Ep 183 – The Witchfinders’ Keepers

There may have a dearth of Verities this week, but the podcast must go on! Join Deb and Tansy as they break down “The Witchfinders”. There’s a wealth of good stuff to dig into: history, feminism, the Doctor dealing with history and feminism, and, of course, Alan Cumming’s acting.

How did this story strike you? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Happy things:

• Tansy highly recommends this 13th Doctor wrap pattern on Ravelry!
• Deb is delighted by the care that has gone into the VAM for the Season 18 Blu-Ray release!

Eruditorum Presscast: Kerblam!
Article on King James’ sexuality
Support Verity! on Patreon!

Download or listen now (runtime 1:15:16) 

Ep 175 – A-Kickin’ and a-Stabbin’

We close off our last mini-arc of 2018 with a wrap-up discussion of kicky-stabby ladies in Doctor Who. Join Deb, Liz, and Tansy as they talk about this history of the more aggressive ladies of Who.

Who are some of your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Tansy acquired Big Finish’s Bernice Summerfield box sets!
• Liz acquired some of Doctor Who The Complete History!
• Deb did not acquire any series 11 scripts, but she’s pretty excited they weren’t all originally written for a woman!

Extra-special thanks to our guest editor, Steven Schapansky of Castria!
Support Verity! on Patreon!

Download or listen now (runtime 1:12:26) 

Ep 174 – A Kicky-Stabby Remembrance

Our final mini-arc continues with Ace, who bashes and ‘splodes her way though “Remembrance of the Daleks”. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Lizbeth as we talk about Ace and her baseball bat and the Nitro-9 she’s not carrying.

What do you think of Ace, both in this story and generally? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Kat enjoyed the Marie Claire article and photoshoot with Jodie Whittaker!
• Liz enjoyed Whooverville X!
• Erika enjoyed learning the time and room number for her Doctor Who and Earp Chirp panels at Edmonton Expo!
• Deb enjoyed watching the Doctor break the glass ceiling!

Hammer House of Podcast
Andrew-Mark Thompson
Malorie Blackman on Desert Island Discs
Support Verity! on Patreon!

Download or listen now (runtime 1:25:29) 

Ep 173 – Let’s Kicky-Stab Hitler

She may be more “shooty-‘splodey” than kicky stabby here, but River Song is the next focus of our mini arc. Join Deb, Erika, Lynne, and Tansy as we talk about “Let’s Kill Hitler” and River (aka Melody, aka Mels) overall.

How do you feel about River in this story? In general? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Erika’s local comic shop, Variant Edition, has a TARDIS!
• Tansy (re-?)discovered a delightful fanvid!
• Lynne
  • adores The Time Ladies’ tweet with Jodie Whittaker wearing one hell of a fashionable outfit!
  • is happy to report her new kitten, Hugo, is feeling much better!
• Deb is filled with hope due to the diversity behind the camera for the upcoming series of Doctor Who!

Bonus link:
This Week in Time Travel

Download or listen now (runtime 1:18:52) 

Ep 172 – The Face of Kicky-Stabby

This week we launch the final mini-arc in our Year of Women: Kicky-Stabby women! Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Lynne as we launch things in style — Sevateem style! That’s right, Leela is our first kicky-stabby heroine (in her first story, “The Face of Evil”), and we’re thrilled to have a chance to talk about her, as it’s something we haven’t done much at all on Verity!

What do you think of Leela? Of this story? Of this idea for a mini-arc? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Lynne
  • ADOPTED A NEW KITTEN NAMED HUGO!
  • experienced colliding worlds (archives + Doctor Who) when 73 photographs from “The Abominable Snowmen” were found at the National Library of Wales!
• Kat
  • had her world momentarily rocked when she realized the 4th Doctor, Sarah Jane, and K9 never appeared in an episode together!
  • had a Torchwood mini-marathon and many resulting feels!
• Erika
  • now has a complete collection of the Doctor Who Mr. Men books!
  • is doing a Doctor Who panel and a live Earp Chirp recording at Edmonton Expo!
• Erika AND Deb had a blast making Liz talk about The Mighty Ducks on a Beginner’s Puck special!
• Deb is super-excited about
  • Rachael Stott’s 13th Doctor comic cover!
  • Alisa Stern’s Doctor Puppet 13th Doctor comic cover!
  • Bernice Summerfield meeting River Song!
  • Tegan’s season 19 safety video!

Extra-special thanks to our guest editor, Steven Schapansky of Castria!

