Nathan and Juliette get serious about leaving ancient China as they wrap up the final three episodes of the fourth Doctor Who serial ever, Marco Polo. Along the way they’ll make anime references, explain how this story inspired part of Raiders of the Lost Ark, speculate about whether time traveling slackers from the future with rescue Ping Cho, and why novelizations matter. Along the way, Juliette obsesses about the lack of resolution to Ping-Cho’s storyline and whether or not she finds true love. Nathan wonders at the lack of security in the Khan’s palace. Both enjoy William Hartnell’s backbreaking labors in bringing the Doctor back to the forefront at the end of the story. They say that the the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so plant that first step towards a device where you can download Timestreams, so that you can answer whether Marco Polo will ever notice Tegana’s moustache twirling.
Credit to David Burgess (@CloisterofDoom) for the cover image.
Show Notes
AHistory:An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe Vol. 1
AHistory:An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe Vol. 2
AHistory:An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe Vol. 3
Episodes Reviewed:
Serial Title: Marco Polo (Loose Canon Reconstruction LC39)
Alternate Title: A Journey to Cathay (As the BBC didn’t assign titles to the serials until the 1970’s, some fans have other titles for the storylines that they consider “more accurate”. After the first three seasons no more of these alternate titles occur.)
Episode Five: Rider From Shang-Tu (Air Date: March 21, 1964)
Episode Six: Mighty Kublai Khan (Air Date: March 28, 1964)
Episode Seven: Assassin at Peking (Air Date: April 4, 1964)
DVD Like Extras:
The Making of Marco Polo – Documentary on the creation of Marco Polo.
Next episode of Timestreams: We’ll cover all six episodes of The Keys of Marinus.
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Credit:
Pulse Rock Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Voltaic Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Vortex Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/



It’s an entire storyline inside the Ship as Nathan and Juliette come to The Edge of Destruction. They discuss the “haunted house” vibe of the story and how that’s an extreme departure from how the TARDIS has been depicted in the past two storylines. Juliette suspects the beds have put everyone one edge. Nathan wants to know if John Williams got some Star Wars inspiration from this serial. They also talk about Super Saiyan Susan, engineering problems, and the awesomeness of Barbara Wright.
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The 42cast is proud to welcome
Nathan and Juliette venture into the second through fourth episodes of the first serial of Doctor Who, just in time to watch Susan channel her inner Beevis as we wrap up An Unearthly Child. Along the way we’ll discuss feats of strength with styrofoam, whether these titles were written for the Hardy Boys (or Nancy Drew!), and whether or not Barbara or Susan have ever seen roadkill. We’ll also see Za and Kal avoid going Amok and discuss the merits of gasoline when making a fire. Juliette will also assert her superior survival skills and thus make her the leader of our tribe, which will explain just why fire rules. By the end we’re a little older and a little wiser and Juliette has some Opinions™.
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