Doctor Who: Toby Hadoke’s Time Travels

Well, the River's about to run dry on this one but not before podcaster Richard Smith chooses his favourite things about the episode. Will he and host Toby Hadoke agree or are they in some weird dream world where nothing is as it seems?

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Happy New Year. Our resolution is to read more: so where better to go than the biggest library in the universe. Podcaster Richard Smith chooses his favourite things but will they be found on the same shelf as those of your host? Or are they not remotely on the same page?

Oh, and if you're listening to this on the day that it is released, please don't forget to wish Toby a happy birthday!

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Happy New Year!

With Tom Baker receiving his MBE in 2025, and rumours abounding that Peter Capaldi has turned down an invite from the Palace, it's high time we had a look at who has been honoured by the Queen (and now King) and has also passed through the Whonioverse. As ever there are surprises, patterns and coincidences, as well as, of course, differences of opinion. You would honour this podcast by having a listen.

This was written and recorded before the New Year's Honours of 2026 were announced but a pre-titles addition has taken this into...

Happy Christmas everyone. No festive Doctor Who episode this year - so here's a Christmas special of Happy Times and Places in which your host Toby Hadoke and convention organiser and writer Steve Hatcher decide upon their favourite things about Last Christmas (the episode, not the event). Or do they?

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A treat from the archives as documentary producer Ed Stradling and host Toby Hadoke reunite, having made a programme on this story for the BBC DVD range. They worked well then, but can they be in accord now about their favourite things in this controversial, rather violent tale... or will they end up shooting each other? Or melting their faces? Or releasing poison gas?

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As the 62nd Anniversary of Doctor Who approaches this month, AND we are still in the 20th Anniversary year of New Who (which we really have to stop calling it) a reminder that some of us were around for the previous 20th Anniversary back in November 1983.

So as we celebrating 20 years of the resurrection of Doctor Who, here's a look back to a time when New Who wasn't even Now Who... the build up to the return of the show and its parallels or otherwise with the other 20th Anniversary.

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American fan Rueben Herfindahl brings his unique perspective to this firm fan favourite: will your host, by a happy accident, choose the same favoruite things, or will he been green with envy because of Reuben's choices? It's an omnibus, so it's a long one!

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And so here it is - the final countdown to your most desired of the 97 missing episodes of Doctor Who. Special guest Russell T Davies tells us what he would like in the fantasy car boot sale where 17 film cans are ready to be purchased. Only one story has all of its episodes in the Top 20, but which individual instalment will win out? With observations from an array of voters including fans of yore Jeremy Bentham and Patrick Mulkern, writers Simon Guerrier and Pete McTighe, and such diverse talents as Gary Russell, Jonathon Carley and Richard Marson.

...

This was released in a condensed form for the 20th Anniversary of the 2005 return of Doctor Who, but that version only featured one guest : but what a guest - the main man himself, Russell T Davies. However, for this sepcial 62nd Anniversary edition (alright, it's the anniverasry of the original run, but hey, it's all the same show) AND to mark 100 stories covered in Happy Times and Places, here is the full version.

So joining Russell are past contributors to Happy Times, including those who helped it when it was merely a possibility, a gleam in a...

An episode that means an awful lot to your host - and let's be honest, he probably wouldn't be here without it as it features quite strongly in his Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf show. And so it seemed appropriate to break it out in the run up to the 100th edition. Sarah Jane! K-9! Giles from Buffy! There's so much going on here that Paul Griggs, interviewer and podcaster extraordinaire, is spoilt for choice.

And it's hard to believe it was on nearly 20 years ago.

We got old Sarah.

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This was supposed to be the second and final episode but it ended up going on a bit - so we have the countdown from Joint 77th to Joint 30th in our search for the most requested missing episodes to turn up at a fantasy car boot sale. Along the way there will be facts, trivia and observations, plus we have vocal contributions from writer, actor and all round renaissance man Mark Gatiss, actor and comedian Tom Burgess, and the writer of Full Circle, Andrew Smith : all bona fide Doctor Who fans who explain their personal choices in this...

With all this missing episodes speculation in the air, your Host With The Most (that is "Most Patience For Wrangling Arcane Facts and Stats Because He's A Very Boring Man") Toby Hadoke has found the time too reach out to various Doctor Who fans (writers, actors, journalists and missing episode finders amongst them) in order to draw up a list of the episodes and stories most people would like to see returned to the archive.

His request was simple - you're at a car boot sales, and some old fella has, amongst the bric-a-brac, 17 film cans, all...

And so we are off to Mexico for another adventure in pure history. It turns out you can rewrite the odd line, especially during rehearsal, but this episode poses some new questions for the format of the show and showcases a director who helms his only full Doctor Who story here. The writer gets some press attention, one of the regulars jets off on holiday, and the music is composed by someone who had a unique place in Who history - and he is duly showcased here. It's the When, What and Who of The Temple of Evil: make...

