| The Whoniversals | |
|---|---|
| |
| Format | YouTube Videos |
| Created by | Matt Moir & Nick Payne |
| Starring | See complete list of members |
| Country of Origin |
England & Scotland, UK |
| Country of Production |
England, UK Scotland, UK (2016-23) USA (2020-22) |
| No. of eras | 4 |
| Broadcast | |
| The Whoniversals YouTube channel |
Click here |
| Twoniversals YouTube channel | Click here |
| Original run | 2016 |
| Revived run | 2016-present |
The Whoniversals is a collaborative YouTube channel where a group of fans make videos about the Doctor Who franchise. The channel was created and founded by Matt Moir and Nick Payne in September 2015, before content began in 2016.
History[]
The original run started back in January 2016 but ended in February of that year due to the channel being sadly hacked, very early on in its run. Payne attempted to reboot the channel on 1st March 2016, but failed and now serves as a now defunct secondary channel, as Moir couldn't gain access, at the time.
Later in March 2016, Moir created the current channel. No videos were uploaded to the new channel until a few months later, when Jean-Luc Harry approached Moir, sending him a Twitter DM with the idea of starting up a Doctor Who related channel. Moir took it seriously and Payne wanted to bring the channel back. Along with Payne and Moir, Oli Everett from the first era also returned; Harry joined the team.
The Whoniversals returned on the 11th July 2016. Tommy Sargent, one of the original members was replaced by Owain Smith for the rebooted channel, Tiana Rose later joined the team in late November 2016, and made her introduction for New Year's Eve.
Owain Smith and Oli Everett both decided to depart from the channel at the end of 2017, with thier final videos being uploaded on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve respectively. Tiana Rose left in early 2018 with no final video uploaded.
Benjamin Windibank became a member in January 2018, which partly compensated for the loss of three members. Jean-Luc Harry originally left in May 2018, before a planned new revamp to allow a new member to join in a more executive position. However, before the new member was announced, an incident took place which left to the new member departing the channel before their official debut. In the aftermath of the situation, the remaining team members decided to invite Jean-Luc Harry back, to help the channel get back on its feet.
The first half of 2019 saw Moir and Payne as the main contributors to the channel, which eventually lead to the hiring of Thomas Aiden James as a member that July. Windibank shortly left afterwards in September 2019, due to other commitments and personal reasons.
The channel decided, after talks during the summer of 2020 evaluating his two guest videos, Robert Morrison was welcomed in as a new member in August 2020. A month later in September 2020, a second channel named Twoniversals was created, with members uplaoding videos related to other shows, films and media outside the Doctor Who franchise, as well as further Doctor Who videos and bonus videos. In February 2021 the team brought in Will Maddox, a fellow friend, to join the channel, which further increased the visibility of the channel.
After celebrating their fifth anniversary with the special "Time Lord Nicktorious" in July 2021, former member, Benjamin Windibank, decided to return after a 2-year absence. This brought the number of members up to 7, and helped 2021 become the most productive year for the channel.
This changed when Robert proceeded to depart in March 2022, with his final video being released in May (with one additional video that September where he hijaked one of Will's Troughton Month videos). With Robert's departure, the team announced the next member, friend (and jokingly the channel's spy) of the channel, David Stapenell to be the next member of the channel with his first video being released in June 2022.
However, after David's first video was uploaded, Jean Luc announced that he would be leaving the channel after 6 years of activity with his final video contribution being one of the members reviewing The Abominable Snowmen, and appearing in the Twoniversals BFI vlog of the meet-up and screening for that story, both uploaded in September 2022.
The team changed once again when Matt, after 7 years of contributions, including a year long series of looking at the show in retrospect entitled "Crown Jewels" left on New Year's Eve 2023 with his final video, "The Tea is Getting Cold" before being replaced by returning previous member, Oli Everett, marking the second time a member had rejoined after Benjamin in 2021.
The channel currently still remains its weird and wonderful self where it continues to provide entertainment and enjoyment to the masses of Whovians all around, with new ventures on the horizon to come.
Meet The Team[]
Current run (Era 4)[]
Current Members[]
- Nick Payne (2016-) - Nick may look nice, he may look happy, but underneath all that happiness is a young man who is truly devoted to Doctor Who, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Nick co-founded the channel with Matt Moir and was originally the leader in Era 1 and in Era 2 from July-August 2016 until the idea of a leader was dropped. He is also a driving force in keeping the channel alive, notably during the Era 1-2 absence period.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Teal.
- Oli Everett (2016-17, 2023-) - He's got a confident attitude, a truly devious mind, and eyebrows thick enough to melt the Ice Warriors' palace! Oli was part of a holy religion devoted to Sylvester McCoy but some say he's moved onto the different pastures in his long and varied life.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Brown
- Benjamin Windibank (2018-19, 2021-) - Benjamin is the guy who created that "What if Doctor Who Hadn't Been Axed?" series. Here, he however, he is strictly limited to talking about actual REAL LIFE Doctor Who! Sometimes there's a pinch of Star Trek, EastEnders or Eurovision added to make everyone happy.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Beige.
