Jago and Litefoot - Series Two

Tuesday, 31 August 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Big Finish: Jago and LitefootBig Finish have released episode information for Series Two of Jago and Litefoot, the spin off series featuring two characters originally created by Robert Holmes for the fourth Doctor story, The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

The five disc box set is released in January 2011 and sees the return of Christopher Benjamin as Henry Gordon Jago and Trevor Baxter as Professor Litefoot, with the ensemble cast including Lisa Bowerman as Ellie, Conrad Asquith as Sergeant Quick and David Collings as Gabriel Sanders

The stories are as follows:
2.1 Litefoot and Sanders
Written by Justin Richards
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Chloe Howman
Women are being killed on the streets of London, and the evidence points to it being the work of a vicious vampire. This should be a case for Jago and Litefoot but – to the astonishment of Jago – the esteemed investigators of infernal incidents have gone their separate ways. It’s now a case for Litefoot and Sanders – but Jago isn’t going to go away quietly…
2.2 The Necropolis Express
Written by Mark Morris
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Vernon Dobtcheff
Strange things are happening in the pauper’s graveyard at Charnel’s End. There are hideous creatures in the undergrowth, a mysterious light emanating from the church, and something deadly beneath the ground itself. Someone from Litefoot’s past has come back to haunt him, and things may never be the same again…
2.3 The Theatre of Dreams
Written by Jonathan Morris
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Duncan Wisbey, Jennie Stoller, Alex Mallinson
“Roll up gentlemen and ladies, roll up! Welcome to Deuteronomy’s Theatre De Fantasie, the show where your dreams come true!”
Henry Gordon Jago believes he has made a killer booking for the New Regency Theatre. Unfortunately, he is absolutely correct…
2.4 The Ruthven Inheritance
Written by Andy Lane
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
Featuring Duncan Wisbey and Simon Williams
The pathology skills of Professor Litefoot and Dr Sacker are called upon by Lord Ruthven, who asks them to catalogue a cache of bones beneath his country estate. And so begins the endgame… as a plan long laid come to its glorious fruition.

Series One was released in June.




FILTER: - Big Finish

Bernice Summerfield: Animated Adventure

Tuesday, 3 August 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Big Finish have announced that an online adventure featuring Bernice Summerfield will be available from September.

Bernice Summerfield or Benny, is a character originally created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels. Since 1998 Big Finish Productions have been producing officially licensed audio dramas starring the character.

The latest adventure, Dead and Buried, is a 10-minute CGI animated adventure that will be available to view absolutely free of charge. Lisa Bowerman is back playing Benny, who is returning to her roots as an archaeologist – although it isn’t long before she’s being pursued through the ruins of an alien world by a deadly adversary.

Dead and Buried is animated by Alex Mallinson, who has been working on the project for months and says
I’ve created animated trailers for Cyberman and Dalek Empire in the past but this is a much more complicated prospect. John Ainsworth and Eddie Robson have written a cracking yarn which is proving a joy and a challenge to animate. It’s taken weeks of patient construction, animation, rendering and compositing but it doesn’t truly spring to life until Matthew Cochrane’s evocative sound design is added. However it’s still proven more work than any of us imagined, which is why Benny Series 11 has been delayed a month. I hope this will make up for it!

There’s a glimpse of what’s to come in the teaser trailer, available at the Big Finish website.



The final animation will be available in September, completely free and will lead into the events of Bernice Summerfield 11.1 Resurrecting the Past.





FILTER: - Online - Animation - Big Finish

Big Finish Day

Monday, 28 June 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who: Big FinishBig Finish Productions is to hosting a one-day internet-based event on Saturday 3 July 2010, giving fans an opportunity to download a free episode of Doctor Who.

For one day only, episode one of Cobwebs will be available to download free of charge. The story is the start of the new trilogy that reunites the Fifth Doctor with Tegan, Turlough and Nyssa for the first time in 26 years.

Executive producer Nicholas Briggs said
We were thrilled that Janet has elected to join the Big Finish fold, and I can promise that this trilogy of Cobwebs, The Whispering Forest and The Cradle of the Snake will delight all fans of that era. On Big Finish Day, you’ll get a chance to hear an early preview
of that brilliant TARDIS crew in action.

