Torchwood: Children Of Mirth

By Shannon Lush

This particular entry will be delving into (it’s fair to admit, obsessing over), Torchwood, the ill-fated spinoff series of Doctor Who. Before I ascend too far up the ladder of vitriol, reigning down buckets of Whovian spittle all the way, a few admissions…

First, I never particularly liked anything to do with this series.  When the project was revealed, I felt the concept of a secretive, alien-fighting’ band of government agents was served quite well by UNIT and any newly-created group of like-minded characters were nothing more than watered-down versions. For over thirty years in Doctor Who and just as long within spinoff media, it was well established that UNIT were the world’s foremost defenders from the threat of alien incursion. If any organization was deserving of a televised spinoff from Doctor Who, it is UNIT. Indeed, Big Finish Audio has created excellent spin-off adventures featuring established and new characters. One such adventure even provided David Tennant his first Doctor Who credit, years before he gulped a cup of tea and discovered his fighting hand.

We'll Rant And We'll Roar

by Shannon Lush

This particular entry of the blog is going to be a little different, primarily as it will basically detail my response to a recent review of The Whostorian Podcast found on iTunes. The reviewer quite nicely provided our humble little podcast with a 4 out of 5 star review, which is not only appreciated it's definitely a big help to us, as every comment and review on iTunes (and, indeed, everywhere else we are found online) helps us stand out and gain listeners. So, to this reviewer and to all who have sampled our show and associated media output such as this blog, a hearty 'thank you'. Both Steve and myself continue to perform the podcast as a labour of pure love to both 'Doctor Who' the franchise and to fellow Whovians, and feedback, even if it's negative, is greatly appreciated. 

'Who And Me': Former producer Barry Letts's audiobook review

by Shannon Lush

As an old-school Whovian, I am well accustomed to searching high and low for 'Doctor Who' goodies. Pulling tatty copies of  'Doctor Who' comic books from dusty boxes at comic shops, finding a battered and weather-beaten Mel action figure from a garage sale, and traveling on two buses across two cities in order to track down Target novelizations are all escapades I've endured, and enjoyed, to build a humble collection of merchandise. Canada in the 1980s and 1990s was not a country overflowing with 'Doctor Who' merchandise, and Whovians worth their salt hunted like Slitheens high and low for whatever they could unearth.

Episode 66 - The 2nd Greatest Show In The Galaxy

listen to ‘Episode 66 - The 2nd Greatest Show In The Galaxy’ on Audioboo

'World (Re)Shaping With Grant Morrison

by Shannon Lush

As promised a very long time ago now (sorry readers, been awhile since I've been able to sit down and compose a proper blog entry review for this page, I'll try and be more prolific now that we all are impatiently waiting for the 50th Anniversary episode), it's time to delve into 'Doctor Who' comics review. We'll begin with tales from the current rights holder of the property for comics, IDW Comics, who in addition to publishing an on-going series featuring the current Matt Smith Doctor (I've been catching up on some of them, so expect a review soon), also produce special issues such as the recent 'Star Trek The Next Generation/Doctor Who' crossover story 'Assimilation Squared' which Steve (rightly) slagged to pieces on 'The Whostorian' podcast. To add to this creative output, they also print a title, 'Doctor Who Classic Comics', that exclusively presents material reprinted from 'Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly/Magazine' ongoing comic strip, and it is an issue of that series we will be reviewing this time around.

Podcasting 101

This week for the Whostorian blog I thought I'd go off on a different tangent. I've been reading some articles and listening to a couple of shows by other members of The 76th Street Network talking about what process goes into making their podcasts and what equipment they use. So this week, instead of talking Doctor Who, I'd like to talk about podcasting in general and the learning process that went into bringing the show to where it is today. 

Steve's guide to New Whovians

by Stylin' Steve

As I said on the podcast, this week my friend Gerry asked me "What is Doctor Who and why is it so popular these last few years." Word for word, here is my answer;

"Doctor Who is a British Sci-Fi show that's been on for the past 50 years. It's about an alien time traveler who calls himself The Doctor and his adventures with different people tagging along."

The Pages Of Time: A Brief History Of 'Doctor Who' Comic Books

by Shannon Lush

Note: Due to technical oddities beyond my control, I won't be reviewing 'The Minister Of Chance' podcast featuring 'Doctor Who' alumnus at all now, sorry. If you enjoyed it, then perhaps, if you ask nicely, Steve Lake will handle a review of the series on 'The Whostorian' podcast itself. It's available on iTunes for free download, and their twitter account is @MinisterChance. I support them, so should you!

..and now, we return to our regularly scheduled blog entry, already in progress....