Pull To Open
Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
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Top 10 Pull To Open Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Pull To Open episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Pull To Open for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Pull To Open episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
09/23/23 • 92 min
An intelligent cactus? A society that worships a giant 12-sided shape? Barbara, but not Barbara? You don’t have to get very far into Meglos to begin to feel this story is the result of a drunken session of Doctor Who mad libs, complete with its own game show segment: How Do Time Lords Get Out of a Time Loop? One thing you can’t take away from Megos — it thoroughly and completely goes for it, and Tom Baker’s double act as both the Doctor and his prickly doppelganger provides a nice throughline for the whole affair. It’s all great fun... until someone loses a dodecahedron.
Special guest Mark Cockram from the All of Time and Space podcast joins! Follow them on X at @MarkCockram (AKA The Human Palindrome) and @TimeNSpacePod.
Commentary for Meglos begins at 19:29.
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Story Essentials
- Season 18, Serial 2
- Story number: 110, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Writer: John Flanagan and Andrew McCulloch
- Director: Terence Dudley
- Producer: John Nathan-Turner
- Aired 27 September – 18 October 1980
Pull To Open: Meglos
- Season 4
- Episode 38
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
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Identity Theft (Bifurcating “Human Nature” and “The Family of Blood,” with guest Steven Schapansky)
Pull To Open
11/11/23 • 89 min
In Doctor Who’s early years, there were many episodes where the Doctor was noticeably absent, usually because William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton needed a holiday from the grueling shooting schedule. But Human Nature is the only episode of Doctor Who where the Doctor doesn’t appear at all outside of flashbacks. Of course, David Tennant is front and center, giving a performance for the ages, literally, in John Smith. There are many reasons this episode, along with the conclusion, The Family of Blood, is so well remembered: Its central plot device tees up the climax the Series 3, it showcases some brilliant guest performances in the villainous Family, and it might even explain why the Eighth Doctor said he was “half-human.” But it’s the love story between Doctor’s alternate identity and a human woman that the story lives or dies upon. Let’s get at the heart of this thing...
This time there's THREE of us! We welcome Steven Schapansky from Radio Free Skaro for this special episode.
Don't forget to give your own rating for Human Nature and The Family of Blood on Spotify!
Commentary for Human Nature | The Family of Blood begins at 24:03.
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Story Essentials
- Series 3, Episodes 8+9
- Story number: 188, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Writer: Paul Cornell
- Director: Charles Palmer
- Showrunner: Russell T. Davies
- Aired 26 May – 2 June 2007
Pull To Open: Human Nature / The Family of Blood
- Season 4
- Episode 45
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Guest: Steven Schapansky from Radio Free Skaro
Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
03/09/24 • 86 min
Time for the yarn on Karn that unravels the Doctor’s entire history — while cramming in more cranial puns than you can shake an oversized amygdala at. The Brain of Morbius is like a New Who embryo in a jar: a self-aware homage (to Frankenstein), a feminist fable (sort of) with a serious theme (immortality) that’s laced with laugh-out-loud lines, and bold changes that go beyond even the Timeless Child. Grab an elixir, don’t touch the wine, and let’s all stare at the magnificent headcanon.
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Timeline:
- Intro 00:00:00
- Previously... 00:01:53
- Whomoji Challenge 00:06:03
- POLL To Open 00:11:17
- TL;DW 00:14:04
- Commentary: The Brain of Morbius 00:18:20
- Four Questions to Doomsday 01:04:19
- What If the Evil Plot Had Succeeded? 01:09:01
- Where Is the Clara Splinter? 01:13:36
- Final Judgment 01:16:15
- Randomizer! 01:22:06
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Story Essentials
- Season 13, Serial 5
- Story number: 83, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Writer: Robin Bland (Terrance Dicks, with Robert Holmes rewrites)
- Director: Christopher Barry
- Script Editor: Robert Holmes
- Producer: Philip Hinchcliffe
- Aired 3 – 24 January 1976
Pull To Open: The Brain of Morbius
- Season 5
- Episode 10
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/supportBlackest Mirror (HOT TAKE: "Dot and Bubble")
Pull To Open
06/01/24 • 40 min
It’s been subtle in the past, but Dot and Bubble is Doctor Who’s first overt homage to Black Mirror, the groundbreaking series that satirizes our relationship with technology in the darkest of ways. It’s ironic, then, that this story has one of the subtlest pieces of subtext in the show’s history, with a moral message lurking just beneath the skin of a biting script full of references to social media, popular culture, and gadgets that lull us into separating ourselves from the real world. This might be Doctor Who allegory at its finest.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel and become a True Companion of the podcast to get new episodes before everyone else!
Support the podcast by becoming a patron of Pull To Open on Patreon.
Please review Pull To Open on Apple Podcasts.
Follow us on:
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Pull To Open: Dot and Bubble HOT TAKE
- Season 5
- Episode 22
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
©️AnyWho Media LLC 2024
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/support01/28/23 • 146 min
As Doctor Who’s ultimate monsters, the Daleks have been rebooted more times than a MacBook doing a janky system update. The most recent revamp came via Revolution of the Daleks, where the children of Davros got a new look inspired by the previous holiday special, Resolution, complete with sleek black casing and his and hers colored LEDs. But Dalek design isn’t the only thing up for revision here: we also get new takes on a pair of Jacks — Harkness and Robertson — who both try on something different as they return to the familiar. That’s basically the new Daleks’ plan here, too, and though it may not have worked out great for them, you can’t question what this story did for Doctor Who’ production values. VICTORY! VICTORY!
