Big Finish: March Update

Tuesday, 12 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have released details on the latest adventures for the Doctor and his companions in March ...

The Seeds of War (Credit: Big Finish)The Seeds of War (available to pre-order)

Doctor Who: The Seeds of War is the last in the current main range trilogy of tales starring Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor (seen on TV from 1984-1986) alongside Bonnie Langford as Mel (companion on TV from 1986-1987). It finds the pair encountering a beleagured human race, recovering for a long and hard-fought war - but has the threat gone or is it merely biding its time?

Producer David Richardson says:
This is something of a pivotal release, as it introduces The Eminence and the Infinite Warriors. You’ll be hearing a lot more from them in the future – and in the past! In fact we’ve already recorded the prequel to The Seeds of War, a Fourth Doctor Adventure entitled Destroy the Infinite.
The Seeds of War is written by Matt Fitton and Nicholas Briggs, directed by Barnaby Edwards and features amongst its guest cast Ray Fearon (Julius Caesar), Ony Uhiara (Much Ado About Nothing) and Stuart Organ (Dragonfire, but perhaps best known as Grange Hill's Mr Robson!).
 

Humanity is emerging from a long, exhausting war. Against an enemy so powerful, so implacable, it seemed unstoppable – right up until the moment it stopped.

Now, despite its ‘victory’, the human race is on its knees. The Doctor and Mel join its struggle for survival to try to ensure it has a future.

A race against time takes them from the Great Tower of Kalsos to the Reliquaries of Earth. In an epic journey across the ten systems, their fates are intertwined with one family. The Tevelers are to feel the effects of war more than most…

The Doctor has a plan. Mel is sure he can save the day. But something is lurking. Watching. Waiting. A presence the Doctor knows of old. But just how far does its influence pervade?

The Eminence awaits...
The Companion Chronicles: The Scorchies (Credit: Big Finish)The Scorchies (available to pre-order)

March’s Companion Chronicle sees the return of Katy Manning to the range, although it’s a very different style of Doctor Who story...

In The Scorchies Jo Grant, with the Doctor and the Brigadier, discovers an invasion by aliens who look like puppets - and really love a good showtune. Katy takes on a vast array of voices alongside the massively talented Melvyn Hayes (It Ain't Half Hot Mum) to create a Companion Chronicle unlike anything you've heard before!

David Richardson says:
I’m always looking to do something different, and you don’t get much different than we have here – a musical Doctor Who story with evil puppets.
 

The Doctor, his companion Jo Grant and the Brigadier face their strangest case yet – a Saturday night TV show that has been invaded by aliens that look like puppets!

The Scorchies want to take over the world. They want to kill the Doctor. And they want to perform some outstanding showtunes. Though not necessarily in that order…

With Jo caught inside The Scorchies Show, can she save the day before the planet Earth falls victim to the dark side of light entertainment?
Fourth Doctor Adventures: War Against The Laan (Credit: Big Finish) Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Justice of Jalxar (Credit: Big Finish)
March also sees the release of two Fourth Doctor Adventures starring Tom Baker, alongside Mary Tamm as Romana.

War Against the Laan finds Earth under threat once more, as the actions of the sinister Cuthbert have brought the planet to the brink of war with the Laan race, and the Doctor and Romana are caught between the two sides trying to avert disaster. Will new President Sheridan Moorkurk be able to make a painfully difficult decision?

Then, in The Justice of Jalxar, Victorian London is under threat from a sinister - apparently supernatural - force known only as the Pugilist. Thankfully, the foremost investigators of the land are on hand to solve the case: Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot! The trouble is, they're going to need some help. Luckily, their old friend the Doctor and his new assistant Romana are passing by...

David Richardson explains the decision to have two releases this month:
Some people have asked why we’re running a double bill this month. We simply chose to bring Justice of Jalxar forward by one month, as it allows people who are attending Big Finish Day on March 23 to get their copies signed by Tom Baker, Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter.

War Against The Laan (available to pre-order)

"Just a taste of Armageddon, Romana. It’s what happens when acquisitive minds are left unencumbered by conscience."