We're out of your host's comfort zone again - we are trying to up the new series episodes as we don't want to run out of Classic Who early. So here we are with some of the first ever Matt Smith stuff to be recorded. Oh yes, here at Happy Times... we remember when Matt Smith was new - seems like yesterday! A rare American contributor to the show, Joe Lewallen, is a fabulous and fascinating guest, and instead of plugging something for you to purchase, he has asked to link to a very good cause, which we are...

And so we go back to where it all began when we reach the climax of The Invisible Enemy, the starting point of your host's rather bizarre decision to dedicate pretty much his whole life to Doctor Who. What a peculiar thing to do. And yet he'll still manage to shoehorn in a reference to The Other Programme, the scarlet capsuled temptress that is Quatermass: he has a book out about it you know. And his guest, Iain Key ALSO has a book out. But will they be on the same page when it comes to choosing their favourite...

So we've gone from a hospital into the Doctor's brain. What knowledge can be found in there? The best way to the nearest pub? Probably - but all that and more as there's a battle going on outside too. Not to mention this podcast, which is about a meeting of minds and seeing if everyone is on the same wavelength. Is that the case this time? Or will the points go to our guest, Iain Key, writer of a new book about The Clash.

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And so a change of scenery as we move location in this - a story with many different landscapes. What never changes though, is everyone's love for Michael Sheard, even though he's a baddie this time around. We meet a pretty interesting cast and there's a bit of chatter about this episode's one-off director... and then there's the small matter of a robot dog who was only supposed to stick around for three episodes but somehow slips off his lead and causes havoc for the next couple of years. Will guest Iain Key be a good boy and choose...

As we count up to 100 it seemed approprate to stop by at a landmark episode - at least as far as this podcast is concerned. Writer and music expert Iain Key has chosen a story that holds a special place in your host's heart : but does that mean that they will be sympatico when it comes to choosing their favorite thing? Will contact be made, or will they fly miles off course?

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A strange anomaly of an episode - an episode in which everything goes wrong for the good guys. Well, everything went a bit wrong for your host as well so it's been a bit of a palaver putting this together. The last time guest Jason Thompson was on it was a rare win for the home team - so will history repeat itself or will Toby be exterminated just before he can successfully launch his recording? There's only one way to find out - we need to set a course for Kembel where there's a somewhat thorny situation developing.<...

As we'rew approaching our 10th edition we thought it might be fun to avail ourselves of an all too rare opportunity - to get someone heavily involved in a Doctor Who project to make their own contribiutoon to its Happy Times and Places. Fortunately Benjamin Cook, who was in charge of the recent The War Games in Colour broadcast, was more than happy to share his thoughts and insights regarding this huge undertaking. So here we go - and what a joy it is to get his perspective into the making of this alternative version. Oh, and your host...

End of an era folks.
William Hartnell takes his final bow, but before he shuffles off he gets time to make an entrance and say a few legendary lines (some of them kindly preserved by a canny camera-wielder Down Under).
There are so many landmarks in this story, welcome guest Martin Holmes is spoilt for choice - will you, and indeed your host - be in sync with Martin, or will the whole thing overload with goodness that it'll just melt?

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The Doctor falls over so for one week only it's Dr Barclay and his plucky assistants Ben and Polly who have to try to stop besieged base commander General Cutler from mucking everything up because his son has decided to go into space. What will podcaster Martin Holmes home in on as his favourite thing of this, the last live action Hartnell episode we have (even though Hartnell isn't in it).

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It's delightful how many listeners have said how conforting they find this story - and episode two is definitely comfiort viewing for the sci-fi aficionado. The introduction of a classic monster, pretty much the last hurrah of a Classic Doctor and much to recommend it in terms of action, design and production. Whatever will guest Martin Holmes choose as the episode's best biot though? Will you agree, or will you be thinking "That was really most unfortunate, he should not have done that."

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Well, as winter gets its icy grip around us it seems appropriate to negotiate the showy wastes of the South Pole for a story that is a landmark in so many ways. Guest Martin Holmes is a podcast veteran who knows his classic TV, but what does he love about this story that has all sorts to recommend it, and yet has slipped in popularity somewhat since the early days of fandom?

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Returning guest Steve Hatcher takes us on a trip to the Red Planet with some old favourites - but will his favourite things be easy to guess (he thinks they are) or will a certain someone make a mess of things and end up seeing Red...?

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And so things come to an end on Traken. Or do they? Do they, in fact, come to a cadence? Ask our illustrious guest Dr Tom as he is full of observations like that in what has been a very rewarding trip to a planet which revels in its own theatricality. When the final curtain is taken, will host and guest be in sync?

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Blow winds and crack your cheeks! Or come on baby light my fire? The elements cause a keefuffle in this instalment of The Keeper of Traken, and something gets right up the Doctor's nose. And there's a real debate about what should be chosen as your host's highlight. Will he choose the right thing, or will he make a choice that will lead to the destruction of the whole planet?

