Comedian and writer Riley Silverman joins Alyssa to celebrate, consider and critique the controversial River Song. Also, the Doctor Who PR juggernaut marches on while still managing to say VERY LITTLE before the premiere date! Will Thursday’s DWM break that trend?

Problematic Faves: River Song, and more Season 11 news

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Riley Silverman

Chip demonstrates he’d be a rubbish time traveler because he can’t even manage simple time zones. Alyssa melts through the floor over Jodie Whittaker’s Marie Claire UK photoshoot. And there’s plenty of actual news to talk about, including that premiere date announcement video that doesn’t just break a glass ceiling, but also breaks new ground.

Sunday, Oct. 7 premiere; Whittaker makes the news rounds

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke

ALYSSA: (talks to Chip about her suggestion for a series about Problematic Faves)

We return from our unexpected hiatus in time travel bringing you Rachel Talalay, who joins Alyssa to celebrate the late Michael Pickwoad. Also, we launch a new segment about those episodes that we both enjoy and cringe at, simultaneously. Reality Bomb’s Joy Piedmont and Verity!’s Deb Stanish are here to help us define Problematic Faves.

Remembering Michael Pickwoad; defining "problematic faves"

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Rachel Talalay, Joy Piedmont and Deborah Stanish

Alyssa’s first book is out! We take time to talk about “The Black Archive #22: Hell Bent” and the themes Alyssa explored from the Series 9 finale. Plus: the SDCC afterglow, the LFCC record, and more publications and articles that tell us we may be on the verge of a Doctor Who Golden Age…

Alyssa's Black Archive book about "Hell Bent" and the news of the week

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke

Alyssa and Chip retreat to the memory palace and enjoy the highlights of the new Doctor Who era’s and Jodie Whittaker’s debuts in San Diego.

SDCC highlights

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke

News floodgates opened before Comic-Con! Entertainment Weekly got an exclusive, then the Radio Times got another one! Fans selected their favorite episodes for a BBC America marathon, prompting Chip to play his one note just a little louder. There are toys! And Daleks with tiny plungers! In this, one of the most economical and efficient This Week in Time Travel episodes ever. (So much so, you’ve got time to check out our friend Tom Dickinson’s new podcast, The Moment, as well. Two thumbs up.)

Teaser trailer, magazine exclusives, and more news

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke

We’re still not big on the name.

Over the last half a century, the most consistent thing about Doctor Who has been the least consistent thing: the character of the Doctor. Regeneration after regeneration, is the Doctor reinvented top to bottom, or is there still something that we can point to, at any time from 1963 to today, and say, “That’s who the Doctor is”? Rachel Donner returns for the news and a dive into the psyche of a Time Lord.

Does the Doctor have a core, consistent personality?

Chip Sudderth and Rachel Donner

We thought we might take the weekend off of TWiTT, because SURELY there wouldn’t be news about Doctor Who before Comic-Con, right? Chip’s theory was found wanting: New composer! New comic! New…uh…leak! (Which we will NOT spoil for you.) Alyssa and Chip tackle all of the news while recovering from the Families Belong Together rally. (Has Doctor Who ever inspired you to action, either personal or political? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!)

New composer; new 13th Doctor comic; fan reaction to the leaked scene

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke

OK, we know that fan art is a visual medium. And podcasts are…not. But we’ve brought along some fan artists who’ve made a real impact. Nathan Skreslet and Ly Cao from Pixel Who are here to talk about the fan artist community in Doctor Who, what it’s like to reinterpret the show, and what it takes to make a business of it.

Fandom Perspectives: Fan Art

Chip Sudderth and Alyssa Franke with Nathan Skreslet and Ly Cao