On the Time Lash

Treklash 2: Gin of Evil (1980 - 1990)

Send us Fan Mail Mark commands another voyage through the six decades of Star Trek and Doctor Who, ably assisted by his trusty bridge crew; Ben Verth, Richie Morgan and Dylan Rees. This episode, we visit the 1980s and observe the rise of the Star Trek movie franchise, the difficult birth of the Next Generation, and the dying days of Doctor Who. Does The Wrath of Khan have anything in common with Earthshock? How were the early days of TNG a bit like RTD2? And which of us is the Captain Will Decker of podcasting? All this and more in Treklash 2: Gin of Evil. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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Treklash #1: Amok Timelash (1966 - 1979)

Send us Fan Mail Mark Donaldson, Bones Verth, Dylanna Troi (Dylan Rees) and Richie Morgan embark on a 60 year mission to chart the differences and similarities between Star Trek and Doctor Who. THIS EPISODE: We're talking Patrick Troughton and The Original Series to Tom Baker and The Motion Picture. Did the space race help or hinder late 60s Doctor Who and Star Trek: TOS? How Star Trek became a big enough deal in the UK to prompt Bruce Forsyth to dress up as Captain Kirk. But which show is like being drunk with your mates? Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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156. Last Night I Dreamt That I Was an Ambulance (Empire of Death/The Myth Makers)

Send us Fan Mail It's all been leading to this, sort of. Ben and Mark bring season 1 of OTTLXRTD2 to a close with a bumper episode diving deep into the much derided series finale, Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death. Was Ncuti Gatwa tuning a telly really worthy of the big screen treatment? Why is Sutekh such a big fan of Davina McCall's Long Lost Family? And on the subject of abrupt companion departures, the Lash Lads pair Empire of Death with The Myth Makers, comparing and contrasting Vicki's TARDIS departure amidst a Grecian bloodbath. With apologies to Morrissey and Marr... Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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156. Stick a Rainbow on It (Rogue/Black Orchid)

Send us Fan Mail After emerging relatively unscathed from a discussion about racism in Doctor Who, Ben and Mark tackle same sex relationships in Rogue and the representation of disability in Black Orchid. What could possibly go wrong? Also: Ben adds Janet Fielding to his repertoire of impressions and Matthew Waterhouse eats a soggy buffet, and a bunch of listeners have never seen Bridgerton. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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155. White Pricks (Dot and Bubble/The Savages)

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Mark go On the Tightrope as they attempt to talk about the heavy themes and issues brought up by Dot and Bubble without getting cancelled or sounding like Legz Akimbo theatre company. But don't worry, there's some light relief in the form of the William Hartnell serial, The Savages, in which an underclass are brutally subjugated by their privileged masters. Ah. Also: What is the Citizen Kane of Doctor Who? Who's responsible for William Hartnell's Reactive Vibrator? And why shouldn't we mourn Ricky September? Enjoy the podcast? Why not buy us a pint or contribute to our hosting fees here? Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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154. All Talc in His Hair (73 Yards/K9 & Company)

Send us Fan Mail "Everyone gives Doctor Who shit for sticking some glasses on Millie Gibson but what about Amol Rajan?" Spooky women, sexual deviants and robot dogs abound as Ben and Mark tackle Russell T Davies' A24-lite thriller 73 Yards and Terence Dudley's occult oddity, K-9 & Company. Do either of these companion-centric Doctor Who stories actually have anything to say? Who does Susan Twist's Ncuti Gatwa impression remind us of? And while we're at it, whose house smells of ouzo and johnnies? Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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153. Pertwee's Burgers (Boom/Destiny of the Daleks)

Send us Fan Mail Steven Moffat and Terry Nation return to Doctor Who after some time away, but are they all out of tricks? Ben and Mark find out as they discuss Boom from 2024 and Destiny of the Daleks from 1979. How did Boom unite a divided Doctor Who fandom? Will Ben and Mark ever actually talk about what Destiny of the Daleks is rather than what it could have been? And why did Terry Nation veto a Dalek production of Romeo & Juliet? Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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152. Beat-Less (The Devil's Chord/Fanfare for the Common Men)

Send us Fan Mail "...so I can maybe understand why the Beatles look a bit chubby..." Ben and Mark discuss two Doctor Who stories that make a virtue of the absence of The Beatles, to varying degrees of success; 2024's The Devil's Chord, and 2013's Fanfare for the Common Men. Over the course of the discussion, the Lash Lads ponder whether the Fifth Doctor is convincing as a Beatles fan, question the inclusion of "There's Always a Twist at the End", and rifle through RTD's Desert Island Discs. Also: The Degsestial Funmaker challenges the lads to identify two niche bits of Doctor Who related audio merch, and Mark pitches a new BBC book for babies. You can read about the plagiarism allegations against Yesterday here. And there's a Time magazine article about the Paul is Dead conspiracy theory here. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

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151. The Skidmark in Space (Space Babies/Leisure Hive)

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Mark begin the Ncuti Gatwa era proper with a discussion all about Space Babies. Was it really the best story to launch a big, bold, new global era on Disney+ or was it just same old, same old? And by way of contrast, they then turn to The Leisure Hive, the first story of the JN-T era and a bold new vision for Doctor Who. Or was it? Also: How did having an actual baby affect Ben's first viewing of Space Babies? Is it wise to blow the Disney money on a bunch of pram pushers in green morph suits? And why do the Foamasi give the most unsettling lap dances you've ever seen? Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

