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Staggering Stories Podcast #107: You’re My Wife Now!

Doctor Who: The Doctor's WifeSummary:
Adam J Purcell, Andy Simpkins, Fake Keith, Jean Riddler and the Real Keith Dunn talk about the new Doctor Who episodes The Doctor’s Wife and The Rebel Flesh, Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, find some general news, and a variety of other stuff, specifically:

  • 00:00 – Intro and theme tune.
  • 01:06 — Welcome!
  • 02:19 – News:
  • 02:42 — Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut most recorded British TV ever.
  • 04:52 — TV Choice Awards: Another split votes problem for Doctor Who/Sherlock?
  • 06:45 — Karen Gillan: At the London Film and Comic Con 2011, Saturday 9th July.
  • 08:10 — American TV: ‘Ax’ falls on many genre shows.
  • 08:56 — Noel Clarke: Dunn construct 1 meets Mickey the Idiot.
  • 09:58 — Jean Acts: Our very own Jean to play the Fourth Doctor in Morris play.
  • 11:01 — BAFTAs: Nothing for Doctor Who but Sherlock gets two, Misfits one.
  • 12:59 — David Tennant: Facebook campaign for lighting Olympic Flame.
  • 14:00 – Doctor Who: The Doctor’s Wife.
  • 25:39 – Doctor Who: The Rebel Flesh.
  • 37:52 – Neverwhere.
  • 48:23 – Emails and listener feedback.* Hit us yourself at show@StaggeringStories.net
  • 91:17 – Farewell for this podcast!
  • 91:50 — End theme, disclaimer, copyright, etc.

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14 Responses to "Staggering Stories Podcast #107: You’re My Wife Now!"

  1. Below is the feedback we kindly received for this podcast.

    These will be presented in rough order of when we received them. This won’t match the order in which we read them out!

    As ever, please feel free to comment on them here on the blog, though please note we won’t read any such replies on the podcast, for that please continue to email us at show@staggeringstories.net.

    Thank you all!

    • Dear Team,

      If I listed all the plot points that bothered me in The Black Spot this letter would be as long as my last, so I’ll stick with the bit that ruined everything for me: the idea that the TARDIS has so little in the way of medical technology that Amy would have to do CPR on the main deck. What happened to the sickbay? To the Moffat-created nanogenes? To a 20th century portable medikit with an oxygen bag and cardio shock machine?

      Perhaps I shouldn’t be that surprised, considering that the TARDIS is so confused about human biology that it seems to think that you check for pregnancy by x-raying the lower spine. But still!

      I also have a cynical prediction. I hope it won’t come true, because I’ll be furious if it does. But now that the woman with the cyborg eyepatch has peered at Amy twice, I can’t help but wonder how much of this season will turn out to be some kind of hallucination and that the whole plotline about the Doctor’s death will be “fixed” by Amy simply waking up.

      In hopes that future shows and podcasts will prove me wrong,

      Nea

    • Hello all, including his most Worshipful ‘Head of Pertwee’ and assorted ‘Adams pleasure toys’ !
      Sorry not with you tonight, but whilst I am waiting for my chicken pie and chips to cook (yes I know how to live it up) and before I get onto the work I need to do I thought I would put forward some comments on the two Who episodes just gone, so here goes;

      Day of the Moon

      Cons
      If you forget the Silence as soon as you look away, how come Signora Calvierri can remember them in Vampires in Venice and that her race are fleeing them.
      How do Rory, River, Amy & the Dr remember that they should not was the ‘count to five’ marks that they are drawing all over themselves or have any fleeting Memory once outside the TARDIS as I can only assume the Dr created a number of Silence holograms form Amy’s photo,o which they accidentally foundand permanently projects them so they remember who & what & don’t just leave.

      Pros
      The Silence. Love the Silence, they look good and I love the idea of a monster that you forget when you stop looking (see Con’s). I liked the projecting of the instructing people to kill them embedded in the moon landing. I liked the link back to The Lodger space ship.

      I like the ‘prison’ to keep the Silence out and can Canton Delaware (III) be a companion, please…….

