#babblesphere

[webbcrawler]

I just realized something funny about Twitter, and that’s all thanks to (of all things) a 10 year old Doctor Who audio story.

So 2023 is Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. I was in the mood to relisten to some of the audio/radio stories that Doctor Who put out for their 50th anniversary back in 2013. One of those stories is “Babblesphere.”

In “Babblesphere,” the 4th Doctor and Romana land on a planet called Hephastos that’s occupied by humans. The people of Hephastos all have chips implanted in their skulls that connect them to a network called... well, the Babblesphere. The Babblesphere is basically Twitter, except you send/read tweets with your mind instead of your phone. The main conflict/danger is that the AI who moderates the Babblesphere is sick and tired everyone’s boring mundane tweets, and it’s starting to kill the most boring users by overloading their chips and melting their brains.

Obviously, this story is making very unsubtle commentary on how dull Twitter is. It’s just a bunch of random people with nothing interesting to say, and they’re all droning on about what they ate for breakfast or how much laundry detergent they just used.

Except... that’s not how we see Twitter anymore. Ask most people these days, and Twitter (when it’s not being run into the ground) is a crucible of chronically online hot takes, volatile political rants, disinformation, and other shit that slowly chips away at your mental health. It’s a whole different beast.

I just found that so jarring. I remember loving “Babblesphere” when it first came out 10 years ago, but now it feels like it’s passing commentary on a whole different social media platform. Twitter used to be so humdrum (with the occasional funny tweet from Wendy’s), but now it’s incredibly toxic and falling apart at the seams.

#doctor who #babblesphere #babble sphere #twitter

[goldyapper]

The doctor's favorite enemy is the Chumbies??? What. What do I do with this information?

#gold’s yappering #doctor who #big finish #babblesphere #destiny of the doctor

[naughtydogg]

@ifvwasix you are evil for tagging me in this url-song-tag-game thingy 😭

N - nice guys finish last : green day

A - anthem part 2 : blink-182

U - upside down : tssf

G - goodpain : yoke lore

H - hole : heavenward

T - turpentine : blink-182

Y - yoko ono : mob rich

D - down : blink-182

O - other side : blink-182

G - gold steps : neck deep

G - girls & boys : good charlotte

tagging: @daethsticks @babblesphere @stripesysheaven @jcusack @saulwexler and anyone who wants to give it a go

hit audio post limit so yall are just gonna have to google the good charlotte song lmao

#tumblr said ‘fuck u for having 11 letters in ur url’ #tag game

[rjalker]

[ID: a very shake gif of Captain Jack Harkness laughing happily, before his expression freezes in place, and he side-eyes the woman next to him in disgusted horror. End ID]

Me enjoying the first five minutes of Babblesphere and then it turns really fucking racist and ableist really fucking fast.

#Rjalker listens to Doctor Who #sigh #the destiny of the Doctor #babblesphere

[renegadeartist-who]

twelve has big heart energy

#you cant change my mind #im POSITIVE someone else has made this post but im really feeling the twelve love tonight so whoops #babblesphere

[accio-spaceman]

Big Finish: Destiny Of The Doctor

“In 2013, to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, Big Finish produced a special range of audiobook titles, each focusing on one of the eleven Doctors. They are collected together here in a new set, telling the complete story.” - Big Finish  

Listen on Spotify courtesy of Doctor Who

(List of episodes under the cut.)

1. “Hunters of Earth” 

Featuring The First Doctor and Susan Foreman. 

“Susan just wants an easy life with her Grandad as she adjusts to Coal Hill, but the normally quiet teenagers are starting to become dangerous, and with a thief on the loose, everything is about to spiral out of control...”

Written by Nigel Robinson and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Carole Ann Ford and Tam Williams.

2. “Shadow Of Death”

Featuring The Second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe.

“An emergency landing leads The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe to a group of human scientists who are studying an ancient alien city, but is the city as abandoned as it appears?”

Written by Simon Guerrier and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Frazer Hines and Evie Dawnay.

3. “Vengeance Of The Stones”

Featuring The Third Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and UNIT.

“The Doctor and The Brigadier and quick on the scene when UNIT is called to investigate a vanished RAF fighter jet that was mid-flight over Scotland. Is there a link to the ancient stone circles scattered across the surrounding landscape? The stakes are soon raised even higher when one of their new friends is taken hostage.”

Written by Andrew Smith and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Richard Franklin and Trevor Littledale.

4. “Babblesphere”

Featuring The Fourth Doctor and Romana.

