Impossible Podcasts - science fiction, fantasy & Doctor Who fan commentaries

Harry Potter - From Page to Screen and Beyond

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 19 May 2012 02:00:04 PDT

We've been promising you this for ages, and here it is at last - an in-depth discussion of the boy wizard.

Our resident expert Sarah Burrow is joined by special guest Suzie Nockles (last heard in our Hunger Games episode) to assess the sprawling universe that is the Harry Potter phenomenon.

Just what made J.K. Rowling's books so successful and did their big screen adaptations actually improve on them? Could the Pottermore website have yet more surprises in store for fans? Hogwarts may have conquered Florida's theme parks but will it fare as well in Japan? And was Dumbledore gay just because J.K. Rowling says he was?

All this and more, in the latest Impossible Podcast!

Length: 54 minutes

Download: Click Here (Right click and "Save Link/Target As...")

Visual Memory #4 - The Secret of Monkey Island

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:00:03 PDT

Welcome, ye scurvy landlubbers, to a rum-fuelled edition of Visual Memory! The grog isn’t strictly necessary, but it’s rather fitting for the game Christopher Bell has loaded into the cannons this month. Prepare to set sail for The Secret of Monkey Island!

This classic point-and-click adventure was created by a triumvirate of designers and writers, Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schaffer, as an alternative to heavy-handed adventure games where one slip meant instant death or inability to complete the game. This was meant to be a more forgiving (there's only one place you can die, and that's by drowning), and thus more enjoyable experience.

Players take on the mantle of Guybrush Threepwood, a young scallywag out to prove himself as a mighty pirate on Mêlée Island. To do this he needs to complete three tasks to impress a trio of pirate lords. Along the way, he will meet the love of his life (the governess of Mêlée Island, Elaine Marley), as well as battling the ghost of LeChuck, an infamous pirate out to marry Elaine by any means necessary.

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Doctor Who - 5.4 'The Time of Angels'

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 12 May 2012 05:15:20 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge and Sarah Burrow go back to commentate on The Time of Angels, the story which reintroduced River Song and the Weeping Angels for the Steven Moffat era. With the Angels returning for Amy and Rory's departure from the show in the autumn, does it hold any clues to the future?

You can read what our very own James Willetts thought of the episode at the time in his Time of Angels review. And in wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey fashion, we recorded our commentary on Flesh and Stone, the second half of the story, back in 2010 when it first aired.

Length: 51 minutes
Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Link/Target As...")

Colin Baker Q&A - SFX Weekender 2012

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:50:32 PDT

"I have been asked if I want to do a 2013 multi-Doctor special..."

The sixth Doctor speaks! One of the stars at this year's SFX Weekender convention, Colin took the opportunity to hold forth on his four decades in show business and spill the beans on his greatest televisual triumph... Come Dine With Me.

He also gives a frank assessment of Doctor Who past and present as well as sharing some really excellent advice for budding actors everywhere. It was a presidential performance and one not to be missed!

Length: 51 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Link/Target As...")

Random Encounter #3 - Don’t Stop Believing

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:00:01 PDT

Can video games be good for the soul? In her ongoing examination of the state of gaming, Olivia Cottrell wonders if we couldn't all do with a bit more soul...

Video games and religion are not what you might call natural bedfellows. Even as games have grown up in the last few years and started to explore questions of race, sexuality and the more basic issues of morality (good vs evil, the needs of the many or the needs of the few and so on) religion has been a topic that most games try to avoid. As a gamer with a vested interest in religion (being a Christian), I find it frustrating that so many titles still shy away from a frank look at this fundamental aspect of the human condition. And that, when they do attempt it, they often fall very short of the mark.

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Points of Who #5 - Harry Potter Set Tour

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 07:09:32 PDT

Join Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow and P.G. Bell as they deliver our monthly round-up of news, rumours and feedback.

It's been another busy month. With Doctor Who filming on both sides of the Atlantic, we discuss the on-set pics and wonder how long we can avoid the major spoiler that leaked out this week. (Don't worry - we give nothing away).

JK Rowling, creator of Harry Potter, announced the title of her new adult crime novel - The Casual Vacancy. We wonder what it all means and take a detour into Pottermore, the official home of the Harry Potter e-books.

And while we're on the subject of the boy wizard, Sarah got to preview The Making of Harry Potter set tour in London recently, and gives us her expert verdict. You'll find a few pics of her adventures after the jump below, or visit our Facebook page to see the whole album.

All this and more in the latest Points of Who!

Length: 29 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Link/Target As...")

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Game of Thrones - From Page to Screen

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 02:11:33 PDT

Join Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow and - making his debut on the podcast - Kieran Mathers as they tackle George RR Martin's epic fantasy sequence.

After an in-depth discussion of the books, including their use of history and magic, the team turns a ciritcal eye on the smash hit HBO series. Where did it succeed? Where did it fail? And how should Season 2 (and Season 3) move forward? All this, plus the burning question: do too many lesbian prostitutes spoil the broth?

PLEASE NOTE: The first 30 minutes of the podcast are spoiler free, but there are significant spoilers for the rest of the running time. You have been warned!

Length: 50 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Link/Target As...")

Visual Memory #3 - Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:30:02 PDT

Its cult following may be more famous than the game that spawned it but, as evidence of a Darkstalkers reboot continues to mount, Christopher Bell looks back to 1994 and the birth of Capcom's original monster mash.

As franchises go, Darkstalkers is one of the few to have flourished beyond its video game origins. It’s been turned into a popular manga comic, a couple of animated series (avoid the Saturday morning American TV version at all costs!) and a 15th anniversary coffee-table tribute book, packed with gorgeous artwork. Its most popular characters, meanwhile, have gone on to star in a host of other high-profile titles including the Marvel vs Capcom series and a Magic: The Gathering-style card game. Most noticeably, they’ve become a mainstay of the cosplay circuit, with (mostly female) characters drawing eyes and camera lenses at conventions across the globe.

Not bad for a series that hasn’t seen a new release since 1998.

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Eve Myles Q&A - SFX Weekender 2012

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:00:03 PDT

"I didn't stab anybody in the throat..."

Eve Myles is a local girl at heart. She may have swapped Cardiff for Los Angeles, but she was thrilled to be back in Wales for an in-depth Q&A at February's SFX Weekender convention.

In a pretty candid interview, she reveales the story behind her pivotal role in The Unquiet Dead, how she unwittingly set a new trend in Hollywood and what she really thinks of Torchwood's future. All this, plus the revenge of Little Barrowman.

Length: 47 minutes

Download: Click Here (Right click and "Save Target/Link As...")

Ianto speaks! If you liked this, check out our Gareth David-Lloyd interview.

Fantasy Doctor Who Film Draft

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 02:38:55 PDT

We're four years old today! And to celebrate, we're challenging David Yates to his own game and coming up with our very own Doctor Who movie.

High concept ideas. Multi million dollar budgets. A cast of thousands. These are just some of the things we'll never be trusted with and, on the strength of this podcast, that's probably a wise move. But we let our imaginations run riot and cook up not one, but six competing movie pitches.

Who are our Doctors of choice? Which monsters will they be facing? And who will write and direct the madness? Join us to find out!

Length: 1 hour, 18 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Target/Link As...")

Once you've heard the podcast, head to our Facebook page or the comments section below to vote for whose film you'd choose to see. Find IMDB links on our choices page - contains spoilers for the podcast!

Points of Who 4: Jenna-Louise Coleman, Doctor Who Convention, Top of the Pods

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:28:14 PDT

Your Impossible Podcast team in Eddie's Diner

Welcome back to Points of Who, our monthly roundup of news, views and general waffle.

And what a month it's been! The Doctor's new companion for Series 7 was confirmed, in the form of the lovely Jenna-Louise Coleman. We discuss her casting and float a tantalising (if unlikely) theory about the sort of character Steven Moffat might have in mind for her.

Then there was the official BBC Doctor Who convention right here in Cardiff and we've got a report from the front lines. Sort of. We did at least meet with the fine folk of the Who's He, Ubuntu UK and Doctor Who podcasts, and recorded some of the results.

And, for your continued listening pleasure, we give you a quick roundup of some of our favourite geek-friendly podcasts. (See the links below to visit their sites).

All this, plus your feedback and a look ahead to some of our forthcoming podcasts. So what are you waiting for? Click below and give us a listen!

Length: 34 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Link/Target As...")

Links to other podcasts...

Random Encounter #2 - Tell Me a Story

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:28:51 PDT

Welcome back to Random Encounter, the monthly digest of gaming's hot topics. This month, Olivia Cottrell wants to know where all the good scripts have gone.

Last week, I had a very strange moment. I was sitting in my living room, controller in hand, and I cried. Not big, dramatic sobs, just a sudden overflow of emotion that left me scrabbling around for a tissue. This was not prompted by anything melodramatic. All the game had done was build a character up through interactions and dialogue, then scripted something for them to say that touched me in a way that only a few things ever have. This had never happened to me in a video game before - but perhaps I should have seen it coming.
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'The Hunger Games' - Review and Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 02:03:33 PDT

Sarah Burrow and special guests Suzie Nockles, Charlotte Marchant-Jones and Alex Gatherer discuss the new film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ book The Hunger Games!

Join us as we compare the book and the film, and give you our thoughts on the casting choices and how the film was shot. We also discuss our favourite characters and how they’ve translated to the big screen. And interestingly we see what differences arise when you put two Team Peeta and two Team Gale supporters together in front of a microphone!

The first three minutes contain a quick spoiler free review while the rest of the podcast contains spoilers for the film and first book (with very minimal spoilers for the two other books in the series).

Length: 56 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Link As...")

What did you think of the film? Are you happy with what they did with the book and the characters? Has seeing the film made you want the read the book? And are you Team Peeta or Team Gale or are you more TeamWhatAreAllTheseTeamsAbout? Head over to Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think.

Doctor Who - 5.02 'The Beast Below' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:36:25 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson, Sarah Burrow and P. G. Bell return to The Beast Below, the second episode of the Smith/Moffat era!

Join us as we discuss Star Wars references, political allegory, sparkly space whales, Paragon versus Renegade actions, and whether the Doctor is pro- or anti-monarchy! But watching the episode again, will the team choose to Protest or Forget?

Length: 58 minutes
Download: Click here

What did you think of The Beast Below? Should the Doctor have brought down the British monarchy? Did you care about the plight of the space whale? And just what had happened to the Welsh on Starship Britain?!

Visual Memory #2 - God Hand

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:12:58 PDT

Welcome to the latest Visual Memory, the monthly column exploring classic video games on extinct systems. This month, Christopher Bell thinks it's time to re-assess a stone cold turkey...

In a market saturated by cookie-cutter first person shooters and awful movie tie-ins, it's great to see a games company try something different. And while God Hand is remembered as the game that killed Clover Studios (the people behind the rather beautiful Okami), it did at least turn heads. Poisonous chihuahuas, a demonic Elvis, the ability to spank your female opponents... I couldn't make any of this up if I tried!

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Sylvester McCoy Q&A - SFX Weekender 2012

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:00:04 PST

"They went and cast a 12 year old as the Doctor..."

It's time for some words of wisdom from the Seventh Doctor himself, Sylvester McCoy - recorded live at last February's SFX Weekender. Sylvester was on typically lively form, swapping the safety of the stage for a roving microphone and getting up close and personal with his public.

And what a show he gave us. Not content with revealing a few secrets of his time in the TARDIS, he explained the origins of his stage name (be warned: it involves a rather naughty joke), why he used to set fire to his own head for money and what he really thinks of Matt Smith's performance as the Doctor. Even more excitingly, he revealed how he won the role of Rrrrrrrrradagast the Brrrrrrrown in Peter Jackson's forthcoming Hobbit movies. This one's not to be missed!

Length: 53 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Target/Link As...)

What was Sylvester's greatest Doctor Who moment? Head to our Facebook page and have your say!

Mass Effect 3 Preview Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:22:06 PST

Caleb Woodbridge, Olivia Cottrell, and special guest Aled Morgan from Blogga the Hut discuss the imminent release of Mass Effect 3! With the Reapers invading Earth and only Commander Shepard standing between them and the destruction of the galaxy, can BioWare's final installment of the science fiction epic deliver?

From favourite characters through to ethical dilemmas, we look ahead to one of my most hotly anticipated games of the year!

The first 15 minutes are spoiler-free, with the rest of the episode containing spoilers for Mass Effect 1 and 2.

Length: 53 min
Listen/Download: Click here (right click to "Save as")

Random Encounter #1 - Girls, Guns 'n' Games

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:00:10 PST

Welcome to the very first edition of Random Encounter. Running as a counterpoint to our retro games column Visual Memory, this new monthly feature tackles the issues facing gamers in the here-and-now. Podcaster, reviewer and hardcore gamer Olivia Cottrell kicks things off with a matter very close to her heart...