The Doctor, Romana and newly elected President Sheridan Moorkurk take on the all-consuming powers of business tycoon Cuthbert and his vast Conglomerate. But the situation goes beyond a struggle for political power. Cuthbert is intent on revenge on creatures he feels have attacked his interests. But when his revenge looks like leading to inter-species war, the Doctor knows the stakes couldn't be higher.

The Laan are on the move. Is it too late to prevent the destruction of all life on Earth?

The Justice of the Jalxar (available to pre-order)

They call him The Pugilist.

It is the dawn of a new century and a vigilante is on the loose. The scourge of the criminal underclass. The saviour of the virtuous and the protector of the weak. The police are baffled, the public enamoured… but Professor George Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago are on the case. Or at least they will be when they've finished their beer.

What is the source of The Pugilist's spectacular supernatural powers? Is he alone in his noble quest? And what is his connection to the spate of corpses discovered around London?

As they descend further into a nefarious netherworld, the infernal investigators may be out of their depth. They're going to need help if they're to get out of this alive. The help of an old friend and his new assistant. The help… of the Doctor and Romana.
Credit: Big FinishJago & Litefoot Series Five Boxed Set (available to pre-order)

Jago and Litefoot: Series 5 is also available, in a lavish five-disc box set. Picking up where their recent Voyages to Venus and The New World left them, in series five Jago & Litefoot find themselves having to get used to a whole new era - but old friends and oddly familiar faces are still there to support them as they get a new lease of life in the 1960s!

Christopher Benjamin and Trevor Baxter are once more reunited as the characters they first played back in seminal 1977 Doctor Who story The Talons of Weng-Chiang, ably assisted by regulars Lisa Bowerman and Duncan Wisbey, and guest star Raquel Cassidy!

David Richardson said:
We’ve been thrilled by the groundswell of positive reaction to series five, and I must say it was a labour of love for us all. Of course, Jago and Litefoot are back to foggy Victorian London for series six, seven and eight – but in the meantime, enjoy this fabulous foray into the Swinging Sixties!”
 

After travelling through time and space with the Doctor, Henry Gordon Jago and Professor Litefoot are back in London starting brand new lives. Jago has become a huge celebrity and Litefoot the quiet owner of a bookshop, but in all other respects it is business as usual.

As they investigate a wealth of new cases – including a restaurant where the food eats the people, and a book with dangerous powers – a long game is playing out. A figure from their past is back, and this time he means to destroy them...

In addition, Tom Baker reprises the role of Long John Silver (which he previously played on stage) in a full cast audio adaptation of Treasure Island. Written and directed by Barnaby Edwards, the production also stars Nicholas Farrell (Torchwood), Edward Holtom, Tony Haygarth, Tony Millan, Gareth Armstrong (Doctor Who: The Masque of Mandragora) and a trio of Big Finish stalwarts: Nicholas Pegg, Nicholas Briggs and Barnaby Edwards! The three disc set also includes a behind the scenes documentary with an interview with Tom and the cast.


Treasure Island (Credit: Big Finish)Treasure Island (available to pre-order)

Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!

When young Jim Hawkins unexpectedly inherits a treasure map, he little knows what adventures await him. Pursued by pirates, betrayed by friends and beset by skulduggery, Jim must brave high seas and low cunning before he reaches the shores of Treasure Island.

His fellow treasure-hunters include the inflexible Captain Smollett, the indefatigable Doctor Livesey and the irrepressible Squire Trelawney. And then there's the ship's cook: a seafaring man with one leg who goes by the name of Long John Silver...

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure is brought thrillingly to life in this brand new full-cast audiobook adaptation.
 




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

Big Finish: special offer on Zoe's Memory

Friday, 8 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish are running a special offer on the "Memory" Trilogy of Companion Chronicles, which feature Wendy Padbury reprising her role as Zoe Herriot. Echoes of Grey, The Memory Cheats and The Uncertainty Principle are all available at discounted prices for this weekend only. For full details see the Big Finish website.

The Companion Chronicles: Echoes of Grey (Credit: Big Finish) The Companion Chronicles: The Memory Cheats (Credit: Big Finish) The Companion Chronicles: The Uncertainty Principle (Credit: Big Finish)




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Special Offers - Big Finish

BBC AudioGo: The Tomb of the Cybermen

Friday, 1 March 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC AudioGo have released details for this month's release in their classic novelisation range, the Second Doctor adventure The Tomb of The Cybermen; it is read by Michael Kilgarriff - who played the Cyber Controller in the original television story.