“On a dystopian planet whose occupants are artists of all varieties, is the new “Babble Network” - which shares every waking moment and thought, and has resulted in making privacy illegal - taking artist collaboration a step too far? When The Doctor and Romana find that colonists are being killed they begin to suspect ulterior motives, but can they uncover the truth before they too are absorbed into the system?”

Written by Jonathan Morris and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Lalla Ward and Roger Parrott.

5. “Smoke and Mirrors”

Featuring The Fifth Doctor, Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan.

“Reuniting with Harry Houdini, The Doctor finds Adric and Nyssa are unimpressed by his old friend, but how does Houdini know so much about Tegan? And are he and The Doctor right to be suspicious of the fairground’s fortune teller, or are they missing something obvious?”

Written by Steve Lyons and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Janet Fielding and Tim Beckmann.

6. “Trouble In Paradise”

Featuring The Sixth Doctor and Peri.

“A desperate summons to a superstitious 1942 sailing ship lands Peri in hot water, and leads The Doctor to fear for more than just her life.”

Written by Nev Fountain and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Nicola Bryant and Cameron Stewart.

7. “Shockwave”

Featuring The Seventh Doctor and Ace.

“When The TARDIS lands on a space station orbiting a world in a race to evacuate before it’s sun collapses, Ace assumes The Doctor intends to offer their help, but it soon becomes clear that Ace is in as much danger as the inhabitants, and The Doctor is caught up in an agenda of his own...”

Written by James Swallow and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Sophie Aldred and Ian Brooker.

8. “Enemy Aliens”

Featuring The Eighth Doctor and Charley.

“A Time Lord distress message calls The Doctor and Charley to London’s West End in the year 1935. Their quest to convince the British public of their impending doom is hampered when a confrontation outs them at the front of a nationwide manhunt.” 

Written by Alan Barnes and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by India Fisher and Michael Maloney.

9. “Night Of The Whisper”

Featuring The Ninth Doctor, Rose, and Jack.

“The Doctor, Rose, and Jack go undercover on the moon New Vegas during the 23rd Century with two goals; investigate the terrorist know as “The Whisper”, and save Police Chief McNeil’s life. At all costs.”

Written by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Nicholas Briggs and John Schwab.

10. “Death’s Deal”

Featuring The Tenth Doctor and Donna.

“The echos of multiple distress calls bring The Doctor and Donna to the planet of “Death’s Deal”, where they find themselves stranded with a group of tourists who all have hidden agendas. As the group struggles for survival, The Doctor uncovers an even bigger threat hiding just beneath the surface...”

Written by Darren Jones and directed by John Ainsworth. Read by Catherine Tate and Cuncan Wisbey.

11. “The Time Machine”

Featuring The Eleventh Doctor.

“Oxford graduate Alice Watson and her Professor, Chivers, little suspect that assembling the final pieces of their latest project - a time machine - will threaten the existence of the entire universe. Detecting danger, The Doctor arrives to intervene, but if he could sense the disturbance to the time lines, who else could? Could the key to saving the future lay in the past?”

Written by Matt Fitton and directed by John Ainsworth. Read Jenna Coleman, Michael Cochrane, and Nicholas Briggs.

Listen on Spotify courtesy of Doctor Who

#doctor who #big finish #destiny of the doctor #hunters of earth #shadow of death #vengeance of the stones #babblesphere #smoke and mirrors #trouble in paradise #shockwave #enemy aliens #night of the whisper #death's deal #the time machine #john ainsworth #nigel robinson #simon guerrier #andrew smith #jonathan morris #steve lyons #nev fountain #james swallow #alan barnes #cavan scott #mark wright #darren jones #matt fitton #thought i'd share seeing as the source looks pretty official #over 12 hours of big finish wonderfulness! #becca's music

[quipxotic]

I’ll be honest with you, none of the Fourth Doctor audios on sale this week are among my favorites. “Babblesphere” is perhaps the worst audio in the “Destiny of the Doctor” series. Neither of the Fourth Doctor box sets listed are terrible, just uneven. with one strong story paired with a weaker one. On the other hand, “Luna Romana” is good and “The Auntie Matter” is decent (lots of people love it, I should add, it’s just not my cup of tea).

There are some audios that have been included in all the recent sales that are worth picking up. Both volumes of “Classic Doctors, New Monsters” are great, but vol. 2 is my favorite because it includes not one but two Vashta Nerada stories. “The Light at the End” is good too, if you like multi-Doctor crossovers.

