Big Finish OfferBookmark and Share

Monday, 10 August 2020 - Reported by Marcus
The Nightmare Fair (Credit: Big Finish / Alex Mallinson)

Over the past six months, Big Finish has given away over 100,000 free downloads of stories from its various ranges, including Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Sherlock Holmes, and Dorian Gray.  

 

Throughout August, Big Finish is releasing a selection of giveaways including free and discounted releases, entitled Weekly Freebies. These will be made available to download exclusively from the Big Finish web site’s Weekly Deals page

 

These stories can be unlocked by anyone who has registered for a Big Finish account (which is free to create) and played on the Big Finish listening app (which is free to install).  

Each download will be available for one week only, and comes accompanied by a special discount offer on related titles, available as either downloads or collector’s edition CDs or box sets.  

This week’s Weekly Freebie is: 

Doctor Who: The Nightmare Fair part one, written by Graham Williams, adapted by John Ainsworth. 

This full-cast audio drama was Big Finish’s first ever Lost Story, adapted from the script originally planned for Doctor Who’s twenty-third season on television. It stars Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant (as the Sixth Doctor and Peri), with guest star david baillie as The Celestial Toymaker (a part originated by Michael Gough in the 1960s).  

The TARDIS has been drawn to Blackpool in the year 1985, where the Doctor intends to investigate a dangerous space/time vortex… while enjoying some local attractions along the way. But an old enemy is watching from his base deep within the amusement park, a timeless being who craves revenge. 

The Celestial Toymaker has returned. The game is on. And, should he lose, the Doctor will pay the ultimate forfeit… 

The complete Doctor Who: The Nightmare Fair is available for £4.99 as a collector’s edition CD or download (at over 60% OFF), while stocks last.  

Big Finish listeners can also get up to 60% OFF any story in Doctor Who: The Lost Stories (series one), and up to 50% OFF Doctor Who - The Lost Stories: The Second Doctor box set, either as collector's edition CD, or as a digital download, while stocks last.  

All offers end at 23:59 on 16 August 2020. All titles offered are going out of print – once the current stock is sold, these will not be repressed.  

 





FILTER: - Big Finish - Audio

Christopher Eccleston returns to Doctor Who For Big FinishBookmark and Share

Sunday, 9 August 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Christopher Eccleston  (Credit: BBC)

Big Finish Productions, in association with BBC Studios, today announced the long-awaited return of Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor in a brand new series of audio adventures.

First seen on screen in 2005, Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor introduced a whole new generation of fans to Doctor Who.

Now he's back, with a brand-new series of twelve full-cast audio adventures in space and time, due to be released across four box sets, starting with volume one in May 2021.

Christopher Eccleston said:

After 15 years it will be exciting to revisit the Ninth Doctor's world, bringing back to life a character I love playing.
Story details, writers and additional guest cast are being kept under wraps at present but this Doctor Who audio series promises to be, once again, the trip of a lifetime.

Big Finish’s Chairman, Jason Haigh-Ellery said:

I first talked to Christopher about returning to the role of the Doctor at the Gallifrey One convention in February this year. Christopher said he was enjoying meeting the fans and was pleased that his Doctor was remembered so fondly. I am so pleased that Christopher has decided to return to the role with us – and I'm excited to welcome him to the Big Finish family as we discover the new adventures of the Ninth Doctor.

 

Big Finish’s Creative Director, Nicholas Briggs, added:

Working with Chris was a very special time for me. The beginning of my Doctor Who TV career. So, writing for and directing him feels incredibly exciting. He’s such a powerful performer and it’ll be amazing to work with him again.

Doctor Who fans worldwide can now pre-order all four volumes, which are available in three formats – collector’s edition CD, digital download or limited edition gatefold triple LP vinyl – exclusively from the Big Finish website.

Each of the four volumes in Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures will be released as a 4-disc collector’s edition box set or download containing three brand-new full cast audio adventures, plus a selection of behind-the-scenes extras.

