On The Time Lash podcast

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Ben and Mark throw open the doors of the On the Timelash bookshop for a boozy book launch with Dylan Rees, author of the fabulous book, Myths and Legends: The Reeltime Pictures Story. The lads chat about how Keith Barnfather, Nicholas Briggs, and many more have created a massive people’s history of Doctor Who, courtesy of the Myth Makers interviews, deep dive documentaries and spinoff dramas. 

And then, in the second half, Dylan chooses a “classic” and “new” Myth Makers for the three of us to discuss; Sylvester McCoy’s 1994 interview and Eric Saward’s 2005 interview. How has the range changed in the intervening 11 years?

You can buy Dylan’s book here.

You can rent or buy the whole Reeltime Pictures catalogue from here.

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“Have we learned nothing from Torchwood?”

Mark is joined by Si Hart, host of The Library of Impossible Things, who submits his five choices for the tinsel tunnel. It’s a wide-ranging discussion that often comes back to reminding us what it is to be a child watching Doctor Who.

Under discussion: “Dark” Doctor Who, dodgy tea towels, Tom Baker being all teeth and no curls, the weakest story in season 13, and much more.

Also: Who put Ncuti Gatwa in a hydraulic press? And what has Si got against Prentis Hancock? 

You can see the boxed set that Mark and Si are talking about here.

The squashed Ncuti Gatwa can be bought here.

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“Amazon Who? You Plonker!”

Mark invites enigmatic artist and autograph hunter, @artfullyliam to submit his five choices for the tinsel tunnel. Their discussion takes in whether Doctor Who should be a prick, which fans ought to see an optician and explore why Sutekh, Omega and the Rani didn’t work as well as the Daleks, Sarah Jane Smith and The Master.

But which Doctor Who companion went from sounding like Jimmy Corkhill to sounding like Lord Mountbatten?

Check out Liam’s stunning artwork over on Instagram

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“Sexy Doctors”

Mark and Ben(!) invite longtime friend of the show Richie Morgan to submit his five choices for the tinsel tunnel. While Richie insists he’s not come to bury RTD, many of his choices force the boys to consider what has and hasn’t worked over the past three years. They also force this Timelash trio to ponder the following questions:

Why is Russell T Davies like Kim Jong Un?

Who is the Scottish goblin?

Why should Children in Need give back the money raised by Time Crash?

You can listen to I Hate Doctor Who here, their live show will broadcast on July 2nd on YouTube.

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“This was always the plan”

Mark invites Iain Martin from We’re All Stories in the End and All of Time and Space to submit his five Doctor Who gripes for the tinsel tunnel. Iain selects five aspects of the modern Doctor Who experience AND YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT’S AT NUMBER 2!

Also: Why is Mark like Jack the Ripper? What happened when Russell T Davies went to the vets? And can Iain ever be surprised by Nerys Hughes?

You can listen to The Electric Sodcast here.

You can buy Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley here.

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In part two of OTTL’s celebration of 40 years of EastEnders, Mark, Lee and Mark H discuss some classic crossovers with Doctor Who….and Dimensions in Time. They take a trip to an emotionally charged Doctor Who exhibition with Bradley and Stacey in an episode of EastEnders from 15th February 2008. Then it’s off to Albert Square with the Eleventh Doctor and Dermot O’Leary, before settling down for a pint in the Queen Vic with Lytton. 

Also: We choose which EastEnders stars we’d have liked to have played the Doctor and their companions, and Lee challenges the Marks to A Square Go.

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“Oh my dear Princess, you have been naive…”

To celebrate 40 years of EastEnders, Mark convenes Mark Harrison and Lee McMenemy from The Polis Box in the Queen Vic to discuss whether or not Doctor Who is “too soapy”. Beyond their statuses as institutions which rely heavily on cliffhangers, what else ties Doctor Who to EastEnders and other soaps like Coronation Street?

Under discussion: The Great EastEnders Slide Disaster of 2004, Phil Mitchell as Mickey Mouse, and a succession of William Hartnell lookalikes.

You can watch Corrie’s tram crash (directed by Graeme Harper) here.

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“Blooping is fine”

Mark invites Pete Lambert from the Trap One and Maximum Power podcasts to submit his five Doctor Who gripes for the very literal Tinsel Tunnel in an accidental Christmas special. Which of Pete’s selections will force Mark to look back on his life choices like Ebenezer Scrooge?

Is the 45 – 60 minute long episode of Doctor Who a dead medium? Why is Mrs Flood emblematic of a problem plaguing pop culture? And who trapped that bee inside a theramin? All this and more in the final In the Timelash of 2024!

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“Make your peace with the farting aliens and the person you used to be.”

Mark invites writer, poet and programmer Andrew Blair – a man who doesn’t have a Doctor Who podcast! However, Andrew’s not short of Doctor Who gripes to send down the Tinsel Tunnel. Under discussion: What would World Enough and Time be like if it was written by Christopher H Bidmead? Is “Genesis of the Daleks” truly the moral highpoint of Doctor Who? And what does fandom have in common with the Crispy Master?

You can have a go on Andrew’s Big Finish Generator here.

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“Firing a Doctor Who cake up your arse”

In their final look at the 60th anniversary specials, Ben and Mark welcome back the Toymaker by pairing up The Giggle with the unmade 1980s serial The Nightmare Fair. While the sense of an ending marks the 60th miniseries out as something special, have subsequent episodes of Doctor Who ruined the party? And after almost 60 years, has anyone got a handle on how to write for the Toymaker?

Also: Mark explains why Alex Horne is the true Toymaker, Ben recounts a Rab C Nesbitt locations tour, and we ponder what the Doctor Who equivalent of Spock’s helmet might be.

James Cooray-Smith’s excellent article on The Celestial Toymaker can be read here.