Opening
Live from Master Closet Studios, you’re listening to the only podcast on the internet that’s back from the dead just in time for Halloween! It’s the Noobs and the Whovian!
My name is Austin and I’m the Whovian and these are my sons Corbin and Tripp and we’re the noobs!
And joining us all the way from the St. Louis offices of Master Closet Studios, it’s our Classic Whovian!
This was the podcast that introduced a whole new generation to Doctor Who by watching an episode each week and discussing it from the perspective of a dad who has seen it before, and two sons who have. And Jared!
Welcome to Episode 204, covering the BBC Centenary Special: The Power of the Doctor.
Super-short Recap
This is the one where the Doctor and the Doctor and the Doctor and the Doctor and the Doctor and the Doctor and the Doctor and the Doctor and the MasterDoctor have an adventure with ALL THE COMPANIONS and Thirteen doesn’t say goodbye.
Production notes
- Story #300
- Originally aired October 23, 2022 to 4.04 million viewers
- Written by: Chibs
- Directed by: Jamie Magnus Stone
Misc Trivia
- This is the first episode to feature the Daleks, the Cybermen, and the Master all WORKING together.
- William Russell’s appearance as Ian Chesterton set two new records.
- Oldest actor to appear in NuWho (I’m curious if this hold for all of Who)
- Longest time between portraying the same character having not appeared since 1965’s The Chase.
- This also marks the first time that the actor portraying the Doctor was PREGNANT WHILE DOING SO!
- First regeneration story that was not also a Festive Special
- It’s now official that all the surviving Doctors have appeared in NuWho!
- This episode sets a new record for number of actors to portray the Doctor in one story with NINE
- Sacha Dhawan became the first actor to portray the Master AND the Doctor
- This is the first episode to feature the Doctor regenerating twice.
- Tennant is NOT the first actor to portray multiple incarnations of the Doctor!
- Whitaker got some interesting distinctions in her tenure.
- She’s the first Doctor to span multiple monarchs
- She’s the first Doctor to span THREE Prime Ministers (Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss)
Checklist
- Name of the episode spoken in dialogue?
- What WAS the power of the Doctor?
- Creature of the week
- The Qurunx
- One of the mysteries of the universe. A great source of power that even the Doctor wasn’t sure existed.
- Daleks (kinda)
- Thirteen acts surprised to see a rogue Dalek, forgetting Dalek Sec, the hybrid Dalek, and others.
- I like his logic though. The Dalek form was built to save the Kaled race, but that race is basically gone thanks to the Dalek form.
- CyberMasters
- We are more than Cybermen, we have evolved
- I LOVE the way they look!
- Rule 1: The Doctor lies!
- The Master
- He’s Rasputin!
- I love the blue eyes!
- We loved his lecture to no one!
- He expertly hand-waved away his escape from Gallifrey!
- He’s Rasputin!
- The Qurunx
- TARDIS
- There was a fake one
- That oner of Yaz and the Doctor running into the TARDIS was awesome!
- Psychic paper
- Graham STILL hasn’t gotten the hang of it yet.
- Catchphrases
- Brave Heart!
- Rabbits – Tegan apparently said this often?
- What? What?! WHAT?!
- Random Jiggery Pokery
- Consciousness shield
- How is this different from a perception filter? It makes you see what it wants you to…
- How exactly did that AI hologram work?!
- Everyone could see it, not just those with the microchip
- Consciousness shield
- Adventures in closed captioning!
- DON’T lose my sonic = Don’t lose your stomach.
Other stuff we noticed
- Man was that opening scene unnecessary, except to give Dan a terrible exit from the show. What was the deal, could they not afford to pay John Bishop for an entire episode or something?!
- The missing paintings story was kind of a dud…
- We get that the Master changed them, but how, when, why?!
- Wasn’t the seismology issue enough?
- The fake out with the Fugitive Doctor was awesome, but inconsistent. At no other point did the hologram look real
Who’s Who?
- Who is Dan?
- Why is he here at all?
- He said “What am I doing here, I’ve got a date to get to?” Is this supposed to tell us that he and Diane got back together after that terrible ending in Flux?
- Why did that laser stop after hitting his face shield?!
- He got to use the SONIC! I don’t think Graham, Ryan, OR Yaz did.
- Then he leaves. He almost died and he realizes it’s time to go.
- Wait, he had a date scheduled but didn’t remember his house was gone?!
- Who is Ace?
- She’s on the case!
- Who is Tegan?
- How’d you like the subtle reintroduction? “What did you say, Ace?” “I said where are you, Tegan?”
- But why do they know each other?
- She’s ticked.
- We used to be YOU, decades back.
- Who is Vinder?
- WHY is he in this episode?
- Who is Graham?
- Arnold Palmerson, Volcano Inspector.
- I had all these adventures, but I can’t tell anyone cuz they’d have me put away.
- WHY?!?!?!
- Who is Yaz?
- Stay here. Nnnnope!
- I can’t keep doing this with you, jumping around with no explanation. There’s no time.
- MAKE time! You’re in a time machine!
- She’s talking to and piloting the TARDIS!
- Who are the Guardians of the Edge?
- No seriously, who are they?!
- Who is the Thirteenth Doctor?
- So, does she hate guns or not? Or are we just supposed to think this shows how truly dangerous the Master is?
- She’s wearing the black jacket that Time was wearing at the end of the Flux.
- Regen
- Nobody else got to be us. Nobody else got to live our days.
- I have loved being with you, Yaz, and I have loved being me!
- Let’s not say goodbye…
- It’s the only said thing, I wanna see what happens next.
- Ok, Doctor Whoever I’m About to Be, tag, you’re it.
Can we talk about the Master’s Plan?
- I wanted the MasterDoctor to be so much better. There should’ve been scenes of MasterDoctor struggling to reconcile this new personality integrating with all the old incarnations.
- At first, it was like when Clara met Twelve, trying to understand who this strange old man was. There were moments where she was clearly wrestling with it.
- Like, that scene with the two planets warring and him saying “I’m the Doctor and I caused this.” Did we miss a whole adventure or something?
- I wanted this to be the Doctor with an edge, the Master with a conscience. Instead, it was the Master in the Doctor’s clothes.
- I wanted to see the DoctorMaster interact with the Master.
Overall impressions
- How did you like it this time compared to last time?
- Jared – 7.5 Useless Vinders
- Austin – 9.5
- Corbin – 3
- Tripp – 6
Theories
- What’s the deal with Fourteen?
- I have a rather complicated theory about what’s coming in the specials
Closing
Noobs and the Whovian was a production of Master Closet Studios, where it’s always smaller on the inside. Your Senior Producer is Austin Reason. Your Audio Engineer was Thing One: Tripp Reason. Your Production Editor was the Other One: Corbin Reason. Special thanks to tardis.wikia.com for the trivia, and to Jared for the Classic Who Connections. Shout outs to Victor, Jared, and James for their support over the years.
