Kasterborous Classic TV: Exploring Doctor Who & Classic Sci-Fi

Kasterborous
Kasterborous
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Regular podcast featuring unique and in-depth discussions covering Doctor Who and other classic TV and movies, usually in the sci-fi and sci-fantasy fields.  Launched in 2007, we've lost count of how many episodes we've actually done. Special episodes include interviews with creatives, writers, actors, and notable commentators in the cult TV field.  Your regular hosts are Christian Cawley, James McLean, and Brian Terranova.

  1. Sep 28

    From Blackadder to Red Dwarf: What makes British comedy different?

    Why did radio drama and comedy remain such a strong part of British broadcasting — while largely disappearing from American radio? In this edition of Kasterborous, Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova start with the very different audio traditions on either side of the Atlantic. Along the way, they encounter The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars on radio, Big Finish, and some almost-forgotten Doctor Who radio productions. That leads to the peculiar British tradition of bringing television comedy to radio, including Dad's Army, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder. But why did The Black Adder change so dramatically after its first series? Christian and Brian discuss the huge scale of Rowan Atkinson's original medieval comedy, the reduced budget that helped reshape the programme, the transformation of Blackadder and Baldrick, and whether moving comedy into the studio actually made it better. There's also Red Dwarf, live studio audiences, Jeeves and Wooster, Not Going Out, Fawlty Towers, panel shows, and the question of why British and American sitcoms developed such different approaches to comedy. In this episode: Why radio drama survived in Britain Doctor Who before Big Finish The British tradition of comedy on radio The Black Adder vs Blackadder II What happened when the budget disappeared Do sitcoms need a live audience? Red Dwarf: Back to Earth British vs American sitcoms When sitcoms start becoming dramas Presented by Christian Cawley with Brian A. Terranova. Kasterborous: Doctor Who, classic television and science fiction conversation since 2007.

    From Blackadder to Red Dwarf: What makes British comedy different?

  2. Sep 21

    Doctor Who's future: new producers, no showrunner... and AI?

    The BBC has formally begun looking for the production team that will take Doctor Who into its next era — and some of the details suggest the series could be made rather differently in future. This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean examine the BBC's new Invitation to Tender for Doctor Who, including its emphasis on high-concept science fiction, distinctively British storytelling and episodic writers — and the intriguing suggestion that the programme may no longer follow the traditional showrunner model. Does the tender represent a genuine fresh start for Doctor Who? What does the BBC's instruction not to consult previous BBC Studios or Bad Wolf production teams tell us about its intentions? And with a new production unlikely to reach television until 2028 or 2029, what happens in the meantime? That leads to something rather more controversial: Doctor Who Reboot, a fan project using generative AI to create an unofficial continuation of the series. Christian and James discuss the results, the potential intellectual-property problem, and the much bigger question of whether using AI to recreate Doctor Who is fundamentally at odds with the programme itself. After all, if the Doctor is a character who repeatedly champions human creativity, individuality and freedom over technological conformity, is AI-generated Doctor Who a particularly strange contradiction? Plus: the Master's latest trick may have nothing on the Kasterborous YouTube channel finally passing 200 subscribers. With Christian Cawley and James McLean.

    Doctor Who's future: new producers, no showrunner... and AI?

  3. Sep 14

    Who is the definitive Master? Doctor Who's greatest villain

    The Master has been cheating death almost as long as the Doctor has been saving the universe — but can all those different incarnations actually be fitted into a coherent timeline? Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova take a trip through the Master's complicated history, from Roger Delgado and the decaying Master to Anthony Ainley, Eric Roberts, Derek Jacobi, John Simm and Michelle Gomez. Along the way, they revisit an old theory connecting the Master of the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie with The Deadly Assassin, examine Big Finish's rather more elaborate attempt to make sense of the Master's regenerations, and consider what Eric Roberts has brought to the role on audio. ----------------------------------------------------------------You can watch this week's episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUCImw-B1Cc---------------------------------------------------------------- But continuity is only half the story. Was Doctor Who robbed of a potentially definitive Master by giving Derek Jacobi so little screen time? How does his colder interpretation compare with Delgado's original? And did John Simm effectively get a second chance to play the Master when he returned opposite Peter Capaldi? It's an attempt to untangle one of Doctor Who's most complicated characters — and work out what actually makes a great Master. With Christian Cawley and Brian A. Terranova.

    Who is the definitive Master? Doctor Who's greatest villain

  4. Sep 7

    Who wants Doctor Who — and what happens next?

    What happens next to Doctor Who — and who might actually make it? Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss the latest speculation surrounding the programme's future, including Netflix's apparent lack of interest and Amazon's much more welcoming response to the prospect of getting involved. Could Amazon do for Doctor Who what it once did for Ripper Street? Would moving further into the streaming world give the programme greater creative freedom, or would something important be lost along the way? Then there's the small matter of Billie Piper. With Mark Gatiss discussing the unresolved ending to the most recent series, Christian and James consider whether a future production team really needs to explain what happened — or whether Doctor Who should simply move forward. From Sherlock and Dallas to Blake's 7, Sapphire & Steel and the Seventh Doctor's final adventure, we look at the peculiar power of an unresolved ending — and wonder whether Doctor Who's controversial cliffhanger might actually be helping to keep the series alive in the public imagination. With Christian Cawley and James McLean.

