As we'rew approaching our 10th edition we thought it might be fun to avail ourselves of an all too rare opportunity - to get someone heavily involved in a Doctor Who project to make their own contribiutoon to its Happy Times and Places. Fortunately Benjamin Cook, who was in charge of the recent The War Games in Colour broadcast, was more than happy to share his thoughts and insights regarding this huge undertaking. So here we go - and what a joy it is to get his perspective into the making of this alternative version. Oh, and your host is positively encouraged by Ben to be honest about any perceived shortcomings ... and he is equally bold and forthright in his opinion - entertainingly so! Ben is, of course, brimming with positivity and fascinating facts - from the inside, from directly behind-the-scenes and we are really grateful to him for the time and care he has taken over his contribution. Oh, but he does say a mildly rude word towards the end, you have been warned. #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.    

End of an era folks.William Hartnell takes his final bow, but before he shuffles off he gets time to make an entrance and say a few legendary lines (some of them kindly preserved by a canny camera-wielder Down Under). There are so many landmarks in this story, welcome guest Martin Holmes is spoilt for choice - will you, and indeed your host - be in sync with Martin, or will the whole thing overload with goodness that it'll just melt? #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

The Doctor falls over so for one week only it's Dr Barclay and his plucky assistants Ben and Polly who have to try to stop besieged base commander General Cutler from mucking everything up because his son has decided to go into space. What will podcaster Martin Holmes home in on as his favourite thing of this, the last live action Hartnell episode we have (even though Hartnell isn't in it). #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

It's delightful how many listeners have said how conforting they find this story - and episode two is definitely comfiort viewing for the sci-fi aficionado. The introduction of a classic monster, pretty much the last hurrah of a Classic Doctor and much to recommend it in terms of action, design and production. Whatever will guest Martin Holmes choose as the episode's best biot though? Will you agree, or will you be thinking "That was really most unfortunate, he should not have done that." #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

Well, as winter gets its icy grip around us it seems appropriate to negotiate the showy wastes of the South Pole for a story that is a landmark in so many ways. Guest Martin Holmes is a podcast veteran who knows his classic TV, but what does he love about this story that has all sorts to recommend it, and yet has slipped in popularity somewhat since the early days of fandom? #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.

Returning guest Steve Hatcher takes us on a trip to the Red Planet with some old favourites - but will his favourite things be easy to guess (he thinks they are) or will a certain someone make a mess of things and end up seeing Red...?   #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho  Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.

And so things come to an end on Traken. Or do they? Do they, in fact, come to a cadence? Ask our illustrious guest Dr Tom as he is full of observations like that in what has been a very rewarding trip to a planet which revels in its own theatricality. When the final curtain is taken, will host and guest be in sync?   #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.

Blow winds and crack your cheeks! Or come on baby light my fire? The elements cause a keefuffle in this instalment of The Keeper of Traken, and something gets right up the Doctor's nose. And there's a real debate about what should be chosen as your host's highlight. Will he choose the right thing, or will he make a choice that will lead to the destruction of the whole planet?   #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.

Dr Tom (Attah) casts an eye on Dr Tom (Baker) as events of Traken take a chilling turn. Will Tom and Toby find themselves in rapport? But never mind Tom A, Tom B actually has more rapport wioth Matthew W than history tells us... #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.

All round good and smart guy Dr Tom Attah casts an adoring eye over The Keeper of Traken in this podcast which goes about its day simply by featuring people being terribly nice about Doctor Who stories. But what is the aspect of this story that Dr Tom will be especially terribly nice about? #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

To tie in with the Happy Times and Places release of The Woman Who Lived here is an interview with Gareth Berliner, who plays the coachman in the opening scene. Gareth and Toby go back a long way, so it's a lovely old chat. Since this was recorded, Gareth's wife has ALSO been in Doctor Who (she's in The Interstellar Song Contest): so it's a family affair. #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.      

Your host got up close and personal with this episode, and he's up close and personal with someone in it as well. Does this insight mean that he'll have any advantage over guest, Joel Aarons? Listeners will have to bear with this episode as alas it is slightly glitchy, with the odd skipped syllable or two due to a wrtehced cable. Apparently you'll get used to it is test listeners are to be believbed, but apologies that it isn't up to the usual technical standard. #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #doctorwhostevenmoffat Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.    

And so one of Terry Nation's few Dalek-less stories comes to an end, but this tricky production has a few more things to trip people (or Voords) up before it finally goes out with a bang. There are still script changes to be made, and typos to overcome, but two of its personnel went on to have very different but equally illustrious careers, and they are both profiled herein: and both kindly lent their assitance to the compiling of this episode. Sadly actor Michael Allaby passed away in between contributing to this podcast and its release, and so it is dedicated to his memory with thanks.  #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.    

