Thursday, June 17, 2021

62. LISA BOWERMAN - The First Big Finish Hero

Lisa Bowerman's first foray into the Doctor Who was in 1989 as Kara in the final story of the original television run. It was in 1998 however, that she took on one of the "wilderness years" most iconic characters for Big Finish, Professor Bernice Summerfield.

Originally created for the Virgin New Adventures range by Paul Cornell, Benny was the character Big Finish turned to when their first attempt to acquire an official Doctor Who license from the BBC fell through.

It is our privilege to have Lisa with us for this edition of The Sirens of Audio to talk about taking on the role of Benny in those early days, how the character has lasted so long, and her other roles with Big Finish as actor and director for ranges such as The Companion Chronicles, The Early Years, The Lost Stories, Torchwood and Jago & Litefoot. 

We also discuss some of the projects Lisa has been involved with outside Big Finish.

Thank you so much for a fascinating discussion Lisa! 

Dive into the worlds of Bernice Summerfield, Jago & Litefoot and more by visiting www.bigfinish.com

Grab a copy of Lisa's incredible production of The War of the Worlds from Sherwood Sound Studios.


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Clips and music are copyright BBC and Big Finish & Sherwood Sound Studios. No infringement is intended.

Thursday, June 10, 2021

61. The Pod Catchers with Guest Dan Hadley from the Type 40 Podcast

In this episode we discuss a selection of our favourite Doctor Who related podcasts, and to help us we are joined by our special guest Dan Hadley from Type 40

We also debut a new flashcast called Big Finish From The Beginning, in which we are joined by Rob from The Doctor Who Show to discuss his great journey, listening to the entire monthly range of Big Finish audio plays. The flashcast will also be available as a separate playlist on our YouTube channel. Check it out here - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdsmb9KsVE5bRefOooI47jjxcVFQ2eJRI

Here are links to all the podcasts we discussed:

Type 40

Flight Through Entirety

New To Who

The Doctor Who Show

All of Time and Space 

Toby Hadoke's Time Travels

The Glam Gizmo (Australian Audio Comedy/Drama)

Radio Free Skaro

Verity!

Sledgehammer

The Old Doctor Who Show

The Doctor Who Big Blue Box Podcast

The Nerva Beacon

Doctor Who Panel to Panel

The Krynoid Podcast

A Hamster With A Blunt Penknife

Progtor Who

Something Who

Diddly Dum

Gallifrey's Most Wanted

Strangers In Space


The Sirens of Audio on YouTube

Theme music by The Jackpot Golden Boys

Email: sirensofaudio@gmail.com

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


Next time on The Sirens of Audio...

Lisa Bowerman is our special guest.

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

OUT NOW - The Robots Vol. 4 starring Nicola Walker & Claire Rushbrook

It's time to explore once again the world of Kaldor, first introduced to us in the 1977 Doctor Who story, The Robots of Death. 

We follow the continuing story of Eighth Doctor companion Liv Chenka (Nicola Walker) and her sister Tula (Claire Rushbrook). 

Not only do we have stories featuring returning actors and characters from The Robots of Death, David Collings (in his final role before he passed away) and Pamela Salem, we see the return of the hauntingly familiar Gregory de Polnay as D84.

The cast is completed by Jon Culshaw (Masterful, Dead Ringers) Sarah Lambie (Doctor Who: Ravenous), Glen McCready (Master!, Years and Years), Carolyn Seymour (Survivors, Star Trek: Voyager), Robert Whitelock (Informer, Marcella) and Tracy Wiles (The Beast Must Die, The Diary of River Song).

Writer of box set opener Closed Loop Guy Adams said: “David Collings is a proper hero of mine, one of my favourite voices – it was a huge thing for me to be able to write for him, and it’s a proper loss that he’s gone. I pitched the story idea and John suggested that Gregory de Polnay could be involved, and it went from having Poul haunted by A robot to THE robot. It’s a very specific ghost from his past – it’s kill or cure, coming face to plastic once more. Or not... you’ll find out by the end of it all!”

Writer of Off Grid Sarah Grochala said: “As a female writer, it’s really exciting to be part of a series that is so female-led, particularly one that is thinking about technology as people tend to think of it as a male dominated field."

“I love Liv’s passion and determination to get to the bottom of everything. And Tula’s fascinating because she’s deeply committed to her work but is having to come to terms with some of the Company’s more dubious practices. She’s a scientist, but she’s also an artist in terms of her approach and commitment to the robots she creates.”

Writer of final story The Janus Deception Robert Whitelock added: “Writing for Liv and Tula is pure joy. I know Nicola and Claire well from acting with them, and now when writing for them I can hear their character’s voices really clearly in my head as I create the dialogue.”

The Robots: Volume 4 is now available from www.bigfinish.com

Thursday, June 3, 2021

60. SADIE MILLER - The Return of Sarah Jane Smith

Our special guest is Sadie Miller, who is now recreating the character of Sarah Jane Smith for Big Finish. Sadie speaks about growing up with two actors for parents, her career so far and how she has come to be cast in the role made famous and universally loved by her late mother, Elisabeth Sladen. 

In a change for the podcast, Philip and Dwayne's latest journey down the rabbit hole see them speaking about some of their guilty pleasures when it comes to the TV series. 

Recommendations

Philip recommends Dalek by Robert Shearman read by Nicholas Briggs (Audiobook)

Dwayne recommends The Doomsday Contract by John Lloyd adapted by Nev Fountain (Big Finish Lost Stories)


Dwayne Bunney on Twitter

The Sirens of Audio on YouTube

Theme music by The Jackpot Golden Boys

Email: sirensofaudio@gmail.com

Website: sirensofaudio.com

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

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

5th & 10th Doctors Reunite in OUT OF TIME 2

The second in the Out Of Time trilogy from Big Finish, The Gates of Hell is OUT NOW.

