Explore every episode of the podcast Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repeater Capaldi (Confessing “Heaven Sent”) | 26 Oct 2024 | 01:44:13 | |
If we didn’t know better, we’d say we’ve been waiting to talk about this Peter Capaldi episode for 7,000 years. Or is it two billion? Time seems to drag when you’re punching a wall made of random Doctor Who. Heaven Sent was an instant classic, but is this piece of clockwork perfection also the best story ever? We confess, we’re not sure. Good thing we’ve got Alisa Stern (aka Doctor Puppet) to help us grind its gears. If you’re listening, Gallifrey, the dangerous triple hybrid that will deconstruct your entire torture chamber… is us. Thanks to Alisa Stern for joining! You can see her work at: Give your own rating for Heaven Sent on Spotify! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else! Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes on Heaven Sent. Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon. Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts. Timeline:
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Pull To Open: Heaven Sent
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish ©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024 | |||
| Better Call Thal (Refrigerating “Planet of the Daleks”) | 12 Oct 2024 | 01:32:17 | |
Destination: not Skaro! “The Planet* of the Daleks” is Terry Nation’s anniversary rewrite of the classic Hartnell tale that kickstarted Doctor Who. It’s “The Daleks” in color, decades before the BBC colorized “The Daleks.” But did those weird blond Thal heroes really jive with Jo Grant and the whole groovy Pertwee era? And what’s up with the invisible heavy-breathers and squirting plants of Spiridon? Lay down on some IKEA furniture as we dust off purple fake furs from Burning Man and infiltrate the Dalek City!** *Not actual planet of the Daleks **Not actual city Give your own rating for Planet of the Daleks on Spotify! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else! Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes on Planet of the Daleks. Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon. Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts. Timeline:
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Pull To Open: Planet of the Daleks
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish ©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024 | |||
| Wait of the World (HOT TAKE: "The Legend of Ruby Sunday") | 14 Jun 2024 | 00:46:13 | |
It’s official: The One Who Waits has been waiting since 1913 (or 1975, depending on the dating protocol). Everything’s gone a bit pyramid-shaped in “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” as RTD’s multiple twists kept us mostly distracted from the return of this classic villain. So what has he been up to for the last 7,000 years, and how exactly did he seduce the TARDIS into giving itself indigestion? Join us as we drop a few canon bombs, defuse others, and consider which other ‘Doctor Who’ gods might be in RTD’s Disney-money spreadsheet. MORE SUTEKH: Listen to our podcast on Pyramids of Mars Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else! Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon. Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on:
Play Pull To Open Bingo (NEW upgraded card!) Pull To Open: The Legend of Ruby Sunday HOT TAKE
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish ©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024 | |||
| Death Becomes Him (Exalting "Dalek") | 05 Nov 2022 | 02:13:07 | |
The simple, straightforward title of Dalek belies so much: This story doesn’t just re-introduce the Daleks for a new generation of Doctor Who viewers — it makes them interesting, upgraded, and scary in ways they always deserved to be but never quite achieved in the classic series. Stellar performances from the cast — including an arguably best-of-his-run showstopper from Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor overcome by his hatred for these machine-creatures — certainly hep to make Dalek both an unexpected epic as well as the beginning of an incredible run in the back half of Series 1 of NuWho. I think maybe we liked it? Here’s what it feels like to experience Dalek, almost two decades after it fell through time… Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: Dalek
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback loop and interlude music: Martin West/Thinking Fish Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Abyss of the Spider Woman (Chasing “The Runaway Bride”) | 29 Oct 2022 | 01:52:20 | |
When companions go, sometimes it’s sad (brave heart, Tegan), sometimes it’s bittersweet (London, 1965!), and sometimes it’s a nonevent (Dodo who?). But the heartbreaking departure of Rose in Doomsday is on another level altogether, and it simply requires repercussions. Those shockwaves are front and center in The Runaway Bride, yet somehow the story ends up being one of the most fun in the entire series. That’s thanks in no small part to the brilliant comedic banter between David Tennant and Catherine Tate — a pairing that works so well that the duo will return as series leads full time in 2023. Seeing the genesis of that relationship makes a rewatch of Bride feel like Christmas morning all over again, and you also get some great stocking stuffers: a visually breathtaking giant spider lady and some never-before-seen TARDIS maneuvering. Set coordinates for December 25, 2006, and pass the eggnog. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: The Runaway Bride
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback loop and interlude music: Martin West/Thinking Fish Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Mile-High Flub (Piloting “Time-Flight,” with guest Christopher Burgess) | 22 Oct 2022 | 02:11:54 | |
