Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Doctor Who - Dalek Universe 1 OUT NOW starring David Tennant, Joe Sims, Jane Slavin and Mark Gatiss

David Tennant is back as the Tenth Doctor in the first volume of the epic saga Dalek Universe, released today from Big Finish.


This first volume of full-cast audio adventures features a trio of thrilling tales, as the Tenth Doctor finds himself up against a malevolent businessman without his trusty TARDIS – but with the help of Mark Seven (Joe Sims) and Anya Kingdom (Jane Slavin), the day may just be saved once again.



The cast is completed by Juliet Aubrey (Middlemarch, Primeval), Mark Gatiss (Masterful, Dracula), Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Carribbean, The End of the Beginning) Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Vienna) Maria Teresa Creasey (Space: 1999, The Alienist), Chris Jarman (UNIT: Incursions, The Eighth Doctor Adventures) and Nicholas Briggs as the Mechonoids.



Doctor Who – Dalek Universe 1 is now available as a collector's edition box set (on CD at £24.99) and as a digital download (at £19.99), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

Time has gone awry. The Doctor is lost, without his TARDIS. But he’s not alone. The Space Security Service agents Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven haven’t always been on his side in the past, but now they are here to help him. 

And he’s going to need them - because the oldest foes of all are waiting to strike. Ready to take down their greatest enemy... 


Writer John Dorney said: “Buying Time and The Wrong Woman form a two-part story, a Russell T Davies-style Tenth Doctor adventure with a cliffhanger in the middle. I can’t really say too much about The Wrong Woman but one of the things I was keen to do was to make it feel like you’re starting with a finale. The size and scale then just gets bigger and bigger as you figure out what’s going on. There are lots of twists and surprises going on. 

“I also wanted it to be fast and funny. I remember reading something where either Russell T Davies or Steven Moffat talked about how they would do a finale: they would create big moments and set pieces, and work out how to connect them. I realised I’d got a few big moments I could hang the story off, and work a path between them, which gives a crazy journey on a large scale and hopefully a great sense of fun.”



Writer of The House of Kingdom Andrew Smith added: “I was really excited to have the chance to write for another Doctor, actually. The thing with the Tenth Doctor is that he says things before he’s fully formed a thought, and it tumbles out. Right from the TV special The Christmas Invasion he does that, and it’s all down to David Tennant’s delivery.

“The energy of this Doctor is something else, and it affects the pace of the story – boom, boom, boom! They don’t stand around for long, they get on with it. He’s a Doctor who doesn’t wait for things to happen, he gets things done and is in people’s faces. That energy is all over the play.”



Doctor Who – Dalek Universe 1 is now available as a collector's edition box set (on CD at £24.99) and as a digital download (at £19.99), exclusively from the Big Finish website.

Each of the three volumes in Dalek Universe will be released as a four-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 fans worldwide can now pre-order all three volumes of Dalek Universe, 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 (www.bigfinish.com), from just £19.99.  
 
Big Finish listeners can save by pre-ordering a bundle of the entire series for just £66 (as a collector’s edition box set) or £58 (as a download).  
 
The Dalek Universe triple LP vinyls are strictly limited to a pressing of 1,000 per volume, and can be pre-ordered at £35.99 each, or £99 for the bundle of all three albums, again exclusively at the Big Finish website (www.bigfinish.com). 

Please note: the vinyl editions do not include any behind-the-scenes extras. However, listeners purchasing vinyl LP editions will receive a download of the story automatically and be given access to the CD edits as a bonus download. Episodes will be edited specifically for the vinyl format, presented as two parts, one on each side, each with opening and closing music.  In addition, all pre-orders of the vinyls will also receive the behind the extras as a bonus download.

Adric to Return Post Earthshock?

Peter Davison set to return as the Fifth Doctor in a brand new box set of audio adventures due for release later this year. 

Doctor Who – The Fifth Doctor Adventures: The Lost Resort and Other Stories reunites the Doctor with his companions (last heard in the 2020 Monthly Adventure release, Madquake), Tegan, Nyssa, Marc, and...

Adric? 


Peter Davison stars alongside Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and George Watkins, with a special appearance by Matthew Waterhouse in the first of three full-cast audio dramas which make up the box set. 

Doctor Who – The Fifth Doctor Adventures: The Lost Resort and Other Stories is now available to pre-order as a collector's edition 4-CD box set (at £22.99) or digital download (at £19.99) at www.bigfinish.com.

