The Doctor Who world lost one of its most important creative voices with the passing of Justin Richards. This week, Christian Cawley and James McLean celebrate his remarkable contribution to the Whoniverse and discuss why his work mattered to generations of fans.

From the Virgin New Adventures to BBC Books, Big Finish audio dramas, comics, and countless reference works, Justin Richards helped define Doctor Who during the years it was off television—and continued shaping the franchise long after its return.

Christian and James both experienced the books when they were released, back when there was no Doctor Who on TV. Pre-Big Finish, these titles were the only tangible Doctor Who stories beyond the comic strip and the short-lived TV Movie, and were vital to positioning Doctor Who as a serious brand.

Along the way, the conversation explores favourite novels, the evolution of Doctor Who publishing, and the enduring importance of books in keeping the series alive between 1989 and 2005.

Also in this episode:

• Updates from the growing Kasterborous Archive on Patreon.

• A preview of an upcoming interview with Doctor Who artist Lee Sullivan.

• Our favourite Justin Richards novels and recommendations for new readers.

• The transition from Virgin Books to the BBC Books range.

• Justin Richards’ editorial influence on Doctor Who publishing.

• Why the Wilderness Years remain one of Doctor Who’s most creative periods.

Whether you discovered Justin Richards through his novels, his audio dramas, or his work behind the scenes, this episode celebrates a writer whose influence on Doctor Who is difficult to overstate.

The full uncut edition of this week’s podcast discussions can be found on our Patreon, along with the Kasterborous Archive.

Kasterborous Archive on Patreon

Look out for our main chat, landing later.

The conversation continues beyond Doctor Who this week as Christian Cawley and James McLean turn their attention to the changing world of film, gaming, and digital entertainment.

Starting with the prospects for DC Studios’ Supergirl and the current state of superhero cinema, the discussion broadens into the future of the cinema experience, the decline of physical media, and what it really means to own the films and games we pay for.

Along the way, they consider whether streaming has changed our relationship with entertainment forever, why Blu-rays and boxed games still have a place on the shelf, and whether services like Steam have fundamentally altered consumer expectations.

Also discussed:

• Is superhero fatigue really to blame for declining cinema audiences?

• DC Studios, Marvel Studios and the challenge of rebuilding franchises.

• Why some films still deserve to be seen on the big screen.

• The continuing appeal of Blu-ray and other physical media.

• Sony’s changing approach to physical PlayStation releases.

• Steam, digital ownership and the risks of an all-digital future.

• Evercade and the resurgence of physical retro gaming.

• Windows 11, ageing hardware and planned obsolescence.

The full uncut edition of this week’s podcast discussions can be found on our Patreon, along with the Kasterborous Archive.

Doctor Who artist Lee Sullivan joins Christian Cawley to look back on a career that has spanned Transformers, Marvel UK, Doctor Who Magazine, and some of the most memorable comic strips of the Seventh and Eighth Doctor eras.

Beginning with his childhood love of comics and Gerry Anderson, Lee explains how an ambition to become a comic strip artist eventually led him from British Aerospace to Marvel UK, where he cut his teeth drawing Transformers before unexpectedly becoming one of Doctor Who's defining artists.

The unedited interview is available on our Patreon.

The conversation explores the creative process behind classic Doctor Who Magazine strips, the challenges of sequential storytelling, and the evolution of the comic throughout the Wilderness Years and beyond.

Along the way, Lee discusses:

• How Transformers became his first professional comic strip work.
• Breaking into Marvel UK and working with editors including Richard Starkings.
• Becoming a Doctor Who artist during the programme's 25th anniversary.
• The enduring popularity of the Seventh Doctor comic strips.
• Bringing the Eighth Doctor to life in comic form.
• Storytelling techniques, page layouts and visual pacing.
• Working on graphic novels, illustrations and Doctor Who publications beyond the comic strip.
• Why Doctor Who has remained such a constant throughout his career.

Whether you discovered Lee Sullivan's artwork through Doctor Who Magazine, Marvel UK's Transformers, or later Doctor Who books and illustrations, this interview offers a fascinating insight into one of the franchise's most recognisable artists.

Learn more about Lee Sullivan and his work: https://leesullivanart.co.uk/

This week’s podcast explores what the future might hold for Doctor Who—and whether the problems facing the BBC’s flagship series are really part of a much bigger shift across television and film.

Hosted by Christian Cawley and James McLean, the show discusses Sylvester McCoy’s surprise appearance in the Commonwealth Games trailer, what it tells us about the BBC’s continuing commitment to Doctor Who, and the implications of the programme’s move to open tender.

