Doctor Who: Watchers in the Fourth Dimension
Three Americans and a Brit attempt to watch their way through all of Doctor Who (in order), and discuss each story with a mix of whimsy and intellect.
Episodes
As we have all foreseen, Julie has taken over the show again for our 2025 Holiday special and has done her best to find something actually Christmas-y this year. Digging into the depths of the strange children shows of the UK, we came across the wonder that is Worzel Gummidge. We tried to make due by just watching the pilot from series 1 and the Christmas special from series 3, with very mixed results.
Join us as we discuss the li...
In today’s episode we get not one, not two, not three, not four, but five Doctors. You heard right, everyone, we are covering the amazing story that is The Five Doctors, featuring Richard Hurndall as our replacement Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, a light sprinkling of Tom Baker, AND Peter Davison. Join us as we try and determine just how many things “of Rassilon” we can name (hint, it’s definitely more than ten).
Over ...
Oh boy, it’s that time again... and this time, it is NOT pretty! We look back on the entirety of Season 20 with our usual combination of awards, a recap of our various metrics, and questions from our friends on social media. But how effective was this anniversary season? If you’ve been listening as we go along, you already know the answer to that extremely loaded question!
Join us as we unleash a torrent of Turlough-hate, Julie g...
Is everyone ready for another musical number?!?! That’s right, Julie brings out her songwriting skills and rusty vocal chords in order to cover the final story for Season 20, The King’s Demons. We are so sorry for everyone who chose to rewatch these two episodes, but hopefully we give you a better time.
Join us as Anthony, Reilly, AND Diana all have a marvelous time in overpronouncing their vowels, Julie continues to bemoan the f...
It’s time for one of our many bonus episodes this season! We are joined by our good friend and official/unofficial fifth Watcher in the Fourth Dimension, Alan Siler, as we watch the not-so-recently animated story in Doctor Who, The Savages.
Join us as we spend way too much time discussing how we watched this and what other things we listened to prepare for this episode, commenting on the fact that we don’t, in fact, hate Dodo as ...
The Black Guardian Trilogy comes to an end in Enlightenment with a space race on Edwardian-inspired ships, where a dominatrix threatens Turlough, a creepy Eternal hits on Tegan, and the Black and White Guardians end as they started this three-story run: disappointingly. Still, it gives Anthony an opportunity to utter: “step on me, Mommy!” Just wow.
Unsurprisingly, we discuss the sartorial choices of the two Guardians (and which o...
Welcome, once again, to our annual house of horror special!! This year, we kickoff with, yet again, another Hammer Film. This time, we’re covering The Gorgon, featuring Peter Cushing and the wonderful treasure that is Patrick Troughton. We then move onto The Blood on Satan’s Claw, featuring the lovely Wendy Padbury and a somewhat subdued Anthony Ainley.
Join us as we discuss Diana’s inability to recognize actors when they either...
Join us this episode as we ask the big question: How does the Big Bang happen because of something that happens after the Big Bang? See if we ever find out as we discuss the second story of the Black Guardian trilogy, Terminus.
It should come as no surprise that this story garnered some strong feelings from our crew. Did Anthony really want to rewrite almost all interactions and plot regarding the Doctor and his companions? Absol...
We kick off the Black Guardian trilogy with a new companion joining the TARDIS, the return of the Brigadier, and the return of the Black Guardian (on whose head they’ve inexplicably put a dead bird!), as we discuss Mawdryn Undead (or, to translate it from the Welsh “Dead Man Undead”!)
Join us as we make immediate judgements on Turlough, discuss how the story plays with time in a way that pre-dates Moffat by 20-odd years, question...
It’s Kinda 2: Electric Boogaloo – or as it’s better known to most people… Snakedance! Beyond the return of the Mara, we get the return of good ol’ themes of colonialism, complete with a spoiled brat heir, a difficult and ignorant historian, and a snake-oil salesman who gets his comeuppance (ironically, at the hands of snake-being!)!
