-January 2024. took place in . The surrounding area was made up to look like an American city in the 1950s by adding vehicles and American flags. pavilion was used for exterior shots of the theatre. The production team painted the building, added a period theatre sign, and removed a modern ramp at the front of the building. Its removal led to the discovery of rotting wood that had to be replaced at the show's expense. The episode was shot during causing the cast and crew to struggle with unexpected rain and winds, requiring hot water bottles to keep warm during takes. Interior shots for the studio were filmed on 4 at . Pieces of that set were reused from "" (2024). As a result of Mr. Ring-a-Ding being an animated creation, the performers had to interact with a two-foot acrylic cutout of the character or a thin green pole on set.The scenes were then edited during the process. References for Mr. Ring-a-Ding's movement were filmed by crew, and then drawn directly into the scene by animators from . Cumming voiced his scenes in on 28 June 2024. Elements of Cumming's facial expressions during this recording for were incorporated into Mr. Ring-a-Ding. The scene where the Doctor and Belinda are turned into cartoons were first recorded on a , in which Gatwa and Sethu had to portray the characters in a rigid and cartoon-like manner. The animators used this as a reference for interaction between the two characters when redrawing them as a cartoon. Animations were done at twenty-five frames a second, requiring twenty-five drawings for each second of screen time, or fewer if characters' movement was limited. artists recorded at Bang Post Production in on 4 September 2024. The episode's soundtrack included two singles: "" by , and the rendition of "". Despite the episode taking place in 1952, the tracks were not released until 1956 and 1969, respectively. , the show's , also included the song "The Sad Man With A Box", a piece that he originally composed for . Broadcast and reception [] Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating (Tomatometer) 100% (Average Score) 7.70/10 Review scores Source Rating B 10/10 9/10 Broadcast [] "Lux" was released on at 8 a.m. (BST) in the United Kingdom and on in the United States at 12 a.m. on 12 April 2025. A broadcast followed at 7:15 p.m. BST. also handled international distribution of the episode. Ratings [] The episode received overnight viewing figures of 1.58 million, the lowest broadcast ratings in Doctor Who's history. It was the fourth most-watched programme of the day on BBC One, with one show on also achieving higher numbers. Critical reception [] On the website , 100% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.70/10. Robert Anderson, writing for , praised the episode, highlighting Mr. Ring-a-Ding, several individual scenes, such as the fourth-wall-breaking scene, and the performances of Gatwa and Sethu. 's Martin Belam responded positively to the episode, praising Cumming's performance and the fourth-wall-breaking scene. Will Salmon, writing for , highlighted Mr. Ring-a-Ding and Gatwa's performance, though felt Murray Gold's musical score "drowned out" some scenes. Adi Tantimedh, writing for , found the episode to be the strongest out of the episodes headed by Davies in his second tenure as showrunner. Andrew Blair, writing for , highlighted the characterization of Mr. Ring-a-Ding, but criticized the episode's similarities to "", which he felt made the episode feel repetitive and weaker than it should have. He also felt the episode's handling of race was not effective, as while he felt the episode's inclusion of the topic was commendable, he felt the Doctor's in-universe way of handling it "can't help but scrape awkwardly against our real-world knowledge." Vicky Jessop, writing for the , criticized the inclusion of the scene featuring Doctor Who fans, stating that while it was initially entertaining, it quickly became "strained". /episode/index/show/tindog/id/36261180

TDP 1352: Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Deadly Strangers 04/19/2025

