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From market stalls to barbershops, the fifth episode of the second season, "The Story and the Engine," showcases Nigeria, places that bring people together, and storytelling.

This story also brought Erika, Kat, and Lynne together to discuss it, and let's be honest, there's a lot of joy in the story and the podcast, too.

What were your thoughts about "The Story & and the Engine?" Were you as enthusiastic about it like us or did you see it differently?

Take a moment to leave a comment here, send us an email, or join us over on BlueSky or Instagram.

^K

• Doctor Who: Unleashed is mentioned throughout the episode.

  Synopsis When  and  land in  for another  reading, the Doctor goes to a  to meet an old . There, he discovers a mysterious  trapping the patrons, feeding  with their stories. Plot  sits in a chair, getting a haircut, and tells a story about  the , his village saved by the mysterious man in the blue box. As he speaks, images splay out on the wall behind him, depicting his story to the men listening eagerly. As he finishes, they all look at a pair of lights on the wall in tense anticipation, relaxing when they switch from red to green. Omo tells the others not to worry, the Doctor always comes, and the light switches back to red, alarms blare, and the room shakes.  insists that the  take her home, and he suggests that they head to , , the communications hub of , and a place he loves - home of his favorite barbershop. Belinda expresses confusion at this - the  can do his hair; but he explains that it's about community, about being himself, since it's the first time he's ever been a black man. Belinda understands and sends him off to enjoy himself in Lagos after he takes a  reading. The Doctor winds his way through a market, greeting everyone as he passes, before he comes to his friend Omo's barbershop, , finding those assembled in the middle of a story. As the door closes behind him an alarm goes off in the TARDIS, alerting Belinda that something has gone wrong. The Doctor notices that everyone present is on missing posters outside, and he watches as the man's hair grows back. The light in the barbershop flashes to red, people scramble to decide who still has a story left, and someone sits down, telling the story of  and a , of music and of time. As images flicker on the wall, the Doctor looks on in wonder, and asks how it works, begins testing by throwing out words from his travels. But it has to be a story, it has to be with a haircut. A new  has taken over the shop, he came one day, and as if by magic the shop became his. A woman enters the barbershop, , bringing food, the door closes behind her, and an alarm in the TARDIS sounds again. The Doctor recognizes her, but can't place her. The light switches to red again, and the Doctor sits down, telling the most powerful story he knows, not of  or , but of an ordinary life. Of Belinda Chandra doing her job, helping someone all night long, even on her grandmother's birthday, a simple gesture of thanks two weeks later. Abby watches a screen in another room, seeing it lighting up, noting that they're accelerating, as the story ends. The Barber is impressed with the power of his stories, and tells Abby when she comes out that they need to recalibrate . Omo asks if they can be let free now that the Doctor has come, his stories being effective, his hair having grown in the interim more than any of theirs. But Abby locks the door and the pair leave. The TARDIS sounds an alarm yet again, this time showing Belinda an image of the barbershop. The Doctor is furious that Omo betrayed him, is willing to trap him here, and refuses to listen as everyone tries to tell him not to open the door. He forces it open with his sonic screwdriver, finding a vacuum on the other side. A vacuum with only giant web and a large spider traversing it, the barbershop on the back of the spider. The Doctor closes the door with great effort, and the Barber emerges from the backroom, explaining that the shop is in Lagos and in outer space at the same time, only Abby and himself able to travel between. Outside, Belinda finds herself lost, but is pointed towards the shop by a , entering it, glad to see the Doctor. Reunited, the pair confront the Barber, calling him a coward who hides his face, having no real power. Rising to the taunt, the Barber names himself, calling himself , , , , , the god of stories. The pair burst out laughing - the Doctor has met Bastet, Sága, Dionysus, Anansi. He's partied with them, Anansi even tricked him to marry his daughter. This man isn't any of them. And so the man admits, he's the person who did their work for them. Wherever the gods went, he took their stories, cleaned them up, refined them, wrote them down, all for humans to repeat them, to keep the gods alive. Without him the gods would not exist. The web outside is his creation as well, the , a web that connects cultures and ideas. He was so successful that the gods abandoned him, and now he wants vengeance. The engine winds down, so much power drained from the Doctor opening the door. Abby criticizes him, and the Doctor recognizes her at last - Anansi's daughter, Abena. He's sorry that he was unable to help her, but he was a  at the time, and had his own story. The light turns red, and the Barber insists the Doctor tell a story. The Doctor refuses, demanding to know what vengeance is being planned. The Barber relents - he plans to cut out the gods from memory when he reaches the center of the nexus, erasing them from existence. The Doctor is horrified, this will damage humanity, as it will harm their ability to tell stories, to pass down information, insisting that this is horrific. He refuses to sit down and speak, he won't let the spider go further. As the shop descends into chaos, everyone arguing, Abena proclaims that she will tell a story, and begins to braid the Doctor's hair. And she tells a story of plantation slaves transmitting information through the braids on their hair, maps to freedom for anyone who could escape, hidden in a place where the overseers would never check. As the battery stabilizes, the Doctor and Belinda run into the back room, finding themselves in a maze, a maze for which the Doctor has the map on his head. The pair come to a room full of artifacts from various cultures and the ship's engine, an engine that runs on stories, a heart inside a brain. The Barber enters the room behind them, having cut Abena off from the outside, the Doctor disrupting the flow of power, slowing the spider down but not