It's Hugo Awards time again. The Hugos will be awarded on August 30 at LA Con V, the 84th Worldcon, in Anaheim, CA. In this bumper-length episode of MarkWHO42, join Juan Sanmiguel, Trish Matson, and Paul Weimer, from The Skiffy and Fanty Show as they discuss the Media and Prose Finalists.

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

This is an interview between Mark Baumgarten, host of the MarkWHO42 podcast, and Charles McFall, Digital Media Track Director at Dragon Con, discussing the upcoming 40th-anniversary convention scheduled for September 3-7, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. Charles explained that Dragon Con has grown from 1,500 attendees in 1987 to approximately 74,000-76,000 attendees across five host hotels, featuring almost 36 programming tracks, including the BritTrack, Star Trek, Star Wars, and main programming with celebrity guests such as David Tennant, Billie Piper, Katee Sackhoff, Edward James Olmos, and Jonathan Coulton. Mark discussed his plans to attend as both press and a fan, expressing particular interest in the BritTrack programming and the famous parade that shuts down downtown Atlanta streets. They covered practical aspects, including hotel locations, accessibility accommodations, weapons policies, and tips for first-time attendees, with Charles emphasizing that Dragon Con offers something for everyone across multiple genres while maintaining its fan-run and fan-focused nature. Oh, and Mark goes on a Doctor Who Competitive Tender tangent... but of course he does.

• For more information, go to https://www.dragoncon.org/

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

Is this movie about aliens or are aliens a vector to a deeper truth the filmmaker wants to tell us? How do we deal with learning a hidden truth? What really makes us human? Join Juan Sanmiguel and Arturo Serrano (nerds of a feather) as they examine Disclosure Day.

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

Who is Kara Zor-El? What is she dealing with? Did Lobo have to be here? Join Juan Sanmiguel and Arturo Serrano (nerds of a feather) as they take a flight with Supergirl (2026).

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

Mark Baumgarten and Jarrod Cooper present a special Doctor Who episode of MarkWHO42 addressing last week’s news that the show's Christmas special was canceled and that the BBC put Doctor Who out to competitive tender. Jarrod explained that "putting out to tender" is similar to government bid processes and does not mean the show has been canceled, but rather that the BBC is seeking new production teams to continue making Doctor Who. They discussed the timeline for the tender process, estimating it could take until the end of 2026, with new episodes potentially returning around 2028. The conversation also covered alternative entertainment options available to fans, including Big Finish Productions' audio dramas featuring various Doctor Who characters and storylines from different eras.

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

The new live-action Masters of the Universe has arrived. How did we get here? What worked in the film? How much of a fun time will you have? Join Vicky Jakubowski, Juan Sanmiguel, and Cora Buhlert as they explore the world of Masters of the Universe.

• Cora Buhlart is a writer, teacher, and translator from Bremen in North Germany. Three-time Hugo Awards finalist, 2022 Hugo winner for Best Fan Writer. You can find her on most social media sites as @corabuhlert, on Bluesky as @corabuhlert.bsky.social, and she has a website at corabuhlert.com

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

News dropped on Wednesday, 10th June 2026, regarding the future of Doctor Who... As Linda Richman would say on Coffee Talk, "Doctor Who has neither been cancelled nor further under the tutelage of Bad Wolf & RTD... Discuss!" Host Mark Baumgarten and special guest cohosts, Jarrod Cooper and Zion Quiros, will do just that!

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

The Force is back on the big screen, and we're diving into The Mandalorian & Grogu. Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni bring their version of the galaxy from streaming to theaters—but does it work as a feature film, or is it simply an extra-long episode of the TV series? Does the movie lose sight of one of Star Wars' enduring themes—that authoritarian, totalitarian government is bad—or does it find new ideas to explore? What subtle (and not-so-subtle) connections tie it to the larger Star Wars universe, from the original trilogy to The Clone Wars, Rebels, and the modern Disney+ era? And how do its impressive practical effects, from puppetry to stop-motion techniques, recapture some of the tactile magic that defined classic Star Wars?


We also pay tribute to the passing of Oscar-winning editor Marcia Lucas, whose work helped shape the original trilogy, and voice actor Tom Kane, the unforgettable voice of Yoda, narrator of The Clone Wars, and countless other characters. Join Mark Baumgarten, Vicky Jakubowski, and Juan Sanmiguel as they channel the Force to discuss this latest chapter from Lucasfilm.

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

Step behind the mask—literally—with creature actor Jon Davey, whose work has shaped the look and feel of more than 50 episodes of modern Doctor Who, along with The Sarah Jane Adventures and numerous live Doctor Who events. From bringing iconic monsters like Daleks, Cybermen, and the Ood to life, to stepping into the boots of UNIT soldiers, Jon has done just about everything. Now he joins us to share what it’s really like portraying the WHOniverse’s most unforgettable creatures. Hear his stories from the set, including the challenges and fun of filming The War Between the Land and the Sea. Get a rare look into the craft behind Doctor Who’s creature performances. Listen as Mark Baumgarten, Vicky Jakubowski, and Juan Sanmiguel bring you behind‑the‑scenes insight, humor, and a brand‑new appreciation for the actors who help make the WHOniverse so wonderfully weird.

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!

Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Doctor Who: The Movie with a deep dive into the TV film that relaunched (and possibly reshaped) the WHOniverse in unexpected ways. What hurdles did director Geoffrey Sax face between 1989 and 1996 to get the project greenlit? How was Steven Spielberg connected to the production? Why was it controversial to portray The Doctor as half-human? Is the film “too American”? How has its legacy evolved over three decades? Do the novelizations help smooth out the plot bumps? Why hasn’t Dr. Grace Holloway returned in Big Finish audio dramas? Is Doctor Who: The Movie worth a rewatch? Join Mark Baumgarten, Vicky Jakubowski, and Juan Sanmiguel as they revisit the 1996 TV movie that brought The Doctor back to our screens and left an unforgettable, if unusual, mark on the franchise.

For interviews of cast members and production team from MarkWHO42's archives:

• Matthew Jacobs (writer):
  episode 145 - "MarkWHO42 Are You?" by Matthew Jacobs
• Sylvester McCoy (The 7th Doctor):
  episode 91 - Playing Spoons with The Doctor
• Yee Jee Tso (Chang Lee):
  episode 78 - Gold Dust Companion
  episode 130 - Happy New Year 2000! (Wait? What?)
• Daphne Ashbrook (Dr. Grace Holloway):
  episode 189 - Daphne Ashbrook - Part 1: Life Before Doctor Who
  episode 190 - Daphne Ashbrook - Part 2: Doctor Who and Beyond!
• Jeremy Radick (Gareth) - MarkWHO42's most prolific guest:
  episode 171 - Doctor... WHO Let That Guy In Here?
  episode 178 - The Pilots
  and many other episodes, including our Doctor Who Series 13 review:
  WTF Episode 1 - A Liverpudlian, a Lupari, and a Gallifreyan Walk into a Flux…
  WTF Episode 2 - Swarm and Azure: The Disco Villains Who Dance Around The Doctor
• And Paul McGann (The 8th Doctor) can be found in our Hurricane Who coverage episodes:
  episode 62 - Hurricane WHOa!!!
  episode 139 - Easter Break at Hurricane Who

That's your homework assignment for the week... ;)


(photo courtesy of Jeremy Radick)

• To listen to our previous episodes from 2012 to the present, featuring more than 150 celebrity interviews from shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek, Farscape, and others, visit our MarkWHO42 Classic Episodes YouTube playlist!