Big Finish: July Releases

Monday, 23 July 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have now released the latest adventures for the Doctor and his companions for July; producer David Richardson said:

We’re really proud of this month’s releases. A brand new trilogy starts for the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex with Protect and Survive, and so begins a journey that will be packed with scorching surprises...

The latest Lost Story is The First Sontarans by Andrew Smith, and it's probably my favourite from the entire range. You’ll discover the secret of the Sontarans – and it's a secret so significant that I hope listeners will help us keep it under wraps until everyone gets a chance to hear it...

Finally Ian Chesterton is back in The Time Museum, caught up in a vast exhibit dedicated to... Himself. It's a glorious script from James Goss, that takes a nostalgic foray into the early days of Doctor Who.

In addition, the first episode of The First Sontarans is currently available to listen to for free, via the Big Finish podcast feed.

Protect and Survive (available to order)
by Jonathan Morris
starring Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred and Peter Oliver

If an attack with nuclear weapons is expected, you will hear the air attack warning. If you are not at home, but can get there within two minutes, do so. If you are in the open, take cover in the nearest building. If you cannot reach a building, lie flat on the ground and cover your head and your hands.

Arriving in the North of England in the late 1980s, Ace and Hex seek refuge at the home of Albert and Peggy Marsden... in the last few hours before the outbreak of World War Three.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is missing. Will there be anyone left for him to rescue, when the bombs begin to fall?

The First Sontarans (available to order)
by Andrew Smith
starring Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant

1872. After finding a strange signalling device on the moon, the Doctor and Peri travel to the depths of the English countryside to track down the source of its transmissions. But they're not the first aliens to arrive on the scene.

Old enemies of the Doctor are drawing their battle lines in the forest and the local humans will be lucky to escape the conflagration unscathed.

For hidden within this village is a deadly secret - a secret that could destroy the entire Sontaran race... and reveal the terrible mystery of their creation.

The Time Museum (available to order)
by James Goss
starring William Russell

"This is The Chesterton Exhibition. A series of breathtakingly faithful tableaux, painstakingly detailed to the nth degree. Dedicated to the life of that most extraordinary time traveller, Ian Chesterton!"

Ian finds himself in a shrine to his own past, and on the run with a man named Pendolin.

From Coal Hill School to Jobis Station, from Totter’s Yard to the Crusades, Ian’s history is unfolding.

And a confrontation with a deadly enemy with a voracious appetite awaits…

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Big Finish

Big Finish: Counter-Measures Series 2 Announced

Thursday, 12 July 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

Big Finish is to make a second series of Doctor Who audio spin-off Counter-Measures, it has announced.

The first series of four dramas is now available on CD and download and sees Simon Williams as Group Captain Gilmore, Pamela Salem as Rachel Jensen, and Karen Gledhill as Allison Williams reprising their roles from Remembrance of the Daleks. They are joined by Hugh Ross as Toby Kinsella.

Counter-Measures is set in 1964 and centres on the titular specialist organisation that is charged with investigating strange phenomena and dangerous new science.

The hour-long episodes have been written by Paul Finch, Matt Fitton, Ian Potter, and Justin Richards. The series is produced by David Richardson, script-edited by John Dorney, and directed by Ken Bentley.

The five-disc box set also includes an hour-long documentary that goes behind the scenes with the cast and crew.

Richardson said:

We've had a blast making this series, and enthusiasm and love for the characters and setting has resulted in four stories we're all very proud of.

On the strength of Series 1, a second run has already been commissioned and scripts are just starting to come in. We're all booked in to record in October, when Pamela Salem flies in from the US for the Counter-Measures reunion!

Series 2 - again comprising four episodes - will be released in July 2013 and is available for pre-order at a discount price.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Big Finish

AudioGo: August Releases

Thursday, 28 June 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

A classic-era Doctor Who story and a new novel are getting the spoken-word treatment from AudioGo, which is also releasing its fifth and final compendium of lost TV episodes.

The Aztecs, read by William Russell, and The Wheel of Ice, read by David Troughton, join The Lost TV Episodes Collection 5 (1967-1969) in AudioGo's August release schedule.

The Aztecs
Written by John Lucarotti
Read by William Russell
Release date: 1st August 2012 (Digi); 2nd August 2012 (CD)
(Pre-order)

In John Lucarotti's 1984 novelisation featuring the First Doctor, the TARDIS materialises in Mexico during the Aztec civilisation and Barbara is hailed as a reincarnation of Yetaxa, High Priest of the Aztecs.