stopping it. The Barber insists that the Doctor has done nothing. So the Doctor suggests that they consider , who wrote a story in six words. The Doctor's six word story is "I'm born. I die. I'm born." And energy begins to flow into the engine, never-ending energy, as his past lives flicker across the screens. But the Doctor has disrupted the engine, it can't process the power. He tells the Barber that now it's his choice - he can save the people in the shop by opening the door. But the engine will disintegrate. The Barber unlocks the door and Omo, Adena and the rest out front escape. The Doctor sends Belinda back as he sits with the Barber, talking to him, convincing him that he still has more to live for. The pair escape the shop at the last moment as it collapses, the engine exploding, destroying the spider it rode on. Omo apologizes to the Doctor, and says that he should have protected the Doctor, they're part of the same community. The two make up. Omo gives the Barber his shop, saying that he's retiring, and gives him a name, his father's name, . Adétòkunbo steps back into the barbershop, now his. The Doctor and Belinda step back into the TARDIS, one step closer to home. Cast  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -  Crew          ,  and  with  and                             by   •   by   Music  by   •  Assistant to  -    •   performed by               General production staff  for the  -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - ,   - ,   -  Script department  -   -  Camera and lighting department  - ,   -   -   - ,   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - , , ,  Art department  - ,   - ,   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - ,   -   - , , , , , ,   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   -   - ,   -   - , ,   - ,   - , , , , , , , , , , ,  Costume department  -   -  Make-up and prosthetics Movement  -   -   -  Casting  -   -  General post-production staff  -   -   -   -   -  Special and visual effects  -   -   -   -   - ,   -  Sound  -   -   -   -                                                            Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.     Worldbuilding  claims to be , , , , and . In return, the Doctor relates encounters he had with all of those deities: winning a bet against Anansi, having a drinking contest with Dionysus that caused a  in , watching  movies with Sága, and losing a game of  to Bastet. The  has a large collection of artefacts related to stories. The room of shelves includes a  , several , a  statue of , a life-sized statue of a bearded man, , a helmet, copies of , , and , and a statue of a . The area around the heart has a statue of a dancing  goddess, a , a , a statue of an , a model , several , , and a . Notes The episode has a smooth transition from the "" into the , with the title sequence first appearing in the shop window, and then the camera slowly zooming closer until the image fills the frame and the window fades away. The title of the episode was revealed on official social media on  . On , the prequel short story , also written by , was published on the . Some of the artwork from it was shown on the shop window in this episode when  was telling his story of the Doctor. The story shares many themes and ideas with other work by Ellams. The 2017 play Barber Shop Chronicles prominently explored  as places of friendship and culture. It featured many barber shops, including one in . A version of the story about  and the  was part of this play. The 2019 play The Half-God of Rainfall depicted a world in which the gods of all religions coexist as separate figures who interact and fight with each other.  appeared, presented as the  of stories. Ellams viewed the character  as echoing the title character of this play, as both are newly-invented children of gods. The 2020 poetry book The Actual had a poem about the Yo-Yo Ma story, as well as a poem comparing rapping to time travel which mentions Doctor Who. The Yo-Yo Ma anecdote is based on the musician's trip to  which was filmed for the 1993 documentary Distant Echoes: Yo-Yo Ma & the Kalahari Bushmen. For the UK debut on , the episode was first released as an audio description version only. The standard version of the episode was then released a few minutes later. Episode writer  appears as a , marking the second time a person has written and acted in the same episode, following  in  [+].  as  and  as the  were omitted from the advance credits. The  anecdote of challenging him to write a story in six words appears to be referencing 'For sale: baby shoes, never worn.', a story misattributed to Hemingway. Myths to be added Filming locations to be added Ratings to be added Production errors If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to . to be added   The Doctor uses the , as he previously did in :  [+], :  [+], :  [+] and :  [+]. 's cameo, for the first time, occurs in a flashback rather than the present, in the story the Doctor recounts about how Belinda saved a  life. She's seen walking down the hallway just before Belinda meets the patient again and is given flowers. The Doctor recognises Abby from his encounter with  when he was the , indicating he now has access to some of the memories that were erased by . Belinda sees an apparition of  just before she reaches the barber shop. When she later tells the Doctor about seeing a little girl, he guesses it was due to stories from the Story Engine leaking out. When the Doctor overcharges the engine with his endless story, it is shown with clips of the  from :  [+], the  in :  [+], the  in :  [+], the  in :  [+], the  in :  [+], the  in :  [+] with audio from :  [+], audio of the  from :  [+], the  in :  [+], the  in :  [+], the  in :  [+], the  in :  [+], , , and the  in :  [+] (saying the line heard earlier), the  in :  [+] and the  in :  [+]. Clips of the  in :  [+], the  in : "" [+], the Twelfth Doctor in :  [+] and a still of the Fifteenth Doctor in :  [+] appear in the background of the following scene. in article: External links Official  page on  Footnotes  @BBC (2025-03-22). . YouTube. Archived from  on 2025-03-22.   (2025-05-08). . . Archived from  on 2025-05-08.  Amanda-Rae Prescott (2025-05-10). . Den of Geek. Archived from  on 2025-05-11.  . BBC One. Archived from  on 2025-04-30.

Jump on board the DWP Campervan with Brent, Phil and Drew as they take it out for it’s second spin for the week. All three of the guys take the time to watch The Story and the Engine TWICE before embarking on this “more considered” review.

Jump onboard and enjoy!