All the Mass Effect news lately - especially the trailer featuring the female version of Commander Shepard - has gotten me thinking about the first game in the series. Mass Effect introduced me to gaming as a hobby (some might say an obsession), but why did I latch on to that particular game when I had played others before it and have enjoyed others since? What made Bioware’s space opera so special? Which buttons did it press that others didn’t?

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"Rayguns and Rocket Ships" - Can Books Save Space Opera?

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:00:08 PST

When you think of sci-fi, the chances are you're thinking of Space Opera. But as television turns its back on tales of "shooty-death-kill in space", will the sub-genre continue to thrive on the printed page?

A stunning line-up of top sci-fi authors assembled at the recent SFX Weekender to confront this very question. Paul McAuley, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Dan Abnett, Jaine Fenn, Mike Cobley and Aaron Dembski-Bowden reviewed the current state of literary science fiction and raised some tantalising questions of their own. Have the harsh realities of modern life killed our dreams of exploration? Does it still count as Space Opera if the story’s set on Earth? And just what the frack is Space Opera anyway? All this and more, in the latest Impossible Podcast!

Length: 55 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Link/Target As...")

Merlin - Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:30:02 PST

It's time to ride to Camelot in our second podcast of the day...

Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow and Olivia Cottrell discuss the fourth series of the BBC's other big telefantasy success - Merlin. Does it pay to play fast and loose with Arthurian myth? What direction could the show take next? These and other searching questions are answered in our latest podcast. Click below and listen!

Length: 30 minutes

Download: Click here (Right click and "Save Target/Link As...")

NB: This podcast was recorded via Skype so the audio quality does vary in places.

Visual Memory #1 - The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:45:52 PST

The Legend of Zelda celebrates its 26th anniversary next week but Christopher Bell is looking back, not forward, in the first edition of Visual Memory - a brand new monthly column exploring classic games on extinct systems...

Legend has it that the kingdom of Hyrule is protected from an ancient darkness by the Picori Blade, a sacred sword entrusted to the royal family by the Minish - a race of Borrower-sized folk who can only be seen by children. Every century, the people of Hyrule celebrate their victory over the forces of evil by holding a royal tournament, at which the winner is allowed to touch the sacred blade. It just so happens that this year’s winner is an evil sorcerer by the name of Vaati, who shatters the sword, unleashing a tide of monsters on the land. To make matters worse, he turns the young princess Zelda to stone. It’s up to her young friend Link to track down the mysterious Minish, re-forge the Picori Blade and restore the princess...

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Review: Mass Effect 3 Demo

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:37:35 PST

With the demo for Mass Effect 3 out this Tuesday, Olivia Cottrell gives us a sneak preview of what we can expect from the final installment in Bioware's science fiction action/RPG epic...

It’s nearly the end of a long wait. On March 9th, Mass Effect 3 will be released and a journey that began in 2007 will come to a close. Commander Shepard, fearless space marine (of either gender) will finally face the Reapers and - depending on your ability to make friends - defeat them for all time. This Tuesday, players will have the chance to experience a little of what Mass Effect 3 will be like when Bioware releases the demo for Xbox Live, Playstation and PC. I was lucky enough to get an early access code, so what does this third and final chapter in Shepard’s saga have in store?

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Trials & Triumphs - A Review of the SFX Weekender 3 Event

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 05:04:16 PST

The dust has settled, the hangovers faded and the cosplay has been packed away for another year. But was this year's SFX Weekender - one of Britain's biggest sci-fi and fantasy conventions - worth the trip?

It's safe to say that not everything went according to plan, but did the stellar guest list make up for the freezing temperatures and interminable queues? P.G. Bell shares the high and low points with Caleb Woodbridge and Sarah Burrow. PLUS! a report on the inaugural cosplay competition and interviews with a few of the participants. Click on the jump below to find photos of some of the people we spoke to, but head on over to our Facebook page to see a complete gallery of the weekend's events!

Length: 45 minutes

Download: Click here (right click and "Save Target/Link As...")

P.S. The excellent 'Transdimensional Mix' of the Doctor Who theme music comes courtesy of HardWire.

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Brian Blessed Q&A - SFX Weekender 2012

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:20:52 PST

"The greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure..."

The loudest man in sci-fi (or any other genre, for that matter) was guest of honour at last week's SFX Weekender in North Wales. P.G. Bell was there to record the action and we're very pleased to bring you Brian's complete Q&A session, conducted on Saturday 4th February, in front of a capacity crowd.

Brian explained his passion for science fiction, outlined his plans to bump off old friend Patrick Stewart and revealed why he calls Her Majesty the Queen "Knuckles".

Most importantly, he publicly announced two very important projects for the first time - one in the realm of science fiction, the other based firmly in science fact. Seriously, this is pretty big.

He also uses some rather salty language at times, so be prepared!

Length: 44 minutes

Download: Click here (right click and "Save Link As...")

If that's not enough for you, stay tuned for our full review of the SFX Weekender experience, including a gallery of this year's cosplay event and interviews with the participants. PLUS! Full Q&As with Sylvester McCoy, Eve Myles and Colin Baker! Coming soon to Impossible Podcasts!

Points of Who 3: Doctor Who, Sherlock, The Hunger Games

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:10:21 PST

In the third episode of Points of Who, we take a wide-ranging discussion of the latest news about Doctor Who and the wider worlds of science fiction and fantasy:

Caleb and Swithun discuss:

(from 1 min) The recovery of missing episodes of Doctor Who from Galaxy 4 and The Underwater Menace: celebration or disappointment?
(from 19 min) How should the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who be marked by the BBC, by fans, and by us as a podcast?

Sarah and Caleb discuss:

(from 29 min) The Sherlock finale, The Reichenbach Fall, including just how did Sherlock survive that fall?
(from 39 min) The Hunger Games trailer - how will the film compare to the book?

Length: 51 min
Listen/download: Click here

Doctor Who - 'Worlds in Time' - Video Game Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:00:09 PST

For such a diverse show, Doctor Who has always stuggled when it comes to video games. Could Worlds in Time be the one to buck the trend? Olivia Cottrell takes her virtual TARDIS for a spin...

Pity the Doctor Who fan who also happens to be a video game geek. While the Doctor might initially seem a perfect fit for the video game world - his universe of strange aliens, dramatic stories and quirky characters is already one with a touch of the virtual about it - the franchise’s attempts to cross into video games have so far been decidedly lacklustre. While perfectly decent for free titles, a clunky control system and broken AI meant that the recent range of downloadable 3D Adventure Games were frequently frustrating experiences. As someone who considers herself both a video games nerd (I’ve spent too many hours shouting at dragons over the past month to successfully argue otherwise) and a Doctor Who fan, I was ready for something more satisfying.

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Doctor Who - 5.1 'The Eleventh Hour' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:12:43 PDT

Remember all those commentaries we never got round to in Series 5? Well, here they come!

The team take advantage of Doctor Who's extended leave of absence to fill in some of the gaps in their back catalogue, starting with Matt Smith's debut adventure. Click below to find out what Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson, Sarah Burrow and P.G. Bell make of the newly regenerated series. Does the shadow of Russel T. Davies still loom large? How does Amy keep up her mortgage repayments on a kiss-o-gram's salary? And when will the show ever get round to a Groundhog Day episode?

Length: 1 hour, 18 minutes

Download: Click here (right click and 'Save Target As')

Book Review - 'The Whisper Jar' - Carole Lanham

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:07:15 PST

Some secrets are kept in jars - others, in books.

It's book review time again, so join P.G. Bell and Olivia Cottrell as they tackle a collection of short fantasy tales from acclaimed author Carole Lanham. In The Whisper Jar, you will encounter a Blood Digger who bonds two children irrevocably together; a young woman who learns of her destiny through the random selection of a Bible verse; and a boy whose life begins to reflect the stories he reads…

Length: 13 minutes

Download: Click here

Click here to buy the book via Amazon

Carole Lanham's website

Morrigan Books website

Sherlock - Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 13:00:03 PST

There's more to Moffat than Doctor Who but is Sherlock really the series that "puts the 'sexy' in sexist?"

As the second series of Moffat's award winning adaptation draws to a close, Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow, Olivia Cottrell and James Willets put their heads together to examine the latest run of episodes. They also share their thoughts on the sexism furore and Moffat's response, how the series fares against other adaptations (Robert Downey Jr, take a bow) and the show's unique visual style.

This was our first attempt at recording an all-Skype discussion, so the sound quality does vary in places, but shouldn't be too distracting.

Length: 50 minutes

Download: Click here

Points of Who 2: Doctor Who movie rumours and series 6 DVD review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:37:29 PST

In the second Points of Who, we go beyond our commentaries to catch up on the Doctor Who news and rumours.

In this episode:

Caleb and Sarah discuss David Yates' original comments on making a Doctor Who film.
Swithun and James discuss Steven Moffat's response and what they'd like to see from a Doctor Who movie.
Caleb and Sarah discuss the Night and the Doctor mini-episodes.
Caleb gives his in-depth review of series 6 as a whole.

Length: 40 minutes
Listen/download: Click here

Should Doctor Who go to Hollywood, or is it better suited for the small-screen? How does series 6 hold up now it's out as a box-set? Let us know your thoughts below!

Doctor Who - 7.0 'The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe' Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 11:58:00 PST

Merry Christmas! Caleb Woodbridge, Sarah Burrow and P. G. Bell go through the wardrobe to discuss this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe!

In our latest podcast commentary, we discuss the influence of C S Lewis on Doctor Who, whether Matt Smith should have a child as a companion, the criminal underuse of Bill Bailey, Steven Moffat's gender politics, the place of fairytales in Doctor Who, the extraordinary in the everyday and much more.

Length: 1 hour 10 minutes
Download: Click here

What did you think of this year's Christmas special? Did it enchant you, or did you feel it could have been better? What other classic Christmas stories would translate well to Doctor Who?

Doctor Who - 4.0 'Voyage of the Damned' Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 08:09:34 PST

'Twas the night before Christmas Eve... and our resident Scrooge Swithun Dobson and very own Tiny Tim Caleb Woodbridge return to do battle between humbug and good cheer in their commentary on Voyage of the Damned, a tale of the Titantic in space, evil angels, and killing Kylie Minogue at Christmas!

Join us as we discuss whether the disaster movie format is compatible with the traditional Doctor Who good versus evil showdown, the representation of angels in pop culture, the deification and deconstruction of the Doctor, and much more. And a merry Christmas to all of you at home!

Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

Download: Click here

Don't forget to check out our spoiler-free preview of this year's Christmas special, The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, and come back in a couple of days for our podcast commentary on the same!

And please let us know, what do you think makes for the perfect Christmas special? What Doctor Who Christmas presents are you hoping for from Santa? Leave your comments below!

Doctor Who - 7.0 'The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe' - Christmas special spoiler-free preview

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:59:20 PST

Previewing the Doctor Who Christmas special is like opening presents early: a guilty yet irresistible pleasure. But is Steven Moffat's Narnia-inspired The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe a cracker or a turkey?

The story begins with a bang, literally, with a madcap escape for the Doctor. In the course of his adventure, he encounters Madge Arwell, played by Claire Skinner, in a role that isn't a million miles off her part of the Mum in Outnumbered. Mr Smith voice artist Alexander Armstrong appears in the flesh as her husband Reg, while the casting directors of Doctor Who show their talent once more at finding good child actors for the parts of Cyril and Lily. Throw in Bill Bailey and co as the comedy support act, and Matt Smith doing his patent blend of age-old wisdom and child-like enthusiasm, and you're all set for the now-traditional "Christmassiest Christmas ever!"
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Doctor Who - 3.0 'The Runaway Bride' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:10:00 PST

Our Christmas countdown continues as Sarah Burrow, Swithun Dobson, James Willetts and P.G. Bell revisit Catherine Tate's fan-baiting debut as companion-to-be, Donna Noble. "For better or for worse..."

There's no denying that comedian Catherine Tate is the heart and soul of the 2006 Christmas special. But did we love her or hate her? Join us as we pick sides and discuss other noteworthy aspects of the show's second festive outing, including: cliffhangers, cleavage, Gallifrey, and why Torchwood would need Segways.

Length: 1 hour 12 minutes

Download: Click here

And there's still more to come! Visit again next week when we'll be discussing 'Voyage of the Damned'. Was it really a disaster in every sense? Until then, head down into the comments section and let us know what you thought of this latest podcast.

Doctor Who - 2.0 'The Christmas Invasion' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:19:58 PST

Tis the season to be jolly! In the first of a series of festive treats, Swithun Dobson, P.G. Bell, Sarah Burrow and - specially flown in from the North Pole - James Willetts revisit the very first Doctor Who Christmas Special, 'The Christmas Invasion'.