Doctor Who: The Ninth Doctor Adventures is now available to pre-order. Find out more and get your copy exclusively at the Big Finish website

 

 





FILTER: - Ninth Doctor - Christopher Eccleston - Audio - Big Finish

David Tennant / Paul McGann On Double Vinyl Doctor WhoBookmark and Share

Thursday, 6 August 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Time Lord Victorious - Echoes of Extinction (Credit: Big Finish)

Big Finish has today revealed its final contribution to the Doctor Who multi-platform adventure Time Lord Victorious with a new limited edition vinyl – starring David Tennant and Paul McGann

Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious - Echoes of Extinction comprises of two separate adventures that listeners can play in any order and form a greater narrative.  

This very special double-A side vinyl Doctor Who release features a different incarnation of the Doctor on each side and will be released on split red/blue vinyl.  

Trapped, a haunted monster waits to consume new victims. It needs help. It needs a doctor. Unfortunately, it also needs to kill whoever it meets. Thrust into immediate danger, and on the back-foot, it will take all of the Doctor’s ingenuity to triumph.  

Two interlinked adventures. Two Doctors. One foe.  

The supporting cast also includes Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who, Broadchurch), Burn Gorman (Torchwood, The Expanse), Mina Anwar (The Thin Blue Line, The Sarah Jane Adventures), Kathryn Drysdale (Benidorm, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps) and Paul Clayton (The Crown, Him and Her).  

David Tennant said:

The Doctor in Time Lord Victorious is a different character. He's slightly lonelier, slightly scratchier, when he doesn't have one of his pals to hold him back.  

But it's nice to tell stories from different times of his life. You just have to try and make sure you're in the right mindset. The script is fascinating. I've only got one side of it, but I'm very aware there's more to this story, that there's another Doctor on the other side of the disc. I look forward to getting my LP so I can listen to it all.

Paul McGann added:

I've read this script twice through and I'm still none the wiser. I'm more confused after the second time than I was after the first. It's only while working on it that I've become aware of how it's going to be structured.  

It really appeals to me, the idea that it's in two parts, on two sides of vinyl. I think it's fun for people listening. Part of the excitement is when the different incarnations meet... or nearly meet.

Writer and Producer Alfie Shaw said

Director Scott Handcock has pulled together an amazing who’s who of Doctor Who for the cast. We’ve got alumni from the series as well as Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

It’s been an honour to create Big Finish’s first commissioned-for-vinyl story, and utterly thrilling to write for both the Eighth and Tenth Doctors.

The vinyl will launch in selected UK ASDA stores on 27 November 2020.  

A digital download of the story will be released from the Big Finish website on 04 December 2020, and is now available for pre-order at £8.99.  

Time Lord Victorious - Echoes of Extinction (Credit: Big Finish)




FILTER: - Big Finish - Audio - Time Lord Victorious - Tenth Doctor - Eighth Doctor

Peter Davison Spending Time ApartBookmark and Share

Sunday, 2 August 2020 - Reported by Marcus

Time Apart (Credit: Big Finish)Big Finish have released the audio adventure Doctor Who: Time Apart starring Fifth Doctor Peter Davison

 

The Doctor puts some social distance between himself and his companions in this brand-new four-part full-cast audio drama from Big Finish. But can he survive without them?  

 

Although the Fifth Doctor is going it alone, without his regular TARDIS team, there’s no shortage of guest stars to join in the excitement. Peter Davison is joined by Kate Harbour (Bob the Builder, Shaun the Sheep), Laura Aikman (Gavin & Stacey, Casualty) and Wayne Forester (Captain Scarlet, Space Precinct) and Tim Blore in four separate adventures.  

 

Doctor Who: Time Apart is now available to own as a collector's edition boxset (on CD at £14.99) and as a digital download (at £12.99) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com

 

Separated from his companions, the Doctor attempts to find solace in the history of his favourite planet – Earth – but instead discovers new threats lying in wait. 