In this episode of the Who's He? Podcast....

Review - The Story and The Engine

Join Phil and Paul as they take a deeper look at the latest episode of Doctor Who, The Story and The Engine. With the Doctor trapped in a barbers shop in Lagos, with a demon barber who feeds his giant spider stories (you will have to watch to figure it out), will Phil ever grow his hair back? And will Paul's ever stop growing?

You can currently find us on X, Threads, Mastodon, Bluesky and Facebook.  Don't miss an episode by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, plus many other podcatchers of your choice.

The Story and The Engine is a fantastic story. That's it, that's the post. It's well written, it tells a story that we don't really see in Doctor Who, it's amazing to look at, and it provides representation where we really really haven't had it on this show. All of that is fantastic, so you'll hear a lot of that, a couple teeny nitpicks, and a lot of speculation on where this season's end game may be headed!

Highlander II Plan, Andor, Doctor Who: The Story and the Engine, Surveillance, Stains, Insurance, Shoes, Hobbit, London, Blast

We take a look at “The Well” and “Lucky Day”.

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SHOW NOTES

(00:59:58) An article reporting claims that Elvis may have been of Welsh descent.

(01:04:23) This audio clip is of course from “The Tom Baker Years”, featuring Tom’s own memories of “Meglos”.

(01:06:14) At this year’s Capitol event, we got Peter Davison to autograph Mark’s copy of Doctor Who Monthly #55 and we’re offering it to someone who send us a Private Message on any of our social media platforms (linked above). We’ll draw a name out of a hat during the next podcast. The magazine can be seen on our Tumblr page here.

The Diddly Dum Podcast acknowledges the copyright of anyone we’ve pinched anything from.

The series reaches the midway point, so why not drop in on last season's companion and spend some time with Ruby? Pete McTighe brings a story examining contemporary issues while he tries to channel his inner Haisman and Lincoln, massaging both the right and left wings of the political spectrum to leave us with a muddy middle. Toss in a new UNIT dating controversy and some continuity reinforcement, and you get yourself a "Lucky Day". Does Millie Gibson have the acting chops to carry another heavy-lift Doctor-lite story like with last season's "73 Yards"? Perhaps, but not for us though. Ben speculates that this story is a soft launch for The War between the Land and the Sea. And David wonders why does posh Jonah Hauer-King look like a long lost McGann brother? Opening and closing music is "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers. We recorded this episode on 7 May 2025.

Doc takes a break from saving the world to read some lady's private correspondence

The post N188 Joy to the World appeared first on Who Back When | A Doctor Who Podcast.

Ross, Jeff, and Melvin love stories.  The Story & The Engine examines the power of a storie.  They also talk about the need of places where on feels they belong and are safe. All that a story only Doctor Who could tell

 

#DoctorWho #TARDIS #BBC #Disney+ #TheDoctor #stories 

The Three Who Rule weigh in on an episode full of of firsts as The Doctor and Belinda head to 2019 Nigeria in “The Story and The Engine,” a mix of mythology, storytelling, and a big ol’ spider! What did they think of this psychological thriller set in a barbershop that also wanders through a web of dimensions? Plus what were Millie Gibson and RTD on about on The One Show and Morning Live, respectively? And what’s Eric Roberts’ Master up to? All these questions won’t be answered, but enjoy anyway!

Links:

• Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon
• Doctor Who S2E05 “The Story & the Engine” Review
• Doctor Who S2E05 Unleashed
• Doctor Who S2E05 Behind the Scenes
• The Story & the Engine prequel
• Compilation of past Doctor clips and the source stories
• “The Reality War” simulcasts on Disney+, iPlayer, and BBC One at 7pm UK time on May 31
• Millie Gibson on The One Show talking about the finale
• RTD on Morning Live
• The Jon Pertwee Collection Audio CD due July 4
• Big Finish Paul Spragg Memorial Short Trip Opportunity 2025 competition open, closes mid-June
• Big Finish: The Worlds of Doctor Who – Dark Gallifrey: Master! begins July 2025

Well folks, the episode has arrived. The List Makers is 50 episodes young and to celebrate we're going to tackle the list of all lists. The list every fan carries in their head. The list that is totally subjective. The list that can cause the most arguments.

Our Top Doctors.

Who are our top Doctors? Why are they our top Doctors? What would your picks be? Why not write in and let us know?

Contact us:

X / Twitter: @theDWshow
Bluesky: @thedwshow.net
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Email: hello@theDWshow.net

Summary:

Adam J Purcell, Fake Keith, the Real Keith Dunn and Scott Fuller review the new Doctor Who episodes The Well and Lucky Day, discuss their visit to the BFI/DWAS event Doctor Who 20 Years on, find some general news and a variety of other stuff, specifically:

• 00:00 – Intro and theme tune.
• 01:22 — Welcome!
• 01:59 – News:
• 02:08 — Doctor Who: Cinematic simultaneous release.
• 04:07 — Doctor Who: New Target books.
• 05:34 — Returning Series: Resident Alien, The Sandman and Wednesday.
• 08:59 — CERN: Real antimatter containment chamber.
• 10:33 — Ncuti Gatwa: Eurovision.
• 13:32 – Doctor Who:
• 13:41 — The Well.
• 29:25 — Lucky Day.
• 48:43 – BFI/DWAS: Doctor Who 20 Years On.
• 58:08 – Crumbly’s Corner.
• 61:23 – Emails and listener feedback.
• 82:29 – Farewell for this podcast!
• 83:33 — End theme, disclaimer, copyright, etc.