150. Stake Night (The Church on Ruby Road/State of Decay)

Send us Fan Mail Over two years on from his debut adventure, Ben and Mark return, drinks in hand, to discuss the Ncuti Gatwa era of Doctor Who. Pairing The Church on Ruby Road with State of Decay, the Lash Lads discuss crumbling institutions, rapacious kings and a revolting underclass, but that's enough about the RTD2 era, they also discuss a Christopher H Bidmead story! Also: The Degesestial Funmaker returns to test Ben and Mark's knowledge of Doctor Who merch, but who is William H. Keith? And what do Halle Berry and Matthew Waterhouse have in common? All this and much less in the glorious return of On the Time Lash. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

OTTL Book Club: Myths and Legends by Dylan Rees

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Mark throw open the doors of the On the Timelash bookshop for a boozy book launch with Dylan Rees, author of the fabulous book, Myths and Legends: The Reeltime Pictures Story. The lads chat about how Keith Barnfather, Nicholas Briggs, and many more have created a massive people's history of Doctor Who, courtesy of the Myth Makers interviews, deep dive documentaries and spinoff dramas. And then, in the second half, Dylan chooses a "classic" and "new" Myth Makers for the three of us to discuss; Sylvester McCoy's 1994 interview and Eric Saward's 2005 interview. How has the range changed in the intervening 11 years? You can buy Dylan's book here. You can rent or buy the whole Reeltime Pictures catalogue from here. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

In the Timelash #15 - Si Hart

Send us Fan Mail "Have we learned nothing from Torchwood?" Mark is joined by Si Hart, host of The Library of Impossible Things, who submits his five choices for the tinsel tunnel. It's a wide-ranging discussion that often comes back to reminding us what it is to be a child watching Doctor Who. Under discussion: "Dark" Doctor Who, dodgy tea towels, Tom Baker being all teeth and no curls, the weakest story in season 13, and much more. Also: Who put Ncuti Gatwa in a hydraulic press? And what has Si got against Prentis Hancock? You can see the boxed set that Mark and Si are talking about here. The squashed Ncuti Gatwa can be bought here. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

In the Timelash #14 - ArtfullyLiam

Send us Fan Mail "Amazon Who? You Plonker!" Mark invites enigmatic artist and autograph hunter, @artfullyliam to submit his five choices for the tinsel tunnel. Their discussion takes in whether Doctor Who should be a prick, which fans ought to see an optician and explore why Sutekh, Omega and the Rani didn't work as well as the Daleks, Sarah Jane Smith and The Master. But which Doctor Who companion went from sounding like Jimmy Corkhill to sounding like Lord Mountbatten? Check out Liam's stunning artwork over on Instagram Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

In the Timelash #13 - Richie Morgan

Send us Fan Mail "Sexy Doctors" Mark and Ben(!) invite longtime friend of the show Richie Morgan to submit his five choices for the tinsel tunnel. While Richie insists he's not come to bury RTD, many of his choices force the boys to consider what has and hasn't worked over the past three years. They also force this Timelash trio to ponder the following questions: Why is Russell T Davies like Kim Jong Un? Who is the Scottish goblin? Why should Children in Need give back the money that was raised by Time Crash? You can listen to I Hate Doctor Who here, and their live show will broadcast on July 2nd on YouTube. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

In the Timelash #12 - Iain Martin

Send us Fan Mail "This was always the plan" Mark invites Iain Martin from We're All Stories in the End and All of Time and Space to submit his five Doctor Who gripes for the tinsel tunnel. Iain selects five aspects of the modern Doctor Who experience AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT'S AT NUMBER 2! Also: Why is Mark like Jack the Ripper? What happened when Russell T Davies went to the vets? And can Iain ever be surprised by Nerys Hughes? You can listen to The Electric Sodcast here. You can buy Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley here. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

Retro OTTL: The Empty Child/Doctor Dances/Krotons

Send us Fan Mail Another episode from the OTTL vault, recorded way back in 2014. "Episode #7 sees us discuss Steven Moffat’s debut story The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances which we compare with Robert Holmes’ first offering for Who, The Krotons. Does each story give us an idea of what to expect when both eventually graduate to the big role at the head of the series? And just how would the Tumblr community have reacted to Robert Holmes?" Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

Retro OTTL: Dalek/The Daleks

Send us Fan Mail a.k.a. The Day (in the pub) of the Daleks Ben and Mark reach 2005's Dalek on their Nu-Who watchthrough and pair it with 1963's original serial The Mutants, a.k.a The Daleks. How have the Daleks changed in 40 years? And how quickly would a Dalek kill itself after downloading all of the internet nowadays? Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

Retro OTTL: The Long Game/Vengeance on Varos

Send us Fan Mail In another retro On the Timelash, Ben and Mark from 11 years ago discuss how successfully both The Long Game and Vengeance on Varos skewer the media ecosystem in 2005 and 1985 respectively. "We're in a very similar period now" - Oh, Mark in 2014, just you wait, mate! Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

Retro OTTL: Father's Day/Day of the Daleks

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Mark explore the perils of fannying around with time as they discuss Paul Cornell's emotionally raw Father's Day and pair it up with the classic Jon Pertwee serial Day of the Daleks. Expect tears and wrong-voiced Daleks! Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint

Retro OTTL: Aliens of London/WW3/Terror of the Zygons

Send us Fan Mail Only three episodes in and Ben and Mark are already forced to reconstruct a missing episode as they drink port and whisky while discussing Aliens of London/World War Three (twice) and pair it with another tale of intrigue and shapeshifters; Terror of the Zygons. Support the show Follow us on Bluesky Like us on Facebook Buy us a pint