Cartoony Slavery and Sexual Assault (The Romans)

In this episode, Shana and Daniel continue their examination of the companions of Classic Who as they discuss The Romans. How adorable is Vicki? How badass is Barbara? How blockheaded is Ian? And what does the tone of this story, in which broad farce is set alongside slavery and sexual assault, say about the way entertainment was viewed in the 1960s? All that and Sassy Hartnell too.  Main Topic: The Romans. A slow start. Introductions. Who is Vicki? Reading a Facebook comment. Production values in Classic Who. The Beatles on Who. Shana's David Tennant ringtone. WHO37 on Sarah Jane. Out of print in Region 1. All Ian and Barbara are doing is fucking. Vicki is all the things Shana likes about Clara. And then the plot happens. Nero as Hedonism-bot. Slavery and rapeyness. Farce and rape. Pepe le Pew. Mel Brooks. Praise for Dennis Spooner. Slavery as a plot device. Where *not* to start with the recons. Badass Barbara and Blockhead Ian. We're never gonna win a Hugo. Barbara's empathy. Fisticuffs. "Sassy One." The Emperor's New Groove. "High Cartoon." Psychopathic Nero. Tone switching in 1960s TV. A Great Matt Smith Episode. Complex and layered. Previews of the Next Few Episodes. An Extended Wrap-Up.    The Beatles clip saved by Doctor Who.  JB Anderton's WHO37 podcast episode responding to us.   Find us on iTunes! Or Facebook! We love email ([email protected])! And all our episodes are on oispaceman.libsyn.com. Daniel's Tumblr Twitter Shana's Tumblr Twitter