Travelling from twentieth-century East Berlin to sixteenth-century Strasbourg, the Doctor encounters creatures from other realities: monsters beneath the waves, and human beings determined to exploit their fellow man. 

But how long can he survive without a friend? 

 

Actor Peter Davison said

 

These are four different takes on the Doctor in the four different stories of this collection. In one I'm quite jaunty and jolly and in another one I'm slightly more baffled.  

But I've enjoyed all the four stories. They're very different. I've always been rather fond of the stories in which the Doctor fiddles in history. But of course it's also nice to meet the odd alien.

 

This anthology contains four half-hour adventures, as follows:  

 

  • Ghost Station by Steve Lyons  
  • Deep beneath the streets of East Berlin, Peter Meier patrols the border in an old underground station. But when the TARDIS materialises nearby, Peter realises he is far from alone. 
  • The Bridge Master by Jacqueline Rayner 
  • When the Doctor’s shadow is sacrificed by villagers, he brushes it off as medieval superstition —until he begins to grow weak. Can he uncover the truth behind the bridge master’s curse before it’s too late? 
  • What Lurks Down Under by Tommy Donbavand
  • On the waves of the Indian Ocean, all the prisoners aboard the Lady Juliana have fallen into a trance... except a single girl. Mary Wade desperately needs a doctor –and only one will help her. 
  • The Dancing Plague by Kate Thorman
  • Arriving in Strasbourg at the height of the Dancing Plague, the Doctor finds himself thrust into a world of paranoia. Can he bring peace to a city at odds with its own people? 

 

Doctor Who: Time Apart is now available to own as a collector's edition boxset (on CD at £14.99) and as a digital download (at £12.99) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com





FILTER: - Big Finish - Audio - Fifth Doctor

Big Finish Warehouse to Re-openBookmark and Share

Monday, 8 June 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Big Finish Warehouse (Credit: Big Finish)Big Finish have announced they are to recommense shipping of collector’s edition CDs and box sets to clear the backlog of pending orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Monday 8 June, Big Finish staff will be returning to work on a split-shift basis. The company has taken steps to ensure the protection of its warehouse workers, including providing safety equipment and a regular schedule of deep cleaning, which will allow the introduction of a one-person per day rota pattern for the coming weeks.

Company chairman, Jason Haigh-Ellery said:
Our listeners have been extremely patient over the past three months, while our warehouse staff have been furloughed, and as we operated a digital-first release schedule. I would like to thank all our customers for their understanding during this time; we really couldn’t have done it without you.

We are now delighted to be in a position to begin shipping the orders for physical products we have taken since 24 March.

The team has put procedures in place to ensure the continued safety of our staff. However, we naturally have a lot of pending orders to work through, and our warehouse is not yet back to full capacity, so we ask that customers continue to bear with us as we start to clear the backlog.

To make it fair for everyone, outstanding orders for collector’s edition CDs and box sets will be fulfilled on a ‘per month’ basis; so, orders placed in April will be batched up and mailed out first, followed by those placed in May and June.

Please note we are still awaiting the delivery of some stock from our pressing plant and we cannot guarantee the status of local mail or postal services. We expect there to be continued delays, particularly for overseas customers.




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

Eric Roberts Returns as The Master for Big FinishBookmark and Share

Friday, 22 May 2020 - Reported by Marcus
Call him MASTER! (Credit: Big Finish)It’s been 24 years since Eric Roberts first appeared as The Master fighting Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor. Now he’s back in a new audio adventure for Big Finish.

Roberts version of the Master was originally seen in the 1996 TV Movie, Doctor Who. Now he’s escaped the Time Vortex to wreak havoc upon the universe in his very own box set of brand new, full-cast audio adventures, due for release in March 2021.

Along the way, he’ll meet old enemies, new companions and the universe’s most glamorous and dangerous bounty hunter, Vienna Salvatori (a special guest appearance by Chase Masterson).

MASTER! is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition three-disc box set (on CD at £19.99) and as a digital download (at £16.99).

Abandoned in the Vortex, the Master’s lost incarnation is about to be thrown a lifeline.

