Tag: Ben McKenzie

Splendid Chaps episode three

Three/Family

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss Jon Pertwee and Doctor Who’s representation of “Family” in the third live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at the Tuxedo Cat pop-up venue in Adelaide on Sunday, March 10, 2013. With special guests Cathy Adamek and Sean Williams, plus Tim FitzHigham recreating a classic track from Doctor Who music history, and Adelaide-based a capella group The Con Artists performing a beautiful combo of Doctor Who music, “I Am the Doctor Who Theme”.

To make sure you don’t miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or via this Feedburner feed.

Don’t forget you can go into the draw to win a (Region 4) DVD copy of The Ambassadors of Death by commenting on this episode below! Tell us what you think of the Pertwee era, come up with other interesting family moments in the series, or just let us know what you thought of this episode. Comment by April 12 to be in the running, and we’ll announce the winner at our second Four/Comedy recording on April 13.

Splendid Chaps episode three
Ben McKenzie, Cathy Adamek and Sean Williams on stage recording Splendid Chaps: Three/Family at the Tuxedo Cat in Adelaide. Photo by Alanta Colley.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:14:05 — 34.0MB)

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Four/Comedy (live show)

Dashing action hero the Doctor realises he has brought disaster to Earth and faces his fears to defeat the Great One, an immense and powerfully psychic spider. He returns to Earth only to collapse from radiation poisoning in front of his friends, but with the help of a fellow Time Lord manages to stave off death and regenerate. Somewhat traumatised by his regeneration, this new Doctor is by turns manic, brooding and boisterous. His only constant is eccentricity, in dress, speech and habit. Uninterested in the creature comforts and life on Earth of his predecessor, he leaves almost immediately to travel the cosmos, seeking adventure and righting injustice when he finds it.

Splendid Chaps is a year-long celebration of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary: eleven live performances recorded as podcasts in which your brains will be fed, your funny bones tickled, and your hearts opened (yes, both of them!). Our fourth instalment is part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and fittingly for the Fourth Doctor, is a two-part story! In part one we discuss the Fourth Doctor (“Four”), played by eccentric actor Tom Baker. The Doctor best known to audiences (serving for the longest time, and seeing the classic era through much of it’s most successful period), he’s known for his ridiculously long scarf, bohemian manner, generosity with jelly babies, cavalier attitude to danger and (in the words of Bullamakanka) his “trusty mate K-9”.

The Fourth Doctor is also known for his wit, and so in part two we turn our discussion to “Comedy” in Doctor Who. How many jokes are too many for what is ostensibly a family science fiction adventure show? Does the Doctor always know he’s being funny? When does the humour work best – and when does it fail to work altogether? And what is the funniest moment in Doctor Who?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined for part one by JJJ’s nerd correspondent and host of ABC3’s Steam Punks, Paul Verhoeven, and late night JJJ host and comedian Dave Callan. In part two, our late show, they’re joined by comedian, radio host and co-creator and star of Outland, Adam Richard, plus comedian/actor/lovely UK person Josie Long – she’s been in Skins AND the actual TARDIS! All this plus music, prizes and surprises!

Space: Trades Hall – The New Ballroom, corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets, Melbourne
Time: Part One: Four – April 6, 5:45 PM; Part Two: Comedy – April 13, 10:45 PM
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $22 full price, $18 concession (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via comedyfestival.com.au, TicketMaster outlets, the Comedy Festival box office, or at the venue (subject to availability)
Please note if you book in person at a TicketMaster outlet, you may need to ask for “Ben McKenzie & John Richards”, as “Splendid Chaps” does not appear in the search terms of their system.
Podcast: not yet available; released 23rd of April, 2013.

Splendid Chaps episode two cast.

Two/Evil

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss Patrick Troughton and the nature of “Evil” in the second live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at 303 in Melbourne on Sunday, February 17, 2013. With special guests Toby Truslove, Dr Djoymi Baker, and Dean Acuri performing a tribute to one of the Second Doctor’s lovely companions.