Vital Links:

• Staggering Stories.
• BBC: Doctor Who.
• Wikipedia: Resident Alien.
• Wikipedia: The Sandman (Vertigo).
• Wikipedia: Wednesday (TV series).
• Wikipedia: CERN.
• Wikipedia: Ncuti Gatwa.
• Wikipedia: Eurovision Song Contest.
• Wikipedia: The Well (Doctor Who).
• BBC: Doctor Who: The Well.
• Wikipedia: Lucky Day (Doctor Who).
• BBC: Doctor Who: Lucky Day.
• Facebook: Staggering Stories Group.

Lagos, Nigéria. Em THE STORY & THE ENGINE, o Doutor (Ncuti Gatwa) decide visitar seu velho amigo Omo, dono de uma barbearia, mas se depara com uma situação inesperada. Um outro barbeiro tomou conta do local e usa pessoas para energizar um motor movido a estórias.

Além disso, esse novo barbeiro conta com a ajuda de Abby, uma garota cujo rosto o Doutor se lembra de algum lugar, mas não sabe bem de onde. Uma história tocante e cheia de poesia e mistério, tocando em temas profundamente humanos.

This week the Doctor visited Africa for Doctor Who: The Story and The Engine, a wonderfully original idea brought to the show.

 

You may wish to contribute to the show’s running costs, it’s Patreon is here https://www.patreon.com/tdrury

or buy me a coffee here https://ko-fi.com/timdrury

 

The show is also on Facebook please join the group for exclusive behind the scenes insights and of course also discuss and feedback on the show https://www.facebook.com/groups/187162411486307/

 

If you want to send me comments or feedback you can email them to tdrury2003@yahoo.co.uk

or contact me on twitter where I'm @tdrury or send me a friend request and your comments to facebook where I'm Tim Drury and look like this http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdrury/3711029536/in/set-72157621161239599/ in case you were wondering.

 

In this episode of the Who's He? Podcast....

Knee-jerk Reaction - The Story and The Engine

Join Scott and Phil for 10 minutes or so as they give their knee-jerk reaction to The Story and The Engine, the latest episode of Doctor Who starring Ncuti Gatw and Varada Sethu.

Phil will be back with Paul during the week with their full review.

You can currently find us on X, Threads, Mastodon, Bluesky and Facebook.  Don't miss an episode by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Podcasts, plus many other podcatchers of your choice.

Wow! How hairy was that?! Join James, Michele and Ian for their thoughts on this week’s episode of Doctor Who, The Story and the Engine!

As always, we want to hear from you – what did you think? Let us know by emailing the Campervan at feedback@thedoctorwhopodcast.com, Tweeting or Xing us, or jump on our Facebook Page or Group!

Brent and Drew and Phil will be back on Wednesday with Episode 398A, so make sure you keep an eye (or an ear) on your DWP feed!

Wow! How hairy was that?! Join James, Michele and Ian for their thoughts on this week’s episode of Doctor Who, The Story and the Engine!

As always, we want to hear from you – what did you think? Let us know by emailing the Campervan at feedback@thedoctorwhopodcast.com, Tweeting or Xing us, or jump on our Facebook Page or Group!

Brent and Drew and Phil will be back on Wednesday with Episode 398A, so make sure you keep an eye (or an ear) on your DWP feed!

In Lagos, the mysterious Barber reigns supreme. The Doctor discovers a world where stories have power, but can he stop the Spider and its deadly web of revenge?

What did we make of it? This is our HOT TAKE.

Contact us:

X / Twitter: @theDWshow
Bluesky: @thedwshow.net
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Email: hello@theDWshow.net

Giles, Rick and Richard are joined by honoured guest Jim Trenowden to discuss two stories about exploitation - in this episode missing, but recently animated 1st Doctor story The Savages from Season 3, which we'll pair next time with 10th Doctor outing New Earth from Series 2. We'll decide these stories give you a bit of a boost, or just leave you feeling wiped out

Please like or share our podcast with people who will enjoy it, so we can build our listener base high for happiness. You can rate us directly on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser.com

Jim is promoting the work of Film is Fabulous, a truly exciting endeavour to preserve films in the hands of private collectors, some of which are unique, and save them from being lost forever. You can find out more about Film is Fabulous here: https://filmisfabulous.org.uk/

Rick posts on social media as @brickpandorica, where you can find fantastic pictures of his Lego models of Doctor Who moments.

Giles is a published author with many books, primarily related to science and astronomy. check out his work here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Giles-Sparrow/author/B001IXOESC, or anywhere you go to find books.

Richard's other podcast "If It's Hurting, It's not Working" is currently on hiatus, but it's a fun and informative look at work - why we work, how we work, and what makes a great job. And also what makes a great workplace, how to turn things round when we're not enjoying our work and, in the end, how we can all make our work better. For all episodes, go to https://ifhurtnotwork.podbean.com/ and https://ifhurtnot.work.

The Something Who logo, which features prominently on all our cover art was designed for us by Bea Garrido. She's a really talented artist, who you can find by following this link: https://beagarridoart.weebly.com/, where you can buy prints of some remarkable paintings of characters from Doctor Who.

The opening music is Three Guitars Mood 2 and, yes, that is Richard playing the ukulele and kazoo on possibly the worst ever version of the Doctor Who theme tune at the end.