Earth rebuilds in the aftermath of invasion, and power rests with those who innovate. Genius Lila Kreeg makes a deal with the devil to see her dreams fulfilled.

As the Master returns, there are those – like Vienna Salvatori – who wish to hunt him, and those upon whom he wishes vengeance himself...

The Master will be doing his dastardly deeds in three thrilling new stories:
  • Faustian by Robert Valentine
  • Prey by Robert Whitelock
  • Vengeance by Matt Fitton
Director, Jamie Anderson, said
Entering this Blade Runner-esque world with the TV Movie Master was a real thrill for me, and it's been a joy to hear our brilliant cast interacting with the effortlessly evil Eric Roberts. The future this writing trio have created is a thrilling place to adventure for three one-hour stories, and listeners are in for a treat when they get to meet the future Earth's characters – both good and evil.
Producer, David Richardson added
The Master continues his cunning plan, by stealth, to take over the Big Finish release schedule – we have the War Master, we have Missy, and now the Movie Master has his own box set, reaching out for help from the Time Vortex – and finding new allies and new foes. Think Killing Eve in a dystopian future and you may just get a taster of what this new direction for the Master looks like.
MASTER! is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition three-disc box set (on CD at £19.99) and as a digital download (at £16.99), exclusively from the Big Finish website.




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

The Lost Stories: Return of the CybermenBookmark and Share

Friday, 17 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Return Of The Cybermen, with Sadie-Miller, Tom_Baker and Christopher Naylor (Credit: Big Finish)Big Finish have announced details about their forthcoming Lost Stories release, Return of the Cybermen, due to be released in January 2021.

The unmade story was written by Gerry Davis for the Fourth Doctor's first season, but after heavy rewriting by script editor Robert Holmes it eventually transformed into the broadcast story Revenge of the Cybermen. Now realised in its original form, the story will star Tom Baker reprise his role as the Fourth Doctor, with his faithful companions Sarah and Harry.

With both actors sadly no longer with us, the characters needed to be recast. The role of Sarah will be played by Elisabeth Sladen's own daughter Sadie Miller, who observed:
When Big Finish asked me to play Sarah Jane for this story, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to create a performance from someone else’s.

So I tried to approach it as I would with any other role. I’ve tried to find my own piece of Sarah - the part of my mum that’s in me. But I have had a quick look on YouTube for Sarah Jane Smith screams, because I wasn’t quite sure how she would want me to do those. Other than that I just tried to keep it as separate in my mind as possible from the original.

The fans of Doctor Who have always been so kind and generous to me and to my family. It was always a part of my life growing up, I was never not aware of it. People have always been very kind in letting us come along for the ride really, through conventions and now things like Big Finish and, after mum passed away, the outpouring of love for her has been lovely.
Senior Producer, David Richardson added:
How do you recast Sarah Jane Smith? Would you even want to? Those were the questions that bothered us - we love the character. We loved Lis Sladen. We worried it might be too soon and too difficult to go there. But then we realised that part of Lis lives on in Sadie, and Sadie has beautifully brought that to the role of Sarah - we all approached this carefully, and respectfully, and with love and I couldn’t be happier with Sadie’s performance. She’s done her mum proud.

The third of the trio, Harry, is played by Christopher Naylor; David continued:
Tom has actually worked many times before with Christopher Naylor, who’s played guest roles throughout different series of the Fourth Doctor Adventures. Chris is a very versatile actor, so we can cast him in so many things. But, we realised, he’s also the perfect Harry. Again, it’s very hard to follow Ian Marter, but Chris has managed to do that and Tom was full of praise for what both Sadie and Chris have done. I wonder where they could pop up next?”

Return of the Cybermen (Credit: Big Finish)Speaking on how the production came about David said:
I’d known of Return of the Cybermen for many years, but it was only relatively recently that I was able to source Gerry Davis’s script thanks to some great detective work by archivist Richard Bignell! John Dorney’s adaptation stays true to the original script and the era, though there have been some very minor changes to bring it in line with the kind of amends we believe Robert Holmes would have asked for. Little things that make it sit comfortably in season 12.

