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Wednesday, 18 August 2004 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Big Finish has announced some new projects coming up later this year and early 2005, both on their website and in the new issue of DWM. The tenth Short Trips volume, called Short Trips: 2040 edited by John Binns features short fiction including "Nuclear Option" by Richard Salter, "Separation" by Tara Samms, "Thinking Warrior" by Huw Wilkins, "Cateogorical Imperative" by Simon Guerrier, "Observer Effect" by Lance Parkin, "The Baron Wastes" by Alexander Leithes, "Daisy Chain" by Xanna Eve Chown, "Sustainable Energy" by Matthew Griffits, "Culture War" by Kate Orman, "Artificial Intelligence" by Andy Campbell, "/Carpenter/Butterfly/Baronet" by Gareth Wigmore, "Outsourcing" by Marc Platt, "Anteus" by Rebecca Levene, "The Last Emperor" by Jacqueline Rayner and "The Ethereal" by John Binns. The cover and cover blurb are below. Due out at the end of the year, in December, is Her Final Flight by Julian Shortman, a Seventh Doctor story that will be sent exclusively to Big Finish subscribers (much in the same way "The Maltese Penguin" was done two years ago). We also have cover illustrations and back cover blurbs for Caerdroia, the third Paul McGann serial of the new batch; and The Scripts Volume 4 featuring scripts from "Omega," "Davros," "Master" and "Zagreus".

The eleventh Short Trips volume, Short Trips: A Christmas Treasury edited by Paul Cornell, features short stories by Peter Adamson, Peter Anghelides, Paul Beardsley, Vanessa Bishop, Andy Campbell, Stephen Cole, Paul Condon, Martin Day, Terrance Dicks, Val Douglas, Karen Dunn, Stephen Fewell, Matthew Griffiths, Simon Guerrier, Shaun Lyon, Juliet McKenna, Jackie Marshall, Mark Michalowski, Lawrence Miles, Jonathan Morris, Neil Perryman, Marc Platt, Ian Potter, Cavan Scott, Darren Sellars, Dave Stone, Nick Wallace and Mark Wright. Editor Cornell told Outpost Gallifrey, "It's going to be quite a hefty collection, perhaps not quite as big as some of BF's recent 100,000 word anthologies, but large nevertheless, and packed full of Christmassy goodness! There's stuff that's bouncy and merry, stuff that's bittersweet, a bit of stuff that's actually pretty bleak, and some stuff that explores that M.R.James 'Ghost Story at Christmas' kind of feel. I won't pick more than one favourite here, but Steve Cole's story is like something out of Brecht, and it just blew me away. I'm trying for that comfortable, warm feeling that Who fans of a certain age associate with autumn, and it's not all fiction: it really is a treasury. There's a 'suitable for all ages' tag on it, too, because I think something with 'Christmas' on the cover should only run the risk of boring children (through prose that's too adult) rather than exposing them to stuff that's too mature for them. And there's a pattern to it that should reveal itself gradually if you dip in, or as a shape if you read it right through."

Meanwhile, a new batch of audios has been announced for 2005. April sees the release of Three's A Crowd by Colin Brake ("Escape Velocity"), a Fifth Doctor story; May features Catch-1782, a Sixth Doctor story; and John Ostrander's delayed Seventh Doctor tale Dead Man's Hand with Ace and Hex is due in June. July features two Eighth Doctor serials, entitled Terror Firma and Clockwerks; and August sees the release of Caroline Symcox's The Council of Nicea, a Fifth Doctor story. According to the new DWM, a story called The Time Sprite by Alison Lawson is on the schedule in May; it's likely that "Catch-1782" is the same story with a new title. The Gallifrey serials, previously mentioned here, also now have a release date: April through August 2005. Mary Tamm is, as rumored, reprising the role of Romana I alongside Lalla Ward (Romana II), John Leeson (K9) and Louise Jameson (Leela); you can visit the Big Finish website for more details. (Thanks to Big Finish, DWM, Steve Tribe)
CAERDROIA, by Lloyd Rose
Self-exiled to a new universe, separated from his TARDIS, opposed and manipulated by the Divergence and their agent the Kro'ka, the Doctor has been struggling to work out the nature of the cosmic game in which he's an unwilling pawn. Now, at last, he has a chance to find the answer and regain the TARDIS!

Threatened and desperate, the Kro'ka abandons his behind-the-scenes machinations to confront the Doctor directly. But will both of them lose their way in the maze of the strange world in which they find themselves? A world in which a clock may have a cuckoo but no hands, a labyrinth imprisoning a paradox, and a Garden of Curiosities reveals something the Doctor has never seen before.

As the Doctor faces these challenges, Charley and C'rizz provide valuable help. But with the TARDIS itself at stake, the Doctor reaches deep inside himself to find some surprising new allies


DOCTOR WHO: THE AUDIO SCRIPTS - VOLUME FOUR
Presented in this book are the original scripts for four of Big Finish's most popular stories three adventures which made up a loose trilogy of returning villain stories, and Big Finish's 2003 Doctor Who anniversary special, Zagreus.

Peter Davison starred in Omega, penned by Dead Ringers writer Nev Fountain. The story saw the return of the misguided Time Lord played by Ian Collier.

Lance Parkin's Davros matched Colin Baker's Doctor against Terry Molloy's incarnation of the Daleks creator.

From the Seventh Doctor run is Master, written by Joseph Lidster, and starring Sylvester McCoy and Geoffrey Beevers.

Rounding this collection off is Zagreus, Big Finish's contribution to Doctor Who's 40th anniversary. The play not only saw a pivotal chapter in the on-going Eighth Doctor story arc, it also brought together many of Big Finish's regular Doctor Who actors Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and many, many more.


SHORT TRIPS: 2040, edited by John Binns
Fourteen brand new stories to give you a taste of your future.

This collection features stories from many of the best authors of Doctor Who on television, on audio and in print, including Marc Platt, Lance Parkin, Kate Orman, Jacqueline Rayner, Rebecca Levene, and Tara Samms.

2040 is compiled and edited by John Binns, who edited the previous Short Trips collections Life Science, Steel Skies, and A Universe of Terrors.




FILTER: - Audio - DWM