  The Zygons have come to claim the Earth, and this time they're playing the long game. For the Black Cadre have a plan, a plan that will take exactly one hundred years to come to fruition. Prepare yourselves... the Zygon Century has begun! 1901: The Unknowing Mirror by Jonathan Barnes In Edwardian London, that scandalous investigator of occult phenomena, Mr Herbert Scott, and his associate, Father Felix Cromwell, are confronted by a case of possession. A young woman, suffering from unusually vivid dreams, seems also to exhibit signs of a completely separate personality. Another being is speaking through her, a being which claims not to be from Earth at all, a being which calls itself... Zygon. 1935: The Miracle of Pendour Cove by Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle Freddie Trewella has found a mermaid, beautiful and strange, washed ashore in a Cornish bay. He names her Vorvoren, and she comforts him in his harsh life of servitude to a zealot father. As they grow together, Vorvoren shows Freddie her secret power, to change her appearance into anything she desires. But Freddie has secrets of his own, terrible secrets, and soon Vorvoren's great adventure among the humans becomes a nightmarish fight for survival... 1957: Double Agent by Trevor Baxendale In an England gripped by Cold War paranoia, wounded MI5 operative Caldwell is itching to rejoin the fray abroad. So why are the service sending him to a remote Cornish island? Can the future of the world really be at stake? Will he be able to complete his mission without falling foul of the hideous monsters stalking the caves? And who exactly is the island's other new arrival: an operative of quite a different kind, known only as the Doctor? **Please note: The Miracle of Pendour Cove contains depictions of domestic violence which we strongly advise is not suitable for younger listeners**

We have the full gamut of opinions, or perhaps a well-structured focus group, on this episode of Verity! Lynne, Kat, and Tansy discuss the episode Lucky Day, including its plot points and plot holes. 

Of course, many questions are still left unanswered, but that makes it even more fun to talk about them.

What did you think about Lucky Day? And was this a Ruby Sunday episode or a UNIT episode? 

Leave a comment here, email us, or join us on BlueSky or Instagram.

^K

On this week's Wanderers in the 4th Dimension: Who Reviews podcast, the Wanderers review story #316, Lucky Day!

Hosts:

• David http://www.davidsafar.com/    @gwythinn    MaroonedWhovian    DraconianProgeny
• Trevor  @whoviantrev.bsky.social    Trevsplace
• Charlie  @insanityinchaos    The Comic Conspiracy
• Connor  The Deadly Emerald

Join us next week for our review of the new episode, story #317, The Story & the Engine!  You can send us feedback on Facebook at Wanderers in the 4th Dimension or on Bluesky @wanderin4d.bsky.social!

Thank you for downloading the Trap One Podcast.

On this week's episode it is UK Jason, US Jason, Keith and James' Lucky Day as they discuss the latest episode of Doctor Who.

In this episode of the Who's He? Podcast....

Review - Lucky Day

Join Phil and Paul in their deeper review of Lucky Day, the latest episode of Doctor Who starry Ncuti Gatwa, Varada Sethu and Millie Gibson. With a returning Ruby Sunday in a Doctor-lite episode, writer Pete McTighe attempts to address the nature of conspiracy theories and paramilitary organisations. Or is it really about a spoilt man-child out for revenge?

