2MTL 37: Doctor Who vs. American Culture?

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Doctor Who might be a tough sell to a mainstream American audience even if it had the marketing and access resources big home-grown TV shows have. I've got no basis for evaluating the show's place in British culture, but there are things about the show's format and leading character that a U.S. producer wouldn't go with these days…

(Note: Yes, in the podcast I omitted the fact that the McGann movie aired on the Fox network, but that was a one-shot deal that for various reasons went essentially unnoticed in the States.)

2MTL 36: "Torchwood: The Dead Line" Reviewed

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Now we get to the character-driven episode of the three audio plays. Phil Ford knows these characters and it shows, especially with the meatiest audio role yet for Gareth David-Lloyd — and that helps lift this episode above its standard plot.

2MTL 35: "Torchwood: Golden Age" Reviewed

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When is a return to form also a return to well-traveled territory? When it's the second of this week's Torchwood audio plays. "Torchwood: Golden Age" is energetic and entertaining, but follows the TV show's formula a little too closely after the previous audio play's experiment.

2MTL 34: "Torchwood: Asylum" Reviewed

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Here's my spoiler-free review of the first of the prequel audio plays to "Children of Earth." "Torchwood: Asylum" is a departure from the show's format in more ways than one, and for the most part it works — especially for supporting actor Tom Price and guest star Erin Richards.

2MTL 33: Fans Rate Doctor Who Episodes; Journey's End vs. Transformers 2

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I recently posted a link to my collection of the "Rate This Episode" poll results from the former Outpost Gallifrey/Doctor Who Forum's episode-by-episode threads. In tonight's Two-minute Four-minute Time Lord (er, ah, sorry about that longwinded bit) podcast, I take a look at some of the interesting things I found within these fans' reactions to the episodes. And then I look at the controversial — in some quarters — "Journey's End."

Thanks to Shaun Lyon for permission to capture the poll data.

Episode Ratings from Outpost Gallifrey Compiled

The former Outpost Gallifrey/Doctor Who Forum is about to close, its messages vanishing into the ether on July 1. Whenever a new episode aired, three to five thousand fans on the forurm would rate the episode on a scale of one to five. With site owner Shaun Lyon's permission, I've copied the data into this Google spreadsheet, so you can see for yourself the remarkable spike in poll participation following "Love and Monsters" and the adulation for "Human Nature" and "Blink."

2MTL 32: Everything's So Political

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There are examples all over the Internet of academics and fans deconstructing Doctor Who for its politics. As long as it doesn't interfere with the running and jumping, that's fine with me. And it helps that RTD's run of Doctor Who has been fairly politically aware.