When you hear “a Doctor Who story set in the Jurassic period,” the picture you conjure in your head probably looks quite a bit different from Time-Flight. That’s not necessarily a strike against it: The finale of Season 19 is notorious for being light on budget, so it’s probably a blessing that they didn’t even try to show a single allosaurus stomping around the barren plains of prehistoric London. Instead we get the Xeraphin, a telepathic race of morally conflicted humanoids that are almost interesting — at least until the Master uses them as the winner-take-all prize in his technobabble rap battle with the Doctor. Plus: A time-travel mystery! Cringey disguises! Not one, but TWO Concordes! That more than makes up for some absent dinosaurs, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? Special guest Christopher Burgess (@dubbayoo) from Radio Free Skaro joins! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Time-Flight
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback loop and interlude music: Martin West/Thinking Fish Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Bad Weed (Drenching “Fury From the Deep”) | 08 Oct 2022 | 01:52:38 | |
Is there any Doctor Who format as reliable as the base under siege? You can see why: All you need is one set, an excuse to keep the TARDIS out of reach, and one illogically obstinate person in charge, and you’re about 90% there. The key ingredient, of course, is a convincing and creepy monster, and though mutant seaweed might not be your first choice to fill that role, it’s what Fury From the Deep has to work with. Nonetheless, even in animation, “the weed” produces more scares than any hostile plantlife has a right to, so we don’t blame Victoria for giving her lungs a workout in this one. Just please don’t blame us for wanting to break the tension by snickering at all the references to “weed.” Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: Fury From the Deep
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback Loop music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| That Witch You Seek (Exposing “The Witchfinders”) | 01 Oct 2022 | 01:43:35 | |
Jodie Whittaker’s first season as the Doctor took the show in a new direction, but The Witchfinders is almost a return to a very old format: the pure historical. True, this outing to the witch-obsessed England of the 17th century doesn’t quite qualify — what with alien mud creatures reanimating left and right in the final act — but the most interesting thing about this story is certainly the dramatization of the horrific witch trials of the era. An excellent guest cast helps, made all the more entertaining when Alan Cumming arrives playing King James I. Could someone chop down that Morax tree over there? It’s blocking our view of all this fabulous history. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: The Witchfinders
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback Loop music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Past Sins (Witnessing “Rosa”) | 24 Sep 2022 | 01:58:26 | |
Often Doctor Who travels to the past to showcase historical events, but it rarely shows what life in those eras was like for the less privileged. Rosa is a jarring exception to the rule, with its lens pointed directly at the racist past of the American South. While there is an antagonist from the future present, the real evil force here is state-sanctioned segregation. And the hero who must confront it isn’t the title character we tune in to see from week to week, but Rosa Parks, the black woman who changed history by refusing to give up her seat on a bus. The drama that results is undeniable, but does that make it a classic? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Rosa
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback Loop music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Gold Turkey (Transmuting “Revenge of the Cybermen”) | 17 Sep 2022 | 02:07:00 | |
If you lack emotions, can you seek revenge? It’s the burden of Doctor Who fans to ponder questions like this, since Revenge of the Cybermen attributes emotion to the show’s notoriously unfeeling monsters right there in the title. More likely, we suspect some future historian did their best to characterize the Cybermen’s incursion on Nerva Beacon in the 29th century with some fanciful language to give the whole episode some gravitas. Heaven knows the story could use it — unless you’re talking about the single biggest plot hole in Doctor Who history, one so massive it threatens to overshadow Tom Baker’s performance, the unique musical score and everything else good about this story. Absent a beacon to highlight them, the galaxy turns to a lonely podcast broadcasting into the depths of space… Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Revenge of the Cybermen
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback Loop music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Pair o’ Docs (Devouring “The Two Doctors”) | 03 Sep 2022 | 01:37:51 | |
When more than one Doctor is present, you know something’s gone disastrously wrong. While that usually applies to something within the show, in the case of The Two Doctors, you might be talking about the show itself. In some ways, it’s not the story’s fault — the production was famously plagued with problems behind the scenes — but a misfired location shoot can’t explain away the script’s icky obsession with carnivorism or those utterly extraneous Sontarans. At least we can all agree that we’d watch Patrick Troughton do anything, including wolf down an insanely huge meal in a top hat… just as long as he didn’t do it wearing bright red eyebrows. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: The Two Doctors