From there, the conversation broadens into Marvel fatigue, Netflix’s audience drop-offs, Spider-Noir, Chris Chibnall’s attempts to reinvent Doctor Who, and whether modern audiences still want long-running serialised storytelling—or something completely different.

Talking points:

• Sylvester McCoy and the Commonwealth Games trailer
• BBC Studios and Doctor Who’s future
• What happens after Bad Wolf?
• Why Marvel’s current strategy may no longer work
• Spider-Noir and character-first storytelling
• Reassessing Chris Chibnall’s era
• What Netflix’s viewing figures tell us
• Why Doctor Who may need a completely different release strategy

Let us know what you think, and if you have any thoughts on how Doctor Who should end, get in touch!
Meanwhile, Patreon supporters can enjoy some exclusive “after show” chat…

What can Tracy Island, Wonky Donkey and a TARDIS tell us about growing up with television in the 1990s?

Well, Christian Cawley is about to find out.

He chats with author Thom Gray about 100 Objects of '90s Children's TV, his celebration of a decade of CBBC, CITV, Saturday morning shows and programmes that have since slipped from memory, which is out now from Candy Bar Books.

Thom explains how the book came together, the challenges of researching children's television from the period, and his conversations with around 35 people who helped make it, including Pat Sharp, Anne Wood and Tony Robinson.

We also delve into some of the 100 objects themselves, including Anthea Turner's famous Blue Peter Tracy Island, Wonky Donkey from SM:TV Live, the MicroSoap Rubik's Cube, and the TARDIS. Doctor Who might have been absent from television for most of the 1990s, but it wasn't entirely absent from children's TV. Thom explains how the TARDIS continued appearing elsewhere during the Wilderness Years, prompting a wider discussion about Doctor Who's curious place in the decade.

Plus: forgotten programmes, VHS tapes, YouTube archaeology, and why '90s children's television is ripe for rediscovery.

What happens when the films and TV programmes we grew up with aren't quite the same things we remember?

This week, a mix of Doctor Who and Star Wars, with Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova beginning with some surprising discoveries about Luke Skywalker's decidedly ordinary trousers and Han Solo's blaster, changing lightsaber props, and the surprisingly problematic dimensions of the Millennium Falcon.

That leads us into the world of film and television restoration. What can modern transfers reveal that VHS and old television broadcasts concealed? And why might the Peter Cushing Doctor Who movies never make the jump to true 4K?

Doctor Who presents another puzzle. The series has always contained changing props, models, sets, and continuity, yet fans seem remarkably willing to accept them. More recent projects such as The War Games in Colour take things further, effectively creating alternative versions of familiar stories.

Then things get personal. James reveals that he edits songs he likes into what he considers their "correct" versions, leading to a discussion about fan edits, remixing, copyright and whether audiences have always customised the media they consume.

As CGI, AI and increasingly powerful editing tools become available to everyone, could personalised versions of films and television become commonplace? And if we can all "fix" the things we don't like, are we still watching the same thing?

What should Doctor Who do next? We look to its uncertain future — and back to the BBC's memorable Doctor Who Night in 1999.

Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova discuss Dean Devlin's recent comments about Doctor Who, the prospect of another David Tennant return, and whether the programme might benefit from something resembling the clean break it received in 2005.

Should a future producer embrace decades of continuity, or give new viewers an easier way in? Could Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor provide a bridge to another incarnation? And has Doctor Who become too reliant on its own past?

Then we head back to 1999, when Doctor Who faced a very different uncertain future, to revisit BBC Two's Doctor Who Night.

Featuring Tom Baker, specially made sketches, documentaries and a showing of the 1996 TV movie, the evening arrived at a fascinating point in Doctor Who history: ten years after the original series ended and several years before its eventual return.

Was Doctor Who Night simply a nostalgic celebration — or, looking back, can we see the beginnings of the rehabilitation that eventually brought the Doctor back to Saturday-night television?

Chris Carter has returned to 2008's The X-Files: I Want to Believe and created a new director's cut — but unusually, his preferred version is shorter than the film we already had.

James McLean and Brian Terranova have watched the new cut and join Christian Cawley to discuss what's changed, including its renewed emphasis on horror, alterations to Mulder and Scully's relationship, and whether Carter has actually made I Want to Believe a better movie.

But that raises a bigger question: when should creators stop changing their own work?

From Chris Carter and The X-Files, the conversation moves to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, George Lucas and Star Wars, fan edits and the very idea of a definitive version.

Films and television are collaborative works involving writers, directors, actors, editors, composers, and producers. So when somebody returns decades later to create their preferred cut, whose work are they actually changing?

And does being the director necessarily give them the final word?

With Christian Cawley, James McLean and Brian Terranova.