Time Lord Victorious Finale OUT NOW

Big Finish, in association with Demon Records and BBC Studios, today releases the long-awaited conclusion of the Time Lord Victorious multi-platform event, starring David Tennant and Paul McGann. 

Echoes of Extinction comprises two separate adventures that listeners can play in any order and each features a different incarnation of the Doctor as they battle the dastardly Network (Torchwood’s Burn Gorman). 

The star-studded cast includes Kathryn Drysdale (Bridgerton, Doctor Who), Arthur Darvill (The Lone Centurion, Legends of Tomorrow), Mina Anwar (The Sarah Jane Adventures, The War Master), Paul Clayton (Torchwood, Cicero), Jack DeVos (The Outpost), Melanie Stevens (Torchwood: God Amoung Us), Jacob Dudman (The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles, The Lives of Captain Jack), Stephen Critchlow (Torchwood, Gallifrey: Time War) and Inès de Clercq (The Lone Centurion, Broadchurch).

Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious – Echoes of Extinction is now available as a digital download (at £8.99) at www.bigfinish.com. 

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.

Director Scott Handcock said: “Alfie Shaw’s done a brilliant job producing the audio adventures for Time Lord Victorious and his script for Echoes of Extinction is no exception. It’s a single story told from two perspectives, balancing two different Doctors, and introducing a host of fantastic guest stars. It’s great to hear David Tennant and Paul McGann tackle opposite aspects of one adventure, with Burn Gorman unifying the two strands as the menacing Network.”

Writer Alfie Shaw added: “I mean, getting to write for Paul McGann and David Tennant is a highlight in and of itself! It was a really interesting challenge to create two stories that had to be both self-contained and also add-up to a whole, and that was something that we worked hard to achieve. Plus, when you’re writing for two Doctors, there’s the opportunity to do a bit of a back and forth between them. I’ve previously written a story which was basically two Doctors proactively bickering, so I wanted to go with a different direction for this one.”

Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious – Echoes of Extinction is now available as a digital download (at £8.99), exclusively from the Big Finish website. 

REVIEW | Doctor Who: Dalek Universe 1 starring David Tennant

In a world still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, television Doctor Who has been cut back and fans who rely on the Beeb for their fix won't be getting a full season this year. 

Big Finish, on the other hand, seem to have gone from strength to strength. Far from reducing their output due to the pandemic, remote home recording has kept actors and production teams running at maximum output. 

Even with their Monthly Range of adventures coming to an end in March, it still feels like Big Finish are focusing yet still increasing their output to hungry fans.

But will the stories meet fan expectations?

If Dalek Universe 1, a new boxset, the first of three, starring the ever popular David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor is anything to go by, your hunger for new Doctor Who is going to be regularly satisfied!

With companions Anya Kingdom, played by Jane Slavin, and Mark Seven played by Tennant's fellow Broadchurch star Joe Sims, the stage is set for an epic adventure for the ages. With nods to the past Tenth Doctor era and the ancient past with many elements from Terry Nations Dalek universe canvas, fans will be salivating for more. 

But what of the casual listener who rarely, if ever, dips into audio?

Although a 3-part set, it would be handy to hear the prequel story, The Dalek Protocol starring Tom Baker as the fourth Doctor with Slavin and Sims. But it's not vital to the enjoyment of Dalek Universe 1. 

Tennant feels as though he has never left the role and writer of the first two episodes, John Dorney, has captured his era perfectly. It's a sentimental banquet for anyone who was watching the show in the mid-noughties. The dialogue is delivered to perfection and it's difficult to believe that this cast was recording remotely from their laundry or clothes cupboards. 

As the mystery unfolds in the first episode, "Buying Time", we are submersed into the mystery of a tenth Doctor thrown into an adventure without his TARDIS, and meeting characters he knows from a much earlier incarnation. We're also introduced to a character played by Mark Gatiss, who has appeared several times in different roles in TV Doctor Who and on audio.

But hold your horses folks. Any belief that you're in for a typical run of the mill story will be dashed as we are treated to a cliff-hanger for the ages that will blow your mind and force you to listen to the second episode immediately. 

"The Wrong Woman" continues on from the previous story, but not in the way you were expecting. If you've had time to recover your wits from the insane cliffhanger, the ride is far from over as you take a timey-wimey roller-coaster ride that doesn't let up until the end. 

Andrew Smith takes writing duties for the third episode, "The House of Kingdom", a fascinating look into some more of Anya's backstory and a return for more of the creations of Terry Nation's universe from the 60's, including the Mechanoids, which always had the potential to be much more than that single episode in 1965. 

Despite the stress of lockdown, Ken Bentley has done a superb job directing this set. I suspect, however, that Ken would say his job was made easy by the extraordinary cast led by Tennant. 

If all the above ingredients were enough to set my imagination ablaze, it was Howard Carter's incredible score and sound design that officially blew my mind! Howard's work was a standout for me in last year's "Return To Skaro", and this set proves his versatility and adaptability when it comes to different ranges and settings. Incredible stuff! 

The main question on my mind after hearing this set? 

How am I going to bear the 3 month wait until the next set is released in July? 

Get Dalek Universe 1 today from bigfinish.com.

Dwayne Bunney

53. ANNETTE BADLAND - Behind The Mask

We are delighted to be joined by the multi-talented Annette Badland, who first appeared on the Doctor Who radar in 2005 as Margaret Blaine in season one of the revived series of Doctor Who. She was the first person to be asked back to play a recurring villain and appeared again in Boom Town with Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper and John Barrowman. 

Since then she has appeared in numerous roles for Big Finish productions including the character of Margaret in an audio version of Torchwood. 

Annette speaks about her ongoing career which began in the 1970's, her love of theatre, Outlander and much, much more. 

Thank you Annette for being our guest.

Recommendations

Philip recommends Doctor Who: Suburban Hell (4th Doctor and Leela Big Finish Audio)

Dwayne recommends Torchwood: Sync (Big Finish Audio)

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.

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.

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.

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.