But while each of the travellers becomes embroiled in the arcane ways of the Aztecs, Barbara's determination to change history seems doomed from the start.

The audiobook also boasts original sound design.

The Wheel of Ice
Written by Stephen Baxter
Read by David Troughton
Release date: 16th August 2012 (CD or download)
(Pre-order)

This unabridged reading of a brand-new BBC Books novel features a ring of ice and steel turning around a moon of Saturn, home to a colony mining minerals for a resource-hungry future Earth.

Aboard the Wheel, which has been plagued by problems, the Second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe find a critical situation - and three strangers who have just turned up out of nowhere look like prime candidates to be accused of sabotage . . .

The Doctor finds himself caught up in a mystery that goes right back to the creation of the solar system.

The Wheel of Ice is also being published in hardback on the same day and can be pre-ordered here.

The Lost TV Episodes Collection 5 (1967-1969)
Release date: 1st August 2012 (Digi); 2nd August 2012 (CD)
(Pre-order)

The fifth and final instalment in the series features soundtrack adventures from the Patrick Troughton era.

This box set comprises six stories that are either wholly or partially lost from the TV archives, but which can be enjoyed in their entirety on audio. Presented in chronological order of transmission, they are The Enemy of the World, The Web of Fear, Fury from the Deep, The Wheel in Space, The Invasion, and The Space Pirates.

Linking narration is provided by a member of the original TV cast, and the box also features bonus interviews and PDFs of the original TV camera scripts.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Classic Series

Big Finish: special offers

Saturday, 16 June 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish continues its month of special offers this weekend with a celebration of the popular duo Jago and Litefoot; both their first audio appearance in The Companion Chronicles: The Mahogany Murderers and the first complete series of adventures are available at a reduced price between now and 8:00am 18th June.

This is followed by a celebration of The Celestial Toymaker, with the character featuring in The Lost Stories: The Nightmare Fair, The Magic Mousetrap, and The Companion Chronicles: Solitaire; the three stories are available to purchase separately or in a special bundle deal between 6:00pm 17th June and 8:00am 20th June.

Sara Kingdom (as played by Jean Marsh) is the focus of the next offer, with Home Truths, The Drowned World and The Guardian of the Solar System available on offer between 6:00pm 19th June and 8:00am 22nd June.

Finally, Doctor Who: Short Trips volumes one, two, three and four will be on special offer between 6:00pm 25th June and 8:00am 28th June. The series features tales read by William Russell, David Troughton, Katy Manning, Louise Jameson, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sophie Aldred and India Fisher.

Note: All times are cited in BST

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

Doctor Who at the BBC Appeal

Sunday, 10 June 2012 - Reported by Marcus

AudioGO has launched their second ever Doctor Who at the BBC Appeal and are keen to hear from anyone who has off-air recordings of Doctor Who-related items from BBC Television and radio programmes, particularly those recorded in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. These could include interviews with the cast and crew of Doctor Who, features on the making of the series, discussions about Doctor Who, or even comedy sketches.

Any useable contributions will be gathered together in a new volume of Doctor Who at the BBC to be published as a CD or download in 2013. The original appeal in 2005 led to several rare finds, some of which appeared on Doctor Who at the BBC Volume 2.

Commissioning Editor Michael Stevens said,

It was amazing to discover the gems people sent us last time we ran this appeal. We’re hoping for an equally exciting response this time, as people may still have excerpts which are no longer in the BBC archive and haven't previously come to light.

If you have something which you think might be of interest, please drop an email to info@audiogo.co.uk, with the subject header 'Doctor Who at the BBC Appeal'. All you would have to do is send AudioGO either a copy or your original on loan.

FILTER: - Audio - Classic Series

Big Finish: Fourth Doctor for 2014

Thursday, 31 May 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced that Tom Baker and Louise Jameson will reprise their roles for a new eight episode season of Doctor Who adventures as the Doctor and Leela, to be released from January 2014.

Executive Producer Nicholas Briggs said:

We’ve been delighted by the response to the first season of our Fourth Doctor stories. We had such an exciting and rewarding time making series one and two, and we’re just thrilled to be back in the studio again with Tom and Louise recording more.

Of course, the second series – which features Mary Tamm as Romana, with John Leeson as the voice of K9 – won’t be released until January 2013. But, recording schedules being what they are, we are always working well ahead.