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Story Essentials
- New Year’s Special 2021
- Story number: 298, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Writer: Chris Chibnall
- Showrunner: Chibnall
- Aired 1 January 2021
Pull To Open: Revolution of the Daleks
- Season 4
- Episode 4
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Feedback loop and interlude music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/supportThreat Gala (Fertilizing “Black Orchid”)
Pull To Open
01/21/23 • 117 min
The Fifth Doctor’s cricket outfit seemed a bit random at first, but Black Orchid is the story that shows it’s more than just a signature look. In an unusual twist, the Doctor isn’t the mysterious stranger seemingly come to save the day — he’s completely expected, and the thing he’s expected to do is play cricket. Of course, he does so like a boss who’s had centuries to hone his bowling skills, and then serves up an encore by solving a double murder at the estate of an aristocratic English family right out of Downton Abbey. No, this isn’t your typical Doctor Who. Thank goodness.
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Story Essentials:
- Season 19, Serial 5
- Story number: 120, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Production Code: 6A
- Writer: Terence Dudley
- Producer: John Nathan-Turner
- Aired 1 - 2 March 1982
Pull To Open: Black Orchid
- Season 4
- Episode 3
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Feedback loop and interlude music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/support01/14/23 • 104 min
Entering the pocket reality of a powerful entity that loves to play games isn’t something that happens every day, but if you’re a character on Doctor Who, it’s an occupational hazard. The Celestial Toymaker is the first realization of that idea onscreen, made more interesting by the revelation that it’s not the first time the Doctor has met this potentially problematic villain. In Who canon, the story is well-remembered if not revered — for the implied history between the two characters, for the clever morphing of kids’ games into deathtraps, and, if we’re being honest, the tumultuous goings-on behind the scenes. Is it really a classic, though, or is its reputation pure nostalgia, amplified by the unfortunate fact that most of the story is missing? Let’s play the re-evaluation game.
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Story Essentials
- Season 3, Serial 6
- Story number: 23, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Production Code: Y
- Writer: Brian Hayles (with Donald Tosh and Gerry Davis)
- Producer: Innes Lloyd
- Aired 2 April - 23 April 1966
Pull To Open: The Celestial Toymaker
- Season 4
- Episode 2
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Feedback loop and interlude music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/support01/07/23 • 69 min
When Pull To Open debuted three years ago, we didn’t even have a rating system — just a sound of drums in our heads, convincing us to bring thoughtful commentary about Doctor Who stories from the perspective of longtime fans who are also journalists. As we went deeper into the show and installed the key component in our journey — the Pull To Open Randomizer — we developed a shorthand for signaling if we considered an episode good (a Dalek) or not so good (an Ogron). Eventually we created ratings for unsuccessful stories that were instructive (a Professor Hayter) and the absolute best of the best (the coveted Viscount Banger). Completists that we are, we felt the need to go back and retcon our old ratings with our current system to ensure our newly upgraded Pull To Open Codex stays fully armed and operational. Come with us as we cross our own timeline to fix the past. Because that’s always a good idea.
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Pull To Open: The Retcon Episode
- Season 4
- Episode 1
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Outro music: Chronos by Alexander Nakarada
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04/02/22 • 136 min
When you're looking to literally change history to save your race, it's smart to stay focused. This really isn't the time for convoluted plans, extraneous plot threads that go nowhere, and long conversations with captured prisoners. But the Cybermen can't help themselves, it seems, and neither can Attack of the Cybermen, which seems utterly confused about which previous story it's a sequel to. It's almost inevitable that things get messy pretty quickly in Colin Baker's second adventure, but the script still manages to keep the pace up, the body count high, and the fan service at maximum. Could at least some parts of Attack be... excellent?
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Story Essentials
- Season 22, Serial 1
- Story number: 137, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Production Code 6T
- Writer: Paula Moore, alias for Paula Woolsey (Eric Saward, story elements by Ian Levine)
- Producer: Nathan-Turner
- Aired 5 - 12 January 1985
Pull To Open: Attack of the Cybermen
- Season 3
- Episode 11
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/supportMonk History (Revising “The Time Meddler”)
Pull To Open
09/02/23 • 99 min
Two full seasons in, Doctor Who finally gave viewers a hint of where its mysterious main character came from in The Time Meddler, a story that introduced the Doctor’s first time-traveling rival, the Monk. If the War Chief was a Master prototype, the Monk is the concept phase — the Doctor’s ideological opposite at a time long before the character became a righter of wrongs on a cosmological scale. Sure, the Monk is simply mischievous, but the fact that he’s morally closer to the Doctor than later villains helps define the lines around the Doctor himself. That’s a sign the show is full of confidence, so why not flaunt it by painting the faces of the regular cast among the stars?
Commentary for The Time Meddler begins at 17:08.
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Story Essentials
- Season 2, Serial 9
- Story number: 17, per the The Pull To Open Codex
- Writer: Dennis Spooner
- Director: Douglas Camfield
- Producer: Verity Lambert
- Aired 3 July – 24 July 1965
Pull To Open: The Time Meddler
- Season 4
- Episode 35
Hosts: Pete Pachal and Chris Taylor
Music: Martin West/Thinking Fish
--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pull-to-open/supportShow more best episodes
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FAQ
How many episodes does Pull To Open have?
Pull To Open currently has 165 episodes available.
What topics does Pull To Open cover?
The podcast is about Podcasts, Tv Reviews and Tv & Film.
What is the most popular episode on Pull To Open?
The episode title 'Rage-Quitting Doctor Who: A History' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Pull To Open?
The average episode length on Pull To Open is 87 minutes.
How often are episodes of Pull To Open released?
Episodes of Pull To Open are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Pull To Open?
The first episode of Pull To Open was released on Dec 30, 2019.
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