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Feedback Loop music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| The Once and Future Doctor (Mythologizing “Battlefield”) | 27 Aug 2022 | 01:43:36 | |
Summer is peak season for action romps, we’re told, so that must be why the Randomzier plopped us in the middle of Battlefield, the opening story of Classic Doctor Who’s final year, and one that seems to continuously feature guns shooting, swords clashing, and all manner of things blowing up. I mean, you’d expect nothing less from the last official appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, but is it all just smokescreen to keep us from realizing the story — ostensibly about transdimensional Arthurian knights fighting over a magic sword at the bottom of a lake — is complete nonsense? Probably, though did we mention lots of stuff blows up? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Battlefield
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Interlude music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Invading Earth for Dummies (Waxing "Spearhead From Space") | 20 Aug 2022 | 01:39:01 | |
Rebooting Doctor Who is a feature of the show, not a bug, but it was still uncertain territory when Jon Pertwee took over in 1970. Sure, Patrick Troughton had taken over from William Hartnell a few years before, but it was very much the same show, following the adventures of a mysterious traveler and his human companions throughout all of time and space. Spearhead From Space boldly tosses out that formula, centers the show on contemporary Earth, and recasts the Doctor as a flamboyant action hero. OK, yes, those choices were made more out of budget necessity than bold storytelling, but the welcome return of the Brigadier reminds us this is still the same show, and it doesn’t hurt that store-window mannequins make for a hella creepy monster. Doctor Who is renewed again, for the first time. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Spearhead From Space
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Interlude music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Boy Story (HOT TAKE: "Rogue") | 08 Jun 2024 | 00:50:25 | |
Feeling Rogue-ish? This proud Regency romcom takes Who to places old and new, with enough charm and confidence to fill a shed. It’s a meta love letter to all kinds of fandoms, and cheekily drops in a mystery Doctor (and/or villain?!) like we wouldn’t notice. Join us as we cosplay a couple of podcasters and pour one out for another charming companion — the original, you might say. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else! Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon. Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on:
Play Pull To Open Bingo (NEW upgraded card!) Pull To Open: Rogue HOT TAKE
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish ©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024 | |||
| All Creatures Great and Small (Magnifying “Carnival of Monsters”) | 23 Jul 2022 | 01:44:23 | |
Doctor Who can be dramatic, captivating, and even epic, but some of the most memorable episodes are just plain fun! Carnival of Monsters definitely qualifies as one of the fun ones, made all the more interesting with an intriguing first-episode mystery and some subversive messaging in Robert Holmes’s almost-too-clever script. Come for the fearsome drashigs, stay for the brilliant political satire on Inter Minor. And, as ever, don’t blink, lest you miss the surprising backstory about the Doctor’s past as a Gallifreyan activist. Grab your popcorn — this one’s definitely a crowd-pleaser. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Carnival of Monsters
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| A Logical End (Mastering “Logopolis”) | 16 Jul 2022 | 01:46:11 | |
If a regeneration story means the end of an era in Doctor Who, Logopolis is an extinction-level event. It bears the extra weight of being the final story in the epic run of Tom Baker, who, to many, was the definitive actor to play the Doctor. Christopher H. Bidmead’s script doesn’t shy away from this impossible task, with the premise, the villain, and the stakes all appropriately elevated. You’d be forgiven for thinking this might not have been the best time to stuff the TARDIS full of new companions, but somehow Logopolis still holds up (yes, even the flood-the-TARDIS business). Somewhere, Anthony Ainley is deservedly having the last laugh. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Logopolis
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Industrial Devolution (Blemishing “The Mark of the Rani”) | 09 Jul 2022 | 01:42:21 | |
Time Lords come and Time Lords go, but what about Time Ladies? The Rani is a peculiar case among Gallifrey’s ruling class: an amoral cosmic elitist who just wants to be left alone and occasionally perform horrible experiments on various folks — and isn’t the slightest bit interested in the Doctor. That’s a refreshing change, made even more memorable by holding it right up against the status-quo opposite: the Master himself. Before Missy, before Time Lord gender-flops, and before the Master stopped needlessly messing around with Earth history, The Mark of the Rani is one of the more creative experiments around Time Lord villainy in Classic Who. Just don’t tell the High Council… and stay out of Red Fern Dell. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: The Mark of the Rani
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| SHORT TRIP: The Real Captain Jack | 02 Jul 2022 | 00:20:51 | |