Also during the day the first 50 Doctor Who main range titles will be available to buy for just £5 each, on CD or download.

Executive producer Jason Haigh-Ellery said
We’re aware that some Doctor Who fans have never tried Big Finish, and we’re also aware that some people have the more recent titles but have never dipped into the back catalogue. This is a chance for them to do so.

As well as additional sale items, the Big Finish website will be offering a selection of wallpapers for download, featuring some of Alex Mallinson’s most inspired artwork.

Big Finish Day is only at www.bigfinish.com.




FILTER: - Big Finish

Big Finish licence renewed

Thursday, 3 June 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The audio adventures of Doctor Who are set to continue, with Big Finish announcing that their licence to produce the stories has been extended to December 2012.

Says Executive Producer Jason Haigh-Ellery:
This is wonderful news. All of us at Big Finish love making the Audio Adventures of Doctor Who, and after a decade it remains both a thrill and an honour to continue doing so.

Producer David Richardson commented on the ranges:
We have many plans for the future. The main range starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann continues on a monthly basis, as do The Companion Chronicles. You’ll be hearing more from The Lost Stories and Jago and Litefoot. Plus… we’ve been in talks with Tom Baker, who is eager to join the audio range for a series of full cast plays.

Executive Producer Nick Briggs added:
We have a great and fruitful relationship with both BBC Wales and BBC Audiobooks, and long may it continue. Big Finish and BBC Audiobooks work alongside each other to provide the best possible range of audio productions for fans of the series. I never forget what a great privilege it is for us to be in this position.

Everything was planned up until the end of 2011, so now we can forge ahead with our plans for 2012. These are exciting times indeed!




FILTER: - Big Finish

Brigadier Bambera reunited with the Doctor

Wednesday, 2 June 2010 - Reported by Chuck Foster
The Doctor is to be reunited with Brigadier Winifred Bambera in a new audio adventure from Big Finish.

The character, reprised by actress Angela Bruce, will feature in the story Animal, which forms part of the second season of Lost Stories. It is written by former script editor Andrew Cartmel, and sees Bambera once again encountering the seventh Doctor, played by Sylvester McCoy.

Says series producer David Richardson:
Animal is a great, old-fashioned UNIT story, in which Bambera and her troops are investigating some strange events at a university. And then the Doctor and Raine arrive...

Recording took place in April, and the story/series is available to pre-order.




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

Bernice Summerfield - Season 11

Thursday, 20 May 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Cold BloodBig Finish have announced the details for the Eleventh Season of the Bernice Summerfield Adventures.

Bernice Surprise Summerfield was originally created by Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of Doctor Who Novels. Big Finish have been producing audio plays featuring the character since September 1998.

Four new audio adventures will be released this year, plus a new hardback collection of short stories. This eleventh season of stories, starring the archaeologist from the 26th Century, will begin with a two-part conclusion to the long-running ‘Braxiatel’ story arc. The season midpoint, starting with the third release, will mark a new beginning in a new setting.

Story producer John Ainsworth says:
This is a really exciting turning point for Bernice Summerfield – both the character and the series, Listeners have been waiting a long time for the answers to some burning questions and now it’s time to deliver. But by concluding the ‘Braixatel’ story arc half-way through the season, we’re also giving new listeners a perfect opportunity to sample Benny and come on board. No prior knowledge of the characters or the series is required to understand and enjoy the third and fourth plays in this series. It’s a fresh start.

The series kicks off with what is effectively a two-part adventure, Resurrecting the Past (August) and Escaping the Future (September), both by Eddie Robson and starring all the regular supporting characters from The Collection. Robson, who is also editor of this year’s hardback book, Present Danger, the events of which are set between his two audio plays, says
We've been building up to a resolution on the Braxiatel arc for years, and I don't think the scale of it will disappoint. In order to really give the resolution the space it demands, we've given over this year's short story anthology to the wrapping-up events - the plays still make perfect sense if you don't read it, but it'll give you a broader view on the situation if you do. Everyone has a part to play - but will they all see the end of it?"
Present Danger will be published in September and includes stories by Kate Orman, Lance Parkin, Mark Clapham and Simon Guerrier.

