Splendid Chaps
A monthly live celebration of Doctor Who’s fiftieth anniversary, Splendid Chaps was part intellectual panel discussion, part nerdy Tonight Show. Join your hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott, plus a range of special guests, as they combine analysis, enthusiasm and irreverence in discussions about the world’s longest-running science fantasy program. Currently in hibernation, but pops up again from time to time.
Episodes
November 5, 2019 • 33 mins
Surprise! To celebrate the announcement of the upcoming third season of Night Terrace, chaps Petra Elliott and John Richards have a look back at the Thirteenth Doctor’s first season. How does Thirteen compare to our own time traveller, Dr. Anastasia Black? Was there too much focus on the male companions? Is Thirteen holding back, or displaying traditionally “feminine” …
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October 22, 2018 • 85 mins
After nearly five years, and just before the debut of a new Thirteenth Doctor, hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott return to the original Splendid Chaps Doctor/Theme format to discuss Peter Capaldi and music in Doctor Who! They’re joined by guests Celeste Liddle, Adam Ford and Adam Rudegeair – who also perform music and poetry just for your ears! Join us for Twelve/Music, recorded live …
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August 22, 2018 • 51 mins
It’s the final episode of our Doctor Who spin-offs mini-series! For part four, hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott talk about the history and mechanics of spin-offs and shared universes, delve into the audience’s questions and touch on some of the less well-known Doctor Who spin-offs, again with the help of our wonderful guests Dr Djoymi Baker …
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July 22, 2018 • 59 mins
We’re back! In this, the long-awaited part three of our Doctor Who spin-offs mini-series, we put on our ties and head back to school – specifically Coal Hill Academy. Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott talk all about Class with special guests Djoymi Baker, George Ivanoff and – for this podcast edition only – Fury! We’ll be …
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May 25, 2017 • 66 mins
For part two of our Doctor Who spin-offs mini-series, we move in to Bannerman Road and see if we know where to look to find a whole universe of adventure, right here at home… Yes, hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott talk all about The Sarah Jane Adventures with special guests Djoymi Baker, George Ivanoff and – for this podcast …
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May 8, 2017 • 55 mins
Yes, the chaps are back in part one of their Doctor Who spin-offs mini-series! This time we go outside the government and beyond the police – whatever that means – to talk about everyone’s favourite not-so-secret organisation which fights alien menaces in between all the sex and gore which makes it an “adult show”. That’s right – …
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April 18, 2015 • 70 mins
Surprise! It’s a new episode of Splendid Chaps! This year – on the 26th of March – the modern era of Doctor Who had its tenth anniversary. We were hoping to put together a live show to celebrate this milestone, but alas that wasn’t to be. Instead, chaps Ben, John, Petra and Lee gathered on Sunday, April 12 – ten years …
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March 12, 2014 • 33 mins
Surprise! Just when you thought you’d got rid of us, we thought we’d pop up and tell you all about our new project, Night Terrace! Our Kickstarter campaign is now underway and you can find it here! But rather than just spam your ears, Ben and John thought they should at least record a mini-episode …
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February 23, 2014 • 54 mins
Well, here it is: the last released episode of Splendid Chaps. And what a suitable topic to go out on! John, Ben and Petra discuss what they’ve learned from Doctor Who over the years with guests comedian, actor and teacher Rob Lloyd (Who, Me.) and writer and editor Liz Barr (Chicks Unravel Time) in an episode recorded for the Stonnington …
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January 22, 2014 • 64 mins
Time for a bit of time travel: on Tuesday, November 19 2013, as part of Melbourne City Library’s week-long Doctor Who Festival, Ben, John and Petra were joined by writer, director and podcaster Lucas Testro and broadcaster, documentary maker and podcaster Marian Blythe to talk about those other splendid chaps: the companions! Plus a live musical performance of a lost Doctor Who classic …
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December 30, 2013 • 69 mins
Six topics, one hour, four chaps. Yes, it’s our bonus “By Request” episode in which Ben, John, Petra and fourth chap David Ashton discuss topics requested by our Pozible backers! And we go back, back to our very beginning, to the place where we recorded our very first episode: Penny Farthing Espresso in Northcote, Melbourne. …
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December 22, 2013 • 88 mins
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Yes, it’s our last live (and lively) show, recorded on December 15th back where we started this mad journey, at the Bella Union in Melbourne. It’s also a Christmas party to bid a a fond farewell, and you’re invited – along with guests Thomas Caldwell, Lee Zachariah, Adam Richard, Janet …
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December 10, 2013 • 91 mins
We went to Sydney! Thanks to all our wonderful Pozible backers, on Saturday, November 30 the chaps travelled north to the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe to record this episode with guests Alice Fraser, Maddie Palmer and Steven “Bajo” O’Donnell, all about the villains and monsters of Doctor Who. Join us as we try to work out what …
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November 23, 2013 • 84 mins
It’s the big one! Our actually-released-on-the-anniversary spectacular features hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discussing Matt Smith, the future, and plenty of other Doctor Who goodness with guests Stella Young and Justin Hamilton, plus music by house band The Time Lads and an original song by guest musical superstar, Casey Bennetto. Yes, our year nears its end with this, the final Doctor/Theme episode of …
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November 9, 2013 • 59 mins
Surprise! It’s a bonus episode of Splendid Chaps all about spoilers and surprises in Doctor Who! (We bet you thought we’d forgotten about this one! But with the surprise early release of the Day of the Doctor trailer, it seemed like the right time.) It was recorded on Sunday, June 8, 2013 at Continuum 9: Contraindicators, the ninth annual Melbourne speculative …
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October 22, 2013 • 89 mins
Sit down for this one, ‘cos you’re gonna get hot under the collar as hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss David Tennant and sex in Doctor Who with guests Aimee Nichols and Richard Watts in our tenth (ish) live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne on October 13, 2013. Plus there are prizes, another deluge of audience questions, and Melbourne …
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October 8, 2013 • 29 mins
In early September, Ben was fortunate enough to participate in the 2013 Brisbane Writers Festival, a festival which embraced genre writing with panels on licensed works, comics, crime, romance and many more. So of course it was full of interesting Doctor Who fans to interview – which leads us to Dimensions in Brisbane! In this special …
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September 23, 2013 • 94 mins
Splendid Chaps finally makes it to new Who! Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss Christopher Eccleston and women in Doctor Who (and didn’t we need more time for that huge topic!) with guests Karen Pickering, Celeste Liddle and Tansy Rayner Roberts! It’s the ninth live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne on September 15, 2013. Plus there are …
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August 23, 2013 • 77 mins
Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss the Paul McGann telemovie, and then bring in guest scientists Jack Scanlan, Alan Duffy and Allie Ford to talk science in Doctor Who as part of National Science Week! It’s the eighth live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at Bar Open in Melbourne on August 11, 2013. Plus prizes, …
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July 29, 2013 • 54 mins
Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott, along with guests Paul Callaghan and Dave Bloustien, return for the second half of our seventh live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at The Public Bar in Melbourne on July 14, 2013. In part two we’re joined by the Reverend Doctor Avril Hannah-Jones, famously of the Church of the Latter Day …
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