Examining The Doctor: Doctor Who Episode Commentary

It’s International Podcast Day 2023! To celebrate we assembled a “Best Of” edition.

First, Seth and Crazy Train pay tribute to the late great Kevin Conroy, who passed away late last year. Conroy was the primary voice of Batman for most animation and game projects based on DC superheroes.

In the second half of the show, Seth and Mark Short talk about the return of David Tennant to Doctor Who.

Mark and Seth return to talk about the final episode of the Tom Baker classic Doctor Who story The Brain of Morbius.

Solon has successfully transplanted Marbius’s brain into a gruesome new body. Can The Doctor and Sarah Jane thwart the evil Time Lord’s resurrection? Or will the insane monster exact his revenge and slaughter the Sisterhood Of Karn?

Sources: The TARDIS Data Core, A Brief History of Time Travel, and Radio Times

Mark and Seth watch part three of the Tom Baker story The Brain of Morbius. This story pays tribute to tropes from classic horror stories such as Frankenstein and Re-Animator.

Solon sends The Doctor back to The Sisterhood of Karn for the elixir that can restore Sarah Jane’s eyesight. Little does The Doctor know he is being set up to be killed so that Solon can use his head to complete the body of Morbius!

Sources: The TARDIS Data Core, A Brief History of Time Travel, and Radio Times

Mark and Seth look at the second part of the Tom Baker story The Brain of Morbius. This is a perfect example not only of Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor, but how Doctor Who often paid tribute to classic horror tropes.

The mad scientist Dr. Solon needs The Doctor’s head in order to resurrect the evil Time Lord Morbius. But unfortunately for him and The Doctor, the Sisterhood of Karn have sentenced The Doctor to death! Can Sarah Jane rescue The Doctor before he is burned at the stake?

Sources: The TARDIS Data Core, A Brief History of Time Travel, and Radio Times

The classic years of Doctor Who were well known for use of horror tropes, especially during the Phillip Hinchcliffe Era. Seth and Mark return to give their signature blend of knowledge and humor to this Tom Baker classic that is more than just an homage to horror classics like Frankenstein and Re-Animator.

The Brain Of Morbius has The Doctor and Sarah Jane landing against their will on the planet Karn. After finding shelter in Dr. Solon’s castle the pair soon realize the sinister experiments at play. Plus, it marks the first appearance of The Sisterhood of Karn, who would go on to have a long history with Doctor Who for the next several years.

Sources: The TARDIS Data Core, A Brief History of Time Travel, and Radio Times

Mark and Seth wrap up commentary for The Exploding Planet, the final part of the lost William Hartnell classic story Galaxy Four/

The Doctor, Steven, and Vicki race against time (and The Drahvins) to escape the doomed planet.

Bibliography

Galaxy 4 at TARDIS Data Core

Read the original BBC scripts

Galaxy 4 at Shannon Sullivan’s A Brief History of Time Travel.

The Internet Archive link to all the episodes

Mark and Seth are back to dive into the third part of the lost William Hartnell Doctor Who story Galaxy 4, “Air Lock”.

Vicki gets taken away by The Rills while The Drahvin detain Steven. But who is actually in danger?

Bibliography

Galaxy 4 at TARDIS Data Core

Read the original BBC scripts

Galaxy 4 at Shannon Sullivan’s A Brief History of Time Travel.

The Internet Archive link to all the episodes

Examining The Doctor returns to its regular commentary track format with Part Two of the lost William Hartnell story Galaxy 4, “Trap Of Steel”.

The Doctor and Steven learn about the imminent destruction of the entire planet. He and Vicki are then tasked with seeking out the mysterious Rills while Steven is left in the custody of the Drahvin leader, Maaga. Are The Rills as dangerous as she claims? Or could treachery be afoot?

Galaxy 4 at https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Galaxy_4_(TV_story)

The actual scripts still exist https://broadwcast.org/index.php/Galaxy_4

https://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/t.html

Internet Archive link https://archive.org/details/dr_who_galaxy_four

We interrupt our regularly scheduled episode commentaries to talk the surprise return of David Tennant as The Fourteenth Doctor at the end of The Power of The Doctor.

Seth and Mark look at Tennant’s return and what we may see in the new Russel T. Davies era of Doctor Who. They also lament the year-long wait and how we are once again shown that we could have at least one proper season of Paul McGann as The Eighth Doctor.

Examining The Doctor is back to talk about the long-lost and recently rereleased William Hartnell story Galaxy 4. Sometimes called Galaxy Four or The Chumblies.

Seth and Mark bring their signature blend of knowledge and humor to talk one of the few animated reconstruction stories starring William Hartnell’s First Doctor, Galaxy 4 (also referred to as Galaxy Four or The Chumblies).

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands on a seemingly livable but doomed planet. The Doctor and his companions stumble into a war between The Dharvins and The Rill over who will escape the planet before it explodes!

Bibliography

TARDIS Date Core

Galaxy 4 at https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Galaxy_4_(TV_story)

The actual scripts still exist https://broadwcast.org/index.php/Galaxy_4

http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/t.html

https://www.eofftv.com/index.php?title=Doctor_Who:_Galaxy_4(1965)

Internet Archive link https://archive.org/details/dr_who_galaxy_four