The Tomb of the Cybermen The Tomb of the Cybermen, read by Michael Kigarriff
The Tomb of The Cybermen (available to pre-order)
Written by Gerry Davis
Read by Michael Kilgarriff
Released 7th March 2013

The Cybermen – silver, indestructible monsters whose only goal is power – seem to have disappeared from their planet, Telos. When a party of archaeologists, joined by the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria, land on the Cybermen’s barren, deserted planet, they uncover what appears to be their tomb.

But once inside it becomes clear that the Cybermen are not dead, and some in the group of archaeologists desperately want to re-activate these monsters! How can the Doctor defeat these ruthless, power-seeking humans and the Cybermen?

Michael Kilgarriff reads this gripping novelisation of a classic 1967 TV adventure featuring the Second Doctor, with Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen, plus sound effects and music by Simon Power.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Second Doctor

Big Finish: February releases

Tuesday, 19 February 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have released details on the latest adventures for the Doctor and his companions in February:

Spaceport Fear (available to pre-order)

Doctor Who: Spaceport Fear is the latest story to star Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor (seen on TV from 1984-1986) alongside Bonnie Langford as Mel, who partnered him on screen in 1986. As the title would suggest, they find themselves on an apparently deserted spaceport... but there are strange and terrifying things lurking in the dark corners. Will they ever manage to facilitate a departure? Written by William Gallagher and directed by Barnaby Edwards, the story also features Ronald Pickup.

 

Welcome to Tantane Spaceport – where the tribes of Business and Economy have been at war for all of four hundred years...

Welcome to Tantane Spaceport – where a terrible creature called the Wailer prowls the corridors around the Control Tower, looking to eat the unwary...

Welcome to Tantane Spaceport – where there is one Arrival: a battered blue Police Box containing the time-travelling Doctor and his companion, Mel...

Welcome to Tantane Spaceport – where there are no Departures. Ever.
The Sands of Life (available to pre-order)

Meanwhile, over on The Fourth Doctor Adventures, the Doctor, Romana and K9 find themselves caught between a mass of aliens heading for Earth and the powerful head of the Conglomerate, Cuthbert, in The Sands of Life. Tom Baker (the Doctor on TV form 1974-1981) is once more teamed with Mary Tamm as Romana, and John Leeson joins them in the TARDIS as well this month as K9 for the first three (count 'em!) parts of a five-part story which continues next month with War Against the Laan.

Producer David Richardson says:
It felt very special to have Tom, Mary and John back together in this story, and it sets up a chain of events that will be felt all the way through until the end of the season.
The story is written and directed by Nicholas Briggs, and the cast includes David Warner, Toby Hadoke and Hayley Atwell.

 

Sheridan Moorkurk has just been elected president of Earth... but the harsh realities of who really runs the planet are just beginning to dawn on her. And what's more, she's starting to hear voices.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Romana encounter a mass of aliens heading to Earth... Aliens who have already made the mistake of upsetting the infamous Cuthbert, all-powerful CEO of The Conglomerate, by destroying one of his space platforms.

Will the Doctor and Romana be able to avert inter-species war that will destroy all life on Earth?
House of Cards (available to pre-order)

The latest Companion Chronicles story is also available. House of Cards finds the Doctor, Polly, Jamie and Ben in a space casino surrounded by monsters include the sinister Sidewinder Syndicate - can they escape with their lives?

Written by Steve Lyons, it stars Frazer Hines as Jamie alongside Anneke Wills as Polly, back together reprising their Sixties roles, with Frazer also once more providing his amazing impersonation of Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor.

David Richardson says:
People had loved The Selachian Gambit, which was also written by Steve Lyons, and starred Anneke and Frazer. I jumped at the chance to get them back together, along with director Lisa Bowerman, to recreate that magic period from the Second Doctor’s era.

 

The TARDIS has landed in a futuristic space casino, where the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie find fun, games… and monsters everywhere. There are vicious robot dogs, snake-headed gangsters from the Sidewinder Syndicate and a mysterious masked woman called Hope.