In the dark Catacombs of Paris lurk the Cybermen, in a classy upgrade from the sewers of London, and will be pitted against not one Doctor but two in a timey-whimey tale of classic proportions. 



Joining Davison and Tennant in the cast are Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Dracula) as Joseph Delon, Shelley Conn (Terra Nova, Liar) as Tina Drake and Nicholas Briggs as the Cybermen.

Paris, 1809. The Fifth Doctor takes a tour of the Catacombs and meets a sassy Time Agent doing the same… 

Paris, 1944. The Tenth Doctor misses his target and lands in occupied France. He hides from the Nazis – in the Catacombs. 

A collision of two Doctors’ timelines triggers a temporal catastrophe, granting the Cybermen dominion over the Earth. 

The Doctors must travel back in time to find the source of the Cyber-invasion and close the Gates of Hell…

Producer David Richardson said: “The Gates of Hell is really lovely stuff. It features a smashing script from David Llewellyn that shows these two Doctors at their very best, saving the universe together while facing one of their oldest foes. If Children in Need’s Time Crash left you wanting more, then here it is!”

Writer David Llewellyn added: “It’s probably a bit of a cliché, but this was ‘dream come true’ stuff. One of my earliest television memories is Peter Davison pushing a Dalek out of a first floor window on Shad Thames, so he always felt like my Doctor, and I welled up a bit when the Tenth Doctor said the same thing in Time Crash.” 

“My brief was simple, just the basic ingredients, and they were all amazing. Fifth Doctor, Tenth Doctor, Cybermen. I mean, really. It was like Christmas!”

Doctor Who – Out of Time 2: The Gates of Hell is now available exclusively from the Big Finish website. 

Thursday, May 27, 2021

59. Cyber Star Men - Randomoids 3 - The Return of the Selectortron

It's that time again, where we review 2 stories hurled at us at random by the Big Finish randomoid selectortron. And the stories are:

Doctor Who: Sword of Orion by Nicholas Briggs

&

Doctor Who: The Star Men by Andrew Smith



Recommendations

Philip recommends Moira Moments by Nigel Fairs (podcast audiodrama)

Dwayne recommends Mary Tamm: First Generation read by the author and Who's There: The Life and Career of William Hartnell read by Anneke Wills (Fantom Publishing audiobooks)


Thanks Hayden Gribble


Philip Edney on Twitter

Dwayne Bunney on Twitter

The Sirens of Audio on YouTube

Theme music by The Jackpot Golden Boys

Email: sirensofaudio@gmail.com

Website: sirensofaudio.com

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

REVIEW | The Spectre of Lanyon Moor - Ranked "2" in Radio Times Top 5 Colin Baker Audio Stories

 The Spectre of Lanyon Moore by Nicholas Pegg

Directed by Nicholas Pegg

Music and Sound Design by Alistair Lock

Recorded February 2000. Released June 2000.

Starring Colin Baker and Maggie Stables

Guest Starring Nicholas Courtney, James Bolam, Barnaby Edwards, Helen Goldwyn, Susan Jameson, Toby Longworth, Nicholas Pegg



There is something quintessentially Doctor Who when it comes to creepy English villages, mystical powers and dark forces from the dawn of time. The Spectre of Lanyon Moor pulls out every trick in the Doctor Who book but does it so well you can hardly notice its homage to many, many previous Doctor Who shows.

It is clear that Nicholas Pegg is a fan of the show and he dips into so many moments from the past but combines them in such a way that you can’t but smile. Alien creature trapped on earth in opening minutes from City of Death. Strange goings on at an ancient burial site from Daemons. Creepy aristocracy member with library from Terror of the Zygons. Alien menace in the dark from Image of the Fendahl. English village from everywhere. And even an ending that crosses between Battlefield hero moment and the final scenes from Death to the Daleks. And every character except the Doctor and companions dead by the final scene like Pyramid of Mars, Horror of Rock and others. 

One of joys of the story is the first proper meeting between the sixth Doctor and the Brigadier. Although this in part should have been a momentous thing it is actually played right down and the two of them just get on easily from the beginning. It is such a natural meeting with open trust from the beginning that it would be easy to forget that this is a new partnership. 

Nicholas Courtney returns for the first time as the Brigadier for Big Finish and he falls into the role immediately. Like putting on a pair of comfortable shoes, Courtney is in straight back into the role and grabbing all the best lines. His nonchalant approach to the Doctor throws the Doctor slightly which is so charming to hear. His connection with Evelyn is also charming.

Maggie Stables is once again superb as Doctor Evelyn Smythe. In only her second appearance you can see what a perfect foil for the Doctor Evelyn is. Although its hard for her to be running down corridors she won’t be ignored, is given important work to do and can do a good smash and escape when needed. Colin and Maggie play off each other brilliantly and every scene they do together is a joy.

Colin continues to shine and is really the perfect Doctor. The great tragedy is he was never given stories like this to do, words like this to say and scenes like this to play in the TV series. Colin’s Doctor is compassionate, wise, righteously angry, moral, just, with a great sense of playfulness and concern for his friends. Had Colin received this level of writing and care during his TV run, there is a chance he could have been the longest serving Doctor.

The rest of the cast are excellent as well. Susan Jameson makes a great villain who goes from crazy dog owner, to just crazy to crazy dogs food. James Bolam starts being very trustworthy and yet slowly things change. And nice to hear Helen Goldwyn making her Big Finish debut playing a number of roles that would have been nothing in themselves but Helen gives all of her characters real depth, even if they only have a scene or two.

There is much, much more I could wax lyrical about this story but suffice to say it deserved to be in the top 5 of the Radio Times Poll and is well worth a listen.


Philip Edney