Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV

Who Cares?

Discussions about Doctor Who, its three showrunners, and more! Notes, sources, and YouTube versions linked at www.whocares.fun

  1. 5d ago

    Tip Toe: Episodes 1-2 📱 Discussion & Review Podcast | Russell T Davies TV

    How does Russell T Davies' suburban thriller Tip Toe miniseries reflect the 2020s? We discuss hierarchies of humanity, porous worlds, clashes of masculinity, technological frivolity, & much more as we dive into the first two episodes. (00:00:00) Appreciating the show (00:06:41) Leo: hamartia, hyperbole, rhetoric, glibness, banter (00:23:26) Clive: coldness, masculinity, homoeroticism, bravery (00:45:25) Saul & his audience; George & projection (00:53:01) The Leo & George texting sequence (01:09:26) Clive & Leo: cruelty, class, pity (01:22:33) Phones, masturbation montage (01:29:05) Music (01:34:16) Ex Curtis dinner party scene (01:41:19) Steph & 'gender critical friends' (01:52:59) In the middle, Palestine, frivolity, conspiracy (02:04:42) Phones, youth, culture, doomscrolling (02:23:01) Phones, cognition, insanity, form (02:36:30) Can TV help the world? (02:46:18) Violence & porousness between worlds (02:54:46) America, RTD2, inspirations, titles… Continue reading →

  2. May 31

    The Witchfinders 🌳 Discussion & Review Podcast | Doctor Who: Series 11

    Released in 2018, novelised in 2021 — what is the legacy of The Witchfinders? Where does it belong, both in an assessment of the era, and in series 11's structure? Where does it differ from the rest of the series? What does 'no more witch hunts' really mean? (00:00:00) Intro & initial thoughts (00:02:20) Series 11 ordering + leak (00:05:27) Story's engagement with gender (00:09:54) Music, visuals (00:14:19) Implants & penetration (00:16:34) Alan Cumming (00:17:34) Theme park history (00:21:12) Reclaiming witchiness (00:24:29) Is it a romp? (00:27:35) Bullying & Yaz parallels (00:31:04) 'Flat team structure' (00:32:32) Cut to black (00:34:19) Morax & sending baddies to prison (00:37:19) 'No more witch hunts' & changing history (00:40:25) James confrontation (00:43:47) The novelisation subtractions & additions (00:52:54) Novel opening & epilogue (00:57:06) Opinions on the novel ending + The Norns (01:09:20) What could have been + structural thoughts (01:15:56) Outro… Continue reading →

  3. May 24

    The Ghost Monument 📜 Discussion & Review Podcast | Doctor Who: Series 11

    Extreme close ups of character faces. Entirely invisible threats; 'we don't see'. What's the story behind this very odd piece of television? Why does it stand out so much in terms of style and aesthetics? What standards did it set for the era? What does it say about the companions? (00:00:00) Intro + episode's significance (00:04:40) Uncomfortable closeups (00:07:47) Directorial style of long takes (00:09:48) Impressive locations + strange edits (00:14:03) Answering questions nobody asked (00:15:48) We can't see; intangible dangers (00:22:06) Avoidant storytelling, baffling stakes (00:27:21) Didactic premise (00:32:21) Focus on Ryan (00:36:34) Balancing companions with guest cast (00:42:15) Maturity of Yaz and Ryan (00:46:07) Aesthetics of violence (00:50:14) Timeless rags, TARDIS theme, set reveal (00:56:18) Pining for the early days of the era (00:59:40) Self-defeating thesis (01:01:37) Stray thoughts + outro… Continue reading →

  4. May 17

    The Woman Who Fell to Earth 🌠 Discussion & Review Podcast | Doctor Who: Series 11

    How did the Chibnall Era's premiere position itself amidst other TV? Rules, tone, arcs, spectacle, grief, change...the Thirteenth Doctor's first episode is nothing if not worthy of discussion. We dive in, looking back on how it all began. (00:00:00) Revisiting + what we like now (00:06:28) Losing our attention (00:09:19) The new companions + their arcs (00:19:52) Incomplete premiere (00:23:46) Chibnall confusion + tonal cynicism (00:29:50) Handling an ensemble (00:34:29) Idolising the Doctor (00:37:04) 13 as enforcer of rules (00:47:46) Darker vs family-friendly heroes (00:53:34) Kids' TV and curiosity (00:57:10) Aspiring to be like other shows (01:03:50) Spectacle vs substance (01:07:39) Budget & fighting what you are (01:11:44) The crimes of Tim + a major death (01:15:21) Fridging (01:17:30) Other ideas for how to handle grief (01:23:14) The music + 13's theme (01:31:00) Elements of previous Doctor premieres (01:37:33) Theme of change (01:40:03) Favourite lines (01:42:36) Retrospective thoughts + vindication… Continue reading →