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  Lucky Day (Doctor Who) 3 languages Tools         Appearance  hide Text Small Standard Large Width Standard Wide Color (beta) Automatic Light Dark   From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 316 – "Lucky Day"  episode Promotional title-card Cast  –   –   –  Others Benjamin Chivers – Young Conrad Kirsty Hoiles – Moira Clark  – Conrad Clark Gethin Alderman – The Shreek Kareem Alexander – Jordan Lang  – Carla Sunday  – Cherry Sunday  – Louise Miller Madison Stock – Elsa Paddy Stafford – Sparky Blake Anderson – Jack Aoife Gaston – Michelle  – Alfie Michael Woodford – Derek  –  Alexander Devrient – Colonel Christofer Ibrahim Tina Gray – Audrey  – Shirley Bingham  –   – Herself  – Himself  – Herself Calypso Cragg – Influencer 2 James Craven – Influencer 3 Selorm Adonu – Influencer 1 Aidan Cook – The Vlinx  – Voice of the Vlinx  – Mrs Flood Production Directed by Written by Script editor David Cheung Produced by Vicki Delow Executive producer(s) Joel Collins Music by Series Running time 46 minutes First broadcast 3 May 2025 Chronology ← Preceded by "" Followed by → "" "Lucky Day" is the fourth episode of the  of the  series . It was written by , and was directed by . The episode was released on , , and  on 3 May 2025. It features the return of companion  (), who plays a leading role in the episode opposite Conrad Clark (), with both the  () and  (), the series' main leads, only appearing briefly. The episode focuses on Ruby, who begins a relationship with Conrad as she attempts to find her place in the world after leaving the Doctor. When it is revealed that Conrad wants to "expose"  for their goals being "fake", Ruby and  have to deal with the repercussions of Conrad's actions. The episode was devised by showrunner , with Davies enlisting McTighe to write the episode. He used the episode to explore Ruby and Kate's characters while also exploring the "the spread of online hatred" and its effects. The episode's monster, the Shreek, was based off of McTighe's childhood fears of dog-like creatures in the dark, with the creature being portrayed via costume and an animatronic head. Filming took place in November 2023 and it was  with the . The episode received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted Gibson's performance, the twist regarding Conrad's true identity, and the episode's social commentary, but were more critical of underdeveloped plotlines in the episode, as well as the execution of Conrad as an antagonist. Plot []  and  arrive on New Year's Day, 2007, and meet eight-year-old Conrad. Following this, Conrad investigates sightings of the Doctor and the , seeing a younger Doctor with his then-companion  in 2024, where he is marked as prey by a creature called the Shreek. In 2025, after stopping travelling with the Doctor, Ruby gives Conrad about her encounters with extraterrestrial life an interview on his podcast. They start dating and she gives him an antidote to act against him being marked by the Shreek, which has been recently captured by . At a weekend away at Conrad's home village, Ruby fears she is in danger and tells Conrad she is suffering from  following her experiences with the Doctor. Two Shreek appear in pursuit of Conrad, who admits he did not take the antidote. Ruby calls UNIT and their leader  to the village. The Shreek are revealed to be fake, part of a setup orchestrated by Conrad, whose relationship with Ruby was a ploy, against UNIT. A scandal breaks and Conrad and his followers continue to perpetuate disinformation about the non-existence of aliens, discrediting UNIT. After Conrad publishes details of UNIT employees, Kate realises he has an insider in UNIT. The insider sneaks Conrad into the building. Alerted to his presence, Kate allows Conrad to reach the command floor, where he livestreams his intrusion. In order to expose Conrad's lies Kate releases the Shreek, which hunts Conrad. With the Shreek attacking him, Conrad admits on his livestream he has been lying about UNIT. Ruby stuns the Shreek, although it manages to injure Conrad's arm. Public sentiment turns in UNIT's favour, though Colonel Ibrahim tells Kate that she went too far by releasing the Shreek. Ruby decides to get away to overcome her trauma, and Kate offers her support when she is ready to talk. Conrad is imprisoned and the Doctor berates him for harming Ruby and his friends. Conrad asks the Doctor if he has yet met Belinda, who the Doctor has not, since that's his future. The Doctor tells Conrad that he will die in prison and be forgotten by history. However, after the Doctor leaves Conrad, Mrs Flood releases him. Production [] Development [] Showrunner  wished to include an episode discussing the spread of "toxic, online hatred", and contacted writer  to write the script. McTighe had previously written episodes under former showrunner . When writing the episode, he said that he wanted to take the opportunity to explore what happens to a  after they leave , feeling that it had infrequently been done in the past. McTighe described the episode as a mix between , , and . He also compared one of the main settings to Devil's End from the 1971 serial  and the fact that it was a Ruby-centric story to the 2024 episode "". Ruby was referred to as having  following her time with the Doctor, which Davies wanted to portray in the episode. The episode also allowed McTighe to explore Kate's character further, with her willingness to go too far being something that McTighe stated would have further repercussions "beyond this episode, beyond this season, even beyond this show." McTighe developed the Shreek off the idea of a "four-legged, creeping animal", leaning into his childhood fears about dog-like creatures in the dark. He made its motivations simple, with a desire to hunt, to make a monster that could not be reasoned with and terrifying. Prior to this, the Shreek were first mentioned in Caged, a 2024 Doctor Who novel by . McTighe also included a number of  to past episodes and . "Lucky Day" is a "Doctor-lite" episode, which Davies stated required them to find "inventive ways" to include the Doctor, one of which is a  to a story set in the . The  took place at  on 7 November 2023. Casting [] The episode starred  (left) and  (right) as  and Conrad Clark.  returns as outgoing series regular and former companion . It is the first of two appearances that Gibson is set to make during the , as well as her first appearance since the 2024 Christmas special, "". In July 2024, at the Doctor Who  panel, it was officially announced that  had been cast in a role that would be involved in Ruby's character arc. Further details later revealed that Hauer-King would portray Conrad, a  and Ruby's boyfriend.  