Remember when the show was still trying to prove itself? When David Tennant was the new kid on the block? When we had yet to visit an alien world? It all seems so long ago now, so how does this yuletide special hold up to scrutiny? Join us as we discuss killer Christmas trees, why the Doctor doesn't like Christmas and try to think of some other Christmas-themed entertainment that's actually Christmassy. (Here's a clue... Die Hard).

Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

Download: Click here

How did you like this blast from Christmas past? We want to hear from you! Head down into the comments to share your thoughts, and be sure to come back next week for our next Christmas Special commentary - 'The Runaway Bride'.

The Walking Dead - 2.07 'Pretty Much Dead Already' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:13:47 PST

This is the show's last chance to impress before its mid-season break. Has it succeeded? Kieran Mathers finds out...

Finally. After hours of wandering through the woods, The Walking Dead rediscovers what it’s good at; theatre like intimacy and intensity; emotional engagement; a Mamet-esque development and understanding of male characters. This episode drives the plot forward and gives everyone in the wider ensemble something to actually do. It also features a climactic zombie massacre that would do the source material proud. At long last, it's television that makes you want to carry on watching.

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Video: Doctor Who Party - Fish fingers and custard!

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:05:22 PST

[View on YouTube]
Last weekend, we threw a party with the help of a Come Round Doctor Who party pack. As part of the evening's festivities, we decided to re-enact the Eleventh Doctor's first meal post-regeneration, as served to him by Amelia Pond: fish fingers and custard! Stay tuned for our podcast discussion on the series 6 DVD release, the movie rumours and the Christmas special trailer, all coming soon!

If you're on Twitter, please retweet his party tweet to help Caleb win Doctor Who prizes!

The Walking Dead - 2.06 'Secrets' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:56:42 PST

AMC's zombie thriller approaches its mid-season climax, but will we be tuning in when it return? Kieran Mathers finds out...

My word, there’s an awful lot of shouting in this episode! After several plodding instalments, this season’s incipient conflicts finally rear their ugly rotting heads. Gunfights, sex, violence… it's all here. I won’t call it a return to form because it’s still pretty poor fare compared to much of last season, but it's almost watchable again.
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Elisabeth Sladen tribute: The Sarah Jane Adventures - 'The Man Who Never Was' Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 05:00:13 PST

Caleb Woodbridge, P.G. Bell and Sarah Jane devotee Brandon Michelle pay tribute to the wonderful Elisabeth Sladen, who as Sarah Jane Smith won the hearts of generations of fans.

We look back on The Sarah Jane Adventures in our commentary on the final story, 'The Man Who Never Was', discussing Elisabeth Sladen's return to our screens via Doctor Who, the show's place in children's television drama history, and what both she and the show mean to us.

Length: 1 hour 4 minutes
Download: Click here

The Walking Dead - 2.05 'Chupacabra' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:07:00 PST

Kieran Mathers watches dull things happen very slowly...

I really wasn't looking forward to reviewing this episode. For the fifth week in a row, the party of survivors wanders through the woods in search of the missing Sophia. There is also friction with the patriarchal Hershel (Scott Wilson) over access to his farm and the liberties being taken by some of the group.

So thank goodness for red-neck hero Daryl (Norman Reedus) whose Touching the Void-style survival exploits reward us with a great series of scenes. His relationship with his missing brother Merle (Michael Rooker), last seen handcuffed to a rooftop in Season 1, is revisited as a means of fleshing out his insecurities about his role in the group, and his eventual acceptance at the end of the episode is lovely – a real highlight.
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The Walking Dead - 2.04 'Cherokee Rose' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:00:03 PST

After some hit and miss episodes, is there still life in AMC's zombie horror series? Kieran Mathers finds out...

As a series, The Walking Dead has never aspired to the sprinting pace of 28 Days Later’s “infected”, and is usually content to amble along like a good old fashioned Romero zombie. But now it seems the series is degenerating into a legless corpse, dragging itself hand over hand, week by week, despite some occasional spikes in activity.

This week, our characters clear a well. Seriously, they hoist a zombie out of a well. Daryl (Norman Reedus) takes a walk in the woods and the little girl whom the audience no longer cares about is still missing. Some cars move … that’s about it.

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Points of Who 1: Your feedback and our new schedule

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:22:55 PST

Welcome to our first edition of Points of Who, our new regular slot for your feedback!

Up until now, we’ve been discussing your comments, tweets, emails and the like on a fairly ad-hoc basis. But we’ve decided to have a monthly slot dedicated to your questions, views and opinions.

In this episode, we discuss your reactions to The Wedding of River Song, plus where to find Doctor Who actors in horror movies (answer: practically everywhere!). We also welcome a new guest commentator Brandon to the show, and ask for your suggestions in naming P. G. Bell's baby boy - his wife has already vetoed Stormaggedon!

Length: 24 minutes
Download: Click here

We also announce our new regular schedule for the coming months with Doctor Who off the air...

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The Walking Dead - 2.03 'Save The Last One' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:00:03 PDT

Is The Walking Dead living up to its potential? Kieran Mathers takes a look at the latest instalment...

Zombies have it pretty easy. Robbed of their higher brain functions, all they have to worry about is food. (And what exactly happens if a zombie doesn’t eat? Can they get any deader? All comments gratefully received). They certainly don’t have to contend with the existential crises that beset our heroes this week; is life worth living and what are they prepared to do to save themselves?

As Lori (Sarah Callies) and Rick (Andrew Lincoln) watch their son Carl (Chandler Riggs) slowly succumb to his injuries in the farmhouse, they are forced to wonder whether it would be kinder to let him die. We’re forced to wonder too – Carl’s distended belly and seizing fit are really tough to watch and his parents’ helplessness makes it all the more harrowing.
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The Walking Dead - 2.02 'Bloodletting' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:57:06 PDT

Good news, zombie fans - AMC have announced that The Walking Dead will return for a third season next year. But will we still be watching? Kieran Mathers weighs the pros and cons of the latest episode...

Like the final floundering heartbeat of a zombie plague victim, this episode only manages sporadic moments of life. When it's good, it's very good but when it's bad it's ugly.

In this episode, Grimes has to get his son to a doctor. Realising they don't have the correct equipment to save him, Shane and a companion head back into town, where an overrun FEMA hospital might provide the equipment they are looking for...

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The Walking Dead - 2.01 'What Lies Ahead' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 04:46:34 PDT

A bitter struggle to survive. Mindless, shambling antagonists. A dwindling team facing a bleak and uncertain future... But enough about the backstage politics! What did Kieran Mathers think of the Season 2 opener?

I can’t imagine The Walking Dead being made by a major network. The offspring of such movies as Day of the Dead, it’s very much a work of horror and lends itself to graphic dismemberments and decapitations, so credit goes to AMC for being brave enough to push the boundaries.

And, until recently, the gamble seemed to be paying off.
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Video Games - 'Mortal Kombat' (2011) - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 01:30:00 PDT

Beat-em-up classic Mortal Kombat rose from the dead earlier this year, looking better than ever. But, after almost twenty years and some bad mistakes (including those dreadful movies starring Christopher Lambert), has the game that launched a thousand headlines retained its power to shock? And, more importantly, is it any fun to play? Christopher Bell finds out...

I've been playing the Mortal Kombat series since it made its gore-soaked, parent-and-politician-bothering debut way back in the early 1990s and, considering that I'm now 27, that would put me at around nine or ten years old when MK1 first arrived. Don't panic; my folks were OK with it, and I didn't become the ultra-violent little so-and-so that the naysayers claimed I would.

Skip forward to the here-and-now. The digitised actors have been replaced by fully Unreal Engine 3 rendered, three-dimensional punch bags, albeit on a 2D plane; the ninja costumes are no longer re-colours (the original suit was white, and the colours changed depending on the character), giving a greater sense of visual identity and, last but not least, the series' trademark Fatalities are much more grisly.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Because the biggest change is not merely technical.

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Review - Browncoats Mix Tape - Adam WarRock

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:30:01 PDT

What happens when space cowboys meet gangsta rappers? Something amazing, that's what! Resident über-nerd Olivia Cottrell dons her headphones and brings us the lowdown on a highly unlikely mashup...

The internet is a wonderful place for creativity. Especially in terms of fandom: all kinds of talented, creative people use the genre shows, comic books and video games that they love as raw material to express themselves in media that you would never expect in a million years. So it is with the small but growing genre of ‘nerdcore’ rap artists - musicians who (truer to the roots of hip hop and rap than their more mainstream contemporaries) use the genre to talk about the things that are important to them. It’s just that these things happen to be the aforementioned comic books, TV shows, and video games. While doing so, they often articulate wider points about life in general. So it is with Adam WarRock’s newest offering, The Browncoats Mixtape, based on Firefly.

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Interview - Simon Marshall-Jones - Spectral Press

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:53:17 PDT

Simon Marshall-Jones

In this era of economic downturn, as e-book sales rocket, bookshop chains collapse and the publishing industry doesn't seem to know which way to jump, it takes a very brave soul to establish a small, independent press imprint.

But that's exactly what Simon Marshall-Jones, the founder and editor of Spectral Press, has done and business is booming. Some of the rising stars of fantasy and horror are writing for him, his first three publications have all sold out and there are bigger things yet to come.

Our reviews editor P.G. Bell spoke to Simon at FantasyCon 2011 in Brighton this month, to find out what he's doing right.

Length: 11 minutes

Download: Click here (right click, 'Save target/file as')

Click here for the Spectral Press website

Click here for the Spectral Press Facebook page

Author Interview - Simon Kurt Unsworth - FantasyCon 2011

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:53:01 PDT

Hundreds of fantasy, sci-fi and horror fans descended on Brighton last weekend for the British Fantasy Society's annual convention. Our reviews editor, P.G. Bell, was one of them.

There are lots of good reasons to attend the annual FantasyCon. Free wine is one. The chance to meet your favourite writers and publishers in the flesh is another. And that's why I was there. (Well, also for the free wine. But definitely not for Saturday night's tentacle burlesque show. Honest).

I got to chat with World Fantasy Award nominated writer Simon Kurt Unsworth, who was in town to launch his new book, Quiet Houses. (If you haven't heard our review of Quiet Houses yet, you can download it here). He told me how the book came into being, how a series of long bus journeys led to him becoming a writer, and why he likes his characters to be "baffled". Click the link below to hear the full story, and read on after the break for some photos of the launch and the rest of the weekend!

Length: 22 minutes

Download: Click here

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Doctor Who 6.13 'The Wedding of River Song' Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 01:27:35 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow discuss 'The Wedding of River Song' , episode 13 of Doctor Who series 6. As the Doctor heads to his almost certain death, something has gone very wrong with time, thanks to a woman...

We discuss alternate realities, guns'n'eyepatches, Indiana Jones, the Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, time loops, the motives of the Silence, the legend of the Doctor, stepping back into the shadows, story arcs and more, plus we look forward to the Christmas special and beyond!

Length: 1hr 13 minutes
Download: Click here

Video Games - 'Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 07:37:34 PDT

Olivia Cottrell gives us the lowdown on Space Marine, published by THQ for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC and released on September 6th 2011.

Well, it was inevitable, really. Having reviewed the promotional game Kill Team, it seemed only natural that I try Space Marine when it came out- at least, that’s the excuse I used. Released on Friday last week, Relic Entertainment’s vision of a grim, dark far future where there is only war is a surprisingly enjoyable romp that incorporates some of the best things about the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

The story of the game is simple enough. The player is put in the clunky armoured shoes of Brother-Captain Titus, an Ultramarine (the best kind of space marine, apparently) captain tasked with liberating a strategically vital world from the orks. Things develop quickly and, though I won’t spoil the climax, there are some pretty fun action sequences that have to be seen to be believed. Combat is standard hack and slash/point and shoot, though the game’s decision to omit the now-ubiquitous cover mechanic means that unwary players can quickly find themselves mobbed. You can only regain health by performing finishing moves on enemies- initially this seems alright but you can still be attacked while doing so, which can be very frustrating.
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Seven Ways the Doctor Could Cheat Death in 'The Wedding of River Song'!

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:01:36 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge looks ahead to 'The Wedding of River Song', considering seven possible (or impossible!) ways to cheat death when you're a Time Lord!

Theories covered include:

"I woke up and it was all a terrible dream"
It's the Doctor's ganger!
It's the Tessalecta!
"Regeneration juice" and other technobabble
"Time can be rewritten"
"To be fair, the universe did blow up"
The love of a good woman?

Listen to the evidence for and against each one, let us know your predictions, and check back in a day or two's time for our commentary on the finale!

Length: 17 minutes
Download: Click here

Book Review - 'Quiet Houses' - Simon Kurt Unsworth

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:53:01 PDT

"Do you live in a haunted house? Have you ever been to a place and had an experience that you cannot explain? Do you have a story to tell? Serious researcher wants to hear from you. Must be prepared to go on record. No timewasters. Tel:01524 500 501 ext 23 and leave a message."