Longtime Pull To Open listeners have heard his name again and again, but exactly who is this mysterious “Jack?” It’s time for a surprise reveal: Pete’s son Jack takes a little time off from being a kid to visit the podcast and share his thoughts on Doctor Who, including what he thinks of the classic series after growing up on NuWho, how the show is sometimes too scary, and of course who his favorite Doctor is. We might be biased, but the future of fandom is in good hands. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open Short Trip: The Real Captain Jack
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| No Place Like Rome (Indulging “The Romans”) | 04 Jun 2022 | 01:22:18 | |
Some say Doctor Who’s The Romans is just a romp, a bit of silliness, and not that consequential. Don’t you believe it. It’s arguably the story where the Doctor has the most sweeping and destructive effect on history as we know it. We might all be living in the “bad” timeline right now — one where Rome burned and Nero’s expensive reconstruction hastened the weakening of the empire. Consider the outcome if a certain Time Lord’s spectacles didn’t incinerate the emperor’s plans: a stronger Rome, one that might have withstood the test of time and led to even greater progress for all mankind. We’ll never know, though, and all because the Doctor felt like making a house call to an emperor. Now who’s the time meddler, hmm? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: The Romans
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| Axos & Allies (Sharpening “The Claws of Axos,” with guest Nathan Bottomley) | 28 May 2022 | 01:36:59 | |
Invading the Earth used to be so simple: Either land or crash your spaceship in Britain, wait for the local Time Lord to show up, then coerce them into helping you by threatening the people they care about. But it gets a little complicated when two Time Lords show up, which was oddly the norm back in the UNIT days, what with the Master constantly trying to both one-up the Doctor and do some invading/conquering/destroying of his own. It’s enough to confuse even the most determined alien menace, but you’re probably particularly vulnerable if you’re a gestalt entity with a penchant for psychological attacks that resemble a bad acid trip. We’re looking at you, Axons. The Claws of Axos might be deeply embedded in the Earth’s crust, but we get the feeling its heart just isn’t in this. Special guest Nathan Bottomley (@nathanbottomley) from Flight Through Entirety podcast and creator of therandomiser.net joins! Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: The Claws of Axos
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| SPECIAL EPISODE: Who Is Ncuti Gatwa? | 21 May 2022 | 00:30:19 | |
It’s official: Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor. Sometime soon, Jodie Whittaker will bid farewell to the role and a handsome actor of Netflix’s Sex Education fame will take over — or so we think. All we know now is Gatwa will play the Doctor in Russell T. Davies’ renewed run as showrunner, but is he the 14th incarnation (which is incorrect numbering anyway) or something else? What is the deal with David Tennant returning — in a different coat — with Catherine Tate in tow, even though Donna had her memory wiped? And what about the new “Rose,” played by newcomer Yasmin Finney? We’ve got theories, and it’s never too early to think about the future. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Outro music: Freestylah by Alexander Nakarada Pull To Open: Who Is Ncuti Gatwa?
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| Tractator Pull (Bombarding “Frontios”) | 14 May 2022 | 01:43:05 | |
When Doctor Who takes us to the far future, it’s often with a dystopian view. That’s certainly the case with Frontios, which isn’t content to simply plunge a scrappy group of refugees from a doomed Earth into a harrowing fight for survival. It also adds to the mix the twin horrors of giant insects bent on recreating the ugliest parts of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and some of the worst spiked hair the universe has ever seen. (One of those things was powerful enough to destroy the TARDIS, but the jury's still out on which.) Let’s not leave any stone unturned as we excavate the true meaning of this one, if only to make sure we don’t lose our hat rack. Plus: A new theory on TARDIS translation, an update on whether Chris has seen Legend of the Sea Devils, and — oh yeah! — there's a new Doctor. Welcome to the family, Ncuti Gatwa! We talk about it all. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Frontios
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Spark Attack (Recharging “The Power of the Daleks”) | 07 May 2022 | 01:33:57 | |
Quick, what’s the best way to mount an insurrection in your remote Earth colony? Right, exactly — befriend the mechanical creatures you’ve just revived from hibernation within a long-dormant capsule that crashed centuries ago and enlist them to be your muscle. Really, if you’re a marooned Dalek attack force, it’s good work if you can get it, especially if the annoying humans who think they’re in charge are hopelessly factionalized like they usually are. Feels like there’s some kind of lesson to be learned in The Power of the Daleks, but we’re in a bit of a regeneration stupor, so we might have missed it while we were reading everyone’s name tag. Let’s grab some coiled jumper cables, attach them to our commentary machine, and throw the switch… Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: The Power of the Daleks
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| One Moor Time (Illuminating “The Eaters of Light”) | 30 Apr 2022 | 01:32:27 | |
Ever been to Scotland? Doctor Who sure has, and if you’re ever looking for the ultimate proof of that look no further than The Eaters of Light, an episode that seems designed entirely to showcase bad weather, Pict history, and very cross people. Of course, it doesn’t get much more cross than the 12th Doctor, but just how effective will a pair of epic eyebrows be against a squad of Roman centurions, a pack of star-eating transdimensional creatures, and Nardole’s constant scolding? More than you’d think, obviously, though it’s hard to tell with all the incomprehensible yelling. Did we mention we’re in Scotland? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: The Eaters of Light