Producer David Richardson added:

We began recording on series three on 9th May, and production will continue through until July. At the moment it’s too early to reveal many story details, but we can say that Geoffrey Beevers will again return as the Master, the travellers will discover what lurks in the dead of night and the Doctor will encounter an even deadlier version of an old foe.

The series will also feature the titular Blake's Seven actor Gareth Thomas (pictured) in one episode, playing the last surviving member of the Colophon race; the story also features The Greatest Show in the Galaxy star Jessica Martin.

The Fourth Doctor Adventures: Series Three is now available for pre-order by subscription from Big Finish.

This June sees the finale of the first series released:

The Oseidon Adventure (available for pre-order)
By Alan Barnes
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Geoffrey Beevers, with Dan Starkey, Michael Cochrane and John Banks
Release date: June 2012

The first time the fearsome Kraals attempted to take over the Earth, with the help of their android agents, things didn't go quite according to plan – thanks to the time-travelling alien Doctor and his allies at UNIT.

This time, Marshal Grinmal and his belligerent cohorts are ready for them. This time, they'll make no mistakes. This time, Chief Scientist Tyngworg has not just one plan, but a back-up plan, and a back-up back-up plan worked out...

With the Doctor a prisoner on the Kraals' radiation-blasted home planet of Oseidon, only his companion Leela can save the day – alongside a most unlikely ally.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Tom Baker - Big Finish

Big Finish: Scribe Award Nominations / Special Offers

Thursday, 31 May 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Three of Big Finish's audio releases have been nominated for the Best Audio award in this year's Scribe Awards, a ceremony organised by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers to honour excellence in writing. For Doctor Who, The Many Deaths of Jo Grant by Mark Wright and Cavan Scott is featured, against other series entries Dark Shadows: The Lost Girl by D Lynn Smith and Highlander: All The King's Horsemen by Scott Andrews. The results will be announced at the July Comic-Con.

In celebration, this weekend (1st June 6pm - 4th June 8am) sees the releases available on special offer (the latter as part of the Highlander Series Two boxed set) - see the Big Finish website for full details.

Big Finish will be running a number of promotional sales during the course of June, with the one above followed by another to tie-in to the transit of Venus ... with Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles - The Transit of Venus, narrated by William Russell! This will be available on offer for the 5th-6th June.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Big Finish

Big Finish: Klein Trilogy offer

Thursday, 24 May 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish are to hold a special sale this weekend of the trilogy of adventures starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor with Tracy Childs as Klein, the stories of which can currently be heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

A Thousand Tiny Wings
The TARDIS arrives in 1950s Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising, and the Doctor again encounters Nazi scientist Elizabeth Klein.

Klein’s Story/Survival of the Fittest
The secrets of Klein’s past are revealed, and a visit to an alien world sees an attempt to save an insect race from exctinction.

The Architects of History
A new future is threatened by an attack by the alien Selachians...

The three adventures will be available individually or as a bundle.

The two characters are to be reunited in October:

UNIT: Dominion
By Nicholas Briggs and Jason Arnopp
Directed by Nicholas Briggs
Starring Sylvester McCoy, Tracy Childs, Beth Chalmers
Release date: October 2012

The universe stands on the brink of a dimensional crisis – and the Doctor and Raine are pulled into the very epicentre of it.

Meanwhile, on Earth, UNIT scientific advisor Dr Elizabeth Klein and an incarnation of the Doctor she's never encountered before are tested to the limit by a series of bizarre, alien invasions.

At the heart of it all is a terrible secret, almost as old as the Time Lords themselves. Reality is beginning to unravel and two Doctors, Klein, Raine and all of UNIT must use all their strength and guile to prevent the whole of creation being torn apart.

Available for pre-order at Big Finish

FILTER: - Audio - Sylvester McCoy - Big Finish

Big Finish: April Releases / Five-Day Sale

Thursday, 19 April 2012 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Big Finish have announced the release of three new stories in their ongoing series of adventures for the Doctor: Energy of the Daleks - the fourth story in the audio series starring Tom Baker and Louise Jameson - sees the Doctor pitted against a familiar foe, one Leela is about to meet for the first time; The Emerald Tiger sees the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Turlough together again for a new 'mini-season', kicking off with a visit to Calcutta; and William Russell reprises his role as Ian Chesteron for the latest Companion Chronicle, The Wanderer, as the original TARDIS crew journeys to 19th Century Siberia ...

