In Part One of our episode: The Monks have taken the planet, and it seems that only Bill (Pearl Mackie) remembers the truth, as humanity believes the invaders have been there forever. Reuniting with Nardole (Matt Lucas), the pair try to discover what’s going on. And where is The Doctor (Peter Capaldi)?

In Part Two of our episode: we re-enter the universe of the Ice Warriors, as writer Mark Gattis delivers a daring and significant chapter into the history of the species in Doctor Who.

During TARDISblend 107, we close out The Monk trilogy where we discuss the mixed reactions from fans online, examine the return of the Ice Warriors, and look towards what we can expect in the coming episodes.

All this and more on the latest TARDISblend!

The game isn’t over yet for Sherlock Holmes; in fact, based on the way Sherlock Season 3 ended and what the 2016 special “The Abominable Bride” told us, it has only begun. The Season 4 teaser that was shown to us at San Diego Comic-Con earlier this summer says that everyone in Sherlock’s inner circle is threatened, but other than that, we don’t know much about the overall arc or what stories exactly Steven Moffat will draw from that will inspire each episode (there’s are some hints).

Now PBS has released a brand new image that doesn’t tell us much about Season 4, but does set the tone. Check out the image here below.

On Doctor Who Episode 9.9 “Sleep No More”: Arriving on a seemingly abandoned space station orbiting Neptune, the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and companion Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) run into a group of soldiers on a rescue mission to recover the crew. But with only one surviving crew member alive, the group soon discover that they are not alone… and that the Sandmen are coming…

During TARDISblend 94, we are joined by guest Dwayne DeFreitas of Geeks Of Doom’s The Drill Down podcast, and we discuss Doctor Who‘s first attempt at a found-footage episode, accompanied by the first-ever notable absence of the show’s opening sequence. We look into the confusing and disorienting nature of the episode, deconstruct it, and discuss that ending.

All this and more on the latest edition of the TARDISblend podcast!

Doctor Who
Season 9, Episode 9 “Sleep No More”
Directed by Justin Molotnikov
Written by Mark Gatiss
Starring Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Reece Sheersmith, Elaine Tan
BBC America
Air date: Saturday, November 14, 2015

This week’s episode of Doctor Who, 9.9 “Sleep No More,” seems to pose a question: Can the Doctor ever lose? In over 50 years, we’ve seen some rather pyrrhic victories (as in “Doctor Who And The Silurians” or “A Good Man Goes To War”), some inevitable stalemates (as in “Genesis Of The Daleks), or even the occasional tragedy (as in “Earthshock”), but we’ve rarely, if ever, seen him lose. What would a loss look like? Would the Doctor escape? Would anyone be hurt? How would the Doctor fail to grasp the full scope of the situation?

Writer Mark Gatiss presents us with such a situation this week. Framed as a sort of found-footage horror film, the Doctor and Clara escape with their lives but allow their enemy to achieve its goal. This raises two competing sets of issues. First, there are matters of plot convention; the twist ending that sets up an escape and/or sequel to a horror film is a pretty stock affair at this point. At the same time, this competes with the fact that the Doctor’s success rate averages somewhere very close to 100 percent of the time. An entity that defeats the Doctor had better be something pretty special, and sadly, much of “Sleep No More” is worse than average. Given Gatiss’ track record with the series, as well as his work on Sherlock and An Adventure In Space And Time, one should hope for better. This time, he pretty well missed the mark.

The roots of legend and folklore come to life, as the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) takes Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) to visit historic Sherwood Forest in 1190, only to find Robin Hood (Tom Riley) witness their arrival. But Robin Hood’s just a story… isn’t he?

During TARDISblend 74, we discuss our reactions to the latest episode written by Mark Gatiss, titled “Robot of Sherwood” – and compare to his previous writings on the series. Later, we speculate on how some elements may tie into the overarching plot running through this current series of Doctor Who.

All this and more on the latest TARDISblend!