Simon Kurt Unsworth is one of the rising stars of horror and dark fantasy fiction, and we've got our hands on his new book, Quiet Houses - a reinvention of the classic English ghost story. Our reviews editor P.G. Bell gives us his verdict with the help of a genre-appropriate (and slightly ghostly) guest star. Click below to find out what they thought!

Length: 13 minutes

Download: Click here

Title: Quiet Houses
Author: Simon Kurt Unsworth
Publisher: Dark Continents Publishing
Format: Paperback (£9.99)
ISBN: 9780983624516
Published: October 2011

Doctor Who 6.12 'Closing Time' Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:55:00 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow discuss 'Closing Time' , episode 12 of Doctor Who series six, which sees the return of both of Cybermen and James Corden in the latest tale from Gareth Roberts!

As the Doctor's death approaches, he makes a social call on his old friend Craig Owens, but soon finds himself saving the world one last time. We discuss the Doctor's parenting skills, Cardiff filming locations, sentimental endings, and much more, as well as responding to your feedback on The God Complex!

Length: 1hr 6 minutes
Download: Click here

Doctor Who 6.12 'Closing Time' Spoiler-free review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 06:38:21 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge previews 'Closing Time', episode 12 of Doctor Who by Gareth Roberts.

Two hundred years later, and the Doctor is preparing to meet his end at Lake Silencio. As part of his "farewell tour", he calls in on Craig Owens (James Corden from The Lodger) to make a social call, but with mysterious power shortages and disappearing shop attendants, he can't resist investigating one last mystery...

After exploring the darker side of travelling with the Doctor in The Girl Who Waited and The God Complex (don't forget to check out our audio commentaries on those episode), we're back to a much lighter action-adventure in this week's encounter with the Cybermen. The domestic humour combined with something sinister in a department store harks back to Russell T Davies-era Who, especially the first episode Rose, which is no bad thing in my book.

As might be expected from the pen of Gareth Roberts, who brought us last series' The Lodger, as well as the witty The Unicorn and the Wasp and The Shakespeare Code, the jokes come thick-and-fast. The bromance between the Doctor and Craig reaches new levels (and the return of the so-called "Gay Agenda"!) One of the Doctor's new abilities from earlier in the series provides a great running gag too.

James Corden is one of those comedy guest stars, like David Walliams last week or Catherine Tate before, who tend to polarise opinion. I really enjoyed both Gavin and Stacey and The Lodger, and Corden's turn as the hapless but likeable Craig Owens is just as entertaining a second time round, though sadly Daisy Haggard only gets a cameo as Sophie. There's a fun reappearance for Lynda Baron, making her third guest showing in Doctor Who: she was Captain Wrack in the Peter Davison story Enlightenment, and sang 'The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon' all the way back in 1966 for The Gunfighters!

Some might find the ending a bit too sentimental - the Doctor says as much! But I really enjoyed it - it's fun, touching and scary in the right places. The Cybermen get treated properly as monsters and are nicely effective, even on a small scale.

Although an unashamedly fun episode, the shadow of the Doctor's impending death looms large, and the closing moments lead directly in to the events we saw back at the start of the series, where the Doctor was struck down by the Impossible Astronaut. Closing time indeed...

Check back on Saturday night for our audio commentary on 'Closing Time' and to let us know what you thought!

Doctor Who 6.11 'The God Complex' Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:00:01 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow discuss 'The God Complex' , episode 11 of Doctor Who series six, penned by Being Human writer Toby Whithouse.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory face their nightmares in an infinite hotel, but has travelling with the Doctor finally become too dangerous? We discuss nightmares, blogger stereotypes, religion in Doctor Who, Rory's lack of faith, the question of what the Doctor believes in, the departure of Amy and Rory Williams, and much more.

Length: 1hr 2 minutes
Download: Click here

Torchwood Miracle Day - 10. 'The Blood Line' - Commentary & Series Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:05:46 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge and Swithun Dobson discuss the finale of Torchwood: Miracle Day, The Blood Line. Has Miracle Day given Torchwood a new lease of life or reduced it to shambling corpse?

We discuss Holocaust parallels, dystopian futures, sympathy for the devil (or at least Oswald Danes), the clash between its high concept science fiction concept and its action-thriller format, and deliver our verdict on the series as a whole!

Length: 1 hour 16 minutes
Download: Click here

Have you stuck with Torchwood through to the end? What did you think of the conclusion to Miracle Day? Do you want to see more from the Torchwood team, and if so, where should the show go next?

Doctor Who 6.10 'The Girl Who Waited' Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:19:34 PDT

James Willetts brings us his review of 'The Girl Who Waited'! Don't forget to check out our commentary, and let us know what you think!

What can you say about The Girl Who Waited? Well first of all, it’s brilliant. Secondly though, it’s yet another chance for the cast to showcase just how great they are.

I was speaking to someone the other day who complained that since RTD left Doctor Who hadn’t been the same. They were right. It’s got better. This has been touted as a little bit like Turn Left, but it’s as superior to that as the Original Trilogy is to the Prequels.

This isn’t just look what happens if the Doctor dies, if you make the wrong choice, go through the wrong door. This is what happens if that wrong decision is compounded again and again. None of it malicious. This wasn’t a trick to make things deliberately worse. This wasn’t a world threatening sequence of disasters. It was one woman who pressed the wrong button and ended up in a different time stream. That’s it.

In fact the whole theme of this episode was choices. It opens with Amy making the wrong choice of what button to press (but it was one that Rory and the Doctor could easily have made too), hinged upon Amy making the decision to work with Rory to save her younger self, and ended with the Doctor leaving Rory to make the choice about which wife to save.
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Doctor Who 6.11 'The God Complex' - Spoiler-free preview

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 07:17:27 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge reviews 'The God Complex', episode 11 of Doctor Who, a weird and twisted tale of nightmares and infinite corridors by Being Human scribe Toby Whithouse.

After last week's excellent The Girl Who Waited, this keeps up the high standard with a neat psychological tale. Although last week's events aren't referenced directly, it certainly has an impact on the Doctor's relationship with Amy and Rory. The Doctor's fallibility comes under more scrutiny as the TARDIS team face their worst nightmares...

The Minotaur makes for a great monster, and there's a strong guest cast, including David Walliams doing a typically Walliamsian turn as Gibbis, one of the most cowardly creatures in the cosmos. Amara Karan is the other stand-our performance, playing Rita, who I think is Doctor Who's first Muslim character (at least since the 1965 historical story The Crusade, which says a lot). Questions of faith form an important part of the story - it's the most theological Doctor Who has been since The Satan Pit back in Tennant's first series.

The nightmare hotel is reminiscent of Whithouse's portrayal of Purgatory in Being Human series 3, which also featured people's individual fears. It's interesting that in telefantasy, Purgatory has become a place where characters go to "Face their Issues" rather than be purged of their sins: the afterlife adapted for the therapy age. That's not what's going on here though - we're still firmly in science-fiction territory.

There are lots of easter-eggs for fans of the show, including blink and you'll miss them glimpses of old monsters (plus a member of the production team!) There's a sly link back to a Tom Baker era story, and a vital scene that echoes a moment in The Curse of Fenric.

It's not as emotional as last week, but still a strong, moving and intelligent story. Check back on Saturday night for our podcast commentary on the show!

Torchwood Miracle Day - 10. 'The Blood Line' - Spoiler-free preview

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:52:20 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge previews 'The Blood Line', the shocking finale of Torchwood: Miracle Day. With Torchwood split across opposite sides of the world - Rex and Esther in Buenos Aires; Gwen, Jack and Oswald in Shanghai - the race is on to reverse the Miracle before the Families can implement the next stage of their grand plan.

It's the end, but has the moment been prepared for? Well, sort of - like Miracle Day as a whole, 'The Blood Line' is a mix of the good, the bad and the just plain silly. But it carries it off with enough energy and conviction to make it compelling, if not entirely coherent, storytelling. And inevitably, not everyone is going to make it out alive...

Tough choices await Captain Jack and the rest of his team. Much of the drama centres around the decision to bring back death, giving a real sense of the weight and responsibility of the choice. This is especially true of Gwen Cooper, whose opening speech sets the tone for the episode, and Eve Myles does a great job as usual of humanising what could become a rather abstract concept. Central to the series is the theme of the danger of deciding who lives and who dies.

On a lighter note, there are also some fan-pleasing references to Doctor Who continuity. And the last few scenes come with a twist that will redefine Torchwood as a show if it returns - but whether it will be renewed is very much in question.

Perhaps more importantly, should the show return? Check back on Thursday night for our commentary and full post-mortem dissection of the undead corpse of Torchwood: Miracle Day!

Doctor Who 6.10 'The Girl Who Waited' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:58:00 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, Swithun Dobson and Sarah Burrow commentate on 'The Girl Who Waited' by Tom MacRae, the latest episode of Doctor Who!

With Amy Pond trapped in the Red Waterfall facility, can the Doctor and Rory rescue her before she is killed by kindness? Or will time catch up with her first?

We discuss time-travel conundrums, asking if knowing the conventions of the show's format helps or hinders the drama. We dig deep into Amy and Rory's relationship, praising Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill's performances, plus spot the connections to The Mind Robber, City of Death and Amy's Choice, keep score with Moffat Bingo and much more!

Length: 57 minutes
Download: Click here

Book Review - 'Kingston to Cable' - Gary Greenwood

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 02:00:05 PDT

There's a new reviewer in town. Claire Fayers squares off against the latest offering from fantasy and horror writer Gary Greenwood. Who will be left standing?

Western crossovers seem to be gaining in popularity. First we had Western-martial arts comedy (Shanghai Noon), then Korean Western (The Good the Bad and the Weird). Cowboys and ninjas fought in The Warrior’s Way and, as I write this, Harrison Ford is doing battle in Cowboys & Aliens.

Kingston to Cable by Gary Greenwood takes the Western, shakes it up a bit and dumps it in a fantasy setting. The world is one of isolated towns separated by vast expanses of inhospitable territory and the opening scene is the most classic of all Western classics: a stranger rides into town.

Or, rather, a Stranger. In Kingston, Strangers are a recognised class - wanderers with names such as Slake and Hook and Justice. They stay in the town Station, drink in the town bar, stay for a few days or a few weeks, and move on. Some of them are pursuing their own agendas, some just appear to enjoy causing trouble. Many are reputed to have magical powers, which explains the townspeople’s reluctance to get involved with them.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - Ep 9 'The Gathering' - Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:00:02 PDT

Batten down the hatches, lock up your daughters and wrap that precious Torchwood fandom of yours in cotton wool and bubble wrap - Swithun is back!

As the Torchwood team make their penultimate moves in the game against the Three Families, we discuss the overall sweep of the series so far, wonder at the true nature of the Blessing and take a wild guess at how things might be resolved next week. This is your last (but one) chance to join us, so click below and give us a listen!

This week's contributors: P.G. Bell and Swithun Dobson

Length: 28 minutes

Download: Click here

We're thinking of taking our arc plot disucssion further and would love to have your input. Let us know your favourite and most hated arc-heavy shows. Lost, BSG, X-Files... we want your opinions on the lot. Make yourself heard and we'll do our best to include your thoughts in a future podcast!

Doctor Who 6.9 - 'Night Terrors' - Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 03:00:03 PDT

We don't have our usual commentary for you this week, but worry not - we've got a terrificly spirited and in-depth discussion for you instead.

Location, location, location... how much influence does it have on Doctor Who, and how does Steven Moffat use it differently to Russell T. Davies? Plus, as Mark Gatiss returns to the show he helped relaunch, we examine his back catalogue and wonder whether we can forgive him for last year's Dalek fiasco. Finally, we veer into a fairly serious debate about arc plots v. standalone episodes. Has Doctor Who got the balance right? (We'll give you three guesses about Swithun's stance on this one...)

All this, and a brand new podcaster! Join us in welcoming Sarah Burrow to our scary cupboard of fandom.

This week's contributors: Anna Bell, P.G. Bell, Sarah Burrow, Swithun Dobson

Length: 38 minutes

Download: Click here

Article: Click here for Swithun's article, 'Doctor Who's Story Arc of Infinity (and Beyond?)'

We're thinking of taking our arc plot disucssion further and would love to have your input. Let us know your favourite and most hated arc-heavy shows. Lost, BSG, X-Files... we want your opinions on the lot. Make yourself heard and we'll do our best to include your thoughts in a future podcast!

Doctor Who - 'Night Terrors' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:00:16 PDT

Scary for scary's sake? Reviewer James Willetts asks whether last Saturday's episode had more to it that meets the (glass) eye...