  5. May 10

    Pyramids of Mars 🔭 Discussion & Review Podcast | Doctor Who: Tom Baker Era

    Science and magic, cultism and archaeology, digital Gothic, illusions of fidelity, horror, Holmes, and Hinchcliffe...what makes Pyramids of Mars persist, over fifty years later? We dive into this Tom Baker classic, along with its many revisitations. (00:00:00) First experiences with the story (00:05:42) Season 13 (00:08:30) Nice moments (00:10:59) Design of the mummies (00:14:34) Daytime shoots and tone (00:16:44) Reinventing the historical format (00:21:20) Egyptology and Orientalism in the story (00:27:15) Ibrahim (00:30:45) Episode Four's tonal shift (00:40:03) Resonance of the ending + emotional moments (00:47:30) Laurence's rationality (00:53:00) Terrance Dicks' characterisation of the Fourth Doctor (01:02:46) Alternate future scene (01:09:32) Holistic storytelling of the Holmes and Hinchcliffe era (01:18:05) Portrayal of Sarah Jane (01:23:38) Gabriel Woolf's performance as Sutekh (01:29:38) Visuals of Sutekh (01:33:16) Greifer's grain: the unusual writing situation (01:45:16) Holmes' writing (01:51:35) Novelisation differences: ancient aliens (01:57:25) Novelisation differences: prologue and epilogue (02:09:33) 2024 Tales of the TARDIS: editing and music changes (02:21:50) 2024 Tales of the TARDIS: VFX and story changes (02:26:13) 2024 Tales of the TARDIS: Fifteenth Doctor wraparound scenes (02:33:31) Dudley Simpson's score (02:38:43) Rationalism and anti-imperialism (02:44:08) 2025 AI Pyramids blu-ray release (02:52:32) Archaeology and AI restoration (02:56:45) Inverting science vs magic (03:03:16) Digital Gothic (03:07:23) Break points of restoration and editorialisation … Continue reading →

  6. Apr 26

    Steven Moffat & AI ✨ Unpacking an ‘AI Interview’ & Digital Ghosts | Discussion Podcast

    How does Steven Moffat’s ‘interview’ with an ‘AI’ play into technological themes explored across his work? We dive into humanity, tailored expectations, retreats into fictionalisation, emotional validity, recursion, as more, as we discuss ‘AI’ and digital ghosts. (00:00:00) Attitudes to ‘AI’ (00:12:18) Origins of the podcast, role of faith (00:23:58) Moffat's AI themes, digital ghosts vs. faulty tech (00:30:43) The indifference of autocomplete (00:39:50) Why Moffat was so impressed (00:46:50) Biases towards the ‘interviewer’ (00:51:46) The dream protecting itself (00:59:20) Aren't we all chatbots in the end? (01:09:57) LLMs vs. human (and dog) conversations (01:14:50) The habituation cycle (01:21:05) The low bar for ‘AI’ creations (01:30:05) Endless franchise content, worsening quality (01:39:57) Closing thoughts … Continue reading →

  7. Apr 12

    The Reality War 💀 Discussion & Review Podcast | Doctor Who: Season 2

    It all comes tumbling down. Finality. Normativity. Literalism. How did Ncuti Gatwa’s last episode reconfigure the past and future of the show? (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:03) What we liked (00:24:25) Two-series arc (00:28:48) Thirteen looming over Fifteen (00:35:08) Susan and three-series arcs (00:37:04) Regeneration timing (00:43:14) Omega, twists, the past (00:50:33) Ranis, bigeneration, Classic Who, sterility (00:59:13) Belinda and Poppy (01:16:11) Anita and doors (01:22:39) May the 24th; finale density (01:28:43) Curious musical moments (01:33:50) Petrol, Pantheon, future possibilities (01:39:56) Promise of the 60th; cluttering and decluttering (01:49:31) Paternity and Poppy (01:53:08) Billie Piper’s Doctor, ‘RTD3’, Marvel (02:05:36) Vindicator big gun moment; Ncuti leaving (02:14:42) Default Belinda; child’s version of Doctor Who (02:21:40) Addendum: Disney deal dead, finale reshoots (02:30:03) Why a three-series arc; Susan in RTD2 (02:37:51) Reality War script, emotional truth, children (02:44:06) Renewal, finality, fairness (02:59:18) Reality War ponderings; The War Between musings (03:04:01) Addendum addendum: finale aftereffects (03:10:50) Vestiges of RTD2 (03:13:47) Our reactions to the finale (03:27:07) Where to from here … Continue reading →

  8. 05/29/2025

    Wish World 🦴 Discussion & Review Podcast | Doctor Who: Season 2

    Character-lite episodes. Penultimate suspense. Companion characterisation. Gods and science. Was this episode worthy of a wish? (00:00:00) What we liked (00:12:49) Doubts, plot, storytelling, villainy (00:19:50) Omega, gods, science, mythic register (00:25:42) Belinda companionship, garbling, drama confusion, Nursedoc (00:33:50) Ruby in 2025 S2, S1-S2 links (00:42:30) Conrad, wish baby, Flood hugs, political commentary, encampment (00:53:19) Non-politics, generational differences (01:03:49) Production design, aesthetics, Belinda screaming (01:13:50) The Ranis (01:23:35) Episode structure, Chibnall era comparisons, Omega reveal (01:32:01) Poppy, family, adoption, motherhood, wishes, Vindicator, sci-fi power (01:39:30) Ncuti's wishes, season 2 development (01:47:35) Visual storytelling (01:56:28) Ending countdown, contrived suspense, Harry Potter, doubt (02:00:37) Too early to judge, Belinda's doubts… Continue reading →

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4.1
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About

Discussions about Doctor Who, its three showrunners, and more! Notes, sources, and YouTube versions linked at www.whocares.fun

Information

  • Creator
    Who Cares?
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    137
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Clips and music used within owned wholly by their rightsholders
  • Show Website
    Who Cares? - Dr. Who Fans Talk TV

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