Energy of the Daleks
By Nicholas Briggs (order)

The Doctor and Leela find themselves in the middle of London at the time of a new energy crisis. The GlobeSphere Corporation seems to have all the answers – but several thousand protestors beg to differ.

What is the connection between the National Gallery and a base on the Moon? Has radical thinker Damien Stephens simply sold out, or does he have a more sinister agenda?

The Doctor has detected a mysterious energy reading. Could it be that the most evil creatures in the universe have returned to claim ultimate victory once and for all?

The Emerald Tiger
By Barnaby Edwards (order)

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night

Calcutta, 1926. The Doctor and his companions join an expedition to locate the fabled emerald tiger – a legendary marvel shrouded in myth and mystery. They must journey to an unexplored lost world filled with wonder and wickedness.

But at the centre of this terra incognita, something is stirring. Something with emerald eyes, diamond-sharp claws and a heart of darkness.

The Wanderer
By Richard Dinnick (order)

Siberia at the end of the 19th Century, and the TARDIS arrives just as a shooting star hurtles to the ground.

With it comes an illness that affects the Doctor and Susan, and knowledge that must not fall into the wrong hands.

With his friends either dying or lost, Ian Chesterton must save the future and win the ultimate prize – a way home to 1963...

All three stories are available on CD, and for download from the Big Finish website.

Big Finish will also be running a special five-day promotion on a number of their early Doctor Who adventures, with ten titles available on each consecutive day. Each story will be available to buy for £5.00 on either CD or via download from their website.

23rd April - The Sirens of Time, Phantasmagoria, Whispers of Terror, The Land of the Dead, The Fearmonger, The Marian Conspiracy, The Genocide Machine, Red Dawn, The Spectre of Lanyon Moor, Winter for the Adept
24th April –The Apocalypse Element, The Fires of Vulcan, The Shadow of the Scourge, The Holy
Terror, The Mutant Phase, Storm Warning, Sword of Orion, The Stones of Venice, Minuet in Hell, Loups-Garoux.
25th April - Dust Breeding, Bloodtide, Project: Twilight, The Eye of the Scorpion, Colditz, Primeval, The One Doctor, Invaders from Mars, The Chimes of Midnight, Seasons of Fear
26th April - Embrace the Darkness, The Time of the Daleks, Neverland, Spare Parts, ...Ish, The Rapture, The Sandman, The Church and the Crown, Bang-Bang-A-Boom!, Jubilee
27th April - Nekromanteia, The Dark Flame, The Pirates, Creatures of Beauty, Project: Lazarus, Flip-Flop, Omega, Davros, Master, Zagreus

FILTER: - Merchandise - Audio - Big Finish

Audio Roundup

Sunday, 15 April 2012 - Reported by John Bowman

AudioGo:

The Doctor is well and truly in the dark in two May releases from AudioGO.

The classic-era audio release Doctor Who: The Sensorites, which was novelised by Nigel Robinson, is read by William Russell, who played Ian Chesterton in the original TV serial.

The TARDIS materialises on board a dark and silent spaceship. As the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara penetrate the craft's eerie gloom they come across what appear to be the bodies of two dead astronauts.

But the astronauts are far from dead - they are living in mortal fear of the Sensorites, a race of telepathic creatures from the Sense-Sphere.

When the lock of the TARDIS is stolen, the Doctor is forced into an uneasy alliance with the aliens. And when he arrives on the Sensorites' planet he discovers that it is not only the humans who have cause to be afraid ...

Written specially for audio by Steve Lyons, Day of the Cockroach features the Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory and is read by Arthur Darvill.

The TARDIS materialises in a pitch-dark tunnel, where the Doctor, Amy, and Rory discover the corpse of a soldier.

When they are questioned by his superior officer, Colonel Bowe, they learn that they are inside a British nuclear bunker in the middle of an atomic war – in 1982.

Amy and Rory weren't even born then but they know the bomb didn't drop that year, and so does the Doctor. The friends also know they had nothing to do with the soldier's death – so who, or what, was the killer? And why does the Doctor's psychic paper not work on the colonel?

The Doctor, Amy, and Rory soon learn that something else is lurking in the shadows. Something deadly ...

Both Doctor Who: The Sensorites and Day of the Cockroach are released on 1st May in download form and on 3rd May as CDs. The Sensorites CD release can be pre-ordered here and the Day of the Cockroach CD release pre-ordered here.

