NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 347: "The Reality War" Is Up!

 
"I don't want to do this alone. I'm never alone with you. Joy to the world! And that is exactly the word. This has been an absolute joy."
-- The Fifteenth Doctor, Doctor Who: "The Reality War"

Hello again, everyone! My partner in time Jesse Jackson and I are back for another new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast! This time, we're joined by DJ Nik, Holly Mac and Rachel Frend to discuss "The Reality War", the Doctor Who Series 15 finale, featuring the final episode with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra, and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, along with the return of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor!

In this episode, Jesse, Nik, Holly, Rachel, and I discuss things like Jesse celebrating his birthday and wedding anniversary, the missed opportunity to address the "mavity" running gag, the lack of certainty regarding Doctor Who's future, the disservice done to the Doctor's companion and two of his enemies, not buying the official explanation for Ncuti Gatwa's exit after only two seasons, the last-minute reshoots made to the finale to accommodate Ncuti's departure, being grateful that Ncuti Gatwa got a regeneration scene, how hilarious it would be if Billie Piper was actually playing Billie Piper instead of the Sixteenth Doctor, the promotional image feature the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda dancing at a club that never aired during the finale, Jodie Whittaker getting to interact with Ncuti Gatwa, the archive footage from the special edition of "Day of the Daleks", some background on the Zero Room, the surprise return of Anita Benn from "Joy to the World", Jesse's thoughts on "The Boss", the finale being overstuffed with characters, UNIT not being part of the major narrative, the Time Lords suddenly being sterile, Ncuti Gatwa mispronouncing "Omega", the Doctor not knowing anyone else who can raise kids besides Carla Sunday, Rachel calling out Russell T Davies for doing the Rani dirty, the surprise that Archie Panjabi's Rani was turned into Omega Chow instead of Anita Dobson's Rani, Omega being turned into another lame CGI monster like Sutekh, Ruby being a better person than Conrad once again, the great sequence of Thirteen meeting Fifteen, Jesse not caring about Poppy, RTD calling Billie Piper for a last-minute favor, Disney not giving Doctor Who the love they give Star Wars and Marvel because they don't own it, Nik's take on Thirteen being a closeted lesbian compared to Fifteen being openly gay, David Tennant wanting to play Mr. Fantastic, the Doctor's regeneration not destroying the TARDIS interior for once, our favorite quotes of the episode, my Reverse the Polarity segment, new listener feedback from Dave Proctor and Sandi from Oregon, our upcoming schedule for the rest of 2025, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

Apple Podcasts -- RIGHT HERE
Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn -- RIGHT HERE
Spotify -- RIGHT HERE

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We have a NEW Next Stop Everywhere t-shirt, which you can find on TeePublic right HERE!  This spiffy shirt looks great when you're listening to your favorite Doctor Who podcast and travelling through time and space! Or you could order all sorts of cool Next Stop Everywhere merch there as well!

Be sure to come back in two weeks for the next episode of Next Stop Everywhere as Jesse and I discuss "Snakedance", the second serial from Doctor Who Season 20 in 1983, featuring Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka, Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and the return of the Mara!

CLAYFACE Casts Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen

 
Tom Rhys Harries is about to perform a feat of clay.

Deadline has confirmed reports that Tom Rhys Harries has been cast as the lead in James Watkins' upcoming DC Universe film Clayface, based on the DC Comics supervillain. Filming is scheduled to begin in October 2025 in the United Kingdom. According to TheWrap, Harries will be playing Matt Hagen, the second person to become Clayface in DC Comics.

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn confirmed the casting on Instagram, stating, "After a long and incredibly exhaustive search, we finally have our DCU Clayface in @tomrhysharries. Both Matt Reeves and I were just blown away by this guy, and can’t wait for you to see this film, directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan."

Harries, 34, is a Welsh actor probably best known as Ricky September in last year's Doctor Who episode "Dot and Bubble", and has appeared in episodes of Jekyll and Hyde, Britannia, Midsomer Murders, White Lines, Suspicion, and The Split. He's also appeared in the films Kandahar, The Gentlemen, and Slaughterhouse Rulez.

Created in 1961 by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff, Matt Hagen first appeared in Detective Comics (vol.1) #298 as a treasure hunter who found a mysterious radioactive pool of protoplasm in a cave. Immersing himself in it, he was transformed into a malleable clay-like form which could be shaped into almost anything he desired. Hagen soon gleefully began using his newfound powers for crime. His powers, however, proved only to have a temporary effect, requiring him to return to the pool periodically in order to maintain use of his powers. This power lasted 48 hours, after which time Batman succeeded in capturing him and sending him off to prison.

One year later, Batman trailed Hagen to the cave where Hagen received his powers and acquired the powers himself. He soon defeated the villain, who had planned to steal some art treasures. Batman sealed off the cave, but Hagen had managed to stash some of the protoplasm away. Hagen eventually copied the pool's protoplasmic jelly after studying chemistry, although the artificial proptoplasm only allowed him five hours of Clayface powers compared to the full two days from the cave pool.