It’s rather different in tone to Revenge of the Cybermen - darker, scarier and more reminiscent of claustrophobic 1960s Cybermen tales like The Moonbase and The Invasion.

Director Nicholas Briggs added:
It was interesting working with Tom on this, because he noticed the difference in style immediately. This is Doctor Who as Gerry Davis imagined it in 1974, and it’s very much like he wrote Doctor Who in the mid-1960s. So the script didn’t quite have the same levels of emotional sophistication and wit that was present either in what Robert Holmes eventually crafted into Revenge of the Cybermen, or certainly the more recent Fourth Doctor Adventures we’ve made on audio.

I imagined what it would have been like, back in the day, if Tom had been presented with this script to rehearse and record. If you look at the script book of the first Tom Baker season, you can see masses of line changes that were added by the cast or director during rehearsals and shooting in all those stories. Some of them are the best, most memorable moments, so I reasoned that it would be a faithful process to take on board Tom’s suggestions for this production of Return of the Cybermen.

We had loads of fun, as usual, with Tom finding it particularly amusing when I was directing him with a Cyberman voice effect. At one point, he asked, 'Is he talking to me?' which made us all laugh out loud!




Doctor Who: Return of the Cybermen is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition 2-disc box set or download from the Big Finish website. Big Finish listeners can also save money by pre-ordering a bundle of forthcoming adventures from The Lost Stories range, including both Return of the Cybermen and The Doomsday Contract.






FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Fourth Doctor - Tom Baker

Big Finish: Class Volumes Three and FourBookmark and Share

Thursday, 16 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Class: Volumes 3-4: Amanda Shodeko (Agen), McKenzie Alexander (Runthar), Sakuntala Ramanee (Matriarch), Ian Abeysekera (Patriarch), Fady Elsayed (Ram), Sophie Hopkins (April) (Credit: Big Finish)
Class: Volumes 3-4: Dervla Kirwan (Miss Quill) and Simon Armstrong (Corporal Blood) (Credit: Big Finish)
Big Finish will be releasing two new volumes for the Doctor Who spin-off series Class later this month.

Alongside the series regulars, Greg Austin (Charlie Smith), Sophie Hopkins (April MacLean) and Fady Elsayed (Ram Singh), two new faces are joining the cast. Dervla Kirwan (who played Miss Hartigan in The Next Doctor) takes over from Katherine Kelly in the role of witty alien exile, Miss Quill. And Joanna McGibbon steps into the shoes of Vivian Oparah as student prodigy, Tanya Adeola.

Producer Scott Handcock said:
Recasting’s a tricky process because people become familiar with a particular actor, and you don’t want to ask a performer to actively imitate what came before as that can often prove more distracting. But Dervla Kirwan’s Miss Quill is just as sarcastic and scathing as Katherine Kelly was on screen, and she embraced the character and backstory instantly: she’s got some really strong material in these stories.

Similarly, Joanna McGibbon came to Tanya Adeola relatively fresh, reacting to what was written on the page, and it instantly feels like she’s been living with the rest of the cast for years.


Listen to a clip

Class: Volume Three

The Soers’ Ditch by Carl Rowens
After a disastrous double date night, Charlie, April, Ram and Matteusz find themselves transported to another level of reality. Can they survive the Soers' ritualistic traditions? And more importantly, can they save their friendships?

Catfish by Kate Thorman
When a new student transfers to Coal Hill Academy, everyone goes out of their way to make him feel welcome, and Tanya is especially surprised by how much they have in common. Will she sacrifice best friends for her very first boyfriend?

Sweet Nothings by Michael Dennis
Living on Earth isn't easy when you're used to life as an alien freedom fighter. For Quill, it's a lonely existence – until she meets a Man outside Coal Hill Academy: the Man who can offer her everything she misses from her past... and more.