TDP 1361: #DOCTORWHO review #DisneyWho The Robot Revolution 04/17/2025

TDP 1361: #DOCTORWHO review #DisneyWho The Robot Revolution "The Robot Revolution" is the first episode of the of the series . The episode was written by , the Doctor Who , and directed by . In the episode, the (), rescues Belinda Chandra (), after she is kidnapped from and inadvertently gets involved in a war on another planet. Chandra becomes the Doctor's new . Production for the episode took place in in late-2023. It was released on , , and on 12 April 2025. Reception was mostly postive, with Sethu's characterization particularly praised. A novelisation written by is set to be released in July 2025. Plot [] Belinda Chandra's boyfriend, Alan Budd, gives her a certificate for her birthday. He but she rebuffs him. Seventeen years later, on 24 May 2025, Belinda is captured by robots and taken, as their queen, to Missbelindachandra One, a planet orbiting her star. The "Missbelindachandrakind" are composed of humanoids and robots, who coexisted peacefully until the latter took control and some humans began to rebel. The robots are controlled by the Great Generator, who plans to merge with Belinda. On their spaceship, Belinda blames Alan for registering the star, as it flies through a time fracture. , who had been in pursuit, is sent backward six months, and by the time Belinda arrives, he has become the historian. Exploiting a fault that prevents the robots from hearing every ninth word, the Doctor and the rebels rescue Belinda. The Doctor realises that the robots possess a certificate identical to Belinda's, and have had it for over 5000 years. He concludes that this is related to the time fracture. Belinda allows herself to be captured, asking the robots to spare the rebels. Belinda and the Doctor are taken to the Great AI Generator. They discover that it is not "AI" but "AL", short for Alan. After Belinda had blamed Alan, the robots used the time fracture to capture him ten years earlier in 2015. Seeing life on Missbelindachandra as a game, Alan merged himself with the machines and started the war. Using every ninth word, Alan communicates to them that he is in pain. Belinda touches her copy of the certificate to Alan's, causing them to experience all of time simultaneously. The Doctor rescues Belinda, while Alan reverts to a sperm and egg, which is cleaned up by a robot. Now free, the humanoids and robots rebuild their society, while the Doctor takes Belinda to his . He describes meeting her distant descendant Mundy Flynn and wants to know how the robots acquired the certificate, but Belinda, disturbed at his insistence that their encounter is "destiny" and refusing to be one of his adventures, demands to be taken home. The TARDIS is unable to return to 24 May 2025, instead bouncing off that date. The Doctor tells Belinda that they will need to take the long way around. As the TARDIS dematerialises, debris from several Earth landmarks and the certificate float in space. Production [] Development [] "The Robot Revolution" was written by . He initially conceptualized the idea as a one-off story and later reworked it into a to serve as a companion introduction. Davies said that it was a "difficult" episode to write, because he struggled with turning a joke about star naming into a full script. He also viewed it as a wider narrative about the concerns surrounding artificial intelligence in a real-world context. A for the episode included "Belinda and the Robots". Filming [] Screenshot from the film Promotional poster for The team used and as references. Set design began at in October 2023. Phil Sims said he and Davies took inspiration from and when . They were created with a appearance influenced by the . Millennium FX designed the robot costumes over the course of eight weeks. They were first created digitally and split into 34 different pieces to be . Afterwards, the pieces were assembled with glue and finished with and . The polish robot that appears in the episode was designed with a similar 1950s aesthetic, primarily being based on cars of the time period. The robot had unique wheels that allowed it to move laterally as well as straight ahead, as the designers wanted the robot to have a unique range of motion compared to other robots of similar size. The AI Generator was similarly designed to appear large and imposing, with the set and art design teams collaborating to determine where the presence of Alan would be inside of the machine. The set for the throne room, where Belinda is initially brought in the episode, is re-used for the AI Generator's room. The design team placed the "head" of the Generator's design just below the room's centerpiece in order to create the illusion that the room acted like a crown for the Generator and that the room is an extension of him. The episode was directed by . It was recorded in the second filming block of series 15 along with the fourth episode, "". occurred in November 2023 in while filming also took place at Wolf Studios. Casting [] The episode stars as the of and introduces as his , Belinda Chandra. Sethu previously played a separate but related character in the episode "" (2024). reprised her role as Mrs Flood, an enigmatic character who was first introduced in (2023) and recurred in the previous series. Alan Budd (the episode's antagonist) was portrayed by Jonny Green, who formerly voiced characters in various and . Other members of the guest cast included , Jeff Kunjumon, Evelyn Miller, and Caleb Hughes. Two of the robots were operated by Stephen Love and Robert Strange; the two worked as Wrarth Warriors in "" (2023), while Strange also handled the costume in "" (2024). Broadcast and reception [] Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating (Tomatometer) 100% (Average Score) 7.10/10 Review scores Source Rating B- 6/10 Release [] "The Robot Revolution" was released on at 8 a.m. (BST) in the United Kingdom and on in the United States at 12 a.m. on 12 April 2025. A broadcast followed later in the day at 6:50 p.m. BST. also handled international distribution of the episode. Ratings [] Overnight viewing figures estimate that the episode was watched by 2 million people on its BBC One broadcast, making it the second most-watched programme on BBC One behind the finale of , as well as the fourth-most watched programme of the day. Critical reception [] On the website , 100% of 8 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.10/10. Will Salmon with highlighted the setting of the episode and its design, but criticized the episode for being "light", as well as due to confusing plot points toward the end of the episode. Writing for , Stefan Mohamed highlighted the Doctor's characterization and the episode's new visual and directorial techniques, but criticized Alan as a villain and the death of Sasha 55 as a weak narrative moment. 's Roxy Simmons found the episode enjoyable but found the episode to make very little impact on the audience, and found the commentary unsubtle. Belinda's characterization and Sethu's performance was near universally praised. author Ed Power praised the Doctor's characterization and the fun nature of the episode, though felt that elements of Alan's characterization as a "nerdy" character would receive negative reception, and that Sasha 55's death was unnecessary for the episode's plot. critic Robert Anderson criticized the episode as feeling "shallow", as well as the twist of the AI Generator being Alan. Reviewing the episode for , Jack Seale highlighted the episode's re-introduction of the Doctor's character and the inclusion of topical issues, but criticized the twists involving the AI Generator as well as the execution of the episode's message. 's Chris Taylor argued that Belinda's characterization was weak, and that she lacked a sense of purpose compared to other past companions. He also criticized the episode's social commentary, feeling that the episode moved to fast to properly critique any aspect of society. Michael Hogan, penning a review for felt some of the episode's social commentary was not well-executed, and felt jarring given the episode's time slot. /episode/index/show/tindog/id/36202490