Splendid Chaps episode two cast.
Dr Djoymi Baker, Toby Truslove, Petra Elliott, Ben McKenzie and John Richards on stage recording Splendid Chaps: Two/Evil at 303 in Northcote, Melbourne. Photo by Robert Young.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:13 — 30.9MB)

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To make sure you don’t miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or via this Feedburner feed.

Don’t forget you can go into the draw to win a copy of The Reign of Terror by commenting on this episode below! Join in the conversation on Troughton’s era, discuss the way evil works, or just let us know what you thought of this episode; write your comment before March 9 to be in the running, and we’ll announce the winner at the recording of Three/Family on March 10.

Three/Family (live show)

The traveller known as the Doctor, faced with a crisis too big to handle on his own, contacts his own people, the Time Lords, for help. They answer his call, but put him on trial for breaking their vow of non-interference. His plea that they must use their power to fight the evil in the Universe does not go unheard, but he is exiled – and given a new form into the bargain. This new Doctor is dashing, flamboyant and charming; as handy with his fists as his mind, enamoured with gadgets and obsessed with repairing his disabled TARDIS, he is nonetheless primarily a scientist. Stranded on Earth, he takes up a post with his old friend the Brigadier as scientific advisor to the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, an international military organisation watching out for alien threats – and its not long before such threats begin to appear…

Splendid Chaps is a year-long celebration of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary: eleven live performances recorded as podcasts in which your brains will be fed, your funny bones tickled, and your hearts opened (yes, both of them!). For our third outing we burst forth in glorious colour and take a big risk: travelling through time and space is out, and battling foes on slightly-in-the-future[ref]It is the policy of Splendid Chaps not to engage in debates about the UNIT dating controversy, but feel free to do so yourselves.[/ref] Earth is in! The Third Doctor (“Three”), played by comedy actor Jon Pertwee, delights in extravagant clothes and fast cars, knows (and is willing to use) Venusian aikido, and matches wits not only with alien menaces, but with politicians, bureaucrats, and even one of his own people: The Master. Despite being stranded on Earth without his previous human friends, the Doctor soon becomes part of the UNIT crew – a surrogate family that leads him to remember his own youth on Gallifrey, and us to choose the theme of “Family” in Doctor Who. Why are there so few families in the early years of the show? What’s with all the distant aunts? How did it change the show when companions’ families started to appear after Rose? And is the TARDIS crew effectively a family of a sort for the Doctor, who seems not to know what happened to his own family?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by New York Times best-selling author Sean Williams (Evergence, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, The Fixers and many more) and actor/dancer/director Cathy Adamek (Polecats, The Babadook, Cut) plus other guests poached from the Adelaide Fringe Festival!

Space: The Tuxedo Cat – The Yellow Room, 199-200 North Terrace, Adelaide
Time: Sunday, March 10; show starts 2 PM (note that as we will be recording, latecomers will not be admitted until interval)
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: All tickets $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: trybooking.com; tickets also sold at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23rd of February, 2013.

Two/Evil (live show)

A mysterious old man known only as the Doctor saves the world at the cost of his own life, complaining his old body is “worn out”. His young friends, Ben and Polly, help him back inside his Ship, and are astonished as he literally transforms into a new man. Younger, impish and eccentric, this new Doctor nevertheless has the curiosity and moral compass of his predecessor – not to mention his knack for finding trouble…

Splendid Chaps is a year-long celebration of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary: eleven live performances recorded as podcasts in which your brains will be fed, your funny bones tickled, and your hearts opened (yes, both of them!). For our second instalment it’s all change, as the producers decide to replace their lead actor – but keep the same character. Well…more or less. The Second Doctor (or “Two”), played by character actor Patrick Troughton, is childish and panicky, yet this might just be a cover for his great intellect and capacity for planning. He now seems to see a motive beyond curiosity for his wandering, explicitly stating on more than one occasion that the evil creatures of the Universe “must be fought” – and so we also take this opportunity to explore the theme of “Evil” in Doctor Who. Is it absolute? Are there cosmic forces of right and wrong? And is the Doctor always on the right side?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by actor Toby Truslove (Laid, Outland, The Strange Calls) and cinema and television researcher Dr Djoymi Baker. Plus performance guest, cabaret comedian Dean Acuri – performing a song written especially for the show!

Space: 303, 303 High Street, Northcote
Time: Sunday, February 17; bar open from 4 PM, show starts 5 PM (note that as we are recording, latecomers will not be admitted until intermission)
Accessibility: We regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 full price, $12 concession (plus booking fee)
Bookings: via TryBooking; tickets also sold at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: not yet available; released 23rd of February, 2013.

Episode Zero

In the back room of a Northcote cafe, Ben McKenzie and John Richards, accompanied by intrepid sound guy David Ashton, met over coffee (and organic ginger beer) to record a special “Episode Zero” introduction to their new Doctor Who podcast, Splendid Chaps.

What’s it all about? How’s it going to work? Who are these people, anyway? Discover the answers to these questions and many more in this entirely unscripted conversation, paving the way for the anniversary celebrations to come…

To make sure you don’t miss an episode, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or via this Feedburner feed.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:40 — 13.7MB)

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One/Authority (live show)

On the 23rd of November, 1963, something extraordinary began. A strange young woman arouses concern in her teachers, who follow her home to discover she lives in a police box with her Grandfather, an imperious old man known only as “the Doctor” – and in whose Ship, the TARDIS, they are whisked away on adventures throughout time and space.

Splendid Chaps is a year-long celebration of Doctor Who‘s fiftieth anniversary: eleven live performances recorded as podcasts in which your brains will be fed, your funny bones tickled, and your hearts opened (yes, both of them!). This very first instalment takes us all the way back to the First Doctor, William “Billy” Hartnell. One[ref]For brevity’s sake, many fans refer to each Doctor by number, instead of the old form “The First Doctor”.[/ref] is a cranky old dude who kidnapped and electrocuted his first companions to protect himself and his Granddaughter, places their lives and his own in danger to satisfy his curiosity, and who delights in putting the boot into conquerors and invaders. It’s this anti-authoritarian sentiment – and the air of authority he projects – that inspired us to take “Authority” as our first theme.

Hosts Ben McKenzie and John Richards and narrator and companion Petra Elliott are joined by our special guest panellists: writer and filmmaker Lee Zachariah (The Bazura Project (ABC2), Hell Is For Hyphenates podcast); broadcaster and host of 3RRR FM’s LiveWire, Nerida Haycock; and costume designer of the original 1966 Cybermen, Alexandra Tynan (aka Sandra Reid). Plus performance guest, comedian and cabaret performer Geraldine Quinn.

Space: The Annexe, Bella Union, Trades Hall, corner of Victoria and Lygon streets, Melbourne
Time: Sunday, January 13; bar and box office open at 4 PM, show starts at 5 PM (no latecomers admitted until intermission)
Tickets: $15 full price, $12 concession (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: bellaunion.com.au or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: “One/Authority” released 23rd of January, 2013.

This podcast goes to Eleven…ish

The Brigadier said it best: “Splendid chaps. All of them.”[ref]In fact, in The Five Doctors, the Brigadier says “Wonderful chap. All of them.” and later “Splendid fellows, all of you.” But this is the apocryphal version popular in fan culture, and like “Play it again, Sam” and “She canna take any more, cap’n”, we’re keeping it.[/ref] In that spirit, Ben McKenzie (Dungeon Crawl, ‘patron saint of geek comedy’ – T-Squat magazine), John Richards (creator/writer ABC’s Outland, Boxcutters podcast) and Petra Elliott hosted a year-long performance/podcast project in celebration of Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary. Each month from January to November 2013 they recorded a live Doctor Who panel discussion – one for each of the eleven Doctors – with a different theme, special guests, musical performances and loveliness. An edited version was released as a podcast on the 23rd of each month, plus a few extra episodes here and there.

It’s over now…but the moment had been prepared for! Check out our new audio project, the sci-fi comedy series Night Terrace! Currently raising funds via Kickstarter.