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Dr Tom (Attah) casts an eye on Dr Tom (Baker) as events of Traken take a chilling turn. Will Tom and Toby find themselves in rapport? But never mind Tom A, Tom B actually has more rapport wioth Matthew W than history tells us...

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All round good and smart guy Dr Tom Attah casts an adoring eye over The Keeper of Traken in this podcast which goes about its day simply by featuring people being terribly nice about Doctor Who stories. But what is the aspect of this story that Dr Tom will be especially terribly nice about?

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To tie in with the Happy Times and Places release of The Woman Who Lived here is an interview with Gareth Berliner, who plays the coachman in the opening scene. Gareth and Toby go back a long way, so it's a lovely old chat. Since this was recorded, Gareth's wife has ALSO been in Doctor Who (she's in The Interstellar Song Contest): so it's a family affair.

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Your host got up close and personal with this episode, and he's up close and personal with someone in it as well. Does this insight mean that he'll have any advantage over guest, Joel Aarons? Listeners will have to bear with this episode as alas it is slightly glitchy, with the odd skipped syllable or two due to a wrtehced cable. Apparently you'll get used to it is test listeners are to be believbed, but apologies that it isn't up to the usual technical standard.

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And so one of Terry Nation's few Dalek-less stories comes to an end, but this tricky production has a few more things to trip people (or Voords) up before it finally goes out with a bang. There are still script changes to be made, and typos to overcome, but two of its personnel went on to have very different but equally illustrious careers, and they are both profiled herein: and both kindly lent their assitance to the compiling of this episode. Sadly actor Michael Allaby passed away in between contributing to this podcast and its release, and so it...

Many  interviews recorded for the 50th Anniversary Who's Round project were released in edited form for various reasons. Recently there's been a chance to revisit some of them and present them in their full form. The edition with Michael Allaby, actor from the Keys of Marinus and fascinating voice in the world of environmentalism, was once such, and this new edit has coincided with the recent sad death of Michael, so it seems appropriate to give this a wider release as a tribute to a fascinating man. 

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The second - and final - bonus episode to tie in with the launch of your host's book The Quatermass Experiment - The Making of TV's First Sci-Fi Classic, which has just been published by Ten Acre Films. Jon Dear, host of BERGCast, the Nigel Kneale/Quatermass podcast, chooses his five favourite things about the last existing episode of this six-part landmark. A treat for newcomers and Quatermass aficionados alike, there's a lot of enthsusism here, and no small amount of hard won knolwedge too. Enjoy!

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Normal service will be resumed in a couple of weeks (apologies to those of you waiting for the Girl Who Died to turn into the Woman Who Lived) but we make no apologies for interrupting the flow of Whocasts to broadcast a special couple of commentaries of something very important. 

Happy Times... host Toby Hadoke has spent the past many decades researching Nigel Kneale's seminal Quatermass serials and on Monday his book covering the fist of them - The Quatermass Experiment - comes out. To coincide with this long awaited occurrence, here he is commentating on the v...

So, a new episode ... so new it was on 9 years ago. Good Lord! Where does the time go? Joel Aarons has not done a podcast before but makes for an illuminating and self-effacing guest as he extols the virtues of an episode that has never been high on your host's list of favourites. Will this exercise change things and create a podcast in which this episode gets the gooo-gooo-gagag-ga (that's baby for "thumbs up")?

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Guest John Higgs has a splendid book out - Exterminate! Regenerate! is a brilliantly written and extremely insightful biography of Doctor Who (the character and the show). And so he comes onto Happy Times and Places to discuss a favorite episode of his, Amy's Choice, and to tell us all about his splendid new tome (available now!). Will choosing five favorute things be dreamy - or will he have a nigthmare and lose to host Toby Hadoke (who you'll never catch with a ponytail no matter what state you're in)?

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It's time for a celebration - the tenth anniversary story that wasn't actually broadcast anywhere near the tenth anniversary. A three Doctor story in which one Doctor barely features. And a big old event that is rendered on what seems like a budget of fourpence. But it's The Three Doctors: a landmark event, chosen by voice artiste, podcaster and long term fan Siobhan Gallichan. This has never been one of your host's favourite stories, but can he conjure happiness in what has hitherto been a pretty barren landscape?

This podcast was recorded before the sudden and unexpected...

An undisputed classic, The Caves of Androzani finds an enthusiastic advocate in the form of a legend of the Liverpool fan scene, Erica Lear. Oh let me not be mad about what she chooses as her favourite thing from each episode, one of which is bound to be Peter Davison on whom she has a massive crush. In fact, knowing Erica he might be her favourite thing for every episode and the bonus!

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Everyone seems to have had a good time with this one, but the general feeling is that it goes off the boil a bit towards the end. Will experience make a liar of rumour, or will Toby and guest Dom Woodward go round and round in circles trying to solve simple puzzles? And there are two things to choose of course - so has your host shot his bolt with Bellal too soon, and blown up his chances in a foolish act of self sacrifice?

