Author Archives: Anna Bell

Author Discussion: Diana Wynne Jones

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Diana Wynne JonesJoin us for a spirited discussion of one of our favourite fantasy authors – the late, great Diana Wynne Jones!

Author of Howl’s Moving Castle, Archer’s Goon and the Chrestomanci series, among many others, Diana was described by Neil Gaiman as “…the best writer of magic there is, for readers of any age.” But, after so much success, why isn’t she a household name? What is her place in today’s crowded YA fiction market?  And just how much of her difficult childhood is evident in her stories? Our panel of intrepid fantasy fans set out to answer these and other questions on their whistle-stop tour of her life and works.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:19:38 — 72.9MB)

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How's Moving Castle

Is Peter seeing things, or are there bits of the Welsh dragon in there?

Doctor Who Discussion – 6.09 ‘Night Terrors’

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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

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:56 — 34.7MB)

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 Commentary – 6.08 ‘Let’s Kill Hitler’

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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.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:47 — 52.9MB)

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 Commentary – 4.11 ‘Turn Left’

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Join us, a bunch of Cardiff-based Doctor Who fans, as we try to persuade our doubting wives and girlfriends that Catherine Tate’s dodgy insectoid rucksack is actually a cunning reference to ‘Planet Of The Spiders’. Yes, it’s ‘Turn Left’, episode 4.11 of the popular science-fiction drama, including Rose’s return, continuity errors and “refugee chic”.

This week’s commentators: Caleb, Peter, Beverley and Anna.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:50 — 14.8MB)