- Thomas Aiden James (2019-) - Thomas was the first member to be a fan of the channel and has been able to be one with the powerful team since his inception. A massive fan of the Russell T Davies era, most of his videos contain a tid bit of creativity and craftiness as he has been the one to sometimes break the mould during his run. He is also a big Katie McGrath stan.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Red
- Will Maddox (2021-) - Will is the member known for his all-consuming love for Patrick Troughton's seminal incarnation as The Doctor, he is very much a man who has his feet firmly in the classic era, dabbling in other areas of the franchise here and there. His contributions to the channel include the Who's Overlooked Writers series, as well as his passion and insight into animation.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Dark Blue
- David Stapenell (2022-) - David is the member where you can expect to see analysis of 70's Who and some of the stranger more obscure sides of the franchise. Plus whatever happens to peak his interest.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Light Green
Previous Members[]
- Owain Smith (2016-17) - Just you're everyday cynical, Colin Baker loving, bored and slightly terrified Doctor Who fan. He'll use science against you to win any argument. Smith left at the end of 2017 with his final video being on that year's Christmas Day.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Yellow.
- Tiana Rose (2016-17) - You'll probably find Tiana going on about her 3 favourite Who stories - The Five Doctors, Robot and Delta And The Bannermen. Rose disappeared from the channel in early 2018.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Green.
- Robert Morrison (2020-22) - Robert became the first member to be from the US and was brought on after he proved himself to be a change-up in what the channel needed at the time. A big fan of Capaldi (and NCIS), he strived to include a difference in opinion to the other members. Robert left the channel after he offered his resignation in early 2022, with his final video being released in May of the same year.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Orange.
- Jean-Luc Harry (2016-2022) - Jean-Luc was the main driving force for reviving the channel after its hacking and subsequent deletion in Era 1. There's something so completely fascinating about him. Despite the fact he may not be the channel's most prolific member, he still makes the best of what he can when he can put himself to the test. He also co-presents the Worst Who and Best Who commentaries. Jean initially left the channel in May 2018 but returned at the end of July that year following the second hack and deletion of many 2016-18 videos. He remained a member on the channel untill September 2022.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Cyan.
- Matt Moir (2016-23) - Matt was that one guy who loves Sylvester McCoy and will punch you in the gut if you say anything bad about the TV Movie. He also loves the Greatest Show in the Galaxy. He presented "Doctor Who: Crown Jewels". Matt was the member who originally conceived the idea for The Whoniversals and co-founded it with Nick Payne, and continues to be the main driving force behind the channel. He remained a member on the channel until New Year's Eve 2023.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Purple.
Other[]
- Guest Week- A chance for people outside of the main core of members to give an opinion on something that they would want to say. It has also been a showcase of a pilot video to show what they could offer up to the channel if they would become members.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Grey.
- Tommy Sargent (2016)- Initially a member of the channel during Era 1 of the channel, Tommy made only his introduction video before the channel's deletion. He decided not to return for the second era. He was replaced by Owain Smith, who inherited the yellow colour for the reboot.
- Whoniversals videos colour: Yellow.
Eras[]
- Era 1 (January - February 2016): The channel's original run of the channel, officially started January 2016 (unofficially with the channel conception in September 2015). The original team featured Matt Moir, Nick Payne, Oli Everett and Tommy Sargent until the channel was hacked and deleted after just two cycles in late February 2016.
- Era 2 (July 2016 - May 2018): Reboot era with new channel, starting in July 2016. This period saw Matt Moir, Nick Payne, Oli Everett, Jean-Luc Harry and Owain Smith as members. Tiana Rose joined in December. In 2017, Oli and Owain left the channel, while Tiana fell off the face of the earth mid-2018, not having uploaded a video since late 2017. Benjamin Windibank joined in January 2018. A unknown member was meant to join in July, but was operating the channel from February. Jean-Luc Harry was meant to leave, allowing this member to come in, but after the deletion of videos, he came back with this new member being fired. This era is characterized by coloured sidebars on the thumbnails.
- Era 3 (July 2018 - July 2021): The revival era, starting in July 2018 after the deletion of old videos. This period initially saw Matt Moir, Nick Payne, Jean-Luc Harry and Benjamin Windibank as members. Thomas Aiden James joined in July 2019, Benjamin left in September 2019. Robert Morrison joined in August 2020 and Will Maddox also joined in February 2021. This era concluded with the 5th anniversary special, Time Lord Nicktorious. This era is characterized by coloured borders on the thumbnails.
- Era 4 (July 2021 - December 2023): Post "TLN" era, starting in July 2021 after the fifth anniversary special. This period initially saw Matt Moir, Nick Payne, Jean-Luc Harry, Thomas Aiden James, Robert Morrison and Will Maddox as members, with previous member Benjamin Windibank returning to the channel at the end of July 2021. Robert stepped down from the channel in May 2022 and as replaced by David Stapenell, who was introduced in June 2022. Jean then departed in September 2022 during Troughton Month and Matt Moir left on New Year's Eve 2023 along with the era that concluded with a special The Tea is Getting Cold to mark Matt's departure. This era continued the previous by being characterized by coloured borders on the thumbnails.