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PODCAST

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast

Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor

There are many Doctor Who podcasts. Only one dares review the entire show... in entirely random order! Join journalists Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor as they summarize stories in record time, play the Whomoji game, enter the History Corner, answer the Four Questions to Doomsday, and cower in fear before the almighty Randomizer. New episode every Saturday!

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

01:24:16

Bonnie Dangerously (Quartering “The Highlanders”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2026/01/17

It’s the Second Doctor’s second story, and he’s already cross-dressing, bashing heads, and doing the worst German accent this side of Oktoberfest. The Highlanders is a story where the Doctor flails through post-regeneration weirdness while Ben, Polly, and proto-companion Jamie navigate the aftermath of Culloden and a plot to sell Scots into slavery. With violent slapstick, dodgy disguises, and an unexpected showdown on a boat, this might be the most violent—and historically faithful—Doctor Who story

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01:36:28

Clash of the Eras (Mediating “Doctor Who and the...

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2026/01/03

Season seven of Pull To Open begins where all great potholing expeditions do: deep underground, with claw marks from the Randomizer and a moral crisis waiting at the exit. This week it’s Doctor Who and the Silurians, the only story bold enough to put “Doctor Who” in the title, and then end by asking: “So… was that a genocide?” Pete and Chris debate Malcolm Hulke’s surprisingly textured reptiles, UNIT’s “sealed permanently” semantics, and why Pertwee is somehow fully formed in his second story. Plus:

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01:33:52

Dawn of the AIpocalypse (Deprogramming “The War...

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/12/20

Long before Skynet, the British Post Office built its own murderbot. In The War Machines, a supercomputer called WOTAN tries to conquer the world by... hypnotizing secretaries and constructing clunky Dalek knockoffs in a warehouse. And honestly? It almost works. Join us as we revisit the First Doctor’s most tech-forward outing, featuring the debut of companions Ben and Polly, the Inferno Club (not that one), face-sucking elevators, and a press conference for the ages. Is this the beginning of

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01:37:25

Invasion on 34th Street (Speciating “Daleks in...

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/12/06

What happens when the Daleks land in 1930s New York and start questioning who they are? You get one of Doctor Who’s strangest detours for a marquee monster, where the Cult of Skaro grapples with ambition, identity, and a makeover ambitious enough for a Broadway musical. We dig into how Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks blend showbiz sparkle with Hooverville grit, why Dalek Sec’s big evolutionary leap still resonates, and how a story filled with showgirls, pig slaves, and

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01:25:35

Space: 1969 (Energizing “The Space Pirates”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/11/22

Ahoy, space scallywags! This week the Randomizer maroons us in The Space Pirates, the six-part “epic” so padded it should come with its own flotation device. Join us as we navigate Argonite economics, Star Trek knockoff vibes, Clancy's comedy moustache, a CEO who is definitely up to something, and a TARDIS crew who spends most of the story confused, kidnapped, or both. Is this Bob Holmes’ secret experiment? A proto–frontier-in-space? Or simply the BBC showing off their 1969 model shop? Whatever

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01:26:42

Doctor, Octopus (Filleting “The Power of Kroll”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/11/08

Doctor Who’s biggest monster gets his due—or does he? The Randomizer drops us into The Power of Kroll, the soggiest segment of the Key to Time season, where the squid is supersized but the stakes… maybe not so much. Join us as we wade through methane, musical glass-shattering, suspicious swampies, and the curious absence of K9. Is Bob Holmes’ least favorite script really that bad, or are we just blinded by all the green body paint?Give your own rating for The Power of Kroll on

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00:48:37

Who Returns? (Reacting to the 2026 Christmas Special...

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/10/29

Doctor Who is back, babes! The BBC has reclaimed its Time Lord, and Pull To Open is here with a full transatlantic debrief. What does Disney’s departure mean for the future of the franchise? What might RTD’s newly announced 2026 Christmas Special look like? Will it be the final chapter of RTD 2.0 or the beginning of something entirely new? Join us for Rose-tinted speculation, companion casting theories, fandom grievances, and way too many ideas for how to fix the streaming rights vortex. Plus: Jelly

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01:33:32

The Martians (Chilling “The Ice Warriors”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/10/25

It’s the second Ice Age and Britannicus Base is under siege—by glaciers, bureaucracy, and a hissy Martian warlord with grabby hands. Join us as we dig into The Ice Warriors, the monster debut that screams “classic” but quietly whispers “fix me.” Are the Warriors even wearing armor? How does Jamie know Shakespeare? And did humanity really get rid of all the plants? The Randomizer serves us a slow-burn base-under-siege with a plot twist that feels… scientifically questionable. But we’re here for

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01:31:20

Wolf Clan (Metamorphosing “Tooth and Claw”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/10/11

We are amused. Even Queen Victoria couldn’t keep a straight face through this lycanthropic slice of Tennant-era mayhem. Tooth and Claw is a kung-fu-kicking, wolf-howl-screaming, Torchwood-originating slice of steampunk nonsense, and honestly? It rules. The TARDIS misses Ian Dury and lands in the middle of an accidental backdoor pilot for Torchwood—with kung fu monks (???), an anti-wolf diamond laser, and a Queen who just wants these grinning time travelers gone. Does it all hold up? Sort of. Does it

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01:37:37

Planet Mirth (Delighting “The Happiness Patrol”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/09/27

Doctor Who gets political, camp, and candy-coated all at once in The Happiness Patrol. On Terra Alpha, Helen A rules with a smile—and a gun—while her confectionary executioner, The Candy Man, dishes out death by fondant. Pete and Chris dive into this neon-noir dystopia, unpack the not-so-subtle Thatcher parallels, and debate whether Sylvester McCoy’s most infamous outing is biting satire, glorious camp, or both. Happiness will prevail… but only if the Randomizer allows it.Give your own rating for