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Oy Exxillon city, I can see your roots! There's destruction aplenty, a pleasing amount of fire and a trip inside one of the 700 wonders of the universe and yet none of them pack as much heat as a funny little alien played by Doctor Who's longest lived actor (who was still alive when this podcast was recorded but has since, alas, passed away). Surely the best thing about this episode is agreed by everyone, or does guest Dominic Woodward have other ideas?

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A sneak Preview of Happy Times and Places 100 which will feature a bevy of guests (and listener correspondence) about the rebirth of Doctor Who and its opening episode Rose. But it seemed only right to mark the occasion of its 20 anniversary (upon which this commentary was recorded) to release this slimmed down version as a preview.

So this contains the whole commentary of Rose and a very special guest in the shape of showrunner then and now Russell T Davies.

Happy Who-day. It's fantastic!

Exploding Daleks, volleys of arrows, drugs : this episode has it all. The episode ends with the Doctor getting to the root of the problem but before that we have two deaths, a bit of betrayal and some funky camerawork. What will comedian Dominic Woodward chose as his favourite thing ? And as for his least favourite - does he have a little mini model of it to shoot?

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Comedian and entertainer Dominic Woodward chooses his entry based on his watch, re-watch and watch again of the VHS omnibus of this adventure from the latter end of Jon Pertwee's tenure. Pertwee famously disliked the Daleks, and this story never seems to top many polls, so can Dominic inject a bit of magic into proceedings (oh yeah, he is a comedian, entertainer AND magician!) or will he... ahem ... die a death? It's time to shine a light in the darkness in order to illuminate the good points of Death to the Daleks.

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Back in the Days of RTD1 as it shall now be known this was, incredibly, just the third episode to be aired of this amazing new series that might have only lasted one season - that's what many of us feared anyway. It seems amazing to think of now. It was all fantastic then but the passage of time can make us more circumspect so does this Christmas Carol (from April) stand the test of the time ... and the scrutiny of our guest, comedian Jack Evans? Let take a look at the past from the present (whilst we worry...

Space Precinct actor and Gerry Anderson Podcast host Richard James chooses this Peter Davison story to put under the positive magnifying glass that is Happy Times and Places. Perhaps the most traditional seeming story of the Fifth Doctor's first year, The Visitation seems to have fallen out of favour in recent years. So is it a case of a plague on all four episodes or are the story's good qualities so infectiously good that by the end of it you'll be riddled with positives?

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Host Toby's childhood friend you've never heard of has suddenly entered entered his life and is posing all sorts of problems! She's persuaded him to watch Let's Kill Hitler and see if he can match my taste in favourite things to that of comedian Ashley Frieze, a colleague of many years standing who is also a knowledgeable and skilled musician. Will Toby and Ashley be in harmony? Meet him at your nearest cornfield and he'll let you know...

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Well, it is part 5 if a 6 parter so there's not an awful lot of When because most of the key events and decisions regarding The Keys of Marinus have already happened. There's quite a lot of What though, much of it regarding the returning William Hartnell's apparently shaky grasp of some of his lines - and as is often the case, the evidence that is usually presented about this requires a thorough re-examination. And as for Who:  well, we have four contributors who won't be troubling the cast list of Doctor Who again once this story has concluded, so there...

So, guest Daren Thomas has the final episode of The Deadly Assassin in his sights. Will he and your host come up with the same account of its merits or will they have to adjust their feedback in order to make it more palatable? And will there be a surfeit of vulgar facetiousness? What fun this one has been - a bit of a Hinchliffe/Holmes/Baker love-in, if that's what you are after.

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Once controversial and derided, then celebrated and important, now ... well, it's a matter of perspective innit? We take a journey into the strange, surreal world of the Matrix, which contains many individual moments that would qualify to be chosen as a Best Bit in any number of other instalments. So will Toby and guest Daren Thomas (former Holby City script editor) choose the same one - or will they deny each other's realities???

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Well, the Doctor is in trouble, framed (and Earth expression) for a crime we know he didn't commit. As he exercises his legal rights and goes hunting for his nemeisis, what things will he do and say that will take the fancy of our guest, Holby City script editor Daren Thomas? And will host Toby Hadoke have to invoke article 17 in order to win this one? WARNING: this is turning into a bit of a love in. If you don't like The Deadly Assassin you might not have the best of times here.

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A story which has seen its popualrity fluctuate over the years - from being absolutely slated by early fandom when it came out to then being acknowledged as a true classic, it seems to have settled into a more modest position these days. It certainly breaks some rules and has the feeling of being rather important - and of course is made by some of Doctor Who's greats all gathered under one roof to strut their not inconsiderable stuff - Baker, Holmes, Hinchliffe, Maloney, Murray-Leech, Simpson, Acheson... all excelling. Will guest Daren Thomas (former script editor of the recently...

Here we go folks - a crashing plane, World War II, Ada Lovelace with a machine gun. Lovely Joe Ford encourages host Toby Hadoke to stop worrying and learn to love the Chibnall era ... and Toby tries very hard. How he does ansd if he succeeds... well, that is up to you :) There's certainly plenty to talk and think about though: especially when some of Joe's favourite things are your host's least favourite. Is it all gonna kick off, or will they just stop it all to sit down and talk through their problems?