      What..what.. WHAT…

      This was all over the place and had so many ‘apparent’ loop holes I just gave up.
      The Time Lady girl at the end is either going to be brilliant, a plot cop out or really screw up Who continuity. I did think she was going to eat or absorb the tramp in some way.
      I know it is a fictional programme but there needs to be a degree of continuity within it’s own created universe. This was ‘played’ with last season, with the re-set, but there is a fine line where the universe that the program has created for itself becomes so unstable as to start to destroy it believability.

      This episode will transpire, over the remainder of the season as questions get answered, to be inspired or balderdash (that is not the word I wanted to use, but children may be listening).

      The Curse of the Black Spot

      Cons
      At points really good and then really hurried, I got the feeling as if this was was too ideas dove tailed together.
      Why break a mirror that then creates tens or hundreds of small reflective shards when you throw, less reflective, treasure overboard. I know this was only for the whole ‘7 years bad luck’ line, I am sorry but just lazy writing for a line.

      Was this a homage to Enlightenment or Enlightenment light.

      Pros
      Some good and funny acting by Arthur Darvill. The most original way of getting an assistant out of the way, without getting them captured, etc.
      Great set.
      A bit of a romp

      Well that is it, I am sure you will cover the whole, is Amy pregnant, is that her child, what has the woman with an eye patch got to do with it……

      Hopefully I will be with you, in person for 107, until then
      TTFN, Jean

    • Well, hello to all the stunningly good looking women, average looking men, Head of Pertwee, all other object made up of polymers of high molecular mass, and corrugated cardboard objects that make up The Staggering Stories team.

      Greetings from America! Home of Doctor Who (ok just the first two episodes)

      I wanted if I may to address some comments on the most recent podcast (105). The reason why the BBC America has had the premiere in the Grand City of New York. The most likely reason why they are done there are most likely because the offices for the BBCA are in New York. I would like to point out you are very much correct with the population density. The top 5 areas of Population Density are within 10 miles (give or take) around NYC.

      Can I take you to that pub in New York? Absolutely. Next time you go to Gally or to Chicago Tardis you could always stop in a real city on the way back. That real city of course is NY. In NY we call Chicago “The Second City” and we usually don’t think LA is worth much at all to think about. Doctor Who bears this out. Where has the show been and spent most of it’s time while in the US? New York City that is where. You have Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks also The Chase and The Stolen Earth all stories nominally in the United States and they take place in the city so nice they named it twice. New York New York. Yes Utah, Florida and Washington D.C have been in the show along with Los Angeles (as we are lead to believe in Last Years Christmas Special) but New York is King! Especially when it comes to US based Doctor Who.

      Not for nothing you have heard of New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York but not New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New Los Angeles or New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New Chicago. Also it is the home of that wretched hive of scum and villainy that is also known as the United Nations from which UNIT originally came from.

      Also the fact that it is only 7 or 8 hours from London as opposed to say 13 to 14 hours to Los Angeles may have something to do with the fact that the cast and crew comes here as opposed to LA. Or have you forgotten the jetlag from Gally already?

      As to the DWM debacle (I think we all agree on that term for it) We over here were surprised on NBC (National Broadcasting Company) Today Show when they did a 7 minute segment of Doctor Who where they gave away at least 2 major plotlines from later in the series. Including clips!!! GRRRRR!!!! Damned bastards. This is why I do not watch morning television. Damned hosts with their smarmy chit chat. Damn you Meredith Vieira! On the lighter side did you know that there are such things as Diet Mountain Dew? No Diet Twinkees (yet but who wants diet twinkees? ick)

      Love or a reasonable facsimile of it to all,
      Andre

    • I haven’t listened to the Black Spot episode yet but thought this might give you a laugh. Back in February my daughter went down to the local harbour of Charlestown to watch the filming. She came back very excited as she got within little more than the thickness of a car window of Matt Smith. Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill were also in the car. She saw them filming the storm scene and can vouch for the effectiveness of the wind and rain machines. Unfortunately she did not get to see Pirate Amy taking on the crew – that was filmed another night. I wonder if there will be an action toy…

      Charlestown has a lock gate and above the village is a reservoir that is used to top up the harbour water level. Attached is a photo – not very good, a grab shot taken from the bus – showing the sign near the reservoir. Adam take note!