In this place, time travellers are to be tracked down and arrested. Yet, as events spiral out of control, time may be Polly's only ally...
Gallifrey V (available to pre-order)

Gallifrey V is the first of two box sets for 2013, with the saga drawing to an epic close in Gallifrey VI in October.
When we last heard from them, Romana and Leela were trapped on an alternate version of Gallifrey planning to build a new life. But things aren't going to plan.

Crammed with twists, turns, plots, machinations and double-dealing, the fifth series of Gallifrey takes Romana, Leela and Narvin through a host of trials and tribulations and prepares the way for the epic conclusion to the series in Gallifrey VI.

Plus, if you want to catch up, the first three series are on sale from the Big Finish website.

 

With Romana and Narvin ruling New Gallifrey from the heart of the capitol, their former friend Leela now lives as an Outsider, existing in the wastelands of Gallifrey with the former slaves she fought hard to free. With no hope of returning home, to their one true Gallifrey, these three exiles try to find a way to survive and build a better Gallifrey than the barbaric, lawless one they have found themselves in.

However, politicians, scientists and industrialists alike enjoyed luxury, power and wealth before Romana and Narvin came along and they will take any action they deem necessary to regain what they have lost. And if Leela’s Outsiders are swept away as a consequence, so much the better.

And in the shadows, watching and waiting, is an ancient evil that no one can stop...
The Big Finish Companion - Volume 2

Also just published is The Big Finish Companion - Volume 2, a massive guide to a wealth of Big Finish ranges from the pen of Kenny Smith, writer of unofficial Big Finish fanzine The Finished Product. Covering Doctor Who, Stargate, Iris Wildthyme and more, including an in-depth look at the plans for the series of The Tomorrow People which were never made, it's an indispensable guide and a fascinating insight into Big Finish's productions.
 

In addition to the Doctor Who releases, Vienna is a new series starring Chase Masterson as Vienna Salvatori, a cosmic assassin. The first story, The Memory Box, is out now and finds Vienna being investigated for the murder of an intergalactic businessman – but did she do it?

David Richardson says:
It’s a twisty-turny tale by Jonathan Morris, and it boasts a brilliant starring turn by Chase. While Vienna isn’t anything to do with Doctor Who, the character was originally introduced in the Seventh Doctor story The Shadow Heart last year – and it was during the recording we realized what a treasure we had with Chase!

Finally, two Blake’s 7 titles are out this month – the full cast story Warship, which reunites all of the Season 2 line-up, plus The Liberator Chronicles: The Armageddon Storm, which stars Paul Darrow, Michael Keating, Jan Chappell plus Tom Chadbon as Del Grant.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Sixth Doctor - Audio - Tom Baker - Fourth Doctor - Colin Baker - Big Finish

Big Finish: Eighth Doctor Adventures promotion

Sunday, 17 February 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Eighth Doctor AdventuresBig Finish are running a promotion on The Eighth Doctor Adventures, with stories from all four series starring Paul McGann available at a discount until the 2nd March.

Producer David Richardson says:
Starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller, it finds the pair thrust together by the Time Lords and, as they get to know and rely on each other, taking part in a series of wild and wonderful adventures fighting Cybermen, Ice Warriors, Zygons, Krynoids, Wirrn, the Giant Spiders, fallen Time Lord Morbius and, of course, the dreaded Daleks - at their most evil and terrifying ever!

Add to that killer robots, horrific beasts and a range of psychopathic villains, and you've got a recipe for epic, fast-paced adventures. For a taster of those adventures, we're also offering the chance to download the first half of series two tale Max Warp - guest starring Graeme Garden, James Fleet and Duncan 'from Blue' James - absolutely free as a podcast. Just pop over to the podcast page and download or stream it now!




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Eighth Doctor - Special Offers - Big Finish

Big Finish: The Light at the End Trailer

Friday, 15 February 2013 - Reported by Harry Ward
Big Finish have released a teaser trailer for The Light at the End, the 50th Anniversary story featuring the first eight Doctors and their companions.