TDP 1355: Life and Death of River Song Ace and Tegan - Worlds of #DoctorWho 04/12/2025

TDP 1355: Life and Death of River Song Ace and Tegan - Worlds of #DoctorWho 2. The Death and Life of River Song Series 02: Ace and Tegan This title was released in March 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 May 2025, and on general sale after this date. Ace and Tegan have been plucked from their twenty-first century lives and stranded in 1860. But who is responsible, and why is River Song mixing in nineteenth century society too? Somebody is out to eliminate the three of them, as Ace and Tegan realise that this may not be their first meeting with River. Their lives are entangled, and to escape, somebody must pay the ultimate price... 2.1 Castaways by James Moran Adrift in the past, Ace and Tegan are looking into supposed hauntings on London's new underground railway lines. But how and why are they there? Their memories are not what they were, and they are about to encounter River Song, perhaps not for the first time. One thing is certain - River knows more than she is telling! 2.2 Driftwood by Roland Moore Back in her TARDIS travels, Ace is cut off from the Doctor, on a stricken spaceship with sixty minutes to live. Something has invaded the vessel - something that travels along wires and can control its metal structure. As time runs out, Ace's only hope may be a mysterious woman with a blaster and fantastic hair. 2.3 Dead Rising by Roland Moore With the Doctor and Turlough on ice, Tegan faces interrogation from the Pilot of Vrexel colony. Something is making the colonists drop down dead... Tegan claims she is just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But when River Song arrives and the dead start rising, Tegan's problems get a whole lot worse... 2.4 The End is the Beginning is the End by James Moran River, Ace and Tegan must stop Gregor Ganley from changing their past again, and again... and again. But he's always one step ahead. And River's new friends want to convince her that assassination is not always the best option. But first, they have the matter of imminent certain death to deal with... **Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,250 copies** /episode/index/show/tindog/id/35931745

TDP 1350: Doctor Who: The Fifth Doctor Adventures: The Great Beyond REVIEW 04/05/2025

TDP 1349: 2. VAM PD Volume 02 REVIEW #Bigfinish 03/29/2025

TDP 1348: #bigfinish 92. Torchwood: Inseparable review 03/22/2025

TDP 1347: #DoctorWho 9.1. Doctor Who: Genesis of the Cybermen 03/15/2025

TDP 1346: UFOCAST Interview with James Swallow about Shadow Play 03/10/2025

TDP 1344: 5. Doctor Who: Classic Doctors New Monsters 5: Faithful Friends 03/06/2025

TDP 1344: 5. Doctor Who: Classic Doctors New Monsters 5: Faithful Friends This title was released in January 2025. It will be exclusively available to buy from the Big Finish website until 31 March 2025, and on general sale after this date. Four new adventures featuring classic Doctors encountering monsters from the new series of Doctor Who! 5.1 The Krillitane Feint by John Dorney The TARDIS brings the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe to a planet where a secure research base is conducting disturbing experiments. A group of captive Krillitane are test subjects for a military power, keen to understand the species' unique abilities. But who are the real monsters here? 5.2 The Dying Breed by Tim Foley When the Doctor, Leela and K9 land on the Lupari homeworld tracking a temporal anomaly, they find a kingdom in disarray. The Great Lord Garzan's son has been attacked, and strange beasts roam the frozen landscape. Whilst Leela spars with the new heir, the Doctor and K9 must work out how all these strange events are connected. Little do they know that their discoveries will shake the Lupari to their core... 5.3 The Krillitane Relic by John Dorney The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Ray to a space station cryogenic facility, where interplanetary VIPs are stored pending medical cures. There is a familiar face here too - someone the Doctor remembers, but who does not remember him... 5.4 Five Hundred Ways to Leave Your Lover by Tim Foley Chris is on a date. But it isn't working out. Perhaps he'll end it over dinner. Or on a cruise. Or in a lunar spa. But who are these figures in red? And why are they so invested in his relationship? All of reality might be at stake, and the Monks will pursue Chris wherever he goes - but as long as he manages to break up with his boyfriend, the Doctor, everything might be saved... **Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,250 copies and will not be repressed** /episode/index/show/tindog/id/35357310