Many  interviews recorded for the 50th Anniversary Who's Round project were released in edited form for various reasons. Recently there's been a chance to revisit some of them and present them in their full form. The edition with Michael Allaby, actor from the Keys of Marinus and fascinating voice in the world of environmentalism, was once such, and this new edit has coincided with the recent sad death of Michael, so it seems appropriate to give this a wider release as a tribute to a fascinating man.  #doctorwho #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho #doctorwhointerview #thekeysofmarinus #michaelallaby   Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke    Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke   Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey   www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

The second - and final - bonus episode to tie in with the launch of your host's book The Quatermass Experiment - The Making of TV's First Sci-Fi Classic, which has just been published by Ten Acre Films. Jon Dear, host of BERGCast, the Nigel Kneale/Quatermass podcast, chooses his five favourite things about the last existing episode of this six-part landmark. A treat for newcomers and Quatermass aficionados alike, there's a lot of enthsusism here, and no small amount of hard won knolwedge too. Enjoy!   Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke    Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke   Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey   www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

Normal service will be resumed in a couple of weeks (apologies to those of you waiting for the Girl Who Died to turn into the Woman Who Lived) but we make no apologies for interrupting the flow of Whocasts to broadcast a special couple of commentaries of something very important.  Happy Times... host Toby Hadoke has spent the past many decades researching Nigel Kneale's seminal Quatermass serials and on Monday his book covering the fist of them - The Quatermass Experiment - comes out. To coincide with this long awaited occurrence, here he is commentating on the very first episode, and Contact Has Been Established with Nigel Kneale's biograoher, Andy Murray, who in true Happy Times... style will be offering up his favourite five things about the instalment. This has been made with the understanding that many listeners will be unfamiliar with the serial, so you can come in with no foreknowledge, so fear not. You won't get lost (unlike the Quatermass rocket!) Strap yourselves in and prepare for take-off... #quatermass #nigelkneale #quatermasscommentary #thequatermassexperiment #reginaldtate #rudolphcartier #bernardquatermass Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke    Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke   Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey   www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

So, a new episode ... so new it was on 9 years ago. Good Lord! Where does the time go? Joel Aarons has not done a podcast before but makes for an illuminating and self-effacing guest as he extols the virtues of an episode that has never been high on your host's list of favourites. Will this exercise change things and create a podcast in which this episode gets the gooo-gooo-gagag-ga (that's baby for "thumbs up")? #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #stevenmoffat Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

Guest John Higgs has a splendid book out - Exterminate! Regenerate! is a brilliantly written and extremely insightful biography of Doctor Who (the character and the show). And so he comes onto Happy Times and Places to discuss a favorite episode of his, Amy's Choice, and to tell us all about his splendid new tome (available now!). Will choosing five favorute things be dreamy - or will he have a nigthmare and lose to host Toby Hadoke (who you'll never catch with a ponytail no matter what state you're in)? #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho   Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke    Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke   Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey   www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.  

It's time for a celebration - the tenth anniversary story that wasn't actually broadcast anywhere near the tenth anniversary. A three Doctor story in which one Doctor barely features. And a big old event that is rendered on what seems like a budget of fourpence. But it's The Three Doctors: a landmark event, chosen by voice artiste, podcaster and long term fan Siobhan Gallichan. This has never been one of your host's favourite stories, but can he conjure happiness in what has hitherto been a pretty barren landscape? This podcast was recorded before the sudden and unexpected death of Siobhan Gallichan in December 2024. We will remember her with affection always.  #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke  Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.      

An undisputed classic, The Caves of Androzani finds an enthusiastic advocate in the form of a legend of the Liverpool fan scene, Erica Lear. Oh let me not be mad about what she chooses as her favourite thing from each episode, one of which is bound to be Peter Davison on whom she has a massive crush. In fact, knowing Erica he might be her favourite thing for every episode and the bonus! #doctorwho #doctorwhoreaction #doctorwhocommentary #doctorwhocomedian #tobyhadoke #doctorwhofacts #positivedoctorwho #classicdoctorwho Please support these podcasts on Patreon, where you will get advance releases, exclusive content (including a patron-only podcast - Far Too Much Information), regular AMAs and more. Tiers start from as little as £3 per month: patreon.com/tobyhadoke   Or there is Ko-fi for the occasional donation with no commitments: ko-fi.com/tobyhadoke Follow Toby on Twitter: @tobyhadoke And these podcasts: @HadokePodcasts And his comedy club: @xsmalarkey www.tobyhadoke.com for news, blog, mailing list and more.