From stories to sound effects, and AudioGO has teamed up with Discovery Records for a limited-edition reissue of two 1970s vinyl LPs featuring the work of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Out of This World and Doctor Who Sound Effects have been digitally remastered for re-release on coloured vinyl on 21st April to coincide with Record Store Day.

Doctor Who Sound Effects, first released in 1978, features the ambience of seven alien worlds as well as some extraordinary and extra-dimensional occurrences encountered on Earth. Add to these an audiogram of the Doctor's own mind processes, TARDIS operations, plus some weapons for self-defence and your galactic safety is ensured.

Out of This World, first released in 1976, includes tracks of memorable sound effects created for a wide range of BBC radio and TV programmes in three categories: Outer Space, which includes elements from Doctor Who; Magic and Fantasy, and Suspense and the Supernatural. Many of them are designed to evoke supernatural soundscapes rather than specific activities or locations, with titles such as Galactic Travel, Magic Carpet Flight, and Phantoms of Darkness.

Both albums are being reissued with their original sleeve artwork and notes.

Martin Cobb, of Discovery Records, told Doctor Who News:

Record Store Day is an event where participating indie stores have access to a number of exclusive releases, mainly on vinyl.

The exclusivity lasts for about six weeks and they are only allowed to start selling on Record Store Day itself. Customers have to queue up on the day - they cannot reserve items in advance.

People will only be able to get these records from participating stores on 21st April and thereafter - if any are left. If the titles sell through the limited-edition coloured-vinyl quantity of 1,000 copies we may consider pressing them on black vinyl - it depends on interest.

The Scarifyers:

Philip Madoc can be heard in his last acting role in the forthcoming new Scarifyers audio play The Horror of Loch Ness.

The Cosmic Hobo Productions drama, to be released on June 4th as a double CD and download, also stars David Warner and Terry Molloy.

Celebrated speed ace Sir Malcolm Campbell (Alex Lowe) is carrying out speed trials on Loch Ness when a bank of fog suddenly descends. When it lifts, Sir Malcolm and his boat have mysteriously vanished . . .

MI:13's Harry Crow (Warner) and Professor Dunning (Molloy) are soon shaking up the sleepy loch-side village of Inverfarigaig. Aided by kindly local GP Dr Pippin (Madoc), they discover a connection to the erstwhile Laird of Boleskine and Abertarff - occultist, bon vivant, and occasional nudist Aleister Crowley (David Benson).

Crow and Dunning swiftly realise that there's more to Inverfarigaig than meets the eye: fraudulent Nessie-hunters, demonic bed sheets, Caledonian witches, and things that go bump in the night. Joined by Crowley, their investigations into Sir Malcolm's disappearance will lead them into terrible danger, as an old foe threatens to unleash ... The Horror of Loch Ness.

Simon Barnard, of Cosmic Hobo Productions, said:

This is the seventh adventure of The Scarifyers and The Horror of Loch Ness is a sequel of sorts to The Devil of Denge Marsh. Recorded in late 2011, it was, sadly, the last acting role of esteemed Welsh actor Philip Madoc, who died last month. It will be broadcast as part of a special Philip Madoc tribute season by BBC Radio 4 Extra later this year.

Planet Skaro:

Planet Skaro Audios has released its Season Four finale, The Next Universe - a three-part adventure by Si Hunt and Simon Hart.

The Clear Waters Appreciation Society is on the hunt for its nemesis: he who caused the society's show to be cancelled! The society has acquired a time machine and vowed to track him down but there's just one problem - the Doctor is nowhere in time and space! Has someone else beaten the society to the destruction of its oldest enemy?

A trailer for the story is available here.

Episode 1: Why is the Doctor disappearing out of all his time streams? And what is wrong with time?

Episode 2: Can the two Doctors and his companions survive the deadly game of Rassilon?

Episode 3: Far in the future a deadly trap waits for the Doctor, but who's really behind it?

Planet Skaro Audios was started six years ago, and spokesman Richard Brinck-Johnsen said:

It's been a long journey, from Massanicassa and Ice Warriors to Tor Garane and Father Christmas! Friends have been lost and enemies made but now, at last, the story is at an end. Featuring many returning characters, running right through all of the previous 22 Planet Skaro audio productions, this is a watershed moment for the series, but for the Doctor the end is only the beginning!

Following on from the climactic events of The Next Universe, the fifth season of Planet Skaro audios is due to begin next month. For the latest updates and to find out more about all the earlier releases visit the Planet Skaro discussion forum.

FILTER: - Merchandise - Arthur Darvill - Fan Productions - Audio

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