The three thrilling adventures are as follows: 

The Lost Resort by AK Benedict 

Reunited with his companions, the Doctor’s plans to travel home to Gallifrey are cast aside when the TARDIS materialises on the Soresia: a planetoid with an unusual temporal atmosphere, home to the Welkin Sanatorium; seemingly an ideal place to recuperate. But the patients – like the Sanatorium – are mere shadows of their former selves. Decay has taken hold... yet their secrets remain as strong and healthy as ever. 

The Perils of Nellie Bly by Sarah Ward 

When the TARDIS crew arrive on the RMS Oceanic, they meet notorious journalist Nellie Bly on the final leg of her voyage to travel the world in less than eighty days. But with a saboteur on board, the Doctor and his friends must race to help Nellie reach her destination – and save her future. 

Nightmare of the Daleks by Martyn Waites 

Deep within a drilling rig on planet XB93, its crew has been suffering nightmares: dreams of cold, metallic creatures, stalking them through the base, killing them as they sleep. Fortunately for the crew, the Daleks’ own worst nightmare has just arrived – and he goes by the name of the Doctor.

Producer and Director Scott Handcock said: “It’s been lovely having an opportunity to introduce a new companion to the Fifth Doctor’s era. George Watkins instantly slipped into the dynamic between Peter, Sarah and Janet and it gave us the chance to explore some new sides to the characters. 

“Part of their storyline was dealing with the introduction of a new crew member so soon after the death of Adric – and now they’re coming face to face with him on the planet Soresia, a planet where ghosts aren’t exactly laid to rest. It’s a lovely four-part story from AK Benedict, paired with a double-bill of two-parters from Sarah Ward and Martyn Waites as we meet journalist Nellie Bly on her around-the-world voyage, then travel to an industrial future where the Doctor’s most deadly enemies are invading people’s nightmares.”

Doctor Who – The Fifth Doctor Adventures: The Lost Resort and Other Stories is now available to pre-order as a collector's edition 4-CD box set (at £22.99) or digital download (at £19.99), exclusively from the Big Finish website.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Dalek Universe Prologue Released Today

The power is on and the Daleks are coming for the Fourth Doctor in Doctor Who – The Dalek Protocol, which sets the scene for this month’s epic Dalek Universe adventures. 


Released today from Big Finish, this four-part adventure features the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker), Leela (Louise Jameson) and K9 (John Leeson) as they are stranded on the parrinium planet, Exxilon – which also happens to be where the Daleks are headed...

The tale also features Anya Kingdom (Jane Slavin) and Mark Seven (Joe Sims), as we meet them before the events of Dalek Universe.



Doctor Who – The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Dalek Protocol is now available as a collector's edition box set (on CD at £14.99) and as a digital download (at £12.99), exclusively from www.bigfinish.com.

The Earth mission to Exxilon is nearing completion after many long years. Enough parrinium has been mined to stop the spread of the deadly space plague. But suddenly, the power-draining beacon from the Exxilon city is inexplicably reactivated, stranding the humans. 

The Doctor, Leela and K9 are stuck too, right on top of the remains of the city – under attack! 

Somewhere nearby, the android agent Mark Seven is enacting his secret orders while the Doctor’s estranged future companion, Anya Kingdom, is hoping for redemption. 

And heading inexorably towards them all… the Daleks!

The cast is completed by Jez Fielder (Dalek Empire, The Prisoner) Anna Mitcham (Doctor Who: The Monthly Adventures) and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks.



Producer David Richardson said: “The Dalek Protocol is an exciting sequel to Death to the Daleks. It’s also a launching pad for our Dalek Universe series – presenting Terry Nation’s thrilling world of the battle between the Space Security Service and the Daleks. One that the Tenth Doctor will soon find himself mysteriously thrown into… But, for now, it’s his fourth incarnation facing up to his oldest foes, accompanied by Leela and K9, and watched from afar by Anya, a companion who left him long ago – and, for him, yet to arrive in his life...”

Writer and director Nicholas Briggs added: “The Dalek Protocol sets up the relationship between Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven, essentially. And they work really well together. It’s a nice vibe.”

“It’s a story that’s very much in two parts (even though it’s a four-parter). Some of the story is on a spaceship, heading into danger. The other part is on Exxilon with an old friend of the Doctor’s and a new enemy for him too. But there are plenty of Daleks as well!”

Doctor Who – The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Dalek Protocol is now available as a collector's edition box set (on CD at £14.99) and as a digital download (at £12.99), exclusively from the Big Finish website.


