''Whovians'' is an Australian comedy panel chat show hosted by
Rove McManus
John Henry Michael McManus (born 21 January 1974), better known by the stage name Rove McManus, is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the e ...
, which screens on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. Rove engages with a team of four celebrity "
Whovians", that is fans of science fiction television series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', to analyse, critique and unravel the mysteries of the program. The first episode screened on 16 April 2017 on
ABC TV Plus
ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment prog ...
as a companion piece to the first episode of the
tenth series of ''Doctor Who'' after it aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The second season began 8 October 2018 on
ABC TV Plus
ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment prog ...
as a companion piece to the first episode of the
eleventh series.
The show regularly features fans such as
Tegan Higginbotham
Tegan Marie Higginbotham (born 25 March 1988) is an Australian comedian, writer and actress. Higginbotham contributes regularly as a sports columnist for ''The Age'' and writes a blog.
Personal life
Higginbotham was born in Dandenong, a suburb ...
,
Adam Richard
Adam Richard (born Adam Richard Dellamarta, 1 January 1971 in Carlton, Victoria) is an Australian comedian, actor, radio presenter, writer and media personality, best known co-writing and starring in '' Outland,'' an ABC1 comedy series about a ...
,
Steven "Bajo" O'Donnell and
Justin Hamilton. Guest fans have included
Geraldine Quinn,
Jordan Raskopoulos
Jordan Nicola Bridget Raskopoulos (born 25 January 1982) is an Australian comedian, actress, streamer and singer best known for her role as a writer and performer on the Network Ten sketch comedy show ''The Ronnie Johns Half Hour'', ,
Stephen Conroy
Stephen Michael Conroy (born 18 January 1963) is an Australian former politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from 1996 to 2016, representing the state of Victoria. He served as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard gov ...
,
Alice Fraser, Petra Elliott,
Rhianna Patrick
Rhianna Patrick (born 1977) is a Torres Strait Islander radio personality who was born in Brisbane and lived in Weipa as a child, moving to Brisbane aged 10. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland in 1999 with a double major ...
,
Yassmin Abdel-Magied
Yassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese–Australian media presenter and writer, who had an early career as a mechanical engineer. She was named Young Queenslander of the Year in 2010 and Queensland Australian of the Year in 2015 for her engagement ...
,
Tasma Walton
Tasma Walton (born 19 August 1973) is an Australian television and film actress.
Acting career
Walton joined local radio station 6GE and trained as a production assistant and copy writer in her home town. She was accepted into the National Ins ...
,
Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...
, Bridie Connell,
Celia Pacquola
Celia Pacquola (born 12 February 1983) is an Australian comedian, writer, presenter and actor who performs predominantly in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Early life
Pacquola is a third child, and her parents separated when she was eightee ...
,
Dave Callan
David Gerard Callan (born 20 September 1975) is an Irish-born stand-up comedian, who has had a career in television and radio, and is based in Melbourne, Australia. Up until 2010 he worked as a Triple J disc jockey.
Biography
Callan was born ...
,
Cal Wilson
Cal Wilson (born 5 October 1970) is a New Zealand stand-up comedian, author, radio and television presenter.
Early life
After attending high school in Christchurch, New Zealand, Wilson completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Canterbu ...
and Stewart "Stav" Davidson.
Regular segments
Each season includes a number of regular opinion pieces, comedy segments and video packages. These have included:
* He Who Knows Who News - presented by Justin Hamilton (season 1)
* Thirteenth Doctor Auditions by ABC Celebrities (season 1)
* The Vault (season 1)
* The Moment (seasons 2 & 3)
* This Week In Who-story (season 3)
* WHOse Show (season 3)
* Rove talks candidly to Doctor Who characters (season 3)
Episode list
Episodes
Season 1 (2017)
* Note: ''Italicized names'' are guests to the panel.
Season 2 (2018)
Season 3 (2020)
On December 17, 2019, ABC Comedy announced that ''Whovians'' would be back following part two of the New Years Special.
2021
On December 30, 2020, Rove McManus hinted on Twitter that Whovians would be returning for a fourth season in 2021.
However Whovians didn't return to ABC TV due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead the Newcastle Local Group from the Doctor Who Club of Australia organised a panel from the Whovians team running on Zoom to discuss each episode of Doctor Who: Flux which aired on ABC TV in late 2021.
Reception
The ''Sydney Morning Herald'' said that "Rove McManus' dissection
f each episode of ''Dr Who''afterwards is a fun and factoid-filled debrief."
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, tt6792912
2017 Australian television series debuts
Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming
Australian comedy television series
English-language television shows
Television series about television
Works about Doctor Who