In 1986's Crisis On Infinite Earths #12, Hagen was killed, along with the original Bug Eyed Bandit, by Shadow Demons. Later, the other three villains who use the name Clayface gathered Hagen's remains and launched an attempt to revive Hagen. The group of Clayfaces (including Basil Karlo, Preston Payne, and Lady Clay), dubbed the Mud Pack, ultimately ended in failure.

Harries will be the third actor to portray Clayface in live-action, after Kirk Baltz in the Birds of Prey episode "Feat of Clay" and Brian McManamon on the TV series Gotham.

Clayface is scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 11, 2026.

DC Studios Announces MISTER MIRACLE Animated Series with Tom King as Showrunner

 
Scott Free is about to perform his ultimate escape trick.

According to Deadline, DC Studios has announced Mister Miracle, an upcoming series from Warner Bros. Animation based on the DC Comics superhero and the Eisner Award winning comic book limited series of the same name from writer Tom King and artist Mitch Gerads. King will serve as showrunner and executive producer for the animated series.

The logline from the 12-issue limited series states, "No prison can hold him. No trap can contain him. He is Scott Free, the worldwide celebrity sensation known as Mister Miracle, and he is the greatest escape artist who ever lived. But can he pull off the ultimate trick--and escape death itself? Something has gone horribly wrong with the perfect life that Scott and his wife, Big Barda, have made for themselves on Earth. With war raging between their homeworlds of Apokolips and New Genesis, Scott's cruel adoptive father, Darkseid, seems to have finally found the Anti-Life Equation--the weapon that will give him total victory. As the mountains of bodies on both sides grow ever higher, only Mister Miracle can stop the slaughter and restore peace. But the terrible power of the Anti-Life Equation may already be at work in his own mind, warping his reality and shattering the fragile happiness he's found with the woman he loves. Is death the trap that's been waiting for him all along? Or is it life itself? And what price will Scott Free have to pay to learn the answer?"

Created in 1971 by Jack Kirby, Mister Miracle first appeared in Mister Miracle (vol.1) #1 as Scott Free, the son of Highfather, the ruler of New Genesis, and his wife, Avia. As part of a diplomatic move to stop a war with the planet Apokolips, Highfather agreed to an exchange of heirs with the galactic tyrant Darkseid. The exchange of heirs as hostages was supposed to guarantee that neither side would attack the other. Scott was traded for Darkseid's second-born son Orion.

Scott grew up in one of Granny Goodness' "Terror Orphanages" with no knowledge of his heritage, but still refused to allow his spirit to break under the institution's torturous training. As he matured, Scott rebelled against the totalitarian ideology of Apokolips. Hating himself for being unable to fit in despite his unfailing defiance of the abuse he suffered, Scott was influenced by Metron to see a future beyond Darkseid. Scott became part of a small band of pupils led by Himon, a New Genesian living under cover as a Hunger Dog on Apokolips. It was at these meetings that Scott met Big Barda of Darkseid's Female Furies, who would later become his wife.

Eventually, Scott escaped and fled to Earth. His escape, long anticipated and planned for by Darkseid, nullified the pact between Darkseid and Highfather; giving Darkseid the excuse he needed to revive the war with New Genesis. Once on Earth, Free met circus escape artist Thaddeus Brown, whose stage name was Mister Miracle. Brown was impressed with Scott's skills (supplemented with various advanced devices he had taken from his previous home). Scott befriended Brown's assistant, a dwarf named Oberon. When Thaddeus Brown was murdered, Free assumed the identity of Mister Miracle. Barda later followed Scott to Earth and the two used their New Gods powers, equipment and skills in the war against Darkseid, who still wanted to recapture both of them. Eventually, tired of being chased on Earth by Darkseid's servants, Scott returned to Apokolips and won his freedom through trial by combat.

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Season 3 Trailer Teases Patton Oswalt as a Vulcan

 
Is this a "Hit it" situation?

Paramount has released the first trailer for the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, finally delivering a new set of ten episodes since the Season 2 finale, "Hegemony," was released on August 10, 2023.

In Season 3, we reconnect with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, still under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), as they face the conclusion of Season 2's harrowing encounter with the Gorn. But new life and civilizations await, including a villain that will test our characters' grit and resolve.

The 90-second trailer begins fleeting images of the main cast with the voice of "Number One"/Commander Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn) as stating, "Someone once said, space is dark and cold. Our job is to bring light, bring warmth, bring life, to wherever we go."

We cut to Number One asking Pike "Is this a 'Hit it' situation?", referencing his popular catch phrase.

"It's whatever kind of adventure we want it to be," replies Pike.

As the music becomes more dramatic, we shift to another scene where Number One tells someone, "This crew is a team, the finest Starfleet has to offer."

"Indeed," adds Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck).

We shift to another scene, where Pike and Dr. Joseph M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokan) are pinned down in some sort of shelter on a planet as a Gorn ship comes into view. "It's possible they don't know about us," remarks Dr. M'Benga.

As the Gorn ship begins to fire downward near their location, Pike replies, "They know about us."

In the Enterprise's Conference Room, we see Commander Pelia (Carol Kane) tell her shipmates, "There is evil in this universe as sure as there is good."