There’s a lot of talk a lot of the time about how scary new-Who can be. How it’s somehow unsuitable for children, as though terrifying them about a fictional monster is in some way going to emotionally cripple them for life. It’s an argument that most people, thankfully, have little time for, and I bring it up because ‘Night Terrors’, an episode which was seemingly designed simply to scare the crap out of small children everywhere, actually addresses it. It’s a nicely meta moment that sums up everything else within this episode; a child’s father mentions that, to stop him being scared, they banned scary television.

It’s probably a common response. If you read the message boards and speak to parents they often worry that Doctor Who may be unsuitable for their child. As though mild peril with a through-flowing message that everything will be alright in the end is a bad thing.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - Ep 8 'End of the Road' - Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:43:23 PDT

It's here! Our (one man) discussion of the latest episode of Miracle Day.

After the twists and revelations of last week's episode, can Torchwood maintain the standard? Will the presence of so many other sci-fi franchise actors help or hinder them? And just what has Oswald Danes been up to these past few weeks? Our reviews editor P.G. Bell takes a one man romp (maybe more of a saunter) through the latest happenings. James Willetts will be back later in the week with his written review.

Length: 10 minutes

Download: Click here

Television - My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:00:09 PDT

We were a little surprised when Olivia Cottrell first asked to write a review of the new My Little Pony series. After all, she's not exactly the girly-girl type. But then, from the sound of it, neither is the series...

When you hear ‘My Little Pony’, what springs to mind? Chances are you’ll think of the pastel, plastic doe-eyed monstrosities that were advertised with an equally vapid cartoon- strictly the territory of little girls, and not particularly discerning ones at that. However, if you’ve spent a little time on the Internet recently, you might have noticed the growing popularity of a modern version of the cartoon. Entitled My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, this new series has enchanted a new demographic of 18-35 year old males (among others) and consequently taken the Internet by storm. Fan art, fan fiction and pony-dedicated websites abound in every corner of the web. So what has made this show so popular? Has the Internet finally gone mad? And what on earth is a Sonic Rainboom?
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Doctor Who - 'Let's Kill Hitler' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 04:23:07 PDT

It's here! Our first commentary of the new (half) series.

And what an episode it was - shock regenerations, miniature people, shape shifting robots, killer squid things, young Amelia and, of course, Adolf Hitler. Plenty to like, plenty to disagree about, so click below to find out what we all thought.

This edition's commentators: Swithun, Peter, Gwen and Anna.

Length: 58 minutes

Download: Click here

Was this episode worth the wait? And were you playing Moffat Bingo with the rest of us? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and on our Facebook page!

Doctor Who - 'Let's Kill Hitler' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:55:12 PDT

James Willetts. Doctor Who. Review. Need I say more?

There’s something wonderful about Nazis. Not in a weird way - I’m not one of those people. But if you want someone who can exist as simply a villain, with no qualms, morality or care for their welfare, Nazis are brilliant. Always have been. Forget Islamic terrorists, the Soviets or whatever super villain society you can conjure up; if you want an unquestionably evil bad guy, you have to go with Nazis*.

And Hitler, now Hitler is just a whole other level. If Nazis are bad, then the chief Nazi must be so much worse.
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Doctor Who - 'Let's Kill Hitler' - Q&A with Steven Moffat

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:57:15 PDT

Photo by Dave Parsons

Doctor Who is back! Our full-length commentary will be online later this week but, to tide you over, here's something a little bit special. WARNING: contains some spoilers about a returning monster!

Our very own Caleb Woodbridge had the chance to question Steven Moffat, Arthur Darvill and Karen Gillan at the recent preview screening for 'Let's Kill Hitler', held at the British Film Institute in London. Find out how the showrunner keeps his stories straight, his approach to the mythology of the Doctor and, most importantly, why they really keep killing Rory.

The secrets of the universe lie within this podcast.* Can you afford to live without it?

Length: 33 minutes

Download: Click here

*As long as you consider Karen Gillan's favourite outfit of the series one of the secrets of the universe.

Doctor Who - Moffat Bingo - Play Along At Home

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 02:02:18 PDT

What better way of celebrating the return of Doctor Who this weekend than by saluting our Ming-Mong-In-Chief? How, we hear you ask? Why, by downloading these exclusive Moffat Bingo cards of course!

Moffat Bingo couldn't be easier to play. Simply print out the cards below (there are three different arrangements in total) then sit down with a pen, a friend (you do have one of those, right?) and the latest episode of Doctor Who. Then cross off each trope as and when it appears in the story. Easy! The first person to complete a line of five squares wins. See if you can get a full house (crossing off every square on the card) over the course of the series.

Our thanks go to podcast listeners Kevin Greenan, Fiona James and Jon Rook who suggested suitable Moffatisms over at our Facebook page, and to Anna Bell for her help in designing the finished cards.

Check back after tonight's broadcast for some insights from the man himself, as we bring you highlights from the recent 'Let's Kill Hitler' preview Q&A, with Steven Moffat, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill.

Torchwood Miracle Day - Ep 7 'Immortal Sins' - Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:57:15 PDT

No time for a full commentary this week, sorry, but Gwen Williams and P.G. Bell go tête á tête over the details of 'Immortal Sins', the latest episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day.

In addition to discussing whether this marks a turning point for the series, we find time to talk about Catholocism, homosexuality, armed police response units, the upward trend of John Barrowman's acting (no, really) and velociraptors. What more could you ask for? (Apologies for any slight discrepancies in the sound quality of this week's podcast - we experienced a few technical difficulties that we've done our best to remedy in the editing process).

Length: 23 minutes

Download: Click here

Looking forward to the return of Doctor Who? Don't forget to join us for Moffat Bingo, which will be available here on the blog on Saturday. Plus, stay tuned for a word from the man himself, recorded at the recent Q&A session at the British Film Institute!

Torchwood Miracle Day - 6. 'The Middle Men' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:58:01 PDT

Reviewer James Willetts weighs in on the latest episode of Torchwood. Has his patience finally paid off?

With a single episode Torchwood has sparked a resurgence, albeit one that may well have come too late for the casual viewer. After five weeks of lethargically plotted, unyieldingly slow story, we’re finally rewarded with three ongoing plot threads that are equally relevant and interesting. It’s hard to believe that this is the same series.

Whilst Rhys and Gwen try to break her father out of the Welsh concentration camp, Jack does some investigative work into PhiCorp and Rex and Esther set out to reveal the truth about the death of Dr Juarez.
Rex and Esther are both given a chance to shine here and, after five weeks in which neither have shown much in the way of engaging characterisation (Esther in particular having suffered from a bad case of the ‘Nobody Cares-ies’) it’s certainly refreshing to see them both engaging in some plot advancing escapades. Their story also benefits from a series of scenes which successfully build the tension as Rex digs himself deeper and deeper into trouble.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - 6. 'The Middle Men' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 23:49:48 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, P.G. Bell and Gwen Williams discuss Miracle Day episode 6, The Middle Men. (Check out our spoiler-free review!)

We discuss Shanghai geography, Chinese swearing, whether 45 storeys is enough to guarantee unconciousness, Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson's turn as Stuart Owens, Jack Harkness as gay or omnisexual, Esther's uselessness, Gwen's awesomeness, and the amount of posing that goes into blowing stuff up! Plus much more...

Length: 1 hour 3 minutes
Download: Click here

Doctor Who - Moffat Bingo! - Your Chance to Take Part

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 07:19:34 PDT

It's time to play Moffat Bingo! With Series 6b almost upon us, we're finally making good on an old promise and compiling a list of the Moff's most enduring tropes to see how many of them turn up in the new episodes. And we want YOU, faithful podcast fans, to help us!

Simply visit our Facebook page, post your suggestions on the wall and we'll add the best (and funniest) to our patent-pending Moffat Bingo card, which will be posted here on the blog so you can play along at home. See how many tropes you can tick off per episode! (I feel a drinking game coming on...)

Here are a couple to start you off...

1. The Doctor adopts a new form of headgear
2. A Classic monster receives a controversial (and largely unnecessary) redesign
3. We meet a character who knows more about the Doctor's future than the Doctor does
4. Alex Kingston regenerates into Julia Sawalha.

Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea!

Click here for our Facebook page.

Doctor Who - 'Let's Kill Hitler' Spoiler-free Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:38:43 PDT

Direct from the BFI screening, Caleb Woodbridge brings us his spoiler-free review of Let's Kill Hitler, the first episode of the autumn run of Doctor Who!

As the Doctor, Amy and Rory search for Melody Pond, they find the TARDIS hijacked! Arriving in Berlin, 1938, they discover they aren't the only time-travellers present and that Hitler isn't the worst war criminal on the loose...

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the BFI screening of Let's Kill Hitler in the two hours before they sold out. The screen was packed with fans and press, who laughed and cheered and whooped in all the right places. Scattered around the room were various Doctor Who cast and crew, from Michael Pickwoad the producting designer, to writer Phil Ford, Doctor Who Magazine editor Tom Spilsbury and many others of the great and the good. And, of course, Steven Moffat, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill - though sadly not Matt Smith, who is busy filming another series.

We'll have more on the screening and Q&A soon, but now you can hear my first spoiler-free reactions to the episode! Hit play or click download to hear my review.

Length: 6 minutes
Download: Click here

You can also read my 10 hints and teasers about Let's Kill Hitler, and we'll have our usual podcast commentary online after the show airs on BBC1!

Doctor Who - Let's Kill Hitler spoiler-free teasers

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:40:23 PDT

You can also listen to Caleb's spoiler-free review of Let's Kill Hitler!

10 Clues and Teaser about Let’s Kill Hitler:

1. Some time has passed since the end of A Good Man Goes to War.
2. The opening shot is similar to one in series 5, but not for long!
3. There may be someone new taking a trip in the TARDIS…
4. The Doctor’s fame has spread even further, but not everyone is as hostile as the Clerics.
5. We find out why the Titanic sank.
6. Alex Kingston steals some clothes. And most of the scenes she’s in.
7. Some familiar faces are glimpsed, and they don’t make the Doctor happy.
8. The Beano may have been the inspiration for one plot thread!
9. The Doctor’s death is a fixed point in time, apparently.
10. Remember, the Doctor lies. And so does Steven Moffat.

Torchwood Miracle Day - 5. 'The Categories of Life' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:58:01 PDT

James Willetts is back to pick over the bones of the latest episode of Miracle Day. Warning: may contain traces of Buffy.

So that was it. Torchwood’s big twist was that there was no twist. The concentration camps are just concentration camps and Oswald Danes really isn’t a nice man after all. Yes. It’s not exactly The Sixth Sense. Hell, it’s not even The Village, but Torchwood should really be applauded for its enthusiastic willingness to play it straight.

The only problem is, no one seems to have told the show runners, who breathlessly announced that this was the point at which PhiCorp’s true intentions would be revealed. Except, as it turned out, they were the same intentions that were revealed last week.

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Coming Soon: Doctor Who 'Let's Kill Hitler' BFI Screening Report

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:08:25 PDT

Tomorrow evening, the BFI is hosting a special preview screening of Let's Kill Hitler, the first episode of the autumn run of Doctor Who. Tickets sold out within hours, but our esteemed editor Caleb Woodbridge managed to nab a seat...

That's right, I'll be reporting on the event tomorrow night! I rewatched A Good Man Goes to War today in preparation for the screening, and I can't wait to find out what happens next. How will Amy and Rory react to the news that River Song is their daughter? Will they rescue Amy's baby? Is the Doctor really going to kill Hitler?! And this time tomorrow, I'll know the answers...

I'll be tweeting on @ImpossiblePod from the event, so follow us now! I'll bring you a spoiler-free review as soon as I can after the event - keep your eye on the blog. Steven Moffat and Karen Gillan will also be taking part in a Q and A after the episode, so I should have plenty to report...

Doctor Who will almost certainly be returning to our television screens on Saturday 27th August. The trailer for series 6b is on the BBC website, but here's something from YouTube that might make you laugh...

Game of Thrones - Ep 9: ‘Baelor’ - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 10:00:03 PDT

War. Huh! What is it good for? Reviewer Kieran Mathers finds out, and wonders whether the show will deliver on all its promises. Be warned that there are mild spoilers ahead. And, for those of you not yet up to speed, check out our Game Of Thrones primer.

How to talk about this episode without ruining it? Not mention the end, I suppose. Fans of the book, you know what’s coming and they don’t change it one bit. Those of you who have not read ahead … well, you’ve got such a treat coming. It’s the one moment in this show that I wish I hadn’t known about in advance. It’s brilliant, and one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen from a major TV show. I don’t know if the popularity of this show will continue, but if it fails after the properly commissioned second series; well, at least they have their integrity. Bravo, everyone involved, bravo.

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Book Review - 'A Dance with Dragons' - George R.R. Martin

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:00:00 PDT

The latest Game of Thrones sequel has been a long time coming. Can it maintain the momentum of George R.R. Martin's winning streak? Our reviewer Kieran Mathers, no stranger to the kingdom of Westeros, finds out...