      — Martinus Scriblerus

      (Photo at URL below)
      http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150259222096823&set=o.26860495434&type=1

    • Greetings to Staggering Stories and the Beautiful Idiot.

      The Doctor’s Wife
      First thing I thought when this started was what brilliant costumes for Aunty, Uncle and especially Idris. Well done Barbara Kidd, I’m also really pleased she’s back after all these years. Ooh the Doctor’s got mail and we’re leaving the universe, nice to see them deleting rooms again for extra thrust.

      Okay, Okay I know you want me to, let’s talk about NEIL GAIMAN WRITING DOCTOR WHO!!!! I’m sure you lot will have a better idea than me about where this ranks in terms of his other work, but I’ll just say this for now. Can you imagine a whole series with this guy as head writer? Okay now your minds are well and truly blown I’ll move on.

      Suranne Jones, absolutely perfect beyond belief, especially with her infectious madness. ‘Biting’s excellent, it’s like kissing only there’s a winner’, a startling but brilliant line. And House, add to the wish list Confidential being narrated by House next year. Oh dear, some undelivered mail, those little boxes really did make him angry and he seemed so close.

      IDRIS IS THE TARDIS!!!!! Again Suranne Jones just exceeded all my expectations with this character, it’s a mark of a great performance that you can’t imagine anyone else playing it and I certainly wouldn’t wish any other person to play her. Really liked hearing the story of how they ran away together from her perspective. ‘all of my sisters are dead…and that we are looking at their corpses’ nice to hear all Tardis’ are female if more than a little sad.

      Corridors, lots of corridors, lots of scary corridors, with scary old Rory, very frightening and Amy breaks down over Rory again, bad, nasty House. So we come to the argument the best bits being ‘I always took you where you needed to go’ very touching. Also having her able to speak even in the box was a wonderful idea oh well, wish list again I suppose.

      A new bodged together Tardis designed by a Blue Peter viewer, very nice. Good use of the shaving mirror from Richard Clarke, probably his best directed Who yet. The scene where, for Amy the lights are off but for Rory they’re on, that’s a very scary concept. I didn’t expect to miss it but I kind of liked seeing the old console room again with first Amy, Rory and then the Doctor and the Tardis in there. That’s the second time this year the Tardis has been inside herself, remember Space and Time. ‘Did you wish really hard?’ so funny and so true.

      Now for me, when the Tardis essence re-enters the ship and drives out House, that’s up there with the last scene of The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang as the most enjoyable bit of Doctor Who ever. I never expected Matt Smith to get so sad at the end of this; there can truly be no other to match her. Well, hello Tardis it’s very, very nice to have finally met you. I’ve just burst into tears writing this line, I guess it worked. If Neil Gaiman never writes for Doctor Who again I will always be eternally grateful that he gave us this.

      Bunk beds are now cool, I had one of those so I can’t argue. What was that about River and the forest? The Doctor looks so happy as he rushes of to times and places anew, like a kid with a new toy. I felt very much the same at the end of this because, and it’s not often we can say this, on that day Who history was made.

      The Mad Man has his Box Back.

      Deleting rooms as I go,

      Chris.

    • Hello Team!

      Wow. My apologies for the email of doom. And you are posting it online? Holy crap!

      That said, I will keep my thoughts short:

      1) “Darn that Black Spot!” – Well, pirates are fun, a ship is a ship and holograms are hot.

      2) “The Doctor’s Common Law Wife” – Loved the Tardis Incarnate. Great creepy living planet. But Rory dead again? I guess he is going to die every episode. And why is the Doctor excited about more TimeLords? Tennant went all Rambo in End of Time as soon as the he found out they were back.

      Okay, bye bye….
      Adrian the Long Winded American

    • Hi team….

      So hmm, “The only water in the forest is the river.”
      Doctor River Song can be saved from the “Silence in the Library” matrix!