Join us as we discuss what the Mara are (and how RTD has corrupted that idea), to what extent Lon ...
We're kicking-off Season 20 with Arc of Infinity! This story features Time Lords doing what Time Lords do best, the return of Omega and introduction of his mutant turkey/pterodactyl thing, and some traipsing around Amsterdam. It sounds like it should be quite good. But will the Watchers think that it’s the sort of bang that the season should start with – one that caused by anti-matter and matter colliding?
Join us as we discuss o...
We have finally made our way through the entirety of Season 19, the first run of Peter Davison as the Doctor. You all know what that means!!! It’s time for our customary season retrospective, in which we look back at the entire season, using a blend of awards, metrics, and questions from our friends on social media to make our thoughts known… And man, do we make our thoughts known this time around. As always, this was a lot of fun ...
This episode, bear with us as we meander our way through our discussion of Spare Parts. Who knew we needed to discuss fake commercials and who may secretly be Hitler while commenting on such a good Big Finish story.
Join us as we discuss our understanding of jaded scientists drinking wine to get through the day and our annoyance of a whiny teenage boy who was so susceptible to propaganda, wishing to become a cyberman. Diana and J...
Don’t you just love an insane scheme by the Master? Especially when it involves disguising himself as a horrendous racial stereotype when he has no reason to be in disguise at all? Oh, and we have some wonderful product placement for Heathrow Airport and Concorde. And this story is *somehow* the Season 19 finale. That’s right -we’re talking about Time-Flight!
Join us as we discuss the brown-ness of the 1980s, whether the episode ...
In potentially the biggest story of the Season (somehow even bigger than the Fifth Doctor’s debut in Castrovalva), we have Cybermen! Androids! Gritty troopers and gritty freighter crew! Oh, and we say goodbye to a much loved (lol) companion in what is quite possibly the most dramatic way since… well… the 1960s? Yup, it’s Earthshock!
Join us as we discuss how the designers on Starship Troopers must’ve been huge Doctor Who fans, ho...
In this episode, we dial in our love for Agatha Christie and Charlotte Brontë, as we discuss Black Orchid. How they were able to pack so much character intertaction AND a self-indulgent cricked match into only two episodes, we will never know.
Join us as we discuss the introduction of our new favourite hero (or villain) in Gurgle Man, Sarah Sutton finally being able to show off her acting chops, the Watchers’ new unit of measure:...
After the last episode where we all let out many exasperated sighs, the Watchers now let out a great sigh of relief as we discuss The Visitation!! We have finally gotten the companion interaction we deserve, even with Adric remaining a complete waste of carbon.
Join us as we discuss our return back to basics: a simple, grounded story, check. An alien race set to take over Earth, check. And an android, though we’ve never had one s...
SILENCE!! while we dive into yet another story touching on our dislike for colonialism, but engaging us, however briefly, in our appreciation for fever dreams. That’s right, dear listeners, we’re discussing Kinda this week and hopefully you all have remembered that sleeping near windchimes by yourself can have dire consequences, such as snake tattoos and lipstick teeth.
Join us as we discuss Tegan’s initial relaxed demeanor (incl...
This episode, we tackle a story that has been in the bottom quartile in both DWM’s Mighty 200 and 50th Anniversary polls – it’s Four to Doomsday! But, what will the Watchers think? This one goes probably as well as you’d expect…
Join us as we discuss how this story is built like a Hartnell story, Adric turning into an incel, what the guts of the androids are made from, how Monarch is the most affable fascist dictator ever (even b...
This episode, we finally get ourselves started on the Fifth Doctor era as the Master returns (again) to taunt our new Doctor in Castrovalva… heh heh heh…
Join us as we discuss just how young Peter Davison was when this was made, whether or not Adric was a little TOO excited at being tied up in the Master’s web (or if it’s just the harness), Tegan’s need for “enormous thrust,” Bidmead’s myriad weaknesses, and how the Master THINKS...
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