The Doctor Who Universe fandom is wide, diverse and vibrant, but it’s split into enclaves; be it ‘old fandom’ or new, LiveJournal or forums, Torchwood or Doctor Who, and the many different types of creative pursuits.
Briding The Rift is a podcast that hopes to bring the Doctor Who Universe fandom together. We’ll be highlighting and discussing hot topics and debates; trying to see all sides of the argument and hopefully coming to some conclusions. We’ll also be exploring the fandom’s creative pursuits, helping you to find the best Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures fan art, music, fiction, animation, films, reconstructions, comics, costumes and crafts.
Our two main co-hosts are not only fans of all three Doctor Who Universe shows, but also the fandom’s creativity. We’re also aiming to bring in guest hosts to bring new perspectives to our discussions and cover all sides of the story and all the corners of the fandom. So join us weekly, with new episodes usually released on Thursdays or Fridays. Subscribe on iTunes, add our feed or download directly from the site.
Bridging The Rift Podcast 
Hello Rifties (Rifters, Rifti?),
I just finished listening to your first full podcast and I am really impressed. Thank you for your thoughtful and entertaining analysis of Doctor Who and Torchwood fandom. I also really enjoyed your talk on Radio Free Skaro, which was why I was so happy to see you were starting your own podcast. It is at the top of my podcast (and not just alphabetically, but that too) list now and I look forward to your future discussions.
I have fallen into a deep fandom of Doctor Who and Torchwood, which has been a surprise since although I always enjoyed sci-fi, I have never ventured into the world of fandom or had the urge to collect series on DVD or follow it with such passion. Now, at the age of 34, all the way up in Vancouver, BC, Canada, I find myself looking for Who podcasts, and even took the extraordinary step of travelling down to San Diego to see the Doctor Who and Torchwood panels at Comic-Con. It was wonderful to celebrate these two shows with fellow fans and thank the creative teams before they move onto other things (perhaps forever, but let’s hope not).
Personal highlights include the rush of excitement and cheering as the return of the master was revealed, Russell standing up to criticism and strongly saying that it would devalue the death of Ianto to bring him back (as an old comic book fan, whose heroes were constantly being killed and brought back, I cannot agree more), and seeing John Barrowman quiet down and state with genuine and touching concern that he was worried after reading the Children of Earth script that people might not like his character anymore( to which the audience responded strongly that we still did). It was a great time to celebrate a show, especially since finding fellow Who fans in North America is still a bit tricky.
Enough rambling about me though. Your discussions both on Radio Free Skaro and on Bridging the Rift let me to the follwing questions and ideas (in no particular order):
-In regards to the death of Ianto, and some of the backlash, one thing I never heard discussed on any Podcast or in the responses was the context of relationships themselves in any drama, especially sci-fi. Specifically, if it is going well then something bad is going to happen. You can always see this strongly in Joss Whedon’s work (Willow and Tara, Buffy and Angel, Wesley and Fred), even in the Whoverse you can look at The Doctor and Rose, Owen and Tosh, not to mention the countless episodes featuring lovers getting together only to be torn apart, mostly with one or both being killed. It is a consistent theme and Ianto and Jack are part of that consistent pattern.
-I have been fascinated in Torchwood with the ideas of Torchwood 2 and 4. In fact during Torchwood: COE I kept thinking that Mr. Dekker would be revealed to be the “strange man” Jack mentioned as Torchwood 2. Though he wasn’t Scottish, he definitely was strange and seemed like he might be part of the Torchwood institution. Torchwood going missing sounds like a Stargate style team that is off planet exploring. What are your thoughts? Where do you seem them being?
-Finally, thinking of the trauma Jack has gone through and how it would be hard and somewhat disrespectful to the events of COE to bring him back as the suave adventurer we know made me think that the only way to do that would be to move him a couple of steps back. As in memory loss. Which of course made me think of the still unexplained missing years that made Jack quite the Time Agency. Is it possible that those missing years were in fact to help forget something equally horrible, and that perhaps the Doctor may have “helped” Jack just as he did Donna? Perhaps he might again, bringing Jack back to his old self and making him forget the Children of Earth events. A reset of a sorts. Perhaps this is a silly thought.
Anyways, I have gone on for a bit here. Thanks for the great podcast. I will remain your fan here in BC, Canada.
All the very best,
Todd
Hey Nat and Katrina – just thought I’d pop by to say I’m loving the podcast. – And if you need a guest presenter at any point I’d loved to get involved.
Keep up the good,
kind regards,
Reece
Greetings,
Just wanted to say that I enjoy your podcast. It’s a nice change of pace from the regular Doctor Who podcasts I listen to.
I think you should do an episode about Doctor Who merchandise and/or collecting. There is more merchandise related to Doctor Who than ever before, and I’m sure you have plenty of listeners who buy it up. 😉
If you need someone to interview for the show I may be of assistance. I’ve been a Doctor Who fan since 1986, been collecting Doctor Who merchandise since 1987, and now co-own a comic book and game store in Des Moines Iowa that carries Doctor Who items along with our other “geeky” material.
I just started a weekly newsletter about Doctor Who merchandise called Bigger on the Inside. It covers release dates and info for all sorts of Doctor Who items, from US and UK DVD releases to books, audios, comics, toys and more.
If you think I may be of assistance, feel free to email me. If not, I hope you do an episode about merchandise and I look forward to hearing it. 🙂
Cheers,
Jeremy Bement