At length.

Hapy New Year! Seems appropriate to open the New Year with a season opener - and one first broadcast at his time of year. In Toby years this is a very modern epsiode too - even though it is now (gulp) 5 years old this week!

The lovely Joe Ford takes a sabbatical from his brilliant Hamster with a Blunt Penknife podcast to visit the place of happy times. But he's only gone and chosen a story from an era that your host (a) doesn't know that well and (b) struggles with. So this is going to be...

A classic Doctor Who story which has been chosen by a key figure in the show's animantion range - Martin Geraghty. What will Martin draw inspiration from to celebrate about this moody, spooky, sometimes darkly funny story? Anyway, this is a good one - a terrific story that host Toby Hadoke has a lot of fun revisiting. And as ever the Omnibus has new opening and closing sections - probably only about 2% of the entire running time but at least it shows these aren't just cobbled together and provides something new if you listened to the episodic version.

The very idea of Happy Times and Places is to banish all the humbuggery from Doctor Who discourse, so this seems an ideal episode to chose: and the time of year does it no harm either. Jason Thompson, a veteran of other estimable Who podcasts, is a fine advocate for this Christmas Special which, you host has to admit (grudgingly), he has never really had at the top of his festive watch list. Will his visitor present him with enough glimpses into the past to influence his present and change his future feelings about this tale of redemption, or...

Human beings are always seeing patterns in things that aren't there aren't they? And Doctor Who fans are a particularly pattern-inlcined subset of the species. We mark our lives by dates, and by Doctor Who, and so certain Doctor Who dates bear a significance just to us - it's all part of our unique relationship with the show.

This is about that, and hopefully has some jokes in it too.

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A story that means a great deal to the host of this podcast has its praises sung by the most musical of advocates, Jess Jurkovic, the leading expert on Dudley Simpson scores. There has to be some guesswork here, as Fury is sadly missing from the archives, but these acts of the imagination are what being a Doctor Who fan is all about aren't they. So pour yourself a bubble bath and if you see weed, well, don't forget to scream. (See weed, seaweed, geddit?).

And so it's the end of an era, but there are some greatest hits to fit in first. But will any of these greatest hits become greatest bits for your host Toby Hadoke and his special guest, Hollyoaks star Annie Wallace. Spiders! Chases! Buddhism! One thing is crystal clear, this is a story which provokes a lot of conversation, but can Toby be positive about a story he has previously found difficult to love ... will he emerge a new man by the end? 

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Ple...

Happy 61st Anniversary!

There are many brilliant Doctor Who podcasts out there (do check them out) but I defy any of them to have celebrated the anniversary in this manner. An epic commentary - positive, of course - of an anniversary flavoured Doctor Who story with a lengthy, charming and insightful set of exclusive audio snippets from one of its key contributors. It's unlikely to be the story you expect and the special guest doesn't usually do interviews - so strap yourselves in and celebrate Who-day in a as unique and left field manner as possible. I...

Another episode of Doctor Who gets the deep dive treatment. This one again has no William Hartnell action whatsoever, and features a scene that would be unliklely to make it into a modern iteration of the show. Its main guest star gets the biographical treatment, as does an actor who appears at the bottom of the credits in this single instalment and never again in Doctor Who despite having several personal connections to the series. So warm yourselves up for this by rubbing your thighs and settle in front of a fire to get the cold, hard facts about T...

Well, this has been rather rewarding: a lesser known story has proved to have all sorts of interesting elements. And there's been some Patreon feedback too, so before embarking on the final desperate venture the listeners provide some interesting insights. This final episode has it all - new characters, some interesting plot developments, and a bit of philsophy Who-style. But thanks to guest Steve Lyons (Doctor Who audio and book writer extraordonaire) there's even room for, ahem, a sting in the tale...

Oh, a rare thing - where the episode title is the cliffhanger (yes, the Second Elder is kidnapped too but that really happened last week). There's a vitally iomportant moment in this humble story, as noticed by special guest Steve Lyons. Toby however, disappears down too many actor related rabbit holes to notice because he is an idiot. Still, there's plenty to say about the story even at this late stage, which just goes to show that even the less celebrated adventures are well worth visiting every now and then.

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A topical podcast! Blimey! As it is Halloween why not have a little think about why Doctor Who is scary, and why that is comehow acceptable for children. What is it about us that has a need to be frightened, and why does this siully show have such a repuation for scares? Happy Halloween - hopefully this podcast is a treat rather that a trick.

#doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much...

Well, the crew are in hot water (because Ian has been drinking poisoned water) and so they need to call upon a montage to help them to save the day. There's confusion afoot in Sensorites-ville, with one of them planning murder in the First Degree - or is that Second Degree? Hmm, not sure, we will have to look at what kind of sash the murder is wearing. Anyway, Steve and Toby give the episode the Third Degree (also known as the City Administrator's degree) but will they agree about this episode's strongest point? In a rare turn of...