      (I write her name that way because that is her married name. Either that or River Doctor-Song).
      Maybe Jenny the “Doctor’s Daughter” could save Matrix-River as part of her galactic wanderings.

      Or the One-Hearted Tennant and Rose could go save her for Matt Smith’s Doctor. That would dovetail nicely with how Two-Hearted Tennant & Doctor Donna played matchmaker with Rose & One-Hearted Tennant.

      Okay that’s it for now. No, really, I promise.
      Adrian the Medium Winded American

    • Greetings Staggering Storytellers and various inanimate sidekicks

      Hope you are all well. I’m going to try and keep this short and sweet even though I have a few things to talk about.

      As you know I’m a fan of Gaiman, but I don’t like everything he’s done and I’m not the kind to just instantly say the episode was good just because of that reason. However I thought The Doctor’s Wife was great. It was sad, funny, beautiful and a little creepy all at once, all essential Doctor Who componants. I wouldn’t have thought that I’d like the execution of a human avatar for the TARDIS, but it was great and the actors really sold it here. Smith and Jones had wonderful chemistry and that last scene was really heartbreaking.

      House was creepy and the patchwork people were nicely put together (haha). Liked the set up more Time Lords and the Doctor’s offhand description of one called the Corsair who changed genders. Also loved the lines “Did you wish really hard?” and “I had a gym teacher just like you” and the bit about bunk beds, but all the dialogue was great.

      The only thing I thought was weak was Rory and Amy trapped in the TARDIS. The scene where Amy found Rory’s body (take a shot for the Dead Rory drinking game) with the wall full of crazy just reminded me of the videogame Dead Space and just struck me as really disturbing. Also we’ve waited so long to see more of the TARDIS and all we got was some corridors and the Tennant control room, although I did smile when I saw it. I do know however that this was more of a budget issue as Gaiman originally wrote scenes in the Zero Room with Rory floating and one in the swimming pool so it’s more a case of lost potential than actually being bad. I also thought the Ood was dealt with in a very offhand “oh by the way he’s gone” way.

      However those criticisms are overshadowed by the great stuff with Idris/TARDIS/Sexy and the Doctor. It just goes to show that no matter how many companions come and go, there is someone who will always be there for the Doctor, even if they can never interact like this again.
      Now I’ve finally finished watching through Neverwhere for the first time. As I’ve read the book it was interesting to see how the story started out in its development. I liked the performances, Patterson Joseph was a brilliant Marquis De Carabas and Croup and Vandemar were very well acted. I even liked Gary Bakewell as Richard and Laura Fraser as Door. And I think I mentioned to Adam on Facebook my surprise of Peter Capaldi as Islington. However the rest of the execution was a bit bad.

      I was watching it and enjoying it and then something would jar me out of it and I’d go “well that’s not quite right”. The monologue bits at the beginning would have been better if they hadn’t kept cutting them and having speech over still images. It was distracting and a bit annoying. Also I don’t know what was up with Croup and Vandemar wandering around in a few scenes wearing white raincoats.

      I felt a couple of times like the story I loved was in there somewhere but I had to really look to find it. But after finishing it and watching it again I’m pretty happy with it. I don’t think it’s as bad as some people say as I don’t mind the low budgetness that much, and the comic book adaptation is a lot worse, but I can understand the flaws people find with it.
      However in all I liked it and I’d watch it again should the mood strike me.

      Glad you’re going to LFCC this year in order to keep an eye on El Presedente. Hopefully I’ll see you there but more likely I’ll walk right past you and not realise until much later.

      Catch y’all next time.

      The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.

      Sarah and Fez wearing Doctor.

    • Dear Team,

      Another choppy email; I’ll try to keep the word count down.

      Feedback on feedback: Virginia v Loving was the Supreme Court decision that made interracial marriage legal in America.

      The Doctor’s Wife – That was an absolute delight! After all these years of the show it’s rare for something to be completely new, but giving the TARDIS a voice (and making a fair amount of fanon into canon) was unprecedented and brilliant. Idris/TARDIS was absolutely perfect.