    Who wants Doctor Who — and what happens next?

  5. Aug 31

    The X-Files, Star Wars and the problem with director's cuts

    Chris Carter has returned to 2008's The X-Files: I Want to Believe and created a new director's cut — but unusually, his preferred version is shorter than the film we already had. James McLean and Brian Terranova have watched the new cut and join Christian Cawley to discuss what's changed, including its renewed emphasis on horror, alterations to Mulder and Scully's relationship, and whether Carter has actually made I Want to Believe a better movie. But that raises a bigger question: when should creators stop changing their own work? From Chris Carter and The X-Files, the conversation moves to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, George Lucas and Star Wars, fan edits and the very idea of a definitive version. Films and television are collaborative works involving writers, directors, actors, editors, composers, and producers. So when somebody returns decades later to create their preferred cut, whose work are they actually changing? And does being the director necessarily give them the final word? With Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova.

    The X-Files, Star Wars and the problem with director's cuts

  6. Aug 24

    Does Doctor Who need another fresh start?

    What should Doctor Who do next? We look to its uncertain future — and back to the BBC's memorable Doctor Who Night in 1999. Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova discuss Dean Devlin's recent comments about Doctor Who, the prospect of another David Tennant return, and whether the programme might benefit from something resembling the clean break it received in 2005. Should a future producer embrace decades of continuity, or give new viewers an easier way in? Could Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor provide a bridge to another incarnation? And has Doctor Who become too reliant on its own past? Then we head back to 1999, when Doctor Who faced a very different uncertain future, to revisit BBC Two's Doctor Who Night. Featuring Tom Baker, specially made sketches, documentaries and a showing of the 1996 TV movie, the evening arrived at a fascinating point in Doctor Who history: ten years after the original series ended and several years before its eventual return. Was Doctor Who Night simply a nostalgic celebration — or, looking back, can we see the beginnings of the rehabilitation that eventually brought the Doctor back to Saturday-night television?

    Does Doctor Who need another fresh start?

  7. Aug 17

    Are we watching the same films and TV shows anymore?

    What happens when the films and TV programmes we grew up with aren't quite the same things we remember? This week, a mix of Doctor Who and Star Wars, with Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova beginning with some surprising discoveries about Luke Skywalker's decidedly ordinary trousers and Han Solo's blaster, changing lightsaber props, and the surprisingly problematic dimensions of the Millennium Falcon. That leads us into the world of film and television restoration. What can modern transfers reveal that VHS and old television broadcasts concealed? And why might the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies never make the jump to true 4K? Doctor Who presents another puzzle. The series has always contained changing props, models, sets, and continuity, yet fans seem remarkably willing to accept them. More recent projects such as The War Games in Colour take things further, effectively creating alternative versions of familiar stories. Then things get personal. James reveals that he edits songs he likes into what he considers their "correct" versions, leading to a discussion about fan edits, remixing, copyright and whether audiences have always customised the media they consume. As CGI, AI and increasingly powerful editing tools become available to everyone, could personalised versions of films and television become commonplace? And if we can all "fix" the things we don't like, are we still watching the same thing?

    Are we watching the same films and TV shows anymore?

  8. Aug 12

    When does Doctor Who fan fiction become canon?

    What actually counts as Doctor Who canon—and who gets to decide?  Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova head down the rabbit hole of Doctor Who fan productions, unofficial spin-offs and alternative continuities, beginning with Brian's experiences developing his own Orville fan production.  That leads us to Doctor Who projects such as Downtime, and The Stranger, where familiar actors and characters could appear in productions that existed somewhere between fan fiction and the television programme they were inspired by.  An additional "aftershow" section for subscribers: https://www.patreon.com/cw/kasterborous/membershipBut things become even more complicated once officially licensed Doctor Who enters the equation. Does Big Finish "count?" What happens when established continuity contradicts something that was previously accepted? And is our obsession with arranging television, audio, comics and other media into a hierarchy of "canon" itself part of the problem?  We also discuss different approaches to shared fictional universes, why people create fan films and fiction in the first place, and how working within an established universe can help develop creative skills.  Finally, there's the curious case of Richard E. Grant: announced as the official Ninth Doctor for Scream of the Shalka—only for the return of Doctor Who to television to rewrite his place in the programme's history. So perhaps the real question isn't simply what counts as Doctor Who canon, but whether canon matters as much as we think it does.  ShownotesDowntime on Amazon Prime: https://amzn.to/4xoikps

    When does Doctor Who fan fiction become canon?
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4.9
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About

Regular podcast featuring unique and in-depth discussions covering Doctor Who and other classic TV and movies, usually in the sci-fi and sci-fantasy fields.  Launched in 2007, we've lost count of how many episodes we've actually done. Special episodes include interviews with creatives, writers, actors, and notable commentators in the cult TV field.  Your regular hosts are Christian Cawley, James McLean, and Brian Terranova.

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