So... we move (very slowly, it is The Sensorites after all) from the space ship to the Sense Sphere but all is not what it seems on the peaceful planet. Some resent the travellers, and there's a danger so hidden that nobody - bar perhaps everyone watching the episode - will ever guess what it is. This under-celebrated Hartnell tale has charms all of its own, but also gives your host Toby Hadoke the opportunity to discuss an important moment in his life, when he discovered that you shouldn't believe everything you read. Especially if it is about Doctor...

They may be Unwilling Warriors but they're still a terrifyung prospect - silent if not deadly, the Sensorites have to walk very slowly round the spaceship lest they run out of corridor. This story has a bad reputation and yet there's much to recommend about this : so will Steve Lyons (Doctor Who writer of note and wit) choose the same thing to celebrate as your host? And can you guess what gets chosen (maybe you can read their minds?). And this commentary comes on the heels of some sad news about one of the episode's stars... who still twinkles...

Oh no. It's the story that everyone doing a Doctor Who marathon experiences their first stumble during. Indeed, it's the point where a number of people bail. Poor old The Sensorites. Even its advocate for this podcast, top Doctor Who writer Steve Lyons, confesses that it his least favourite story of the season. So join Steve as he guides your host very slowly around Captain Maitland's ship in search of something - anything - positive to say about this unsung early entry into the canon.

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Pl...

Remember - Toby Hadoke's Time Travels is currently weekly, not twice a week as is usual: normal service will be resumed in October.

Academic and stand-up comedian Oliver Double chooses perhaps the least celebrated slice of Doctor/Donna Who, from a time when the show was riding high in the ratings, in the public eye... everywhere. But what five things will he choose as his favourite - and will your host give them a chilly reception?

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Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will...

A gentle reminder that this month, Toby Hadoke's Time Travels will be weekly as opposed to fortnightly whilst batteries are recharged and general maintenance is carried out. 

The next key of Marinus is hiding in a jar in an old man's laboratory, but it's a jungle out there... and jungle that is trying to get in. Before the episode can be transmitted though, there is a row about exactly who came up with it. And what's this, an episode in which the companions play a greater role than the Doctor, who is conspicuous by his absence? W...

For August and September Toby Hadoke's Time Travels will be released once a week. The twice weekly releases will resume in October. Thanks for your patience. 

Here we go chums. What a rewarding experience this has been. But can The Ambassdors of Death contnue to surprise, and to break the mould, and have host Toby pull off a rare victory? Or will the ending be a damp squib? Well, for one last time Toby and special guest Mark Wright delve into this most undersung of Who classics - and loving it to (ker-pow) DEATH is, of course, t...

The fortnightly releases of Toby Hadoke's Time Travels will recommence in October. Thanks for indulging the current battery recharge which is well needed x

The Third Doctor's first trip into space (eat that Colony!) enables us to see the faces behind the masks and the ... whatever it is behind the Venetian (or maybe Martian) blinds. We have something gassy in decontamination and the cloning of Max Faulkner: it's all happening in a story that the deinzens of Patreon are havbing a ball watching along with (se we hope you are too). And remember - it's pretty close...

Toby Hadoke's Time Travels will be weekly during August and September- the twice weekly releases will return in October.

So, the story steps up a pace: beginnning, as it does, with the death of another major character and having Liz held hostage and the Doctor jetting off into space. Will his journey be as wayward as the story itself is often written off as being, or will it hit the target? And with Toby and illustrious guest Mark Wright neck and neck, surely your host can't screw this up? Can he?

#doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian...

Toby Hadoke's Time Travels is reducing its release rate to once a week during August and September because it is very tired and overworked and needs a holiday (it won't get one, but at least this'll take the pressure off a bit).

The plot gets thicker and thicker, but not as thick as Taltalian's accent... and thereby hangs a tale (but perhaps one that is slightly too long). Anyway, there is much to recommend this episode: Reegan continues to be a charmer, the Doctor is on fine form, and the Ambassadors don't get the best of receptions...

Just a reminder that Happy Times and Places will be released once a week (rather than the usual twice) during August and September. Holidays innit?

Let's hope there are no technical problems with this episode (there were for part two, sorry) but it wouldn't be a surprise if there were. This story seems compelled to make itself somehow unreachable, intagible, opaque. Peering through the gloom to discern its qualities is Mark Wright (no, not that one, or that one) but what will he chose as his favourite thing? Will he take host Toby to the cleaners (or...

There is much to love about this story, but the majority of fandom has never quite got to grips with it. This episode might help to explain why - it's a tricky one to watch because of the diffciulties restoring the pictures, and there are a couple of elements which sit awkwardly amonst the show's canon (the vanishing of the tape, Bessie's forcefield). But there's also a fantastic hi-jacking, a compelling story and exemplary cast. Will guest Mark Wright and host Toby Hadoke be on the same wavelength? Or are they secretly plotting against each other?

