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Recent comments from Mark Gatiss and Peter Capaldi (made separately) concerning Doctor Who's current status are the focus of our conversation this week.

Christian Cawley and James McLean cover a number of points, with everything from the dying requirement for basic screen language (such as a documentary where two people greet each other at a door before a more in-depth interaction) to whether Steven Berkoff should have had more time on-screen in The Power of Three.

Come on, we all know the answer to that one.

This is a big hour-long chat, so hold onto your loins, gird your hats, and mix your metaphors. Oh, and listen out for mention of the first of Brian Terranova's Doctor Who interview collection, now available on our Patreon.

Most episodes of our podcast go out on Patreon first. This week's episode is the same as the one that went out on Patreon, but subscribers there got it early, ad-free, and with a video version.

We'd really appreciate your help in raising our profile on the Apple platform, so please leave a review. If you don't already subscribe, you should -- it alerts you when new episodes are available.

Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or editor@kasterborous.co.uk, and you’ll get a mention.

This week's podcast is Patreon first as ever, with no ads! Christian Cawley chats with Brian Terranova, and then with James McLean, about the early years of Kasterborous.

Among other things, we cover how we started it, the tools we used early on, and how we overcame Brian's departure...

• Why did we start the podKast with a K?
• The first podKast
• SPLINK
• First podcast with James in 2011

This week, you get the podcast ad-free and early on Patreon. As this is a 500ish episode, it goes out in its entirety on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Plus, I have the list of interviews provided by Brian, which will appear exclusively in the Kasterborous Archive.

The following actors, writers, and producers will be added to the Kasterborous Archive over the coming months:

• John Peel (author)
• Simon Fisher-Becker
• Ian McNeice
• Sylvester McCoy
• Matt Smith
• Caroline Skinner
• Karen Gillan
• Yee Jee Tso
• Paul McGann
• Terrance Dicks
• Emma Campbell-Jones
• Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Deborah Watling
• Terry Molloy
• Daphne Ashbrook

Most episodes of our podcast go out on Patreon first. This week's episode is the same as the one that went out on Patreon, but subscribers there got it early, ad-free, and with a video version.

We'd really appreciate your help in raising our profile on the Apple platform, so please leave a review. If you don't already subscribe, you should -- it alerts you when new episodes are available.

Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or editor@kasterborous.co.uk, and you’ll get a mention.

Christian Cawley and James McLean take a break from 500ish to discuss the news that Blake's 7 could be heading for a reboot after the IP was picked up by Multitude Productions.

As James is a big Blake's 7 admirer and has also worked on an eventually uncompleted project based on the show, it seemed a good opportunity to discuss what might be needed to make a Blake's 7 reboot work...

• Blake's 7 IP acquisition announcement
• Is the Life on Mars sequel Lazarus now happening?

Patreon and Apple Podcasts

Most episodes of our podcast go out on Patreon first. This episode went out early, ad-free, and with a video version.

We'd really appreciate your help in raising our profile on the Apple platform, so please leave a review. If you don't already subscribe, you should -- it alerts you when new episodes are available.

Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or editor@kasterborous.co.uk, and you’ll get a mention.

We tend to avoid introspection on the podcast, but for the next few weeks, Christian Cawley, James McLean, and, we're pleased to say, Brian Terranova will be bringing you a series of discussions and recollections to commemorate (other words have been suggested) our 500th edition -- whenever it may or may not have happened.

As we lost count some time ago, it's difficult to pinpoint when the 500th episode was (or will be). This is the background to "500ish" which will be a series of episodes of the podcast that look at how we started it, how it evolved, how podcasting itself has changed since we started in 2007, and also looks at many of the other things we did beyond the confines of the old Kasterborous website.

Shownotes

• Christian's time-shifted Substack journal project, Ten Years Gone
  
  

So, hit play, and enjoy the reaction and the realisation of reaching 500 episodes (or so).

As this is our 500th episode, everyone gets the same material.

Most episodes of our podcast go out on Patreon first. This episode went out early, and with a video version.

We'd really appreciate your help in raising our profile on the Apple platform, so please leave a review. If you don't already subscribe, you should -- it alerts you when new episodes are available.

Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or editor@kasterborous.co.uk, and you’ll get a mention.

Christian Cawley and James McLean discuss The War Between the Land and the Sea, the Doctor Who spin-off serial that aired over Christmas 2025.

Our 499th podcast has a lot to cover. The five episodes are addressed as a whole, along with the ramifications beyond the series (Disney, RTD, Doctor Who itself) and what went wrong.

But remember: you only get the full length show on Patreon, where it is also early, ad-free, and often with video.

• The War Between the Land and the Sea on BBC iPlayer

For more in-depth thoughts from Christian, please check the Kasterborous Substack, where a full review has been published.

Most episodes of our podcast go out on Patreon first. You can hear the show there several days earlier, often with video, and usually with additional material.

We'd really appreciate your help in raising our profile on the Apple platform, so please leave a review. If you don't already subscribe, you should -- it alerts you when new episodes are available.

Not on Apple Podcasts? Leave us a review somewhere else, send the link over on Twitter or Facebook or editor@kasterborous.co.uk, and you’ll get a mention.

• The War Between the Land and the Sea overnights:
  • episodes 1 and 2
  • episodes 3 and 4
• Blue Zoo to produce Doctor Who animation for CBeebies
• Christmas recommendations:
  • Man vs Baby
  • All Creatures Great and Small Christmas special on Channel 5 (Christmas Eve)
  • Original All Creatures Great and Small 1990 Christmas special on BBC Four (December 27th)
  • Beyond Paradise Christmas special BBC 1 (December 21st)
  • Midsomer Murders on Acorn TV (US only)
  • Morecambe and Wise on BBC Two Christmas Day
  • Monty Python And Now for Something Complete Different also BBC Two, early hours of Boxing Day
  • Sky Arts Boxing Day: Elvis Presley night, movies and documentaries
  • Double Indemnity BBC 2 on Dec 28th