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Happy Daze (Rockin’ “Delta and the Bannermen”) | 05 Jun 2024 | 01:33:18 | |
A trip to 1950s Earth to visit Disneyland? Ranking by stories that got our hopes up, Delta and the Bannermen is near top of the charts. But this is actually a bait-and-switch we don’t mind, because the detour to rural Wales sets off a nostalgic romp filled with period music, motorcycle chases, and hostile bees that are most definitely not disappearing. And boy, if you ever wondered why do fools fall in love, this one is going to be an absolute head-scratcher. Best not to think too hard. Oh, and be sure to blink in key places so any genocides or mass murders don’t bother you too much. Give your own rating for Delta and the Bannermen on Spotify! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else! Subscribe to our newsletter at pulltoopen.net for extended notes on Delta and the Bannermen. Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon. Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts. Timeline:
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Pull To Open: Delta and the Bannermen
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish ©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024 | |||
| Dead Center (Skirting “Terminus”) | 23 Apr 2022 | 01:31:27 | |
Doctor Who explains the Big Bang! That’s an ambitious idea, and not one you’d expect to be shoehorned into an episode about space lepers journeying to a vast space station that promises not just a cure for their disease but also the opportunity to play with the biggest dog you’ve ever seen. Still, Terminus goes for it, soldiering on through plot holes the size of a supercluster to explain how all of creation came into existence, plus how Tegan and Turlough can somehow command tons of screen time yet do absolutely nothing. Other conundrums include: Why does Nyssa want to stay here? And where can I write to Terminus HR about their "murder people on sight" policy? Hang onto your skirts, Lazars, this is going to be a bumpy one. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Terminus
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| SPECIAL EPISODE: Into the Codex | 16 Apr 2022 | 00:17:08 | |
We’re worried. In the two-and-a-bit years since we started Pull To Open, we’ve done commentaries on 42(!) individual Doctor Who stories. That constitutes only 14% of the entire onscreen canon, but we appear to have exhausted a much greater portion of the series’ most revered episodes: The Girl in the Fireplace, Inferno, The Day of the Doctor, and even Genesis of the Daleks. In this special podcast, Chris and Pete look back at PTO’ run so far, cracking open the official Pull To Open Codex to determine: Are there enough (Viscount) banger episodes left for the Randomizer to keep our doors… open? At least without some cosmic rationing? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Into the Codex
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| Peak Villainy (Siring "Genesis of the Daleks") | 09 Apr 2022 | 01:57:22 | |
In the entire run of Doctor Who, there has never been a villain quite like Davros. Half-Dalek, half-somewhat crispy person, the character of Davros set a new bar for the "evil genius" archetype in his debut story, Genesis of the Daleks. His many speeches in that story produced some of the show's best scenes, creating so much great drama that no one minds that the story completely retcons huge swaths of Dalek history. There's so much reverence for Genesis, it's hard to watch it with a critical eye... but that's never stopped us before! While this classic among classics undeniably holds up, is there still room for improvement somewhere within the on-point war allegories and fascist allusions? We mean, besides those giant clams. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Genesis of the Daleks
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| Telos Another One (Converting "Attack of the Cybermen") | 02 Apr 2022 | 02:16:39 | |
When you're looking to literally change history to save your race, it's smart to stay focused. This really isn't the time for convoluted plans, extraneous plot threads that go nowhere, and long conversations with captured prisoners. But the Cybermen can't help themselves, it seems, and neither can Attack of the Cybermen, which seems utterly confused about which previous story it's a sequel to. It's almost inevitable that things get messy pretty quickly in Colin Baker's second adventure, but the script still manages to keep the pace up, the body count high, and the fan service at maximum. Could at least some parts of Attack be… excellent? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Attack of the Cybermen
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Wasting Time (Embalming “State of Decay”) | 26 Mar 2022 | 01:39:03 | |
If you’re a powerful vampire running from the Time Lords, it’s easy to see why you’d pick E-space for your hideout. It’s small, it's full of delicious humanoids, it's hidden behind a CVE — not to mention bat-populated planets are seemingly a dime a dozen in this green-hued pocket universe. It's really just bad luck that the Doctor wandered in, but all the better for us since we get to see a traditional vampire horror story done through the lens of Doctor Who. The result is State of Decay, and it delivers on blending gothic fantasy with Who's quasi-scientific reality. Can we also toss in a potentially duplicitous new companion, a healthy amount of K-9 action, and a spectacular final reveal of the monster? Enh, two out of three ain’t bad. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: State of Decay
