The Oscars.  The Golden Globes.  The BAFTAs.  Rear of the Year.

These are some award ceremonies we have heard of and, in some cases, been nominated for (Andy came fourteenth in the 1987 Rear of the Year – we’re very proud).

A little late to capitalise on the awards season, perhaps, but the fevered minds at The Ood Cast are rolling out the red carpet for the great, the good and the naggingly-unsatisfactory-in-some-minor-way to assess Series 6 as a whole and divvy up some hand-cast trinkets to the things we loved and those we loved a little less.

(Come on, you’re not listening to a normal podcast here … we love everything!)

So take your seats, adjust those tuxedos and swishy dresses and enjoy The Ood Cast Awards 2012!

“She has a nice round face with dimples on it … and I quite like her hair.”

Doctor Who is nearly 50. It has been around for almost half a century and yet remains one of the most popular, creative and vital shows on television.

And the secret to this ridiculous longevity? Sure scripts, actors and production values play a part but the key ingredient, we would argue, is change.

The ability to renew itself, to change almost entirely and yet remain completely recognisable has emerged over the years as the programme’s greatest strength.

Now join the Ood Cast to celebrate the latest in a long glorious line of changes as Jenna-Louise Coleman is announced as the new companion.

Hear their opinions on the future of our beloved programme and then be prepared to be whisked into the recent past as Chris Sigma presents his feedback from the official convention.

Past, present, future – all of time and space is waiting for you.

Plus some people explode.

Oooh, you lucky, lucky listeners.

Have we got a treat for you?

Gareth Roberts, writer of our Favourite Show Ever and hot off the desk from publishing his most recent novel, the Douglas Adams-inspired Shada, has floated down like a lovely hairy cherub wearing a Skype headset so we can ask him embarrassing questions on your behalf.

What’s it like working on the show? What’s the worst idea he’s ever had? What’s going to happen in Season 7? What if the Fourth Doctor had touched the wires together in “Genesis of the Daleks” and Robert Shearman consequently had to write an episode called “Clam”?

All this AND CLAYTON HICKMAN IN THE BACKGROUND!

Monkeys, monkeys!

Everyone loves a good quiz, right?

We do, anyway. It’s just that some things don’t work for quizzes – especially not Doctor Who. We proved that conclusively the last time we tried it.

And we’re experienced enough as podcasters to know not to keep flogging the same dead horses once we’ve checked for a pulse. Not even we would try a crazy idea like that again.

But on the other hand, the title ‘Regeneration Game’ is too good/bad a pun to not use again. So get brushing up on your borderline-Who-related trivia and brace yourself for the levels of logic and gravitas you’d usually expect from the Ood Cast.

Answer: A deluded group of obsessed podcasters that insist on chasing pun-based hilarity in formats that no one quite seems to expect.

BUZZ!

Contestant: What is … the Ood Cast?

In between discussions on the history and nature of podcasting, watch out for a great impression of Andy, some shameless plugging and the way she lauds it over James from the DWP – seemingly forgetting the fact we only won the Gallifrey quiz due to a tremendous fluke.

Classic.

Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas.

It’s March, you say?

Well, it’s a show about time travel. What do you want from us?

Yep. It had to happen at some point, we finally got around to reviewing the Christmas special. Was it a festive treat with all the trimmings or a disappointing mess composed of dry meat, lumpy gravy and too many sprouts?

Christmas metaphors. We’re using Christmas metaphors now.

So listen to this frothy audio concoction of a Doctor Who podcast to find out & along the way enjoy such wonders as a 3 minute version of the story, a jolly morning at the Androzani barracks, a Take That song about alien trees and even a very special (fictional) guest star.

And the triumphant return of the Ood Cast Christmas theme song.

Jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle jingle jing…

So this is it. Fifty episodes of the Ood Cast- we hope you’ve had as much fun listening to them as we had making them.

Thanks to everyone who emailed in and helped us create this ‘Best of…’ episode, we have a veritable pick n’ mix of fan favourite sketches, a harp rendition of our theme (see, we’re dead classy), our most requested songs and all sorts of memories from how we stumbled our way onto the Dr Who podcast scene.

Not to mention Laura wetting herself again over the Myrka having a poo.

She’s an odd one.

But we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Right, we better get started on episode 51…

Greeting Travellers, time has ground to a halt, all moments are now, come play at eternity in the blink of an eye.

In this week’s Ood Cast you’ll find 80s blue lightening, Time Lord chat up lines, a review of The Wedding of River Song, some exploding tonsils, Latin mispronunciations, atrocious Birmingham accents and a chronological retelling of the story of River Song set to music.

There’s also the usual Ood Cast News, mimes, flights of fancy and words of whimsy.

Look us in the eye and tell us you’re not excited.

Hi. How’re you doing today? Welcome to the Ood Cast Store.

Within these aging walls you’ll find whole worlds to explore. We stock everything any self-respecting Whovian may require. Why not take a look around?

Ground Floor: A review of Closing Time.

First Floor: Two goats & a penny.

Second Floor: Doctor Who Monsters vs Customer Services.

Third Floor: Perfume & Ladies’ Underwear.

Fourth Floor: Cyber Sex & the City.

Fifth Floor: The Power of LURVE.

WE’RE FREE!

Our collective new year’s resolution is to get back on the ball properly – as everyone seems to have noticed that life etc. got very much in the way towards the end of last year and we’re now several steps behind where we should (and would like) to be.

SO, here’s an update.

We have recorded the shows for Closing Time and The Wedding of River Song. These are currently at the stage of being edited, and will be released as soon as we can humanly (or Oodly, if you prefer) make it.

We will then, for it will be our 50th show (!) be releasing a “Best of…” podcast. So please do let us know what your favourite song or sketch is, and if you’re able to record a little audio introduction for it, please do – we’d love our listeners to be involved in this. You can leave a comment below or email your choices and any audio files to oodcast@me.com.

After that, our Christmas special review extravaganza WILL be ready to unleash. So we’ll do that.

We are still planning to release the Ood Cast Live as a podcast – although it’s more likely to be a studio-recorded version, as we had various technical issues with the original… Despite that, here’s a small extract to say sorry for all the delays.

During the scribbling process for the Ood Cast Live, I became rather stuck with a particular episode: The Doctor’s Wife (by Neil Gaiman). So in an effort to try to get round it, I wrote a poem. Which ended up in the final script as our version of the episode - and was read beautifully on the night by Laura.  Here it is:

The Doctor’s Wife

On one day only, although
I couldn’t tell its day from night,
my soul left you.
My life was stolen
like you had stolen me –
My love, my constant,
my thief.

When we reunited,
it was without sense
or grammar or control.
I knew I missed you,
but not how to tell you
we had always been together.

I started with goodbyes –
first meeting nerves I suppose,
but I could feel your thoughts
rushing like a thousand streams
crossing their currents,
my beautiful idiot.

On one day only, although
I couldn’t tell its day from night,
I met you, touched your face,
spoke your strange, strange words.
My big complicated sadness
did not last.