Please...

Now then, this is one of your host's favourite stories - one he thinks is  probably the most underrated story in the whole canon. It was always rather apologetically dealt with in write-ups and fan word-of-mouth was that it was a bit of a mess. So Toby came to it quite late and with low expectations - and was bowled over by it. And it is a love that has never died. Does writer, editor and all-round smart guy Mark Wright have a similar journey towards Mars Probe 7? Will he like the same things? Or will he just send T...

Endings are hard aren't they? So hard that it's taken a while to get this one out. It is all explained (which is more than can be said for some elements of the latest series) and, hopefully, not too disappointing. Resolving story arcs is very much a modern series thing... but can Doctor Who ever really satisfy as it does, after all... never end?

This is a bonus release (partially because it's late) at the beginning of August to herald a downscale of release frequency for the next couple of months while Toby plays catch up...

Robin Bunce, Cambridge academic and writer, whose father Roger was a legnedary BBC cameraman who worked with most of the classic Doctors, has chosen Attack of the Cybermen to celebrate in this positively inclined podcast series. What will he choose to celebrate about this contiunuity rich and somewhat violent story? And will host Toby Hadoke choose the same things... or will he be left out in the cold?

doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only p...

One of the longest Doctor Who stories - both episodes-wise and in terms of real time within the fiction - gets one of the longest podcasts. This really is a trek - and one without a compass because there are no moving pictures at all from Marco Polo. But we have a reliable guide : J Jeremy Bentham, surely the elder stateman of Doctor Who fandom. He brings erudition and wit to his observations about this story: and a good job too, as your rambling host frequently brings neither. Here's a very long podcast - come for it.

The TARDIS team embark upon their quest for the Keys of Marinus and land in a place where everything seems to be perfect. An inventive, if slight, episode, this one features some interesting techniques employed by the prodcution team to pull off the unusual demands of the script. It is also notable because we never actually saw the original, 1964 version of this episode until the DVD release in 2009 - due to some unusual gaps discovered almost by mistake. And The Who in this edition shows that every contributor to the cast list is worth our time - our subjects...

And so we get stoned for one last time. So stoned we go on a trip to hyperspace for a complete change in style and content from the Hammer Horror of the early instalmnents. Often seen as the weaker part of the story, what will Steve Cranford like about it, and will he be able to convince host Toby Hadoke (and indeed, you)?

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per m...

It's cold outside but there's plenty of atmosphere as The Stones of Blood enters what is commonly known as its hyperspace phase. The story takes an odd turn but there's much to talk about - from matador hi-jinks to imprisoned Wirrn via, of course, the doomed campers. Will Steve Cranford and your host go for the obvious choice of favorite thing here? Well, pitch your tent and find out. 

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and mo...

Pack your sausage sandwiches and your thermos - but don't forget your truncheon as we might need it if we want to get to Plymouth. Photo ID? Well, there are a load of pictures to choose from in the priest hole - that's if we don't end up getting stoned before we start. It's all go in this skull smashing instalment : but will Steve Cranford choose the same thing as your host as the highlight of this blood-curdling episode?

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a p...

The 100th Doctor Who story - maybe we should have held out and had it as the 100th Happy Times and Places! Gah - there's always clarity after the event! Anyway, this has been one that has never quite done it for yoiur host, Toby Hadoke: and he is open about this at the start... but of course, the whole point of the podcast is to get a special guest (in this case presenter and beefcake Stephen Cranford) to be so enthusiastic that Toby can't help but feel the love. So draw your curtains, summon your raven and prepare...

So, after the epic journey through Marco Polo let's fire the starting pistol on Doctor Who's next quest. We've gone from historical back to science-fiction, with the return of the writer who has proved himself a boon to the prodcution team. But it's fair to say it's an episode during which quite a lot goes wrong, and there were a few hiccups on the way to it too. But there are new monsters, a well known guest star who has a couple of unique Doctor Who claims to fame, and some press interest. So zip up your wet suits and...

Not much about the episode (The Legend of Ruby Sunday) in this one really - as is Indefinable Magic's wont, it wanders of on a tangeant all of its own. This time the inspiration comes from that joy we feel when an element from the show's past comes back to reconnect us to our childhoods. It also takes in some of the convoluted ways these returns have been disguised and what it must be like for the actors to get a call about a role they first played decades ago. This is pretty much a first draft, one-take broadcast...

Ed Stradling revels in the many deaths that Eric Saward serves up in this very gruesome but highly entertaining story. Or is it a violent aberration that is too grim for a family fantasy show? Food for thought and for chat in the second part of this feature length adventure that is actually the same length as normal but doesn't seem like it is. 

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 pe...

So, what to we do when we don't like an aspect of a Doctor Who story? Well, we are Doctor Who fans, so we behave utterly rationally of course. For this episode of Indefinable Magic, the way in which we are drawn to criticise the thing we love comes into the spotlight. Is there such a thing as objectively good and bad, and who has the monopoly on saying what "true" Doctor Who is? As ever, these are attempts to rationally examine an aspect of the show and the fan experience, and are not intended as vehicles for criticism or...

