Thursday, June 24, 2021

63. Jago & Litefoot 8 | Randomoids IV - The Phantom Selectortron plus Big Finish From The Beginning Ep. 2

It's that time of the month again where we dive into some stories that the Big Finish Randomoid Selectortron selected for us. This time it's Jago & Litefoot Series 8

We'll also have a chat about some of the latest Big Finish releases from May and June 2021. 

Plus, as an introduction to this episode, we share episode 2 of our new flashcast, Big Finish From The Beginning, with Rob from The Doctor Who Show. 

We end with our latest audio recommendations. 

Next time.... Katy Manning is our special guest.

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.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

OUT NOW | Doctor Who: The War Doctor Begins - Forged in Fire

The first set of stories in The War Doctor Begins series is OUT NOW. Available from www.bigfinish.com

Released today, Forged in Fire tells the tales of the first adventures of the Doctor’s disavowed alter ego, played by Big Finish newcomer Jonathon Carley. These three, brand new, full-cast audio dramas pick up immediately after the events of 2013’s The Night of the Doctor, as the flame is lit for war. 

The Doctor is no more. In his place, a warrior, finally joining the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords. 

But how far will he go to end this conflict? What lines will he cross? How much of himself will he sacrifice? 

The War Doctor is only just beginning to find out who he is…

Producer David Richardson said: “I don’t like to think of The War Doctor Begins as going back, or a recast of John Hurt. It feels like a different era – the very start of the War Doctor’s life. And in Jonathon Carley we have found an actor who has both captured the flavour of John Hurt’s performance while making the role entirely his own. 

“With that in mind, we were emboldened to reconsider The War Doctor and I’m so glad we did because I love this series. I think this first box set, Forged in Fire, is remarkable. Jonathon acquits himself from his first line, Louise Jameson masterfully directs, and we have a new sound designer, Jack Townley, bringing the chaos of the Time War to life.”

Actor Jonathon Carley added: “When Nick first got in touch, I thought it was a joke – but we set up a Skype call and there he was on my computer! In my head I was thinking, ‘What could this be about, he must be looking for a guest voice actor’, but what Nick suggested went beyond any reasonable expectation I had!


“And when Big Finish said they’d like me to play the War Doctor, it was amazing. I had a workshop with Louise, and I will take lessons from that workshop into every job I do in the future. Having someone you’ve admired for years putting time in and building you up was amazing – surreal touchstone moments which I will never forget.”

The cast in this first box set is completed by Veronica Roberts (Peak Practice, The Fourth Doctor Adventures), Adèle Anderson (Fascinating Aïda, Doctor Who: Time War), John Dorney (The Omega Factor, Dalek Universe), Kit Young (Shadow and Bone, Endeavour), Chis Jarman (Dalek Universe 1, Thunderbirds Are Go),  Anna Andresen (ATA Girl 1 & 2), Amy Downham (Star Cops, Hollyoaks), Helen Goldwyn (ATA Girl, Survivors), Marylin Nnadebe (War of the Worlds, I May Destroy You), Tracy Wiles (The Beast Must Die, Space: 1999) and Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks.

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.


The Sirens of Audio on YouTube

Theme music by The Jackpot Golden Boys

Email: sirensofaudio@gmail.com

Website: sirensofaudio.com

Twitter: @AudioSirens

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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

Website: sirensofaudio.com

Twitter: @AudioSirens

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

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

Twitter: @AudioSirens

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

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.