August 20, 2017

Episode 5 - City of Death

August 20, 2017/ New To Who/ New To Who

"Who ordered the soup?"

Bridget joins Daniel, Colin, and Steven as they run through the streets and galleries of Paris in 1979, actually (more of a table wine, shall we say?) for CITY OF DEATH! Doctor Who's largest ever watching audience of 16 million people tuned in to watch this at the time, and none of them were wrong to do so.

Written by DOUGLAS ADAMS, at a time just before he became famous for his HITCHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY series, this story is widely seen as one the greatest Classic Who stories of all time, consistently rating in the Top 10. Filled with moments of comedic genius, a frisson of fun, and a lot of love in a blend of crime caper and sci-fi genres, this is also the story that saw TOM BAKER and LALLA WARD fall in love and eventually get married (but, sadly, not for long). Cité de l'amour/la mort, indeed!

Special thanks to ANDY WALKER for his kind permission for the use of his painting for CITY OF DEATH, the Doctor Who Target novelisation that never was, and that was eventually novelised by JEREMY GOSS.

July 23, 2017

Episode 4 - Remembrance of the Daleks

July 23, 2017/ New To Who/ New To Who

"Time will tell - it always does."

If you have never seen REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS before, we envy you! Doctor Who's silver jubilee season kicked off in incredible style with a return to its very beginnings set in 1963, and a London already infiltrated by Daleks.

Written by BEN AARONOVITCH, this story established what Doctor Who could and would be in the 1990s - and beyond. The story also introduces many of the more domestic and character-driven elements we would later see when the series returned in 2005, most notably in its foregrounding of a sparky London teenage girl as the show's co-protagonist.

Special thanks to Alister Pearson for his kind permission for the use of his cover painting for the original 1990 Doctor Who Target novelisation of REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS by Ben Aaronovitch.

June 18, 2017

Episode 3 - Earthshock

June 18, 2017/ New To Who/ New To Who

"She's like a dinner lady in space"

The Beryl Reid Appreciation Society (i.e., Colin, Daniel, and Steven) return for EARTHSHOCK, in which the new and young Fifth Doctor faces one of his deadliest and long-lost enemies. Who survives? Who doesn't? And what terrifying direction does the show's new Script Editor have in store for our favourite celery-and-cricket-uniform-wearing hero?

Written by ERIC SAWARD, this story is a highlight of Season 19, and is the first of its kind of grittier and grimmer narratives more in tune with the troubled and troubling 1980s.

The cover painting for the 1992 reprint of the Doctor Who Target novelisation, EARTHSHOCK by Ian Marter, is by Alister Pearson.

May 21, 2017

Episode 2 - The Terror of the Autons

May 21, 2017/ New To Who/ New To Who

"Who de 'eck arr you?"

New-to-Who Ed joins Colin, Daniel, and Steven for THE TERROR OF THE AUTONS, where the Third Doctor meets his companion, Jo Grant, for the first time while we are introduced to the Master, who plans to take over the world with the aid of an army of plastic men!

This is the story where the formula for what Doctor Who is today can be traced back to, and is written by Robert Holmes for the Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks production team.

The cover painting for the original imprint of the Doctor Who Target novelisation, THE TERROR OF THE AUTONS by Terrance Dicks, is by Peter Brookes.

April 24, 2017

Episode 1 - Terror of the Zygons

April 24, 2017/ New To Who

"Set your TARDIS co-ordinates for confusion!"

In the first of our adventures proper through Time and Space, arguably the definitive Doctor and companion team land in Scotland, 1975 to join forces with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and U.N.I.T to overcome the shapeshifting Zygons!

A classic from the Hinchcliffe and Holmes 'gothic horror' period of Classic Who, it's TERROR OF THE ZYGONS.

With kind permission from and great thank to Mr Chris Achilleos for the use of his cover painting for the original imprint of the Doctor Who Target novelisation, THE LOCH NESS MONSTER by Terrance Dicks.

April 23, 2017

Episode 0 - An Unearthly Child

April 23, 2017/ New To Who

"Hello, Sweet Dorks!"

Daniel, Colin and Steven nervously introduce themselves and their hare-brained idea for an intro cast to classic Doctor Who, designed for 'New Who' fans. But now that all the preparations made over pub lunches are over and they have finally hit record, can they deliver?

What better way to start this great spirit of adventure than at the very beginning with a mild curiosity in a junkyard. The first-ever episode of Doctor Who, AN UNEARTHLY CHILD... but episode one only!

Special thanks go to Mr Alister Pearson for the permission to use his cover painting commissioned for the 1990 BBC Video release and used for the reprint of the Doctor Who Target novelisation, AN UNEARTHLY CHILD by Terrance Dicks. Thank you, Alister!

Thanks also to both Brendan Jones (of Flight Through Entirety) and Clayton Hickman. Your generosity and willingness to help New To Who has been so very much appreciated.

Podcasts

New To Who