If you've not yet read Kieran's reviews of the Game of Thrones TV series, you can start here. And come back tomorrow, for the latest instalment!

Numerically, this book is very impressive. It weighs 2.5kg and has over a thousand pages. It costs over £25. It is written from the perspective of eighteen characters. It took over six years to write and picks up plot lines over eleven years old. It features voyages of thousands of miles, a cast of hundreds of thousands, deaths by the thousand. It is the defining case when referring to modern epic literature.

And … I don’t think it’s actually that good.
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Torchwood Miracle Day - 6. 'The Middle Men' - Spoiler-free review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 09:34:50 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge previews 'The Middle Men', episode 6 of Torchwood: Miracle Day. Reeling from the the death of one of the team, can the rest of Torchwood escape to let the world know the truth about the overflow camps?

The end of 'Categories of Life' left me desperate to see the next episode, and 'The Middle Men' doesn't disappoint. The first half of the series felt quite episodic, with each week introducing situations and characters that are largely forgotten by the next episode, this is much more of a continuation of last week. It's effectively the second half of a two-parter, dealing with the fallout from discovering that the modules are ovens for burning the "Category Ones".

Not that it's just more of the same: 'The Middle Men' begins by introducing us to Stuart Owens, played by Ghostbusters' Ernie Hudson, giving us a face for the sinister PhiCorp, and to some mysterious goings-on in another part of the world. But as Jack investigates PhiCorp, many of his theories (and those of the audience) begin to unravel, subverting some of the clichés of the 'evil corporation' trope.

For the rest of the team, their mission is to escape the overflow camps. Some of the most harrowing scenes are those which depict the complicity of ordinary people, of doctors, nurses and officials, in the terrible scheme to burn the Category Ones. It makes it completely believable, as is Gwen's disgust. She really gets to shine in this episode as she struggles to save her father.

Oswald Danes and Jilly Kitzinger aren't in this week's episode, but it's strong enough that I didn't actually notice their absence. Although the episode leaves you with just as many questions as answers, it now has a compelling seriousness of purpose - with a dark sense of humour and some explosions thrown in for good measure, of course. And the end of the episode indicates that some even harder choices are to come...

Don't forget to catch up on our audio commentaries on Torchwood: Miracle Day: episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Torchwood Miracle Day 5. 'Categories of Life' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:55:33 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, P.G. Bell and our new American commentator Gwen Williams give our commentary on episode 5, Categories of Life. (check out our spoiler-free review!)

As the Torchwood team go undercover to uncover the shocking secrets of the overflow camps, has Miracle Day at last hit its stride? Is the shock ending a bold move or big mistake? We discuss disintegrating healthcare systems, British queuing and much more...

Length: 1 hour 7 minutes
Download: Click here

Torchwood Miracle Day - 4. 'Escape to L.A.' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:57:42 PDT

James Willetts continues his weekly analysis of ~~the Marvel Universe~~ Miracle Day. Don't forget this week's podcast commentary, available immediately after the UK broadcast, tomorrow evening!

When I was a student I discovered a series that I instantly fell in love with. It was a genre bending mash up of Raymond Chandler-esque gumshoe investigation and teen drama, in a fresh and vibrant school setting. The first two seasons involved an ongoing plot arc but the third, faced with cancellation and troubled budgeting, featured two shorter mini-arcs - an elegant mix between episode-of-the-week shenanigans and a more involved season arc which meant the producers had a chance to tell two final stories rather than one.

The reason I bring this up is because we’re now four episodes into Torchwood: Miracle Day and nothing has happened since the first ten minutes. Now, this may be the most meta of stories: a plot that shambles on long after it should have died may be a novel way to demonstrate the problems of a world in which death is no more, but somehow, I don’t think so.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - 5. 'Categories of Life' - Spoiler-free review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:13:47 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge previews 'Categories of Life', episode 5 of Torchwood: Miracle Day. As governments worldwide agree on the new "categories of life", the Torchwood team goes undercover to discover the secrets of the overflow camps and their mysterious "modules"...

If you've been wavering over whether to stick with the series, this week may well be make or break. So far, Miracle Day has plodded rather than gripped, but events take a darker and more dramatic turn. This week brings some real shocks and revelations. Either you'll be on the edge of your seat waiting for the next episode, or throwing things at the screen in frustration, or maybe even both.

'Categories of Life' is helped by keeping some of the cheesier conspiracy elements in the background: the focus is firmly on how society deals with the Miracle, without any off-the-peg Men in Black agents or mysterious spinning triangles. It's all the stronger for it, and it's possibly the first time that the scenes with Torchwood are as interesting as those with Oswald Danes and Jilly Kitzinger.

But while episode 5 pleases by actually making some bold moves, it sometimes frustrates with the clumsiness with which certain scenes and characters are handled. Sledgehammer subtlety would be elegant by comparison.

For all that, it regains a much needed sense of excitement and momentum, and is probably the best episode of Miracle Day since the series opener.

Episode 5 airs 9pm, Thursday 11th August, BBC1/HD, and our audio commentary ~~will be online immediately afterwards.~~ is now available.

Game of Thrones - Ep 8: 'The Pointy End' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 10:00:02 PDT

If you want a job done properly, do it yourself. But, as Game of Thrones plunges ever closer to its bloody climax, Kieran Mathers wonders if authors are the best people to adapt their own works. Our usual mild spoiler warning applies.

This week’s episode was written by the man himself, G.R.R Martin, author of the entire A Song of Ice and Fire series. Normally, I’d wonder why they called on the author to adapt his own material, as it calls for different skills - you don’t see Joanne Rowling writing the scripts for the Harry Potter movies, for example. But in this case it works. Martin has a huge amount of experience in writing screenplays for shows such as The Twilight Zone and I think it’s clear that, like Douglas Adams, he also understands the difference in format.

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Book Review - 'Dead Souls' - Editor: Mark S. Deniz

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:00:00 PDT

Our book review thread is back! Reviews editor P.G. Bell dives into Dead Souls, a collection of short tales that charts the murky depths of mankind.

Reviewing short story anthologies can be a tricky business. Each tale has to be judged on its own merits while the anthology as a whole - with its various authors, tones and voices - has to be considered as a cohesive unit. Many anthologies make life easier by opting for a particular theme, motif or character around which to group their stories but Dead Souls is a little more abstract.

As editor Mark S. Deniz makes clear in his foreword, the anthology uses its title (taken from a song by Joy Division) as its starting point, launching an examination of “human nature through short stories about people, people who do terrible things.”

That sounds clear enough, and you could be forgiven for assuming the book sits firmly in the horror genre, especially given Reece Notley’s gorgeous, if disturbing cover. But it soon proves to be a rather more nebulous beast.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - 4. 'Escape to L.A.' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:55:00 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge and P.G. Bell give our commentary on episode 4, Escape to L.A. (check out our spoiler-free review), including Tea Party politics, the ethics of euthanasia, and the possible return of the Slitheen. We also consider Torchwood's uncertain future, and wonder whether the show can go on without Russell T Davies at the helm.

Length: 1 hour
Download: Click here

What did you think of the latest episode of Miracle Day? What did you think of Ellis Hartley Monroe's "Dead is Dead" campaign? Who do you think the mysterious Families are? Let us know your thoughts!

Torchwood Miracle Day - 3. 'Dead of Night' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:58:01 PDT

James Willetts shares his thoughts on last week's episode of Torchwood. It seems he's a glutton for punishment. Don't forget to download our commentary for Episode 4: 'Escape to LA', available immediately after the UK broadcast tonight!

Torchwood, Torchwood, Torchwood. What the heck is going on here then?

Whilst the last few episodes have been all over the place in terms of realism, characterisation, plotting and holding an audience’s attention I’m still happy to watch this. No matter how bad it is, the innate draw of sci-fi, or just a neat ‘what if’ are enough to keep me going. Something has to be really bad to lose me entirely. I’m not one of these people who think life’s too short to waste on bad TV, or low budget B-Movies, or spending an evening of my life trying to find some Superhero themed music*.

Some people might see it as a character flaw. Personally, I think it’s more of a triumph. Anyone who’s read anything I’ve ever written, knows that I frequently dislike the shows I watch. Just because I have a tolerance for nonsense, doesn’t mean I can’t recognise it when I see it.

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Video games - 'Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 08:00:13 PDT

This week, resident games geek Olivia Cottrell indulges her inner (and outer) nerd in the franchise that swallowed so many of our adolescent hours. And there's no need to fork out for a new Codex...

Impossible Podcasts, I have a confession to make. My name is Olivia Cottrell, and I am a former Warhammer 40,000 tabletop gamer. Yes, some of my most formative years were spent hunched over tiny plastic figurines huffing more paint fumes than was probably good for me. I can tell you why painting an Ork vehicle red makes it go faster. I have read no less than five Dan Abnett books. I even, Emperor help me, know what a Krootox is. The Warhammer 40k universe, with its bold strokes of evil aliens versus grim (but noble) bald men lends itself exceptionally well to a certain style of tongue-in-cheek video gaming, and I was excited to revisit that world without accidentally gluing my hand to the table.
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Game of Thrones - Ep 7: You Win or You Die - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 04:00:02 PDT

Things are hotting up in Westeros but Kieran Mathers wonders just how far a show should go to keep its audience interested. Perhaps the Starks just need a brisk walk...

An awful lot of Game of Thrones is exposition. It’s not a police procedural, after all, and the world has to be defined through dialogue as there is little else to relate it to an unfamiliar audience. Disguising this exposition is one of the hardest tricks for a writer to pull off. One solution is to have a distraction or a gimmick to make such scenes more visually interesting. TV is a visual medium and has been taking advantage of this for a long time.

A great example of this is The West Wing. To keep expository scenes interesting, writer Aaron Sorkin made the characters walk. It didn’t matter where they were walking, just that the dialogue had some action to it. He later admitted the only reason he had done this is to stop characters talking to each other statically, and in the process created a new verb: ‘To sorkin’ – the act of walking fiercely in one direction while holding a rapid-fire conversation. Intelligence and a good sense of direction is required.

However, Game of Thrones has discovered something different in the form of visual gimmicks: noble butchery and … sigh … lesbian tryouts. I wish I were kidding.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - 4. 'Escape to LA' - Spoiler-free review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:00:05 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge previews 'Escape to LA', the fourth episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day. The Torchwood team arrive in Los Angeles, but there's no time for sun and surf...

Torchwood: Miracle Day continues to build steadily in 'Escape to LA', as the world tries come to terms with what to do with the undying sick and injured. Gwen's not the only member of the Torchwood team attempting to protect their family, and in each case, it brings unhappy consequences.

Arriving in Los Angeles, the Torchwood team take the fight to PhiCorp, but a trap is closing around them. Meanwhile, Tea Party politician Ellis Hartley Monroe is stirring up the masses with the slogan "Dead is Dead", and stealing Oswald Dane's limelight while she's at it...

Oswald Dane's self-preserving self-promotion reaches new heights, or depths. Although he's one of the most interesting characters, I find the role he takes on at the end of episode 3 as unofficial spokesman for PhiCorp to be rather unbelievable. Even if he was able to win some measure of sympathy on Twitter, a convicted child rapist and murderer who's escaped justice would still be a massively hated and controversial figure. His trajectory in this episode is no more credible, though his interplay with Jilly Kitzinger in this episode is entertaining.

Dr Vera faces the medical emergency and ethical questions. "The Western world has always hidden its unwanted", one character observes with the clunkety-clunk of unsubtle social commentary in one scene. It's good to see some of the larger patterns and theme of the series beginning to emerge more clearly.

There's also a building sense of foreboding as the extent of PhiCorp's plans begins to be revealed. A generous dash of action and humour go a long way once more to keeping the whole show watchable amid its many improbabilities. Watch out for Gwen's attempt at an American accent!

So far Miracle Day has never been less than entertaining, but has yet to fully deliver on the promise of its premise. Four episodes in, the show really needs to be hitting its stride, but it still feels stuck in third gear. It continues to dangle the promise of greater things to come in front of the viewer. I'm intrigued by the Miracle Day concept, and the irreverence of the show keeps me watching, but it has yet to wow me.

Torchwood Miracle Day - 3. 'Dead of Night' - Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:57:46 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge and P.G. Bell discuss episode 3, Dead of Night (spoiler-free review here), including Captain Jack's "mortal urges", the implausible rise of Oswald Danes and whether Miracle Day is suffering from Lost syndrome.

With Swithun in America, Peter moving house, and Caleb going to a wedding and a job interview, real life has caught up with us, meaning a discussion rather than a commentary this week - but never fear, normal service will be resumed next week! Or at least, our usual episode commentary - we make no pretensions towards normality.