A synopsis for the story has also been released:

November 23rd 1963 proves to be a significant day in the lives of all eight Doctors…

It's the day that Bob Dovie's life is ripped apart…

It's also a day that sets in motion a catastrophic chain of events which forces the first eight incarnations of the Doctor to fight for their very existence. As a mysterious, insidious chaos unfolds within the TARDIS, the barriers of time break apart…

From suburban England through war-torn alien landscapes and into a deadly, artificial dimension, all these Doctors and their companions must struggle against the power of an unfathomable, alien technology.

From the very beginning, it is clear that the Master is somehow involved. By the end, for the Doctors, there may only be darkness.

The Light at the End can be pre-ordered now as a Limited Collectors Edition set and as a Standard Edition set.




FILTER: - Audio - WHO50 - Big Finish

BBC AudioGo: Vengeance of the Stones

Thursday, 7 February 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Details are now available for the third release in BBC AudioGo's Destiny of the Doctor series, due out in March. Set during the Third Doctor's exile on Earth and introducing Mike Yates, the audio stars Richard Franklin with Trevor Littledale.

Destiny of the Doctor: Vengeance of the StonesDestiny of the Doctor: Vengeance of the Stones
Written by Andrew Smith
Starring Richard Franklin, with Trevor Littledale
Released 7th March 2013 (pre-order)

Two RAF fighter jets are on a training flight over North East Scotland when one of them is plucked from the air and promptly disappears. UNIT are called in, and the Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart are soon on the scene. They enlist the help of a local military officer - a young lieutenant by the name of Mike Yates.

The Doctor discovers a link to the recumbent stone circles that are plentiful in this part of Scotland. The stones are thousands of years old, and are soon revealed to hold a terrible secret. Then Mike Yates disappears, abducted by an alien race that has a grievance with humanity. Their intention is to harness the power of the stones in order to take their revenge. For the Doctor and the Brigadier, the race is now on to save their new friend Mike and the entire planet Earth.

The second in the series, Shadow of Death with Frazer Hines, is out now.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Third Doctor - WHO50

BBC AudioGo: Shadow of Death

Friday, 25 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
BBC AudioGo have released details for next month's release in their 50th Anniversary special series Destiny of the Doctor. Shadow of Death is written by Simon Guerrier and set during the Second Doctor's era; it is performed by Frazer Hines (Second Doctor companion Jamie McCrimmon), with Evie Dawnay.

Destiny of the Doctor: Shadow of DeathDestiny of the Doctor: Shadow of Death
Written by Simon Guerrier
Starring Frazer Hines, with Evie Dawnay
Released 7th February 2013 (pre-order)

Following an emergency landing, the TARDIS arrives on a remote world orbiting a peculiar star – a pulsar which exerts an enormous gravitational force, strong enough to warp time.

On further exploration the Doctor and his friends, Jamie and Zoe, discover a human outpost on the planet’s surface, inhabited by scientists who are there to study an ancient city. The city is apparently abandoned, but the scientists are at a loss to explain what happened to its sophisticated alien architects. The Doctor discovers that something dark, silent and deadly is also present on the world – and it is slowly closing in on the human intruders...
 




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Second Doctor - WHO50

Silva Screen 50th Anniversary releases

Thursday, 24 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Silva Screen: The Caves of AndrozaniSilva Screen have announced plans for several classic television soundtracks to be released on CD over the course of the 50th Anniversary year.

The anniversary range will kick off on 25th March 2013 with the release of the original television soundtrack for the 1984 Fifth/Sixth Doctor regeneration story The Caves of Androzani, as composed by Roger Limb with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.




FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - WHO50

Big Finish: top titles of 2012 (50% sale)

Saturday, 19 January 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster
Big Finish have revealed the top ten titles in their listener poll for 2012:

1. Love and War
2. Gods and Monsters
3. The Curse of Davros
4. The Emerald Tiger
5. Protect and Survive
5= Destination Nerva
7. Voyage to Venus
8.  The First Sontarans
8=  The Wrath of the Iceni
10. The Butcher of Brisbane

As part of a celebration of the list, Big Finish are also offering five of the top titles at 50% off this weekend. Stories on offer are Love and War, Gods and Monsters, The Last Post (Companion Chronicles), Destination Nerva (Fourth Doctor Adventures), and The First Sontarans.




FILTER: - Audio - Special Offers - Big Finish