Podcast of the week
- Publication: The Times
- Date: 2008-02-23
- Author: Chris Campling
- Page: The Knowledge, p. 12
- Language: English
Chris Campling tunes in to a Who's Who guide to timelords
The Dr Who Podshock, provided by the Gallifreyan Embassy (gallifreyanembassy.org), is an American site with all the American advantages (glossy production values, an infinite capacity for taking pains) as well as its disadvantages: the apprehension that, if things go wrong in some particularly intense participant's personal life, they might run amok.
Still, the presence of other contributing nationalities - British, Australian and Canadian - tipped the balance in favour of downloading Episode 103 (103!!!) and settling down for as much of the 96 minutes (96 minutes!!!) of all things Whovian as could be stood.
Which turned out to involve an analysis of the Colin Baker years (1984-86, below). One might have hoped for some-thing a bit more general, particularly when one's own experience of Dr Who began only when Russell T. Davies started writing the scripts. But you don't get to Episode 103 by considering more than one topic per show.
At the start there was some nice archive stuff, snatches of interviews with Baker and others, as well as some fine dialogue from noteable episodes. But then the civilians, the fans, the ones with 96 minutes to fill, took over. These are men who don't believe in letting ten words do when they have thousands buzzing around their heads.
It was left to the listener to sift whatever enlightenment they could from the stream of facts coming through. God knows the podcast producers didn't sift - The Gallifreyan Embassy might boast a super-glitzy website, but when some-one said "Sorry, I just have to cough now", we heard every golden hack.
In the end what did we learn of Colin Baker's years as Dr Who? That Baker is a top man who was shabbily treated by a lily-livered BBC One. And that he wore controversially colourful clothes, and that his Dr Who was more violent than his predecessors'.
And that Whovians may be kinda, well, dull, really, but they are seriously nice - one contributor, stuck for the episode number of a particular Dr Who storyline, took the trouble to go away and find out. You don't get that sort of service from anyone who isn't doing something for love.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Campling, Chris (2008-02-23). Podcast of the week. The Times p. The Knowledge, p. 12.
- MLA 7th ed.: Campling, Chris. "Podcast of the week." The Times [add city] 2008-02-23, The Knowledge, p. 12. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Campling, Chris. "Podcast of the week." The Times, edition, sec., 2008-02-23
- Turabian: Campling, Chris. "Podcast of the week." The Times, 2008-02-23, section, The Knowledge, p. 12 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Podcast of the week | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Podcast_of_the_week | work=The Times | pages=The Knowledge, p. 12 | date=2008-02-23 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Podcast of the week | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Podcast_of_the_week | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 March 2025}}</ref>