Length: 22 minutes
Download: Click here

Did you enjoy episode 3 of Torchwood? Are you gripped by each episode, or is your attention beginning to wander? What's the purpose of the Miracle - is PhiCorp behind it, and why? Let us know your opinions, theories and speculation!

Video Games - Sonic The Hedgehog - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 08:00:03 PDT

Ready for a blast from the past? As SEGA's champion celebrates his 20th birthday, video games industry insider Christopher Bell looks back to the game that started it all and wonders if Sonic can ever regain his winning streak. Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments section below!

June 23rd, 1991. After an in-house contest to design a new mascot, SEGA finally had something that could give Mario a run (pun intended) for his money. Poor old Alex Kidd was given his marching orders and replaced by an impatient, sapphire speed demon by the name of Sonic. Although SEGA eventually lost the console war against Nintendo's SNES, the once chasm-sized difference in market share narrowed to a spine's breadth. At one point, he was as popular as Mickey Mouse, with a huge range of merchandise (books, ring binders, plush dolls and even ketchup!), a Macy's Day balloon and a gene (one that controls the development of your digits and organisation of your brain) to his name.

Now, 20 years later and on the verge of a Star Trek-esque anniversary reboot; Sonic the Hedgehog, this is your life...
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Video: Meet the Impossible Podcasts team!

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:21:52 PDT

Who are the impossible people behind the Impossible Podcasts? Meet the team as we discuss our favourite eras of Doctor Who, our geek interests and specialties, and our claims to geek fame!

What about you - what are your geek interests, and what else would you like to see us cover? Do you have any cool "claim to fame" stories? And what do you think of our first foray into video? Let us know below!

Torchwood Miracle Day - 2. 'Rendition' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:58:01 PDT

James Willetts wonders why the latest episode of Torchwood wasn't as much fun as Iron Man or dinosaurs.

If you missed our commentary for 'Rendition', find it here!

There are two huge problems with the second episode of Miracle Day which derail an engaging and enjoyable story.

Unfortunately there are two parts of the episode which ring so false that all sense of logic, excitement and larger storyline are utterly lost. The first is the softening of the public’s attitude towards Oswald Danes, and the second is the creation of an anti-toxin to cure arsenic poisoning from the everyday contents of an aeroplane.

Game of Thrones - Ep 6: A Golden Crown - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 04:00:07 PDT

HBO's headline fantasy series is gathering pace and our reviewer, Kieran Mathers, is enjoying the ride... As always, some mild spoilers lie ahead. If you're new to the world of Westeros, be sure to check out our primer.

Gosh. When you don’t think it can get any better, this show manages to up the bar once more. There is so much good to talk about in this episode that I’m going to get the bad out of the way first so we can enjoy what was yet another spectacular episode.

I probably should have mentioned this last week, but I hate what they’ve done with the Eyrie. It is the first major visual misstep (barring plaster) that the show has made. In the books, the Eyrie sits atop a mountain spur, higher almost than the clouds, an impregnable fortress with an incredibly treacherous path leading up to it. It could have looked absolutely amazing, with stunning views from the top – a smaller Minas Tirith of the mountains.

What we get instead is something that looks more like the Dome of the Rock - a temple rather than a castle. For some reason it also appeared to have taken over a small hilltop instead of a high mountain crag.
I think I can understand why the show’s designers decided to do it that way, thinking perhaps that each area has to be visually distinct. But to fall into the trap of thinking that the Eyrie should not have stone walls and battlements because the other castles we have seen also possess those is akin to saying a dog is a cat as both have fur.
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Torchwood Miracle Day - 3. 'Dead of Night' - Spoiler-free review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:33:06 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge previews 'Dead of Night', the third episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day. With Torchwood on the run, can they uncover the secrets of the Miracle?

After some slow development in Rendition, the plot picks up again in Dead of Night, as Torchwood begin investigating the Miracle in earnest. This week's episode comes from the pen of Jane Espenson, scribe for Buffy and Battlestar Galactica and builds the story well as the new Torchwood team begins to come together, while the cult of the Soulless takes to the streets.

The main weakness of episode 2 of Miracle Day was that the Torchwood team - which was technically just Gwen at this point - was too busy brewing a magic potion to save Jack to actually do anything to investigate the Miracle. Here, Torchwood are being hunted down while actually investigating what's going on, which makes for a much better balance.
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Torchwood Miracle Day - 2. 'Rendition' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 23:58:04 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge, P.G. Bell and Swithun Dobson give our commentary on episode 2, Rendition (spoiler-free review here, detailed review to follow), as we discuss CIA security, DIY chemistry, zombie Ianto and much more!

The newly reunited Captain Jack and Gwen Cooper (John Barrowman and Eve Myles) find themselves separated from Rhys (Kai Owen) and baby Anwen (aaaw!) as Rex Matherson (Mekhi Phifer) extradites them to the good old U. S. of A. But with sinister CIA agent Lyn Peterfield (Dichen Lachman off of Nieghbours and Dollhouse) taking orders from above, will they even make it across the Atlantic? (Yes, since it's only episode 2!)

Plus we discuss your feedback - thanks to Adam Purcell of Staggering Stories, A Figleaf of your Imagination (aka Aled Morgan) of Blogga the Hut and to Shuggie for their comments.

Length: 1 hour 5 minutes
Download: Click here

Did you enjoy episode 2? Did the high-flying shenanigans grip you or bore you? What were your favourite scenes? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for our spoiler-free preview of episode 3!

Video Games - Dungeon Siege 3 - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:06:30 PDT

Our video games coverage continues as Olivia Cottrell assesses the newly rebooted RPG series. If you missed it, be sure to check out her podcast discussion with Caleb on sci-fi and fantasy in video games!

Coming to legacy games late is always something of a tricky proposition. You don’t get the in-jokes, the lore can be boring without a vested interest, and without a strong dose of nostalgia to temper the game’s flaws, the experience can often leave you wondering what exactly got the game’s fans so excited in the first place. So it is with Dungeon Siege 3, the latest offering from Obsidian Entertainment.

Promoted as a reboot of the Dungeon Siege franchise, Dungeon Siege 3 is set many years after the ending of the second game (released in 2006). The land of Ehb is in peril again and the player, taking on the role of one of four descendants of the Tenth Legion (a kind of medieval Torchwood), has to stop it. Along the way they have to deal with the usual waves of bandits, ghosts and witches alongside some less conventional foes. My particular favourites were the four-armed giant blue naked women who peeped over the edge of the scenery before they clambered up to fight you. This kind of interesting enemy design and variation allowed for some fun tactical gameplay and encouraged me to experiment with the different skills of my character, complementing the solid combat system.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - 2. 'Rendition' - Spoiler-free review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:42:00 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge looks ahead to 'Rendition', episode 2 of Torchwood: Miracle Day. But is it in-flight entertainment or mid-Atlantic pitstop?

Last week's opener 'The New World' seemed dedicated to putting the pieces on the board. With Rex Matheson extraditing Torchwood to America, you might expect episode 2 to be all systems go as the Torchwood team start investigating the "miracle". But whereas Rex's hop across the Atlantic took place between scenes, Captain Jack and Gwen Cooper find themselves in mid-flight peril.

It's entertaining conspiracy hokum if that's what you're after. But the spy-thriller elements seem somewhat divorced from the much more interesting issue of the Miracle itself. The best scenes are those not involving the Torchwood team, but those that continue to explore its impact. Bill Pullman as Oswald Danes continues to steal the show, with Arlene Tur as Dr Vera Juarez also putting in a very strong showing.

There's an important but credulity-stretching scene that echoes a comedy moment in series 4 of Doctor Who. But whereas Doctor Who could get away with it, it doesn't convince as easily here, though your mileage will probably vary - it's already divided opinion among American viewers. Believability takes a definite back-seat to dramatic effect on several other occasions too. I don't mind suspending my disbelief, but this week I had to hang, draw and quarter it.

There are some great lines, my favourite being "I'm American, too. Can't I contribute to our global cultural hegemony with a nice frosty cola?" We also meet Jilly Kitzinger, played to perfection by Lauren Ambrose as the annoying, smarter-than-she-lets-on PR lady. So it does have its redeeming moments, but so far is a long way from matching the quality of Children of Earth.

Check back 10pm Thursday night after UK broadcast for our podcast commentary on 'Rendition'!

Torchwood Miracle Day - 1. 'The New World' - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:03:38 PDT

James Willetts aims his bazooka of truth at the low flying helicopter that is Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Ever since RTD launched Torchwood as a spin off for Captain Jack in an attempt to make a more adult science fiction show, the programme has struggled to find a format that works. ‘Miracle Day’ is the latest attempt to keep Torchwood relevant, coming after two largely ignored seasons of varying quality, and a miniseries that was a critical success.

Following the idea of ‘Children of Earth’, a single storyline over a shorter amount of time, T:MD is a chance to prove that the achievements of the previous itineration have not been lost. More crucially, it’s a chance to prove that serious science fiction (or at least adult science fiction) can work. Since the last Torchwood there have been few attempts to launch big budget science fiction series other than the execrable Outcasts, and there seems to be no sign that the success of the last miniseries has sparked a surge in the desire for further science fiction output. Even as Doctor Who continues to hold strong (or lose ground, or plummet towards inevitable disaster, depending on who you listen to) other franchises have found it difficult to gain a foothold.
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Game of Thrones - Ep 5: The Wolf and the Lion - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 10:00:00 PDT

Swords are finally clashing in Game of Thrones and our reviewer Kieran Mathers is on hand to pick over the aftermath. As always, this review comes with a mild spoiler warning. If you're new to Game of Thrones, don't forget to check out our primer!

At last we get some meaty and considerable violence! Headless horses, charging knights, sweeping swords, battering shields and brother-on-brother duelling - this is combat at its most graphic, and all the stronger for it. The violence of G.R.R. Martin’s prose is not lessened, and is all the more horrifying to see. In fact, this episode is all about violence and its consequences. You also get noisy blowjobs, but hey, it’s HBO.

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Torchwood Miracle Day - 1. 'The New World' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:59:38 PDT

As Torchwood goes trans-Atlantic in Miracle Day, co-produced by Starz and BBC, we dissect the show that just won't die! But has it maintained the quality of Children of Earth or returned to the depths of Cyberwoman?

Join Caleb Woodbridge, P.G. Bell and Swithun Dobson in our commentary on episode 1, The New World, as we discuss John Barrowman's "acting", the dangers of immortality, dodgy Welsh geography, the talents of Michael Bay and much more!

Length: 1 hour 5 minutes
Download: Click here

What did you think of episode 1? Is Russell T Davies' latest effort another classic, or has it yet to hit the mark? Is the American/Welsh combo a match made in heaven or a dog's dinner? Let us know in the comments, and don't forgot to read our spoiler-free review of The New World!

Game of Thrones – Ep 4: Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:30:02 PDT

Reviewer Kieran Mathers, who recently undertook an epic quest of his own when he relocated from Cardiff to Geneva (he now lives within sight of the CERN Large Hadron Collider and will be first into the black hole when things go wrong), returns to give us his assessment of the ongoing saga of Westeros. New to Game of Thrones? Check out our primer!

The opening credits in a Game of Thrones have confused me for a while. Putting geographical exposition within your credit sequence is a great idea, because it removes the need for Kurusawa-esque moments of map-based talking, complete with moving hands.

But what exactly is it about? It looks like a wargaming board, which makes sense when you consider the show’s title, but why is it coming to life using clockwork mechanisms? I know it looks good but it doesn’t make sense considering the level of technology we’ve seen in the show. Something simpler, like a stone chess board, might have been more in keeping with what we’ve already seen of Westeros.

Also, at the end of the sequence, the world curves the wrong way. When we arrive at Vaes Dothrak, city of the Horse Lords, we look back towards Westeros which is now higher in the horizon, curved above us. Does that mean this world is, in fact a Dyson Sphere?

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Torchwood Miracle Day - Spoiler-Free preview/review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:58:19 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge and Swithun Dobson look ahead to Torchwood: Miracle Day - we'll have our commentary on episode 1, The New World, online immediately after UK broadcast. Don't forget to check out our Children of Earth commentaries (Day 1, Day 5) and interview with Gareth David-Lloyd!

Length: 10 minutes
Download: Click here

Caleb's spoiler-free review:
Miracle Day opens with Oswald Danes, a murderer and a paedophile, about to be executed by lethal injection. It's a clear statement of intent: Toto, I don't think we're in Doctor Who any more. Like its immediate predecessor, Children of Earth, this series looks set to take a twisted sci-fi look at the dark side of our humanity...
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Science Fiction & Fantasy in Videogames Discussion

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:57:19 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge interviews Olivia Cottrell, resident gamer geek for Impossible Podcasts.

When is a Reaper not a time-wound sterilizing flying dinosaur thing? When it's a synthetic/organic space ship, of course!