Listen to the trailer
Class: Volume Four

Mock by Alfie Shaw
As the students of Coal Hill Academy prepare to tackle exam season, Quill and Charlie find themselves tested to their limits. Childhood memories from their homeworld threaten to hijack the present – and there are no easy answers.

The Creeper by Lizzie Hopley
While the pupils of Coal Hill Academy celebrate Hallowe'en, Quill and Matteusz investigate an alien distress call emanating from a boarded-up house in Shoreditch. Can April and Charlie reach them before it's too late? And what is the ‘Creeper’ inside?

Queen of Rhodia by Blair Mowat
Quill wakes to find herself unexpectedly back on Rhodia – which is impossible – though not quite as impossible as the life that waits for her there. To save her future, Quill must turn her back on the past. But is this the end or a new beginning?

Listen to the trailer

Class Volumes Three and Four will be available for digital download and also in a limited edition CD box set (only 1000 of each volume will be pressed); they can now be pre-ordered from the Big Finish website, with the CD set available at a discounted price until general release (all CD purchases from website unlock a download exclusive from both their website and app).




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Class

Big Finish: Susan's WarBookmark and Share

Thursday, 16 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have released the next chapter of their Time War series, with a new four story boxed set featuring the very first Gallifreyan we met in Doctor Who ...

Time War: Susan's War (clean cover) (Credit: Big Finish)The children of Gallifrey are being recalled to fight in the Time War, and the Doctor’s granddaughter knows her moment has come. A new, full-cast audio drama, Susan’s War, is released today.

Intelligence. Intuition. Empathy. The requirements of a perfect agent to catch a spy. And, in Susan Campbell (Carole Ann Ford), the Time Lords have found all the attributes they need to give their work a veneer of respectability.

In the 2017 Big Finish Short Trip, All Hands on Deck, the Eighth Doctor tried to prevent Susan being recruited by the Time Lords on Gallifrey and dragged into the Time War. But his efforts were in vain, and now we find out what happens next...


Listen to the Introduction


Cast and Crew Behind The Scenes

Susan's War - Carole Ann Ford and Beth Chambers (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Carole Ann Ford and William Russell (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Carole Ann Ford and William Russell (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Carole Ann Ford and William Russell (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Damian Lynch, Carole, Beth Chalmers (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Damian Lynch, Lou Morgan, Vincenzo Nicoli, Carole, Roly Botha, Beth Chalmers (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Damian Lynch, Lou Morgan, Vincenzo Nicoli, Carole, Roly Botha, Beth Chalmers (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Damian Lynch, Vincenzo Nicoli, Carole, Roly Botha, Beth Chalmers (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Dan Hennessey, Simon Guerrier, Dan Starkey, Laura Aikman, Carole Ann Ford, Beth Chalmers, Simon Ludders, Trudie Goodwin (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - Tom Mahy, Becky Wright, Carole Ann Ford, Nicholas Briggs. Louis Davison (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - William Russell, Ian Brooked, Hugh Fraser, Claire Vousden, Carole Ann Ford, Beth Chalmers (Credit: Big Finish)Susan's War - William Russell, Ian Brooked, Hugh Fraser, Claire Vousden, Carole Ann Ford, Beth Chalmers (Credit: Big Finish)



Time War: Susan's War (Credit: Big Finish)Time War: Susan's War
Starring Carole Ann Ford as Susan
With Paul McGann as the Doctor and William Russell as Ian Chesterton
Featuring Beth Chalmers as Veklin, Damain Lynch as Rasmus and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks

Gallifrey needs every Time Lord to fight the Time War. A summons has been issued across the universe to its prodigals. Whatever their skills, the war effort can use them.

Susan’s call-up papers have arrived, and, unlike her grandfather, she is willing to join her people’s battle and finally return home.

Because Susan knows the Daleks, and she will do her duty...

Sphere of Influence by Eddie Robson
Susan’s first mission is one of diplomacy. The Sense-Sphere could prove a valuable ally to Gallifrey. But she is not the only one who knows the Sensorites of old. Susan will have the support of an old friend. Ian Chesterton is about to rejoin the adventure he left a lifetime ago!