#quipxotic stuff

[lovefeeder]

https://soundcloud.com/audiogo/doctor-who-babblesphere

[thedoctorwhocompanion]

Out Now: Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctors: The Complete Adventures

Out Now: Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctors: The Complete Adventures

Big Finish and Bastei Lubbe have teamed up to revisit the 50th anniversary release, Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctor, with a brand new box set collecting all eleven individual releases. In 2013, one of the most popular anniversary release were the Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctor collection, which told eleven tales – or to coin a phrase used during its release ‘eleven Doctors, eleven months’…

View On WordPress

#Alan Barnes #Andrew Smith #Babblesphere #Big Finish #Carole Ann Ford #Catherine Tate #Cavan Scott #Darren Jones #Death&039;s Deal #Doctor Who - Destiny of the Doctors: The Complete Adventures #Doctor Who – Destiny of the Doctors #Enemy Aliens #Frazer Hines #Hunters of Earth #India Fisher #James Swallow #Janet Fielding #Jenna Coleman #Jonathan Morris #Lalla Ward #Mark Wright #Matt Fitton #Nev Fountain #Nicholas Briggs #Nicola Bryant #Nigel Robinson #Night of the Whisper #Richard Franklin #Shadow of Death #Shockwave

[happymeishappylife]

Doctor Who Audio Adventure Review: Babblesphere

This was so much fun. It’s the first time Ive listened to a Romana story and it was fantastic hearing Lalla return for it. Now I just need a Mary Tamm story and I will be happy. But seriously this was great. The story was good, the characters were awesome iand it felt like any Doctor Who episode. So well done, though I wish since it was part of the Destiny of the Doctor that wthere was going to be a reference or a tie in but oh well I guess.

The story revolves around the Doctor and Romana landing on a planet where people are connect via a computer linked to their brain, to a world where everyone can talk all day long without doing anything physically. Hence most of them are stuck in cobwebs mumbling to themselves in the real world.  Computers monitor these people and not surprisingly they eventually want Romana and the Doctor to join so they can garner their mental power from themselves. But as we follow Romana we learn about how these devices are failing and shorting out leaving people to rebel against the idea including a group of older women. It’s awesome. I did this while I ran to and I have to say it was so easy to picture all the scenes and what was going on.

The greatness of hearing form Romana is that we get to see the relationship that really worked perfectly together. Because they are both Time Lords/Ladies the two get on famously and finish each other thoughts, sass up everyone they meet, and both have the air of authority which is why while the Doctor was gone, we didn’t lose anything following Romana around. So I know she is doing more and I can’t wait to hear from her and the further adventures of the Doctor and Romana.

Overall Rating: 10/10

#Doctor Who #Big Finish Audio #Destiny of the Doctor #Babblesphere #Fourth Doctor

[naughtydogg]

still kind of obsessed with this picture to this day. ‘little boy for picture day’ vibes (also @babblesphere bc 😚)

#he’s so cute #also ‘little boy found big stick and thinks it’s the coolest thing on the planet’ vibes

[rjalker]

Tiberius my beloved. I am adopting you. Those writers are cruel and don’t deserve you. Come join my zombi apocalypse.

#Rjalker writes Evolution #he's mine now #Fuck whoever wrote Babblesphere #I should have known from just the name it was gonna be ableist

[renegadeartist-who]

The best part abt people perpetuating the Griffin McElroy is the (infinity) doctor thing is that there are three distinct categories of responses you can expect:

1. Vocal support

2. People going through the five stages of grief

3. People who don’t know what the fuck is going on but support griffin as the doctor anyways

#1 is mars and ellie and i think tint too on a notable ocasion #2 is ouida #3 is like everyone else #babblesphere #also theres the subcategory of people who accept it but arent happy about it #like light

[thinkersdreamersdoers-blog]

Why does it surprise me that Eleven's favorite monsters are Chumblies?

#ooc #babblesphere

[audiogouk]

What is everyone saying about Doctor Who: Babblesphere?

Babblesphere, the fourth in the Destiny of the Doctor audio series came out at the start of April. This adventure, performed by Lalla Ward and Roger Parrot and features the 4th Doctor, as played by Tom Baker in the original TV series.

Read the full blog...

#Doctor Who #Babblesphere #Lalla Ward #destiny of the Doctor

[naughtydogg]

@babblesphere since we were discussing his look in she stoops to conquer the other day

#it’s giving thomas edison vibes lmao #they had to cut his hair so short for that #wig cap wouldn’t go over the curls 😚 #tom baker