      Rebel Flesh – I don’t like commenting on half a plot, but so far it’s nothing more than a paint-by-numbers B-grade horror movie, complete with mistaken identities, people running off on their own when they shouldn’t, and characters who are nothing more than stock tropes. And next week doesn’t look any better. It comes off worse when compared to the originality of Gaiman’s episode.

      Neverwhere – I liked the book a great deal, but I loathed the video version (sorry, y’all.) The visuals are so cheap and low budget that none of the grandeur of the book can be seen – and little of the plot as well. I tried showing it to a friend to coax her to read the book, but half an hour in she couldn’t even figure out what was going on. If Neverwhere is ever filmed again, it should be done right – possibly as one of the Halmi projects; they’ve done brilliantly at making Discworld and other fantasy projects like Tenth Kingdom look lush, lavish, and real.

      Here’s hoping I’m wrong about the next episode of Who,

      Nea

    • i love the podcast, u lot are so funny

      im in the usa

      i love hearing the reason why people watch doctor who for me i was on a walk and saw a doctor who tape on the ground i picked it up and took it home and the tape worked and ive been addicted to the show ever since

      well i would go on with my letter but a strange man in a blue police box just showed up on my lawn and is asking for fish fingers and custard.

      later joey

    • Hello Team!

      Random happiness: my iphone converts tardis to TARDIS! Isn’t it nice when inanimate objects are your friend? (And not in a dirty Cardboard Amy way).

      Moving on, was that Chris E’s voice as one of the emergency boxes? (The one that said, “I’m still alive!”)

      Also, maybe it is time for Rory & Amy (or “Armory”) to go home and make “Time Head” babies…

      Then we could have Canton! Or River! Or the Doctor’s Daughter from Tennant’s tenure!

      (Hmm, the celebrity couple name of “Armory” also works literally too. The Doctor turns humans into soldiers for him and Amy & Rory may well be replenishing the Time Lord race).

      Later…

      Adrian the Short Winded American

    • HELLO TEAM!

      Its Mister M. For Podcast 107!

      The Doctors Wife – A Brilliant Brilliant Brillinat episode. Lov3ed it.

      The Rebel Flesh – Nope. DIdnt lik this one. Sorry. I Havent rewatched this one yet, and wont until after part 2 has been braodcast, The Gnagers Werent scay at all (Oskay, i am 13, but i do still get scared quite a lot – the silence freake dthe hell out of me), and I was just looking at the clock thinking – oh, Confidentials on in a minute. That might be interesting…’ So, No, Not pleased with This one. My least favourite ep of the moffat era.

      Now. Neil Gaiman. Ive read some fo his stuff before. (The Graveyard book, Eternals, Etc) And Just by coincidence. I Thought id look over some fo his stuff again! NO! Im not reviewing it. JUts telling you about my preperation for the doctros wife! And on a side note i would like to say that i had predicted that The TARDIS Woudl be Idirs (Didnt rpedict to you) And I Was Right! So, i would like to follow up with another prediction – Amya nd Eye Patch aldy will have a proper conversation in The Almost People, Or Eye Patch Lady will Say somethign about Rory to Amy,

      Now – Feedback. YoU Seem to eb getting a lot of it. Ive tried to condense mine down a bit, and only give one evrye forthinght, instead of one a week. Putting the unread feedback ont he site was a bloody good idea adam! BUT Think back to alst year, When you went weekly for who, for feedback segments were about the same length as a normal podcast, and its aonly mbecause you ahvent that you get so much! (Is that theory incorrect? Please correct me!) AFter series 6a is over, people wont want to rush in thoguhts and drivell on so (I Sill will though. You cant get rid of me! BWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!)

      Staggering Stories Commentary # 30/31 – YAY! FAKE KEITH! YEAH YEAH CLAPPING AND CHEERING! YEAH!

      Loving Karen Gillan A,K,A MISTER M

      P.S And her Legs,. Never forget those long sexy brilliant legs!

  2. […] and review the Big Finish story the Rapture with the seventh Doctor and Ace.Staggering Stories has Podcast 107: You’re My Wife Now!, Adam J Purcell, Andy Simpkins, Fake Keith, Jean Riddler and the Real Keith Dunn talk about the new […]

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