and  also make brief appearances as the  of  and his companion, , respectively.  who plays Alfie previously held the role of the Castellan in "" (1983).  reprised her role as newsreader Trinity Wells.  appears as herself, a Welsh presenter on  interviewing Conrad. The remainder of the guest cast includes , , , , Alexander Devrient, and , as well as  in a voice role. Filming and production design [] The primary Shreek costume was constructed using  molds and , with the final molds eventually being injected with  and painted. The Shreek uses an animatronic head. The Shreek costumes used in the episode by Conrad's friends were designed as derivative versions of the primary Shreek costume. The design team at Millenium FX had a designer look at the primary Shreek costume once and then construct the derivative version from memory to reflect the costumes' in-universe construction. The team had to make the costumes look convincing while also looking like "rubber costumes", which proved a challenge. The Shreek performers are unable to see inside the mask, requiring outside direction for the actors to know where they need to go. The inclusion of  in the scene where Conrad explores the abandoned department store featuring the Shreek was a result of McTighe wanting to include a callback to the first episode of Doctor Who's revived era, "" (2005), which featured living mannequins called .  Pame Downe designed Ruby's outfits with dark blue and green colors, which Gibson felt were "more mature colors". One of her outfits included a pinstripe suit and pants that Gibson said was reminiscent of one of 's previous outfits in the series. Filming occurred in the Welsh village of  (pictured). "Lucky Day" is directed by . The episode was placed in the second production block of the fifteenth series with the first episode, "", and followed recording of "Joy to the World" in the block immediately preceding. The two episodes in this block were filmed concurrently by utilizing a .  for the episode began on 14 November 2023. Gibson and Hauer-King were spotted filming scenes together two days later.  was done in  on 24 November. The production team made use of  for the aforementioned abandoned department store scene, which was similarly used as a filming location in "Rose". For the scenes set in the village, the town of , was used with recording taking place from 27–29 November. Two-thirds of the budget allocated to the six-week filming block was used during those three days, three hours of which were spent shooting three takes with a helicopter. Broadcast and reception [] Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating B- 10/10 7/10 Broadcast [] "Lucky Day" was  released on  at 8 a.m.  (BST) in the United Kingdom and on  in the United States at 12 a.m.  on 3 May 2025. A  broadcast of the episode followed at 7:10 p.m. BST.  also handled international distribution of the episode. Ratings [] The episode recorded overnight broadcast ratings of 1.5 million, a decline on the previous episodes and setting a new record low after Lux's 1.58 million. Critical reception [] Robert Anderson, writing for , praised the episode's writing, the performance of Gibson, and the usage of Conrad as an antagonist, though stated that the episode, at times could feel "hollow" and that Ruby's character arc was not as well executed as it could have been. Daniel Cooper, writing for , similarly highlighted the twist about Conrad's identity, McTighe's writing, and the episode's social commentary, but felt Conrad's backstory utilizing "the trope that survivors of abuse perpetuate that cycle of abuse" was overused. Adi Tantimedh, writing for , praised the episode, highlighting the twist involving Conrad and the episode's social commentary. Stefan Mohammed, writing for , found several of the episode's plot points underdeveloped, stating that Ruby's character arc was undermined by her strong home life and that Conrad embodying all aspects of the social issues being discussed made him feel overcomplicated with unclear motivations. Despite this, he found Gibson's performance compelling, and highlighted the episode's usage of Kate. Vicky Jessop, writing for the , positively highlighted the episode, though felt Conrad's execution as an antagonist was weak, and that the consequences of his actions were not explored well enough. Isobel Lewis, writing for , stated the episode had consistency issues not present in the rest of the series; she also found it to retread similar ground to previous series episode "", to which she negatively compared "Lucky Day". References [] ^      (Behind the scenes featurette). 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025 – via .  Eddy, Cheryl (27 January 2025). . . Retrieved 26 April 2025.  Gledhill, Lisa (24 April 2025). Quinn, Jason (ed.). "Preview - Lucky Day". . No. 616. . pp. 12–14.  . BBC Mdia Centre. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^       Powell, Steffan (presenter); Aiken, Jonathon (director) (3 May 2025). . . Series 15. Episode 4. .  and . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Salmon, Will (3 May 2025). . . . Retrieved 4 May 2025.  Tantimedh, Adi (2 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Mitovich, Matt Webb (1 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Rowan, Iona (30 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Famurewa, Jimi (1 April 2025). . .  from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Mitovich, Matt Webb (2 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 March 2025.  Hibbs, James (28 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Petski, Denise (3 May 2025). . .  Griffin, Louise (30 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.   (writer),  (director), Delow, Vicky (producer) (3 May 2025). . . Series 15. Episode 4. . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Tantimedh, Adi (30 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Griffin, Louise (3 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  . TVZoneUK. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Rowan, Iona (29 April 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.  Mellor, Louisa (24 March 2025). . .  from the original on 7 April 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^   Quinn, Jason, ed. (November 2023). "Issue 596". . No. 596. . p. 4.  Quinn, Jason, ed. (January 2024a). "Issue 598". . No. 598. . p. 12. ^   Quinn, Jason, ed. (February 2024). "Issue 601". . No. 601. . p. 10.  Craig, David (16 November 2023). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^   Lewis, Isobel (3 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^   Tantimedh, Adi (3 May 2025). . .  from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025. ^   Jessop, Vicky (3 May 2025). . . Retrieved 3 May 2025.