Summerfield gets a new start from the third audio release in October with Year Zero by Jonathan Clements. This is followed in November by Dead Man’s Switch by John Dorney and Richard Dinnick. Each is very much a self-contained tale but both fit into a new story arc that will continue and conclude in Season 12. This new beginning takes the character back to basics and once again focuses on her skills and experience as an archaeologist.

Lisa Bowerman, who plays Bernice Summerfield, is also excited about the new direction for the series:
After the dust settles on one chapter, she’s going back to her boots and back to her roots. I can’t wait!

Big Finish have also confirmed they have commissioned a second season of Jago and Litefoot.

The first season of adventures featuring the characters of Henry Gordon Jago and Professor George Litefoot will be released next month. The duo first appeared as supporting characters in the classic Tom Baker story The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Producer David Richardson said
We had such a fun time making the first series, and I’m really proud of it – I’m optimistic that people will be scared, excited and amused by these new audio adventures. There’s a real buzz about it – and I’m delighted to say that as a result series two is already in a very advanced state of preparation. Obviously we don’t want to say too much about it yet, as people have yet to enjoy the first four stories. But I can say that we have the brilliant David Collings joining the regular cast as Gabriel Sanders, while our guest stars in series two will include Vernon Dobtcheff and Simon Williams.

Season Two, which will also be released in a five-disc box set, will be available in January 2011.




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish

The Eighth Doctor on Radio 7

Tuesday, 11 May 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Radio 7The Eighth Doctor returns to BBC Radio 7 next Sunday when the station begins airing selected stories from the third series of the Big Finish Eighth Doctor Adventures.

The series stars Paul McGann as the Doctor and Sheridan Smith as Lucie Miller. Four out of eight stories will be broadcast, from the series first released by Big Finish in 2009. Radio Seven has previously broadcast the first two series of the Eighth Doctor Adventures.

The series starts on BBC Radio 7 on Sunday 16th May at 6pm with a repeat at midnight BST.

Radio 7 can be heard around the world via the BBC Website.
Orbis
Written by Alan Barnes and Nicholas Briggs. Directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Andrew Sachs, Laura Solon.
The Doctor has fallen to his death. His companion, Lucie Miller, has returned to her life on Earth, grief-stricken. Then, one night, an alien visitor arrives at her front door and shoots her. Could it be that Lucie’s days with the Doctor are not over? She will only find the answer on the planet Orbis. A planet where all forms of life are facing violent extinction.
The Beast of Orlok
Written by Barnaby Edwards. Directed by Barnaby Edwards.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Miriam Margolyes, Samuel Barnet
Germany, 1827. The town of Orlok is under a curse, haunted by the memory of a spate of grisly murders that shattered the community twenty years before. At the time, townsfolk blamed the legendary Beast of Orlok, a nightmarish creature from medieval folklore. And now, it seems, the Beast has returned. As the killings begin again, the people of Orlok are understandably suspicious of two strangers newly arrived in their midst. The Doctor and Lucie must face their darkest fears as they find themselves plunged into a decidedly grim fairytale.
The Scapegoat
Written by Pat Mills. Directed by Nicholas Briggs.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Samantha Bond, Clifford Rose, Christopher Fairbank, Paul Rhys.
Oh, but if you think you’ve seen and heard all that Paris by night has to offer... the exotic sights of Le Moulin Rouge, perhaps, or the horror tricks of Le Grand Guignol... if you think nothing could cause your mouth to dry and your heart to pound... you're wrong. Ladies and gentlemen, mesdames et messieurs – not forgetting our honoured guests from the Gestapo – tonight, it is my privilege to present to you the star of the Theatre des Baroque! A man who has died on stage near ten thousand times! The Most Assassinated Man in the World… Max Paul! And joining him, in a playlet we call 'The Executioner's Son' – from Blackpool, England: the enchanting Lucie Miller! Ah, la belle Lucie. She's got no idea what she's let herself in for. Heh. Should you feel faint, or nauseous – never fear. Tonight, we have a Doctor in the house! Just pray he lasts ’til the interval...
The Cannibalists
Written by Jonathan Morris. Directed by Jason Haigh-Ellery.
Starring Paul McGann, Sheridan Smith, Phil Davies, Phill Jupitus, Nigel Lambert.
From their high spire, looking out over silent streets and empty plazas, the Assemblers are waiting for the day when the humans arrive. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting… When the TARDIS brings the Doctor and Lucie to the Haven, it seems like Assemblers’ long wait might be over. Living beings! Without batteries! Protocol be praised! Except – they’re headed for the lower levels. They don’t want to do that. That’s where the Cannibalists live. And if the Cannibalists catch them – well, they won’t be living beings much longer…