Thursday, April 8, 2021

Arthur Darvill Finds "Emotional Truth" in the Ridiculous - The Lone Centurion - Volume One: Rome is OUT NOW

All roads lead to Rome for Rory Williams in The Lone Centurion – Volume One: Rome, released today from Big Finish Productions.



Companion to the Eleventh Doctor. Father of River Song. And, for 2000 years or thereabouts, an immortal Auton replicant watching over his beloved Amelia Pond. Arthur Darvill stars in a brand-new Doctor Who spin-off series of full-cast audio dramas. 

This first volume features three thrilling tales of the time-travelling centurion, taking him from the gladiatorial ring to the heart of conspiracies and plots – all while trying to find the Pandorica, which he happens to have lost...

The Lone Centurion – Volume One: Rome is now available as a collector's edition CD (at £19.99) or digital download (at £16.99), at www.bigfinish.com.


        Legend tells of the Lone Centurion - a mysterious figure dressed as a Roman soldier who stood guard over the Pandorica, warning off those who would attempt to open it; a constant warrior whose story appeared in the folk history of a dozen civilisations. 

        Only... he seems to have misplaced it. 

        Travelling to Rome in search of the Pandorica, Rory finds himself forced to perform as a gladiator in the Colosseum... where he attracts the attention of the Imperial household.




Director and producer Scott Handcock said: “The episodes are fantastically silly. They’ve been a joy to record, and an even greater joy to listen to in the edits. That’s the wonderful thing about working with someone like Arthur – even in the most ridiculous of situations, he finds the emotional truth. 

“Our first volume opens with Rory in the gladiatorial ring, and events spiral out from there. It’s actually a perfect place to set a series like this. It’s a world populated with so many larger-than-life characters – emperors and assassins and soothsayers – that plunging Rory (with all his memories of the 21st century) into the thick of it proves a really enjoyable clash.”

Arthur Darvill added: “On audio, it’s so much fun to be able to play things with such variety, and just go for something – it feels like playing because there’s no pressure. You get to do the spectrum, from hammed-up, silly things to really heartfelt, tender stuff, and it’s always working with really nice people.

“And Rory’s such a fun character to play in the way he questions the world, and I think that works really well with these stories.”

The Lone Centurion – Volume One: Rome is now available as a collector's edition CD (at £19.99) or digital download (at £16.99), exclusively from the Big Finish website.

Plus, The Lone Centurion – Volume Two is due for release in July 2022 and is currently available to pre-order as a collector’s edition box set (on CD at £19.99) and as a digital download (at £16.99). Big Finish listeners can save money by ordering both volumes together in a bundle for £38 on CD or £33 on download.

Blake's 7 News - Travis and Bayban the Butcher Return!

The Worlds of Blake’s 7 are set to expand more than ever before, as some familiar faces take centre stage in a range of full-cast audio adventures from Big Finish Productions. 

Three brand-new box sets and three tie-in audio novels are due to be released over 2021 and 2022, featuring beloved cast members reprising their original television roles, including Michael Keating, Sally Knyvette, Jan Chappell, Stephen Greif, Brian Croucher and... Colin Baker. 




Producer David Richardson said: “I’ve had this in my mind for nine years. When we first started making Blake’s 7 at Big Finish, I had vague plans to do a series of box sets that centred on characters originally created for the series by Chris Boucher. At the time, it never came to pass… but now, here we are! 

The Clone Masters explores that enigmatic race which was introduced in the brilliant Season B episode, Weapon. We have Jenna and Cally on a mission together. We have the return of Travis, in which he comes face to face with… another Travis. (Fear not, it’s not down to time travel and it all makes sense within the series story world). And we have Hinton, a psychostrategist who… ah, but that’s for later. 

“It’s taken nine years, but it’s been worth the wait!”

Script editor Peter Anghelides added: “It's such a treat to delve into previously unexplored parts of Blake’s 7. What are the unrevealed secrets and motivations of the Clone Masters, who on TV we met briefly before later hearing of their untimely demise? What further influence across the galaxy do the Terra Nostra have, when we know that they are involved in whatever is dirty, degrading, and cruel on every civilised world? 

“And how did Bayban become the Butcher that the Liberator crew encountered in his startling original appearance… and how could he possibly have survived that?

 “Our new full-cast audios offer nine thrilling and stylistically different adventures, featuring aspects based on those tantalising first experiences in the TV show. It’s brilliant to hear the original cast members facing these brand-new challenges. And the novels broaden that even more in three exciting, wide-ranging journeys in the Blake’s 7 universe.”

