074 – The Lodger

Live from Master Closet Studios, you’re listening to the only podcast on the internet that actually has a second story: Noobs and the Whovian! 

My name is Austin and I’m the Whovian, and these are my sons Tripp and Corbin and we’re the noobs!

This is the podcast that introduces a whole new generation to Doctor Who by watching an episode each week and discussing it from the perspective of a dad who’s seen it before, and two sons who haven’t. 

Welcome to Episode 74 covering series 5 episode 11, The Lodger.

Super-short Recap

This is the one where the Doctor and Amy get separated and the Doctor has to find a roommate. He finds a room on the bottom floor of a one-story building whose top floor is actually a wannabe TARDIS.

Remember that one?

Production notes

• Story # 211
• Originally aired June 12, 2010 to 6.44 million viewers
• Written by: Gareth Roberts
  • Wrote The Shakespeare Code which is oddly still our most downloaded episode.
  • Several other Who episodes, as well as SJA
• Directed by: Catherine Morshead
• Awards:

Misc Trivia

• This is the first NuWho episode to have the Doctor refer to the number of his incarnation. When he does the headbutt mind-meld with Craig, he points to his face and says, “Eleventh!”
• Though it’s a total coincidence, it is funny that the Doctor goes out and is a beast at football given that Matt Smith was on his way to being a pro footballer when an injury forced him to focus on acting instead.
  • And it IS a coincidence. This episode was adapted from a comic story featuring Ten and Mickey Smith, and even the screenplay adaptation was begun before Smith was cast as Eleven.

Cast

• Sophie – Daisy Haggard
  • The voice of the lift in the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter movies
• Craig Owens – James Corden, host of the Late Late Show (where they do Carpool Karaoke)
  • Also a close friend of Matt Smith

Checklist

• Creature of the week
  • 79B Aickman Road
• Bad CGI
  • The perception filter activating and the ship were actually pretty good
• Geronimo – 1 from Craig
  • Running Count – 4
• Jiggery Pokery
  • Sonic 
    • No sonicing this time
  • TARDIS 
    • Keep the zigzag plotter on 4! 
      • Apparently, it matters where you’re standing when you work the controls? He tells Amy to take two steps to the right and then do the exact same thing, and it works!
  • Psychic Paper
    • You can lead the witness a bit. 
      • Here, this number, that number, references…
  • Random
    • Perception filter – it not only tricks your eyes, but your brain and memory
    • Headbutt mind-meld
• Jibberty Jabberty
  • Practical eruption in chicken. Descartes Lombardy spiral.
  • Reverse the enzyme decay, excite the tannin molecules
• The Crack 
  • It was behind the fridge in the apartment.

Who’s Who?

• Who is Rory? 
  • He still dead
• Who is Amelia?
  • Companion-lite episode
• Who is The Doctor? 
  • Less of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur
  • Here, have some rent. Is that a lot? It seems like a lot, I can never really tell.
  • I’m the Doctor, well, they call me the Doctor, no idea why. I call me the Doctor too, still no idea why.
  • I’m the Rotmeister, no don’t call me that I’m the Doctor.
  • I’ve just got one of those faces. Everyone keeps blurting out their plans in front of me.
  • Anyone ever told you you’re a bit weird? They never really stop.
  • Me with a key!
  • No! No violence ever! Do you understand me? I’m the Doctor, the oncoming storm, and you basically meant beat them at football didn’t you?

Classic Who Connection

• The baddie was going to be the Meglos a cactus looking xerophyte from Zolfa-Thura who also caused a time loop with the Fourth Doctor and Romana in the serial Meglos. He wasn’t used because he looked too similar to the Vinvocci and they were used first in the episode The End of Time.
• We have a showering scene with the Third Doctor in Spearhead from Space and the song that the Eleventh Doctor was singing in the shower (Verdi’s “La Donna E mobile”) was also sung by the Third Doctor in Inferno
• The Sixth Doctor loved cats and it seems that the Eleventh Doctor now loves them again
• The Fifth Doctor surprised everyone with his impressive cricket skills in the serial Black Orchid
• The Third Doctor also made a machine out of simple parts when he made a time flow analogue in the serial The Time Monster
• When The Doctor finally goes upstairs and says that someone is trying to build a TARDIS, it somewhat resembles the interior Seventh and Eighth Doctor’s TARDIS from the TV movie

Overall impressions

• Overall rating out of 10 – 
  • Jared – 8 fake TARDIS’
  • Austin – 9.5 excited tannin molecules
  • Corbin –  8.5 Creepy little girls
  • Tripp -8.5 fake houses 
• Creep Level – out of 500
  • Jared – 175
  • Austin – 200
  • Corbin – 150
  • Tripp – 150

Theories

• Corbin thinks The Crack will appear feature in every episode story and that either the Master or the New Paradigm Daleks or Davros are responsible for it and the Silence.
  • Well ACTUALLY, it didn’t appear in episode 4
  • Maybe it’s not the Daleks. 
  • The Doctor will blow up the TARDIS 
• Tripp thinks The Crack is the end of the universe like the end of the sidewalk. The Crack is in the Wall of the Universe.
  • He also thinks that when the Doctor messed with it in Eleventh Hour that it changed it and caused the problem.
• Tripp thinks the Star Whale is significant and we’ll see it again.
  • Not yet…
• Tripp thinks the Doctor is going to find a way to bring back Rory, and this will cause the TARDIS to explode which causes the Crack.
  • When Rory comes back, Amy won’t remember him and will have to fall in love again. 
• Corbin thinks Rory is coming back. They will find a way to stop the explosion which will cause Rory’s never having existed to not have existed.

Listener Input  

• We’re still on our mission to get a new review each month. So here’s a challenge: leave us a review in the month of your birthday. So, if your birthday is in October, it’s your turn! If you do, send me an email saying you left your birthday month review and we’ll not only read the review but we’ll wish you a happy birthday on the show!

The Game Plan 

• We’re almost through series 5! Next week we have a two-parter, and after that we’ll have a special Jared-sode where he will prime us for our Classic Who Rewind featuring the Third Doctor story The Terror of the Autons which is the first appearance of The Master.
  • This will be season 8, episodes 1-4.
  • As a reminder, you can find the Classic Who seasons on Amazon Prime video with a Britbox subscription.
• We then get to have Christmas in November as we cover the 2010 Christmas episode A Christmas Carol.These are separate now, kinda like the David Tennant specials were. So, search out Doctor Who – Christmas Specials, or follow our link.

Next Time…

Join us next time as we discuss Series 5 Episodes 12 and13, The Pandorica Opens, and The Big Bang.

Closing

Noobs and the Whovian is a production of Master Closet Studios, where it’s always smaller on the inside. Your Senior Producer is Austin Reason. Our Audio Engineer is Tripp Reason. Corbin Reason is our Production Editor. Special thanks to tardis.wikia.com for the trivia, Jared for the Classic Who Connection. Shout outs to Victor and Jared for their Patreon support.

You can find us at facebook.com/noobsandthewhovian and email us at [email protected]. Consider supporting us at https://www.patreon.com/noobsandthewhovian. Please subscribe and leave a rating wherever you found us, and share us with a friend not because we’re a great show but because we watch one.