FILTER: - Radio - Big Finish

The Finished Product

Saturday, 8 May 2010 - Reported by Marcus
Doctor Who Adventures 165Eight years after the last issue, the third edition of The Finished Product fanzine, looking behind the scenes of the Big Finish audio adventures, is now available.

The Fanzine concentrates on the first series of Eighth Doctor/Lucie adventures, with new interviews with actors, writers and members of the production team, as well as plenty of behind the scenes details.

It's 44 pages, with over 25,000 words, in the classic A5 black and white fanzine form.

It's £2.50 per copy UK, including first class postage, and £3.50 overseas.

For ordering details, send an email to editor Kenny Smith.




FILTER: - Fan Productions - Big Finish

Andrew Smith Returns to Doctor Who

Friday, 12 March 2010 - Reported by R Alan Siler
According to an interview that appeared in today's Rutherglen Reformer, Andrew Smith, author of the 1980 Doctor Who serial Full Circle, has been commissioned for a new script by Big Finish.

Smith wrote Full Circle at the age of 18. The story involved the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 entering the universe of E-Space. The story is notorious for introducing the character of Adric.

The new script, entitled Invasion of E-Space, has been written for the Companions Chronicles line with Lalla Ward as Romana telling the story, which features the Fourth Doctor and Adric.

Big Finish Producer David Richardson said: “I met Andrew at a convention in Glasgow last year. I was a fan of Full Circle, which was such a clever and inventive script, so I was delighted when he said he might be interesting in writing for Big Finish. It was an instant yes from me - and over the subsequent weeks we set about formulating ideas for a Companion Chronicle featuring the Fourth Doctor, Romana and Adric.”

Andrew told the Reformer: “I wanted the dialogue to sound naturalistic, as if it’s being spoken, not read off the page. You want it to sound like a normal conversation, not an unrealistic description of green and verdant hills, or whatever. I've done the first draft, and this is with (script editor) Jac Rayner now, while David at Big Finish is reading it. They will come back with notes and I'll do the next draft in the next two or three weeks."

To read the full interview, visit the Rutherglen Reformer website.





FILTER: - People - Merchandise - Audio - Big Finish

Big Finish Announces Details of Lost Season

Monday, 6 April 2009 - Reported by Marcus
Big Finish has released details - including titles and release schedule - of its upcoming of Doctor Who: The Lost Stories season, starring Colin Bakerand Nicola Bryant as the Doctor and Peri.

In 1985, as the the 23rd Series of the programme was well into the planning stages, the show was placed on hiatus. Plans for Series 23 were scrapped, and when the show returned to screens 18 months later, at the end of 1986, it was with a new Series 23, the "Trial of a Time Lord" season. Big Finish is now releasing new adaptations of the stories that were lost as result of that hiatus.

Doctor Who: The Lost Stories season will include:

The Nightmare Fair, written by Graham Williams, adapted for audio by John Ainsworth

Mission to Magnus, written by Philip Martin

Leviathan, written by Brian Finch, adapted by Paul Finch

The Hollows of Time, written by former script editor Christopher H Bidmead

TBA (details are not yet available)

Point of Entry, written by Barbara Clegg and Marc Platt

Paradise 5, written by PJ Hammond and Andy Lane

The Space Whale, written by Pat Mills

The Nightmare Fair will be released November 2009, and the season will run through June 2010. The series is available for pre-order and subscription.

Please visit the Big Finish website for full information on all of these stories




FILTER: - Audio - Big Finish