The Uncertain Shore by Simon Guerrier
Susan and Commander Veklin are on the trail of a spy. Under cover on a ravaged world, they find a weary population, trapped, and waiting for the inevitable. But one among them is a traitor. The Time War is coming to Florana, and Susan will face a struggle to simply survive...

Assets of War by Lou Morgan
Cardinal Rasmus believes that Susan’s special abilities will help him assess a new weapons project. On a secret military base, creatures from the vortex are being bred for war. Gallifrey’s scientists think they can be used as assets against the Daleks. But the Orrovix are not easily tamed...

The Shoreditch Intervention by Alan Barnes
When Susan’s TARDIS is intercepted, she is given a highly classified mission. Earth, 1963 is a nexus point in the Time War, but the timelines must be negotiated carefully. Mods and rockers are not the only dangers on the streets of Shoreditch. In Susan’s past, the Daleks are waiting. But so is the Doctor!

Actor Carole Ann Ford commented:
Although she doesn't sometimes give the impression that she is, Susan is actually quite brave. She's been attacked by all sorts of weird and wonderful things, and she's quite happy to go launching herself off into time and space.

I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't playing a younger Susan. Otherwise she just comes leaping back. It's difficult to eradicate. It's difficult too for the writers as they have no experience of the older Susan being portrayed anywhere.

Script Editor Matt Fitton added:
I had an image of Susan from the special TV episode, The Five Doctors, in that trenchcoat which makes me think of her as a spy! So here we have her on diplomatic and espionage missions rather than military operations, to show another aspect of how special ops are going on behind-the-scenes in the Time War.


Doctor Who: Susan's War is available as a four-disc collector’s edition box set to preorder from Amazon, or to purchase now from Big Finish as a CD set or digital download.




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Eighth Doctor

Big Finish: Cry of the VultrissBookmark and Share

Wednesday, 15 April 2020 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have released the next in their regular range of Doctor Who adventures, featuring Colin Baker aa the Doctor:

The Sixth Doctor is back and travelling with companions Philippa ‘Flip’ Jackson and Constance Clarke in a brand new full-cast audio drama, Doctor Who: Cry of the Vultriss, released today.

Part political drama, part disaster epic, Doctor Who: Cry of the Vultriss sees The Doctor, Constance and Flip crash-land on an alien planet. While the TARDIS begins to repair itself they set off to discover the cause of the crash, but very quickly become embroiled in the on-going political crisis of the Vultriss – the bird-like species which rules the planet.

If that wasn’t enough for the Doctor to deal with, a group of alien ambassadors arrive – the Ice Warriors. And he discovers the Vultriss are hiding a centuries old secret that may have terrible consequences for the galaxy.



Cry of the Vultriss
Starring Colin Baker as the Doctor
with Lisa Greenwood as Flip and Miranda Raison as Constance
Written by Darren Jones


Violently ejected from the Space-Time Vortex, the TARDIS crash lands on the remote planet of Cygia-Rema, a mountainous world ruled by the bird-like Vultriss. Their newly crowned Queen Skye is expecting first contact with alien ambassadors – Ice Warriors – and the sudden arrival of the Doctor, Flip and Mrs Constance Clarke causes confusion.

However, Skye is no ordinary ruler, she is the Fabled One gifted with the deadly power of ‘The Cry’. The queen who will enable the Vultriss to fly once again – at any cost.

Actor Colin Baker commented:
The Doctor suffers a bit from ‘species guilt’ in this one. The Time Lords have been responsible for the initial problem that created the rift in space they're trying to close. It always adds a layer of interest to a story when we go back to the ghastly Time Lords, who arguably could be seen as the biggest villains of the whole lot.

Listen to the Trailer

Doctor Who: Cry of the Vultriss is now available to purchase on CD, or as a digital download from Big Finish.




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish - Sixth Doctor