What do you get when you cross a mainstream mom, a Time Lord, and the Spice Girls? A deliriously joyful trip through time, space, pop culture, and puppets. This week on Make Me A Nerd, Mandy welcomes back the dazzlingly encyclopedic Manny Patel—Doctor Who superfan, mashup artist, and the human equivalent of a well-timed sonic screwdriver—for an energetic deep dive into the “three-boot” of Doctor Who on Disney+. Together, they attempt the nerdy equivalent of catching a greased pig: explaining The Giggle, The Church on Ruby Road, and The Devil’s Chord to someone who has maybe seen three episodes and still calls Van Gogh “that guy who painted starry stuff.”

Manny brings the receipts—from Neil Patrick Harris channeling every villain trope with chaotic glee, to the Doctor’s new bi-generative regeneration twist, to goblins who serenade babies before sautéing them. Mandy, meanwhile, lobs perfectly timed WTFs and deeply relatable mom-level questions (“Why isn’t anyone scared of the goblins?” “Why does the TARDIS look like a 90s karaoke screen?”). By the end, you’ll be asking yourself the real questions: Is Doctor Who too woke? Is crying the new sonic screwdriver? And will Mandy ever stop calling herself a “whobie”?

Also: Jinkx Monsoon is serving Maestro menace, UNIT is basically the British Avengers, and somebody please give Manny a consulting credit already.

Links & Notes

• Watch Manny Patel’s mashups on YouTube: @MannyPatel
• Support Make Me a Nerd
• Find Mandy on Instagram
• Find Mandy on Bluesky