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Zings and Arrows (Lionizing "Robot of Sherwood") | 12 Mar 2022 | 01:30:19 | |
Hard to believe, but it took Doctor Who more than 50 years to get around to doing a TV adventure centered on Robin Hood. And like a speeding arrow splitting the shaft of another, Robot of Sherwood cracks your usual story assumptions: Instead of presenting an alien explanation for a mythical historical figure, the myth is offered up as historical fact. That raises a couple of notable eyebrows, leading the Doctor to take on a persona that's more cantankerous antihero than otherworldly savior, and his bickering with Robin creates some of the biggest laughs of the series. It's all fun and games, of course, until a robot reveals its cross-shaped eye. Please leave a review! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Robot of Sherwood
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Grin Reaper (Enlivening "Smile") | 05 Mar 2022 | 01:34:10 | |
When you first start traveling with the Doctor, you've got to get your basics down, and a key item to tick off the list is traveling to the far future. Bill Potts got her future-events cred via a visit to the troubled human colony depicted in Smile, one of the most gorgeous episodes of the Capaldi era. Besides a wide-eyed new companion, the story features one of Doctor Who's most reliable antagonists: servant robots that have for some reason gone homicidal. Throw in a massive colony ship and some end-of-the-world vibes and we might really have something — just as long as the social commentary on emoji is really thoughtful and not just something tossed in because it's trendy 🙂 Please leave a review! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Smile
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Time Killer (Targeting "The Deadly Assassin") | 26 Feb 2022 | 01:37:13 | |
Some Doctor Who episodes are good. Some are great. Some are pretty forgettable. And some are epics — not just riveting in their characterization and storytelling, but also in the way that they established or rewrote the fundamentals of the show. The Deadly Assassin is such an epic, completely up-ending everything we knew about the Time Lords at the time. The sheer amount of Gallifreyan lore on display is what the episode is mostly remembered for, but there's also that whole "plot to kill the Lord President" thing, not to mention the return of the Master, who's arguably in his most evil (and gross) incarnation. But could our memories have been corrupted by the passage of time? Let's hook up to the Matrix and find out. Please leave a review! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: The Deadly Assassin
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| Courting Disaster (Unearthing "The Mysterious Planet") | 19 Feb 2022 | 01:42:49 | |
When Doctor Who returned after a forced hiatus in the mid '80s, the show had big plans for its return: The entire season would be a single arc that would see the Time Lords subject the Doctor to an epic trial for his meddling. The Trial of a Time Lord was an ambitious and compelling idea, and years before its time considering how serialized modern franchises have become. Trial's first story has a lot going for it — an interesting mystery, a rebooted Sixth Doctor, and the delight of Tony Selby as Sabalom Glitz — plus it sets the table for a looming showdown between the Doctor and the big baddie for the season, the Valeyard. Could The Mysterious Planet be a forgotten gem? Let's reopen this case. Please leave a review! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: The Trial of a Time Lord - The Mysterious Planet
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| The French Connection (Serenading "The Girl in the Fireplace") | 05 Feb 2022 | 01:37:13 | |
We know the Doctor has a family, but does he date? That's a bit inconclusive. Putting aside the numerous individuals he's invited into his, uh… box to explore the universe, some of the strongest evidence that the Doctor might have those feelings about someone is The Girl in the Fireplace. It's a mystery, it's a horror story, and it's a history lesson, but most of all this episode is a romance. It's rightfully remembered as a classic, but is it because it dared to touch on the question of the Doctor's sexuality, or is it the expertly crafted timey-wimey plot? Be sure that clock on the mantle is working — this one might take a while. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: The Girl in the Fireplace
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Blackest Mirror (HOT TAKE: "Dot and Bubble") | 01 Jun 2024 | 00:40:33 | |
It’s been subtle in the past, but Dot and Bubble is Doctor Who’s first overt homage to Black Mirror, the groundbreaking series that satirizes our relationship with technology in the darkest of ways. It’s ironic, then, that this story has one of the subtlest pieces of subtext in the show’s history, with a moral message lurking just beneath the skin of a biting script full of references to social media, popular culture, and gadgets that lull us into separating ourselves from the real world. This might be Doctor Who allegory at its finest. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else! Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon. Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on:
Play Pull To Open Bingo (NEW upgraded card!) Pull To Open: Dot and Bubble HOT TAKE
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish ©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024 | |||
| Game of Shadows (Cataloging "Silence in the Library" and "Forest of the Dead") | 29 Jan 2022 | 01:30:47 | |