Each new box set is paired with a related tie-in audiobook, as follows: 

Due for release in September 2021, The Clone Masters revisits original script editor Chris Boucher’s enigmatic race from the second television season’s episode Weapon. This box set is released alongside The Rule of Death, a full-length audiobook written by Trevor Baxendale. 

The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – The Clone Masters is now available to pre-order as a collector's edition CD box set (at £19.99) or digital download (at £16.99) at www.bigfinish.com.

Blake’s 7 – The Rule of Death is now available to pre-order as a digital download (at £9.99) at www.bigfinish.com.

The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – The Clone Masters & The Rule of Death are now available to pre-order as a bundle on collector's edition CD (at £28) or digital download (at £25) at www.bigfinish.com.

Then in December 2021, Colin Baker returns as the eponymous career criminal Bayban the Butcher, first seen in 1980’s City at the Edge of the World. Accompanying this release is Bayban Ascending, a full-length audiobook written by Nigel Fairs. 

The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – Bayban the Butcher is now available to pre-order as a collector's edition CD box set (at £19.99) or digital download (at £16.99) at www.bigfinish.com.

Blake’s 7 – Bayban Ascending is now available to pre-order as a digital download (at £9.99) at www.bigfinish.com.

The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – Bayban the Butcher & Bayban Ascending are now available to pre-order as a bundle on collector's edition CD (at £28) or digital download (at £25) at www.bigfinish.com.

And there’s more – in January 2022, three new full-cast audio dramas dive deep into the murky underworld of the Terra Nostra, the dangerous organisation first encountered in the TV story, Shadow. The tie-in audiobook, entitled Zero Point, is written by Scott Harrison. 

The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – The Terra Nostra is now available to pre-order as a collector's edition CD box set (at £19.99) or digital download (at £16.99) at www.bigfinish.com.

Blake’s 7 – Zero Point is now available to pre-order as a digital download (at £9.99) at www.bigfinish.com.

The Worlds of Blake’s 7 – The Terra Nostra & Zero Point is now available to pre-order as a bundle on collector's edition CD (at £28) or digital download (at £25) at www.bigfinish.com.

Big Finish listeners can save more by pre-ordering all three box sets – The Clone Masters, Bayban the Butcher & The Terra Nostra – for £80 on collector’s edition CD and £70 on download, exclusively from the Big Finish website.


52. GARY RUSSELL Part 2 - Being the B.O.S.S. at Big Finish

We continue our discussion with founding Big Finish producer and director Gary Russell on the early years of Big Finish, talking about projects such as the Gallifrey and Sarah Jane Smith series, as well as the creation of Evelyn Smythe, played by the lovely and sorely missed Maggie Stables. 

Part 3 coming soon. 

Next time on The Sirens of Audio... Annette Badland discusses her career, and her work with Big Finish, 16 years after her debut TV appearance in the Doctor Who universe in 2005's Aliens of London.  (I know we said 21 years during the show, that was Philip's fault for not doing his maths properly and Dwayne's fault for believing everything that comes out of Philip's mouth.)



Philip Edney on Twitter

Dwayne Bunney on Twitter

The Sirens of Audio on YouTube

Theme music by Husky by the Geek

Email: sirensofaudio@gmail.com

Website: sirensofaudio.com

Twitter: @AudioSirens

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/sirensofaudio/

Clips and music are copyright BBC and Big Finish. No infringement is intended.

Thursday, April 1, 2021

51. ROBERT VALENTINE on Doctor Who: The End of the Beginning and Master! starring Eric Roberts

It's the end... of the monthly range at Big Finish and our special guest is writer of the final story in the range, Rob Valentine. The finale is called "The End of the Beginning" and features the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Doctors. 

Rob gives us some insight into writing for multiple Doctors, the inspiration for some of his settings, and how the pandemic affected the story. 

Master! starring Eric Roberts as the Doctor's arch nemesis is also released this month from Big Finish, and Rob speaks about his episode in the set entitled "Faustian". 




Recommendations

Philip recommends Survivors (Big Finish Productions)

Dwayne recommends Space 1999 Volume One (Big Finish Productions) & Red Moon by Robert Valentine (Wireless Theatre Company)



Philip Edney on Twitter

Dwayne Bunney on Twitter

The Sirens of Audio on YouTube

Theme music by Husky by the Geek

Email: sirensofaudio@gmail.com

Website: sirensofaudio.com

Twitter: @AudioSirens

Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/sirensofaudio/

Clips and music are copyright BBC and Big Finish. No infringement is intended.