We discuss the many connections between science fiction, fantasy and video games, especially Olivia's favourites from Bioshock such as Mass Effect. What's the place of storytelling in video games today? Are they "art", and does it matter? What does the future hold?

Length: 30 minutes
Download: Click here

What are your favourite games? Are sci-fi and fantasy especially suited to games? Are games now mainstream? Let us know your thoughts!

The Return of the King? Finding Arthur in ‘The Lord of the Rings’

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:30:01 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge brings us the first in a series of posts exploring the connections between ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Once and Future King’.

Between them, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (published 1954-5), T. H. White’s The Once and Future King (1958), and C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia (1949-54), helped define the fantasy genre for the second half of the twentieth-century. Tolkien and White were particularly influential on high fantasy, while White and Lewis strongly influenced children’s literature in particular. Their influence can be felt from Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon through to the Harry Potter series and beyond.

All of them drew heavily on medieval literature to create their fantasy worlds. The most famous of all medieval legends is that of King Arthur and the Round Table. White retold the story of Arthur, beginning in The Sword in the Stone, first published in 1938, with his childhood and the magical lessons he experienced through his tutor Merlyn. In the subsequent volumes, the story follows Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur much more closely, and grows into a more adult and complex tale that includes the adulterous love of Guinevere and Lancelot, the Quest for the Holy Grail, and the inevitable fall of Camelot and death of Arthur.
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Interview: Tolkien and Wales - Dr Carl Phelpstead

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:55:38 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge interviews Dr Carl Phelpstead, author of 'Tolkien and Wales: Language, Literature and Identity', recently published by the University of Wales Press.

Tolkien once wrote: 'I love Wales - and especially the Welsh language'. In this episode, we discuss with Dr Phelpstead how Welsh influenced Tolkien's ideas about language and his fiction, especially The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We also discuss Tolkien's place in the university today, and what the future might hold for the academic study of Tolkien.

Dr Phelpstead is a Reader in English Literature at Cardiff University. His areas of research include Old Norse and Medieval English literature. Dr Phelpstead has published widely on Norse sagas and other medieval literature and has contributed to The J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopaedia and Tolkien Studies.

Length: 20 minutes
Download: Click here

Are you interested in the myths, legends and cultures that influenced Tolkien's writing? What light do you think academic scholarship can shine on books like 'The Lord of the Rings'? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments!

Game of Thrones - Ep 3: Lord Snow - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:00:01 PDT

HBO's adaptation of the best-selling fantasy novel has been winning an army of fans on both sides of the Atlantic but reviewer Kieran Mathers hasn't quite been won over. Could that be about to change? Read on, find out and let us know where you stand in the comments section.

New to Game of Thrones? Check out our primer!

I’ve been looking forward to reviewing this one. Finally, after two episodes of faintly stilted action, it seems the show has managed to find its natural rhythm. It also produces its strongest scene so far.

The first thing to note is that there has been a change of director and the difference is marked. From the very first arrival of the party in ~~Malta~~ King’s Landing, the dialogue feels right and the pacing spot on. Even Sean Bean has discovered a little more ability.

In a great opening scene, Ned Stark is confronted in the throne room by Jamie Lannister. The two characters being who they are, it’s all threats, but the direction allows the scene to grow naturally, avoiding the pitfalls of the previous episodes and the entire exchange is skilfully laden with subtext. It’s great to see the series begin to match up to its potential.

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Article: Doctor Who's Story Arc of Infinity (and Beyond?)

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:18:16 PDT

Are you a fan of Doctor Who's new format? Podcast commentator Swithun Dobson (a.k.a. "The Great Intelligence", a.k.a. "The Beast") certainly isn't and turns his critical eye on the past to suggest how the show might evolve in future.

Deafening Silence, River Melodies and “shenanigans”. Are story-arcs the future of Doctor Who? Since Steven Moffat acceded to the showrunner’s throne, the series has tended toward more heavily-arced narratives. Last year it was the Crack, this year it’s the not-so-silent Silence.

For the purpose of this article a story-arc will be defined as a continuing narrative which is directly related to each individual episode over a significant period of time, normally a single series. This definition should be treated as the gold standard against which other series can be compared, to determine their arcedness. (Bad Wolf, for instance, wasn’t an arc - it was an afterthought).

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Game of Thrones - Ep 2: The Kingsroad - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:00:05 PDT

Reviewer Kieran Mathers returns to examine HBO's new epic fantasy series. Have things improved after last week's disappointments? Read on to find out! Once again, we're issuing a mild spoiler warning. If you missed Kieran's review of Episode 1, you can find it here. New to Game of Thrones? Check out our primer!

It’s very much an episode of two or possibly three halves this week. While Bran lies unconscious in the tower, looked after by Lady ~~Haversham~~ Stark, the rest of the family plan to leave the boy and head towards King’s Landing.

Meanwhile, we’re treated to the on-going trials of Daenerys Targaryen and her marriage to Khal Drogo. This is depicted very graphically in the books and I like how the show manages to hint at the difficulties she is facing without being overly graphic. The strongest scene of this episode is probably the conversation between Daenerys and Ser Jorah, which ends with his line, ‘It gets easier’. You really get the impression that the actors are beginning to find the meter of the language and, although the show still has a tendency to deviate into strange moments of exposition, some naturalism is beginning to creep into the performances.

Tolkien Discussion: Fantasy, Wales, The Hobbit movie and more!

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:54:42 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge and Olivia Cottrell are joined by fellow Tolkien-geeks Gwen Williams and Alex Zens to get the literary lowdown on all things Middle-Earth related.

We chat about why we love Tolkien, plus those things about his writing that perhaps aren't quite so great. We also discuss Tolkien's impact on the fantasy genre, his relationship with Wales, and what it's like to study Tolkien at university. And to round it off, we talk about the upcoming Hobbit movie and what we liked and didn't like about The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Length: 53min
Download: Click here

Mentioned in this podcast:

Tolkien scholar Dimitra Fimi and her book Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits.
Dr Carl Phelpstead and his book Tolkien and Wales - interview with the author coming soon!
The academic journal Tolkien Studies.
The Hobbit movie - get all the latest news from TheOneRing.net.
The Tolkien Professor podcast by Professor Corey Olsen - lively lectures on Tolkien's writing, plus bonus content on fantasy and medieval literature.

Let us know what you think about all things Tolkien-related in the comments!

Game of Thrones - Ep 1: Winter is Coming - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:28:49 PDT

Reviewer Kieran Mathers brings us the first of his episode-by-episode reviews of the year's biggest fantasy series. This review comes with a mild spoiler warning. There will be some comparisons between the events of the book and the show.
New to 'Game of Thrones'? Check out our primer!

For those of you who live on Mars and may not have heard, HBO have adapted the first novel in G.R.R. Martin’s ongoing fantasy sequence, A Song of Ice and Fire, into a ten part mini-series: Game of Thrones. The word they are using in much of the press is “epic”. That’s a big word to be throwing around, even in our age of superlative inflationary pressures but the opening scene is suitably cinematic in scale. In a visually stunning sequence, the brave rangers of the Night’s Watch have their first deadly encounter with the white walkers at the Wall, a seven hundred foot high barrier of ice.

While the imagery is brilliantly rendered (and deserves to be seen on a big screen in HD) the scene does not mirror the book and I don’t think it is any stronger for it. The fighting is suitably brutal - a gory gallery of severed limbs and heads, which certainly reflects the violence of Martin’s prose - but I found it difficult to care for the characters because, at this point, one of the episode’s two major issues raised its head; the script is not as Shakespearean as it wishes it was.

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Doctor Who - A Good Man Goes to War - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:21:15 PDT

James Willetts reviews the mid-series finale, with a somewhat less positive take than that of this week's commentary team. Who do you agree with? Let us know in the comments!

If the first half of the episode was all about building the Doctor to be an all-destroying Action Hero, crushing everything in his path, the second was all about drawing him back from that path.

I’ve written a couple of times this season about my unease at the way the Doctor seems to solve problems with battles, and I’m glad that it was addressed here. I recognise that there is an intrinsic problem in television in showing conflict-resolution which doesn’t involve stuff blowing up. The problem many people have with much of Star Trek is the endless diplomacy. No one wants to see the Doctor changing people through dialogue and mediation with no running around and shouting. That’s boring, even if it is a better, more realistic route.
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Doctor Who 6.7 'A Good Man Goes to War' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:52:56 PDT

River Song's identity is finally revealed as A Good Man Goes To War! The Doctor and the Last Centurion, otherwise known as Rory Williams, husband to a kidnapped wife, father to an abducted daughter, go chasing after Amy and Melody Pond.

Find out what we thought of the latest developments in the Moffat Master Plan in our commentary!

This edition's commentators: Caleb, Peter, and Swithun.

Length: 1hr 4min

Download: Click here

What did you think of 'A Good Man Goes to War'? Did you guess who River Song is? What did you make of the first half of series 6 as a whole, and are you looking forward to 'Let's Kill Hitler?' Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Game of Thrones Primer

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 01:48:57 PDT

Future classic or oversexed Tolkien knock-off? Reviewer Kieran Mathers introduces George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. Make sure you check out his episode-by-episode reviews of the HBO television series! (Links at the foot of this article).

Game of Thrones is the new, heavily hyped fantasy TV series from HBO. It reportedly has a $100 million budget and features a range of well known movie stars, including Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings, Goldeneye), Peter Dinklage (Willow) and Lena Headey (300). A critical and ratings success, it has already been renewed for a second season.

Game of Thrones has been adapted from the fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R.R. Martin. The show takes its title from the first book, A Game of Thrones, which was released in 1997. The story continues in the subsequent volumes; A Clash of Kings (2002), A Storm of Swords (2003), A Feast for Crows (2007) and the latest volume A Dance of Dragons (2011). To say that this latest volume has been eagerly awaited by fans of the series would be an understatement.

Game of Thrones takes place in the land of Westeros, which has enjoyed 17 years of peace since the deposition and murder of the last of the ruling Targaryen dynasty. King Robert Baratheon, sometimes known as the ‘Usurper’, now sits upon the throne, supported by his loyal ‘Hand’ John Arryn, a senior advisor and councillor.
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Doctor Who 6.6 'The Almost People' - Commentary

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:51:53 PDT

Join us as we discuss The Almost People's many twists and turns, as the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory attempt to escape the island and bring peace between humans and flesh, and face some startling discoveries of their own. We discuss everything from Roman Rory through to Moffat's alleged sexism, and of course, that cliffhanger!

This edition's commentators: Caleb, Peter, Swithun and Olivia.

Length: 1hr 4min

Download: Click here

What did you think of 'The Almost People'? Does the ongoing story have you enthralled, or has it distracted from the individual stories? Remember to read James's review, and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Doctor Who - The Almost People - Review

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Mon, 30 May 2011 07:43:35 PDT

James Willetts reviews the twists and turns of 'The Almost People'. Let us know what you think in the comments below. Don't forget to download our commentary!

Cliffhangers seems to be the Doctor Who stock in trade these days, being dropped into episodes whether they make sense or not. Gone are the days when a cliffhanger ending meant an impending disaster to be resolved though, because these are more about setting up the next episode.

I’ve got mixed feelings about this week's episode. On the one hand, I wasn’t at all a fan. It felt more like a slight miss than a big one and it never felt like a total disaster along the lines of ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’. It’s a big drop off from the greatness of the last few episodes. Yet at the same time this episode lives on unfairly thanks to another game-changing coda, presumably written by Moffat, that undoes much of what we thought we knew about the series so far and completely rewrites the Doctor's motivation for this two-parter.Read more »

Review - Un Lun Dun - China Miéville

impossiblepodcast@gmail.com (Impossible Podcasts) — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:22:19 PDT

Caleb Woodbridge reviews China Miéville's novel 'Un Lun Dun', winner of the 2008 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book:

The idea that the magical or fantastic may be lurking just around the corner is very appealing, and one that science fiction and fantasy uses frequently. A 1960s police telephone box is revealed as a time machine; the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 of King’s Cross Station turns out to be a gateway to a world of wizardry. The fantastic is all around us. In Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, there are two Londons: London Above, which we are familiar with, and the magical London Below. Un Lun Dun revisits the concept for a younger audience, with Zanna and Deeba finding their way into the abcity of UnLondon.

The story gets off to quite a slow start, and seems to follow some fairly well-worn fantasy tropes. As Zanna and Deeba enter UnLondon, they discover that Zanna is the “Shwazzy” (from the French “choisi”, chosen). She is the Chosen One prophesied to save London from the Smog. However, all does not go to plan, and the reliability of the prophecies quickly goes out the window. This leaves the characters free to go trampling over the clichés and conventions of the fantasy genre. Deeba refuses to stick to her role of “comedy sidekick” to Zanna, and determinedly breaks the rules of the quest in a desperate attempt to save London and UnLondon alike.