Celebrate the return to semi-regular Doctor Who, as we close the show’s 60th year with some of the old, some of the new, some familiar faces, and, hopefully, some unfamiliar faces! (Yes, we’re secretly talking about you under the guise of summarising our programme. Join us!)
| 1st Week |
Thursday 12th October, 7:45pm
Dorfman Centre, St Peter's
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- The Stolen Earth/Journey's End (2008)
- Are you new to Who? Has it been a while since you thought about the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble? Do you think about them all the time and simply wish to see them again? Whatever you have in mind, we have just the Thursday evening planned out for you. Bring your friends and fellow nerds along for our first event of the year!
The episode: Earth is abruptly snatched out of physical space just as Ten and Donna return to it, and allies of the Doctor from all walks of life gather to stand against a universe-ending threat.
The vibe: meet up with your fellow nerds and enjoy a classic New Who finale, chosen specifically to set up the 60th, so it’s kind of like doing your homework if homework was fun. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks will be served, including ‘Who-themed cocktail mixes devised by Social Secretaries past and present.
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| 2nd Week |
Thursday 19th October, 7:45pm
Miles Room, St Peter's
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- Pyramids of Mars (1975)
- Archaeology goes wrong?! (NOT CLICKBAIT) in early 20th century Egypt, leaving the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith to confront an ancient alien (ha) threat plaguing the Great Pyramids. No alcohol this time, but we’ll always have snacks and soft drinks!
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| 3rd Week |
Thursday 26th October, 7:45pm
Miles Room, St Peter's
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- The Edge of Destruction (1964) + Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (2013)
- A late October double feature in honour of our emotional support sentient spaceship/time machine/reality-warping cosmic horror. The Edge of Destruction traps the First Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara together in the TARDIS with an unknown force acting upon their minds. Contains improper use of scissors.
Some time later, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS sees the Eleventh Doctor on a desperate rescue mission as a damaged TARDIS slowly decomposes around Clara Oswald, isolated deep in the heart of the spaceship...
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| 4th Week |
Thursday 2nd November, 7:45pm
Miles Room, St Peter's
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- Flatline (2013) + Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror (2020)
- Another double feature showcasing some more recent ‘Who. In Flatline, it’s the Twelfth Doctor’s turn to be trapped in a rapidly-shrinking TARDIS, as Clara Oswald takes up the sonic screwdriver and picks out a companion of her own to investigate a threat at the limits of human perception.
Next, Nikola Tesla’s Night of Terror lands the Thirteenth Doctor and posse in Niagara Falls, 1903, where the eponymous inventor struggles with industrial saboteurs and Martian signals alike at his electric generator plant. Together, they put the science in science fiction. Thomas Edison is also there.
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| 5th Week |
Sunday 5th November, 8:15pm
Balliol
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- GEEK QUIZ!!
- Geek Quiz returns with another round of competition, where the nerdiest of the already statistically quite nerdy members of Oxford will compete with each other for the title of highest concentration of nerdery. Let us know if you’re interested in contributing a round and we will furnish you with more details!
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Thursday 9th November, 7:45pm
St. John's Auditorium |
- Earthshock (1982) + TALK & TERMLY MEAL with David Banks!
- Adric reaches the apogee of his rebellious teenage phase and palaeontology takes an interesting turn as the Fifth Doctor and company tackle an extraterrestrial threat to 26th-century Earth. A cyber-threat. The threat is Cybermen. Guess why.
David Banks (the Cyber-Leader in various episodes of Classic Who, known Cyberman connoisseur) is coming to WhoSoc! He will be joining us for our termly meal (details to come), and will be giving a speech on Cybermen, emotions, and artificially-augmented life preceding our viewing of the serial.
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| 6th Week |
Thursday 16th November, 7:45pm
Miles Room, St Peter's
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- The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (1988-89)
- A timely meditation on the nature of fandom. The Seventh Doctor and Ace take a trip to the Psychic Circus, which forces its victims to perform for a humourless audience which summarily executes those they find unamusing.
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| 7th Week |
Thursday 23rd November, 7:45pm
Miles Room, St Peter's
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Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974) The Daleks (1963) + An Unearthly Child Part One (1963)The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane return to London, only to find it emptied of people and populated instead by goofy-looking dinosaur puppets. Why are the dinosaurs here, and what do they have to do with so-called "Operation Golden Age?"
Kicking off the 60th Anniversary, we cordially invite you to join us for a screening of The Daleks (the original Dalek serial, from back when the show was actually good), which has been newly colourised and abridged to 75 minutes, from the original seven episodes, by the BBC. We have (wrongly?) deemed it more significant to the history of the show than Invasion of the Dinosaurs, which we originally had scheduled for this Thursday - we’ll be watching that next term instead! The Daleks will be paired with just the first episode of An Unearthly Child (so we won’t get to watch the First Doctor try to kill a guy with a rock, which is arguably the high point of all of Doctor Who. Poor decisions all around on our behalf.)
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| 8th Week |
Thursday 30th November, 7:45pm
Miles Room, St Peter's
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- The Husbands of River Song (2015) + COMMITTEE MEETING
- Close the year with 2015's Christmas Special and watch as the manifold love lives of River Song intersect, at the profound behest of the Twelfth Doctor. It also introduces the best Doctor Who character evaaa!!! (It’s Nardole. I love you, Nardole).
Afterwards we’ll be voting on our term card for Hilary Term 2024. This is always a riot, so if you have anything you really want to see (whether it be good or bad), get ready to pitch it to the group.
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| 60TH SPECIALS |
Saturday 25th November, Saturday 2nd December, Saturday 9th December
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- The Star Beast + Wild Blue Yonder + The Giggle
- The 60th anniversary of Doctor Who falls on November 23rd, with three anniversary specials (The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, and The Giggle) to mark the occasion. We fully intend to host events for all three broadcasts, and will keep you updated on our plans once the airdate for each special is announced.
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