Blog: Doctor Doom Podcast Approaches

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For the past several months I have been toiling away on the PODCAST version of Data And Doctor Doom, which has turned into QUITE the production but is now approaching ACTUALITY.

The first of two really big jobs I've had to do was recording all the SONGS. I made the decision early on to do them "properly" i.e. not just me bellowing over a guitar, and while that has been FUN it has also been an enormous amount of effort, as I have spent many evenings crouched over a hot MIDI FILE trying to program synths when I have 0 idea how to do so. This task was exacerbated by my decisions to a) put back all the songs that I had to take out of the live version for Timing Reasons and b) actually WRITE lots of new stuff, including new versions of the theme tune for each episode's beginning and end and a whole new song about Dennises The menaces.

The second really big job was to write the SCRIPT. Initially I thought I'd just SAY stuff based on what was in the original show, but I very quickly realised that the original show itself had had a script and that there was a very good reason for that i.e. there is certain stuff that HAS to be in there and be correct, and also that otherwise I will just chunter on for many hours before forgetting what I was meant to be saying in the first place.

The script also became important when I realised that this was a whole other thing that would need a whole other structure that would be MUCH easier to work it out in script form rather than just having a go and hoping for the best. One very obvious example of this was that I had no idea how long it would end up being or where the episode breaks would go, which it was much easier to work out by writing it down first. This, I guess, is why all TV, radio, films, plays etc etc do it the same way!

It had all been a LOT of work with no real OUTPUT until this weekend, when I finally worked out a way to record the NARRATION properly - a process which involved tiny microphone stands, two different laptops, and ALLEN KEYS. As a test I recorded the TRAILER and then put it together with snippets of songs, sound effects, backing tracks and a guest appearance by Doctor Doom himself. It felt weird to be finally bringing it all together and then UTTERLY WONDERFUL to listen to it and realise that, after all this time and all this effort, it did actually WORK!

There's still loads to do, not least recording about an hour's worth of narration, but I'm hoping to have it all ready so that the trailer can come out on Tuesday 21 July, with the episodes themselves following once a week from Tuesday 28 July onwards. These dates were worked out based on the FACT that the big COMICON starts on Thursday 23 July, where they are fairly likely to FINALLY officially unleash the "Avengers: Doomsday" trailer, so I'm hoping that it'll land JUST when the world at large begins to think "Who is this Doctor Doom anyway?"

Let's hope so anyway, and as ever, if anyone reading this is interested in me blathering on about Doctor Doom do please let me know - I have been building up to this for several YEARS now, and am ready to talk!

posted 29/6/2026 by MJ Hibbett

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