When is a shadow not a shadow? When it's in a Doctor Who story determined to reimagine a feature of ordinary life as a homicidal creature, of course. The team of Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat created their fair share of everyday monsters, and the Vashta Nerada are one of the most memorable: Sentient shadows that consume the flesh of the living. That alone makes the one-two punch of Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead memorable, and when you add in the first appearance of River Song, you have all the ingredients of a NuWho classic. Does it hold up now that we know River's entire journey? And are those shadows as scary as we remember? Let's check into the Library once again... Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor | |||
| Safe Arbor (Cultivating "In the Forest of the Night") | 22 Jan 2022 | 01:33:06 | |
What do trees, the end of human civilization, and the psychological trauma of losing a family member all have in common? They're all ostensibly what In the Forest of the Night is about — one of the more epic-in-scale episodes of Peter Capaldi's first series as the Doctor. It's not well remembered, a pretty clear case study of a story's reach exceeding its grasp. But it does grasp something, and with some compelling ideas and the series regulars giving it their all, it may be time to re-examine its place in Who canon. Let's venture back into the forest, and maybe this time we'll close our eyes if we encounter any CGI wolves. Rate and review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: In the Forest of the Night
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Trouble in Store (Reopening "Closing Time") | 15 Jan 2022 | 01:22:50 | |
If there was ever a companion who wasn't a companion, it's Craig. He might not have ever traveled in the TARDIS, but he still somehow made his way into the Doctor's hearts — thanks in large part to the against-type performance of James Corden. Seeing him played against Matt Smith's Doctor at his most bonkers is one of the huge treats of Closing Time, the other being the return of a classic monster, the Cybermen... though that one doesn't go over nearly so well. Is the double act enough to hold this one together, or does it ultimately collapse into a pile of spare parts? Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Closing Time
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Kingdom of the Insidious Skull (Exorcising "Image of the Fendahl") | 08 Jan 2022 | 01:18:06 | |
An ancient evil. Misguided scientists. If you're thinking, "Oh, we simply have to get these guys together," you might be a Doctor Who writer from the '70s. But if you're going to go ahead and mix this pair of volatile ingredients, it's probably best to throw in at least one wisecracking supporting character, a few paper-mâché monsters, and some ambitious ideas about the true nature of human evolution. Put it all into a delightfully sinister horror-movie backdrop on the English countryside, and you've got Image of the Fendahl, the last stab of Tom Baker's "scary" era. It's well-remembered, but can it still frighten? Or make sense? Pour some extra salt on your pretzels, and set coordinates for the Fifth Planet… Please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Image of the Fendahl
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Copy That (Echoing "Midnight") | 25 Dec 2021 | 01:08:42 | |
When either the Doctor or his companion takes a break for an episode, you know you're in for something unusual. That's what you get with Midnight, an outing of Doctor Who that feels more like an Agatha Christie tale than the one with Agatha Christie. But beyond the mystery, what makes the episode so unexpected is the Doctor's usual toolbox of cleverness and a little bit of sonic doesn't help him one bit. It's a compelling premise, but does it work as anything other than a thought exercise? Let's just put this one on repeat… Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open: Midnight
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| This Is Maggot Country (Sanitizing "The Green Death") | 11 Dec 2021 | 01:43:56 | |
If you were looking for a single Doctor Who serial that encapsulates virtually all of the sci-fi tropes of the '70s — giant bugs, an evil sentient computer, mind-altering crystals — it'd be hard to find one that filled the bingo card as well as The Green Death. Of course, these are the tropes before they were tropes, and you can't help but admire how the story leans into them all with satisfying confidence, even when it's grossing us out with slimy maggots. But is it a worthy send-off for Jo Grant? Better check with the BOSS… Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: The Green Death
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Creep of Faith (Divining "The God Complex") | 28 Nov 2021 | 01:26:40 | |
Doctor Who has a reputation for frightening its audience, but is it just as good if it creeps the hell out of them instead? That might be the most apt take on The God Complex: It's Doctor Who, but something about it is a little off, and we're not sure if we like it. An '80s hotel that seems strangely smaller on the inside, a guest cast curated to deadly perfection, and a monster that seems familiar, yet… not. The time has come for us to check into this very odd Matt Smith episode. We're sure we'll have no trouble leaving. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: The God Complex
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Hybrid Theory (Disentangling "Hell Bent") | 13 Nov 2021 | 01:23:46 | |