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00:56:33

Island Chat (Interviews from Long Island Who 2025)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/09/14

What’s it like to work on Doctor Who and Torchwood when you’re not in the spotlight—but still right there among the monsters, costumes, and chaos? In this very special live episode recorded at Long Island Who, Pete and Chris chat with two veterans of the Whoniverse: Mickey Lewis, a monster actor and novelist with stories to spare (including some very punk-rock prose the BBC might not approve of), and Amy Benedict, a Hollywood mainstay whose time on Torchwood: Miracle Day gave her a fresh outsider’s

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01:34:32

Master of the Moment (Ingesting “The Time Monster”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/08/30

TOMTIT jokes. Chronovores. Diapers. That one time the Doctor ran interference with a cork and a fork. Welcome to The Time Monster — a Pertwee six-parter that throws everything into the vortex, including Atlantis, bird gods, and a TARDIS nesting doll. Is this Jon Pertwee’s “so bad it’s good” masterpiece? Or just a cautionary tale about letting the Master go full academia? We try to make sense of the nonsense, analyze why the Master needs to chill with the bird metaphors, and launch a bold theory:

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01:28:37

Rex and the City (Regressing “Invasion of the...

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/08/16

Dinosaurs in Doctor Who? Always a risky proposition—especially when they’re on a BBC budget in 1974. Invasion of the Dinosaurs tries to roar, but often just… stands there looking sleepy. Still, there’s more to this six-parter than claymation T-rexes. Sarah Jane gets her best early outing as a journalist, UNIT is (mostly) back together, and Mike Yates makes a shocking heel turn. Add in Operation Golden Age, one of Classic Who’s most bonkers conspiracies, and you’ve got a story that’s as much

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01:34:10

Mission Creep (Silencing "The Impossible Astronaut"...

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/08/02

Memory, manipulation, and moon landings collide in one of the most audacious season openers in Doctor Who history. In The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, Steven Moffat unleashes the Silence — a monster so terrifying, you forget them the moment you look away — and dares viewers to keep up with a non-linear plot packed with space-suited children, timey-wimey double Doctors, and a shockingly competent Nixon. But does all the complexity serve the story, or is it storytelling gymnastics for its

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01:16:13

The Fifteenth Element (Look Back: The Ncuti Gatwa Era)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/07/19

We park the Randomizer for a moment of reflection on the Ncuti Gatwa era — an time of goblins, gods, wish worlds, and controversies that may have rewritten more than canon. From reshoots and reality wars to Billie Piper’s surprise return and Disney’s uncertain handshake, we dive deep into what worked (hello, 73 Yards), what didn’t (Robot Revolution, anyone?), and whether Doctor Who got too much sugar in its tea this time around. Grab your sonic and settle in for a lukewarm take that might still burn

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01:20:49

Playing It School (Sweeping “The Caretaker”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/07/05

When the Twelfth Doctor trades the TARDIS for a mop at Coal Hill School, awkwardness is bound to follow. Join us as we revisit The Caretaker, an episode packed with high-stakes parent-teacher nights, questionable robot threats, and a love triangle that quickly goes off the rails. Can Clara balance dating Danny Pink and running down corridors with the Doctor? And is Peter Capaldi’s cantankerous caretaker disguise fooling anyone? Even Courtney? Ring the school bell—class with Pull To Open is

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01:35:29

Nothing but Double (Replicating “The Android Invasion”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/06/21

Terry Nation returns! But not with Daleks — this time it’s androids, clones, and possibly the most ill-advised eyepatch in Who history. The Randomizer has pulled us into The Android Invasion, a UNIT-adjacent tale with a suspiciously quiet pub, some surprisingly trigger-happy fingers, and a plan so convoluted, it makes a Moffat finale look grounded. Join us as we unravel a story where the twist is that the twist is obvious, Tom Baker takes a dive, and Liz Sladen’s face falls off — literally. If

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01:36:31

Diplomatic Disunity (Negotiating “The Curse of Peladon”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/06/07

Is it a medieval space opera or a green-skinned fever dream? The Curse of Peladon has it both ways, complete with a courtly Pertwee, a princess-posing Jo, and the most phallic alien ever approved for Saturday tea time. Join us as we decode this gothic interstellar allegory about joining galactic federations (or maybe the European Economic Community), uncover who’s behind the spooky beast attacks, and decide if the Ice Warriors are still chill. Also: shoutouts to Alpha Centauri, the most anxious

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00:59:58

Ends with Benefits (HOT TAKE: "The Reality War")

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/05/31

How do you stick the landing for a story about a fake world that’s made of wishes? You let your villain shine, sprinkle in some glorious cameos, and insert a twist that dials the emotional resonance to 11. Somehow, between all the fourth-wall-breaking and nonsensical plot twists, Russell T. Davies wraps up Ncuti Gatwa’s second season of Doctor Who in a way that does more than satisfy—it slaps. Not every plot thread gets fully explored, but the ones that matter actually make sense(!) and are

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00:40:21

Twist and Doubt (HOT TAKE: “Wish World”)

Pull To Open: A Random Doctor Who Podcast ·

2025/05/24

The Doctor’s stuck in a surreal 1950s fever dream, UNIT’s been rebranded as a life insurance agency, and wish-granting gods are running amok. What is even happening in Wish World?! Pete and Chris dive headfirst into RTD’s mind-bending, logic-challenged spectacle that dares to connect the Rani, Poppy, Conrad, and possibly Susan through some extremely wishful thinking. Is this the Doctor’s most confusing domestic life yet? Are Mastodon skeletons the new Macra? Is this what happens when RTD binges The

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68 results

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