Next, we see Lieutenant James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) looking down at the Captain's chair while in the midst of a crisis, followed by a separate scene where Pike advises Kirk, "The choices you make in that chair, they are yours to make and yours to live with."

Switching back to the crisis scene, Spock tells Kirk, "We await your orders, sir," hinting that Kirk may be forced to temporarily take command of the Enterprise.

In another scene, we see Lieutenant Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) walking the corridors along with Ensign Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and someone who appears to be Ortegas' younger brother.

"You don't trust me with your best friend?" Ortegas' brother asks her.

"You don't trust me with your baby brother?" Uhura asks Erica Ortegas.

"It's madness!" exclaims Erica as we cut to a scene where Uhura and Ortegas' brother are dressed in more fashionable attire and sharing a drink together.

We move to another scene, where Pike tells the others, "We have to stop this invasion," referring to the Gorns. This is immediately followed by Kirk giving orders to "Prepare all weapons" as the Enterprise launches photon torpedoes.

Several fleeting images follow, including Spock punching Roger Korby (Cillian O'Sullivan) in the face.

We cut to another scene, where Uhura tries to reassure Ortgeas' brother, saying "We are going to find our way out of this, together."

Spock initiates a mind-meld with someone, then later dances a tango with an unknown woman.

Recent addition Lieutenant Montgomery Scott (Martin Quinn) informs Pike, "It's one in a thousand we get it done right, or don't blow ourselves up along the way."

"I like those odds," replies Pike. "We'll just turn it off before we blow up."

In the trailer's final scene, we see Spock initiating a "high-five" with a Vulcan official, played by Patton Oswalt. "Give me five," intones Spock.

The two clap hands, followed by Spock saying, "Now down low."

Spock pulls his hand away so the other Vulcan misses. "Why would you do that?" asks the other Vulcan.

"Because...you are too slow," replies Spock as Pike laughs from the other side of the room.

If you'd like to check out the new trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Star Trek account on YouTube...

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns to Paramount+ for Season 3 on July 17, 2025.

NEXT STOP EVERYWHERE 346: "Wish World" Is Up!

"We danced once upon a time, you and I. At the Siege of Persephone, with the city burning around us! People said we were lovers. Can you remember if that's true? Far away in time and space. Were we? Yes! I had a different face. So did you, a long time ago, because the tragedy is...we were never enemies. Every villain you ever fought wanted death. I only wanted life, remember? My name...is the Rani."

-- The Fourth Rani to the Fifteenth Doctor, Doctor Who: "Wish World"

Hello again, everyone! My partner in time Jesse Jackson and I are back for another new episode of Next Stop Everywhere: The Doctor Who Podcast! This time, we're joined by Holly Mac and Rachel Frend to discuss "Wish World", the seventh episode from Doctor Who Series 15, featuring Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra, Jonah Hauer-King as Conrad Clark, and Archie Panjabi as the Fourth Rani!

In this episode, Jesse, Holly, Rachel, and I discuss things like the season streak possibly being over, a special thanks to Holly, Jesse's recommendation for Slow Horses, Rachel's expectations being raised because of the Rani, the Rani suddenly being obsessed with Omega, the Rani needing to be portrayed more seriously than the Master, Russell T Davies' social commentary of the disabled being overlooked and cast aside, the meaning of the word desiderium, Conrad's fictional book Doctor Who and the Deadly Wish, Omega's audio being used from the Big Finish Gallifrey audio drama Intervention Earth, the treatment of those with disabilities being similar to the Sixth Doctor Big Finish audio drama Girl In a Bubble, this episode being one of 12 television stories in which the TARDIS doesn't appear, the Doctor and Belinda living the life of a married couple with a child, Conrad's idea of what a utopia should be, Belinda's primal scream, the pointless cameo by Jonathan Groff as Rogue, Ruby working with Shirley to start a rebellion against Conrad, the Doctor working for UNIT again, the Unified National Insurance Team, Mrs. Flood's resentment towards her successor, RTD introducing the concept that the Doctor and the Rani were lovers at one point, the Rani's plan to bring back Omega, hoping that Omega gets a better treatment than Sutekh received last season, our favorite quotes of the episode, my Reverse the Polarity segment, new listener feedback from Megan from Oregon, Dave Proctor and Sandi from Oregon, the passing of comics and Star Trek writer Peter David, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

Apple Podcasts -- RIGHT HERE
Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn -- RIGHT HERE
Spotify -- RIGHT HERE

Next Stop Everywhere's Facebook page

Next Stop Everywhere's Twitter account

Next Stop Everywhere's Instagram account

We have a NEW Next Stop Everywhere t-shirt, which you can find on TeePublic right HERE!  This spiffy shirt looks great when you're listening to your favorite Doctor Who podcast and travelling through time and space! Or you could order all sorts of cool Next Stop Everywhere merch there as well!

Be sure to come back in just one week for the next episode of Next Stop Everywhere as Jesse and I are joined by DJ Nik, Holly Mac and Rachel Frend to discuss "The Reality War", the Doctor Who Series 15 finale, featuring the final episode with Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, Varada Sethu as Belinda Chandra, and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, along with the return of Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor!