Big Finish Podcast Notes and Misc News Roundup Thread

News
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They were taken down pretty quickly and haven’t been reshared since. I’m not sure if it’s any sort of rights infringement to share, but I can gamble.

EDIT: Images were posted, but removed to be cautious about potential rights infringements.

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Hmmm, I’m no expert but I don’t know if sharing photos that have been taken down for some reason and not officially shared publuicly is a good idea if we want to keep the forum out of trouble…

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I’d tend to agree, but what do others think? I would think their removal was more to maintain the surprise of the outfit once the box set was eventually made and unveiled, as we do have access to all the Dark Eyes era photoshoot images without issue. I’ve shared one of these images on Twitter before (albeit cropped to Paul’s bust) and received no word or notice. I think it’s fine, but I’d err on the side of caution

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Well, if you’ve shared them on Twitter and no one cared, then I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. Twitter has a more widespread audience than TARDIS Guide :sweat_smile:

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Ooh these are really cool! Thanks Jake!

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ooh this one was used for Cass in the latest boxset! I was wondering why her hand was in a weird position!

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Podcast

Podcast Notes

  • Behind the scenes content was Nick’s big push when he became executive producer. He received a lot of pushback for a while as people thought it would all get same-ish, but Nick stood firm that it was important to include, and a few years down the road it would be beneficial to have captured the cast and crew’s thoughts at the time of recording.
    • Many of the actors do not care for behind the scenes interviews as they feel it will somehow put them to the test on their Who knowledge. Nick says that Jon Culshaw is the exception, and he told Nick recently that he absolutely loves doing it as it lets them reflect and contextualize the day’s work. Mark Wright is, apparently, the worst at the interviews as his thoughts are too scattered to really pull anything together.

Random Tangents: Jonathan Sausage Powell

Production Interviews: Planet Krynoid: Survivors and Sky: Into the Chaos

Fifteen Minute Drama Tease: Sky: Into the Chaos

Randomoid Selectotron: 25% off a random Big Finish release every week! Just click on this link and enter the code BUCKUP. This week’s selection: Blake’s 7: The Liberator Chronicles Volume 09.

Vortex #208

  • The Twelfth Doctor Adventures: Run Fast Be Kind (NOTE: I apologize for writing so much on this one but I’m so incredibly excited for it)
    • Alfie Shaw has known for a long time what he wanted this series to be about and what the final scene was going to be, saying “I had an idea I really wanted to tell and I thought it would suit the Twelfth Doctor and where he’s at in his timeline really well.”
    • Alfie knew almost from the beginning he would pair the Doctor with a male companion from the end of the universe.
    • In contrast to the Doctor’s relationship with Nardole, he and Ash have no common links (such as him and Nardole knowing River). Ash is very cynical towards the Doctor, while the Doctor cares deeply for Ash. Alfie Shaw states that the relationship is “flavoured more towards doctor/patient. Ash goes through a lot in these adventures and the Doctor’s there trying to help him see the good in everything.”
    • The Second Death by Alfie Shaw
      • The opening story is heavily inspired by Fallout. Ash is a post-apocalyptic companion, something Alfie Shaw has always wanted to try. In this instance, “the apocalypse in question is just the universe being really, really old.”
      • This story will pick up almost immediately after the Doctor has left River on Darillium and we will see how he’s coping with travelling again.
    • The Broken Man by Rochana Patel
      • This one is a “contemporary historical” set in Scotland, 2016. It’s a “historical” in the sense that we’re ten years out, but it’s set at the time this would have gone out on television.
      • The Doctor and Ash will be investigating an archaeological mystery the Doctor meant to solve with River but never got around to doing, trying to prove one of her theories. However, it’s still described as a “small-stakes, upbeat story”, which was important to Alfie as there is a lot of “horror and trauma” in the rest of the series.
      • It’s a story about “how you can go through hell, pick up the pieces, and still put yourself back together again.” Rochana says that most stories she’s trying to break hearts, “but here I’m trying to mend them. I think the world needs a few more stories like that right now.”
    • The Beautiful and the Damned by Katherine White
      • This story, from new Big Finish writer Katherine White, is described by Alfie Shaw as “a fantastic skewering of social media…[exploring] both the positive and negative impacts it has…I particularly adore the final line so, so much.”
      • Katherine White says this is her first big commission. She sent some short scripts to John Dorney and in summer of 2024 was asked by Alfie Shaw if she had any ideas for the Twelfth Doctor. She sent three back, “and luckily Alfie liked them.”
      • The story is set in the near future and focuses on a social media company pulling the strings of a society and reinforcing their fixations on their appearances.
  • The Thirteenth Doctor Adventures: The Hallamshire Incident
    • More than any other story, this one will focus on Yaz’s home and work life, and will take a closer look at her life as a police constable. But they still wanted the Doctor to stay central to the plot, which is where a UFO crash in Hallamshire forest comes in.
    • Civilian authorities have to deal with alien encounters since at this time UNIT was decommissioned.
    • It was write Rochana Patel’s idea to bring back Patricia Menzies, but the part was written flexibly as they weren’t sure they could get Anna Hope back.
  • The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Fixers
    • At the end of his life, the Seventh Doctor wants not to repeat past mistakes with Ray that he made with Ace.
    • The Executor by Chris Chapman
      • The opening story will see the Doctor as the executor of a fellow Time Lord’s will, leaving him responsible for a house clearance on their TARDIS. Writer Chris Chapman says that the infinite nature of the TARDIS “represents how dwarfed I think we all feel by having to explore the life of someone we’ve lost and lament accordingly.”
    • Oil and Water by James McDermott
      • The second story is written by new Big Finish writer James McDermott, who previously wrote for EastEnders. He has been a fan of the show since 2006 and got into Big Finish during lockdown through Out of Time. He wrote to Matt Fitton and asked if he could write an episode and was offered a commission on this set.
      • James pitched three ideas to Emma Haigh, who liked two of them and suggested they be combined into one, which became Oil and Water.
      • The story is described as “a funny fast-paced climate-conscious grief-themed character-driven adventure featuring giant killer seals, set in Blakeney on my native Norfolk coast!”
      • Through the recording process, James has become good friends with Sara Griffiths, which he describes as “an unexpected highlight of the project.”
    • Much Ado About Racing by Fio Trethewey
      • Fio had the title first, and describes it as “science fiction racing [smashed together] with Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, with a pinch of Back to the Future time travel fixin’ thrown in!”
  • Rutans vs Sontarans: Peace at Last
    • After having so much fun writing the Eighth Doctor, Charley, and C’rizz in Sontarans vs Rutans, they were the first TARDIS team placed in the running order.
    • This final story will explain why the Eighth Doctor has been popping up throughout this war, even interfering in his own timeline to do so.
    • This was supposed to be written by Stewart Pringle and Lauren Mooney, but they got busy with other things. Tim was brought in since he was part of the original chat.
    • Tim wanted to write for this team in Sontarans vs Rutans as “they’re [his] era of Doctor Who”, but is happy to come back to them now for this finale.
    • The story will focus on the parallels between C’rizz and the Rutans.
    • John Dorney is open to doing a third series (not sure how you’d scramble the word around this time though). He felt that this series was better than the last, and there’s always stories to tell in this war from different angles. He’d also like to circle back to Lauren and Stewart’s original storyline.
  • Dark Gallifrey: The Decayed Master Part 1
    • Alfie Shaw is producing this trilogy, but he’s really letting Lauren Mooney and Stewart Pringle take the reins.
    • All three agree that this Master is an interesting contradiction, as he’s decaying and desperate, but always feels in control of the situation.
    • The trilogy was inspired by the classic horror series Dr. Phibes, and is a Doctor Who version of similar classic films.
    • All three releases are part of the same story, but have their own flavor, ranging in setting from rural Victorian England at Christmas, to a pocket dimension with Gallifreyan outlaws, to 18th century Venice, to modern and medieval York.
  • Vortex Mail
    • The Holy Terror was one of Big Finish’s worst selling titles until much later once people realized “what a genius Robert Shearman is!” They believe that Frobisher was one of the reasons people were put off from buying the story at the time, but of course now he’s a fan favorite. Nick says “So, maybe it is time for more Frobisher. Hmmm…food for thought.”
    • Big Finish are considering adapting the Blake’s 7: Origins novels as audiobooks read by surviving cast members.
    • Responding to a listener lamenting the end of Torchwood, Nick says “We’d certainly never say never concerning Torchwood.”
    • Something we’ve already heard, but there will be more of the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, and Turlough coming soon.
    • Not sure if he’s just agreeing with the sentiment of a listener or indicating they plan to do something about it, but Nick agrees that early Monthly Adventures that use the Tom Baker/70s theme tune should have their correct themes instead.

Big Finish News

New Releases

  • The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: Lethal Progress is released on 3 June (DTO: £19.99 | DTO + CD: £24.99)
    • Synopsis: The Doctor takes the TARDIS into the future where many great scientific leaps are taking place. But every new advance has its risks - and some of these risks are deadlier than others.
    • 15.3 Green and Pleasant Planet by Tim Foley The Doctor and Sarah find themselves exploring an alien world alongside a British space expedition. It’s never been visited before… so what’s a model village doing on the surface of the planet? Finding the answer may prove deadly.
    • 15.4 The Continuum by John Dorney The Doctor and Sarah land on the space-station Daedalus on the day it makes history. The first journey through hyperspace has just been completed. But it hasn’t gone as smoothly as posterity suggests. Something terrible is happening - and the clock is ticking down.
    • 15.5 The Audience by Lizzie Hopley A cultural festival on Gakoria should be light relief for the TARDIS crew. But when one of the cast of a play dies, Sarah has to join the troupe. And the Audience on this world are very demanding. Because on this planet… the play’s the thing.

Trailers

  • None

Cover Reveals

News, Announcements, Videos, and Blog Posts

  • News
    • The Eighth Doctor vs the Sycorax! A new era begins for the Eighth Doctor. Set after his travels with Liv and Helen and before the Time War, the Doctor is joined by new companions Alfie and Chase in this November’s Eighth Doctor Adventures: New Pathways (DTO: £19.99 | DTO + CD: £24.99). The set will also include The Eighth Doctor: A New Pathway, a brand-new feature-length audio documentary, celebrating thirty years of Paul McGann’s Doctor and giving a detailed look at the creation of this new era in his life.
      • Synopsis: Soon after regeneration, as the Doctor’s Eighth life begins, the TARDIS receives an unusual call… Many years later, travelling with faithful friend Alfie, can the Doctor finally solve a mystery that has dogged him since his earliest days? Who is Chase Moyo? And what new pathways will she lead the Doctor along?
      • 1. Chase by Alan Ronald Chase had hoped for a different life… She sees no escape from her soul-sucking call centre job. But when she is accidentally connected to a mysterious police box, and the extraordinary Doctor Smith - who is just beginning one of his many long lives - her entire world will change forever.
      • 2. Magic of the Sycorax by Katharine Armitage It’s time to put Chase through her paces and so the TARDIS follows a distress signal to a remote mining base, beset by powerful forces. The Doctor’s defeated the Sycorax before but, this time, they seem to have more magic, more darkness, and everyone has much more to lose…
      • 3. Blast from the Past by Robert Valentine When the TARDIS starts playing up, the Doctor accidentally brings Chase and Alfie to Burnley in 2096, only to discover that the UK has become an authoritarian dictatorship under fascist leader Bastian Clore. Chase in turn discovers that her descendants, the Moyo family of No 19 McKellen Drive, are major players in the underground resistance movement. Beyond the obvious, something is seriously wrong with history. Has the past been rewritten by more than just the propaganda wing of Clore’s jingoistic regime? And can Chase live up to the idealised memory her great-great-grandchildren hold of her?
    • Big Finish Day 2027 is set for 17 April 2027, and tickets are on sale now! It will take place at the Polish Social & Cultural Association, Hammersmith, London W6 0RF. The theme is Daleks vs Cybermen.
    • River and Rory reunited! Alex Kingston and Arthur Darvill star in The Death and Life of River Song: River and Rory, a box set of full-cast audio drama, due for release January 2027 (DTO: £24.99 | DTO + CD: £35.99). Set between The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe and Asylum of the Daleks, this release will see River pop up in her father’s life at a time when things really are not going his way. Interestingly, they began working on this set in 2020 but haven’t been able to slot it into the schedule until now. The first day of recording was only three weeks ago! The four stories in this set include:
      • Bog Man by Lizzie Hopley
      • Life Lessons by Karissa Hamilton-Bannis
      • A Most Dangerous Game by Robert Valentine
      • The Tashpa Stone by Shai Hussain and John Dorney

Out of Print This Week

  • Classic Doctors New Monsters 1 (this one’s been circling the drain for a while – hope you got it!)

Sales and Recommendations (As a reminder, bulleted stories are recommended by me, and those in bold are my favorites)

Big Finish Book Club: Discounts on a specially selected Big Finish audio drama every month. June’s selection: Gallifrey: Time War 1 for just £14.99 on DTO.

Free Excerpt: Every month a 15 minute excerpt is chosen from an upcoming release to download for free. June’s selection is The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Continuum: Part 1. Just click on the link and use this month’s code DAEDALUS.

Free Day Friday: Every week, Big Finish highlights an excerpt from their Big Finish For Free! collection, and offer 25% off the full release using a unique sale code. This week’s selection: Tarrant: Behemoth (excerpt). Use discount code CAPTAIN at checkout to save 25% off the full release of Tarrant (Ends 7 June).

Big Finish Release Schedule

Community Reviews via TARDIS Guide:

Release No. Title Score Votes
5 The War Doctor Rises: Fear of the Light
The Twilight Enclave 4.12/5 79 votes
The Frozen Wastes 4.14/5 74 votes
The Burning Lands 3.94/5 72 votes
1.2 Rutans vs Sontarans: Rendition 3.86/5 90 votes
100 Torchwood: Fare Well 4.62/5 59 votes
15B The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: Lethal Progress
Green and Pleasant Planet 3.13/5 24 votes
The Continuum 3.26/5 17 votes
The Audience 3.59/5 11 votes

What Big Finish I Was Listening To This Week: Finishing Fear of Light, which I thought was VERY good, even if the third story started to loose my attention towards the end. Also listened to the first two stories in Lethal Progress. I thought Green and Pleasant Planet had a great concept that took too long to fully reveal itself. The Continuum was pretty good, but another one where my attention waned towards the end.

General Doctor Who / Non-Big Finish News

News

The Rumor Mill

  • Russell T. Davies spoke on a podcast recently and stated that there is a BBC press release for Doctor Who running past many sets of eyes that should be released in the next 1-2 weeks.

Media/Merchandise

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Yay!

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Yay!

Boo!

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Turns out Peter Capaldi’s been itching to work with Big Finish, but only in a John Frobisher spin-off series.

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Cute but I would hope they make it an optional change for listeners.

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I wasn’t sure if I was reading too much into it so I didn’t mention this, but in-context it sounds like they might be considering more compilations similar to The Eighth Doctor and Charlotte Pollard Series 01 with the Monthly Adventures. So I’d guess they’d fix the theme tune there if that happens.

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I emailed asking about this a few weeks ago but no response yet, assuming they didn’t answer it directly this week (I haven’t listened yet). How did it come up?

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It wasn’t in the podcast, it was in covered in Vortex. Nick’s reply:

You and Vortex editor Kenny Smith have a lot in common here, Paul! I certainly think all these stories should have their correct themes.

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Podcast

Podcast Notes

  • Still no sign of continuing Rani Takes On The World.
  • A short podcast this week, so not a lot of info. Hopefully next week they can discuss this week’s news.

Random Tangents: The nuns are disappearing.

Production Interviews and Fifteen Minute Drama Tease: Dark Gallifrey: The Meddling Monks Part 3

The Good Review Guy: Rani Takes On The World: Beyond Bannerman Road

Randomoid Selectotron: 25% off a random Big Finish release every week! Just click on this link and enter the code BUCKUP. This week’s selection: The Fifth Doctor Box Set

Big Finish News

New Releases

  • Planet Krynoid: Survivors is released on 11 June (DTO: £19.99 | DTO + CD: £29.99)
    • Synopsis: Colony Sunlight has been destroyed, ravaged by a ruthlessly aggressive galactic weed known only as the Krynoid. As the planet turns cold, sinister forces descend on the surface, and time runs out for the scattered survivors. Could salvation lie a hundred years ago - with a Doctor, a MedTech and a big blue box?
      • 2.1 The Hunt by Jonathan S Powell Blackmailed by the unscrupulous Raynor Cross, Sunlight survivors Tiro Hart and Letty Hodan must battle the icy remains of the life they left behind. But they are not the only ones with their sights set on a pod.
      • 2.2 The Harrow by Georgia Cook Nobody knows what really happened to Station One, Verdana’s first, doomed colony. But after materialising in the path of a Krynoid, the Doctor and Liv are about to find out.
      • 2.3 The Harvest by Jonathan Morris When a band of survivors reach a mysterious settlement, they are promised food, shelter and harmony. But deliverance in Greenhaven comes at a price - and Father Nature is ready to collect.

Trailers

  • None

Cover Reveals

News, Announcements, Videos, and Blog Posts

  • News
    • Turlough goes home. Peri and Turlough’s travels with the Sixth Doctor take them back to Trion in August’s The Sixth Doctor Adventures: Reunion (DTO: £19.99 | DTO + CD: £24.99).
      • Synopsis: The Doctor and Peri’s travels with the mercurial Turlough continue, but nothing lasts forever… and Turlough seems to know it. Trials of love, sacrifice and war lie ahead, and beyond them all lurks something else: the ever-approaching spectre of death.
      • 1. Save the Date by Matthew Sweet London, 1969, and the Eternal Joy dating agency has a new secretary: Miss Perpugilliam Brown. Peri’s undercover. Her mission: to find the source of the sonic boom that rang out across London, discover the secrets of Eternal Joy’s big pink computer… and set the Doctor and Turlough up on a double date with two young ladies.
      • 2. Poison’s Reach by Paul Sutton The civilisation of Freefall is powered by a natural radiation stream rising from its moon. That’s the official story. Engineer Sandra Silva knows the truth. She’s determined to expose the Stelta Corporation’s crimes, and she has a trio of time-travelling sightseers on her side. Turlough is about to learn that, to achieve a worthy aim, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice has to be made…
      • 3. Broken Home by AK Benedict and Guy Adams Once a traitor, always a traitor? Vislor Turlough returns to Trion at last - and promptly hands the Doctor and Peri over to the occupying forces. Has Turlough learned any lessons from the Time Lord he was once tasked with killing? And in order to liberate his broken home, who is he willing to sacrifice?
    • A world without the Doctor! Zoe, Jaimie, and the Doctor, now joined by his handler Raven, are on the run from the Time Lords in August’s Second Doctor Adventures: The Haunted Windmill (DTO: £19.99 | DTO + CD: £24.99). Deciding to hide out on Earth 1963, they discover a planet they don’t recognize. One where the Doctor never landed. The box set is comprised of three stories, all written by Alan Barnes.
      • The Haunted Windmill
      • The Crystal Ship
      • The Hungry Glass

Out of Print This Week

  • Bernice Summerfield: 7.3 The Worst Thing in the World

Sales and Recommendations (As a reminder, bulleted stories are recommended by me, and those in bold are my favorites)

Big Finish Book Club: Discounts on a specially selected Big Finish audio drama every month. June’s selection: Gallifrey: Time War 1 for just £14.99 on DTO.

Free Excerpt: Every month a 15 minute excerpt is chosen from an upcoming release to download for free. June’s selection is The Fourth Doctor Adventures: The Continuum: Part 1. Just click on the link and use this month’s code DAEDALUS.

Free Day Friday: Every week, Big Finish highlights an excerpt from their Big Finish For Free! collection, and offer 25% off the full release using a unique sale code. This week’s selection: Subterfuge Part 1. Use discount code WINSTON at checkout to save 25% off the full release of The Monthly Adventures: Subterfuge (Ends 15 June).

Big Finish Release Schedule

Community Reviews via TARDIS Guide:

Release No. Title Score Votes
100 Torchwood: Fare Well 4.62/5 64 votes
15B The Fourth Doctor Adventures Series 15: Lethal Progress
Green and Pleasant Planet 3.11/5 33 votes
The Continuum 3.18/5 31 votes
The Audience 3.63/5 27 votes
2 Planet Krynoid: Survivors
The Hunt 3.50/5 9 votes
The Harrow 3.50/5 6 votes
The Harvest ??? ???

What Big Finish I Was Listening To This Week: Just the first episode of The Audience this week.

General Doctor Who / Non-Big Finish News

News

  • An update on the future of Doctor Who. Key points:
    • The Christmas Special has been cancelled. It was intended to bridge the gap between RTD2 and the next era, but the BBC feel their efforts are best put towards investing in the show’s long-term success and setting up future series to come.
    • Russell T. Davies has left the show, along with Bad Wolf.
    • Doctor Who is being put out to competitive tender, meaning production companies will be bidding on producing the show going forward – rights are not an issue here.
    • The previously announced CBeebies animated show is currently in production.

The Rumor Mill

  • Deadline reports that several producers that they contacted say you would be mad to take on Doctor Who right now. This was a report immediately after the news so only time will tell, but that lack of immediate interest was something to note.

Media/Merchandise

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such a ■■■■■■■ shame it didn’t sell well. I grew up with SJA and was so happy they got to continue it in some way. Maybe one day they’ll do more who knows. I’d love if they did another Halloween or Christmas set and they have one of them feature.

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I must say that the name could have been better. It took a while for me to realise that it was an SJA audio and not about the Time Lord Rani.

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While I’m not fond of the name either, the cover and cast list etc makes it clear who its about :sweat_smile:

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