When a show like Doctor Who starts talking about a hybrid, you can bet it's not talking about the latest Prius. Peter Capaldi's second season cooked up a perplexing mystery around this vaguely defined being with a bifurcated background, which came to a head in the series finale, "Hell Bent." The episode pays off a lot of plotlines — the return of Gallifrey and Clara's journey, primarily — but it also throws in a bunch of extras for… fun, I guess? In any case, it's nice to see Ashildr, Ohlia and the General of the War Council of Gallifrey again, not to mention the classic TARDIS console room. But about that hybrid, uh, we have questions…. Please leave a review! Also: Follow us on TikTok! @pulltoopen ...and Instagram: @pulltoopen63 ...and Twitter: @pulltoopen63 Story Essentials: Hell Bent Series 9, Episode 12 Pull To Open: Hell Bent
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| All Thirteen (Honoring "The Day of the Doctor," with guest Alisa Stern) | 30 Oct 2021 | 01:57:52 | |
Is "The Day of the Doctor" a great Doctor Who episode or the greatest Doctor Who episode? It sounds like a tongue-in-cheek question, but in the case of Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special, we're as serious as UNIT nuclear protocols in the event of a Zygon invasion. Luckily, Pete and Chris have some help to find the answer: Alisa Stern, creator of Doctor Puppet, joins the podcast as we build toward a final verdict on the timeline-altering world-record-setting special. The Whoniverse may have changed since those time-locked events of 2013, but we're revisiting them not a Moment too soon. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: The Day of the Doctor
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Must Flee TV (Binging "The Idiot's Lantern") | 16 Oct 2021 | 01:13:59 | |
A TV show that turns television itself into a monster? That's got potential. But if you're waiting for "The Idiot's Lantern" to deliver on that potential, you should probably just switch the damn thing off already. Or... dial back your expectations! This may not be the ultraclever send-up of TV culture you wanted, but as a period piece set against the backdrop of Queen Elizabeth's coronation, it convinces you to have some fun cruising on mopeds and pursuing faceless people through 1953 London. Is that enough to mark it as an overlooked gem, or is this outing pure filler? Adjust your rabbit ears, make sure you're sitting comfortably, and we'll begin. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Pull To Open
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| Isolation Game (HOT TAKE: "73 Yards") | 25 May 2024 | 00:31:06 | |
It might sound like a really spectacular field goal, but 73 Yards is one of the most unusual episodes of Doctor Who to date. With the Doctor missing, Ruby Sunday must stand alone against… whatever seems to be stalking her. Simple enough, but thanks in large part to a tour de force performance by Millie Gibson, what results is a terrifying story — one that will leave you thinking about it long past the credits roll. We honestly can't think of a better analogy than "spectacular field goal." Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else! Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon. Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts. Follow us on:
Play Pull To Open Bingo (NEW upgraded card!) Pull To Open: 73 Yards HOT TAKE
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish ©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024 | |||
| A Little Bird Killed Me (Facing "Face the Raven") | 04 Oct 2021 | 01:13:49 | |
Companions come and companions go, but very few companions die. At least, death tends not to be the preferred exit from traveling with the Doctor, but it does happen, and Face the Raven is maybe the most dramatic companion death on record. It's perhaps a fitting end (but not really) to the arc of Clara Oswald, who was always more than your typical wayward-girl-who-stumbled-on-board-the-TARDIS. But does the story support the emotional weight of such an impactful moment? And what does "remember 82" mean? Let's get this bird on our brains — just as soon as we get of our chests our first reactions to the news that Russell T. Davies is returning to Doctor Who. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Face the Raven
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| The China Sin (Inspecting "The Talons of Weng-Chiang") | 19 Sep 2021 | 01:13:38 | |
Doctor Who is sometimes notable for the wrong reasons, and sometimes it's legendary for the right ones. But what about when it's both, and in the same story? That's the case for The Talons of Weng-Chiang, which is rightly praised as a true classic Doctor Who story in every sense of the word, the culmination of producer Philip Hinchcliffe's ambitious era and the peak of Tom Baker's run of gothic horror stories. It's also an example of casually racist attitudes — not just of the Victorian era where the story's set, but also of 1977, when the story was made. Given Talons' many facets, what's a 21st century Whovian to make of it? Don your headphones and grab your deerstalker — the game's afoot in this pod. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||
| On Air (Inhaling "Oxygen") | 05 Sep 2021 | 01:07:48 | |
If you're going to make an anticapitalist statement through a Doctor Who story, you've got your work cut out for you in making it distinct enough from all the previous stories that made the same statement. Good thing, then, that Oxygen subverts the show's entire sci-fi canvas by showing us a grittily realistic outer-space scenario where the title molecule is in short supply. Add elements of zombie horror and a compelling mystery, and you almost have a Who classic in the making. Just don't get too blinded by your clever premise. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Follow us on:
Story Essentials
Pull To Open: Oxygen
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada | |||