Tag: Blue Turtle Shell

Ten/Sex

Sit down for this one, ‘cos you’re gonna get hot under the collar as hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott discuss David Tennant and sex in Doctor Who with guests Aimee Nichols and Richard Watts in our tenth (ish) live Splendid Chaps episode, recorded at the Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne on October 13, 2013. Plus there are prizes, another deluge of audience questions, and Melbourne geek rock band Blue Turtle Shell marry our two topics in song! This one isn’t very sweary – but it does get a little risqué. What can we say? It does what it says on the tin.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:45 — 41.2MB)

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Don’t forget you can go into the draw to win season four of modern Doctor Who on DVD (the Tenth Doctor and Donna season), courtesy of our friends at BBC on DVD! To enter the draw, just comment on this episode at splendidchaps.com. Do you think David Tennant is sexy? Is he your favourite Doctor? Do you find him smug or charming – or both? Are sex and relationships okay in Doctor Who, or do they weird you out? And who else in Doctor Who was clearly doing it, right under our noses? Comment by November 20 to be in the running, and we’ll announce the winner at the recording of Eleven/Future on November 21.

Ten/Sex (live show)

The Doctor, survivor of the Last Great Time War, discovers to his horror that the Daleks he thought dead have returned to exterminate humanity. He sends his friend Rose Tyler home, but she absorbs the energy of the Time Vortex in order to obliterate the Daleks – energy which will destroy her. The Doctor, already prepared to die, absorbs the energy from Rose with a kiss and bids her a proud farewell before regenerating. The new Doctor is younger, happier and more engaged, but retains something of his predecessor’s hard edge – and after a rocky start, soon develops a deeper connection with Rose.

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 tenth major episode brings us to many people’s first (and favourite) Doctor, David Tennant. Phenomenally popular, and quickly establishing his own fanbase independent of the show, Tennant stayed in the role over five years, all the way to the end of Russell T Davies time as showrunner, cementing the program’s success and becoming “the” Doctor for a whole generation of viewers.

Seemingly a big part of Tennant’s success was his sex appeal – something foreign to many fans of the classic series. The Doctor of the Old Time (and most of his friends) seemed disinterested in sex, save for the occasional bit of flirting, but in the new series he clearly romances Rose, spurns Martha, fends off Amy and perves on Clara; he’s snogged every female companion, and “danced” with or married a slew of historical figures. Then there’s future pansexual Captain Jack; Amy and Rory, who spend their honeymoon in costume and their wedding night in the TARDIS; and the love affair that lasts lifetimes between the Doctor and Professor River Song. Is this weird? Is it awesome? What does modern Doctor Who say about sex, relationships and sexuality, and did the classic series have anything to say about them?

Hosts Ben McKenzie, John Richards and Petra Elliott are joined by writer, broadcaster and critic Richard Watts (artsHub, RRR’s SmartArts) and erotica writer and burlesque performer Aimee Nichols. Plus music from Melbourne geek rock band Blue Turtle Shell, giveaways from our lovely sponsors, and all the usual tomfoolery! (But no hanky panky.)

Space: The Gasometer Hotel, 484 Smith Street, Collingwood (corner of Alexandra Parade)
Time: Sunday, October 13; recording starts 5 PM
Accessibility: We regret that this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
Tickets: $15 (plus booking fee where applicable)
Bookings: via trybooking.com or at the door (subject to availability)
Podcast: “Ten/Sex”, released 23rd of October, 2013.