Download or listen now (runtime 1:15:10) 

Ep 168 – Companions’ Companions

Time to wrap up our companions’ companions mini-arc. Join Deb, Erika, Katrina, and Lynne as we talk about the phenomenon of a companion collecting their own companion throughout the ages of Doctor Who.

What other examples are you find of? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Erika is still enjoying her Doctor Who Mad Libs!
• Kat looks forward to Big Finish reviving Class!
• Lynne procured a Free Comic Book Day Doctor Who comic!
• Deb got emotional over Joy‘s “fandom origin story” editorial on Reality Bomb!

Bonus links:
Beginner’s Puck
Big Finish’s 10th Doctor and Donna box set

Download or listen now (runtime 1:07:12) 

Ep 167 – The Invasion of the Companion’s Companion

This time we feel like we’re fully on track when it comes to companions picking up companions. Join Deb, Erika, Liz, and Tansy as we chat about the amazing Isobel Watkins and her relationship with Zoe (and the rest of the TARDIS crew) in “The Invasion”.

What do you think of Isobel? Is she subversive in her femininity? Is Zoe actually her companion? Or is she flighty and not as great as we think? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Tansy completed Frankentastic!, her gender-swapped podcast reading of Frankenstein!
• Erika received a gorgeous piece of Verity!-related art from her good friend (and future podcast co-host) Annette!
• Liz went on and on (and on!) about the gloriousness that is The Heralds of Destruction, the Third Doctor comic from Paul Cornell and Christopher Jones!
• Deb is thrilled The Time Ladies have started a podcast!

Bonus links:
Hammer House of Podcast
The Company of Friends – Mary’s Story (Mary Shelley in Big Finish)
The Audio Guide to Babylon 5
Lazy Doctor Who
“Dimensions in Time”
Storm Warning (Big Finish)
Head Over Feels
“Fangirl Isn’t a Dirty Word” (Deb’s essay in Apex Magazine)
Doctor Who: The Writers’ Room Episode 54 (with Deb, talking about “The Invasion”)
“There’s Nothing ‘Only’ About Being a Journalist” (Tansy’s essay about Sarah Jane Smith)

Download or listen now (runtime 1:36:16) 

Ep 166 – The Greatest Companions in the Galaxy

This mini-arc may have curved all the way off the rails, but we don’t care. Ace is the embodiment of this very idea, and “The Greatest Show in the Galaxy” gives us plenty to talk about. Including, of course, a significant tangent about the history of clowns in popular media. Because why not?

What do you think about Ace’s companion-collecting habits? And do you think she and Mags would have made a good TARDIS team? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Kat highly recommends the new album from The Sevteem, The Caves (and you can hear her talk about it on Start the Music)!
• Tansy is So Excited about Doctor Who Magazine‘s new Time Team!
• Erika booked her flight to WorlddCon in San Jose in August!
• Deb got all warm and fuzzy seeing Sue Perkins (at the BAFTAs) praise the choice of Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor!

Bonus links:
slash goggles
Torchwood “Out of Time”

Download or listen now (runtime 1:33:03) 

Ep 165 – Companions on the Orient Express

Mini-arc #3, companions collecting women companions, starts with the realization that new-Who doesn’t have many great examples of this. Join Deb, Liz, and Lynne as they discuss why that might be and how it works (or doesn’t) in the case of “Mummy on the Orient Express”. Poor Erika, who is absent, takes some serious guff.

What do you think about companions’ companions in the modern era? Are they sparse because of lack of screen time? Is it simply a different type of storytelling? Or something else? Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Lynne wants (and will get!) more 13th Doctor fiction!
• Liz flips over Derek Jacobi as the War Master in Big Finish!
• Deb loves an article in The Guardian about women directors (including Rachel Talalay)!

Bonus link:
Verity!‘s previous “Mummy” ep

Download or listen now (runtime 1:04:14) 

Ep 163 – Villainous Women

We’re wrapping up the second mini-arc of our Year of Women! Join Deb, Erika, Lizbeth, and Tansy as we talk about the lady-villains of Doctor Who.

What women actors do we still need to have in Doctor Who? What are your favorite villainous archetypes? And should there be more cloaks? (Yes. Yes there should.) Let us know in the comments!

^E

Also covered:

• Liz is relieved that the pre-Gally-ticket-buying nerves are over and she has her ticket to Gallifrey One 2019!
• Tansy loves Big Finish’s Torchwood Series 5!
• Erika cannot wait for Gallifrey One, even though it’s almost a year away!
• Deb just got ATA Girl and discovered she bought a Big Finish Humble Bundle a while back and now has so much great audio to dive into!

Bonus link:
Lost in Space on Netflix

Download or listen now (runtime 1:14:08)