REVOLUTION?

• Welcome to Mostly Harmless Cutaway One Eight Six featuring Josh, Sean, and Eric. Join us as we dive into a NEW Doctor Who story, discussing the first episode of Ncuti Gatwa's second series as the 15th Doctor, in The Robot Revolution! Let the banter begin!

LINKS:

• @SciFiPartyLine: scifipartyline.com
• @ProgNeg: prognosisnegative.libsyn.com
• @StarTrekRBG: startrekrbg.libsyn.com
• Mostly Harmless Cutaway Patreon: patreon.com/MHC

WARNING:

• This discussion contains miscellaneous K-9 and Company, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, Sherlock, Class, new WHO, and/or classic SPOILERS pertaining to Doctor Who. If you are 100% spoilerphobic to new & classic episodes not yet seen, do NOT complain to us. This episode is MOSTLY HARMLESS & contains EXPLICIT ideas, and as always expect strokes of innuendo throughout.

 DISCLAIMER:

• This episode was recorded on Apr. 30th, 2025.

 

DON'T PANIC

Host/Producer: Eric @BullittWHO Prognosis Negative Movie Reviews Podcast Star Trek: Romulans Bearing Gifts Podcast

Co-host: Josh @whomeJZ

Co-hostess: Cat @fancyfembot Sci-Fi Party Line Podcast

Co-host: Sean @HomrigSean The Cabot Cove Confab: A Murder, She Wrote Podcast The Best Picture Podcast

Co-host: Carl @robominister

Co-host/Editor: Caleb @CalebAlexader The Novice Elitists Film Podcast Bending the Elements: An Avatar Podcast

 

Mostly Harmless Cutaway @DoctorWhoMHC Email: Guidetothewhoverse ~at~ gmail ~dot~com Website: guidetothewhoverse.libsyn.com/site Patreon: patreon.com/MHC Tumblr: doctorwhomhc.tumblr.com  Facebook: facebook.com/DoctorWhoMHC 

Art: H.B. Lockwood @hayleyglyphs Eponymous opening by Emily K. @emilyooo MHCTheme created by E.A. Escamilla

Well, despite a few bits of logic we just couldn't quite reconcile, we still really enjoyed Lucky Day. Much like last season's Dot and Bubble, we have a good script and a character that's crafted specifically for us to hate him. We have a wrestling-level heel turn mid-episode that just sets us on our back foot for the rest of the adventure. Plus we get some juicy hints as to what's to come in the back half of the season!

Well, despite a few bits of logic we just couldn't quite reconcile, we still really enjoyed Lucky Day. Much like last season's Dot and Bubble, we have a good script and a character that's crafted specifically for us to hate him. We have a wrestling-level heel turn mid-episode that just sets us on our back foot for the rest of the adventure. Plus we get some juicy hints as to what's to come in the back half of the season!

Join James and Ian for their take on today’s 20th Anniversary celebration at the British Film Institute! Yes, The BFI and The Doctor Who Appreciation Society screened Dalek and Father’s Day, two seminal episodes from the 2005 series.

However Phil, Drew and Ian take the opportunity to have their say on Lucky Day first – too much Doctor Who to cover this week for an “A” episode!

We’ll be back at the weekend to talk about Episode 5 of the new series, The Story and the Engine. Can’t wait!

Enjoy the show.

Doctor Who delves into the fetid swamps of online discourse this week as Ruby Sunday returns to Doctor Who and the UK experiences seesawing public sentiment in “Lucky Day!” Did the Three Who Rule enjoy it, or more to the point, how much did they not like it? Listen and learn! Plus the aforementioned Millie Gibson is set to grace Gallifrey One, Ncuti Gatwa is announcing UK scores at Eurovision, whatever that means (Chris explains), The Savages and The War Games in Colour are on their way to Blu-ray in North America, books, Big Finish and more! Next Week: The Story and the Engine!

Links:

• Support Radio Free Skaro on Patreon
• Millie Gibson Makes Her North American Convention Debut at Gallifrey One
• Janet Fielding Added to Guest List for Gallifrey One 2026
• Gallifrey One LAX Marriott block opens May 9
• Doctor Who “Lucky Day” Review
• Doctor Who Unleashed S2E04
• Doctor Who S2E04 Behind the Scenes
• Doctor Who YouTube channel hits 2M subscribers
• Ncuti Gatwa to announce UK scores at Eurovision
• Doctor Who Season 2 finale coming to cinemas across the UK & Ireland
• Doctor Who: Season One Blu-ray coming to North America on June 24
• The Savages available for Canadian preorder (May 20)
• The War Games in colour available for Canadian preorder (June 24)
• Doctor Who – Time and Space for Everyone goes out May 19
• Big Finish The Death and Life of River Song: The Dissolution of Time due August 2025
• Doctor Who Myths and Legends: The Reeltime Pictures Story due Aug 30, released at Whooverville
• Exterminart! The Doctor Who Dalek Art of Andrew Skilleter updated edition available for preorder
• Classic Who on U&Eden in the UK starting May 5

Ross, Jeff, and Melvin are back to talk about the Doctor 'light' episode. There is nothing light about this piece of TV.  The epidsode an effect on all three of them. It lead to an amazing conversation

 

#DoctorWho #BBC #DisneyPlus #15thDoctor #RudySunday #BelindaChandra #UNIT #KateLethridgeStewart 

Andor, Doctor Who: Lucky Day

Ruby Sunday faces life back on earth without the Doctor. But when a dangerous new threat emerges, can Ruby and UNIT save her new boyfriend, Conrad, from the terrifying Shreek?

What did we make of it? This is our HOT TAKE.

Contact us:

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Email: hello@theDWshow.net

This week Ruby Sunday returns in a Dr light episode entitled Doctor Who: Lucky Day.

 

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Afinal, o que acontece com os companions depois que o Doutor vai embora? E qual a influência do Doutor na vida do cidadão comum que não viaja com ele?Em LUCKY DAY, um episódio quase sem Doutor, temos a volta de Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), que tenta seguir em frente após suas viagens a bordo da TARDIS. Ela conhece um novo rapaz, Conrad Clark (Jonah Hauer-King), que teve uma experiência com o Doutor ainda criança e criou um podcast (!) para contar sua história. Quando uma ameaça se apresenta, eles contam com a ajuda de Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) e da UNIT.Estresse pós-traumático, as "mentiras" da UNIT e Sra. Flood se apresentando como "A Governadora": vem com a gente nesse review!

Well, well, well. This week returns us to Midnight, but this time with Lombardo space marines on a search and recovery mission to a diamond mine that has gone silent. Another interesting future-tech gadget from the mind of RTD, with the TARDIS cracking the spacesuit selection for Belinda and the Doctor. But overall, David thought the Doctor's thinking and planning was sloppy and Ben thought the story was a bit choppy. Opening music is "Diamonds are Forever" composed and conducted by John Barry with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Closing music is a 1935 recording from Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians, "I'm Just an Ordinary Human". We recorded this episode on 29 April 2025.