This one has been done as originally broadcast - as a pair of feature length episodes. So it's two things per instlalment that have to be chosen by special guest Ed Stradling. It's a story controversial for its tone and content, and one that would have an impact and influence on the future of the show. And for your host and Ed, it's one that they both made a documentary about, so there's a little extra perspecive on the VAM as a nice bonus.

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive...

Remember - these podcasts are not intended as reviews or value judgements on the latest episodes of Doctor Who. They are audio essays based upon some aspect of the story and weaved into a - hopefully - thoughtful and sometimes humourous monolgue. 

Dot and Bubble could provoke discussions about all sorts of different subjects, but for this edition of Indefinable Magic we will stick our heads into the world of social media. It's not just the denizens of Finetime who distract themselves from reality by spending their lives in a curated online world. Doctor Who fa...

That fantastic documentary maker Chris Chapman only happens to have chosen one you host Toby Hadoke's favourite stories : so this is very much a love-in as the two of them get green fingered - pulling out the weeds, nurturing the precious components and displaying the glrouius blooms of The Seeds of Doom for all you listeners. But will they agree on what the best things are about this story: well, even if they don't, they could ceratinly play this story all day in their green cathedral.

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance...

The past and the future both catch up with us quicker than we'd like. Toby's response to 73 Yards is a contemplation of fear and just how Doctor Who is scary. It also examines the nature of the unexplained and has some personal recollections of childhood fears that reflect the themes and methods of this sparse and spine-chillling isntalment. As ever: this is not a review as such, just a way of looking at the story in a certain light and musing on related topics.

#doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho #newdoctorwho #russelltdavies

Good Lord. Look at the size of this one Doctor.

Jonn Elledge - who has a book out right now - has chosen Peter Capaldi's pre-regeneration story which says goodbye to Bill and Nardole (well, for a bit), has two Masters vying for our attention (not to mention three different kinds of Cybermen) and arms its humans with exploding apples. Laughter, tears and explosions in this tense climax (of sorts) to the Moffat/Capaldi era - Jonn and your host will do their best (because that's all one can do isn't it?) to be up to the...

He's not the Messiah, Steven Moffat, and sometimes he is a very naughty boy. But he's definitely a writer whose work deserves a closer look - an explosive (ahem) talent whose scripts can be mined (ahem, ahem) for subtext and jokes (boom boom!). But what did Boom have to say about faith? And should it be taken at face value? Or is there actually more in common with religiosity and Moffat's scripts than might first appear? Faith, hope and landmines in the latest instalment of these bite size musings inspired by the latest episode of Doctor Who. Not reviews...

Right, come on Hadoke, do some new series stuff were you don't have the comfort blanket of 50 years of acquired trivia. Fortunately this edition's special guest - columnist and writer Jonn Elledge - is smart and interesting so will make up for any of you host's many deficiencies as they look at John Simm in disguise, Mondassian Cybermen, and a big bloody hole in Bill.

In a bit of exciting timey-wimeyness the episode starts with Jonn from the future plugging his new book, A History of the World in 47 Borders, which is out now.

After a hiatus you get two episodes on top of each other. So it seems only appropraite to do the same...

Indefinable Magic Bite Size are immediate reactions to the latest Doctor Who episodes, but instead of being straightforward reviews they consider an aspect of the fresh adventure and use it to examine life, fandom and Doctor Who in general.

Tonight, with the Fab Four (well, two of them) svaing the day and - of course - a twist at the end, your host Toby Hadoke looks at the Beatles and music in...

Welcome back.

Toby Hadoke's Time Travels has been on holiday. Thanks for bearing with its much needed rest and recuperation.

But now... it has returned with something brand new. Indefinable Magic, whimsical essays based on some aspect of the show, has decided to turn its attention to the new Doctor Who episodes as they are broadcast. There will be so many podcasts doing brillinat work reviewing and reacting to the new episodes, so we thought we'd do something a little different. Your host Toby Hadoke has reacted to his first viewing and written down his...

In its attempts to entertain you or die this edition of Happy Times and Places does go on a bit. And interestingly, despite this being a much loved story in Hadoke Towers, your host struggles with this finale - and in this broadcast, does so at length - whilst trying to remain upbeat about its intent. Will guest Connor Adkins have similar reservations or will he pull a rabbit out of the hat in an entertaining way in order to stave off cancellation? And will Toby have the courage to raise these issues with special guest (and novelist with...

Here we are then, lots of festive fun for Doctor Who in this episode broadcast just after Christmas 1988: suicide, strangulation, the murder of a teenage boy, lycanthropy! Blimey. So, lots to enjoy if you're minded to splatter your tinsel with blood. But which particular aspect of this exciting epsiode will particularly impress guest Connor J Adkins, and will your host choose the same thing?

Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as l...